♪ Good morning to a brand new day ♪ ♪ Time to learn and games to play ♪ ♪ Learning things is so much fun ♪ ♪ Learning is good for everyone ♪ (upbeat music) - Amazed to see a small red puppy in the hospital.

Hey.

Welcome back to Discovery Ranch.

I'm Mr. Dawson and I'm here to take you on discoveries, so you can learn how to read and write.

Join me here each day, so we can go on some discoveries together, just like today.

Remember, if you will write to me, I will send you an activity book.

Write to me and tell me something that you learned this week, like writing a paragraph, and I will send you a book.

In fact, maybe you can write me a paragraph about how you can protect our environment.

That would be cool.

Do that and let's see how many letters I can get.

All right, let's get started.

Ugh.

The first thing I want to do is look at some sight words.

We've been looking at sight words and reviewing them and let's take a look at our purple words.

Here we go.

O-F spells of.

M-E spells me.

H-E-R-E spells here.

W-A-S spells was.

P-L-A-Y spells play.

T-H-E-Y spells they.

F-O-R spells for.

O-R spells or.

T-H-I-S spells this.

And H-A-V-E spells have.

Oh my goodness, when we know those words, we can put them in our brain and when we see them, we'll be able to read them and when we need to write them, guess what?

We will be able to write them because they're in our brain.

Isn't that so awesome?

All right, let's get going with our day.

Remember, yesterday we looked at this essential question.

Our essential question is what does, what ideas can you suggest to protect the environment?

And like I said, it would be cool when you write to me that you write a paragraph on your ideas on how we can protect the environment.

Save the planet, that's what we need to do, like planting trees.

Man, if we plant trees, it would be so cool, we'll have so many trees, oh my goodness.

But that takes us to our story today.

Our story today is "Panda Kindergarten".

Oh my goodness, I love this book.

Only because it says kindergarten.

Woo hoo, makes me want to dance, makes me want to dance, oh yeah, 'cause I love kindergarten.

"Panda Kindergarten", yes.

Now, down here, we have the author, Joanne Ryder.

And then the photos are by Dr. Katherine Feng.

Remember, in a story, the author is the one who writes the words and then the photos, that means there's someone taking pictures and that person is Dr. Katherine Feng.

Yes.

They're usually an illustrator, but in this book, it's pictures, which leads me into the next thing.

This book could be a informational book, an informational book or it could be a narrative book.

Remember, an informational book is something that gives us information, it teaches things that are true.

A narrative book is usually a story that has characters and tells a great story.

Now, when we look at the book, remember your job.

Your job is to decide if it is fiction, which means, no, it's not true, or is it nonfiction, which means yes, it's true.

So, after we read this book, you're gonna come back and you're gonna tell me, "Oh, Mr. Dawson, it's fiction" or you're gonna tell me, "Oh, it's nonfiction."

All right?

Okay, and then, as always, remember, remember that teachers like to ask questions to see if you've really been listening.

And you guys have been wonderful in this listening stuff.

You've been able to answer all of my questions.

So, I know you're gonna be really prepared for your teacher when she asks you questions or when they ask you questions.

So, when we read this story, come back and be ready to answer questions.

Here's the story "Panda Kindergarten".

I hope you enjoy it.

"Panda Kindergarten", written by Joanne Ryder and photographs by Katherine Feng.

"Panda Kindergarten".

One panda cub is a sight to see.

Two panda cubs together is rare.

But imagine seeing sixteen young giant pandas all at once.

Meet a panda kindergarten class at the Wolong Nature Reserve in China, where pandas are protected, loved and given great care.

Each cub is born in a cozy room, on a soft bed of straw.

A newborn cub is fuzzy and pink.

After a few weeks, it starts to look like its black and white mother.

An ever-so-big mother panda carries her ever-so-tiny baby, holding it firmly, but tenderly.

She guides her new cub, which cannot see her, to rest on her broad furry chest and drink her fresh milk.

All the young cubs are watched over by their mothers and by kind, trained people.

Pandas often have twins, but a mother can only care for one cub at a time.

The other twin needs to be fed and kept healthy and protected in a nearby panda nursery.

As the small bears grow, the skilled and helpful people and the mother panda swap cubs so each twin can get constant care, and both share time with their mother.

With such a loving team, each panda cub grows and grows.

