Text Features Using Who Would Win

My class has a new obsession….they can’t get enough of Jerry Pallotta’s Who Would Win series!  I had seen the idea on Pinterest to use the books to work on opinion writing, so I bough a big pack of them using Scholastic Bonus Points.

 
We used this awesome pack by Teaching in Stripes to organize our thoughts.  I read aloud from Whale Vs. Giant Squid, stopping before the big fight scene at the end.  I wanted the kiddos to form their own opinions based on the facts presented in the book.  Then they had to choose if they were Team Whale or Team Squid.

I gave them time to meet with their “teams,” and compare notes and then we wrote our opinion pieces.  After everyone’s writing was complete, I finally read the battle scene and they found out who would win.  They absolutely LOVED it!

They were so in love with these books that I had to think of another way to use them.  So we did a review lesson on text features because these books are FULL of them!  I partnered them up and each set of partners got a different Who Would Win book.  They had to go on a text feature hunt and fill out a graphic organizer.

After that, they got to create a poster about their Who Would Win battle.  Their poster had to included three text features.  I think it’s safe to say that this project was a huge hit!  They had such a great time and it made my teacher heart so happy to hear them discussing which text features would help them explain the information on their posters!

Want to try it out with your class?  Click HERE to go grab the graphic organizers and poster rubric, they are a FREEBIE in my store!

Celebrating the 100th Day!

I love celebrating the 100th day of school with this fun little surprise activity!

Several days before the big day I take pictures of each of my students in the free Aging Booth app. I email each of the pictures to myself, save them, and upload them to Costco to get them printed. On the morning of the 100th day my students walk in to see the picture of themselves...with grey hair...and wrinkles!!!

We talk about what their lives may hold for them in the next 91 years before they will turn 100. We talk about what college they may attend, what career they may choose, awards they may win, will they get married? Have kids? Then they write a newspaper article to celebrate their 100th birthday!

We had such a great time laughing at the wrinkled faces and reading about the amazing things they are going to do in life! If you would like to try this with your class grab the editable newspaper template from my TpT store! (Click HERE to go grab it for FREE!) If you post pics be sure to tag me so I can check out all of your 100th day fun!

Where in the World is _______? {An Easy Sub Plan Assignment}

If you are anything like me, you hate planning for a sub.  In fact, you hate it so much that you would rather go to work under the weather than plan for a sub and take a sick day. 


“Where in the World is Mrs. Wood?”  is my absolute favorite writing assignment to leave on those days that I have no choice but to be out.  The kids love it and I can’t wait to get back to school to read their creative stories!  I will usually pick my favorites and share them during read aloud time!


Here are some of my favorites from last time I had to be gone…….





These students obviously know me pretty well and I love how creative they were.

Student #1

had me on Broadway in New York because if I couldn’t be a teacher I would be an actress! (true story….my classroom is my stage!)

Student #2

thought that I’m not really a teacher, that is just my cover, I’m actually a secret agent and I was sent on a mission.

Student #3

had me hopping on a plane to the “urban jungles,” of brazil to get him a pet monkey.  This one cracked me up because I don’t think he understands what an urban jungle is and because all he talked about ALL YEAR was getting a pet monkey!!!


My hands down favorite one was

Student #4 

He said that I wasn’t at school because I was at a secret meeting of N.U.T.P.O.T  (Never Underestimate The Power Of Teachers)! 

Next time you have to be gone, do yourself a favor and leave this assignment!  Your kids will have a blast imagining where in the world you could be and you will be entertained when you get back to school and have to go through all of that work they did! 

The assignment is available in my TpT store and is editable so you can personalize it to your name!

If you use this product, I would love to see your favorites!  Take a pic for Instagram and tag me @theblessedteacher so I can see what your creative kiddos came up with!