Archive for June, 2008|Monthly archive page
Nonfiction Monday: Tyrannosaurus Rex
Comments (1)Double duty for T-rex this week! I’m starting a new “activities” blog for classroom and libraries, so I decided to begin both of my book blogs this week with the title that draws viewers to my webpage from all over the world…
Tyrannosaurus Rex
by Anastasia Suen (North American Dinosaurs series)
A close-up look at the Tyrant Lizard, Tyrannosaurus rex.
- Reading level: Ages 4-8
- Library Binding: 24 pages
- Publisher: Rourke Publishing (January 31, 2007)
(When I looked it up on Amazon I was surprised to see $25.64 as the list price! I only charge $17.00 - and I have ten copies left.)
If you’re looking for new book activities for kids, you can sign up for a weekly blog post at Book of the Week. (In addition to picture books, I also write board books, easy readers and chapter books, so the blog will have books for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, elementary school and junior high.)
Now, back to the mini-lessons…
On this page…
It says…
“Tyrannosaurus rex, or T. Rex, was a meat eater. It ate other dinosaurs. Animals that eat meat are called carnivores. Dinosaurs that ate meat are called carnosaurs.”
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: This book begins with an introduction to the Tyrant Lizard. The next few sections talk about a different part of the body. (Then we move on to extinction and the discovery of dinosaur bones.) Use this “body parts” pattern as a model for writing about another animal.
Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Science books use technical terms to explain things. After students write their first draft, ask them to find three places they can add science words.
Nonfiction Monday Round-up
Comments (5)Welcome to the Nonfiction Monday Round-up!
Here’s what the kidlitosphere is reading this week…
1. Picture Book of the Day (Tyrannosaurus Rex)
2. Just One More Book! KidLit Podcast (My Horse, My Passion: Riding Tips For All Ages)
3. Read. Imagine. Talk. (Declaration of Independence)
4. Lori Calabrese Writes (Nothing
5. 100 Scope Notes (Most Extreme Bugs)
6. Abby the Librarian (Albino Animals)
7. Sarah N. (When Bugs Were Big)
8. Becky’s Book Reviews (What’s Inside Your Tummy, Mommy?)
9. I.N.K. (FIFTEEN BOOK BLAST GIVE-AWAY)
10. Wendie’s Wanderings (Whales and Dolphins)
11. A Fuse #8 Production (Minders of Make-Believe)
Poetry Friday: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
Comments (1)
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud is a poem by William Wordsworth illustrated in a new way by Sami Suomalainen. A robot leaves the factory where he works…
When all at once I saw a crowd
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Ideas Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: What do you see when you travel? What would a robot see? Ask students to brainstorm a list of ideas and write their own “wandering” story.
Word Choice Fluency Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: After students write their first draft, ask them to look over their story for FIVE places where they can change a word. For older students, introduce the thesaurus as a “word book.” For younger students, use the Describing Wheel graphic organizer.
This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Biblio File.
I Don’t Want to Go
In I Don’t Want to Go! by Addie Meyer Sanders (Author) and Andrew Rowland (Illustrator) Joey doesn’t like to try new things.
“Joey, is your bag packed?” Mom asked. “Grandma and Grandpa are here. They’re taking you to their house and you’re going on the train. You’ll have a wonderful time.”
“I don’t want to go,” Joey said.
Conventions Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Point out how the conversation is set apart with quotation marks. Ask students to use quotation marks as they write what they would tell Joey if they were in this story.
Sentence Fluency Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: The dialogue in this story is written in sentences. Ask students to write about a time they tried something new. After the first draft, student can “peer edit” each other sentences.
Bonus! Read the entire book on the web at Big Universe!
Only One Neighborhood
Only One Neighborhood by Marc Harshman (Author) and Barbara Garrison (Illustrator) is a counting book with a twist!
There may be only one bakery,
but there are many kinds of bread.
Ideas Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Use this “one and many” idea to write a book about your class, your school, or your town. Brainstorm a list of ideas and ask each student to write a page for a class book.
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: How will the pages in the book be organized? Do you have a page that introduces the topic (your class, your school, etc.) and a page that summarizes it again? If not, write a page for each, so it’s clear what the topic is.
