4th grade is in the middle of an expedition about Animal Defenses taught by Mrs. Benner. Every day, each 4th grade class rotates into her classroom where they build literacy and writing skills while learning about the topic of how animal adaptations help animals survive. In addition to studying informative essay structure, narrative, and digital media presentations, students also focus on the use of scientific vocabulary, using dialogue in their writing, and using detail to make their writing more interesting to the reader.
Students dove into the expedition with the examination of the challenging informational textsVenom and Animal Defenses to learn how to identify adaptations and how animals survive. Students have become experts on one local species - cougar, wolf, bald eagle, or white-tail deer - researching their habitats, diets, and physical adaptations from articles and teacher-chosen websites. Using this research, they wrote informative essays on their chosen animal.
The fourth grade classes were able to gather more information on the animals that they are researching from visiting local wildlife experts. Representatives from Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) brought in pelts, eagle feet, examples of paw prints, skulls, and mounts to give students a firsthand experience with animals that live in Washington. Special thanks to Daro Palmer, Ben Turnock, Annemarie Prince, and Candace Bennett for visiting and working with our students.
After the experts visited, the students were then able to create a "Choose Your Own Adventure" Narrative on their animal, where they had to create two alternate endings for their story based on their animal’s defense mechanisms. Once written, the students created a “picture book” using Spark Video where students incorporated pictures related to their story and recorded their voice. These final projects were then shared with 3rd grade students to excite them for the work that will come next year.
Students are also creating a piece of animal art (colored pencil, scratch paper, or scratch board) of their choice in Crew Club. A final clay mask of their animal will be completed to go with their writing portfolio. Later in the year, students may choose to showcase this work at conferences or
passages as examples of the high quality work they have created.
