Grade level: Kindergarten – 1st Genre: various Objectives: To involve the students in listen to a story read aloud Primary sources: Cat Goes Fiddle-i-fee by Paul Galdone Materials: a basket with small stuffed animal characters from the book Cat Goes Fiddle-i-fee Contributors: Brooke Brown, Linda Draper This story basket activity ensures the active participation of [...]
By WITS Houston
|
Also posted in animal, art, creativity, imagination, writers in the schools, writing prompts
|
Tagged Arts, characters, Educational stage, Kindergarten, Literature, Paul Galdone, reading, student, Stuffed toy
|
The WITS approach to teaching creative writing often springs from the inspiring writing and art that we love. Here is a lesson–although not originally ours–that exemplifies our work with young children. Grade level: 1st – 3rd Genre: poetry Objectives: To make discussion about brainstorming, symbolism and revision accessible to young students Primary sources: My Map [...]
By WITS Houston
|
Also posted in art, books, creativity, homeschooling, imagination, inspiration, poetry, student, writer, writers in the schools
|
Tagged brainstorming, heart, map book, sarah fanelli, tria wood
|
WITS leads weekly workshops at Discovery Green every Saturday from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM. It is a FREE drop-in program that takes place at Discovery Green in the Houston Public Library Express, located in the Lake House Building. These workshops will be offered through the summer. There’s no sign up process. Parents who are [...]
By WITS Houston
|
Also posted in art, creativity, education, Houston, imagination, writer, writers in the schools, writing, writing prompts
|
Tagged creative writing workshops, discovery green park, summer
|
At the beginning of the WITS teaching year, I ask my students what they collect. They list items such as teddy bears, stamps, rocks, and snow globes. Next I ask them what they think I collect. They know I’m a writer so they often guess things such as pencils, erasers, or journals. Then, I pull [...]
Yesterday was the first day of the Creative Writing Camp at Bitola in Macedonia. In the morning we had all the younger children show up to the camp and the American Corners was abuzz with life, energy, and joy — some of my favorite things. We did a really great lesson called “Put in a [...]
This week I was happy to hear from my friend Kristin Palm, a poet and teacher who works with California Poets in the Schools (CPITS). Kristin is inviting writing teachers and writers who teach to join her in a project that involves writing and sending poems to Barack Obama in celebration of his inauguration. Anyone [...]
Soy grande como una caja, luminoso como una estrella y amarillo como el sol. Canto pio pio pio cuando voy a mi casa y te despierto en la mañana. Mi casa es un nido, vivo en un árbol y me gusta caminar por él. Me gusta volar por el cielo muy alto, comer maiz y [...]
I always enjoy teaching this lesson from Nanette Musters. I introduce “Pourquoi Tales” by explaining that the word “pourquoi” means “why” in French. A Pourquoi Tale explains why something in the natural world is the way it is today. Then I read two Pourquoi Tales, one from a book and one example from a student. [...]
I borrowed this poetry writing lesson from Claudio “Storm” San Miguel, who created it when he was with in the 1990s. As Storm describes it: Perhaps one of my more successful projects involved dreams and wakefulness. I asked the students to first isolate a brief moment in time. The time between entering the classroom to [...]
To teach first graders about the simile, I brought in photographs and little figurines of cats. After I explained similes, the class practiced creating similes about cats out loud. I used the students’ verbal practice as a way to check their understanding. Sometimes students will suggest “I like the cat’s pillowy paws.” To that, I [...]
Baseball season is here, and to celebrate the start of America’s favorite pastime, our class wrote poems. I encouraged my students to think about their favorite sport or activity as the topic for their poem; they did not necessarily have to write about baseball. Before writing, I asked students to brainstorm a list of words [...]
This week my first graders practiced writing questions to animals. During circle time, we talked about how all questions end with the question mark. I also told the students that the words “Who, What, When, Where, Why, How,” are some words that help writers begin questions. As a group, we practiced writing questions to an [...]
I begin this lesson by asking my students to define what a “riddle” is. They say: “A riddle is like a problem you have to solve.” “Riddles have clues.” “You’re supposed to guess what something is.” As a warm up, I read riddles that former students have written, and the class guesses what the answers [...]
What is more inspiring than food? Nothing! I enjoy bringing grapes, carrots, and strawberries into the classroom. I use food as a way to encourage students to make observations. The students make observations of the food’s outside: its colors, textures, and shapes. Students must brainstorm a list of ten words or phrases before they are [...]
By amylin
|
Also posted in food, inspiration, nature, poetry, writers in the schools, writing prompts
|
Tagged brainstorming, food poem, grapes, Lesson plan, observation, poem about grapes
|
