Theme - eduplace.com• Tell children to use their K-W-L chart and their Research Report Planner as they draft their reports. Children continue to work on this project. Publish Your

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Our Earth

C H A L L E N G E A C T I V I T I E S F O RC H A L L E N G E A C T I V I T I E S F O R

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1. Our Little ForestDo you know the names of the plants and

animals that live in the forest?

Learning More About the Forest

• Read about animals and plants that live in

the forest.

Picture the Facts

Draw small

pictures of some of the

animals and plants.

Cut out the

pictures.

Set Up a Diorama

Draw a picture of a forest.

• Tape the paper inside the back of the box.

• Tape your cut-out plant and animal pictures

in the box.

• Invite other children to look inside your box.

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CH 8–1 Challenge Master Grade 1 Theme 8: Our Earth

• Put a pond in

your forest

scene and

show pond

animals.

Challenge Master CH 8–1

1. Our Little Forest120 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL SMALL GROUP

(Science)Materials: boxes open on one side, drawing paper, crayons, scissors,tape, reference materials about the forest

Goal: Make a diorama of the forest.

Learning More About the ForestRemind children that many different kinds of plants and animals livein the forest. Have children begin by reading individually.

• Provide children with materials that show a variety of plants andanimals.

• Tell them to keep a list of the things they will draw for their diorama.

Children continue to work on this project.

Picture the Facts

• Check with children on the progress of their picture making.

• Encourage children to use accurate colors for each plant or animal they draw.

• Option: Show children how to make a one-inch tab below eachpicture and fold the tab under the picture so that it stands upwhen they tape it in the box.


Set Up a DioramaTell children that a diorama is a tiny scene built inside an open box.Have them work in small groups to make their dioramas together.

• Help children place and attach their stand-up pictures.

• Have children view each diorama and record what they see.Have them make their lists as specific as possible, including each different plant and animal they see.

• Have children compare their lists.

Expected OutcomeA good diorama will include

✔ a variety of living things

✔ accurate colors anddetails

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Grade 1 Theme 8: Our Earth Challenge Master CH 8–2

2. “How Does It Move?” ChartThink of animals that

walk, swim, and fly. Make

a chart to show your ideas.

• Fold your paper to

make three parts.

• Write Walk, Swim, or Fly at the top

of each part.

• List animals that move in each way.

3. Thank You, Tree! Learn what things come

from trees.

• Write a note to thank a

tree for what it gives

you.

• Tell how you will help

the trees.

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• Some animals

move in more

than one way.

• Include a

drawing of the

things you like

that come

from trees.


Expected OutcomeA good chart will include

✔ three columns

✔ column headings

✔ appropriate entries ineach column

2. “How Does It Move?” Chart60 MINUTES SMALL GROUP INDIVIDUAL

(Science)Materials: copies of This Is Our Earth, books or magazines that showanimals in natural settings, 12" � 18" drawing paper, markers

Goal: Make a chart that shows how animals move.Have children look through This is Our Earth and talk about thedifferent ways animals move. On the board, make a model chart withthe headings Walk, Swim, and Fly. Show children how to fold theirpaper to make their own charts.

• Children may decide to add another heading to their charts.

• They may work individually or in groups to make their charts.

3. Thank You, Tree! 60 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL

(Science) (Social Studies)Materials: books and other reference materials about trees, crayons

Goal: Write a thank-you note to a tree.Have children look through This Is Our Earth and discuss the treesin each setting. Talk about the many products people eat or use thatcome from trees. List ideas that children might use to write theirthank-you notes.

• Have on hand literature relating to trees, such as The Earth IsGood by Michael DeMunn and The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall.

• When children have completed their thank-you notes, you mightsuspend the notes from a tree branch inserted in a pail of sand.

Additional Independent WorkConnecting/Comparing Literature

Have children compare the On My Way Practice Reader How RavenPlayed a Trick with the anthology selection The Forest, using whatthey have learned about Categorize and Classify. Children maydiscuss or write about their comparisons.

