Snowflake Bentley: One Week Wonder

Snowflake Bentley is a fabulous book about a man named Wilson A. Bentley.  He was a man who loved nature, and loved snow in particular.  He took photos of snow crystals in his little Vermont town so when I started thinking about shaking things up this year prior to winter break, I decided to feature this book. Then things really snowballed from there.  The more I thought about what I wanted my students to experience, the longer and more complex the unit became.  I wanted something that would make my life easier next year (since having a baby has opened my eyes to what multitasking truly is), I wanted something that addressed the Common Core Standards and the biography genre in creative and engaging ways, and I wanted something that would be in line with best practices.  This pack ended up being all of that and more.  I seriously LOVED it, and my students did too!

Snowflake Bentley: A One Week Wonder is just the beginning of a series of week-long units with complete lesson plans  ("One Week Wonders") I plan on sharing with all of you over time!  Here's a glimpse into my classroom to see how it all panned out!  This was a great way to review before winter break, to ease back in after break is over, or to complete any time during these cold winter months!

This "Story Snapshot" page was the perfect little snapshot of Wilson Bentley's life.  As you can see, it encapsulates his early life, his obstacles, and his contributions while also noting his lifespan and hometown.  The kids also enjoyed drawing his picture based on the photograph on the last page of the book.  How cute is this guy?  We do Biography Wax Museums in the spring, so I am trying to slowly set them up for success by working through some biographical and autobiographical texts as we lead up to it. 

I really wanted my students to realize that there's a connection between character traits in stories and the personalities and traits of REAL subjects in biographies, so I had my students create a "trading card" on Wilson A. Bentley as well.  I am constantly trying to help them differentiate between traits and emotions, so this was much needed.

I LOVED all of the vocabulary activities we did.  I chose six Tier II words from the text to incorporate into our daily activities.  You can see the six that were chosen below in a vocabulary display on my Focus Wall. 

One of the activities we worked on was inspired by Word Nerds.  I had my students color cards for each word and explain why they associate each color with each word.  It was really interesting to see commonalities, but it was even more interesting to hear when someone chose an unexpected color and justified their response.  The kids had opportunities to discuss their choices at their tables, and it was fun to hear things like, "That makes so much sense, but I never would have thought of that" and "Oh, me too!  I colored hexagonal yellow because it reminded me of a beehive too."

Because of the references to snowstorms and blizzards in the text, we did a "Brainstorm" activity with our vocabulary as well.  I displayed the six words around the room on three pieces of chart paper.  The kids walked around writing words, definitions, examples, and sketching illustrations that were associated with each definition.  It helped deepen their understanding of the terms by citing synonyms, real world examples, and related words/concepts. This is always one of my favorite vocabulary activities because of the wide net that is cast and how it goes so far beyond the dictionary definition itself.

Of course, there is something to be said for traditional vocabulary practice as well.  That's why they created a booklet of Frayer models for each term, and that's why one of my centers requires students to look up words in the dictionary to refine dictionary skills.  It's important.  We just always have to remember that although explicit vocabulary instruction IS important and necessary, we must also go beyond that to deepen understanding.

Although I teach Language Arts and Social Studies, I do like to incorporate a little science every now and again.  This time, I gave my students a mini-STEM challenge using Q-tips.  They were given ten Q-Tips (although I eventually gave them 12 because I felt that it aided the lesson because snowflakes ARE hexagonal).  They had to use all of the Q-Tips that were provided, they couldn't overlap them, and they had to create three snowflakes that were symmetrical.  A few kids asked about bending the Q-Tips, and that was permitted.  Cutting was also permitted, although they had to use every single piece once they cut them, and there was no going back or getting new materials once they were cut.  As they created designs, I had them record them on a sheet of white paper so they could see the evolution of their designs and thinking over time.  This seems like a simple activity on the surface, but it really challenged my students to think critically and problem-solve.  As you can see, at first, they were creating designs, but they looked a little more like hieroglyphics than snowflakes, and they weren't all symmetrical.  Through trial and error, they began to take shape and become more and more intricate by trying out new techniques.  They also had to be careful because their designs were delicate and easily broken.  (See how I worked those vocabulary words into that description?)  The kiddos LOVED building snowflakes, and then after they were done, I had them write reflections detailing the parameters, the process, and their own thoughts on the activity, almost like an informal lab report.  This was a great way to practice using time order words too!

