My Chickens

I named my blog, "Karen's World" and the address is "georgiabooksandmore.blogspot.com" so here is a blog about something not book related...chickens!  I decided about 6 months ago I would like to have chickens in my backyard so I could have fresh eggs.  I finally got some on May 7th from my son as a Mother's Day present.  Only problem was that we don't have the coop built yet, so they lived for a week and a half in a large plastic tub.  This was sufficient until my son and husband said they intended all along to have more than 3 chickens.  So my son built a larger brooder to accommodate 2 more chickens which we bought on May 16th.

First chicks I received as Mother's Day gift on May 7th.

Here are the original 3 plus 2 more purchased May 16th.  See how much the original 3 have grown!

I asked at our second purchase at the feed store exactly what kind of chickens I had.  The red one is a New Hampshire Red (named Rosie), the pale yellow ones are Buff Orpingtons (I originally named the 1st Buff Henny Penny) and the black one is a Black Sex Link (named Nugget by my son).  The other 2 Buffs I haven'

t named.  For one thing I can't tell them apart.  We are spending Memorial Day weekend building the permanent coop.  I'll post a photo when it's completed.

National Library Week Activity

I know it's a little late, but school is officially out and I might have time to catch up on some blogging!  I repeated my activity from last year called "Guess Who's Reading!".  I photographed volunteer staff with one of their favorite books, with only the top of their head and hands showing, adding the "Guess Who's Reading!" at the top.  I laminated them and posted them around the school with a small number in the corner

Here is the original photo (of me) to which I add the "Guess Who's Reading!".  I hold a contest and if the students guess a certain number of staff correctly, their name is entered into a drawing for a prize.  I then post the names later.  It's been a fun activity, with the students getting really excited and going around with clipboards and discussing who is behind the books.  We celebrate NLW a week later than ALA, as we are testing during the official ALA week.  So it comes at good time when the students could use a fun activity!

 

I got the idea from a blog I follow called "Library Displays" and changed it up a little.

Books-My Window to the World

I just finished a new display for National Library Week which we will be celebrating April 22-26 (due to testing during the official NLW time).  I also didn't feel that the ALA theme "Communities Matter @ Your Library" was a great visual for our bookmark contest, etc.  So with some help from my Library Media Center Committee we came up with the theme "Books-My Window to the World".  My display features a window frame hanging in front (it's made of styrofoam, covered with wood-grained cardboard donated by a parent who worked with a Hallmark store).  I think it turned out great!

2nd Grade Used Reference Sources to Gather Information

     I wanted students to get practice using the main types of references sources they need to know how to use, so I read the book Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute as a jumping off point. I picked it in part because it was the week of St. Patrick's Day and in part because I knew there would be plenty of unfamiliar words.

     While I read I had the 2nd grade students identify words they were not familiar with by raising their hands and a volunteer (or the teacher) wrote down the words on slips of paper.  Students then used dictionaries (both print and digital) to look up the unfamiliar words and wrote the definitions. ELACC1RI4: Ask and answer questions to help determine or clarify the meaning of words and phrases in a text.  They started out by looking up their word in the print dictionary, but I knew they wouldn't find some of the words (ie. thunderation, hoodwink, etc.).  If they were unsuccessful in finding the word in the print dictionary they then transitioned to a computer where I had pulled up an online dictionary.  This exposed them to digital versions of print resources.

     Other students used an atlas to locate Ireland on a map. First they had to use the index to locate the correct page with the map.  I had paper on the table with directions and they recorded one fact they learned about Ireland by looking at the map (ie. Ireland is an island, The capital of Ireland is Dublin, etc.). ELACC1RI5: Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of content, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text. 

     Another group of students used  World Book Kids (an online encyclopedia) to read the article on leprechauns and write a fact or two about them. ELACC1W8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

     Each student presented their new knowledge to the class. I wrote up this activity and posted in on the bulletin board in the hall with photos of one of the classes.  I always include the Common Core Standards that are being covered as some people don't think library media specialists do any teaching!

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.