Time For

Spring!

Teacher Guide Book

For the Smart Board
Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit

Developed by
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction: A Note for Teachers

Part 1: Reading
Chapter 1: Common Core Standards

Chapter 2: Close Reading of the Poem

Chapter 3: Voki questions

Chapter 4: Cause & Effect

Part 2: Science
Chapter 5: Earth’s Tilt

Chapter 6: Weather and Temperature

Chapter 7: Tree Life Cycle

Chapter 8: Animal Adaptations

Chapter 9: Migration

Chapter 10: Hibernation

Chapter 11: Plant Growth

Part 3: Social Studies

Chapter 12: Holidays & Traditions

Chapter 13: Geography

Chapter 14: Natural Resources

Part 4: Math

Chapter 15: Calendar Math

Chapter 16: Word Problems

Chapter 17: Graphs

Part 5: Writing

Chapter 18: Creative Response

Chapter 19: Writing for Information

Part 6: Assessment

Chapter 20: Smart Response Quiz

Introduction: A Note For Teachers
This Teacher Guide Book is written to accompany the interdisciplinary Smart Notebook unit,
Time For Spring. This is a new Smart Board unit featured on the Smart Exchange website that
has been developed to include multiple lessons and activities in each subject area, thematic to the
season of spring. Many Smart Board lessons are created as individual, follow-up activities. This
Notebook unit has the literature built right in and so it comes fully loaded with the meat of the
lesson. And then it goes much further by including expansion activities for science and social
studies concepts, and math skills. We've done all of the hours of hard work; creating the lessons,
the activities, and the guide with all of the ideas and critical thinking questions. All you have to
do is read, upload, and implement the hours of content.

This Guide Book lists many different ideas and mini-lessons. It is connected to Common Core
and is differentiated so that it can be incorporated into almost any Pre K-2 classroom. Time For
Spring includes simple text in the form of a poem, deeper, higher level text and concepts in the
form of a Voki avatar, AND engaging content in the form of videos, HD photography, and
interactive activities. You, as a teacher can pick and choose what you want to teach and include
it into the lesson. In addition, there are several different embedded lessons in this Guide in the
areas of Reading, Science, Social Studies, Writing, and Math. You can pick a few or do them
all, depending on your time frame and your students, and what is most appropriate for each. It is
our suggestion, however, that you take your time and allow time for each concept area to be
taught separately. Again, use your discretion to decide how deep you want to go into each area;
from a simple lesson to a mini-study over the course of several days. This unit, in its entirety,
can be explored and stretched out over several weeks. Since it is interdisciplinary, differentiated,
digital, and connected to Common Core, Time For Spring becomes a staple for the classroom
and provides the type of lessons teachers, principals, and superintendents may be looking for.

This Guide Book gives you student objectives, ideas for developing the lesson, and some follow-
up ideas and activities. It also gives you ideas for what you can say to your students, “always in
quotes,” and answers you will be looking for, always in italics. Vocabulary, graphic organizers,
graphs, maps, charts, calendars, matching and sorting activities, and quizzes are all embedded in
the Smart Notebook Unit. This Guide refers back to it with specific page numbers to help you
implement each activity. The Guide and the Unit, Time For Spring were developed to be as
comprehensive as possible so that you do not have to look for additional materials and
worksheets to accompany the lessons. With a 60 page Unit, and a 27 page Guide Book, the goal
was to leave no stone unturned. Although the lessons are not written out in true lesson plan
format, you have the flexibility to pick and choose, and get enough guidance to expand each
topic in length.

In addition, part of this unit exists as an iBook for iPad. It can be purchased in the iBookstore. If
you have a few iPads or a class set of iPads, you can use many aspects of this lesson as follow-
up, dyad, group, or individual activities in a center or when the students return to their seats.

I Cubed Curriculum will be developing more lessons, units, Guide Books, iBooks and apps.
Look for the other seasons, coming soon. If you like what you see, please share it with a
colleague and continue to look for more resources in the Smart Exchange Website. Just look for
the i3 logo!
 Part 1:

English Language Arts

Chapter 1: Common Core

Yes, Common Core has been getting a bad rap. There is resistance to it all over the country from
teachers, administrators, and parents alike. However, until there are changes, this Teacher Guide
will refer to some of the standards that are outlined by Common Core that can be implemented.
It is significant to note that many of these standards in ELA, Writing, and Speaking are VERY
similar to those written originally by specific states, before Common Core was adopted. These
standards, Common Core or not, give us a foundation for what children should be doing with
literature to develop a literacy skill set. In addition, there are positive aspects of Common Core
such as making sure lessons are differentiated, interactive, digital, and allow plenty of
opportunities for critical thinking. This unit satisfies all of these. The key Standards that this
unit implements are written below:

• Ask questions about key details.

• Retell stories and demonstrate understanding of the central message.
• Identify words and phrases in poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses, and
supply rhythm and meaning.
• Make connections between self, text, and the world around them.
• Refer to examples in a text when drawing inferences.
• Recognize, interpret, and make connections in poetry to other ideas, perspectives,
personal events, and situations.
• Ask and answer questions to determine the meaning of words in a text.
• Interpret information presented visually, orally or quantitatively (charts, graphs,
diagrams, interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information
contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
• Create and present a personal response to a particular author or theme studied in class.
• Report on a topic, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner.
 Chapter 2: Close Reading of the Poem

Objective: Students will be able to analyze the poem, Time For Spring, and answer critical
thinking questions.

Close readings have become strongly encouraged in today’s classroom in order to meet the
standards and initiative of Common Core. This chapter will give you specific guidelines and
mini-lessons for implementing a close reading of the Spring Poem in the unit. In a close reading,
students are observing facts and details about the text in order to analyze it on a deeper level and
reach a higher level of understanding. This will allow them to make interpretations and
inferences about the text, and thus, become better readers.

