Writing Lists

I love old fashioned, paper lists that I can cross off when I'm done with something.  It helps me bring order to a crazy day and quiet my mind.  Once I write something down, my mind is free to let it go, for some reason. 

My love of lists is one reason I absolutely loved this post by Rachel Stafford.  Rachel was a special education teacher, and used lists very successfully with her students for behavior management. She explains  how her approach was to break tasks down into small steps, so there would be no confusion what was expected from her students.  She also set positive expectations with students explaining that she couldn't wait to see how many happy faces were on their self-monitored lists.  She gave her students the power of the list.  She explained that adults do the very same thing.  Adults call these lists "to-do" lists- but it's really just a list that anyone can make to help stay focused on what needs to be done each day.  Click on the picture below to read her article. It's a great one.  

\

List writing is a wonderful skill for children to learn as they begin to feel comfortable hearing sounds in words and getting those sounds down on paper as letters and eventually words.  It's so exciting when children actually see that they can communicate by writing. "List Writing" isn't a genre of writing, but it's a practical way for children to see the importance of knowing how to get what they want to say down on paper neatly, so they can actually READ what they write down- and others can, too. And... it never hurts to remind them that they are in good company, writing lists! Some very important people write lists...

I like to introduce list writing with Frog and Toad's story, The List.   I wrote HERE about how I love to use Frog and Toad books for so many things.  Now is the time of year I begin reading these stories to my class.  The children are ready for stories with some more words/less pictures, and they get the subtle humor in the books. 

Here is an overview of the story from Amazon:

• A List: Toad wakes up one morning and decides to write a list of things to do for the day. After writing the list and doing the first few items on it (wake up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and go to Frog's house), he goes over to Frog's house and invites him to take a walk with him. During the walk, while Toad is crossing off "Take walk with Frog," a sudden gust of wind blows away the list. Frog tries to catch the list, but to no avail. As Toad can't remember what else was on the list, he and Frog just sit and do nothing until night falls and Toad suddenly remembers that going to sleep was the last thing on his list, which is what the two friends do.

When I taught my own children writing, we used to always warm up by writing a list of something - even when they were in upper grades.  It's a great way to get your mind thinking of different ideas.  In fact, I made a list of list ideas- how is that for a list!  You could use this list with any age, really.  Click on the picture below if you would like a copy. 

Here's how the activity looks in kindergarten.  After we read the story, I gave a topic to the kids (like farm animals, ice cream flavors, blue things, big things, small things...the topics on the list above!). They turned and talked to a friend about all of the items they could list for that topic.  

This sounds easy, but it's actually a very good exercise for the children to have to stay on topic and only list items that would fit the category.  I rang a bell after a minute or so and moved onto the next topic, so it was a fast moving activity. 

After we practiced a few times, I had to kids go back to their seats to write a few lists of their own. 

Some of them even illustrated their lists!  Once I ooohed and aaaahed about these illustrations, guess what everyone else started to do?! It was great. 

When we teach children to write, we're always trying to think of authentic ways to make writing important for them.  During free choice, my children love writing grocery lists on strips of paper I have cut for them.  They love taking orders and playing restaurant- (and if I use the REAL waiter/waitress pads, which I also LOVED when I was little, it is even so much better!  I got a whole huge pack of these at Sam's Club.).  

They love writing down lists for the animals they take care of in the vet center.  

They write lists of friends' names when they play school.  

They copy titles of books and write lists of books when they play library.  

Anybody who questions the validity of free choice for children has never spent time in a classroom with children during free choice time, because it is one of the richest academic parts of the day when you are five.  

When I think of what I want my children to be able to do, to be able to accomplish even as they graduate high school, I want them to be effective communicators, problem solvers, risk takers, and to be able to work well together in groups... THESE are great goals and exit outcomes for any student leaving high school, and these are exactly the skills developed during free choice time in kindergarten. 

Play in the classroom is a tangent I often drift off to because I am passionate about play for children ... (HERE is one post I wrote about the importance of PLAY in the classroom, and HERE is a post with more about my Play Every Day Prezi that I made about just that...)  It's important that  the people who make educational decisions, but are not in the classroom, understand its essential role in children's lives. 

