Polar Bears Reading Comprehension

Polar Bears Reading Comprehension {and Freebie}

First graders love learning about polar bears!  It is always a fun topic to teach during the winter months.

Using paired fiction and nonfiction texts is a great way to learn about polar bears because there are SO many opportunities for teaching your core English Language Arts Standards. 

I paired the read-aloud books The Snowy Day by Jan Brett and National Geographic Kids: Polar Bears by Laura Marsh for this resource.  

You can check out my other Winter Paired Text set here.

The Three Snow Bears is wonderful for teaching the skills of sequencing key details, studying characters and their traits, comparing and contrasting texts with Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and opinion writing.

The nonfiction text about polar bears provides opportunities to teach finding key details, close studying the text feature of a diagram, learning how glossaries work, and writing informative pieces. 

Informative Standards

Using a graphic organizer is the perfect way for students to find and record key details. This graphic organizer helps them focus on one topic at a time: polar bear bodies, food, environment, and cubs.

Main idea and detail is a tricky topic that students need a LOT of practice with!  This sheet scaffolds their learning by providing the main idea- students then add some related details.  A version without the main idea already listed is also included.

Kids will study a diagram of the polar bear paw.  Then they make their own diagram.  

Students will write a 5-sentence informative paragraph about polar bears.  This version provides a topic and closing sentence to support emergent learners.  A version for students to write all 5 sentences is also included. 

Free download: Click here to download the writing page.

Your class will learn how the text feature of a glossary works.  They will also also create their own picture glossary with the vocabulary words.

Literature Standards

After listening to The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett students will work together to sequence key details from the text.

Students will focus on character traits and search for text evidence of each trait.  Versions with and without character traits listed are included for easy differentiation.

The Three Snow Bears is the perfect text to compare and contrast with a more traditional version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  Cut and glue pieces are included, or students can fill in their own ideas.

Students will write a 5-sentence opinion piece about which story is their favorite!  

You will love all of the options for easy differentiation!  Many more ideas included.

Detailed lesson plans aligned to Common Core State Standards are included!

You can click here to learn more about this polar bears reading comprehension resource.

 

0

Christmas Countdown: A Fun Way to Keep Your Students Learning!

December is one of the most fun- and most challenging- months of the year!  There are so many great activities to do- but the KIDS are so excited that it is hard to keep them focused and working hard!  This Christmas Countdown is a great way to take advantage of every opportunity to keep students learning.  

I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement!  So, I came up with this fun idea for a whole class behavior incentive for December using a Christmas Countdown themed punchboard.  

How to Create a Christmas Countdown Punchboard:

The board is easy to make with a few basic supplies: foam board, disposable cups, tissue paper, rubber bands, a glue stick, and a hot glue gun. Add a cute heading and some clipart at the top using glue stick. Then, hot glue the cups to the board.

Next, fill the cups with reward slips for the students to earn.

Glue the circle pictures to the top of green tissue paper and then rubber band the paper around the cups. Be sure the reward slip and the top picture match!

Now the board can be displayed and your students can start earning the rewards!  There is a different reward for each cup- enough for at least 12 days.

Work on one reward cup at a time. Each student receives their own page to color in with the matching picture. When the whole-class exhibits great behavior, they all earn a coloring clue!  

I recommend using a cute Christmas themed box to store the clues.  You can read the clues out loud to your class, or choose a student to read it to them. You can reward any behavior that is important to you.  

Some behavior ideas might include:

• listening carefully to teacher directions
• working without distractions
• walking quietly in the hallway
• lining up quickly and appropriately

When they color an entire picture (the clue box is empty for that picture), then they get to open the matching punch box cup and reveal the class reward!  Once students have enjoyed the reward, you can begin working on the next cup. Your students will love making memories with this project, and you will love how it keeps them focused! 

Want to learn more about this Christmas countdown resource?  You can check it out in my TPT store!

0

Close Reading for Winter- Paired Texts

Today I wanted to share with you one of my Paired Text Units.  This unit is perfect for coming back to school in January.  It is for the books Animals In Winter by Henrietta Bancroft and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

I really enjoy pairing a fiction and non-fiction books on similar topics.  It is a great way to be sure and get a 50/50 balance of narrative and expository texts.  It is fun for students, and a great way to introduce close-reading to beginning readers.

In Animals In Winter the authors explore the different ways animals survive in the winter such as hibernating, migrating, storing food, and no special adaptations.  It explores two or more animals that fit each category.  The text has amazing illustrations.   

A "pre-write" of what students already know on the topic is a great way to begin.  I have included themed paper in the unit, but you could also have students write this in their journal, or on plain paper. Next, read aloud the story and give students some time to discuss what they learned with partners or small groups.

The next day introduce the vocabulary: migrate, hibernate, gather food, and nothing. (The set has these great little cards ready to print with the vocabulary and a definition.)  As you read, have students listen for the different animals, and which category they fit into.  Then you are ready to sort the animal picture cards.  You can create an anchor chart or use a pocket chart to sort.  

There is also a student sheet, for students to cut and sort the animals into the categories. 

 Read the story several times throughout the week.  Students should now be ready to work on Main Idea/Details.  The sheet has the main idea already listed for students to scaffold their learning.  I have also included pictures of some of the animals by each bubble.  This supports students in remembering details from the text.

The last activity for this story is a close study of a diagram.  I have included a questioning guide to help you lead this activity. 

After the discussion, students complete three facts they learned about woodchucks from the diagram.

In the classic story The Snowy Day we follow along with a little boy named Peter and his adventures in the snow.  This book won the Caldecott Medal for the illustrations, which are very unique, and an important part of telling the story.

A questioning guide is included to guide your discussion for both a first, and second reading of the text. Click here to download the first days questioning guide.

The second reading focuses on noticing the illustrations and how they help to tell the story.

A story map is included.

Students think more deeply about the character Peter by exploring what he thought, saw, and did with his hands and feet.

Students also compare themselves to Peter by thinking about what they like to do on a snowy day.

Want to learn more about this set?  Click here.

Looking for more winter paired text sets?  Check out my polar bear paired text set for the books The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett and National Geographic Kids: Polar Bears by Laura Marsh.

0

Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity for Kids

Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity

This is one of my favorite projects that I look forward to every year. This Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity incorporates two important Social Studies standards: learning about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and timelines.

This is a culminating project that I use after my class has spent several days learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. We have already read books, watched videos, learned about him on PebbleGo, and completed other activities about his life and contribution to our country. 

The students love this Martin Luther King, Jr. activity for two reasons. First, I let them work with a partner, which they LOVE. Also, I let them use their colored pencils, which is a special treat in my classroom.

You will want to have two days to complete this project.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity Day 1

I partner the students up and give each set of partners one of the MLK timeline pages. I set out multiple books, pictures, etc. of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I also use a a quick internet search to display some photographs on my interactive whiteboard. I find having a partner and providing references for their illustrations really helps with the quality of their work.  I also give the students plenty of time to work on their illustration.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Activity Day 2

On Day 2, we gather together in the hallway with our completed illustrations.  We use them to create a timeline of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life. This would also work great on a large bulletin board in your classroom.

To be prepared and make the lesson flow smoothly, I have done the following tasks before we gather together.

1. I have hung a piece of yarn about 10 feet long in the hallway.
2. I have preprinted the years of key details of Martin Luther King, Jr's life on index cards.
3. I have a big roll of tape ready to go!  You may even want to have some tape loops hanging on the wall for quick taping of the projects.

Now we are ready to begin! We work together to order the events of Martin Luther King, Jr's life. It is a bit tricky for students to order the years, but this is good exposure for them. I use lots of guided talk to walk them through the process. They bring up their Martin Luther King, Jr. activity pages and we tape them in order, making a large timeline of his life. 

I love that this project makes the concept of a timeline come to life for my students in a way that a worksheet cannot. I hope your students will love this Martin Luther King, Jr. activity as much as my class does! You can download the pages for the timeline by clicking here!

Want more social studies project ideas? Check out the links below!

3

Kwanzaa

I am linking up with the I Teach First Bloggers this month.
We have some great ideas to share with you for the month of December!


Are you planning to teach Holidays Around the World this month?  If so, Kwanzaa is an interesting holiday for students to learn about.  I find the majority of my students have never heard of it.

I always start by reading a Kwanzaa story.  

My favorite to read is K is for Kwanzaa: A Kwanzaa Alphabet Book by Juwanda G. Ford.

After we read we paper weave Mkeka (em-KE-kah) mats.  The students really enjoy making these.  It is also great for their fine motor skills.  Some students catch right on, and some need some assistance. I always rotate around the room to help those who are struggling.  I also have students help each other as they finish their mats.

To paper weave, students go over and under the black strips with their colored strips.  Each strips starts the opposite way.  It also helps for students to add a dab of glue to hold their strips in place.

Once their mats are finished, they color and glue on the symbols of Kwanzaa.  We always have fun saying the Swahili words for the objects, and reviewing the meaning of each object.


To complete the project you will need the following supplies for each student:
8 1/2" by 11" black construction paper
1" by 8 1/2" strips of red, blue, and green paper- about 10 per student

To make the mats, fold the black paper in half, cut approximately 1" strips out from the fold line.  Stop cutting about 1" from the edge of the paper.

If you have a parent volunteer, they can help with these steps.

Click here to get the symbols sheet.

Hope you have fun learning about Kwanzaa!

Click on the links below for more great December ideas!

An InLinkz Link-up

3