Literature Focus Unit
Edu 315
Julie Mees
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Does A Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
Papa, Pleas get the moon for me
The Secret Birthday Message
The Mixed-Up Chameleon
Mister Seahorse
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
From Head to Toe
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Students will take part in learning about the
writings of the author Eric Carle. They will
learn about the animals and rhythm of his
books. This unit will integrate reading and
writing with social studies, science,
mathematics, art, music, and physical
education.
Students will develop the understanding of
the habitats of different animals and their life
cycles, the stages of the moon, rhyme and
rhythm
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Students will read many different books written
by Eric Carle. Students will read within groups,
look through books individually, read aloud, and
guided reading.
Students will share their scrapbooks to the class
Students will find additional information about
the moon, kangaroos, fish, and chameleons. (See
technology)
Teacher will read a loud the books listed in
literature selection with the children having
reading time in groups and individually to go
back through the books.
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Students will create a scrapbook with cut out
pictures, drawings, and personal ideas of each
book read in class.
Students will also create a page of questions they
may have about any animals we have read about.
After reading “Papa, please get the moon for me.”
students will join in groups and create ideas why
the moon is sometimes a quarter or a half or a
full moon. They will write in groups their ideas.
Students will create a formula poem about the
moon with the formula being “If I….”
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Students will work be doing group projects by reading through
the books together after the teacher has read them aloud.
Students will be discussing ideas of the moon with each other.
Students will be working together making it through a maze by
following directions based on the book “The Secret Birthday
Message.”
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Students will be reading aloud and sharing their scrap books
about their personal ideas of the books that were read aloud to
the class.
Students will be creating fish creatures out of socks and coloring
them. They will be working in groups and sharing their ideas
while they create their fish creatures from the book “Mister
Seahorse.”
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Students will have a Grand Conversation with each of the books
read.
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Students will listen as the teacher reads the books
aloud.
Students will listen in their groups as they go back
through the books during the Grand conversations.
Students will listen as each student presents their
scrapbooks and poems to the classmates.
Students will listen to each others ideas while
discussing the books and sharing additional
information about animals presented in the
classroom.
Students will listen as they share their ideas on why
the moon is sometimes a quarter or a half or a full
moon.
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Students will take a field trip to a pet store to
see various fish
Students will view videos of kangaroos and
penguins.
Student’s will view the other classmates
pictures in their scrapbooks.
Students will create a map on a bulletin board
of the maze in “A Birthday Message.”
Students will add words to the word wall from
the vocabulary words each book.
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Students will create a picture of the formula
poem to display their poetry in the classroom.
Students will create a maze.
Students will be adding words to the Word Wall of
the different subjects and animals in each book.
Students will be creating scrap books to share
with the classroom.
Students will create fish out of socks which will
be displayed.
Students will watch the movie “The Very Hungry
Catipillar.”
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Students will learn information about the stages of
the moon. (Look at technology) They will add entries
into their science notebook about new information
they found.
Students will look on maps to see where numerous
animals live.
Students will research more about kangaroos and
their habitats (Look at technology) They will add this
information the their science notebooks and share
information in small groups what they have learned.
Students will create a caterpillar cage to watch the
cycle of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly and they
will document their findings each day of the changes.
Students will research what a chameleon needs to
survive and what type of habitat they live in.
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Students will create a maze of their own using
measurements, shapes, and colors
Students will play the game Memory, matching
numbers of animals.
Students will estimate different paper caterpillars
sizes by inches and centimeters and measure to
check how accurate their estimation was
Students will graph and list all the different types of
animals and how many they saw on their nature walk
Students will have different activity centers which
they will rotate playing math games; The Very Hungry
Catapillar, Go Fish (counting and matching patterns),
and Counting Kangroo’s
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Looking at maps of where penguins, giraffes,
buffaloes, monkeys, seals, gorillas, crocodile,
camels, elephants, and salt water fish live.
Students will create pictures and place them
on a map in the area the animals are from.
Students will create a picture scrapbook of
their favorite animal and share information
they find on this animal.
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Students will be drawing pictures for their scrapbooks
from the things they read about in their books; ex a
man climbing to the moon or a giraffe.
Students will create a background for their formula
poems that they will be writing about.
Teacher will have nature music playing in the
background with sounds of animals and fish as the
children do their work.
Teacher will bring in guitar and sing made up songs
by the children. (Songs will not be planned but will
have to deal with any of the themes of their books.)
Students will sing and act out Head, Shoulders, Knees
and Toes
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Students will act out the book “From Head to
Toe.”
Students will participate in a obstacle course
pretending to be an animal from one of the
animals we have read about in the books.
Students will play Shark and Fish tag.