Expected OutcomeA good thank-you note willinclude

✔ a date, greeting, andclosing

✔ neat and accurate text

✔ a clear drawing

Other Activities• TE p. T33, Word Endings

• TE pp. R13, R21, R27,Challenge

• Education Place: www.eduplace.comMore activities related to The Forest

• Accelerated Reader®,The Forest

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1. From Small to Big Choose an animal and write a report about

how it is born and grows up.

Find Information

• Read two or more

books about your

animal.

• On a K-W-L chart,

write what you learn

from the books.

Write a Report

Write a draft of your report.

• Read your draft and make changes.

Draw a picture to go with your report.

Publish Your Report

• Make a final copy of your report.

• Share what you learned with the class.

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• Use a Research

Report Planner

before you

write your

draft.


1. From Small to Big 120 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL

(Science)Materials: copies of Transparency RWW8-1, copies of GraphicOrganizer Master 5, copies of Transparency RWW8-5; nonfictionbooks about animals being born and growing up

Goal: Write a research report on the life of an animal.

Find InformationRemind children that Butterfly tells how an animal changes fromthe time it is born to when it grows up.

• Have children choose the animal they will write about.

• Tell them to use a K-W-L chart to organize what they know andwhat they want to learn.

• Tell children to take notes on their K-W-L chart as they do theirresearch. Alternatively, they may use a learning log to take notesas they read each book.


Write a ReportCheck with children on their progress. Tell them to decide whatinformation and drawings they will include in their report.

• Remind children that they need to write about how the animalthey chose is born and grows up.

• Tell children to use their K-W-L chart and their Research ReportPlanner as they draft their reports.


Publish Your Report

• Decide with children how the reports will be published (e.g.,posters, individual reports, class book pages).

• Have children make a final copy of their research reports.

Expected OutcomeA good research report will

✔ have an interesting topic

✔ include information frommore than one source

✔ be written in the writer’sown words

✔ include at least oneillustration

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2. This Is Our EarthPick two places described

in This Is Our Earth.

• Fold a sheet of paper.

Write the name of

the place at the top of

each half.

Write words that describe each place.

3. A Topic–Main Idea–Details AntMake an ant chart to describe a book.

Draw an ant with

a head plus two body

parts.

Write the title of

a book above the ant.

Write the topic of

the book in the head.

Write the main idea in the middle part.

Write details in the third part.

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• Give details

about plants

and animals.

• The topic

should tell

what the book

is about.


Expected OutcomeA good comparison willinclude

✔ two places with fairlydifferent conditions

✔ important details aboutplants and animals

✔ informative drawings orpictures

2. This Is Our Earth 60 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL PAIR

(Challenge Theme Paperback)(Science)Materials: large paper, crayons, markers

Goal: Compare two different places. Have on hand trade books such as Bringing the Rain to KapitiPlain by Verna Aardema; The Sun, the Wind and the Rain by LisaWestberg Peters; and Desert Giant by Barbara Bash, as well as otherswithin the children’s reading range. Before they begin, remind chil-dren of the following basic science facts:

• All living things require water.

• Ice is frozen water.

• Some animals and plants adapt to extreme conditions such asheat or cold. That is, they live differently than they would undermore mild conditions.

3. A Topic–Main Idea–Details Ant60 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL

Goal: Draw an ant chart to summarize a book.Tell children that they will be making a chart in the shape of an ant.Each part of the ant is a part of the chart. Show them the chart onTransparency 8–11 and point out how the parts in each column arelike the parts of their ant. Have them fill in their ant chart.


Have children compare the On My Way Practice Reader All Aboutthe Weather with the anthology selection Butterfly, using what they have learned about Topic, Main Idea, and Details/Summarizing.Children may discuss or write about their comparisons.

