Pizza! Pizza! Write All About It! (With Thinking Maps)

Mama Mia! Did you know that October is National Pizza Month?
We started this informational writing lesson with a great "pizza" literature! If you follow the Journeys curriculum, you're already familiar with Pizza at Sally's by Monica Wellington.

We brainstormed pizza toppings and made brace maps.

Next one of our sweet mama mias came to help us make real pizzas.

Next we illustrated flow maps to show the sequence of steps. This drawing helped us organize our thinking for our informational writing.

"I unwrapped the dough. I got a spoon and some sauce. I got some cheese."

"We stretched the dough. We spread the sauce. We sprinkled the cheese."

There was plenty of learning in every slice of this lesson. If you want to see more writing prompts with thinking charts like this one, place your order on TPT here!

THINKING about Shapes

We "rounded out" our flat shapes unit with double-bubble Thinking Maps. I'm sure you already know that the Common Core geometry standards ask children to analyze and compare shapes (K.G.B.4). As a class we compared the attributes of two flat shapes.

After making these maps together, I let the children try it on their own. Each child picked two shapes for her double-bubble map. Here is an example from a child that clearly understands the attributes of both shapes, can tell how the shapes are alike and different and even did his own writing. WOW.

From left to right: "6 sides, flat, 4 sides, 6 vertices, 2D, 4 vertices, sides the same."

This child also demonstrates an understanding of the attributes of shapes. Some conversation about his map helped me understand his writing.

From left to right: "3 vertices, sides, 4 vertices, 3 sides, vertices, 4 sides"

As you can see, this friend is not quite there yet. Her double-bubble map shows me we need to keep working!

"2 sides, round"

Next week, we will compare and contrast flat and solid shapes using the double-bubble maps.

I'm also including some pictures of a sorting activity. After several days of sorting together, I asked the children to choose and record their own sorts. This one is "shapes with four sides, shapes with more or less than four sides."

This sort is "small shapes, large shapes." This child is not ready to sort by the attributes of the shapes, but he did get a sort completed!

This sort is "curves, sides."

I hope these lessons give you some ideas for working with your own smart kinders!

Five Fall Thinking Maps for Friday

It's time to rake up the autumn unit and put it away until next year. Here's some of our thinking about fall. We kept our work in these folders. Take a look inside...

Map #1: Circle Map from the beginning of the unit. After the bubble map we made a list of things wondered about fall.

Map #2: Leaves Brace Map

Map #3: Tree Brace Map

Map #4: Pumpkin Brace Map

Map #5: Pumpkin Bubble Map
We used the bubble map to write describing sentences about pumpkins.

If you are interested in these maps, you can find them here:

I love to read the Five for Friday posts! See more here:

Fabulous Fall Blog Hop: 11 Freebies and a GRAND prize!

Grab your virtual rake and get ready to bag up some "tree-rrific" freebies! Just float through all ELEVEN blogs to catch ELEVEN fall items. In addition, every time you "fall-ow" a blog, you can enter to win the grand prize. It's a bushel basket full of October goodies. The winner will be announced next Friday, October 18.

You'll have to visit each blog to see the freebies, but here's a peek at the items in the grand prize. If you just can't wait to see if you'll win, you can click each pic to go straight to TPT and make your purchase.

Since I'm first in this hop, grab my freebie to you!

Now like my blog and enter to win the grand prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To keep filling your basket, go to the next blog: