Bats and Schema

In January, we began our Nonfiction unit in readers workshop. We spent a lot of time going over what nonfiction books are and what they contain. The kids learned the structure of nonfiction and also how we can have schema before reading on a nonfiction topic and how our schema can grow as we read. I had a really cool book on bats that I thought would grab the kids attention. The kids had a lot of schema for bats already, so I had them jot their schema down on a post it. They got to share it and stick it onto a bats wing under the heading "Schema." Then as we read the book, I asked them to jot down any new learning they had on a different colored post it. They placed in under the other bat wing with the heading, "New Learning." Kids really got into it and loved learning about bats. We also used some nonficiton text note taking sheets that I found online. It was a lot of fun! We even talked about the misconception that people have about all bats drinking blood. Kids were interested to find out that not all bats do. Even my schema grew! :)