Rainbow Squirrel

• Our Picture This! feature provides an amazing photo, labels for children to read and understand, and knowledge- building facts. Read “Rainbow Squirrel” as a whole class. Have a discussion about getting information from pictures and the nonfiction feature: labels.

• After reading and discussing the article, you can return to it later for your writing block. Have children label their own squirrels using our skills page or their own drawings.

• Watch “Nuts About Squirrels” with children to activate and build background knowledge on the article.

Preview Visuals/Text Features (7-10 minutes)

• Take a close look at the photo of the squirrel. Ask children to share what they notice about it. Help them understand that we get information from pictures as well as text.
• Now let children know that labels point to part of the picture and tell us more about it. Have children find the labels and follow the arrows with their fingers. Read the labels together.

• Gauge the readability of this text for your class. Students can whisper read, you can read aloud, or you can invite individual students to read portions of the text.
• Have children listen for or read to find new facts about the squirrel (e.g., it is as big as a cat, it eats nuts). They can share facts that they learned. What were they most surprised to learn?
• Now have a discussion about what they learned about the squirrel from both the picture and the words in the article.
  

ELA Focus: Key Details (10 minutes)

• Check children’s comprehension with Nosey’s Fact File.

Writing Focus: Key Details/Labeling (15 minutes)

• Have children label their own squirrels with the Label a Rainbow Squirrel skills page. Children can use the magazine article as a model text.

ELA Focus: Key Details/Labeling (15 minutes)

• This version of the Label a Rainbow Squirrel page will allow you to give the same content at a lower skill level.