All About Penguins - Winter Mini Writing Unit

Winter Penguin Writing Unit and Kindergarten Lesson Plan
Photo Source: theteacherwife.blogspot.com

Lindsey, first grade teacher and blogger at The Teacher Wife, created this mini unit for her kiddos' return to school after winter break. Not only are penguins a fun winter theme, the nonfiction and creative writing prompts Lindsey developed will help your students learn to organize facts as well as build handwriting/writing practice!

Reporting on Penguins

After learning about penguins, have your students compile what they've learned. Lindsey provides several graphic organizers...

  • Are/Need/Can Organizer. Students write details about what penguins are, what they need, and what they can do.
  • Structured Overview Organizer. Students fill in each box with a fact they've learned about penguins.
  • KWL Organizer. Students complete each section about what they know about penguins, what they want to know, and what they've learned.
  • Web Organizer. Students fill in each star burst with a fact they've learned about penguins.

After they've organized all of the information they've collected, students can then use Lindsey's two-page "Penguin Report" printable to complete a final report!

Penguin Tales

Invite your students to tap into their creativity, using Lindsey's story organizer and booklet printables to write their own tale about an ice skating penguin! Using the illustrations and leading questions to organize their stories, you'll be amazed at how different your students' tales will be.

Not only does Lindsey provide her writing printables for free, she also compiles a fabulous list of related resources to supplement your penguin unit! Be sure to visit The Teacher Wife for these fantastic winter activities!