Frogs across the curriculum

Frogs Across the Curriculum S E G D I R B UT O K A E BR Excerpts From Bridges in Mathematics ©2001, The Math Learning Center Frogs Across the Curriculum A Math Learning Center Publication by Donna Burk & Allyn Snider illustrated by Tyson Smith Bridges Breakout Units Bugs Across the Curriculum Crossing the Pond: A Probability Game Exploring Money: Adding, Counting, Sorting and Patterning Exploring Time: Hours, Minutes and Paper Clocks Frogs Across the Curriculum Geometry: Pattern Blocks, Polydrons and Paper Quilts (Grade 1) Geometry: Shapes, Symmetry, Area and Number (Grade 2) Math Buckets: Sorting and Patterning Math with a Sock: Probability and Fractions My Little Farm: Money, Place Value and Mapping Penguins: Measuring, Sorting, Computation and More Sea Creatures Across the Curriculum P0201 Copyright © 2001 by The Math Learning Center, PO Box 12929, Salem, Oregon 97309 Tel 800-575–8130 All rights reserved The Math Learning Center grants permission to classroom teachers to reproduce blackline masters in appropriate quantities for their classroom use This project was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation Prepared for publication on Macintosh Desktop Publishing system ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Frogs Across the Curriculum Science, Literacy, Art, Social Studies & Math Activities What Do You Know? What Do You Wonder? Eggs, Tadpoles & Frogs: Live Observation Eyes-On Experiences: Picture Walks Eyes-On Experiences: Creating a Frog Pictorial Minds-On Experiences: Songs, Poems & Books Did You Ever See a Frog? A Song About Frogs Guided Writing Interactive Writing Independent Writing Pocket Chart Poetry Good Books About Frogs & Toads Counting By 2’s Chart Frog & Toad Eyes: Creating A Growing Pattern Chart Making the Frogs & Toads Counting by 2’s Chart: Mystery Numbers 11 Frog & Toad Problems With the Counting By 2’s Chart 12 A Double Irish Chain Frog Quilt 13 Making the Patchwork Quilt Blocks 13 Making the Frog Setting Blocks 14 Assembling the Finished Blocks 14 Quilt Observations 15 Blackline Masters Ambush! pocket chart poem Eggs pocket chart poem Hibernation pocket chart poem Counting by 2’s mystery numbers sheet Counting by 2’s mystery numbers sheet Double Irish Chain quilt block Frog Setting Block Frog Pictorial 17 18 19 20 21 ○ Bridges Breakouts Frogs Across the Curriculum These integrated activities are intended to enhance your use of the bucket of frogs, and may also be used as part of a larger unit on insects Manipulatives and materials included in the breakout are listed below You’ll need H optional materials are listed in the text *also included in Economy Breakout Deluxe Breakout includes H bucket of frogs H Frog poems and songs* Frogs Across the Curriculum Frogs & Toads Across the Curriculum INTEGRATED THEMES Science, Literacy, Art, Social Studies & Math Activities Overview The study of frogs and toads is a fascinating topic, and you might make it an integral part of your curriculum sometime during the spring Following is a collection of ideas we’ve used in our own classrooms to extend learning about frogs into the rest of our program These ideas bring science, literacy, math, and art together in a variety of projects Plan to incorporate these ideas into other parts of your day over or weeks ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ What Do You Know? What Do You Wonder? As you introduce this new theme, it’s important to acknowledge children’s previous experiences You might open your study of frogs and toads by asking students what they already know about these animals As the discussion unfolds, questions may arise, which you can record, along with the information children share, in simple chart form An alternative to this opening is to begin with a more focused set of questions: Where frogs live? What they eat? How they have babies? and so on Here again, you can record children’s ideas in chart form Frogs and Toads What you know? What you wonder? They have long back legs They can jump They have big eyes They eat bugs and slugs They have big mouths They like water Some are in the pond at the park Do they have noses? Do they have ears? How can they breathe underwater? How they have babies? or Questions about frogs and toads? Where they live? What they eat? How they have babies? What they in the winter? Do they all look alike? Children’s answers to our questions often generate new paths of inquiry As these come up, we turn them into “question bubbles.” Displayed on the wall, these questions provide a focus for further research We often review them Copyright © 2001 The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts • Frogs Across the Curriculum before we read a new book, watch a video, look at pictures, take a field trip, or bring in live specimens This helps youngsters listen and watch for information that will provide answers and confirm or correct the information they’ve already volunteered (For this reason, we record at the beginning of the study any student misinformation as well as things we know to be true about frogs and toads.) Once you’ve taken time for children to share what they already know and to begin to generate some questions, you’re ready to start gathering information ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Eggs, Tadpoles & Frogs Live Observation You might consider gathering a few tadpoles and setting up a classroom terrarium with pond water and plants You’ll need fish food, lettuce, and a rock for them to climb as they begin to develop