Book Genre: Non-Fiction (book about the ocean)
Publishing Info: Random House Books for Young Readers (May 24, 2005)
Honors and Awards Receive: None listed
Summary: Norval, the fish is hosting a seaside talk show for the Fish Channel and the Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two appear as the camera crew. The little boy and girl get introduced to many sea creatures. Clam-I-Am, horseshow crab, hermit crabs, sea star, seagulls, jelly fish and sand fleas. They even get to learn about seaweed and ocean tides. Norval then goes on to explain the second part of his show. (Question/answer section) The book answers questions like (1) Why is the ocean blue? (2) Why is seawater salty? (3) What makes waves? This book is perfect for having a quick overview about the ocean.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I really liked this book because it was not only illustrated brilliantly but it had simple facts about each of the sea creatures listed above. In our ocean unit we talk about each one of these animals. So I was thinking this would be a good book to introduce our ocean unit with. It gives a quick overview of each animal that I can add to when I actually teach about that specific animal. This book is full of a lot of our kindergarten sight words that would be great extra practice for the children.
Reading level: 3.4 (Third grade, fourth month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Complete a circle map before we read the story and put the word ocean in the middle. Ask students what they think of when they hear the word ocean. Take their answers and branch it off the word ocean. While reading, I would ask comprehension questions, for example: after reading the page about star fish I would ask….What happens when a star fish looses one of its rays (arms)? I would hope that all children would be able to answer this question correctly. I would continue to use this technique throughout the story. At the conclusion I would ask the students to pick their three favorite sea creatures. We would vote until we found our favorite three. We would then complete a brace map. (As I publish this book on the blog the brace map format does not copy correctly) Sorry!
Ocean
Star Fish * If it looses a ray, it grows back. * Has five legs. *It moves slow. *Has tiny cups on it's rays.
Clam *Lives in the sand. *Has rings that tell how old it is. * Clams have one foot.
Seagulls *Can drink salt water. *They eat trash and left over food.
Writing: Students could pick their favorite sea creature from the book and tell me two facts that they learned. They will then need to illustrate their sentences with a detailed picture. You could also incorporate writing by having them copy the brace map. (Which we have learned is not very effective)
Potential problems or difficulties: None that I can see at this time.
Showing posts with label Amy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amy. Show all posts
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Little Cloud By: Eric Carle
Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Philomel, 6th Print Edition (33 pages)
Awards and honors received: None found, surprisingly.
Summary: Little Cloud, by Eric Carle is written very simplistic with clear text and images as he tells the story of Little Cloud. Little Cloud strays away from his friends and entertains himself by changing into many different objects (lamb, airplane, shark, clown, etc.) before joining the others to form one big cloud that rains.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. I enjoyed reading this book and would use it when teaching about clouds in my weather unit. Most of the books in our library about clouds are a little too advice for kindergarten, so that is why I liked this book. I also liked how this book would make the children use their imagination and spark creativity. I would defiantly use this book in my classroom and suggest it to other teachers for young children.
Reading level: 2.2 (second grade, second month)
Interest level: Pre-K through 2
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Art: After reading this book I would complete a painting activity with the students in small groups. Idea 1: I would give them each a blue sheet of paper and let them use a paint brush or fingers to create a cloud like the ones in the story. This would let the children pick what type of cloud they wanted to paint. Idea 2: Let the student make a design on one side of the blue paper. I would then fold it (to make a symmetrical design) and students would have to look at it and use their imagination to tell me what their cloud looks like. I think Idea 2 would be more fun but you could do either or.
Writing: The art project from above would tie right into writing. After children have discovered/or chosen what their cloud looks like they would have to write a sentence about their cloud. For example: My cloud looks like a flower. (This sentence uses many of their sight words) I would display their art work with their sentence underneath on a bulletin board in my classroom.
Science: On a cloudy day students could take their science journals outside. They could study the clouds and see if they could interpret what some of the clouds looked like. They would need to draw a picture of what the cloud looks like and label underneath.
Reading: We could do a K-W-L chart about what they already know about clouds. Since this book does not give much actual information about clouds, we could use the internet to complete research if need be. I would read this book through once and then we would go back and find all of our sight words and circle them with a sticky strip. Also, we would take any new words and add them to our word wall.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Publishing Info: Philomel, 6th Print Edition (33 pages)
Awards and honors received: None found, surprisingly.
Summary: Little Cloud, by Eric Carle is written very simplistic with clear text and images as he tells the story of Little Cloud. Little Cloud strays away from his friends and entertains himself by changing into many different objects (lamb, airplane, shark, clown, etc.) before joining the others to form one big cloud that rains.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. I enjoyed reading this book and would use it when teaching about clouds in my weather unit. Most of the books in our library about clouds are a little too advice for kindergarten, so that is why I liked this book. I also liked how this book would make the children use their imagination and spark creativity. I would defiantly use this book in my classroom and suggest it to other teachers for young children.
Reading level: 2.2 (second grade, second month)
Interest level: Pre-K through 2
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Art: After reading this book I would complete a painting activity with the students in small groups. Idea 1: I would give them each a blue sheet of paper and let them use a paint brush or fingers to create a cloud like the ones in the story. This would let the children pick what type of cloud they wanted to paint. Idea 2: Let the student make a design on one side of the blue paper. I would then fold it (to make a symmetrical design) and students would have to look at it and use their imagination to tell me what their cloud looks like. I think Idea 2 would be more fun but you could do either or.
Writing: The art project from above would tie right into writing. After children have discovered/or chosen what their cloud looks like they would have to write a sentence about their cloud. For example: My cloud looks like a flower. (This sentence uses many of their sight words) I would display their art work with their sentence underneath on a bulletin board in my classroom.
Science: On a cloudy day students could take their science journals outside. They could study the clouds and see if they could interpret what some of the clouds looked like. They would need to draw a picture of what the cloud looks like and label underneath.
Reading: We could do a K-W-L chart about what they already know about clouds. Since this book does not give much actual information about clouds, we could use the internet to complete research if need be. I would read this book through once and then we would go back and find all of our sight words and circle them with a sticky strip. Also, we would take any new words and add them to our word wall.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
GRACIAS The Thanksgiving Turkey By: Joy Cowley
Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Scholastic en Espanol (October 1, 1998), 32 pages
Awards or honors received: None received.
Summary: GRACIAS The Thanksgiving Turkey is about a boy Miguel, who has two main worries. 1.) If his papa, a truck driver, was going to make it home for Thanksgiving and 2.) If his new amiga (the turkey-a gift given from his papa) was going to get eaten for the Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey ends up staying with the boy in a New York City apartment, being walked on a chain, ends up going to church and gets blessed by the preacher. Once the turkey gets blessed, the family decides to eat chicken instead of turkey for their Thanksgiving meal. The turkey happily gets sent to the local zoo after Thanksgiving where Miguel knows his amiga is safe and won’t be eaten.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. I teach many of our ESL children in kindergarten since my assistant can speak fluent Spanish. I try and incorporate Spanish into my classroom as much as I can. I was excited when I came across this book in our library because I could use this book when teaching about turkey’s in my Thanksgiving unit. I really like how it incorporates Spanish throughout the book and having a glossary in the back which tells what each word means is nice. (Abuela-grandmother and Abuelo-grandfather etc.)
Reading level: 2.8 (2nd grade, 8th month)
Interest level: Pre-k through 3rd
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Before reading this story, I would introduce the word of the day by playing a game with the students. I would have a picture of a turkey on a large index card with the word turkey next to it. I would give students a clue and then reveal one letter in the word turkey. I would continue until students have guessed the word of the day. (Turkey) I would have the students look at the cover and guess what they think the story would be about. I would ask the question, the boy on the cover is putting his arm around the turkey sitting next to him. Could this really happen? I would read the story and then when completed ask HOTS questions. We would complete a graphic organizer as a class about what happen in the beginning, middle and end. This would also be a good story to talk about problem/solution.
**Before reading the story, I could list all the Spanish words in the book on the board and have my ESL children help me write what they mean. This will help make a connection for my students who do not understand/know Spanish.
Writing: The little boy was excited about hearing the news that his father had sent him a present in the mail. Miguel goes through a list of things that his father could have sent. The writing prompt I would give my students would be. What was the best gift you ever received from your dad? (Make sure you know your students so if a child does not have a dad, you can prepare accordingly so that child does not get upset.)
Craft: Have students make a turkey out of a large white paper plate. Students could make their own feathers and glue on the back of the plate. I would have all the pieces to the turkey traced so all the children would have to do is cut and glue. We will complete this activity step-by-step.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any difficulties at this time.
Publishing Info: Scholastic en Espanol (October 1, 1998), 32 pages
Awards or honors received: None received.
