Penguin Week in First Grade!

Penguin week is hands down my most favorite week in first grade (unless of course you count Spring Break :-) ) We took penguins all across the board in our curriculum including language arts, math, science and writing. Even though we didn't have "arctic" like temps in Cincinnati this year, my little penguins loved the week.

So here we go: 

We started with this prediction activity. I took a survey to see what the kids already knew about penguins, then after reading a non-fiction book about penguins, "A True Book: Penguins" by Anne O. Squire, we listed facts about penguins that we didn't know. Here's the link for the labels on Teacher's Pay Teachers (free)

Then...we made paper plate penguins, and wrote one fact on our plate. I gave them the place, circle, and scraps of paper. They cut our the beak and flippers and colored them orange on their own.

As if that wasn't enough, did you know that an emperor penguin's egg is about the size of a grapefruit? Well, after reading about emperor penguins, and how the dad penguin keeps the egg warm on top of his feet, I got the bright idea to have my students practice being "Emperor Penguin Dads," using a grapefruit.

It really was quite funny...I videotaped each child as they tried to be a good "penguin dad." I encouraged them to waddle like a penguin while trying to keep the egg safe.

Here's one shot:

Additional activities that I forgot to get a picture of, including our, "Make Your Own Tacky the Penguin," can be found here on Babbling Abby's free Five day unit which inspired my penguin unit last year, and I've built more on my own as time goes on.

Math: Penguin Slide

Writing: Compare and contrast "Tacky the Penguin" to a Real Penguin.

Science: Blubber Glove Experiment ( I didn't have a free hand to take pictures! )

Enjoy your penguin week in first grade!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention.. I ended last week as "Taylor Swift" at our awards show at school :