I was going through my standards checklist and realized {with slight panic} that I totally overlooked story elements! We squeezed it in. BUT it was not the best teaching I've done.
I decided then and there this kind of thing would not happen again.
And so......
I made a commitment that every day would be
Great
Engaging
Inspiring.
So, back to story elements.
It seemed logical {and smart} to start with story elements this year.
How I did it...
1. I put the students into pairs.
2. Everyday I introduced a new story element concept {character, character trait, setting, conflict/problem, plot}
3. I gave the students the definition
4. We watched a Pixar short {they LOVED this!}
5. I asked the students to power write for one minute about how the element was displayed in the clip. Then, they turned and talked to their partner about what they wrote. I walked around during this time to make sure everyone was on the right track.
{Transition to the application portion of the lesson}
6. I handed out a numbered blue shopping bag {Walmart: $0.50} to each pair. Inside the bag was a picture book, chart paper, and markers.
7. The students read the book.
 | |
| Paired Reading! |
8. When finished, they had to visually represent the the element of the day on the chart paper. For example, the first day we talked about characters. They had to draw the main characters on the chart paper. Afterwards, they rolled the chart paper up and put it back in the bag with the picture book. I really stressed creativity at this point!
9. The next day the pairs got a new bag, with a new book.
10. They read the book and added the new element of the day to the chart paper. For example, on day 2 we talked about character traits. The pairs added character traits to the characters the previous group drew.
11. By Friday every pair read 5 books and each book had a visual representation of the elements we talked about that week!
They had fun. They were engaged. It was awesome!
Happy Teaching,
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