Summary: GRACIAS The Thanksgiving Turkey is about a boy Miguel, who has two main worries. 1.) If his papa, a truck driver, was going to make it home for Thanksgiving and 2.) If his new amiga (the turkey-a gift given from his papa) was going to get eaten for the Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey ends up staying with the boy in a New York City apartment, being walked on a chain, ends up going to church and gets blessed by the preacher. Once the turkey gets blessed, the family decides to eat chicken instead of turkey for their Thanksgiving meal. The turkey happily gets sent to the local zoo after Thanksgiving where Miguel knows his amiga is safe and won’t be eaten.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. I teach many of our ESL children in kindergarten since my assistant can speak fluent Spanish. I try and incorporate Spanish into my classroom as much as I can. I was excited when I came across this book in our library because I could use this book when teaching about turkey’s in my Thanksgiving unit. I really like how it incorporates Spanish throughout the book and having a glossary in the back which tells what each word means is nice. (Abuela-grandmother and Abuelo-grandfather etc.)
Reading level: 2.8 (2nd grade, 8th month)
Interest level: Pre-k through 3rd
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Before reading this story, I would introduce the word of the day by playing a game with the students. I would have a picture of a turkey on a large index card with the word turkey next to it. I would give students a clue and then reveal one letter in the word turkey. I would continue until students have guessed the word of the day. (Turkey) I would have the students look at the cover and guess what they think the story would be about. I would ask the question, the boy on the cover is putting his arm around the turkey sitting next to him. Could this really happen? I would read the story and then when completed ask HOTS questions. We would complete a graphic organizer as a class about what happen in the beginning, middle and end. This would also be a good story to talk about problem/solution.
**Before reading the story, I could list all the Spanish words in the book on the board and have my ESL children help me write what they mean. This will help make a connection for my students who do not understand/know Spanish.
Writing: The little boy was excited about hearing the news that his father had sent him a present in the mail. Miguel goes through a list of things that his father could have sent. The writing prompt I would give my students would be. What was the best gift you ever received from your dad? (Make sure you know your students so if a child does not have a dad, you can prepare accordingly so that child does not get upset.)
Craft: Have students make a turkey out of a large white paper plate. Students could make their own feathers and glue on the back of the plate. I would have all the pieces to the turkey traced so all the children would have to do is cut and glue. We will complete this activity step-by-step.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any difficulties at this time.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The M&M's Counting Book By: Barbara Barbieri McGrath
Book Genre: Non-fiction, Counting book
Publishing Info: Charlesbridge Publishing (32 pages)
Awards and honors received: Teachers' Choice Award, 1994
Summary: This book is a simple counting book I would use with beginning kindergarten students. The M&M counting book encourages children to use M&M candy in specific color order to practice counting from one to twelve. Also, it has the children form the various sets of 12. (six groups of two, three groups of four, four sets of three, etc.) The book wraps up by having the chilren make shapes with their M&M’s and then moves on to simple subtraction of their M&M’s. (Which is the fun part for the children!)
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I really liked this book for the simple fact that it incorporates food (M&M’s) into teaching basic math skills. In my past experience any time you incorporate any type of food (manipulatives) the children get really excited and the majority of time remember that skill. Not only did this book teach about numbers, but it also had the children recognizing color words. For example, add a red M&M or add an orange M&M. The children are required to know what those colors are before they can participate in the activity. In addition, the author also made a connection between the number 9 and the word nine. (9/nine) I would recommend this book to any kindergarten teacher.
Reading level: 1.9 (first grade, 9th month)
Interest level: K-2
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading/Math: I probably would not read this book during my set reading time. I would incorporate this book into my math lesson. I would use this book the first few weeks of school when assessing students to see how well they know their numbers, colors and one-to-one correspondence. I would have crayons of all the different colors laminated on construction paper. As I read the story students will point to the correct crayon color or number. This will help the students who are lacking with these skills. (I would put the crayons and numbers in a blue chart for all students to see during the reading.) After reading the story and reviewing colors and numbers I would show the students bags of M&M’s and have them make a prediction about what they think we are going to do with the M&M’s. (This will get all the students excited and ready to participate.)
Math: I would give each student a yellow math work mat and a bag of M&M’s. I would then read the story again but this time they would complete the directions on each page of the story. I would conduct this lesson my interactice Mimio so I could model for the students. Be sure to monitor to make sure children understand and are kept on track. (Some students won’t know their colors at this time in the year.)
Potential problems or difficulties: There would be a lot of prep time with this lesson because the book tells the students specific colors to put down so each child’s bag would have to have the same colors and amount of M&M’s. You would also need to make sure students aren’t eating the M&M’s throughout the lesson. Set the rules early on in the lesson so that does not happen. With a little time preparation, this will be a fun and exciting math lesson for the students.
Publishing Info: Charlesbridge Publishing (32 pages)
Awards and honors received: Teachers' Choice Award, 1994
Summary: This book is a simple counting book I would use with beginning kindergarten students. The M&M counting book encourages children to use M&M candy in specific color order to practice counting from one to twelve. Also, it has the children form the various sets of 12. (six groups of two, three groups of four, four sets of three, etc.) The book wraps up by having the chilren make shapes with their M&M’s and then moves on to simple subtraction of their M&M’s. (Which is the fun part for the children!)
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I really liked this book for the simple fact that it incorporates food (M&M’s) into teaching basic math skills. In my past experience any time you incorporate any type of food (manipulatives) the children get really excited and the majority of time remember that skill. Not only did this book teach about numbers, but it also had the children recognizing color words. For example, add a red M&M or add an orange M&M. The children are required to know what those colors are before they can participate in the activity. In addition, the author also made a connection between the number 9 and the word nine. (9/nine) I would recommend this book to any kindergarten teacher.
Reading level: 1.9 (first grade, 9th month)
Interest level: K-2
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading/Math: I probably would not read this book during my set reading time. I would incorporate this book into my math lesson. I would use this book the first few weeks of school when assessing students to see how well they know their numbers, colors and one-to-one correspondence. I would have crayons of all the different colors laminated on construction paper. As I read the story students will point to the correct crayon color or number. This will help the students who are lacking with these skills. (I would put the crayons and numbers in a blue chart for all students to see during the reading.) After reading the story and reviewing colors and numbers I would show the students bags of M&M’s and have them make a prediction about what they think we are going to do with the M&M’s. (This will get all the students excited and ready to participate.)
Math: I would give each student a yellow math work mat and a bag of M&M’s. I would then read the story again but this time they would complete the directions on each page of the story. I would conduct this lesson my interactice Mimio so I could model for the students. Be sure to monitor to make sure children understand and are kept on track. (Some students won’t know their colors at this time in the year.)
Potential problems or difficulties: There would be a lot of prep time with this lesson because the book tells the students specific colors to put down so each child’s bag would have to have the same colors and amount of M&M’s. You would also need to make sure students aren’t eating the M&M’s throughout the lesson. Set the rules early on in the lesson so that does not happen. With a little time preparation, this will be a fun and exciting math lesson for the students.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep By: Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Genre: Non-Fiction (Rhyming)
Publishing Info: HarperCollins, 32 pages
Awards or honors received: Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep was named a 2005 Golden Kite winner.
Summary: A variety of animals settle down for a winter's nap, knowing that spring will wake them to reenter a warmer, more active world. The book is written in lullaby form which would relax any child before nap time. It teaches about a kindergarten about an important science term (hibernation) and different sets of rhyming words. Each page illustrates a different animal and where they hibernate. The pictures are fiction but the story teaches many facts about the different animals.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. I liked this book because it would be a great book to introduce the word hibernation. There are many curriculum base activities you could do after reading this book. It was fun to read because you got in a groove when reading because it was written in lullaby form and had lots of rhyming words. I would defiantly use this book when I teach my winter unit and talk about hibernation.
Reading level: Accelerated Reader 3.0 (Third grade)
Interest level: Pre-k through 3rd grade
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: I could pick one of the animals (the bear) and write the lullaby on large chart paper. Students could come up to the chart paper and circle sight words that they know. (This book had lots of sight words) I would then let them take my sticky strips and place them under the rhyming words. I would have them color code the rhyming words. For example: red sticky strips under the two words like rhyme (snow/slow), green sticky strips under another two words that rhyme (steep/sleep) This helps make the connections for the students. As always, at the end I would ask HOTS questions to check for understanding of the story.
***You could also read this book to review the diagraph ee and ck. (Sleep/black) The students could raise their hand anytime they see or hear the diagraph ee or ck used in the story.
Science/Writing: Ask the students, what is hibernation? How many creatures can you name that hibernate? We would complete a bubble map of the word hibernation. (Hopefully they would name all the animals in the reading selection.) Then I would have the students go back to their seat and copy the bubble map. I would then introduce the animal that we would be learning about that day that hibernates in the winter. (Bear) After completing an interactive Mimio presentation on bears we would make our own bear hibernation out of sheets brought from home. I would have to split the class into two groups. (Boys/girls) Students would have chairs, tape, rubber bands and three sets of sheets and they would have to come up with a way to make a cave for hibernation. We would leave these caves up as long as we could and let the children go inside to complete their SSR time. (Self Selected Reading)
Writing: At the end of the winter/hibernation unit, students could pick their favorite animal that hibernates and complete two sentences about that animal with a detailed setting. The setting should tell me where that animal hibernates at.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems at this time.
