Grade 3

Animal Research Using Discovery Ed

Digital Citizen
Kids with black screen tablet

Overview

Students create a informational board on Discovery Education Board Builder. Discovery Education is a website that offers a plethora of information on any given topic. With the use of Builder Tools/Board Builder students create a dynamic research presentation on their given animal.

Note:

  • Discovery Ed is a fee based site. Licensing is available to districts. 
  • This activity will take at least several 50-minute sessions to complete. 
     

Students will:

  • Be able to log onto Discovery Education.
  • Be able to connect to Board Builder.
  • Be able to create a presentation on an animal
  • Be able to research, create and present a multimedia presentation.
  • Be able to share their presentation with others. 

Vocabulary Words:

  1. Url: A URL is a uniform resource locator, web address.

  2. Username: A username is a name that uniquely identifies someone on a computer system.

  3. Password: A password is a secret word, phrase, or group of numbers that a person must know to be allowed to enter a place or use a computer system.

  4. Builder Tools: Builder Tools in Discovery Ed are a variety of media, including pre-made and self-created resources. 

  5. Board Builder: Board Builder in Discovery is a tool that allows you to create multimedia posters and projects. 

  6. Links: Links are ways to navigate between pages on the Internet. 

To prepare for this lesson:

Directions for this activity:

  1. The student locates the website.

  2. Student logs in with username and password.

  3. The student locates Board Builder.

  4. Student researches for information to add to the board.

  5. The student adds content to the board.

  6. Student shares board content.

Note: Students can watch the video tutorial for Board Builder. 

Different options for assessing the students:

  • Observations
  • Check for understanding
  • Teacher created rubrics for specific student goals. 

MITECS: Michigan adopted the "ISTE Standards for Students" called MITECS (Michigan Integrated Technology Competencies for Students) in 2018.

Knowledge Constructor
3a. Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
3c. Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
3d. Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

Device: PC, Chromebook, Mac, iPad 

Browser: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, ALL

App, Extension, or Add-on:
Google Chrome

Websites:
Board Builder Video Tutorial

Discovery Ed

Discovery Ed Video Tutorial

CONTENT AREA RESOURCES

Students will learn research and report writing.

Students create an ecosystem with an animal.

Students will create boards on animals and organisms, ecosystems.

Students create boards on historical events. 

Credits
This task card was created by Julie Hoehing, Lake Shore Public Schools, January 2018.