Writing

Writing in Kinderworld!
I love writing and I want my kinders to love writing too.

Ernie writes a story...or prepares to write.

Units of Study by Lucy Calkins

Whether you have taught in a writing workshop for years or are just learning the term, this book will offer you a plan for every moment of beginning the writing workshop. As in all of the books in this series, Lucy and Leah present both the precise language and pacing of their teaching and the reasoning behind it, so tha you can create the same powerful experiences with your own children.

Writer's Workshop

Phase 1: Generating a Seed Idea

*Key understandings: We all have lots of stories. A writer makes a movie in their mind out of this small moment in time, and then describe the event in sequential order)

Mobil Devise Methods: Apps to use: My Popplet, i-pod/i-pad: record story 

Traditional Methods: notebook, journal

Phase 2: Developing a Seed Idea

*Key Understanding: make your story come alive and expanding the tiny moment (Sense related: sounds, smells, feelings)

Traditional Methods: timelines, sketch, booklet planning, tell a story with a partner

Mobil Devise Methods: Students tell their story with Voice Memo

Phase 3: Drafting

*Key Understanding: Get thoughts down as quickly as you can!

Traditional Methods: paper and pencil, journals

Mobil Devise Method: Evernote, Documents Lite, Microsoft Word

Phase 4: Revising

*Key Understanding: Get to the heart of your story!

Teach qualities of good writing as you revise. This is not a 1 on 1 editing session with a student. This is about being a writer.

Examples: add details, add color words, add dialog, 

Traditional Method: paper and pencil, journal

Mobil Devise Method: Evernote, Documents Lite, Microsoft Word

Phase 4 and 5: Editing and Publishing

*Key understandings: take pride in your writing!

Traditional Method: paper and pencil, Microsoft Word, work displayed on classroom wall

Mobil Devise Method: Evernote, Podcast in Garage Band, Digital Story in Sonic Pics or Story Robe, Digital books in Scribble Press (yo can publish it for free in ibooks), Classroom Website

Phase 6: Celebrating

*Key Understanding: your writing is shared with a bigger audience!

Invite parents, families, principals, teachers, etc.

Have students write compliments on sticky notes.

Create thematic celebrations (i.e., The Camping Trip: bring in lanterns, sleeping bags, cricket music, etc.)

Writing Through The Year

You can find the unit on Deanna's store.

Writing Through the Year: Unit 1

Below is the "Big Ideas" for the rest of the units that will be planned as the year progresses. You will notice that the Common Core Standards surrounding writing are covered! This is the outline that Deanna Jump had with her unit.

These are journal covers and paper I am using this year.



I bought this pack from Journals-Through-the-Year from TPT

This is WENDY THE WRITER.
She helps us come up with TOPICS to write about if we can't think of anything.

Her bubbles have places, people, friends, family, food, careers, holidays, pets, movies, animals.

I let the kids choose everything they want on this chart.
It makes it more meaningful for them.

This is my Western Writing Strategies Chart

This wall is next to my writing center. It has our Word Wall (Lasso in New Words),

Writing Goals Chart, and Rate Your Work Chart.

Thank you zeekszoo for the free label downloads!!!!!

This is mine below!

You can find these labels at  Zeek's Zoo. 

This is my chart below:

                         

This is a GREAT way for kinders to see examples of different FORMS of writing.
The original idea is from The Clutter Free Classroom.
Go to her blog to find the FREE labels.

This is my writing center below. It is very bare right now.
I will be adding posters and ideas as I introduce them.

The kids love writing letters and putting them in our cool red mail box.

I love this blog What the Teacher Wants. There are so many FREEBIES!

I want to do this with my kinders this year!
My OUCH Story!
NOTE: My Ouch Story is NOT my idea! I got the idea and pictures from 
What the Teacher Wants Blog. Thank you for sharing!

Begin as a pre-write/first draft:

Move to the final draft 

(stick band-aides to the side of the paper for added drama)

Download her freebies from What the Teacher Wants.! :)

Memory Books

OOOOOHHHH Memory Books!
I have a love/hate relationship with my memory books. I love how cute and adorable they are and I think every kindergartner should have one. They just take sooooooo much time. Seriously, over 100 hours throughout the year. Thank goodness they are on-going throughout the year.

Below is an example of my memory book for my kinders. It changes from year to year since we do new activities and projects. Overall, this is it.... (I forgot the cover...I need to get a picture and update it).

