Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Room for Ripley

Posted on August 30, 2009 by openwidearchive

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So you’re wondering how in the world are you going to be able to teach your students about capacity and liquid measurement in a fun and easy way.  Room for Ripley by Stuart J. Murphy & illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom playfully & simply teaches readers how to  measure cups, pints, quarts, half gallons, and gallons.

Carlos is getting a fish of his own – a lively guppy named Ripley.  But first he has to make sure there’s enough water in Ripley’s new fish bowl.  How much water will it take before there’s room for Ripley?  Readers can count cups, pints, quarts, half gallons, and gallons as they learn about capacity and liquid measurement.  Murphy (1999) writes, “Carlos added two more cups-another pint.  Now there was a quart of water in the bowl”(pg. 14).  Stuart J. Murphy and Sylvie Wickstrom’s story combines math and science with the fun of getting a new pet.  There’s even a fun surprise for Carlos at the end- and one for Ripley too!

Curriculum Connections –  The Virginia Science SOL’s for grades K-3  stresses the importance of  posing simple questions in relation to measurement, and understanding both English and metric unit measurement.  Room for Ripley is appropriate for multiple grade levels and could be used to directly address SOL’s K.1 f, K.1 g,  and 2.1 e specifically.

 If you would like to have more fun with the concepts presented in Room for Ripley, here are a few suggestions for grades K-3:

  • Read the story aloud with the students and talk about what is going on in each picture.

  • Ask questions throughout the story, such as:  “How much water is in the tank now?”  “Do you think that will be enough for Ripley, or will Carlos have to add more?”  Which is more, a pint or a quart?  Why?

  • Try the fish bowl example in your classroom:  Bring in a large container & give the students measuring cups.  Have the students estimate how many cups of water it will take to fill the container, and keep track of the cups as he or she fills the container with water.  After the container is filled, help the students figure out the capacity of the container.  Is it approximately a pint?  a quart? a half gallon? a gallon?

  • Look in your kitchen and identify items like a milk, water, cottage cheese that come in different containers of different capacities.  Bring these in to your classroom to show the differences in these units. Slowly introduce metric measurements as well by using other containers in your kitchen or local supermarket. For older children, use this as a way to begin a discussion about volume, mass,  & length.  This will also begin to address SOL’s 3.1 a, 3.1 d, 3.1 e, and  3.1 f.

 Additional Resources -Try these websites where you’ll find lesson plans, worksheets, activities and coloring pages to aid your measurement education quest:

  • The Science Spot – metric mania lesson plans, worksheets, powerpoints, lab ideas, videos and more links to more cool metric websites!

  • EdHelper – oodles of  measurement worksheets, puzzles, coloring pages – English & metric systems

  • Education World – lesson plans and worksheets plus links to other subjects

Book:  Room for Ripley
Author:  Stuart J. Murphy
Illustrator:  Sylvie Wickstrom
Publisher:  HarperCollins
Pulication Date:  1999
Pages:  40 pages
Grade Range:  K-3
ISBN-13:  978-0064467247

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Darwin

Posted on August 30, 2009 by openwidearchive

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Do you want your students to be as excited and interested about science as Charles Darwin was? Check out the book Darwin by Alice B. McGinty and illustrated by Mary Azarian, and let their curiosity roll.

In this beautifully illustrated book, children can follow the life of Darwin from his childhood to his death. We learn about his unstoppable curiosity as a student, his explorations as a naturalist, and how he discovered the theories of natural selection and evolution. McGinty clearly models his thinking process (a great model for students learning how to make observations):  “Charles was astonished. Some of these birds had long beaks. Some had short beaks. Some had thin beaks and some thick. How could they all be finches? Charles thought carefully about what his discovery meant. Why were there so many species of finches on these islands? Had all of them been around since the world began? Or had the finches come from the same ancestors and changed?” Almost each page has letters written by Darwin to his family, friends and colleagues  during his years of controversial research. Children will be able to learn how and why Darwin came to the conclusions he did through his tireless observations, trials, and errors. (We even see how world-famous scientists made mistakes sometimes)!

