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Tops & Bottoms

Reading/Science Unit

Introduction to Unit:

This unit is centered around Janet Stevens book Tops & Bottoms a Caldecott Honor book. Tops & Bottoms is about a lazy bear who becomes business partners with his neighbor rabbits. The rabbits need food, so they ask to use Bear’s land to raise a garden. The rabbits promise Bear that they would do all the work, he only needed to decided if he wanted the tops or bottoms of the plant. If Bear wanted the tops they would plant something like carrots, so Bear got the leafy part of the plant (tops) and the rabbits got the carrot (bottom). The story goes on until Bear finally decides he can’t let the rabbits out smart him anymore and he gets busy planting his own crops. It’s a neat book that integrates literacy and science.

This unit can be adapted to different ages. I would recommend it for ages K-4. I will use this book as a source to teach about the different parts of a story like the setting, events, characters, problem, solution, and events. The book will also be used with a KWL chart to encourage kids to think about their background knowledge before they start to read and to set purposes for their reading by asking questions they want answered by reading the book. Literacy is also integrated into this unit by introducing several books with a range of genres that are related to the topic we are studying. We will end the unit by creating a language experience story based on the characters in the book and what we have learned about these animals in science. The unit focuses on science by having students plant their own seeds, observe the growing process, and looking at the different characteristics of bears and rabbits.

The unit will last approximately six days. I have each day labeled with the activities that will be taking place on that day. The materials I am using in this unit have all been created using some type of internet tool. Not only do I use the internet tools, but the students will be involved with them as well. Following the list of days and their activities are the worksheets I have made at these sites. They have been copied and pasted to this document, so for a better quality document, it is best to go to the website and create your own; however, these work fine. The address for the website is given in the lesson plan.

Day 1:

1. Do a KWL before reading. This chart was made on

http://www.teach-nology.com

2. Read the story “Tops & Bottoms”

3. As a class fill out the “Tops & Bottoms” Story Structure Sheet produced on http://www.teach-nology.com

4. Students will then participate in growing their own garden, while learning about plants, soils, and the responsibilities of growing food. I will be using the “A Growing Market” lesson plan provided by Ag in the Classroom. Their website is www.agclassroom.org/ok

Do a weekly observation of the plants growth using the observation sheet produced on http://www.teach-nology.com

- Another option would be to have students create their own observation journals and decorate them. This would provide more room for them to write and draw their observations.

Day 2:

First, visit this site to view video clips of bears. I want you to look at least two of the bear videos. We can explore the other videos later. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/indexpanda.html
Use the following sites to help you answer questions on your Bear Facts Word Scramble:

Look at the different bears on this page.

http://www.horizon.ab.ca/jrbears.htm

Here are some more bear facts.

http://www.bear.org/Kids/Black_Bear_Facts_Kids.html

Here is another place to learn about bears.

http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/whose-toes/toes2a.html

3. Fill out the Word Scramble made on http://www.teach-nology.com as you go along.

Day 3:

Read about Rabbits on these websites. Use the information you read to answer the questions on your Rabbit Facts Word Scramble.
1. Look at the different breeds of rabbits on this page. http://arba.net/photo.htm
2. Learn how to take care of a rabbit at this site.

http://islandgems.net/rabbit_care_for_kids.html

At the bottom of the page is a bunny coloring book, bunny jokes, and an interactive game that has you make a bunny face. Try it out sometime when you have completed your work.

2. Fill out the Word Scramble made on http://www.teach-nology.com as you go along.

Day 4

1. Plan your Language Experience Story. Use the page “Planning My Story” produced on http://www.teach-nology.com to help plan your story.

2. Your story should include the following:

Title
Characters (at least two which are either rabbits, bears, or both)
Setting
Problem/conflict
Solution/resolution
Accuracy of facts (Must use at least three facts in the story that you have learned from this unit.)
Illustrations (Insert at least one graphic for each page.
Creativity
Correct Spelling and Punctuation.

