This week was a whirlwind for sure! 🙂 We did lots of pumpkin activities and completed a pumpkin writing, too! 🙂 It was a blast! 🙂
I love doing pumpkin exploration work with my littles! 🙂 They get so excited. Thematic instruction is one of my favorite parts of teaching in a primary classroom. You can take any topic, grab great literature, align it to the standards and TEACH! So much fun! 🙂
Writing in my classroom is explicit.
I have a six step process.
I start with brainstorming. Brainstorming usually involves a text of some kind and discussion about a particular topic.
I model a TON…especially at the beginning of the year.
I ask the kids to help me with the spelling at the beginning. We fix the spelling over time during different versions of the story.
Next, we start a draft.
The drafting phase includes an illustration, and then a part of the writing. Usually, at this point, I’ll have selected students share theirs with the class.
Next, we do a revision of the writing and we add a bit more to it.
The next part is my favorite! 🙂
Peer editing!
The students pair up together and use their peer editing checklists. The first few times, I assigned partners. Now, I just let them pick partners when they are through with a specific stage.
Once it’s been peer edited, I look over it and give them feedback.
They do a final draft and share it with the class! 🙂
Sometimes, I have a craft extension.
To implement the science, I used a great little pack from First Grade and Flip Flops! 🙂 I got together with another teacher on my team and we did some fun rotations and demos! The students really got excited about working together in groups! 🙂 They were fabulous little scientists!
We finished up the week with a Spooktacular Reading Goal party!
Our students use AR, and all of the kids that met their goal got to go to the party! 🙂
I made dirt pudding for 130 students!
We also had some goody bags!
The kids even got to watch a seasonal movie! 🙂
The party was EPIC!!
My kids were so hopped up on sugar by the time they got home! 🙂 I *almost* feel sorry for their parents! LOL! 🙂 It was Halloween too!
We loved pumpkin week! 🙂
Thanks again, Dee Dee for hosting this linky! 🙂
Thanks again, Dee Dee for hosting this linky! 🙂