Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere
Friday, February 22, 2013
Bedtime for Monsters
Well yesterday was our snowpocalypse. The boys were cooped up inside all day, eating everything in sight,making mesess everywhere, and running around like crazy monsters. By bedtime I was ready for the monsters to go to sleep. So we read:
Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere
Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Green
I thought the Groundhog predicted spring was right around the corner. But, here we are on the verge of a snowpocalypse. For some spring inspiration we read Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. It is a Caldecott honoree and though the words are simple, the pictures remind me of spring time. :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
A is for Musk Ox
Having a bad day? Need a good laugh? Read this immediately! This makes my Top 10 Favorite Children's Picture Books of 2012.
A is for Musk Ox by Erin Cabatingan
A is for Musk Ox by Erin Cabatingan
Monday, February 18, 2013
Zoo Ah-Chooo
If you have ever lived in Kansas, you know how fickle the weather is. One day it's icy and 23 degrees and the next it's sunny, humid, and 70 degrees. All this fickle weather has been doing a number on my allergies. So, after sneezing a lot and dealing with my watery eyes, I read the boys: Zoo Ah-Choooo by Peter Mandel
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Mad at Mommy
Evan has had a rough morning. He didn't want to clean up, he didn't want to eat his lunch, and he didn't want to take a nap. I couldn't have found a better choice for today's story:
Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai
Mad at Mommy by Komako Sakai
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Chuckling Ducklings and Baby Animal Friends
This book is all about names of various baby animals. The illustrations are pretty cute. You might be surprised of some of the names. I was!
Lesson Ideas:
Science/Vocabulary- Activating Prior Knowledge: I would have a poster prepared ahead of time of about 6 different animals from the story. Write the name next to the animal and cover it with a post it. Before reading, ask the kids if they know the names of any of these baby animals. Write the name they think it's called on top of the post-it. Tell the kids to watch for each animal as you read the story and raise their hand when they hear/see one of the animals on the poster. Read the name they thought the animal was, lift up the post-it, and have them check to see if they were correct. Remind them it is okay if their guesses were wrong, as that is part of learning. Finish reading the story and going through each animal on the poster as it appears in the story.
Writing: After reading, pass out one baby animal picture to each student.You can use baby animals from the story or ones not in the story. If you use ones not in the story make sure to include other books for reference. If you need realistic pictures, this link has great pictures you can print and the students can color them. They need to label the baby animal picture with it's name and then draw the adult animal and name it as well that goes with the baby.(If you don't want the kids to draw the adult animal,you could also provide a picture for them to glue.) They will need to complete the writing prompt once their picture is drawn and labeled. A baby _______ is called a _________. An adult _________ is called a ________.
Compare/Contrast: They then need to write how the animal changed as it became an adult. For example, did it grow hair, feathers, get fatter, change colors, etc.
For a page to use with this lesson, click here NOTE:You will need to click on insert header to get the full document.
Lesson Ideas:
Science/Vocabulary- Activating Prior Knowledge: I would have a poster prepared ahead of time of about 6 different animals from the story. Write the name next to the animal and cover it with a post it. Before reading, ask the kids if they know the names of any of these baby animals. Write the name they think it's called on top of the post-it. Tell the kids to watch for each animal as you read the story and raise their hand when they hear/see one of the animals on the poster. Read the name they thought the animal was, lift up the post-it, and have them check to see if they were correct. Remind them it is okay if their guesses were wrong, as that is part of learning. Finish reading the story and going through each animal on the poster as it appears in the story.
Writing: After reading, pass out one baby animal picture to each student.You can use baby animals from the story or ones not in the story. If you use ones not in the story make sure to include other books for reference. If you need realistic pictures, this link has great pictures you can print and the students can color them. They need to label the baby animal picture with it's name and then draw the adult animal and name it as well that goes with the baby.(If you don't want the kids to draw the adult animal,you could also provide a picture for them to glue.) They will need to complete the writing prompt once their picture is drawn and labeled. A baby _______ is called a _________. An adult _________ is called a ________.
Compare/Contrast: They then need to write how the animal changed as it became an adult. For example, did it grow hair, feathers, get fatter, change colors, etc.
For a page to use with this lesson, click here NOTE:You will need to click on insert header to get the full document.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Dear Polar Bear
This book is about a Polar bear who needs to decorate his new home. He sends letters to his bear friends around the world asking them for help sending items for his home. There are pull out letters to read and lots of different kinds of bears in the story.
Lesson Ideas:
Writing: As practice for letter writing- Have students think about something they need for their room. Have them write a letter to someone in their family asking for that item. Make sure to go over parts of a letter and how to start and end a letter. For a letter form to use click here
Language Arts: Compare/Contrast- You will need nonfiction books about the other types of bears in the story. Using a Venn diagram, compare polar bears to another type of bear in the story. Write at least 3 facts in each section of the Venn diagram.
Language Arts Standards:
3.Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary)
to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint
Lesson Ideas:
Writing: As practice for letter writing- Have students think about something they need for their room. Have them write a letter to someone in their family asking for that item. Make sure to go over parts of a letter and how to start and end a letter. For a letter form to use click here
Language Arts: Compare/Contrast- You will need nonfiction books about the other types of bears in the story. Using a Venn diagram, compare polar bears to another type of bear in the story. Write at least 3 facts in each section of the Venn diagram.
Language Arts Standards:
3.Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary)
to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint
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