PROJECT: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ANIMALS

TEACHER: ODE NIRVA TELUS

SCHOOL: RACELAND UPPER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CONTENT: French | Visual Art | Life Science

GRADE LEVELS: 3rd

OBJECTIVES:
The student should be able to:

French 
• Identify familiar animals based on simple descriptions (CM-1-B4) and exchange information about them (CM-2-B3).

• Demonstrate comprehension of oral messages related to topics studied in Life Science class (CN-1-B1) and explain in simple terms basic information about animals (CN-1-B2).

Life Science 
• Classify and compare group of animals based on characteristics (LS-E-A4, GLE 38 and 39).

• Compare the structures in a variety of animals  (e.g. fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects) (LS-E-A4, GLE 38 and 39).

Visual Art
• Students will acknowledge and use some Art vocabulary (VA-CE-E3) . Benchmarks 1, 2 & 3

• Students will recognize and respond to the beauty  and tastes of peers work (VA-AP-E2) Benchmarks 1, 4, & 5

• They will also explore some  art techniques combined with Geometry to create visual representation  (VA-CE-E2). Benchmarks 1, 2 , 3 and 4.

TIME: (3) 60 minute class periods

MATERIALS
Classroom Standards
Flash cards
Chart
Construction paper
Posters
Markers
Projector and computer

INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:
A Chart previously created by the students about animals characteristics will be displayed.
Students will receive a set of flash cards with animals they will need to identify in French. They will also need to identify the type of lines, texture, shapes or colors (cool or warm) on those animals (in French for some of them). (Knowledge).

ACTIVITY:
Teach / Model: The teacher will review the chart with the students and will question the students about the characteristics of those animals. She will model the structure of the answer, positive or negative, the students should be able to give in French ( Oui + animal’s name + predicate from the question) or ( Non + animal’s name + n’a pas + predicate from the question). She will also question the students about the lines, shapes or colors (cool or warm) on those animals. The teacher will use the projector and the camera or computer to show the same flash cards to the students and explain the type of lines, shapes or colors. The same previous structure will be used by students to answer the teacher’s question about the type of lines, shapes or colors. (Responding to Phenomena, Guided Response ).

Guided Practice: The class and individuals will be asked to model, draw or identify type of lines, shapes or colors in the classroom environment. They will be guided and corrected. (Responding to Phenomena, Guided Response, Comprehension). 

Independent Practice: Students will be given a drawing of an animal in a geometric shape and they will need to use either a warm or a cool color and two different lines and/or shapes/ texture to fill both the animal and the square to create a visual expression. Instructions will be given and the students will be guided at the beginning but they will finish the exercise independently or in pairs.  (Application).

Closure: Teacher will pick up the sheets given in step 3 for independent practice (surely not done but  to be continued during next French session). Then, the teacher will call the animals by saying their groups’ names, describing them by giving some of their characteristics and/or by calling the type of lines, shapes or colors (cool or warm) on those animals. Responding to theses calls students will return the flash cards they have received at the beginning of the lesson according to the teacher’s description. (Knowledge, Evaluation).

Day 2
Teacher will bring some animals puppets and stuffed animals to distribute among the students. 

Teaching / Modeling: The teacher will question the students about the characteristics of those animals. She will once again model the structure of the answer positive, or negative, the students should be able to give in French ( Oui + animal’s name + predicate from the question) or ( Non + animal’s name + n’a pas + predicate from the question). She will also question the students about the lines, shapes or colors (cool or warm) referring to different things in the classroom environment. (Knowledge)

Guided practice: The students will be asked to model the types of lines, shapes or colors using their movements. They will be guided and corrected. (Responding to Phenomena, Guided Response, Comprehension). When the students are done, the teacher will help them take pictures of their individual work. (Mechanism).

Independent practice: Students will continue where they left of the previous day and finish their visual expression project. They will also need to identify the animal assigned in French and its class, the shape it is in, the type of color used, the type of lines and/or shapes used. (Analysis).

Closure: Teacher will pick up the projects. Then, the teacher will call the puppets and stuffed animals by saying their groups’ names, describing them by giving some of their characteristics (cool or warm) on those animals. Responding to theses calls students will return puppets and stuffed animals they have received at the beginning of the lesson . (Knowledge, Evaluation).

Day 3
Teacher will show the students a Power Point with the flash cards used in lesson 1. 

