Week of December 11, 2023 | TK | Friendship Fun in Winter
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Penguin and Pinecone, by Salina Yoon
Penguin finds a lost pinecone one day and an unlikely friendship blooms. Penguin discovers that love conquers distance and friendship grows stronger over time in this story of love and acceptance.
Close Reading Questions
1. Do the penguins love the forest? How can you tell?
2. Why do you think Pinecone dropped a pinecone in Penguin's sled?
3. Who do you think dropped the pinecone that penguin found on the first page? Why was it important to the story? Find the page(s) or text that supports your answer.
Crafty Connection Decorate pre-folded pine-tree-with-scarf bookmarks demonstration video
Penguin finds a lost pinecone one day and an unlikely friendship blooms. Penguin discovers that love conquers distance and friendship grows stronger over time in this story of love and acceptance.
Close Reading Questions
1. Do the penguins love the forest? How can you tell?
2. Why do you think Pinecone dropped a pinecone in Penguin's sled?
3. Who do you think dropped the pinecone that penguin found on the first page? Why was it important to the story? Find the page(s) or text that supports your answer.
Crafty Connection Decorate pre-folded pine-tree-with-scarf bookmarks demonstration video
Week of December 11, 2023 | Kindergarten | Winter Wishes
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Snow Dance, by Lezlie Evans
Two sisters perform a dance to make it snow and when it snows all through the night they bundle up and head outside for a busy day of angel making, snowball fights, and sledding.
Snow Dance Rituals They vary from person to person, but besides dancing, common snow dance rituals include sleeping with a spoon under your pillow, flushing ice cubes down the toilet, putting a white crayon in the freezer, or wearing your pajamas inside out and backwards.
Crafty Connection Experiment drawing with chalk and ice cubes on construction paper
At-Home Crafty Connection Snow Dance coloring sheet has a link to instructions to make "snow" using simple household ingredients
Two sisters perform a dance to make it snow and when it snows all through the night they bundle up and head outside for a busy day of angel making, snowball fights, and sledding.
Snow Dance Rituals They vary from person to person, but besides dancing, common snow dance rituals include sleeping with a spoon under your pillow, flushing ice cubes down the toilet, putting a white crayon in the freezer, or wearing your pajamas inside out and backwards.
Crafty Connection Experiment drawing with chalk and ice cubes on construction paper
At-Home Crafty Connection Snow Dance coloring sheet has a link to instructions to make "snow" using simple household ingredients
Week of December 11, 2023 | First Grade
Curriculum Connection: Step-by-Step How-to Writing Style
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Video Sequencing events in a story
How to Bicycle to the Moon and Plant Sunflowers, by Mordecai Gerstein
A whimsical guide for aspiring young space travelers shares step-by-step instructions for using a bicycle, a garden hose, a large slingshot and a borrowed space suit to travel to the moon.
Crafty Connection Sunflower coloring sheet
How to Give Your Cat a Bath, by Nicola Winstanley
A little girl and her kitty make an escalating mess while respectively trying to follow and resist the cat-bathing instructions of a narrator who oversimplifies the process.
Video Cats that love baths
Crafty Connection Cat bookmarks coloring sheet
How to Bicycle to the Moon and Plant Sunflowers, by Mordecai Gerstein
A whimsical guide for aspiring young space travelers shares step-by-step instructions for using a bicycle, a garden hose, a large slingshot and a borrowed space suit to travel to the moon.
Crafty Connection Sunflower coloring sheet
How to Give Your Cat a Bath, by Nicola Winstanley
A little girl and her kitty make an escalating mess while respectively trying to follow and resist the cat-bathing instructions of a narrator who oversimplifies the process.
Video Cats that love baths
Crafty Connection Cat bookmarks coloring sheet
Week of December 11, 2023 | Second Grade | Winter Friends
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Ant and Honey Bee, a Pair of Friends in Winter, by Megan McDonald
Brrrr! The leaves are off the trees, and frost is on the ground. It's time for bugs to hunker down and hide out for the winter. But Ant isn't ready to hunker down. Will Honey Bee welcome an interruption of her peace and quiet? (Chapter 3 of 3)
Extension While ants burrow underground or behind tree bark to wait out cold weather, bees form a cluster to keep the queen bee safely warm. More info
The Sandwich Swap, by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, with Kelly DiPucchio
Best friends Lily and Salma disagree over their preferred foods.
Kitchen Connection Recipe for peanut butter hummus dip
Please Don't Eat Me, by Liz Cimo
A bunny negotiates with a bear to avoid becoming lunch.
