Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 1
Huda Alnasir
Sabrina Ali
Charlene Rodegher
Fall 2011

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 2
Abstract
During the Fall 2011 semester, our group completed an action research project in a first grade classroom at Oakman Elementary in Dearborn Michigan. Our research question was:
“
What do first grade students know about classifying animals by their characteristics? “ The second part of our research project focused on: “What impact does our teaching have on student knowledge about classifying animals by their characteristics? The students completed a preassessment that required them to try to define what an animal is and then they completed a sorting activity based on flash cards of different animals.
The classroom we worked in had a high English Language Learner population in addition to other factors that required consideration. Based on the pre-assessment results, it was clear that students did not have a concrete understanding of what animals were and how to group them. We taught two lessons that addressed student misconceptions and lack of knowledge regarding animals. According to our post-assessment results, there was a 52% increase in the number of students who were able to mention physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, or amphibians in their definition of an animal. The number of students who were able to group animals according to their animal group increased from 3 students (13%) to 18 students (72%).

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 3
Introduction
The action research conducted by our group focused on the ability of first grade students to describe and classify animals by their physical characteristics. Our research question was composed of two parts: “What do first grade students know about classifying animals by their characteristics?” and, “What impact does our teaching have on student knowledge about classifying animals by their characteristics?” In order to completely answer this two-part question, we conducted two life science inquiry lessons addressing the topic of animal classification. We began by first delivering a pre-assessment in order to understand the number and nature of misconceptions that our students held about animals. Based on the results of this pre-assessment, we designed and taught our lessons in the format of a guided inquiry. While there are many important concepts in science, change and constancy are two recurring themes that create the basis for much of the topics and content studied in school. As students observe phenomenon and design experiments to test their hypotheses, they will create situations in which constancy and change will need to be observed, measured, and controlled. For this reason, we connected both ideas to the physical characteristics and classification of animals in order to introduce our first grade students to observing and describing change and constancy. Once our lessons were taught, we delivered the post-assessment to our students to compare the results against those from the pre-assessment. The format and content of the pre and post-assessments were the same so that we would be able to compare the data more accurately to measure the impact of our teaching as it relates to our research question. The impact of our teaching on student knowledge about classifying animals aimed to address and clarify misconceptions. In addition, many Grade Level Content Expectations from the Michigan Department of Education

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 4 build upon a solid understanding of change and constancy in future grades as students study heredity and learn about traits used for classification as they are passed from parents to offspring.
Our research extends on the available literature by implementing the 5E inquiry process and evaluating the effectiveness of our lessons on the misconceptions held by first grade students in Dearborn, Michigan. Exposing student misconceptions about animal classifications through pre-assessment, teaching the correct classifications through inquiry, and evaluating our teaching with a post-assessment will be add a demographic to this field of study that has not previously been researched.
In a study done in Slovakia, Kubiatkothey and Prokop (2007) gave questionnaires to 468 students from six elementary schools. The students’ ages ranged from 10-15 years and the study was conducted to identify and expose misconceptions about mammals in five categories: animal classification and phylogeny, food, foraging strategies, parental care, senses, and morphology and anatomy. This study revealed misconceptions about common animals that could be results of culturally transferred myths such as the belief that bats consume blood as food. The authors of this study conclude that “activities with animals through formal or informal learning have significant potential for improving pupils’ knowledge about animals” (Kubiatkothey & Prokop
200, p 98). Our project extends this study by completing our action research project in a first grade classroom in a different setting: the United States.
Another study (Kong et. al, 2009) cites the classification of animals through multimedia learning. The authors created a multimedia learning environment that included a variety of mediums, including videos, photographs, worksheets, and partner work. The focus of this study was the pedagogy used by teachers in the classrooms being studied, and how they utilized

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 5 multimedia to promote the teaching of animal classification. Students in this study used these resources to complete tasks related to animal classification, including the classification of aquatic, terrestrial, and avian species. This multimedia learning environment was created in five classrooms in elementary schools, with a total of 175 students between 11 and 12 years of age.
This study found that the resources provided through the multimedia environment and the pedagogical strategies used were effective in the task of animal classification. “The pedagogical strategies of integrated use of multimedia resources, teacher scaffolding, teacher provocative questions and the design of collaborative learning were particularly helpful for students to develop understanding of animal classification” (Kong et. al, 2009 p. 938). We built on this study by teaching through inquiry lessons rather than multimedia and focusing on animal classification and investigating what first graders knew about it, followed by the impact of our teaching.
A more local study conducted was done in Flat Rock, Michigan by 3 former University of Michigan-Dearborn students (Bottorff, Dayne, &Westfall, 2009). This action research project was done in a 7 th
grade classroom where the authors taught inquiry lessons about classifying animals as vertebrates or invertebrates. The first part of the pre-assessment included written questions about students’ experiences with animals and then the students were told to group animals they thought to be similar. This pre-assessment is similar to the one our group implemented, as they both included having students group pictures of animals in a way that makes sense to them. Our focus is on the students’ learning about classifying animals in subgroups such as mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. Since these researchers were working with an older age group, the focus was on classifying them as vertebrates and invertebrates. The preassessment conducted by these authors found that students had misconceptions about reptiles and

