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Ocean Animals of Maine

School: East End Community School

City/State: Portland, ME

Grade(s): K

Format(s): Field guide: Natural science

Subject(s): English Language Arts, Science and Technology

Project Overview

This field guide was created by kindergarten students at the East End Community School in Portland, Maine as part of a learning expedition on ocean animals.

Students studied different ocean animals by observing live organisms and through text-based research. They were able to visit the bay, which is just a few blocks from their school.

Each student drew and wrote about an animal. Students put a lot of care into their drawing and writing, going through several rounds of drafting and critiquing which is evidenced through the high quality of illustrations and writing. Students also show a command of scientific vocabulary such as plankton, tide pool and algae.

How This Project Can Be Useful

  • Highlights very high quality, accurate illustrations by kindergarten students whose fine motor skills are just beginning to develop. See the Shrimp and Sand Dollar illustrations on pages 3 and 10.
  • Shows well-defined, multi-sentence writing by young students. See the Starfish entry, page 5 and the Lobster entry, page 8.
  • An example of young children creating a basic but useful field guide to a local ecosystem.
  • Presenting two illustrations for each animal involves more students in displaying individual work while working while working with a small group of animal species.

Common Core State Standards

Standard Long Term Learning Target
RI.K.7
  • With support, I can make connections between the pictures and words in an informational text.
RI.K.10
  • I can actively participate in group reading activities.
W.K.2
  • I can teach my reader about a topic using pictures and words.
W.K.7
  • I can participate in shared writing projects.
K.CC.7
  • I can compare two numbers between 1 and 10 when they are written as numerals.
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