Page 2 - Kind News, Jr. Teacher Guide, November/December 2020

COMMON CORE, NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS), AND CASEL ALIGNED ACTIVITIES

Kindergarten: NGSS K-ESS3-1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants
or animals (including humans) and the places they live. CASEL Core Competency: Social Awareness
To go with To the Rescue, “Meet Madame Turkey.” After reading the article together, ask students
why they think Madame Turkey was “grumpy” and “scared” around people. What do they think
could happen to Madame if she got used to people? Together, make a list of what they think
Madame Turkey had at the Wildlife Care Association that helped her be healthy. What was she
missing that brought her happiness? Discuss how some animals can be social, like people. Ask
students to think of examples of animals in their natural habitats and discuss how the habitats
meet the animals’ needs. Ask students to choose one animal and draw a picture of this animal in
its natural environment, then label the things that help the animal feel happy and be healthy.

First grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.4. Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas
and feelings clearly. NGSS Crosscutting Concept/Patterns: Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe
phenomena, and used as evidence. (1-ESS1-1),(1-ESS1-2). CASEL Core Competencies: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness
To go with Amazing World, “How Does a Snake Sense the World?”: After reading the article
with students, ask them to do the activity mentioned at the end:
• Get a notebook and a piece of paper.
• With adult supervision, bring the materials outside and find a place to sit.
• Write down or draw what they notice with their senses:
• What do they see?
• What do they hear?
• What do they smell?
• What do they feel?

Come back together as a group and have students share their observations. To extend the activity, ask students to think
from the perspective of a black-tailed rattlesnake, or another animal, and write or draw how the same scene would feel
different to that animal.

Second grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.5. Know and use various text features (e.g., captions,
bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or
information in a text efficiently.
To go with all magazine content. If possible, have students do the activity before reading the magazine.
Ask students to do a scavenger hunt for as many different kinds of animals they can find by paying
attention to only the text features in the magazine — such as headings, titles, bolded words, pictures
and captions — without reading all of the content. Allow them to use highlighters or underline to pick
out the animals. If you wish, recognize the student who finds the most animals using just the text
features. Then have students read the magazine to see how many more animals they found by reading all of the content.
Were there any that the text features had not helped them notice? To extend the activity, have students write their own
animal “magazine” issue with one or two articles that includes at least two kinds of text features.

BOOK NOOK
Fred Stays With Me!

Written by Nancy Coffelt | Recommended for ages 4-8
"Sometimes I live with my mom. Sometimes I live with my dad. But Fred stays with me."
Told from the point of view of a young child whose parents are divorced, Fred Stays with Me!
follows a girl and her dog, Fred, from one parent's house to the other's, giving her a sense of
continuity and stability. With simple text and childlike language, the story expresses and addresses
a child's concerns, highlights the friendship between child and pet, presents a common ground for
the parents, and resolves conflict in a positive way. Tricia Tusa's charming and whimsical artwork
adds a light, happy feel to this poignant — but not overly sentimental — story.
BOOK SUMMARY FROM AMAZON.COM. | FRED STAYS WITH ME! COPYRIGHT 2011 BY NANCY COFFELT. PUBLISHED BY LITTLE BROWN
AND COMPANY, NEW YORK, NY.