Safari Ltd. recently sent us a red panda figurine which inspired some activities and a writing frames printable for narrative and expository compositions. When I taught second grade, each student had to write a different animal research report and so there are pages to help children write a short report. We have a visitor who loves red pandas. This is the link to buy one on Safari Ltd. (non-affiliate, non-sponsored).
The Red Panda
A play scene or diorama can easily be set up to show their mountains habitats. While not actually a panda at all, red pandas are in a family of their own: Ailurus fulgens. They also like artificial sugars. They the only non-primate species known to be able to taste aspartame according to a Scientific American online article. Check out the link and scroll down to see the impossibly cute baby red panda.
A wooden spoon puppet was also inspired by the figurine. Drawing on a curved surface takes talent, which this 8-year-old has. 
These pages help meet the common core standards listed below, but would fit in any writing program. See more free writing frames on the free eMembers page.
To download the red panda free printable click here: red-panda-writing-frames
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
Last are two photos of the red panda at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Our Minnesota Zoo also has a red panda exhibit.
Thank you for reading! And be forewarned that although the facts about this animal say they smell like popcorn, they actually smell much worse!
Carolyn
DIY Montessori 3-Part Cards How-To and Templates
The post at this link has information to help you make your own 3-part cards as well as some templates. The trick to making them yourself is to use a table and then merge some of the cells. So, begin with a table 2-columns by 8-rows. This may be done in many programs such as Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher.
