Tried It Tuesday {Folktales}

I just love reading all the ideas bloggers link up each week on Tried It Tuesday! There's a little something for everyone and you are bound to find something that you just have to pin for later! Thank you for stopping by to link up or just read all the ideas. :)

Now, it's already time for another Tried It Tuesday! :)
What have you tried recently at school or home?

My Tried It:

Folktales

I love teaching various genres of literature and one of the most rewarding units I cover is folktales because my 4th graders know so little about the topic when we start.  I use many of the handouts from Rachel Lynette's Folktales Subgenres: Handouts and Worksheets pack.

From her pack description:

What exactly is the diffence between a myth and a legend? Find out with these worksheets and handouts. This resource clearly defines the five most common folktale subgenres: fables, fairytales, tall tales, legends, and myths and gives students opportunities to apply what they have learned. 

This download includes the following 6 handouts and worksheets:

-Folktale Overview (handout)

-Folktale Subgenre Chart (handout)

-Folktale Subgenre Chart (worksheet)

-Folktale Multiple Choice Quiz

-Folktales I Know (worksheet)

-Folktale Reflection (worksheet)

I use the Folktale Overview handout and have students glue a copy in their notebooks for future reference (I forgot to take a picture but will add one later).

Last week, we completed the "Folktale Reflection" from her pack and I assigned students a partner and one folktale to read from various books I have.

This student's reflection was still in the book because he didn't finish it, so I took a picture.

I have these Folktale Sorting Cards at a word work center.

I created this worksheet to accompany the cards that you can access on Google Docs here.

Visit this website with free Power Point presentations about folktales here.

Right now, my students are working on writing their own fables. Their rough drafts were due Friday and I will be posting more about that for Workshop Wednesday tomorrow (using figurative language in writing) with my sweet friend over at Ideas by Jivey!

Workshop Wednesday and Freebies on the 15th!!

Workshop Wednesday is back with the amazing Jivey at Ideas by Jivey!  This week's topic is seasonal writing activities.  Jivey has a super cute snow globe activity posted here that you have to check out if you haven't yet!  My seasonal writing activity is not nearly as fun, but I thought I would post about it anyway since someone might find it useful. :)

We have been working on responding to the text by stating "claims" followed by TWO text details to support our claims.  This is a very important skill that will be assessed on our state test in April.  Last year, this method of response was new to the assessment and it was evident at regional scoring that teachers overall had not prepared students to answer questions in this manner (me included!).  Many students would answer the questions (claim) and then provide one text detail when the question called for two detail.  They had counted the "claim" as one text detail.  Who knew?  So, on a two point short response question, the majority of the students were scoring 0's and 1's!  I decided that this year we needed to start practicing this skill, however, there are not many practice materials available.  

So, I created this winter themed writing response using claims and text details.  I also included some multiple choice practice aligned to the CCSS.  

We get quite a bit of snow here in WNY, so my students have a bit of background knowledge of this topic!  The text is quite rigorous at a 1000+ Lexile level but many of the passages on "the test" are rigorous too at up to two or three grade levels above their current grade level.  

Even though Christmas is over, you could try this free Christmas themed writing response using claims and text details. There are also CCSS aligned multiple choice questions included.  It's not too late to read about the history of the Christmas tree tradition!

I also use these winter story starters as a work on writing center.  They are a freebie in my TPT store.  

I'm linking up these freebies on the 15th with Molly at Lucky To Be in First.  It may not be a new freebies, but I have many followers now that I didn't have a year ago!

Don't forget to enter Jivey's amazing One Year Blogiversary Giveaway that ends tomorrow!

Workshop Wednesday and a Giveaway!

Yay for hump day!  For today's Workshop Wednesday with Ideas by Jivey, the topic is sharing how we get students to WRITE (especially the more reluctant writers!). 

Keep reading to the end of this post to enter an amazing giveaway!!

