To keep things moving with shortened periods during ISTEP week, Ms. Nelson’s 8th grade science students at SMS are working an animal research project. Students are randomly assigned a different animal and will spend the next few days researching items such as: common name, scientific name, classification, conservation status, continent(s) and countries where the animal lives, food eaten, and biome where the animal lives. Some of the biome and climate information will be used to introduce the next unit on weather after ISTEP is complete.