Kindergarten Writing

Two school years ago I had the opportunity to work as a Teacher on Special Assignment at one of the schools in my district. During that year, I was able to have small creative writing groups on Fridays for grades K-6. I have taught most grades, but kindergarteners absolutely terrify me. No joke. I still put on my happy face and decided I could still handle a group of 10 on my own for writing. To this day, I still believe kindergarten teachers are super heroes! I was exhausted after 30 minutes once a week!

Anyway, here are two of my kindergarten writing projects. I tied both of them with literature.

Many Luscious Lollipops by Ruth Heller
Since this book is on adjectives, the best way to describe something is to experience it for yourself! So all my kindergartners got to try their very own lollipop in class! What a treat! We brainstormed adjectives to describe them, then jotted them down. After I checked their work and assisted with spelling where needed, they made a giant lollipop out of card stock circles (Precut, but you can have them do it. I only had 30 min/week) and popsicle sticks. I added the cellophane (seran wrap) afterwards.

My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss.
Love this book! I read this book and we talked about how we felt on that particular day. The kids wrote their sentences down on paper and then painted a paper doll to match that color. As you can see, a couple students had a many colored day!

Colorful Rainbow Writings!

Love, love, love this project! You can do it for students in any grade-level. I have done it for 1st, 3rd, and 6th grade! The writing that they produce can be treasured for a lifetime. ;)

For both grade levels, I start by reading the book Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill. I usually have the students close their eyes and visualize the objects in the poem. I have used other books as well, such as My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. I just do one color a day for the little ones, and move up to two for the upper grades (I always do red very slowly). We then brainstorm ideas for a certain color and write them on chart paper or now, on the SmartBoard. Be sure to save the file, as students will always ask to go back and review the ideas.

After brainstorming a variety of ideas, I usually reread the color poem again just in case we want to add more! For the writing, I do an "Is" poem. Red is...Orange is...etc. I give them a few examples first: "Red is a juicy red strawberry floating in my summer lemonade." I have them add in a prepositional phrase to make their sentences "stronger."

The students create about 6 sentences and record them down. The lower grades have a packet to keep them organized, while the upper graders just record in their writing composition books. I check the lower grade writing for errors and have them circle their favorites with the color crayon that matches. Not all the sentences will fit on their rainbow, but it is good to have extras.

When students finish they may begin making their rainbow. I created this crazy contraption to help the kids draw an evenly spaced rainbow out of 16 pencils and duct/masking tape. The little kids will need help, but it works fairly well. You'll need to fill in some missing lines. Just don't break a tip! It isn't easy to fix. You can make traditional rainbows or have them make any other pattern.

I make the rainbows on 12" by 18 in white construction paper. The kids will need to draw really dark, so it can be seen through the was paper. Make sure they also use the traditional colors (no sea green for green, etc.). I always add the wax paper....just stapled on. Any kind will do.

When the students get to writing on the wax paper, use pencil first. It will not show up very dark, which is fine. Tell them not to push too hard or they'll rip the paper. I have them put as many of their sentences they can fit. If they think they'll run out of room, they can shorten their sentence, and if they have a little room, I have them add a small sentence (Red is fiery.). At the end, they use a sharpie. I started adding their name in a pit of gold decorated with gold glitter in the past few years (top photo).

Some of my students have been really creative in their writings and have chosen themes. Here are a few:
Sports theme (red: Chicago Bulls, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Red Wings)
Birthstones/Gemstones (red: rubies, garnet orange: topaz, fire opal)
Childhood memories (Red: strawberry picking, blood (ouchies))
Animals: *difficult on blue, indigo, and violet, but used fish, whales, dolphins, and the color of the ocean at different depths....

Enjoy!

Character Ed "Bookmarks"

This is one of my favorite lessons to do, whether I am teaching 1st grade or 6th grade! It is easily adaptable and is a great way to teach about adjectives, character education, and bullying. I decided to create this lesson when my first graders were struggling at getting along with one another.

First, I have students brainstorm positive adjectives that describe others. I had the first graders brainstorm whole group on the SmartBoard, while my sixth graders worked in small groups, then shared aloud in teams. The upper graders quickly learned to grab a thesaurus and started coming up with incredible words.

After our discussion on positive adjectives, I give out a sheet of paper with everyone's name on it (with every name in a box, like flashcards). Students then write one positive adjective for each student, and I only let them use that adjective once! This makes the children really think about their peers and can't put "nice" for all the students.

When all students have finished writing a positive adjective for each friend, we cut them up and deliver to the students like Valentines (which I have done this lesson on Valentine's Day before). I give each child an envelope to put the word inside. In the end, the students will have 20-30 adjectives about them from their peers.

The upper graders then typed up their own "bookmark" in the computer lab with a partner (Used Microsoft Word. We formatted by using two columns (each partner used a column), placing name at the top, centered, then scrolled down 4 inches to leave a space for the photograph). The words in bold type mean that the student received that adjective more than once. For the littler kids, I enlisted some parent help to collect the envelopes and help the kids type them at a later time.

I like to add photos and laminate them so the students can go back and look at when they are having a rough day. We all need a reminder that people do see the best in us!