Student Page

A Dog's Life - Student Page

The Mission

Many students in the Chicago Public Schools are experiencing difficulty in improving reading skills. Our Chief Executive Officer, Arnold Duncan, has asked teachers to incorporate higher order thinking skills into the reading curriculum. Our class is going to work on the skill of comparing and contrasting things that appear to have little or no similarities using Venn diagram. The students will work in cooperative groups to produce a slide presentation depicting the life experiences of a dog from birth to adult together with the life experiences of a human during this same period. The class will be divided into three groups. Each group will concentrate on one of the three time periods: Birth to adolescence, adolescence through teenage, teenage to adult. Each group will contribute a section to complete the presentation.

The Process

The class is divided into four groups of six students.

The group will brainstorm and contribute ideas and suggestions leading to selecting the dog or dogs to include in the project.

The whole group will collaborate to decide the assignment for each group.

The first group will research, investigate and gather information on the lifestyle and experiences of the subject from conception to adolescence. The group will develop a narrative, storyline or script for the presentation.

The second group will research, investigate and gather information on the lifestyle and experiences of the subject from adolescence through teenage years. The group will develop a narrative, storyline or script for the presentation.

The third group will research, investigate and gather information on the lifestyle and experiences of the subject from teenage years through adulthood. The group will develop a narrative, storyline or script for the presentation.

The fourth group will function as a resource group to plan whole group meetings, secure materials, equipment, pictures, drawings, artifacts, special music, paper, posters, programs and any needs of the three design groups.

The whole group will examine, review, edit, redesign and select the contribution to be included in the project from the total package presented by each group.

Each separate group will then improve the final portion of their contribution and prepare their final contribution to the total presentation.

Your technology teacher will instruct you in constructing slides and putting together a slide presentation.

Resources

http://www.geocities.com/mrsevon/webquest.html

www.ajkids.com

http://www.kidsfarm.com/dogs.htm

http://teacher.scholastic.com/iditarod/mushmania/mush_dogs3.htm

http://teacher.scholastic.com/iditarod/mushmania/mush_dogs.htm

http://teacher.scholastic.com/newszone/specialreports/america_responds/grolier_workingdogs.htm