Kindergarteners Do Research

Our research projects focused on how animals adapt and change throughout each season led us to study how and why animals either Hibernate, Migrate or Adapt to winter weather conditions.  We studied why different parts of the earth have winter and summer at different times, reading about the axis of the earth and how it tilts away from and toward the sun as it rotates around it over the course of one year.  In the natural cycle of life, all animals and people change their behavior to meet their basic needs for survival in all four seasons.  The seasons and life cycles are a natural and predictable pattern in nature.  

To narrow our focus, we concentrated on three main needs all animals have: Food and Water, Building a Shelter and a Means To Take Care of Their Babies.  No matter what the season, all animals have these three needs and how they meet their needs is affected by seasonal weather changes.  Changes in the seasons affect changes over their life cycle.  We began this school year studying the life cycle of butterflies, the life cycle of a maple tree, and defining what happens to ourselves as humans in each season.  This research project incorporated all these “BIG IDEAS” in the natural order of our earth.

Our research led us to learn how to locate sources of scientific information in non-fiction books, internet websites, and interviews with experts.  We listened to and read sources and learned to cite them as proof of what we learned.  We worked with partners to illustrate three different animals over the course of four seasons; one for each main winter behavior of migration, hibernation and adaptation. We used the app SeeSaw to create our personal blog portfolios to show what we learned with a combination of pictures and audio recordings.  The following photos show our journey and understanding about animal hibernation, migration and adaptation.