I have shared some strategies in past posts that I use during my Daily 5 work on writing (I use Daily 4, leaving out the Listening).  Especially at the beginning of the year, I just want my students to WRITE!  We work on building our stamina and writing about topics that are easy to write about.  If students see that they can actually write for an extended period of time, they will start to believe in their writing abilities.  I have seen it happen time and time again.  My students do not complain when they are assigned "work on writing" (I have not been giving them free choice of which center to go to but they do have their choice of which activity to choose at work on writing).  They really do enjoy going to their work on writing center because the choices appeal to their interests and are at a low frustration level for my students.

One of my students' favorite work on writing activities are the shared writing journals.  You can read more about them here.  I keep four journals at a time in one of my drawers.  

 Here are two entries from the "Bandaids and Boo Boos" journal from two of my developing students:

 Here is another entry in the "Bandaids and Boo Boos" journal from possibly my lowest writer.  He worked on this independently, with no prompting from me.  What student couldn't write about injury?  We know they have stories to tell!  Why do students always feel the need to write, "The End"?  

Here is one more entry from one of my average students.

 Another great activity for getting students to write are story starters.  You can read more about the story starters I use here.  These are the winter story starters that I just added to my bins this week (we have already had snow and temps feel like winter here even though it is not "technically" winter yet!).  You can download these story starters from my TpT store for free here.

Here is a picture of one of most reluctant writer's journal entry from a fall story starter!  He was so proud of himself when he was finished!

Here is a journal entry for a story starter from one of my highest writers:

I am always looking for fresh ideas to motivate my writers and I can't wait to check out the other linkups at Ideas by Jivey!  Don't forget to check out the giveaway below!

A bunch of bloggers have joined up to say THANK YOU.  Thank you for following us.  Thank you for your support, encouragement, and friendship.  We have learned so much from you.  

So, we wanted to say thank you with a Gift Card Giveaway.  

Simply fill in the rafflecopter below and you have a chance to win one of 3 prizes. 

(You can fill in the rafflecopter on any of our blogs, it's all the same one.) 

3 lucky winners will win a $25 gift card to TPT!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!  

Workshop Wednesday {Opinion Writing}

Workshop Wednesday at Ideas by Jivey is back to a weekly linkup!  Yay!!

 This week's topic is OPINION WRITING.

When I saw this topic, I immediately thought of sharing some ideas about opinion writing in general and how it is different from persuasive writing.  They have a lot in common but the CCSS is clear that there is a distinction between the two.  I am still wrapping my head around the CCSS and at a workshop at the end of the year last year, we investigated the topic of opinion writing as it is stated in the 4th grade CCSS.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1b Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1c Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1d Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

Opinion writing is clearly based on "text evidence" and this corresponds to one of the shifts in ELA.  I found this t-chart online that gives a great overview of persuasive writing vs. opinion/argument writing.

Persuasive Writing   Vs.	Argument
Claim based on Opinion	Claim (Opinion, Position, Hypothesis, Thesis Statement, Theory)
Not Always Substantiated Claim (e.g., Propaganda, Advertisements)	Substantiated Claim (Based on Relevant & Sufficient Evidence)
“Pathos”—Appeal to Audience Emotion, Desires, Needs	Some “Pathos” but emphasis is on “Logos”—Appeal to logical reasoning and evidence (e.g., Facts, Examples, Historical and Legal Precedents)
“Ethos”—Appeal to writer’s or speaker’s character, credentials, trustworthiness	“Ethos”—Appeal to writer’s or speaker’s credibility (more so than character); credibility is established through knowledge of subject matter and merits of reasons and factual evidence
Persuasive texts may make an “argument,” but they don’t always include elements of a formal argument	Include the following elements of Argument:
	Warrants (Statements about How Evidence Supports Claims)
	Backing (Support for Warrants)
May not take opposing views into account	Counterclaim (Opposing Argument)
	Rebuttals (Respond to and Try to Refute)
	Heart of Critical Thinking

Since I have been taking the plunge into using more and more mentor texts in my classroom, (thanks mostly to Collaboration Cuties mentor text weekly linky and Jivey's mentor sentences-read more here), I was browsing TpT and found this pack on opinion writing using mentor texts by Free to Teach that I added to my wish list.  The best part is that I already own two of the mentor texts!

