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

Common Core Standards

I found the following website with a checklist for the CCS.  How cool is that!

http://www.thecurriculumcorner.com/2012/08/18/common-core-checklists/

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.

I Heard Said the Bird

I Heard Said the Bird
Author: Polly Berrien Berends

Possible Common Core Standard:
W.4.3

I love using picture books to introduce and reinforce a skill or concept.  I think this book would be a great one to teach using quotation marks.  There's much more that could be taught with this book, but I'm going to focus on quotation marks for dialogue.

First I would read the above mentioned story for some quick story element discussion and simple enjoyment of the story.

Choose one of the videos from the following site to introduce quotation marks after defining dialogue.
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=27230&CategoryID=1568

Display the first page of the story on a document camera.  Ask students to read it to you or with you.  Students should silently look for sentences with dialogue and quotation marks.  Let them know they are going to be asked to share with with a classmate.  After a short time ask them to turn to their shoulder partner.  Taking turns and only identifying one pair of quotation marks students should read each sentence with a pair of quotation marks.  Next ask students to think about what they notice about the quotation marks.  After a short time ask them take turns sharing one idea at a time with their shoulder partner.  Log observations on chart paper.  Add to the list if necessary.  (I want them to notice a new paragraph with each new person talking along with the punctuation order and capitalization.)

Read the second page.  Ask who is talking and how do they know.  Ask students to share with each other their observations about the dialogue and how it is marked. Continue through the story.  (Since the story has already been read in its entirety, I would stop when I felt like the students had the concept making sure I stopped after the page asking the goose and the hare.  This is a good opportunity to talk about why there are no quotation marks on this page.  Instead of reading each page and working through the book, you could select certain pages in the story.)

Depending on the time available and what future time might be available I would either do a quick write that day with an extremely short story about a bird sharing some information with animals using dialogue among the animals or spend a few days developing a story about either a bird or another animal using dialogue.

When students are done writing using quotation marks, they can check their work by copying and pasting it into the following site.  (This a is paid site, however, a sample writing can be submitted for review.)
http://www.grammarly.com/?q=punctuation&gclid=CLLy9tDgwLQCFSemPAodWWwAxw

More information on quotation marks:
http://programs.northlandcollege.edu/owl/Quotation%20mark%20rules.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm
http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/quotation_(speech)_marks_punctuation_in_or_out.htm

Website with an activity with this book:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1063934.files//I%20Heard%20Said%20the%20Bird.pdf

365 Book Activities

I'm going to try to post a book a day with an activity related to the common core standards as I interpret them.  Please keep in mind,  I'm not a common core expert.

There is no particular order to the books and activities that will be posted.

Book Project

Possible Common Core Standards:
RL.4.1
RL.4.4

I was given the opportunity to do a reading project with a class of fourth graders over the book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume.  I had four days to complete it.  I would recommend more time.

As this classroom was technology challenged the project had to be something other than technology based.  (If I did this in a classroom with access to Publisher, I would complete the project using that program and possible some clip art or allow the students to illustrate by hand the story, scan and place the pictures on the board/cards.)

We used a piece of construction paper and drew small lines three inches from the edge all around the perimeter of the paper.  Then drew straight lines connecting all of the dots to create a 'frame' around the paper.  In one corner we designated the START box.  Because I wanted the boards to be somewhat different, I allowed the students to choose the size of their boxes.  No bigger than 3 x 3 (inches) and preferably no smaller than 2 x 3.  This caused a bit of a dilemma as we progressed through the book as some students had seven extra boxes.  After chapter four I visited with each student about his/her board.  We designated two squares for each chapter with an extra box here and there.  The students with extra boxes were directed to choose something from the story not already on the board to draw in the extra box. On my 'map' below I have one 'anything from story' box.

This is my 'map' of the project.  

As the book has ten chapters we needed a minimum of 20 squares on the board.  The middle of the board had the title of book and a place to put the two sets of cards that were a part of the game.  One set of cards were called 'Connection' cards.  The cards had a question to help the student make connection to a part of the story.  (A picture of our connection cards are included.  Keep reading.) The other cards were vocabulary cards.  As we read each chapter we picked out two to four words (depending on how much time we had) from the chapter to put on cards.  We also looked up a definition or thought of a definition that fit the word for the story.  I kept a list of the vocabulary terms and definitions to make a master list.  Each game board was given a vocabulary master list to help with disputes when playing the game.

our vocabulary master list

Each box on the game board had a smaller C box, +V box, or -V box.  I gave the students specific instructions how the C, +V and -V boxes were to be colored as to create uniformity for that part of the game.  For example the C box had a yellow background with a red C in the middle.  Every C box on the game board was colored in this way.   The START box had a +V on it as each student starts the game with a vocabulary card.

start box example

examples of C, +V, -V

Students picked two events from each chapter to illustrate on their board.  Sometimes a sentence was added to the illustration.  Each chapter had two boxes.

I didn't have any method to deciding which boxes were given a C, +V or -V.  I tried to have more +V because the vocabulary cards are the key to 'winning' the game.   I used the C boxes the least.

Each game board needs two tokens and a number cube.  (1-6)  We kept the number of players per game board limited to three.  Two is best.

Each student put his/her token on start.  Determine who is going first.  The first person rolls and counts the number of spaces.  The little box (C, +V, -V) tells the player what to do.

C  The player takes the top Connection card and reads it to the other player(s).  He/she answers the questions.  I do not require students to answer the questions if they feel uncomfortable answering the question.  They are allowed to say 'I don't have an answer to that question.'  Questions like the playground safety rules for school, 'would you like to have a turtle for a pet' or 'would you like to live in NYC' are expected to be answered.  I tried to come up with at least one question per chapter with students help.

our connection questions

+V The player takes a vocabulary card.  It will either be a term or a definition.  If it matches a card taken previously the student will want to 'protect' it.  We turned matches face down to 'protect' them.

-V  The player must return a vocabulary card to the bottom of the pile.  If the player has no cards, his/her turn is over.  If the player has matched pairs of vocabulary cards and no others, one pair must be broken as a card must be placed on the bottom of the vocabulary card pile.

 (A 'steal' option for vocabulary cards would be fun in the game, I haven't time to explore how to incorporate that into the game.)

When the vocabulary cards are all gone from the game board, the game stops.  Count the number of
vocabulary card matches.  Whoever has the most, wins.