 

 

(As a side-note, this pack does include an additional science activity to grow crystals using Borax, a jar, water,  string, and pipe cleaners, but sadly, we ran out of time with all of our other school-wide holiday festivities. Such a fun activity too!)

I love having centers available as another way to spiral through grammar skills.  I typically teach grammar through short Quick Checks (like this ELA January Quick Checks pack) and centers like these.  It's nice to be able to use them to meet with small groups or conference with individuals as students work through the rotations, and since I always say how nice it would be to have them on a weekly basis, I am starting to work on compiling them.  Each center has a corresponding recording sheet, so they could be used for a grade, if desired. These may be my favorite centers yet!

I love the first center.  I created Polaroid pictures with snowflakes to approximate the slides created by Snowflake Bentley himself.  Each Polaroid features a word from the book in either past, present, or future tense, and there are regular and a few irregular verbs as well. 

This center played off of the camera references in Snowflake Bentley as well.  My kiddos are always referencing hashtags in class, so I though they would get a kick out of this.  I found vintage cameras that resembled the Instagram camera a little bit, and I created hashtag cards featuring wintery idioms.  They had to draw each idiom in two different Polaroids showing #whatitsoundslike and #whatitreallymeans.  This was a class favorite, naturally. They thought it was really #cool.

The following center was created to address asking and answering questions about the text.  It gives an answer (a word from the text), and then the kids had to ask a question that would lead to that answer.  Such a fun way to assess comprehension and the questioning strategy in a kind of round-about way!

I make it a point to TRY to incorporate technology whenever I can.  This center required students to use iPads or Chromebooks to create a short and simple multimedia presentation (PowerPoint or Google Slide presentation) about blizzards to "teach" Ebonee.  It reinforces important concepts from the book, then takes them beyond it to tie it into the real world.  It also reinforces important research and typing skills, so this is one of my favorite pieces.  Anything with a computer is a hit with the kids as well. 

 The cause and effect activity could be used whole group, small group, or as a center.  Due to time constraints, I switched it up from the lesson plans included in the pack, and I put it out as a center.  It requires students to sort cause and effect relationships in Snowflake Bentley, and it's pretty tricky.  It would be a good idea to keep a copy of the book on hand near this center because students may need to reread the text to see it in context.

 

The following activity is super easy to implement and review the four types of sentences.  (It's important to note that I have revised it since doing it with my own students.  It no longer has the punctuation displayed within the sentence.) That said, it is a quick and interactive activity that can utilized in a variety of ways.  By projecting it onto your interactive whiteboard, you can either play a game of four corners, use clickers, or use Plickers.  So fun either way you slice it!

My kiddos also did a Read Around the Room activity that required them to differentiate between common and proper nouns.  Read Around the Room activities are always on rotation in my classroom because it is such a nice way to get students up and moving, especially after an activity that requires longer seatwork.  It's always fun for the kiddos, it's quick, and it's a great formative piece.

Because Snowflake Bentley is a biographical account of Wilson A. Bentley's life, my students wrote an I Am Poem from  his point of view.  They also each created a snowflake out of paper and mounted everything together on a large piece of construction paper.  This was a simple craftivity to do (my favorite kind). It was also powerful because it echoed the same message in the book... that no two snowflakes were alike...and it also helped reiterate the definition of the word "intricate" as they created their own intricate designs.

