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Wildlife Wonders: Animals of Africa

In this one-time science class, students will learn about the geography of Africa as well as the biology, ecology, and zoology of different animals from the vertebral animal classes: mammal, bird, reptile, fish, and amphibian.
Shields Scholars by Cassondra Shields
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(238)
Class

What's included

1 live meeting
45 mins in-class hours
Homework
NA
Assessment
NA

Class Experience

US Grade 1 - 4
In this one-time class, learners will go on an animal expedition to the African continent to learn about one animal from each vertebral animal class. The list of animals in this lesson is comprised of five vertebrates: mammal, bird, reptile, fish, and amphibian.

These are some of the most interesting animals that are/were either endemic to or living abundantly in Africa.

Lesson Structure:

Mammal - African Elephant
Bird - Ostrich
Reptile - Parson’s Chameleon
Fish - African Lungfish
Amphibian - Hairy Frog


Learners will gain an understanding about the characteristics of each animal class, their habitat, diet, conservation status, and specific traits of each animal.

This will be one of seven "Wildlife Wonder" one-time classes that focus on animals from the seven continents of the world: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.

Learners do not need any prior knowledge to enroll in this class. 

The lesson content will be presented through Zoom's share screen as well as NearPod. NearPod is an interactive resource for your learner to make classes more fun and hands-on. 

If you are new to using NearPod, please see the "Materials" section below for specifics on what this is and how to use it.


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POLICIES

REFUNDS:
All Ongoing classes have a standard refund policy: "Cancel subscription at any point, no refund for past subscriptions. Payments can be refunded within 24 hours of purchase."

Refunds will not be issued for any case of a student no-show in which the student misses class. Our schedule holds a dedicated spot for your child each week. In the event that your child misses class, your payment is a reservation of that time that cannot otherwise be utilized by, scheduled for, or transferred to another student. Additionally; no refunds or makeup classes will be issued for class time lost due to students/parents being unprepared for class. Please read the full class description before enrolling to ensure you can be fully prepared come class start time. Upon enrollment, please be sure to turn on email notifications for messages and classroom post updates sent by your learner's teacher.

TRANSFERS:
Transfer requests will be accepted if the request is sent no less than 24 hours prior to the class start time and only for ongoing courses. If you have something come up and cannot make your section time, please send me a transfer request as soon as possible for another time during that same week. In the event of a one-time transfer and you would like your child moved back to their original section day/time, you need to send another transfer request or your child will stay in the current section. 

There will be no transfers for student no shows under any circumstances.

ABSENCES & STUDENT NO-SHOWS:
A student no-show is defined as a student absence with no prior arrangements made with the teacher.
There will be no refunds or transfers for student no-shows under any circumstances. 

In cases of no-shows for private classes or classes that happen to only have one learner, it is Outschool's policy that the class is automatically cancelled if no student shows up after 10 minutes have elapsed and you forfeit your payment for that class. If you have a private class, ALWAYS reach out before class starts if there is a reason you cannot make it.

Absentees are entitled to the class recorded as well as a student-paced NearPod lesson that parents can navigate with their student while watching the recording. Student-paced lessons are usually not put out publicly, so please message your teacher for access!

MAKEUP CLASSES:
Makeup classes are not offered at this time for group classes. Please message your teacher if you require a makeup time for a private class. We will reschedule a maximum of 3 times. All makeup requests need to be scheduled within 24 hours of the original class cancelation and cancelations need to be communicated no less than 24 hours before the originally scheduled lesson. 

OUTSCHOOL POLICIES:
Only the enrolled student is admitted into the classroom and allowed to be on screen and participating in the class. Students may share a screen if and only if they are both enrolled into the class and in that same section. Friends, cousins, parents, siblings, etc. are not permitted to be on screen at all.

When entering your Zoom meeting, please make sure that your screen name matches your learner's name on the roster OR the enrolling parent's name on their profile. Any other names will not be admitted into the classroom due to safety and privacy concerns. If we as teachers cannot verify who is entering, it is against Outschool's policy to admit them.

Every student must turn on their video for teachers to verify that there is, in fact, a child in the classroom due to privacy and safety concerns. If you prefer your child not be on camera, you need to contact Outschool prior to the class to be "verified" beforehand. Refusing to turn on your camera for teachers to verify a child will result in removal from the Zoom meeting immediately.

Only one Zoom account will be admitted into the classroom per student. All Zoom meetings are recorded. Parents and/or guardians are not authorized to watch the class from a second device, but all class recordings are available in the classroom page for your viewing after the class has concluded. Some recordings may be deleted if something inappropriate happens during the lesson i.e. nudity or offensive behavior.

