Conferencing with your kiddos!

NARRATIVE

How can I help my children with narrative writing? I am so glad you asked! J

It is important that students are completing their pre-writing (STARS) and complete story for every prompt. After they have finished here are a few questions you can help conference with your child:

Did they describe where they are at in detail? They should build their setting, not describe it.

Did they pick one small moment and describe it?  One setting and one place.

Can you tell what they are thinking throughout the story?

Do they have a Show, Not tell?

If they answer yes to all these questions they should be ready to go. There are a few examples on my blog.

EXPOSITORY TEXT

Now, expository…. This is a new concept for students. I know you are wondering…how can I help them..?!

Here is the writing process:

1.)   Read Prompt

“Write about 1 thing you have made. Describe what you made and why you enjoyed making it.”

2.)   Generate a list of ideas. Choose One.

a.      Science experiments

b.      Cakes

c.      Origami

d.      Music

e.      Robot

f.        Stories.

g.      Paper airplane

h.      Cupcakes

i.        Light switch***

3.)   Why did you think this was enjoyable?

a.      Creative

b.      Challenging

c.      Help us light up our rooms

d.      It was fun.

e.      Educational

f.        Hands-on education (fun)

4.) Generate ideas for S-E-M-C- (This should be done for both body paragraphs.)

Statement- Lights! Camera! Action! Creating a light switch was a great challenge.

Explanation - make light light up first.

Wires had to be in the exact place.

If it wasn’t lighting I had to figure out why.

Was the light bulb burt out or battery dead?

Once you had a circuit we had to make the switch. The important part is all the metal had to be touch.

We worked together trying different things. And finally it worked. I loved the trial and error.

Me- Now when I think about turning on the lights, it makes me appreciate all the hard work Thomas Edison did.

Closing- Creating a light switch is a challenge that I would be up for again tomorrow.

Electricity! It All Starts With a Battery!

(Introduction) Electricity is a wonderful thing. In science class, I created my first light switch with just a battery, few wires, light bulb, index card, and a few brads. It was a challenge from the beginning and I was smiling from ear to ear.  I loved working with my team to put the wires in just the right place. We put our hands and minds together to make the light bulb light up with a switch.

            (Body Paragraph 1) Lights! Camera! Action! Creating a light switch was a great challenge. From the beginning, the first challenge was to make the bulb light up before worrying about the switch. The wires had to be in the exact place. It was a process of trial and error. We put our heads together and worked to figure it out.  Finally, the light bulb was lit and then it was time for the next challenge, the light switch. We dove in like a scuba diver looking for fish. My mind raced with all the different ways. Finally, it was like winning a race. We completed the light switch. Now when I think about turning on the lights, it makes me appreciate all the hard work Thomas Eddison did. Creating a light switch was a challenge that I would be up for tomorrow.

Stories should include an introduction, 2 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. An example of an entire paper is on my blog. J

I hope this is helpful!