April Choice Board and HAPPY SPRING BREAK

The finish line is in sight! I hope everyone has a really great, safe, and happy SPRING BREAK! We are hitting the roller coaster circuit, so expect some pretty funny pictures of me in different states of terror. Maybe one day I will get over my fear of heights. Until then, I guess my family will continue to drag me all over to visit the different roller coasters just to record as many funny pictures as possible! 

When we come back from spring break, we will be celebrating NATIONAL LIBRARY MONTH, which is pretty exciting. This is the infographic I created for my school; it will be a fun month celebrating our library. 

I have also created some CREATE digital stations and a virtual classroom for the month of April. 

Click on the image below to check out and view our April digital CREATE stations. 
If you would like to make a copy, so you can make changes, feel free to use THIS LINK. 
 

If your students like to be surprised with different clicks and activities, here is the April bitmoji classroom. You can click on the image to view it. 

Feel free to make a copy if you would like to make changes for your students.

I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break. When we return, we will be looking forward to book fair and CHICKS in the library! 

First Grade FICTION vs. NONFICTION: Frog Life Cycles in the ART STATION

                                        

Spring time means studying life cycles, and in first grade, we look at the life cycle of the frog as well as different animal habitats.  This is a lesson we have done many times, and we will be completing it this year in April. 

A great way to begin this lesson is by reading, A Frog Thing by Eric Drachman. There is a great video you can access for this book (click on the image below and it will take you to the video).  

This year we will also be reading the nonfiction selection, Frogs which is part of our extremely popular Animal Kingdom series published by Abdo. 

These books rarely stay on the library shelves, and I highly recommend them! You can check out this book and others like it on the ABDO website. 

After reading the book, we discuss the differences between nonfiction and fiction. What makes A Frog Thing a fiction picture book? How do we know? What examples can we provide? 

What makes Frogs a nonfiction picture book? What are some facts we learned? What are some text features we noticed that aren't in a fiction book? 

Finally, what is the main difference between a fiction book and a nonfiction book? Student are always able to make the connection that our nonfiction books provide facts and information.

Next step in the process: students select an Animal Kingdom book of their choice to use in the library and read about their animal. Task ONE...figure out which of these animal habitats their animal lives in: 

Ocean

Desert

Wetlands

Grassland

Woodland

Polar

Rain Forest 

After that, they record ONE fact about their animal and then put this fact in their own words. If you would like a copy of this lesson with the lesson plan standards, I CAN statements, procedures, and worksheets, you can access them here: Animal Habitat FREEBIE.

 

Next up? We access our PebbleGo database. We segue into animal habitats since this correlates with the first grade VA SOL: 

SCI 1.5: The student will investigate and understand that animals, including humans, have basic life needs that allow them to survive. Key ideas include:

• animals need air, food, water, shelter, and space (habitat);
• animals have different physical characteristics that perform specific functions; and
• animals can be classified based on a variety of characteristics.

FINAL STEP....turning our picture into augmented reality and watching the frog evolve from an egg, to a tadpole, froglet, and frog! I have this library station outlined HERE. This freebie includes the library lesson plan (that also be used as a sign at the library table). 

Want more information on the Quivervision dashboard? There is a great presentation that you can access to get you started: Getting Started Kit.

CREATE Stations...A is for ART - A Second Grade Library Station

 

It is no secret....second graders love dinosaurs. We had the best time listening to Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne. We were able to listen to the author read the first chapter aloud on the Brightly Storytime website, and it was a great way to get the story underway. 

Similar to my earlier CREATE station posts, the novel is accompanied with a short research project activity where students have the opportunity to access print encyclopedias or a database. If we are using print encyclopedia, this research activity is best completed in small groups, and it is part of my Explore station.  The small group can each choose a different dinosaur and have their own encyclopedia volume.  

If we are all accessing the database, then we can work in a whole group setting with students on their chromebooks. When we use databases in second grade, we access Pebblego. It is the perfect database for this age group, and they all seem to really like it. 

Feel free to access my EXPLORE STATION HERE. This is a freebie that will allow you to print and/or edit the materials and lessons to suit your needs and make changes, so it works for your resources. 

Now for the next part....the really fun activity....the students get to pick a dinosaur coloring sheet. 

Quivervision is very engaging and gives a WOW factor for the students. Here is a link to my station that has directions, standards, and Quivervision sheets: Quivervision Art Station.

Be sure to check out the Quivervision Education Dashboard if you would like to research subscriptions for your classes.  

I also have this sign below that I use as a visual for my art station; it covers K-2. Feel free to click on it and make a copy. 

CREATE stations: A is for ART....a THIRD GRADE STATION

Third graders are studying aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and their diversity. These Quivervision coloring sheets have so many options. When the animal turns 3D, students can see in vivid detail the animal as well as the ecosystem surrounding the animal. 

The art station has become one of our very favorites. If you are interested in the free station signs, standards, and "I Can" statements, you can view and download the signs HERE. 

To get started on this unit, students can research an aquatic animal during their EXPLORE library station. I have an activity for students to research aquatic animals using a Britannica resource pack (you will need to have a subscription to access) or a print encyclopedia. I like both activities for different reasons. The print encyclopedia allows students to find information, identify parts of an encyclopedia and nonfiction text features. Check out the freebie here: EXPLORE STATION. 

Once the research is completed, students can really enjoy the art station and how these animals come to life. If you are interested in this station and the new Quivervision Educational Dashboard, you can access it using this link: QUIVERVISION. 

Looking to start up a Quivervision library station? Here is a great tutorial on how you can get started: watch the video. This is a great slideshow to get you started that you can access here. 

Look at this shark picture! This is definitely a fan favorite among the third grade learners.  When they turn their picture into AR, they see the coral reef habitat as well as the food chain! Our students were awed by the details, and they definitely take their time coloring their sheet. 

Here is the sign that covers the art station for grades 3-5. We use this one at the table for our art stations.