Perfectly Penguins Unit Plan

Unit Author
First and Last Name / Jessica West
Author's E-mail Address /
Course Name(s) / CECS
Course Number(s) / 4100
Course Section(s) / 008
School City, State, Zip / Denton, TX 76201
Instructor Name(s): / Rhonda Christensen
Unit Overview
Unit Plan Title / Perfectly Penguins
Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential Question / What is necessary for life?
Unit Questions / 1.  What are the physical characteristics of penguins?
2.  What do penguins eat?
3.  Where do penguins live?
Unit Summary
This is a unit all about penguins. It covers three main topics including what penguins eat, where they live, and what their physical characteristics are. The activities give students an opportunity to learn this information in a fun and interesting way, such as creating penguin habitats and watching live penguins on a web cam. In addition to being an interesting way for students to learn about penguins, the activities also provide an opportunity to critique what the student’s performance and what they learned.
Subject Area(s):
Reading, writing, social studies, art, music, and technology
Grade Level
K-2
6-8
ESL
Gifted and Talented / 3-5
9-12
Resource
Other:

UQ #

/

Student Objective/Learning Outcome

/ Targeted State Standard/Benchmark / Procedures/Activities
1 / Students will be able to describe what a penguin looks like, and explain how their physical characteristics help them survive. They will do this by drawing a picture of a penguin including certain criteria, completing a power point quiz on penguins with 80% accuracy, and taking part in a penguin walk activity. In addition, the students will complete an activity where they will discover how emperor penguins keep their eggs warm. They must participate in the activity and answer the discussion questions afterward. / §117.2 Art K-3
§126.2 Technology Applications, Kindergarten-Grade 2
§110.2. English Language Arts and Reading K-3 / Activity 1:
Have the students go to the website http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_splash/splash_cam.asp and watch the penguins on the web cam. Then, using the computer program "Paint," have the students draw their own picture of a penguin. They can be creative, but they must include eyes, flippers, a beak, a tail, and feet.
Activity 2:
Instructions for teacher- Create a power point quiz with 5 multiple choice questions about what penguins use their body parts for. For example: What do penguins use their flippers for?
A. To swim B. To fly
Try to include pictures of the body parts and actions. Present the quiz to the class using a projection system.
Instructions for student- Write your answers to the quiz down on a piece of paper. Students must get 4 out of the 5 questions correct.
Activity 3:
Have a penguin walk - explain that Emperor penguins have to carry their eggs and babies on their feet. Have the students take off their shoes and try to walk around with an egg shaped ball of Play-Doh. Students must participate in the walk.
Activity 4:
Students will go to the website http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/activity2.html and follow the directions to imitate an emperor penguin keeping its egg warm. After completing the activity have the students write down their answers to the discussion questions on the web page.
2 / Students will be able to tell you what penguins do and do not eat by circling pictures of what they do eat with 75% accuracy. Students will also create a brochure about penguins. They can make it about what penguins eat, what the physical characteristics of penguins are, where penguins live, or a combination of all three. Students must include everything that is on the brochure rubric. / §126.2 Technology Applications, Kindergarten-Grade 2
§110.2. English Language Arts and Reading K-3 / Activity 1:
Instructions for teacher- using the internet, find pictures of 4 things penguins do eat, and 4 things penguins do not eat. Copy and paste these pictures into a word document and write the words of what they are underneath them. Print off copies and hand them to the class.
Instructions for the student- Look at the pictures, then circle the things that penguins do eat, and cross out the things they don't eat. They must circle at least 3 of the right things and a maximum of one of the wrong things.
Activity 2:
Students will use Microsoft publisher to create their own brochure about penguins. They will use the grading rubric to see what they need to include on it.
3 / The student will know what parts of the world and what kind of habitats penguins live in. They will demonstrate this by creating songs in groups about different types of penguins, including where the species they chose lives. Everyone must record their song and present it to the class. They will also complete a craft project where they create their own penguin habitats, and work in groups on a Penguin Expedition web quest. They must complete all of the tasks and fill out the evaluation form afterwards. / §110.2. English Language Arts and Reading K-3
§113.2 Social Studies K-3
§117.2 Art K-3
§117.3 Music K-3
§126.2 Technology Applications, Kindergarten-Grade 2 / Activity 1:
Break the students into groups. Assign each group a continent in the Southern Hemisphere and have them go to the website: http://www.siec.k12.in.us/west/proj/penguins/species.html Have them click on their continent and then click on one of the species that live there. As a group, they are to create a song about the type of penguin they chose, being sure to include where they live. Show one group how to record their song on a tape recorder. Have them record their song, then have them show the next group how to use the recorder, and so on. Have all the groups present their songs to the class. After everyone has finished, use a computer projection system to show what happens if you click on a continent only in the Northern Hemisphere. They will learn that penguins do not live in the Northern Hemisphere.
Activity 2:
Assign every student a penguin from the website: http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/facts10.htm
Have them click on their species and find out as much as they can about the habitat their penguin lives in. They can search for information on other websites as well if they like. Have the students make a representation of their penguin using clay. Give each student a 9x13 foil pan and have them create a habitat similar to the one their penguin lives in. They can use materials such as pebbles, grass, dirt, sticks, glue, cotton balls for snow, and blue sand or paint for water. Have them place their clay penguin in its habitat when they are finished. Set the habitats up around the room so everyone can go around and look at them.
Activity 3:
Break the students into groups and have them complete the web quest: Penguin Expedition, found at http://everyschool.org/u/vc/lkelly/index.htm. After they complete all the steps and present to the class, make sure they fill out the evaluation form.
Approximate Time Needed
Total time required to complete the unit: approximately ten hours. If the unit is worked on for an hour every school day, the entire unit will take about two weeks to complete.
Prerequisite Skills
Skills needed include familiarity with the internet and the computer. Students need to be able to follow explanations and instructions for computer programs such as “paint” and Microsoft Publisher. Students must also be able to somewhat write so it is understandable. In addition, students must be able to work with others in groups.
Materials and Resources Required For Unit

