Category: Seesaw

Today in the Jackson Library, fifth graders practiced using active voice during writing. First, we read Chall’s Up North at the Cabin. During the story, I pointed out the author’s use of active voice, personification, and imagery. I used Jeff Anderson’s Patterns of Power book, lesson 6.5. Then the kids used a Seesaw template I created to sort sentences from the story by active or passive voice. After that, I gave them dry erase boards and they wrote an active voice sentence about the school camping trip. As you can see, it rained during most of camp this year!

Jeff Anderson – Patterns of Power- 6.5 What Do Verbs Do? Finding Your Active Voice

“The sunshine sits in my lap…”

“The river spills over rocks and whispers to me…”

“The [boat’s] motor sputters softly, waiting…”

“The boat roars forward…”

“blood thumps through my head…”

“when frosted windows cloud the sun”

Puddles of ink stained the blank paper.

Little dots of paint sketch a beautiful dog.

I just ordered the bilingual edition of the book but it hasn’t shipped yet, so I talked to our bilingual team leader and we guessed at how to translate this lesson for the bilingual kids:

El libro fue liedo por Juan.

Juan lee el libro.

December 15, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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Seesaw Ambassador

Posted in Seesaw, and technology

After receiving an invitation from Seesaw, I completed the training course to be a Seesaw Ambassador. Shawne Briggs, Sheffield Primary librarian, told me how useful it is in the library and she talked about how she infused it into all of her lessons. I started using it for lessons at the beginning of the school year and it has enriched our learning tenfold! The kids love it and I like how everything is in one place for me to approve. It has caused some shy kids to ‘come out of their shell’ and share! I can’t wait to find out more about this amazing tool and to share it with the staff via our Technology Committee meetings!

December 8, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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Character Traits with Seesaw

Posted in fourth grade, picture book lesson, reading skills, technology, and writing

Last week in the Jackson Library, fourth grade analyzed the actions, dialogue, and personalities of the characters in Helen Lester’s Me First! to pinpoint descriptive character traits of the main characters. They used a Seesaw bubble map I created and chose between Pinkerton the pig or the Sand Witch templates.

Me First character maps

Me First!

ME-FIRST-long questions

Me-First-Character-Mapping

MeFirst Reader’s Theater

Inferences with Abdul Gasazi

Posted in fifth grade, picture book lesson, and technology

This week in the Jackson Library, fifth graders used text evidence to support their inferences after reading The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. I created a Seesaw template for them to use and they worked in pairs to match the text evidence to the inference in the story. We discussed the author’s use of foreshadowing and the items in the Anchorage District text evidence chart below.

Text Evidence Chart from Anchorage District

Text Dependent Questions	Answers
Reread page 398. What evidence from the text can you cite to defend the idea that Alan takes pet-sitting Fritz seriously?	He won’t let Fritz out of his sightHe keeps Fritz from chewing furniture
Reread the last sentence on page 398 when Alan hides his hat under his shirt. This is an example of foreshadowing. Where in the story does Alan’s hat reoccur?	Pg 408- the duck steals Alan’s hat Pg 412- Fritz has the hat when he is waiting for Alan on the porch
Reread page 400. Based on the first paragraph, how can you tell that Alan has no control over Fritz?	Fritz bites Alan Frtiz drags him out of the houseFritz leads him across the bridge
On page 400, the author uses all capital letters on the sign. Why do you think the author did this? How would the mood be different if the author did not do this?	Capital letters often denote yelling or intense feelings or emotions.
Chris Van Allsburg wants the reader to notice that Fritz is out of control. What words or phrases on page 400 does the author use to portray Fritz in this light?	Fritz has to be dragged out of the house Fritz gives a tremendous tugFritz snaps out of his collar Fritz bolts straight ahead
How is the author using the illustrations and word choice to create suspense in this story? (Pg. 402)	Gasazi’s house is dark and castle-like Lots of shadows used Capital letters used The pages all end on a cliffhanger or leading sentence
In the second paragraph, Gasazi states that he “detests” dogs. Using contextual clues what do you think “detest” means? (Pg. 406)	Gasazi lists all the bad things that dogs doHe uses all capital letters on his warning sign He bellows “I TURN THEM INTO DUCKS!”
Why is Alan concerned that Mr. Gasazi might have captured Fritz? (Pg. 400)	The threatening sign Alan’s knowledge of Fritz’s misbehaviorThe knowledge that Fritz had gone into the forbidden area
Reread pages 404-405. What details does that author use to make Mr. Gasazi seem frightening and mysterious?	The house is dark and largeThe door opens before Alan knocks Mr. Gasazi stands in the shadows
Reread pages 400-406. How does the author make sure that the reader knows that Gasazi really does not like dogs?	Gasazi’s voice sounds like a growl The author writes Gasazi saying “I turn them into ducks!” in capital letters. He states that he “detests dogs” The threatening sign
At the beginning of the story we learn that Alan takes pet sitting seriously. What other evidence from the story portrays Alan as a responsible person. Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.	He is politeHe follows Fritz into the garden although he is scared He admits to Ms Hester that he lost Fritz
Reread page 408. What textual clues are there that lead you to believe that Alan really believe Fritz turns into a duck?	Alan begs Gasazi to turn Fritz back into a dog (406) Alan tells the duck that he “hasn’t changed much” after the duck bites him (408) The duck steals Alan’s hat- a favorite thing of Fritz’s (408)
Is Ms. Hester angry at Alan? Use clues from the text and illustrations to support your position. (Pg. 410)	Ms Hester tries to hide a smile She reassures Alan that Gasazi was just playing tricks The illustrations depict Ms Hester as comforting Alan
Why do you think that Chris Van Allsburg choose to end the story with Fritz having Alan’s hat? (Pg. 412)	To add to the mystery of the story; ties into the beginning of the story and the foreshadowing of the hat

