Thematic Maps, Traditional Literature, and Predicting

PreK 3/4: Guiding Question - What does "Spring" look like?

With our Mother Goose unit behind us, we are now moving to a weekly theme concept for preschool story times. In each session, we'll reinforce library expectations and good listening skills in story time. Here's a good example of a grid of year-long themes that work well. This week, I chose to focus on "Spring" since it's been quite grey and gloomy out our windows.

Old Bear, by Keven Henkes

Sweet, simple story about a bear who falls asleep in the winter and dreams of each season. There are fantasy elements for each: the sun is a daisy, it rains blueberries, and he sleeps in a crocus. When he wakes up, it's like he was never asleep! I love the expresson on the kids' faces at the page turn when Bear dreams of spring...they gasp at the colors.

and then it's spring, by Julie Fagliano, illustrated by Erin Stead

A child plants seeds and waits patiently for them to grow. All around it is brown, a hopeful kind of brown, a greenish hum kind of brown, and still the child waits. It takes time. It takes rain. Sun. And then there's the question of whether the seeds were eaten by birds or stomped on by bears. And then, finally, the brown turns to green, and what a wonderful page-turn that is!

Are You My Mother?, by P.J. Eastman

This classic early reader is fun for a spring story time. A baby bird is born but his mother has flown off. He goes in search of her and it's quite funny to see some of the creatures (and machines) he thinks could be his mother. Silly fun and this holds students due to that universal urge to be with mama.




Kindergarten: Guiding Question - How does predicting help us engage in a story more?

We practice first with a classic: The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Krauss. Everyone tells a young boy that the seed he planted "won't come up." In reading the story, I pause and ask, "Will it come up?" and students say their prediction. The important part of predicting is that we're thinking - not that we are "right". Whenever I talk about thinking about a story, I make a "wheels turning" motion near my head. This becomes a signal during story time that we are thinking about the story.

Next we read, There's a Nightmare in My Closet, by Mercer Mayer. Do we predict there's really a monster-type nightmare in his closet? Many say "no" but actually, there is! Is the monster "real" do we think? Probably not. This is a good title to use to show that incorrect predictions are just as good as correct ones - in this case, it's a fun surprise to see there's a monster in the story!

Finally, a good long story, A Birthday for Frances, by Lilian Hoban gives us the chance to make various predictions. Do we think Frances is happy about little sister's party? Will she give her the coveted Chompo bar eventually? I absolutely love reading the Frances books aloud - there's almost always some singing involved! I'll add a clip of how I sing some of Frances's songs. In the meantime, here is the "real" version part I and part II.




Grade 1: Guiding Question - How can the past affect our present?

To support grade one's "Past, Present, Future" unit, we focus on biographies. This week we read about two men who each left behind gifts for us to enjoy even after their deaths. After reading, we charted the dates of their lives on a Dipity timeline. 

Johnny Appleseed, by Aliki

This is an older book, but I love the simplicity of the retelling. Johnny's wilder encounters with animals are not part of this version, so it feels closer to a biography than a legend. The illustrations are a mix of color and black and white, and they have a rustic feeling. I also like the emphasis on the idea that the US was a wide expanse of woods, a vast space without roads or towns yet. Johnny's gift to us, apple trees that still bear fruit, makes a strong closing statement.

Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian

William "Snowflake" Bentley, grew up in Vermont and was obsessed with recording the beauty of nature, particularly snowflakes. His parents spent their life savings to buy him a special camera that could photograph microscopic images. These became his gift to us: images of unique icy snow crystals that live on long after they melted.


Grade 2: Guiding Question - What is "Traditional Literature"?

We start a unit about traditional literature by talking about the idea of repeating stories. Do we retell stories that are boring? Nope. We retell the good ones. The stories in this unit have been retold over many years because they are so good! 

The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Rachel Isadora

A young girl forced to work on New Year's Eve sells matches to make a bit of money for her family. Dreadfully cold, lonely, and unable to make any sales, she slumps into a corner on the street and lights a match to warm herself. Unable to face the cold again, she lights another match and then another, each one comforting her with visions of warmth and love.
This is a profoundly sad story, best for grade 2 and older.

Puss in Boots, by Charles Perrault, illustrated by Fred Marcellino

What a treat to read the real Puss in Boots after so many children claim they "know" the story from the recent movie. This is so different and we love Puss's cleverness. In this Caldecott-winning version, Puss is larger than life. Even the cover gives us a clue that he's a hero! And if you can manage a French accent when he speaks, it's an even bigger hit.


Grade 3: Guiding Question - What kinds of information can we find using different types of maps?

Image: http://mapas.owje.com/

We're starting a unit on map skills and a tie-in with a classroom unit on Habitats. This week we introduced the idea of thematic maps. Each map uses its key to show us different types of information. We reviewed features of an atlas, including how to use coordinates (E6, for example) to find a location on a map.

