Persuasive Writing

 

Let me first start out by saying (and I'm sure I've said it plenty of times before) I LOVE LOVE LOVE using pictures books and mini lessons to teach reading!  It never ceases to amaze me how many of my students enjoy reading picture books  (or having picture books read to them) , yet so few of them do it!  I guess that's lucky for me because they are so well behaved any time I read to them. I truly have no behavior issues whenever I read a picture book!  So there's bonus #1!! 

 

I love teaching persuasion!  I really do!  You should teach persuasion, too!  It's fun!  It's exciting!  Everyone is doing it....oh wait, I think I got a little off track there! 

Anyhow...to kick off the unit I usually start by reading of Hey, Little Ant.  After I read the book, and before we discuss it, we complete a little questionnaire about the book...then we discuss it as a whole group. 

 

 

FREEBIE ALERT: Click on the handout to download a copy of it!

 

I probably stole borrowed the questions from something I saw online, but darned if I can figure out from where (if they're your questions just let me know and I'll be happy to give you credit!).  I added the ant font and the little frame because hey, it's cute and who says fifth graders don't like cute?!  I also like to play a video on youtube of a couple performing the book for a bunch of kids.  You can watch the video by clicking HERE.

 

From there I go on to introduce some of the ways authors use persuasion (testimonial, bandwagon, emotional appeal, repetition, slogans, etc.). We create an anchor chart and then identify the different methods used in Hey, Little Ant. 

 

The next day we read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  Before we read the story we review our anchor chart and I ask students to be considering the different types of persuasion used in the story.  I really enjoy reading this book to my students!  After we read the story, and again before we discuss it, I ask my students to decide...

 



 

 

They not only need to decide if they believe the wolf or pigs, but  they have to come up with a couple of reasons WHY!  Once they've done that they complete this cute adorable little house.  I don't have a close up (sorry!) but they cut out a picture of the wolf or the pigs and glue it on the left side of the paper.  Then they write up their reasons (in complete sentences of course!) on the right side.  After they get the writing part done they color the house to represent straw, sticks, or bricks....apparently in one version the wolf has a lot of money and is able to buy purple bricks (or pays someone to paint the purple - I'm undecided! - see top row, middle house!)  Then they cut the houses out and I hang them on the wall, those who believe the wolf's story on the left and those who believed the pigs' story on the right.  I'm thinking I might have been a little TOO convincing when I read the story because as you can see way more students picked the wolf over the pigs.  Funny enough, the three students who were absent that day all picked the pigs after they read the story themselves in a small group.  OOPS!  What can I say, I'm a sucker softie for wolves who treat their grannies so sweetly!  Once this is done, we again discuss the different ways the author used persuasion and the parts of the book (and background knowledge in some cases) that convinced us one way or the other.

 

 

After we read this, I put out picture books for students to read in their free time if they so desired.  Here are just a few of versions of the Three Little Pigs that I put out for them.  I was simply amazed at how many versions there are! 

 

 

 

Throughout the unit we also read Can I Keep Him? by Steven Kellogg, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems, Dear Mrs. LaRue Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague, and CLICK, CLACK, MOO Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin.



After each picture book (one per day) we discuss the types of persuasion used and then do some type of follow up activity.

After reading Can I Keep Him? students pick an animal (not one that's in the book) and come up with 5 reasons they should be able to keep the animal, 3 reasons a parent might say NO!, and then 1 response for each parent reason.  They then break into pairs and role play the reasons and responses.
 
After Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus students write a sequel to the original book.  This year we had Don't Let the Pigeon....Fly the Helicopter, Conduct the Train, Drive the Buggati (expensive sports car for those of you who have no idea like me!)  We then took the 10 sequels and made a class book with them.  They came out fabulously!  I mean best ever!  I provided them with a step-by-step direction (I found it HERE of how to draw the pigeon and off they went!
 
After Dear Mrs. LaRue students pick one specific letter written from Mrs. Larue to Ike (the dog) and responded (in proper friendly letter form of course!) to her letter as the character of Ike.

After Click, Clack, Moo we completed a cause and effect chart as a whole class.  Then students broke into small groups and selected another book written by Doreen Cronin.  They then compared and contrasted their books by completed a Venn diagram.  Finally each group shared out to the whole class.

