WHAT IF YOUR HAD!? Share-A-thon

WHAT IF YOU HAD!? SHARE-A-THON

Thank you to all you creative people who are finding COOL ways to turn my WHAT IF YOU HAD!? books into fun learning activities. So here are links to help you share even more WHAT IF YOU HAD!? discovery-fun.

WHAT IF YOU HAD AN ANIMAL PART!?
by Genia Connell (grades 3-5)

I love to pepper my plan book with fun, highly engaging projects that make my students forget about that upcoming summer vacation for just a moment. Last year, when I passed Sandra Markle’s book, What If You Had Animal Hair!?, at our school’s book fair, I knew I had to have it, and I knew exactly how I wanted to use it.
Our class had been studying animal adaptations and this book was a perfect way for students to think about how certain animals’ adaptations could be “adapted” to their own lives. I immediately bought the book, then went back later that day and bought all the others in the series! What followed was a short, captivating project that combined science, technology, and writing that I can hardly wait to do again this year. This week I’m excited to share a step-by-step of my adaptation project.
And link to fun...

What Do You Think!?

by First Grade Teacher in Georgia

I wanted to blog about the cutest activities we did this week. We have been working on opinion writing, which normally makes me want to bang my head against the wall and run away screaming, but these activities actually made it fun! Mind you, we still have lots of work to do, but it was a great way to really dive into it. 

We started the week with What If You Had Animal Teeth.  My firsties absolutely loved this one. They laughed so loud as we read it, we actually had to shut the door! Before I read it, I set the purpose by asking them to think about what teeth THEY would choose if they were going to wake up tomorrow with the mouth of an animal. Their choices and reasons were hilarious!

Then, we moved on to our actual opinion writing.  The kids had to state at least 3 reasons why they would choose those teeth.

 Our biggest problem right now is to get them to think past "because I like it".... "because they're cool"... and the like. I really want them to start thinking about the actual REASONS. 

Don't miss the link to the hair template FREEBIE available on this site!

And on you go for more opinions and fun...

Learning To The Core! 

by two friends: Amanda and Aylin. a First Grade Teacher and a Reading Specialist

Oh how I love children's books! I always get so very excited to use new read alouds with my little friends and with the Common Core emphasizing the need for more non fiction, it is so great when I find a really wonderful text. What if you had Animal Hair!? by Sandra Markle is exactly that. Her stories are so engaging and full of facts that students just love. The illustrations are outstanding and the comparison to a kid having the same kind of hair really gets my students thinking about what is different from their own hair. 

 While we read the story, we made a list on the board of some of the different animals and facts about those animals.

Common Core Alignment:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.2 Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.

Then each of my friends chose an animal to focus on and filled out this page about their animal. They drew a picture of themselves and added hair to match the animal. Then they wrote three facts about each animal. After everyone was finished, they shared their pictures and facts with the group.  Their illustrations were so cute and matched right up with the text! 

Don't miss the Freebie to download on this site!

Connect to share the rest here...

Before Reading—During Reading—After Reading Brain Buzzing Activities for ANIMAL FEET

by Words Alive

BEFORE READING

Use these before reading the story to help students activate background knowledge and make predictions:

• What do you wonder about when you look at this cover?
• Thumbs up if you think this book is fiction, down if you think it's non fiction,
  side ways if you don't know. Why do you think that?
• Look at the dedication page and read the dedication. Ask: who knows what a
  dedication is? Help define. Why do you think authors put dedications in their books?
  DURING THE STORY
  Use these while reading the story to help students interpret the action and content.
  Emergent Literacy (Comprehension - connections to world/self - print referencing -
  open ended questions - phonological awareness).

• p.6 why do you think flies have taste buds on their feet?
• p.10. What are ridges? Can you think of anything else that has ridges?
• p.12 What are snowshoes used for?
• Why does the wolf need his paws to act like snowshoes? Why do you think so?
• p. 16. Why do you think the owl needs to have such a strong grip?
• p.18. What does predator mean? What does prey mean?
  
  
  
  
  AFTER READING
  Use these after reading the story to help students understand what they just read.

• In the beginning of the book, you thought this book was fiction or non-fiction or you weren't sure. If you think it's fiction now, thumbs up, non-fiction, thumbs down, sideways if you're not sure.
• Did you change your mind? Why do you think That?
• What features in the book make it fiction/ non-fiction.
  BRINGING THE BOOK TO LIFE!

• p. 25. Why do you think all these animals have such different feet? (lead discussion to conclusion that their types of feet help them to survive and live in their environment). Changes in animals that allow them to survive in their environment are called adaptations.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
• p.23. Turn and talk to your neighbor about what you would climb if you had goat feet (have students share back with the group)

And there's more to explore so hurry to this site...

