Ideas

Another place to post ideas!

Elementary Zoo Project Jeopardy Game: Students will be the MC for the topic/column that their class has created. MAGPI Fellow Team Member will be the overall MC for the event; calling on each site in a round robin fashion. Each school/site will be able to choose another school/site to hear the Jeopardy-style answer from, then respond in the form of a question. MAGPI Fellow Team Member will be the official score keeper. Vernice wrote: As for the Jeopardy game, what if we had 4 schools work on the 4 animals that were presented and the 5th school picks a different animal at the Zoo for the 1st game. We can have a second game where each school works with an animal of choice (not already chosen) with guidelines as to what the questions should center around (adaptations, habitat, life cycles, etc.)? I can create a poll (non Google:) to collect the animal choices from each school?

Jill wrote:

Now we need to get our kids working on Jeopardy. Since we did not have 5 animals we need to redesign our plan for one animal per school. Who has an idea? I was thinking we could do one animal per school for four schools and let the other choose an animal at the San Diego Zoo that we would have no trouble learning about. What do you think?

Again - we all need a study guide if we choose different animals.

Bridget's students were partial to the Armadillo.

Noel wrote:

Why not let the students that wanted to learn about the Komodo Dragon use it, the Panda is a very prominent animal at the zoo, as long as we know what the animals are we can have some background research done.

Harvey wrote:

My kids at Powell actually had a Corn Snake like the one presented in their classroom for a while. They know a lot of background on it and could be successful with it. Can I suggest that once the questions are sent in, a study guide be produced for the teachers to use so they can prep the students without giving away the answers…

Allison wrote:

Pocono Elementary Center has already studies several other animals from the zoo and would love to share their knowledge about these animals. We can be the "other animals at the zoo" category. Our questions will be sure to relate to the animals that were presented.

A study guide may not be needed as long as answers and questions are related to the concepts of life cycles, habitats, and adaptations. Students should be able to make generalizations and inferences about new animals based on prior knowledge gained from the San Diego Zoo presentation.

Here's what I've been able to sort out for those who have a preference of animals to prepare for the game: (The Berry Sisters and the Polar Bear are still available.)

Harvey: Milk snake Jill: Armadillo Noel: Berry Sisters Vernice : Polar Bear Allison: My students have prepared for this event by reading about the komodo dragon, panda, poison dart frogs, and monarch butterflies. Immediately after the video conference, they completed a thinking maps comparing an animal they studied with an animal they saw from the presentation. They have already prepared art work that we may be able to work in as clues for the game. We very much would like to use the art work and research they already have conducted as information in the game. I am envisioning clues that present an animal and direct the students to make a generalizations and comparisons about the animal...for example, The komodo dragon is part of this group of animals. What is reptiles? or The Monarch Butterfly is not born as such a beautiful creature. Their life cycle begins as an egg and hatches into this insect. What is a caterpillar? (visual clue provided) I don't think a study guide would be needed because we would be looking for students to make inferences using information they have already learned from the Zoo Presentation...moving them up on Bloom's! If we provide a list of the animals in the other category with our rationale for generalizing, comparing, and inferring, that should be enough.