Plants & Animals & Unexpected Lesson: Quiet in the Garden

Several weeks ago I was reading a book to the first grade classes, Quiet in the Garden by Aliki.  At that time the students were studying what is a plant, what is an animal, the relationship between the two groups, etc.  After I chose the title I realized it was about what each animal ate, so after we read the book the students helped me create a list of all of the animals mentioned in the book.  This was good recall practice for them.  I listed the animals on a white board and then they helped me list what each animal ate.  We then went back and noted whether that food was a plant or an animal.

It just came to me as I saw "plant" and "animal" listed over and over. I  realized I had the opportunity to introduce some new concepts and vocabulary words: herbivore, carnivore and omnivore.

                                                 

Note Taking Instruction & "Frog in a Box"

The 4th grade classes were studying animal adaptations at the time that I wanted to work on their note-taking skills.  I had previous used an activity at the zoo at Chehaw Park called "Frog in a Box" developed in 2008 for American Zoos & Aquariums recognition of the Year of the Frog.  The activity consists of having a volunteer become a frog. Various things are put on the volunteer representing adaptations which  turns them into a "frog" (swimming flippers representing webbed feet, ear muffs for the large tympanum-ear drum).  I instructed the students to take notes on a graphic organizer I designed which included spaces for 4 adaptations and how they helped the frog survive.  As I "dressed" the student volunteer with adaptations the other students took notes. I also wrote each adaptation on a white board as we added them.

I think the students enjoyed this activity and we accomplished two things at once.  They learned about the adaptations of frogs and how to take notes from an oral presentation.

Comparing Two Texts

One of the 2nd grade's CCGPS ELA skills is to compare two similar texts.  I read two fiction picture books: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert.  Both books are about the life cycle of a butterfly, which is what the 2nd grade students are studying in their IB/PYP unit of inquiry, "How We Express Ourselves: Enjoying Nature."  After reading the 2 books the students created a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two books.

Creating a Glossary with First Grades

First grade classes create a glossary in CCGPS ELA:
ELACC1RI5: Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, table of content, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.

I chose a non-fiction title that did not have a glossary, but had a lot of interesting words.  The title from the National Geographic series, What Did One Elephant Say to Another?: A Book About Communication, by Becky Baines worked well as would A Den is a Bed for a Bear: A Book About Hibernation .

I read the book and gave each student a strip of paper with a word from the book printed on it. I had a strip with a different word for each student, so part of the challenge of this activity is finding a book with enough words that 1st grade students will know and be able to write about!   Each student wrote a definition on the strip of paper.  I took one class's words and arranged them in alphabetical order on a bulletin board in the hallway with an explanation of the activity.  I took the other classes' words and glued them onto a large sheet of paper (in alphabetical order of course) and delivered them to the class.  If I would have had more time, we could have put them in alphabetical order in the library media center.  I think I will do that next year.

Collaborating with 2nd Grade on Cat Research

     This school year I have focused on collaborating with teachers as they implement the new CCGPS ELA. Students are required to do a lot of writing and there is a focus on informational texts and research...a perfect opportunity to use our (library media specialists) skills in those areas.  The 2nd grade students had to conduct research on a cat in order to do a writing so I offered to create a graphic organizer.

      I also collected books on different species of cats and located articles in World Book Kids (we have a subscription to it online).  I scheduled time to go to each 2nd grade class with the resources and assist the students with the research.  I modeled note-taking and reading to answer the questions (on the graphic organizer) by using a book about bears.  The students were grouped by species of cat and I stayed to help them.  It went very well and the students then used their notes on the graphic organizer to write their paper.

CC2W7: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single subject to produce a report, record science observations). 

Spread the Word

Evidence of library media skill activities that take place!

     After hearing a presentation this June at the GLMA Summer Institute I realized how important it was to document what I do and then spread the word.  I went to another presentation at RESA this fall and Janelle McClure emphasized that point again.  That is one reason I write this blog.  I was trying to figure out a way to let teachers know what I do during the library media time (besides check out books).  The teachers know (mostly) what I do with their students, but are not aware of what I do on other grade levels.  I needed to change the bulletin boards outside the library media center so I decided to put evidence of student work in the hallway.  Students like to see their work as well, so it was a win-win.  Imagine my surprise when our head of school (principal) stopped in the hall, looked at the bulletin board and said she was making note of it for part of my evaluation.  That wasn't the whole reason I did it, but hey... if you won't blow your horn, who will?

Plagiarism-Wordle Activity

For the second year I introduced the idea of plagiarism to 4th and 5th grade students by reading the book, When Marion Copied: A Book About Plagiarism by Brook Berg. After reading the book I explained that I wanted them to practice a strategy mentioned in the book.  I asked them to summarize the book using only 5 words.  They write them on an index card (or scratch paper) along with their name.  I later type in each word they write into Wordle (www.wordle.net).  I also type in the title, When Marion Copied several times so that it also appears. If you have never used Wordle, check it out.  It is an interesting way to look at text and play with words.  The more often a word appears in a text the larger it appears in Wordle or word cloud (that's why I type in the title, so that it appears (large) in the Wordle).

Here is one wordle I created using the 5 summary words written by students.

You can see the above Wordle by using this link: http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6087046/When_Marion_Copied