Conventions: Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver

Lesson Focus: Using a mentor book and interactive writing to teach students how to use correct punctuation and grammar.

Title & Author of Book: Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver          
Grade Level: First Grade
Materials Needed: Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver, chart paper, different colored markers, a copy of a story without punctuation, student journals or previous writing
Ohio Academic Content Standards K-12 English Language Arts: 
Writing Processes
Ohio Benchmarks K-12 English Language Arts:
E. Edit to improve sentence fluency, grammar and usage.
Grade Level Indicators:  
6. Construct complete sentences with subjects and verbs.
12. Proofread writing to improve conventions (e.g. grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization).

Book Summary: Mr. Wright's students become frustrated with punctuation and wish it away. Punctuation takes a vacation and the students miss it immediately. When trying to respond to a postcard, the students learn that writing is very difficult without punctuation. A straightforward list of punctuation rules is given in this fun, inventive picture book.  

Introduction: 
The conventions trait includes all the rules of language- spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. These rules help the reader make sense of the writing. In this lesson, we will read Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver to help students see the importance conventions are to writing. Students will also participate in an interactive writing activity and work together to edit a piece of writing.  Some techniques that can help students with the trait of conventions include: writing on every other line to save room for editing, reading slowly, reading aloud, and looking for one error at a time.

Before the Lesson:
Read the book Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver. As you read through the story, ask students the following questions:
                   1) Why is it important to use punctuation?
                   2) How do the students feel when Mr. Wright makes punctuation take a vacation?
                   3) Why is it hard for the students to write without punctuation?
Guide students to understand that without punctuation, the reader has a difficult time understanding and making sense of the writing.

Lesson: 
1) Remind students about reading the book and review the reasons why conventions are important in writing.
2) Copy or create a story on chart paper that has no punctuation marks. Read over the story with the students.
3) Students will then participate in an interactive writing activity in which they individually come up to the chart paper and add a piece of punctuation to the story. Use different colored markers to indicate the different types of punctuation (ie. red for periods, blue for exclamations, green for question marks, purple for capitalization).
4) Once students have corrected all the errors, read the story again. Ask the students if the story is more understandable with the punctuation in the story.
5) Now have students practice on their own. Allow them to use their writing journals (or a previous piece of writing) and go through and edit their writing. Remind them to add end marks, use complete sentences, and use capitalization.
6) Help them edit their writing by teaching them editing techniques such as reading from bottom up, looking for one type of error at a time, and reading slowly.    

Voice: Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin

Lesson Focus: Using a mentor text to teach students the trait of voice. Students will practice using voice in their own writing.
Title & Author of Book: Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin
Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Materials Needed: Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin, chart paper, writing paper, various informational books about animals
Ohio Academic Content Standards English Language Arts K-12:
Writing Processes
Ohio Benchmarks English Language Arts K-12:
A. Generate ideas and determine a topic suitable for writing
C. Apply knowledge of graphics or other organizers to clarify ideas of writing assessments
Grade Level Indicators: 
1. Generate writing ideas through discussion with others and printed material
4. Use organizational strategies (e.g. brainstorming, lists, webs and Venn diagrams) to plan writing

Book Summary:  Doreen Cronin takes on the character of a spider as she writes this story filled with details about the life of a spider. The spider accounts his daily routine through diary entries, including what he eats, where he lives, how he travels, how he survives, and other interesting facts about spiders.

Introduction: Through this lesson, students will explore the writing trait of voice. Voice is the way in which a writer expresses herself. It is the personality of the author shining throughout the story. It is also the way in which an author portrays and gives voice to the characters in the story. Students struggle with voice when writing because it is not as concrete as other traits. Teachers can help students understand voice by reading aloud stories that demonstrate strong voice. In Diary of a Spider, Doreen Cronin manages to give voice to a spider by showing us the world from his perspective. Her humor and wit also shine through her writing, and we will use this mentor text to show students how to use voice in their own writing.

Before the lesson: Read the book to students so that they become familiar with the language and content.

