Saturday, October 13, 2012

Bats

My students' have been learning SO much about bats! It has really been a blast! We just wrapped up our two week unit so I wanted to share some of the activities we worked on. 
The first week we really focused on filling out our KWL. I spend the first day only filling out the K and W of our chart. I write everything that the children say under the 'Know' column. I make sure to explain to them that sometimes we think we Know something, but it may be a misconception. So as we learn about bats we revisit the K column and cross out statements that were misconceptions and we try to change them to make them true statements. 
I took this picture around day 3, so we weren't anywhere near finished yet, but the children were doing great! It isn't the cutest chart, but it works! :)
Whenever we are learning about a particular topic, I really want all of their centers to be based on the same topic. So we had two weeks of 'Batty' centers!

 Our pocket chart centers:
 They sorted the beginning sound pictures and worked on the sight word 'like'
Then they completed their activity sheet...
We played some dice games! This center is always a hit!
 Students' also worked on writing their numbers. This is big in my class this year! I have a lot of kiddos that need to work on this skill 
They also matched the numbers with the number word. This was the first time my students' did this and it was a little challenging for them. I am definitely going to have to make another center like this for our next theme.
The children worked on beginning sounds here. They would write the letter of the beginning sound they spun. When my students' were working on this they let me know that I made a mistake on the activity sheet! I made a 'P' for pumpkin and the picture is NOT a pumpkin it is a Jack O'Lantern! They couldn't get past this!! (I did update it in my unit if you purchased it) Gotta love kids :)
Another beginning sounds activity. We have done this center a couple times for different themes and my children are rocking it out now independently!! 
 We also had a blast working on this WONDERFUL activity which you can grab FREE HERE from Jodi at Fun in First! They worked in 6 groups and each group had to cut out and glue 100 mosquitoes. At the end they were able to visualize just how many mosquitoes a bat can eat in one hour!

We also labeled the bat whole group. I called on students to come up and put on a label. They loved this! We actually had to do it twice because everyone wanted a turn! :)
All of these activities and much, much more can be found in my bat unit HERE on TPT

My students also worked on these candy corn puzzles together. They are great for practicing letter names and sounds!! 
 These candy corn puzzles can be found by clicking on the image below :)
             
I made some new candy corn puzzles for them this week as well. This time they will be at one of their math centers. I am really excited to see how they do on this! Click below to see more.
Enjoy!!

17 comments:

  1. I can't wait until we begin our bat unit in a week! We are going to center it around your packet- it's awesome! Thanks so much for the pictures and the freebies. :)

    Mary
    Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives

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  2. I want to do this! So much fun! Thanks for the freebies!!

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  3. Looks like they really enjoyed it- what a fun room!?!?!
    Staci
    Go Nutty with Me!

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  4. It's like I'm looking into my future...I have almost all of this planned for next week haha. Can't wait to get my candy corn puzzles ready :)

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  5. Your stations look amazing! Someday I hope I can teach kindergarten! I keep pinning you like crazy!
    Rowdy in First Grade

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  6. Your bat unit looks so fun!! I think I need it! :)
    ❤Teri
    A Cupcake for the Teacher

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  7. I am a new follower!! I love all the bat activities, so cute! Thank you for the candy corn FREEBIES :)

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  8. We are starting our bats unit the end of this week!! Thank you for sharing... Also thank you for the candy corn matchups what a cute idea!! I can't wait to add those to our fall unit too!

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  9. I have spent the weekend getting everything printed from your bat unit to start it this week. I loved seeing the pictures so I can see it in action!

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  10. I wish I taught Kindergarten JUST so that I could use your units!!! Ah how I wish I could teach this bat unit!!! Can you make a fifth grade version? haha! ;) Maybe since we're sisters you can make an exception!?

    Bridget
    Little Lovely Leaders

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  11. Just purchased your bat unit. Can not wait to get it all printed off and ready for my kinders to use. Thanks for the freebies too!
    Denise

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  12. I love the KWL headers you used for your bat unit! Are those available separately or with the unit?

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  13. Kim, email me at Caitlin0225@aol.com and I can send some over :)

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  14. But they are available in the unit :) They are in almost all the units I sell!

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