Shared Research: Habitats

1. Review the "Super 3!" research method of plan, do, review.

2. Explain that today we will work on the "do" of the "Super 3!" research method: I must locate the things I will need, and I need to ask questions, read, and take notes.

3. Read and identify the essential question: How do animals adapt to the area in which they live? Ask students to identify ways that they could find the answer to this question (print resources, Internet, etc.).

4. Tell students that today we will look at how to answer a research question using the Alabama Virtual Library and PebbleGo.

5. Show students how to navigate to PebbleGo using a projector and computer from the Alabama Virtual Library web page (Student Resources > Elementary > PebbleGo).

6. At this point, ask the students which area of PebbleGo may be more useful to answer the research question. Tell students that since we don't know a specific animal to research, the science option would be best. 

7. Next, ask students which area of the science tab would be best suited to answer the question. Explain to students that life sciences covers living things. Click life sciences. While animals is an option under life sciences, adaptations best fit this question as we want to know how animals adapt to their surroundings to survive in different elements. 

8. On chart paper, show students how the tabs are the main topics discussed on this page. Write the main topics (Adaptations, Body Shape, Life in Deserts, Protection, and Attracting Mates) on a whiteboard or chart paper in a bright color, leaving room for notes under each section.

9. Next, using the read-aloud option of PebbleGo, have the computer read the notes under each tab. Ask students what is important to note on our chart paper. Using a different colored pen/marker, add the notes under each section of the chart/whiteboard. 

10. Revisit the essential question. Ask students, "After researching, how can we answer the question: 'How do animals adapt to the area in which they live'?" Have students refer back to the chart paper/whiteboard in which you wrote the notes in the shared research activity. (Answers may include that animals must live in an area that can meet their survival needs; the shape of an animal helps it live in a certain habitat; dry places are hard to live in, but a camel can live in an area like this; or at times it is necessary for the animal to blend in with its surrounding, helping it survive against predators.)

11. Ask students to then think of animals that live in certain areas like the camel lives in a desert or the whale lives in the ocean. Make a list of these animals on the board.

12. Have students pick an animal to research and find how that specific animal exists in a certain place based on its habitat. Remind students that they can use PebbleGo's Animals tab to search for the animal. Students should record their notes like you modeled by writing the main topics (from the tabs) on the paper and putting notes underneath.