Project Overview

6^th grade students from the McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham, Massachusetts created this children’s book about beavers, and the impact of humans on this animal, as part of a Learning expedition on ecosystems. Because of recent restrictions on trapping laws in Massachusetts, beaver populations had blossomed in the state, causing continual land management problems for towns and cities, making beavers a hot political topic.

In researching beavers, students worked with local experts, including a biologist and water scientist, and were involved in field research at numerous sites.

During the summer prior to this Learning expedition, the teacher was involved in a Fund for Teachers research project, through Expeditionary Learning Schools, during which she went to Isle Royale in Michigan. She was part of a scientific investigation of moose populations, studying the extent to which wolves were praying on moose. Back at school, she incorporated what she learned and helped students apply it to their investigation into the population dynamics of beavers.

Students worked with a children’s book author in the creation of this book. The book follows a unique format: each page has an illustration in the center accompanied on the top of each page with an ongoing narrative telling the fictional story of a beaver in Massachusetts – written in a traditional children’s book style (with beavers talking as people do). On the bottom of each page is explanatory text with nonfiction information that corresponds to the picture and storyline.

At the end of the book is an illustrated acknowledgement page, with descriptions and cartoon drawings of the experts who helped to guide the project.