Time to pull out a classic. Anything that has been around for longer than 40 years is a classic right? (I mean just look at me...)
So what makes this simple book an enjoyable read and useful teaching tool year after year? Beginning readers can read the book, study the pictures, predict the outcomes, catch the humor....
Let's get started, shall we?
Rosie the hen goes for a walk around the farmyard but does not realize — or does she?! — that her every movement is being watched by the local fox.
During your first read of the book, pause to allow time for students to make predictions. As you revisit the book over several days, engage your students in discussions about the hen's actions, the fox's actions and how they are related (cause and effect).
Look at the title pages carefully and review the sequence of the story. Point out that the scene is like a map of the story.
Partner Writing Prompt
To introduce this narrative writing activity, I copied the basic frame of the story onto chart paper. Then as a class we filled it in to create a new story with a different main character and a different setting. Click here to get your copy of this prompt.
Here's our second story we wrote as a class.
Next I paired strong writers with creative thinkers and asked them to come up with their own stories.
After writing and sharing their stories, the partners drew maps of their stories. We took our inspiration for this from the cover pages of the book.
Here is the work of two partnerships.
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| Emma Kate's Hike Emma Kate went for a hike across the hill around the trees over the puddle past the leaf pile through the log under the thorn branches and got back in time for dinner. character: Emma Kate setting: campground |
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| Tamani's Walk Tamani went for a walk across the trees around the TRex over the mountain past the cyratops through the cave under the spikasaurus and got back in time for lunch. character: Tamani setting: dino jungle |
When I display student work like this in the hall, I always add signs that explain our learning goals. Folks walking by just won't realize how much learning takes place in your classroom unless you point it out! These are the signs I posted with the partner work on display.
Finally I want to share a site Early Learning HQ that has some Rosie's walk picture/word cards you might find useful.
If you enjoy these ideas and the writing prompt, please leave a comment.
