Grades: 1-2
Language Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Introduction
I would like to tie my science units to my reading and writing units. In May, students will study nonfiction texts, write informational texts, and study one animal and its life cycle. Science class is held twice a week for 20 minutes a day in my school. I am planning on doing this unit on butterflies for a month since science class is so short. Students also need a month to learn research skills, how to read nonfiction books, and how to write informational texts. They are also young and need multiple exposures to content from various angles in order to learn it, so a month is a good amount of time for them to study butterflies. By the end of this unit, students will produce an All About book (an informational text), a Life Cycle poster (for science class), and practice their research and reading skills of nonfiction texts to study butterflies. I will take students on a trip at the end of the unit to the Bronx Zoo to the butterfly conservatory. This unit fulfills the curriculum requirements of my school because students will learn to handle nonfiction books, study an animal, and write all About Books as a finished project.
Objectives
- Students will be able to handle nonfiction books, and use the features of a nonfiction book to find information.
- Students will be able to distinguish between a fiction book and a nonfiction book
- Students will be able to research a subject using both books and the Internet, and then write an All About Book on butterflies.
- Students will learn all about butterflies, and be able to create a life cycle poster to demonstrate their knowledge of the life cycle.
- Students will learn content-specific vocabulary which they will use in classroom discussions and in their writing.
- Students will learn how to write a report of information text.
Primary Literacy Standards
- Reading Standard 1: Reading a Lot, Reading Behaviors, Discussing Books, Vocabulary
- Reading Standard 2: Accuracy and Fluency, Self monitoring and Self Correcting Strategies, Comprehension
- Reading Standard 3: Knowledge of Letters and Their Sounds, Phonemic Awareness, Reading Words
- Writing Standard 1: Habits and Processes
- Writing Standard 2: Informing Others: Report or Informational Writing
- Writing Standard 3: Language Use and Conventions
- Standard 1: Students will listen, speak, read, and write in English for information and understanding
- Standard 4: Students will listen, speak and social interaction
- Creativity and Innovation - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology
- Communication and Collaboration - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
- Research and Information Fluency - Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
- Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design - Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific questions, seek answers, and develop solutions
- Standard 2: Information Systems - Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies
- Standard 4: The Living Environment - Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science
- 2 big books on butterflies
- copies of books on butterflies at various reading levels
- 2 computers with internet access
- chart paper, board, and markets
- printer
- SMART board or LCD projector and laptop
- various art supplies, paper, pencils, etc.
- graphic organizers
- student checklists and rubrics
- Youtube.com
- Class blog at http://speakinglouderdoesntmeanclearer.blogspot.com/
- http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/butterfly/index.html
- http://www.bronxzoo.com/look-and-learn/videos/butterfly-garden.aspx
- http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Cycle.htm
- http://www.foremostbutterflies.com/butterfly_activities/
- http://www.billybear4kids.com/butterfly/colorbook.html
- http://www.butterflyschool.org/photogallery/index.html
Students will be encouraged to read the blog at home with their parents for homework to discover what the class will be studying and to do the K-W-L chart. Reading the first blog post and completing the K-W-L chart will be for homework. The next day when they come into class, I will put up the blog and re-read the entry. I will give students a chance to re-check their K-W-L responses and for those that didn't do their homework, I will give them a copy of the chart and give them a chance to fill it out. Students will then share what they know about butterflies and what they would like to know. As they share their responses, I will put all of this information on a giant class K-W-L chart on butterflies.
Listening to the Voki will get students excited to hear more about what they will learn for that month. The blog is also fun and easy to use. They can access it from home, and ask me any questions if they have troubles with their assignments.
Procedure
Day 1 & 2
On Day 1, I will do what I spoke about in the motivation/prior knowledge section above. During the literacy block, I will introduce what a nonfiction book is, how you can identify a nonfiction book, and how it's different from a fiction book. On Day 2, I will launch the blog and read the welcome post. We will discuss what students will learn this month in science and what projects they will be working on. Students will be assigned partners that they will be working with for the month to complete their assignments. Students of mixed abilities will be paired together. During the literacy block, students will learn what an All About book is, and I will share an example of one written by a second grade class that will resemble something that is expected of them. I will bring in samples of All About books, and life cycle posters so that they can see finished products, and pass them around for all of the students to see. Students will also get checklists and see the rubric of what is expected of them. The rubric is more for administration, while the checklist is a child friendly version of the rubric. Students will always be reminded to use the checklists when working on their projects.
