As the school year progresses, I always try to push my students to try new craft moves in their writing. Early in the year, I introduce using speech bubbles to show dialogue (read about that here). Partway through the year, I find my more advanced writers are ready to start using quotation marks. It is great to offer a second way for students to show conversation between characters. Quotation marks can be a bit tricky, but it's worth it to teach the correct way to use them. Even if kids don't get the comma in the exact right place, it is an important skill they will be able to refine in the future.
To teach the use of quotation marks, I return to one of our favorites, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. This is a read aloud I share the first week of school to talk about how our words have power. It is a great lesson that many kids can connect with. Kevin Henkes has so many great books and I wish I had time to use all of his books throughout the year. So many great books, so little time! Anyway, I like to use Chrysanthemum because there is such great dialogue on almost every page.
For this mini lesson I start by putting the text (or a copy of some of the pages) up on the Smartboard. We look for quotation marks and I highlight them in yellow. I point out the comma and we highlight that in blue. Then I give kids copies of various pages of Chrysanthemum that I have photocopied. They work together in pairs, highlighting the quotation marks in yellow in each sentence of dialogue. We discuss their findings and share them using the document camera.
The next day we review their observations from Chrysanthemum, discussing that there are quotation marks and commas where the dialogue is. I have some dialogue prepared on chart paper (without quotation marks and commas) and we go through it together and add quotation marks in the appropriate places. Then, I have them get out one of the books they have already written (or are in the middle of writing) that has dialogue. They practice adding quotation marks with the guidance of their learning partner.
In second grade, I don't expect perfection with this skill, which is why we focus on just adding the quotation marks. Later mini lessons can focus on the dialogue tag and that pesky comma (if it's needed). The next time I teach quotation marks, I am going to try incorporating some strategies that Jeff Anderson suggests in Patterns of Power. He has some great lesson ideas, and the key one I think I am going to try out is using the focus phrase, "I open and close words spoken aloud with quotation marks." It helps bring students' attention to the fact that quotation marks are used when a character is speaking. If you are interested in Anderson's lessons, I highly recommend his books. Patterns of Power is focused on primary, while Mechanically Inclined and Everyday Editing are more suitable for those teaching upper elementary on up. Those books are linked at the bottom of the post if you're interested in checking them out.
I'd love to know which texts you use to teach quotation marks~share those below!
Happy Reading!!
~Carrie
Kevin Henkes~Chrysanthemum
Jeff Anderson~Patterns of Power
Jeff Anderson~Everyday Editing
Jeff Anderson~Mechanically Inclined
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Teaching Point of View
One of my favorite things about being a teacher is getting to read (and buy!) new books. Going to a bookstore or filling up my shopping cart online never feels guilt-ridden--it's always perfectly okay to spend some money on books. After all, me and my students will not only enjoy them but use them for a learning experience. There is no way to put a price on that!
There are a couple of second grade reading standards relating to characters. One is how characters respond to major events and challenges, and the other is acknowledging the differences in the characters' point of view. I use a couple of different books for this purpose--I usually use one to teach the concept with the whole class (I Wanna Iguana), and then I use a second book to assess the standard. I use The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) to do the point of view assessment with my second graders. I also use The Day the Crayons Quit for other teaching purposes (stay tuned to upcoming posts about those), and our school librarian reads it to the kids as well. So I find that my students have a good grasp on the storyline and characters, thus making it a great choice for an authentic assessment.
This text lends itself beautifully to the discussion of of point of view. If you aren't familiar with The Day the Crayons Quit, it is comprised of a series of letters written from the various colors of crayons found in a box of crayons to their owner, Duncan. They are, as the title implies, quitting. Each of them has their own issue with Duncan and his use of them. One of the best things about this book is that each page appears to be written by the actual crayon--meaning in that color--and in a script-like font. It can be a bit tricky for kids who don't know cursive to be able to read it, but it adds so much to the book. The illustrations are 'colored' in crayon and helps kids remember what each crayon mentioned drawing in their letter to Duncan. After you enjoy this book with your students, you can follow up with The Day the Crayons Came Home. This time, instead of letters, the crayons have written to Duncan on postcards.
Much of my 'teaching' with this text involves talking about it each time we read it. By the time I use this text for my point of view assessment, my students have generally heard it 2-3 times. I read it one more time and discuss the crayons' letters to Duncan. You could even make an anchor chart as students recall the details of the text. The next day I pass out a sheet that asks the kids to tell me the point of view from 3 different crayons. I even let them write with colored pencils that match each crayon (which they love!). Because this book is told from each crayon's perspective, it makes it really easy for the kids to give text evidence in their answers.
What are your favorite books for teaching point of view?
Happy Reading!!
