Description
This 1st and 2nd grade bundle pairs nonfiction reading comprehension and writing activities with mentor sentence lessons, all built around ten read-alouds about animals. You read one book and use it for reading, grammar, and writing, so you don’t have to find a new text for every skill.
Animal reading comprehension for first and second grade:
The reading and writing half of the bundle is my nonfiction reading and writing companion. It has two parts:
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- Eight graphic organizers for any book. They are blank, so you can use them with any nonfiction text, not only these ten.
- A section for each of the ten books. Each one has a lesson ideas page with reading and writing standards, one or two activities written for that book, possible answers for those activities, and a writing prompt.
Skills covered:
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- Asking and answering questions about a text
- Retelling key details
- Supporting the main idea
- Describing connections
- Determining the meaning of words
- Using text features
- Using illustrations to find information
- Telling author’s purpose with proof
- Supporting the author’s reasoning
- Comparing and contrasting texts
Mentor sentences for the same ten books:
The grammar and sentence-writing half is my nonfiction mentor sentences unit. It walks you through ten weeks, one book each, with a lesson for every day.
Each week includes:
- A teacher sentence page and day-by-day directions
- A student sentence page with the words out of order, so students cut and glue them back into place
- A flap activity for the week’s skill
- A sentence frame for the teacher’s imitation, and a student imitation page with and without handwriting help
- A class book cover in color and black and white
- A quiz on the week’s skill, in two versions: one for emergent students and one for second graders
Over the week, students listen to the book, notice sentence structure and punctuation, rebuild and read the mentor sentence, explore a part of speech, write and illustrate their own imitation sentence, read it aloud, and add it to a class book.
Skills covered:
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- Verbs
- Plurals
- Adjectives
- Categories
- Possessives
- Attributes
The ten books needed:
Never Smile At A Monkey by Steve Jenkins
What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? by Steve Jenkins
Chickens Aren’t The Only Ones by Ruth Heller
Owls by Gail Gibbons
Spiders by Gail Gibbons
Bats by Gail Gibbons
One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
The Moonflower by Peter and Jean Loewer
What If You Had Animal Ears!? by Sandra Markle
What If You Had Animal Hair!? by Sandra Markle
If you don’t own all these books, I encourage you to take advantage of your library! They are all wonderful texts to share with your students!
Questions about this bundle:
What grades is this bundle for?
It is written for 1st and 2nd grade. The mentor sentence unit inside also works for kindergarten, and its quizzes come in two versions, one for emergent students and one for second graders.
What is in the bundle?
Two resources: the nonfiction reading and writing companion and the nonfiction mentor sentences unit. Both use the same ten books.
Do I need to own the books?
Yes, you read each book aloud, so you will need a copy of each one you use. A school or public library works.
Are answers included?
Each book-specific reading activity has a page of possible answers. The eight organizers are blank templates, so they do not have answer pages.
Please remember, this purchase is for the use of one teacher. It is not intended to be shared. Please use the ‘additional license’ purchase if more than one teacher will be using it. Thank you!
*The mentor sentence lessons I have created are adapted from the ideas of Jeff Anderson. These lessons were born from the routine that worked well in my classroom, and the demos and examples I present are variations of Jeff Anderson’s methods. This is not the only way to “do” mentor sentences in your classroom.*
Copyright © Ideas By Jivey, LLC
All rights reserved by author, Jessica Ivey.
Permission to copy for single classroom use only.
Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.
Not for public display.







