First Grade Fiction and Nonfiction Lesson: Bats at the Library

First Graders began their study of fiction and nonfiction books with Brian Lies' "Bats at the Library".  After reading "Bats at the Library" which reinforced a few behavior expectations, like "Please behave, this is not your cave."  We also took a look at some elements commonly found in a nonfiction selection, looking at the pages of a nonfiction Bats book on the document camera.  We focused on photographs, captions, Contents, Glossary, and Index.  Students who were not already familiar with Brian Lies will likely see more of his books in our library.  We already have "Bats at the Ballgame" in our collection.

Coming soon: Bats at the Beach

Penelope Popper, Book Doctor

Penelope Popper, Book Doctor, by Toni Buzzeo is a new favorite in our library.  I used this book with First Grade students to review book care.  It was a little long for this age, but the content was entirely appropriate, and the students were engaged from start to finish.  We have many aspiring book doctors in our midst.  Among them, Maddy whispered to me that if any book pages were ripped to "give her a call" and she'd come down to help me tape them.  I thanked her, of course.  This book was dedicated as a Celebration Book in our library for the newborn daughter of a close friend of mine, named Penelope. 

Letters in the Library

First Graders learned about the importance of alphabetical order, especially in the Picture Book section.  After viewing "Letters in the Library" through Tumblebooks on our Smart Board, we created a list of other ABC words we think belong in the library and we talked about how the books in the Picture Book section are organized (alpahbetically by author's last name).  I created a grid called "Alphabooks" with boxes for each letter of the alphabet.  After students checked out, they were to work on completing their own "Alphabooks" sheet to get to know some of the different authors and their books.  We took a look at some spine labels under the document camera and filled in some boxes with examples.  Students got the "big idea" of the lesson quickly and were competent in looking through the shelves for the different authors they love.

Find a "Just Right" Book with Goldisocks

First Graders learn how to find a "just right" book.  In Kindergarten, we focus on using the library, choosing a book, taking care of a book, and returning it.  First graders are really beginning to get into more independent reading, and to encourage their selections, we read "Goldie Socks and The Three Libearians" and learn about the five finger rule to choose a just right book.  We share the story in our story tower with students acting out the parts of Goldie, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear with puppets.  I have instructional posters to accompany the book that discuss books that are "too hard", "too easy," and "just right" as well as a poster that describes the steps in the five finger rule. 

Students are also instructed that if they really (really, really) want a book that we consider "too hard" they can check it out along with our self created Read With Me bookmark.  This bookmark serves as an indication to adults at home that we are aware that the book may be too hard, but that we encourage the child to read the book with an adult.  This way, student choice is not too limited, but they begin to acknowledge appropriate books for their grade level and reading ability.  We have found this system to be a success in helping students to select appropriate books and also as a vehicle to communicate with home about student selections.