For the week of 1/16-1/20 we learned all about Penguins with our letter Pp!
Day #1
Today we worked on various worksheets and coloring pages relating to the letter P and number 16. I filled up our weekly Word Bank--here are the words he can make a "withdrawal" from this week. He has to write them out on the board and then read them to me. He really likes this activity each morning.
I introduced Penguins with an easy reader book I found at Goodwill. Little Britches helped me with the words.
Day #2
We learned facts about Penguins--then we made a Think Chart to see what we remembered.
During our Think Chart, Little Britches asked the question "Are they warm blooded or cold blooded?" {RABBIT TRAIL!!}so when we finished our chart, we asked that question on Bing.com and discovered that all birds--including penguins--are warm blooded.
Once we completed our chart, we learned how to draw a penguin in 5 easy steps.
Here is my attempt...
I think he's rather cute! LOL! Now Little Britches uses those steps and draws penguins ALL THE TIME! We made a magnet out of one of his penguins to send to my mom (aka. Mum-Mum) for her new refrigerator.
Day #3
Today we learned about the different species of penguins. Some sources say there are 16 and some say there are 17. There is a GREAT resource provided by SeaWorld for teaching about penguins--including species identification cards for each one! We printed these pages off and then used a map of the Southern Hemisphere and put dots where each species lived. Little Britches noticed there were "a TON" of penguins near New Zealand and hopes that MumMum will see some when she goes with Papa (my dad) to New Zealand this fall. (yes...I'm soooo jealous!!!)
Once we found where they all lived, I had him highlight their size in inches and we used a measuring tape to determine how big each one was compared to him and Baby Britches.
He was surprised to discover he was taller then the tallest penguin! He also thought it was funny that even Baby Britches is taller than a lot of the species "and he's just a baby!" We wrote all the sizes down and then I made a graph on Excel for him to see how they compared. Then I had each of MY penguins lie down so I could measure how tall they were. We added them to the graph too as "J---inian Penguin" and "S---inian Penguin"!
The last thing we did today was look online (Penguin World) to see color pictures of each one. Little Britches says he likes the eyelashes that the species in the Eudyptes group have! But he likes the Chinstrap Penguin the best because he's the easiest to recognize.
Day #4
Today we reviewed where penguins lived with the globe--Little Britches did excellent! Then we discussed why God made penguins black and white. We started by making a penguin (a template in the Sea World packet) and then used it to demonstrate why they would have white on their belly and black everywhere else. We held the penguin high over our heads and looked up--noticing that he blended in pretty good with our white ceiling. Then we held him down low and looked down on him noticing that the black of his body did make him blend in more with our dark carpet. I added a little magnet on the back of the cute penguin he made so he could put in on our metal cabinet in the classroom (I ADORE adhesive magnetic strips!)
Day #5
Today we discussed what a Food Web and Food Chain was. Little Britches understood this as he had recently watched a Magic School Bus episode about a food chain...and had seen something just the day before on the PBS show Wild Krats about a food chain. Using a lesson from the Sea World packet, we made a Food Web of the ocean including one of our species of penguins. I had already cut out the cards and colored the plankton...but I let him color all the other animal pictures. Then we started stringing them all together...it was QUITE the web and boy, he sure LOVED it!
Then we mapped it out again on the board to make sure he got what was at which point in the chain.
We finished up our week by reading a book I had found earlier in the week at Goodwill...
Perfect for this lesson!
This week, like the week of the Octopus was very very interesting and fun! Little Britches enjoys telling everyone what he learned about penguins!
Links I used...
Mr. Popper's Penguins Unit Study Lesson (from homeschoolshare.com)
Books we read...
Penguin's Skating Party
by Dana Regan
The Emperor's Egg
by Martin Jenkins
The Emperor's Egg
by Martin Jenkins
2 comments:
Lisa, you obviously have a gift of teaching. I love how you incorporate so many learning opportunities around a central theme. What fun! You are an inspiration for homeschooling parents!
I attended Ursuline Academy and grew up in Montgomery.
Post a Comment