Kings Park Elementary

Kings Park Elementary

Cricket Unit Design

Time 4 Teachers Unit Design

Cricket Newspaper

Anchored Problem	The class needs a means of communication to share the acquired knowledge of crickets with their family and friends. A newspaper was designed and created.
Literacy	Write to an audience Understand the discourse of writing different kinds of articles for a newspaper Scientific investigation How to use resources to get information and use the information in their own writing and work
Authentic Activities	Movie review Wrote poetry Wrote articles on sports activities Food writers created recipes to share with readers Observed crickets for body parts Created habitats to meet their needs Wrote jokes or riddles for the newspaper Photographers took pictures
Background Building Activities	Brainstormed the parts of a newspaper Looked at newspapers. Analyzed parts of the newspaper in groups of choice (sports, poetry, movie review) Read joke and riddle books and talked about the components of jokes and riddles Discussed the parts of a recipe (list or paragraph form) Demonstrated use of digital camera Read books about crickets Watched movies on crickets and insects Discuss cricket life cycle, needs, gender, life span, body parts, habitats
Constructing Activities	Wrote articles, poems, jokes, crossword puzzles, recipes for newspaper Created a headline for the paper Import text into newspaper file and added graphics Make crickets from food (marshmallows, gummisavers, pretzels, m&m’s, skittles, swizzlers, marshmallow crème Created vivariums Wrote stories (fiction and nonfiction) Illustrated crickets Labeled body parts on the computer
Opportunity to Share	Published Newspaper for families Discussed within each group what they did, found out, or wrote (sports, movie reviews, poetry) Shared poems, riddles and jokes on KPOV (the morning news show)
Community	Worked in cooperative pairs for all activities Worked collaboratively in groups and chose their best pieces
Standards	Science 2.4-The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals go through a series of orderly changes in their life cycles 2.7-The student will investigate and understand that weather and seasonal changes affect plants, animals and their surroundings 2.1-The student will plan and conduct investigations in which: Simple physical models are constructed Observations are repeated to improve accuracy Pictures and bar graphs are constructed using numbered axis Observation is differentiated from personal interpretation and conclusions are drawn based on observations 2.5- The student will investigate and understand that living things are part of a system Math 2.12 The student will estimate and then use a ruler to make linear measurements to the nearest centimeter and inch 2.21- The student will read, construct and interpret a simple picture and bar graph English 2.1 The student will use correct verb tenses and increasingly complex structures in oral communication 2.2- The student will use words that reflect a growing range of interests and knowledge 2.3- The student will use oral language for different purposes to inform to persuade and entertain; share stories orally with an audience; participate as a contributor and a leader in a group 2.4- The student will use phonetic strategies when reading and writing 2.7- The student will read fiction, nonfiction and poetry using a variety of strategies independently 2.8- The student will demonstate comprehension of fiction and nonfiction selections 2.9- The student will write stories, letters and simple explanations 2.10- The student will edit final copies for grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling 2.11- The student will locate information in reference materials
Technology Tools	Digital camera Scanner Computer and printer TV hooked up to the computer Software: KidPix, AppleWorks, Internet, Graphic Converter Video: "Cricket in Times Square", "All About Bugs"
Assessment	Observation of students with anecdotal records Journal Test Student Unit Evaluation Critiquing of each others work to decide what goes in the paper

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