Ideas for Ms. Greens Class

1. Communicate in sentences and paragraphs, applying conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation

1.1. Have a story reflection journal. In the past I have set these up almost like a yelp review page. They must colour in the number of stars and explain why they do or do not like the story.

1.1.1. This task is very easy to modify to level, or make a collaborative task. I have also used it with silent reading. Each student reads, and reviews a different book, then we post it on our review board in class, near the library.

1.2. Interrogate tense with the story. Ask students to identify tense in the title, and in the descriptions. How would the meaning differ if it was changed?

1.3. While reading the story, create a collaborative text together, recording it on the board. Tell them you will need their help as editors. Choose one aspect to explore, for example, punctuation. Type up the collaborative text, but leave out the punctuation. Have students in groups corret the text.

1.3.1. As an extension, after the text is corrected, they could work to make it better through the addition of descriptive language, richer setting, etc.

2. Transform ideas and information to create original texts

2.1. After reading the text, have students write and illustrate an epilogue to the story. Modify the writing requirements based on ability. For ELL students, a word bank may be added to the top of the page to help with helpful vocabulary. For advanced students, you can also use a word bank, but including challenging words to create more complex texts.

2.2. Depending on the text, have students write a functional text to engage with the story. This could be a letter to one of the characters, a review of the story, an instruction guide for a task inside the story (for example: 5 Steps to Avoid a Fox).

2.3. Have students create alternate pieces for the book. The tasks can be assigned based on preference or level and could range from an alternate cover page, alternate main character design to an alternate ending for the story.

2.3.1. This could then be compiled with photocopies of the original book into a classroom Frankin-book.

3. Use a variety of comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading, listening, or viewing to deepen understanding of text

3.1. Before reading the text, look a the front cover and have students tell a partner what they think may happen in the story

3.1.1. Revisit these predictions after the story is finished. Compare and contrast.

3.2. Interrogate how the visual information is organized on the page, which colours are used and where the focus of the image is. Is there any additional information lurking in the margins (like in Jan Brett stories)

3.3. While looking through the text, ask students to look for connections to other things we are studying together

3.4. Ask students to make sound effects for the different pages to match the weather, the action, the mood, etc.

4. Identify how differences in context, perspectives, and voice influence meaning in texts

4.1. Before the story, partner students. Each student is given one character. Their job is to orally tell the story from their character's POV.

4.2. Use a little sticky note of a fly. Drop him in on pages randomly, and ask students what he can see, and what he may think. Interrogate how this fly may see the story differently because it does not have all the information

4.3. Bring an adult shoe and a child shoe to the reading of a book with an adult and child character. When you hold up the big shoe, students have to tell the story in the voice of an adult, and when you hold up the little shoe, students must tell the story in the voice of the child.

4.3.1. This can also be done with hats and glasses. The props are fun ways for students to play with perspectives.