Friday, August 10, 2012

10 Days of Back to School Frenzy: Day 1

Day 1 of my 10 Days of Back to School Frenzy begins with a great writing activity I like to do the first week of school. It's called the Summer "Shorts" Story. This activity allows students to practice essential writing skills while at the same time incorporating a touch of kid art. I'm a sucker for kid-created art work. I love to incorporate it into my instruction whenever I can and display it all over my room. Summer Shorts also allows students to get to know one another by sharing what they did during summer vacation.

So what exactly is Summer "Shorts" Story? Well, here are the steps in the activity. Students will:
  1. Brainstorm what they did during summer vacation
  2. Choose their favorite summer activity
  3. Make a list of million dollar words or mature vocabulary related to the activity
  4. Write a first draft one-paragraph "short" story about the activity (the highlight)
  5. Read and revise their writing
  6. Participate in Peer Editing to make more improvements on their writing
  7. Rewrite their final draft on a 3x5 index card
  8. Decorate the shorts template with a summer related theme
  9. Paste their index card on the space provided on the shorts template
  10. Share their "short" stories with the class

Summer "Shorts" Sample:

Here's an example of a finished product:

Example of Finished Summer "Shorts" Story

Please note that students can have the option to illustrate their shorts based on their short stories or just decorate their shorts with other summer related themes or colors.

Materials Needed:

A glipse of materials needed for the Summer "Shorts" Story

So what do you need to implement this idea in your class? Here's a list of materials:
  • 3x5 index cards
  • scissors
  • crayons, markers, and/or color pencils
  • glue sticks
  • Summer "Shorts" Planning Sheet
  • Summer "Shorts" Template
Would you like to get your hands on the Summer "Shorts" Planning Sheet and Template? If so, you are welcomed to download it from my Teachers Notebook shop for a small fee. Just click on the image below which will take you to my Pencils and Magic Wands shop. 


I hope you like this activity and that you'll be able to implement it in your classrooms. Please let me know what you think by replying in the comment section below. If you implement this activity during the school year, please let me know how it went. I look forward to sharing and learning from each other. Take care and be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 2 of my Back to School Frenzy. Have a magical day!

20 comments:

  1. Absolutely love this!!!! Thank you for sharing!

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    1. You are most welcome Jen! I'm glad you like it. :)

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  2. This is super cute. I love to do writing on the first day of school, except I put a little twist and have them write about what DIDN'T do over summer break. They are allowed to be silly/creative saying things like "I didn't win the lottery" or "I didn't fly to the moon". Then they write a descriptive paragraph detailing everything they didn't do and we share them with the class. I am working on a new example for them where I am saying "I didn't win a gold medal". Should be fun! I am going to use your shorts as my new display for this project. Thanks so much!

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    1. What a great idea Jenny! I love the idea of having students write about what they DIDN'T do over summer break. That's quite excellent and I know they'll have tons of fun writing about that.

      Thanks for your comment and feedback and I'm glad you'll be able to find some use in this shorts activity. :)

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  3. I love this, Mariely! Thank you! I may just use the idea! And Jenny, that is a REALLY neat idea about what the kids did NOT do over summer break. :) - Victoria

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    1. Thank you Victoria! I'm glad you liked it and I agree, I love Jenny's idea too. :)

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  4. Thanks so much for this great product! As a 4th grade teacher in FL I am also always looking for creative ways to engage the students in writing!

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    1. You are most welcome Christina! I completely agree with you. What other writing activities do you have your students work on at the beginning of the school year?

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  5. Thank you so much for sharing! I blogged about this activity and your new blog today: Bee Teaches. Thanks again :)
    Bee

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    1. Oh how cool Bee Isme! Thank you so much and you are most welcome. :) Have a wonderful day!

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  6. And another giant THANK YOU! :)

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  7. Love, love, love the idea. I found it while working on an online course. Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. You are most welcome Bev! Glad you liked it. :)

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  8. I am IN LOVE with the idea of the Summer "Shorts"...It is such a cool idea and I am excited to see what all of my kiddos will have come up with...I'malso a total sucker for kid art, I love how creative and imaginative they can be...Thanks for posting, I look forward to reading more of your blog...I am a new blogger and I would love it if you could head on over to my blog Miss Milton's Memoirs and leave a comment

    You newest follower,
    Charell

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    1. Thank you so much Charell for your comment. I'm glad you like the Summer "Shorts". I'm also glad to see I'm not the only sucker for kid art. :) I'll head on over to your blog and thanks for being my newest follower. :)

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing! Your ideas and time are a blessing!

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    1. You are most welcome Ashley. :) Glad you like the ideas and thank you so much for your comment.

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  10. I love this idea!! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and resources!! I look forward to reading your blog. :)

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    1. Thank you so much Jenny for your comment. I'm so glad you like the ideas. Enjoy. :)

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