Animals In Winter

Begin this 3-6 week project by dividing the class into research teams. Allow the teams to select an animal from a list of animals that live in wintery areas. As a class, brainstorm a list of questions they might want to answer about their animals. For example; What does the animal look like? Where does it live? What does it eat? What does it eat? Who or what are its enemies? How does it survive the winter?Have the teams research and take notes on their animals. Encourage them to use at least 3 sources to gather information. Possible sources would be library books, encyclopedias, magazines and the internet. Have each child write a report on their animal. The length of the report would be determined by the age and abilities of the students. Include lessons on finding information, organizing their information, writing a draft, editing, writing an interesting beginning, etc. After the reports are finished have the students work with their team members to construct a diarama or stage for their video. Have the students make clay models of their animals and any other animals they may want in their animation. Have the student teams make a story board for their video. Using a digital camera on a tripod or a web cam, take at least 200 pictures of their claymation. 200 frames will make a video that is about 30 seconds long. Load the pictures in to a program like Windows Media maker, edit and add narration.