First graders started an informational writing unit today.

Have you been in first grade for writing?

The first lesson introduces them with a “drumroll” to get them excited about writing teaching books. I’m wondering if they even need a drumroll, because first-graders bring their own drumroll.

We started by investigating the difference between the storytelling they have been doing and the teaching books they were about to start.

Almost right away, a girl sitting on the front of the rug was smiling.

“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” she told me. “I knew it would happen. I’ve had something I’ve been waiting to write about!”

See? Drumroll.

I asked her what she wanted to write about and she explained how she wanted to teach people how to make the special bracelets she could make.

We talked about teaching books, I planned out a book about having pets, I showed them how to collect some ideas of things they could write about. At first my authentic on-the-spot idea generation went just fine —

“I could write about pets, yes. But I’m also thinking of things I love to do. I could write about road trips! What else could I write about? I could think of places I love. Oh! I could write a book to teach all about Ocean City!”

But then I was stuck. I needed them to help me with some things they think I might be an expert at.

“What do you love? What could you write about? Maybe I can get an idea from you. Sometimes writers need to hear ideas to think of ideas.”

“You could write about what to do at the beach,” someone said.

And then, like they know my own heart, a first-grader suggested I could write about how to take care of things like markers and how you need to put the cap fully on.

“Do you mean I could write about school supplies? Did you know I love school supplies? Did you know I definitely can write a teaching book all about school supplies?”

Then it was time for the kids to record some ideas for their own teaching books.

Most kids got right to work. They wanted to write about pets, and crafts, and video games and glass, and lightning — and school supplies.

A few kids had to think for a moment.

One girl was stuck. Her head was down.

I asked her all the questions.

“What do you like to do when you aren’t at school?”

Silence

“Do you have a favorite game or craft?”

Silence

“Do you love a certain kind of food?

Silence

I interrupted the whole class to remind them all of some of the things they could be thinking about, and to give this girl a moment to hear the idea starters again.

I walked away to give her space, but practically ran back over when I noticed she was writing something on her page.

She was still looking grouchy, but she asked, “How do you spell Myrtle Beach?”

*****

Before writing we had number corner math, and before that we had morning meetings complete with sharing.

Have you been in first grade for sharing?

One boy shared that he was so excited for snow. He can’t wait to play in the snow.

“Did you know it is snowing right now?” Another student asked him.

“Did you see there was some snow on the ground this morning?” The teacher asked the class.

“I didn’t even look in my backyard when I woke up,” a student on the rug said.

A kid still at a table stopped eating his breakfast to tell the class, “I do not even want to tell you guys how much snow was in my backyard! It was a lot.”

Then everyone joined in.

“I can’t wait to sled and build a snowman!”

“And throw snowballs!”

“And catch snow on my tongue!”

The snow was a big deal. You should have have been there later when we were doing some dictation spelling, really working hard on following directions. Someone noticed that it was snowing again.

Have you been in first grade when they notice the snow out the window?

*****

After students generated some ideas for writing, we brought them back to the rug to write a class book.

I started with an idea.

“I was thinking that that we could write something together that we are all experts on. You all come to school each day. How many of you think you can be an expert on what it means to be a first-grader? Put a thumb up if you think you could teach someone about coming to school.”

Maybe 3 kids put their thumbs up. I wouldn’t describe them as excited or even engaged.

“But then this morning,” I added, “you all were talking a lot about snow. I wonder if maybe this is a class of experts about snow. Thumbs up if you think you could help teach about snow.”

Almost everyone held their thumb up. A teaching book about snow it was! Students partnered up and talked about what could be in our book. “Sledding! Snow pants! No school!”

Then, we decided together that we would need a sections: What you can do in the snow; what to wear in the snow; what not to do in the snow; what you have to do in the snow. Then we planned out what kinds of things might go in each section.

I thought the category of “what you have to do in the snow” would be full of things like shoveling, dressing warmly, even canceling school. But when we got to that section, the brainstorm went a little differently.

“So what do we have to do when it snows?” I asked.

“Go outside!”

“Play outside!

“Hmmm,” I said. “That’s a pretty cool way to think of this section. Maybe we have to change what we are calling this part, but I actually really like the voice you are adding here. What do we have to do when it snows? Play, of course!”

“You also have to have hot cocoa,” a student added.

I wrote these down on our note collector under the document camera, and when I wrote “Have hot cocoa,” the kids cheered. I think they were excited we were changing the category to what kids say you have to do when it snows.

We had done a lot in writing, and it was time for math.

“But. But. We didn’t WRITE!” I heard my friend from the front of the carpet exclaim. She looked at me with so much disappointment.

I reminded her with a smile that we had planned a lot of our writing, and written our idea sheet, and started our class book.

But note to self – more writing time, more writing time, more writing time.

Tomorrow they will write their first teaching books, about the things they decide to write, about the things they think they are experts on. I can’t wait to see what they write.

I mean, a book about glass?

Have you ever been with a first-grade expert writing a teaching book about glass?

