Reading Guy

The book Take Me Out Of the Bathtub by Alan Katz is an excellent example of incorporating VOICE into writing. After reading several of the poems in the book, I explain what a parody is. The students then create their own parodies of famous songs such as It's Raining it's Pouring, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and I'm a Little Teapot. I encourage students to use their own VOICE while writing their parodies.

This file contains a 4 page minibooklet explaining the unusual relationships of four animal pairs. Each page is picture-rich and appropriate for more advanced first graders and higher. A complimentary flipbooklet is also included. Students can record facts they learn as well as reflect on what additional questions they have. There is also a writing component as well as a memory game. Depending on the ability of the students, the reading and writing activities could be sustained for an entire wee

Are you looking for a way to provide students with independent practice in questioning? Questioning spinners can be used while reading both fiction or non-fiction texts. In pairs or in groups, students read through short portions of a given text. They use one of the provided spinners to help develop a question about what they've read. Questions can be written in the circles provided on the questioning sheet. When finished, it's helpful to have a discussion about what questions were written down.

This digital file includes a list of approximately ten prompts that could be used to begin a mystery or fantasy writing piece. The prompts are intended for 5-8 grade students.