In November Pattern Poems

The leaves may have been falling, but poetry was in bloom among my first grade poets this week.  Each November, I kick off our new month with the book entitled In November by Cynthia Rylant.  It's a quick, yet powerful read that really paints a picture and appeals to all five of our senses.  The running text reads like a poem.  The illustrations by Jill Kastner paint a watercolor-like tour through the images, sounds and traditions that November brings.  Trees without arms spread their branches "like dancers."  Food in November is "better than any time of the year," and animals "sleep more."

Many of the pages begin with "In November..."  This was my inspiration to make pattern poems with my first graders that paint just as clear of a picture in our minds as does Cynthia Rylant.  Another inspiration for this product was this neat dollar store find of the stationary on which we published our poems.

Here's the directions for this writing workshop.

1.  I read aloud the book and had the children recall the images that the author and illustrator described as happening "In November."

2.  I asked children if they noticed any patterns about the way many of the pages began.  They were able to, right away, tell me that the words "In November" repeat.

3.  We discussed the meaning of the word "pattern" and applied it to the fact that a poem that starts the same way, repeatedly, is called a pattern poem.

4.  Students watched me model writing a few lines of my In November Poem.  I noted how I used the book for help and also was sure to come up with my own ideas, too.

5.  Students went to their desks to complete drafts of their poems.  The template was copied on white paper.  Grab your template here--free all November.  I had picture books about Thanksgiving, fall, etc. everywhere.

6.  We had writing conferences and edited accordingly.  Thank you to my editors for all your help.

7.  Students copied their final drafts onto the template printed on the fancy fall stationary.

8.  We had a celebration!  Students read aloud their poems sitting on the author throne.  Click here to read my post on making your own author throne.  It was a Mr. Giso's Room to Read Bright Idea (#3).

I'm really happy with the results!  I hope you will be too.  I'm please to announce that I have passed the "5 Star Blogger" challenge from the Organized Classroom Blog.  Check it out!  Best wishes to all my friends for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving week!  

What's Mr. Giso Making "Room to Read?" Pick #4

Memoirs of a Goldfish

Written By: Devin Scillian

Illustrated By: Tim Bowers

I grabbed this book on Amazon.com when it came up in my book recommendations.  Admittedly, I judged a book by it's cover.  I did, however, buy this book in hopes that it would be handy to teach students about point of view.  I was right.

Written by Devin Scillian, this book tracks the thoughts of two weeks in the life of the main character--a goldfish.  On day one, he swims around his bowl.  On day two, he swims around his bowl, twice.  Fun, huh?  Soon, the mundane life of the goldfish changes when over the next week, he gains company.  Mr. Bubbles, a bunch of plants, Mervin the snail, Fred the crab, Rhoda and Clark the guppies, a pirate ship, Cha-Cha the angelfish and more soon intrude his once peaceful bowl.  The goldfish can't take his crowded surroundings and one day, loses it.  He exclaims, "I want my bowl back!"  His wish is granted as he finds himself in a tiny bowl all by himself with a whoosh and a splash.

Soon, the goldfish wonders.  As annoying as they may have been, he misses his friends.  He wonders if they even realize that he is gone.  On day fourteen, with another whoosh and another splash, the goldfish is reunited with his friends.  Why you may ask?  What had happened while he was gone?  Read the book to find out.

The illustrations by Tim Bowers are remarkable!  The look on the sea creatures is priceless.  The perspective of the illustrations is done in a way that clearly depicts the crowded nature of the bowl.  The looks on the goldfish and his friends as their home becomes more and more crowded is startling, annoying and shocking.  There eyes are hilarious.

Yes, this book is great for teaching children point of view in a concrete manner.  You can clearly place yourself in the "shoes" of the goldfish and understand what he's feeling throughout the course of the story's plot.  In addition, this book is appropriate for teaching sequencing in a fun manner.  I've added it to my book picks from Amazon.com at the bottom of my blog.  It's a book choice from the International Reading Association.

Spooktacular Ghosts

Well, it's still not midnight!  This means I can get this post in as part of what went on in my classroom this Halloween Week.  I wanted to make sure I added this simple craft I have done every Halloween for years--Making Cheesecloth Ghosts.  Here are the directions so you can file them away for next year.  I have to give credit to my Mom's friend Ms. Maddy for originally sharing this project with me.

Cheesecloth Ghosts

Materials:
Cut up pieces of cheesecloth (1 per child)
2 cups white school glue
1/2-3/4 cup of water
16 OZ plastic cups (1 per child)
plastic (not paper) plates (1 per child)
google eyes
black foam (for mouths)
ribbon
Halloween decorations (optional)

1.  Dilute the white glue with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water.  I do this in a one of those dish washing tubs.  Mix well.

2.  Dip a piece of cheesecloth in the mixture. Get it saturated!

3.  Take out the cheesecloth and squeeze out the mixture until it stops dripping.

4.  Drape the cheesecloth over a cup (the cup should be turned over, on top of the plate.  Stretch out the cheese cloth so it is over the plate's edges.

5.  Let ghosts dry (on humid days, this make take up to three days).

6.  Remove the cup and plate.  Pop up the head of your ghosts gently with your fingers, so it's not flat from the cup.

7.  Decorate ghosts.  I usually add a ribbon to hang the ghost, google eyes, a black foam mouth, pom pom nose and other Halloween decorations. 

There you go!  I usually am lucky enough to have a parent come in to help with this project.  Once the materials are set up, the children can do their ghosts in small groups.  Have a good week everyone!