Publishing Info: HarperCollins, 32 pages
Awards or honors received: Sleep, Black Bear, Sleep was named a 2005 Golden Kite winner.
Summary: A variety of animals settle down for a winter's nap, knowing that spring will wake them to reenter a warmer, more active world. The book is written in lullaby form which would relax any child before nap time. It teaches about a kindergarten about an important science term (hibernation) and different sets of rhyming words. Each page illustrates a different animal and where they hibernate. The pictures are fiction but the story teaches many facts about the different animals.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. I liked this book because it would be a great book to introduce the word hibernation. There are many curriculum base activities you could do after reading this book. It was fun to read because you got in a groove when reading because it was written in lullaby form and had lots of rhyming words. I would defiantly use this book when I teach my winter unit and talk about hibernation.
Reading level: Accelerated Reader 3.0 (Third grade)
Interest level: Pre-k through 3rd grade
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: I could pick one of the animals (the bear) and write the lullaby on large chart paper. Students could come up to the chart paper and circle sight words that they know. (This book had lots of sight words) I would then let them take my sticky strips and place them under the rhyming words. I would have them color code the rhyming words. For example: red sticky strips under the two words like rhyme (snow/slow), green sticky strips under another two words that rhyme (steep/sleep) This helps make the connections for the students. As always, at the end I would ask HOTS questions to check for understanding of the story.
***You could also read this book to review the diagraph ee and ck. (Sleep/black) The students could raise their hand anytime they see or hear the diagraph ee or ck used in the story.
Science/Writing: Ask the students, what is hibernation? How many creatures can you name that hibernate? We would complete a bubble map of the word hibernation. (Hopefully they would name all the animals in the reading selection.) Then I would have the students go back to their seat and copy the bubble map. I would then introduce the animal that we would be learning about that day that hibernates in the winter. (Bear) After completing an interactive Mimio presentation on bears we would make our own bear hibernation out of sheets brought from home. I would have to split the class into two groups. (Boys/girls) Students would have chairs, tape, rubber bands and three sets of sheets and they would have to come up with a way to make a cave for hibernation. We would leave these caves up as long as we could and let the children go inside to complete their SSR time. (Self Selected Reading)
Writing: At the end of the winter/hibernation unit, students could pick their favorite animal that hibernates and complete two sentences about that animal with a detailed setting. The setting should tell me where that animal hibernates at.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems at this time.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Reading Logs
Reading logs are journals in which students write their reactions and opinions about books they are reading or listening to the teacher read aloud. The students could list words, illustrate, diagrams/thinking maps, and story elements (character, setting, background, etc.) in these journals.
Sometimes students could choose what they write about or they could respond to questions or prompts that the teacher has prepared. For example, the teacher would instruct students to draw and write about your favorite character in the story that was just read aloud. Students would follow three steps: 1. Prepare reading logs (teacher supplied and binded), 2. Write/draw entries, and 3. Share entries with other students. Obviously Kindergartners could not write in single or multiple sentences at the beginning of the year, therefore they would illustrate their thoughts through pictures.
Sometimes students could choose what they write about or they could respond to questions or prompts that the teacher has prepared. For example, the teacher would instruct students to draw and write about your favorite character in the story that was just read aloud. Students would follow three steps: 1. Prepare reading logs (teacher supplied and binded), 2. Write/draw entries, and 3. Share entries with other students. Obviously Kindergartners could not write in single or multiple sentences at the beginning of the year, therefore they would illustrate their thoughts through pictures.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Grouchy Ladybug By: Eric Carle
Book Genre: Fiction (Children and young adult picture book)
Publishing Info: HarperCollins Publishers (48 pages)
Awards and honors received: N/A
Summary: The Grouchy Ladybug does not demonstrate good manors throughout this book. She will not say please and thank you, she won’t share aphids and she thinks she is bigger and better than everybody. She goes from animal to animal trying to pick a fight but realizes every animal she goes to is bigger than her. As the children follow the ladybug on her journey through the book they will learn the important concepts of size, shape, time and the benefits of good manors.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I just love Eric Carle books! He is such an amazing author! I have never read this book before and recently went out to buy it for when I teach about ladybugs! I was very please that he correlated time into this book with illustrated clocks to help teach children to tell time. One of our math standards is having the students tell time to the hour which is perfect for this story. The story also teaches children about feelings and how to deal with them positively.
Reading level: 2.8 (2nd grade 8th month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Math: I have a classroom set of the mini yellow analog clocks for my students to use when I teach about time. I would give each student a clock and as I read the story a second time through I would have each child correlate the time with each page.
Health: Part of our health standards are to teach children about the different feelings and emotions. I would use my Mimio (Similar to the Smart board) and show them different types of scenarios and the students would have to figure out what emotions each character in the picture is feeling and why. For example, the picture could have a couple sitting on the beach smiling with a baby near by crying.
Science: I have done this activity before after reading another ladybug story and this particular activity brings my ladybug unit to life. I would suggest competing this the first day of the unit. I went to the dollar store and bought 4-5 bug catchers. I bring my students outside in groups of 4 and they get to search through the grass looking for ladybugs. They usually find 10-30 ladybugs!! They get to bring them back to the classroom and watch them. (Many writing activities could be linked to this) We put food and water in the catcher. They usually last about 2 days before starting to die. I try and release them back before they all start dying!
Writing: I would complete the science activity from above and carry that over into my writing lesson. I would have students tell me two facts that they have learned about ladybugs. (Either from my teaching, or a United Streaming video) Students then need to come up with a detailed setting that matches their sentences.
Art: Have students paint a small red paper plate. When dry students will dip their finger into back paint and make the spots on the back with their finger. We will then glue the head and legs on using black construction paper and glue a set of wiggly eyes on.
Interactive technology: Show students different types of ladybugs using the Mimio. Most children only think there are red ladybugs. If you log into United Streaming there are also many short video segments about ladybugs that you could use to reinforce your teaching.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Publishing Info: HarperCollins Publishers (48 pages)
Awards and honors received: N/A
Summary: The Grouchy Ladybug does not demonstrate good manors throughout this book. She will not say please and thank you, she won’t share aphids and she thinks she is bigger and better than everybody. She goes from animal to animal trying to pick a fight but realizes every animal she goes to is bigger than her. As the children follow the ladybug on her journey through the book they will learn the important concepts of size, shape, time and the benefits of good manors.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I just love Eric Carle books! He is such an amazing author! I have never read this book before and recently went out to buy it for when I teach about ladybugs! I was very please that he correlated time into this book with illustrated clocks to help teach children to tell time. One of our math standards is having the students tell time to the hour which is perfect for this story. The story also teaches children about feelings and how to deal with them positively.
Reading level: 2.8 (2nd grade 8th month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Math: I have a classroom set of the mini yellow analog clocks for my students to use when I teach about time. I would give each student a clock and as I read the story a second time through I would have each child correlate the time with each page.
Health: Part of our health standards are to teach children about the different feelings and emotions. I would use my Mimio (Similar to the Smart board) and show them different types of scenarios and the students would have to figure out what emotions each character in the picture is feeling and why. For example, the picture could have a couple sitting on the beach smiling with a baby near by crying.
Science: I have done this activity before after reading another ladybug story and this particular activity brings my ladybug unit to life. I would suggest competing this the first day of the unit. I went to the dollar store and bought 4-5 bug catchers. I bring my students outside in groups of 4 and they get to search through the grass looking for ladybugs. They usually find 10-30 ladybugs!! They get to bring them back to the classroom and watch them. (Many writing activities could be linked to this) We put food and water in the catcher. They usually last about 2 days before starting to die. I try and release them back before they all start dying!
Writing: I would complete the science activity from above and carry that over into my writing lesson. I would have students tell me two facts that they have learned about ladybugs. (Either from my teaching, or a United Streaming video) Students then need to come up with a detailed setting that matches their sentences.
Art: Have students paint a small red paper plate. When dry students will dip their finger into back paint and make the spots on the back with their finger. We will then glue the head and legs on using black construction paper and glue a set of wiggly eyes on.
Interactive technology: Show students different types of ladybugs using the Mimio. Most children only think there are red ladybugs. If you log into United Streaming there are also many short video segments about ladybugs that you could use to reinforce your teaching.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Swimmy By: Leo Lionni
Book Genre: General fiction
Publishing Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers (32 pages)
Awards or honors received: CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK
Summary: Swimmy (The main character) is the only survivor of an encounter between a school of fish and a large tuna fish. He becomes very lonely loosing his family and friends and notices that the sea is full of wonderful creatures, so he swam from marvel to marvel. When he meets a new school of fish of his own kind hiding among the rocks, he is determined to think of a plan so they can safely explore the sea without getting eaten. Swimmy comes up with the perfect plan that enables them all to swim with the giants.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! The main reason I really liked this story was because it taught the children perseverance, cooperation and the power of working together. This book is also filled with challenging words which would lead to further learning of vocabulary. (Darting, fierce, anemones, invisible and gulp) The author uses water color to complete the pictures. The only set back to this book in my opinion are the illustrations in the story are a little drab, I would have liked to see brighter more vibrant colors.