The cover has their name on it (done from wordle), along with a class picture and kindergarten ABC poem.....image coming soon.

page 1: First Day of School picture, school name badge and a copy of our class DVD movie of the year.
page 2: Shape person

page 3: a pocket with all our BEST IN THE WEST WORK (Howdy Helper Journal, Sheriff poster, hats, etc).
page 4: Humpty Dumpty Art

page 5: October handprint, writing and pumpkin art
page 6: Community Helpers pictures

page 7: Thanksgiving handprint, writing, pictures
page 8: Native American Placemat with PIXIE art

page 9: Pocket with gingerbread man writing, letters from our gingerbread man exchange and art
page 10: Gingerbread Man writing and PIXIE art

page 11: December handprint, writing and pictures
page 12: Reindeer hand and foot art

page 13: January handprint, writing, winter words mitten and weather words flip book.
page14: Martin Luther King directed drawing and I Have a Dream writing

page 15 :Pocket with extra art and work/PIXIE projects are on the front)
page 16: Valentine's Day handprint, writing  and Love Bug

page 17: Pocket with their "Giddy-Up Good Writing" (I put their journals and all writing wall work here). There is also a clock and a picture with Cat in the Hat.
page 18: President's Day Art and writing

page 19: Dr. Seuss: Cat in the Hat directed drawing and Thing 1 handprint
page 20: 100th Day writing and 100 year old portrait

page 21: St. Patrick's Day handprint, writing and art
page 22: American symbols directed drawing

page 23: City Mouse, Country Mouse art with thumbprints
page 24: Cure for the kindergarten cough writing and art

page 25: Seasons of an apple tree art
page 26: April bunny handprint and life of a seed art

page 27: Pablo Picasso "Hand and Flowers" art
page 28: May flower handprint, writing and PIXIE parts of a plant

page 30: Parts of a plant rip art and what do plants need writing
page 31: Animal habitat writing and animal art symmetry 

page 32: Mother's Day Portrait and writing
page 33: Father's Day acrostic poem and All About Me writing

page 34: Vincent VanGoh's "Starry Night" art
page 34: My car writing and art 

page 35: Pirate art, "arrrrhhh" words, pirate writing and handprint
page 36: Shark art, "ark" words, and ocean writing 

page 37: Time capsule from September and June
page 38: Pocket with published books and pictures

page 40: LAST page, cowboy portrait and writing

Gingerbread Man

Every year, without fail, the GINGERBREAD MAN is always a favorite in kindergarten!

The kids talk about him all year and every noise in the room MUST be from the Gingerbread Man!

This year, I incorporated a lot of math into this unit.

We painted a giant gingerbread house pink!

Each day when we searched for the gingerbread man in a new place, he left us clues and candy.
This day he left 6 candy canes. The kids had to show different way to make 6 (i.e., 3 and 3; 5 and 1).

This day he left 7 gumdrops. Again the students had to come up with different ways to make 7 (i.e., 3 and 4; 2 and 5)

8 Butterscotch

9 Peppermints

The kids were able to READ in the house for the rest of the month!

Each day the kids used their Gingerbread Man Counting Book to create new ways to make numbers.

At the end of the week, we finally found the Gingerbread Man.

He was napping on the roof. He was so tired from all his running!

He still escaped but he left us gingerbread cookies and a letter about how he was going to travel the world. We had a pajama party that day!

The Gingerbread Man's letter led into our GINGERBREAD MAN EXCHANGE PROJECT:

Each student gave us an address so we could send their gingerbread person and letter to.

We sent letters all over the world including: Japan, Hong Kong, Tailand, Italy, Spain, New York, Louisiana, Washington DC, Texas, Florida and many more.

Every time we received a letter, we looked at the location in our giant Atlas and marked it on our class map.

We saved all our letters and photos in this binder so we could continue reading them all year long.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans!

This day is so fun and of course CRAZY!

The night before, we read
The Night Before St. Patrick's Day and set leprechaun traps.
We write a letter to Larry the Leprechaun and try to trick him into coming to our classroom.

Watch our video of the kids entering the class. Larry was definitely came to visit!

This is the letter we wrote Larry.

He wrote is back in itty bitty writing at the bottom of our letter (we had to use a magnifying glass to read it)

He left footprints all over the room.
(Note: use your fist to make the foot and fingers to make the toes)

Larry left a recipe to make Flubber and Magic Pudding (recipes below)

Click here for the Flubber Recipe


Magic Pudding Recipe:
Need 3-4 boxes of green Pistachio Pudding and Milk. Simply follow the directions on the box.



We also sorted and graphed LUCKY CHARMS Cereal for a math extension activity.

Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo
We had a fun Cinco De Mayo Fiesta this year!
After learning about plants we use and planting our own vegetables in our class garden, we made homemade salsa together.

We ate our homemade salsa and store bought salsa.

We graphed which salsa we liked better: homemade or store bought.