Weather, Seasons, and Moon Bundle: Nonfiction Reading, Writing, and Mentor Sentences (1st-2nd Grade)

Description

This 1st and 2nd grade bundle pairs weather reading comprehension and writing activities with mentor sentence lessons, all built around ten nonfiction read-alouds about weather, seasons, and the moon. 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.

Weather 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:

• • 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:

• • 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:

• • Adjectives
  • Plural nouns
  • Shades of verbs
  • Prepositions
  • Verbs
  • Categories
  • Plurals and verb agreement
  • Time phrases
  • Shades of adjectives

The ten books needed:

The Magic School Bus Weathers the Storm by Kristin Earhart

Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley

Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll by Franklyn M. Branley

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Recess at 20 Below by Cindy Lou Aillaud

The Reasons for Seasons by Gail Gibbons

The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons

The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn M. Branley

Gravity by Jason Chin

Next Time You See a Sunset by Emily Morgan

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 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.