Growing Imaginations (and Lollipops)

One of the books I love to use as a mentor text for Writer's Workshop is The Gumdrop Tree, written by Elizabeth Spurr and illustrated by Julia Gorton.

                                              

 Here is a review from Amazon:

A little girl plays with a bag of gumdrops given to her by her father. She can't bear the thought of eating them, because if she does, they'll be all gone. Then she has an idea. She will plant the candies and grow a gumdrop tree. She then waters and cultivates them patiently. Finally one seedling sprouts. After a while, she gives up.  The tree is doing well, but it bears no sweets. She still checks on it now and then and, one wonderful day, it is literally covered with sugary drops. Of course, she eats them. In the final illustration, readers see that a couple of gumdrops remain painstakingly tied to the branches with white thread (presumably by two loving parents).

The book is absolutely perfect for helping the children realize that if they have an imagination, they can write ANYTHING at all.  You can use it when you introduce Writer's Workshop, and then again during the year, just to remind the children how important imaginations are to their writing.

                                        

Great writers who use their imaginations write the best stories with lots of details, clever ideas, and different topics.  Some really famous, brilliant people think imaginations are pretty important...

The Gumdrop Tree  has so many wonderful text features to talk about with the children.

And it has great ideas for illustrations!

 Look how it shows the passing of time as she waits for her gumdrop tree to grow.

Plus, who doesn't love to think about growing a gumdrop tree?!

After we read the story and talked about the text features and fabulous illustrations, we talked about what type of book this was. The children quickly knew it was fiction. (I was secretly hoping someone might say nonfiction, and may just believe enough that you could grow a gumdrop tree.) We talked about how if you planted a penny, you wouldn't be able to grow a money tree either. However, when you use your IMAGINATION, anything at all is possible.  The best authors and illustrators have wonderful imaginations. We never want to lose our imaginations! 

                                     

I had each child think about something- anything at all- that they would like to plant so that it would grow into a tree. We shared some of our ideas. If you want to grow a cat, just plant a piece of cat food!

I told the children our imaginations needed a little workout, so we could keep being great writers. This is where the topsoil comes in. You have to practice using your imagination to keep it strong and healthy!

 

Here was my conversation with my husband when he got home from work last night.

Me:  Do you have any topsoil?
Jeff:  How much do you need?
Me:  Not much. We are planting Smarties and growing lollipops.

Jeff: ...  Will there be magic involved?  

That isn't normal, is it?  Just checking.  

I just happened to have Smarties, so I told the children that since they were Smarties, it was a perfect "seed" for them to plant.

I had each child plant a Smartie, and believe with their wonderful imaginations that it would grow.

Well, sure enough, after specials and before snack, (yes, that quickly) our Smarties grew into lollipops!

I wrapped each lollipop base in aluminum foil before I put it in the topsoil, so when we took it out, the sticks were clean.  (You can just imagine they are clean if you want to...)

I  noticed that somehow when the Smarties grew, they grew into DumDums.  hmmm.  That doesn't need to be mentioned to anyone- although it sort of made me smile inside.

If you have gumdrops, perfect! If you have Skittles, they will grow into anything you want, too. If it is candy- the kids will WISH it into something wonderful.  Except Reese's Pieces. They don't grow well for me.  HA- only kidding. I'm sure they would turn out the best.

Hopefully, the children will remember that lesson, and remember that when you use your imagination, anything is possible!

                         

 

While each child came up to plant a Smartie, I had the others draw and write about what tree they would like to grow.  I made this paper that you are welcome to download if you would like it.

Here are some of their ideas...

I love how he is growing a glasses tree! He will never have to worry about losing those glasses again!

Kittens and brownies... what else do you really need?

If you plant a chocolate chip, it may just grow into a cookie!

His best buddy is Logan, so apparently he would like a tree full of Logans.  So sweet.

I love this one!  He planted a wooden plank and grew... a tree house!  This little guy is  a perfect example of how fabulous activities like this are.  He gets frustrated sometimes writing, but has such awesome ideas!  Look at the details he just let spill out onto the paper.

They love to share their ideas.

                                      

Another book that  the children always LOVE this book, If, by Sarah Perry. Adults think it is a little odd sometimes, but kids just can't wait for the next page. 

 Here is a review from Amazon:

A diving board to creative wordplay, the fascinating picture book If... offers a surrealistic view of the natural world. The two-page spreads present artful watercolors paired with such strange possibilities as "If zebras had stars and stripes...," "If the moon were square...," and "If worms had wheels...." Although some of the ideas and pictures are whimsical to the point of being downright creepy ("If caterpillars were toothpaste...," "If toes were teeth..."), the hypotheticals will surely inspire flights of fancy for readers of all ages. What could be more appealing for a 5-year-old than imagining the silliest suppositions and seeing them come to life in realistic paintings?

Sculptor Sarah Perry creates a world to make us stop and think. One of her best illustrations depicts a large, hairy warthog with a sparkling crown and the text, "If ugly were beautiful...." With every if idea, the author encourages the kind of mental double take that comes naturally for children.

Here are some of the sample illustrations:

This books is PERFECT for a writing/drawing activity where the children come up with some of their own "If" possibilities.

Here are some other fun books  that tap into the children's imaginations.

Nancy from First Grade W.O.W. shared the pattern for this great activity to go along with What If You Had Animal Teeth?

Learning to the Core shared some sample illustrations from the book and a darling freebie to go with What If You Had Animal Hair.

Thank you for stopping by!

                                             

How-To Books- Made EASY (and FREEBIES!)

