|
Laurence Pringle is a nature lover, a fact that is no secret if you check out a list of the more than 100 books he's authored! He loves animals - and so do kids! Students will love his story of the smallest-known vertebrate animal on the planet. Send them to the library to find more of his fabulous offerings about everything from owls to octopus.
|
Social Studies
Explore World geography
STEM
Explore Relative size
Explore factors and multiples
Explore frogs - biology
Explore STEM occupations
Research Skills
Explore ways to communicate findings
Explore World geography
- Locate the places mentioned in the Minute. Where is Cuba? Brazil? Papua New Guinea? Practice those map skills with both flat maps and globes to increase spatial relationship skills.
STEM
Explore Relative size
- Get out the calculators and have some fun exploring relative size. How do words like huge and tiny change when you put something next to something else? Even the world’s tiniest frog looks pretty large next to a mite - thought to be a staple of this frog’s diet. Consider taking a look at another iNK author - Steve Jenkins - book Actual Size that visually compares the size of things. Have students do some of their own comparisons.
Explore factors and multiples
- Author Pringle tells us that these frogs can “leap 30 times their own length.” Get out the measuring sticks and have students test how far that actually is. Measure their height. Have them jump. Measure the distance and express the answer in terms of their height.
Explore frogs - biology
- Use this Minute to delve into the relationship between size and environment. Why are some frogs large? Small? Have students float some theories by examining environmental factors where frogs live.
Explore STEM occupations
- What exactly is a herpetologist? What does she do all day? What branches of science are involved? Exploring scientific occupations as young students opens up the possibilities for the future. Consider hanging an occupations poster where students can add occupations as you explore science and scientific reading in the classroom.
Research Skills
Explore ways to communicate findings
- This Minute adds a perfect graphing opportunity. What’s the best way to display the information here? Have students do some internet hunting to find the largest frogs in the world. What’s the best tools for sharing information? Would a bar graph work? Would an infographic be better? Use this opportunity to explore tools like Easelly and Infogram.
© Karen Sterling, 2017 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