            

Here's another quick side note about Frog and Toad books, I  made a Frog and Toad Prezi (free at my TPT store) that I use all the time in the spring when we are watching our eggs (and reading these stories!).  It has lots of videos of the stories, videos about frogs and toads, ideas, games, and charts to use if you are reading Frog and Toad, or having a science lesson about frogs and/or toads!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Frog and Toad Are Friends AND a HUGE GIVEAWAY!

Today I am writing about the way I use yet another Frog and Toad book- Frog and Toad are Friends.

These books are just right for K-1st grade read alouds, because they transition from the primary picture books to more text, but yet have a simple enough story for the children to love- sprinkled with some humor that the children actually get.  The children seem to love the relationship between Frog and Toad, too, which is fun because they want to see what the next adventure will be with these two!

I'm linking up with Mrs. Jump's class for Book Talk Tuesday. Thank you, Deanna!

Here are some ways that I like  to use some stories in Frog and Toad are Friends as an introduction or mini-lesson for different topics.

Spring

                               

• Spring: Frog hurries over to Toad's house one fine Spring morning in April, but Toad isn't eager to get up. Frog eventually gets Toad up out of bed and no sooner does he explain about the whole new year they'll have together, than Toad decides to go back to bed. Since Toad has slept since November, he asks Frog to come back to wake him up when it's half past May. Not wanting to be lonely until that time, Frog takes advantage of the fact that Toad hasn't changed his calendar since November and tears off the month pages till he gets to April, but tears off the April page as well and manages to get Toad out of bed to admire the beauty of spring.

Spring is a great story to introduce months of the year to the children, and the fact that the months of the year are always in the same order and sequence.  I love it when the kids "get" the fact that the time hasn't actually passed, but that Frog is just pulling off calendar pages.

We love to sing Dr. Jean's Macarena Months after we read this story.

The Story

• The Story: One summer day, Toad notices that Frog isn't feeling well and helps him to bed. Frog requests a story, but Toad has difficulty trying to come up with a story to tell his friend. Walking up and down the porch, standing on his head, pouring water over his head, and banging his head against the wall don't get Toad anywhere. However, Frog feels better and allows Toad to get in bed so he can tell him a story. Frog tells a story that details what Toad has been doing for him throughout the chapter, but by the time Frog finishes, Toad is already fast asleep.

The Story is a perfect conversation starter for Writer's Workshop.  It's always a wonderful thing to be able to tell a story to a friend or to your family, whether it's made up or true.  I like to have the children turn and talk and tell a story to a friend right after we read this story.  We talk about how important order and sequence is in a story.  We talk about the importance of details in a story, and how those details make the story so much more fun to hear.  The children need to feel comfortable telling these detailed stories so they can eventually write them.  We tell lots of stories.  I wrote about some of my favorite detail lesson ideas here and here.

The Lost Button

• A Lost Button: After Frog and Toad return from a long walk, Toad notices a button has fallen off his jacket. Retracing their steps, the friends return to the meadow, the woods, and the stream where they had walked. Frog, a sparrow, and a raccoon all find buttons, but none of them are Toad's missing button (his was a big round thick white button with four holes). Eventually, Toad gets so mad over not finding his button that he runs home...and discovers his missing button had fallen off before the walk. To make it up to Frog for the wild goose chase, Toad not only sews his button back on his jacket, but sews on the other buttons they'd found as well and gives it to Frog the next day.

The Lost Button is another perfect beginning of the year story, because we do so much with buttons. 

From Pete the Cat losing his buttons to sorting, classifying, and patterning buttons during math.  I love sharing this story with the children.  It is great for an interactive writing lesson to compare and contrast buttons, writing down details about the different buttons - the one Toad lost and the ones they find.  It lends itself perfectly to a button sorting activity.

