I Spy (Informazing) by David Drew

I Spy (Grades K–2)

Informazing series

by David Drew Illustrations by Robert Roennfeldt

Do animals see the same world that we see? In this book, based on the familiar game of "I Spy," children can discover the strange worlds that only animals can see.

Grade level K–2

Visual literacy

Spy holes: to focus attention on details.

Bullet lists : to itemize details when reading or making notes. Sometimes called a "dot point," a "bullet" is a round dot placed at the start of each line to list a new fact. (Example: the following paragraphs are arranged in this way.)

Subject areas

English/Language Arts

Making lists using "bullets"

Differences between rhyming, rhythmical song text (I spy with my little eye ...") and nonfiction text ("It has the best eyesight of any animal")

Initial letters ("It starts with C") .

Capital and "small" letters (C and c) .

Science/Technology

Animal eyesight and how it can differ from ours

Magnification and magnifying lenses

Reflection and refraction of light

The color spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, indigo)

Invisible colors (infrared, ultraviolet) that some animals can see

Mathematics

Counting in groups: singles, pairs, groups of 3, groups of 4, groups of 6

Numbers as figures (8) and as words (eight)

Shapes in nature

Learning strategies

Listening to information carefully as clues in a guessing game.

Initial letter sounds as information clues.

Modeled writing: children write their own puzzle book, modeled on I Spy.

Samples from the book

This is a guessing book in which children turn the page for the answer. To see how this works on our website, follow these rules:

Informazing is a science/ literacy series for K–6

by David Drew

Titles in this series:

Animal Acrobats

Animal Clues

Animal, Plant, or Mineral?

Body Facts

Body Maps

The Book of Animal Records

Caterpillar Diary

Creature Features

Earth in Danger

The Gas Giants

Hidden Animals

I Spy

The Life of the Butterfly

Millions of Years Ago

Mystery Monsters

Postcards from the Planets

Skeletons

Small Worlds

Somewhere in the Universe

Tadpole Diary

What Did You Eat Today?

What Is It?

How to play:

1. Read the clues.

2. Look at the pictures closely.

3. Guess the answer.

4. Roll over the pictures with your mouse to see if you are right.

Make a list of possible answers before you "turn the page". You can "turn the page" by rolling over the image with your mouse:

(Pages 6-9 of I Spy)

(Pages 10-13 of I Spy)

Back to top

Ideas to get you started

Make the most of the children's guesses to build a fact file about animals:

Cover the clues with a piece of cardboard, to reveal them one at a time.
On a large sheet of paper pinned to an easel, make a list of the children's guesses. Ask them to give a reason for their guesses, and note this on the sheet.
Later you can research the animals the children have discussed.
Teachers' notes in the Big Book edition (inside front cover) provide more information on the animals' remarks such as "I can see only one or two colors.")

Make your own book

Children can also write their own puzzle book, modeled on I Spy . More here.

Back to top

Contents of I Spy

Toad

Vulture

Cat

Bee

Companion books

Other guessing books that also teach visual research skills include:

Animal Clues • Creature Features

Back to top

These books are now out of print

Second-hand copies can sometimes be bought from

abe.com CLICK HERE

Back to Home Page