Z

Zoo in the Room
  During my first grade student teaching placement, we created a zoo of animals and plant life in the classroom.  Because student's life science focused on animal and plant life cycles and habitats, my master teacher and I made sure to have hands-on activities and realia that would connect the content to the student's lives.  We hatched chickens, watched a caterpillar grow into a butterfly (then released the butterflies), and lastly, grew a variety of plants.  The students loved having a zoo in the classroom and journaled about each of the animals and plants growth on a weekly basis.

Here is a picture of us releasing our monarch butterflies that we watched grow!