Penguins
We began a unit on penguins yesterday. I love teaching about penguins because I find them so fascinating. I began by putting the letters P-E-N-G-U-I-N-S all mixed up in a pocket chart. I called students up to make words using these letters (sun, pin, sip, sing, …) then I had them try and figure out the “mystery” word using all the letters.
Next, I posted the chart “What Do You Think?” and had students come up and write yes or no to the questions, “Can penguins swim?” “Do penguins live at the North Pole?” and “Do penguins have feathers?”
I read the book, Penguins by Gail Gibbons. I always love the reaction I get from the students when it talks about how baby penguins are fed by their mother. This is definitely something they remember though. After reading, we went back and discussed the correct answers to the questions from before.
Today, we read Penguin Chick by Betty Tatham. Then we filled out a tree map about penguins. I had found the idea for a tree map at http://www.thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/ when she did one about reindeer.
Then the students wrote some things they have learned about penguins and colored a penguin to go with their writing. The penguin came from The Mailbox January reproducibles for 1st grade.
We will continue learning about penguins the rest of the week into next week. I would love to hear your penguin ideas!
