Literature Focus Unit EDU 315

Brittany Thomas

Literature from Eric Carle “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth

1,2 3 to the Zoo, 1968

10 Little Rubber Ducks

A House for Hermit Crab

All About Arthur

All Around Us

Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

Catch the Ball!

Do You Want to Be My Friend?

Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother, Too?

Draw Me A Star

Dream Snow

Eric Carle: Picture Writer

Eric Carle’s Storybook, Seven Tales by the

Brothers Grimm

Eric Carle’s Treasury of Classic Stories for

Children

Flora and Tiger: 19 very short stories from

my life

From Head to Toe

Have You Seen My Cat

Hello, Red Fox

I See a Song

Let’s Paint a Rainbow

Little Cloud

Mister Seahorse

My Very First Book of Tools

My Apron

My Very First Book of Colors

My Very First Book of Food

My Very First Book of Growth

My Very First Book of Heads

My Very First Book of Homes

My Very First Book of Motion

My Very First Book of Numbers

My Very First Book of Numbers

My Very First Book of Shapes

My Very First Book of Shapes

My Very First Book of Sounds

My Very First Book of Touch

Pancakes, Pancakes

Rooster’s Off to See the World

Seven Stories by Hans Christian Andersen

Thank You, Brother Bear

The Art of Eric Carle

The Grouchy Ladybug

The Honeybee and the Robber

The Mixed-Up Chameleon

The Secret Birthday Message

The Tiny Seed

The Very Busy Spider

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Lonely Firefly

The Very Long Train

The Very Quiet Cricket

Today is Monday

Twelve Tales from Aesop

Walter the Baker

Watch Out! A Giant!

What’s For Lunch?

Where Are You Going? To See My Friend!

You Can Make a Collage: A Very Simple

How-to Book

Standards Addressed

North Dakota Common Core State Standards

Language Arts:

RL.10: Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding

RI.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for answers.

W. 5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

SL.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

ND State Content Standards: Science:

Standard 2: Science Inquiry

2.1 Record and describe observations with pictures, numbers, or words

Standard 4: Life Science

Identify characteristics of living things (e.g. grow, sometimes reproduce, change, and die over time)

Mathematics:

MD.1 Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object.

MD.3 Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count

OA.2 Solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20

Social studies

Standard 6: Human Development and Behavior

K.6.3 Identify ways people are alike and different

Music and Art

Music Standard 1: Singing

Sing independently on pitch and in rhythm

Visual Arts Standard 1: Visual Art Media, Techniques, and Processes

4.1.2 Know the different techniques used to create visual art

Physical Education

Standard 1: Movement Forms

Use proper body control while moving through personal and general space.

Related Literature Fiction

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Written

by Bill Martin)

The Scarecrow Clock (Written by George Mendoza)

Do Bears Have Mothers Too? (Written by Aileen

Fisher)

Chip Has Many Brothers (Written by Hans Baumann)

The Foolish Tortoise (Written by Richard Buckley)

The Greedy Python (Written by Richard Buckley)

All in a Day (Collected by Mitsumasa Anno)

The Lamb and the Butterfly (Written by Arnold

Sundgaard)

Animals Animals (Compiled by Laura Whipple)

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (written

by Bill Martin Jr.)

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? (Written

by Bill Martin Jr.)

Nonfiction

A Ladybug Larva Grows Up – Katie

Marsico

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature- Joyce

Sidman

The Elephant Scientist- Caitlin O’Connell

The Beetle Book- Steve Jenkins

Actual Size- Steve Jenkins

Bugs and Busicles: Insects in the Winter-

Amy S. Hansen

Bubble Homes and Fish Farts- Fiona

Bayrock

Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks? And

Other Questions About Animals- Buffy

Silverman

Ready, Set…Wait! – Patti R. Zelch

A Child’s Introduction to Art- Heather

Alexander

Author Study

Students will learn about the author Eric Carle, gain an

understanding of his methodology for writing and

illustrating, and integrate language arts, social studies,

science, mathematics, art, music, and physical education

themes based upon the work of Eric Carle.

Students will also explore animals, insects, life cycles, and

habitats of Eric Carle literature subjects.

Language Arts: Reading Activities

Teacher will read Eric Carle Literature aloud to class.

Students will check out and read Eric Carle literature as well as related literature and read from them.

Students will find vocabulary words or terms they have questions about and read them aloud in group sessions.

Students will read researched facts about Eric Carle and his work to class.

Students will read an Eric Carle book or related book with a partner.

Students will read personal stories aloud to class.

Students will read their ode poems of different animals from Eric Carle texts.

Language Arts: Writing Activities

Students will write their own stories using the same patterns from Eric Carle’s books Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? And Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. (Ex. Boy, boy, what do you see? I see a dog looking at me. Dog, dog, what do you smell?..etc.)

Students will journal and/or draw pictures about what they learned after teacher reads Eric Carle book to them.

Students will write brief biographies about the life of Eric Carle.