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 6 amphibians and did not understand what vertebrates and invertebrates were. After teaching two inquiry lessons, they found 78 % of the students were able to list the five classes of vertebrates correctly as well as list the invertebrates. They established that their lessons were effective in teaching the information. We will extend on their project by teaching animal classification to first graders in the Dearborn school district. Our content is similar in teaching animal classifications, but we are teaching the more basic subclasses.
In pre-school aged children, Tunnicliffe and Pizzuto (2008) conducted a study about what
Maltese children know about animals. In this study the authors wanted to learn what they knew about animals and what influencing factors in their knowledge about animals. The researchers asked questions and used photos about three different groups of animals: pets, farm animals and wild animals. They asked three questions as they showed the child the picture as a cue. The first question focused on the range of the child’s knowledge of the animal, the second introduced the groupings of animals, and the third question asked if the picture was of an animal. These questions exposed the students’ prior experiences with these animals, such as having one for a pet, seeing it at the zoo or on TV, or outside. This study demonstrated the influence that the child’s environment has on their knowledge of animals and that teachers need to take these prior experiences into consideration when teaching. “Teachers need to be aware of what ideas and encounters children entering school have experienced and hold before their formal education in biology and the environment begins.” (Tunnicliffe & Pizzuto 2008, p. 7). We extended on this study by establishing students’ misconceptions that are a result of their encounters during our pre-assessment with first grade American children.
Student misconceptions about mammals and living things vary based on the child’s prior experiences. It is important to be aware of these misconceptions before teaching a lesson so these

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 7 can be addressed and corrected. Professionals have addressed new research about student misconceptions on mammals. “Marine mammals such as whales are often believed to be fish.
Some students might believe that only large land mammals are animals” (Fries-Gaither 2009).
This article addresses some of the common misconceptions about how elementary children classify animals. We built on this research by asking questions to the first graders and targeting this specific grade through our pre-assessment.
The first part of our pre-assessment included an open-ended question where students wrote their own definition to answer the question, “what is an animal?” Since most of them are emergent writers, we also had them verbally deliver their answers while we wrote their responses down. To compare with post-assessment data, we used student numbers to compare progress.
The second part of our pre-assessment was an activity in which students cut out animal picture flash cards and sorted the pictures in a way that made sense to them. We then took digital images of each student’s response and compared their response to the post-assessment.

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 8
Methods and Procedure
The setting in which we conducted our research was a first grade classroom at Oakman
Elementary School in Dearborn, Michigan. We observed this classroom previously and were able to gather detailed information about the school and classroom. Oakman Elementary qualifies for Title I funding, as 93% of its students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches.
Our particular classroom contained 24 students, of which 14 were girls and 11 were boys.
Although the standard expected reading level for first grade students is level 16, most of the students in the class were reading at a level 4 or below. Additionally, several students had difficulty with letter-sound correlations in reading and writing, which was a factor to consider while conducting our research. There were minimal behavioral issues with this set of students, and only a handful or students that had special needs.
Our classroom layout consisted of an E-shaped arrangement of student desks. In addition, there was a carpeted area nearby for students to sit on the floor during morning calendar work and whole-group time. The classroom was equipped with a SMART Board in the front of the room, as well as a science kit that we made us of during our research and instruction.
Prior to our research in the classroom, the students’ previous science knowledge included parts of plants, identifying the differences between living and non-living things, and a beginning knowledge about the needs of living things. Based on observation of a science lesson, as well as discussion with the cooperating and student teachers, we were able to gather that students generally understood several science concepts about living things. Among these were: things are either living or non-living, living things require certain conditions to survive (water supply, light, air, and nutrition), plants are living things and have several parts (root, stem, leaves, flowers),