From year to year I switch up which books I use, add some in, take some out, etc. but these are the ones we did this year.  As the unit progresses each day I also add new books to our classroom that we won't actually use in class.  I have a special area for books that relate to what we're doing in class at any given time and students know exactly where this area is.  Once in this area they'll find signs like the one below so they know which area of study each book goes with.

Homework Tickets and Reward Coupons

This year I've had a lot of students coming to school each day without their homework completed.  Now mind you, I don't actually give homework to my students.  The only thing they get for homework is any work that was assigned in class that they weren't able to complete during the school day. I can't explain why so many of them aren't getting their work completed in class, never mind as homework. I've never really had this problem with so many students in one year before.  I'm doing things the same, so clearly it's the students changing and not me.  Do you know what that means?  That it's time for ME to change, too!  Just because I've done something in my class for years, and it's worked for years, doesn't mean it's going to work for every class that comes through my doors.  Every class comes with its unique challenges, and apparently this year it's homework completion (and attendance -but don't even get me started on that one!)  So I did some brainstorming with my sweet hubby and have decided to reward those students who come to class with their homework done.  Each day when students come to class, if they have everything down that they should, they get a homework ticket.  They write their name on the back of the ticket, and drop it in our Homework Bucket.  You only get a ticket if you are completely current.  If you were absent and have makeup work, no ticket.  If you have corrections you haven't completed, no homework.  Basically nothing can be outstanding. Here's what the homework ticket looks like (you can click on the image to download the entire page of tickets).

 

At the end of each week I draw one ticket (sometimes more depending on what I think will work best for that week).  Whichever student gets their name drawn, gets to pick one of our classroom rewards.  I have lots and lots of reward coupons they can pick from.  Here's a small sample...if you'd like to see all of the coupons, I have them up on TeachersPayTeachers.  There are 35 individual rewards and 10 class rewards, plus some blank coupons, too.

 

 

 

Besides homework coupons, the other way to earn a reward coupon is to have your name drawn off our BINGO board.  Our BINGO board has 100 spots.  Once the board is filled we draw to see which student will earn a reward coupon of their choice. Students can get their name on the board for just about anything...showing kindness for another student, finding a vocabulary word in their independent reading books (and being able to define it or use it properly in a sentence), finding a spelling word in their independent reading books (and being able to spell it properly), dressing up for a spirit/color day, and lots more.  I look for reasons to let students sign their name on the board.  We pretty much fill a board every other week or so.  In addition to getting individual names on the board, they can also get 5's (because they're in the fifth grade) on the board.  The earn a 5 by being complimented by another adult in the building, getting 4 checks in PE (a classroom management system our PE teacher uses), working quietly when they are in small groups, etc.  Again, I look for reasons to let them put a 5 up on the board.  If a 5 is selected, then the entire class gets a reward.  Here are what some of the BINGO charts I've used look like...

 

 

 

 

Photo-a-Day Challenge September 28th

Ok...Day 28 of the Photo-a-Day Challenge.  I figured I did the first couple of days, so I'll do the last few days!  LOL!  I don't know where the month of September got to!!  Today's word is Fall Foliage....so here are some pictures of Fall Foliage in my home state of Vermont...I sure do miss the beautiful landscapes from back home!

 

 

 

#CFCSeptember

New Products on TeachersPayTeachers

Ok, so here's what I've decided...being a full time mother and teacher leaves very little time for blogging during the school year!  I have the biggest class I've had in the last few years.  I only have 23 kiddos, but last year I had 13 so this is a BIG difference.  Last year's class also had 5/13 students in the Gifted and Talented program, so academically it was a very strong class!  I've also been working really hard to get more products up on TeachersPayTeachers.  There's just something about knowing I've helped another teacher reach their students that really warms my heart!

Here are some of the projects I've completed since school has started...

Properties of Addition and Multiplication Foldable Graphic Organizer

Social Studies Explorers of the New World Foldable Graphic Organizer

States of Matter Foldable Graphic Organizer

Odds and Evens Addition Game

Photo-a-Day Challenge September 18th

Ok...Day 18 of the Photo-a-Day Challenge.  Today's phrase is Bulletin Board....