Mr. Giso's Class Celebrates Halloween with Pumpkin Globes

The first grade in my school (all three classes) was fortunate to have pumpkins for each child donated this year.  WOW!  I had always wanted to make pumpkin globes, so this was my chance.  It was definitely a project!  I was very careful and knew it would be important to test each step ahead of time.  Also, my two grade one team members and I put our heads together to come up with a variety of solutions when we ran into trouble with this project.  The result is these fool proof directions for you to enjoy.  They look fantastic, so save this blog post for next season.  

First the pumpkins got cleaned with a bleach wipe.  After they dried, we used a small sponge to dab on acrylic blue paint.  Water based paint will not stick to the pumpkin.  We even did the bottoms of the pumpkins and lay them back right on the newspaper.  I placed the paint in cleaned meat trays for easy disposal.  Also, each desk was covered with a sheet of newspaper. 

Here are the pumpkins set out to dry on my kidney table.  The children thought they looked like Smurfs... so true.  After they were fully dried, I sprayed the pumpkins with a clear, acrylic spray.  Make sure it is low odor!  Also, I used the gloss can because I wanted the pumpkins to shine.  I let the pumpkins dry and resprayed them two more times (see below).  For about 20 pumpkins, I bought two cans and had plenty left over.

In the meantime, I conducted a few geography mini-lessons.  My goal was to introduce my students to the following points.
•Maps and globes show our planet in different ways
•Our planet has more water than land
•There are 7 main continents
•There are 4 main oceans
•Being a cartographer (map and globe maker) means being as accurate as possible. 
I used these catchy poems by Evan-Moor.  They came from an old big book of poems.  I tried to find the item, but I don't think it's made anymore.

Next, students colored a set of labels for the continents green.  You see them in the photograph above.  I printed these out from a geography blackline I had.  I printed them on full page labels made by Avery.  The box said they worked in copiers.  After that, the students cut out the labels and stuck them on.  We did this together, label by label.  I had plenty of maps and blow up globes around.  I also used Google Earth on my ENO board.  If you have not checked that out yet, let me say WOW!  I was able to spin the globe around and zoom in and out.  Click HERE to download this.

Before the labels were put on, I had a helpful parent cut out leaves out of foam board and write each child's name on them for me.  I punched a hole in the leaf and tied it on with two shades of green curly ribbon to look like vines.

Here is the finished project.  I love these!

Simply click HERE to printout a free set of the globe poems and directions for making this terrific project.  Happy Haunting to All!

It Looked Like Spilt Milk--Art and Science Integration

I'm sure many of you are familiar with this handy book with the repetitive text on which early readers rely to be successful as a beginning readers.  It's called It Looked Like Split Milk by Charles G. Shaw (scroll to the bottom of my blog to order it from Amazon).

In the first trimester of first grade, we study weather.  A fabulous colleague of mine shared this my first year as a first grade teacher. It's a fun and quick writing and art project that supplements our learning of cumulus clouds.  In the book, we are given "ink-blot like" images of things that look like an ice cream come, tree, birthday cake, etc., but really aren't.  After sharing the book in a read aloud, we make the connection on how the white and puffy clouds known as cumulus clouds, often look like different things in the sky.

Now, the fun begins!  I have students use an eye dropper to suck up and drop a few drops of white tempera paint on blue construction paper.  They fold it in half and rub the paper.  Next they open it up.  If they are satisfied with their creation, they are done.  If not, I let them add no more than two drops of paint in the center a final time.  They repeat the rubbing process.  

After that, students examine their paintings and imagine they are cumulus clouds.  What do they look like?  Students fill in a cloze prompt that copies the repetitive text in the book.  The end result is an interactive bulletin board.  I have students predict what each student said his or her cloud looked like and then lift the flap to confirm their predictions.  Here's the final products.

How about you try to guess a young artist or two's creations?  No peeking!

Ready for the answers?  The first one is a fish, the second one a spider and remarkably, the last one...check for yourself...

What's Mr Giso Making "Room to Read?" Pick #3

Sammy in the Sky

Written by Barbara Walsh

Paintings by Jamie Wyeth

"His name was Sam.  But I called him Sammy.

He had black and tan fur, large brown eyes, and a snout that could sniff three-day-old smells.  My dad said Sammy was the best hound dog in the world.  All I knew was that I loved Sammy and Sammy loved me."  

The above starts this poignant story about an unnamed girl and her beloved best friend named Sammy.  Sammy didn't mind wearing a pink bonnet to play house or being bandaged up to play doctor.  Sammy always seemed to know when the girl in this story was sad; he had a way of nuzzling his nose in his proud owner's lap and handing her his paw.  The love between the girl and her best friend Sammy was so powerful, she though it would last forever.

On Sammy's twelfth birthday, the girl's father found a lump on Sammy's neck.  A lump that made Sammy sick.  A lump that had no medicine to fix it.  Turning away to hide his tears, the girl's father says "We've got to love Sammy as much as we can because he's not going to be with us much longer."

One day Sammy was no longer able to stand up in the kitchen.  In an emotional, child friendly manner, mother explains the reality that Sammy is going to die.  She describes his body as an "empty shell," but his spirit as something that will be kept alive forever.

The girl's younger sister serves as a foil character in this story.  She didn't understand why Sammy couldn't come back--even if they got a really TALL ladder to get him down from the sky.  Before the summer ends, the healing family takes an emotional journey to Sammy's favorite spot.  They send up bubbles to the sky for him and share some of their favorite memories.  A cloud that looks exactly like Sammy floats by.  They all know that Sammy will always be with them.   Together, they grieve.

This book is worth reading in honor of all dogs loved and lost.  It's perfect for buying young readers who have suffered the loss of a loved family member.  It provides a springboard for talking about death and offers children comfort in coping with it.  The paintings radiate the illustrator's love of our furry friends.  Coming from a dog family adds a personal connection to this fine piece of literature.  Grab this read by scrolling down to the end of my posts.