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These worksheets are FREE samples from my Mystery Sight Word Growing Bundle. Get The Mystery Sight Word Practice Bundle HERE There are 10 pages of mystery sight word practice worksheets in this product. This is perfect for Preschool and kindergarten students. This product will help children to learn sight words by identifying, finding, and writing. Each page will focus on a sight word. This product is also perfect for classroom activities, morning work, word work and literacy centers. For more Sight Word Products CLICK HERE If you like this product, you may like: Mystery Sight Word Practice (Pre-Primer)Mystery Sight Word Practice (Primer) Sight Word Activities The Bundle Sight Word Practice The Bundle Sight Word Dab The Bundle For more information about my products and freebies, please check out: Miss Faleena PinterestMiss Faleena InstagramMiss Faleena FacebookMiss Faleena Website Thank you for stopping by! You can contact me at [email protected] with any question. Preschool | Preschool Worksheets | Kindergarten | Kindergarten Worksheets | First Grade | First Grade Worksheets | Sight Word | Sight Word Pre-Primer | Sight Word Primer | Sight Word First Grade | Sight Word Worksheets | Free Mystery Sight Word Practice| Free Lessons
Teaching informational writing doesn't have to be tough in 1st and 2nd grade. Use these topics, graphic organizers, and activities to begin!
2nd Grader Unicorn SVG design Get your second grader ready for school with this cute Back to School Unicorn shirt design, perfect for all your DIY projects or handmade business product lines. You can create shirts, mugs, tumblers, cards, party decor and more for yourself, for others, or to resell with this second grader SVG design. — This listing is an INSTANT DIGITAL DOWNLOAD, not a PHYSICAL ITEM — INSTANT DOWNLOADS are DIGITAL FILES that you download and can use right away! YOU WILL RECEIVE: 1 SVG cut file : 1 DXF cut file : 1 EPS layered file : 1 PNG file : 1 JPG file : 1 flipped JPG file for Iron on Transfer paper printing Your files will come in a ZIP file that will need to be unzipped once downloaded. The SVG and DXF file formats are compatible with the Silhouette and Cricut machine design software as well as other cutting machine programs that can read these file formats. Please make sure that your machine is compatible with one or more of the above listed formats before purchasing this listing. A layered EPS file is included for your paper and scrapbooking projects. Also included are a PNG and a JPG file as well as a flipped (mirror image) JPG file for certain iron on transfer paper projects. POLICIES: This design is intended for both PERSONAL USE (unlimited) and COMMERCIAL USE (up to 500 items); meaning that you can create as many personal items as you want or up to 500 commercial products that you intend to sell. However, you MAY NOT: – sell or give away the original files. – use all or part of any of my designs to create new designs that you intend to sell. (This is considered copyright infringement.) – digitize my artwork to create files for embroidery. – upload the files to any print on demand sites (such as Cafe Press, Zazzle, Printful, Amazon Merch, etc.) Please visit our POLICIES PAGE for up-to-date information on payments accepted, return policies and more: https://www.etsy.com/shop/queenSVGbee?ref=hdr_shop_menu#policies WANT TO SEE MORE DESIGNS LIKE THIS ONE? There are plenty of cutting file designs in our SCHOOL and TEACHER SVGs section: https://www.etsy.com/shop/queenSVGbee?section_id=21519371 Visit our main ETSY SHOP page to see even more! https://www.etsy.com/shop/queenSVGbee We would LOVE to see what you have created with this design and would be delighted if you posted photos of your creation to our page!
Item specificsConditionUsedAn item that has been previously worn. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tabSeller notes“Please Read The Description! - The collar stiffeners are slightly bent, minor colour fading to the ... Read moreabout the seller notes“Please Read The Description! - The collar stiffeners are slightly bent, minor colour fading to the fold of the collar mainly at the back and on the right side, fabric wear to the right side of the collar around the fold of the collar and minor fabric wear across the shirt. A/B - A027” Read lessabout the seller notes PatternAbstractSleeve LengthLong SleeveNecklineCollaredClosureButtonSizeLMaterialViscoseColourBlackBrandReissFitSlimSize TypeRegularDepartmentMenTypeButton-UpCollar StyleSpreadCountry/Region of ManufactureTürkiye
One of my favorite time-saving organizational tools? My curriculum map template! Creating a curriculum map and monthly pacing guide
This Grade 2 Reading Comprehension worksheet invites young learners to embark on a delightful journey with Josh and his kite. The worksheet is designed to enhance reading skills and comprehension in a fun and engaging way. Students will read a short paragraph that introduces them to Josh and his exciting kite-flying adventure. After reading, they...
