Miss Holmstrom's Students Want a Classroom Pet!

A WebQuery for 3rd Grade

Blair Holmstrom
holmstromb@cwu.edu

Introduction

Students, you have expressed a want and need for a classroom pet! Well now it is your mission to persuade your classmates in what kind of pet we will have. There will be only a few guidelines to follow, the rest is up to you and your research. You will individually research the pet of your choice, create a visual to convice your classmates, and at the end vote what pet to bring into our classroom family. A few things to think about... Many students have allergies. We must be aware and respectful of these students needs. Also, there is limited space in our class. Keep these scenerios and other types of things in mind!

What kind of classroom pet will we choose?

Task

We need to decide what our classroom pet will be for the year. You will pick a pet you think would be best for us and do some research to convince me and your classmates this is the best choice. Once you have put together all the facts you need on your pet, such as caring instruction, interesting facts, and why it would be a good class pet, you will create a presentation using a visual aid (brochure, slideshow, poster, video, etc). This presentation will be to persuade everyone this is the pet we need.

Your visual aid will include:

name of pet
pictures of animal
caring instructions for the pet
interesting facts about the pet
what type of food will it need
approximately how much will it cost for the year (purchase price, cage/caring, food, etc.)
a creative, colorful, organized aid

Visual aid not limited to above criteria.

Your presentation will include:

why you chose this pet
explanation of visual aid (care, cost, facts)
why other students should choose this pet
what resources were used during research (minimum of 3 resources)

Visual aid not limited to above criteria.

The Process

Here are some questions to get you thinking. While you complete your research, keep these questions in mind, and build on them to create your strong, fact-filled, persuasive presentation.

Why did I chose this pet?
What does this pet need to live?
What does this animal eat?
How much will the pet cost?
Will this animal bother anyone with allergies?
How often does the animal need to be fed?
What temperature does the pet live comfortably?
Can the animal be held or played with?
Is the animal friendly with people?
Who will clean this pet?
How much space will the pet need?
What is this pet's lifespan?
Can the animal be relocated?
What will this pet do over weekends, breaks, and summer?
Does your visual show all important information for classmates?
What resources will I use to complete my research?
Are the resources credible?
Have you checked over the rubric to make sure all areas are complete? Is anything missing?
With the information found, is this still a good choice for a classroom pet?

Resources

Here are some resources to help get you started. These websites are just a beginning, please do not limit yourself to the ones I've provided.

PetEducation

This website is full of useful information about a large variety of pets. It gives facts about the animal, disease information that affect this type of pet, along with products that it may need. The website also has fantastic explanations of what a specific pets anatomy, behavior, grooming requirements, and behavior towards humans are. Valuable resource to include when researching pet care and information.

ASCPA
ASCPA for Kids!

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has put together a useful site containing all sorts of helpful information to care for a pet. Find helpful tips to choose a pet best for you and fun facts you might not learn else where. Both ASCPA and ASCPA for Kids have reliable information about animal care. Animaland (kid's site) has a list of animals A-Z of pets. Might be a great way to get started!

Simple Pet Care

This has got the basics! Simple pet care covers what you need to know. Included are information, care, health, disease, breeding, products for each animal! Click to find out the basics on a particular animal. Also, a great selection of pet names.

Small Animal Channel

Small animals is this websites specialty. Choose from ferrets, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters, guinea pigs, and the list goes on and on. Provides housing, diet, health, and interaction for pets. User friendly for children.

Paw Nation

A source of pet care, animal news, pet product reviews, and animal behavior videos! Includes information about dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, exotic and small pets. This also includes a blog about users who have or have had a specific type of pet and real people rating the pet. Ask a vet any question you may have is also an available feature that may be helpful in a question you are having trouble finding the answer to.

Evaluation

Visual aid will be assessed using the following rubric.

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content	Visual aid displays the name of pet, caring instructions, food needed, cost, interesting facts, and other information student feels relevant.	Visual aid displays the name of pet, caring instructions, food needed, cost, and interesting facts.	Visual aid displays the name of pet, caring instructions, food needed, and cost.	Visual aid displays the name of pet and very little other information.
Graphics	Graphics are all relevant to the visual aid. Contains 3 or more graphics.	Graphics are all relevant to the visual aid. Contains 2 or more graphics.	Graphics are mostly relevant to the visual aid. Contains 1 or more graphics.	Graphics are not relevant to the visual aid. Contains 1 or less graphics.
Attractiveness	The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.	The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.	The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.

While giving oral presentation, the following rubric will be used to assess.

Oral Presentation Rubric:

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed. Has completed visual aid.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals. Has completed visual aid.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking. Has an incomplete visual aid.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present. There is no visual aid.
Content	Shows a full understanding of the topic. Explains why he/she chose pet and gives all important information learned.	Shows a good understanding of the topic. Explains why he/she chose pet and gives some important information learned.	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic. Explains what pet he/she chose and few facts learned.	Does not seem to understand the topic very well. Explains what pet he/she chose.
Comprehension	Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates and uses created visual aid to guide presentation.	Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic and uses created visual aid to guide presentation.	Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic and sometimes uses created visual aid to guide presentation.	Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic and rarely uses created visual aid to guide presentation.
Speaks Clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most ( 94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.	Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.
Persuasion	Gives peers a statement why he/she found the best choice for classroom pet backed up all facts given.	Gives peers a statement why he/she found the best choice for classroom pet backed up with many reasons why.	Gives peers a statement why he/she found the best choice for classroom pet backed up with some reasons why.	Gives peers a statement why he/she found the best choice for classroom pet backed up with no reasons why.
Resources	Student explains the three resources he/she used to find information.	Student explains two resources he/she used to find information.	Student explains one resource he/she used to find information.	Student does not address resources.

Conclusion

What pet did we choose? Thank you for doing great research to select just the right pet for our classroom! You presented to the class, created a beautiful visual aid, and learned new animal facts. Now thanks to ALL of your hard work, we will be getting our new critter friend in the near future!

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuery, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuery. On the line after the original author's name, you may add "Modified by (your name) on (date)". If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.

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