One of the most intimidating things to do in kindergarten is writing and research. Research involves a great deal of reading, comprehension, and vocabulary. And then you have to be able to translate that into writing. People, that is a daunting task for kindergartners and all early childhood classrooms Daunting, but not impossible. (I mean we did it and I still have all of my hair...so it's totally something we can do!)
In our classroom, we do research projects. When we have a unit that calls for research, we use Mr. Greg's research projects!
We use read alouds and videos for our research. We use thinking maps to record our research and learning. And then we use the thinking maps to complete our research journal. And finally, we use all of those resources to write!
Research and writing made easy!
So, we just wrapped up our zoo animal research project. And can I just tell you that my 'staches were so excited and engaged every single day of this project. We had a blast learning about the different animals! The kids were so excited every day when we announced the animal we would be research that day! I'm all about anything that gets the kids excited (especially at the end of the school year!)
So, here's what our zoo animal research looks like in action:
We use a read aloud for our research and then we make a tree map for the animal we're studying. And yes, I use the same color marker that matches the animal. I'm that person. And it's OK!
Next, the kids write in their research journals.
We label the parts of the animal. Again with the colors!
And finally, we do an art project for the animal. We need beautiful art to display along with all of our new learning!
Labeling the parts of a lion!
Lion art project!
We wrap up our zoo research by choosing an animal and writing a book about our animal!