Reading level: Accelerated Reading level 2.9 (2nd grade 9th month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Talk about how many words in our language have more than one meaning. (Homophones)For example: A school of fish swam in the sea and I see the children playing on the playground. (sea, see)
Writing: Kindergarten students are so good at using their imagination. I would have my students create (by using illustrations) a new sea creature never discovered before. They would have to incorporate their new creature into an undersea setting. For their writing they would have to tell me what it eats, create its name and tell me what kind of behaviors it might have.
Math Extension: I would bring in materials and ingredients to make a blue jello ocean. I would talk about the recipe and even have a few volunteers to help me mix and pour. Place it in the refrigerator for the recommended time. When complete place 99 red swedish fish in the shape of a fish and place one black jelly bean for the eye to represent swimmy. Counting to 100 is one of our math assessments. Students would count as we added each swedish fish to the “ocean”.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Publishing Info: Knopf Books for Young Readers (32 pages)
Awards or honors received: CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK
Summary: Swimmy (The main character) is the only survivor of an encounter between a school of fish and a large tuna fish. He becomes very lonely loosing his family and friends and notices that the sea is full of wonderful creatures, so he swam from marvel to marvel. When he meets a new school of fish of his own kind hiding among the rocks, he is determined to think of a plan so they can safely explore the sea without getting eaten. Swimmy comes up with the perfect plan that enables them all to swim with the giants.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! The main reason I really liked this story was because it taught the children perseverance, cooperation and the power of working together. This book is also filled with challenging words which would lead to further learning of vocabulary. (Darting, fierce, anemones, invisible and gulp) The author uses water color to complete the pictures. The only set back to this book in my opinion are the illustrations in the story are a little drab, I would have liked to see brighter more vibrant colors.
Reading level: Accelerated Reading level 2.9 (2nd grade 9th month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Talk about how many words in our language have more than one meaning. (Homophones)For example: A school of fish swam in the sea and I see the children playing on the playground. (sea, see)
Writing: Kindergarten students are so good at using their imagination. I would have my students create (by using illustrations) a new sea creature never discovered before. They would have to incorporate their new creature into an undersea setting. For their writing they would have to tell me what it eats, create its name and tell me what kind of behaviors it might have.
Math Extension: I would bring in materials and ingredients to make a blue jello ocean. I would talk about the recipe and even have a few volunteers to help me mix and pour. Place it in the refrigerator for the recommended time. When complete place 99 red swedish fish in the shape of a fish and place one black jelly bean for the eye to represent swimmy. Counting to 100 is one of our math assessments. Students would count as we added each swedish fish to the “ocean”.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Copycat Fish By: Marcus Pfister
Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Night Sky Books (24 pages)
Awards or honors received: N/A
Summary: It’s the first day of school and Rainbow Fish gets very annoyed that a small fish named Tug did everything that he did. Miss Cuttle, the teacher notices this taking place and in the middle of the story has the students completing a task. She groups the children and puts Rainbow Fish and Tug together. Their job was to create a beautiful garden border for the school. Rainbow Fish was not happy and told Tug to go away and do his part by himself. Tug told him that he wanted to be like Rainbow Fish because everything he did was good. Rainbow Fish felt mixed up, he was so mad that everything he did got copied but on the other hand he understood what Tug was trying to say. So Rainbow Fish decided to worked together with Tug to complete a beautiful garden. Miss Cuttle was very pleased how well they worked together and Tug and Rainbow Fish became best of friends.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. The Copycat Fish is a great story to introduce a new vocabulary word. (Copycat) I also like this book as a teaching tool when I teach the children that just because their friend is doing something that is going to get them in trouble, they don’t have to do it also. This is a hard lesson to teach in kindergarten. The reason I gave it a good rating instead of a great would be for print/book size. The particular book that I read was a small paperback version and was hard to read the words and just in general the picture size was small. Overall though a great teaching tool that lends itself to many teaching activities.
Reading level: Accelerated Reader Level 3.4 (3rd grade 4th month)
Interest Level: K-2
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Writing/Art: Give the students a fish template on white construction paper. Next, give each child a handful of little torn pieces of tissue paper. Students will then glue each piece onto the fish template making it look like Rainbow Fish. We will then glue the completed fish template onto a large white sheet of construction paper with a line for the children to write at the bottom. Students will need to complete their setting with their Rainbow Fish and write 1-2 sentences describing their setting. For example: The Rainbow Fish is colorful. He is swimming with Tug.
Math: I would give each student a cup of beans. Students would need to sort the beans in groups of fives and tens just like the fish did in the story. At the end I would let them glue their beans onto a piece of construction paper to make a design. Each student would tell us about their design. Extension: I could also give them a different variety of beans and they would have to sort by color.
Reading: Before reading the story I would ask the children if they knew what the word copycat meant. I would then proceed to explain the word and give them examples. I would then ask the students has there ever been a time when someone copycatted you and why do you think they did that? Get the children thinking before we read the story.
After the story is complete I would ask comprehension questions (HOTS) to check for understanding. Then we would complete a flow map of main details that happened in the story.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Publishing Info: Night Sky Books (24 pages)
Awards or honors received: N/A
Summary: It’s the first day of school and Rainbow Fish gets very annoyed that a small fish named Tug did everything that he did. Miss Cuttle, the teacher notices this taking place and in the middle of the story has the students completing a task. She groups the children and puts Rainbow Fish and Tug together. Their job was to create a beautiful garden border for the school. Rainbow Fish was not happy and told Tug to go away and do his part by himself. Tug told him that he wanted to be like Rainbow Fish because everything he did was good. Rainbow Fish felt mixed up, he was so mad that everything he did got copied but on the other hand he understood what Tug was trying to say. So Rainbow Fish decided to worked together with Tug to complete a beautiful garden. Miss Cuttle was very pleased how well they worked together and Tug and Rainbow Fish became best of friends.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. The Copycat Fish is a great story to introduce a new vocabulary word. (Copycat) I also like this book as a teaching tool when I teach the children that just because their friend is doing something that is going to get them in trouble, they don’t have to do it also. This is a hard lesson to teach in kindergarten. The reason I gave it a good rating instead of a great would be for print/book size. The particular book that I read was a small paperback version and was hard to read the words and just in general the picture size was small. Overall though a great teaching tool that lends itself to many teaching activities.
Reading level: Accelerated Reader Level 3.4 (3rd grade 4th month)
Interest Level: K-2
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Writing/Art: Give the students a fish template on white construction paper. Next, give each child a handful of little torn pieces of tissue paper. Students will then glue each piece onto the fish template making it look like Rainbow Fish. We will then glue the completed fish template onto a large white sheet of construction paper with a line for the children to write at the bottom. Students will need to complete their setting with their Rainbow Fish and write 1-2 sentences describing their setting. For example: The Rainbow Fish is colorful. He is swimming with Tug.
Math: I would give each student a cup of beans. Students would need to sort the beans in groups of fives and tens just like the fish did in the story. At the end I would let them glue their beans onto a piece of construction paper to make a design. Each student would tell us about their design. Extension: I could also give them a different variety of beans and they would have to sort by color.
Reading: Before reading the story I would ask the children if they knew what the word copycat meant. I would then proceed to explain the word and give them examples. I would then ask the students has there ever been a time when someone copycatted you and why do you think they did that? Get the children thinking before we read the story.
After the story is complete I would ask comprehension questions (HOTS) to check for understanding. Then we would complete a flow map of main details that happened in the story.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Barnyard Hullabaloo By: Giles Andreae
Book Genre: Non-fiction
Publishing Info: Tiger Tales (March 2002) 32 pages
Awards or honors received: N/A
Summary: The story's introduction is a picture of the barn from outside the fence showing all the animals that live inside the barnyard. Then the rooster, chickens, cow, sheep dog, barnyard cat and all the other animals introduce themselves through a rhyming, first person verse. As night falls the barnyard animals get ready for bed and the story introduces the night time animals. (Fox and owl) The conclusion of this story ends the same as it started but all the animals are fast asleep.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! This book would be the perfect book to introduce a farm unit because it briefly describes the animals with a kid friendly illustrated picture attached. The book is designed so that on every page there is a rhyming verse that teaches about a different animal. For example: Rooster
Cock-a-doodle doo!
Cock-a-doodle doo!
I’m the rockin’ rooster, baby,
Tell me, who are you?
It also has rhyming words throughout the book which is a kindergarten skill that is very hard to grasp. It also has animal sounds/motions written in words next to each animal which the children will love making sounds to when I’m finished reading the page. For example, next to the turkey are the words gobble, gobble. I was very please with this book selection.
