A Little Bit of Winter.

A Little Bit of Winter

By Paul Stewart

Paintings by Chris Riddell

Book Summary:

Rabbit is feeling decidedly sad for himself because his best friend Hedgehog is going to sleep for the winter. There is more to it than that as well for while Rabbit will be missing his sleeping his friend very much, Hedgehog admits that he really won't be missing Rabbit. After all you "don't miss your friends when you are asleep." Hedgehog asks his friend if Rabbit will do him a favor and save him "a little bit of winter" so that he can feel and see what winter is like. Hedgehog even goes so far as to leave Rabbit a note to remind him to fulfill this request, just in case Rabbit forgets. It is a hard, cold, snowy, and hungry winter for Rabbit but he manages to remember his friend's wish to experience winter. Carefully and conscientiously he makes his preparations and sets aside "a little bit of winter" for Hedgehog.

Lesson: Animals' Winter Plans:

Grade Level: Kindergarten.

Lesson Duration: 35 minutes.

Standards addressed: Science & Language Arts:

Standard: K-4: The student will demonstrate an understanding of seasonal weather changes.

Indicator: K-4.3: Summarize ways that the seasons affect plants and animals.

Standard: K-3: The student will learn to read by applying appropriate skills and strategies.

Indicator: K-3.19: Use prior knowledge and life experiences to construct meaning from texts.

Lesson Objectives:

-When given a list of animals, the student will distinguish between animals that hibernate, migrate, and those who do not hibernate or migrate during the winter.

-The student will be able to come up with one animal that hibernates, 1 animal that migrates, and one that does neither in the winter, off the top of his/her head (without being provided with a list of animals).

-The student will be able to explain the general principal/define the word hibernate and the word migrate.

Materials:

-4 sets of animal flashcards with 20 animals in each (with the name and illustration of an animal on each one). These should all be different, so a total of 80 different animals. The animals on the cards should fit into one of the 3 categories: animals that hibernate in the winter, animals that migrate in the winter, and animals that do not hibernate/do not migrate in the winter. Each set of 20 should be printed on a colored piece of paper (to work with distinguishing the groups apart).

-3 medium/large baskets or boxes, labeled: migrate, hibernate, neither

-A parent newsletter (that was sent home at least a week prior to day of this lesson, requesting that students wear their PJ's for a fun day of learning about how animals survive in the winter).

-Duck tape.

-Flip chart.

-Sharpie.

-A poster board, divided into the 3 sections: hibernate, migrate, neither.

-Animal find worksheet (see below).

-Class list.

-Clipboard.

-Pencils.

-Crayons.

-Markers.

-Stewart, P. (1999). A Little bit of winter. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.

Introduction:

1. The teacher will ask the students to come to the carpet and make a circle.

2. The teacher will ask the student if he/she likes wearing his/her pajamas to school.

3. The teacher will introduce the book, A Little bit of Winter, and explain that the book will explain and should give the student a good idea as to why he/she is wearing his/her pajamas today.

4. The teacher will read the class, A Little Bit of Winter, and ask the students throughout the story, while using the think-aloud strategy to encourage students to infer some things about the story, and also encourage students to connect to the story, by thinking about personal situations they have been in, which are similar to the characters in the story.

5. When the teacher starts to read about hibernation in the story the teacher will write the word on a flip chart and define it for the students, as: When animals sleep all winter long in the home (nests, holes, burrows, caves, inside a tree, etc.). Animals eat a lot of food in the fall and then they can sleep all winter and their body has enough energy from all that food they ate to survive. Many animals do this and it is perfectly normal and safe for them but humans cannot because it would be too unhealthy for them and be very dangerous. The teacher will explain that this is the reason why they were asked to wear their pajamas to school today since they will be learning about hibernation.

6. The teacher will finish the story and discuss the book with the student, asking the following questions: Do you think you would like to sleep all winter long?, would you miss your friends if they hibernated?, what things would you miss out on if you hibernated all winter?, and can you think of any other animals that hibernate, other than a hedgehog?

7. The teacher will make a list on the flip chart as the student comes up with animals.

8. The teacher will then introduce the word migrate to the student and define it as: animals that travel to a warmer place each year in the fall before it gets too cold and stays there until the weather gets warm again, returning home in the spring.

9. As an example of migration, the teacher will ask the students if anyone has ever seen Canadian geese flying south for the winter in a V-shaped formation.

10. The teacher will ask the class if they can name any animals that they think may migrate in the winter to warmer climates. The teacher will add these examples to the column on the flip chart labeled, Migrate.

11. The teacher will then ask the student, what the animals do, of they do not hibernate or migrate in the winter. The teacher will explain that some animals do not mind the cold, especially if they have heavy fur coats or special feathers to insulate them and keep them warm. The teacher will ask the student if he/she can name animals that choose to "stick around" and be "out-and-about" during the winter.

12. The teacher will add those animals to the list, under the column labeled "Neither".

13. The teacher will then tell the class that they will be playing a fun game about animals in the winter.

Procedure:

1. The teacher will set up three baskets, labeled: Migrate, Hibernate, and Neither.

2. The teacher will read the titles on the baskets aloud and identify the images that correlates to the word, such as a person with a suitcase next to the word migrate, a person sleeping next to the word hibernate, and an "X" next to the word neither.
3. The teacher will tell the student about the game he/she will be playing: The class will be divided into four groups and each group will be assigned a color and be given a set of 20 animal flashcards that they may not look at and must remain in a stack, facing downward. The baskets on the front table will be used in this activity too. Each team will form a line behind the masking/duck tape line stuck to the carpet. Each team will be expected to form a line behind the tape, facing the baskets at the front of the room. The teacher will explain that they will be doing a animal matching relay game. The teacher will continue to explain the "race" by demonstrating with a blank card, by picking it up, looking at it and running to the correct basket depending on the animal, in order to match the animal as one that, hibernates, migrates, or does neither. Then one the student has put the card into a basket/box, the student will run back and tag a teammate, whom will repeat the process, and then each person in the line will have a chance to be a runner in the activity. The student will go through his/her line several times. The goal is the first team to be finished and to correctly identify which animals belong in which category.

4. After explaining the directions the teacher will ask if there are any questions that the students have.

5. The teacher will count off the class into 4 groups and show each group to the piece of tape that the group will stand behind. The teacher will hand out the cards to each group. Once the student is ready the teacher will ask if every team is ready and then shout, "Ready, set, GO!"

6. The teacher will watch the class for safety and take notes on individual students during the activity.

7. When all teams are done, the teacher will go through the boxes one at a time and check to see if the student was accurate with the categories that all the animals were placed under.

8. The teacher will make changes between the basket groups when needed, and the teacher will involve the class in writing any animals they can add from the relay activity to the class lists of animals that hibernate, those that migrate, and animals that do not do either of those.

9. The teacher will then tell students that they will choose one animal from any category on the chart and complete the corresponding sentence written on the board of a piece of lined-paper. The sentences: 1. If I were a __________________, I would hibernate in the winter, 2. If I were a ________________, I would move south for the winter, 3. If I were a __________, the winter cold would not bother.

The student will then use crayons or markers illustrate a picture of the animal he/she chose to write about.

10. The teacher will explain that once the student has completed his/her sentence and illustration that he/she may work on a Highlighter's, "Find the Animals worksheet," until the rest of the class is finished.

11. The teacher will walk around the room and offer scaffolding to those who need it.

12. When the whole class is done, the class will review what was learned today and see if any students were surprised about any of the animals they learned fall into one of these categories.