It Looked Like Spilled Milk is a great intro. text on the first day of school. It puts their nerves at ease as it starts conversations as students share their opinions on what they see on the page. I also introduce the word "schema" and how life experiences and background knowledge effect our thinking. Students are then given a squiggle line and asked to create a picture using that line. This is a great opportunity to share your expectations on artwork and effort. I always ask them to add lots of detail and not leave their picture "floating on a cloud of white." Students are then asked to describe their creation in writing on an index card. I display these together either in the classroom or outside in the hall.
Friendship/Kindness/Good Character Mentor Texts
This is a great book to teach compassion for others and how to accept everyone for who they are regardless of their limitations. After I read the text, the students return to their seats to do this connecting activity.
1) Pass out private screens and a plain sheet of white paper
2) Students write their names on the back of their paper
3) Tell and demo how to draw a large oval and add ears ONLY
4) Pass paper to left-add eyes and eyebrows (1 person)
5) Pass paper to the left-add hair (2nd person)
6) Pass paper to the left-add nose and mouth (3rd person)
7) Hopefully it now passes back to the original person. This was for a group of 4. When I had larger class sizes and had 6 in a group. I would just make sure there were 6 different features to add. If your group sizes are uneven, I just fill-in and enjoy the fun!
8) The students have a great laugh when they see what their picture looks like now. After a few moments we have conversations on how they would treat the person if it was a new classmate. During this time, we practice procedures for respectful classroom conversations, too.
9) Students are asked to write 3-4 sentences about how they would treat the student if they were new to our school and class.
I try and get as many writing samples as I can during that first week of school without overwhelming them with their first official writing sample. I like to do a basic review of sentence formation and grammar rules. Then I can see a better sampling of their actual writing abilities.
This is by far, one of my all time favorite back to school books and activities. After I read the text we have conversations on qualities of a great friend. We record our thinking on an anchor chart. Then it is time for the students to practice using those qualities in a cooking activity. The students work in groups of 4-5 to make Friendship Pie. It is basically vanilla pudding with sweet treats in a mini graham cracker crust. This is a great time to teach procedures on follow directions, working cooperatively, and taking turns, etc... I put the pies in the refrigerator until the afternoon. After we clean up, the students write a recipe for a good friend modeled after our Friendship Pie recipe. Students always need a review on types of measurements and how to abbreviate them. Also, it is great to review time order words and who to incorporate those in their instructions. Even for a 4th grader, this can be a more challenging writing activity. We brainstorm a list of options and have them on the board to help support those who may need it. They also use their anchor chart we made earlier in the lesson. You can refer to the printable recipe below to determine ingredients and cooking needs and I posted a link to a Smilebox from last year's students enjoying their friendship pie experience.
Daily 5 Mentor Texts
1) Animals Should Definitely not Wear Clothing is my "go to" for teaching the 3 ways to read a book.
2) Personal Space Camp is perfect for supporting "how to pick a good spot"
3) The Junkyard Wonders melts my heart each and everytime! I use this with the first metacognition lesson to support the "Reading Salad"
Rules and Procedures Mentor Texts
1) The Recess Queen: Rules and Procedures for Recess
2) Officer Buckle and Gloria: The importance of having rules and procedures
3) Lunch Bunnies: Rules and Procedures for Cafe behavior...this book is about a Kindergarten bunny who is most worried about lunch time. While the content is a bit primary, my 4th graders always loved it.
Last year a dear friend, I like to refer to as Duchess, brought this book to my attention. It is FABULOUS and HILARIOUS! This is the perfect book to discuss being respectful to school supplies. It is also a great opportunity to introduce students to PERSONIFICATION and POINT OF VIEW! Basically, the crayons write letters to "Duncan" about his poor treatment of them. Again..HILARIOUS! My students referred back to this book all year. Anytime a marker was left without a cap or a pencil fell to the floor they added a bit of personification.."That poor marker has lost his hat"..."Ouch, I bet that pencil is sore from his long fall"... They were to model their writing like the letters written in the book but pick a different school supply. This was a writing activity I did near the end of week one and used as their first conferring/editing piece. Their final writings were so entertaining. We were all "cracking up" as we took time to share their letters with their classmates.
Math Mentor Texts
1) Read Grandfather Tang's Story to the class. As you come to each character in the story, note the picture of the animal that is an outline of a shape that can be made with tangrams. Students may need to spend some time looking to see how these outlines represent the animals since they are somewhat abstract. Ask the students if they see familiar shapes as components of the animal outlines--for example, the tail of the fox is a trapezoid and the wings of the hawk are triangles.
2) Be sure to read the tangram information found in the back of the book. My students always found this fascinating. After the class has read the story, the students create an animal using all the tangrams. I don't let them look at the pictures in the book as I really want them to spend sometime manipulating the shapes on their own. I typically give them a fairly large sheet of paper so they will have plenty of space to create their animal. I approve their animal before gluing to ensure they used all the pieces and they are not overlapping. I remind the students that they can add details in their artwork to help bring the animal to life. A great tip is trace the outline prior to gluing just incase the pieces accidentally get moved-they always do!
3) Students work on a back ground (nothing floats on a cloud of white on my watch!) over the next two weeks. Students add this to their "To do" list and work on it whenever they have extra time or during our "Sunrisers" time before school.
4) Around week 3 the students are ready to really expand their writing. They are encouraged to write a companion piece to their tangram picture. Basically, sharing the who, what, where, and how of their tangram animal. This again becomes a piece great for editing and conferring.
Language Mentor Texts
1) Chrysanthemum is such a fun book to read! Even 4th graders love the repetitive line, "Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum," and join in as we read the text. I have always themed the second day of school, Name Day! Everything we do is about our names and learning about our classmates names. My 4th graders always need a bit of a review on vowels, consonants, syllables, etc... The students are given a copy of their full name and determine: number of vowels, number of consonants, number of syllables, etc... We share these as a class to determine commonalities, who has the most letters, who has the fewest, etc... I always like to surprise them with my full name...I ALWAYS win for most letters...Kimberly Kay Terwilliger Harkreader! They never think Harkreader is hard to say or spell after seeing my maiden name!
2) The War Between Vowels and Consonants: This book is one they all want to look at closer when we are finished! The characters are in the shape of letters and the illustrations include so many creative details to examine! The vowels and consonants do not get along and it takes them pulling together to conquer their enemy. Again, another great book to review vowels, consonants, and general phonic sound rules. I love that it also depicts the British vs Patriots as American Revolution is such a big part of 4th grade content.
