Penguin Unit

Here are a few things my Reading Group did for our Penguin Unit.

Skills Center: Following Written Directions to create a penguin.  The students loved this center!  I had every supply needed (including paper) in its own basket.  This really helped make the center run smoothly.  They are now hanging up and next week we will be adding a penguin fact to their bellies.

Technology Center: Tacky Goes to Camp is a story app for the iPad.  There is an option to listen to the story or to read it by yourself.  I had the students listen first, then read it on their own.

Independent Reading Center:  Students read nonfiction books about penguins.  They wrote a penguin fact on a fish and added it to our Penguin Anchor Chart.  (We made Penguin Anchor Charts on our own at the beginning of the unit as a preview to the unit. Thank you Deanna Jump.)  Next week at this center students will make another Penguin Anchor Chart to show what they learned about penguins.

Listening Center:  Three Cheers for Tacky!  This is the response page that is usually at Listening Center.

Take Home Penguin Project

We have class penguins.  Each student gets a chance to take a penguin home.  Since this is a winter project and we don't want to still be taking them home in May, there are 2 penguins.   A girl for the girls and a boy for the boys.....because we know what would happen if we tried to send home a girl penguin with first grade boys!   I draw names to see who takes the penguin home each night.  Well, thats what the kids think anyway.  Lets just say names are chosen strategically:-).  

The boys vote on the boy penguin name and the girls vote on the girl penguin name.  This year we have Pedro and Penelope.  I thought they were really good choices......but I may have swayed some votes because I did not think Surfboard the Penguin sounded very cute....Shhhh, don't tell!

Each penguin has its own cooler for safe keeping.  And obviously to keep it cold since we live in Florida!  There are 2 penguin books in each cooler.  One is fiction and one is nonfiction.  There is also a letter that explains what is expected during the penguin's visit.  Students are supposed to read one of the books and write about the penguin's adventure on the attached writing paper.  The kids get to keep the penguin for 2 days.  Of course we have a LONG discussion about how to keep the penguins safe when they are at our houses!

This year I am SUPER impressed with the first few adventures.  Penelope got a make over at her first house.  She now has pink accessories and looks like a girl penguin!

Here is a picture and the letters that I send home.  I can't make the letters editable for fear of the clip art police, but it gives you a starting point. Click the letter for the link!  

                   

If you want to see more pictures from my Penguin Unit in action, waddle on over to my class blog First Grade Fun with Miss Gilbert.  

Meredith