Reading level: Accelerated Reader Level 3.7
Interest level: K-3
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Math: I would print out pictures from the story and have children sort them by size. (Little, medium, big)
Students could pick their favorite character from the story. They would get a large paper plate and they would need to create their animal’s face. I would glue a large popsicle stick to the inside and it would become a mask. Once everyone is finished, we would graph what our favorite animals were from the story.
Science: Have students touch magnets to various farm tools and have them describe what is happening. If you have enough materials you could make a little container for each table so students would not have to wait doing this whole group.
Writing: As an opening activity after reading this story have children draw a barnyard setting along with all the animals they think should be in a barn. Students would then write 1-2 sentences about their picture. When teaching kindergarten make sure you always model first. This really teaches good technique at an early age.
Connecting home with school: At the beginning of my farm unit I would send home a letter to parents about a farm project that they are expected to do. I would give two weeks for this to be completed. As a culminating activity have students/parents complete a farm diorama. It could be as simple as gluing paper farm animals inside a shoe box to actually purchasing plastic farm animals and making it 3-D. I really like trying to create projects where the child and parent needs to work cooperatively with each other to complete a task. This would also reinforce what I have been teaching over the last two weeks. We could place the farm dioramas in the library for all students to see.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Publishing Info: Tiger Tales (March 2002) 32 pages
Awards or honors received: N/A
Summary: The story's introduction is a picture of the barn from outside the fence showing all the animals that live inside the barnyard. Then the rooster, chickens, cow, sheep dog, barnyard cat and all the other animals introduce themselves through a rhyming, first person verse. As night falls the barnyard animals get ready for bed and the story introduces the night time animals. (Fox and owl) The conclusion of this story ends the same as it started but all the animals are fast asleep.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! This book would be the perfect book to introduce a farm unit because it briefly describes the animals with a kid friendly illustrated picture attached. The book is designed so that on every page there is a rhyming verse that teaches about a different animal. For example: Rooster
Cock-a-doodle doo!
Cock-a-doodle doo!
I’m the rockin’ rooster, baby,
Tell me, who are you?
It also has rhyming words throughout the book which is a kindergarten skill that is very hard to grasp. It also has animal sounds/motions written in words next to each animal which the children will love making sounds to when I’m finished reading the page. For example, next to the turkey are the words gobble, gobble. I was very please with this book selection.
Reading level: Accelerated Reader Level 3.7
Interest level: K-3
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Math: I would print out pictures from the story and have children sort them by size. (Little, medium, big)
Students could pick their favorite character from the story. They would get a large paper plate and they would need to create their animal’s face. I would glue a large popsicle stick to the inside and it would become a mask. Once everyone is finished, we would graph what our favorite animals were from the story.
Science: Have students touch magnets to various farm tools and have them describe what is happening. If you have enough materials you could make a little container for each table so students would not have to wait doing this whole group.
Writing: As an opening activity after reading this story have children draw a barnyard setting along with all the animals they think should be in a barn. Students would then write 1-2 sentences about their picture. When teaching kindergarten make sure you always model first. This really teaches good technique at an early age.
Connecting home with school: At the beginning of my farm unit I would send home a letter to parents about a farm project that they are expected to do. I would give two weeks for this to be completed. As a culminating activity have students/parents complete a farm diorama. It could be as simple as gluing paper farm animals inside a shoe box to actually purchasing plastic farm animals and making it 3-D. I really like trying to create projects where the child and parent needs to work cooperatively with each other to complete a task. This would also reinforce what I have been teaching over the last two weeks. We could place the farm dioramas in the library for all students to see.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
Gingerbread Baby By: Jan Brett
Book Genre: This book has been labeled with a combination of three genres.
(Fable, Folk Tale and Myth)
Publishing Info: Scholastic Incorporated (32 pages)
Awards or honors received: None
Summary: The story begins with Matti and his mother wanting to make gingerbread. The directions called to bake for 8 full minutes. Matti couldn't wait any longer and opened the oven door and out jumped a gingerbread baby. Matti’s parents went on a wild chase to catch the gingerbread baby. As the story continues they accumulate a large variety of animals and village people also trying the catch him. Meanwhile Matti is at home mixing and stirring another gingerbread recipe. He’s going to try to catch the gingerbread baby himself. As the cat, barking dog, goats, Martha and Madeline, pig, villagers, the fox and the milk and cheese man ran after him the gingerbread man saw a gingerbread house right in the middle of a clearing. The gingerbread baby was very excited! As everybody made their way to the gingerbread house all that was left were crumbs. They started back home to tell Matti the sad news that something had gotten the gingerbread baby before they could. As they entered the house his parents saw that he had been busy making a gingerbread house while they were gone. Only Matti could hear the tiny voice from inside the gingerbread house. He had done it, he caught the gingerbread man!
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! Jan Brett wrote several different gingerbread man books which the children absolutely love hearing. This was the last book written by her that I haven’t read and like all the others I was very pleased! I really like how Jan Brett made the gingerbread boy come out of the oven as a gingerbread baby since it didn’t get to bake all the way! (Very clever) The illustrations are very kid friendly while at the same time providing some suspense during the reading. I really liked how on the side of the pictures it showed what Matti was doing at home while everyone was chasing after the gingerbread man. Students could make predictions what Matti was trying to do. I really enjoyed reading this book and I know my children will also!
Reading level: 2.6 (Accelerated Reader) 2nd grade 6th month
Interest level: K-3
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading/Writing: Students will create a double bubble map to compare and contrast the original Gingerbread Man to the Gingerbread Baby. I will model how to do this on the board and then students would be asked to go back to their seats and copy it from the board. (This would be very hard to do early in the year)
Writing: Students would have to use their imagination and come up with their own way to catch the gingerbread baby. They would have to illustrate it and write 1-2 sentences explaining how.
Math: I would bring in all the ingredients to make a gingerbread man cookie. (Wal-Mart sells the giant gingerbread man cookie molds) I would then copy the recipe onto a large poster board where each student can see. Complete one ingredient at a time and mix in front of students. I am fortunate enough to have use of an oven at my school. Place the gingerbread man in the oven and put tape around the handle to make sure the gingerbread man doesn’t get out! Right before it was time I would have my assistant take out the gingerbread cookie and hide it making sure she left a note behind near the oven. The note would send my students on a chase around the school looking for the gingerbread man. Finally the last clue would have the cookie there for the children to eat!
Memory Game: Find pictures of the characters from the story online and make a set of each character. Paste them on card stock and have them laminated. Students could play a game of memory using the characters from the story. I would only use five characters because that would be ten cards and anymore than that is too much for kindergarten.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
(Fable, Folk Tale and Myth)
Publishing Info: Scholastic Incorporated (32 pages)
Awards or honors received: None
Summary: The story begins with Matti and his mother wanting to make gingerbread. The directions called to bake for 8 full minutes. Matti couldn't wait any longer and opened the oven door and out jumped a gingerbread baby. Matti’s parents went on a wild chase to catch the gingerbread baby. As the story continues they accumulate a large variety of animals and village people also trying the catch him. Meanwhile Matti is at home mixing and stirring another gingerbread recipe. He’s going to try to catch the gingerbread baby himself. As the cat, barking dog, goats, Martha and Madeline, pig, villagers, the fox and the milk and cheese man ran after him the gingerbread man saw a gingerbread house right in the middle of a clearing. The gingerbread baby was very excited! As everybody made their way to the gingerbread house all that was left were crumbs. They started back home to tell Matti the sad news that something had gotten the gingerbread baby before they could. As they entered the house his parents saw that he had been busy making a gingerbread house while they were gone. Only Matti could hear the tiny voice from inside the gingerbread house. He had done it, he caught the gingerbread man!
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! Jan Brett wrote several different gingerbread man books which the children absolutely love hearing. This was the last book written by her that I haven’t read and like all the others I was very pleased! I really like how Jan Brett made the gingerbread boy come out of the oven as a gingerbread baby since it didn’t get to bake all the way! (Very clever) The illustrations are very kid friendly while at the same time providing some suspense during the reading. I really liked how on the side of the pictures it showed what Matti was doing at home while everyone was chasing after the gingerbread man. Students could make predictions what Matti was trying to do. I really enjoyed reading this book and I know my children will also!
Reading level: 2.6 (Accelerated Reader) 2nd grade 6th month
Interest level: K-3
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading/Writing: Students will create a double bubble map to compare and contrast the original Gingerbread Man to the Gingerbread Baby. I will model how to do this on the board and then students would be asked to go back to their seats and copy it from the board. (This would be very hard to do early in the year)
Writing: Students would have to use their imagination and come up with their own way to catch the gingerbread baby. They would have to illustrate it and write 1-2 sentences explaining how.
