Believe it or not! Reporting on amazing animals

A visual and oral presentation of an "animal report" can engage students' interest and develop their artistic and visual literacy skills.

By Melissa Thibault

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Rethinking Reports

Creative research-based assignments provide alternatives to the President Report, Animal Report, and Famous Person Report that ask students to think about old topics in new ways, work collaboratively, and develop products that support a variety of learning styles.

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Learn more

• Animal Adaptations Join Dirtmeister's team of investigators researching animal adaptations. This site provides a simple yet effective procedure for focusing on the importance of adaptation to species survival. Short and sweet, grade 4-8. From Scholastic.
• Animal Adaptations Questions to answer about specific species and their adaptations designed as a treasure hunt. Grades 4-8. From UtahLINK.

Related pages

• Hanging Rock State Park: Students will learn about the Sauratown Mountains and the Saura Indians for which the mountains were named at Hanging Rock State Park. Ranger led programs are available for class field trips which correlate to the North Carolina curriculum for 5th through 8th grades.
• The Iredell Museums: The Children's Museum: From hands-on learning experiences in the arts, culture and sciences to exhibits, programs, classes, and performances there is so much to do at the Children's Museum.
• Catawba Science Center: Students will enjoy visiting the Catawba Science Center, a hands-on museum, where learning is fun!

Related topics

• Learn more about animals, biology, science, thinking skills, and visual literacy.

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Strange, unusual, interesting — animals have amazing capabilities. Did you know that beavers’ front teeth grow throughout their lives? Or that loons, unlike most other birds, have solid bones? What do their strange characteristics tell us about these animals and how they have adapted to their habitats?

Animal adaptations, structural and behavioral characteristics that have made animals successful in their environment, are studied from grade 4 through high school. As students research, they will need to identify the adaptations animals have made and compare these adaptations to those of other animals, particularly animals of the same species living in different ecosystems. In addition, the students need to understand the role their animals play in the ecosystem and the interdependence of all organisms in a habitat. In most assignments, students are asked to list these adaptations or perhaps to compare and contrast the adaptations of a few animals. The resulting report is simply a compilation of facts, not a particularly engaging or thoughtful exercise.

Researching an animal will easily provide answers to the usual questions about diet, habitat and physical characteristics, but what makes each animal unique? What structural or behavioral characteristics are peculiar and amazing?

Students and adults alike are intrigued by the strange and unusual, as shown by the popularity of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and “Snapple Facts.” Focusing on the unique characteristics and behaviors of animals and analyzing these in light of the animal’s successful adaptation to their environment will result in an innovative animal report that captures students’ interest.

Students can collect information for their animal using standard reference materials: books, Internet resources, and encyclopedias. (Be sure to start by searching LEARN NC’s media center from our grade-level areas for students!) In addition to the usual questions about the animal in its environment, students should be on the lookout for the most outstanding, even bizarre, characteristics or behaviors.

Using the information gathered, students will create a visual representation of the animal emphasizing its unique qualities and the significance of these qualities to the animal’s success in its ecosystem. This visual will persuade the audience that the animal is uniquely adapted to life in their ecosystem. The final product is a brief oral presentation in the format of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, profiling the bizarre in a dramatic fashion.

Ideas for effective visuals

Caricature

Students may use elements of caricature to emphasize physical adaptations. Though caricature is used primarily to exaggerate different facial features, the same concepts can be applied to unique physical features of an animal. More information about this art form can be found at Learn to Draw.com’s caricature site.

Found object sculpture

As in the caricature, unique physical features may be accentuated in 3D using found objects. Whether you choose bits of packaging or acorns and pinecones, the sculpture will be a bit abstract but must emphasize the relevant adaptations. There are some examples for younger students in the animated story “Lizzy Visits the Scupture Garden” from the National Gallery of Art.

Flip books and multimedia animation

If the animal’s unique characteristic is a behavior, you may need to see this animal in action. A series of drawings that are designed to be animated will do the trick! A hand-drawn flipbook, a series of cartoon drawings, a computer graphic animation or a multimedia presentation can be used to show the animal in action.