Slowly, its eyes open wide and it begins to see its mother's furry face and other faces full of smiles.

When the panda cubs are big enough to leave their nursery and their mothers, they are ready to have new adventures and to make new friends in panda kindergarten.

Here come the kindergartners.

Look at them go.

The young pandas have their own panda playground, full of places where cubs can swing and climb and play with their new friends.

Pandas that play together may learn to be comfortable with each other as cubs and as adults.

In their outdoor playground, the curious cubs learn exciting things about their world.

They discover snow is cold and very slippery.

Pandas always find new ways to play, like tugging and tearing and touching their toes.

To panda cubs, almost anything can be a toy.

Bolder and stronger, cubs try new things, climbing high and dangling until it's time for lunch in the panda kindergarten.

With so much to do and so much to discover, lively little bears start feeling tired and sleepy.

It's time for cubs to take a nap.

The young pandas will be together in panda kindergarten for about a year.

As they grow older, some will stay in their safe Wolong home and have cubs of their own.

One day, some may be chosen to leave and live in the bamboo forests in the tall, misty mountains nearby.

Then the rare pandas born in Wolong would roam free and wild, able to use their skills they learned when they were small.

Learning from each other and from the people who care for them, the pandas born in Wolong are on a special journey that gives hope to pandas everywhere and to all who love them.

Did you enjoy that story?

I did.

I love pandas and I love kindergarten, so how could you not like that book?

All right, it's time for the question of the day.

Was that story fiction or nonfiction?

Right, it was nonfiction.

It was nonfiction because it was an informational book, it gave us true details about pandas.

Oh, that's exciting.

Okay, now, here is my first question.

Where are the pandas living right now in the story?

Where were they living?

Well, let's take a look.

On page five it tells us.

Oh, where were they living?

Right here, it says meet a panda kindergarten class at the Wolong Nature Reserve in China.

So, where are they living?

At the Wolong Nature Reserve in China.

Oh, that must be a great place, I should go visit there.

My next question is at the reserve, who helps the mother?

Remember, sometimes they have twins, a lot of times they have twins, but who helps?

Who helps?

Who helps?

It says right here on page 10, it said, "and by kind, trained people."

Yes, the people at the reserve are helping the mothers.

How are they helping them?

Oh my goodness.

I think one of the ways was they were feeding them.

We'll talk more about that later.

Okay, so remember, they were at the kindergarten and the question is some, what are some of the things that they do at the kindergarten.

Well, let me see, is it right here?

I think it was on this page.

It says, "The young pandas have their own panda playground," how would you like to have your own playground?

"full of places where cubs can swing," that's one thing they can do, they can climb and they can play.

They can play with the other pandas.

How amazing is that?

That is cool.

Oh my goodness.

And what is the last thing that they ended up doing?

It's way over here on page 27, what was it?

Oh, it's like what Mr. Dawson likes to do after a hard day of playing.

Go to sleep and take a nap with my friends, yes.

All right, that was a great book and now it's time to end up writing.

Remember, writing is a very important part of things that we do here at Discovery Ranch.

Here it says, "How do the photographs help you know how people care for pandas?"

Says to draw it.

I'm gonna have to draw it really, what did they do?

Yes, they were feeding them.

Here's my baby panda.

Oh, I'm just gonna do the best I can.

(marker scribbling) They have two ears like that.

And then they have eyes.

(marker scribbling) And then they have a nose.

And that.

And then they had a bottle, right?

Right there and they're drinking, there you go.

And what does it say here?

"People care for pandas by" feeding them, so we have to spell feeding.

What's the first sound in feeding?

F, f is for "F".

E, so I have to, oh, that's the long sound and I know that it's two "E"s. Dah, feeding.

And then them, them.

Oh, there's a diagraph, th, th is for T-H. Th, eh is for "E".

Them is for "M".

And don't forget the period to make the sentence complete.

People care for pandas by feeding them and we found that out in the story.

Oh, how good it was to read that story, I had so much fun.

Let's do it again tomorrow with another story.

We'll see you guys tomorrow, all right?

Bye bye.

(upbeat music) ♪ Good morning to a brand new day ♪ ♪ Time to learn and games to play ♪ ♪ Learning things is so much fun ♪ ♪ Learning is good for everyone ♪