Whistle for Willie

Whistle for Willie
Author:  Ezra Jack Keats

Possible Common Core Standards:
RL.4.2
RL.4.3
W.4.3

This idea could be done in one or more writing sessions depending on how much you want to develop it in your classroom.

This is a great story about perseverance.  Read it and discuss it.  How does the author let the reader know how much Willie wants to whistle?  How do you as the reader know he is trying?

Ask students to think of something they had to work hard to learn how to do.  My favorite example is my youngest son wanted to hit a ball with a bat.  He spent hours in the yard throwing the ball up and swinging and missing.  One day he finally hit it and he rarely missed after that.  It could be learning to read or learning to subtract.  For the students who tell you they didn't have any problems learning anything, tell them to make something up.  :)    

Ask students to think of either something that truly happened while learning or to make something up that would make the story more interesting.  In Whistle for Willie, Willie hid in a box trying to whistle for his dog. In my son's story he could spin every time he misses and make himself dizzy.   It's up to you as to whether or not it has to be realistic.

    

Sheila Rae, The Brave

Sheila Rae, The Brave
Author: Kevin Henkes

Possible Common Core Standards:
RL.4.1
RL.4.3
RL.4.4
W.4.3
W.4.4

Read Sheila Rae, The Brave.  Ask for one characteristic that describes her...looking for the word brave.  Look for and log examples of where she was brave and discuss why those events characterize her as brave.  Was she brave throughout the story? Discuss.  Talk about how the story revolves around the word brave.

Choose a word as a class to write a story similar to Sheila Rae, The Brave.  Brainstorm and list possible examples displaying the characteristics of the word.  Think of a few situations that would be the opposite of the word for the problem in the story.  Write a class story using the examples thinking of a way to solve the main character's 'problem' and end with the character defining the main word again just as Sheila Rae does in her story.   Title the story patterned the same as Sheila Ray, The Brave and make sure to put 'patterned after Sheila Ray, The Brave by Keven Henkes' with it.

Ask students to each (or with a partner) choose a word to base a story.  I posted a link to a list of possible words below. Sneaky or messy come to mind as fun words to use.   If the words seem too easy, use a thesaurus to find a similar word but not as well known.  Have fun with it!  After choosing the word, start logging situations that would make a reader think of the word. Think of a few situations that would be the opposite of the word for the problem in the story.  Put the situations into a story.   Make a bold statement using the word to start the story and include a solution to the problem along with an ending to the story.  Title the story patterned the same as Sheila Ray, The Brave and make sure to put 'patterned after Sheila Ray, The Brave by Keven Henkes' with it.

List of character traits:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson175/traits.pdf

Tom

Tom

Author:  Tomie dePaola

Possible Common Core Standards:

RL.4.3

W.4.3

Tom is a great springboard to getting kids to write about real life experiences with a special person in their lives.

To start with, read the book to the students.  Make a list of events as the book is read.  

After reading the book use the list to revisit the book and look for additional details which made the event interesting.  Assign an event to a pair or group of children and have them complete a web of details with one event on chart paper.  This would be a great way to discover that not all of the events have the same about of 'time' in the story.  I would ask for minor events and major events after working through all of them.

Next look for transitions in the story.  How does the author move from one event to the next.  Chart the transitions.

Ask students to think about a person in his/her life who is special.  It could be a grandparent, aunt, uncle, parent, older/younger sibling, friend or neighbor, but it should be someone he/she has contact with and spends time with on a regular basis. Brainstorm a list of events.  (If a child can't choose, he/she could write two names down and then brainstorm 'events' for both and finally choosing based on the events most interesting to the student.)

Remind students events don't have to be something major like the chicken hands.   Ask students to choose one event to write about.  I would continue to ask students to write about individual events without worrying about putting them together into a story.  Write them on separate pieces of paper.  Once all of the events are written and edited, ask students to put the events into an order than makes sense to them.   Students should consider one to be the beginning of the story and one should lend itself to concluding the story.  Refer back to Tom.  Talk about transition words that may work to link the events together.  

Title the book the name of the person who shared the events with the author.

Ask students to share their story with a friend or should partner to do the final editing.

Publish.  

I really like using studentpublishing.com.  If you have access to computers, students could type the story using word, convert to pdf and upload it to the website.  My students illustrated and then scanned the illustrations.  The jpg files were pulled into the document before converting to a pdf file.  We also typed the story on the website using their software and students can illustrate using the graphics on the website.  To manage each student's story progress I created a chart.  When I find the chart I will post a picture.)  There are other publishing companies on the web, but studentpublishing.com is the one I used and I was very happy with the results.  We used the published books as presents.

Ten Page Stories

Ten page stories are actually nine pages now, but I'm so used to calling them ten page stories the kids just let me get by with it.  This year we started the stories on the computers instead of writing them on paper first.  Students would write, print, edit with me, fix on the computer, write the next page, and go through the process over and over until each page had "done" written on it.  Page 1 is the setting of the story; page 2 is all about the character.  (This is the page that used to be two pages.)    The character should be described physically and by using character traits.  Page 3 is the first event of the story; page 4 is the problem.  Page 5, 6, and 7 are all events trying to solve the problem.  Page 8 solves the problem.  Page 9 ends the story.  I have a list of banned words for each page.  Some of them include you, I, so, me, and many more.

Students are drawing illustrations for their pages.  I taught them how to scan and they are scanning their pictures as they get them done.  They know how to edit the pictures and they are inserting them into their document.  (We used Publisher.)    After we have all of the pictures inserted we will save the document as a PDF file and upload it to the publisher.  Each child will get a free paperback copy of their illustrated story.  They are pretty excited about being a published author.