Curriculum Connections
In terms of process skills, this is a great book to include for instruction geared towards learning how to make observations and predictions. SOLs from the strand Scientific Investigation, Reasoning and Logic for grades 1-5 (1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1) can all be covered with this reading. Specifically, McGinty’s book targets the portions of the SOLs concerning how students make inferences and hypotheses based on their observations, and how objects or events can be classified according to their attributes and/or properties.

Here are some activities/sites to check out when using this book in the classroom.

  • This site may answer some of your students’ questions (and spark their interest with some great pictures) in the “For Kids” section.
  • Darwin and Evolution for Kids provides more kid-friendly information on Darwin along with 21 activities.
  • Want a more simple activity? Have kids color in a picture of Darwin.

Book: Darwin
Author: Alice B. McGinty
Illustrator: Mary Azarian
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Publication date: April 2009
Pages: 48 pages
Grade range: 1-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-618-99531-8

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Teaching Process Skills With Children’s Literature: How Math Works

Posted on August 30, 2009 by openwidearchive

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How Math Works, by Carol Vorderman, is an interesting guide to deciphering the mysteries of mathematics.  Geared towards students in grades 3-6, this book includes many hands-on experiments with clear, step-by-step instructions and colorful photographs.  A list of materials needed to create your own home laboratory is included as well.  Students will find experiments such as how to make a thermometer out of a plastic bottle and additional experiments with mass, weight, and volume.  Third graders studying simple machines can learn more about the connections between math and science on page 28 and make their own pulley on page 29.  This book is a wonderful resource for upper elementary students and would come in handy when creating science fair projects.

Curriculum Connections
This book includes a variety of experiments to provide a more concrete, tactile experience with abstract concepts such as measuring volume, mass, weight, temperature.  Along the way, students will be actually “doing” science by making predictions and observations, questioning, forming hypotheses, making inferences and conclusions, and sequencing natural events chronologicially.  When making a pulley, students are learning more about one type of simple machine, how it functions, what it is used for, and that forces cause changes in motion.  By using this book and performing its experiments on measurement, students will make estimations on length, mass and volume, measure accurately using basic tools, and develop an understanding of the nature of science and its connection to mathematics.  All these things relate to the Scientific Investigation, Reasoning and Logic standards in grades 3 through 6.

Additional Resources

  •  Information on simple machines resides here . 
  • To access an interesting lesson plan on volume, click here. 
  • Check out this website to create measurement worksheets. 
  • Here’s another book on math/science connections. 
     

Book: How Math Works
Author: Carol Vorderman
Illustrator: Gurinder Purewall
Publisher: Reader’s Digest
Publication Date: Reprint edition – July 19, 1999
Pages: 192
Grade Range: 3-6
ISBN: 978-0762102334

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Dave’s Down-to-Earth Rock Shop

Posted on August 29, 2009 by openwidearchive

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Dave's Down-to-Earth Rock Shop, written by Stuart J. Murphy and illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith is an interactive story where students learn methods for classification and sorting.

Josh's hobby is collecting things. Upon receiving a gift from his uncle, he begins a rock collection. With the help of his friend Amy, Josh's collection begins to grow. They decide to bring their rocks to Dave's-Down-to Earth Rock Shop where he teaches them how to organize their large collection into different categories. Amy says, "We could group our rocks by size, or maybe by color or type." Dave then informs the children that, "there are lots of different ways to group rocks" (p.23). The children end up settling on one method of sorting and to their surprise Dave rewards them with a special honor.

Curriculum Connections
Dave's Down-to-Earth Rock Shop could be used as an introduction tool for learning about classification, sorting, and rock types. This book can be used for a number of different SOL concepts such as: classifying or arranging objects according to attributes/ properties and identifying different types of rock.

Additional Resources

Book: Dave's Down-to-Earth Rock Shop
Author: Stuart J. Murphy
Illustrator: Cat Bowman Smith
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: January 2000
Pages: 40 pages
Grade Range: 1-5
ISBN: 9780064467292

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: You Can’t Taste a Pickle With Your Ear

Posted on August 29, 2009 by openwidearchive

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You Can’t Taste a Pickle With Your Ear written by Harriet Ziefert and illustrated by Amanda Haley explores the five senses by explaining what they are and how we use them as well as colorful and fun illustrations and rhymes.

