Our first graders have begun a research project in preparation for their field trip to the zoo! After I confirmed with the zoo's curator that all the critters on my list were still on view, each student selected an animal to learn about. Then I modeled for them how to take notes by looking for the "treasure" - or useful information - in each source. In keeping with the theme, they imagined that they were pirates digging for gold. (If you have a first grader, ask to hear an "Arrrrrg!" They were very good at it!) They will be using a variety of resources to find information including books, EnchantedLearning.com, and World Book Kids Online.
Some of our fourth graders were able to visit the library to assist the younger students with reading the material and to help them identify the useful information. I emphasized that they were there to support and guide the first graders and to be careful not to end up doing the work for them! The older students took their roles very seriously and, having just finished their own lighthouse research projects, did an outstanding job assisting with the tasks at hand. I was amazed by how much the teams got done and look forward to continuing the project this week! 
