We recently finished a nonfiction writing unit. With a week left before spring break, I was hesitant to begin our next unit on poetry until after we returned. This provided the perfect opportunity to combine one of my favorite nonfiction texts, a few of our science standards, creativity and the skill of writing from a prompt--which is something we rarely do.
After reviewing our science standards, I found two which could be addressed through this activity: I can observe and compare plants and animals and I can name the parts of lots of different plants and animals, even humans.
Next, I read the following book to my students:
This book by Sandra Markle is one of a series which explores animals and their adaptations. The author and illustrator do a wonderful job of combining facts and humor as they teach us about the way animals use their hair to adapt to their environment.
After reading the book, the students took some time to talk with a partner about the animals in the story and the way they used their hair. This active response technique ensured that all students were accountable for recalling the information contained in the text.
Next, each student identified one animal they wanted to transform themselves into. We made a list of animals from the book and listed the ways their hair helped them adapt.
Using black and white pictures that I had printed, each student transformed their own hair into the hair of their chosen animal. I reminded them to pay careful attention to detail, since this is something we frequently talk about in Writing Workshop.
Finally, each student wrote about what would happen if they had the hair of their chosen animal. One requirement of their writing was that it had to be a factual statement based on the way animals used their hair to adapt to their environment. When the students were finished, they shared their completed projects from the author's chair. They were very proud of their work, and so was I!
