Process

Teacher guidelines for the different steps.

Step 1: Choose an appropriate farm animal. The teacher should have the books available for the Bear Group. The teachers for the Bee and Ladybug groups should be available to help the children read about their animals on the websites.

Step 2: How many animals can fit in your barn. The teacher will need to help the children in the Bee and Bear group estimate the size of their animals, then based on this information figure out how many specific size animals can fit in a 10 x 10 stall. The Ladybug group may also need some mathmatical guidance.

Step 3: What do your animals eat? Will you be able to obtain this food to feed them? The teachers may have to direct the children (in the Bear and Bee groups) to the place on the web page that lists what the animals eat. For the Bear group she may need to read this outloud to the children. The Ladybug Group may have difficulty locating unspecified animals on the Enchanted Learning Website. The teacher may have to help them locate specific animals.
The teachers will have to help all three groups brainstorm ways in which to obtain (or grow?) the specific food to feed their animals.

Step 4: How you will exercise the animals? The teachers with the Bear and Bee groups will need to help the children think about the types of habitats that their animals live in, such as pig sties, chicken coops, pastures for grazing, etc. The children can then decide how much space each of these habitats requires. The Ladybug group may need assistance with the above activity. They may also need help deciding how many of these different habitats they could fit in a one acre lot.

Step 5: Decide how will you bath the animals? This step needs minimal assistance with the Bear and Bee groups. The Ladybug group may need help finding the name of their town (or one near it) in the scroll down menu on the website. A teacher may want to faciliate the discussion about the winter temperature in New England and how farm animals cope with these extreme temperatures. The teachers may want to reference either of these websites to read about how mammals regulate their body temperature: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/mammals/explore/habitat.shtml
http://animal.discovery.com/guides/mammals/body/overview_blood.html

Step 6: Draw a picture of an animal that you chose. Write a brief explanation of why you chose that animal. This step needs minimal assistance with all three groups. The teachers can suggest that the children use the drawing books if they are having difficulty. The teachers can encourage the students to do their best in writing their brief or long descriptions about their chosen animal.