A Swim

• A Swim: Frog and Toad go down to the stream to go swimming. While Frog prefers to swim naked, Toad prefers to swim wearing a bathing suit, but tells Frog not to look at him when he's out of the water because the bathing suit makes him look funny. During the swim, a turtle comes by, prompting Toad to ask Frog to tell the turtle to leave. However, even though Frog justifies to the turtle why he wants him to leave, the turtle, plus some lizards, a grass snake, a pair of dragonflies, and a field mouse all want to see Toad's bathing suit. Toad decides to stay in the water till everybody leaves, but has to come out when he begins to sneeze. As soon as he gets out, everybody (including Frog) laughs at him proving that what he said about the bathing suit was true.

A Swim is a fun story that the children always like to hear.  We talk about fiction/non-fiction with this story, and notice that in a non-fiction book, the frog and toad wouldn't have bathing suits on at all! 

It's a great sequencing story for the children to remember which friend comes by next and for talking about the beginning, middle, and end of a story.

The Letter

• The Letter: While stopping by Toad's house for a friendly visit, Frog notices Toad looking sad. Toad explains that it's the time when he has to wait for the mail because he never gets any mail. Feeling sad for his friend, Frog goes home, writes a letter addressed to Toad, and asks a snail to deliver the letter to Toad's house. Returning to Toad's house, Frog tries to convince Toad to try again at waiting for the mail, but ends up waiting for it himself. When Toad asks why, Frog explains about the letter and describes what he wrote in it, which cheers up Toad enough to wait for the letter. It takes four days for the snail to reach Toad's house, but he arrives with Toad's letter, Toad is very happy to know the wait was worth it.

I love using The Letter to introduce or review... letter writing. (Go ahead- say "duh.") BUT- people don't get the letters that they used to in the mail, so it's a good introduction to the children to talk about different kinds of letters they can write, and how happy friends and family members are to receive those letters!

This year, I am going to have a Thank You Letter station at my writing table.

I saw this idea from Barbara Grueneer in her book What's Under Your Cape (which I loved and wrote about HERE.)

The children can write a thank you to anyone they want- mom, dad, the bus driver, a friend, or anyone they think of or that we talk about that we want to remember to thank.  We are going to talk about the different jobs people have in our school, and how everyone works together to make our school so special- and how important it is to recognize and appreciate what people do.  The children can write to the special area teachers, the nurse, the cafeteria workers, the custodians... or other community helpers.

As a class, we always write thank you letters after assemblies or other field trips.  This year, I am going to have the children write a huge thank you to the Go Noodle people, once this group is introduced to the JOY of Go Noodle.

One year, we wrote letters to President Obama, asking him questions about what it's like being President. A child actually brought in a life size cut out of President Obama, so we had to take advantage of it... We got a really nice note and picture back for the class. It's fun to see what each child wants to ask. Some of the children wrote like he was their friend. Some wanted to know about his important job. Some of the kids may have mistaken him for Santa- or even maybe God...

A father of one of my little boys was in Iraq, so that gave us a great opportunity to write to the 26 soldiers in his platoon and send goodies. They were awesome about writing back and sending pictures. They sent us this very special flag that flew on Easter day in Iraq, with some of the men and women we wrote to in the background holding a big THANK YOU banner.

We are also going to be making more cards for the local nursing home this year- not just at holidays, but any time. The children love to create during free choice time, so why not let them have a real purpose!

Of course, you can also have the children write to a favorite Disney character and get a response.

This is from Couponing To Disney:

Did you know that you can write a letter to a Disney character and get a postcard in return? There are 2 addresses that you can send your letters to.

Disney World will send you an autographed postcard when you write a letter to the following address:

Walt Disney World Communications
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

Disneyland will send you an autographed postcard when you write a letter to the following address:

Walt Disney Company
Attn: Fan Mail Department
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

The picture will arrive with 4-6 weeks.

Each child may write his/her own letter and will receive a postcard.

I think this took me back to my TV Star Photo Collecting days.  I had SO much fun checking the mailbox each day to see if anyone wrote back. In "those days" I received signed 8x10 photos- and lots of personal letters.  It is a great way to work on letter writing- with a reward at the end.  The anticipation every day was a reward for me! 

First Grade A La Carte shared a wonderful reading comprehension game to go along with Frog and Toad are Friends. 

