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Tag: writing

Spooky Story Writing

Last week when I was substituting in fourth grade, one of the assignments was to write a spooky story! This is right up my alley! I read the bilingual class the opening and closing lines from several spooky stories in the library and they took off with their imagination! They wrote an opening line and ending for a scary story. We had fun!

4 g spooky writing

fourth grade writes

Spring Poetry Writing

Posted in bilingual, and displays and deco

April is National Poetry Month! Third through fifth grades had fun in the Jackson Library writing Spring poems! Some wrote diamante poems about the atmosphere layers, some wrote acrostics in English, and some wrote Spanish acrostics. We used kite templates (see TPT links below) so we could post them on the library windows. The kids had fun writing the poems! 

stu acrostic poems

#nationalpoetrymonth

poetry kites

acrostic poem on kite

 

link to Spa acrostic template
link to Spa template

 

Spring bulletin board kit- acrostic kites
English acrostic kite template and SPRING banner

 

Dear Basketball Revisited 2022

Posted in games

This week in the Jackson Library, fifth grade read Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball poem (we used MrsBlewettELA’s TPT Questions) and watched the Oscar-winning short animated movie.  Fifth graders wrote a letter to SOMETHING they love. If they wrote a poem, they wadded up some paper to shoot a basket into the trash can. This idea is from Michael Bonner. Fun! 

Embedded: Arthur, Garcia classes

scroll down for more

Arthur Garcia 5 poems
Click to read more below! 
Kuwitzky Valentin Burkhead poems

Dear Basketball film
Dear Basketball short film

Dear Basketball website

LINK to 2020 Lesson

 

Bonner quote

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our ‘Expert’ Alphabet Books

Posted in nonfiction lesson, and picture book lesson

In the fall, fifth graders had fun sharing their ‘expert knowledge’ on different topics by creating an alphabet book. Since I started taking guitar lessons on Zoom last July, I created a sample ‘book’ to use as a model and then also shared the book, Attack! Boss! Cheat Code! A Gamer’s Alphabet by Chris Barton. They had fun and we all learned so much!

Based on the book:

attack boss cheat code
click to go to Chris Barton’s site

 

Samples

Student Book Excerpts
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#MySummerInSixWords

Posted in remote learning

Thanks to Jimmy Fallon for this get-to-know-you remote learning lesson idea! Using only six words, fourth and fifth graders summarized their summer in the Jackson Library Google Classroom.

Inspiration:

Jimmy Fallon six words

Lesson: 

stu response summer 1
stu smp spa
summer six stu2
c 345
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I had my washing machine flood my house which required a restoration company, insurance company, and several contractors so mine was…
flood six+++
What are your six words to describe your summer?

The Masked Writer Contest

Posted in fun events

Who is the masked writer? Students send in their guesses via the Jackson Library Google Classroom. Thanks to @MedCityPlano and @PISDEF for library books to reinforce writing strategies! In the fall, I wrote a PISD Education Foundation Grant for library books to use as mentor writing texts. Then I taught a series of writing strategy lessons to grades 3-5 during their library time.  There were certain targeted writing skills they had to achieve in each piece. I chose a few papers for children to read while wearing a mask. (videos)  The other kids in the grade level guess as to who is behind the mask. Fun!    

 

LINK

Some other Masked Writer Contestants:

 

Tiger 2

 

 

unicorn

m w 1

mw 1

mw fox 1

 

mw4

Masked Writer - Beagle

Some mentor texts used:

Twister – Beard

Sergio’s Bike– Boelts

Up North at the Cabin – Chall 

Night Driving – Coy

Strong to the Hoop – Coy

Goal! Javaherbin

My Best Friend – Rodman

 

Tweet

Google Classroom Guesses

mw guesses

 

Dear Basketball

February of this year, we read Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball poem (we used MrsBlewettELA’s TPT Questions) and watched the Oscar-winning short animated movie. Then, third through fifth grades wrote a “love letter” to SOMETHING they love. Check out their awesome work! Then, watch our video and check out the three-pointers!

Kobe Bryant's Dear Basketball
poem

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MrsBlewettELA’s TPT Dear Basketball Poem and Questions

MrsBlewett ELA TPT

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Dear Basketball short
Oscar-winning short

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Student Writing

 

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Student Three-Pointers

This idea came from Mr. Bonner! Check out his site: Bonnerville

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Dear BB collage

Harlem Globetrotters

Harlem GT

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Bonnerville

kobe quote

2020 Quotable Quotes, Assoc. Press

“We are all Lakers today.” — Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers, in a remark to reporters after the death of Kobe Bryant, Orlando, Fla., Jan. 26

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