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 9 and a beginning knowledge of making scientific observations and recording data. In addition to these concepts, students had recently studied the life cycle of a butterfly, and had some knowledge of the cyclic change that occurs through the life cycle of an animal. At the time that our research was conducted, the class curriculum dictated studying the characteristics of animals and the needs of animals as living things.
To investigate our research question, “What do first grade students know about classifying animals by their characteristics?” we first delivered a pre-assessment in order to understand the number and nature of misconceptions that they held about animals. The preassessment was composed of two sections that allowed students to give objective responses based on their current knowledge. The first part of the assessment was a short-answer question that asked, “What is an animal?” The second part was a hands-on activity that gave students a number of flashcards with images of different types of animals on them, and asked students to sort the cards in any way that made sense to them. After gathering and analyzing the data from this assessment, we planned a lesson to give students experience in observing and describing animal characteristics in detail. The second lesson explored various ways in which the animals could be grouped based on their various characteristics. Both lessons were conducted in the form of guided inquiry using the 5 E science lesson format. After conducting our lessons, we delivered the post-assessment, which was identical to the reassessment both in form and content. We chose to conduct our assessments in this way so that we would be able to measure student progress effectively and accurately in order to answer the second part of our research question, “What effect does our teaching have on student knowledge about classifying animals based on their characteristics?”

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 10
Current research indicates that many elementary students have difficulty in classifying certain species as animals, such as insects, birds, and marine animals. In fact, some students have been documented as classifying an animal as anything besides a human, with the exception of species that do not fit their conception of what makes an animal (Thompson & logue, 2006). The first part of our pre-assessment, which involved giving an open-ended definition of an animal, addressed this misconception by allowing students to answer the question “what is an animal” and include what it may or may not be considered. The second part of the assessment, which consisted of sorting animal flashcards, allowed us to understand if students perceived animal classification as a very broad concept or as a very specific concept. The commonalities of the species in each group, paired with a brief student explanation, allowed us to understand why certain animals were in a particular group while others were not. We anticipated the results of these groupings to generally support the current available research on this topic, which states that many students believe that any marine animal can be classified as a fish (Fries-Gaither, 2009).

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 11
Results
Our pre-assessment results impacted the content, context, and methods of both our lessons. Our first question asked:
“What is an animal?”
The student responses, as illustrated above in the graph, show a variety of responses. Only four students mentioned physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, and reptiles. A majority of the students (76%) started listed the names of animals they know. A large number of this subgroup also mentioned that animals are living things before proceeding to list animals they knew.
The results of the first pre-assessment question clearly illustrated a need for us to develop lesson plans that familiarize students with differences in animals. An ideal definition would have been along the lines of, “Animals are living things. Animals can either be mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or fish.” Students should also be able to list the at least 3 of the main animal groups.
Our second pre-assessment question asked students to sort the animal pictures based on physical characteristics. The results of this activity show a lack of knowledge among the students of the animal groups since only 3 students were able to group the animals in the flash cards by their respective groups. A majority of students grouped the animals by color. This grouping implies that students are only looking at one characteristic of the animals which is color. The same two students who answered, “I don’t know” in the previous question also grouped the animals in a random way with no clear pattern or reasoning.
The results of this pre-assessment question clearly answer for us the first part of our research question:
“
What do first grade students know about classifying animals by their characteristics? “ The students are for the most part, only able to group animals by just one

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 12 characteristic, in this case, either number of legs or their skin color. Based on this result, it is clear we need to introduce students to the names and characteristics of the animal groups because students are not displaying a familiarity with animal groups.
We planned to build student prior knowledge by first teaching a lesson about how animals are different and then a separate lesson on animal groups. The content of the first lesson focused on animals being living things (they have prior knowledge, so we have something to build on) and the main idea of the lesson will be that animals are alike and different in special ways. We will discuss with students how animals are alike (they’re all living things so they all need….) and how animals different. When discussing how animals are different, we will focus on the number of legs animals have and their different body coverings.
Pedagogy:
In addition to planning for the content and the context of our lesson, we also needed to look at how we would be teaching the first lesson. The first graders are emerging readers and writers so it would have been very unwise to lean heavily on reading or writing for this lesson.
The pre-assessment results were:
Our second pre-assessment question asked students to sort the animal pictures based on physical characteristics. The results of this activity show a lack of knowledge among the students of the animal groups since only 3 students were able to group the animals in the flash cards by their respective groups. A majority of students grouped the animals by color. This grouping implies that students are only looking at one characteristic of the animals which is color. The same two students who answered, “I don’t know” in the previous question also grouped the animals in a random way with no clear pattern or reasoning

