Aqua Armor
Fish Defense In the Great, Big Blue
Learners:
This webquest is designed for a 4th grade Science class, but it also has an emphasis on reading and creative writing. Lower grades could do something similar to this lesson by:
1. Identifying marine animals and the defense tactics they use
2. Match vocabulary words about "Fish Defense" with their definitions
3. Draw a scene about a selected fish and create a habitat to camouflage it
Standards:
Grade 4: Science
Describe the interdependence of plants and animals.
- Describing behaviors and body structures that help animals survive in particular habitats
Grades 3-5: Technology Education
10.) Use digital environments to collaborate and communicate.
12.) Create a product using digital tools.
Grade 3: English Language Arts
24.) Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
28.) Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
Knowledge and Skills For Students:
- How to use the Internet
- Classifying information
-Using good creative writing story elements
- How to review information
- Working in a group
Knowledge and Skills for Teachers:
- How to use the Internet
- How informally assess
- How to use Tikatok
- How to make a rubric
Resources:
- Computers
- Final rubric for Tikatok
Instruction:
Estimated time: 1 week
Day 1: Get in groups and research roles (30-40 minutes)
Day 2: Continue working in groups to research roles and review information as a group (30-40 minutes)
Day 3: Begin to organize information for the story book; draw pictures; tutorial of Tikatok (40 minutes)
Day 4: Begin placing information into Tikatok (30 minutes)
Day 5: Finish putting final product of fish defense stories into Tikatok; approval of teacher (40-50 minutes)
Accommodations:
For students who need accommodations, they may work in a group by themselves looking through discovery kids or national geographic kids about fish and their defense mechanisms. Students can cut and paste facts and pictures onto a posterboard and display around the class for other students to learn from. Students can also listen to documentaries on fish using a computer and a note-taking guide.
Technology Plan:
Students will research the three defense mechanisms of fish on days 1 and 2. Students will then use Tikatok story book maker on days 4 and 5 in the computer lab on Thursday and Friday.
Assessment:
The teacher will conduct informal assessments on days 1, 2, and 3 of the unit. He or she will collect data from teacher observations, group work, and research findings used in the webquest.
On the last day of the unit, after the students have finished completing their Tikatok story book, the teacher will use a rubric provided on the Evaluation page to assess group and individual work.
Leniency should be given with students if this is their first time time using Tikatok story book.
Anicipated Problems or Stumbling Blocks:
- If Tikatok isn't working, teachers can ask students to write out their story in stages, either illustrating a mini-book or coming up with a scenario and drawing ways they could camouflage their fish.
- In the case that there aren't enough resources to collect information on fish defense, the teacher can have available National Geographic magazines or Discovery magazines for the students to flip through and collect data from. Students can also use books in the library and create a scavenger hunt game to find great reading material and collect data from that.
- Students who aren't working well in groups should meet together and solve the problem without the cost of their learning at stake. The teacher will facilitate the meeting and decide how he or she will approach the problem.
- There shouldn't be a problem of students using many of the same stories of defense mechanisms in fish. If there is an issue of students picking many of the same defense topics, the teacher will divide up the topics among the groups for differentiation.
Technology Management Plan:
- The teacher will plan ahead of time to reserve ample work time in the school computer lab to complete the Tikatok story book.
- Since students won't be using cameras, the air if free of limited technology.
- There should be one-to-one ratio of computer:student technology.
- The teacher will maintain student interactions with computers and if any fishy business goes on, that student will be required to write a statement as to why they did not respect technology equipment.
Resources and Credits
Swimmy by Leo Lionni
http://www.bostonkids.org/educators/kit_guides/animal%20defenses%20kit%20guide.pdf
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/planetocean/defense.html
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/lvelem/fishdefense/fishdefense.home.html
http://infolific.com/pets/coral-reef-life/poisonous-reef-fishes/
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/fish-kids/clownfish-kids/
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/fish-kids/fish-camouflage-kids/
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/lvelem/fishdefense/fishdefense.home.html
http://oakdome.com/k5/lesson-plans/powerpoint/animal-camouflage-pictures-and-information.php
http://infolific.com/pets/coral-reef-life/using-behavior-for-communication/
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/animals-pets-kids/fish-kids/cichlid-terrapin-kids/
http://www.oceansforyouth.org/whats-that/eco0200.html
The sources used in this webquest ranged from videos found on YouTube or Discovery Kids. All other material was reviewed for educational purposes by the creator. The organization of the sources is well thought out making the webquest clear and student-friendly. Many of the sources were online articles outlining specific fish and their survival techniques while other articles encouraged creative thinking.
This website is created soley with the help of internet sources and the imagination of the creator, Catie Stevens.
Fish Defense
Created October 12, 2012 Double click me.