Before you read the poem within the Smart pages, it is strongly encouraged to print out the hand-
out of the poem or use the poem printed on page 4 of the Notebook file and perform most of the
lessons written below with the poem by itself. In the rest of the unit, the poem is divided up and
each line is represented by a different photograph. The purpose of looking at the poem as a
whole is that the children will be able to tune into the imagery of the poem. They will have the
opportunity to draw their own pictures in their minds, based on the text. Aside from imagery,
they will also be able to focus and perform a more thorough analysis of the words, rhythm, and
structure if the poem is presented on a blank page as one piece of work.

In close reads, a piece of work is usually read three times. This will allow for better familiarity
with the poem and all of its elements. Read-aloud the poem two times, slowly, and have the
students read with you a third time, if they are able to chime in. Older, more skilled readers in
first and second grade may be able to do a second reading of the poem in a partner relationship
where they can read to each other, discuss, and later share their ideas with the group. If you have
students on the Preschool or Kindergarten level, you may want to invite them to just chime in on
the rhyming words in the third read.

Close readings should also include a wide array of inquiry and you can use Bloom’s Taxonomy
as a guideline to move from text based or “right there” questions to inference or critical thinking
questions. Read the poem at least two times before any questions are asked. Text based
questions are a great way to start out. Then, you may visit more synthesis and evaluative type
questions after a third or fourth read. All students who answer a question need to go back into
the text to show evidence in order to support their answers. Always ask, “Where in the text did
you find that?” or “What were the text clues that helped you find your answer?”

The following sub headings were created to focus on different reading components that can be
analyzed with this poem. Each heading includes an objective, questions, and a follow-up activity
(if applicable). They can be treated as mini-lessons if that is more appropriate for your time
blocks. Things that you could say as a teacher to your class will always be in quotes. Possible
answers from students will be typed in italics.
Main Idea
Students will be able to state the main idea of the poem verbally or in writing. They will be able
to summarize what the poem is mainly about.

What you could say to the students:

“Remember that the main idea is what the story or poem is mostly about. It is what the author is
trying to tell us or teach us with his writing and it can usually be summed up in one sentence.”

“What is the main idea of the poem, what is it telling us? What is the poem mostly about?”
Things we can do in the spring, changes that happen in the spring.

Supporting Details
Students will be able to identify the supporting details of the main idea verbally and gesturally by
pointing to various lines of the poem.

“What details support the main idea? What are some of the changes that happen in the spring?”
Snow melts, trees bud, flowers bloom, birds come back and sing, animals wake up, animal babies
are born, nature gets greener, air feels warmer, we can play more outside.

“Draw a spring picture that shows at least two of the supporting details.”

Characterization
Students will be able to identify character traits verbally by using text clues in the poem.

What you could say:

“Characterization is a method of finding out about a character by looking at all types of clues in
the dialogue, setting, and supporting text. We can make inferences or assumptions about the
character by looking at these clues.”

“In this poem, we can make decisions about the character that is narrating, or talking, by looking
closely at what the character is saying. The character here is using the words, ‘I,’ ‘me,’ and ‘my’
which means there is a first person narration; the character is talking about himself/herself.”

“What do we know about the character? How old do you think he/she is? Is he/she a child or a
grown-up? How can you tell?”
He/she is a child. Evidence from the poem: he/she jumps in the mud, plays outside, hunts for
eggs, visits a farm to see the animals.

“Yes, the character is definitely a child, probably about your age, old enough to play and talk
about all of the things he/she likes about the season. Do we know if the character is a boy or
girl?”
No.
“The poem makes us think about the things we like to do or the things that may happen to us
when the season changes. How many of the girls like doing the same things as the character in
the story? How many of the boys? Why do you think the author wrote it so that the character
could be a boy or a girl?”
So that both boys and girls could relate to the poem.

“Does the character like the Spring? How can you tell?”
Yes, there is excitement, exclamation points used for playing outside and hunting for eggs. Also,
at the end, he/she says Yes!

“What region does the character live? How do you know?” (These questions may need to be
revisited in the geography section of the guidebook if children have difficulty. The basic point is
that the character has to live in a temperate area where there is a spring season with birds that
come back from migration, and trees that bud again. That would exclude tropical and polar
zones. There is a geography lesson in Chapter 13 and a map you can refer to on page 56 of the
Notebook unit.

“You’re going to draw a picture of what you think the character of the poem looks like. Think of
one thing that you liked that the character in the poem liked or did. Draw the character and
yourself doing that activity together in your picture. Remember to add details to your drawing.”

Imagery
Students will be able to identify the imagery words used in the poem verbally, or in writing by
circling/ highlighting these words. Students will be able to apply the imagery words from a line
of the poem to a picture by illustrating it.

What you could say:

“Imagery words are words used in text that really help the reader to draw a picture in his/her
mind. They are details that help the story come to life. Good authors do not need illustrations or
photographs to accompany their text if they can tell the words in the right way to help you draw
your own imaginary pictures. Using imagery helps readers form a better understanding of what
they are reading.”

Assign every student one line of the poem to illustrate. Have them write the line of the poem and
draw a detailed picture to go with this line. They should then share their pictures and discuss
how the imagery words helped them. If you have a Document Camera or Viewer, you can show
or scan each illustration to the Smart Board to look at each one as a class. These pictures could
then be put together to make a class quilt or bound book. Later, when you read the poem again
in the book/notebook lesson, compare the photography to this class book. How is the class book
similar to the poem in the unit? How is it different?

Find/circle/highlight the sensory words used in the poem as a class or as a partner activity. Use a
different color highlighter for the different senses. You can discuss each one at a time or
altogether. You may want to use a large T-chart, page 48. For right now, fill in one side with
the words that come from the poem. Later, the students can add some of their own words for
other things they could see, feel, hear, smell, or taste in the spring. This brainstorm will be an
organizer for a follow-up activity, creating sensory books for spring. Students will write and
illustrate their own sentences that show how spring can stimulate each of their five senses. This
can be done in flip book or other creative format.

“What is the character seeing in the spring?”

Snow melting, trees budding, flowers blooming, birds in the trees, animal babies, GREEN!

Touching/feeling?
The warm air on his/her skin, lightweight jackets, flowers and soil or eggs in their hands.
Hearing?
Rain, Shovels digging, Birds singing, bees buzzing

Smelling?
Flowers, Animals at the farm

Tasting?
"Although it is not directly written in the poem about tasting different foods, what can you begin
to taste again in the spring that may be different from the winter?"
BBQ food, ice cream from the ice cream man.

Text Based Questions

Students will be able to show comprehension of the text by answering text based questions and
using the text as evidence.

Be sure students go back into the poem to find these answers. Always ask, “How do you know?
Where did you find that answer?” (These questions are purposely written in a random order.)

“What is growing in the poem?”

“What does the narrator do to celebrate Easter?”

“Where do the flowers bloom?”

“What kinds of clothing are mentioned in the poem?”

“What does the narrator listen to in the spring?”

"What is another word for spring?"

Inference Questions
Students will be able to show comprehension of the poem by answering inference questions
verbally or in writing.

Inference questions, unlike text based questions require students to think deeper and more
critically about the text. They may have to use a combination of prior knowledge, analysis of
how specific words are used, and synthesis of clues and evidence from the poem. The answers
will not be right there within the text. Instead, children will derive the answers through a
sequence of steps. This is one of the main objectives of common core; to encourage and create
opportunity for deeper analysis and thinking.

“What season ends before spring begins? Think about what the narrator is saying good-bye to."
Winter is ending, he/she is saying so long to the ice and snow.

“Why is a lightweight jacket all you need? What else can we put away besides sweaters?"
The weather is getting warmer, we do not have to wear heavy layers or coats. We can also put
away gloves, hats, and scarves.

“Why does the author have to clear room in the garden?"

Over the winter, the garden areas may have dried leaves, dead grass, weeds, and/or sticks. These
all need to be cleared away to get ready for planting.

“Does this poem mainly talk about things that happen inside or outside? Why do you think the
author decided to write it this way?”
Outside. Because talking about a season should include all the things that are changing around
us and most of those changes are happening outside, with the plants, animals, and weather.

Chapter 3: Voki Questions

Objective: Students will be able to think critically about informational videos and answer
questions using evidence from the video.

There is a Voki avatar used on many of the pages to provide an engaging and entertaining way to
include extra, informational text about the various concepts in the poem. This avatar purposely
has the voice of a child to draw the students in. Use the play button on each Voki to hear
Melony talk and animate.

Many critical thinking questions can be asked about each Voki. Use your discretion as to when
to use these questions. Some can be asked right away and some you may want to wait until you
discuss and explore that topic a little further.

Pg 5: What is another word for the first day of spring? What month does Spring start?
Pg 6: Why do you think the crocuses come up so early? What protects the crocus from the snow?
Pg 7: How is mud made into a brick?
Pg 8: Why do trees make flowers? Where do the flowers come from?
Pg 10: What makes spring a perfect season for flowers to grow?
Pg 16: Why do some birds migrate? What makes them come back?
Pg 17: How do birds help flowers grow?
Pg 18: How do birds find mates in the spring?
Pg 19: Why do some animals hibernate? What are some hibernators?
Pg 20: What makes groundhogs wake up before spring even starts?
Pg 21: What kind of a holiday is Easter? Who celebrates it?
Pg 22: Why is a new born calf wobbly?
Pg 23: Name 2 ways vegetation helps animal babies.
Pg 24: What makes the outside space look brown and gray in the winter?
How does that change in the spring?
Pg 26: What makes the temperatures rise in the spring?
Pg 27: How does water get to the plants in the soil?
Pg 28: What happens in the spring to the daylight hours?
 Chapter 4: Cause and Effect

Objective: Students will identify some of the causes and effects that happen in spring in
relation to nature, temperature, and plant growth.

There are many cause and effect relationships that can be made with the concepts in this unit. In
order to help make these relationships, it is easier for the students to see at least one side and then
think about the other. In other words, if the cause is written, students decide what happened as a
result, and if the effect is written, students decide what caused that to happen.

Use page 49 in the Smart Board lesson with the graphic organizer to fill in the missing causes
and effects. You can say:

"When rain mixes with dirt, what happens?" Rain and dirt together make mud outside.

"What happens when the ground and air warm up?" Snow and ice melt away.

"What causes us to wear less layers or lighter weight clothing?" Warmer air temperatures.

What will happen when new seeds and plants get sun, soil, and water? They grow.

Part 2:

Science

Chapter 5: Earth's Tilt

Objective: Students will be able to visualize the earth's tilt to the sun in seasonal positions
and match up key descriptions in an infographic of the earth's revolution.

Although the concept of the earth's revolution around the sun may be more challenging and can
be more appropriate for older students, showing visually what the earth looks like as the seasons
change is very intriguing for younger children. It is a great idea to have a visual model as well
as a physical model of this to help them understand it better. Many young children wonder,
"Why is is SO hot in the summer?" or "Why is it SO cold in the winter?" And as we talk about
the earth, or more specifically, the northern hemisphere warming up in spring, a model of the
earth and the sun can begin to teach this concept.

To make a model of the earth, you can use an actual globe, a small ball, or even a paper mache
model. It is best to put some kind of stick through it to show an axis. For an example, you may
want to paint a small, infant size ball and put a BBQ skewer through it or attach straws to either
end. Once you have an additional, bigger ball shape to use for the sun, you can show the
revolution of the earth around the sun during the course of the year. You can even have 4
different students come up and stand with labels for each season so that it is easier to pinpoint
when the tilt changes.

