Friday 25 May 2012

B is for Bubbles and Non-Fiction Writing Project

Today was {Day 2} of the countdown and who knew 15 minutes of blowing bubbles outside would be so exciting!! I just bought little birthday party bubbles from the dollar store. It was a nice break at the end of the day. I think they enjoyed popping my bubbles more than blowing their own, though!




Now, onto our last major writing project of the year! Continuing on with our zoo/animal unit, the students are writing their own non-fiction books about an animal of their choice. I gathered a bunch of early reader non-fiction animal books (from our guided reading books, classroom library, and school library) and let students choose their animal. I don't mind if more than one student chooses the same animal, as long as I have more than one copy of the book.

Yesterday we compared a fiction book (Curious George Goes to the Beach) and a non-fiction book (Monkeys & Apes) about the same topic. We looked at the ways they were the same and the ways they were different. We looked at a labeled picture and talked about why non-fiction books have those. Then we started our rough copy booklets and did our own labeled diagram of our animal.

{inspired by Abby and  Mrs. Williamson}



Today we talked about what animals eat. We made a Venn diagram and talked about the words carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore. Students wrote their animal names on a sticky note and we placed them in the Venn diagram together. Then I had each student bring their animal book to the carpet and we searched for keywords like "food" and "eat" to find the section of the book that would help us with our writing.



We still have "Where do they live?", "What can they do?", "What are the babies like?", and "Interesting Facts" to do. It is incredible to see how far their reading and writing has come along since the beginning of the year!

We have already illustrated our front covers for our good copies and they look quite sharp!




If you are interested in trying your own non-fiction writing project (maybe next year!) then check out my newest TpT unit:



There are two versions of the non-fiction project: an animal study and a blank version for a non-fiction topic of your choice! Both versions include:

(1.) Brainstorm Bubble Map
(2.) Rough Copy Booklet
(3.) Good Copy Book (Cover, Table of Contents, Diagram Page, and 5 Writing Pages)

There are also blank writing pages (rough and good copies) to make your books longer. And there are optional pages to customize your books: dedication page, all about the author page, and back cover. Click the picture to check it out!


Wondering how you can use the blank version of the writing project? Check out these ideas:

Ocean Animals (Rainforest Animals/Farm Animals/Desert Animals/etc.)
(1.) Diagram of the Ocean
(2.) Shark
(3.) Whale
(4.) Dolphin
(5.) Crab
(6.) Octopus

Biography/Autobiography
(1.) Portrait of Person
(2.) Where is Person From?
(3.) Person's Family
(4.) Person's Job/Hobbies
(5.) Person's Likes/Dislikes
(6.) Person's Dreams/Goals

Favourite Season
(1.) Diagram of Season
(2.) What months
(3.) What is the weather like?
(4.) What types of clothes should you wear?
(5.) What can you do?
(6.) What do animals do?

Those are just a few ideas! The possibilities are endless!

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for all of the ideas! Your packet looks great!

    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

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  2. The first grade class I student taught in also did bubbles this year. My cooperating teacher went out and bought colored bubbles and we blew them on to white paper and measured the diameter of the bubbles. It was so much fun!

    Amanda

    Surviving the First Year

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  3. You have a great blog! I am your newest follower. I also teach 1st and I hope you'll stop by my blog.
    :) Dana
    Fun in 1st Grade

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    Replies
    1. I will definitely check it out! Thanks for stopping by! :)

      Amanda

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  4. I just found you . . . so glad I wandered in today! Your non-fiction packet is sweet. I have my Dollar Store bubbles all ready to go for next week. There is nothin' like watching kids chasing after bubbles :) Pop in for a visit if you get a chance.

    Kelley Dolling
    Teacher Idea Factory

    ReplyDelete