Three of These Things with Grade 1

A big part of information literacy is being able to recognize patterns and to categorize facts, sources, etc. We're starting to work on these skills in first grade. 

Our latest lesson is one of my favorites; it involves the original Three of These Things from Sesame Street. Original as in from the 1970s. I showed several sample videos to the kids, and they raised their hands as soon as they figured out what didn't belong. Here's one that we didn't get to:

Then it was the students' turn to pretend they were segment producers and come up with their own "Three of These Things" example. Can you tell what doesn't belong?

Cinderella as Retold / Summarized by Room 11

In 4th grade, we are learning about the difference between retelling and summarizing a story. Retelling has lots more details and may contain dialogue, like the students' retelling of "Cinderella" below.

Ms. Moore's favorite retelling is "Ever After," starring Drew Barrymore.
Photo from thewonderfulworldofcinema.wordpress.com.

Retelling

Once upon a time, there was a girl name Cinderella. Her sisters were mean to her. Her stepmother made her do all the chores around the house while her kids were getting to slack off all day. Her sisters and her stepmother want to go to the ball, and C. wasn’t allowed to, even though she really wanted to. 

She cried and cried, and suddenly her fairy godmother appeared. The FG makes a pumpkin turn into a carriage and gives her a beautiful dress and glass slippers. The FG tells her, “You have to leave before midnight, or else everything will disappear.” Then she gets to go to the ball. 

The prince sees her and asks her to dance. Then she has so much fun getting to dance, she lost track of time and had to rush out at 12, losing her glass slipper. Then the prince tries to find her and return the glass slipper. 

When he gets to her house, the sisters try on the slipper, but they don’t fit. Then C. tried it on and it fit! They lived happily ever after. 

Summary

After we retold Cinderella in 185 words, it was time to summarize it in a couple of sentences. The method I taught the 4th graders is Somebody Wanted But So Then. Here are some of the summaries they came up with:

Cinderella 

Wanted to go to the ball, 

But the stepmother and stepsisters didn’t let her. 

So she stays home playing a board game. 

Then her fairy godmother comes. 

The prince 

Wanted to marry Cinderella, 

But it struck midnight, and she ran away because the magic would run out.

So her shoe fell off.

Then the prince goes door to door trying to find her. 

The stepsisters 

Wanted the prince to marry them, 

But he had eyes for C. only. 

So the next morning, the prince comes around and asks them to try on the glass slipper. 

Then they try to fit by cutting off their toes and heels. 

The stepmother

Wanted C to stay home and not go to the ball, 

But the FG came and got everything ready for her so she could go to the ball. 

Then the clock struck midnight and she ran away. 

The FG 

Wanted for C. to go to the ball, 

But her magic would run out at midnight. 

So C went to the ball.

Then the clock struck 12.

Grade 2 Covers Inspired by The Z Was Zapped

Second graders are learning about how call numbers help us find books in the library. 

 We read The Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg, which features the letters of the alphabet meeting sad fates. The students had to guess the action happening to them, which started with the same letter; for example, the F was flattened by a foot and the Q was quartered. 

 Then the kids created their own version of the book, as well as their personal call number. I've added their work into a binder that can be checked out and brought home as a library book. Here is a preview: