Pure Michigan and Perfect Paragraph Planning
I loved the break and the excitement of getting the “snow day phone call”, but I don’t think I’m completely cut out for this whole extended snow day thing. Day 1 and 2 were so much fun, but Day 3 was a little blech-fest. Of course I loved sipping my coffee until 10, leisurely making a crock pot dinner at noon, and listening to lovely music all morning long (I can not tell you how much I absolutely LOVE Spotify!). But, there’s something about not getting out of pajamas for almost 72 hours, napping as much as the dog, and posting Instagram pics of said dog in a coat that make me feel a little blah. It’s 7:25 EST now, so I don’t think I’m getting another call about tomorrow. I’m happy and ready to go. Bring on the second graders!
Are you teaching informational writing in the near future? If so, this activity might be helpful. I like to introduce simple paragraphs using “Stars and Bars”. In years past I’ve had parents use the fancy dicut machine, but this year I had the kids cut out all the parts (T, stars, bars, C) and it went wonderfully. It took awhile, but I think the kids will remember it better – or at least I’m hoping all that kinesthetic cutting will emblazon the T, star, bar, and C in their sweet little second grade brains. 🙂
I think the Star/Bar organizer might be a Step Up to Writing idea. One of my teammates who shared this idea with me had been Step Up trained. I don’t know a lot about that program, but I do know I love this simple way to introduce basic paragraph organization to kids – even the littler guys.
It’s easy-peasy:
T = Topic sentence
Star = Detail
Bar = Supporting detail (“Tell me more” about the detail)
C = Conclusion
I like to color code the T green (go!), C red (stop!), with the stars yellow and bars orange, but it doesn’t really matter on the star and bar color – I’m just set in my color coded ways. I ask students to provide 3 details with supporting details, but for the super little ones, one detail and supporting detail should suffice.
I love this!! Will definitely be sharing this idea with my teaching partner, we have Grade 2 this year and this activity will be spot on when we tackle information texts. Thanks so much for sharing!
Tania
Mrs Poultney's Ponderings
Very nice idea! I found your site because we are fellow students at TBTS! 😉 Looking forward to keeping up with you. You can visit me at http://www.thereadbox.blogspot.com
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