Monday, February 24, 2014

Writing: "How To" Books

How-To Writing

We kicked off the unit with a whole-class experiment:  "How to Make Kool-Aid."  I made the drink in front of the class to point out the importance of being specific and detailed.  


"How to Blow a Bubble" ...complete with bubble gum and a balloon craftivity!



...And, "How to Make S'Mores"  




Monday, April 15, 2013

Writing: 18(B) Short Poems

Writing/Literacy Texts.
Grades K-8 Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. 
K
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14(B) write short poems
18(B) write short poems that convey sensory details
18(B) write short poems that convey snesory details
18(B) write poems that convey sensory details using the conventions of poetry (e.g. rhyme, meter, patterns of verse)18(B) write poems that convey sensory details using the conventions of poetry (e.g. rhyme, meter, patterns of verse)
16(B) write poems using:
(i) poetic techniques
(ii) figurative language
(iii) graphic elements
write short poems that convey sensory details














Resources:
Lucy Calkins - Book 7 "Poetry: Powerful Thoughts in Tiny Packages"
Session 1: Seeing with Poet's Eyes

Pencil Sharpener
What I see is a gray box, a machine, that makes my pencil sharp.

"Poets see things in a fresh new way"

Pencil Sharpener
by Zoe Ryder White

I think there are a hundred bees
inside the pencil sharpener
and they buzz
and buzz
and buzz until my point
is sharp!

Pinterest

Monday, October 8, 2012

15(A) Follow multi-step directions - Informational (Supporting)

Reading/Comprehension of Literacy Text/Procedural Text
Students understand how to glean and use information in procedural texts and documents.  Students are expected to:
K
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5
11(A) follow pictorial directions (e.g., recipes, sicence experiments)
15(A) follow written multi-step directions with picture cues to assist with understanding 
15(A) follow written multi-step directions
15(A) follow and explain a set of written multi-step directions13(A) determine the sequence of activities needed to carry out a procedure (e.g., following a recipe)
interpret details from procedural text to complete a task, solve a problem, or perform procedures
follow written multi-step directions with picture cues to assist with understanding









Activities:
Guided Reading Books
     English - DRA 7 - Make a Glider, A Puppet Play
                     DRA 12 - Parachutes, Making a toy house

     Spanish - DRA 8 - Mi taco
                    DRA 12 - Platanos fritos
                    DRA 14 - Mi primer papalote


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

7(B) Recurring Phrases Folk-and-Fairy Tales - Supporting

Reading/Comprehension of Literacy Text/Theme and Genre.
Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about the theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence fromt he text to support their understanding
K
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6(D) recognize recurring phrases and characters in traditional fairy tales, lullabies, and folk tales from various cultures.
7(B) explain the function of recurring phrases (eg. "Once upon a time" or "They lived happily ever after") in traditional folk-and-fairy tales.
6(B) compare different versions of the same story in traditional and contemporary folktales with respect to their characters, settings, and plot.
5(B) compare and contrast the settings in myths and traditional folktales3(B) compare and contrast the adventures or exploits of characters (e.g., the trickster) in traditional and classical literature.
3(A) compare and contrast the themes or moral lessons of several works of fiction from various cultures
explain the function of recurring phrases in traditional folk tales.
explain the function of recurring phrases in traditional fairy tales.














Activities:

Monday, September 10, 2012

16(B) Techniques in Media (Supporting)


Reading/Media Literacy
Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words , images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasing more complex texts.
K
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12(B) identify techniques used in media (eg. Sound, movement) (with adult supervision)
16(B) identify techniques used in media (eg. Sound, movement)
16(B) describe techniques used to create media messages (eg. Sound, graphiscs)
16(B) explain how various design techniques used in media influence the message (eg. Shape, color, sound)
14(B) explain how various design techniques used in media influence the message (eg. Pacing, close-ups, sound effects)
14(B) consider the difference in techniques used in media (eg. Commercials, dcomentaries, news)
Identify techniques used in media (sound).
Identify techniques used in media (movement).

Activities:

16(A) Purposes of Media (Supporting)


Reading/Media Literacy
Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words , images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasing more complex texts.
K
1
2
3
4
5
112(A) identify differrent forms of media (eg. Advertisements, newspapers, radio programs)(with adult assistance)
16(A) recognize different purposes of media (eg. To inform, to entertain)(with adult assistance)
16(A) recognize different purposes of media (eg. Informational, entertainment)
16(A) understand how communication changes when moving from one genre of media to another.
14(A) explain the positive and negative impacts of advertisement techniques used in various genres of media to impact consumer behavior
14(A) explain how messages conveyed in various forms of media are presented differently (eg. Documentaries, online information, televised news)
Recognize different purposes of media (to inform).
Recognize different purposes of media (to entertain).

Activities:

Cereal Box Investigation:


http://www.ltl.appstate.edu/436/student/medialit/s00/bond/medialitplan.html

10(A) True of Fantasy (Supporting)


Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction
Students understand, make inferences and draw concluisons about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and respond by providing evidence from text to support their understanding.
K
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5

10 (A) determine whether a story is true or a fantasy and explain why
10 (A) distinguish between fiction and nonfiction
9(A) explain the difference in point of view between a biography and autobiography.
7(A) identify similarities and differences between the events and characters' experiences in fictional work and the actual events and experiences described in an author's biography or autobiography.
7(A) identify the literary language and devices used in biographies and autobiographies, including how authors present major events in a person's life.
Determine wheter a story is true and explain why.
Determine wheter a story is fantasy and explain why.

Activities:

Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are great for illustrating the difference between fantasy and reality.
Nothing is more fantasy-oriented than fairy tales. Traditional fairy tales are filled with magic and made-up creatures. Read a few fairy tales such as Cinderella or Rumpelstiltskin, discussing the elements of the story (beginning, middle, end, etc.) and what makes it a fairy tale (magic, mythical creatures, fictional places/kingdoms, etc.).  Next have the students write and illustrate a story about what they did the day before. When both stories are finished, discuss how the story elements all differ.

Television Kids

First graders love to watch different television shows and often believe that the characters are real and not actors. A unit on television will help the students understand that the characters are just people helping to tell a story. Have the students choose their favorite live-action television character and look that actor up on the Internet. Students should do a short report on the actor's name, birthday, and any other shows or movies the actor has appeared in. This is also a good way to introduce giving oral reports or doing written reports.