Lesson:                                                      
1. Read the book aloud to students. Discuss how the author's voice shines throughout the story. Ask students to point out some of the funny facts they hear in the story. On chart paper, list some fun and silly sentences Cronin uses in her story. Guide students to understand that this is the author's way of showing her sense of humor.  Guide students to notice how Cronin makes the reader feel as if the spider actually wrote the story. This is her way of giving voice to a character.
2. After reading the story, explain to students that they are going to write their own Diary of a ______ stories. Allow them to use reference books that you have chosen that have various information about animals.
3. They will choose an animal and create a brainstorming web, listing different facts about the animal. For example, they could include where the animal lives, what it eats, what it looks like, etc. They will use this brainstorming web when they write their stories. They can also draw a picture of their animal as a prewriting activity.
4.  After creating their brainstorming web, students will write their Diary of a _____ stories. Remind students to give their animal voice in their story. Also remind them that by adding humor, interesting facts, and descriptive words to their story, they are letting their voice shine through.
5.  After writing, allow students to share their stories with the class.



 

Word Choice: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

Lesson Focus: Using a mentor text to teach students how to use a variety of interesting words to express ideas in a story. Practicing how to revise words in a piece of writing to make the writing more descriptive

Grade Level: Third Grade
Materials Needed: And to Think I saw it on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss, chart paper, student writing that can be revised, Thesaurus
Ohio Academic Content Standards K-12 English Language Arts:
Writing Processes
Ohio Benchmarks K-12 English Language Arts: 
E. Use revision strategies to improve the coherence of ideas, clarity of sentence structure and effectiveness of word choices.
Grade Level Indicators:
1. Generate ideas through discussions with others from printed material
11. Add descriptive words and details and delete extraneous information


Book Summary:  Marco's father wants to know what he sees on his way to school. But Marco doesn't think he sees anything exciting at all, until he comes across a zebra pulling a cart, which turns into a chariot, and before Marco realizes it, he is flying above in the sky looking down at Mulberry Street. He reports to his dad that all he saw was a plain horse and carriage on Mulberry Street.

Introduction: 
In this lesson, we will be exploring the word choice trait in the 6 +1 traits model. Word Choice refers to the language an author uses to express his ideas. Good writers choose words that make their story clear and enjoyable to read. It is important that teachers give students many examples of rich words that provoke images in the reader's mind. In this lesson, will use And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss to give students an example of how descriptive words can be used in a story to make it more exciting and fun for the reader. Students will then revise a piece of their own writing, replacing "tired" words with more descriptive, detailed language.

Before the Lesson: It is important that students have a writing piece that they are currently working on. They will use what they have learned from the lesson to revise their piece of writing.  Also, read the book to the class to get them familiar with the content and language.

Lesson: 
1. Read the book to the class. As you are reading, ask students to pay attention to the the interesting, silly words that Dr. Seuss uses to write his story.
2. Stop every few pages and ask students to point out interesting/silly words. Write them down on chart paper. Some interesting words that could be listed are sternly, keen, outlandish, shame, tame, fancy, perched, hitched, beast, etc.
3. After reading the story, look over the words listed on chart paper. Ask students why they chose these words? Did they make the story more fun? What if Dr. Seuss hadn't added these interesting words?
4. Have students take a writing piece that they are currently working on. They should choose at least four words that they feel could be replaced to make their story more descriptive. Allow the students to use a  Thesaurus to help them come up with similar, yet more detailed words to use in their writing. The students should highlight the words in their paper.  On a separate sheet of paper, have students write the new sentence and the old sentence to compare which one they think works better.
5. After students have had some time to revise their stories, allow them to pair up in small groups. Have students share their words with their small group and get feedback. Should they replace the word or keep it the same? Does the new word make their story more interesting/meaningful?
6. After meeting in small groups, allow students to volunteer and share their new sentences with the class.  

Organization: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Lesson Focus: Using a mentor text to teach students how to organize their writing
Grade Level: First Grade
Title of Book & Author: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
Materials Needed: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, story map, writing paper, green, yellow, and red crayons
Ohio Academic Content Standards K-12 English Language Arts:
Writing Processes
Ohio Benchmarks K-12 English Language Arts:

C. Use organizers to clarify ideas for writing.   

Grade 1 Level Indicators:
4. Use organizational strategies ( e.g. brainstorming, lists, webs, and Venn diagrams) to plan writing
5. Organize writing to include a beginning, middle, and end

Book Summary: 
A. Wolf claims that he has been framed for a crime he did not commit. In this tale, the story is told from A. Wolf's perspective, and he is finally able to tell his side of the story. It all starts when A. Wolf goes over to his pig neighbor's house to borrow a cup of sugar. He suddenly has to sneeze. Because the pig's house is built poorly, A. Wolf's sneezed and the house falls down. He continues onto the next two pigs' houses, where the same thing occurs. Can he help it if the pigs are accidentally killed and he decides to have snack? The cops show up and A. Wolf is blamed for the crime.

