Rainforest Research and Upcoming TpT Sale!

One of the changes I have really enjoyed learning about when it comes to the Common Core Standards is the research component.  One of our stories, The Red Eyed Tree Frog, takes place in the rainforest and I decided to have our writing connection be a research project.  My awesome intern and I worked together to plan a lesson that collaborated with our technology integration teacher.  A flipchart was made that allowed students to click on their animal and be taken to various websites that were preselected to help them gather information on their animal.  Students worked in pairs in the lab to identify facts about their animal's habitat, diet, and appearance.  They were also encouraged to find other interesting facts that they read along the way.  The cool part about technology and the CCSS is that students are asked to gain information from readings as well as other sources such as videos.  This is a great extension for some of my struggling readers.  They are still able to collect information and it doesn't have to be watered down to their reading abilities.  They did the research in technology class (which made it much easier then taking turns on the 3 computers in the classroom) and we worked on putting it all together throughout the week in the classroom.

I will be adding the graphic organizers we used this week, but in the meantime, check out some of our finished projects!

Teachers Pay Teachers is having another big sale this week!  May 7th-8th you can get up to 28% off many items in different stores!  My store will be participating along with MANY others!  Be sure to check it out!  If you're a seller, I made some other banners that can be used to promote the sale!  Feel free to download and use!

Hope everyone has a great week!