Week 5 -- Growing Our Narratives
- Miss Anderson
- Feb 19, 2020
- 3 min read
Six-Word Memoir - Reality
Growing up I always had a hard time finding jeans that weren't long on me. I would always have to roll them up on the bottom at least three or four times, so that they didn't swallow my feet. However, as the day when on my long jeans would slowly unroll themselves. So, I would roll them back up again and again. Until I just gave up. Then I would come home with dirt at the bottom of my jeans which had my mom fussing at me.
Finally, my mother gave up and decided to take me and my jeans to my grandmother's house to get them hemmed. I love visiting my grandmother's house because she always had something cooking in the kitchen. Let's just say that I never had a problem with long jeans again.
Your Turn Lesson Three: Appealing to the senses (narrowing the focus)
Adapted from Dorfman, L. R., Cappelli, R., & Hoyt, L. (2017). Mentor texts: teaching writing through children’s literature, k-6 (2nd edition). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Hook:
Return to any picture books / personal narrative stories that have been used in class that showcase how a “small moment” story can be created by utilizing sensory details. These mentor texts should highlight how authors have focused on a specific moment in time and have narrowed that focus by “zooming in” on everything they experience. Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats works well with helping students see how the author pulls from the five senses in order to describe a specific experience. Students can pick out the sensory details and discuss how they enhance the story and help the author pull the audience into a small moment. Other possible mentor texts include: Shortcut by Donald Crews, Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard, and Summer Green to Autumn Gold by Mia Posada.
Purpose:
When writing about a specific topic, it’s important to not only describe what we see. Writers use all the senses to give us a concrete, physical experience. By providing sensory details in our stories, it brings our readers closer and makes them feel as if they are there with us in that small moment. Today, I am going to teach you how to identify those sensory details in a ‘small moment’ text, and sort through those different details (e.g. I see…; I hear…; I feel…) using a graphic organizer.
Brainstorm:
Return to the mentor text you used in the hook. Ask students to think about what sensory details are included in the text. Have them share the details that they believe best help the author “zoom in” on the small moment. Have students think about experiences that they have had in which they could use sensory details to share the moment in a descriptive with the class or with a partner. (i.e. being in the classroom, on the playground, in the cafeteria, on the school bus, in the gym.) Students can quickly jot down details of what they saw, heard, felt, tasted, or smelt before sharing with the class/with a partner.
Model:
On the board, draw a chart that lists the five senses. Leave empty boxes next to each that can be filled in with examples. Tell students that you will be thinking aloud of things that can be seen in the cafeteria. As you list them, record them in the chart next to “I see”. (things such as food, trays, students, etc. can be listed)
Shared/Guided Writing:
Invite students to help finish the table/chart. Students can volunteer what they hear, feeel, smell, and taste in the school cafeteria. As students offer up thoughts, record them in the chart on the board.
Independent writing:
Invite students to think about a place they’re familiar with. Have them draft a chart similar to the one you did as a class. (For younger students it might be beneficial to provide the chart to them, and simply ask for them to fill it in.) After students have made their chart, give them a few minutes to share their charts with those sitting around them. Ask students to draft an entry in their writer’s notebooks that reflect the information in their charts. Remind them to use information about their senses to inform their entry.
Reflection:
Students can turn and talk about how their charts helped them draft their writing. The following questions can help guide their thinking:
“How did you choose your topic/place?”
“Did you find it challenging to identify the sensory details?”
References
Dorfman, L. R., Cappelli, R., & Hoyt, L. (2017). Mentor texts: teaching writing through children’s literature, k-6 (2nd edition). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Comments