Researching Ecosystems
with the Big 6 Research Model
·
Grade Level: 3rd grade students
·
Unit length: 2-3 Weeks
·
Objective: Students will follow the steps in the
Big 6 research model to research, create, present, and evaluate information
pertaining to specific ecosystems
·
Technology Utilized:
o
iPads
o
Shadow Puppet video maker app
o
Online databases:
§
Encyclopedia Britannica
§
World Book
§
EasyBib
o
Alternative Technology:
§
Microsoft Surface Tablets
§
Animoto video maker
·
Other materials needed:
o
Index cards, envelopes, manila folders for
organizing information
·
The 3rd grade ELAR TEKS supported
are:
o
(26)Research/Gathering Sources. Students
determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a
research question and systematically record the information they gather.
Students are expected to:
§
(A)follow the research plan to collect
information from multiple sources of information, both oral and written, including: (ii) data
from experts, reference texts, and online searches; and (iii) visual sources of
information (e.g., maps, timelines, graphs) where appropriate
§
(C) take simple notes and sort evidence into
provided categories or an organizer;
§
(D) identify the author, title, publisher, and
publication year of sources;
o
(28) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas.
Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the
purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to draw
conclusions through a brief written explanation and create a works-cited page
from notes, including the author, title, publisher, and publication year for
each source used.
·
Lesson Steps:
o
Teacher will inform students that they will be
researching different ecosystems. They may choose from forest, desert, tundra,
rainforest, desert, or ocean.
o
Students will discuss previous learning of Big
6. Then they will follow the 6 steps of the research model.
Big6
#1: Task Definition
1. Determine what
information is needed.
a. Description of
habitat.
b. Plants and animals
that live in the habitat.
c. An example of a food
chain within the habitat.
d. Real life examples of
this habitat found around the world.
2. Students will label
an envelope for each of the four criteria.
Big6#2:
Information Seeking Strategies
1. Students will make a
list of resources that can be used to find the information outlined in the
first step.
a. Online Encyclopedia
Britannica
b. World Book Online
c. Informational books
d. Encyclopedias
Big6
#3: Location & Access
1. Students will come to
the library to access sources listed in step #2.
2. Students will locate
the resources they plan to use.
Big6
#4: Use of Information
1. Students will read online
articles, watch videos, and listen to text within online databases.
2. If desired, students
will use the online catalog to locate informational books.
3. They will take notes
on notecards and use the EasyBib resource or the citation feature within the
online encyclopedias to cite their sources.
4. They will place their
notecards into corresponding envelopes.
Big6
#5: Synthesis
1. Students will
organize the information on their notecards to create pictures and/ or posters
and a bibliography.
2. They will take
pictures of their products and then upload them to the Shadow Puppet app.
3. They will record
their voice in the app as they explain each picture/ poster.
Big6
#6: Evaluation
Students
will review and evaluate their presentation using the rubric provided by the
teacher to decide if it needs to be modified to fit the criteria.
Rubric
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
Description of the environment
|
No
description
|
Little
description of the environment
|
Many
details of the environment included
|
Many
details in complete sentences;
Interesting
facts
|
Animals found there
|
No
animals
|
One
animal mentioned, little description
|
Many
animals identified
|
Many
examples of animals, with detail
|
Plants found there
|
No
plants
|
One
plants
|
Many
plants identified
|
Many
examples of plants identified with detail
|
Real life examples around the world
|
No
example
|
One
example, no details
|
More
than one example, with some detail
|
Several
examples with pictures and details
|
An example of a food chain found there
-
|
No
example
|
Food
chain is included but incomplete
|
Food
chain is included with some detail
|
Detailed
food chain with descriptions
|
Recorded Explanation
|
No
explanation
|
|
Brief
explanation of most elements
|
Descriptive
and detailed explanation of each element
|
Neatness
|
Unorganized
information, not neat
|
Neat
but contains several spelling/grammatical errors
|
Neat
with few errors
|
Neatly
completed, organized
No
spelling errors
|
Sources
|
No
sources cited
|
1
source cited, or sources cited incorrectly
|
2
sources, few citing mistakes
|
Several
(3+) included, and correctly cited
|
|
|
|
|
_______
/ 24 points
|
Below is a ThingLink presentation. Click on the nodes to view the content. (There are 4 nodes/circles; hover over the image to see them.) The Project Overview is in the 1st sticky note, and the technology demonstration is in the 5th sticky note. The other two websites are for more information about the Big 6 and where the photograph I used came from.
