First Grade Researchers at Work

Our nonfiction reading project this spring in first grade is "Animals Featured in Fairy Tales." In preparation for this project the students have been reading different versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. The animals featured in these tales are the bear, wolf and the pig.

The American Black Bear is the specific bear that students are researching. This is the most common bear in North America and is the kind of bear featured in Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The first step is for students to share facts that they think they know about this kind of bear and their information is recorded on a chart.

Students then gain knowledge through listening to a teacher read a book aloud about this kind of bear, watching videos about the bear and reading and highlighting information in articles. Information learned through one of these methods is checked to see if it correlates or changes what the students thought they knew at the beginning of the project and new information is added to the chart.

Students have many opportunities to share their knowledge and questions with a partner and then with the whole group. Some facts lend themselves to demonstrating in a kinesthetic manner such as first graders demonstrating the length and weight of a bear.

As students write facts that interest them about the bear, they practice writing the knowledge by changing and using some of their own words. After recording their information, students will number their facts in an order that makes sense and ultimately publish a book about these animals with illustrations that match the facts. These books will be shared at our "Author's Celebration" at the end of the school year with first grade families.

The following are links to two of the videos about the American Black Bear shown to our first grade researchers.
Black Bear Learns the Ropes North America Discovery
Black Bear Mother and Two Cubs Prepare for Hibernation