I was first introduced to the idea of creating Animal Dioramas when my son (who was a first grader at the time), brought home a shoebox and a basic instruction sheet from his teacher to create a diorama of any animal and its natural habitat. Being a mom, I was so excited about the opportunity to help my son create something he was so excited about! Being a teacher, I knew that I had to do a project like this with my own students, but I had no idea where to start. I shared the idea with my second grade colleagues, and they all loved it! We worked together to create a basic letter to send home to parents, but struggled to find just the right way to show students exactly what the project is and how to do it. (I don't know about your class, but I have to break everything into very small steps for most of my kiddos!) So, I decided to create a unit that would have everything you could ever need for doing a project like this. Trust me, if you want to do this project with your class - this unit will save you SO much time and make your life so much easier! To start off, our science focus for the entire month is ANIMALS! We spent time reading about animals and life cycles in our science books, and this week we are learning all about animal habitats. I found some really amazing videos on habitats on our district portal, but you can also find some really cute and informative videos here (around 3-5 minutes each): Animals and their Habitats Habitats Home Sweet Habitat Earlier this week, I sent home a letter to parents to let them know that we will be starting our dioramas soon! I also asked parents to send shoe boxes to school with their child, if possible. You may want to send home your parent letter 1-2 weeks before you intend to send home the assignment. I like to send everything home with the student on a Friday, so they have the weekend to start gathering supplies and begin working on their project. I usually give students 3-4 weeks to complete the project at home. My student dioramas are due on May 6th, which gives me plenty of time to have them present their projects and have them on display for our Open House the following week! After that, I'll be happy to send them home with the students. This is what I sent home with the students to kick off our Animal Diorama and Research Report Project! (Of course I stapled them together so the pages didn't go flying all over the place when they went outside, but for the purpose of this photo - I laid them out so you can see them!) That's it! Easy-peasy! Just send the directions for the project, the animal research report poster, the student grading rubric, and the presentation outline home and have your students work on their projects on their own time. My second grade team and I decided to have one day where we all will keep our classrooms open or an hour or so after school so students can come in and work on their projects, use classroom supplies, get help with research, etc. We will be doing the majority of the research in the classroom, and will be writing the research reports as well. I just prefer to do that part with the students, so I can guide them through the writing process. The majority of our research will be done on the internet during our computer lab time. I've found these websites to be VERY helpful and easy for kids to find the information they need for their reports! A-Z Animals Kids National Geographic - Animals San Diego Zoo: Animals A-Z While we are in the computer lab, I had the students record their research information on this sheet: Once the students had recorded all of their information, we spent the next day taking their key ideas and putting them into complete sentences about their animals. I also have a simpler version if that works better for your class! From there, the students would write their final draft on a separate sheet of paper (also included in the unit). You can find all of these pages, grading rubrics, parent letters, as well as a how-to instructional presentation to show your students how to do the project HERE! Now, the only question is... what will your students create?
Need ideas for teaching place value? check out these place value videos, free second grade place value math worksheets, and more.
