My First Day A RIF GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY COORDINATORS TIME TO READ! RELATED ACTIVITIES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OTTER NONSENSE (AGES 5-12)

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1 A RIF GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY COORDINATORS Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Before reading: Have any of the children ever been around newborns or very young babies? How good are babies at taking care of themselves? Explain that some animals can live on their own right away, but some animals rely on their families to take care of them while they grow up. RELATED ACTIVITIES OTTER NONSENSE (AGES 5-12) com/watch?v=o0oyhheelyo. Baby otters can float but not swim, so their moms have to watch them constantly. Design a playground/water park for baby otters. What kinds of things do otters like to do? What would keep a pup happy and safe while Mom is away? Draw your design and share it with the group. (AGES 5-12) Materials: construction paper, white paper, scissors, glue, crayons or markers The illustrations in this book are cut-paper. Make your own cut-paper picture! Cut out pieces of construction paper and glue them onto white paper in the shape of an animal. Use more paper to give your animal a face. Color in the background with crayons or markers. MY FIRST DAY (AGES 5-9) Materials: paper, pencils or pens, markers or crayons What was your first day of school like? What about your first day in a new city? Your first day as a big brother or sister? Write a story or draw a picture or comic strip about a first day you ve experienced. What happened? Were you afraid? Happy? Display your story or picture on a wall or bulletin board. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OTHER BOOKS BY THESE AUTHORS Sisters and Brothers (2012) Time to Sleep (2011) What Do You Do with a Tail like This? (2008)

2 A RIF GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Content Connections: Science, Social Studies, Health BEFORE WE READ, LET S LOOK AT The Cover: Have students make predictions about the book based on the cover. What animal is in the picture? What does the subtitle mean? Is this book fiction or nonfiction? The Pictures: Flip through the pictures. Do students see any animals they recognize? What do most of the pictures have in common? With whom are the animals? Prior Knowledge: Do any of the students have younger siblings? Do they remember their siblings first days? How much does a newborn human rely on its parents? Explain that some animals can take care of themselves right away, but other animals like humans need a lot more help from their families. Vocabulary: hatched, trotted, herd, underbrush Purpose for Reading: As we read, make comparisons. What do the different animals have in common? WHILE WE READ MONITORING COMPREHENSION For each animal, ask: u What kind of animal is this? u Is it born or hatched from an egg? u Where does it live? u Does it need help from its parents? LET S THINK ABOUT Our Purpose: Which animals need the most help from their parents? What do those animals all have in common? Which animals need the least help? Extending Our Thinking: Make a chart on the board showing all the different classifications of animals in the book (e.g., mammal, bird, amphibian, etc.). Do the animals in each class spend the same amount of time with their parents? What other groupings or categories can students think of to explain why some animals need more help than others? Why would some animals need to be self-sufficient almost immediately? NOTE TO EDUCATORS u Extension Activities for Educators also available. u Vocabulary Scaffolding Sheet also available.

3 A RIF GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND FAMILIES Steve Jenkins and Robin Page Before reading, build background: Tell your child about the day they were born, or about a different first day you ve shared together. While reading, make connections: Has your child ever seen a baby animal? What about a baby human? Which one needed more help from its parents? After reading, ask questions: u Which baby animal needed the most help from its parents? u Which animal needed the least help? u How did the parents help? u Which animals live near you? RELATED ACTIVITIES A FROG IN YOUR THROAT Ingredients: green apple, green grapes, toothpicks Cut a green apple into thick wedges. Cut a thin slice lengthwise into the peel of one apple wedge to make the frog s mouth. Lay the wedge flat on its side. Cut a grape in half widthwise. Using toothpicks, attach the grape halves to the flat top of the wedge to make the frog s eyes. Yum! Materials: construction paper, white paper, scissors, glue, crayons or markers The illustrations in this book are cut-paper. Make your own cut-paper picture! Cut out pieces of construction paper and glue them onto white paper in the shape of an animal. Use more paper to give your animal a face. Color in the background with crayons or markers. A ZEBRA BY ITS STRIPES Materials: paper, paint, pencil, popsicle sticks, scissors A mother zebra can recognize her baby by its stripes. Make a zebra with its own unique pattern! Draw or trace the outline of a zebra on paper. Dip one long, skinny edge of the popsicle stick in paint and press it onto the zebra to make a stripe. Repeat. Use different colors, if desired. Cut out your zebra. TECHNOLOGY LINK com/watch?v=o0oyhheelyo. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OTHER BOOKS BY THESE AUTHORS Sisters and Brothers (2012) Time to Sleep (2011) What Do You Do with a Tail like This? (2008)

4 A RIF VOCABULARY SCAFFOLD blend in: to look the same as the things around you doze: to sleep; to take a short nap piggyback: riding on someone s back or shoulders drift: to move slowly through the air or water snuggle: to sit or lie close to someone or something; to cuddle heap: a pile; a bunch of something speckled: dotted; spotted; covered in bits or spots of different colors memorize: to learn; to know; to remember trot: to walk like a horse; to run slowly and steadily paddle: to swim; to move through water using your hands, feet, or a special stick

5 RIF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS STEAM-THEMED: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math SCIENCE, ART BLENDING IN Several animals in this book use camouflage to blend in with their habitats. Research to find 3-5 animals that use camouflage. Draw a picture of each animal blending into its surroundings. Label each picture with the name of the animal and where it lives. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY WHAT A STINKER Parent bugs protect their babies by giving off a nasty smell to scare away attackers. What other bugs use chemical defenses? Research to find 3-5 examples. Share your findings in a PowerPoint. For each bug, give its name, a picture, and a description of how it protects itself from other animals. TECHNOLOGY CRITTER CAMS Watch baby animals live! Check out the kitten cam ( games-more/kitten-cam.htm) and the puppy cam ( How do kittens and puppies spend their first days? Make a chart to compare the two. ENGINEERING, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ART OTTER NONSENSE com/watch?v=o0oyhheelyo. Baby otters can float but not swim, so their moms have to watch them constantly. Design a play area/water park for baby otters. What habitat does an otter need? What kinds of things do otters like to do? What would keep a pup happy and safe while Mom is away? Draw your design and share it with the class. ART Materials: construction paper, white paper, scissors, glue, crayons or markers The illustrations in this book are cut-paper. Have students make their own cut-paper pictures. They should cut out pieces of construction paper and glue them onto white paper in the shape of an animal. Let them use more paper to give the animal a face, then color in the background with crayons or markers. MATH FIRST DAY MATH There are 24 hours in a day. Pick one of the animals in the book and make a timeline of its first day, hour by hour. What does the animal do? Sleep? Eat? Play? After you ve drawn your timeline, make a pie graph to show how many hours your animal spends doing each activity.