Plus I have to add this fun extension activity.

Trace around your foot/shoe. Cut out the shape, can you find objects in the room that are smaller than your foot? Larger than your foot? The very same size? 

And still more ideas teachers are sharing to make reading WHAT IF YOU HAD!? FUN.

What If You Had!? Research Starter

By Deedee Willis (Kindergarten-First Grade)

FOCUSING ON TEXT DETAILS

This book series is filled with text details.  It can be used almost like a reference book.   You can hop to any page you wish to read the information you are seeking.

Then we ask students to use the information from the text to answer a few questions.  This cause/effect structure is repeated throughout each book.

We also create anchor charts to support the student learning.  This anchor chart is obvious for the book, What If You Had Animal Teeth?

LOOKING AT AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

The What If You Had Animal Parts series of books really lends themselves to looking at the author’s purpose. So two of the book lesson plans really focus on author’s purpose.

And click here for even more--

I loved seeing my author's purpose studied. :-) But I'll tell you what my purpose really is with each of my books-- STEALTH LEARNING. My goal is to make reading my books so much fun learning just slips in--and sticks!

Now I've only shared a few of the on-line sites packed full of activities to go along with reading one of my WHAT IF YOU HAD!? books. Just Google search What If You Had book activities. You'll be on your way to lots and lots more.

I'll finish with this one because it always makes me smile. Build Your Wild Self.  Young readers can assemble their parts from every book...and then some. Just GO WILD!

FOR RESEARCHERS-IN-TRAINING

Children often ask, "What do you like best about writing nonfiction books?" 

My answer is "RESEARCH" That's how I either get to do hands-on investigating myself around the world. 

Me in Antarctica

Me and Baby Mike

Or I get to interview experts around the world who have explored and investigated what I'm researching.

Dr. Andrew Whitworth in 14-story tall tree in cloud forest in Peru studying woolly monkeys. Read about his research in WOOLLY MONKEY MYSTERIES (Millbrook, 2019)

COMING SOON!

Luckily, children can safely start now to develop both their investigative and interviewing skills. AND have fun in the process!

A great research topic for RESEARCHERS-IN-TRAINING is a local tree. 

Older students can tackle investigating a tree in their home yard--or during a visit to a local park with their adult partner. Younger students can share in a class investigation of a tree in the school yard--or bring in a potted tree as a classroom "visitor".

Below is the hands-on investigation. It's to give a tree it's annual checkup. 

A TREE'S CHECKUP

Pick a tree whose lower branches are easy to reach. Then check it out by answering these questions "Yes" or "No".

1. Are some twigs or branches bare?
(When it's still the season for leaves. In other seasons, there should be buds where new leaves will grow.)

2. Do any of the leaves look curled up or dead?
(When it's still the season for leaves to be healthy.)


3. Do you see any scars or wounds on the tree's trunk?

4. Look closely, do you see any holes or tunnels through the bark? If so, insects may have attacked the tree.

5. Do you see any webs, galls (bumps) or dripping sap on twigs? If so, insects may have attacked the tree.

If you answered "No" more often than "Yes", the tree is probably in good health.

For the expert interview, the children could do this activity.

FAMILY TREE

Have children interview an adult member of their family about a tree they remember from their childhood. They should work up 3 questions to ask their expert. Here are some samples they could use:

1. Where was the biggest tree you ever remember seeing as a child?

2. Can you tell me a story about any tree you remember from where you grew up? 

3.Please tell me about any time you got to play in a tree. Did you climb up? Did you fall down? Did you have a treehouse? Or a tree swing?

Little Extra: GET ARTY!

Georgia O'Keefe's The Lawrence Tree

Everyone can share imagining how looking up through a tree changes what you see. Show a picture of the famous artist Georgia O'Keefe's painting, called The Lawrence Tree. Thi shows a dramatic view of the night sky viewed looking up though a big tree's branches. If you have a large tree on your school gounds, children can investigate this unique world view. 

OR you can experience it and be the expert they interview about what your experience stretching out under a big tree and looking up. Remember, in many places that view can change seasonally. 

GET READY! Once kids discover what fun RESEARCH can be, they'll be eager for new RESEARCH Adventures. I know I always am!

WATCH HUSH UP AND HIBERNATE COME TO LIFE!

Here's a special chance to see how one of the illustrations for HUSH UP AND HIBERNATE! brought this story to life.

When you choose "play", you'll go right back to the beginning when the text inspired the idea for the illustration. You'll see the sketches that created the scene. Next, you'll see the colors begin to be added. The details follow. 

Notice what comes first, next, and so on.

When you compare the illustration to the finished spread in the book, look at one more thing. See how the artist Howard McWilliam planned, right from the start, for the text to become part of the scene. 

