Home School Research: Mallard Duck
In our home school we are continuing to make our lapbook for Make Way for Ducklings, and we have worked on researching Mallard Ducks this week.
We reread the book and discovered that there is a lot of true information about ducks in it, so we decided to do some research on Mallard ducks. One day we listened to songs of the mallard duck online. We looked at photos online as well, and we watched a slide show of ducklings hatching. It was really fun to see the hatching. The kids wanted to listen to the songs over and over, too!
The next time we sat down for some school work, we read a brief article about Mallard ducks and filled out a report form while I read it. We wanted to confirm information on the internet as well, so we used a “Google” search. You could try Wikipedia, too.
On another day we used many resources from Homeschool Share including the From Egg to Animal life cycle wheel and the duck parts printout. The life cycle wheel requires a third page for the back so that you can put it in the lapbook and also for ease of spinning the wheel. I cut out the piece ahead of time so that we would focus more on the life cycle rather than the act of cutting. I had the children put the four events in order and glue them in the book.
Since the children had already noticed the differences in the male and female ducks in the illustrations in Make Way for Ducklings, we colored the duck parts print out as a scientific drawing for the research and discussed the differences. I had to do a bit of directing on this lesson in order to ensure that the parts were colored correctly. Interestingly, the little one even points out the “mommy” and the “daddy” ducks when we are reading now. The children also dictated how they determine if a Mallard is a female or a male.
We also discussed what migration is and used a map to find the migration patterns of the Mallard Duck. The children dictated information about migration to include in the book. They drew a picture of a duck on the cover of the migration book. I described drawing a duck as a big circle with a smaller circle next to it and a triangle on the little circle. I think it came out nicely!
Are you going to try researching Mallard ducks this week?
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I’ve tagged you!
I was tagged for this meme by Autism Family Adventures. The rules are stated below:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.
My six quirks:
1. My first quirk is that it’s hard for me to recognize many quirks because I have learned to be as flexible as a contortionist. Living with twins with autism teaches you to go with the flow. Anything I really have to have a certain way goes right out the window. I’ve had to think really hard about this because I’m really just not fussy or picky or have to have things a certain way. It would make me crazy if I did! So I guess one of my quirks is that I’m laid back about my environment almost to a fault. But it didn’t come naturally!
2. I have to have a fan running at night while I sleep. This is one thing I can still control about my life. So it’s hard when I go on motorcycle trips and have to sleep somewhere without a fan.
3. I carry huge purses because it has to contain all the twins’ meds. I just don’t know how to travel light, so I usually have a backpack purse with me. And it also has to contain lotion for my hands. I can’t stand for my hands to be dry — ever. Okay, so I slipped another quirk in there. I guess I do have some. Yippee! I’m normal! I was beginning to wonder.
4. I now check my twitter account before my e-mail account. And I do it in a certain way. First, I look for all the links people have posted. Only after I’ve perused all of the links, do I really read what people have written.
5. I love marshmallows. There, I said it. Now the whole world knows. I don’t know why, but I love the darned things. Pure sugar and instant gratification. They are the ultimate comfort food.
6. I hate to shop in stores and do most of my shopping online. I just really don’t like to fight crowds at all and find no great enjoyment in it. Oh, and I know you’re only supposed to have six, but I just though of another one. I hate to talk on the phone. So my cell bill is really cheap — my husband’s is much, much more expensive! And I won’t even begin to hold a candle to my teen’s. Whew.
There, now you know a lot more useless information about me.
Next I need to tag six people to follow suit and post about their quirks.
Homeschool Coach
John Voelz
Colleen Coble
Diann Hunt
Terra Garden
Cara Putman