Having a great time bringing the Common Core to LIFE! Alright teachers, it's more than the Common Core, so forget all the stress of evaluations, assessments, data collecting, correcting, reports, observations, data team meetings, committees and Rolaids... Present the END PROJECT first and teach with the end in sight so your students are inspired and know what the goal is. This project worked and was differentiated enough for all my students to have success. What a great feeling! So now let's get back to teaching....
Posts tagged #story elements
Opinion Writing
I have introduced opinion writing to my students already and they love it. Every time they respond to a question in our Fairy Tale unit, they begin with the words... In my opinion.... (as their topic sentence). They have to give evidence to support their opinion, so they begin the next statement with ... One reason is.... Another reason is..... And lastly, the concluding statement is.... These are the reasons why.... I sue a template for them to work with that sets the framework to their writing. Next we edit the work and some may share aloud as a "commercial break". We usually bring our writing to a final copy and add it to a visual to enhance our lesson. The other day I had the kids color a picture of Cinderella and then I cut the picture into zig-zag pieces. I repositioned the pieces onto light colored paper and the children wrote their final copy between the lines for their Opinion Writing. A few read their work aloud and of course we all held them up for our gallery watch. They are hanging in the classroom now. What an amazing way to bring the Common Core ELA to life. Check out www.visualccl.com for more activities like this one. I have several fairy tale booklets and other ideas for you to consider if you are interested. Enjoy!
Take a puzzling look at a new way with opinion writing! January 2014 Grade 2
Retell Bookmarks
My students use retell bookmarks all year long. They are encouraged to memorize the order of questions on their bookmark so they can write their own retell/recount . My children love to reach this goal without using their bookmarks.
My above average learners have a retell notebook to respond with during guided reading. This allows them to write their own elaborative paragraphs. They are also encouraged to respond orally. This practice has been wonderful for public speaking and hearing how a story sounds as a retell.
My benchmark students complete a retell worksheet and store in their reading binder. They can read their work to a partner too.
My below average kids may answer the questions orally and try to respond with a shorter written application. Check for Visual Reading and Writing Activities for the Common Core in my store LAMINATE BOOKMARKS… USE IN CLASS AND AT HOME!
All can be found at www.visualccl.com
Silhouette Visuals
See The Art of Visual Writing Book in my store for this idea and more!
Sometimes a visual helps the writer to formulate his/her ideas in sequential order whether they are retelling a story or writing a new one. For example, this pre-writing visual will create a rich vocabulary to ‘draw’ from.
Other Ways to Use This Lesson: Silhouette Visuals
Remember to allow the opportunity for your learners to write with a purpose in mind. Let them see the picture before they write. Train them early to ‘visualize’ and see the details or understand the reasons why they believe what they are writing.
This lesson can focus on various skills. When you are introducing Big Ideas, small moments, main topics, supportive thoughts or descriptive sentences, allow the children to draw on previous knowledge, as well as be inspired by the pictures. Try writing with collages every week and create a journal to collect genre as a class book and share in the classroom library. This activity can give you an on-going progress assessment as well.
Additionally, you can use this activity every week for practice along with reinforcing various topics throughout the year (all you need is a visual). You can also use this activity to enhance existing reading/writing programs. For instance, you may be reading about nature, so allow the children to create a picture inspired by nature. Then, coordinate the writing based on your objectives.
Moreover, allow the children to highlight adjectives and verbs in different colors, identifying its proper use when their writing is complete. Perhaps the children can use their sceneries to inspire their writing about settings or focus on a retell, main topics, as well as topic sentences.
Of course, you can also use non-fiction books/pictures to inspire factual/informative writing. This is a great time for a mini lesson on paragraph writing, research, and main ideas.
The children can create a class collage together. Inspire them to write a whole class narrative or poem ‘in the round’. Each student participates by offering one elaborative sentence each, thus, building on the sequence of events or descriptions. Allow time for discussion and encourage the class to work together. The class can copy the story or poem and it can be printed as a final copy if done on the computer or smart board. Attach to colored paper, embellish, and display as desired.
The class can also focus on particular words when their writing is complete. Have them write synonyms and antonyms to increase their vocabulary, or even creatively use their ideas for analogies. Perhaps they can take each sentence and elaborate them for practice. You can also print the class story and cut the sentences into strips and use to put in sequential order. You can also use the sentence strips as sentences to diagram. Have the children pick-apart the sentence, labeling the parts for practice.
Recreate a story illustration or non-fiction picture with pre-made animal or object cut-outs to inspire riddles. Use a picture to generate ideas and descriptions about the scene without giving all the information away. End the paragraph with a question and see if other kids can answer the riddle. You will be amazed at the various responses and ideas they will write about the same visual.
Another way to use their scenery is to create a main character out of scraps and glue on top of the background. This visual will be a great inspiration for character development and focusing on the main character. You can glue the existing picture to a larger piece of colored construction paper, leaving a framed-edge. Either type or write words or phrases that describe the main character along the frame.
If you want to be more creative, try using stencils, foam paper, pre-printed pattern paper, pre-made animal shapes or stickers to create a subject/character to be glued on top of the scenery. The ideas are limitless.
Share aloud with classmates. Create a bulletin board, collect the writing and include in your classroom library. All can be found at www.visualccl.com
Using Cards as Writing Visuals
It’s time to write about the visuals on cards. It’s time to describe the action seen and use your imagination to create a narrative story, poem, expository paragraph and more. Brainstorming is a wonderful way to generate new and descriptive vocabulary. Leave on a chart for inexperienced writers to use. Try the same with verbs as well.
Remember to allow the opportunity for your learners to write with an explanation in mind. Let them see the picture before they write. Train them early to ‘visualize’ and see the details or understand the reasons why they explaining specific directions.
This lesson can focus on various skills. When you are introducing the purpose of writing to explain, allow the children to draw on previous knowledge, as well as be inspired by the pictures. Try this activity every week and create a journal or a ‘how to’ booklet to collect this writing genre. This activity can give you an on-going progress assessment as well.
Additionally, you can use this activity every week for practice along with reinforcing writing in sequence. A fun way to change-up this lesson would be to have a copy of their writing and cut directions into strips. Use the visual as an inspiration to help a partner place the directions in sequential order. This can be a fun workshop activity. Laminate the pieces and place in an envelope for storage.
Additionally, allow the children to highlight adjectives and verbs in different colors, identifying its proper use. Have them write synonyms and antonyms to increase their vocabulary, or even creatively use their explanations in poetic form. Perhaps they can take each sentence and elaborate them for practice. You can also use this activity to enhance existing story topics. For instance, you may be reading about space, so allow the children to write about ‘how’ to be an astronaut. Perhaps they can create a sculpture of a space ship, use photographs, pictures or coloring pages of their topic. If you have stickers, try them to save time. Just illustrate the background.
Remember, if time is a challenge, keep pictures or cards of animals, people, or places available, with or without a background for your students to use rather than spending time illustrating. If you have time to illustrate, try stencils to trace and add details as needed… ‘seeing is believing’.
Lastly, glue your work to colored paper and display illustrations or sculptures creatively. Share aloud with classmates. Collect the writing, create a bulletin board or put examples into booklets, and keep in a ‘how to’ basket to be shared by others in your classroom library.
Check for Visual Reading and Writing Activities for the Common Core and The Art of Visual Writing Book in my store for this lesson and more. All can be found at www.visualccl.com