I am looking forward to reading the great ideas linked up for opinion writing this week!  

Do you teach the differences between persuasive and opinion writing in 4th grade?  

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Mentor Text Back to School Theme!

It is Sunday and I am just in time to link up with my BBB's at Collaboration Cuties for their Mentor Text linky!!  

This week's topic is back to school mentor texts!

Last year I used the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes for the first time when working on building writing stamina at the beginning of the year.  The students really got into it because what nine year old doesn't like to talk about their name?

Amazon.com review:  Until Chrysanthemum started kindergarten, she believed her parents when they said her name was perfect. But on the first day of school, Chrysanthemum begins to suspect that her name is far less than perfect, especially when her class dissolves into giggles upon hearing her name read aloud. That evening, Chrysanthemum's parents try to piece her self-esteem back together again with comfort food and a night filled "with hugs, kisses, and Parcheesi." But the next day Victoria, a particularly observant and mean-spirited classmate, announces that Chrysanthemum's name takes up 13 letters. "That's half the letters in the alphabet!" she adds. Chrysanthemum wilts. Pretty soon the girls are making playground threats to "pluck" Chrysanthemum and "smell her."

Kevin Henkes has great compassion for the victims of childhood teasing and cruelties--using fresh language, endearing pen-and-ink mouse characters, and realistic dialogue to portray real-life vulnerability. He also has great compassion for parents, offering several adult-humor jokes for anxious mommies and daddies. On the surface, the finale is overly tidy and the coincidences unbelievable. But in the end, what sustains Chrysanthemum, as well as this story, is the steadfast love and support of her family. And because of this, the closure is ultimately convincing and utterly comforting. ALA Notable Book, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Horn Book Fanfare Honor List. (Ages 4 to 8) --Gail Hudson

In addition to the writing stamina activity that I used last year (discussed below), this book would be great for the beginning of the year when discussing classroom expectations and  how we treat our classmates!

I read about using this mentor in the Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner (pgs. 15-16).  

I downloaded these handouts to use with the writing about your name strategy from Super Pig and Tyrant King.  Click here to get her handouts.

My experience last fall using this activity:  First, I had students complete the first worksheet in class.  Then, I assigned the "Investigating My Name Interview" for homework to interview a parent/guardian.  The next day, without discussing the "Work on Writing" rules, I had students free write for a few minutes about their name in their first journal entry.  I told them that they could write anything.  Ready, set, go!  I was curious how the students would handle work on writing.  I have the top third of the 4th graders in my class.  So, the first student raised their hand immediately.  I walked over to this bright student and he asked me, "What am I supposed to write about my name?".  I replied, "Anything you want.  You have a lot of information."

Next, a student raised his hand and said, "I'm done."  This was after writing two sentences.  

This was a great learning experience for me to see where the students are in their writing stamina.  We have already began Read to Self and made an anchor chart, modeled the correct/incorrect behaviors and have been working on stamina (they only lasted 2 min. 30 sec. the first time we tried it...and these are the top readers in the grade!).  

We discussed the percentage of time spent working on reading vs. working on writing since they were young.  Most students agreed that it was about 80% reading and 20% writing.  They really have had very little practice writing about a topic freely.  Their name (how they got it, how they feel about it, etc.) is something they should be able to write about for 5 minutes, especially after interviewing their parents the night before!  I mean, they had the worksheets right on their desk and students were "done" without including any of the information they learned about their name!

After discussing the Work on Writing expectations and why we need to practice writing freely, the students did a much better job the next time with their stamina and there were no more hands in the air.  They wrote for an additional 10 minutes about their name.   

The most difficult part for me has been to just let them write without butting in over their shoulder.  I really want them to get comfortable writing without worrying that they are doing it "wrong".

