Students in Mr. Patrick Uhteg's sixth grade ELA classes had the chance to learn about killer whales in a hands-on assignment.
Using funding from a mini-grant from the NYSUT Retirees of Western New York, the students constructed a 15.5-feet long, 8-feet tall and 8-feet wide killer whale from start to finish. The students worked on the project over the course of a month, even spending time after school to work on it.
The project began on January 24th when approximately a dozen students stayed after school to help construct the killer whale frame from chicken wire, foam board insulation and cardboard. The group of students who stayed after school to assist changed somewhat each day depending upon their availability. The frame was completed in the first week and the research writing work aligned with the project then began.
Students in each ELA class worked in groups to complete research. They were formulating questions on 5WH sheets (Who? What? When? Where? How? and Why?) based upon the information on killer whales presented in several sources.
Their full sentence answers to those questions became the basis for their writing. This work continued for three weeks.
As they were working on research, students would papier mache and eventually paint the whale frame that had been constructed in the after school sessions.
The whale was completed on February 14.