The earth's tilt is mentioned by the Voki on page 26. On the linked page 36, take some time to
look at the visual model. If you took the time to use a physical model, this picture will make
more sense to your students and will need less description or explanation. If you did not, be sure
to look at this picture with the class and describe the positions with simple terms. Answer any
questions the students may have. As the picture shows, the northern hemisphere tilts away from
the sun in winter, and towards the sun in summer. During each equinox, the tilt stays constant
and both hemispheres have about the same strength from the sun. If your students are ready for
further study, you can ask them to think and infer about the Southern Hemisphere. "If the
Northern Hemisphere is facing away from the sun in winter, where is the southern hemisphere
facing?" You can discuss how each hemisphere has opposite seasons.

For the follow-up activity, students can actually match up the circles with the correct times of the
year simply by looking at key words. "The Northern Hemisphere feels cold and feels hot," will
allow the students to match up winter and summer. "Warming up and cooling down will be
key words to help them determine what happens between. You can say, "When does it warm
up, after summer or after winter?" Although this idea of earth's tilt may be a new one, they can
think critically and apply what they already know about the seasons to the infographic.

Chapter 6: Weather & Temperature

Objective: Students will be able to identify types of weather that occur in the spring. They
will identify a temperature range for warmer spring weather.

This topic is most probably one of the main focuses in the concept of spring. We all want to say
good-bye to winter to welcome the warmer weather. Children understand that the air feels
warmer and they can begin to shed their winter coats and hats. However, they may not really
make a connection to temperature. It is a great idea to bring out thermometers this time of year
and explore the temperature on a daily or weekly basis. In the math section, you will see how
you can plot these temperatures on a line graph so that children can see the warming pattern over
the course of the spring. This will allow them to identify a temperature range for the spring in a
very visual way.

First, discuss and review the types of weather that can occur (any time of year), keeping it
simple: snowy, rainy, windy, sunny, and cloudy. You can say:
"During what season is it snowy? Do you know why?" Discuss that the snow comes down
instead of rain when the temperature is very cold. "Will we see snow in the spring? We can, in
early spring, but as the season progresses, it shouldn't. This is because the temperatures are
higher in the spring, and the water will come down as rain.”

"We can have many rainy days in the spring. Is that a good thing? Why or why not?" Then
discuss how important the rain can be for the plants, grass, and trees that need to begin to grow
again.

Also discuss the wind. Perhaps a picture of a kite, often found on March calendar labels, can
remind them that the weather can be very windy. Of course, it can be windy any time of year.
But we may be able to take advantage of a windy day in the spring (since the weather is warmer,)
and go outside and fly a kite and enjoy the day.

In addition, the weather can be sunny or cloudy. You may want to discuss the proverb: "March
comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." In addition to making lions and lambs on paper
plates as a craft, (in younger classes), you can also talk about the weather each day of March and
decide as a class whether it is a lion kind of day or a lamb kind of day. You may want to add a
little lion icon or a lamb icon on each day of the calendar. Make a T-chart comparing what each
type of day may look like: Lion being chilly, windy, rainy and lamb being warm, sunny, and
calm.

Temperatures may range from about 35-40 degrees all the way to 75-80 degrees. As said before,
the actual temperature of the day is much more of a concern to adults in the morning than to
children. Parents need to know what kind of jacket to put on their kids as the weather warms up.
But this idea can begin to be passed down to the students. If they are asked to track the
temperature in addition to the weather, they can begin to comprehend how the temperature feels
to them outside. They can begin to differentiate a 50 degree day from a 70 degree day. Also, it
is important to share with them how spring weather begins chilly in the morning and warms up
over the course of the day so they can better understand why they may need a jacket in the
morning but that they may have it in their backpacks at the end of the school day.

It would be good to show a simple thermometer with different colors as you see on page 50;
Blue, Cold (10-40), Green, Cool (40-55), Yellow, Warm, (55-75), and Red, Hot (75-100). This is
done because colors mean more to the children, with blue typically having a feeling of cold, and
yellow and red having a feeling of warmth. Write the temperature down each day on a weekly
chart and then record the high temperature for the week (on page 51) to plot on a line graph, page
50 (to be analyzed further later.) Once a color zone is identified for that day's or week's
temperature, ask the children to reflect on the types of clothes they wore for that weather. Have
them also make predictions of what they may need to wear for the next day's temperature, etc.
 Chapter 7: Tree Life Cycles
Objective: Students will be able to identify how the tree grows in a cyclical pattern over the
course of the year. They will be able to describe what happens to trees in the spring.

On Notebook page 8, the tree buds and flowers open up in a time lapse video. In about 15
seconds, you can see what takes nature about 15 days to do. It is an amazing way to view first
hand how flower buds open up! For further study, on Smart page 31, students can refer to and
discuss the way a deciduous tree grows and changes over the course of a year's seasons. The
pictures depicting fall, winter, spring, and summer have arrows showing that one season
becomes the next and continues around the same way each year in a cycle. This happens over
the course of the tree's life span. Instead of just talking about how the tree changes in the spring,
it is important to include how the changes in spring are just one part of the tree's cycle.

"The tree rests or is dormant during winter because the temperatures are too cold and the tree
does not get enough moisture. If it does not go through dormancy, it will not survive. In the
spring, the warmer temperatures, longer sunlight, and extra moisture allow the winter buds to
open up and become flowers and leaves again. The flowers have the seeds that, for some trees,
become fruit. The leaves start out small and then grow bigger and cover the tree over the course
of the spring."

Look at each picture with the students and have them label each tree with a season, just by
looking at the pictures and the cycle. Then, read each description with them. Highlight key
words to help them figure out which description belongs with each season. Then have the
students drag the text boxes to the correct season.

Have the students think about being a leaf. "What happens to you over the year?"
In spring you open up and grow. In summer, you take in sunlight and grow very green. In fall,
you lose water and sunlight and your green color. You may change yellow, orange, or red. Just
before winter you fall off from the tree and get carried by the wind. In the spring, a new leaf will
grow in your place and start the journey all over again. You may want the students to draw each
stage on a paper with 4 squares, labeling each with its corresponding season. You may also
choose to visually and kinesthetically act this out with students taking turns being a season's leaf.

