Search results matching tags 'writing' and 'books'

Ideas for children’s writing

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:47:54 GMT

If you’re looking for a fun idea to get your child writing, try making a Zig Zag Book. It’s a great way to encourage beginners to have a go at writing. The format of the book is fun and quirky and let’s them do lots of drawings, adding in a little writing too.

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Lions, Verbs, and Manners - Oh My!

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:23:00 GMT

Seriously. This book has ALL of that!

And the best part is the kids LOVED it!

They were glued to each page, begging me to share the next one! And the colors/illustrations are amazing!

In this text, the kids will learn about:

* vivid verbs (with all the jungle animals)

* manners (how to deal with bullies

After reading the text, I asked my kids to write a few verbs in their journals. Then with a partner, they came up with vivid verbs to add more pizazz to their stories. For example, instead of "run" they used "dashed" or "sprinted."

This book did a fabulous job setting the perfect mood for thinking, collaborating, and lots of great conversation!

Free 32-Page Fairy Tale Packet

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 02:50:00 GMT

I was on Mrs. McCumbee's Class blog and was delighted to find a useful resource for classrooms studying fairy tales: a 32-page, printable activity packet!

The packet contains book recommendations for read alouds, and sheets to discuss common fairy tale elements, story elements for some tales, comprehension questions AND comparison charts for different stories.

The resource is free and ready-to-go for all interested. It may be a good idea to have a recommended book or two on hand, and print this to save for a substitute day.

What We're Writing About...

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:30:00 GMT

Happy Wednesday!!! I wanted to give you guys an update on something fun we've been doing! My kids and I have been focusing on response to literature during our writing block. It was a tough concept at first, but they caught on quickly.

Here are some of the books I've shared:

This one was a RIOT! It sparked a great Science discussion. It also proved to me that my kids aren't to be messed with...stick to a team 'cause they're not having this back and forth business!

They loved this one! (And I didn't realize this little guy has his own TV show.) This book has an amazing plot...well worth the read!

And this one...we can all relate. You know those moments. Whether it comes from a parent, grandparent, or friend...your face turns bright red!

The kids have made excellent connections between the characters and themselves. I'm excited to continue our journey known as "Response to Lit!"

Writing Activities: "Swamps of Sleethe" (Poetry)

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:11:00 GMT

If you haven't ventured to the Swamps of Sleethe, you may be missing out on an excellent opportunity for writing lessons and activities. This picture book by renowned author Jack Prelutsky touts itself as "Poems from Beyond the Solar System." It's a perfect accompaniment to science lessons about space and poetry activities. The book is a 2009 Parent's Choice Silver Honor Book, and it really is a delightful read aloud (be prepared for a mouthful!).

The book can help students learn about alliteration and figurative language as they journey through space to imaginary locations. Dangers lurk in every corner of the undiscovered reaches of the galaxy: there are the murky swamps of Sleethe that hide "abhorrent" creatures, the icy discomfort of Drifig Prime (where visitors must beware lest they freeze), and the inhabitants of Gazook like to consume children in their chowder! There are 19 poems in all, describing different places that present different dangers to the reader. They are fun to read, like tongue-twisting Dr. Seuss stories, as they warn the readers of various perils of planets beyond our solar system. There is good reason to use the book for vocabulary practice as well; words like "expire," "unabated," "mucid," and "eviscerate" are throughout the book. The author cleverly disguised certain locations by making them anagrams, and provided answers in the back of the book. Can you guess why a cold planet might be named DRIFIG Prime?

After reading this book, I would assign students to design a poem and illustration in the style of Swamps of Sleethe, but focused on a planet in our solar system. Or, they could make up their own planet and use an anagram to disguise its name. I think students would have fun being creative modeling their poems after Prelutsky's. They could describe the physical characteristics of their planet by making them sound dangerous and threatening, like the places in the picture book. They could even make up alien inhabitants, like those of Gazook.

Random House's Teacher's Guide contains a crossword and visualization activity that may also be useful for this book.

Picture Book Writing Activity: Top-Secret Files for Students

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:52:00 GMT

It was a delightful coincidence to read a unique picture book a few weeks ago, and later stumble upon a great writing activity to tie-in with the book. Mrs. Rojas posted this activity for students to stretch their imagination, which won't be hard at all once inspired by this engaging book: The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups by David Wisniewski.

The book presents "top-secret" information about the hidden, previously undisclosed reasoning behind the rules adults enforce on kids. The book provides some truly fun, outlandish explanations for many of our rules (apparently, we tell kids to eat their vegetables not because they're healthy, but because vegetables will go on a rampage if we don't keep the upper-hand). The book is silly, and it kept students laughing.

Mrs. Rojas' activity includes a printable writing activity (I also found a similar one at writingfix) that asks students to imagine their own explanation for their parents' rules. You could adapt it to explanations for school rules. I imagine kids could come up with a ton of great reasons why we ask them to walk in quiet lines down hallways, or raise their hand to get permission to speak, or why they have homework. You could even have them illustrate pictures to go with their writing assignment.

Writingfix posted some nice examples of students' ideas. What ideas can your class create?

Freebie! "Memories of a Goldfish" Writing Activity

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:00:00 GMT

We're taking county-wide benchmarks right now, so things are a little rigid and stressful for my kids. To lighten the mood and make them laugh, I shared this book:

They were almost in tears from the funny moments and sweet ending!

And of course, they wanted to create their own memoir books. I created this booklet and allowed them to come up with their own. They could recreate the goldfish story, use themselves, or come up with a different character (dog, hamster, etc.). They just started today, but I will gladly update you as they get finished! Click the picture below to snag a copy of the activity for free! :)

Shark vs. Train Follow-Up

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:30:00 GMT

Here are two pictures of what my kids did with Shark vs. Train. Click HERE to see the orignal post in case you have no clue what I'm talking about. :)

What a mess! But we had a blast thinking of combos to fight each other and coming up with all the silly situations similar to the book!

Writing Freebie!

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:30:00 GMT

Hop over to my blog to check out this oh so cute book and writing activity!

Friday Freebie!

Anonymous — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:14:00 GMT

We had a blast today during Writing! Click the picture below to check out the book/activity that led to such creative silliness!