Garden of Abdul Gasazi- After the Story Questions

Imagine that Alan goes back to talk to Mr. Gasazi about the incident. How will the magician react? Will they become friends? Describe their continuing adventures in writing.
Imagine that Fritz didn’t come back to Miss Hester’s house. What would Alan have done? Or imagine that Fritz did come back but he remained a duck. How would Alan have explained that to Miss Hester?

Garden of Abdul Gasazi Safeshare video

November 10, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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Show, Don’t Tell with Mentor Texts

Posted in fourth grade, picture book lesson, and writing

Fourth graders used a Seesaw template I created to match dull “telling” sentences with their “showing”, descriptive counterparts. I found the descriptive counterparts in various library books. The kids worked in pairs to match the quality description from the books to their simple counterpart. To prepare them for the lesson, we read Moonlight and admired the vivid imagery the author created. Then we read a story I wrote about camp and discussed the ‘show, don’t tell’ strategy. For independent practice, they worked in pairs on the matching Seesaw activity.

show dont tell

Mentor texts used:

mentor texts

My Camp Story Sample Sneak in the Setting

October 27, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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If I Had a Gryphon 2019

Posted in picture book lesson, and second grade

Second graders created their own original mythical creatures in the Jackson Library after reading If I Had a Gryphon.

If I Had a Gryphon

Seesaw Activity

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Bumblebee Bat

Posted in bilingual, kindergarten, nonfiction lesson, picture book lesson, and technology

Last week in the Jackson Library, kindergarten learned facts about the bumblebee bat and used a Seesaw template I created to label the bat. The bilingual students used the Spanish words. This book won the Theodor Seuss Geisel award.

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October 19, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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Spooky Magnetic Poetry!

Posted in fifth grade, poetry, technology, and writing

Last week was a short three-day library week due to the holidays so during quick check out, fifth grade quickly created a spooky poem. They used the Chromebooks to access my Seesaw spooky poetry template. This was fun to create and fun for the kids too. Grab the template below!

spooky poetry- magnetic

sample 2

smaple 3

October 12, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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The Wonky Donkey and Seesaw

Posted in bilingual, first grade, picture book lesson, technology, and TTESS 1819

Last week, I created my first Seesaw activity! (link below) After reading The Wonky Donkey and singing the song, the first graders had to think of a NEW flaw for the donkey. They used Seesaw in pairs to draw their wonkier donkey and they used the microphone to tell about its new flaw. They had a blast!

wonky donkey lessoh

September 21, 2019

Amy Kincaid

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This is a Moose…Or Is It?

Posted in apps, fifth grade, picture book lesson, reading skills, technology, and writing

Last week in the Jackson Library, fifth graders studied characters by their appearance, actions, and dialogue in the book, This is a Moose. After the story, they used a Seesaw activity I created to complete a bubble map describing the character(s) of their choice. They were allowed to use two physical attributes and the rest were to be personality traits. Check out their awesome work!

moose

Character Trait Bubble Map Seesaw Activity

grandma bubble map

moose bubble map

moose's friends bubble map