ELA/SLA

District Showcase of Teachers

DES

As a culminating activity for literature circles Jennifer MacAllister had 3rd grade students create a “weaving” of the books they read.

The books the students read were Tiger Rising, How to Eat Fried Worms, Upchuck and the Rotten Willy and Tonight on the Titanic (Magic Tree House series).  The students chose their favorite line from the book or came up with a sentence on their own that they thought represented the theme of the book and wrote it on their strip of paper.  On the other side they created a picture that went along with the sentence.  All strips were woven together to create a tapestry of the class’s reading. Check out the pictures of the weaving and of Jennifer and class.  What a great project!

SHES

Valerie Sosa, Grade 4

We started the year off reading Sarah, Plain and Tall.  It seemed like an appropriate story and one that I could make a text to self connection with.  I made a real connection with Sarah but more importantly my students and I shared stories and established bonds.   Initially I asked my students to fold a paper plate in eight sections, similar to a pizza.  Following Cris Tovani’s fix up strategy, Stop and Think (Tovani, 51), I asked the students to draw a picture and write the main idea for each chapter.  They did and they were doing it with ease.  As we approached Chapter 6, I began to wonder why the author chose not to name her chapters. Then it hit me… I’ll get my students to name the chapters.  Initially I had doubts about what we would be embarking on, but I thought if anything, it would challenge them to take their thinking to another level.   After we got started, the children seemed to move seamlessly through the exercise.  I was surprised I didn’t hear, “Mrs. Sosa, I don’t know what to name this chapter.” 

Reflecting upon the exercise, I realized the hard part was done when they wrote the main idea daily.  I also found, after all of them were finished, the titles were all similar and appropriate but unique to their personalities.  Their titles had voice!  Some of my favorites included, Finding a Woman, Introducing Sarah, Letters Back and Forth, The Squall, and Getting Bossy.   My class even named the activity.  We will affectionately call it Wheel of Titles from now on.

1.  Each student folds a paper plate hamburger and hamburger again so as to create eight pieces or slices. 

2.  Ask them to label each slice with a chapter (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, etc.)  continuing in a clockwise arrangement. If you have less than eight chapters, consider using the other slices for writing in the title and author of the novel.  If there are more than eight chapters, consider adding another paper plate. 

3.  After reading and discussing the chapter (details, events, author’s craft, spelling patterns, etc) each day invite the students to draw and/or write the main idea of the chapter they just read in the slice. 

4.  Continue the reading, discussing, and writing the main idea each day.

5.  When they are finished with the novel, decide on an object in the book that symbolizes or has a significant meaning to use as your extension on the plates.  For instance, we decided on a seashell for Sarah, Plain and Tall. 
6.  Each student then receives a pattern of the object or symbol.  After reviewing the main idea in each slice, they decide on a title or name for the chapter and write it on the pattern of the object. 

7.  The objects with the titles of each chapter can then be glued on the edge of the paper plate, above the slice of the corresponding chapter.

8.  When the students are finished, they will have made a colorful, authentic display for a bulletin board. 

Check out their projects