Days 3-7
Students will be taught about the various features of nonfiction books, such as the table of contents, index, headings, glossary, etc., and how to use them. Students will be taught how to find information that they need in a nonfiction book, as well as the Internet. I will begin to teach the students some basic online researching skills, and the importance of checking who wrote the article, and what kind of website is hosting the article. Students will get planning pages during writing time, and will be taught how to take notes. Everyday I will read a big book on butterflies, and focus on a different topic in regards to butterflies. Students will be responsible for taking notes when I read. Each time I finish reading about butterflies, we will discuss as a class what we learned, and fill out the "L" column in our class K-W-L chart. During these 5 days, students will be given the opportunity to research butterflies using both computers and books. The class will focus on answering the questions what do butterflies look like and do they all look the same? By Day 7, students would be expected to be finished with the first page of their All About books about the appearance of butterflies. They would also have their cover pages finished. They would also have a homework assignment relating to the appearance of butterflies found on the blog (link here).
Days 8-12
Students will continue to research butterflies and focus on where do butterflies live and what do they eat? They will be given time to do research, and take notes. They will meet with their partners to research and continue to write their All About books. I will continue to read big books on butterflies focusing on the questions featured for this week. Read alouds will help my low level readers to gain content knowledge about butterflies and help them with their All About books. The class K-W-L chart will continue to be updated. Students will continue to learn how to handle nonfiction books and do research during the literacy block. During writing time, students will continue to learn writing conventions in regards to informational texts, and I will walk around helping students to write their All About books. For the whole month, everyday I will be demonstrating how to fill out a planning page or writing a page in my All About book on chart paper before sending the kids off to work on their own with their partners. Students will also continue to learn how to use the Internet effectively. In class we will watch YouTube videos about butterflies, and do fun activities/games online about butterflies to supplement the unit.
Days 13-17
The literacy block will remain the same following the format from previous weeks, focusing on different skills or revisiting skills students are struggling with. Students will continue to research and read books, as well as work on their All About books. This week we will be focusing on the different life cycle stages of a butterfly. Students will learn about the life cycle of a butterfly through books, videos, websites, and by observing the classroom butterfly eggs. I will order and have ready eggs for students to observe. Students will be responsible for filling out an observation log everyday to track how the butterflies are doing. The class will do various crafts relating to the life cycle of a butterfly to help students learn the different stages, and the necessary content-specific vocabulary. Some in-class activities that we will be working on are listed on the blog here. Students will also do an art project where they have to cut out the different stages of the life cycle, put them in order, color them, and then paste them onto a paper plate. This will help prepare students to create their own life cycle posters. Students will get ample opportunities to work on their books and posters. I will show different examples of how the posters can be created by using paper and crayons or the computer. Various media can be used to demonstrate the life cycle. I will remind students that they must have all of the elements of the checklist in their projects.
Days 18 & 19
Students will put the finishing touches on their projects. After hand-writing their All About books, students will be given the chance to type them out and add graphics on the computer if they wish. They will also add the glossary and table of contents pages to their All About books. I will walk around and conference with students as they work. They will continue to observe the class butterflies. After the butterflies emerge, the class will release the butterflies into the school's garden. The class will also go on a class trip to the Bronx Zoo to the Butterfly Conservatory to see more species of butterflies and to learn more about the insect in general.
Day 20
Publishing party!! Parents and administration will be invited to the classroom to watch as the students present their finished books and posters to the class. Students will share what they learned about the butterfly and answer any questions that the audience may have. After the publishing party, students will get back their K-W-L charts from the beginning of the unit, and they will get several minutes to fill out the "L" column before I collect it and grade it.
Assessment
Students will get a grade for the Life Cycle Poster, a grade for their All About books, as well as an overall grade of how they did throughout the whole unit. The rubrics for each component are listed below.
Report of Information Checklist - Upload a Document to Scribd
Reflection
At the end of this unit I will collect all of the finished All About books and Life Cycle posters and scan them and post them on the class' blog. Students will get to have their work posted up for a real audience to see and comment on.
At the end of this unit I will collect all of the finished All About books and Life Cycle posters and scan them and post them on the class' blog. Students will get to have their work posted up for a real audience to see and comment on.
