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.

Apple Descriptive Writing

The students brainstormed ways to describe an apple on a Circle Map. They then used those ideas to build a Tree Map. The Tree Map was used to write sentences to describe the apple. We use Thinking Maps to help the students organize their thoughts in logical and detailed sentences.

Teddy Bear Writing

The students are learning to use Thinking Maps to help organize our thoughts into writing. In this lesson the students wrote words to describe a teddy bear on a Circle Map. They then transferred those words onto a Tree Map. The Tree Map helps the students understand that every sentence must include a noun and a verb. The Tree Map was used to help the students write their sentences. Every week I work with the students to edit their work one-on-one during guided writing. As we read their sentences together, I ask questions such as "What should go at the beginning of the sentence?" and "What should go at the end?" We correct the work together and the they write a final draft of their writing.

The Constitution

For Constitution Day, we used the website www.pebblego.com to learn about the history of the constitution. We then created a Double Bubble Map together to compare The Constitution to our class Social Contract. The Social Contract is a part of our discipline plan through the Capturing Kids' Hearts process. We discussed that The Constitution gives us freedom and rights. The students then wrote at least one thing that freedom means to them.

Expository vs. Fiction

To help the students understand the difference between expository and fiction texts, we read Scaredy Crow (from ReadingA-Z) and All Kinds of Farms (from WeGiveBooks). The students then  created Double Bubble Maps to record how the books were the same and how they were different.

Inventors Research

In the computer lab the students used PebbleGo to research various inventors of their choice. I love PebbleGo because not only can the students read the information themselves but they can have it read to them as well. There are also various pictures, videos, and timelines to help them comprehend the material. As the students learned about their chosen inventor, they recorded facts on a Circle Map. They then used those facts to help them write a research paper about their inventor.

Comparing Stories by David Shannon

As a part of our study over David Shannon books, we read Too Many Toys and A Bad Case of Stripes. As you can read about in previous posts, the students analyzed the characters, wrote about the beginning, middle, and end as well as the story elements. In this lesson, the students created a Double Bubble Map to compare the two stories. They then wrote at least one way the two stories were the same and two ways they were different on a four-tiered foldable. The foldables were displayed along with artwork they created for A Bad Case of Stripes. The students traced their hand and arm and then colored it with stripes.

Comparing Eric Carle Books

In addition to reading The Mixed Up Chameleon, we also read The Grouchy Ladybug. The students created three-flap foldables for this book as well to write the beginning, middle, and end of the story. They also created Story Maps for the book. As a class we compared The Mixed Up Chameleon and The Grouchy Ladybug on a Double Bubble Map. The students then created their own Double Bubble Maps. They used their own Double Bubble Map to create a four-tiered foldable to write one way the books were the same and two ways they were different.

Sunflowers: Writing to Inform

Using PebbleGo, we learned about a specific type of flower: the sunflower. The students then used what they learned to answer various questions on a Tree Map. Using the Tree Map, they wrote a shared writing to tell what they learned about the flower. Shared writing, or interactive writing, is when the students take turns writing and give each other verbal help as they write. After writing, we had a mini art lesson on how to draw a simple sunflower.