Showing posts with label fictionVs.nonfiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fictionVs.nonfiction. Show all posts

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Funny Reads, Miss Mary Mack, and Ladybugs!

Week 34

PreK 3, PreK 4, Kindergarten: Funny Book week #5

Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum, by Lisa Wheeler
This funny rhyming story has the same pattern as "The Mitten": each animal who comes along gets stuck in a melty wad of bubble gum. Will they be able to escape when a truck comes down the road? Only if they work together and only if they use the bubble gum!  Cartoony illustrations and a tap-your-toes beat make this a great choice for a preschool read aloud.




Little Bunny Foo Foo, by Paul Brett Johnson
A picture book to go with the song of the naughty bunny "Foo Foo" who bops forest animals on the head and keeps misbehaving, despite warnings from the Good Fairy. In this version, Foo Foo is using mud pies to bop the heads of foxes, muskrats, and even bears! The Good Fairy interjects among verses of the song to show her disapproval. She even engages the audience by asking questions like "Do you think he listened?" A fun read aloud (and sing-along) for younger students and a good mentor text for older students to show point of view and voice.



Grade 1: Guiding Questions - What do we know about ladybugs? How many text features can we identify on our own?

This was one of those fun times when everything comes together perfectly! No sooner did I choose the books for this week than someone showed me that my lovely Benjamin Fig tree has aphids. Imagine my delight! Now I could read about ladybugs and how they clean up a garden's aphid problem and SHOW aphids right here in the library! And of course, we are still working on mastery of our text features along the way. Stay tuned for a voice thread showing what we've learned.

What About Ladybugs? by Celia Godkin
This nonfiction picture book follows a gardener through the process of learning how the different bugs contribute to and harm his garden. When he decides to use pesticides to kill off the most destructive bugs, he inadvertently causes a bigger problem. His garden becomes infested with aphids and there are no ladybugs left to control the aphid population. A wonderful look at the interconnected way all creatures are needed to create a balance in nature. Colored pencil illustrations.




Grade 2: Guiding Questions - What are some rhymes we can use on the playground?

We learned some more hand-clapping and folk rhymes to finish up our traditional literature unit: "Miss Mary Mack" and "Double Double." We watched videos (on the grade 2 tab of the library site) to see how they are played. "Double Double" can be used with any compound word, so we had a quick review of what those are. We used baseball, ice cream, and hot dog among others.

We also learned some rhymes to help out with playground politics: rhymes to choose who is "it" and rhymes to deflect name-calling in a fun way.

by Joanna Cole
Here are some of our favorites for choosing who's "it"
"Each peach, pear, plum,
When does your birthday come?"
(Spell out month and count out date!)

"My mother and your mother were hanging out clothes.
My mother gave your mother a punch in the nose.
What color was the blood?"
(Spell out the color!)

Here are some of our favorites for name-calling:
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star
What you say is what you are"

"I'm rubber and you're glue;
It bounces of me and sticks to you."


Grade 3: Guiding Questions - How do we capture a screen shot?

Apple Key HDRphoto © 2006 Mikhail Esteves | more info (via: Wylio)We're still chugging along with our Dewey Advertisements, learning lots of computer skills along the way.

This week we learned how to take a screen shot. This will enable us to insert a picture of the website that fits with a Dewey section. We learned to press apple + shift + 4 to take a screen shot that lets us select the part of the screen we want.

Stay tuned! Next we put it all together!



Grade 4/5: Checking out and Reading workshop


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

World Legends, Funny Books, and Text Feature seek-and-find

Week 32

PreK 3, PreK 4, Kindergarten: Funny Book Week #3

Bark, George, by Jules Feiffer
George is a puppy who barks out the wrong animal sounds! When his mother takes him to the vet we quickly discover the problem: he has a duck, a pig, and a cow in his stomach! Will George be able to bark properly after they're removed? Fun surprise ending!


Good Boy, Fergus, by David Shannon
Expressive illustrations match with text that seems to jump off the page to show the relationship between an owner and his dog. Even though Fergus is loveable but naughty, his owner is ready to spoil him silly. Fergus runs away - owner begs him to come back. Fergus pees on every object in the street - owner says "good boy!" and so it goes until we realize that this owner is completely smitten with this spunky Highland terrier. And, by the end, so are we!