Expository Writing Sentence Starters, Sentence Frames, and Sentence Openers Providing emergent writers with a choice of thesis statements "sentence frames" for their expository writing will help students build confidence when writings essays and reports. The expository theses or expository sentence opener is different from an argument or opinion essay because it does not introduce an opinion, make claims, state an argument, and or try to persuade. Expository writing is about presenting facts, reasons, evidence, logical ideas, information in a logical sequence. The topic sentence or focus sentence is a prescriptive grammatical term that describes the sentence in an expository or narrative paragraph which introduces or summarizes the main idea of that paragraph. It is usually the first sentence in emergent writers paragraphs and a difficult concept to master for many young writers. The writer's craft is supported with sentence starters and theses statements that build a students confidence, ease writing stress, motivate students and demystify writing. It's interesting to learn that..., It's an interesting argument..., It's fascinating to justify that..., It's fascinating to explore..., It's fascinating to illustrate..., It's amazing to think about …, It's amazing to ponder …, It's amazing to learn …, Let me explain in more detail..., Let me expand on one idea..., Let me educate you about..., Let me enlighten you..., Let me expound further.., You’ll be excited to learn that..., You’ll be excited to know..., You’ll be amazed to learn..., Do you realize that.., You know that.., have you ever thought about..., Have you ever wondered..., Have you ever discovered..., Let me justify my evidence, reasons or opinion..., Of course, most/few agree that..., Of course, no one agrees that..., Of course, no one agrees that..., It's interesting to note that..., In a unique, parallel or odd way..., In a fascinating discovery..., It’s incredible to think..., It’s incredible to think..., You’d better believe that …, You’d understand more.., You’d interpret less if.., You’d be fascinated to know more about.., You’d be intrigued to know that.., You’ll comprehend concisely that …, You’ll discover new insights…, You’ll be amazed that …, You’ll apprehend more …, Don’t you know that..., You’d agree that..., You Wouldn't need to justify if …, It's interesting to learn that..., It's an interesting argument..., It's fascinating to justify that..., It's fascinating to explore..., It's fascinating to illustrate..., It's amazing to think about …, It's amazing to ponder …, It's amazing to learn …, Let me explain..., Let me expand on..., Let me educate you..., Let me enlighten you..., Let me expound.., You’ll be excited to learn that..., You’ll be excited to know..., You’ll be amazed to learn .., Do you realize that.., Do you know that.., Have you ever thought about..., Have you ever wondered..., Have you ever discovered..., Let me justify..., Of course, most agree that..., Of course, a few agree that..., Of course, no one agrees that..., It's interesting to note that..., In a unique way..., In a parallel way..., In a fascinating discovery..., It’s incredible to think..., You’d better believe that …, You’d understand more.., You’d interpret less if.., You’d be fascinated to know more about.., You’d be intrigued to know that.., You’ll comprehend concisely that …, You’ll discover new insights…, You’ll be amazed that …, You’ll apprehend more …, Don’t you know that..., You’d agree that..., Wouldn't need to justify if … (Many, Most, Some) Experts agree that ... Let me enlighten you..., Let me question your thinking..., Let me argue the point that ..., Let me ask you a question, (who, what, where, whom, why or how)..., There are many, some, few or no reasons that..., There are justifications for..., There are/aren't reasons that..., There are many, few, some or no way(s) in which..., Would you believe that..., Can you imagine what..., So, what do we really know about..., So, what do we really understand about..., So, what do you really know about.... So, what do you really know about..., Incredibly, no one knows..., Incredibly, new knowledge that I..., Incredibly, what is the justification for..., It is true that...It's not common knowledge that... So, you want to understand how...., So, you want to imagine how...., So, you want to believe that...., Most, many, some or no people agree that..., Often times, you will find...., For years..., Historically..., It’s hard to believe, but...., You will find that.... You, will doubt that... You’ll soon observe that..., Many, some, few, or no one will argue that..., Without a doubt, …, In the first, second, third or last place..., Let me tell you..., Let me educate you..., Let me inform you about..., Let me entertain you, Let me stretch your understanding..., In many, some, few or no way(s)..., TIME AND ORDER SENTENCE TRANSITIONS After, At once, Before, During, First . . . second . . . third First . . . next . . . then, If . . . then . . . , In the meantime Meanwhile, Often, Presently, Shortly, Soon after, Still Temporarily, Until, When, While ADDITION SENTENCE TRANSITIONS Additionally, Also, As well as, Besides, Furthermore, In addition, Likewise, Moreover, Not only, Similarly