Math: I would bring in all the ingredients to make a gingerbread man cookie. (Wal-Mart sells the giant gingerbread man cookie molds) I would then copy the recipe onto a large poster board where each student can see. Complete one ingredient at a time and mix in front of students. I am fortunate enough to have use of an oven at my school. Place the gingerbread man in the oven and put tape around the handle to make sure the gingerbread man doesn’t get out! Right before it was time I would have my assistant take out the gingerbread cookie and hide it making sure she left a note behind near the oven. The note would send my students on a chase around the school looking for the gingerbread man. Finally the last clue would have the cookie there for the children to eat!
Memory Game: Find pictures of the characters from the story online and make a set of each character. Paste them on card stock and have them laminated. Students could play a game of memory using the characters from the story. I would only use five characters because that would be ten cards and anymore than that is too much for kindergarten.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
The Polar Express By: Chris Van Allsburg
Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin Company (32 pages)
Awards and honors received: THE CALDECOTT MEDAL
Summary: The Polar Express is an old-fashioned train that takes children to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to meet Santa Clause and to see him off on his annual sleigh ride. This is a personal retelling of the young boy’s adventures as an adult. As he lays in bed on Christmas Eve the boy hears the sounds of a hissing stream train and squeaking metal. He boards the mysterious train and heads towards the North Pole. Once the children got to the North Pole they told them that one child will get the first gift of Christmas. They exited the train and saw thousands of elves and heard the sound of silver sleigh bells. Santa appears and out of all the children picks the boy in the story. He sits on Santa’s lap and gets to pick the first gift of Christmas. There was one thing that the little boy really wanted. He wanted a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh. Santa gladly reached and gave the boy the bell. Shortly after the children loaded back on the Polar Express and on the way home the boy notices he lost the silver sleigh bell from Santa. The next day was Christmas and the family came downstairs to open presents and when they thought everything was opened Sarah (his sister) found a small box behind the tree. The boy open it and it was his bell that he forgot on Santa’s sleigh with a note from Santa. The boy shook the bell and heard the most beautiful noise ever! His mom replied, “Oh that’s too bad honey that your bell is broken.” For only believers can hear the sound of the bell.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! The illustrations in The Polar Express are very vivid and child friendly. The author uses all of the senses when describing the boy’s journey through out the book. He describes the sensation of the train rolling up and down the mountains "like a car on a roller coaster," and he describes the taste of rich, hot chocolate. These types of vivid descriptions are a great way to model for young children who are working on writing descriptive sentences. It also has a clear beginning, middle and end which lends itself to our literacy standards. This one story also leads to many activities across the curriculum which is a major positive.
Reading level: 3.8 (Third grade, 8th month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible Uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Writing: The Polar Express has a clear beginning, middle and end. I would complete a flow map of the events in the story. Retelling the story helps children not only remember what happened but also to choose the important parts and sequence them in correct order. Students then could go back to their seats and draw a picture of their favorite part of the story and tell me why it’s their favorite part.
Double Bubble Map Activity: After listening to the story we would watch The Polar Express movie in our pajama’s while drinking warm hot chocolate. When the movie is complete we would compare it to the book to see how the events are the same and different.
Reading Extension: I would role play the story with the children after reading it through once. If your classroom permits, have each child take their chair and place it in two rows like they were on the Polar Express. I would read the story again for the second time and the children could use their imagination and pretend they were on the train. At the end I could give each child a bell to ring and wear around their necks the rest of the day.
Potential problems or difficulties: The only potential problem I see would be if a parent told their child there is no Santa and they start telling the other children when we talk about why the boy’s mom didn’t hear the bell. In my years teaching I have only ever had one kindergartner that yelled out, “my mom said there is no Santa.” As a teacher that is a tough place to be in because 99% of your children at that age still believe in Santa and you don't want to ruin that for them! In each situation you just need to handle it was common sense!
Publishing Info: Houghton Mifflin Company (32 pages)
Awards and honors received: THE CALDECOTT MEDAL
Summary: The Polar Express is an old-fashioned train that takes children to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to meet Santa Clause and to see him off on his annual sleigh ride. This is a personal retelling of the young boy’s adventures as an adult. As he lays in bed on Christmas Eve the boy hears the sounds of a hissing stream train and squeaking metal. He boards the mysterious train and heads towards the North Pole. Once the children got to the North Pole they told them that one child will get the first gift of Christmas. They exited the train and saw thousands of elves and heard the sound of silver sleigh bells. Santa appears and out of all the children picks the boy in the story. He sits on Santa’s lap and gets to pick the first gift of Christmas. There was one thing that the little boy really wanted. He wanted a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh. Santa gladly reached and gave the boy the bell. Shortly after the children loaded back on the Polar Express and on the way home the boy notices he lost the silver sleigh bell from Santa. The next day was Christmas and the family came downstairs to open presents and when they thought everything was opened Sarah (his sister) found a small box behind the tree. The boy open it and it was his bell that he forgot on Santa’s sleigh with a note from Santa. The boy shook the bell and heard the most beautiful noise ever! His mom replied, “Oh that’s too bad honey that your bell is broken.” For only believers can hear the sound of the bell.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! The illustrations in The Polar Express are very vivid and child friendly. The author uses all of the senses when describing the boy’s journey through out the book. He describes the sensation of the train rolling up and down the mountains "like a car on a roller coaster," and he describes the taste of rich, hot chocolate. These types of vivid descriptions are a great way to model for young children who are working on writing descriptive sentences. It also has a clear beginning, middle and end which lends itself to our literacy standards. This one story also leads to many activities across the curriculum which is a major positive.
Reading level: 3.8 (Third grade, 8th month)
Interest level: K-5
Possible Uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Writing: The Polar Express has a clear beginning, middle and end. I would complete a flow map of the events in the story. Retelling the story helps children not only remember what happened but also to choose the important parts and sequence them in correct order. Students then could go back to their seats and draw a picture of their favorite part of the story and tell me why it’s their favorite part.
Double Bubble Map Activity: After listening to the story we would watch The Polar Express movie in our pajama’s while drinking warm hot chocolate. When the movie is complete we would compare it to the book to see how the events are the same and different.
Reading Extension: I would role play the story with the children after reading it through once. If your classroom permits, have each child take their chair and place it in two rows like they were on the Polar Express. I would read the story again for the second time and the children could use their imagination and pretend they were on the train. At the end I could give each child a bell to ring and wear around their necks the rest of the day.
Potential problems or difficulties: The only potential problem I see would be if a parent told their child there is no Santa and they start telling the other children when we talk about why the boy’s mom didn’t hear the bell. In my years teaching I have only ever had one kindergartner that yelled out, “my mom said there is no Santa.” As a teacher that is a tough place to be in because 99% of your children at that age still believe in Santa and you don't want to ruin that for them! In each situation you just need to handle it was common sense!
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type By: Doreen Cronin
Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division (32 pages)
Awards or honors received: CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK
Summary: The story starts with Farmer Brown having a major problem. His milk cows discovered that they love to type. All Farmer Brown hears all day is….Click, clack, MOO. Click, clack, MOO. Clickety, clack, MOO. He couldn't believe it!! Impossible, cows can’t type! When he went to the barn to investigate there was a note on the barn saying the barn is very cold and the cows would like some electric blankets. The farmer refused so the cows went on strike! The next day he went to the barn and found a note saying the hens are cold and they would like electric blankets also. The farmer refused so the hens went on strike! The farmer did not know what to do; he can’t run a farm without eggs or milk. Farmer Brown got out his typewriter and wrote a note demanding milk and egg from the animals. The cows held an emergency meeting and all the animals gathered. After long hard deliberation they came to a decision. They wrote Farmer Brown a note saying they will exchange their typewriter for electric blankets and if he agrees they will give the typewriter to the ducks. Farmer Brown decided this was a great deal. The animals were ecstatic and on the last page they show all the cows and hens sleeping in the barn with their electric blankets.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I really liked this book for several reasons. First, this book would be awesome to read before introducing letter format since it gives several examples throughout the book. This book would fit right into my curriculum because mid year we teach about letter format. I also thought the pictures were fabulous and the expression on the animal’s faces would keep any child interested and anticipating the next page! It also teaches and shows the use of "old" technology. I would guess that my kindergarten students would not know what a typewriter is and this book would be great opportunity to teach it.
Reading level: 2.3 (Accelerated Reader) 2 grade 3rd month
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: There is a predictable phrase in the story which kindergarten children love to participate in reading with the teacher. (Click, clack, MOO. Click, clack, MOO. Clickety, clack, MOO.) I would read the story through once and then let the students join the second time in helping me read it.
Activity 2: This would need to be prepared before hand but I would rewrite on large poster one letter in letter format that the cows wrote Farmer Brown. After reading the story through once I would talk about letter format by showing the students the letter. I bought one year these sticky strips which I would have the students come up to the letter and put the stick strips around their sight words or words that they can read. In general my students love coming up and reading or finding words that they know! This is great blending/reading practice! This also leads to good classroom management when you get the students actively involved in the story.
