Penguins

Past & Present

 

Dr. Steve Emslie

Principal Investigator

UNCW Department of Biology and Marine Biology

Welcome to the Fourth Grade Page!

To access the instructional materials click on the link below. A window will appear and it will ask you to open or save the file. Save the file to your computer. The files have been zipped together into a folder to make the information easier to access. Extract the files from the zipped folder and enjoy!

Fourth Grade Curriculum

If you have trouble downloading a zipped file, use this back-up plan. Below, the second grade unit plan is linked as "Fourth Grade Unit Plan." It has a total of seven lessons. They are going to be listed and summarized below. To access the unit plan, click on the link titled "Fourth Grade Unit Plan." After clicking on the unit plan link, you will now have all the lessons, but you will need additional materials. There will also be links for the additional instructional materials that are needed for each lesson. Enjoy!

Fourth Grade Unit Plan

Lesson One - Penguin Web-quest

Summary: In the first lesson of the unit, students will be introduced to the penguins that are being studied in Antarctica by the researchers. They will use the Internet to search for answers to penguin questions that will be in their My Penguin Book.  The book will serve as a place for the students to complete assignments designed for this unit. Click on the following link to access the web-quest: Penguin Webquest.

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide

Lesson Two - Comparing and Contrasting Penguins

Summary: In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the three brush-tail penguins: Adélie, Chinstrap, and Gentoo. After the students have completed a guided activity, they will work in groups to compare and contrast one brush-tail penguin with two other penguins of their choice.

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide, Penguin Cards, How Have Penguins Adapted to Their Environment

Lesson Three - Penguins and Flying Birds

Summary: In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the penguins with flying birds.  After the students have completed a guided activity, they will work in groups to compare and contrast penguins with other birds.

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide,

Lesson Four - Weather and Climate Effect on Penguins

Summary: In the fifth lesson of the unit, students will continue to learn facts about penguins, while also learning about how weather and climate change such as global warming is affecting the habitats of penguins. At the end of the lesson, students will use their My Penguin Book for documenting their observations of a science experiment. Also, they will be writing up different ways to help prevent global warming, as well as, how global warming affects the penguins they are studying. 

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide, CNET video: Polar Penguins Feel Freeze

Lesson Five - Food Webs

Summary: This lesson introduces students to all the animals of Antarctica and to the Antarctic food chain. Students will draw pictures of a variety of animals and attach the pictures to a wall collage (be sure to set aside some space on one of the classroom walls). They will then listen to or read statements about each animal's diet and draw arrows to show which animals eat which. Students will end up with a food web.

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide, Food Web Website

Lesson Six - Oil Spills in the Antarctic

Summary: In the sixth lesson of the unit, students will continue to learn facts about penguins, while also learning about how humans affect the habitats of penguins through oil spills. At the end of the lesson, students will work in their My Penguin Book by documenting their observations of a science experiment. Also, they will be writing up different ways to help prevent oil spills, as well as, how oil spills effects the penguins they are studying. 

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide, Oil Spills video

Lesson Seven - Mr. Popper's Penguins

Summary: The purpose of this portion of the unit is to read the novel Mr. Popper’s Penguins, analyze the characters in the book, and compare and contrast information in the novel to facts learned about penguins previously in the unit. The following serves as a guide through the novel, and can be utilized as a whole class assignment, small group assignment, or as an individual assignment.

Materials: My Penguin Book (one for each student), My Penguin Book teacher guide, Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater (One book for class, or class set)