Introduction
Rabbits, Gerbils, Frogs, Turtles and Fish OH MY!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a pet rabbit ?
Or a gerbil, frog, turtle or fish tank?
Having a pet is a big responsibility.
Maybe you already have a pet at home.
All pets require a lot of care.
They usually need a special pet house to live in, food, water, and many other things.
Can you think of anything else you might need to know before getting a new pet?
Well you are about to find out!!!
Our class will soon be adopting a new class pet!
And you get to help with the decision !
Task
Task
Congratulations! Your team has been selected to help our class choose a new
classroom pet! Your team gets to investigate five possible pets and choose
the one you feel is best for our whole class.
Each team member will have ONE of the following important jobs to complete:
1) Animal Expert: You will research interesting facts about the
animals.
2) Habitat Helper: You will research what the best type of home is for
each animal and what supplies are needed.
3) Budget Keeper: You will research the cost of buying each animal and
its home.
4) Pet Caregiver: You will research what type of daily and weekly
care each animal will need.
After doing your research you will work closely with your team members to
decide which animal is the best choice for the whole class. You then get to
create an interesting presentation to persuade your classmates to choose
that pet! Good luck and have fun!
Process
Process
Now it's time to get started! First, meet as a group to decide who will
perform each job. Are you the Animal Expert, Habitat Helper, Budget Keeper,
or Pet Caregiver? Now follow the steps below to complete your mission.
STEP #1 - RESEARCH
Each member of the team must research all five pets to collect information
meeting their specific job description. Record all of your research onto your record
sheet.
STEP #2 - DISCUSS YOUR FINDINGS
After all team members have collected their information about all five
animals, meet as a group. Each member should take a few minutes to explain
what they discovered about each animal and give their recommendation for the
new class pet. After all group members have shared their information, the
team must work together to decide which animal would be BEST for the class
pet. Make sure you can back up your team decision with reasons.
REMEMBER: You are looking at the animals from the view of YOUR
job, but the group must come to an agreement.
Which animal is best OVERALL?
STEP #3 - CREATE A PRESENTATION
Now that your group has selected the best class pet, you must create a
presentation to persuade the class to choose this pet. Working together
your group should create ONE of the following:
Design a Digital Poster
Television Commercial
Design a Brochure
Create and Sing a Song
Other - Ask the teacher if you have a different idea.
No matter which way you present your pet to the class, it must include the
following:
1) Name and illustration of the animal (detailed drawing or photo)
2) AT LEAST three interesting facts about the animal, its home, how
to care for it, or how much it costs.
3) AT LEAST three good reasons why this is the best pet for the class.
4) Anything else your group feels is important.
REMEMBER: You are trying to persuade the class that this is the best
pet, so be creative and give good information.
Your presentation is important so that the class
can make a good decision. PERSUADE!
STEP #4 - PRESENTATION TIME!
Now it's time to give your presentation to the class! Each group will have
five to ten minutes to give their presentation. Please make sure you bring
all materials you might need on the day of the presentations. After all
presentations are complete, the whole class will decide together which pet
is best for the class.
Animal Expert
GOAL:
Decide which of the five animals - rabbit, turtle, gerbil, fish tank, or frog - is
the most interesting pet. Keep in mind as you research that this should be
a pet that the whole class can enjoy and learn from.
MISSION PROCEDURES:
1. RESEARCH: Use the Internet as well as classroom books
to find AT LEAST three interesting facts about each animal. Here are
three questions you may use to get started:
What does this animal look like?
What makes this animal different from the other 3 animals?
What could the class learn from this animal?
2. RECORD: Record your findings in the correct box of your record sheet.
Use descriptive words to explain information about each animal.
3. THINK: Think about which animal you think would be the BEST for the
class based on your job. To help you decide, answer the following
questions to yourself:
Which animal do you think the class could learn the most from?
Which animal do you think the class would enjoy taking care of?