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 13
21%
8%
13%
58%
Students grouped animals by their group (mammals, reptiles, fish etc)
Students grouped them by color
Students grouped them by the number of legs they had
Lesson Outlines:
We taught two lessons in the first grade classroom to address student misconceptions and lack of knowledge towards animals and animal groups.
Our first lesson was taught to basically establish prior knowledge about animal differences and to set the foundation for our second lesson. The science content of the first lesson focused on animals being living things (they had prior knowledge, so we have something to build on) and the main idea of the lesson will be that animals are alike and different in special ways. We will discuss with students how animals are alike (they’re all living things so they all need….) and

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 14 how animals different. When discussing how animals are different, we focused on the number of legs animals have and their different body coverings.
The objectives of the first lesson were determined by the pre-assessment results to address areas of knowledge where students needed instruction:
 Students will be able to list the different ways animals can move.
 Students will be able to identify at least 3 ways in which animals are different (size, shape, habitats etc.)
 Students will be able to identify that all animals are living things.
 Students will be able to compare and contrast animals. ( Change and constancy )
The results of the second pre-assessment question where students needed to group animals based on physical appearance clearly answered for us the first part of our research question: “ What do first grade students know about classifying animals by their characteristics? “ The students are for the most part, only able to group animals by just one characteristic, in this case, either number of legs or their skin color. Based on this result, it was clear we need to introduce students to the names and characteristics of the animal groups because students are not displaying a familiarity with animal groups.
The science content of our second lesson was much more narrow and specific when compared to that of the first lesson we taught. The main idea we wanted students to walk away with from our second lesson was that: animals can be classified into six groups: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Insects are animals with 3 body parts and 6 legs and some have wings.
Mammals are warm-blooded and are covered in either hair or fur. Humans are examples of

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 15 mammals. Animals can be classified by their physical characteristics, where they live, or what they eat, amongst other ways.
The objectives of the second lesson were determined by the pre-assessment results to address areas of knowledge where students needed instruction:
 Students will be able to identify at least 3 of the animal groups.
 Students will be able to classify animals based on physical characteristics.
 Students will be able to list at least 2 characteristics of each of the animal groups they can identify.
After teaching both lessons, we had students complete the same activities they did for the postassessment. The results are as follows:
Post-Assessment Results
When asked to define what an animal is:
17 Students mentioned physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, reptiles. 68 %
5 Listed names of animals they knew 20%
3 did not provide a response other than "I don't know" (12%)

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 16
Listed names of
Students mentioned physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, reptiles…
Другой
12% animals they knew
20%
Did not provide a response other than "I don't know"
12%
When asked to group the animals based on physical characteristics (using flash cards)
18 Students grouped animals by their group (mammals, reptiles, fish etc.) 72%
2 Students grouped them by color 8%
4 Students grouped them by the number of legs they had 16%
1 Student grouped them in a random way and with no clear pattern 4 %

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 17
Students grouped animals by their group (mammals, reptiles, fish etc)
Students grouped them by color
Students grouped them by the number of legs they had
Student grouped them in a random way and with no clear pattern
4%
16%
8%
72%
According to our post-assessment results, there was a 52% increase in the number of students who were able to mention physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, or amphibians in their definition of an animal.
The number of students who were able to group animals according to their animal group increased from 3 students (13%) to 18 students (72 %). The post-assessment was the same format as the pre-assessment. It was given to the students after the two inquiry lessons were taught. The post-assessment showed that 17 students were now able to define what an animal is by describing the physical characteristics and grouping them by their appropriate classifications.
When asked to group animals, 18 students were now able to do this successfully. There was an increase in the number of students who could now answer our research questions correctly then during the pre-assessment.

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 18
Conclusion
In conclusion our action research project has provided us with student feedback of what they now understand about animal classification and what an animal is. Our first question asked:
“What is an animal?”
The student responses showed a variety of responses during the pre-assessment. Only four students mentioned physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, and reptiles. A majority of the students
(76%) listed the names of animals they knew. A large number of this subgroup also mentioned that animals are living things before proceeding to list animals they knew.
The results of the first pre-assessment question clearly illustrated a need for us to develop lesson plans that familiarized students with differences in animals. An ideal definition would have been along the lines of, “Animals are living things. Animals can either be mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or fish.” Students should also be able to list at least 3 of the main animal groups.
Our second pre-assessment question asked students to sort the animal pictures based on physical characteristics. The results of this activity showed a lack of knowledge among the students of the animal groups since only 3 students were able to group the animals in the flash cards by their respective groups. A majority (give exact number or exact percentage) of students grouped the animals by color. This grouping implied that students are only looking at one characteristic of the animals which is color. The same two students who answered, “I don’t know” in the previous question also grouped the animals in a random way with no clear pattern or reasoning.
Students were already aware that animals are living things and that animals have needs such as air, food, space, and shelter. These concepts have already been introduced to students in

