An exciting environmental research based science project is taking place at Forest Knolls Elementary School. A group of highly able third grade students meet weekly to learn about and discuss ideas about the ways humans share the world with animals. The unit begins by challenging students to learn how Earth supports life and gradually they come to the conclusion that all life on Earth depends on one another for survival.

Since students are naturally interested in animals, we discuss what happens when an animal species becomes extinct and how this passing affects all of the other animals that are in some way connected to it as its predator or prey. This is a natural lead-in to the topic of an ecosystem as a community of plants and animals that share the same environment. As students begin to understand that we as humans, play a crucial part in the balance of the world's ecosystems, they begin to realize that they can make a positive contribution to caring for and protecting the world they share with animals.

• Outcome 2:
  Students will demonstrate their ability to read for information by examining, constructing, and extending meaning from articles, editorials, content texts, and other expository materials related to the content areas.
• Outcome 3:
  Students will demonstrate their ability to read to perform a task by examining, constructing, and extending meaning from investigations or other sets of directions.

• Students will demonstrate their acquisition and integration of major concepts and unifying themes from the life, physical, and earth/space sciences.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to interpret and explain information generated by their exploration of scientific phenomena.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to employ the language, instruments, methods, and materials of science for collecting, organizing, and communicating information. Assignment Media Literacy Curriculum
• Learn how to apply basic concepts including target audience, purpose, Band attention-getting techniques used to create media messages in posters

• Concepts of Print and Structural Features of Text
• Comprehension and Interpretation of Informational Text
• Organization and Focus
• Informational Writing
• Comprehension and Application of Standard English Language
• Conventions
• Comprehension and Analysis
• Organization and Delivery Strategies