2nd Grade Non-Fiction: Index, Glossary, Contents

The 2nd graders have been practice using the table of contents, index and glossary in non-fiction books. So far, we've used the books in a series called "Animal Safari." These are good starter non-fiction books. I taped QR codes that were linked to "quizzes" about each book--3 comprehension questions and 2 each about contents, index and glossary. Students had to read first, then use the book to answer the questions. Overall, we did okay, but I think the verdict is that we still need more practice. I'm also wondering if using the iPads was distracting for some students, so we are going to try it on paper next week. Also, I think some of them just clicked answers in order to get finished--which will always happen, I guess.

Here are a couple of pictures of kids reading together and answering the questions:

And here are the results from one set of questions. I use Google forms, because the results are so easy to look at!

6th Non-Fiction Text Structures

Sixth graders have been working on recognizing text structures of non-fiction writing--description, sequence/order, compare/contrast, problem/solution, and cause/effect. I gave them this chart, and these paragraphs that I found online, and after determining which text structure it was, they had to create the appropriate graphic organizer. We used "smart art" in Microsoft Word--yes, I had students complete something in Word (we always use Google). I had to finally figure out how to open Word on my laptop! Also, the "smart art" didn't have exact options for a couple of the graphic organizers, but we improvised.

I'm trying to focus on non-fiction more, since it is a huge aspect of Common Core and I feel like our kids lack the skills/desire to read non-fiction. Ideas welcomed :)

Here are a couple:

Caldecott Journals

1st grade is currently doing a Caldecott unit. I wanted to have the students keep journals, but I hate the idea of printing out sheet after sheet of paper for the 15-20 books that we'll read. So, then I was going to use Keynote and have students create a new slide for each book, but there isn't a lot of room for creativity and drawing in that. So next, I decided to use Scribble Press. That is what I'm sticking with for now, those there are some pitfalls. I explained to the kids that this was going to require lots of patience until we got used to it. The first problem I found was that I couldn't get the text boxes to move after I added one. Also, the eraser erases all of the layers--even over photos. That was a problem because the kids add in a different journal form for each book as an image. So instead of erasing, we used a white marker to go over mistakes. First day was mostly successful, except no one got to the writing part. We rated and drew our favorite pictures. I love the rating system using stars like angry birds. I'm excited to see where this project goes.

I posted a picture of Juli's page for Kitten's First Full Moon.

Out of Hibernation

The stuffed animals have been in hiding for the majority of this year, but made an appearance today after checkout time in kindergarten and first grade. I forget how much the kids absolutely love holding onto and reading to the animals. I'm not sure how I forgot this, since I'm pretty sure that reading and stuffed animals were my two favorite things as a child...okay, maybe they still are two of my favorite things. Note to librarian self--wake up the hibernating animals. Some of the pigs, hedgehogs and cows might find themselves flying around more than usual, but the children will love me. Anything for positivity.

Wordless Winner

Our wordless book winner is....

One Scary Night by Antoine Guilloppé.

The awesome black and white illustrations, along with the surprise at the end made this the sure winner. Chalk was a distant second, but it is one of the most checked out books in our library! The kids and I were all sad to move on from wordless books, but we've got fairy tales, fables, non-fiction, poetry, and tons of other fun stories to read in the 2nd half of the year. I'm so excited!