A rubric will be provided so that students will know what they need to do to get the grade they want. The rubric was made at: http://rubistar.4teachers.org

Day 5-6

Half of the class will be creating their story on PowerPoint.
Half of the class will be doing an art activity found on

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/paper_mache_rabbit.htm

Anyone who is done with their project for that day will be visiting the book shelf to read books about bears and rabbits.

***** Just for Fun

The following sights have been put together on Filamentality for kids to go to when they are through with their assignments.

Learn about black bears, watch slide shows, listen to bear sounds.

http://www.bear.org/Kids/KA_Home.html

There are lots of video clips you can view here.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/indexpanda.html

Build a bunny face, make a bunny coloring book, and read some bunny jokes.

http://islandgems.net/rabbit_care_for_kids.html

Berenstain Bears Place

http://www.berenstainbears.com/

Billy Bear 4 Kids

http://www.billybear4kids.com/animal/whose-toes/toes2a.html

The following pages are presented in the order that follows:

Day 1

KWL Chart

Tops & Bottoms Story Structure Sheet

Weekly Observation Sheet

Day 2 and 3

Tops and Bottoms by Filamentality

Bear Facts Puzzle

Rabbit Facts

Day 4

Planning My Story

Rubric for Language Experience Story

Name: __________________________

Subject: Reading Unit

Teacher Name: Andrea Horne

Date: __________________

Tops & Bottoms

What I Know

What I Want To Learn

What I Have Learned

Tops & Bottoms Story Structure

Setting
Characters
Problem
First Event
Second Event
Third Event
Last Event
Solution

Powered by TeAch-nology.com- The Web Portal For Educators! (www.teach-nology.com)

Plant Observations

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

Powered by TeAch-nology.com- The Web Portal For Educators! (www.teach-nology.com)

Made on Filamentality

Tops and Bottoms
An Internet Hotlist on Language Arts

created by teacherah

Introduction | Day 1: Bears | Day 2: Rabbits | Anytime: Just For Fun | Materials

Introduction

Here are some places to visit just for the fun of it. Enjoy learning more about rabbits and bears while you are visiting these sites.

The Internet Resources

Day 1: Bears

Sandiego Zoo Videos - Explore videos clips of different kinds of bears.
More About Bears - Learn about black bears, watch slide shows, listen to bear sounds.
GRRRR!!! BEARS - You will visit site on Day 2. Use the information here to answer questions on your crossword puzzle.
Bear Facts - Find out cool bear facts here. You will also need to look at http://www.bear.org/Kids/KA_Home.html to help you complete your crossword puzzle.

Day 2: Rabbits

Fun with Rabbits - Build a bunny face, make a bunny coloring book, and read some bunny jokes.
Rabbit Pictures - Look at all the rabbits. Use this site as well as http://islandgems.net/rabbit_care_for_kids.html found in the Just for Fun category to learn about rabbits!

Anytime: Just For Fun

Berenstain Bears - We all love the Berenstain Bears, so why not visit them at this site. They have all kinds of things you can do with them. They even have an interactive book that is lots of fun to read.
Billy Bear 4 Kids - This is a great place to learn more about bears and it has lots of fun stuff to do while you are there. Check it all out!

Materials

Teach-nology - I created my story structure work page, planning my story page, weekly observation page, the word scrambles, and a KWL chart here. It's a great place to make graphic organizers.
Ag in the Classroom - 'The Growing Market' lesson was found here. Ag in the Classroom is a great source of fun lesson plans where kids really learn.
RubiStar - Here I created a Rubric for the students Language Experience Story

Bear Facts

Unscramble the words below:

1. thols________________ A group of bears is known as a ______.

2. aorb________________ A male bear is a ______.

3. wos________________ A female bear is a ______.

4. alrop________________ This type of pear is white.

5. pndaa________________ This bear is black and white.

6. iaCnh________________ Panda Bears come from ________.