Marley Goes to School, by John Grogan
Marley feels lonely when little Cassie goes to school for the first time, so he decides to go to school too! What a ruckus he causes in his eagerness to find her, however. Crashing into trays of hot dogs in the cafeteria, photocopying his face in the teachers' room, and skidding through the hallways sets everyone on a hunt to catch him. Happily, he finds Cassie and she's so happy to see him that all his misbehavior is forgiven. The bonus of this book is the cute factor: Marley is adorable!


Grade 1: Guiding Question - What text features can we identify?
This week we put our learning about text features into practice with a seek-and-find using different nonfiction books. Students found headings, bold words, the index and glossary, table of contents, labels, and captions - all organizational tools that help us decide which parts of the book have the information we want. We talked about how these help us skip around through the information, as contrasted to chapter books which need to be read from start to finish.

Nonfiction!
Fiction!
Surprising Sharks, byNicola Davis
This feels like a picture book but gives good basic information about sharks. The premise is that not all sharks are big, mean, and dangerous! We learn about different types of sharks, some of their unusual talents, how endangered they are, and what products use shark parts (face cream!). A lively informative look at the much-maligned shark.



Grade 2: Guiding Question - What is a legend?

Students practice their summarizing skills and apply our definition of a legend to the stories on this site: Folktales and Legends Around the World. We define a legend as a story told over time that contains a grain of truth but cannot be proved. It is not as exaggerated as a tall tale, has human characters, and less magic than fairy tales. Many stories are given the label "legend" but we will apply our definition to see if we agree.




Grade 3: Guiding Question - What questions can we ask an author?

In Mrs. Ducharme's absence this week, grade threes watch an interview between Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid author) and Jon Scieszka. Scieszka asks great questions and so we learn how Kinney got his ideas, how his work progressed and grew, about the technology he uses to create his drawings, and a bit about his personal life. This interview should get us ready to form questions for our visiting skype author: Eric Wight, creator of Frankie Pickle!



Grade 4: Guiding Question - What similarities and differences do we see between two authors?

Last week's study of Patricia Polocco's work is now compared and contrasted to the work of Allen Say. After whole group and pair practice, students study the same elements (illustration, author's style, and story structure) but now analyze independently. To introduce the new author, each group read one of Allen Say's books.

Grandfather's Journey, by Allen Say
The perfect third-culture picture book, this personal narrative traces a man's journey away from his home in Japan, to his travels and subsequent love for a new country, and the wrestling with homesickness for the old country, and back again to the longing for the new country. Beautiful watercolor paintings and simple language create a melancholy tone that resonates with anyone who has ever felt the loss of a sense of home.


Erika-San, by Allen Say
An American girl dreams of a life in Japan, but it takes her a while to find just the right spot in which to settle. She ends up on a remote island and devotes herself to learning the art of tea ceremonies. Gorgeous watercolors enhance a thoughtful story.




Grade 5: Poetry Practice
5D: Students rotated among three tables full of poetry books, tabbing poems to include in their poetry books. Mirror, Mirror - a book of poems based on well-known fairy tales written from opposing characters' viewpoints was a clear favorite. Also popular, any poetry by Langston Hughes.
5B: Students did a first read-through of the witches scene for their Arts Night, an evening focusing on poetry. Mr. B brought the black light and fluorescent "blood" made from highlighter ink. Creepy fun!
5K and 5W: Book check-out. These classes are in-process with poetry raps.


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Funny Books, Atlantis, and Pandas

Week 30 

PreK 3, 4, Kindergarten - Funny Book week!

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, by Mo Willems
When a naked mole rat asks "Why not wear clothes?" he really shakes up the establishment. Clothes are a form of self-expression, he figures, so why not give them a try? Despite everyone's admonition that he should remain naked, he remains steadfast and manages to convince them to reconsider. The whole concept of nakedness is so fun, especially when students think of Wilbur's situation in the reverse: What if WE came to school naked instead of clothed? Yikes!

