Wildcat Books

Wildcat Books
Click the image to visit Wildcat Books: A Read Aloud Picture Book YouTube Channel

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

DOTS ON DOTS!

DOTS ON DOTS!

This interactive bulletin board gives students the chance to expand on their creativity and transform the simplicity of a dot!

The standards that apply to the bulletin board are:


1.6.6 Respect personal work and the work of others.

1.7.1 Identify and apply elements (line, shape, texture, color, and space) and principles (repetition and variety) in artwork.

Instructions:

1—Read the book “The Dot.”

2—Choose a dot on the bulletin board.
Use the chalk to change that single dot into your own work of art.

3—Visit the QR codes to see famous examples of pointillism.
Objectives:

After interacting with the bulletin board, students will be able to…

-explain pointillism as a style of art.

-interact with the bulletin board, using abstract thinking to transform the paper dots into a more detailed picture.

-create their own pointillism pictures (which will be framed in gold frames and displayed around the bulletin board).
Materials:
            -Paper
            -Ribbon
            -Chalk
            -Scissors
            -Markers
            -2 Frames

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin

In this interactive bulletin board activity, students will be able to explore music and instruments. The standards that align with this board are as follow:

2.6.3 Identify groups of classroom instruments by sight and sound.
2.6.4 Identify families of orchestral instruments by sight and sound.

Students will begin by reading the book Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss.



After reading the story, students will be given 3 groups of labels to match on the bulletin board. There are three groups of instruments that they will place with Velcro on the board. Under each group students will match the instrument name to its picture. The three instrument groups are brass, winds, and strings. Through this bulletin board, students will better identify what instruments look like and what family they belong too. This activity is designed for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd graders, although the standards are for 2nd graders.

Materials:

-paper
-paperclips
-clear fishing line
-die cuts for the music notes

There is also a QR code that goes to a website where students can listen to each instrument.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Dark (And the Light)


This bulletin board is based on the recently published book by Lemony Snicket: The Dark.
Here are the IDOE 3rd grade standards used to make this exemplary book into an interactive bulletin board using science standards:

3.1.4 Investigate how light travels through the air and tends to maintain its direction until it interacts with some other object or material
3.1.5 Observe and describe how light is absorbed, changes its direction, is reflected back and passes through objects. Observe and describe that a shadow results when light cannot pass through an object.

 There were two sets of objectives:
-Students will be able to complete a set of experiments using Lazlo's flashlight to demonstrate some of the basic properties of light, and
-Students will be able to identify other sources of light and describe what life was like before the invention of the light bulb

 

Activity Pictured Above: Students use Lazlo's pivoting arm to point his flashlight at each of the three objects attached to the board. The compact mirror displays reflection, the cutout of the pigeon casts a shadow onto the surface behind it, and the water bottle shows how light refracts in water. Students could make and record predictions before doing the activity to introduce the scientific method.

Activity on the other side of the board: There are facts about light and the light bulb that are displayed in the "light beam" coming from the light bulb in Lazlo's hand on the right side of the board. To the left of the light beam is a passage that explains that life was much different before the invention of the light bulb and asks students to think of alternative sources of light. Under the "drawer" flap, the students can check their answers. On the right side of the light beam, students are given two writing prompts: 
1) write a short story about what life was like before the light bulb was invented
2) write an alternative ending to The Dark where Lazlo does not find the precious light bulb. What happens differently? What does he find or use instead?

Materials: 
-construction paper
-small mirror
-paper cut-out of choice for shadow task
-wooden dowels 
-working flashlight
-nail or pin to use as pivot for arm
-pushpins
-water bottle full of water
-laminate (optional)


There are also QR codes on the board that link to these websites for further exploration: 


Enjoy!