Sharing The Planet - Habitat Inquiry Project

This week, we completed our fifth IB Unit Of Inquiry - "Sharing The Planet".  The central idea of this unit was, "Living things survive only in environments that meet their needs."  

We completed our unit with a focus on five of Earth's major habitats - desert, polar, rainforest, ocean, and grassland.  

• In small groups, the students worked cooperatively to create paper murals to represent a habitat of their choice.  Together, they created the background (landforms, plants, scenery, etc.) of each environment.
• The students generated wonder questions about their chosen habitats.  Each child selected one of these wonder questions and wrote it on a cloud shape.  This was added to their habitat mural.
• Each student selected an animal from their chosen habitat that they would like to learn more about.  Individually, the students researched these animals to find out the basics, interesting facts, and (hopefully) the answers to their wonder questions.  
• The students took their research and compiled it into an animal reports as a way of presenting the information.
• Each child chose one fact from their research and wrote it in a speech bubble to accompany their animal on the mural.

Just in case you can't get up to school to see them in person, the habitat murals are pictured below:

The Rainforest Habitat by Quinn, Marie, Paul, & Adrian
Poison Dart Frog by Quinn
Capuchin Monkey by Marie
Jaguar by Paul
Gorilla by Adrian

The Desert Habitat by Connor, Farrah, Cami, and Camron
Meerkat by Connor
Fennec Fox by Farrah
Roadrunner by Cami
Rattlesnake by Camron

The Polar Habitat by Abhi, Evelyn, Dominic, and Hanna
Narwahl by Abhi
Penguin by Evelyn
Polar Bear by Dominic
Snow Leopard by Hanna

The Grassland Habitat by Asher, Venkat, and Sammy
Ostrich by Asher
Tiger by Venkat
Wildebeest by Sammy

The Ocean Habitat by Jack, Charlotte, Antonio, and Elaf
Seahorse by Jack
Whale by Charlotte
Shark by Antonio
Dolphin by Elaf