Welcome! I took a month off to contemplate what the future of this blog looked like. The result: I've tried to make it more friendly to non-Texas teachers, since many parents of pre-schoolers, home-schoolers, and librarians and teachers outside Texas visit me online.
Having said that, the Texas TEKS are still posted, but now they're at the end of each story time/lesson. I'm also trying to incorporate a lot more movement activities, so look for more easy crafts, action rhymes and games as 2015 unfolds.
Penguin Story Time was an idea I posted last year, and since it's been very chilly here in Texas, I felt like keeping with the polar theme was appropriate. Post comments and ideas! I love hearing from you!
Penguin StoryTime
We’re investigating polar animals this month. This program features both expository and literary texts, as well as technology, poems, and action rhyme about penguins.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome Song: Welcome to the Library (To “London Bridge is Falling Down.”)
Welcome to the library, library, library
Welcome to the library, please come inside and read
We’re glad to have you here today, here today, here today
We’re glad to have you here today, today’s a special day.
Welcome to the library, library, library
Welcome to the library, please come inside and read
We’re glad to have you here today, here today, here today
We’re glad to have you here today, today’s a special day.
Welcome Fingerplay & Song: Rock, Scissors, Paper (To tune of Frere Jacques)
(sung) Rock scissors paper, rock scissors paper, one two three, play with me
(spoken) Left hand paper, right hand paper, it’s a butterfly
(sung) Repeat refrain
(spoken) Left hand rock, right hand scissors, it s a snail
(sung) Repeat refrain
(spoken) Right hand rock, left hand paper, it’s a helicopter
Library Rules:
1: Keep a quiet voice (put one finger to mouth like “shh”)
2. Keep your eyes on the story & the speaker (make 2 with fingers, hold to eyes)
3. Be sure to listen (3 fingers make big ears on either side of your head)
4. And when we move in the library, we use walking feet (make 4 fingers the
ground, other hand make 2 fingers “walk” on the ground.)
Learning Targets: Today we are going to learn about penguins, where they live, what they eat, and some amazing things only penguins do. We are also going to read a poem, play games, tell jokes, and learn about using computers to find information.
Word of the Week:
English: Penguin (say it, syllabicate it, spell in the air. Can you think of words
that rhyme with penguin? (We had a hard time: heaven, sequin?)
that rhyme with penguin? (We had a hard time: heaven, sequin?)
Spanish: Pingüino (pin GWEE noh)
ASL: Sign language is a real language where people use their hands to communicate. We make the sign for penguin by holding our arms straight down by our sides and sticking them out like penguin feet. Now “waddle” on your hips (if sitting, otherwise use feet) back & forth to look like you’re moving like a penguin! (This sign is one I often let the children “guess” before telling them - someone in every class can predict before seeing it!)
ACTIVITIES
Story #1: Tacky The Penguin. (Helen Lester, Hougton Mifflin, 1987.)
Pre-Reading: Look at the cover- how is Tacky already not looking like a normal penguin? (slumped, funnt shirt, disheveled tie) Who are those other animals and what are they holding? What does the word “tacky’ mean (for Pre-K, we simply said it’s a way to describe people who do their own thing & don’t follow the rules!)
During the Story: There are opportunities for movement: have kids “march” just their feet sitting down, or their hands...
Reflection: Picture-walk through the book a second time to show beginning, middle and end, or problems/solutions.
Action Rhyme: In The Land of Ice and Snow (stand)
In the land of ice and snow (shiver, say brr)
Where the freezing, cold winds blow (blow or use arms to show wind)
Lives a bird who’s quite a sight (binoculars)
With his suit of black & white (run hands over back/sides & tummy)
He can swim, but he can’t fly (mimic these actions)
The penguin is a funny guy! (waddle like penguin in place)
Song: Did You Ever See A Penguin? (to tune of “Did You Ever See A Lassie?”)
Did you ever see a penguin, a penguin, a penguin?
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that?
Waddle this way and that way, waddle this way and that way
Did you ever see a penguin waddle this way and that?
Fingerplay: Two Little Penguins
Credit: King County Library System
Two little penguins sitting on the ice (hold up two fingers)
One bows once, the other bows twice (made index fingers bow)
Waddle little penguins. Waddle away. (put fingers behind back)
Come back penguins. Time to play! (bring fingers to the front)
Jokes
Who's the penguin's favorite Aunt? (Aunt-Arctica!)
Why do penguins carry fish in their beaks? (Because they don't have any pockets!)
What's black & white, black & white & black & white? (A penguin rolling down a hill!)
Which side of a penguin has the most feathers? (The outside!)
What's black, white and red all over? (A penguin with a sunburn!)
Poem: Penguin by Meish Goldish, 101 Science Poems & Songs for Young Learners, Instructor Books
I know a bird
That cannot fly:
Penguin is its name.
It cannot fly,
But it can swim
With speed that wins it fame!
I know a bird
That lives on ice
And waddles by the sea.
It looks so cute
In its black-and-white suit,
As handsome as can be!
Poetry Suggestions: Have children clap a light rhythm as you read to notice the poem’s rhythm. Have them raise arms or clap on end rhymes. (name/fame & sea/be)
Activity: Pin The Tail on the Penguin
Have one copy of a penguin as the base, and make another cut into 4 puzzle pieces - head, beak, body, flippers. Glue the parts on top of the first penguin. Good for kids who can’t label yet. Alternately, there are a lot of worksheet-type choices to download if you search “parts of a penguin” in online images.
Online Learning: Pebblego Online Encyclopedia. (Animals>Birds>Penguins.)
(If you don’t have access to PebbleGo, the Dallas, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh and San Diego Zoos all have excellent web resources to look at with your little ones.)
Pre-Reading: 4 types of penguins presented- choose one. Look at headings (bread crumbs) to show students how to access at home or get to another animal.
During: Use tech vocabulary like “cursor” “webpage” “text” “graphics’” and “tab” to familiarize students with words they need to know to use technology fluently.
Reflection: Pin The Tail on the Penguin activiy works well, as would drawing/tracing penguins and writing (or having an adult take dictation) about penguins.
Craft: Penguin coloring pages abound- this cute little penguin only requires a minimum of instruction and turns out very cute.
Additional Materials
Websites I found helpful in making this lesson:
THIS WEEK’S TEKS:
1 a, c, f, g Print Awareness
2 b, c, e, i Rhymes & Phonological Awareness
3 a Phonics
4 a, b Prediction & Reading Strategies
6 a, Story Elements
7 Poetry
8 a, b Retell Stories, Story Elements
9 Author’s Purpose
10 b, c, d Predict, Evaluate & Retell Stories
12 a, b identify various forms & techniques of media
18 a Oral & Written Conventions
19 a Generate Questions
20 a Whole Group Research
21 a, b Library Procedures
RC(fig19) a,b,d,f,e Read Assorted Literature,
Generate Questions, Whole Group Research, Predictions/Inference, Pair Fiction & Non-Fiction, Retell and Summarize Stories Reading Comprehension
n/a Book Selection