You may want to go out and explore a specific tree on the school grounds over the course of the
spring. Take pictures, and/or collect specific items from the tree like a branch with buds,
opening buds, and flowers and leaves in various stages. Use a magnifying glass and explore
each piece of the collection. If you have a Document Camera, you can look at each piece up
close right on the Smart Board. Have the students draw, write, or discuss what they notice over
time in a tree journal.
 Chapter 8: Animal Adaptations

Objective: Students will be able to label specific ways birds adapt to their environment.

Aside from migration and hibernation, two key ways animals adapt that will be discussed later,
there are other animal adaptations that can be focused on. With the informational text in this
unit, we learn more specifically about birds. Before page 16 or 18 are explored further, have
children fill in what they already know about birds as well as what they want to learn on the
KWL chart on page 53.

"In spring, birds sing in order to find another bird to mate with. Since so many different types of
birds are looking for mates during the mating season, each bird has adapted their own special
bird call or song. Each bird sounds a little different, with a unique call or song just for that type
of bird. Actually, the males do most of the singing and the females make more of a call or chirp
sound in response."

Listen to the Dawn Chorus on Smart page 18. The Dawn chorus is the sound we hear on early
spring mornings when so many different bird songs are present. It is a chorus of birds! Why do
you think they call it a chorus? Has anyone listened to a chorus of people singing before? How
is a chorus of birds similar to a chorus of people?" How is it different? Use the Venn Diagram
on page 52 to organize these thoughts. See how many different bird sounds the students can hear
in the sound clip on page 18. Have them listen carefully and attempt to count them.

As a follow-up activity, have students take pictures of birds that they may see in their
neighborhoods. Or, you can take some pictures yourself. As each picture comes in, you can put
the picture on the Document Camera to share with the class on the Smart Board and then learn
more about that bird on the internet. What is its name? What does it sound like? What does it
eat? Students will be more interested in the birds around them then on a random bird picture
from the computer. For instance, hearing a woodpecker sound repeatedly may intrigue a student
to find the woodpecker and learn why it pecks.

Chapter 9: Migration

Objective: Students will be able to define migration and identify why some birds migrate
and why some do not.

(* Be sure students have filled out what they already know and want to know on the KWL chart
about birds on page 53. *)
Speaking of birds, migration is a great animal adaptation that birds have as well. On page 16 of
the unit, students are told a bit about migration from the Voki character. The definition is also
there to pull out and discuss. Here it is great to talk about what migration means and why
animals do it. In this case, "many birds eat worms and insects and these things are not active
during the winter. Therefore, they will migrate to warmer weather areas further south so they
can still find these food sources in the winter months. Birds that eat insects are called
insectivores. The worms and insects hatch again in the early spring which brings the birds back
to their nesting areas."

"Not all birds eat birdseed. So putting out birdseed in a feeder during the winter will not
necessarily keep the birds in your yard. But some birds will not migrate if they can find enough
winter berries and seed to keep them around." The cardinal is a perfect example and is very
often why cardinals are seen on Christmas cards and winter decorations. It is a classic winter
bird, very visible amongst the snow or in a bare tree with its bright red feathers. You may want
to show the students some December holiday cards or additional pictures of cardinals in the
snow with berries. "Has this cardinal migrated? How can you tell?" Another bird that does not
migrate is the American Robin. You may find the robins on your lawn as soon as a long snow
has melted, immediately looking for whatever they can find in the lawn that was hidden under
the snow.

Also, you can ask:

"What about the birds that do stay in winter… Why don't we see them that often? Where do you
think they go?" Have students think about this and try to come to a conclusion. You can say any
or all of the following to guide them to the answer; "Birds that do stay around in winter are not
always out and we may not notice them. That is because they are often hiding in a sheltered pine
tree or shrub to help protect them from the cold. Also, we do not notice them as much because
we do not hear them as distinctly as we can in the spring. Although they do chirp, they are not
using bird songs or calls during the winter as much because it is not mating season."

"What did you learn about birds?" Now you can go back and fill in the remaining part of the
KWL chart on page 53, making children accountable for what they learned about birds.

Chapter 10: Hibernation

Objective: Students will be able to define hibernation and torpor and comprehend the
reason why certain animals hibernate. They will distinguish between animals that
hibernate and those who do not hibernate.

On page 19 and 20, the poem and Voki, Melony discuss hibernation. There is a definition, a list
of hibernating animals, and a focus on the Groundhog. The poem refers to hibernation as
"winter's sleep." You can discuss this phrase and ask why the author decided to call it this.
Because sleep rhymes with deep; it stays with the rhyme pattern. For these animals, winter is a
time to sleep so we understand what the author is referring to.

Many children may have heard the term hibernation before but here is a chance to dig a little
deeper. "Why do you think animals hibernate? Why would they need to sleep all winter long?"
Have children speculate, think about what they know already and apply it, or draw conclusions.
"The reason these animals hibernate is because their food is in very short supply or is very hard
to find during the winter."
"Think about it. What kind of food would be hard to find during the winter?" Plants! Many of
the animals that hibernate eat plants, berries, seeds, and fruit which are all very hard to find
during the winter months. Also some of these animals eat smaller animals like mice and
chipmunks. Problem is, the mice and chipmunks are also hibernating so they are not around
either!

“Not only do animals need to find a shelter to hibernate in all winter, they need to eat a lot of
food to build up a store of fat in their bodies that they can live off of. The deep sleep of
hibernation makes the body systems of an animal slow down. They do not burn excess energy
moving around, and therefore do not get hungry or need extra food. When the fat store runs out,
animals have an instinct to wake up from hibernation.”

Students learn more about the groundhog on page 20. Here are some other interesting facts
about the groundhog you can share with them: The Groundhog wakes up early because it goes
to sleep much earlier, in early fall. Although the famous groundhogs are actually pulled out of
their holes so that there is a news report on February 2nd, many groundhogs wake up on their
own and wander out and about in early February because they've already been asleep for almost
5 months! Their hibernation is also called torpor. This means they only partially hibernate, and
are not in as deep a sleep as other hibernators. They can wake up, move around, and go back to
sleep. (Students learn more about torpor and other torpor animals like bears and raccoons on
page 29.)

