Archive for July, 2009|Monthly archive page
Poetry Friday: My First Airplane Ride
Filed under: organization, poetry | Tags: 6 traits, kidlit, Poetry Friday
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My First Airplane Ride by Patricia Hubbell (Author) and Nancy Speir (Illustrator) begins…
Grandma says, “Come visit me!”
Time to go! Lots to see!
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own “travel” story. Use the Story Map 3 graphic organizer to remember what happened when.
This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Poetry For Children.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Alert!
In Alert! by Etienne Delessert, a mole named Tobias collected shiny round pebbles. Then one day another mole came to visit…
“If I were you, my friend,” said the visitor, “I would be very worried. I heard that a band of robbers was on the prowl.”
Conventions Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own “liar” story. Remind students to check their dialogue for quotation marks.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean
I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry is narrated by a GIANT squid.
I’m bigger than these shrimp.
I’m bigger than these clams.
Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary: Ask students to write their own “big creature” story. Use the Idea Wheel graphic organizer to make a list of other creatures that are smaller then the one they selected.
For more books for young readers, subscribe to my 5 Great Books blog.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Olvina Swims
In Olvina Swims by Grace Lin, Hailey discovers that Olvina can’t swim..
“The first thing you need to do,” said Hailey, “is get in the water.”
“Me? In the water?” Olvina squeaked.
Conventions Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own story about learning something new. Remind students to check their stories to make sure they added quotation marks to any dialogue.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Nonfiction Monday: Big, Bigger, Biggest!
Filed under: nonfiction, word choice | Tags: 6 traits, kidlit, Nonfiction Monday
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Big, Bigger, Biggest! by Nancy Coffelt is a GREAT book for teaching word choice. It begins…
I’m big. I’m large. I’m huge. I’m jumbo.
Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to make a “comparisons” class book. Each student can create a page. Use the Describing Wheel graphic organizer to brainstorm a list of adjectives. (For older students, try the “magic word book” – a thesaurus!)
This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up is at Wrapped in Foil.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Poetry Friday: I Love Cats
Filed under: poetry, word choice | Tags: 6 traits, kidlit, Poetry Friday
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I Love Cats by Sue Stainton (Author) and Anne Mortimer (Illustrator) celebrates the wonderful world of cats.
Cats, cats, cats.
I love cats!
Big cats,
little cats.
Thin cats,
fat cats.
Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own “I Love _____” pattern book. Use the Describing Wheel graphic organizer to make a word list.
This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by A Year of Reading.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Runaway Shopping Cart
The Runaway Shopping Cart by Kathy Long (Author) and Susan Estelle Kwas (Illustrator) starts out as an ordinary trip to the grocery store. Kaleb rides in the cart as his mom shops. Then a big sneeze changes everything.
The cart began to roll. It rolled across the parking lot and out into the street. Kaleb waved as the cart picked up speed.
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own version of this cumulative tale and add different neighbors to the chase. (You can use the student’s version as a reader’s theater script.)
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Rainstorm
Filed under: fiction, sentence fluency | Tags: 6 traits, kidlit
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Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman is a wordless book.
Sentence Fluency Mini-lesson
Primary: Ask students to write the words for this wordless rainy day adventure (with a mysterious key!)
For more books for young readers, subscribe to my 5 Great Books blog.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Bamboo
Bamboo by Paul Yee (author) and Shaoli Wang (illustator) is a tale set in ancient China. When Ming’s husband goes off to seek his fortune, her sister-in-law insists that the land be divided among the brothers.
Ming was only given the bamboo patch, an old water wheel and a hut to live in. She had no tools to work the land.
Conventions Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own story about someone who won’t share. Remind them to check the end punctation before they turn in their draft.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Nonfiction Monday: Dinosaur Parade
Filed under: nonfiction, organization | Tags: 6 traits, kidlit, Nonfiction Monday
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Dinosaur Parade: A Spectacle of Prehistoric Proportions by Kelly Milner Halls (Author) and Rick C. Spears (Illustrator) begins…
Dinosaurs. How big? How small?
Sometimes we can’t tell at all.
Organization Mini-lesson
Primary/Intermediate: Ask students to write their own creature “parade” story and list three facts about each creature (under its name.)
This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up is at Write About Now.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