The book appropriately begins with an introduction briefly describing the five senses along with their functions. Each of the subsequent chapters focuses on an individual sense by examining some of the many ways we use it. It further captures the attention of young ones with short rhymes incorporating sensory descriptors such as this one found in the chapter on taste, “Pizza is spicy, milk is not. Milk is cold and pizza’s hot.” The chapter on touch includes this fun rhyme, “Worms are soft, beetles hard. Can you find some in your yard?” Each chapter concludes with thought-provoking questions and simple activities aimed at motivating students to use that particular sense. For instance, the chapter on sight asks the questions, “When you shut your eyes, what happens to your eyeballs? Are they still there? Do they move?”

In keeping with the theme, this easy-to-read book ends its concluding chapter with a memorable poem re-emphasizing the five senses, their functions, and their importance:

Curriculum Connections
This book could be used in a kindergarten classroom to help students learn what the five senses are as well as help them think about and understand the ways they use their senses in day-to-day life. It directly relates to Virginia SOLs K.2a and K.2b which focus on humans’ five senses and corresponding sense organs as well as sensory descriptors.

Additional Resources

  • After taking a brief walk outside or around the classroom, students can use this worksheet to record what they experienced through their senses.
  • Students would enjoy and benefit from flashcard games where they must match the sense organ to corresponding pictures depicting that sense such as the one found in this lesson plan.
  • This website hosts a variety of activities, games, and lesson plans related to the five senses.

Book: You Can’t Taste a Pickle With Your Ear
Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Amanda Haley
Publisher: Chronicle Books Llc.
Publication Date: June 2006
Pages: 40 pages
Grade Range: K- 3
ISBN: 9781593541729

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Posted on August 28, 2009 by openwidearchive

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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is a beloved children’s book with repetitive and predictable rhyming patterns on each page.  A new animal is introduced who encourages the small reader to discover which creature will show up next.

“Blue Horse, Blue Horse, What do you see? I see a

green frog looking at me.”

This book is the “sight” version of Bill Martin and Eric Carle.  It encourages students to use their sense of sight to identify the color and animal on each page.  Brown Bear also introduces the student to associate the sense organ with the sense (sight-eyes).  Carle uses tissue-paper collage illustrations.

Curriculum Connections

This book can be used in Kindergarten and first grade.  Brown Bear can be used as an introduction to the five senses in Kindergarten as the student learns the sense of sight.  In Virginia, Brown Bear can be used in connection with the SOL K.2a where students investigate and understand the five senses and the corresponding sense organ.

Additional Resources

  • The website, The Virtural Vine, has multiple ideas to use Brown Bear for making a class book, sequencing, categorizing, memory game, graphing, and language art connections.
  • This website, A to Z teacher stuff,  has thematic units based on brown.
  • This website has lesson plans to use with each of the five senses.

Book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See
Author: Bill Martin, Jr.
Illustrator: Eric Carle
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Publication Date: Sept. 1996
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: K-1
ISBN: 0805047905

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: I Have a Sister: My Sister is Deaf

Posted on August 28, 2009 by openwidearchive

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In I Have a Sister: My Sister is Deaf by Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson with illustrations by Deborah Ray, a girl describes the everyday-life of her younger sister who is deaf.  The two girls share many of the same activities, but they experience them differently:  the younger sister does not like the “feel” of a barking dog; she watches TV with the sound turned off; she loves playing the piano but cannot hear the tune to sing along.

The poetic ring of the title carries throughout the book, making it a wonderful story to read aloud.  Some children, who are used to storybooks with vivid pictures, may not be immediately attracted to Ray’s soft, black-and-white drawings; however, each time I read this book to my own children when they were young, the pictures (and story) drew thoughtful questions and observations from them.

Curriculum Connections
This book  is an excellent companion to kindergarten science lessons about the five senses and how people use them to interact with their environment (VA SOL K.2).  The younger sister who is deaf relies heavily on her sense of touch to feel sound vibrations.  Students can have similar experiences by touching a radio while it is playing or touching their own throats while speaking.

Additional Resources

  • Find more activities that demonstrate that sound is produced when objects vibrate at the SEDL website.  
  • Students my be surprised by what they can learn about their surroundings when they stop talking and just listen.   Have they noticed the clock ticking before?  Were they aware of footsteps in the hall?  This activity can sharpen students’ observation skills.  Neuroscience for Kids has other great ideas for classroom activities that let students learn by listening.
  • Kindergarteners can have fun playing an online game that has them decide when they have to use their sense of hearing.  A big yellow smiley face lets the student know he or she got the right answer.

Book: I Have a Sister: My Sister is Deaf           
Author: Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson
Illustrator: Deborah Ray
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Publication Date: May, 1984
Pages: 32 pages
Grade Range: K-3
ISBN-13: 9780064430593

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Sort it Out!

Posted on August 28, 2009 by openwidearchive

 Sort it Out!

In Barbara Mariconda’s book Sort it Out! we meet Packy the pack rat. Packy has collected quite a load of odds and ends. His mother tells him he must sort his collection and put everything away. Children will be engaged throughout the story by the author’s use of rhyming text as well as the detailed and colorful illustrations by Sherry Rogers.

As Packy begins his sorting task he names all the things he has collected and thinks about ways he can group them together. As the story continues Packy sorts all of his items into like groups. Items are sorted using both familiar and out of the ordinary characteristics. The author pushes children to think beyond attributes such as shape or color with ideas such as, “The locket, umbrella, and book that he chose, these are all things you can open and… close.” On each page the text is designed to prompt the reader to respond with the next rhyming word. “The needle, the locket, the dented tin kettle, all these three things are made out of… metal.” Cleverly, the response is the word that defines each group and it is represented by a large illustration as well as the word. Some children may notice that some of  Packy’s items are included in more than one group. The book also includes a subtle mystery. At the end of the book Packy “scratched at his head, and said “I’ve been thinking; why does it seem my collection is shrinking?” Readers who have been paying close attention may have noticed Packy’s sister lurking in the background on some of the pages. On the last page, we see that she has swiped the missing items and is having a tea party outside.

Curriculum Connections
This book is a winning introduction to sorting, classifying, and making observations for grades K-2. In the state of Virginia this book would pair with the Science SOL K.1a, learning to identify basic properties of objects by observation. It would also be appropriate  to use in support of the 1st grade Science SOL 1.1c, learning to classify and arrange objects according to attributes or properties. Teachers of 2nd grade could also use the book in teaching the Science SOL 2.1c, two or more attributes are used to classify items.

Additional Resources

  • The back pages in the book provide additional sorting exercises using Packy’s items. There is a hidden pictures exercise, a classifying card game and a writing component that helps students think of different ways to describe objects. Additional activities are available to download from the Teaching Activities page at Sylvan Dell Publishing. Activities and lesson plans include an edible sort, animal classification and a writing activity.
  • Lesson Planz.com has some great  sorting activities for grades k-2. I like the Halloween Candy Sort because it expands the lesson to cover graphing. For 2nd graders the Spider Sort has many applications for expanding these concepts.
  • Additional sorting worksheets can be downloaded at Enchanted Learning.com.

Book: Sort it Out!
Author: Barbara Mariconda
Illustrator: Sherry Rogers
Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing
Publication Date: May 13, 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grade Range: K-2
ISBN: 978-1934359112

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Teaching Process Skills with Children’s Literature: Lemonade for Sale

Posted on August 28, 2009 by openwidearchive

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Lemonade for Sale written by Stuart Murphy, illustrated by Tricia Tusa

The kids in this book set up a lemonade stand and keep track of their sales using a bar graph. It is a great resource for showing students how to make a bar graph and how to chart the data.

The Elm Street Kids Club try to make money to fix up their clubhouse by selling lemonade. All of them have a job to do, but it is Sheri’s job to track their sales. She decides to make a bar graph. “I’ll list the number of cups up the side like this. I’ll show the days of the week along the bottom like this.” Each day she tracks their progress. Their sales increase each day until Thursday when hardley anyone stopped by. The kids do not understand so they decide to set out to find out what is going on. When they find Jed the juggler has just moved there and everyone is watching him instead of buying their lemonade, they come up with a plan. The next day Jed juggles right next to their stand. “We sold so many cups today that our sales are over the top.” They have enough money to rebuild their clubhouse, and they ask Jed to join their club.

