Math— “Wild Animals Around Us” Standard:

28.) Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots. [6-SP4]

Objective: When given a statistical question about wild animals, students will collect data and construct a histogram accordingly.

Activity: The teacher will lead a discussion about common wild animals in

the community. Then the teacher will present a question to students. She will

ask them how many different types of wild animals they have seen around their home and in their community.

The students will use that question as a basis to collect data from their classmates. They will record their data on a step-by-step guide to help them along in the process of creating a histogram. The guide includes the following steps for the students to complete:

i. Ask the main question. Collect and record data from classmates.

ii. Decide on intervals based on the data to organize findings. Record intervals and data on the frequency table.

iii. Use the information from the frequency table to create a histogram. Create a title and label the x- and y- axis.

iv. The histograms should be neat and colored accordingly. After the histogram is created students will write a 2-3 sentence

conclusion about the data. The conclusion should directly reflect the histogram.

Choose 1-2 histograms to present to the class. Discuss the data and findings, as well as different students’ conclusions.

Science— “What Do You Say About Deforestation?”

Standard:2.) Describe factors that cause changes to Earth's surface over time.

Examples: earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion, glacial erosion or scouring, deposition, water flow, tornadoes, hurricanes, farming and conservation, mining and reclamation, deforestation and reforestation, waste disposal, global climate changes, greenhouse gases

Objective: When given information about the Amazon Rainforest, students will compose sayings to discourage deforestation and illustrate their sayings according to a checklist.

Activity: The teacher will lead students in a discussion about how Mother

Paula’s Pancake House was planning to destroy land and the owls’ habitat to build their restaurant. She will relate this to the deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.

She will project the Kids Discover website (http://www.kidsdiscover.com/spotlight/the-amazon-for-kids/#) about the Amazon Rainforest. She will discuss the information from the webpage as it relates to the different habitats being destroyed. She will show all of the pictures of the animals that live there and discuss how this is a major problem.

She will ask students how they feel about land and habitats being destroyed by humans as it relates to Hoot and the Amazon Rainforest. Students will respond with 1-2 paragraphs in their journal.

The teacher will then give directions for the main activity. Students will work in partner groups to create a saying that discourages deforestation. Once they have thought of a saying, they will illustrate that saying on a large piece of paper. They will incorporate the saying into the illustration as they wish.

When finished, the groups will present their sayings and illustrations to the class. The sayings will be posted in the hallway outside of the classroom so everyone can see them.

Art—“Pausing for Nature” Standard: 1.) Create works of art utilizing a variety of traditional and nontraditional

media and techniques. Applying steps artists use in the production of art, including

conceptualizing ideas and forms, refining ideas and forms, and

reflecting on and evaluating both the process of production and the product

Creating original works of art using observational skillso Examples: drawing a shoe; painting a still life; creating a

landscape in mixed-media; creating timed, gesture studies of a figure

Objective: When given the opportunity to go outdoors, students will observe, draw, and reflect on the nature around them according to a checklist.

Activity: The teacher will lead a discussion about the importance of

noticing nature. She will emphasize that every living creature and plant has a home in nature.

The class will go outdoors to observe the nature around their school. They will take a clipboard with a blank sheet of white paper and colored pencils.

They will sit and observe the living things around them. Then they will take time to draw their observations on their paper. They will color their drawing with the appropriate and accurate colors.

Once everyone is back in the classroom, the students will write a paragraph reflection on the back of their drawings.

The reflection should include what they observed, their reason for drawing what they did, and how they would feel if that part of nature was to be destroyed.

Music— “Nature’s Song”

Standard: 7.) Describe the characteristics used by the composer in a selected musical example to create a mood or effect.

Example: Edvard Grieg's use of changes in tempo, dynamics, and instrumentation to create excitement in In the Hall of the Mountain King

Objective: While listening to “Pastoral” from Beethoven’s sixth symphony, students will describe the characteristics used to create an effect of being in nature according to a checklist.

Activity: The teacher will begin by explaining how nature has inspired

music. She will talk about some examples, such as “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi and “Four Sea Interlude” by Benjamin Britten. She will play short excerpts and explain how nature has inspired the sounds in their music to reflect things such as birds, or waves.

The teacher will then have students take out their journals and a pencil. She will play “Pastoral” from Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony and students will take notes about the sounds they hear from the music and how they reflect nature.

After listening and taking notes about the music, students will use their notes to write a good paragraph describing how Beethoven used different instruments and sounds to create an effect of being in nature.

After everyone has written, the teacher will allow a few students to share their writings and thoughts.

Social Studies/Geography— “Owl, Owl, Read All About It”

Standard:9.) Critique major social and cultural changes in the United States since World War II.

Identifying the impact of media, including newspapers, AM and FM radio, television, twenty-four hour sports and news programming, talk radio, and Internet social networking, on United States' culture since World War II

Objective: When given a writing prompt for a newspaper article, students will report and discuss their findings according to a rubric.

Activity: The teacher will lead the class in a discussion about how the

newspaper articles and television news in Hoot made a big difference in the fight against Mother Paula’s Pancake House to save the owls. Students will turn and talk about what might have been different if the newspaper or television news didn’t play a

role in the story. Then some of the students will share their thoughts for the whole class.

The teacher will give the students a situation from the book and they will have to pretend to be a journalist for the local newspaper and write an article.

The students will write an article as if they were present at the ground breaking ceremony for Mother Paula’s Pancake House. They will report the protest that they witnessed and how it was handled. Since they are just a reporter and didn’t know about the situation, they will infer the truth about the owls and corruption of the Mother Paula Corporation based on the facts they know from the groundbreaking ceremony.

They will write two good paragraphs—one about the events at the groundbreaking ceremony and the next one will be their inference of the truth about the owls based on the facts they witnessed at the event. They will also title their article to get the audience’s attention.

Technology— “BOB (Burrowing Owl Brochure)”

Standard:5.) Use basic features of word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation software.

Examples: word processing—reports, letters, brochures

Objective: When given a word processing tool, students will design a brochure about burrowing owls and why they should be saved according to a rubric.

Activity: The teacher will give the students 5-10 minutes to write in their

journal about why the burrowing owls should be saved from Mother Paula’s Pancake House construction. This journal entry will be the basis for the students’ formation of a brochure about burrowing owls.

The teacher will discuss facts about burrowing owls and also give a handout with more information. The handout will show

burrowing owl facts and a graph about the number of owls in Florida.

Using these facts, students will use a word processing program to create a brochure. The brochure should include a wide range of facts about the owls (in students’ own words), at least one picture of a burrowing owl, and a section on why they should be saved from construction.

After the brochures are completed, students will gather into groups of 3-4 and share their brochures. They will discuss their different reasoning for saving the owls.