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Plant & animal life cycles are such fun topics to research! This life cycles project research unit is perfect for students who are learning how to use informational text and to study plant & animal life cycles such as butterfly, frog, chicken, grasshopper, ladybug, apple, bat, bee, pumpkin, spider, sunflower, ant, fly, mosquito, penguin, sea turtle, and tomato.
It is the perfect plant & animal life cycles project for students who are just learning how to research as well as students who know how to research already. Students can conduct traditional book and/or internet research. This research unit makes learning fun and engaging. Everything you need for a successful unit is included!
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What is included in this Plant & Animal Life Cycles Project Research Unit?
Students will first learn how to use the text features in an informational text including the table of contents and index. They will also learn how to find credible sources on the internet. Then, students will be assigned an animal or plant life cycle (and optionally, a partner or group to work with). Students will have a Life Cycle Research Journal that they will use as a guide as they research their assigned life cycle.
Once students have completed their research, they will use it to complete two culminating activities: a diorama of their life cycle in a shoebox and a written life cycles project report. Finally, other classes and parents will be invited to the “Life Cycle Fair” where your students can show off their dioramas.
You will get:
Teacher Info Pages: This includes a sample unit outline, grading rubric, lesson plans for internet research, intro lesson, research journals, and final projects.
Book research/ text features worksheets: Students will review other text features including a glossary, titles, headings, photos, captions, graphs/charts, and special print. They will also compare and contrast the table of contents and index.
Internet research worksheets: These worksheets will familiarize your students with how to find credible sources on the internet for research. THESE CAN BE COMPLETED DIGITALLY!
Animal and Plant Cards Cards with the name and clip art of each plant and animal. You can use these to assign students an animal/plant to research. The animal and plant cards included are:
Butterfly
Frog
Chicken
Grasshopper
Ladybug
Plant
Apple
Bat
Bee
Pumpkin
Spider
Sunflower
Ant
Fly
Mosquito
Penguin
Sea Turtle
Tomato
Research Journals: The research journals will guide the students throughout their research. There is one question on each page for the students to find the answer to. 13 pre-written pages are included, plus 6 blank ones to add your own questions. Since this is the Google Slides version, students can type right into the pages! Full-page and half-page versions are BOTH included in this resource. Choose which version is best for your students.
Life Cycle Diorama & Written Report Instructions Lesson plan for the student’s final project
Diorama Example A photo example of the final project
Parent Letter & Life Cycle Fair Invitation: Keep the parents in the loop! Let them know what is going on with the unit and invite them to the fair, if you decide to host one.
Final Report Pages and info: A final report page is included as well as examples and lessons to have students create a life cycle diorama.
Have a question about this resource? Fill out the form below and I'll email you back as soon as I can! I am always happy to answer your questions.
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This is perfect for my ELA class on “technical writing”, which will have students doing crosscurricular research and research projects. Thank you so much for saving me a ton of time!!!
A
Amy Smart
Excellent research focused unit on life cycles. This unit has everything to help get the students started with their research and work through the project. Having these in Google Slides format is perfect so my students can research and create on their computer both in school and at home without losing their work.
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