Busy Beavers

Here's the skinny...

Each reading/writing workshop is comprised of a mini-lesson each day.  Within the mini-lesson there is a teaching point that we discuss and try to put into practice. Here's what the class has heard thus far...

Writing
- Writers get started right away, stay in 1 spot, do their best and keep on going, write the whole time.
- Writers write true stories (small moments) from their lives. 
  They rewind the event like a movie to help them retell what happened.
- Writers walk around the world catching stories from their lives, to write about.
- Writers include action, talk and feelings in their stories.
- Writers use pictures and words to tell the story.  Labels, thought bubbles, speech bubbles help.
- Writers know the saying "When you're done, you've just begun."  (ask them...)
- Writers PLAN their story, then SKETCH the pictures, then WRITE the story...in that order.

Reading
- Readers get started right away, stay in 1 spot, do their best and keep on going, read the whole time.
- Readers warm up before they read (cover, back, think what it's about and what words we'll see)
- Readers choose just-right books for their book boxes.
- Readers make a plan (stack up the books we want to read)...they set goal and work hard to reach it.
- Readers know when they've stopped thinking about the book and pull themselves together!
- Readers reread (like we listen to favorite songs) to try our storytelling voice, notice things we didn't the first time, and focus on the story.

We've read a TON of books.  Some of which are... 
(Many messages about being yourself and it's okay to be different.)
Big Mean Mike                                   Oliver Button is a Sissy                     The Big Orange Splot
The Sandwich Swap                           Charlie the Caterpillar
Dex: The Heart of a Hero                   Bad Case of the Stripes
Odd Velvet                                          Elmer

Hope this helps you ENVISION our recent discussions.  :)