Thursday, April 19, 2012

Crafting Sentences

Each quarter, my school has a different academic goal we focus on to improve student learning.  This cycle we are focusing on improving style in our students' writing.  To begin our style unit (in first grade), I wanted to make sure that my students knew how to write a complete sentence.  They are very good at using a capital letter at the beginning and ending punctuation at the end.  The middle part of the sentence was a little fuzzy for them.  The question I asked myself was, "How do I teach writing a complete thought to first graders?"

Instead of typing everything I did, I thought I would try my hand at a screen cast showing you the Smart Board Notebook I created to go with this lesson.  This is the first time I have ever done this before.



To get the sentence graphic organizer and lesson plan I used with the lesson, click the image below.


crafting sentences


UPDATE (4/28/2013):  I have recently put up my Notebook file on SMART Exchange after requests for the file.  Check out the file by clicking HERE or on the picture below.

I am honored that This Reading Mama wrote about how she adapted these materials for her own children.  I love her idea of using big dice as a different way to build sentences.  You need to check out her wonderful post:  Roll a Sentence.  She includes a freebie of the inserts she used for the dice and great pictures of it in action.



Stay tuned for future posts on where we go next - expanded sentences.  Now that we can write a complete sentence, I want my students to write better complete sentences.





Freebie Fridays


19 comments:

  1. Jana, that was an EXCELLENT screen cast!!! I watched the whole thing. Loved it!!! Thank you for the freebies!! Thanks for sharing!!
    Connie
    welcometofirstgraderoom5.blogspot.com

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  2. Found your blog today! I am your newest follower! Stop by and visit me...

    learnplayandhavefun.blogspot.com

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  3. Hi Jana! Just wanted to drop a line and say thank you for contributing to the exchange....I can't wait to get online and start shopping!
    Staci

    Going Nutty!

    misssquirrels@yahoo.com

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  4. Great sreen cast. I have a few first graders still not getting the complete thought for a making a sentence. I am your newest follower from TBTS.
    Stop by and visit sometime.
    Sandra
    Classroom Companion

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  5. Great way to break it down! Thanks for sharing!
    Jennie
    JDs Rockin' Readers

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  6. did you share that smart board presentation on smart notebook also? If not are you able to?

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  7. What a great idea to share your teaching! I love that you took your lesson from what you saw needed fixing up in their writing. Great example of excellent teaching.

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  8. Jana, thanks for adding my link! I have been working today on my scope and sequence for next year. Maybe we can plan together for some expanded sentence work. I have a few ideas floating around in this little head of mine! ;)

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  9. Thank you for a great lesson. As a children's author, teachers are always asking me for ideas on teaching children to write. I shall recommend your blog.
    http://www.dicymcculloughbooks.com

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  10. I just came across your blog and I'm super excited! I love the way you explained a complete sentence and I appreciate the video instructions.

    Corinna

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  11. Love this! So helpful and I'll put to use on Monday!

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  12. This is great. I will definitely be trying it out with my class. Is there a link to the Smartboard activity that you used?

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    Replies
    1. I just recently put it up on SMART Exchange: http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=c6a8164e-5d30-4a47-8051-f23e918c0080

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  13. Great, Thanks for doing that. I'll have a look.

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  14. I love this! I tried to download the file but it tells me I need a password. Could you email me the file so that I can download the documents, please? akteacher05@yahoo.com

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  15. I love this! I teach a very low group of second graders who just cannot grasp this concept. I would love to use this however, when I try to download it asks for a password. Could you possibly email me the file so that I can download the documents, please? akteacher05@yahoo.com
    Thanks!

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  16. I am looking forward to trying this lesson with my first graders! Thank you for making the resources so readily available!! Hilary

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