Hump Day Highlight

Happy Hump Day!  Today I'm linking up with my bestie, Jess {Mrs. Stanford's Class} for her new linky, "Hump Day Highlight!"  I am super excited about this new party!  Each Wednesday, I'll be highlighting one product of mine.  It may be a product that I already have in my store or it might be a brand new product!  The highlighted product will be on sale through each Wednesday only!

Today I am highlighting my "Arctic Animals" informational writing pack.  As you already know, I just love teaching Writing and creating units for it to share with all of you.  This pack was designed with the following first grade Writing standards {CCSS} in mind:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.8 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade level topics and texts  with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1a Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1b Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.1c Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

To prep this pack, just choose the pages you'd like and copy/staple them in packets {one for every student in class}.  You may also considering blowing up a copy for yourself on your copier/printer to use for modeling.  Select a few animals from the list {arctic fox, arctic hare, caribou, orca/killer whale, snowy owl, polar bear, arctic puffin, sea lion, seal, walrus, and wolf} that you think your students would like.  Visit your public library and pull books for the animals that you selected.

To use this pack in class, students will browse the following arctic animal books and select an animal they'd like to research.  I typically have the animal names written out on the board with the numbers 1-4 below them.  I don't like the groups to be larger than 4 students.  At the beginning of each day, I model how to complete the day's task with my own packet.  The following pages are included:  cover, K-W-L, can/have/are, diagram, leveled fact pages for differentiation, glossary, poetry, ongoing questions.  This pack is student-led with you, the teacher, serving as a facilitator that floats around monitoring behaviors/asking questions.

This set is always a huge hit with my kids because:

1.  They are obsessed with non-fiction and all things "real" animals.
2.  They love the freedom to work in small groups together.
3.  It's a "different" kind of Writing from the traditional workshop model that we usually do in class.

We do the farm animals pack in class in the spring before our field trip to the farm.  To see that pack in action, click here!  Below are a few shots from it:

I have animal research bundles available in the following animals: ocean, farm, arctic, zoo.  You can purchase them in a bundle to use them throughout the year at a discounted rate.  Click below to check them all out!  They are all on sale, 20% off, today, Wednesday, January 7th ONLY!  This is a fab time to grab the bundle at a super-cheap rate!  

xo
Megan