Penguins, Penguins Everywhere!

I think I might have mentioned this before, but I sort of have a thing for penguins. Seriously. This is the top shelf in my office. That doesn't include the pillow pet I received for Christmas last year. {Sidenote: I asked my husband for it and he said no so I asked my dad. Once a daddy's girl, always a daddy's girl, I guess. ha!}

Anyway, needless to say "penguin week" at school is one of my favorites. Each September, I bust out my very own Pierre the Penguin and build an iceberg in the hallway. We spend the week learning about nonfiction text structures, note-taking, and the basics of research using the different types of penguins. This all lays the groundwork for our Amazing Animal Reports in October.





One of my centers this week is reading penguin books (alone or with a partner for fluency). I realize I might have way too many penguin books (but can you ever really have too many books?!), but these are my favorites.

Many of us study penguins across a wide range of grade levels, so I wanted to share this penguin learning chart freebie with you. I use these charts throughout my unit to document student learning and look for gaps in their research. At the end of the week, we use them as starting points for our paragraphs. You can grab it in my TpT store.

I know I touched on centers in this post, so I'll be back with more on that soon. I'm really loving my set up this year!