Carol P. Boynton
Lesson One
Reading a Picture
Objective: Writers can get their ideas from their memories.
Focus: Students will include details in both their drawing and their writing. This lesson will take one hour – 15 minutes for the mini-lesson, 40 minutes for drawing and writing, 5 minutes for the closing.
Materials – Painting of landscape, such as Hayes Common by William Henry Millais, Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art, accessed through the website collection; students folders; coloring materials, including water colors, crayons, oil pastels, colored pencils
There are certainly innumerable choices to use for this lesson. Art galleries and art shops offer posters of great art. The Yale Center for British Art shares its collection and can be accessed by computer. Other suggestions are
Landscape with a Lake
by Paul Sandby,
A Winter Landscape
by George Smith,
A View along the Thames towards Chelsea Old Church
by John Varley,
Woodland Scene with Rabbits
by Sir Huber von Herkomer.
Procedure:
- Gather on the rug in a circle or group. Review through discussion how we as writers get our ideas – what we see, what we know, things we remember, our imagination, other people. "Today we are using our memory when we write."
- Display painting of landscape and have the students read the picture.
- Move to level of inferring as students share what might be happening in this painting.
- Have the students think about what memory they have when they look at this painting and turn and talk to your partner.
- Remind students that as they draw and write today, it is important to include details in both your drawing and writing to help the reader really understand your work.
- Students select materials and return to the tables to begin drawing/writing their memory.
- Conference with students as they begin their work. Locate a couple who would like to share at the end of the writing time.
- About half-way through, students should begin to move to writing if they have not already.
- Continue conferencing to encourage students to include details.
- Closing: Two or three students sit in the Author's Chair to share their memory, if they feel ready. Ask for questions or comments for the authors.
Assessment: Writer's folders – rubric for: turning & talking, drawing & writing memory, use of details in both drawing and writing
Lesson Two
Responding to a Text
Objective: Writers can get their ideas from text. The class will "publish" their writing in a class book to place in the library.
Focus: Students will use details in their illustration and description in their writing
Materials:
I am an Artist
by Pat Lowry Collins, illustrated by Robin Brickman
Procedure:
- Gather on the rug in a circle or group. Introduce focus – "Today we will be listening for words that help make a picture in our minds. As I read, think about the describing words that help you make that picture. Also, maybe you will hear some words you don't know. We can discuss those at the end. We want to hear the story without too much interruption so our minds can keep drawing pictures."
- Read aloud
I am an Artist.
Show pictures after reading the page and a long pause.
- Discussion of describing words and what they mean to each student. Demonstrating with hand movements or body movements may help the child.
- Introduce the objective of creating a class book, reflective of the text
I am an Artist.
- Have the students think about what they would like to describe in their writing and turn and talk to your partner.
- Remind students that as they write today, it is important to include details in both your drawing and description in their writing to help the reader make a picture of their own in their head.
- Chart describing words that students are thinking about and discuss their meaning.
- Students select materials and return to the tables to begin detailed drawing/descriptive writing.
- Conference with students as they begin their work.
- Work will likely continue for a day or two past initial lesson
- Students may add to the book as they complete their contribution.
Assessment: Contribution to class book
Lesson Three
Content Connections
Objective: Writers get ideas from things they know.
Focus: Students will use details in their illustration and description in their writing
Materials:
Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills
by Scott Ritchie, writing and drawing paper choices, including graph paper, various coloring materials
This story introduces mapping skills as Sally and her four friends look for her missing cat and dog. The text is accompanied by a colorful map that uses symbols to identify places such as the library. Next, the children explore the park, and the map shows how to follow a route. They continue their search in the city, the countryside, and eventually across the world and the solar system. On the way, a different type of map—including, weather, topographical, and treasure—is featured and explained.
Procedure:
- Gather on the rug in a circle or group. Introduce focus – "Today as we read this book about maps, think about how the words and pictures together help us understand what the writer is teaching us. What if we only had words OR pictures? Think about what might happen if details are missing from the words or pictures in the story."
- Read aloud
Follow That Map! A First Book of Mapping Skills, s
howing the various maps as the story progresses.
- Invite discussion of how words help with the maps
- Introduce the idea of creating a map that helps explain something (weather) or locate something (missing pet)
.
- Have the students identify their idea for in their map and their writing and turn and talk to your partner to tell what type of information they will be including.
- Remind students that as they write today, it is important to include specific details in both their drawing and description to give the reader sufficient information
- Students select materials and return to the tables to begin
- Conference with students as they begin their work to discuss their map, what it shows, and how their details inform their readers.
Assessment: Conferencing, students identifying and including specific details