Minji’s Salon
In Minji’s Salon by Eun-hee Choung, Minji imitates her mother at work and gives the family dog a salon treatment!
Good morning, madam.
What would you like today?
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: This story uses the “compare and contrast” method by showing Mom at work and then Minji doing the same thing at home. Use this pattern as a model as students write their own “job” story.
Sentence Fluency Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: After students write their “job” story, ask them to read it aloud to a peer editor. Is it clear WHO is acting in each sentence? If not, use proper names instead of pronouns.
(This book is also available in Spanish: El salon de Minji/ Minji’s Salon )
Nonfiction Monday Round-up
Welcome to the Nonfiction Monday Round-up!
Here’s what the kidlitosphere is reading this week…
1. Picture Book of the Day (Elizabeth Leads the Way)
2. Read. Imagine. Talk. (Courage)
3. Laura Salas (Writing Series NF)
4. I.N.K. (David Schwartz on “It’s Not Me, It’s My Writer’s Block”)
5. Jama Rattigan
6. Lori Calabrese Writes (If the Walls Could Talk…)
7. Abby the Librarian (Ain’t Nothing But a Man)
8. 100 Scope Notes (One Million Things)
9. A Patchwork of Books (Monkeys!)
10. Vijaya Bodach (The Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy and Black Holes)
11. Wild Rose Reader (Book Review: River Friendly, River Wild)
12. Fiona at Books and ‘Rocks (Nic Bishop X2)
13. Charlotte
14. Jennie (Biblio File–Princess Diaries Nonfiction companion volumes)
15. Anamaria (Happy Birthday, Wilma)
16. Wendie’s Wanderings (Flip, float, Fly, Seeds on the Move)
Nonfiction Monday: Elizabeth Leads the Way
Elizabeth Leads the Way by Tanya Lee Stone (Author) and Rebecca Gibbon (Illustrator) is the life story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leaders of the 19th century women’s rights movement.
What would you do
if someone told you
you can’t be what you want to be
because you are a girl?
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: This book begins with a series of questions and then shows how ONE person answered those questions. Use this pattern as a model as students write about what they think needs to change.
Conventions Mini-lesson
Intermediate: The text in this biography is broken into phrases like a poem. Some lines end with a comma or a period (an end stop) while other lines don’t end with punctuation (so they are enjambed). Ask students to rewrite their change essay into a prose poem. As they “break” each line, will they add a comma, a period, or nothing at all? How will they decide? By reading it aloud and listening to how long they paused at each break. A LONG pause needs a stop sign (a period) while short pauses can use either a comma (for emphasis) or nothing at all.
Never Tease a Weasel
Never Tease a Weasel by Jean Conder Soule was first published in 1964. New Yorker cartoonist George Booth illustrated this 2007 reissue. After making many suggestions for nice things to do, the book says…
But never tease a weasel;
This is very good advice.
A weasel will not like it–
And teasing isn’t nice!
Ideas Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Use this compare and contrast book of manners as a writing model for a class book. Each student can write a “nice thing to do” page.
Organization Mini-lesson
Intermediate: How will you organize the pages in the class book? Will you go by class rows, by alphabetical order (by first name or last name) or do you see another pattern? Perhaps some nice things happen during the day and others happen at night? Then you can use the hours of the day to organize your pages.
This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Semicolon.
Nothing
Nothing by Jon Agee is a modern version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
“I have a lot of things,” said Suzie, “but I’ve never had nothing. I’ll pay you three hundred dollars!”
This is ridiculous, thought Otis.
Then he remembered the words of his father…
The customer is always right.
Otis grabbed nothing and carried it out to Suzie’s car.
“Thank you,” said Suzie, and she handed him a check.
Conventions Mini-lesson
Primary: The thoughts in this story do not have quotation marks. Perform this story as a reader’s theater. Assign the ”thoughts” to a speaker who will “whisper” them.
Sentence Fluency Mini-lesson
Intermediate: Imagine you are there in the store helping Otis. What would you think, say, and do? Write your thoughts, words, and actions into the story. Read your part aloud to see how it flows. Rewrite as needed.
Six Trait Author Programs and Classroom Writing Workshops