Teaching / Modeling: The teacher will explain what a Power Point is and how to create it. While explaining, she will also use the power Point to question the students about characteristics of the animals, lines, shapes and colors. She will once again model the French structure for the answer, positive or negative.
She will also use some of the students projects to show them how they can create a pattern. She will show some examples of patterns and give the definition of pattern.

Guided practice: Students will be asked to identify patterns by answering using the French Structure (Oui, c’est un pattern) or (non, ce n’est pas un Pattern). Teacher will divide the class into groups. She will progressively call the groups so she helps the students create a Power Point using the computer. (Mechanism).

Independent practice: While working with a group on the Power Point, the other groups will be working on how to place their project to create a pattern.  (Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Organization, Internalizing values).

Closure: Teacher with a student’s help will show the all Power Point created to the class and the student will help her to comment it. (Evaluation, Receiving Phenomena, Internalizing values).

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
Formative: The Visual Art objective (3rd one) will be evaluated by questioning the
students about the type of lines, shapes or colors at the beginning of the lesson. It can be considered as a pretest / pre-evaluation to see how many students have the right answers for the new art vocabulary.
The guided practice on both Visual Art and French is considered as formative assessment where all the objectives are touched.

Summative: All the objectives (1,2,3) are evaluated during the closure when the students have to return the flash cards they received at the beginning of the lesson to the teacher according to the teacher’s descriptions which include the type of lines, shapes and type of colors. 

Summative:  All the objectives will be evaluated on Day 2 when the students will need  to:
Identify the animal assigned in French and its class. The shape it is in. The type of color used. The type or lines and/or shapes used.      

The students will arrange their projects in a way to create a pattern and then will show it to the class. (Evaluation, Valuing).    

ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:
Life Science:           
Classify and compare group of animals based on characteristics (LS-E-A4, GLE 38 and 39).
Compare the structures in a variety of animals (e.g. fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects) (LS-E-A4, GLE 38 and 39).

Visual Art :            
Students will acknowledge and use some art vocabulary (VA-CE-E3).
They will also explore some  art techniques to create visual expression 
( VA-CE-E2). Benchmarks 2 et 3.

Dance:            
Kinesthetic awareness, proper use of space and the ability to move safely
(D-CE-E1).

Geometry :           
Identify and draw shapes and lines that are parallel, perpendicular (G-5-E).  

Technology:            
Projector, camera, computer and Power Point software.
Use technology tools for individual or simple collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities (1,3).

COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM, GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
CM-1-B1 Demonstrating comprehension of simple oral instructions through appropriate physical response.
CM-2-B1 Following simple directions for participating in age-appropriate classroom activities.

Notes: If more time is needed depending of the amount of students in the classroom or other reasons, the last day/hour can be extended so the total hour for this class can be between 3 and 4 hours.

MODIFICATIONS | ACCOMODATIONS:
Students with disability to move or write will be paired with other students to whom they will tell what to do if they cannot do it themselves. The teacher will allow them more time.           

TEACHER'S REFLECTION:
The PowerPoint required more time because the students needed assistance for every single step. Two more hours can easily be reserved for it. The teacher helped the students with it and explained, but the students should be the one to create it from the typing to the inserting of the picture and the animation. They really enjoy doing all of these especially because they are young and it is their first experience with creating a PowerPoint. I fully helped the first three students and I had them to help the rest while I supervised.

Having to use the computer motivated  the students. Some of them who did not really care for the activity on paper (with the lines and colors in animals and geometric shapes) and did not have a good result with their project, asked to redo it so they will be able to take a picture of it and put it in the PowerPoint.

About day 3, concerning the pattern, we weren't been able to create a big pattern with all the students’ works because of the variety of geometric shapes and animals used. To create a pattern with the all class’ work the teacher would need to pre-select a small amount of different shapes, about 3 different shapes for the whole class. The inconvenience of selecting a very small amount of shapes would make it imposssible to review and assess the students on all the variety of shapes and animals studied, which was one of our goals in the independent practice on day 2.

Overall, the lesson went well and the students enjoyed it. 

RESOURCES:
The National Association for Music Education. National Standards for Arts Education.  2007.  Rowman & Littlefield Education, Maryland.

Lafourche Parish School Board.  Arts Education, State and National Content and Achievement Standards.  1994.  Louisiana.

Strickland , Carol, Ph. D.  The Annotated Mona Lisa. : a crash course in art history from prehistoric to post-modern.  1992.  John Boswell Associate Book, USA.

http://www.doe.louisiana.gov/lde/saa/2257.html  

http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/1815.html , Debra F. Wesley.  Power of Color on Emotion.  2000.

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