More Eric Carle and Famous Americans

I love the way these crayon resists turned out! 

I really enjoy seeing how they took the same basic picture and made it their own.

I used a graphic organizer from Deanna Jump as a pre-writing tool for our butterfly facts.  I'm trying to use these organizers more often.  I think they truly help the children organize the information in a very concrete way.  I believe this skill will help them progress in the writing process as they move up in grades.

Here we wrote "butterflies" in the circle in the middle of the paper and wrote one fact in each box surrounding the circle. So simple. This enabled them to feel successful as opposed to feeling frustrated when I handed them a sheet of paper today and told them to write butterfly facts.  We want success!!  Please go to Deanna Jump's blog and her tPt store to purchase these organizers and so many other great units.  You won't regret it and no, I am not getting paid to say this!

We read our Hungry Caterpillar word problem and made this time page. 
I am going to post the scripts and materials needed for these pages very soon. 



Doesn't he look handsome in his new glasses?!



The cover of our Eric Carle books.  Of course, we have to use tissue paper!

I loved this butterfly life cycle project from April Larremore at Chalk Talk!

We used white pony beads for the eggs, pipe cleaners for the caterpillars, felt for the chrysalis and pipe cleaners and tissue paper for the butterfly.  We completed this project whole group and
I called them over to me in groups to show them how to make the butterfly. 
I hot glued the caterpillar on for them and threatened them with their lives if they touched the hot glue!! 
They handled themselves beautifully, I must say.

Today we wrote butterfly facts in small groups.  It was SOOOOOOO much easier after having used the graphic organizers yesterday.  Wow!  We then added both of these works to our book.

I decided to staple the life cycle project on the top of the page-a sort of lift the flap book if you will...
Our first week of Eric Carle was a success...next week we will begin with The Grouchy Ladybug and our study of beetles.  Did you know they are the largest insect group in the world?  

Maisha Booker has completed this wonderful book on Important Women in History. 

She used a Deanna Jump graphic organizer and the kids really seemed to get the hang of it!

So proud.

Don't you think by the end of this unit, they are able to organize the facts
they have learned in a simple, concrete manner? 
Thank you Deanna Jump!