What Does Camouflage Mean?

Last Wednesday during literacy, students were trying to figure out what had happened to our three missing tadpoles when the word camouflage came into the conversation. I was surprised to learn that many of my students did not know what camouflage meant. This was a perfect time to learn! On Thursday I read the book, "Animals in Camouflage" and we watched a great video on brainpopjr about camouflage.
I then told them that they were going to create a camouflage picture and explain what camouflage means.

There were 2 Essential Questions: 

1. What does camouflage mean? 
2. How can you show your audience what camouflage means?

The wheels started turning and my students were off!

a) Students had to choose an animal.

b) Draw the animal on a white piece of paper,  colour it and cut it out.

c) Go outside with their iPad and take a couple of nature shots that they could use for their project, to camouflage their animal.

                                                                                   


















d) Students then uploaded the pictures they took to Explain Everything.


                                                                                                   

tree bark

wood chips from the playground

e) After the students uploaded the close up nature pictures, they inserted their animal picture on top of the original image.

                                                                       
f) Students then added a title page and a slide that explained what camouflage means.  Some chose to write the definition out on a slide and read it, others video taped themselves explaining what it means.

Now, instead of doing this fun and engaging project where the students owned the learning, I could have answered that question last Wednesday by opening the dictionary and reading the definition of camouflage or had them do a worksheet..... You decide which activity you think your students would enjoy and learn more from.