An Internet WebQuest on Owl Pellet Dissection

for Second-Grade Students

This original project was created by Wendy Croasdale and Donna Lee Tanguay.

A Great Horned Owl in a Woodland Habitat

Introduction

Hmmmm? You are on a field trip to a science center and having a great time! When you get to the raptor exhibit, though, you find a rock you have never seen before. It is brown and bumpy and seems to have some hair on it. The guide tells you it is an owl pellet--not a rock--that has a mystery inside. What is the mystery? Your job is to solve it! Good luck!

The Task

Your task is to solve the mystery of what is inside an owl pellet and to create a project showing what you discovered. Of course, there is lots of important detective work to be done first. So, GET BUSY! Use the Internet to visit the many sites that will be helpful!

You and members of your team will then show what you have learned by writing a story or a poem, giving an oral presentation, creating a Kid Pix picture, drawing a picture of your own, or design something completely original. Also, all of you will complete an owl craft and include the pellet.

Once you have solved the mystery, the REAL fun will begin. You will get to dissect your own owl pellet!!!

OWL PELLET

Owl,

Out of the dark, dark sky

Your pellet did fall.

Whatever is inside

We cannot see at all.

Owl,

It is now up to us

To look and to find.

It is a mystery

Of the neatest kind!

Owl?

We are ready!

The Process

Step 1. First, you will be assigned to a team.

Step 2. Read the book All About Owls by Jim Arnosky.

Step 3. Read more about owls.

Step 4. Read about a habitat of an owl and how it hunts.

Step 5. Take an owl quiz.

Step 6. View how an owl pellet is formed.

Step 7. View an owl expelling a pellet.

Step 8. Do a virtual owl pellet dissection.

Step 9. Look at and compare rodent bones and skeletons.

Step 10. Complete an owl craft and include its pellet.

Evaluation

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Score
Read all three selections and participated in team discussions	Required prompting to attend to each selection and to participate in the team discussions	Actively participated in reading each selection and contributed to the team discussions	Actively participated in reading each selection and offered insightful comments and ideas to the team discussions
Identified and described two owl habitats	Identified one habitat with little elaboration	Identified two habitats with some elaboration	Identified two or more habitats with comments that showed clear understanding and critical thinking
Identified two animals an owl eats	Identified one animal with little elaboration	Identified two animals with some elaboration	Identified two or more animals with comments that showed clear understanding and critical thinking
Explained how and why an owl pellet is formed	Required prompting and support for a successful explanation	Independently explained both aspects of an owl pellet formation	Insightfully explained both aspects of an owl pellet formation and elaborated in a creative manner
Identified and compared two rodents�� bones	Identified one bone and required support for an additional identification and a successful comparison	Identified two bones and made a comparison with some elaboration	Identified two or more bones and made a successful comparison with comments that showed clear understanding and critical thinking

Conclusion

Congratulations! You solved the mystery! You learned the bones and feathers of an animal are inside an owl pellet because an owl cannot digest them. You even created an owl craft and included the pellet of an owl. Now you are able to dissect your own owl pellet with a better understanding. Have fun!