"Groundhogs eat clovers, weeds, and grass (in addition to fruits). Sometimes the groundhog
wakes up and stays awake until a true spring arrives. What do you think would make the
groundhog stay awake?" If the ground is not covered in snow, they will have food to eat. "What
do you think about Groundhog's Day? Can a groundhog predict if spring will come early? There
are 6 more weeks of winter anyway after Groundhog's Day, but if a groundhog decides to stay
awake, he may feel like it is warm enough, with enough food supply to stay awake. It really
doesn’t have anything to do with shadows at all! But it also is not a tell tale sign of spring."

Students sort animals that hibernate from ones that do not hibernate on page 30. All the animals
that are on the hibernate side were mentioned at some point in the unit. Melony, our Voki
Avatar has a list of hibernators in her video. Be sure to listen and perhaps, jot them down.
 Chapter 11: Plant Growth

Objective: Students will be able to identify and sequence the steps for planting. They will
synthesize a sequence for a bean plant's growth.

In the spring, many gardeners get busy, busy planting again. Children may enjoy helping their
parents plant and may have a lot to add to the conversation about planting. They can finally get
their hands in the dirt and explore what is truly in there, worms and all. Planting a seed and
watching it grow is one of the first scientific wonders a child begins to understand. "What kinds
of things can you plant?" Flowers, vegetables, herbs. "Planting flowers makes the yard look
more beautiful… Why do people plant vegetables?" If you plant vegetables you like to eat, you
don’t have to buy them from the store. You can pick them right from your garden.

However, the ground is not always ready for planting. Students may not know what can be done
to get the ground and soil ready. "Often times, the ground is still frozen in early spring. That is
why it is good to wait a few weeks in spring before getting a garden ready. Once the ground
warms up, what's next? In the poem it says we need to clear the garden. Why?" Dried leaves,
twigs, rocks, dead plants, and other weeds have all gathered over the winter." It needs to all
come out to make room for whatever you will plant.

"After you weed the garden, it is important to put extra air into the soil to soften it up and help
water get into the ground better. You can take a rake, spike or aerator and poke holes in the
soil." Students can sequence the rest of the steps on page 35. Fertilizer is another vocabulary
word to discuss on this page.

Sequencing the bean plant on page 33 takes a careful eye but students should be able to do it.
Have them think critically about the seed and how they think it sprouts, breaks open, and goes
above the soil with a stem. Ask them to also focus on the roots and how they grow into the soil.
At the end, they can erase at the bottom of each segment to check to see if they have it in the
correct order.

Students may really enjoy planting a virtual garden and writing about what they would like to
plant if they could have a garden all to themselves. What kinds of vegetables would they plant?
For themselves or their family? How about flowers? On page 34, students can take turns
coming up and dragging and dropping the plants of their choice. Write down the number of
different plants they choose and this can lead into creating word problems for math or a nice
story starter for writing.

Of course, if you have the resources, you can always plant seeds in the classroom and keep a
plant journal to make predictions and track the growth.
 Part 3:

Social Studies

Chapter 12: Holidays & Traditions

Objective: Students will be able to identify the holidays that happen in spring and show an
understanding of different activities that may be a part of their traditions.

The poem here, only mentions the holiday Easter. However, as you know, there are a few other
holidays in spring. When we first look at a season, it is nice to think about and look forward to
the holidays that will come up. Holidays are a great way to discuss different religious and
cultural traditions that families celebrate. The spring holidays include St. Patrick’s Day, Easter,
Passover, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day.

Technically, St. Patrick’s Day is a winter holiday but since it does come right before spring, it
may not be discussed in the beginning of winter with the overshadowing of Christmas, New
Year’s, and others. Many teachers discuss St. Patrick’s Day in the beginning of March, along
with discussing that spring is coming. Therefore, since they are often paired together, it is very
appropriate to start your spring unit with this holiday. There are many people that celebrate St.
Patrick’s Day that are not necessarily Irish but, as with any holiday, the focus is to discuss the
simple history or origin, along with possible music, food, colors, and activities that go with it.

Always ask how the children celebrate each holiday. There are many traditions that are cultural,
and common to many people, such as wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day or hunting for Easter
eggs. But it is very interesting to see how families come up with their own traditions, specific to
a holiday. Discussing these extra traditions in class promotes and celebrates diversity and helps
children better comprehend the concept of tradition.

“The most important aspects of a tradition are that they have special meaning to the people that
act them out and they are passed down from one generation to another. For example, making a
special cake recipe passed down from your great grandmother every Easter would be an example
of a tradition. Let’s share how we celebrate our holidays and traditions…”

You can use the chart on page 54 to help organize the information you collect about each
holiday. Creative ways to celebrate the students’ traditions are making class posters, books,
quilts, videos, recipes, and collages, in addition to a more “traditional” show-and-tell.
 Chapter 13: Geography
Objective: Students will be able to comprehend that the world has different climates. They
will determine that we live in a temperate climate where the temperature is seasonal.

There are many trees, called deciduous trees that also change with the seasons and go through a
cycle in the temperate zone.” The geography on page 56 may seem complex to primary grade
students. However, introducing them to climate zones is appropriate at this time. The goal of
this map is to teach an overview that there are different climates around the world. The map
allows them to see the world as a whole, to better understand where the climates are located in
relation to each other. Each one has a range of temperatures during the year. Children should
have heard the words polar and tropical before. With stories of the North Pole and possibly
going on a trip or hearing about a trip to a tropical place, they may be able to use prior
knowledge to discuss what they already know about these climates, especially labeling them with
the terms hot or cold. The zone they may not be aware of is the temperate zone. That is the
objective of this lesson.

“The temperate zone is the area between the tropics and the polar zones. It does not stay very
hot nor very cold all the time. We refer to the temperature in the temperate zone as seasonal
because it changes with the seasons. What time of year is it very hot for a while? Very cold?
Warm?”