Curriculum Connections
This book is a great resource for teaching bar graphs. It talks about how to set them up and how to record the data. It is connected to the VA SOL Scientific  Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic 4.1 (f) The student will plan and conduct investigations in which data are displayed using bar graph.

Additional Resources

Book: Lemonade for Sale
Author: Stuart J. Murphy
Illustrator: Tricia Tusa
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Publication Date: 1998
Pages: 31 pages
Grade Range: 3-6
ISBN: 9780064467155

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Third Grade Math: Collecting Data and Graphing

Posted on August 20, 2009 by openwidearchive

Ever been in a rush but nonetheless wanted/needed to catch up on the news? What did you do? Skim the highlights section above the articles of course! And would you prefer to read through 20 pages of facts or glance at one graph that contains all of the facts?

Being able to gather, organize, read and interpret data in a variety of graphs is an important skill elementary students must acquire. Below are great books, websites and additional resources for developing and enhancing this skill.

Five Great Books on Graphing are:

1) Learning to Graph From a Baby Tiger
Written by:  Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel

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This book follows an orphaned Siberian Tiger cub being raised in the Denver Zoo. There are color photos of the Tiger showing his changing moods and development sure to grab students' attention. The book illustrates and explains pie, line, picture and bar graphs. It allows students to utilize graphs for "everyday life" situations. Students will also learn when the use of each type of graph is appropriate.

2) Lemonade for Sale                                                                                                                                      
Written by: Stuart J. Murphy; Illustrated by: Tricia Tusa

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Most every student will be able to relate to this book. It is about children keeping track of their lemonade sales using bar graphs. It is a creative story with funny illustrations. It not only involves graphing but also counting money and marketing. This book also allows students to apply their math skills to real life problems.    

3) Graphs                                                                                                                                                                                                    Written Written by: Bonnie Bader; Illustrated by: Mernie Gallagher Cole

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This story is about a boy who tries to get out of going to a family reunion by saying he has math homework. Lucky for him, his mother suggests he take his homework with him! While at the reunion he collects data from various family members. By the end of the day he's finished his graphing homework. This book clearly demonstrates the information-gathering process as well as graph-making methods.

4) Graphing Activities                                                                                                                                                                              Written by: Joy Evans and Jo Ellen Moore

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This activity book is a great resource for teachers.  It includes easy-to-follow instructions and reproducible patterns, blank graphs and questions. It's important for students to practice making graphs on top of interpreting and answering questions from pre-made graphs.

5) Great Graphs, Charts and Tables that Build Real-Life Math Skills                                           
Written by: Kiernan

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This activity book gives students the extra practice they need interpreting and reading graphs. It uses real-world data and skill-building questions. It also includes great extension ideas. This book is great for getting students ready for standardized tests.  

Five Handy Websites on Graphing are:

1) Kids' Zone allows students to create graphs. Students can choose the type of graph and whether it's horizontal or vertical. They can label the x and y axis, title the graph and adjust values. Students can save and print their graphs.

2) Mental Math Grapher allows students to create graphs. This site is more simplistic. Students can label the x axis and title. They can adjust values and print their finished graph.

3) PBS Kids Go! Cyberchase  has games, lessons, activities and t.v. shows. The Raising the Bar section has an episode that explains why the scale of a graph affects how the graph is interpreted. It also has a graphing game and material that can be printed.

4) Aunty Math has math challenges for grades K-5. There are a variety of subjects including data collection and graphing.

5) Figure This! is a math challenge websites for families. It has a few problems regarding collecting data and graphs. It also has many more challenges in different areas of math.

Additional Helpful Resources:

  • Math Glossary provides students with definitions of important math terms. Some definitions are even interactive for better understanding.
  • Elementary School Math Resources by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a comprehensive site for teachers and parents. There are activities, lesson ideas, teaching strategies, articles and much more.
  • Hotchalk Lesson Plans Page provides teachers with free lesson plans, worksheets, discussion boards and a newsletter.
  • O'Block Books is a "one stop shop" for early childhood teaching supplies and materials.
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