Story Map

Introduction:
The focus of this lesson is to teach students how to organize their writing by reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Students need to understand how to organize their writing. In order to do this, they need to be shown how to create a beginning, middle, and end to construct a story. They also need a good model of how to sequence events in a story so that they story is clear and makes sense.  It takes practice to organize a story and we must give students many opportunities to organize their writing. Teachers can help students become aware of story organization by guiding them to analyze successful introductions, middles, and conclusions. In this lesson, we will explore how reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka can help students become aware of story organization. This story gives students a perfect example of how to sequence events in a plot.The students will then take what they have learned and apply it to their own writing.


Before the Lesson: It is important that students are familiar with the book prior to the lesson. The day before the lesson, read the story to the students. Discuss the story content and make sure students understand the story.


Lesson:
1. Read the book again to students. Before reading the story, encourage students to keep in mind what they see happening at the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
2. As you read through the story, stop after each section and discuss what has happened in the story. Guide students to understand that the beginning sets up the story, the middle is where the problem occurs, and the end is where the conclusion occurs in the story. After reading the story,  ask students to "think pair share" with a partner about the sequence of events that happen in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. What if the author had left one of these out? Would the story be as understandable? Allow the students to share their partner discussions as a class.
3. Take students on a walk outside (or around the school) so that they can share a common experience. Allow them to talk about their observations while walking. Remind them to pay attention to the sequence of events occurring on their walk. What did they do first? Second? Last?
4. Once back inside, have students sit on the carpet. On chart paper, create a story map (shown above) that is divided into three sections: Beginning, Middle, and End. Write the words in three different colors Beginning (Green), Middle (yellow) and End (Red). Students will use this color-code later in their own writing.
5. In the students words, write down what they did on the beginning, middle, and end of their walk.
6. After discussing the sequence of events, have students create their own writing piece and describe what they noticed on their walk. Remind them to include a beginning, middle, and end to their story.
7. After writing, have students draw a box around the beginning of their story in green, the middle in yellow, and the end in red.
8. Allow students to share their stories with the class.

Ideas: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Lesson Focus: Using a mentor book to teach students how to use create a topic and use supporting details in their own writing
Grade Level: Second Grade
Title of Book & Author: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Materials needed: The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburgh, chart paper, marker, writing paper
Ohio Academic Content Standard K-12 English Language Arts: Writing Processes
Ohio Benchmarks K-12 English Language Arts: 

A. Generate ideas for written compositions

Grade 2  Grade Level Indicators: 
2. Develop a main idea for writing.
11. Add descriptive words or details and delete extraneous information

Introduction: 
The Ideas trait is the first trait within the six traits of writing that we will explore in this blog. Ideas are the author's main message and all of its supporting details. Students need to understand how to select a topic, narrow that topic, and then develop their idea with details.
A mentor text that can be used to teach the ideas writing trait is The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.


Before the Lesson: 
The day before the lesson, read the book aloud to students. It is important for students to be familiar with the book before analyzing the author's use of ideas. After reading the book to the class, discuss the content of the book with students.


Lesson: 
1.  Read the book aloud to the students again. This time, guide the students to recognize the main idea of the book. The story is about an old-fashioned steam train that takes children on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. While reading, point out some of the details Chris Van Allsburg uses in his story. 
2.  Discuss with students how these details help make the story more interesting and exciting to read. The trip the children take is described in great detail using similes and descriptive language. Ask students to think about how the author ties the pictures and words together to create the story. 
3. After reading the book, discuss with students the topic, main idea, and details the author used in the story. Allow the students to list these on chart paper.  Ask the students why they think it is important that Chris Van Allsburg included these ideas in his story.  What would happen if the author hadn't had a focused topic? What would happen if he hadn't  included details in the story? Guide students to understand that the ideas of a story help paint a picture in the reader's mind.  
4.  Now comes the most important part of the lesson: have students APPLY what they have learned to their own writing. In The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg gives details that support his topic and theme. Challenge students to write their own story based on the Polar Express. Students will imagine that they are a passenger aboard their own train.  
5.  Before writing, students can brainstorm some possible ideas of what the story could be about (topic), the name of their train, where the train is travelling to, etc. Encourage students to refer to the list created on chart paper to see examples of how Chris Van Allsburg developed his topic and used details to support his story.
6. After writing, have students underline the main idea and at least two sentences in their writing piece that include details that support their topic. Allow the students to share their stories with the class.