He Came With the Couch, by David Slonim
When a family needs a new couch, they are very particular about choosing the right one. Turns out the one they want already has an occupant sitting on it. The family adjusts to life with this fellow somewhat begrudgingly until he shows them exactly what he's made of! This is a hoot with a fun surprise ending. Cartoony oil illustrations have a David Shannon feel.



A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea, by Michael Ian Black
A perfect mentor text for teaching persuasive writing! Or, just a darn funny read-aloud. The ridiculous premise (that we've all been dying to see a pig parade) kicks off a hilarious list of reasons (with supporting details!) for why it's a "terrible idea." Some abbreviation is needed for reading aloud with young children but they enjoy the concept. Oil illustrations.





Grade 1: Guiding Question - What are some text features that help us know if a book is fiction or nonfiction? 

To support first grade's animal classification unit, we'll be looking at fiction and nonfiction books about different types of animals. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a book is fiction or nonfiction, so each week we'll examine text features that give us clues. 

Text features that suggest nonfiction content
maps, diagrams, labels, captions, headings, glossary, index, table of contents 

This week we looked at books about pandas. These look like fiction picture books from the covers, but after looking at the text features inside we found that most are actually nonfiction books!

Can you guess the fiction book? (Hint: it has a character name in the title)


Grade 2: Guiding Question - Why did cultures create myths?
Last session we talked about how myths often explain events in nature. This week, we talked about myths that explain aspects of human behavior, cautionary tales created to teach citizens how to behave and please the gods. We talked about the myth of King Midas, whose greed for gold caused him to turn his own daughter into a golden statue. We read the myth of Altantis, in which an entire society earned the wrath of the gods by turning against each other for power and ambition.

Atlantis, retold and illustrated by Christina Balit 
Richly illustrated in bright colors and gold leaf, this retelling of the myth of Atlantis is stunning and reads beautifully. We learn how Poseidon created Atlantis as a tribute to his mortal wife, Cleito, and gave it to his sons to rule over. Its citizens lived in peace and harmony, thankful for the many natural wonders Poseidon provided for them. But over time, the people began to bicker and become ambitious and greedy. Zeus, displeased, demanded Poseidon punish them, and so he created a wave that swallowed up the entire island until it sank to the bottom of the sea where, some say, it still resides.


Grade 3: Guiding Question - Where should our "Dewey Advertisement" movies take place?
© 2006 Tommy Wong | (via: Wylio)
We will use our new green screen to film our Dewey Ads with different locations in the background in our Dewey Ads. Each pair brainstormed logical places for their Dewey sections and started writing up their scripts.

Here are some backgrounds the pairs came up with:
100s - a haunted house
200s - a cathedral
300s - a battlefield
Haunted House
© 2008 Matt Trostle | (via: Wylio)
400s - a school for the blind
500s - a jungle or aquarium
600s - a farm or space shuttle launch 
700s - a race track
800s - Shakespeare's Globe Theater
900s - the Giza pyramids



Grade 4: Book Check-out and Reading

Grade 5: Guiding Questions - What is a "found" poem and how do we create one?
A found poem is one created from words published elsewhere. Using old Time for Kids magazines, we scoured articles looking for "golden words" - words that sparked our imaginations, felt meaningful, rich. By blacking out everything except these words, all that remained can be read as a poem. As with our other poetry sessions, we followed the rule of evoking emotion in the reader to determine the success of our poems.
We decorated with images (and practiced our image-citation skills) and will scan each poem to post on students' web pages. See my sample below:

Environment in Danger

Planet's precious,
disappearing,
dying out.

Extinction.
Losses.

News isn't all bad:
Conservation Conservation,
Let's not wait.



For older students try this with newspapers, as suggested here






Bibliography: Found Poem Images
Conservation Week 2010. 2010. Department of Conservation. Flickr: Department of Conservation. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. .
Hocksenar, Paul. Extinction. 2009. Flickr: Vermin Inc. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. .
(NASA-GSFC), NASA. earth_from_space.jpg. 11.07.2002. Pics4Learning. 26 Apr 2011
Schwietzer, Jean. Climate Change. 2005. Flickr: Jeanclicclac. Web. 21 Apr. 2011.
Skeleton in the grass. 2009. Scorpions and Centaurs. Flickr: Scorpions and Centaurs. Web. 22 Apr. 2011.