Writing: I would ahead of time talk to a upper grade teacher (3rd grade) and ask her for a list of her students. I would then give each of my students one name and we would practice writing a short letter to the third grade students using correct letter format just like farmer Brown and the cows used. This would be a two day writing lesson. On day two we would address the envelope and “mail” the letters to the 3rd grade. Then that teacher would have her student’s write back!
Centers: Borrow a typewriter and actually show the children how we used to type before computers and let them explore and carefully touch the buttons.
United Streaming: (Online) Type in Click, Clack, Moo Cows that type and you're able to watch the story being read on line. (9:22) Grades: K-5 I would complete a double bubble map with the students comparing and contrasting the story I read in class with the story listened to on the internet.
Potential problems or difficulties: The only potential problem that I would anticipate would be my kindergarten students wouldn’t be able to read the letters that the 3rd graders wrote back. I would have to set some time aside to read whole group each of the letters individually.
Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division (32 pages)
Awards or honors received: CALDECOTT HONOR BOOK
Summary: The story starts with Farmer Brown having a major problem. His milk cows discovered that they love to type. All Farmer Brown hears all day is….Click, clack, MOO. Click, clack, MOO. Clickety, clack, MOO. He couldn't believe it!! Impossible, cows can’t type! When he went to the barn to investigate there was a note on the barn saying the barn is very cold and the cows would like some electric blankets. The farmer refused so the cows went on strike! The next day he went to the barn and found a note saying the hens are cold and they would like electric blankets also. The farmer refused so the hens went on strike! The farmer did not know what to do; he can’t run a farm without eggs or milk. Farmer Brown got out his typewriter and wrote a note demanding milk and egg from the animals. The cows held an emergency meeting and all the animals gathered. After long hard deliberation they came to a decision. They wrote Farmer Brown a note saying they will exchange their typewriter for electric blankets and if he agrees they will give the typewriter to the ducks. Farmer Brown decided this was a great deal. The animals were ecstatic and on the last page they show all the cows and hens sleeping in the barn with their electric blankets.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! I really liked this book for several reasons. First, this book would be awesome to read before introducing letter format since it gives several examples throughout the book. This book would fit right into my curriculum because mid year we teach about letter format. I also thought the pictures were fabulous and the expression on the animal’s faces would keep any child interested and anticipating the next page! It also teaches and shows the use of "old" technology. I would guess that my kindergarten students would not know what a typewriter is and this book would be great opportunity to teach it.
Reading level: 2.3 (Accelerated Reader) 2 grade 3rd month
Interest level: K-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: There is a predictable phrase in the story which kindergarten children love to participate in reading with the teacher. (Click, clack, MOO. Click, clack, MOO. Clickety, clack, MOO.) I would read the story through once and then let the students join the second time in helping me read it.
Activity 2: This would need to be prepared before hand but I would rewrite on large poster one letter in letter format that the cows wrote Farmer Brown. After reading the story through once I would talk about letter format by showing the students the letter. I bought one year these sticky strips which I would have the students come up to the letter and put the stick strips around their sight words or words that they can read. In general my students love coming up and reading or finding words that they know! This is great blending/reading practice! This also leads to good classroom management when you get the students actively involved in the story.
Writing: I would ahead of time talk to a upper grade teacher (3rd grade) and ask her for a list of her students. I would then give each of my students one name and we would practice writing a short letter to the third grade students using correct letter format just like farmer Brown and the cows used. This would be a two day writing lesson. On day two we would address the envelope and “mail” the letters to the 3rd grade. Then that teacher would have her student’s write back!
Centers: Borrow a typewriter and actually show the children how we used to type before computers and let them explore and carefully touch the buttons.
United Streaming: (Online) Type in Click, Clack, Moo Cows that type and you're able to watch the story being read on line. (9:22) Grades: K-5 I would complete a double bubble map with the students comparing and contrasting the story I read in class with the story listened to on the internet.
Potential problems or difficulties: The only potential problem that I would anticipate would be my kindergarten students wouldn’t be able to read the letters that the 3rd graders wrote back. I would have to set some time aside to read whole group each of the letters individually.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Plant Plumbing (A book About Roots and Stems) By: Susan Blackaby
Book Genre: Non-fiction
Publishing Info: Picture Window Books (24 pages)
Awards or honors received: None
Summary: This book is about all aspects of a plant. It starts out teaching the children about roots and stems and why they are important to the health of the plant itself. It teaches the children that some vegetables grow above ground and some vegetables grow below ground. It illustrates this through pictures. For example: Vegetables you dig to eat are... carrots, radishes, turnips and beets. Fruits that grow above the ground are... blueberries, strawberries and watermelon. It proceeds to talk about how a stem is like a bundle of straws that suck up water to feed the plant. Some stems are soft and green like flower stems or vegetable stems but some are hard and woody like a tree trunk. The books wraps up by taking about how some plants stop making food in the winter and lose their leaves. In the spring, plants use food stored in the roots to start growing again.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. This book had many positives but one negative in my opinion. The book was beautifully illustrated using brilliant water colors. The pictures were large and illustrated the words to where the children could understand by looking at the pictures. The book was sectioned off into parts which I really liked. It started off talking about plant parts and then went to the different kinds of stems and so forth. The negative that I found when reading this book is that for kindergarten we take one aspect of a plant at a time. I feel that this book has way too much content to read all in one sitting. It jumps from one topic to another and I would be afraid the students would not retain what I was trying to teach. For example, I would break this book up so when I taught about stems I would only read the stem section and then complete an activity about stems. Break it down for my students. Overall though a wonderful book!
Reading level: 3.0 (Accelerated Reader)
Interest level: k-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Ask HOTS questions about the story. I have a comprehension ball that I would throw around to check for understanding.
Writing: For teaching the parts of a plant (which is part of our curriculum) I would have the students draw a large plant on their paper. They would need to label each part of the plant. (stem, root, leaves, flower) Then for their writing of a sentence (s) they would need to tell me one reason why roots are so important to a plant.
Hands-on activity: (Art) This would need to be completed in small groups. Use one sheet of green construction paper. At about 3 inches from the bottom place a line from side to side. Student would use already cut pieces of white string and glue them from the line down representing the roots. Then we would take a piece of cut pipe cleaner and glue it as a stem. I would have the children cut their own leaves out of green construction paper and glue them from the pipe cleaner. Then I could take a mini cupcake wrapper and glue it representing the flower. Then take sunflower seeds and glue them into the middle of the flower representing the seeds. Students then would add a sky and sun which a plant also needs to grow! You could even have the students label each part of the plant if time permits.
Prediction Chart: I would complete this before reading the book. I have a Mimio in my classroom so I would use Internet technology but if you don't have that luxury you could draw or print out pictures from the Internet. I would have carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, strawberries, watermelons and blueberries on the board. I would have the child make predictions which fruits and vegetables they thought would grow under the ground or above the ground. Then after reading the story we would check our predictions and change the fruits and vegetables to where they belong.
Science: Bring in white carnations for each student. Put them in colored water and place in the classroom. Have students make predictions about what is going to happen since it's in purple water. This lesson will show that the stem sucks up the purple water and disperses it to the flower because the white flower will turn purple!!!
United Streaming: (online program) I would use my Mimio to complete this activity! Type in Helpful Plants a 3:08 second video for grades k-2. Students will learn that plants need sunshine and water to live. This is a cartoon the students will really enjoy!
Potential problems or difficulties: This book is a little above the kindergarten level. I would need to bring it down to where they could understand. (Using lots of pictures and hands-on activities)
Publishing Info: Picture Window Books (24 pages)
Awards or honors received: None
Summary: This book is about all aspects of a plant. It starts out teaching the children about roots and stems and why they are important to the health of the plant itself. It teaches the children that some vegetables grow above ground and some vegetables grow below ground. It illustrates this through pictures. For example: Vegetables you dig to eat are... carrots, radishes, turnips and beets. Fruits that grow above the ground are... blueberries, strawberries and watermelon. It proceeds to talk about how a stem is like a bundle of straws that suck up water to feed the plant. Some stems are soft and green like flower stems or vegetable stems but some are hard and woody like a tree trunk. The books wraps up by taking about how some plants stop making food in the winter and lose their leaves. In the spring, plants use food stored in the roots to start growing again.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ***Good. This book had many positives but one negative in my opinion. The book was beautifully illustrated using brilliant water colors. The pictures were large and illustrated the words to where the children could understand by looking at the pictures. The book was sectioned off into parts which I really liked. It started off talking about plant parts and then went to the different kinds of stems and so forth. The negative that I found when reading this book is that for kindergarten we take one aspect of a plant at a time. I feel that this book has way too much content to read all in one sitting. It jumps from one topic to another and I would be afraid the students would not retain what I was trying to teach. For example, I would break this book up so when I taught about stems I would only read the stem section and then complete an activity about stems. Break it down for my students. Overall though a wonderful book!
