Check These Out  a four-week, multi-leveled unit study includes several helpful features for parents/educators as they endeavor to fuel children's literary fires. 

 

                 All resources in

                  Check These Out are fully reproducible to be used by the students of the parent/educator who purchases this study. 

The 139 page study (which includes 33 pages of reproducible practice sheets) is printed on high quality, 8 1/2  x  11 paper.  Spiral bind allows for easy wrap-around while teaching and photocopying. 

 

 Each week, parents/educators benefit from:

            a weekly calendar for each level;

  a Peek to Week listing of books and supplies;

                 a detailed, daily lesson plan;

        practice sheets to reinforce skills; and

 a Check Out These Skills check list of skills covered.

  

     Below are partial samples of each feature to give parents/educators an idea of the resources included in this four-week study.

 

Peek to WeeK:

Books needed:

  • How a Book is Made by Aliki (A)
  • All about Sharks by Jim Arnosky (AB)
  • Deer at the Brook by Jim Arnosky (AB)
  • Watching Water Birds by Jim Arnosky (AB)
  • I See Animals Hiding by Jim Arnosky (AB)
  • Wild and Swampy by Jim Arnosky  (AB)
  • The Mitten by Jan Brett (AB)
  • Papa, Get Me the Moon by Eric Carle (AB)
  • My Apron by Eric Carle (AB)
  • Pancakes by Eric Carle (AB)
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (AB)
  • The Very Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle (AB)
  • The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle (BC)

Resource:

  • 25 Terrific Art Projects Based on Favorite Picture Books by Karen Backus, Linda Evans & Mary Thompson

Supplies needed:

  • construction paper (AB)

  • drawing paper (ABC)

  • tape (ABC)

  • scissors (ABC)

  • glue or glue stick (ABC)

  • collage materials (wallpaper, gift wrap, magazine pictures, newspaper, tissue paper) (ABC)

  • one dictionary for each child (unless you play with teams) (BC)

  • Scrabble game (BC)

  • atlas (ABC)

Preparation needed:

  • Call library to arrange a tour on Friday (ABC)

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Daily Activities From Week 1

Social Studies

(AB)  Special awards are given to books for text or for illustrations.  The awards are given to the books which are considered to be the best for that year.  A committee makes the decision as to which books are the best; therefore it is the committee’s opinion.  Their opinion as to which books should be awarded may not be everyone’s opinion.  Once a book is given an award, it will usually have a medallion on the cover so that everyone knows that the book won the award.  (Show the medallion on Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey)  There are many types of awards, but two are very well-known.

 

The Caldecott award is named after Randolph Caldecott.  Mr. Caldecott was an exceptional artist.  The Caldecott award is given to a book for an illustrator’s use of color, design, line, shape and texture.  Make Way for Ducklings was awarded the Caldecott. 

 

The Newbery award is named after John Newbery who is considered the Father of Children’s Literature.  He was an eloquent writer.  The books given the Newbery award are well-written. 

 

These men, Mr. Caldecott and Mr. Newbery, are honored because of their great work in children’s literature.  They were very talented and worked hard to do their best.

 

(AB)  Read Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings. Mr. McCloskey’s story is based on a time when he actually saw a family of ducks cross the road in Boston.  Boston is in Massachusetts.  The author decided to write a story from his experience.  In order for Mr. McCloskey to illustrate this book he had to know how Boston looked.  He also had to know about the landmarks in the city.  To do his best to help the reader know about Boston, he had to do research.

 

(AB)  Read Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey.  This book was written from Mr. McCloskey’s memories of the summers he spent in Maine.  He remembered his daughter picking blueberries and wrote the story.  He was awarded a Caldecott for this book, too.  Ask:


  • Do you see any similarities between the illustrations in Make way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal? (One color drawings, looks like he used a marker or a pen)


  • Why do you think he only used one color? (Because at the time it was less expensive to print a book in one color, often referred to as monochrome)

  • Can you tell when the book was illustrated by the style of clothes or the cars or the buildings? (1940’s and 1950’s; find the examples in each book.

(AB)Consider comparing McCloskey’s works with Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.  Crockett Johnson is not a monochrome artist.  He uses several colors for his illustrations.  Note the differences in style.

 

(B)   Looking for a chapter book, try Homer Price by Robert McCloskey.  Ask:

  • How do the illustrations in this chapter book favor Make Way for Ducklings? 