Thank you for your understanding!
Learning Goals
Learners will gain an understanding about the characteristics of each animal class, their habitat, diet, and conservation status. They will also learn about specific traits of each animal and some interesting and fun facts.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
Since we are talking about wild animals, there will be talk about each animal's diet and habits. Our lesson includes many carnivores, study of defense mechanisms, and overall character traits which can be construed as violent. Nature can be unforgiving.
Supply List
NEARPOD:

NearPod is an interactive, online resource that we use for class. NearPod includes games relevant to the lesson to keep learners engaged the entire time since there is something for them to be focusing on and physically doing every few minutes. This can include little quizzes, matching, drag & drop, drawing, 3D, virtual reality, etc.

NearPod is necessary for your learner to participate in addition to Zoom.

If available, two devices is ideal for these classes. Most of my students like to have Zoom up on one device and NearPod on a touch device such as a tablet, iPad, or smartphone to make clicking on answers easy for little fingers.
However, two separate devices is NOT necessary to participate if not available!

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PLEASE FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS

Check our classroom posts!
Within the hour prior to the class start time, there will be a classroom post with the NearPod hyperlink AND 5 digit code to our specific lesson.
The hyperlink will take you straight to the lesson via your browser.
If using a tablet/iPad/smartphone, download the NearPod application and enter the 5 digit code .
Enter your learner's name on the top line
Leave the second line blank
Click "Join Lesson"

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DEMO LESSON FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

Practice logging in to the demo lesson below to get an idea of how to use and setup NearPod:

Link: https://app.nearpod.com/?pin=IYDQ5
Code: IYDQ5

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EXPECTATIONS

**Your learner will likely need your help the first few times they use NearPod because of this age group. 
Please stay close during class in case they need assistance.

**Each class will have a different link and code available in a new post prior to each lesson.

You can also message us at any time with questions! We are happy to answer. :)
 1 file available upon enrollment
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
  • Nearpod
Joined November, 2020
4.9
238reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Cassondra Shields (Ms. Cassie):

Cassondra has been an ESL (English as a second language) teacher for four years to the age groups 3-15. She graduated from the Honor's Program at The University of Nevada, Reno with a research thesis on adolescent conduct disorder attributes and how those attributes were statistically represented in adult incarceration and recidivism rates based on longitudinal study results. In order to conduct this type of research, Cassondra studied behavior, neurology, and psychology of children for several years as well as additional English and writing courses to write about this type of research. She has brought her expertise on child development and learning behaviors to Outschool as the curriculum developer for Shields Scholars. Cassondra is also a homeschool mom to her own children.

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Heather Boone (Ms. Heather):

Heather has been an Elementary Teacher for the past 10+ years. She has taught in First, Second, and Third Grade, giving her background knowledge in a variety of different levels and skill sets. Heather has also been an online ESL (English as a second language) teacher for five years to the age groups 4-15. She graduated from the Honors Program at Bloomsburg University with a degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She then continued her education by obtaining a Master's Degree in Special Education. Heather's expertise in the elementary classroom, coupled with her online teaching has her excited to teach on Outschool via Shield's Scholars. 

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Kate Morales (Ms. Kate):
 
Kate has been in the field of education for the past 12 years. She has spent 5 years as instructional support to grades K-5, 8 years of teaching (mostly in preschool, 1 year in 2nd grade) and has privately tutored for 3 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education, a Master’s in Early Childhood Education and is completing her EdS in Early Childhood Education currently. She is a huge advocate for playful learning and loves to make learning engaging and fun! She is looking forward to bringing her knowledge and skills to Outschool via Shield’s Scholars.

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Rheagan Bloomquist (Ms. Rheagan):

Rheagan earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She has a passion for helping people, and she believes every child can succeed when given the chance. She has experience working with elementary school children in her local independent school district. She also has prior experience teaching special needs kids. What Rheagan wants most is to make education exciting rather than scary; her goal is to help all children feel welcome, safe, and smart. She is excited to create a nurturing and fun learning environment for all children with Shield’s Scholars. 

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Savannah Kaufman (Ms. Savannah):

Savannah earned her bachelor’s degree in counseling from Arlington Baptist College. While earning her bachelor’s degree, she worked with preschool students (aged 2-4). Since graduation, she has worked in education for 10 years. She began her career as a fifth grade teacher for two years. She then moved into middle and high school classes as a history, speech performance, and ASL teacher. Her speech performance students won multiple state titles. She also worked as the guidance counselor for high school seniors. She has spent the past five years as a middle and high school English teacher and the past three years as the principal of a small private school. Her approach to learning is fun and lively. She wants all students to feel welcome and excited to learn while in her classroom. She is excited to bring this fun and creative energy to the Shield’s Scholars students. 

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Reviews

Live One-Time Class
Share

$15

per class
Meets once
45 min

Completed by 1 learner
Live video meetings
Ages: 6-10
3-6 learners per class

This class is no longer offered
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