Scarecrow Descriptive Writing

The students created and wrote about scarecrows for one of our weekly writing lessons. I'm very proud of how they are adding descriptive language and comparisons to their writing now.

Making Connections

We read several books so the students could practice making connections. We read Hallo-wiener, Pumpkin Jack, and It's Pumpkin Time. After reading, the students shared their connections with the class and we charted them on a Circle Map. The students then wrote at least one sentence about what the story reminded them of.

Book Character Parade

On Halloween the students were invited to dress as their favorite book character. For students who did not have a costume, we invited them to wear all black. We read Bats on Parade and Stellaluna in class and created masks to wear. The students who dressed up paraded around the school while others cheered them on.

Pumpkin Patch Place Value

Each student was given a bag of candy pumpkins to count during a Place Value lesson. They used a ten rod sheet to help sort the candy in rows of tens. We discussed that it is quicker to count by tens than by ones because ten is a larger number. After making their pumpkin patch with the candy, they recreated it on the ten rod sheet by thumb printing pumpkins. They then completed a recording sheet to identify how many tens and ones were in their pumpkin patch as well as the expanded notation. Their work was bound into a class book to use during Math Tubbing. The templates can be downloaded from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Spider Descriptive Writing and Art

The students wrote to describe spiders with the help of Thinking Maps. After writing, we had an art lesson on how to draw a spider web. The students colored in each part of the spider web a different color. They then created a spider out of construction paper. I love how they are all similar yet so different.

Bat Descriptive Writing

The students worked on using their Thinking Maps to come up with more details to describe objects. This time they described a bat. Instead of just adding details like "black" to describe its color, they had to add more details like "black like coal" for more complex sentences. After writing, we had a short art lesson on how to draw a bat hanging upside down. I think they did a great job!

Candy Corn Place Value

To assess the students' ability to represent numbers in various forms, they created candy corn place value art. Each student was given a different number. They wrote the number in the top portion of the candy corn. In the second portion, they had to draw a pictorial model of the number. In the bottom portion, they had to write the expanded notation of the same number. The kids loved it and had no idea I was assessing their understanding.

Pumpkin Descriptive Writing

The students used Thinking Maps to organize their ideas of how to describe a pumpkin. They then wrote three sentences using those Maps. Each week I model for the students how to use Thinking Maps to help them with their writing. Then they write independently for the first three days. On the fourth day, I sit down with each student individually to do one-on-one editing. When I see an area that needs to be corrected, I ask the students a guiding question such as "What goes at the beginning of the sentences?" and they answer. I think this helps them take more ownership and leads to better writing the next time. After we edit together, they go back and rewrite a final draft which is what is displayed in the hallway. While I work with students one-on-one, the other students are  working in Daily 5. Occasionally I will have an independent art project that they can do to go along with their writing.

Pumpkin Shapes

While learning about the attributes of shapes, we discussed that the attributes stay the same no matter how large or small you make that shape. The students explored this concept by making larger squares, square rectangles, and triangles out of smaller pattern blocks. They then used paper pattern blocks to make a pumpkin shape. As they worked we discussed how many sides and vertices each shaped had.

Fall Leaf Writing

In writing the students have been learning to use describing words. Last week the students wrote about fall leaves. Each week I model a writing lesson for the students and then they write their first draft, using Thinking Maps, individually. This is a part of our writing program, Write From the Beginning. On Thursdays, we have one-on-one guided writing sessions where the students work with me to answer questions about how to improve their writing. They then revise and rewrite their writing for a final draft. This week we hung up their work with their fall leaf they created using Tagxedo.

Scarecrow Writing

As a part of our writing program, Write From the Beginning, the students are learning to write about objects using descriptive language. They recently wrote to describe a scarecrow by first brainstorming on a Circle Map, followed by creating a Tree Map, and then followed by writing sentences. While I worked with students one-on-one on the editing and revising portion of the writing process, the students made their own scarecrow.