Arctic Animals: Notes for Teachers and Parents

1. At a glance

   Grades

   Written for First Grade, early in the school year.

   Time

   Two sessions of about 30 minutes.

   You need

   A computer or Chromebook with internet, and a color printer if you want to print the slides.

   Students will

   Find and read about one topic, copy and paste a picture, resize and move it, and type their name.

2. Why this project works

   This is a gentle first research project. Students stay with one topic, and copying and pasting a picture is an easy, exciting first computer skill. Kids always want to print pictures, so a slide full of their favorite animal pictures is the perfect reward.

   Expect a wide range. Some students will be proud of one picture; others will fill the slide. Both are a success. Use the time to work with students on making pictures bigger or smaller and moving them around the slide.

3. Teaching tips

   • Show copy and paste once with the whole class, then let students try it right away.
   • On a Chromebook, a right-click is a two-finger tap or Alt plus a click. Ctrl+C copies and Ctrl+V pastes.
   • Teach students to drag a corner to resize, so the picture keeps its shape. Dragging a side stretches the animal, which they will think is very funny!
   • Pictures can stack on top of each other. Students can move them apart or overlap them like a collage.
   • Students who finish early can add a sentence about their animal, or a second slide.

4. Pictures from websites

   Copying pictures for a printed class project is a normal part of learning, but most website pictures belong to someone. This is a good moment for a first conversation about giving credit: the pictures came from National Geographic Kids, or another site, not from us.

   Keep these slides for printing and the classroom. Please do not post them online, since the pictures belong to their owners.

5. Opening and printing

   • Google Slides: students press Make a copy, so each one gets their own slide. With Google Classroom, you can attach the template and choose Make a copy for each student.
   • PowerPoint: students download the file and open it.
   • Print in color if you can. A slide full of polar bears and arctic foxes is a treasure to take home.

6. At home

   • Let your child choose any animal, not just an arctic one. The skills are the same.
   • Sit beside your child for the first copy and paste, then let them do the rest.
   • Watch the short arctic videos together and talk about how each animal stays warm.

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