Label and write

Each school year I find myself with a different type of caseload than the year before.  Last year, I worked mostly with kiddos on adapted curriculum ,where this year I work with 2nd graders who are in the general curriculum along with preschoolers.  Talk about a brain shift!

I have a group of 2nd graders who are working on writing.  They also were really struggling with the parts of speech that were being introduced.  So we reviewed, made anchor charts, played games and lots of other fun stuff.  Then, I went to the Virginia State Reading Conference and one of the presenters was talking about labeling a picture and then writing about it.  I thought " How perfect for my 2nd graders."  I modified it to fit my needs and the kids took it hook, line, and sinker.

I used the book Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail.  We talked about the cover and made a quick anchor chart about what we saw that fit into the three parts of speech we had been working on; noun, verb & adjective.

Next, I pulled out a teacher favorite and the kids went bonkers.  All it was was sticky note flags.  You would think I gave them the coolest new video game.  The students used the flags to label the cover of the book with all of the different things they saw.

Next, we started reading the book.  I stopped part way in and asked for a prediction. "Where do you think T. Rex is going to get more eggs?"  We then had to stop for the day which caused an uproar of suspense.

The next day, they were ready to jump right in.  However, first, I asked them to write their prediction of where the eggs were coming from.  One referred to all of the labels we had made so she could spell words and to help her brainstorm.  After they finished, each read their prediction.

I continued reading and at the end of the story, I stopped again.  This time, I asked, " What do you think was in the eggs?" Again, the students had to write down their prediction.  They each read their prediction and then I finished the book.

Now, I know this sounds so simple and it was.  I was able to get lots of writing practice in (including correct capitalization and punctuation) and the kids did not even realize they were learning.

Do you have any fun activities you do in your classroom to practice writing?  I would love to hear about them!!