Reading level: 3.0 (Accelerated Reader)
Interest level: k-5
Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Reading: Ask HOTS questions about the story. I have a comprehension ball that I would throw around to check for understanding.
Writing: For teaching the parts of a plant (which is part of our curriculum) I would have the students draw a large plant on their paper. They would need to label each part of the plant. (stem, root, leaves, flower) Then for their writing of a sentence (s) they would need to tell me one reason why roots are so important to a plant.
Hands-on activity: (Art) This would need to be completed in small groups. Use one sheet of green construction paper. At about 3 inches from the bottom place a line from side to side. Student would use already cut pieces of white string and glue them from the line down representing the roots. Then we would take a piece of cut pipe cleaner and glue it as a stem. I would have the children cut their own leaves out of green construction paper and glue them from the pipe cleaner. Then I could take a mini cupcake wrapper and glue it representing the flower. Then take sunflower seeds and glue them into the middle of the flower representing the seeds. Students then would add a sky and sun which a plant also needs to grow! You could even have the students label each part of the plant if time permits.
Prediction Chart: I would complete this before reading the book. I have a Mimio in my classroom so I would use Internet technology but if you don't have that luxury you could draw or print out pictures from the Internet. I would have carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, strawberries, watermelons and blueberries on the board. I would have the child make predictions which fruits and vegetables they thought would grow under the ground or above the ground. Then after reading the story we would check our predictions and change the fruits and vegetables to where they belong.
Science: Bring in white carnations for each student. Put them in colored water and place in the classroom. Have students make predictions about what is going to happen since it's in purple water. This lesson will show that the stem sucks up the purple water and disperses it to the flower because the white flower will turn purple!!!
United Streaming: (online program) I would use my Mimio to complete this activity! Type in Helpful Plants a 3:08 second video for grades k-2. Students will learn that plants need sunshine and water to live. This is a cartoon the students will really enjoy!
Potential problems or difficulties: This book is a little above the kindergarten level. I would need to bring it down to where they could understand. (Using lots of pictures and hands-on activities)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar By: Eric Carle
Genre: Children's picture book (Classic)
Publishing Info: Philomel Books (A division of the Putnam & Grosset Group)22 pages (225 words)
Awards or honors received: A citation from The New York Times as one of the Ten Best Picture Books of the Year in 1969.
Summary: The book starts of with a caterpillar egg rested on a leaf. On Sunday the caterpillar hatched out of the tiny egg and was very hungry! On Monday he ate through one apple. On Tuesday he ate through two pears but was still hungry. On Wednesday he ate through three plums. On Thursday the caterpillar ate through four strawberries. On Friday he continued his search for food and ate five oranges. The story continues through the week revealing an amazing variety of foods. Full at last, the caterpillar spins a cocoon around himself and starts the process of becoming a butterfly. Finally he nibbles a hole in the cocoon and out comes a beautiful butterfly.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! This book has easy to read words which makes it good for teaching young children how to read. The book contains colourful illustrations along with different lengths of pages which continually get longer. The story teaches counting to five (using numbers and words), the names of the days of the week, and about different types of food. The caterpillar's diet is a fictional fantasy but the story does introduce the process of the metamorphosis from egg-caterpillar-butterfly in a way that children can understand.
Reading level: 2.6 (Accelerated Reader Level)
Interest level: k-3
Possible Uses of the text in integrated units of study:
This book leads itself to lessons across all academic areas.
Writing: You could complete a flow map of a caterpillar's life cycle. Students would have to label the top of each box. (first-then-next-last) Using inventive spelling write the correct process in each box. Then underneath the four flow map boxes they would have to illustrate each process.
Art Project: You would need to complete this hands on activity in small groups. Take a sheet of white construction paper and draw a line to make four equal boxes. In each box have the children make a tree branch with one or two large leaves. (I would have an example already done so they could copy) In the first box they would write egg and would glue a black eyed bean onto the leaf to represent an egg. On the second box they would write caterpillar and glue a piece of spiral pasta onto the leaf to represent the caterpillar. In the third box that would write cocoon and glue a shell hanging from the leaf to represent the cocoon. In the last box that would glue a bow tie pasta representing the butterfly. Two days prior I would have to die the bow tie pasta with vinegar and food coloring, let soak overnight and then lay out to dry. Students would be able to pick what color butterfly they wanted. This is a hands on activity that would reach every learning style while at the same time teaching the process in a visual manor.
Science: They sell caterpillar metamorphosis kits for $19.95! The company would send a kit and all you have to do it follow the directions and your children can actually watch the process first hand in the classroom. Once all butterflies have hatched you let them go outside. Many more writing activities could be based off this lesson alone! (Prediction writing)
Math: Children could add the different types of food the caterpillar ate. For example: On Monday he ate one red apple and Wednesday he ate three plums, how much fruit did he eat all together?
United Streaming: (online program) I would use my Mimio to complete this activity! Type in the lives of butterflies a 8:04 second video segment that teaches and reinforces the process of becoming a butterfly. Appropriate for K-2 grades.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
I found a printable book on the Internet that children can color, cut and then read. I'm not taking credit for this book, it was found on line through google. Click on link below. http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Very_Hungry_Caterpillar_Printable_Booklet.PDF
3:00:00 PM
by Amy
Publishing Info: Philomel Books (A division of the Putnam & Grosset Group)22 pages (225 words)
Awards or honors received: A citation from The New York Times as one of the Ten Best Picture Books of the Year in 1969.
Summary: The book starts of with a caterpillar egg rested on a leaf. On Sunday the caterpillar hatched out of the tiny egg and was very hungry! On Monday he ate through one apple. On Tuesday he ate through two pears but was still hungry. On Wednesday he ate through three plums. On Thursday the caterpillar ate through four strawberries. On Friday he continued his search for food and ate five oranges. The story continues through the week revealing an amazing variety of foods. Full at last, the caterpillar spins a cocoon around himself and starts the process of becoming a butterfly. Finally he nibbles a hole in the cocoon and out comes a beautiful butterfly.
Personal rating and reason for rating: ****Great! This book has easy to read words which makes it good for teaching young children how to read. The book contains colourful illustrations along with different lengths of pages which continually get longer. The story teaches counting to five (using numbers and words), the names of the days of the week, and about different types of food. The caterpillar's diet is a fictional fantasy but the story does introduce the process of the metamorphosis from egg-caterpillar-butterfly in a way that children can understand.
Reading level: 2.6 (Accelerated Reader Level)
Interest level: k-3
Possible Uses of the text in integrated units of study:
This book leads itself to lessons across all academic areas.
Writing: You could complete a flow map of a caterpillar's life cycle. Students would have to label the top of each box. (first-then-next-last) Using inventive spelling write the correct process in each box. Then underneath the four flow map boxes they would have to illustrate each process.
Art Project: You would need to complete this hands on activity in small groups. Take a sheet of white construction paper and draw a line to make four equal boxes. In each box have the children make a tree branch with one or two large leaves. (I would have an example already done so they could copy) In the first box they would write egg and would glue a black eyed bean onto the leaf to represent an egg. On the second box they would write caterpillar and glue a piece of spiral pasta onto the leaf to represent the caterpillar. In the third box that would write cocoon and glue a shell hanging from the leaf to represent the cocoon. In the last box that would glue a bow tie pasta representing the butterfly. Two days prior I would have to die the bow tie pasta with vinegar and food coloring, let soak overnight and then lay out to dry. Students would be able to pick what color butterfly they wanted. This is a hands on activity that would reach every learning style while at the same time teaching the process in a visual manor.
Science: They sell caterpillar metamorphosis kits for $19.95! The company would send a kit and all you have to do it follow the directions and your children can actually watch the process first hand in the classroom. Once all butterflies have hatched you let them go outside. Many more writing activities could be based off this lesson alone! (Prediction writing)
Math: Children could add the different types of food the caterpillar ate. For example: On Monday he ate one red apple and Wednesday he ate three plums, how much fruit did he eat all together?
United Streaming: (online program) I would use my Mimio to complete this activity! Type in the lives of butterflies a 8:04 second video segment that teaches and reinforces the process of becoming a butterfly. Appropriate for K-2 grades.
Potential problems or difficulties: I do not see any potential problems.
I found a printable book on the Internet that children can color, cut and then read. I'm not taking credit for this book, it was found on line through google. Click on link below. http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Very_Hungry_Caterpillar_Printable_Booklet.PDF
3:00:00 PM
by Amy
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
After Reading The Syllabus.....
After reading the syllabus, the thing I'm looking forward to the most in this class would be learning new ways to integrate literacy into my everyday teaching. I love going to school and learning new things and I'm very excited I have this opportunity to do so! This is my first graduate class so EVERYTHING is new to me! (All these account, blackboard, blogging, myeducationlab... etc.) The one thing I am concerned about it balancing my school work load with the requirement for this class. I know I'm totally capable but it will take some getting used to! :) I really am looking forward to getting back to school and learning new techniques!!
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