Looking back at this journal entry from September now really is encouraging!  The students grew so much as writers throughout the year.  Wow!!  Back to school will be coming quickly and we will all have another set of kiddos to transform in about 9 months:)  Are teachers amazing or what?!?  :)

Be sure to check back at Collaboration Cuties for all the other back to school mentor text ideas!

Workshop Wednesday (Writing Motivation)

I am linking up with Jivey at Ideas by Jivey for her Workshop Wednesday!  I love how this linky really gets me reflecting on some of the ways I teach and allows me to get so many great ideas from other bloggers.  Thank you to my BBB, Jivey, for hosting this linky each week!

This week's topic is:

 "How do you keep your writer's motivated to write?"

Here are few tricks that I have up my sleeve...

1.  Focus on Topics Students Can Write About

Fourth graders come from third grade barely writing complete sentences and we have to get them to multi paragraph writing by March!  Yikes!  I really feel that the best way to do this is by writing about topics that they are easy to write about...(Tell me a story about your pet...What did you do over the summer?...Who is your best friend and why?...).  I teach students how to make good introductions, conclusions, organize, use transitions, etc. when writing about topics that interest them!  It is difficult enough to build their writing stamina without trying to make them write about a "difficult topic".  It is amazing how much their writing stamina is built and how comfortable they start to feel about writing within a few months.
"WHAT ABOUT THE TEST?"
Practicing and learning by writing with "easy topics" doesn't mean that we don't practice the types of questions that will be on "THE TEST".
We do.
I just wait until they are very good (well, most of them!) at organizing their writing and then we practice those type of questions using two passages and details within the passages to support their reasoning.  This usually comes around late January or early February.  We also only practice these a couple times a month but really spend time discussing the flow and organization of sample papers.  Students also are rarely given these for homework.  I find that doesn't build the stamina they will need for the big test.  They need a quiet classroom to work where they read both passages without distractions and without relying on a parent's help.
They DO need to practice this before the big day otherwise they are being left so unprepared for what will be before them.  Setting up a multi-paragraph essay about your summer vacation is much different than comparing and contrasting two passages about ambiguous topics and who knows whatever else might be thrown in their direction!

2.  Offer Students Choices and Change Them Up Often

I started using a modified Daily 5 (I use D4) this year and have really stuck to allowing the students choices in all their tasks.  It is amazing how empowering that little change has been!  I blogged about my use of Shared Writing Journals here.
One area I need to improve on is changing out the options more often.  I did recently change out my shared journals and the class has been enthusiastic about getting their hands on the new Shared Writing Journals.  I also offer a different method for writing than the paper/pencil method by offering things like KidBlog.  They love this.
I blogged about KidBlog here.

3.  Model the Writing Process and Your Thinking
This one is SO time consuming.  It is very tempting to show a great example of a written response to the class that has been prepared in advance to save time.  However, I rarely do this because I find the students are not engaged or paying close attention.  Are they really learning about the thinking process that went in to writing that great response?  Not really.
When writing about "My Summer Vacation", I model making my plan (and maybe tell a few personal stories along the way...which they LOVE!) and then I model brainstorming the "just right" introduction, etc.  I write the essay and usually type it from my laptop while it is projected on the SMART board.  Sometimes I have students write the essay with me too.  Then, I always change a sentence or wording somewhere as I write and need to erase to reword.  You should hear the students GROAN when they have to rewrite it!  Then, comes my spiel about how we are constantly revising and editing our writing for flow!  

Check back with Jivey's linky party for other ideas about motivating your students to write!

Don't forget to enter my 500 Follower Giveaway!  Thank you so much for your support:)

Tried It Tuesday (Shared Writing Journals!)

It's Tuesday and time to share more "Tried It" ideas from your classroom or home!

What is Tried It Tuesday?  Read more about it here.

<center> <a href="http://fourthgradeflipper.blogspot.com/"><img src=" http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt15/04fallingstar/3AM%20Blog%20Design/3am_triedittuesday_3_zpsd7a240d4.png" width=225 height=225 border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></center> Awesome linky button above designed by the talented Michelle at The 3am Teacher! My Tried It: Shared Writing Journals! I started using shared writing journals this year after reading about them all summer in the blogging world.  You can read more about making them in my post here. I started the year with these four journals.  These covers I picked up from my blog idol (the reason I started blogging myself), Tara at 4th Grade Frolics.

