We began the
unit by having each child create a thinking map showing
everything they knew about mice. We used the computer program
Kidspiration for this. Here is an example of one of the thinking
maps.
We read a
lot of Mouse themed books, but decided to focus on Mouse
Tales by Arnold Lobel. We read the book Mouse Tales
during reading group. Upon finishing it, I introduced a stuffed
mouse to the class, who was to become our mascot for this
project. We decided to name him Whiskers. I told the kids that
one person was going to be taking Whiskers home every night
along with a journal, pencil, crayons, and a copy of Mouse
Tales.
I
explained that we were going to create our own Mouse Tales
book depicting the adventures of Whiskers, as he visited
everyone's house. While they had Whiskers for the night, they
were to write about what happened when Whiskers was at their
house. Later, we typed up the stories and scanned the pictures
to create our book The Adventures of Whiskers. Here is one of
our stories.
After school we went to
afterschool care. We had candy because we were wonderful. We did
not get in trouble. We pretended Whiskers was the teacher who
gave us candy because we were good.
Then we went to my cousin�s
house. Whiskers and I went outside and played tag. My cousin
came too. Whiskers got tagged and so we were it. We had to catch
them.
Then Whiskers was tired, so he
had to sit for a short time.
I love Whiskers!
We also
made mice using Model Magic clay by Crayola. These mice were
used as inspiration for additional mice stories.
Each child
wrote, published, and illustrated stories about their mouse. We
also used the mice as a graphing activity. Each child was
provided with an index card on which they were to draw their
mouse. Then we created a pocket chart graph that showed the
different colors of mice we had made. (Brown, black, white, and
gray were the colors used--gray was the most popular color.)
We had a
lot of fun with this project. I loved the way this project
inspired their writing.
NC Standards
Language Arts 2.01
Read and comprehend both narrative and expository text
appropriate for grade two.
2.02 Use text for a variety of functions, including literary,
informational, and practical.
2.06 Recall facts and details from a text.
2.07 Discuss similarities and differences in events and
characters across stories.
4.06 Plan and make judgments about what to include in written
products (e.g., narratives of personal experiences, creative
stories, skits based on familiar stories and/or experiences).
4.07 Compose first drafts using an appropriate writing process:
� planning and drafting. � rereading for meaning. � revising to
clarify and refine writing with guided discussion.
4.09 Use media and technology to enhance the presentation of
information to an audience for a specific purpose.
5.02 Attend to spelling, mechanics, and format for final
products in one's own writing.
5.03 Use capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphs in own
writing.
Math 4.01 Collect,
organize, describe and display data using Venn diagrams and
pictographs. |