Animals of the Pacific Northwest - 1st Grade

PJA first-grade students have been learning all about native animals of the Pacific Northwest. This integrated unit covered a wide array of skills practice: reading, writing, oral presentation, art, and science. Additionally, students worked in pairs giving them a chance to practice social-emotional skills such as listening, sharing, and collaborating.

The unit began with learning about the features of non-fiction books in both the classroom and during library time with Safranit Molly. Students practiced listening carefully and taking notes to remember the most important facts from a text and then wrote their own non-fiction reports about their chosen animal. While researching animals of the Pacific Northwest, students learned about animal habitats and what real and potential threats there are to that habitat. In the Makerspace, students designed a prototype of an idea to combat a specific threat to the animal habitat. 

In art class, students sculpted and painted a representation of the animal to accompany their report. They also did an art project in the classroom, drawing multiple drafts of their animal, practicing offering and accepting critiques, and using those critiques to help make improvements to their work. 

Finally, students turned their animal into a fictional character and wrote a fantasy story about it. Students practiced their read-aloud skills by sharing their stories orally. 

What an amazing project that incorporated so many different subject areas and skills!