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 19 other lessons. Students also appeared to be familiar with a variety of animals despite the classroom having a relatively large English language learner population. The pre-assessment results above also play a large role in helping us understand the context of our lessons. Students, in their responses to the first question did not realize that animals being different is important to their definition of animals.
The pre-assessment data helped us identify concepts the students needed to understand more clearly, this was the content we focused on for our lessons. Based on the pre-assessment results, students were not familiar with animals being different nor were they familiar with different animal groups.
We built on student prior knowledge by first teaching a lesson about how animals are different and then a separate lesson on animal groups. The content of the first lesson was on animals being living things and the main idea of the lesson was that animals are alike and different in special ways. We discussed with students how animals are alike (they’re all living things so they all need….) and how animals different. When discussing how animals are different, we focused on the number of legs animals had and their different body covering
In addition to planning for the content and the context of our lessons, we also needed to look at how we would be teaching the first lesson. The first graders are emerging readers and writers so it would have been unwise to lean heavily on reading or writing for this lesson. The students enjoyed sharing their ideas about science, so we had the students list animals they knew on the board. Students volunteered to share how the animal moves, where it lives, or the sound it makes. We then asked students to share what they noticed about the animals that were discussed.
The students noticed that the animals are different and what makes them different.

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 20
The post-assessment was the same format as the pre-assessment. It was given to the students after the two inquiry lessons were taught. The post-assessment showed that 17 students were now able to define what an animal is by describing the physical characteristics and grouping them by their appropriate classifications. When asked to group animals, 18 students were now able to do this successfully. There was an increase in the number of students who could now answer our research questions correctly then during the pre-assessment.
According to the data, there was a 52% increase in the number of students who were able to mention physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, or amphibians in their definition of an animal. The number of students who were able to group animals according to their animal group increased from 3 students (13%) to 18 students (72 %). However, as teachers, we also saw a surge in student confidence when discussing science. Previously, during the pre-assessment and when teaching science in this first grade classroom, many students were reluctant to share their ideas and observations about science. Throughout the course of this action research project, we as teachers have gained so much insight as to how to phrase questions during a lesson and what kind of feedback to give to students, even if their answer is not correct.
Reflection
Huda’s Reflection:
Our research question seemed simple enough:
“
What do first grade students know about classifying animals by their characteristics? “ The second part of our research project focused on:

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 21
“What impact does our teaching have on student knowledge about classifying animals by their characteristics? However, action research requires more steps and a more methodological approach towards teaching science. As a result, my growth as a science teacher was much more profound than anything I had anticipated.
The classroom we did our action research in was also the first grade classroom I was student teaching in. The classroom itself posed several challenges including a high ELL population, emerging readers and writers, and intense time constraints that made it difficult to even teach our two lessons. However, the classroom environment was also highly instructional for us as teachers. We were able to gain insight into how to utilize technology, prepare hands on inquiry activities for early childhood students, and to incorporate literacy into science.
In my other classes at the School of Education, it was not heavily emphasized to use assessment as a tool for driving instruction. The ability to identify a content area that must be taught and to identify correct pedagogical approaches to teaching it is a powerful tool. I know that in my future classroom, I will utilize some, if not all aspects of action research and PCK into my teaching of other subject areas.
I knew that two lessons would not be enough to have a 100% ability rate from the students in defining an animal and correctly grouping them. However, the pre-assessment results helped us identify the area most students struggled with. I knew that the students understood that animals were living things, however, many struggled with coming to terms with the fact animals, although they are all living things with the same needs (constancy), also had differences in shape, color, covering, and where they lived, amongst others.

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 22
When planning our lessons, we used our pre-assessment to guide the objectives of the lessons. I also had to be familiar with the applicable GLCE. I also needed to consider how much time we could allocate to the lessons each. According to our post-assessment results, there was a
52% increase in the number of students who were able to mention physical characteristics of animals that lend themselves to grouping animals as mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fish, or amphibians in their definition of an animal. The number of students who were able to group animals according to their animal group increased from 3 students (13%) to 18 students (72 %).
Thanks to the action research, my ability to teach science has grown tremendously. Our classroom starts a new unit on force and motion and I plan developing a pre-assessment and using it to direct my instruction and objectives. I truly believe that an effective teacher is not someone who teaches out of a textbook as much information as possible. An effective teacher is someone who plans, plans, and plans some more so that when they teach their lessons, the lessons are meaningful, engaging, and with a purpose.
Sabrina’s Reflection:
Throughout this action research project, I feel that I have grown as an educator and researcher. Prior to conducting this research, I had often felt that the impact of my teaching in