CONTRAST SENTENCE TRANSITIONS Although, But, Despite, However, In contrast, Instead, On the contrary, On the other hand, Unlike, Yet CONCESSION SENTENCE TRANSITIONS Admittedly,,Certainly, Clearly, Evidently, Granted, Naturally, Obviously, Of course, Undeniably, Understandably CAUSE AND EFFECT SENTENCE TRANSITIONS As a result, Because, Consequently, Since, So, Therefore EXAMPLES SENTENCE TRANSITIONS For example, For instance, In particular, Specifically, Such as, To illustrate CONCLUSIONS SENTENCE TRANSITIONS Finally, Generally, In brief, In conclusion, In summary, On the whole Cause & Effect Sentence Transitions therefore • consequently • thus • as a result (of) • for this reason • accordingly • so • for since • because • if…then • in order to Addition Sentence Transitions moreover • furthermore • finally • in addition (to) • besides and • nor • not only…but also • • both…and Comparison Sentence Transitions likewise • similarly • in the same way • in the same manner just as…so • the more…the more • whether…or • either… or • neither…nor Contrast Sentence Transitions however • nevertheless • in spite of • despite • in contrast • on the other hand • on the contrary • but • yet • the more…the less although • though • even though • unlike • while • whereas • despite • in spite of Time or Sequence Sentence Transitions first/second/third • then/next/finally • afterwards • meanwhile • previously • initially • later • subsequently no sooner…than when • whenever • while • until • before • after • as soon as • as long as first/second/third • then/next/finally • afterwards • meanwhile • previously • initially • later • subsequently • no sooner…than when • whenever • while • until • before • after • as soon as • as long as Topic Sentence Starters: It is amazing to think about …, Let me explain …. You’ll be excited to learn that …, Do you realize that …, Have you ever thought about …, Have you ever wondered…, Let me tell you about …, It’s incredible that …, There are many reasons that …, There are many ways in which…, So, you want to understand how…, Why do …, How can …, When do …, Where can… It’s hard to believe, but… , You will find that… , You’ll soon discover that… , No one will argue that… , So, why is (are)… , What’s so great about… Sentence Starters for Emergent and Advanced Writers Examining Prior Knowledge: I understand that… This reminds me of… This relates to… Forming Interpretations: What this means to me is… I think this represents… The idea I’m getting is… One question that this text answers is… One question that this text addresses is… Asking Questions: I wonder why… What if… How come… How is it possible that… Monitoring: I lost track of everything except… I need to reread the part where… I know I’m on the right track because… A term or idea that was unclear to me was… Predicting: I’ll bet that… I think… If ____, then … Revising Meaning: At first I thought _____, but now I… My latest thought about this is… I’m getting a different picture here because… Visualizing: I can imagine… In my mind I see… If this were a movie scene… Analyzing the Author’s Craft: A golden line for me is… This word/phrase stands out for me because… I like how the author uses ____ to show… Making Connections: This reminds me of… I experienced this once when… I can relate to this to other readings because… The argument here is similar to ___ because… Another example of ___ is… Reflecting and Relating: So, the big idea is… A conclusion that I’m drawing is… This is relevant to my life because… This author is trying to make me (see, feel, know, do) … It makes a difference that this text was written because… Adopting an Alignment: The character I most identify with is… The idea I find most provocative is… I reject this author’s view because… Evaluating: I like/don’t like ____ because… This could be more effective if… The most important message here is… One big difference between this and ___ is… Sources: New York City Writing Project, “Monitoring Our Reading.” NY: Lehman College, 2000. Quick Tips Sentence Writing Transitions Samples Organization Transitions
Place Value in Second Grade In the autumn of second grade, we visited an apple orchard to introduce the base ten number system and place value. After we picked the apples, I asked students to count…
This is my absolute favorite craft that we do all year in third-grade… phases of the moon with Oreo cookies! Let’s be honest, what kid doesn’t love Oreo’s?! This project takes about an hour and a half, but the kids are SO excited about completing it. Food makes everything more fun! For this activity, you […]
I made this chart with my class when we were studying 3D shapes. All of the kids cut and taped together their own shapes. Then we held them up and counted the faces, edges, and
I have had some requests to share work from our Waldorf-inspired second grade home school. I became much more comfortable teaching this year, and because of this and the wonderful subjects we studied, we had a lot of fun! In the second grade traditional Waldorf curriculum children can really start to sink into reading and ...
Global Projects for kids are a great way to help students write more while learning about those from other cultures around the world. Try this great site!
