Is a Lion a Cat?

A WebQuest for Preschool-Kindergarten Language Arts

Introduction:

Today you are going on a field trip to the local zoo with your class. When your group passes the lion exhibit, the lion will give a loud roar. One of your classmates says, "That lion looks like the cat that I have at home." You said, "That is not possible." Your teacher hears both of you talking. The teacher states that lions and house cats can look alike because they are both part of the cat family, however, they are different. Your teacher asks you to prepare a presentation for the class on how lions and house cats are similar and different.

The Tasks:

Your task is to use the Internet to gather information about lions and cats. You will use this information to create a poster that describes the differences and similarities between lions and cats. Adults, parents and teachers will need to help you gather the information and create the poster. You must complete the tasks below to have the information needed for the poster.

use the computer to print the L worksheet and color the lion,
use the computer to print the C worksheet and color the cat,
use the Internet to get the designs for making a lion mask and a cat mask,
use the computer to print a basic information sheet about the lion and a basic information sheet about the cat, and
use the Internet to find some information about prides.

The Process:

To accomplish The Tasks (above), you will need to follow directions. In order to accomplish The Processes (below), you will need the help of an adult, parent or teacher. The information that you will receive from doing the following items will give you what is needed to create the poster for your class project.

1. You need to know how to spell lion and what one looks like. Visit the L worksheet. It will show you different pictures of items that begin with the letter Ll. You need to print this page. Once it is printed, go to a lion picture and color the lion on the worksheet to look like the lion on the Internet site. Cut out the Ll and the lion to put at the top of your poster to identify the lion column. If you would like to see how the male and female lions look different and what their babies look like, go to the cat family.
2. You need to know how to spell cat and what one looks like. Visit the C worksheet. It will show you different pictures of items that begin with the letter Cc. You need to print this page. Once it is printed, go to a cat picture and color the cat on your worksheet to look like one of the cats on the Internet site. Cut out the Cc and the cat to put at the top of your poster to identify the cat column. Go to short-haired cats and long-haired cats to see the differences in how the cats look.
3. Now you will make a lion mask and a cat mask. Color these mask so that they look like the real animals. Color your lion mask to look like a real lion. You can do this by looking at the male lion picture on the Internet. Color your cat mask to look like a real cat. You can go back to the cat picture and choose another cat. You can wear the lion mask while introducing the letter Ll and lion to the classroom. You can wear the cat mask while introducing the letter Cc and cat to the classroom.
4. You need some basic information about the lion and the cat. Go to the basic lion information sheet. Discuss the facts on this page with an adult, parent or teacher that is helping you. Print the sheet and put it on the poster under the lion column. You need some basic information about the cat. Go to the basic cat information sheet. Discuss the facts on this page with an adult, parent or teacher that is helping you. Print the sheet and put it on the poster under the cat column. Use a yellow highlighter to highlight the similarities of the lion and cat on the worksheets. Use an orange highlighter to highlight the differences between the lion and cat on the worksheets.
5. Write what the definition of a pride is on your poster. To get the information that you need, go to the Internet site Wild to Mild Cats. Discuss this information with your parent or teacher. Decide if lions, cats, or both live in prides. Write your decision on the poster.

The Evaluation:

You will be evaluated on 5 objectives and your poster. The information that you gather from the Internet will help you obtain the objectives below. This is individual work that will need to be done in order to present the knowledge that you have gained from the Internet.


	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Know what a real lion looks like and how to spell the word lion.	Know that a lion is an animal.	Be able to pick out the lion in a group of pictures.	Be able to color a picture of a lion.	Be able to color a lion picture to resemble a real lion and be able to spell the word lion.
Know what a real cat looks like and how to spell the word cat.	Know that a cat is an animal.	Be able to pick out the cat in a group of pictures.	Be able to color a picture of a cat.	Be able to color a cat to resemble a real cat and be able to spell cat.
Be able to make a mask that resembles the real animals.	Know what a mask is and how to wear one.	Made only the lion or cat mask instead of making both.	Have made a mask for the lion and a mask for the cat, but they do not resemble the real animals.	Have made a mask for the lion and a mask for the cat that resemble the real animals.
Be able to identify the similarities and differences between the lion and the cat.	Know that lions and cats are different animals.	Know that lions and cats are different animals, but they are similar in specific ways.	Highlighted 4 items or less in yellow that are similar between the lion and cat. Also, highlighted 4 or less item in orange that are different between the lion and cat.	Highlighted 5 items or more in yellow that are similar between the lion and cat. Also, highlighted 5 items or more in orange that are different between the lion and cat.
Know what animals live in a pride and why.	Know what a pride is.	Know that lions live in prides.	Know that lions and some cats live in prides.	Know that lions live in groups called prides and that most cats do not, unless they are barn cats, and why.

Conclusion:

After this WebQuest, you should be able to name several differences and similarities between lions and cats. Also, you should be able to answer the following questions: What is a pride?; What animals live in prides and why?

Credits & References:

I would like to thank CAT GIFS 'R' US, Bonnie Steiglitz Cat Gifs, Sharon's Animated "Cat" GIFS, NaNcY's Cat Animation Gallery, Webmasters Graphics, Animal Graphics, and Mini Gifs for their clipart and animation. I would like to thank Enchanted Learning for providing excellent worksheets and crafts that I used. I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Bruce Lewis, Chad Thompson, and Tan Perry (my partner!) for their help on this WebQuest.

Teacher Advice:

This lesson is anchored for PreSchool through Kindergarten in language arts and involves science and art to a lesser extent.

The students should know basic keyboard and mouse skills on the computer, know how to color, know how to cut with scissors, and have an interest in lions and/or cats.

This WebQuest should be completed within a week. Since there are five processes, one process could be done each day.

The teacher should be familiar with the Internet. This would allow a novice teacher to easily accomplish this WebQuest.

A teacher could use "Show-and-Tell" time to have a group discussion about differences/similarities between all of the children's stuffed lions and cats. The teacher could take the class on a field trip to the zoo and take several pictures of the lions. When the pictures are developed, the children could bring pictures from home of their house cat. The class discussion would be based on the pictures of the lions and cats.

An adult, parent, or teacher will need to help the students with the reading and participate in a discussion with the child to make sure they understood what was read.

Created for EDU 506 @ FHU School of Education by Christy Jones on August 2, 2001.