Currently, I am working with two of my colleagues to put together a piece of a unit plan for starting a writer's notebook and implementing writing workshop in the classroom. We are focusing on third grade, but our ideas can be adjusted to fit many ages and groups of students. Each of us has a different vision for the students that we hope to one day teach, and third grade is a pretty even playing field for the three of us! However, our different perspectives and hopes for the future will make these lessons and plans even more exciting. Stay tuned for the rest of the unit!
We are not quite finished, but I do want to give everyone a sneak peek into some of what you will soon be seeing! Below, I have a lesson plan to help children create an injury map., which should help generate writing ideas. Many kids get quite excited to tell their stories of their injuries and mishaps, so the hope is that students will be excited to write their own injuries and sickness stories down for ideas to later elaborate on.
The following lesson follow the "Your Turn" model found in Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6.
Injury Map
Hook: Read the book Charlie is Broken by Lauren Child. After that, have a class discussion as to where Lauren Child may have gotten her ideas for the story. Make sure to discuss the possibility that she may have broken her arm or had some type of injury herself.
Purpose: This brainstorming activity can be useful for helping students come up with writing ideas. Many children find themselves struggling to find writing topics because they “don’t have any stories.” This activity will help students to get ideas down that they can come back to and elaborate on later, when looking for something to write about.
Brainstorm: In front of the class, think out loud about ideas you have of times you may have gotten injured yourself. Point to different body parts and say briefly what type of injury occurred. Ask students to share injuries that have happened to them, as well.
Model: Share a map of your own injuries. Use an outline of a human body and have some of your injuries filled in, with room to add more. After adding a few, let students know that you are having trouble thinking of more personal injuries, but you can think of some you witnessed that have happened to other people you know. Write these down and make note as to who they happened to. This will help students who are struggling to think of personal injures to still be able to write something. You may also include getting sick or minor things, such as papercuts or stepping on a Lego, to help students see that this does not have to include huge injuries, just something that they could turn into a story. Choose one of the injuries listed and write a short story about it.
Shared/Guided Writing: Pull out a blank human body outline and allow students to share personal injuries. Let students add to the map and create a class example. This should help students who may be struggling to come up with their own ideas. After the map has a decent amount of ideas written in, have students share their ideas with a partner.
Independent Writing: Give each student an outline of the human body that could be glued in their writer’s notebooks. Allow students time to record some of their own experiences with injuries and sicknesses. After students have had time to list their entries, place them in small groups and allow time for each student to share one of their stories. Then, have students write a short entry about the injury, in their notebooks.
Reflection: Allow students the opportunity to share their entries with a partner. Have students then think with their partners about ways they could use this map to help write other stories. Come back together and discuss the possibilities as a class. Some questions that you could have students think about include:
How can this map help you think of stories?
What length could your stories from your map be?
How could you write about the moment in which these events happened?
How could you write about the story surrounding the moment?
What other types of maps could you create to help you think of stories to tell?
Ms. Smith's Example of an Injury Map:
References:
Barber, P. (2005). The map book. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005. Retrieved from https://login.proxy006.nclive.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat04042a&AN=app.b3164794&site=eds-live&scope=site
Child, L. (n.d.). Charlie is broken.
Dorfman, L. R., Cappelli, R., & Hoyt, L. (2017). Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children’s literature, k-6. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers, [2017]. Retrieved from https://login.proxy006.nclive.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat04042a&AN=app.b8666025&site=eds-live&scope=site
This is a very cool way to get students thinking about personal narratives! While reading through your lesson I started to think of the injuries that I would include on my map, however I don't really have many - thought this could be something to consider, not just for your lesson but for any lessons that we as teachers may create and use in the future! Thanks for sharing a great idea!
I really enjoy how you included the opportunity for students to write about other people's injuries. I have never had any major injuries, but I have been sick a lot and witnessed a lot of other people be injured. It's great that you make it possible for all students to be writing and participating in the lesson!