And here's the text to read as you enjoy the illustration come to life. 

Mama Bear grunts, "I guess we can eat 

a little longer before we sleep

away the winter." Side-by-side, they

munch chokecherries until a flock of geese flies past.

Mama Bear slowly lifts her big head and listens to their honking. 

HUSH UP AND HIBERNATE FUN!!!

HUSH UP and HIBERNATE! is a fun read aloud--read alone bedtime story. But the fun doesn't have to stop there. 

These activities can stretch the fun and sneak in a little creative thinking and discovery-learning.

BABY BEAR'S TURN!

Please, Mama!  




What if Baby Bear wanted Mama Bear to tell a story about an adventure she had as a cub, while he fell asleep? Make up the story Mama Bear told. 

Sneaky Baby Bear

Imagine Baby Bear didn't hibernate? What if Baby Bear sneaked out of the den and stayed awake all winter long? Make a list of ten things that happened in order--from what happened first to last. 

Sweet Dreams!

What if Baby Bear dreamed while hibernating? Tell what his dream was about?

One-Two-Three-SNORE

Baby Bear counted groups of animals to fall asleep.



What forest animals is Baby Bear counting when he sees these groups:

                [Answers below]
Gaggle of _____________
Pack of _______________
Romp of_______________
Prickle of _____________
Gang of ______________

Scurry of _____________

Leash of ______________
Murder of _____________
Parliament of __________
Knot of _______________

Answers: Geese, Wolves, Otters, Porcupines, Elk, Squirrels, Foxes, Crows, Owls, Toads

MAMA BEAR'S TURN!

How To Guide

Since Baby Bear doesn't want to hibernate, Mama Bear could get HOW TO SURVIVE THE WINTER advice from other animals. What would each of these animals tell her? 




[Click the link to discover more.] 

Caribou: "For me, it's all about finding food to eat after it snows. So I always do this when winter is coming."

Arctic Fox: "I can't risk being spotted by prey I hunt during the winter. So when winter is coming I have to make this change."

Chipmunk: "You can do what I do, no problem. But you have to have been working on this all summer and fall."



SHH! LISTEN!

To help Baby Bear go to sleep, Mama Bear reads these bedtime stories.

Bear Snores by Karma Wilson (Little Simon, 2005)

Bear's cave fills with animal friends while he sleeps.

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2015) Fun romp that tells what happens when Bear wakes up and smells a sandwich.

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins (Disney-Hyperion, 2015)
When a bear's egg breakfast, turns into raising geese and teaching them how to migrate--even when it means traveling south with them for the winter.

And, of course, she reads...

Hush Up and Hibernate!

IT'S TRUE, BABY BEAR!

Mama Bear needs to prove to Baby Bear that, during the winter, food will be hard to eat--even if it's around. 

To do that, put a raisin into each section of an ice cube tray. Fill the tray with water and freeze.

Next, dump the raisin ice cubes onto a plastic plate. Add another batch of ice cubes with nothing inside.

Then it's Baby Bear's task to try and eat the raisins without eating any ice. CAN YOU FIGURE OUT how Baby Bear can get the raisins? 

Think of three different things Baby Bear could try to get the raisins. Decide which one has the best chance of working. 

Finally, work with an adult partner to test your idea. Or check with an adult partner to be sure what you want to try is safe for you to do. Then time how long it takes to get the raisins out of the ice cubes. And think whether what you did is likely to be possile for Baby Bear to do.  

So what happens to Baby Bear? How does the story end? 

And....

What happens to real baby bears when winter is on its way and it's time to hibernate?

There's only one way to find out. Click here to order a copy and READ IT!

HOME SWEET PLANET EARTH!

Astronaut George "Pinky" Nelson shared with me what it was like to view earth from the Space Shuttle 350 miles above the earth's surface. And one thing really struck me. He said when we draw a circle to make a picture of the earth we should take a close look. He said people usually draw a second big circle around the first to show earth's atmosphere--the air we need to live. But from space it's clear that our earth's atmosphere is as thin as the line of the circle we drew to show the earth. Once we realize that, it's clear car fumes, factory smoke, forest fires--anything we add to air--can have a BIG impact on our home planet.

So what can you do to help? Here are some ideas for recycling that can stop pollution both from factories making new things and from trash being thrown away. Besides, you're about to discover RECYCLING IS FUN!

Turn Old Newspapers into A Birdhouse

Just follow these steps and birds will soon be moving in. First, blow up a balloon and tie the neck. In a plastic bowl (or a milk jug with the top half cut off) mix a half cup white glue with a half cup of water.

Use scissors to cut strips of newspaper about 2 inches wide. Start with about 50 strips.