There are many trees, called deciduous trees that also change with the seasons and go through a
cycle in the temperate zone. Which tree looks like a deciduous tree? Where do we put it? Where
does the palm tree belong?” “How do you know?” “Where does the ice belong?”

“How does the temperate zone feel in the spring in the Northern Hemisphere?” The Southern
temperate zone has the opposite season so when the Northern Hemisphere has spring, what
season do they have?”

You can refer to this map as well when discussing the earth’s tilt. The Hemispheres have
opposite seasons because of this tilt and further discussion can be made looking at the continents
stretched out. For slightly older students, you may want to label the continents as well.
 Chapter 14: Natural Resources

Objective: Students will be able to identify what a natural resource is and how certain
resources are used for building.

In the beginning of the poem, on page 7, mud is mentioned. And then Melony tells how mud can
be made into bricks. Students learn on page 33 a little more about mud construction. This
information invites critical thinking about why people would use mud for building.

Where trees are abundant, we have a lot of lumber/ wood to build with. But what about on the
plains, or in subtropic desert areas where there are not enough trees? Many homes in the
southwest US, for example, are made out of clay or adobe. Mud homes and even sod homes
have been constructed since the times of the Native Americans.

The idea of this lesson is that certain raw materials can come from the earth that are very
valuable to us. Water, of course, is one of the first resources that children think of when asked to
think about nature that we can not live without. But in addition, wood, stone, clay, and even
mud are great natural resources we use in many types of construction.

Have the students look at page 55 to identify natural resources. Then ask:
“How do we use these resources to survive?”
We use water to drink, clean, and wash. We use sunlight to give us light and warmth. We use
soil, sunlight, and water to grow plants and trees. We use plants and animals to eat, trees for
lumber/wood.
“How do animals use these resources?”
Animals use plants to eat and provide shelter, water to drink.
“What kinds of resources can be used to build with? How do these help us survive?”
We use stone, clay, mud, and especially wood to build with. These things help us to build
shelters and furniture.

Have students go on a nature walk outside. Tell them to write down all of the natural resources
they see or ask them to tell you and make a master list. Also have them add objects that they are
not sure of like buildings, benches, playground equipment, etc. Take pictures of the things they
list to investigate further on the Smart Board with the Document Camera. Many objects we see
outside are constructed of natural resources. But many materials are not natural, of course,
including plastics, cement, and glass. Students will begin to wonder about these materials and
ask questions. This lesson is meant to be introductory but you can make a list or T-chart about
materials that are natural and those that are not to help the students distinguish them. When they
have learned more, they can do sorting activities.
 Part 4:

Math

Chapter 15: Calendar Math

Objective: Students will be able to problem solve using a calendar when asked questions
about days, weeks, and months.

Calendar math has been a staple component to any math curriculum. Students need to be able to
look at a calendar and answer questions about specific dates in addition to counting days, weeks,
and months. With the practice of calendar math and counting forward and back days to find
specific dates or events, children begin to better comprehend the passage of time as well as the
future reference of time. This allows them to discuss events that happened in the past and look
forward to something in the future with more of a connection.

Since discussing the season, the weather, and the holidays is centralized around the calendar and
circle time, it makes sense to add in quick calendar math questions on a daily basis.

You may certainly have a calendar in the classroom to work with. However, on Notebook page
39, you can generate a calendar for any month of the season. When you click on the yellow
arrow, the chosen month’s calendar fills the screen. Having the calendar on the Smart Board
allows the teacher and students to mark it up; decorate it with special holidays, events, and
birthdays, and draw right on it to help them solve questions. It also makes the calendar a focal
point since it is on a much larger scale.

It is one thing to know that the week is from Sun to Sun. but many children are not aware that a
week can also be from a Tues. to Tues., or any other day. Inquiry and practice can help them
explore this further. There are so many different mathematical questions that can be asked
during calendar math. Here are a few ideas to help guide you:

“How many days until….? Weeks? Months?”

“How many days/weeks ago was…?”
“What is the day/date that comes after… Before….?”
“How many Thurs. this month?”
“How many days are in this month? How many holidays? Birthdays?”
In how many more days/weeks will…..?”
“What date is the third Wed?”
 Chapter 16: Word Problems

Objective: Students will be able to problem solve simple math problems using topics,
objects, and real world situations related to spring.

Students in your class may be learning to add and subtract. It is always important to teach them
to solve math problems with more than just numbers. Solving word problems is a crucial skill in
any math program so the more practice our students get, the better. In addition, when the math
problems become realistic, relevant, and related to the theme, students can make very strong
connections to what they are learning.

Word problems can be completed on worksheets or blank Smart Board lesson pages. As long as
they are related to the theme, you can incorporate any combination of items.

The Virtual Garden, page 34, can be a great foundation for word problems. What did you plant?
The students can choose 2 things (or 3 things if you want to make problems adding 3 numbers)
and put them together or take them away. For example:
“I planted 4 tomato plants and 6 bean plants. How many vegetable plants are there all together
in my garden?”
“We planted 10 carrots in a row. But then we picked 5 to eat with dinner. How many are left in
the garden?”

Here are some others related to other spring objects:

“The bird found 4 worms in the ground. Then it fed 2 worms to its babies. How many worms
were left to eat?”

“I found 15 crocuses in my yard. My brother found 7 more. How many all together?”

“My parents hid 24 eggs in the yard. I found 11. My cousin found the rest. How many did she
find?”

Let the students get creative and come up with their own word problem about spring. They
should write it out and illustrate it and then they can all swap papers and solve each other’s word
problems.
 Chapter 17: Graphs

Objective: Students will be able to answer questions related to a graph. They will plot
temperatures on a line graph and answer questions that compare the points. They will also
create a bar graph about their favorite spring activities and answer questions, comparing
the bars.