4. WRITE: Complete the sentence at the bottom of your record sheet to tell
your group which animal YOU believe is best for the class pet based on
your job.
REMEMBER: You are going to use this information to persuade your group
members and classmates that this is the MOST interesting pet, so choose
facts that make each animal special.
Habitat Helper
GOAL:
Your goal is to explain what type of home each animal will need and decide
which home would be the EASIEST to put together and clean. This is
very important so that we can prepare a happy home for our new pet!
MISSION PROCEDURES:
1. RESEARCH - Use the Internet as well as classroom books to
identify what type of home each pet will need. Try to answer as many of
the questions below for each animal as possible:
What type of home does this animal need? (aquarium? wire cage?)
How big or small should its home be?
What things should go inside the animal home? (water? bed?
pine chips?)
2. WRITE - On the Record Sheet record your findings for each animal in the
correct box.
3. THINK - Think about which of these animal homes would be the best for
the classroom. Here are some questions to think about:
Which home will be easiest to keep in the classroom?
Which home will be the easiest to put together?
Which home will be the easiest to clean?
4. WRITE - Based on your research and thoughts, complete the sentence at
the bottom of the Record Sheet stating which animal you feel would be
the best class pet.
REMEMBER: You are going to use the information you find to persuade your
group members and class that this pet home is the easiest to care for so
work carefully.
Budget Keeper
GOAL:
Your goal is to decide which animal would best fit into the class budget.
In other words, which animal and its home will cost the LEAST amount of
money?
MISSION PROCEDURES:
1. RESEARCH - Using the Internet links and the following information
determine the cost of each pet and its home.
ANIMAL COSTS:
Cost of TURTLE: $30.00
Cost of RABBIT: $30.00
Cost of GERBIL: $10.00
Cost of 8 FISH: $14.00
Cost of 2 FROGS :$22.00
ANIMAL HOMES :
The TURTLE needs a 20 gallon aquarium.
The GERBIL needs a small animal cage or 10 gallon aquarium.
The RABBIT needs a wire cage.
The 8 FISH need a 10 gallon aquarium.
The 2 FROGS need a 10 gallon aquarium.
2. WRITE - On your the Record Sheet, write the cost of each animal (use the
costs above) and the cost of its home in the correct box.
3. ADD - Use a calculator to ADD the cost of each animal to the cost of its
home. Write the total in the correct box. Repeat for each animal. Now
ask another member of your group to check your answers.
4. DECIDE - Look at the total cost of each animal plus its home. Which one
will cost the class the LEAST amount of money? Using a highlighter,
HIGHLIGHT this cost and the name of this animal.
5. WRITE - Complete the sentence at the bottom of the Record Sheet to
explain which animal is best for the class based on the LOWEST price.
Pet Caregiver
GOAL:
Your goal is to identify what care each animal will need on a daily and/or
weekly basis, such as feeding, watering, cleaning. You must then decide
which animal would make the best pet based ONLY on these needs.
MISSION PROCEDURES:
1. RESEARCH - Using the Internet and classroom books,
determine what daily and/or weekly care each animal will need. Answer
as many of the following questions as possible:
How often does this animal need to be fed?
How often does this animal need fresh water?
How often does this animal need its home cleaned?
What other needs does this animal have? How often?
2. WRITE - On your Record Sheet, record your findings of how to care for
each animal in the correct box. Include AT LEAST three facts for each
animal.
3. THINK - Think about which of these animals you believe the class would
most want to care for. Answer the following questions to yourself:
Which animal requires the most amount of work to care for it?
Which animal requires the least amount of work to care for it?
How long would the class want to spend caring for their pet?
4. WRITE - Complete the sentence at the bottom of your Record Sheet,
explaining what animal you feel would be best for the class based on
YOUR job only.
Evaluation
Record Sheet
|
Job Title: |
Name: |
|
Rabbit: |
Turtle: |
|
Frog: |
Fish: |
|
Gerbil: |
Our Class Pet Should Be: |
Group Rubric
|