Pizza Procedure Writing

There are so many fun and exciting activities you can do when teaching procedure texts and it is definitely my favourite writing genre! We have just finished our unit on procedure writing and our 'Pizza Procedure Writing' task was definitely a highlight! I asked the students to create their own recipe procedure text on how to create their perfect pizza! As an extra incentive I told the students we would also be making pizza's, following the procedure of the 5 best pizza procedure texts that the students created. This would be based on practicality, accuracy, effort, and presentation.

Loving my 'Procedure Pizza Writing' display!

Nom nom nom!

What is your favourite writing genre and why?

Miss A

Writing Process Pencil Display

Don't you just love it when you come across a teaching strategy and you don't understand how you ever managed without it? That's exactly how I feel about my Writing Process Pencil!

I got this idea from pinterest and thought I'd make my own version and give it a go. My students each have a pencil peg with their name on it. All pegs start on 'Pre-write' and then as they progress with their writing, they move their peg onto the next stage until they have reached the tip of the pencil which is the 'Finished' section. I LOVE using this for my writing tasks. Each section of the pencil has a different writing stage; Pre-write, Draft, Edit, Good Copy, Illustration and Finished.

Pre-Write
All the student's pencil pegs start on the 'Pre-Write' section. During this phase students brainstorm what they want to write about. They may also have a chat to the person next to them for some ideas and inspiration. This is also the time to write the title and date on their work.

Draft
Once students have completed the pre-write phase they move their pencil peg onto the 'Draft' section. This is when students begin their actual writing. Once they have finished their draft they need to re-read it to make sure it makes sense, then they can move their pencil peg up to the 'Edit' section.





Edit
During the 'Edit' phase, students come to me so I can check their spelling and grammar. I underline words that they have spelt incorrectly and ask them to either try and spell the word again, or check their dictionaries for the correct spelling. I also give them feedback on their work. The only time I will check students work is when they are right next to me. I've realised there's no point in checking and correcting work when the writer is not there- how often will my year 3's actually flick through previous writing work to see what errors had been corrected?!

Good Copy
After students have corrected all their errors, students move onto writing their good copy. I only use this section if I'm planning to put their writing on display, like my Earth Day writing task or my creative writing If I had a million dollars task. If they are just doing writing in their writing books, they skip this phase and move onto the illustration section



Illustration

I always get my students to draw a picture when they have finished their writing. It doesn't have to be a big fancy picture (although some students prefer it to be that way!) just something small and neat so that they can really value their work! Presentation is important!







Finished
This part speaks for itself- the student has finished their writing task!

I've found this pencil gives students accountability and really motivates them to stay on task- everyone wants their peg on the 'Finished' section by the end of the lesson! It also gives me an indication of where each student is at with their work. If a student has remained on the 'Pre-Write' section for a while, I'll ask if they need some assistance with their work. If I feel like someone is flying through the stages, I'll make sure they are on the right track
and their work is NEAT.

Keep smiling!
Miss A

Earth Day Project

This year I decided to combine my Earth Day and Harmony Day projects together! First we discussed how we could make the world a more harmonious place, for both the environment and humanity. I gave the students the story starter 'I can make the world a better place by…" and away they went! I was super impressed with all the amazing ideas they came up with :)

After students had finished their good copies, they moved onto their art activity. I love incorporating art in my writing lessons, it's a great way for students to be intrinsically motivated in the task! For this activity I used a shaving cream marbling technique to create Earths. Here's how to do it:

Trace a circle onto white cardstock and then cut it out.

Squirt about a handful of shaving cream on a piece of newspaper and spread it out until there is a thick layer covering a large area of the newspaper.

Squirt blue and green paint over the shaving cream, and then use the end of a thin paint brush to swirl the paint around. Make sure you don't over swirl! 

Press the paper circle firmly into the shaving cream and leave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Very carefully, lift the paper circle and place it on some newspaper for about 5-10 minutes. 

Using a ruler, scrape the remaining foam off the work and ta-da! Your beautiful Earth is ready! I love the individual marbling patterns on them! Click here to watch a video with shaving cream marbling art from teachingwithtlc.com :)

Finally we used a large sheet of black paper for our background and cut out letters from newspapers and magazines to spell out 'Heal The World' on our work.

The students did such a brilliant job and were engaged the whole time, which is always a win! I think they look absolutely brilliant!!

Keep smiling!
Miss A

Creative Writing- If I won a million dollars...

One thing I really enjoy doing is jazzing up our creative writing stories with a fun art activity. Inspired by St Patricks Day, this week I incorporated our 'If I won a million dollars' creative writing with a 'Pot of Gold' art activity!

The children first completed their good copy and illustrations. For the pots of gold you need thick cardboard so guess who stayed back one Friday afternoon wrestling a stanley knife through chunks of cardboard to create 19 pot templates? ME! The end result was totally worth it though :)

Using PVA glue, we glued pasta shells, lima beans and rice on the top of our pot. I made sure I got students to fill the entire section and to full in any blank spots with rice.

When the top had dried, I used gold spray paint to cover the entire area and give the illusion of gold. I then got the children to paint their pots grey.

I gave the top one more spray of gold to create a 'glowing' effect at the top of the pot. The students then added a dollar sign and used some lighter grey paint to create the effect of light reflecting off the pot. 

 I laminated the students work, added a bit of gold glitter to the edges and TA DA!! A fantastic looking creative writing piece :)

Miss A

The Magic Box

I think a lot of teachers overlook the importance of stimulating interest at the beginning of a creative writing. I've got Box to help me with that! Who is Box might you ask? He's my trusty creative writing box buddy! Creative name I know ;) Every second week we have a creative writing lesson, and I tell the students that Box is actually magical and will decide what the topic is about. His way of letting us know what he wants us to write about is by showing us some different objects which are supposed to be clues for our story starter. The difference in quality and engagement of writing when I use Box is amazing! Here's what Box had in store for us this week:

Inside of Box I had put a winning lottery ticket, a cheque for one million dollars and $500 dollars cash with the label 'Spending Money' attached to it. Using Box is also a great way to improve infrence making ability. I encouraged students to look at ALL the clues to find out what box wanted our story starter to be. It actually took a lot more guesses than I thought! Our task this week was 'If I won a million dollars'. Even though I'm pretty sure my students are aware that Box is really just a box, no one has breathed a word about the fact that it may be ME putting the items in the box! In fact, the students were absolutely delighted with the prospect that Box had potentially robbed a bank to provide us our clues! Too cute :)

Miss A