Crafty Connection Bear and bunny friendship coloring sheet
Brrrr! The leaves are off the trees, and frost is on the ground. It's time for bugs to hunker down and hide out for the winter. But Ant isn't ready to hunker down. Will Honey Bee welcome an interruption of her peace and quiet? (Chapter 3 of 3)
Extension While ants burrow underground or behind tree bark to wait out cold weather, bees form a cluster to keep the queen bee safely warm. More info
The Sandwich Swap, by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, with Kelly DiPucchio
Best friends Lily and Salma disagree over their preferred foods.
Kitchen Connection Recipe for peanut butter hummus dip
Please Don't Eat Me, by Liz Cimo
A bunny negotiates with a bear to avoid becoming lunch.
Crafty Connection Bear and bunny friendship coloring sheet
Week of December 11, 2023 | Third Grade
Curriculum Connection: Reading Nonfiction
 |  |  Richard Turere - Founder and Technical Director at Lion Lights |
Video A short film about Richard Turere, the innovator behind the invention that made peace with lions.
Lion Lights, by Richard Turere with Shelley Pollock
Richard Turere (b. 2000) came up with a cheap and ingenious solution to a problem effective enough to earn him international recognition at the age of 12.
Crafty Connection Lion mandala coloring sheet
Lion Lights, by Richard Turere with Shelley Pollock
Richard Turere (b. 2000) came up with a cheap and ingenious solution to a problem effective enough to earn him international recognition at the age of 12.
Crafty Connection Lion mandala coloring sheet
Week of December 11, 2023 | Fourth Grade
Curriculum Connection: Reading Nonfiction
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Video Slinky television commercial 1962
The Marvelous Thing that Came from a Spring, by Gilbert Ford
The toy was conceived during WWII, when an engineer noticed a spring he'd been working on could "walk" from a shelf. It gained momentum as a pop culture icon when his wife named the toy and marketed it.
Video Hear the story read by Kendra Helsel. The close up page views allow readers to notice the detailed illustrations featuring engineering tools and classic toys, such as using a twisted pipe cleaner to represent steam from a coffee cup!
Video Human Slinky
Crafty Connection Make a paper slinky following these video directions
The Marvelous Thing that Came from a Spring, by Gilbert Ford
The toy was conceived during WWII, when an engineer noticed a spring he'd been working on could "walk" from a shelf. It gained momentum as a pop culture icon when his wife named the toy and marketed it.
Video Hear the story read by Kendra Helsel. The close up page views allow readers to notice the detailed illustrations featuring engineering tools and classic toys, such as using a twisted pipe cleaner to represent steam from a coffee cup!
Video Human Slinky
Crafty Connection Make a paper slinky following these video directions
Week of December 11, 2023 | Fifth Grade
Curriculum Connection: Reading Nonfiction
 |  Lizzie Magie (1866-1948) |  Charles Darrow (1889-1967) |
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Pass Go and Collect $200, the Real Story of How Monopoly was Invented, by Tanya Lee Stone
Monopoly's success as a board game boils down to the ideas and innovations of two individuals: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Magie (1866-1948) and Charles Darrow (1889-1967) -- but they weren't working together. Magie, a feisty woman who cared about social justice, created the Landlord's Game in 1903, hoping to educate the public about unfair practices within the real estate market. Roughly 30 years later, Darrow played an iteration of Magie's game and saw room for improvement -- and an opportunity to make money. He skillfully marketed his polished version of the game, calling it Monopoly.
Did You Know? These days, there are more than 300 versions of Monopoly including Star Wars, Pokemon and even Manhattan Beach, featuring such local landmarks as the Manhattan Beach Pier, Shade Hotel, Polliwog Park, the Kettle, and more.
Monopoly's success as a board game boils down to the ideas and innovations of two individuals: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Magie (1866-1948) and Charles Darrow (1889-1967) -- but they weren't working together. Magie, a feisty woman who cared about social justice, created the Landlord's Game in 1903, hoping to educate the public about unfair practices within the real estate market. Roughly 30 years later, Darrow played an iteration of Magie's game and saw room for improvement -- and an opportunity to make money. He skillfully marketed his polished version of the game, calling it Monopoly.
Did You Know? These days, there are more than 300 versions of Monopoly including Star Wars, Pokemon and even Manhattan Beach, featuring such local landmarks as the Manhattan Beach Pier, Shade Hotel, Polliwog Park, the Kettle, and more.
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