Check with an adult to see where it's okay for you to work because the next step is going to be messy. And definitely wear old clothes. Then, one-by-one dip strips of newspaper into the glue, wipe off any excess by squeezing between your fingers, and press the strip smoothly onto the balloon. You'll need to cover all of the balloon, including the neck so you may need to take time out to wash up and cut more paper strips. Let the balloon dry completely. Then repeat. Do this until you've built up four layers covering the balloon.

Now, find out what small birds commonly live in birdhouses in your area. Check on-line or in bird books to find out what diameter hole you'll need to have in your birdhouse for your local guests to move in. Have your adult partner use a utility knife to cut a door that's just the right diameter about 3 to 4 inches above the bottom. That will pop the balloon. So remove the balloon pieces from the inside. Then have your adult partner do one more thing.

Working outdoors, have your adult partner spray a coating of water-based enamel inside the house. (This paint is available at home supply stores). This will help make the house waterproof. Dr. Mimi Shepherd, an avian veterinarian, reports water-based enamel is safe for birds once it's been allowed to dry for several days).

Also have your partner use pointed scissors to drill three drainage holes in the round bottom of the birdhouse. And they'll need to attach a toggle bolt to the pointed end and twist on a wire loop to hang the birdhouse.

Finally, back indoors you can use a paintbrush and acrylic paint to decorate the outside of the birdhouse. Top that with a coat of varnish to make the house waterproof.

This is my drawing from the very first published book EXPLORING WINTER 

Make A Bottle Diner For Birds

Invite the birds to your house for dinner. To make this bird feeder, you'll need a two liter soft drink bottle with a screw on cap, ball point pen, scissors, string, three wire garbage bag ties (or pipe cleaners), and an aluminum pie plate.

Cut off the bottom of the bottle. Set it on the middle of the pie pan and draw around it.

Cut four large scallops along the cut off edge of the bottle. This will allow a flow of bird seed.

Poke holes in the pan on two opposite sides of the circle you drew.

Poke holes in two opposite sides of the bottle.

Attach the bottle to the pan with the ties. Twist the third tie to each of the other two ties on the bottom of the pan. This will securely anchor the bottle to the pan.

Cut off a piece of string 18 to 36 inches long. Poke two holes in the neck of the bottle. Loop the string through the holes and tie the ends in a knot. That will form a loop you can use to hang the bird feeder.
Pour seed into the bottle through the bottle mouth until the feeder is about half full. Put the cap on the bottle.

Once your bottle bird feeder is ready, ask an adult to hang it in a tree or somewhere you can easily watch from a window. You'll also need your adult partner to help you add seed to the bottle feeder as needed. Once you begin to feed the birds, they will depend on you to keep the food coming. If the weather gets cold and snowy in the winter where you live, your bird feeder may be the best diner in the area.

As you watch your bird feeder, see if you can discover the answers to these questions:

• What time of day do the birds most often come to eat?
• Do the birds come more or less often if the weather is stormy?
• Do the birds usually feed one at a time or in groups?
• Which birds chase others away? (You may need to search on-line or in bird books to identify the birds that come to your feeder.)

Shoot Water Blasters
You can turn empty plastic bottles with screw-on caps, such as water or soft drink bottles, into a kind of squirt gun--a water blaster.

First, take the cap off the bottle. Have an adult partner help you put a hole in the center of this cap. Using an oven mitt, they'll need to hold the tip of a slim steel nail (a fourpenny nail) in a candle flame for about ten seconds. Then, working over a stack of old magazines, they'll need to immediately press the hot nail tip straight down on the center of the inside of the cap. That will make a small hole in the cap.

Then you can fill the bottle with water and screw on the cap to create your Water Blaster. Take your Water Blaster outdoors and squeeze to fire. Refill as needed. Build up your blasting skills by aiming at plastic cups set on something that is about waist high.

• How far away can you be and still strike your target? 
• Does the amount of water in the Water Blaster make a difference to its blast power? 

From The Kids' Earth Handbook by Sandra Markle (Atheneum, 1991)

Play A Game of Jug Ball

This game will turn empty milk jugs into a great game. Collect six milk jugs and rinse them out. Use scissors to cut the body of the jug, transforming it into a scoop (like the one in the picture). Next create a ball. Use an old dishwashing sponge. Dampen it so it's bendable. Bend it in half and anchor this shape with several recycled rubber bands.

Now, to play jug ball, stand in a circle. Stand close together. Then take three steps back. Toss the sponge ball from player to player. Start by going around the cirlce. Then have the player doing the tossing call the name of the player who must catch the ball. Any player who fails to catch the ball collects one letter of the word "Oops." When all four letters are collected by the same person, he or she must drop out of the game. The winner is the person remaining when everyone else has spelled "Oops."

Just remember, for the earth's sake, 

conserve, recycle, and use it up!