Hey Everyone! I have selected books that I have found to be very helpful in getting Writer's Workshop up and going at the beginning of the year. I have given a brief descrpition of the lesson plans that I use but I would be more than happy to email you specifics if you are interested. I hope you enjoy these books as much as my students and I do! :)
My Map Book by Sara Fanelli is a great book to use to start your writer’s workshop. I attended a professional development a couple of years ago and was introduced to this idea of having students make a map of their heart to store future writing ideas. You start by reading this book which has various maps that appear to be kid drawn such as a map of my bedroom, my neighborhood, my dog and my heart. You then ask students to brainstorm using either words or pictures of things that are important to them in their hearts. From there you give them a heart cut-out and they complete the assignment by making a map of their hearts. I usually stretch this lesson out for the first week of school. The hearts make great displays for Open House then can be pasted to writing folders for folder identification and writing ideas! This book is always a big hit with my students, especially the map of my dog page.
Aunt Flossie’s Hats (And Crab Cakes Later) by Elizabeth Fitzgerald and James Ransome is (surprise) another great book that I use during writer’s workshop. This book is about young children who visit with their great aunt Flossie who has an extraordinary hat collection which she allows the children to explore. The exciting part to them is that each hat comes with a special story that Aunt Flossie will tell. I use this book along with a writing activity we call “My Something Special”. I start by reading the text to my students and talking about how each hat holds a special memory to Aunt Flossie. I then send home a paper bag with directions for students and parents to find something special that they would like to share with the class. Once all the bags are returned we go around and share what we have brought and why it is special. We use these ideas to complete graphic organizers and put together a final writing piece.
When I was Little: A Four Year Old Memoir of Her Youth by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell is a hilarious book about how much a child can change and accomplish in four years. In this book a four year old girl writes about how she does different things in life now that she is a big girl. There is a repeating pattern where she states “When I was little I... now I…” This is another great text that I use for writer’s workshop. It is fun to have students think about things they used to do and how they can do them differently now that they are grown. It is also fun to do with pets. For example I once modeled this writing for my students using our Chocolate Lab (Jocko) as an example. I used lines such as “when Jocko was little he used to chew on the couch, now he just sleeps on it.” It really is an enjoyable book that I think you will find useful in your classroom.On-Line Resources
Picture Book of the Day: Using Picture Books to Teach the 6 Traits of Writing
address: http://6traits.wordpress.com/I am a huge fan of the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing instruction and this site gives great ideas for picture books that teach each of the traits. If you want to read more on the 6 +1 Traits check our Ruth Cullham's book which also has ideas for picture books for each trait.
Children’s Picture Books.info
address: http://childrenspicturebooks.info/science_picture_books.htm
This site allows you to search by subject, holiday, genre, collections, author, illustrator…
It is most helpful!
Scholastic
address: http://www.scholastic.com
I am sure that most of you are familiar with this site which allows you to search for books and activities that go along with them. One great thing is that you can also purchase the books from this site as well!
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