Developing good record-keeping habits is essential for organizing, processing, and communicating experimental results objectively. Therefore, the authors designed an interactive method of teaching first graders to record, organize, and interpret data as they studied the life cycle of the spotted salamander ("Ambystoma maculatum"). In their curricular sequence, students recorded the water temperature, date, and number of salamander eggs that hatched. Additionally, students illustrated the salamander's developmental stages over time in a personal journal and learned how to organize data on bar graphs. In this article, they describe their experiences to inspire you to try similar units with your young scientists. (Contains 3 figures and 1 online resource.)