After the students view the slide show on page 11, have them discuss their favorite things to do
in the spring time, now that the weather is warmer. Then, turn to the bar graph on page 57 and
have them pick 2 of their favorite activities of those listed on the bottom. From a show of hands,
record the number, and then have students take turns using a pen to come up and draw bars to
match the number of votes for each.

“What was the favorite activity for the class? Least favorite?”
“How many more students liked ____ than ____?”
“How many less students liked _____ than _____?”
“How many liked the playground and playing a sport?”

Also, in the weather and temperature chapter, it was discussed to get the daily temperature and
record it for the week on page 50. After the week’s chart is filled in, have students find the
highest temperature for the week. That temperature should be recorded for week 1 on the line
graph on page 51. Then, erase the weekly chart and start over recording temperatures for the
following week. Record that week’s high temperature as week 2, and so on. Have students help
you plot the points for the week. At the end of a certain amount of weeks, (up to 10), the points
need to be connected together to form a line graph. The points should go up and down a bit but
for the most part show a steady climb, as you would predict the spring temperatures to get
warmer over time, as we approach the summer. You can even have your students make this
prediction themselves and then test out your theory.

“What week was the highest temperature? The lowest?”

“What happened between weeks 3 and 6?”
“How much did the temperature increase from week ___ to ____?”
“How much less was the temp in week ___ from week ____?”
“What happened to the spring temperatures overall, from start to finish?”
 Part 5:

Writing

Chapter 18: Creative Response

Objective: Students will be able respond creatively to Time For Spring.

Any piece of literature can lend itself to some kind of writing response. When you spark the
children with creative ideas and story starters, they get a chance to relate to the literature in their
own way, making new connections and putting their own spin on what they learned. With
creative response, they are thinking of whatever ideas that pop into their heads, making fictional
characters, scenes, and plots. It is suggested to use a writing organizer for the students with
simple “Wh” cues. You can use the organizer on page 58 or use one of your own.

Some creative story starters are already presented on page 41. Here are some others:

Pretend you are a bird in the spring. Tell a story about finding food and other birds. Be sure to
include your call or song.

Pretend you are a seed getting planted in the ground. What kind of a seed are you? What kind of
journey do you take as you grow? Be sure to include what you see as you come out of the
ground.

Pretend you are an animal waking up from hibernation. What kind of animal are you? Tell a
story about how you wake up and your first day out and about.

Tell a story about a VERY windy spring day. What happens?

If you had a warm, sunny, spring day to do whatever you want with your friend, tell about all of
the adventures you would have. Where would you go? You can make your story as silly as you
want.

Be sure students illustrate their work in some way, either traditionally or in a newer, more digital
way. They can make a collage, craft, or even draw on the computer. You can decide how you
want to publish their work as well. Not every student is able to fully “write” a story but children
can come up with many creative ideas. Think outside the box on this one and use some of these
story starters, even with your youngest students. Perhaps they record their voices telling their
stories into the computer. Perhaps someone (you, an assistant, or an older “buddy” student) can
scribe the story by writing it out or typing it on the computer. You can also video tape the
student telling their story. Have a share day/publishing party where the stories get shared with
the class.

Chapter 19: Writing for Information

Objective: Students will be able to respond to informational text by recalling facts and
concepts.

By giving students the opportunity to write about non-fiction topics, you get the chance to assess
how much they learned about the topic. The idea is to write it in a way that it teaches someone
else, explaining something with facts and details.

Just as in the previous chapter, this can be done in different ways. If your students are not yet
writing, have them do a mini oral report in some way (that can also be recorded on audio or
video.) They can color in pictures (like a coloring page), draw their own, or print images from
the internet to accompany their work.

You can provide the topic or perhaps have the students pick the topic that they remember the
most about. In this unit, they learned about bees, birds, hibernating animals, plants, trees, natural
resources, and the earth’s tilt. You can choose to have students remember at least 2 facts that
they learned about one topic or perhaps give a summary of multiple things they learned about
spring. Use the writing organizer on page 59 as a model or use one of your own.
 Part 6:

Assessment

Chapter 20: Smart Response Quiz

Objective: Students will be able to answer questions about spring concepts.

This quiz is more of a formal assessment for this unit, despite the fact that it is only 5 questions.
It was created to be a Smart Response Quiz, to be used with the handheld devices for the
students. Have them sign into the session, Time For Spring to be able to click in their answers.
If you do not have Smart Response hardware, you can still take the quiz with your students.
Have them come up to the board and circle the correct answer. They can check their answers
with an ‘erase to reveal’ action.

In addition, this entire guide, as well as some of the Smart Board pages, have informal
assessment questions included throughout. Critical Thinking questions are also printed on page
40. Many of these questions require the students to use critical thinking or draw a conclusion.
This is done intentionally to challenge the students. When they have to break down information,
apply it, make connections, and put ideas back together, students are using the higher level
thinking skills in Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Conclusively, pick and choose the type of assessment questions that are most appropriate for
your students. More challenging questions may need more prompting or guidance to get
answers. But that is OK, too. Answers that need to be thought out and solved in a couple of
steps usually need guidance at first. But with practice, students become more efficient and can
begin to solve these types of questions more independently.
Time For Spring
When we say so long to the ice and snow,
It’s time for spring to say, “HELLO!”
April rain will make some mud.
Look at trees, you’ll see them bud.
We clear the garden to make room,
For all the flowers soon to bloom.
When the sun warms up the frozen ground,
It’s time for spring to come around!
Put coats and sweater all away.
It’s time to go OUTSIDE to play!
A lightweight jacket’s all you need.
To watch the birds come back to feed.
Listen to the sounds of spring,
Bees will buzz and birds will sing.
And those who snuggled dark and deep,
Will soon wake up from winter’s sleep.
Spring’s a time to hunt for eggs.
Or watch a calf with wobbly legs.
Animal babies are born with care.
Outside, it’s GREEN everywhere!
Look around for new life, new birth.
As the sun begins to warm the earth.
Everything, again, begins to grow.
YES! It’s Spring time! Now you know!