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 23 previous classroom settings was difficult to gauge and sometimes believed it to be ineffective.
Through this project, I’ve learned that my teaching, if planned properly, can have a positive impact on student learning. By delivering a pre- and post-assessment on the same topic, it was easy to see exactly how many and which students were able to expand their knowledge base as a result of our lessons.
Having worked with first graders during a previous semester’s psychology practicum, I knew that it would be a challenge to stay on track during lessons and assessments. While we were able to manage this fairly well, I did note that lesson planning should allot for transition periods as students gather their materials, set up groups, and move from one phase of a lesson to the next. For our first grade class, all of this took a significant amount of extra time that I personally hadn’t thought about in much detail. For my future teaching, this will be something that I keep in mind especially during transitions between subjects and other activities.
Additionally, I’ve learned the importance of documenting and tracking the growth of student knowledge through pre/post-assessments.
During our teaching, the school context influenced our planning in several ways. Since many of the students in our class were reading below grade level, we decided to allow for emphasis on comprehension by giving them opportunities to express their understanding verbally and through images. As we planned our first lesson, we noticed that a majority of our students had grouped the animals based on color, so we directed their attention to other features by developing a lesson plan that encouraged them to look at as many differences as possible. While planning for lessons, we also had to consider the number of students and the length of our assessments, and whether there would be enough time in one session to conduct assessments for

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 24 all students. To accommodate for this, we decided to split students into two groups and deliver the assessment in two parts.
Since our Capstone course has revolved around the big ideas of constancy and change, we made sure to include some component of this into our research. By looking at how animals were different and then grouping them according to differences/similarities, students were able to see features that remained constant among groups of animals and features that changed and made them different. For example, noticing the type of body covering that animals had (fur, feathers, scales, etc.) gave a constant feature that students could use to group animals into mammals, fish, or bird groups.
Overall, I have learned from this project that planning ahead can never be overstated or overemphasized as an educator. In my own classroom, I hope to use pre and post-assessments to find out what my students know about science topics and plan accordingly, rather than assuming that they do or don’t know certain things. As a teacher, knowing what your students know and how they learn is critical to delivering an effective education, and working with students to learn this information is something that I will implement in my future teaching experiences.
Charlene’s Reflection:

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 25
Implementing inquiry science lessons in a first grade classroom was a very beneficial experience. I was able to observe and analyze the effectiveness of the science lessons while implementing them. Writing inquiry lessons that were based on the students misconceptions of animal classification based on a pre-assessment gave me a starting point for the action research project. The post-assessment was informative for the effectiveness of the inquiry lessons on student learning and the effectiveness of my groups teaching instruction.
When writing the lessons, I found myself most concerned with how to implement effective lessons that could still meet the needs of the students who were developmentally delayed, ESL and had speech impairments. The ESL students I found that having teachers in the classroom who spoke the students native language very helpful in implementing the lessons. The developmentally delayed students were given flash cards and asked to provide a definition for an animal orally instead of attempting to write it. Our lessons were easily adaptable without appearing to be completely different lessons for the students who had special needs.
Reflecting on the misconceptions students had on animal classification, I found myself surprised that there were students who organized the animal flashcards in a random way. This showed me that when they looked at pictures of animals, they could not distinguish or identify any similar or different characteristics. I expected students to have been able to classify them at least on appearance of animals such as size, color or number of legs. I was very surprised to find that there were some children who were not able to classify these cards at all. This guided the inquiry lessons that we wrote to help focus students’ attention on these characteristics.
The post assessment provided us with feedback on how effective our inquiry lessons were in teaching the concept of animal classification. I was still very shocked that even after

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 26 addressing students’ misconception with two inquiry lessons that there was one student who still placed flash cards of animal characteristics in a random order. I understand that every lesson will not always reach every student, but I found myself disappointed regardless.
I was also impressed with how many students were now able to define an animal based on whether it was a mammal, bird or reptile. There were 15 students who now were able to classify animals based on their group who were not able to during our pre-assessment. I was however, disappointed that there was still one student who could not come up with a definition for what an animal was. I feel that our inquiry lessons were effective because a greater percentage of the class improved in their understanding of animal classification.
The impact this action research project will have on my teaching in the future is the establishing misconceptions and creating lessons to address them. I found this to be very an effective to teach subject matter because the students’ misconceptions are corrected for the most part. Before teaching a new unit or lesson, I intend to establish a pre-assessment on the subject matter before I implement lessons so I can then tweak them to meet the needs of the individual students. The post-assessment, which is usually a test, will provide me with feedback on how effective my lessons were so I can decide if I need to approach the lessons differently in the future.
References

