Lake Bluff third-graders present ELA research unit on frogs to Shorewood board

Third-grade students from Lake Bluff Elementary visited the Shorewood School Board meeting on March 11 to present work from a new English language arts module focused on frogs.

Johanna French, identified herself as "interim principal at Lake Bluff Elementary School," introduced the students and their teacher, identified in the meeting as Mr. Diddle. The students—who introduced themselves as Ari, Gavin, Teddy, Henry and Nathan—explained their learning process: three weeks of general background knowledge, a week to select an individual frog species, and about two and a half weeks of research, writing (two informational paragraphs plus a poem and a folktale-style "porcaid" tale), and then creating a scientific illustration and a trading card for their chosen frog using Book Creator.

Students described facts they had learned. For example, one student said the American bullfrog "uses its long sticky tongue to catch its food, and they do a deep loud croak to attract mates and warn off intruders," and reported the species can reach 5 to 6 inches long and up to 12 inches with outstretched legs. Other students described the green glass frog and the wood frog, and explained predators and adaptations.

As a final product, students created frog trading cards that included a scientific name, ratings for color, camouflage, size and poison, habitat and diet notes, and a short quote in the frog's voice. Students described the final steps as challenging technical tasks (for example, logging into Book Creator) and rewarding creative work; board members and the superintendent praised the students' presentations.

Ending: The board applauded the students and thanked Lake Bluff staff for integrating nonfiction reading, poetry, science and art into a coherent unit. The students took home copies of their trading-card sets and showcased them to the board before leaving the meeting.