Frog and Toad Research Fun!

It has been a long time since I posted!  We had a crazy busy year end and I had a crazy summer!  I am trying to get back on track this week so that I can start the school year with a clean slate!  I finally finished up the Frog Fun package and posted it to Teachers Pay Teachers!

 I know it won't be useful now but keep it in mind for the spring!  My guys really enjoyed it!  

This package contains everything you need to complete a simple research project about frogs. 

I like to do mini research projects and then turn them into little booklets!  I have created a list of frog facts that we sort and categorize into four groups together.  

We read the facts together on the overhead and decide on the code that we will use.  I created four categories for the facts.  They were:  

What they Look Like, What they Eat, About the Enemies, and Cool Facts.  

I put the facts on the overhead and give each child their copy of the facts.  We go through them together one by one.  I love this because the students who are great readers get a chance to shine!  

We talk about key words to look for like  “baby” and “eat” for the  readers who need more support.  Even the challenged readers can take part, using just the code letters.   We decide which code letter to use together and write it down before moving on to the next fact.

We read them together and decide on the code for each one.  Cool Facts gets a C, About the Enemies is an Y for Yikes! , What They Look Like is an L, and What they Eat gets an E.  

Then I pass out the four category pages and the children cut out the facts and paste them to the correct category based on the codes we have decided on.  The category pages are in the shape of the lily pad.  I run off the lily pad cover and the frog shape in lots of different colors! I decided to go with lots of different colors because frogs are so many different colors!  We staple the completed category pages behind the cover lily pad, cut out a colorful frog to glue on the top and we have a funky frog report! 

I usually make a bulletin board that looks like a pond to display the finished projects on! I love this project because it allows everyone to plug in at their level of readiness.  

As part of our study we also sorted facts about frogs and toads.  

I create an overhead of the frog and toad facts or use our webcam to display the page.  I give each child a copy of the facts.  We read them together and code them accordingly.  F for Frog, T for Toad, and B for both. 

The students cut out the facts and glue them in the appropriate spot!  Depending on your group this could also be done independently.  

All the parts for this activity are included in the package! 

I like to create folders for my students to store all their completed projects related to the current theme we are working on at the time. 

For the  frog folder I take a large piece of construction paper (11 X 17) and fold up a three inch fold on the long side.  Then I fold the paper in half and staple each end on the sides to make a long pocket. 

I cut the top part of the folder into a shape that complements the subject.  Depending on the color of the paper, I cut it like a rock, or a lily pad, or some grass. 

The children choose the color of frog they like and cut it out.  They also cut out the dragonfly.  I give them two narrow pieces of red paper.  We fold the red paper to make a spring.  We glue the dragon fly to one end of the “tongue” and put the ends of the other end through a slit, cut by the frog’s mouth.  

We glue the ends to the back of the frog and now our frog has a tongue catching a dragonfly.  This is always a big hit! 

Then we store all our “frog projects” in our frog folder! Folder idea for storing student’s frog projects is also included in the package! 

There is also a math component to the package. 

I use these workspaces to help develop counting skills for a center.   The children put the cards in order and put the correct amounts on each card.  Very popular activity at center time. 

I have also included workspaces and printables to practise two and three addend addition questions.  This is a favorite activity in our classroom. 

We have a lot of fun with this unit!  Sorry it took me so long to post it!  

Frog Fun!

We have been working on the frog life cycle over the last little while.  Right now we are learning about frogs!  Today, we started making a digital image of the frog's life cycle using the iPads.  I googled frog images and then saved them on the iPad.  Of course, the iPad makes it super easy to download images!  I had read about it and tried it today and it is so neat!  Thank you to MattBGomez.com for the tutorial.  He had done it with his kindergarten students using the butterfly cycle and the Story Buddy 2 app.  You just pick the image you want, tap on the image, and then hold you finger on it and a popup will appear inviting you to save the image.  It saves to the camera roll.  Once it is on the camera roll we can do lots of things with it! The possibilities are endless!  I showed the children the images I had been able to capture and then we imported them into Strip Designer to make a pictorial image of the frog's life cycle.  Then we added the words!

One demonstration and then off they went in pairs! Here are a few of their efforts.  Have to figure out some way to compile them and post them altogether!

I love the Hello balloon and the Boing!  It really fits!

We also created a frog report this week.  The children had to read a compilation of facts that I put together for them and sort them into four categories.  They were What They Look Like, What they Eat.  About the Enemies, and Cool Facts.  They thought everything was a Cool Fact!  

We read the facts together on the overhead or with the cam on my computer and decide on the appropriate code to categorize them.  We choose L for What They Look Like, E for What they Eat. Y as in Yikes for About the Enemies, and C for Cool Facts.  The students volunteer to read the facts and then we collectively decide on the appropriate code.  Then they cut out the facts and glue them to the appropriate page. 

I like doing this type of project because it lets my more able readers shine and be challenged and lets all my students take part using the coding system.  Everyone gets to complete the project and engage at the level best suited to them.  

I am compiling this project as a Teachers Pay Teachers project and it should be up soon. I have a few things I still want to add to it!   My students are my best critics and they liked it.  Hope you will, too!