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 27
Bottorff, T., Dayne, R., & Westfall, M. (2009). Action Research Final Project. .
1 . Retrieved October
21, 2011, from: http://www.umd.umich.edu/sep/students/mwestfal/mwestfal_arrep.pdf
Cardak, O. (2009). Science Students’ Misconceptions about Birds.
Scientific Research and Essay,
4 (12), 1518-1522. Retrieved Oct. 2011 from < http://academicjournals.org/sre >
Fries-Gaither, J. (2009). Common Misconceptions about Mammals. Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears.
Retrieved Oct. 2011 from < http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/polarmammals/common-misonceptions >
Kong, S.C., Ogata, H., Arnseth, H.C., Chan, C.K.K., Hirashima, T., Klett, F., Lee, J.H.M., Liu, C.C.,
Looi, C.K., Milrad, M., Mitrovic, A., Nakabayashi, K., Wong, S.L., & Yang, S.J.H.
(2009). Pedagogical Strategies in a Multimedia learning environment: Constructing understanding of Animal Classification. The Hong Kong Institute of Education , 1 (1). Retrieved
October 17, 2011, from http://www.icce2009.ied.edu.hk/pdf/C6/proceedings935-939.pdf
Kubiatko, M., & Prokop, P. (2007). Pupil's Misconceptions about Animals. Journal of Baltic Science
Education , 6 (1), 5-14.
Logue, S., & Thompson, F. (2006). An Exploration of Common Student Misconceptions in Science.
International Education Journal, 7 (4), 553-559. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/v7n4/Thompson/paper.pdf
MDE. (n.d.). First Grade Science GLCE. Michigan Department of Education . Retrieved
……….
December 1, 2011, from www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/1-
............
.Science_COMPLETE_12-11-07_218316_
Mintzes, J., & Trowbridge, J. (1985). Students' Alternative Conceptions of Animals and Animal
School Science and Mathematics , 85 (4), 304-316. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1985.tb09626.x/

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 28
Tunnicliffe, S., & Pizzuto, S. (2008). Animals in the lives of young Maltese Children. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education , 4 (3), 215-221.
Appendix One: Schedule of Events

Task
Preparing Preasseessment
Observation
Administering Preasseessment
Lesson Plan 1
Lesson Plan 2
Post- Assessment
Administration
Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 29
Person Delegated To: Date of Completion Status
Huda
Charlene
Sabrina
10/19/11 Completed and approved.
10-21-11 Completed Huda
Charlene
Sabrina
Huda
Charlene
Sabrina
11-10-11 Completed
11-28-11 Completed Huda
Charlene
Sabrina
Huda
Charlene
Sabrina
Huda
Charlene
Sabrina
12-2-11
12-5-11
Completed
Completed
Page 1:

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 30
Pre-Assessment or Post Assessment:
Date:

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 31
The 2 nd
part of our pre-assessment includes organizing flash cards of animals into groups.
Below are examples (not all) of the cards we gave to students to use:

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 32

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 33

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 34

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 35
Lesson One: Animals Are Living Things and Different
Preliminary Information
Grade Level: 1 st grade
Science Concept : The content of the first lesson will be on animals being living things (they have prior knowledge, so we have something to build on) and the main idea of the lesson will be that animals are alike and different in special ways. We will discuss with students how animals are alike (they’re all living things so they all need….) and how animals different. When discussing how animals are different, we will focus on the number of legs animals have and their different body coverings.
GLCE
L.HE.01.11 Identify characteristics (for example: body coverings, beak shape, number of legs, body parts) that are passed on from parents to young.
S.IP.01.11 Make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses.
S.IA.01.14 Develop strategies for information gathering (ask an expert, use a book, make observations, conduct simple investigations, and watch a video).
L.OL.E.1 Life Requirements- Organisms have basic needs. Animals and plants need air, water, and food. Plants also require light. Plants and animals use food as a source of energy and as a source of building material for growth and repair.
Objectives:
 Students will be able to list the different ways animals can move.
 Students will be able to identify at least 3 ways in which animals are different (size, shape, habitats etc.)
 Students will be able to identify that all animals are living things.
 Students will be able to compare and contrast animals. ( Change and constancy )
Materials:

Chart paper

Macmillan / McGraw Hill Science Grade 1 , Grade 1 ... Unit B: Life Science (pages B6 to
B10)

Construction paper
 glue
 scissors

Toy flash cards (found in science kit).
Safety Concerns: Monitor students with scissors.
Engage/Lesson Intro
1.
The teacher will ask students to list all the animals they can in 3 minutes.
2.
The teacher will write the animal names on the board.
3.
Students will then work with a partner to talk about what we know about some of the