Here's the bulletin board that's out in the hallway.  On the first day of school it had soccer balls with all of our subjects and things we would be learning about in each subject.  It also had red letters above all the soccer balls that said, "FIFTH GRADE GOALS", but apparently I never took a picture of the board once I put the title up.  The soccer goal hanging from the ceiling is made out of PVC pipes and a black fishing net.  The soccer ball is an inflatable pool ball.  The kids love to "tap" the ball into the goal.  I really don't mind, but I know it drives some of the other teachers crazy!  I mean if I'm being honest, I hit that ball every time I walk by it and I have pretty good self-control!

 

During the first week of school students completed pennants about themselves.  I have no idea where these came from, so I can't credit the awesome creator - but they rock! The kids had a great time filling them out.  The one on the left has students drawing a self portrait, their favorite foods and colors, and their hobbies.  The one on the right has them writing about their favorite book over the summer.  

 

 

After a few weeks at school, I took down the soccer balls and we put up the pennants.  The first two rows are the "Getting to Know Your Classmates" pennants and the bottom two rows are the pennants with the favorite books.  The picture does not do this board justice!  The kids did a great job on their self portraits - well really the entire project!  I love them!  I always "catch" them out in the hallway reading the board when they are going to or coming back from the restroom/water fountain.



 

You can't see it in the picture above, but this poster hangs to the right of the bulletin board, matted on blue paper and acts as a key so you know what is being drawn in each shape.  The hexagon is for hobbies, the oval for a self portrait, the heart is for favorite color(s), and the parallelogram is for favorite food(s).

 

The other bulletin board in my classroom is our AR (Accelerated Reading) bulletin board.  This is always my favorite board to do each year!  Last year's is still my all-time favorite board with our ocean theme, but this one looks pretty darn great, too, if you ask me!  Which you didn't, but we'll just pretend that you did!

 

 

Again, pictures just don't do the board justice, but it's a fun board!  The background is boring green paper.  The border is green ribbed - which is special because my late mother passed it down from her classroom when she retired from teaching.  The white lines are actually satin ribbon, which add a little texture to the board.  The "TIME TO A GOOD BOOK" letters are 4" black letters.  The TACKLE letters are 4" white letters glued on footballs.  Those are attached to a clothesline with clothespins for a 3D effect.  I did have some cool sports clothespins that I was going to use, but it was too busy and didn't look great.  The end zones have the school name in 4" blue letters (one of the school's colors) and the school's mascot cut out of black.  I didn't show those here for my students' safety.  Then you have all of my precious students' footballs.  These were given to them at Meet the Teacher night and they brought them back the first day of school.  We laminated them and I move them when students increase their AR points.  Each line is worth 10 points and when they get to the other end zone (100 points), they get a bigger football and their original football stays in the end zone.  Here's a funny story - I had intended to put numbers on the lines, but didn't realize I'd never done that until I was writing this blog post!  Guess what I'll be doing soon?!  The kids' footballs are already zooming across the field...I've even got one on the 80 yard line just a month into school!  Now that's impressive!  To the right of the board are genre posters.  Above the board are adjectives that describe books.  Below the board you can see about half of my picture books.  The shelf goes all the way down the wall.  There are also two shelves of chapter books below that.  All my books are labeled, as are the bins...but that's a post for a whole new day!  Right now we are working on finishing up our football buddies who will be holding a sign that says, "My Reading Goals" instead of "Who Will Win?". 

 

 

I got the Football Buddy Craftivity from A Cupcake for the Teacher.  You can check it out at their TeachersPayTeachers store.  It was designed to be used during the Super Bowl, but with just a itsy bitsy tweaking of the form, I made it totally work for me!! 

 

Thanks for looking/reading!  Have a happy day!

Photo-a-Day Challenge September 2nd

Ok...Day 2 of the Photo-a-Day Challenge.  Today's word is Labor Day....so I thought it only fitting that I post a picture of my two favorite boys "laboring" away in the kitchen!  They're making healthy no-bake cookies using BeachBody's Shakeology Chocolate Health Shake powder.  The recipe was so easy just shake powder, peanut butter, honey, and oatmeal!  It was super rich!