This little mini-book is great for scaffolding discussions in small groups about the text, but you could also adapt it to use for written reflections on the text.  I put a template in the file called a "Written Conversation".  It's one of my favorites too.  It requires kids to reflect on a question, then pass it to a friend who responds before passing it to another student.  Eventually after 2-3 students reflect together, it makes it back to the original owner who has a moment to read and write their final thoughts and how their thinking evolved.  (This is great for synthesizing!)  I also created four small pages in each booklet for the students to develop their own discussion questions prior to talking with their peers.  This ensures that they talk about a few things I really want them to zoom in on while still giving them some breathing room and a chance to discuss what they found interesting or puzzling.

We also played a game of SCOOT while playing instrumental holiday songs. My students had to determine whether each word was a verb, noun, adjective, or pronoun and record it on their recording sheets. All of the words are from the text as well, and I included their vocabulary words to increase exposure once again.

 

One of the class favorites was definitely the snowball fight.  I created word strips with snowballs printed on them... and typed out a variety of prepositions.  They used their word in the sentence, crumpled it up, threw it, then picked up a different snowball.  They were responsible for using the new word in a sentence before throwing it again.  FUN!

 

I hope this gives you a good idea of what's included in my Snowflake Bentley: One Week Wonder.  This blog post doesn't include every single activity, but it includes many of my favorites.  Here's a more comprehensive list of the contents.

What's Included:

Lesson Plans
Cloze Vocabulary Introduction
Vocabulary Book with Frayer Models
Vocabulary Cards for Focus Wall/Pocket Chart
Six Facts (Roll & Record Comprehension Sheet)
Have a Go Sheet (Pre-Discussion Reflection Sheet)
Snowflake Bentley Discussion Questions Mini-Book
Read the Room (Common and Proper Nouns)
Q-Tip Creativity STEM Challenge Directions & Reflection Sheet
Brainstorm Vocabulary Lesson Plan, Cards, & Reflection Sheet
Biography Poster
Story Snapshots
Biography Trading Card
Parts of Speech SCOOT (Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives, & Pronouns)
I Am Poem Template
Summary and Retelling Template
Somebody... Wanted to... But... So... Flap Book
"Growing Snowflakes" Procedural Text (for an experiment)
"Growing Snowflakes" Written Conversation Reflection
Snowball Fight (Prepositions)
Colorful Vocabulary
Cause & Effect Pocket Sort for Interactive Notebooks
"Snapshots" Visualizing Written Response
Mental Snapshots Flap Book (Visualizing)
Four Corners/Clickers/Plickers Activity (Types of Sentences)
Vocabulary Quiz
What is the Question? Center (Asking and Answering Questions)
Verb Tense Polaroid (Past, Present, & Future Verb Tenses)
Insta-Idioms Center (Winter Idioms: Figurative Language)
Dictionary Skills Center
Mentor Corner: Blizzards (Research & Create a Simple PowerPoint)
3-2-1 Formative Flap

Beyond what's been featured, as mentioned in the overview, this unit does include a vocabulary quiz.  I did not include a comprehension quiz because I LOVE this FREE paired reading assessment by Jessiva Ivey.  If I find something I really like that really fits and already exists, I don't like to reinvent the wheel, so you will definitely want to check that resource out.  It's fabulous!

Another extra activity that I felt was a great culmination is by Amanda Madden. It's also a FREEBIE.  I gave it to my students as one of their holiday gifts, but it could really be used any time to complete a Snowball Catapult STEM Challenge. They worked on this in class when we had a last minute schedule change, and they came up with AMAZING inventions.  It was a lot of fun, and you can't beat free, right?!  You'll definitely want to check out these two resources.  I really feel like they fit with my unit...like a glove.  Snowflake Bentley is the perfect winter story...and this is a GREAT way to ease back in to school after winter break.  What are you waiting for?  Check it out HERE, and enjoy the rest of your vacay! Have "snow much fun"!