With the animal kingdom as big as it is, even the most knowledgeable biologists, zoologists, and fanatics are always learning more about the creatures we share our planet with. In this ongoing class, we will dive into the life of one animal every week and create a fact sheet for that animal.

What makes this class different than other classes of mine is that students will get to decide which animal we discuss the following week!

The general overview of the class will be as follows:
1) Introductions – an important part of all classes to build community!
2) Brainstorming and Discussions – what do we already know about this animal? Students can bring the information they found through their research during the week to share with the class and add to the instructor's information
3) Other Resources - If there are any videos to show, articles to read etc. we will go through them
4) Designing Our Fact Sheet - this will be done throughout
5) Next Week Selection*

*The last 5 minutes of the class, I will open up a wheel spinner and take everyone’s suggestion for which animal we will discuss the following week. We’ll spin the wheel and select randomly which animal it is based on everyone’s suggestions.

➡️ THE CURRENT ANIMAL OF THE WEEK ⬅️
HORSES
We will discuss this animal in class the week of April 9th, 2023 (EST time)

All throughout the class, as we are brainstorming and discussing, we will also be putting together a short fact sheet for the selected animal using Canva. Students do not need to have an account or enrol in any way - they will watch as the information they share is added to the sheet and the completed product will then be shared in the classroom for the learners to view/save/add to their notes!

It is highly encouraged that students who expect to be here long term bring a journal, notebook, binder or some other method of note taking with them. Taking notes on the optional handout (provided) would be a good addition to the notes that we put on the fact sheet. This will be a great way to keep track of all the animals discussed week to week and a good way to keep track of learning. 

Each week, when a spotlight animal is selected for the following week, students are encouraged to use the days in between to research this animal and bring their findings to the following class for our discussion. I will be spending time throughout the week making sure that there is information available for students during the class for the animal as well. In addition, I will be researching to see if there are any current events, news articles, etc. for real life connection and set up the Canva fact sheet for the class.

During the discussion, we may generally chat about what is already known about this animal, read articles or news about them if there are any, watch any videos to make the class more interactive, share photos or experiences we may have regarding these animals etc. 


Image Credit - David Clode of Unsplash