Mr. Light’s Blog

Students are starting a research project on an ocean animal.  Here’s the project description and guidelines.

My Life on the Sea Shore

Project Description:  You will be assigned an animal that lives on the coast of Maine.  You will do research to answer questions about the animal and then you will imagine you are the animal and write a story about your life that incorporates the information that you gathered.

Things to Find Out.  (Answer as many questions as you can.)
o What is the name of your animal species
o How is it classified?  What other animals is it related to?
o What does it look like?
o How big or small is it?
o Where does it live?
o How does it move?
o What does your animal eat?
o How does it capture and eat its food?
o What eats your animal? (What are its predators?)
o Fun facts

Research Question:
You need to choose a question which you will be able to answer using the information you collect.  Some examples of possible questions are:
o Is it difficult for your animal to survive in its habitat?
o How well adapted are you to survive in your environment?
o Is your animal important to the ecosystem?
o Is your animal a powerful predator?
After you have completed your research, you will come up with an answer (your thesis) which is supported by your data.  Your character might start the story by asking itself the question and go back to that question throughout the story.  For example, Charlie the Chiton might start by saying, “I look around me and there are all these animals that have special talents.  Peter the Prawn can flip his tail and scoot away fast.  Stephanie the Starfish has hundreds of tube feet that help her move and pry open clams.  What do I have?”

Sources of Information:
Use the books I have available in the classroom, encyclopedias, and web sites which I have bookmarked at www.portaportal.com (guest name: westparis).  You should use at least three sources of information including one book and one internet site.  Keep track of the sources of your information on the note-taking guides.  Use “Citation Maker” to help you make your bibliography.  You can find it by going to www.portaportal.com and entering the guest name “westparis”

Final Product:

Your final product will be a picture book describing  “a day in the life” of your animal.  It should be a first-person narrative.  Your story must include all the information you researched and pictures which go along with your story.  We will look at picture books in class which show what to aim for.

The book needs:
o A cover page with title, author, and an illustration.
o 8 pages with at least 3 original illustrations or photographs.
o Back cover with author information.
o Bibliographic information (using the MLA format) on the inside back cover.

Use the rubric to help guide you in preparing your book.