Other Activities• Challenge Theme Paperback,

This Is Our Earth

• TE p. T112, Vowel Pairs

• TE p. T136, Write a Story

• TE pp. R15, R17, R23, R29,Challenge

• Education Place: www.eduplace.comMore activities related toButterfly

• Accelerated Reader®,Butterfly

Expected OutcomeA good ant chart will include

✔ a title

✔ the topic of the book

✔ the main idea

✔ important details

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1. Johnny Appleseed: The PlayThink about how you would write a play that

tells the story of Johnny

Appleseed’s life.

Write Your Play

• Read Johnny

Appleseed. Write the

events in order.

• List who will play each character in

your play.

Make the Puppets

Draw each character.

Cut out the pictures.

• Tape each to a pencil, straw, or stick.

Present Your Play

• Practice your play.

• When you are ready, present your play to

the rest of the class.

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• Make sure

your play has

a beginning,

a middle, and

an end.


1. Johnny Appleseed: The Play120 MINUTES SMALL GROUP

(Creative Arts Center)Materials: drawing paper; crayons or paints; tape, straws or sticks; apuppet stage (a big box with the bottom and front cut out); GraphicOrganizer Master 4

Goal: Use paper-doll puppets to act out a playabout Johnny Appleseed.Tell children that a play is a good way to bring a book to life and totell it to many people at once. Have them form small groups to puton puppet plays about Johnny Appleseed.

Write Your PlayAssist groups as they dramatize the story of Johnny Appleseed.

• Remind children to limit the number of events in their play.

• Have children think about which parts of the story they canshow using puppets and which parts a narrator will explain tothe audience.

• Tell children to write their play using a Sequence of Events chart.

• Have them make a copy of their play for each actor.


Make the Puppets

• Set aside class time for play rehearsal and puppet-making.

• Have children first role-play their parts, without the puppets.

• Then have players use the puppets for their rehearsal.


Present Your Play

• Have children perform the play for the rest of the class.

• Remind children watching the play to clap at the end.

• Invite participants in each production to take a bow when theirplay is over.

Expected OutcomeA good play will include

✔ creative, easilyidentifiable puppets

✔ an accurate, sequentialstory

✔ a smooth performancethat captures theaudience’s attention

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2. Picture ReadingYou can draw conclusions

when you read and also

when you look at pictures.

• Find an interesting

picture of people.

Write what you

think the people are

thinking, feeling, and doing.

3. From Seed to Tree What might happen in the future if you planted

a tree today?

• What kind of tree

would you plant?

• What do you imagine

you would see years

from now?

Write a story

about a pretend seed.

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• Look carefully

at what is

happening in

the picture.

• Give your story

an interesting

beginning.


Expected OutcomeA good picture reading willinclude

✔ careful observation ofclues in the picture

✔ reasonable assumptions

✔ imaginative stories

2. Picture Reading 60 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL PAIR

(Social Studies)Materials: old magazines and newspapers with photographs,safety scissors

Goal: Draw conclusions from a picture.If possible, provide pictures that have some familiar elements, suchas the setting or the kind of activity, so that it is reasonable to askchildren to draw conclusions. Suggest to children that they come upwith alternate stories for their partner’s pictures.

3. From Seed to Tree 60 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL

(Science) (Social Studies)

Goal: Tell a story about what happens to a treeyou pretend to plant.Have children make a chart before they write their story. Tell themto write all their questions in the left-hand column and their answersin the right-hand column.


Have children compare the On My Way Practice Reader Hiking atPound Beach with the anthology selection Johnny Appleseed, usingwhat they have learned about Drawing Conclusions. Children maydiscuss or write about their comparisons.

Other Activities• TE pp. R19, R25, R31,

Challenge• Education Place:

www.eduplace.comMore activities related toJohnny Appleseed

• Accelerated Reader®,Johnny Appleseed

Expected OutcomeA good story will include

✔ an interesting beginning

✔ an accurate descriptionof a tree growing from a seed

✔ an imaginative ending

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Documents

Theme - eduplace.com• Tell children to use their K-W-L chart and their Research Report Planner as they draft their reports. Children continue to work on this project. Publish Your