15 October 2013

Reading Street- Desert Stories

In our grade level, we pull a lot of great literature from here, there, and everywhere.  One of our go-to resources is our Reading Street adoption. Our last 2 stories had a desert setting, and this really got our students thinking about this fantastic habitat.

Our first story was a drama titled, The Strongest One.  They really enjoy this repetitive story of a little red ant who set out into the desert to find out who the strongest one is.  I was super excited when I happened upon a great second grade blog called, iintegrate technology.  She has fabulous second grade resources to go along with the Reading Street adoption.  I love the 10 Important Sentences template she created.  You can check it out here.  She even posts her documents in a Smartboard file, so you can modify them as needed.  We used the Smartboard to check our work. 

In The Strongest One, a little red ant stops and talks to a variety of things/animals along the way.  We visualized and illustrated each time little red ant stopped and spoke to someone new.  I think they came out super cute.  They put a lot of effort into their illustrations, and I think it really helped them remember the story better!

 


 
The following week, we read, A Walk in The Desert.  They were able to make a lot of great connections to The Strongest One, especially in regards to the setting.   We integrated science, and talked about animal adaptations.



We also recorded what we added to our schema about deserts on the freebie below. It would go well with any read aloud about the desert.





2 comments:

  1. Hello Colleen! What a cute blog you have! I found your blog on the 2nd grade list over at Caffeine and Lesson Plans. I am a 2nd grade teacher and your newest follower. I look forward to reading more of your great ideas throughout the school year. Your desert learning looks amazing and the kids must be motivated and engaged...their work looks great! I would be honored if you took some time to check out my blog!
    Mrs. Olson’s Lucky Little Learners

    ReplyDelete
  2. Angie,
    Thanks bunches for dropping by and for the sweet comment. I can't wait to check out your blog :) Heading your way now!
    Colleen

    ReplyDelete