Glow and GROW | FORMATIVE FEEDBACK GLOW and GROW | FORMATIVE FEEDBACK GLOW and Grow Notes: Building an engaged, thoughtful, and reflective classroom starts with quality management tools that are fast and easy to implement! GROW Notes encourage student growth and reflection! Students will be more engaged, eager to meet SMART goals, create fantastic questions, more on task and attentive and actively help others! Students in highly effective classes are always working towards meeting new goals but students can use some formative feedback to improve from “Not Yet?” to “Got It!” We also use Mighty Cards or a quick positive message on a post-it. Kenneth H. Blanchard, The One Minute Manager “Secret #1 : One Minute Goal Setting, is about being aware of what is expected of them from the very beginning "People who feel good about themselves produce good results” “Secret #2 : One Minute Praising. "Help People to Reach Their Full Potential. Catch Them Doing Something Right” “Secret #3 : One minute FEEDBACK/Reprimand "We are not just our behavior. We are the person managing our behavior” ONE MINUTE MANAGER BOOK SUMMARY PDF]Glow and Grow Strategy - melissatabor Adapted from: Thinking of Teaching and Runde's Room blogs. Glow and Grow Strategy. Similar to stars and wishes, the "glow and grow" strategy is a perfect tool ... [PDF]Glow-and-Grow Feedback Anchor Chart Kit - Really Good Stuff Glow-and-Grow Feedback Anchor Chart Kit. This Really Good Stuff® product includes: • Glow-and-Grow Poster, Write Again® wipe-off laminate. • 2 Highlighters ... [PDF]Grow Glow . Grow Glow - Scholastic Page 1. Grow. Glow . Grow. Glow . [PDF]Go, Grow and Glow Foods- Teacher's Guide - cloudfront.net How to Introduce Go, Grow and Glow Foods to Your Class. Concept Brief: The key ideas behind the Go, Grow and Glow concept can be found on the next page. [PDF]Glow and Grow - Florida Department of Education GLOW and GROW. Directions to Parent: Review your child's writing using the GLOW criteria listed below. Using a yellow highlighter, indicate parts of your child's ... [PDF]tools - The Thoughtful Classroom Glow & Grow makes it easy for teachers to meet these criteria when providing ... Teachers use theGlow & Grow format to provide students with encouraging and ... Glow and Grow, Praise Listening, Questioning, Learning, Thinking and Growth Glow Notes: I like/appreciate how you actively listen and reflect on learning I like/appreciate the way you persevere/try, think, question,... You made me happy when you asked that great insightful question Your reasoning, evidence, thinking was fantastic That was a thoughtful question/answer Your questions and ideas are marvelous. Never stop being a brilliant thinker You impress me with your maturity and sense of adult responsibility I love your funny perspective, ideas, questions! Wow, that was insightful; your reflection/question was exemplary and brilliant. I love seeing your smile; it brightens my day, it brings joy to our class. Thank you for shining in class with your brilliant ideas and questions! I wish you would make me laugh like that more often. You're dazzling and amazing when you share, thank you. I am proud of your amazing attention/questions and thoughtful listening Grow Notes: Please show me a better way... Why might this [ ] need more thought, work, editing... Please explain why you did it this way Please help me understand your answer Why did you pick that strategy Did you use your tools? Please support your answer with more evidence 3 MINUTE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SURVEY and Glow and GROW CONFERENCES! Teacher Feedback Questions: Was the Mini Lecture Well-Understood, Well-Delivered? Was the Pace of the Lecture…? Did you understand the Protocols, Models, Steps? Was this lesson interesting? Is the learning task clear? Is the task challenging? Are the questions relevant to the topics covered? The lesson inspires me to learn about complicated ideas. The teacher always helps me understand the material. Student Reflective Feedback Question: I am learning so much I feel like a genius. The ideas I am learning are important. I am very happy with my effort in class. I am excited about my work ethic in class. I feel amazing that I’m learning boatloads in this class. I really enjoy learning and. This class is very challenging. Learning Reflection Questions: 1. What did you learn? 2. Why is this important? 3. Did you and your partner work well together? 4. In this activity, what did you and your partner do well? 5. If we were to do this activity over, what would you and your partner do differently? 6. What changes to the activity will deepen your learning and understanding? Do you need more help from the teacher?
I have had some requests to share work from our Waldorf-inspired second grade home school. I became much more comfortable teaching this year, and because of this and the wonderful subjects we studied, we had a lot of fun! In the second grade traditional Waldorf curriculum children can really start to sink into reading and ...
This place value war game is a great way to practice reading base ten blocks and three digit numbers all while working on greater than and less than!
This post highlights the MUST KNOWS about using the interactive Math Notebooks in the Primary Grades so you can decide if they are right for your students!
Whether you're teaching in a classroom or a busy homeschool mom, it can be challenging to figure out where to start. Whether you have a question about how to support learners with behavior needs, where to find the best games to practice math facts, or just need some great book recommendations, I've got you covered.
