PROCESS:
Activity 1: Talk with your partner. Together, list all the things you already know about penguins. List the things you want to know or wonder about penguins. Then start your adventure learning about penguins. Use the chart created for KWL.

Activity 2: Find photos of your penguin on the Internet. Create a likeness of the penguin in its habitat, using paper and crayons and paint.

Activity 3: Research penguins at Penguins, a web site for children. There is information about types of penguins. You can learn about the penguins' food. Penguin chicks feed in an interesting way. You can also learn about penguins' enemies. One of the enemies is the leopard seal. Add information about your penguin in a chart. The chart will look like this: name of penguin/ location/ height/ weight/ characteristics/ diet/ # of eggs laid/# of chicks raised/ interesting facts/ partners' names.


Activity 4: With your partner, write an informational page about penguins. Include five facts about your penguin. Find a picture of your penguin on the web and print a copy to add to your informational page.

Activity 5: Work with your partner to find one interesting fact about Antarctica. Did you realize that even in cold Antarctica penguins sometimes need to cool off?

Activity 6: Make a life size drawing of your penguin and add it to the penguin colony on the bulletin board. You might chose to stuff it with newspaper when it is on the board. Partners will work together to make their penguin.

Activity 7: Write a poem or story about a penguin or a group of penguins. You might want to include something about penguins diving into the ocean, swimming, or jumping out onto the ice. Maybe you will include a description of the icy cold. Illustrate your poem using crayon resist.

Activity 8: If you were to keep a penguin as a pet, what would you have to provide to keep it healthy? Why do you think it is illegal to keep a penguins as a pet?

TASK:
In order to be ready to present your findings at the conference, you will need to learn about the penguin's appearance, its behavior, its food, and its enemies. You will work with a classmate. For some parts of this unit, you and your partner will work with a fifth grade helper. As part of your study, you and your partner will work together to find penguin pictures and discover what is special about your penguin, learn about the penguin's food chain, learn vocabulary used to describe penguin behavior, draw a life-size picture of your penguin and much more.

You will be assigned one of the following penguins to research:

King Penguin
Adélie Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Emperor Penguin
Chinstrap Penguin
Macaroni Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Little Blue Penguin