Milestone Freebie & Read Aloud

Hi guys! I'm so excited to be celebrating another TpT milestone this month! I can't believe I've made it this far..and it's all thanks to my awesome followers! To thank you all, I'm giving away my chevron classroom rules for FREE for the next week! You can download them HERE. You can read about this month's milestone achievements on the TpT blog HERE.

I know it's been a while since I've posted, and I'm sorry for neglecting you all! If you haven't already read about it on Facebook, I'm attending the Teachers College reading and writing institutes for the first half of this month. I'm having an amazing time and learning SO many new things about reading and writing workshop. I have tons of learning to share with you all but for now I just HAD to share this book we read yesterday! Have any of you used it with your kids? I am in love with this book! I literally RAN to the book sale and bought it today!

For those who haven't read it before...Ralph is a student who has a BIG problem in writing workshop. He can't think of a story! Everyone else seems to have stories, but he just can't find one! In the end, he finds his own story and gains his confidence as a writer!

What a perfect story for the early days of writing workshop. I can think of so many ways to use this one book! Here are just a few ideas...
-Teach kids what writers do when they get stuck
-Demonstrate that all writers get writers' block...even YOU!
-Teach kids different ways to generate ideas for writing
-Teach kids how to orally tell a story to their partner to plan out their writing
-Ralph has to get out of his seat to think...teach kids to choose their own special writing spots around the classroom
-Create a chart of strategies and resources for kids to use when they get stuck
-Teach them how to peer edit and ask questions about each others' writing
-Can you think of any others? Share your ideas in the comments :)

I'm having an amazing time here at TC, but I can't wait to be finished so I can get into my classroom in a couple weeks! As soon as I get to work in my room, I'll be posting pictures and back to school ideas! 

Finally, here's some inspiration from Kate Roberts' keynote today: Despite all the current pressures and standards, we can still teach with LOVE, humor, and compassion. Above all, we must keep children at the center of all things! And one more tidbit from Lester Laminack: "Remember that we are not raising scores, but children!" <3

Nonfiction Writing {Turtles}

We started off our turtle unit by reading the poem The Little Turtle and meeting a real live turtle. Then we read a few nonfiction books about turtles and made a Turtle Tree Map of our new learning. I printed and enlarged a blank version of this chart and had the children help me fill in the details.

Then we started our nonfiction writing. Here's my template for the pages included in this book: Turtle Writing Templates. First, the children copied the Turtle Tree Map onto their own chart. We used this map to plan our writing and build sentences.

 

Then the children started writing their books. They completed about one page each day. As they worked, I conferred with them to help them edit and revise their writing. They each wrote three to four pages for their books. Most of these samples are from ELL and Junior Kindergarten students. I'm so proud of them for how far they've come!

This is from one of my Junior Kindergarten students. She knew more than I did about turtles! When she told me about how turtles lay eggs with alligator eggs, I had to look it up. And what do you know...she's right! I also love how she added an interactive element to her writing: "How fast can you go?" ADORABLE!

Turtles are slow and swim.

Turtles can swim fast. Can you? How fast can you go?

Turtles lay eggs in alligator eggs.

Early in the year, this ELL/Junior K student spoke little English and knew none of her letters or sounds. You can see most of her writing was copied from the Tree Map, but she also tried to sound out some of the words on her own. She also uses the appropriate conventions of print (capitalization, spacing, and punctuation). Yay! 

Turtles are green and brown.

Turtles can lay eggs.

Turtles can swim.

This ELL student was able to sound out unknown words independently. His illustrations also match his text nicely.

Turtles can swim fast.

Turtles can walk slow.

Turtles can lay eggs.

This ELL student also started the year speaking very little English and knowing no letters or sounds. She copied some text, but also tried to sound out many of the words on her own. Wow! 

Turtles are brown and green.

Turtles can lay eggs in the dirt.

Turtles can swim fast.

We used post-it notes to label the body parts of a turtle. Students volunteered to be the "turtle" as we labeled the various parts. Then they completed their Turtle Diagrams to add to their turtle books.

Then we made some cute turtle covers. The idea for this adorable book cover came from my co-worker, Denise. She always has the cutest ideas! Finally, we published and shared our books!

These are some of the books we read...

Launching Writer's Workshop

Writer's Workshop Routines

Here is a simple poster I created of workshop routines, inspired by 
Mrs. Meacham. I enlarged it to poster size and laminated.

Writing Workshop Procedures

First, we gather on the carpet for a mini-lesson. The children watch as I model certain aspects of writing. They are encouraged to try these new techniques in their own writing. After the mini-lesson, the children get their writing folders (see below) and begin by illustrating their story. It tends to be easier for them to draw first, and then write the words to describe their drawing. As they work, I confer with a few children. Finally, we gather back at the carpet for a short sharing time. Children are allowed to make compliments and I offer lots of praise as well! 

Writing Folders


Before we began writing workshop, I put together the children's writing folders. I created a letter formation chart, a personal word wall, and also included an alphabet chart. Here is what I included:

Writing Folders

What Do Authors Write About?

I began our first writer's workshop by telling the children they are going to become authors and illustrators just like Eric Carle, etc. Just calling them authors got them so excited! First, we went over workshop procedures and rules. Then I told the children that the first thing we need to figure out is, "What do authors write about?" The children and I browsed through various books and talked about the types of things authors write about. Together we created a poster of topics to write about.


Then I looked at the different topics and gave examples of what I would not want to write about (for example, "I could write about bats, but I don't really like them and I don't know much about them. Is that a good topic for me?" NO!). I told the kids that authors don't just write about any old topic, they write about things that matter to them, things that are close to their hearts. I then hung a large Heart Map on my easel. On it, I sketched pictures of things that I care about and might want to write about. Then, each child got his/her own heart map to complete. These went into their writing folders for future reference. 

In the next workshop, we reviewed the workshop procedures. I referred back to my heart map and modeled how to choose a topic to write about. I then showed them how to illustrate a story by thinking aloud as I sketched. Before sending them off, I asked each child to choose one topic from his/her heart map and turn to tell their partner what they will write about today. I showed them where to find the writing paper and they got straight to work! I only had them illustrate this time around, and then dictate the words to me. In a later lesson, we learned how to label our drawings with words.