into frogs (Be careful not to get bullfrog tadpoles—they take a very long time to turn into frogs.) Be sure to return the new froglets as soon as possible to the area where they were captured To support this live-observation, you might also run copies of the Metamorphosis poem (see Blacklines 11–16) to turn into a wall chart, a big book or a “circle of life” display, in which the words and drawings shown below are mounted on butcher paper (folded lengthwise) and formed into a cylinder ã Bridges Breakouts Copyright â 2001 The Math Learning Center Frogs Across the Curriculum Blackline I 2.21 Little tadpoles wriggling out of jelly, Use their tails to swim around to fill their little bellies METAMORPHOSIS Blackline I 2.22 Blackline I 2.20 Written by Donna Burk Art by Tyson Smith © 2000, The Math Learning Center Blackline I 2.25 Blackline I 2.23 They develop lungs and grow hind legs, Their tails shrink away, They breathe some air, They’re froglets, oh, so new! Blackline I 2.24 Then some front legs ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Eyes-On Experiences Picture Walks We like to set up picture walks in our classrooms These provide children with opportunities to learn about a particular topic by studying illustrations and photographs To set up a picture walk, we lay out a large photograph or two at each table and set up clotheslines of pictures tied across a couple areas of the room We’ve been able to find some calendars that feature large, beautifully colored photos of frogs (We usually wait until after the new year to find some on sale, and have been able to build up intriguing photo collections over a couple of years.) We’ve also scanned pictures from books and set out the books themselves Copyright © 2001 The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts • Frogs Across the Curriculum It’s exciting to start the day with the picture walk ready for viewing If we’ve posted some of the students’ questions, we review them before we launch the picture walk Then we send children out in small groups or pairs to study the pictures carefully Our challenge to youngsters is to gather information with their eyes We let them know that if they’re very attentive to detail, they might find out more about what frogs eat, where they live, how they behave, how they make their special sounds, how their feet differ, and what their babies look like We start with a formal rotation, but as interest wanes, we encourage everyone to be sure they’ve seen every picture To wrap things up, we conduct a discussion about things they learned ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Eyes-On Experiences Creating a Frog Pictorial You’ll need H Frog Pictorial (Overhead 1, project this transparency onto a piece of white butcher paper and trace it to create an enlarged picture.) H black yarn A pictorial is a labeled diagram Creating one can introduce more information about frogs or to encourage children to collect facts from other sources After you prepare the drawing on butcher paper and post it where everyone can easily see it, there are several ways to handle the labeling process: • Show-and-tell about each of the parts you’ll be labeling and ask for students’ help spelling the words • Print labels and ask for students’ help in figuring out where each of them should be placed (In this case, you may want to string yarn from the label to the proper body part If the work is posted low enough, children like mixing up the labels and then using push pins to set everything back in place.) • Post the drawing and ask children to look at your collection of books over a couple of days to find information about frog bodies that would produce interesting labels This display is particularly charming and engaging when children print some or all of the labels themselves ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Minds-On Experiences Songs, Poems & Books Songs, poems, and books (fiction and nonfiction) add another dimension to any study There have been many excellent books about frogs and toads published for young children over the past two decades The best of them are • Bridges Breakouts Copyright © 2001 The Math Learning Center Frogs Across the Curriculum simply written and beautifully illustrated with full-color photos We’ve included a list of our current favorites on page You may find some of these in your school library or in the public library, along with others we haven’t listed The most recent publications can also be ordered through Web booksellers ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Did You Ever See a Frog? A Song About Frogs Having lived through the frustration of not being able to find (or afford) good factual books for our students, we’ve also included a frog song Did You Ever See a Frog? (to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie?”) Did you ever see a frog, a frog, a frog, Did you ever see a frog with long hind legs? Those legs are strong, to take off and leap, Did you ever see a frog with long hind legs? You’ll find this song printed on 11″ × 17″ sheets, which can either be bound to make a big book, or backed on construction or butcher paper to make a wall chart Did You Ever See a Frog? packs a lot of data into a small package, and is easy to come back to several days in a row It does triple duty in our classrooms, setting foundations for children to approach some of the math lessons with greater depth and investment, teaching science content and research skills, and providing yet another source of literacy learning ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Guided Writing Once you’ve launched any sort of animal study, you’ll find that children often report some relevant news If your community is in an area that has a pond or creek nearby, children may be able to find tadpoles or spot a frog or two on a family outing If you occasionally write class news after children have shared an experience, guide them in synthesizing the information into short articles, one or two a week Copyright © 2001 The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts • Frogs Across the Curriculum 3/20 Class News 3/21 Class News If your mom or dad takes you to the pond at the park, you can find eggs in the water There are tiny tadpoles too ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Dan found a toad in his grandma’s garden He held it It was slippery and gooey ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Interactive Writing Once your study is well underway, encourage children to express some of the new things they’re learning about frogs and toads If your class has found some interesting information about frogs or answered some of their own questions, you might conduct a bit of interactive writing In this sort of lesson the group and the teacher help with the ideas and spelling as students (and the teacher) take turns writing the words This works particularly well when children are excited about the topic and the amount of writing is held to a sentence or two Be sure to post these short pieces beside questions that have been answered or next to the pictures or books from which the information has been drawn ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Independent Writing You’re probably noticing that more independent writing is emerging from your students A word bank is often helpful in supporting these efforts Such banks are most effective when the words are brainstormed with the children We ask for their help in spelling Who frogs and toads • Bridges Breakouts What are they doing? Where croaking hibernating catching bugs leaping swimming sitting underwater in a garden under a rock Copyright © 2001 The Math Learning Center Blackline 13 Use their tails to swim around to fill their little bellies © 2001, The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts Blackline 14 They develop lungs and grow hind legs, Bridges Breakouts © 2001, The Math Learning Center Blackline 15 Then some front legs © 2001, The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts Blackline 16 Their tails shrink away, They breathe some air, They’re froglets, oh, so new! Bridges Breakouts © 2001, The Math Learning Center 11 12 13 14 15 Counting by 2’s mystery numbers sheet Blackline 17 © 2001, The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts Bridges Breakouts 10 16 17 18 19 20 Counting by 2’s mystery numbers sheet Blackline 18 © 2001, The Math Learning Center Blackline 19 Double Irish Chain quilt block white © 2001, The Math Learning Center black green Bridges Breakouts Blackline 20 Frog Setting Block black black black black Bridges Breakouts © 2001, The Math Learning Center Frog Pictorial Overhead Blackline 211 © 2001, The Math Learning Center Bridges Breakouts Frog Song S E G D I R B UT O K A E BR Excerpts From Bridges in Mathematics ©2001, The Math Learning Center Did You Ever See a Frog? (to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie?”) Did you ever see a frog, a frog, a frog, Did you ever see a frog with long hind legs? Those legs are strong, to take off and leap, Did you ever see a frog with long hind legs? ˇ† Did You Ever See a Frog? Frogs Across the Curriculum © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts Did you ever see a frog, a frog, a frog, Did you ever see a frog with big bulging eyes To see when it’s swimming or looking for prey? Did you ever see a frog with big bulging eyes? ˇ† Did You Ever See a Frog? Frogs Across the Curriculum © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts Did you ever see a frog, a frog, a frog, Did you ever see a frog with a big wide mouth? It has tiny teeth, and gulps its prey whole, Did you ever see a frog with a big wide mouth? ˇ† Did You Ever See a Frog? Frogs Across the Curriculum © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts Did you ever see a frog, a frog, a frog, Did you ever see a frog who’s catching some food? Its tongue may shoot out to grab, gulp, and crush, Did you ever see a frog who’s catching some food? ˇ† Did You Ever See a Frog? Frogs Across the Curriculum © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts Did you know that frogs are helpful, are helpful, are helpful, Did you know that frogs are helpful, they eat slugs and flies They eat lots of pests and some folks eat frogs Did you know that frogs are helpful, they eat slugs and flies by Donna Burk, illustrated by Tyson Smith ˇ† Did You Ever See a Frog? Frogs Across the Curriculum © 2001, The Math Learning Center / Bridges Breakouts ... you count the quilt blocks and the frogs there are 49 There are 25 quilt blocks It’s a pattern: frogs, frogs, frogs, frogs, frogs, frogs It makes some big X’s with quilt blocks and frogs going... pond at the park Do they have noses? Do they have ears? How can they breathe underwater? How they have babies? or Questions about frogs and toads? Where they live? What they eat? How they have... gather information with their eyes We let them know that if they’re very attentive to detail, they might find out more about what frogs eat, where they live, how they behave, how they make their