We used hand signals and visual clues (see worksheet) to help us remember the purpose of each type of map. Students repeat and make motions with me:

Physical maps show what the land looks like (make wavy motion to show mountains and valleys)
Political maps show country boundaries (make boxed off motion)
Climate maps show the weather (make rainfall motion)
Population maps show how many people there are (make counting motion)
Environment maps show habitats (make clustering motion...they combine vegetation and climate)
Economic maps show how a place makes money (rub thumb and forefingers together to show "money")

We do some practice together answering questions using each type of thematic map. For example, is there nomadic herding in the US? What is the elevation of Iowa? and so forth. We examine the information shown in the key of each type of map to become familiar with the terms. 

Independent practice to come! And then...we'll do a fun application activity. 
Stay tuned :)

Grade 4: Guiding Question - What poetry terms can we identify in a poem?

I'm sharing favorite poems and seeing how many different terms we can recognize in each. My two favorite anthologies are completely dog-eared (they are from my own collection, don't worry! I don't fold library book pages, I promise!)


Talking Like the Rain, compiled by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy Kennedy, and illustrated by Jane Dyer

Sing a Song of Popcorn, edited by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers, illustrated by various including Sendak

Colors, Classic Characters, and Digital Sticky Notes

Week 6

PreK 3: Guiding Question - What colors do we know?

Spot's Big Book of Colors, Shapes, and Numbers, by Eric Hill

Color Farm, by Lois Ehlert 

PreK 3 students are learning about colors in their classrooms. We looked at two fun color books this week and worked on library routines.

Both of these make good interactive read-alouds. For Spot we called out objects that we recognize. For Color Farm we made barnyard noises and identified the colors that create the animal shapes.

PreK 4: Guiding Question - Why is it important to be ourselves?

Elmer, by David McKee

Our PreK 4 students are also learning about colors. We read about the colorful elephant, Elmer, whose bright exterior mirrors his fun personality. He always comes up with fun ideas for the others in his herd. But he feels unhappy about sticking out among the group, so he tries to cover his colors with grey. But when he returns to the herd and realizes he's appreciated for his humor and for being him, he's happy to be washed by a rain cloud back to his own colorful self. After this story, we talk about being unique and special and about how it's good to be who we are.

Thanks to some printables from SparkleBox, I used color pictures on a magnetic board to support the read-aloud of the story. We also practiced our fine motor skills by coloring our own "Elmers." These turned out so well, we'll put them on display next week!

Kindergarten: Guiding Question - Who are Henry and Mudge and how did they meet?

Henry and Mudge: The First Book, by Cynthia Rylant

As we read different series books from the I-Can-Read section, we're talking about what makes a book part of a series and how important it is to try to read the first book in the series. 

This week, we met Henry and Mudge and learned that Henry got Mudge because he had no brothers and sisters and no playmates on his street. His parents agreed to get him a dog and from then on the two were almost inseparable. But one dreadful day, Mudge wanders off on his own, gets lost, and the two realize they should never be apart. It's a big relief to see them together again by the end of the story.

Grade 1: Guiding Question - How do we use the alphabet in the library?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr.

This familiar story/song was fun for grade 1 students to read again as we talk about using the alphabet in the library. We have a new flannel version to use as we tell the story, too. (Thank you #flannelfriday on Pinterest for the inspiration.)

Afterwards we challenged ourselves to sing the ABC song to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" using one letter for each note. It works but it's hard!

To finish up, we lined up alphabetically by last name and stood along the I-Can-Read shelf. Each child found his or her last name's letter section and chose a book to take home from there. Loved the idea of matching students' last names to sections of our library. Thanks @libraryjet for posting that idea last week!

Grade 2: Guiding Question - What are personal narratives? How are older people important in our lives?

Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox

A little boy with four names befriends an old lady at an nursing home.  When he learns that she has lost her memory, he tries to help her get it back by bringing her different objects. The connection between the child and the elderly woman is so lovely in this story. Afterward, we talk about the older people in our lives and how important they are.

The Two of Them, by Aliki

This tear-jerker tells the story of a girl and her grandfather and their time together. We know by the end that their days of building sand castles, tubing down river, and picking apples in his orchard will be cherished memories for the girl for years to come. Soft colored pencil drawings add to the tender tone of this classic.

Grade 3: Guiding Questions - How can we show our favorite places in the library? In class project: How can we organize notes for research? 

We completed our library maps this week, adding personal touches to show our favorite sections to find books and cozy up to read.

Sample lino.it corkboard

In class, two sections are starting a "Structures of Life" project in which students research a different insect and show their understanding of the function of its various components.

They learned about nonfiction text features with their teacher, so they were able to find facts from their books using the table of contents and index and were able to break down the text using headings, bold words, and captions.

They took notes on digital sticky notes using Lino.it. We talked about how we can organize our information by color and location after we gather all of our facts. Students can drag notes around the cork board and choose different colors of notes for categories of facts.

We'll add digital photos to the notes as well, so when it's time to make a keynote presentation, all of our information will be handy.

Grades 4 & 5: Guiding Question - What can we do with our library accounts?

We continued with creating accounts in the library catalog this week and of course, checking out lots of books. Check out our new digital display: Cool Tween Reads!