Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Having Fun with Common Core: More Reading Buddies Follow-up Activities

Today, we’ll look at a group of books that
I’ve written: A Place for Butterflies, A
Place for Bats, A Place for Birds, A Place for Frogs, and A Place for Fish. In these books,
published by Peachtree Publishers, two sections of text appear on each
double-page spread. The larger, simpler text that runs across the tops of the
pages provides general information and can stand on its own.

On each left-hand page, the text describes
something people are doing (often accidentally or without forethought) to harm
birds or butterflies, etc. The large text on each right-hand page explains a
simple way that people can stop or reduce the effect of their negative
behavior. The repetitive endings add lyricism to the text and help reinforce
the idea that we can work together to save our world’s wild life and wild
places.

The smaller text presented in sidebars
provides additional details about the history of the problem and solutions that
are occurring right now. By reading an entire spread, the students gain a clear
understanding of the effect their actions can have on the natural world.

Overall, the books are honest and also
optimistic. Their structure invites younger buddies
to read the larger, simpler type, while older children can focus on the more
detailed sidebars. The buddies can then look for the animals in the stunning
artwork created by Higgins Bond  and discuss what they’ve just learned before
moving on to the next double-page spread.

Here are two great
activities the buddies can do together after reading these books. They will
deepen student understanding of the goals described in CCSS for ELA: Reading
Informational Text #1 and #2. The first one also addresses standard #5 and both
support Writing standards #2 and #8, but I’ll discuss that more later.

Create a See-Saw Book
Have
each book-buddy team create a see-saw book that compares two of the butterflies
discussed in A Place for Butterflies If the
students decide to focus on monarchs and Karner blues:


  • On the first
    left-hand page, they might write: “Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed
    leaves.”


  • On the facing
    right-hand page, they could write: “Karner blue caterpillars eat wild
    lupine.”


  • The next page
    would read: “Both kinds of caterpillars eat plants.”
Subsequent
pages should continue to compare the two species—size, habitat, range, etc. The
students can use webs to help them organize their thoughts.

If You Were a Bird
After
the buddies read A Place for Birds,
ask them to pretend they are a bird.


  • Have younger
    buddies write a paragraph describing what it feels like to learn how to
    fly.


  • Have older
    buddies describe how it feels to soar through the sky and include details
    of what they see as they fly over their town or city.
When
the buddies are done, they can share what they’ve written.

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