March 20, 2017

Spring Is In The Air with Kinderfriends!

Welcome to the KINDERFRIENDS Freebies Blog Hop! This is Hop is going to be filled with terrific Spring resources and fun freebies too!
Spring is in the air and with that brings warmer weather and for us here in Florida, bugs! This year my class is SO fascinated by non-fiction text. They can explain many of the non-fiction text features that make it so, but I still hear...Mrs. Harrington, is that really "REAL STUFF?" Whether it is a trip to the school media center to browse the non-fiction books, or reading our Scholastic News Magazines, or a close read of informational text…they are in awe! And as a teacher, I am in heaven…because they are hooked! Teaching Kindergarten and First Grade has its challenges and among them are finding cool, interesting, non fiction text that is at a level where they can feel successful as readers. Like many teachers, if I can't find exactly what I need for my students…then there is only one thing left to do - CREATE IT!  Just  this past week, St. Patrick's Day was upon us and among the excitement of that little, green, leprechaun fellow...I decided to feature something else that was just as exciting and intriguing…and well, GREEN! So, I introduce my friend praying mantis. There was a quiet, collective gasp as I projected this picture of him on the screen in the front of the classroom….you might say I had their complete and undivided attention (and that my friends, doesn't necessarily happen every day!)
 
I followed up with a few more photos and a little discussion, then gave them a short & sweet close read about this fascinating creature. The students were anxious to get their hands on the information and off they went to read. After reading, I asked for them to turn and talk about something that they learned. I could hear things like "It said it can be green BUT it can be brown too" and "I read it eats its prey head first" (ewwwww!) and "It got its name because it looks like it is praying!" 
The discussion lead to another task which was rereading the information to answer
questions about the praying mantis. I've taught them to find the evidence in the text with a yellow crayon. I like to call it "buttering" which is better known as highlighting; but for Kindergartners and Firsties, I make the analogy - "it's like when you butter toast." So, off they went to read the questions on the front of the flip book, reread, butter the evidence, and write the answer in their own words.
Talk about being busy…and super engaged! WOW. I SO love that!
Do you have a special way that you like to share non-fiction/informational text in the classroom?
We would love to know your secrets and tips of how you hook your students and get them excited about ….the "REAL STUFF."
Speaking of bugs, how about a little Caterpillar Math FREEBIE from my Class of Kinders store? Perfect for morning work, homework, or even consider laminating them and putting in a math station or center to be used over and over again.
I hope you will enjoy! Now, hop on to Mrs. Byrd's Learning Tree for more
 RESOURCES and FREEBIES too!




SaveSave

11 comments:

  1. Love your praying mantis photo - no wonder your kiddos were enthralled and engaged!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you should get a praying mantis as a class pet!! How fun!! Thanks for sharing!
    Elaine

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE teaching nonfiction! It'a amazing what they remember! THANKS. Wendy 1stgradefireworks

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your blog is very nice,Thanks for sharing good blog.

    เย็ดสาว

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing such kind of important and valuable information. Keep posting this kind of travel related blogs with wide variety of knowledge. We really appreciate all of your efforts. I am share my knowledge in my blog fortnite v bucks gift card generator no human verification.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Keep up the excellent work , I read few posts on this web site and I believe that your blog is real interesting and holds circles of wonderful information. I discuss my topic autoclicker is a gaming content. For more detail visit Autoclicker

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is an awesome post. Really very informative and creative contents. This concept is a good way to enhance knowledge. I am also the information about the autoclicker. For more detail and if you have the interest to visit
    visit here

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very useful post. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. Really its great article. Keep it up. I also have something for you. you can visit here

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing this information. I really like your blog post very much. You have really shared a informative and interesting blog post with people.
    I also suggest an article about this.DeSmuMe

    ReplyDelete
  10. You have made some decent points there. I looked on the web for additional information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website. Well Shocking, I am glad to share a brilliant post about BSL Shaders Minecraft . I hope you will really enjoy this shader pack.

    ReplyDelete