Save time with prep AND engage kids with these interactive Google Classroom activities! BUY NOW If you are more comfortable with purchasing on TPT, click the button below. BUY ON TPT [https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sentence-Building-Game-Sight-Words-for-Google-Classroom-Easel-3261604?utm_source=CrazyCharizma-Shop&utm_campaign=Buy-From-TPT-Button] Put sight words in the right order to build a sentence and improve sentence fluency with Google Classroom activities! Take a look at so
Little 2nd grade Science Thinkers is a complete curriculum that includes scripted teacher lesson plans, read-aloud books in a printable or projectible format, easy-prep science investigations and activities, assessments, anchor chart examples, and more.
"I don't know what to write about!" How often do you hear this in your classroom? It is usually accompanied by a groan or a sigh, and a feeling of hopelessness and despair. You want to feel frustrated with this student's lack of motivation and total lack of creative thought. But....you know exactly how they feel. It is HARD to think of a writing topic, particularly personal narrative topics. Nothing seems good enough. "Nothing interesting ever happens to me," they think to themselves. To make matters worse, many of your students who are writing like crazy are writing nothing more than diary entries for their very, long trip to Florida. And then.....and then.....and then......Ugh! So what to do???? USE MENTOR TEXTS When I am feeling stuck as a writing teacher and my students seem to be going nowhere with their writing progress, the first place that I turn is to my mentors. Patricia Polacco, Donald Cruz, Jacqueline Woodson to the rescue! When you pull out your students' favorite books...all of a sudden they are full of great ideas! When you read a great book with your students, have them discuss the CONNECTIONS they have with the book. What does it remind of them of? Has anything like that ever happened to them? What were the characters feeling and have they ever felt the same way? All of these questions will help to grease the wheels and get your students writing in no time! It is a great idea to create topic charts with your students as you read classroom favorites. A three-column chart works great. In column one list the book title/author, in column two list the theme or author's message (we call it the HEART of the story), and in column three list student writing ideas and connections. Display this chart throughout your narrative writing unit so that students can refer to it when they get writer's block. Here is an example of a chart that my class did together during our writing unit: Students begin to realize that a story can come from a lot of different places and the best ideas come from our every day lives and those especially those events that give us strong feelings. SMALL MOMENTS One of the most difficult hurdles in teaching students to write good narratives is getting them to write SMALL MOMENT stories (Calkins). I tell my students that a small moment story is an event that lasts only a short time...only minutes or hours...NOT DAYS. That way the story can focus on the details (thoughts and feelings) rather than on telling only what happened (and then, and then, and then). You take a small moment and make it BIG with all of the juicy details. This is much easier said than done with third graders!! But it is worth spending time on with your students. You must INSIST that their stories are small moments by meeting with each one of your students before they settle on a story idea that they will be revising, editing and publishing. There is nothing worse than finding out one of your students has been spending days and days (even weeks) on a "Florida" story. If you invest this time at the beginning of your unit, making sure that your students have chosen good small moment topics, it will make things much easier as you continue with trying to teach them how to add good details. How do you help students to find these small moments? Here are some ideas that I've come across that work quite well.... PEOPLE & PLACES Have students make a list of the important people and places in their lives. Then have them list events, or moments that they've spent with those people or in those places. This is a great place for students to try out REHEARSAL. As they come up with small moment ideas, they can "try them on" to see if they fit by TELLING the story to a trusted peer or to you. If they find they have a lot to tell about that event, it is a good fit. If they find themselves kind of stuck, then its probably not a good topic after all. For many students, a PEOPLE/PLACES chart is all they need to get started on finding the perfect topic. For others...they may need more pre-writing. DRAWING As a third grade teacher, the idea of drawing during writer's workshop makes me cringe. However, it is a step that is necessary for some of my students. Some students, even in third grade, still need to get their writing juices flowing by drawing for a bit. We like to call it "quick sketching" in my class to avoid spending our precious writing time on elaborate works of art. These students use their People/Places chart to choose an idea and then sketch it out. You may need to sit with them and encourage them to add important details to the sketch. Then they can later refer to the drawing when adding details to their story. Drawing can be just the warm-up that your more hesitant writers need to get them going. So let them!! WEBBING I love webbing. Sometimes when I am at a meeting or a PD event, I will create a web of the ideas being presented instead of just jotting notes. There is a reason