Thursday, April 3, 2014

Animal Teeth and Hair and a Share!

Hello Everyone!
We have finished our study on what and how animals eat and what kinds of body covering they have. Sandra Markle has written two perfect books to help organize kids' (and teachers') thoughts on those exact subjects.

What if You Had Animal Teeth and What if You had Animal Hair have become two of my favorite books.  I posted about the teeth book last year right about this same time, and Sandra came through with the hair book just in time for our study this year!! Both books are wonderful examples of a blend of fiction and nonfiction!!  Perfect!!  After reading, discussing and comparing, I had the kids write about the kind of animal teeth they would want to have.  They created a self portrait including those teeth! They turned out so great again this year!



After reading and discussing the hair book, the kids wrote and created a similar hands on visual, with animal hair added to their self portraits.  So cute!! Including a hands on visual connection helps kids understand concepts more deeply and in their own creative way.



I wish the kids'writing would have shown up better in the pics, but I was very pleased with their thoughts and ideas!!
Doing these activities reminded me that I have some fun news to share.  A while back Scholastic Instructor magazine contacted me about this lesson.  They saw my post last year and said they wanted to include it in a section they were doing on "craftivities." Of course, I gave them permission and sent some samples.  The article came out about a month or so ago!  The editors and photographers did an amazing job!! 




You can read the entire article at www.scholastic.com/instructor.  Oh!  I almost forgot!  They wanted some more fun ideas for a summer issue. So exciting!! I've had ideas included in other publications before, but Instructor always does an outstanding job with celebrating teachers and what we do for kids.  I want to support that! Thank you Scholastic/Instructor!
Anyway, if you are interested in the hands on visuals above, you can take a look at THIS FREE UNIT!! CLICK!!

Well, thanks for stopping by for a peek!  I appreciate your support!! Stay tuned for some more fun and learning!!
Joyfully!
Nancy






11 comments:

  1. How awesome! Love that you love to share your ideas with others.

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  2. Super cute! Thanks for sharing and congrats on the mag! How cool!!!!! :)

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  3. Good for you!!! I'm so glad you shared that with us! What an accomplishment . You do have amazing ideas!
    Melissa
    Keep Calm and Love First Grade

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  4. Like I have said a million times, I love all of your ideas! Kudos on the entry in Instructor, that is just too cool.

    faithfulinfirst.blogspot.com

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  5. Congratulations, Nancy! That is so awesome that you were featured in Instructor! You have so many great ideas and are so inspirational, keep up the great work! I love reading your blog and seeing all the fun activities you do with your class.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your amazing ideas so generously. You are a blessing to me.

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  7. I love these book as well! We had a lot of fun with them last year in my classroom! I love the writing activity you did with them and congrats on the article! How exciting!

    -Krista
    The Second Grade Superkids

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  8. CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are a awesome teacher with many wonderful ideas and activities for reaching students. I love your blog and how generous you are with sharing your ideas.

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  9. Congratulations! And THANK YOU! I just read the animal teeth book to my students (April is dental health month here in Canada).

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  10. Great. I am searching very well like the info.

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  11. Hey Nancy! Thanks so much for sharing your amazing ideas. I always check your blog before writing my lessons because you always have the best stuff. I used your animal teeth activity last year and my kids loved it!! (I had to buy these books after seeing your unit.) Anyway, I was wondering if you had the templates for the animal hair activity. I know that my kids would love to do this activity this year! Thanks! My email is caseyford711@gmail.com.

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