Curated OER
Habitats: Cactus Hotel
A reading of Brenda Z. Guiberson’s, Cactus Hotel, launches a study of animal habitats. Working with parent volunteers or teacher aides, groups travel outside the classroom to select a habitat, take digital pictures, and incorporate the...
PBS
Blue Ribbon Readers: Determining Important Ideas
Brenda Z. Guiberson’s nonfiction book, Cactus Hotel, launches a series of activities that model for readers how to determine the main idea in a passage. Class members engage in an online interactive game to test their understanding. The...
US Mint
Desert Dwellers
What can a quarter possibly teach young learners about desert ecosystems? More than you might think. After displaying and discussing the included picture of the Arizona state quarter, the class participates in a series of shared reading...
Curated OER
Amazing Desert Dwellers
Students explore the many adaptations desert animals have made to survive in their challenging habitat. They use this information to invent new creatures well-suited for desert life.
Curated OER
Would You Like A Desert With That?
Young scholars explore the four different deserts in the United States and their characteristics. They discuss the four different types of deserts in United States and their characteristics, and locate them on a map.