Most of the children have completed their reindeer research reports going through the sequential steps in a guided report writing series of lessons & the writing process. Their final draft is typed & published using the iPad app Book Creator . This work is then saved digitally on their iPads to share with the class and then printed in black and white for display and further reading. We will be publishing ( sharing our work) next week. They are very excited and have worked hard for some time. These types of projects do take quite a bit of class time and effort. I am very proud of their efforts. I saved a few in the PDF format below to give you an idea of how Book Creator looks in PDF format. But as such you can not click on the live research links, listen to their vocal recordings, sounds, see movies or animations and more that this app allows. This can be observed with apps that allow for epubs which we do have on the iPads . But you get a bit of an understanding of how book creator looks. | |
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While the 5th graders were away at camp, we slowly walked through the writing process steps tithe 3-4th graders. Two books were read aloud, response journals were completed & AR quizzes were taken. After modeling how to fill out the GO chart, the children followed their own GO and wrote a short how to be a pirate with a personal talent they could use to save the day. A 'talent' was a trait or action they could do to help solve a pirate's problem . This was the basic story line of the read aloud How I became a Pirate. Once they completed their GO, they wrote a rough draft and went through the edit step. Finally they completed their final draft & made cute pirate to go along with their mini story. What is the Writing Process? Learning to write is a bit like learning to read. Both follow a sequential process. However, writing requires and combines more basic skills than any other subject area. It is a challenging area for our kids. A big chucnk of our Language Arts time is spent writing using a sequence of steps to support the students. I also read out loud to them daily to expose them to different types of writing styles and genres. The steps are: 1) Pre Write- A writing prompt is given & discussed first. I may model write with their ideas an example. The children then make a visual or Graphic Organizer to start the process & get their ideas started. 2) Rough Draft- The children put their ideas on paper. At this time they write with little attention to spelling, grammar etc. The purpose of a rough draft is to write without the distraction or fear of making a mistake. This is just to get the ideas down , follow a GO chart if needed. If children worry about grammar, spelling etc they tend to write less and more formulaic. 3) Self- Edit- This is where the writer's office and their knowledge of grammar, spelling , punctuation comes in. They read it out loud checking for organization, does it make sense, and revise or add as they edit. 4) Teacher Edit- They come to a teacher who sits with them and helps them with the grammar, spelling, and any organizational issues that need to be addressed. 5) Final Draft - Students produce a final draft to present. This is where neatness really counts! 6) Publishing- SHARE & celebrate! |
Language Arts
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