Spiders, Flies, and Bears Oh My! IMWAYR August 12, 2013

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it at Teach Mentor Texts. 

The School bell is about to ring. Just a couple of more weeks to tweak lesson plans and prepare for the approaching horde.

What did I read this week?
My focus this week was on reading science topic books and deciding on meaningful activities to go with them. These are great read alouds for Kinder-2nd and can be paired with dozens of great learning activities.

New succulents just added my library's Green Thumbs Science Center.
In the white pots are colored succulents.  behind them are cactus fingers. Kids are allowed to break off sections and take home to transplant. I have even had moms come in requesting these amazing little thorn-less cacti. I am training a few to make a crown shape. 
Great link: NASA's Climate Kids

Learning about Libraries
Here are two good choices for introducing libraries to children. Lola at the Library is a good pick for preschoolers explaining what happens in a library. Tomas and the Library Lady is a classic for older students. It is a particularly useful book for English language learners. My copy is in a bi-lingual format.

I love Bear lessons. They tie in so easily with many lesson objectives and there are hundreds of bear books available. Some of my favorites are the Bear books of Karma Wilson. Here is a blog post on The Beauty of Bears.

Paired Shares:  Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson and Germs by Ross Collins

When my students walk through the library doors I shake each student's hand. They begin to giggle when they realize I have given them glitter germs! I overreact with a lot of coughing and sneezing until I get everyone settled in on the story-time carpet and launch into a lesson on How to Wash Your Hands. This includes students singing the Happy Birthday song or the ABC song which allows me enough time to properly model washing my hands. Each student is then given a baby wipe to wipe their hands free of glitter.

Bear Feels Sick Glitter Germs teaching activity

Bear Lesson Resources: 

Bear in a cave Coloring Page from Coloring-Pictures.net

Pictures of bacteria (yuckie)

 Bear Activities from Karma Wilson website



Bear Finger-play (author unknown)

Here Is a Cave

Here is a cave.
(Bend fingers on one hand.)
Inside is a bear.
(Put thumb inside fingers.)
Now he comes out
To get some fresh air.
(Pop out thumb.)

He stays out all summer
In sunshine and heat.
He hunts in the forest
For berries to eat.
(Move thumb in a circle.)

When snow starts to fall,
He hurries inside
His warm little cave
And there he will hide.
(Put thumb inside fingers.)

Snow covers the cave
Like a fluffy white rug.
Inside the bear sleeps
All cozy and snug.
(Place one hand over the other.)

I can "bearly"wait to use these wonderful books this year. 

Now, I would love to know what you are reading and using in your classrooms and libraries.