In Arkansas, we can get FREE coloring books with our state symbols in them. After a morning of testing, we grab our crayons and find a friend to color with and spread out on the floor to color! No, it's not super academic, but it's mindless and just what my firsties need after an exhausting morning of testing.
The other thing I love about it is it gives me time to pull small groups. Here's a look at how we use this mini-unit during testing week to learn about Natural Resources in Arkansas!
For my first graders, natural resource is not a new term by the time we are learning about it with Arkansas History. Our third content unit is all about economics. So, now we are just focusing on the natural resources in our state.
First, we read through our Arkansas, Arkansas, What Do You See digital booklet. (The powerpoint shared reading file comes with the unit.) We talk about the natural resources and symbols as we read.
Then, students color in their state symbols book.
Or, they can work on their Arkansas, Arkansas, What Do You See booklets. For this option, we do 1-2 symbols a day to write and color on. The writing can be as simple as copying a sentence you write together.
While they are working, I pull a small group to glue their natural resources on their map. Yes, this can be done as a whole group, but after testing, it just seems like this works better for exhausted littles!
Want to see more of this unit in action?
Read about our state flag craftivity and map puzzles here. And find all of the Me On the Map actiivties here.
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