I updated my Frog and Toad Prezi to be sure it included all of the videos from this book.  I update my Prezis all the time because new videos and links are available all the time.  It's FREE at my TPT store if you would like it.  It includes the videos to go with the book, games and activities, a short biography of Arnold Lobel,  as well as lots of links to help teach the science of frogs and toads.

Just click on the picture below if you would like a copy!

Also, Our Diggin' Into Summer Giveaway starts today!  Are you ready?

 We could hardly wait to end our Diggin’ Series with the BEST giveaway of the season!

Just in case you didn't hear these are our awesome prizes:

Come and join us, as  this is our way to THANK YOU for all your support and friendship!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Five for Friday and Funny Kid Friday

Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday and Kathleen from Kid People Classroom for Funny Kid Friday!  Happy Friday!

Of COURSE this article was my favorite of the week: How Finland Keeps Kids Focused Through Free Play.  The premise of this article is that there is data to PROVE that children (and teachers) are more productive after an unstructured break to PLAY. (I never needed data, by the way- if you are a teacher- you experience this data.) This article focuses on a 5th grade classroom. In Finland, students are given 15 minutes of play time after every 45 minutes of lessons. The article is about a teacher from the US, who at first tried to stop this practice and teach like we do here- and what he found out about the benefits (for both students and teachers) of this break.

I feel like I am preaching to the choir, here, but I also feel like it helps me to remember that kids. need. to.  play.   It's not only okay.  It is essential.  Teaching today seems to focus so much on more rigor, more tests, and more paperwork and data- that it's easy to feel like you  have to sneak in playtime. 

Somehow the benefits of play for the child are forgotten.  It's easy to feel like there isn't time for play and that play is somehow frivilous, out-dated, and not justified.  But when  I read this article, I was reminded that there isn't time to NOT let children play.  

Here is my Play Every Day Prezi with some of my FAVORITE quotes about the importance of play. Sometimes I just quickly go through it to remind myself. 

In our world today, I don't think there can be enough emphasis on treating others kindly, looking someone in the eye when you speak, sharing, and playing well with others.  Children don't get the opportunity to practice this like they used to. I have more teachable moments during free choice time than any other time in my day. Talk about individual instruction!  

Here are some of my favorite quotes about play that I included on my Prezi.  I thought it was good for me to revisit before I begin the new school year, to remind myself not to be overwhelmed with everything else, but to remember that both play and academics are what children need.  

 (I love this one so much, and think of it every time my husband and son go off to play golf.)

 (This is my VERY favorite because these 2 princesses are my girls when they were little! :)

To go along with what's important, how much do you LOVE this letter?

I posted all about some fun activities to go with Frog and Toad Together,with lots of FREEBIES earlier this week. I use each story in the book to introduce something that we work on.  For example, one of the stories is The List.  

Lists are a great way to get children thinking and writing. I made a list of list ideas, as a matter of fact! You can get a copy by clicking on the picture below if you would like it!

I also included LOTS of cookie freebies to go along with Cookies, which may be one of my FAVORITE Frog and Toad stories!

I posted some great TPT Writing Freebies that I love to use in my classroom in my Beginning Year Writing Post.

Matt Gomez posts a FABULOUS post sharing 170 Online Ebooks for Young Kids! This is a fabulous resource if you haven't seen it.  Just go there. It's great!  

Here is my Funny Kid Friday for the week! 

This story is about my OWN son.  I was so proud of him when he was really catching on with his reading when he was little- maybe a little more proud than I should have been.  We used to go to Walmart's One Hour Photo a lot back then- when we used to get film developed (remember that?!).

One day, as we were just a few feet from a sweet girl working at the Photo Lab, my son said, "OH NO- Do we have to go to One Whore Photo AGAIN?!" 

I'm PRETTTTTY sure my face (and the face of the one sweet girl working at One 'Whore' Photo)  went through all of the following phases of "WHAT did you say?":

My friend and I still laugh about this - and use it whenever we get the chance. She will write, "I have whores and whores of housework to do this morning..."  It never seems to get old.  I still laugh. See, it worked out well that I didn't teach that "wh" blend too well. 

Have a fabulous weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!