Students will research one animal from Eric Carle book and compile a fact book about that animal.

Students will keep a seven-day food journal and then make their own “hungry caterpillar” book based upon their food log.

Students will write ode poems to animals or insects from Eric Carle literature.

Language Arts: Speaking Activities

Students will present personal stories modeled after patterns in Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? in small groups with classmate.

Students will take turns reading alongside teacher to class.

Students dramatize the life cycle of a butterfly.

Students will be assigned to groups and given a related nonfiction book. They will be asked to discuss the book and talk about what they find interesting and talk about an experiences they may have had that relate to the book.

Students will draw pictures of the moon shape each night. They will form small groups each week to discuss what is happening to its shape. Activity will be done after reading Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.

Students will speak about a picture they brought from home

representing the most interesting thing they have seen relating to an Eric Carle book.

Language Arts: Listening

Students will listen to recorded Eric Carle books.

Students will listen to class and teacher discussions about

Eric Carle’s life, art technique, and book themes.

Students will listen to local artist guest speaker.

Students will listen to presented biographies, personal

pattern stories based upon Brown Bear, Brown Bear,

What Do You See?

Listen to poems with alliteration that associate with

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Language Arts: Viewing

Students will view different artists and their unique styles at local art show or museum.

Students will view art work made by their classmates and be asked to think about everyone’s unique styles of art.

Students will examine Eric Carle’s Art and be asked about what types of materials or patterns he used to create his illustrations and characters.

Students will look at and be asked to sound out the vocabulary words on word wall brought and presented by students after individually reading an Eric Carle Book.

Students will go on an exploration outside to find bugs and natural elements found in Eric Carle books and related nonfiction literature.

Language Arts: Visually Representing

Activities

Students will take pictures of elements and insects they find on

outside exploration with a partner. They will display these

next to picture taken from an Eric Carle book.

Students will create a vocabulary word wall with words from

Eric Carle books.

Students will display their artwork collages around the room

and next to their photographs from outdoor explorations.

Students will bring a picture from home of the most fascinating

thing they have seen (based from Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What

Do You See?) and talk about it to the class.

Science Class will make pancakes together and the different roles

of the ingredients will be discussed based on the book Pancakes, Pancakes.

A class caterpillar will be brought into the classroom and students will draw pictures in a science journal of the stages the caterpillar goes through, what it eats, etc.

Read the “Grouchy Ladybug” and have students observe and predict story elements.

Have student “plant” a bean in a plastic bag filled with a wet paper towel. Observe and document the stages of growth throughout by making posters to display of the stages.

Learn about caterpillar metamorphism by creating a partner research book that contains their findings.

Math

Students will make pattern block butterflies by tracing plastic shape manipulatives. The butterflies have to be symmetric.

Provide students with bags that contain a variety of seeds. Students will sort, count, classify, group, and arrange the seeds based on math concepts (ex. Counting seeds in 2’s or arranging them in rows of 4, etc.)

Students will graph their favorite foods (based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar).

Students will make a ladybug paper plate clock based on The Very Grouchy Ladybug and display the time of day when asked on it using moveable hands that they created for it.

Students will make math story problems based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Social Studies

Do You Want to be My Friend? will be read and students will identify the characteristics of a good friend.

Students will conduct research and write a biography about the life of Eric Carle.

Teacher will read Have You Seen My Cat? and address where the different types of cats live and what kinds of habitats they reside in. Students will identify the different regions on a map. Students will pick two cats and make a Venn Diagram about their habitats.

Teacher will read A House for Hermit Crab and students will identify different feelings associated with different content.

Music and Art

Students will make tissue paper collages of their favorite animal or insect from an Eric Carle book.

Students will create photograph collages of real-life insects and animals they have found and captured on film.

Students will create artwork for animal books and to display knowledge of what they learned from auditory reading of Eric Carle book.

Students will sing “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” song and create a skit to go with it.

Students will create a life cycle of a butterfly song to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

Students will listen to songs and draw what it makes them visualize.

Physical Education

Students will act out movements in conjunction with the

book From Head to Toe.

Teacher will read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Each time

the caterpillar eats one of the fruits, students will crawl

through a series of hula hoops which represent them.

Students will act out a story using only body movement.

Students will go on a nature walk with teacher and class

to explore different insects and animals.

Students will jump, hop, wiggle, etc. when certain cue

words in a story are read to them in a story. (Ex. Jump

like a kangaroo when the word is said)

Technology

Audiotapes of Eric Carle Books

“I See A Song” video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-YASEXP4ds

“Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?” Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdHCYgO9zh8&list=PLhjMattD16rt516QYs-2VtIVPVLs08HLc

www.eric-carle.com

http://www.carlemuseum.org/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/eric-carle-author-study

Insect life cycle video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pHav-3QZkI

“My Very First App”- App for Eric Carle activities

Educator’s Eric Carle activity webpage. http://theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.ca/2012/06/join-fun-with-eric-carle.html

Digital photography

Language Art Strategies Activating background knowledge: students will bring prior knowledge of

insects and animals found in Eric Carle literature and share their stories and findings.

Connect: Students connect what they view at home such as the phases of the moon to Eric Carle literature. They will also put themselves into a Eric Carle story.

Draw Inferences: Students will be asked to analyze a story sequence and predict what comes next.

Elaborate: Students will choose an Animal from an Eric Carle story and research it more in depth.

Format: Students will act out an Eric Carle story sequence.

Observe: Students will observe the outdoors to connect literature with everyday life.

Predict: Students will predict the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly as well as predict the process in which seeds grow.

Visualize: students will be asked to illustrate the way certain types of music make them feel as well as what they observe.

Grouping Patterns

Large Groups: Read alouds, vocabulary word find and share in books, sharing Eric Carle Biography research, presenting animal research books, life cycle of a butterfly dramatizations, discussion circle of nonfiction book, discussion of picture brought from home, art museum viewing, word wall viewing and assessing, outdoor exploration and picture taking, pancake making, class favorite food graphing, discussion of characteristics of a good friend, singing” Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?“ song, group movement activities to selected Eric Carle text.

Small Groups: Partner reading, Nonfiction reading and discussion about interesting related personal experiences, moon shape change discussion, discussion of caterpillar journals, partner research book writing about caterpillar metamorphism, partner math story problem making, creation of life cycle of a butterfly song.

Individual: Individual reading, aloud reading, writing individual stories, journaling, food journals, illustrations of observations, speaking, listening, predict story elements, collage making, ode poem writing.

Assessments Active participation of nature walks, classroom activities and group work,

art museum interaction and participation, physical activity lessons, and for music lessons.

Checklists for animal fact book and food log

Informal observation of aloud reading and speaking presentations, group participation, and listening skills

Math graphs and checklist

Peer conferencing and literature circles for book discussions

Poetry Numerical Score assessment

Portfolios for art works, photography, writing projects, and journals

Six plus one writing traits

Spelling tests for vocabulary words

Thematic and Analytical Rubrics for animal paper research, Eric Carle Biography, and My Very Hungry Caterpillar book.

Venn Diagrams of cat habitats

Physical Education checklist

Schedule Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday M

orn

ing

Language

Arts

•Teacher book read/ Grand

discussion

•Independent reading

•Vocabulary term

discussion

•Writer’s Workshop:

Research and compile Eric

Carle biographical

information

•Teacher book read/ Grand

discussion/Listen to alliteration

poems

•Partner reading

•Vocabulary discussion and

review

•Writer’s Workshop: Journal

about book of the day/Write

ode poems

•Teacher book read/ Grand

discussion

•Listen to Eric Carle audio

books

•Vocabulary discussion and

review

•Writer’s Workshop:

Research and compile animal

research book

•Teacher book read/

Grand Discussion

•Share pictures from

home related to book

read.

•Vocabulary review

•Writer’s workshop:

Write pattern stories

•Literature discussion

group time

•Informal spelling test

•Discuss food logs

•Discuss moon phase

findings with partners

•Listen to guest speaker

Art/Music

•Listen to songs associated

with Eric Carle book

content and draw feelings

associated with the music

• Create and sing songs about

Eric Carle book of the day •Make tissue paper collages

•Make animal artwork

for animal research

book

•Compile photographs

from home and nature

walk into a collage

Science

•Plant bean seeds

•Observe classroom

caterpillar and journal

findings

•Make pancakes

•Lesson on beans

•Journal about bean sprouts

and caterpillar

•Teacher lesson on butterfly

life cycle

•Partner research on lifecycle

of a butterfly.

•Journal about bean sprouts

and caterpillar

•Go on outdoor

exploration for insects

Teacher lesson about

lady bugs based on The

Grouchy Ladybug

•Create dramatizations of

butterfly life cycles and

present

Aft

ern

oon

Math •Sort, classify, and count

beans

•Teacher lesson on graphing

Graph favorite foods

•Teacher lesson on graphing

•Create pattern block

butterflies

•Teacher lesson on time

•Make lady bug paper

plate clocks

•Create The Very Hungry

Caterpillar story

problems

Physical

Education

•Read and create

associated movement with

From Head to Toe

•Select and act out Eric Carle

story using only body

movement

•Nature walk and

observation

•Cue word physical

movement lesson to

selected Eric Carle

book/s.

•The Very Hungry

Caterpillar hula hoop

lesson activity

Social

Studies

•Read Do You Want to Be

My Friend?

•Grand and large group

discussion of good friend

characteristics

•Research life of Eric Carle

•Work on Eric Carle

research and Biography.

•Small group discussion and

findings

•Read Have You Seen

My Cat?

•Discuss and research

different cat habitats

•Make ven diagrams

about a two cat habitats

•Read A House for

Hermit Crab

•Grand discussion and

large group discussion

about feelings associated

with book content