Dear Teachers, although the following writing activities are resources in my store, I welcome you to use the ideas in your classroom by DIY without a purchase. Read on for links to FREE MARCH WRITING ACTIVITIES!
1. The Day I found a Four-Leaf CloverWrite a narrative story about finding a four-leaf clover. Where were you? What did you do with it? Cut out four-leaf clovers to decorate or even take them outside to look for them!
2. March Madness Persuasive Letter WritingGet your sports-oriented students interested in writing! Provide a choice of different persuasive writing prompts about basketball and March Madness. Make sure to review elements of persuasive writing and letter writing!1. Convince the NCAA to allow you to be the water person for the players during the game.2. Persuade the NCAA to allow you and your friends to shoot baskets with the players during half-time.3. Convince the NCAA to allow you to be one of the cheerleaders for the day.4. Persuade the fans for the other teams to root for your team to win!
3. How to Make Popcorn Super cute! Students tell how to make popcorn using a step by step process. Don't forget to make some popcorn to share while they are writing or as a treat for when they finish!
4. I’m a Leprechaun Lyrics and Narrative Writing Print a copy of the lyrics to the song, I'm a Leprechaun. There is also a youtube link to the song to listen with your students. Let them sing along! Then write a story from the point of view of the Leprechaun in the song. Review figurative language with them and require them to use it! It will make the paper silly just like leprechauns! Please note: The word "drunk" is in the song. It says, "You can call me a drunk or you can call me a liar. But one night in the woods, yes I saw a fire"
5. Blarney Stone Non Fiction Newspaper WritingRead the information on the Blarney Stone here. Choose one of the topics to write about (legends of the Blarney Stone, the common story, kissing the Blarney Stone, or how it got into the English dictionary). Then take notes and paraphrase the information and write their article on the newspaper template. Click Here for FREE Newspaper Templates.
6. Iditarod Acrostic Poem FREE!!!! Read about the Iditarod. Create an acrostic poem saying IDITAROD and use phrases and key words about the race.
7. Limerick Writing FREE!!!! It includes teacher instructions and student instructions on how to write a limerick, examples of limericks, and a final copy template!
I hope you gathered some cute ideas for March Writing! If you would like them prepped for you instead of DIY, the writing resources come with everything you need! (Student directions to place in centers or send home for homework, weblinks, anchor charts, graphic organizers, craft templates, writing templates for final copies, and rubrics! You can save on the bundle or purchase individually.
Reading Response skills and strategies are important for students to have a better understanding of their reading. Whether you are reading a chapter book together, assigning book groups, or allowing for independent reading for your students, responding to the text is crucial to a deeper comprehension of the text. Students should not only respond to fiction, but also to nonfiction text.
So what is an effective way for reading response AND keep your students accountable for their reading? Reading Response Notebooks! Use the following ideas for using reading response notebooks:
1. Decide on what skills are necessary for your students. Ideas may include:
Fiction:CharacterizationSetting DescriptionProblem SolvingFigurative LanguageSequence of EventsText IllustrationPoint of View of 2 CharactersText ConnectionQuestioningSummarizing
Nonfiction:ExplanationMain Idea and DetailsVocabularyVisualsMeaningful QuotePoint of ViewText ConnectionsQuestioningText EvidenceSummarize
2. Next, decide on how many times you would like to assess each skill. Once? You can use response questions for a project where students need to complete them (fiction, nonfiction, or combination) by a due date.Twice? Model responses for the whole group reading, then assign the same response questions for their independent reading.Quarterly? Use the same response questions each quarter and track student progress.
3. For each response, students should record the title of the text. For fiction, also have them identify the genre. For nonfiction, have them identify the source. (ex. newspaper article, website, book, etc.)
4. Review the skill/strategy and your expectations with the students. In my Reading Response Notebooks, I include 3 rubrics. One for an individual skill, another for all of the fiction skills, and the third for all of the nonfiction skills. Encourage students to write enough details to provide a thorough response. Use a rubric to explain expectations! This is an example for individual skill.
5. After grading students' work, have them track their progress for each skill even if you only plan for them to respond once. It will give you an overall view of areas they may need help in. If you use them each quarter, it will show their progress in learning that skill or strategy. This example is a quarterly tracking chart. These are effective tools when conferencing with parents too.
How do I put the notebooks together?
1. Print a cover on white cardstock or have students create their own decoration for the cover.2. Have students color the cover.3. Use two different color cardstock, one for fiction and one for nonfiction.4. Add a tab for fiction and nonfiction.5. Print response pages or place enough paper for the amount of response you want for each category. Click Here for response pages.6. Create a table of contents and/or tracking chart.7. Put the notebooks together: Cover page, table of contents, tracking form, fiction cover page and printable, nonfiction cover page and printables, and rubric (optional).8. Hole punch the pages.9. Place them in a 3-prong folder that can support 24 pages or more if you are using them more than once. My FAVORITE is Oxford Clear Report Covers. http://amzn.to/2j9dIP3
They fit 100 pages which works great for one time, semester, or quarterly assessments and are durable enough for reuse. I love the clear front page. I wouldn't recommend regular report covers with the plastic sliding bar becasue they are hard to maneuver. A small binder would work too.
10. Add tabs and waaaahlllllaaa! You are ready for reading response!
If you would like all of this prepped for you with Common Core standards on each page, CLICK HERE. This reading response notebook will save you time and provide your students with an abundance of both FICTION AND NONFICTION skills and stategies. It can be used multiple times to help students get a clear understanding of each skill. There are specific questions for each skill or strategy that guide your students to understand how to respond to that particular skill or strategy.
