Hi everyone! I hope that your new year is off to a great start! This week is all about penguins and informational text. I love this time of the year because we can tackle several standards in one week and the students are well on their way to working effectively and independently. Their third grade teachers will be pleased. We start the week off by bribing a staff member to deliver a frozen or very cold package that is marked "URGENT". Inside is a letter and penguin articles. The letter is from my "good friend" Dr. Hanson who is noticing effects from climate change and wants our class to investigate whether or not penguins could move to a warmer climate. The students are so excited to not only receive the package, but also to help solve the cute little penguin's problem. We'll be exploring key details, compare/contrast, connecting events and response to text. The students will carry their learning over into writing where they research and choose a topic about penguins to write about. Students who finish their work on time will get to make a penguin cover for their writing. They love that part. I'll post pictures below that show some of the activities will have during our independent time.
For the materials that I used this week, click on the picture below.
