Pete the Cat Cause & Effect

As promised, here is the 2nd Pete the Cat activity I mentioned. Our comprehension skill this week was cause and effect.  I first taught the skill using the read aloud from HM, Charles Tiger. This concept is pretty confusing for 1st graders so I thought using Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, a story they loved and understood well, might make it a little easier. I created a simplified flow map with a sentence frame. The signal word because is highlighted to help them remember that a cause will follow. You can grab this worksheet here.

I modeled how to draw the cause and effect in the boxes and fill in the sentence frame correctly. I had images of Pete that I had drawn that they could glue on if they preferred but most of my class wanted to draw a close-up of the shoes like I did in my model. Here are the small Pete pics if you'd like them.
Small Pete

Then off they went to work with their partner. They had to:
1. decide which cause/effect example from the story they wanted to use
2. make sure both partners participated
3. use resources in the room or sound out the words

I am so happy it is a long weekend! I will most likely spend a lot of it working on school stuff and blog designs but at least I can do it in my pjs!

Pete the Cat Class Book Idea

Oh...my...word... I have been SO busy I have not visited blogland for days!!! Please tell me everyone else has been swamped and I didn't miss too much?! Between working super-hard on training my sweeties on how 1st graders are SUPPOSED to act, Back-to-School night, attending my middle school son's BTSN, keeping up with custom blog design orders, and everything else family life throws at me...how's a girl to find her blogging time?? For now, the answer is stay up past her bedtime to share one thing we did this week.

My students (like all of yours I'm sure) LOVE Pete the Cat!  I think the MP3 of the author reading/singing it is awesome if you haven't tried that. TOTALLY adds to the experience! I have not bought the new book yet but I will when I get two seconds!

I decided it would be fun to write our own class book based on this story. To make it quick and easy I just used a clear view binder. I was so busy I didn't even add a cute border...egads...that is just plain wrong!! I uploaded a version without my name on it here if you'd like it.

First, we brainstormed a list of new things Pete could step in and the color his shoes would turn. Then, I gave each student this sheet with a picture of Pete already drawn (by me, it is Pete-ISH as we say in my room) and asked them to draw the large pile of bananas (or whatever) he was stepping in. Finally, they filled in the sentence frame with their food and color. They could copy the spelling off our chart or try to write the sounds they heard like we have been practicing in writer's workshop. The most original idea: Tofu! If you'd like a copy of this page click here.

 watermelon

I did another activity with Pete the Cat but you'll have to wait to read about it because this teacher tends to get a tad GRUMPY when she is sleep deprived.