Planning for Reading and Writing Instruction

A book that i have always enjoyed as a child and i believe would be a good thematic unit is Mr. Popper' s Penguins. The class i observed for the field experiences was reading this book as a class and the students really seemed to enjoy it. I would use it for an animal unit in learning about penguins and birds in general. They are considered to be birds but do not fly, an interesting exception for students to observe. With reading each chapter, i would let the students free write about what they expect to happen next and allow them to draw pictures if they wanted. Since the book is about penguins living in the city, i would ask the students to write about what they would do if they were in Mr. Popper's shoes or how they would react if they were Mrs. Popper. Another activity would be to write a story as the penguin exploring a new environment for the first time. After seeing the interest in the first grade class, i know students this age would really enjoy this book and writing about it. To end the unit, i would ask the students to write about the bird of their choosing, using non-fiction books to find facts to incorporate into a story about that animal's life. I really love this book growing up and want to share it with my students.