Character Traits and Winn-Dixie

* Disclaimer...  Please excuse the lack of photos these days.  We have just been so very busy I keep forgetting to snap pictures as we go.  But you all have great imaginations I'm sure! :)

We just finished a treasured book called Because of Winn-Dixie.  We zipped right through this read aloud because the kids were SO into it.  It's such a delight to see my sweet students get wrapped up in great stories!  This novel lends itself to rich meaningful conversations and the characters are so special.  Yesterday we learned all about character traits and played a little game involving the characters from Because of Winn-Dixie.  I created cards that shared things that the characters said and did in the story.  The students then matched the actions and words to the correct character and then told what character traits describe that character and why.  They had to have support for each character trait they selected and I was so impressed by their insight!  My favorite moment was when someone shared that a person's character traits can change over time.  What an important life lesson to learn!

After we talked all about the characters from the book, I then asked the students to think about the character traits that best describe themselves and why.  They took this task very seriously as they got to writing in their writing spiral.  Next week we are going to take these character traits and make make a very special project.  Stay tuned!
 

This lesson is available at my TPT store. :)

Sensational Sea Turtles

We've been learning all about sea turtles this week, which is one of my personal favs to study!  First we read lots of excellent books and watched a few neat videos of these awesome reptiles in action.  We all fell in LOVE with the video of the newborn babies scurrying to the safety of the sea.  So adorable I tell you!  Witnessing this miracle with my own eyes is on my bucket list for sure!


We kept track of all of our research facts and important information on this (oops!  Forgot to snap a pic!  Coming soon!) graphic organizer.

Later we used these sheets as reference tools so the kiddos could create an informational trifold telling all about sea turtles.

We also created beautiful artwork to round out our project.

Week by week our classroom is turning into an under the sea paradise.  :)

If you are interested in this sea turtle trifold template you can snag it free from my TPT store.

Whales

In our ocean unit, we have been learning about the similarities and difference between the two main classifications of whales: toothed whales and baleen whales.  First the students researched whales with a partner using books from our class library and Google search.  Then they selected their favorite whale and found out if it is a toothed whale or a baleen whale.  Depending on its classification they created one of these little cuties.  :)

I got the adorable idea for the toothed whale from Amy Lemons, then I made a baleen whale to go with it.  The following day we practiced our close reading skills as we read an informational passage about whales.  While reading we used three different colors to keep track of the information we learned: yellow=all whales, green=toothed whales, and orange=baleen whales.  

                                    

Later we created a Venn diagram using hula hoops to sort the information. 

 I was so impressed by the students comprehension skills!  Because open house is quickly approaching I popped our happy whales and Venn diagram up for all to see.  :)  Did you know baleen whales have two blowholes?!

                                   

If you are interested in this lesson you can download it for free from my TPT store!