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 36 animals on the board. (Size, where they live color etc.).
4.
The teacher will tell students that today they will work on the following question: “How can we use the physical appearances of animals to learn how they are different from each other?”
Explore:
1.
The teacher will assign students to work in pairs.
2.
Each student will be assigned one animal flash card and they will need to write 5 things they can teach the class about their animal based off the flash card picture.
Explain:
1. The students will then both present their animals.
2. The teacher will ask the class, “What do you notice about their animals? Are they exactly the same? What makes them different?”
3. The class will discuss how animals are all living things but they look different.
4. The class will develop a list of, “Ways animals are different” and begin to focus on the physical characteristics of animals.
5. The students will read (guided reading) with the teacher pages B6 to B10 which focuses on animals being living things with differences. So the students will see that animals are all and will always be living things (constancy) but they grow and change (change).
6. The students will “check for understanding” with a partner and be able to re-tell important parts from a selection in the text using their own words.
Extend:
Students will compare and contrast two animals in a Venn diagram with their fourth grade reading buddies.
Performance Assessment:
1.
The students will create an animal book that will have 6 different animals (one from each group but they will not be assessed on identifying the groups yet. However, this will build background knowledge for the next lesson about animal groups) with an animal on each page and a sentence or two to describe it. (Teacher led activity but students have input in the animals we put in the books and the words we use.)
2.
Students will need to write 3 ways the animals are different from each other on each page for each animal.
Closure: Students will share their animal books with the kindergarten classroom.
References:
MDE. (n.d.). First Grade Science GLCE. Michigan Department of Education . Retrieved
December 1, 2011, from www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/1-
Science_COMPLETE_12-11-07_21831

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 37
Huda Alnasir Charlene Sabrina Ali
12-1-11
Lesson Two: Sorting and Classifying Animals into Groups
Preliminary Information
Grade Level: 1 st grade
Science Concept : Animals can be classified into six groups: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Insects are animals with 3 body parts and 6 legs, some have wings.
Mammals are warm blooded and are covered in either hair or fur. Humans are examples of mammals. Animals can be classified by their physical characteristics, where they live, or what they eat, amongst other ways.
GLCE
L.HE.01.11 Identify characteristics (for example: body coverings, beak shape, number of legs, body parts) that are passed on from parents to young.
S.IP.01.11 Make purposeful observation of the natural world using the appropriate senses.
S.IA.01.14 Develop strategies for information gathering (ask an expert, use a book, make observations, conduct simple investigations, and watch a video).
L.OL.E.1 Life Requirements- Organisms have basic needs. Animals and plants need air, water, and food. Plants also require light. Plants and animals use food as a source of energy and as a source of building material for growth and repair.
Objectives:
 Students will be able to identify at least 3 of the animal groups.
 Students will be able to classify animals based on physical characteristics.
 Students will be able to list at least 2 characteristics of each of the animal groups they can identify.
Materials:

Chart paper

Macmillan / McGraw Hill Science Grade 1 , Grade 1 ... Unit B: Life Science (pages B6 to
B10)

Construction paper

Toy animals (found in science kits)
Safety Concerns: None for this lesson.
Engage/Lesson Intro
 The teacher will ask students to list the ways we learned animals can be different from each other. This list will go on the board. (Prior knowledge from first lesson).
 The teacher will tell students that today we will work on grouping animals.

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 38
Explore:
5.
Teacher will tell students that scientists use classifying or grouping to put things to groups based on things they share.
6.
Students will work in groups to classify animals into four groups based on some characteristics such as: legs, wings, or feathers. Our explorable question is: “How can animals be grouped based on how they look?”
Explain:
3.
1. Each group will share their groupings. Students will be able to comment on each other’s groupings and whether or not they agree.
4.
The teacher and students will read pages B16 to B20 in the Life Sciences text book together.
5.
The students will discuss the readings with a partner. I am curious – what do you expect the students to say/do during this discussion?
Extend:
Students will complete the sorting activity one more time but this time must make at least 4 groups of animals instead of two.
Performance Assessment:
3.
The students have already created an animal book that will have 6 different animals. The students must label each animal in their book now as either: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
4.
Students will complete the post -assessment activity and answer the question, “What is an animal?” by including at least 3 animal groups in their definition.
Closure: Students will share their animal books with the kindergarten classroom.
References:
MDE. (n.d.). First Grade Science GLCE. Michigan Department of Education . Retrieved
December 1, 2011, from www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/1-
..........
.Science_COMPLETE_12-11-07_21831

Alnasir, Ali, Rodegher 39