Safari Sentence Scramble

Designed by: Christine LeBlanc, A. C. Moore Elementary

GRADE LEVEL: Kindergarten                 SUBJECT: Reading

CORE CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES:

Use real-life experiences as references for writing (K-WP-1)

Identify and name colors, numbers, sizes, shapes and locations (K-VW-2)

Follow print from left to right and top to bottom on a printed page (K-VW11)

OVERVIEW:

The purpose of this lesson is to provide children with an opportunity to respond to a real life experience such as a field trip to a zoo. They will describe animals to create sentences using the pattern found in the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle. Students will explore the structure of their sentences, manipulate words, and develop strategies to reconstruct their writing. Finally, the children will use their sentences to create a class book. Students will continue to use this process to create class books throughout the year.

FOCUS/ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S):

Can you describe an animal you observed at the zoo?

Can you tell me details about the animals? How big(small, tall, short) was it? What color(s) was the animal? How many of that type of animal were there?

What strategies can we use to put our sentence together?

TIME FRAME: Five 30 - 45 minute daily lessons

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, by Bill Martin, Jr and Eric Carle.

Animal photographs (taken on field trip with a digital camera) 

Butcher paper 

Work processor 

Printer/paper 12" x 18" 

Drawing paper 

scissors 

glue 

pencil 

crayons

 tissue 

paper(assorted colors) 

pocket chart

Internet Resources: 

zoonet.org/ZooSpell/ http://zoonet.home.mindspring.com/www_virtual_lib/zoos.html riverbanks.org

Software: 
Amazing Animals Activity Center 
Jumpstart Kindergarten 
A World of Animals 
Science Blaster

Teacher Resources: 
Month-By-Month Reading and Writing for Kindergarten, by Dorothy P. Hall and Patricia M. Cunningham 
101 Science Poems & Songs For Young Learners, by Meish Goldfish 
Going to the Zoo, by Tom Paxton 
1, 2, 3, To the Zoo, A Counting Book, by Eric Carle 
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear, Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle

CULMINATING ASSESSMENT: Teacher observation and checklist of core curriculum objectives. Children's completed pages for class book.

Safari Sentence Scramble Rubric

+ Student will dictate a sentence in the pattern of the story about a zoo animal that includes a detail such as a color, number or size / Student will dictate a sentence about a zoo animal without a detail such as a color, number or size . Student will not dictate a sentence

+ Student will reconstruct sentence individually positioning print correctly from left to right and top to bottom on paper with 100% accuracy / Student will reconstruct sentence individually positioning print correctly from left to right and top to bottom on paper with 75% accuracy . Student is unable to reconstruct sentence individually

+ Student will illustrate sentence with appropriate details relating to animal such as the color, number and size / Student will illustrate sentence relating to animal . Student does not illustrate sentence

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:

Day 1:

This lesson should precede a field trip to a zoo, or farm and multiple readings of the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?. During the field trip the teacher will assist the children in taking photographs and making observations of animals. The teacher should also take photographs of each child to be included in the class book.

Day 2:

1. Direct the children to be aware, as you read, of the pattern Bill Martin, Jr. uses in the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? to describe various animals. Tell them they will have an opportunity to generate their own sentence using the same type of pattern. 

2. Display the animal photographs on a piece of butcher paper. Ask the children to describe the colors, size and/or number of each animal. Write their ideas next to each photograph to create a word web. 

3. Ask children to choose an animal and dictate a sentence following the pattern: I see a (color, number, or size) (animal) looking at me. (Ex. I see a giant gorilla looking at me.) Word process the sentence with the children's assistance sounding out words, capitalizing words and using appropriate punctuation.

Day 3:

1. Display the dictated sentences on the computer monitor. Ask each child to read their sentence using one to one correspondence. Allow the children to use a pointer to touch each word as it is read. Students can share ideas on how to decode unrecognized words, where to start reading, etc. Some may suggest changing the way the words look such as changing the font to a larger size for the word big, or the color of the word red to red! 

2. Print two copies of the sentences. Display one copy in a pocket chart for future reference. Distribute the other copy of the sentence to each child. Allow each child to read their own sentence individually. Encourage them to analyze the sentence by counting the words, finding the longest/shortest word, identifying alliteration, rhyming words, etc. 

3. Ask the children to read their sentence to a partner. Have them compare and contrast each other's sentence. Discuss what they discover as a group.

Day 4:

1. The teacher will choose one sentence and read it aloud with the children(Locate the other copy of the sentence in the pocket chart.) Examine the sentence for unique features such as upper case letters, small words hidden within larger words, high frequency words, etc. Discuss how the space between the words helps us understand where a word begins and ends. 

2. Ask the students to help you cut the sentence apart to separate the words. As the words are cut, place them in order from left to right in a pocket chart underneath the other copy of the sentence. 

3. Verify that the words are in the correct order. Remove the cut up words and pass them out to individual students. Invite them to stand in front of the group holding the word in front of them. Read the scrambled version of the sentence as a group. Ask the children for suggestions of who needs to move to correct the sentence. Have the children direct each other to move with the words until the sentence is reconstructed. (For instance they may tell you that a word needs to go first because it starts with an upper case letter or they may compare it with the chart.) Divide the class into small groups and repeat the procedure with several sentences.

Day 5:

1. Redistribute sentences to each child(print out another copy of the sentences used the day before so that those children will have an uncut copy also). Instruct them to cut their own sentence apart between the words, scramble the words, and then rearrange them correctly. Discuss and encourage children to utilize the strategies used the previous day. Students experiencing difficulty may be paired up with another child, or they may refer to the other copy of the sentence posted in the pocket chart. 

2. Distribute drawing paper and instruct the children to glue their sentence in the correct order along the top of the paper. Draw a dot or smiley face in the top left corner to help children place the first word in the right direction. 

3. Children will then illustrate their sentence. Remind them to include details in their pictures that describe the animal especially color, size, and number. Children will draw the animal with pencil and crayons first. Then allow them to model the collage technique Eric Carle used in the book by painting over the animal with glue (dilute it with water) and layering torn pieces of tissue paper on top. 

4. Add the digital picture of the student with the caption, "(name)(name) what do you see?" (Ex. Joseph, Joseph what do you see?) 

5. Assemble the papers into a book and share with the class. Send the book home with one student at a time to be read to parents.

Extension Activities:

Post labeled digital pictures of animals in the writing center. Allow children opportunities to copy words and create additional sentences.

Explore ways to sort the animals identified in the lesson. Animals can be compared and contrasted in numerous ways including color, size and number. Construct picture graphs or Venn diagrams to display data.