report writing for our tadpoles

Room 13 has some tadpoles as our class pets this term and the students and many students in the school are fascinated by them.  We decided as a class it is important to learn as much as we can to make sure we are looking after our tadpoles properly.  we also thought we could provide information to other classes if they wanted to have tadpoles as class pets too.
Firstly we figured out what we already knew about tadpoles.
Next using a question matrix we developed lots of questions to make sure we were collecting the right information.
Part of our writing is to write up a report of all the information we have collected using books from the library and information off the internet.

Below is an example of a report written by Mrs Paterson to help us to scaffold what is needed in a report to help us to scaffold our writing.

Eats	Lives
1 x per week Mice, lizards, insects, birds, small mammals Drink water, not often Swallow food whole Flexible jaw to eat large mammals carnivore	Found around world Live on land or water Some other reptile, crocodile,turtle, lizards, snake, alligator
reptiles	Other facts
Cold blooded Lay shelled eggs Breathes air Covered in scales (smooth and dry) Or have shell Shed skin	Internal ears Smell by flicking tongue out and sensing what is in the air, this is transferred through mouth to nose to pick up what food is around. Vibrations through the ground to sense enemies or prey

Snakes   

Snakes (reptiles)

The snake is a very interesting reptile.  Being part of the reptile family, like other reptiles it lays eggs that have shells, breathe air and are often covered in scales or have a shell.  Snakes are cold blooded which means their blood temperature is often regulated by the surroundings they are in. For example, they become hot when the air temperature is hot and cold when the air temperature is cold.  Cold blooded animals like to be active in hot weather, however, they can become really slow and sluggish when it is cold.

Found

Snakes and reptiles are found all over the world.  They can live on land or in water.  Some of the reptile family include crocodiles, alligators, turtles and lizards.  They have internal ears and don’t have eyelids to cover their eyes.  

Eats

Snakes mainly eat mammals and are considered a carnivore.  This means they only eat meat.  Although their eyes can’t focus very well, a snake feels its prey from vibrations through the ground or pick up smells from the air by flicking their tongue out.  Part of a snake's’ diet includes, mice, lizards, insects, birds and small mammals.  Snakes don’t need to eat very often; they generally only eat once per week.  They swallow their food whole, and have very flexible jaws to help them to catch different sized prey.  Snakes do drink water; however, they don’t do this very often.  

Conclusion

A snake is an interesting reptile that can be found all over the world.  Their diet of small mammals and ability to eat only once per week is fascinating.  Being a reptile they have many interesting family members with similar behaviours.

Success criteria needed to help us when editing our writing.

• An opening statement
• Paragraphs of facts 
• pictures/diagrams/photographs/illustrations
• present tense
• descriptions of animal
• technical/scientific words