Endangered Animals in Infographics and Artwork

Our Endangered Animals Unit Study has been working much like the horse breed research homework that the children's horseback riding instructor gives them. Once a week or so, I asked the children to each research an endangered or extinct animal, fill out a form about that animal (found in this The Loneliest Animal Teacher's Guide), and then create either an infographic, using Piktochart, or an artwork about that animal.

Along with that, we'll often search Youtube together for videos that show the animal, leading to, in one notable instance, Will describing the Hector's dolphin as the "Total. Cutest.Dolphin. EVER!!!" Tangentially, I won't let the kids browse Youtube alone, but it's one of my favorite things for us to do together--I love how everyone's interests spontaneously flow, whether we're searching for only the My Little Pony musical numbers, or watching the astronauts in the International Space Station, or speculating about the monetary worth of that kid who does all the toy reviews.

Here's an example of an infographic that Will has done. I'm actually pleased to see the mistakes that she's made--misspellings, irrelevant text and images--because they represent concrete skills that she can work on. It's always good to have a plan!

Here's an artwork that she created about a different animal--the luminous lizard, perhaps?

Syd's not as into this unit, but it's an excellent one for Will, as it's got her happily creating both written and graphic content, two things that she's often reluctant to do.

Now if I could just find the magic formula to get her to do fractions without pitching a fit, I'd be all set...

Here are some of the other resources that we've been enjoying during this Endangered Animals Unit: