Students will have a whale of a good time in this lesson in which they use fiction and nonfiction texts to write a letter to an online scientist.
Reading and Writing About Whales Using Fiction and Nonfiction Texts
From Fact to Fiction: Drawing and Writing Stories
Students gather factual information about frogs and toads to create nonfiction and fiction stories. Drawing is used for prewriting.
Protecting Our Precious Planet: Sharing the Message of Earth Day
Students discover that they can make a world of difference when they participate in the online Earth Day bag program.
Reading Informational Texts Using the 3-2-1 Strategy
Students can count on using the 3-2-1 strategy to help them successfully comprehend and write about an informational text.
Blast Off! Vocabulary Instruction Using a Virtual Moon Trip
3, 2, 1... Blast off! Students learn new vocabulary by taking a virtual field trip to the moon, read-alouds, creating a picture dictionary, and completing a final writing activity.
The Frog Beyond the Fairy Tale Character: Searching Informational Texts
Frogs often appear as the main character in fiction stories, but what do students really know about frogs? Students find out in this lesson in which they research real-life frogs.
Author E.B. White was born on this day in 1899.
Author E.B. White, most well-known for his famous children's book, Charlotte's Web, received high acclaim and awards for many of his works of fiction.
On this day in 1910, animal rights activist Joy Adamson was born.
A KWL chart is used to organize information about lions. Persuasive letters are written lobbying for programs and resources to protect these animals.
Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first human heart transplant.
Students talk about the causes of heart disease and the role that diet and exercise play. Then, students find healthy dessert recipes and vote on one dessert to make in class.
Snowflake Bentley illustrator Mary Azarian was born in 1940.
Students catch snowflakes outdoors and sketch some of the structures, or grow their own snow crystals and examine them using magnifying glasses or microscopes.
Blast Off to Learn New Words
Boost vocabulary by taking an imaginary trip into space. After a lunar "landing," children return to Earth with a galaxy of new words.
The Natural World as Inspiration: An Outdoor Art Show
Children incorporate materials from outdoors with paints or crayons to create pieces of art to display on their clotheslines, fences, or porches for a neighborhood art show.
Monarch butterflies begin their migration in the fall.
After exploring the ways that monarch butterflies react to seasons, students complete an inquiry study to examine how other things change because of the seasons and create a class anthology.
Let's Go On A Poetry Walk!
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you're surrounded by brilliant shades of green! Observe and collect sensory images from nature and use the sights, sounds, smells, and textures to create original nature poetry.