PBL: Habitat Study

Starting this week, we began an exploration of various habitats. Students worked together as a team of park rangers to explore, learn, and become experts on their particular habitat in a National Park.

This unit also incorporates social emotional learning as we emphasize collaboration, flexibility, perseverance, and communication skills. Throughout the week we have been working collaboratively to design and transform our classroom. Each habitat group designed their own park ranger jeep creating a vehicle on the front of their desks.

Using technology on our chromebooks, as well as nonfiction texts, students have been learning a lot about what a habitat is and why it is so important for plants and animals who live there.

Team Ocean- Buck Island National Monument

Team Desert- Arches National Park

Team Grasslands- Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Team Rainforest- Amazon Rainforest

Team Wetlands- Everglades National Park

In Reader's Workshop we used nonfiction science books to compare and contrast the rainforest and woodland habitats and work together to fill out a Venn diagram!

In Math Workshop we started our unit on picture graphs. During Math Workshop we used rainfall data from the White River National Forest and Amazon Rainforest to create picture graphs.

On Friday, we used animal population data from our National Park habitats to create our own pictographs in our habitat teams. 

Students are having so much fun with this project! Scroll down and listen in to our videos as we read our written opinions about why National Parks are so important!