Technology – Hardware

Camera
Computer(s)
Digital Camera
DVD Player
Internet Connection / Laser Disk
Printer
Projection System
Scanner
Television / VCR
Video Camera
Video Conferencing Equip.
Other: tape recorder and tapes
Technology – Software
Database/Spreadsheet
Desktop Publishing
E-mail Software
Encyclopedia on CD-ROM / Image Processing
Internet Web Browser
Multimedia / Web Page Development
Word Processing
Other:
Printed Materials / Handouts and quizzes created by the teacher.
Supplies / Pencils
Play-Doh
9x13 foil pans
Pebbles
Grass
Dirt
Sticks
Glue
Cotton balls
Blue sand
Paint
Paint brushes
Clay
Poster board
Markers
Softballs or foam balls
Large pillows
Belts or rope
Internet Resources / Websites:
1)  http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_splash/splash_cam.asp
This is the website of the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. This page provides a live webcam featuring the penguins that live there. You can observe all the different kinds of penguins that live there, and watch them get fed twice a day.
2)  http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/activity2.html
This website provides an activity for students to do where they imitate emperor penguins keeping their eggs warm. The page also provides a set of discussion questions to be completed after doing the activity.
3)  http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/facts10.htm
This website provides information on penguin habitats. You can click on a certain type of penguin and find out all about its habitat.
4)  http://everyschool.org/u/vc/1kelly/index.htm
This website has an entire web quest on penguins where students work in groups to map a route to areas where penguins live, create a flag to represent their expedition, and do research on penguins to create a poster that compares and contrasts two penguin species. The website provides complete instructions for the web quest.
5)  http://www.siec.k12.in.us/west/proj/penguins/species.html
This website lets students look at a map of the world and click on a continent to learn about the penguins that live there. Students can also click on a type pf penguin and find information about it such as where it lives, what it looks like, and how it takes care of its young.
Others
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction
Resource Student / For students who are not performing on grade level, extra time can be spent helping them one on one with the activities to make sure they understand and complete everything. The teacher should allot extra time to finish assignments if needed and offer extra help before and after school.
For students with physical disabilities, such as students that are in a wheelchair or cannot walk, alternate assignments can be given to them instead of doing the penguin walk and egg activity. For other physical needs, differentiate instruction as is required.
Gifted Student / Gifted students can be given assignments with more depth and requirements. For example, with the brochure activity, gifted students can be given a separate rubric that requires more information and pictures, etc… They can also be given alternate assignments that are a little more difficult. For example, instead of doing just the penguin egg activity, in addition they can research online how penguins have and care for their babies, and write a paragraph or two about it.
Student Assessment
To assess the students using this unit plan, methods such as quizzes, rubrics, and completion grades will be used.