~Carrie
The Day the Crayons Quit
There are a couple of second grade reading standards relating to characters. One is how characters respond to major events and challenges, and the other is acknowledging the differences in the characters' point of view. I use a couple of different books for this purpose--I usually use one to teach the concept with the whole class (I Wanna Iguana), and then I use a second book to assess the standard. I use The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (illustrated by Oliver Jeffers) to do the point of view assessment with my second graders. I also use The Day the Crayons Quit for other teaching purposes (stay tuned to upcoming posts about those), and our school librarian reads it to the kids as well. So I find that my students have a good grasp on the storyline and characters, thus making it a great choice for an authentic assessment.
This text lends itself beautifully to the discussion of of point of view. If you aren't familiar with The Day the Crayons Quit, it is comprised of a series of letters written from the various colors of crayons found in a box of crayons to their owner, Duncan. They are, as the title implies, quitting. Each of them has their own issue with Duncan and his use of them. One of the best things about this book is that each page appears to be written by the actual crayon--meaning in that color--and in a script-like font. It can be a bit tricky for kids who don't know cursive to be able to read it, but it adds so much to the book. The illustrations are 'colored' in crayon and helps kids remember what each crayon mentioned drawing in their letter to Duncan. After you enjoy this book with your students, you can follow up with The Day the Crayons Came Home. This time, instead of letters, the crayons have written to Duncan on postcards.
Much of my 'teaching' with this text involves talking about it each time we read it. By the time I use this text for my point of view assessment, my students have generally heard it 2-3 times. I read it one more time and discuss the crayons' letters to Duncan. You could even make an anchor chart as students recall the details of the text. The next day I pass out a sheet that asks the kids to tell me the point of view from 3 different crayons. I even let them write with colored pencils that match each crayon (which they love!). Because this book is told from each crayon's perspective, it makes it really easy for the kids to give text evidence in their answers.
What are your favorite books for teaching point of view?
Happy Reading!!
~Carrie
The Day the Crayons Quit
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Speech Bubbles & Thinking Bubbles
When we are teaching our students how to infuse their writing with various craft moves, structure their texts in different ways, or use a variety of text features, there is no easier way to do this than with a mentor text. Some of my favorite mentor texts are the Diary of A Worm/Spider/Fly books written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Harry Bliss. These are great humorous books with so many teaching purposes you will have a hard time deciding which one to start with! Because I read one of these stories at the beginning of the year with our reading series (Journeys), I start with a mini lesson that makes the most sense for my second graders at the beginning of the year.
In my classroom during writer's workshop, we write books. My students often write fiction stories, and needless to say, it's not long before they are writing dialogue in their books. I do get to the point where I teach them about quotation marks, but at the beginning of the year, I find that speech and thinking bubbles are a bit more accessible.
The Diary of . . . books are great for teaching this concept. The stories are told like a diary with entries in order by date. The illustrations take up the majority of each page, with limited text. This focus on the illustrations really makes this book a great choice for teaching about speech and thinking bubbles because kids are concentrating on the illustrations--they are a big part of the storyline. Additionally, the text in the speech and thinking bubbles adds to the story, so if the kids don't read it, they are missing out on some humorous dialogue.
The mini lesson for this concept typically goes very well as the students are excited to share other examples of speech and thinking bubbles they have seen in other texts. Modeling is not always necessary as kids have seen speech and thinking bubbles previously, and once you bring their attention to it, they look for them everywhere. Second graders are typically very in tune to the slight difference between the two types of bubbles--the little circles vs the pointy part. They enjoy practicing drawing them and incorporating them into their writing. A good tip is to teach them to write the words first and then draw their bubble around it.
This is one of my favorite mini lessons to teach because the kids are so excited to utilize this craft in their writing! What are your favorite books to use to teach thinking and speech bubbles? Leave your favorite titles below.
Happy Reading!!
~Carrie
Diary Of. . . books
In my classroom during writer's workshop, we write books. My students often write fiction stories, and needless to say, it's not long before they are writing dialogue in their books. I do get to the point where I teach them about quotation marks, but at the beginning of the year, I find that speech and thinking bubbles are a bit more accessible.
The Diary of . . . books are great for teaching this concept. The stories are told like a diary with entries in order by date. The illustrations take up the majority of each page, with limited text. This focus on the illustrations really makes this book a great choice for teaching about speech and thinking bubbles because kids are concentrating on the illustrations--they are a big part of the storyline. Additionally, the text in the speech and thinking bubbles adds to the story, so if the kids don't read it, they are missing out on some humorous dialogue.
The mini lesson for this concept typically goes very well as the students are excited to share other examples of speech and thinking bubbles they have seen in other texts. Modeling is not always necessary as kids have seen speech and thinking bubbles previously, and once you bring their attention to it, they look for them everywhere. Second graders are typically very in tune to the slight difference between the two types of bubbles--the little circles vs the pointy part. They enjoy practicing drawing them and incorporating them into their writing. A good tip is to teach them to write the words first and then draw their bubble around it.
This is one of my favorite mini lessons to teach because the kids are so excited to utilize this craft in their writing! What are your favorite books to use to teach thinking and speech bubbles? Leave your favorite titles below.
Happy Reading!!
~Carrie
Diary Of. . . books
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