 The Avery stickers are placed inside the journal and when students finish their entry, they place a sticker into their "individual writing journal" to keep track of finished journals.

Stickers placed in front cover of their individual writing journal after completing a shared writing journal:

Entries started out simple as one paragraph and gradually grew to multi-paragraphs following the format learned in class.

What I LOVE about SWJ (shared writing journals): 1.  Students were super excited to write in these when they were introduced. 2.  Students work on their writing stamina on a topic they are comfortable with. 3.  Students work on writing using multi-paragraphs on a topic they are comfortable with. 4.  Students can read other students' entries if they have extra time. 5.  Students were producing great writing examples as the year progressed! What I DON'T love about SWJ: 1.  Students don't love to write (surprise, surprise) and the novelty wears off fast! 2.  Most students don't finish planning their entry and writing it during one center time and need to finish later.  That means there is only one journal and it needs to be available for them to finish at another center time soon.  Sometimes they forget to finish. 3.  Most of my students only finished TWO writing entries this year so far!  This is mostly my fault because I have so many work on writing and word work activities that they can choose something else with the free choice aspect. What can I do differently to keep the interest alive? This is tough because it seems like the students really would rather do any activity that involves less writing than it takes to complete a shared writing journal.  Although, I do think that I need to manage this better.  It is still my first year trying a lot of new strategies and there has been quite the learning curve!   I FINALLY introduced some "new" SWJ's today.  I know, I know...what have I been waiting for?  I guess I was waiting for most students to have written in three out of the four journals, but with our time constraints and the lost novelty of the "old" SWJ's, this was not happening unless I took away the free choice of Daily 5.  One new SWJ introduced was a persuasive topic on whether or not gym should be cut from the curriculum.  That sparked some interest!  I forgot to take a picture of that one but you can find them by Fancy Free in Fourth here. This journal is about your best friend (easy, right?).   You can find this in a pack from Fancy Free in Fourth here.

This journal is a compare/contrast of two members of your family.
You can find them by Fancy Free in Fourth here.

Have you tried Shared Writing Journals?  I would love to hear more about how you use them!  

Check out other Tried Its by these amazing bloggers!  

Thank you so much for taking the time to share and collaborate ideas!!

Workshop Wednesday (Restate the Question!)

I am linking up with my amazing bloggy buddy, Jivey, for her Workshop Wednesday:)  

She has a new topic each week!

This week's topic is favorite writing mini lesson.

One of the first lessons I teach at the beginning of the year is how to restate the question when answering a question.  The students have not had practice with this skill prior to 4th grade and we start with simple questions like this:

It takes some practice for students to master this concept and they really hate dislike it at first.  Once they get used to it, they don't even remember the days when they would answer a question like this:

Question:  What did Princess Charlotte do to show that she wanted to be part of the British royal family?  Why was this difficult for her?  Use text details.

Answer Without Restating: She played "God Save the King".  Because she didn't speak English.

Answer With Restating:  Princess Charlotte showed that she wanted to be part of the British royal family by learning to play "God Save the King" on her harpsichord and sing along with the words.  This was difficult for her because she didn't speak English and she learned to sing the words in English.

Why is restating the question a skill I require of my students?  

1.  An accurate statement lets the reader or listener know what we are writing or talking about.

2.  An accurate statement helps us remain clear on what we are writing or talking about.

In other words, students must slow down and answer the question that is being asked.  It is more difficult (although, not impossible!) to NOT answer the question when it is restated.

I found this worksheet available to print for practice.

Click here for an interactive game for students to practice restating the question in a simple format.

This is a screenshot of a page in the game.
Students drag words to the box to restate the question.

Do you have your students restate the question?

I always stress, "Don't start your response with a pronoun!"

Check back with Jivey for more great writing lessons:)