7. scbu________________ Baby bears are known as ________.

8. rahe________________ Bears can _____ and smell better than humans.

9. syea3-123r________________ Bears can live how many years?

10. p0h3m________________ How fast can bears run?

Rabbit Facts

Unscramble the words below:

1. emincarA________________ Which bunny is mostly gray?

2. thucD________________ This rabbit is black and white.

3. nhilsgE________________ The ____ lop has big ears.

4. etllpes________________ Rabbits eat _____ and hay.

5. acge________________ Keep your rabbit in a _____.

6. vaerydye________________ How often should you feed your rabbit?

7. breerde________________ It’s best to buy your rabbit from a _______.

8. lpa________________ Hold your rabbit in your _____.

9. etp________________ Make sure you_____ and play with your rabbit everyday.

10. easr________________ Don’t pick up a rabbit by it’s ______.

Planning My Story

Title
Characters
Setting
Problem
Solution
Facts
Events

RubiStar: Rubric Made Using: RubiStar(http://rubistar.4teachers.org)

Story Writing: Language Experience

Student Name: _______________________________________________________

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Title	Title is creative, sparks interest and is related to the story and topic.	Title is related to the story and topic.	Title is present, but does not appear to be related to the story and topic.	No title.
Characters	There are at least two characters in the story that are either rabbits or bears. The main characters are named and clearly described in text as well as pictures. Most readers could describe the characters accurately.	There is only one character in the story which is a rabbit or bear. The main characters are named and described. Most readers would have some idea of what the characters looked like.	There is at least one character but it is not a rabbit or bear. The main characters are named. The reader knows very little about the characters.	Neither character is a rabbit or bear. It is hard to tell who the main characters are.
Setting	Many vivid, descriptive words are used to tell when and where the story took place.	Some vivid, descriptive words are used to tell the audience when and where the story took place.	The reader can figure out when and where the story took place, but the author didn't supply much detail.	The reader has trouble figuring out when and where the story took place.
Problem/Conflict	It is very easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face and why it is a problem.	It is fairly easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face and why it is a problem.	It is fairly easy for the reader to understand the problem the main characters face but it is not clear why it is a problem.	It is not clear what problem the main characters face.
Solution/Resolution	The solution to the character's problem is easy to understand, and is logical. There are no loose ends.	The solution to the character's problem is easy to understand, and is somewhat logical.	The solution to the character's problem is a little hard to understand.	No solution is attempted or it is impossible to understand.
Accuracy of Facts	All facts presented in the story are accurate. There is at least three facts presented that we have learned about from our unit.	Almost all facts presented in the story are accurate. There are at least two facts presented that we have learned about from out unit.	Most facts presented in the story are accurate (at least 70%). There is at least one fact presented in the story that we have learned about from out unit.	There are several factual errors in the story. There are no facts presented in this story.
Spelling and Punctuation	There are no spelling or punctuation errors in the final draft. Character and place names that the author invented are spelled consistently throughout.	There is one spelling or punctuation error in the final draft.	There are 2-3 spelling and punctuation errors in the final draft.	The final draft has more than 3 spelling and punctuation errors.
Illustrations	Student has inserted a graphic for each page of their story. Original illustrations are detailed, attractive, creative and relate to the text on the page.	Student has inserted graphics on 80% of the pages in their story. Original illustrations are somewhat detailed, attractive, and relate to the text on the page.	Student has inserted graphics for at least 50% of the pages in their story. Original illustrations relate to the text on the page.	Student has inserted graphics on less than 50% of their pages in their story. Illustrations are not present OR they are not original.
Creativity	The story contains many creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has really used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions that contribute to the reader's enjoyment. The author has used his imagination.	The story contains a few creative details and/or descriptions, but they distract from the story. The author has tried to use his imagination.	There is little evidence of creativity in the story. The author does not seem to have used much imagination.

Date Created: Feb 28, 2005 02:51 pm (CST)