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Writer's pictureTaylor Dale

Happy Like Reading

Updated: Feb 11, 2019

"When we write, our entire lives are like a stretch of mountains and we can choose where to dwell." -Barry Lane


Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts is a good mentor text to engage readers in emotions, memories, distance, and family. After reading this book you could have students write lists of things they do that make them happy. Not only is this a way for students to become engaged in writing but for you as the teacher to learn more about your students and their interests.


Engaging my students in writing


I am a big advocate for writing. I have loved writing ever since I could hold a pencil and it saddens me that students have strong negative emotions towards it. I want to use my students interests, mentor texts, and movies/tv shows to interest and engage my students in writing. A movie that has really inspired me this year has been Mary Poppins Returns. There are three songs that have been inspired me to make a lesson plan around it.



In this song they teach the children how to speak "leerie." You speak leerie by rhyming words. I would play this song and have the kids learn how to speak "leerie" by using rhymes.


Another song in Mary Poppins Return that inspired me is Turning Turtle.



If fast is slow, low is high, stop is go and that is why Every second Wednesday is a hurdle From 8 to 9, all is well Then I roll over on my shell And all because the world is turning turtle

Day is night, dog is cat, black is white, thin is fat That is why I'm loosening up my girdle I cannot help this charming troop Don't lock me, 'cause I'm in this soup And why? Because the world is turning turtle


This song talks about opposites and I think it could be a good way to introduce antonyms. It also teaches rhyming as well and could be an inspiration to students to see it in a song.


The last song that inspired me was A Cover is Not the Book.



Nellie Rubina was made of wood But what could not be seen was though Her trunk up top was barren Well, her roots were lush and green So in Spring when Mr Hickory saw her blossoms blooming there He took root despite her bark And now there's seedlings everywhere

Which proves A cover is not the book So open it up and take a look 'Cause under the covers one discovers That the king may be a crook Chapter titles are like signs And if you read between the lines You'll find your first impression was mistook For a cover is nice But a cover is not the book


The activity that I thought of for this song would be for kids to re-do covers of their favorite book that accurately depicts the book's content.



 

Your Turn Lesson: 100 Things I Love

Created by Taylor Dale and Megan Laws

Hook: Read 100 Things That Make Me Happy by Amy Schwartz.



Purpose: Sometimes writers have a hard time coming up with things to write about. This happens to all writers. By making a list you will be able to write stories about things you love and have strong memories about. Today you are going to make a list of 100 things you love just like the book we read.


Brainstorm: Think aloud about the simple things in life that bring a smile to your face and that make your heart happy, that you love - people, food, items, stuffed animals, pets, sports, etc. They can be small things or big things. Mention that all the things you love have special stories. Ask the students to share some things that they love. These ideas can be shared with a partner so that every student can share then a few of them can be shared with the entire class.



Model:

Show students your own list of 100 things you love. You can either have it ready ahead of time or do it in front of the students. Then choose something you love from that list and write a small story on the board or overhead. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or scratch out some writing and rewrite it this helps students see the writing process and what it looks like. Then have the students start writing their own.





Shared/Guided Writing: For this lesson have students participate in creating a notebook entry with 100 things the class loves. The teacher can start by thinking aloud and then writing an entry down. Students can then share with their partner things that they want to add. Come back together as a whole group and call on students to share things they love to add to the list. The probing questions below may help students who are stuck.

Probing questions:

Who do you love?

What food do you love?

Are there places that mean a lot to you?

What is the first thing you do when you get home?

Once you have a small list explain that each student is going to get to make there own ‘100 Things I Love’ page. Now that there are plenty of items on the list explain how you pick one thing to write about. It should be something that they have a strong memory about. Pick one thing and model how you use the list to find a writing topic. Make sure to mention that the list does not need to be finished in one day but it can be added to over time. Before students return to their workspace have them share one thing with a partner that they are going to put on their list.


Independent Writing: Allow students to have time to write their own list of things they love. They can put this in their writer’s notebook or you can have a sheet of paper with 100 lines numbered off, which they can glue into their notebooks after. Whichever is fine. They may struggle coming up with exactly 100 things but as long as they get a good amount and can write a short story about one thing that is fine. Some students will want to write more than 100 and some students will struggle coming up with more than 20. Push your students to come up with as many as they can but know your student’s abilities and push them to what you think they are capable of. After they have written an amount you think is acceptable ask them to choose one thing they really love and have a strong memory about. Once they have chosen something ask them to turn to their partner and share and then write a story about it like you did when you modeled. They can write this in their writer’s notebook. They can also come back to this list at any time and add to it.


Reflection: Once students have finished writing their list or the time allotted is up and they have shared with their partner or a small group have them think about how this list they created can help them think of things to write about. Questions such as the following can help guide their thinking:

How can a list of 100 things you love help you find a writing topic?

What will you write about next?

What are some stories you have about _________? (Choose a section from the list.

Did listening to others share their list give you ideas for your own?

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1 Comment


bethfrye
Feb 19, 2019

I am thrilled to find this book, 100 Things That Make Me Happy by Amy Schwartz. Thank you for introducing our class to it! Would you bring it to our next class? For the final version of this lesson, would you include your draft of a notebook entry from your 100 loves? I'd love to see you how plan to move into this. ;-)


Also, I love the use of song lyrics to inspire writing...we should revisit this during our poetry unit. ;-)

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