  • What do you think inspired Mr. McCloskey to write such a book.

(C)   Research author Robert McCloskey.  Use internet sites and biographical resources in the library.  Don’t be afraid to ask the librarian to help you locate biographical resources in the reference section.  Be sure to use several sources to verify the validity of the information.  Make use of the index in the back of a resource.  Under the alphabetical listing, find “McCloskey”.  Jot down the page(s) on which you will find the information needed.

 

(C)   Read 3 books from the list below.  Using the research and the content of the books, determine whether Mr. McCloskey was qualified to author these books.  Ask:

  • Did Mr. McCloskey have significant experiences that qualified him to write these books?

  • From your research, what did or did not qualify him to write the material?

Robert McCloskey books:

Ÿ Make Way for Ducklings

 Ÿ Blueberries for Sal

Ÿ One Morning in Maine

Ÿ Lentil

Ÿ Homer Price (chapter book)

 

Daily Activities From Week 2

Language Arts

(AB) Read Freight Train by Donald Crews.  Notice the use of bright colors as well as shades and tints to create varying degrees of light.  

 

(BC)  Create a persuasive advertisement for a book of choice. 

Ÿ The student has been granted a whole page advertisement in Books Children Read, a magazine published to inform parents and teachers about great literature for children.  The student should choose a MUST read children’s book and create an ad for the magazine.  The ad should tell a parent or teacher why a child MUST read this book.  Encourage the student to think about the characters, the setting and the moral or life lesson taught.  Answer the questions:

  • What age child should read this book?      
  • Why does this book impact children? 
  • What lesson do the characters learn?
  • What is the theme of the book?
  • Does the author have the experience and the expertise to write this book?
  • Is this book worth having a personal copy for the child to read over and over again?                                             

The ad must be in color.

(C)   When writing a persuasive piece, remember to:

Ÿ Keep facts and opinions straight.  Facts are actual, proven statements.  Opinions are beliefs or views held by a person.  Opinions cannot be proven.

Ÿ Make comparisons based on facts.  Avoid making comparisons that are misleading.

Ÿ Make statements that are true, not partially true.

Ÿ Avoid exaggerations.

Ÿ Be purposeful with words.

Social Studies

(ABC) Visit the local bookstore.  Notice the differences between the library and the bookstore.  The biggest difference is that the library lets patrons check out as many books as desired without extra cost.  The bookstore requires payment to take books home.  The library, on the other hand, requires that books be returned.  Books purchased at the bookstore belong to the customer who bought them.

Science

(BC) Create a shadow puppet.  Resources regarding stage and puppet construction abound on the internet.  Links are included under puppets on the Check These Out book links page at www.cherylbastian.com.  Check out library resources as well. 

Music/Art

(AB)  Today we will explore the world of Impressionistic art.  Donald Crews, children’s illustrator uses this technique in Freight Train.

(ABC) Impressionism uses light to capture colors in varying shades and tints.  Using color in this way creates a foggy, smoky or faded appearance.  

(AB)  Create an impressionistic piece using watercolors or pastels.  Sign the art work. 

(BC)  Renoir and Monet are famous impressionistic artists.  Familiarize students with the masterpieces of these fine artists.

: Links to more information about impressionistic art can be found on the Check These Out book links page of www.cherylbastian.com.

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Check Out These Skills   Week 4 Level C

Check the skills your child/student has mastered.

Language Arts

  • write a letter
  • address an envelope
  • write Haiku
  • identify a ballad
  • define anthology
  • identify biography as a non-fiction genre
  • identify autobiography as a non-fiction genre
  • identify realism as a fiction genre
  • write phase biography
  • write an autobiographical poem
  • define the term pseudonym (pen name)
  • write a limerick
  • use Webster’s Biographical Dictionary
  • write a newspaper article
  • identify sections of a newspaper
  • locate information in a newspaper
  • distinguish fact from opinion
  • evaluate the contents of a book
  • compose a book review

Social Studies

  • research the history of animation
  • recall Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the United States of America
  • identify careers at a newspaper facility
  • write a news story about a current event

Science

  • recall Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to science
  • visit the newspaper facility
  • understand the process of producing a newspaper

Music/Art

  • create original illustration for Haiku
  • identify cartoon art
  • compare two or more types of cartoon art
  • create an original piece of art with paper maché
  • draw a comic strip

Hopefully these partial sample pages have been helpful to you, the parent/educator! 

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