The other labor of love going on in our house today was my sweet boy working diligently on a 150 piece puzzle...a round puzzle?  Really?  There goes my strategy of doing the outside pieces first!  That didn't seem to stop him though!  He's an amazing puzzle maker!  I need to find some inexpensive places to buy puzzles or I'm going to be really broke before long!

I loved having an extra day to spend with my family this Labor Day weekend!  We spent over 3 1/2 hours at the Children's Museum this afternoon!

#CFCSeptember

Photo-a-Day Challenge September 1st

I was reading some posts today from some of the blogs I follow, and I came across this beauty from Clutter-Free Classroom.

 

 



I thought it might be fun to give it a shot...so here's my picture for September 1st: September!  I know this isn't the greatest picture, but I'm not at school to take a new one and I really want to try to post every day this month! It's hard to tell, but the far left curtain has red, white, and blue stars for July, the next one is red gingham with ants for August, then school pictures (bus, school house, ABC, 123, etc.) for SEPTEMBER, and you can see just a small section of the pumpkins for October.

About 9 years ago, my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday.  At the time I was a reading specialist and my office had one window in it.  I thought it would be pretty neat to have a "Curtain of the Month Club" so to speak, so I asked for that.  Every month my mom would give me a new curtain.  She hadn't quite made all of them when I found out that I would be moving rooms the following year.  Once I realized the curtains wouldn't work in my new room (which was a WAY nicer room I might add!)  I had her stop making them.  I packed the curtains away, hoping one day I'd be able to use them again.

A few years passed, I moved from my home state of Vermont, to Texas and my new classroom had 2 windows....so the curtains remained packed.  Then three years ago, I was working with our new school librarian brainstorming ideas for themes, decorating, etc.  She decided to do a big tree in the middle of the library, and added branches throughout the year as needed.  Each time a child read a book they put their name and the title of the book on a cutout and it went on the tree.  The cutout changed every month (September - apple, October - pumpkin, November - turkey, and so on).  We informally called it Reading Throughout the Year.  Looking around our library I realized the windows were lacking any color, and then I also realized that there were 12 windows!  A light bulb went off....12 windows....12 months....Curtain of the Month Club....so I went home and pulled out my curtain tub and curtains.  I brought them into school and what do you know?  They were the perfect size!  Now I didn't have a full set of 12 and they weren't all exactly the same size.  Since they were only up one at a time making them exactly the same hadn't been necessary.  So I went to work making the curtains I had all the same size, and then I went and found material for the ones I didn't have. I will admit it was a very costly project, and stressful (I had a very hard time decided on August's fabric!) but it was well worth it.  Every time I go into the library and see the curtains, it makes me smile and I can't imagine what the library would look like without the curtains!  One day, we'll find out though because when I leave this school, the curtains are coming with me!

Here are some pictures of the other curtains...you can even see one of the tree branches in the middle picture!

January (snowflakes) - February (green with colored hearts all over - I really need to make new red ones!) - March (green shamrocks)

April (Easter eggs) - May (Cinco de Mayo) - June (flowers)

October (pumpkins) - November (turkeys) - December (candy canes)

In March of 2013, my mother very unexpectedly passed away at the young age of 59.  So now these curtains are even more precious to me.  I have curtains in both of my children's rooms that she made, the curtains at the bottom of my stairs were made by her, and I even have a set of curtains in my classroom.  These were originally made for the new room I moved into to hide all the contents of open cabinets.  When I moved to Texas, miraculously the curtains also fit the space above my student closet that I use for storage!  I love these curtains...especially when my classroom was painted the blue and green in them!  These are the only things I don't change out each year with my new theme! We had some leftover material and my mom made my daughter (and her baby doll) a dress out of it, too!  She was an amazing seamstress!

Curtains covering storage area in my classroom.

Scrapbook page made by an amazing aide who did a scrapbook for every child in the class!

 

Heidi or Gretchen - I have no idea, they're twins and I can't tell them apart!  She has booties, too, that you can't see!

 

Ok...so I'm sure (I KNOW!) the rest of my posts will not all be this long...but here's my first one :D  HOORAY!!

#CFCSeptember