Stuck!

March 25, 2014 in Reading, Writing - No Comments

I am linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday!

This week is standardized testing week at school and the kids have been working really hard on these tests.   I am trying to keep up the morale by doing some fun activities with them.  I am tricking them into learning!  They think we are just reading a story book and laughing, but OHHHHH boy are we learning!  I read the story Stuck by Oliver Jeffers aloud.  The Amazon link is below if you are unfamiliar with the book.
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I passed out this paper…

The students got two sticky notes and wrote predictions about what they thought the book was about based on the title and cover alone.
                               
After they finished writing their predictions we actually read the story aloud.  As we read I paused for them to fill out this sheet continuing our predictions.
You can see the book in the background with the pages marked for me to pause on and the filled out sheet in the front.
The kids loved the story!  It’s a cute read and its ridiculously funny.  It was a great break during testing week.  It is still learning, but they are having a lot of fun with it.

Next, I want them to think critically…get those brain juices flowing.  They have to list at least 5 items Floyd could have used and why it would work.
Then we discussed character traits and listed some for Floyd.  This leads in to the beginning stages of the students writing their own stories.

Finally, they will use these last two sheets to start writing their own stories where they have to solve a problem in a unique way!  I created many different character sheets.  There is a boy character, a girl character, and a blank box for students to draw their own.  Then they will list the events of their stories.

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No Comments

  • Jennifer Laffin {Mrs. Laffin's Laughings} March 25, 2014 at 10:04 pm
    Reply

    Isn't it fun to "trick" kids into learning? What a great break from testing! Hope your week is going well!

    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

  • Jennifer Concannon March 25, 2014 at 11:14 pm
    Reply

    Tricking them into learning may just be my favorite thing to do! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I love your blog! I'm your newest follower 🙂
    Jen

  • Third Grade Galore March 26, 2014 at 1:24 am
    Reply

    I'm going to have to check out this book. I love finding new things to read to the kids!
    Jeanette
    Third Grade Galore

  • Fourth Grade Flipper March 26, 2014 at 1:25 am
    Reply

    I love your graphic organizers! Good luck with standardized testing this week. Hope you can celebrate this weekend after it's over! 🙂
    ~Holly
    Fourth Grade Flipper

  • Joanne Miller March 26, 2014 at 4:22 am
    Reply

    Good luck with testing, ours isn't until April 14th. That books looks adorable-can't wait to check it out! Thanks!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

  • Jennifer Concannon March 26, 2014 at 1:16 pm
    Reply

    Definitely check it out! It's a fun book, but you can tie it in to the curriculum. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Jennifer Concannon March 26, 2014 at 1:19 pm
    Reply

    Thanks! I will definitely be celebrating this weekend!
    Jen

  • Jennifer Concannon March 26, 2014 at 1:24 pm
    Reply

    Thanks! My students seem to be doing really well so far. It's hard to keep them quiet for the week, but they are trying their best. Definitely check out the book it's a lot of fun! Here is a link to the author reading the book himself. It's very cute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hipx6HJs4XQ

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    About Me

    About Me

    My name is Jen and I’m the face behind Endeavors in Education.

    I have a passion for ELA and science. I am even STEM certified. Now I spend my time hanging with my kids, blogging (endeavorsined.com), and creating for my TpT store Endeavors in Education.

    I’m so happy you’ve joined me on this journey!

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