"Dogs" Week 24

The theme this "week" (6 days) was all about dogs.  However, the PreK students were learning about butterflies and caterpillars this week, so I read Ten little caterpillars to them and then gave them die cut butterfly bookmarks to decorate.

Back to dogs - starting with Kindergarten, I showed a "big book" version of Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day.  I was surprised at how much they loved this book - and they laughed.  A lot.  I made a handout with a rottweiler on one side and another pencil drawing of a rottweiler on the other so they could make their own "picture book without words".  They had to draw in the baby and show Carl and the baby up to something on one side and then draw how Carl resolved the issue on the other side.  That was a hit, too.

            


I read another fun book to the first grade:  Officer Buckle and Gloria by  
Gloria Rathmann.  I had worksheets to do after the story, where the students drew a safety accident in progress and made up a safety rule to prevent it.

For 2nd  grade, I showed the classes Harry, the dirty dog, as read by Betty White on storyline online.  First we discussed the actual book and talked about what was on a "front cover", the spine, and the "back cover".  I made a template to give them so they could make their own covers for Harry, the dirty dog. Learning the ins and outs of book covers didn't come easily to the 2nd grade.  Another lesson on that would be helpful.

Our "haiku" wall

A haiku about how haikus are worthless!

Dogku by Andrew Clements is a book about a lost dog who finds a home - and it is written entirely in haikus.  (A haiku is a three line poem with 5 syllables in the first and third line and seven syllables in the second line.)  In addition to being a really neat concept, the pictures are awesome, too.  After reading this, the third graders wrote haikus.  They were reluctant at first, but in each class I sat down and composed a haiku (showing it via projector) and I got quite a few hilarious ones.  In the first class, my "example" haiku was about Captain Underpants.

      

In 4th and 5th grades, at least 13 students used the computers to play "Order in the Library."  This game is the perfect hands-on game that lets the students practice what we've been learning.  The students complete levels by dragging books into the proper place on the "shelf". They can complete levels like "Genius" and "Master of the Universe".