Mountain class studies NC animals

For the past three months, Mountain class students have been studying animals native to North Carolina. We kicked off this major project with book and web research on a self-selected NC animal. After reading about their animals and taking notes to synthesize their reading, students wrote informational reports including a physical description of the animal, habitat, diet, impact on our world, and more.

Students also designed and created models of their animals using recycled materials such as plastic bottles, cardboard, and cork. For an added challenge, students found ways to make their animals move in preparation for the upcoming group video.

With reports written and animals built, students were then divided into small groups to write and produce animal documentaries inspired by the Amazing Animals series by National Geographic. Each student completed a storyboard first, including a script, transitions between videos, and ideas for background images. Most students filmed their videos using a green screen, then substituted the background for a Creative Commons-licensed image they found using this library link. The final step was to put all of the individual student videos together to create a cohesive group animal documentary. Enjoy the videos below!