Students will take a nature walk observing the
different types of bugs and animals that live
around them
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http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
mammals/red-kangaroo.html
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/chameleons/a/c
hameleonbasics_2.htm
http://exoticpets.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&z
Ti=1&sdn=exoticpets&cdn=homegarden&tm=42
9&gps=92_284_851_417&f=00&tt=2&bt=1&bts
=1&zu=http%3A//www.chameleonsonline.com
The movie “The Very Hungry Catipallar”
http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/labs/moon/lunar
_phases_main.html
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Activating background knowledge- Students will think about
what they already know about the animals and the moon
Brainstorming- students will think of ideas while creating their
scrapbooks
Connecting- Students will relate topics to the world around
them. They will be mapping and learning about different habits
around the world
Predicting- students will be predicting the measurements of
caterpillars. They will also be predicting while playing the
Memory Game and Go Fish. Students will also be predicting
where animals live.
Playing with Language- Students will be creating poetry, a story,
and scrapbooking
Revising- Students will make changes to their written activities
Visualizing- Students will be drawing and creating visual images.
Student will also see a caterpillar turn into a butterfly and make
home for a chameleon.
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Print: Students will recognize new words on the
word wall
Comprehension: Students will learn formula
poetry. Students will learn new things about
different animals and what types of habitats they
live in and be able to place them on a map.
Language: Students will be working together to
make different games, working together to get
through the maze and sharing their poetry and
scrapbooks with the class
Reference: Students will make graphs and read
articles with other students, older peers, or the
teacher.
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Large groups: grand conversations, swimming
and zoo field trips, reading as a class, finding
new information about any questions the
students have about the moon or different
animals.
Small groups: reading through the books again
and looking at pictures closer, helping each other
with sight words they have already learned,
adding new words to the word wall that they have
learned from Eric Carle’s books, working on
making fish out of socks or any other animal they
may decide to create out of a sock.
Individual: writing poetry, scrapbooking,
individual reading of the books.
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Participation in the grand conversations and
group projects
Informal observations of authors chair and art
projects
Portfolio of scrapbooks, poetry, animal
collages and mazes
Checklist on graphs, maze measurements,
measurement of caterpillars
Active participation in P.E. and music and art
Language
Arts
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
-Grand Conversation
-Read aloud “Mister
-Read aloud “Papa,
-Grand Conversation
-Read does “A
-Students will write
and illustrate a story
about a fish to add to
scrapbooks
-Read with a partner
from older student
-Writers WorkshopStudents will peer
conference other
students poems
- Read Aloud “The
-Students will make a
list of new words from
the books
-Authors ChairStudents will share
their poems and
scrapbooks
Seahorse”
please get the moon
for me.”
Kangaroo Have a
Mother , Too?”
“The Secret Birthday
Message.”
Very Hungary
Caterpillar.”
Art/Music
-Students create sock
fish using colors,
ribbons, glue, and
paint
-Students will write a
formula poem about
the moon using the
formula “If I…”
-Students will add
poem to scrapbook
-Students will work in
small groups creating
Memory cards using
cut outs of different
animals
-Read aloud and act
out “Head to Toe”
-Students will create
animal collages to
create a bulletin board
P.E.
-Students will play
shark and fish tag
- Students will follow a
map the teacher made
to get through a
“maze” with a surprise
at the end
-Play hockey with
teams pretending to
be Penguins or
Kangaroos
-Sing and dance to
Head, Shoulders,
Knees, and Toes
-Students will take a
nature walk and look
at different animals
and bugs that live
around them
-Students will be
working in math
activity center
-Students will create a
maze of their own
using measurements,
shapes, and colors
-Students will play the
game Memory in
small groups matching
numbers and counting
the animals on their
cards
-Students will estimate
different paper
caterpillars sizes by
inches and centimeters
and measure to check
how accurate their
estimate was
-Students will graph
and list all the
different types of
animals and how many
they saw on nature
walk
Science
Students will write in
their science
notebooks KWL style
-Students work in
small groups and use
computers to research
why the moon is not
always a full moonhttp://sunshine.chpc.
utah.edu/labs/moon/l
unar_phases_main.htm
l
-Students will read
about different
Kangaroos and their
habitats using
information from
http://animals.nationa
lgeographic.com/anim
als/mammals/redkangaroo.html
-Students will learn
how to take care of
caterpillars so the
students can watch the
process of them
turning into a butterfly
-Study what a
chameleon eats and
the atmosphere they
live in
http://exoticpets.abou
t.com/cs/chameleons/
a/chameleonbasics_2.
htm
-Introduce the new
classroom pet- a
chameleon
Social
Studies
-Students will work on
scrapbooks
- Students will create a
map of where oceans
are located and where
different fish live
-Students work in
scrapbooks using
pictures from
websites, magazines,
and drawings about
the moon
Students will add to
their maps in their
scrapbooks showing
where penguins,
giraffe’s, gorilla's,
crocodile, camels, and
-Students will act out
and Sing Head,
Shoulders, Knees and
Toes
-Students will help
create a home for the
new classroom pet.