tops and bottoms unit
TRANSCRIPT
A Cross Curricular Pack Inspired by the Book
By Janet Stevens
By Nancy VandenBerge Firstgradewow.blogspot.com
Graphics by djinkers, scrappindoodles
I love taking a piece of fabulous literature and integrating the author’s ideas throughout our curriculum. This little unit is intended to supplement your existing plant unit using Janet Steven’s very popular and readily available book “Tops and Bottoms.” This unit includes some Measurement and other math activities, a few ELA activities, and some more fun learning opportunities!
How does your Garden Grow?
Play this game with a partner. Pick a card. Measure the “Tops and
Bottoms” with snap cubes (or other nonstandard unit). Record your
measurement on your recording sheet by adding that measurement to the previous ones. The first player to
reach 30 wins. (Teacher-print cut and shuffle)
That’s Just Plain Corny! Use the two different sized ears of corn. Measure the
items on the recording sheet using the two ears. Record
the two measurements. Show the difference.
Teacher- Print and cut apart ears of corn
Name ___________ That’s Just Plain Corny! Recording Sheet
Desk
Chair Seat
Pencil
Door
Math Book
Small ear Large ear Difference
Root Prints in the Garden!
Use the Root Prints Measuring Strips to
measure the vegetables on the different pages.
Record your measurements on the recording page.
Name _________ Root prints in the Garden Recording Page
Measure carrot Strip Radish Strip Turnip Strip
On the back tell about the differences in the measurements.
Hare and Bear Hi -Lo Game
Set out number line. Put Bear on the right side of the number line and Hare on the left. The leader thinks of a number between 1 and 20 (or higher!). Players take turns guessing the number. If the guess is too high, the leader says, “That number is too high.” Player moves Bear over to cover that number. If the guess is too low, the leader says, “That number is too low.” Player moves Hare over to cover that number. Players continue guessing until the leader’s number is the only number between Bear and Hare. (Small pictures can be used in a math tub with smaller numberlines. Large pictures can be used with a whole group with a floor number line.)
Name_____ Draw some “bottoms” in the garden.
Measure them with a nonstandard unit and label each plant with the measurement.
On the back tell about what you grew in your garden.
Name_____ Draw some “tops” in the garden.
Measure them with a nonstandard unit and label each plant with the measurement.
On the back tell about what you grew in your garden.
Hare and Bear
(Tune: "Old MacDonald Had A Farm")
Hare grew veggies on Bear’s land, EE I EE I O Tops and bottoms in his hand, EE I EE I O (Children take turns naming vegetables Hare grew) With a carrot, carrot here, and a carrot, carrot there Here a carrot, there a carrot Everywhere a carrot, carrot. Hare grew veggies on Bear’s land,
EE I EE I O
Name ________________ Tops and Bottoms Many author’s have a message they would like their readers to
understand through the text. What do you think Janet Stevens is sharing through Tops and Bottoms?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name ________________ Put the Tops and Bottoms words in ABC order
Hare
Bear
tops
bottoms
carrots
broccoli
corn
trick
deal
lesson
Name _________________ Tops and Bottoms! Bottoms and Tops! Scrambled Words
Unscramble the words for Bear and Hare.
norc
eelcry
ooccrlbi
eettucl
steeb
aidshr
trroac carrot radish beets lettuce broccoli celery corn
On the back, write a sentence using two or three of the words.
h h a i l o c c o r b
e b c e l e r y a n e
c e r a r s a e b d e
u a s o f p c o r n t
t r t n b o t t o m s
t p l a n t h a r e u
e r e c a r r o t s a
l a d s e h s i d a r
Name ____________ Find all the Tops and Bottoms words
Hare Bear plant tops bottoms carrots radishes beets celery
broccoli lettuce corn
Fun with Carrot Plants From The World Carrot Museum
* Windowsill Carrot Plant - Cut the top off a carrot leaving about 1/2 inch of the orange part and the same amount of green stems if the carrot has already started sprouting from the top. Press the carrot piece into damp sand or soil in a saucer or bowl. Just put a little water into the dish if sand/soil are not available. Soon pretty leaves could appear and presto you have a nice plant to keep at a window in bright light. The root will not regenerate itself. But if there is enough of the root left, it is possible to plant it and get some foliage from it. The plant will eventually produce a flower and then seeds. If you are lucky the seeds will be viable and you can plant them in the ground to grow real carrots.