Introduction
Animals United - How do they 'speak'?
Have you ever wondered if animals have their own language? Do they communicate with one another? Do other animals know when they are mad, sad, or annoyed? Have you ever wondered if animals notice and 'speak' about climate change, hot temperatures and dried-up rivers? Oh yes, they do!
We can proudly announce, that your class has been invited to join and contribute to this year's Animals' United Conference on Climate Change (AUCCC).
This Webquest will take you on a journey to investigate the power of communication in the animal world. For this assignment, you are going to host one animal that you choose and translate it's messages for the others. However, will you understand the different techniques (barking, dancing, singing, chattering, grooming...) which the animal uses in order to communicate? Will you be able to explain the meaning of the sounds or signs? Are you ready to help and contribute to this important event? Are you ready? Lets begin!
After having completed this webquest, you should...
- be able to search the internet for useful and helpful resources yourself, filter the information and gather the necessary information
- know basic facts about your choosen animal
- be able to report in detail about the species, the reasons and the development of the communication of this animal
- be able to write a coherent text with at least 15 sentences
- be able to use the 1st person singular pronouns correctly
- be able to use the simple present and the present continuous correctly
- have explored the tool Blabberize independently and made your own Blabber
Task
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You will choose one of the following animals: bee, dog, whale, chimpanzee, or ape. Before you can attend the conference, you must collect all the details about the chosen animal.
There are many factors you will have to consider. How does your animal 'say' something? Why does it communicate after all? At what time of the day/during the year does the animal communicate?
You're job is to inform the rest of the class of the communication techniques and all important details about your chosen animal. You can even let your animal do the talking by using blabberize, which is a cool tool you will get to know.
Let's get started!
Process
STEP 1 - Choosing
- You may CHOOSE ONLY ONE of the following animals to study : bees, dogs, whales, chimpanzees, or apes.
- You must choose a personal name for your animal.
STEP 2 - Researching
- There is a data sheet provided for collection the data you collect. Open the file "Animal United Webquest" and copy and paste the information on a new Google Doc. (*Teacher Page)
- The questions below will help you research your animal.
- Basic information:
- What does your animal look like?
- What does your animal eat?
- Where does your animal live?
- What are some interesting facts about your animal?
- Communication:
- What are the ways your animal communicates?
- What causes your animal to communicate? Hunger, anger, mating,...?
- How does communication help your animal to survive and thrive?
- How do the living conditions influence the techniques of communication?
- Basic information:
STEP 3 - Reviewing your notes
- Do you have your data table completely filled out?
- Do you have enough information to write a short text about your animal?
- Are you ready to move on?
STEP 4 - Writing a script
- Summarize the recording data you collected in a short text about your animal. You need to write in full sentences (at least 15 sentences) and introduce the animal with the most important information you found. Don't forget to focus on the communication techniques, because the communication is vital for the success of the conference.
- Use the 1st person singular pronouns forms to speak about your animal (Example: My name is Jim and I'm a big, blue whale...)
- Use the simple present forms and the present continuous forms to talk about your animal (Example: First I get up, then I have breakfast (simple present) or I am eating right now (present continuous).
STEP 5 - Blabberize
- Make a Blabber! Blabberize turns any image into a talking image. You can complete this image with your recorded text. First, watch this tutorial with helpful advices on how to use the blabberize tool. Second, click here to access the blabberize site and make your own blabber! Follow the instructions of the tutorial and prepare a short, informative and funny introduction to your chosen animal. Be aware of the following requirements and suggestions for your animation:
- show an image of your animal
- include all the important information on your animal
- include sounds (optional)
- be ready to present your Blabber in front of the class, because we all need to learn about the different animals attending the conference and their specific ways of communication.
STEP 6 - Just for fun
- Click here to watch the "Animals United" song as a warm-up for the conference.
- Try to prepare yourself for the encounter with lots of different animals and discover their sounds in this quiz.
Evaluation
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Criteria |
3 | 2 | 1 |
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I followed the directions
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It is clear that I accessed all of the given information for Webquest and completed the questions. | I accessed most of the given information for the Webquest. | It was unclear as to if I followed instructions given for Webquest. |
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My findings show information about my animal
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Perfect research done on the animal with a wide range of information gathered | Good effort of research on the animal with a good amount of information gathered | Sound effort of research on the animals with a small amount of information gathered |
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I have presented my findings in an interesting way
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Creative and unique presentation of information gathered which is very engaging. | Creative presentation of information gathered which can engage viewers. | Little creativity in research task presentation. |
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I have not made any mistakes
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All information is correct and precise | Most information is correct and precise | Many mistakes have been made in this task |
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I have used a variety of sources
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5 or more websites have been used in this task | 3-5 websites have been used in this task | 0-3 websites have been used in this task |
Conclusion
Congratulations! Thanks for your efforts. You have done an excellent job in finding out lots of information about your animal and you will definitely be able to contribute to the success of this year's Animals United Conference on Climate Change!
If you have found interest in this topic of communication amongst animals there are many more articles, videos and films that you can read, watch and learn more about.
Great work!
Teacher Page
* To view this file, you must sign up with a Google account and the author of this file must share it with each individual account.
- In this case, the teacher would have to set up a Google account, which could be used by all students.
- The teacher (which is the author of the file) would then share the file with this set up account so that the students could see and fill in the file.
If you do not have access to the file, this is an overview of its content:
Animals United - Webquest
Animal:
Picture:
Basic facts:
Size:
Natural habitat:
Diet:
Possible or common health issues:
Forms of communication:
Parts of the body involved in communication:
Sounds:
Reasons for communication:
List of websites where information was found: