Hello to all! I want to start out by saying that I hope your child had a great time at the zoo. They enjoyed learning about all of the animals and seeing our class alligator! I hope most of you have heard about all of the wonderful Eric Carle books we've been studying. Some of them include The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, From Head to Toe, and The Very Busy Spider. We have read these books to the students multiple times and they have enjoyed writing about their favorite part, their connection, and their re-telling of each story. After reading each story, the class completes an 'Eric Carle Attribute Chart' which includes the characters, setting, main idea, genre, and connections. This helps them keep track of each book, since many of his books include multiple animals. In Writer's Workshop, we have given the students a rubric in which they must follow to receive a 'happy face ladybug.' For example, if the student is re-telling the story, they should include the following: A lead sentence, the title, author, what happened in the beginning, middle, end, and details! We go over the rubric before they begin writing, and post it on the board so they can check off what they have done.
We have also completed a few crafts with the class, incorporating the books. For the Grouchy Ladybug, we had the children create their own ladybug, in which they told us something that makes them grouchy (these were quite fun to read!). They also created a character mobile for The Very Busy Spider...they look fantastic! Below is a slideshow which includes pictures of our rubrics, the arts and crafts projects, and some of the students' work. Enjoy!
