Friday, January 21, 2011

"Anansi" is Not an "Ll" Word...

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... "but Mrs. Sommerville, his LEGS start with Ll!"

Why, yes they do!

While making our Ll word list this morning, I asked the Stars to think of animals that start with Ll, and told them that we'd use construction paper at our art center to make the animal(s) they named.  While "ladybug" and "llama" and "leopard" made the list, it was one of our favorite characters, Kwaku Anansi that captured the Stars' draw-cut-glue spirit.

Spider?  Not an Ll word.

Arachnid?  Not an Ll word.

Anansi?  No, that's not an Ll word either.

And then the solution: L-e-g-s.

Works for me!

Here's what you need:

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I scanned a page from our storybook and highlighted the shapes that the Stars could use to make Anansi:

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Students used white crayons to draw Anansi's head onto the large black square (pencil shows up fine too):

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Several Stars mentioned that Anansi has the letter T on his face, which we cut like so:

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A hole punch made perfect nostrils:

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... and black rectangles formed Anansi's legs:

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He's got legs, and he knows how to use them!

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5 comments:

  1. Works for me too! I love when kids think of the not so obvious answer and can back it up with good logic for why they chose what they did! BTW Anasnis are very cute!

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  2. That spider is adorable! I love your list of "L" words, too. I always loved the tale of Anansi.

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  3. caryn9:09 AM

    I stumbled upon your blog the other day while looking for inspiration and I'm hooked! I love how enriching your classroom is. I teach Kindergarten, first and second grade ESE--self-contained, pull-out, resource, and consult. All in the same room and all at the same time! I have a K, 1, and 2 reading block happening at the same time every day! So much of my day is spent testing and collecting data (which I know is important) but I am working hard to instill that creative side in my room as well. Thank you for the inspiration and motivation!

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  4. Love the spider, a great idea for my kindergarten children.

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  5. Anonymous1:41 AM

    Hello,
    I found these cute animals, with instructions, for toddlers.
    http://www.buildingexamples.com/by-theme/animals
    This are Lego Duplo constructions that help develop the motoric skills and are also fun to make.
    Have fun!

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As always, thank you for your comments, tips, suggestions and questions!