Fiction and Non-Fiction-Part 1″ which you can find here.)
The next step I wanted to improve was how I taught the story elements for both Fiction and Non-Fiction books. Last year I created an interactive anchor chart that I used in the beginning as we were learning about the parts of a story. The students helped me “build” our chart over the course of a few weeks, and at times I would hand out the pieces and ask them to put them on the chart where they were supposed to go. (You can read about that post here.)
I liked giving the kids an opportunity to manipulate the chart and be active with their learning, but I felt like it needed something to help tie in these same story parts when we started talking about how to retell a story. So, I went back to the drawing board this week to work on this. Part Two: Improving how I teach Story Elements First, I created a smaller anchor charts for Fiction and Non-Fiction that I could use after the interactive activity and refer back to throughout the year. I strategically put them in the same theme as the definition posters
Using the same theme again, I created Retelling Hand posters for both Fiction and Non-Fiction books instead of having to draw the hand on the board like I used to. This will definitely save me some time!
The next thing I did was create a bookmark so that the students could practice this information with their library books, and maybe even teach this skill to someone at home.
Afterwards, I started to think vertically across grade levels, and wanted to make sure that this would flow from the lower elementary grades (PreK-2nd) to the upper elementary grades (3rd-5th). That’s when I realized that while my older students would be able to use these posters, they were missing some new vocabulary that is introduced in the upper grades. So I created a 2nd version for them, which includes the vocabulary of Conflict (instead of problem), Plot (instead of events), and Resolution (instead of solution).
I also went ahead and made black and white versions of all these posters so that I could offer them as handouts at our Open House Night and our Literacy Nights.
If you are interested in these items, you can find them here
I am super excited about these activities, and can’t wait to try them out! But, I’m even more excited that I can check off two things from my very long
Summer-To-Do-List!
The next improvement project that I want to work on is to create STEAM posters and choice menus to go along with my idea for a new way to do centers next year! I’ll keep you posted!
Sandy
2 Responses to “Improving Fiction and Non-Fiction – Part 2”
Margarita
Hi Sandy, I read that you are translating your activities into Spanish, I was wondering if you have this retelling hand/bookmark in Spanish? Thank you, I really like this product. =)
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Hi Sandy, I read that you are translating your activities into Spanish, I was wondering if you have this retelling hand/bookmark in Spanish? Thank you, I really like this product. =)
Hi Margarita,
Yes, we have it available on my website here at http://lessonsbysandy.com/store/caracteristicas-de-ficcion-y-no-ficcion/ I hope this helps! 🙂
Sandy