****

I’m writing every day of March for the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers

I’m keeping all of my plants a little bit alive.

I think it’s because I give them each the same amount of water. Once a week, maybe every two weeks, I remember to water them.

I know they each came with care instructions. My money plant does better if I give it two ice cubes once a week. My cactus is supposed to dry out before I water it again. I have some succulents I’m supposed to water from the bottom, and an African Violet that used to be one of a pair… it needs lukewarm water poured from the side. Oh, and a new jade plant that I need to make sure not to overwater.

But they all seem to survive if I just water them about once a week, sometimes forgetting.

Equitable watering for all.

I mean I do a little bit of intervention. If one of the plants really needs an extra dose of water that day, I’ll do it.

But for the most part, I’m not differentiating between plants. If I had a green thumb, then maybe I’d be able to decide what’s best for each and every plant. I think there is an app that helps you determine what your plants needs. There’s probably plant food suited for each one. I bet they could each thrive!

But this way I know that the plants are at least surviving. If one of them needs a little extra water, surely they could all use it.

What’s good for the cactus is just going to have to work for the others.

I’m writing every day of March for the Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers

In the first book I ever read, Ernie and Bert cleaned their room
I remember the pictures of the room getting tidier and tidier
a preschool Home Edit!
There was also Harold
and his purple crayon
and his imagination
all those pies
the way the moon was always in his window
Every time I go to the beach, I think about this book I had
about going to the ocean for the day
and the kids’ adventure of shells and a tidepool
Oh, and Sam!
He collected donuts and then used them to save a woman from a coffee flood
Who needs donuts? They asked
When you’ve got love?
Dooley battled that snortsnoot
once he was tall enough.
My shelf was full
I can picture the books, the stories
part of me
and I find myself hoping today
that as the pendulum swings and teachers hold on for dear life,
kids will still find themselves in the pages

When I walked into a classroom today to meet with a teacher, her kids were finishing cleaning up, heading to lunch and the lyrics to “It’s not easy being Green” were projected. Years ago I shared a bunch of different Slice of Life prompts and lessons with teachers. The prompts float around now, and I always get a kick out of seeing kids writing from them.

This one transported me back to my sixth-grade classroom. Somehow that song had come up in conversation, not so unusual in sixth-grade, actually. I decided we needed to use it as a mentor text to slice. We closely read the lyrics, and then decided what we would need to keep if we wanted to have our slices sound like Kermit.

My sixth graders wrote and wrote. They wrote beautifully. There are a lot of things that aren’t easy about being in middle school.

One of the third graders was still in the room and I asked her, “Are you doing It’s not that easy being slice of life?”

She nodded her head and said “Yea. It’s…It’s…” and I wasn’t sure if she was upset about the writing or not.

She tried to say, “Nevermind,” but I said,

“Do you like it?”

“Yea,” she told me, “It really helps to get a lot of stuff out.

I guess third graders have a lot of things that aren’t easy too.

The teacher said I had to read some of her kids’ slices of life, and showed me a few.

I had to tell her that I remember making that prompt, and she smiled.

“One of the kids said to me today when we did this, ‘I know where you got this idea from! You must have gotten this from Ms. Gabriel!’”

A third grader was walking into school this morning, and she noticed a poster had fallen on the floor.

She picked it up, tried to hang it back up and then I heard her say, like a miniature thirty-year-old, “And…that’s done.” She walked the poster to her classroom, presumably to find it’s next resting place.

I heard her call out to a classmate, “You were in this group, weren’t you?” But when he didn’t respond she just said “No? That’s right, you weren’t.”

I asked fourth graders to think about what was exciting and unique about the natural wonders they were reading about this morning. When I walked over to one of the desk-sets, a boy shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t find any of this unique and exciting.”

I told him I understood, and was about to ask him what he thinks the author found exciting and unique. But, he interrupted me.

“But, I guess since they are called natural ‘wonders,’ they are unique because there’s only so many of them.” He decided.

After I was done modeling that lesson, I had to run across town to a meeting. I happened to go to the parking lot right as the fourth-graders were headed to recess.

One of them walked over to me and said “Hug?” As he leaned in for one of those side hugs fourth graders give.

He asked me, “Are we going to do that same lesson in Writing Society after school?”

I told him we were actually going to be doing something other than informational reading in our after school writing club and he looked kinda sad about it honestly.

“Why?” I asked. “Did you like that lesson?”

“Oh yes!” He said and he went off to play with his friends.

In Writing Society, I sat down next to a young third grader.

“Want to write a poem with me?” He asked and of course I agreed.

“Actually, I already wrote one.” He said as I opened up the google presentation he had sent me.

He asked me how I spell my name, and then how to spell Ms. I explained “M-S-period,” but noticed that he wrote “Ms Gabriel.” next to his name.

He said his poem, I typed it and we added a line or two.

Outside the sky is grey
But in (school) we see it as blue
Everybody is kind and nice and follows PAWS (expectations)
Well, everybody should…
At least try to.