The end of the year is always stressful and exhausting for teachers. We’ve worked extremely hard to keep our students engaged with rigorous learning and interacting all school year and it becomes even harder at the end of the year! Color your Own Animal Posters with Journals helped maintain my classroom expectations the last week of school and it allowed my students to really show off the growth they have made as an independent learner and listener.
I started off the lesson by showing students the poster and building up excitement over how big the posters were! Students then were given a computer to research any animal of their choice. We were able to find almost every piece of information needed for each animal online, which made researching so many animals very easy. I was amazed at the different animals students picked! We had everything from house cats, dolphins, pandas, cheetahs, lions, bull dogs and more. 
As students researched their animal of choice, I asked them to take "notes" on the information they would need to complete their poster. I really wanted my students to take their time completing the posters, especially since we would be presenting them. I am always stressing how important it is to do their best work. And the last week of school is no exception!
Students then started to work very hard on their posters. I was amazed at how quiet and engaged every student was. Although the posters are large, students were easily able to work on their desk. 
And then it was time to illustrate and color our amazing posters. I loved how each poster was unique and creative. My classroom ranges in all ability levels, but every child was able to feel successful at this amazing research project. 
I was amazed at the time and effort this student put into her poster. She normally is one to rush and just wants to be done, but look at the detail she even added in her pictures! 
After our posters were completely finished, it was time to learn about all the animals our friends had chosen. I had one student come to the front of the classroom and read their poster to his/her peers. Students then filled out their animal journal! This was a fantastic opportunity to practice listening and speaking skills. Each student then had a journal full of animals to take home for the summer to read.
