Teaching Informational texts with One Tiny Turtle in kindergarten and first grade. One Tiny Turtle was written by one of my favorite authors, Nicola Davies. This book chronicles the life cycle of the loggerhead sea turtle. As with most informational texts, we start by discussing our schema on the subject. We want students to think about what they already know and attach their new understandings to their prior knowledge. Here are a few of the responses we got. Sea ... continue reading...
Search Results for: informational texts
Teaching Informational Text Features: Lions
Your students will love these informational text features lessons for reading and writing while studying lions! Through close reading, students study the features on non-fiction books. Informational Text Features in Books: Lions We decided to dig deeper into informational texts and this book made it a perfect place to start! National Geographic has some fantastic non-fiction books: Here are the books (affiliate link) that will be part of these series of lessons: ... continue reading...
Spider Informational Text Activities
Spider informational text activities for kindergarten and first grade? You got it! Done and done! Deedee and I were asked for more informational texts in our Guiding Readers units, so we added a stand-alone edition. As you know, these units are week-long close reading lessons that really allow students to dive in deeper. The teacher does the decoding work, but the thinking work sits on the shoulders of the students. Spiders Informational Text We started this unit of study with Spiders ... continue reading...
It’s Shark Week! Freebies for Comparing Informational & Narrative Texts
FREEBIES Shark style! Clark the Shark is a perfect book for back to school, but it is also great as you round out the end of the year. Energy is high and patience is low and helping kids understand the importance of self-control, following the rules and thinking before they act. Clark the shark has an abundant amount of energy and enthusiasm and this causes him a few problems at school. {Sound familiar?} He loves school and he is so EXCITED about it that his behavior gets a ... continue reading...
Fun on the Farm: Learning About Farm Animals
These farm animal activities will make learning about farm animals fun and engaging! This unit is packed full of close reading activities, directed drawings, writing, a craft, and more! Farm Animal Activities Learning about farm animals is so much fun! Students learn about the different animals they may find on a farm with these farm animal activities. Students become farm animal experts through close reading passages, discussions, and investigations. Close Reading Passages/Chit ... continue reading...
Interactive Reading Comprehension Journals
I love looking around my room and seeing smiling faces while students read. This creates such a special feeling in the classroom. However, learning to read is really like learning a new language. It takes time and can be frustrating for students. So, I love to create fun and exciting ways for students to interact and think about stories and informational texts. For example, the Interactive Reading Comprehension Journals include so many hands-on ways for students to reflect on their reading in ... continue reading...
American Symbols Activities and Resources for Kindergarten & First Grade
American symbols activities and resources. Informational texts, anchor charts, crafts, science experiments, emergent reader, math games, writing activities, and more! American Symbols Activities Teaching about American symbols can be lots of fun and students learn about important pieces of our history! These lesson ideas and resources are perfect for engaging students in the study of American symbols. Chit Chat Messages: American Symbols Chit chat messages are perfect for shared ... continue reading...
Reindeer Lessons & Activities! (Reindeer Book Freebie)
Reindeer lesson plans with informational text with a FREE file. Includes crafts, writing, reading and more for your kindergarten lessons or first-grade lessons. Reindeer Lesson Ideas: Reading Informational Texts Here is a peek into what is included in this Reindeer Unit. Last week was a CUH-RAZY week for my little sweeties. In addition to all of the normal holiday craziness we were still trying to practice and get ready for our Gingerbread man play. We performed the play for the ... continue reading...
Zoo Animals | Chit Chat Messages & Close Reading
Zoo Animals unit packed full of resources! Engaging and fun activities. Chit Chat messages, close reading passages, crafts, and more! Zoo Animals Teaching about zoo animals is seriously one of the best times EVER! The littles get super excited and stay so engaged in learning. It can be hard to keep their attention at this time of the year, but it sure helps when they are having fun! I just completely updated this whole unit so it's ready to go for your upcoming zoo unit. Find it by ... continue reading...
Reindeer Activities | Nonfiction Unit About Reindeer and a FREEBIE!
Kindergarten and first grade students will love learning about reindeer with these engaging reindeer activities. Informational texts, response to reading, directed drawing, and more! It's nearly December! How is time going by so quickly? I hope your school year is going smoothly as we are approaching winter! This is always a fun time of year in the classroom. With the holidays coming, it can be a little difficult to find engaging activities that are not related to Christmas. If that ... continue reading...
Story Retell Activities Using Authentic Texts for K-2
Story retell activities to practice and improve reading comprehension skills and strategies. Story retell cards for whole group and individual practice. Has there ever been a time you've sat down to give a DRA and realized your students were unable to retell the story? Or perhaps your reading assessments are showing low scores in reading comprehension? Several students struggle with providing a detailed retelling of a story. Nevertheless, developing and instilling reading comprehension ... continue reading...
Shark Schema Chart: Teaching with Intention!
Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller is one of my all-time favorite professional development books. When I read this book in 2008, it really helped me define my teaching philosophy and think about WHAT I do as a teacher and WHY I do it. When you do activities with your students, it's important to be able to define their purpose and to be able to explain why you think it's important. I LOVE this book, and I've blogged about it MANY times over the last five years. One of my favorite things ... continue reading...
Kindergarten Lesson Plans | Instant, Yet Powerful Lesson Plans… Just Print and Teach!
Kindergarten lesson plans made easy just print and teach! Free file too! Common Core reading lesson plans and writing plans, plus math lessons too! Here are a few things I know about teachers. They want the absolute BEST for their students. They want to employ "Best Practices" in their classrooms. They. Are. Overwhelmed! Occasionally, they want to go home before 5 pm after school AND they would like to spend their weekends with their families instead of planning. Does ... continue reading...
Guided Reading Lesson Plans | Be an Expert! (FREE Download too!)
Guided Reading Lesson Plan template and free download. Reading levels in kindergarten and first grade to create guided reading lesson plans with free books! Are you wanting to master guided reading, but feel a wee bit overwhelmed? I get it! Guided Reading is just one more thing you have on your plate.. or do you? Are you currently conducting guided reading lessons in your classroom? I am sometimes surprised to hear that some emergent classrooms do not. Don't ... continue reading...
Close Reading Passages for Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grade
Fall themed close reading passages to teach your primary students how to annotate a text. Your students will love this color-coded method using DOTS! Close Reading Passages Close reading is all about reading to uncover the text to deepen comprehension. Students engage with the text and focus on the information the text provides. With these close reading passages, students will dive into the text and learn about some fun Fall topics. Read about how you can use this resource in your ... continue reading...