that a web is the most popular graphic organizer out there! The human brain desperately wants to connect ideas, and it can be a great strategy for helping students to "find" a great narrative writing topic. Have them pull a general idea from either their People/Places chart, or from a class topic chart. It could be a feeling (excited) or a general idea like "fun with my pet". They jot that idea in the center of their paper and then begin drawing lines out from that central idea to brainstorm small moments that connect. Before you know it, they have an awesome selection of ideas to get them started! PHOTOS Kids love photographs and a picture IS worth a thousand words! At the beginning of the year, have students bring in photos of their loved ones and of themselves. They can glue these in their writer's notebooks or in a file folder and laminate. Students can then use these photos to help them generate story ideas. "This is me at my first soccer game.....oh! I could write about how I scored a goal at that game!" or...."Here is a picture of me at my aunt's wedding.....I sang a song at the reception!....I am going to write about how nervous I was!" Students have an open invitation to add photos to this collection throughout the school year....giving them an endless supply of writing topics! You could even have a "Friends and Family" photo wall in your classroom that all students could use to generate ideas! MEMORY STRING A memory string is an idea that I read about in Mentor Texts by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli. In this pre-writing activity, students select a word or an idea and write it at the top of their paper. These words could come from anywhere....a poem or story that you've read, a sensory walk outside, the weather (snow), etc. They then create a "string" of ideas that come from that one word. Snow Throwing snow balls. Snowball fights with my friend Paula. Building a snowman with my sister. Hot chocolate with my kids. Tubing up north. Spraining my ankle tubing up north. The idea is that one memory leads to another, which can result in a long string of ideas. It is interesting to watch how the beginning of the chain can lead to a very different place toward the end (i.e., hot chocolate reminds me of grandma....which reminds me of when she died and how sad I was). It is similar to webbing, but can be a richer and more meaningful experience for students when we speak of their "memories." There is a great post about memory strings on Read-Write-Teach. HEART MAPS This is an idea I love from Georgia Heard's book The Revision Toolbox. This activity helps students to find "the heart" of their story. They draw a large heart on their paper and choose a topic from their topic list (it could also be a topic they've already started on and have lost their way). They think about their small moment and inside of the heart they write all of their feelings and thoughts related to the topic. Students quickly get to the real meaning behind their story....the REAL story! They can then build up that part of their narrative with details including these thoughts and feelings, taking a good story and making it GREAT! This would be a great activity to try after students have picked an idea and have even started writing. It is also a great revision strategy. It would probably work best with older students, but that doesn't mean I am not going to use it with my third graders!! Here is a great one I found on the Two Writing Teacher's blog. They also have some great ideas for generating topics with your students. A CLASSROOM OF WRITERS Our young writers have so many stories to tell! As teachers, it is our job to help them to discover those stories, even the ones that are buried deep within their small hearts! The best way to do that is to have a classroom culture that welcomes risk-taking and allows students to share their thoughts and feelings, knowing that their teacher and their classmates will celebrate the small moments of their lives. Thank you for visiting today. I hope I've sparked some ideas to help both you and your students to discover your own small moments to write about! Please feel free to comment below with some of your own great ideas for topic generation. Check out my TPT store for more great narrative writing resources: This bundle contains a set of illustrated topic ideas posters! This is the second post in a series about teaching young writers. My next post will be about "Flash Drafting" and how it fits in with the writing process. I hope you come back to check it out! Have a great week!
If you’re anything like me, you’ve looked at those gorgeous main lesson pages on Pinterest and shamelessly copied every detail. I absolutely confess that when I’m feeling stuck, I turn to Pinterest for a well-spring of inspiration. But the truth is, those Pinterest teachers don’t always know what spoke most to my students about our […]
Hello Everyone! One wonderful perk about the 15 hour drive home? I was able to put the finishing touches on my Landforms unit. This unit i...
Despite progress in the care and treatment of mental health problems, violence directed at self or others remains high in many parts of the world. Subsequently, there is increasing attention to risk assessment in mental health. But it this doing more harm than good?
Exploring matter and energy in kindergarten and first grade is so much fun. Watching little ones see the objects around them scientifically is exciting and a tad bit adorable. But nothing beats the surprise as they see matter change before their eyes. Teaching states of matter may take a lot of preparation and experiments, but
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