Picture Book of the Day

Jack’s New Boat by Sarah McMenemy begins when Jack goes to visits his uncle for vacation….

Uncle Jim was a sailor.
He had made Jack a red toy boat.
Jack loved his new boat.
He wanted to sail it right away.

Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary: In the excerpt above, Uncle Jim makes a boat and Jack loves it. Each time the boat is mentioned there is an adjective (new, red, toy) in front of it. Ask students to write about a new toy they would like to have. After students write their first draft, ask them to find three places they can add words that describe that toy in more detail.

Sentence Fluency Mini-lesson
Primary: This book has two males, Jack and his Uncle Jim. Point out how each “he” pronoun has an earlier sentence that mention the “he” by name. Ask students to check the pronouns in their story for clarity. Is it clear who “he” or “she” is?

Six Trait Writing Programs

Chimp and Zee’s First Words and Pictures by Catherine and Laurence Anholt is a perfect way to introduce young writers to word walls. Each colorful page shows multiple pictures of busy Chimp and Zee and every activity is labeled.

This is Chimp. This is Zee. Point to everything you see.

Ideas Mini-lesson
Primary: Ask students to brainstorm a list of their favorite things. Write these words on the chalkboard as they call them out. Then select ONE item and brainstorm MORE words to create a small word wall.

Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary: Once the word wall (above) is created, ask students to select words from the wall to create a short story of their own. Add more words to the wall as necessary. 

Six Trait Writing Programs

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.

Six Trait Author Programs and Classroom Writing Workshops

Sky Sweeper by Phyllis Gershator (author) and Holly Meade (illustrator) takes place in a Buddhist temple. 

Young Takeboki needed a job,
and the monks in the temple needed
a Flower Keeper.

Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary: Write about someone else who has a job everyone takes for granted. Which words will you choose to describe how this person feels about their job? How will you talk about the others who take this person for granted? 

Organization Mini-lesson
Intermediate: This book shows the main character as a child, as an adult, and as a spirit. Ask students to write a story with all of these time periods. Before they begin writing, plan out how much space in the story each time period will take. Will they use a third for each? Or will they use a quarter for the beginning, half for the middle, and a quarter for the ending? (The last pattern is the one that most books and movies use.)

Six Trait Author Programs and Classroom Writing Workshops

I interviewed this author (and former student) on my Children’s Book Biz News blog yesterday. 

Blackberry Banquet (book trailer) by Terry Pierce (Author) and Lisa Dowrey (Illustrator) is (in Terry’s words) “a cumulative story about a group of forest animals feasting on the sweet, plump berries of a blackberry bush, and what happens when a big, hungry bear disrupts their meal.”

In a wee green wood,
near a steam so blue,
grows a blackberry bush,
shining bright with dew.

Word Choice Mini-lesson
Primary: The animals in Blackberry Banquet each made a different sound. What other words could you choose for the animals to say? Write a new version of this story with those sounds.

Ideas Mini-lesson
Intermediate: Write your own “dinner surprise” story. Who will come to your surprise dinner? What will the surprise be?

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by a wrung sponge.

Six Trait Author Programs

Green as a Bean by Karla Kuskin (author) and Melissa Iwai (illustrator) asks readers to use their imaginations…

If you could be green
would you be a lawn
or a lean green bean
and the stalk it’s on?

Teach the traits of ideas and word choice as student write “what if” poems about colors.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by just another day of Catholic pondering.

Six Trait Author Programs

In Dragon Dancing by Carole Lexa Schaefer (author) and Pier Morgan (illustrator) the children in Mei Lin’s class make a dragon for her birthday.

Snip, twirl, flip.
“Look at me!” Mei Lin shouts.
“I’m Birthday Dragon!”

Teach the traits of conventions and word choice as students write a birthday story.

Six Trait Author Programs

Jazz by Walter Dean Myers (Author) and Christopher Myers (Illustrator) is a poetry collection about that American treasure, jazz.

Oh be-bop be-bop, oh whee,
OH WHEEE!

Teach the traits of word choice and voice as students write a music poem.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Wild Rose Reader.

Six Trait Author Programs

In The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend (Author) and John Manders (Illustrator) Jack the cat has a plan…

With this perfect nest, he would attract a perfect chicken, who would lay the perfect egg, which would make a perfect omelet for a cat like Jack.

Teach the traits of sentence fluency and word choice as students write a “perfect plan” story.

Six Trait Author Programs

In Pilot Pups by Michelle Meadows (Author) and Dan Andreason (Illustrator), two toys go on a search and rescue mission.

Rolling faster,
Lift up high.
Soaring, roaring–
to the sky.

Teach the traits of word choice and voice as students write a story about the adventures of their toys.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Becky’s Book Reviews.

Six Trait Author Programs