I have been on the hunt for some great informational text. I wanted to find text that were complex enough to allow me to use the books in a wide variety of ways but had good "meat" to the information. I came across two series that are wonderful and fit my needs perfectly! One is the "Who Would Win?" series and the other is the "Scientists in the Field" series.
Students of all ages are intrigued with the idea of a battle between two similar animals...who would win? The Who Would Win series provides tons of interesting facts about two opponents as well as a nice sprinkling of gross details to keep everyone engaged. I used this series to set up Argumentation writing. We made a chart and kept track of the particular trait or feature in the column of the animal we thought would "win" utilizing that trait. In the end we made our claim based on the information we gathered and supported our argument with facts from the text. 4th graders, both boys and girls, couldn't get enough of this! These books are all by Jerry Pallotta and are published by Scholastic.
The "Scientists in the Field" series are much more complex, with lots of text and many pictures and charts, graphs, etc. to explain the work of the various scientists. These books are great for research, studying informational text features, and as mentor text for informational text writing. There are 28 or so titles in the series, with animals being the main focus. Some of my favorites are The Tanantula Scientist, The Bat Scientist, and The Snake Scientist. These books are all by different authors and are published by Houghton Mifflin.
I would recommend both series as you build your libary of informational text.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Wrapping Things Up
It has been an incredibly busy spring, and I am finally catching my breath! I feel pretty bad that I haven't been back here to post anything in such a long time. I am making it my resolution to do better next school year but you will have to nudge me if I slack off.
My last visit to Surline Elementary was really fun; it was great to see the progress the students had made in their writing, and how proud they were of their work. I modeled a lesson about "satisfying endings" using a piece I had written about my cottage. I showed the students how I used mentor text to get a feel for how other authors ended their narratives, reading the last page from Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathman, Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Wilson Chall, and When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant. When I conferred with students during workshop time, I focused on their endings, asking them to talk to me about how they were wrapping up their writing in a way that was satisfying to the reader (or what their plan for their ending will be). I always leave them with a sticky note, giving the a Teaching Point just for them, that serves as a suggestion of where they will go next and also as information for the classroom teacher about where our conversation was focused.
As the year comes to a close, I am thrilled to see the progress of so many writers throughout COOR. Teachers in every district are honing their craft and making workshop an important part of their instruction. Research tells us that individual conversations with students make the most impact in improving their writing. Although it is very time consuming and labor intensive, the rewards are great. We ALL continue to work on our conferring skills, striving to find just the right words for each student that will unlock their thinking and help them independently move their writing to the next level. I hope you will stay on this journey with me and continue to do the thinking and talking with your peers to move YOUR skills to the next level. That will indeed be a satisfying ending!
My last visit to Surline Elementary was really fun; it was great to see the progress the students had made in their writing, and how proud they were of their work. I modeled a lesson about "satisfying endings" using a piece I had written about my cottage. I showed the students how I used mentor text to get a feel for how other authors ended their narratives, reading the last page from Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathman, Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Wilson Chall, and When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant. When I conferred with students during workshop time, I focused on their endings, asking them to talk to me about how they were wrapping up their writing in a way that was satisfying to the reader (or what their plan for their ending will be). I always leave them with a sticky note, giving the a Teaching Point just for them, that serves as a suggestion of where they will go next and also as information for the classroom teacher about where our conversation was focused.
As the year comes to a close, I am thrilled to see the progress of so many writers throughout COOR. Teachers in every district are honing their craft and making workshop an important part of their instruction. Research tells us that individual conversations with students make the most impact in improving their writing. Although it is very time consuming and labor intensive, the rewards are great. We ALL continue to work on our conferring skills, striving to find just the right words for each student that will unlock their thinking and help them independently move their writing to the next level. I hope you will stay on this journey with me and continue to do the thinking and talking with your peers to move YOUR skills to the next level. That will indeed be a satisfying ending!
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