• K.8(A) identify a particular organism or object as living or nonliving;
• K.8(B) group organisms and objects as living or nonliving.
• K.10(A) observe and describe properties of rocks, soil, and water;
• K.10(B) give examples of ways that rocks, soil, and water are useful.

• K.16(B) record or dictate his/her own knowledge of a topic in various ways such as by drawing pictures, making lists, and showing connections among ideas (K-3).
• K.1(A) determine the purpose(s) for listening such as to get information, to solve problems, and to enjoy and appreciate (K-3);
• K.1(B) respond appropriately and courteously to directions and questions (K-3);
• K.1(E) listen responsively to stories and other texts read aloud, including selections from classic and contemporary works (K-3);
• K.3(C) ask and answer relevant questions and make contributions in small or large group discussions (K-3);
• K.10(A) listen to stories being read aloud (K-1);
• K.13(A) connect his/her own experiences with the life experiences, language, customs, and culture of others (K-3);
• K.15(C) write to record ideas and reflections (K-3);

• K.6(N) Print to a networked printer using the printer icon.
• K.6(B) Use the left click button on the mouse to select or drag objects on the screen.
• K.4(K) Begin to keyboard simple words using hunt and peck method while maintaining right-hand and left-hand keyboard orientation.
• K.2(W) Enter text.
• K.5(W) Use the Shift key to make capital letters.
• K.2(M) Use a teacher-created template to complete an activity (Ex: Building Blocks Predictable Charts).

• Identifying Similarities and Differences
• Questions, Cues and Organizers
• Interactive Teaching and Learning
• Goal Setting and Providing Feedback
• Vocabulary Development

• Task Definition
• Use of Information
• Synthesis
• Evaluation

2. To begin these activities, have students sit on the floor in a group and read the book Everybody Needs a Rock. Then, have them listen to a Breeze powerpoint introduction to rocks, soil and water where they will occassionally "turn and tell' their partner what they already know about each of these things. When the presentation is over, split into 3 groups.

3. Group 1 will go to Center 1 where students will listen to the story Diary of a Worm, then record their answers to higher order thinking questions like: What would you like most about being a worm? What would the problems be?

4. Group 2 will go to Center 2 where students will work in pairs to determine whether objects are living or non-living, then take turns clicking and dragging each object into the correct box. They will then type their name on the screen and print out their work.

5. Group 3 will go to Center 3 where students will think about what they remember from the book to choose their own special rock. Point out that everyone's sentence strip has the same sentence. They will then choose 2 adjectives that describe their rock to fill in the blank on their sentence strip. Now, every sentence is different. Each student then writes his sentence on his handwriting paper and also draws a picture of the rock. While they are writing, put their rock in a baggie with their name in Sharpie so that they can take it home.

6. After they have rotated to each center, get them back into a group on the floor. Each pair will have 3 sticks, one having a picture of water, one having a picture of rocks and one having a picture of soil glued on. Ask riddle-type questions and have them hold up the picture of the correct answer. For example, "When I get very cold, I turn into ice. What am I?"