The Curriculum Through ICT Program
Ideas Bank

Zoo Animal Report Quest
Years 3 - 7Years 7 - 10

THE TASK

Students conducted research about a zoo animal of their choosing, paying particular attention to features of that class of animals and adaptations of the individual species. They summarised their findings in reports presented as eBooks ("electronic books"), for subsequent use as a learning resource by Early Childhood students.

Students used both traditional and ICT methods to complete the task. Research was conducted using print resources and the Internet. Paper-based information organisers were used to select relevant information and concept mapping software helped students organise this information. The final products were story-boarded on paper, reviewed and edited. Finally, presentation software was used to create the products which were trialled with an Early Childhood group and further improved. The students worked in partnerships to encourage peer tutoring, on-task discussion and independence. The completed eBooks were made available on the Intranet for use by Early Childhood students in a subsequent task.

ICT ENRICHMENT

  • Links to web-based resources, task planning sheets and information organisers was provided over an Intranet page. This enabled fast, reliable access to resources from any networked computer.
  • Digital photos taken by the students on an excursion to Perth Zoo were included in the eBooks. These were complemented with photos copied from the websites. Permission to use the photos was requested and students were required to acknowledge the sources.
  • Concept mapping software was used as an information organiser. Students then exported their concept map into presentation software as an outline for their eBook report.

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

ASSESSMENT

  • Information organisers and other draft documents were assessed by the teacher in conference with students.
  • Students were involved in the development of criteria for assessing the e-Books using school criteria for level 2 and 3 writing. Students set goals for the learning task and aimed to achieve them.
  • eBooks individual assessment by teacher and student based on negotiated criteria, self reflection based on task and self and partner reflections on team work and collaboration.

LEARNING AREA OUTCOMES

English
Reading
Writing

Science
Life and Living

Technology and Enterprise
Information

Based on a learning program developed by Sharne Elsbury.
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