I always look forward to introducing  writing How-To books to my class.   The children "get it" so quickly, and in two lessons, they write such precious books.  How much better can it be- and with everything you probably already have or can easily make.

First, I read this book to the children.

I bought these books quite a while ago from Creative Teaching Press.  I use this book to introduce writing How-To books.  I like this book specifically, because it uses our four magic "how to" words: first, next, then, and last.  You could easily write your own book like this as a sample. It is very simple.

I show the children how silly it would be to say, "First, we put a carrot nose on our snowman. Next, we roll a small ball for the head.  Then, we add a scarf.  Last, we make a big snowball for the base."  

Next, I introduce our 4 magic "how-to" words.

After I introduce the words (without the sequencing cards below), we reread the story and find the words in the book.

I randomly put  4 sequence cards on our chart, and call a student up to the board to order them correctly.  

After they order the cards, I choose another student to tell us a story, describing the pictures in order, remembering to use the four magic words.  

We do about three of these sequencing activities.  The kids love them, and can't wait for their turn- so we do more throughout the day to be sure everyone has a chance.

Then,  the students write their own "how-to" books.

I saved some sample books from last year to show the children.  They always enjoy seeing books written by REAL, LIVE past Kindergarteners!    One of this year's books happened to be written by a sister of one of my present students.  So- that little past-kindergartener is a star author in the eyes of my class.  

After we read, I have the children close their eyes while still sitting on the rug and think quietly about what they would like to teach someone how to do. I give lots of examples- how to walk a dog, how to take a bath, how to ride a bike, how to catch a fish... 

When the children have their idea, they put a finger on their nose, so that I know (and they know) they are ready to write.  This settles everyone down and helps them focus before they begin writing.

Teach 1,2,3 has a wonderful freebie called Color Your Writing.

The packet includes this writing paper that I use for my books.  I just made up books with a cover sheet and four pages of writing paper- one for each of our new words.

How-To books are a great way to review writing titles of books.  My kids often like to write a sentence for the title (or practically the whole book sometimes!).  The How-To books give me another chance to remind them that the title of their book is a name- just like their name.   

I call up a student.  I explain that "Jessica" is a title or name for this girl.  Her name or title is NOT "a girl with brown, curly hair who likes to play with horses."  These details can go in the story, not in the title. 

The first day of writing, we usually write the title and the first two pages.  We finish our books the second day. 

The second day of our How-To writing, we will begin by reading a good story with order, like any of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Series.

Amanda Abernathy shared these sequencing cards that go with If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!

 I also like Pete's a Pizza.  

Play "n" Learn has this fun little activity that you could cut apart and order.  The post also has some other fun activities to do with the book.

I have the children turn and talk, retelling  the story to each other using our four words.  Then we do a quick shared writing activity to retell the story we read together, using First, Next, Then, and Last.  During this  lesson, we will  talk about how important it is to get the parts of our story in the correct order.  

The children will go back, reread and revise their writing from the previous day, and then finish the last two pages of their books. 

Last, we share our books.

The children love sharing their stories with the class.  Here are some of  our first attempts writing How-To books, after learning our four important words. I just let them write and experiment with our words.  That was my focus for this lesson.  We will go back and revise for conventions, but this lesson was our introduction to using our new format and new words.  

How to Brush Your Teeth
(He was upset because he mixed up Next and Then- but it worked just fine. He is getting the idea.)

I love the floss in his teeth. :)

I just loved this one. I love his small, but detailed illustrations- all in his family room with the TV.

First, pet the cat. (Look at that dedication!)

Next, feed the cat.

Then, the cat loves you!

 
Last, give the cat lots of love.

This is my little artist- and she is coming along with her words.  

This was so sweet, because, as you could guess, her cat just had kittens.  

First,  you have to have it in the night.

 

Next, you need to play with something.  (Probably to pass the time waiting for those kittens!)

Then, you wait for it to come out.  (Look how excited she is!)

 Last, you have them.

I like to keep the child's first story just the way it was written, usually with only one sentence on each page using our four words- First, Next, Then, Last.   When we write a second how-to book, I will focus on adding a second sentence to each page and more detail.  Thanks for sharing our little writing lesson!

I found some fun sequencing FREEBIES on TPT that you could use as center activities or anytime to help reinforce sequencing and the sequencing words.

Chikabee shared this fun activity.

First Grade Fever by Christie shared this Sequencing Fun with The Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books.  The children make their own book and find the sequencing words. 

I LOVE this freebie from First Grade Cupcakes.  The children can practice using our sequence words to go along with making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Sarah Paul has a sweet How To Make a Smore writing activity at her TPT store- also perfect for this time of year.  Side note: At the store yesterday, by the smore ingredient display, this man explained to me, for a good ten minutes, how "nowadays" with all the concern about germs, nobody's marshmallow stays on the skewer anymore because the skewer has to be all sterile and metal. The metal gets hot and the marshmallow falls into the fire.  When HE made them on a stick, (apparently the right way!) the stick stayed cool, and the marshmallow cooked from the inside out perfectly. He's not sick from using a stick, he kept saying!   His sister liked the marshmallows burned anyway, so she would have no problem just scooping it out of the fire...  I learned a LOT about this man, his family, and their summer smore routines.  

Curriculum Castle shared these Lifecycle Sequencing Cards for butterflies and frogs, which would be great for science this time of year, too.  I keep looking for my frog and toad eggs in our pond!

Nicole Roach shared these Plant Life Cycle sequence cards.

If you do this activity in the winter, Communication Window shared these Cut and Glue Sequencing Worksheets that would work well to make, and then write a story to go along with the pictures.

I hope you found some new ideas and activities to use!  Have fun writing!