“Giftedness is not what you do or how hard you work. It is who you are. You think differently. You experience life intensely. You care about injustice. You seek meaning. You appreciate and strive for the exquisite. You are painfully sensitive. You are extremely complex. You cherish integrity. Your truth-telling has gotten you in trouble. Should 98% of the population find you odd, seek the company of those who love you just the way you are. You are not broken. You do not need to be fixed. You are utterly fascinating. Trust yourself!”

Linda Silverman~Gifted Development Center Denver


Sunday, 30 June 2013

Back to School Mentor Texts

I am linking up again with Stacia and Amanda of Collaboration Cuties (and darn they really are!) for their Must Read Mentor Texts Linky.  I LOVE Back to School (even though I just finished my last day on Friday!) but I couldn't resist the chance to link up a perennial favourite of mine.  To visit the link up just click on the image below.





For more ideas about using The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown click on the image above to visit Writing Fix.



On the first day of school read aloud the "The Important Book" by Margaret Wise Brown. After reading and discussing its very specific pattern,  you can model how to write a book with a similar title. 

For example, the first page might say, “The important thing about grade six is that you get to take on a leadership role. You get to help out in kindergarten and with the activity cart at recess. You might get to help out in the office or with Lunch Lady. But the important thing about grade six is that you get to take on a leadership role.”

Students then use this model to write their own thoughts about things that they think will be important in the grade they are entering.  Each student can choose their favourite page to add to a collaborative class book.  First they write and illustrate their page and after the editing and revising processes the pages can be printed, laminated and bound into a book.   

The students will enjoy reading the book and sharing it with others.  I have even sent this type of collaborative book home on a nightly sign-out basis so students could share at home.



I have made up one sparkly template (thanks to Collaboration Cuties for the background and frame) and one black and white template (thanks to Digital Divide and Conquer).  If you would like your own FREE copies of the templates click on the LAST IMAGE.




CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD
YOUR FREE COPY.

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday




Make sure you stop by HERE and enter Mrs. Beattie's great FB Giveaway!


27 comments:

  1. Sarah introduced me to this book last year. It's so cute!!!
    Tamra (and Sarah)
    First Grade Buddies
    First Grade Buddies

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    1. It is cute and very versatile. I have even used it for teaching science.... For example, "the important thing about electricity is that it powers a house, it flows and contains neutrons and protons, but the important thing about electricity is that it powers a house". Make sure you come back and download the templates I just downloaded!
      Sidney

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  2. I love The Important Book! Writing fix is such a great website. I learned about it last summer and enjoyed using some of their ideas this past year!

    Hunter's Tales from Teaching

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    1. I love both the book and the site! It's great when you get to share two things you love in one post. Make sure you come back and download the FREEBIE I just uploaded.
      Sidneu

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  3. I love your ideas for this book! I usually don't pull it out til later but I will reconsider now! :)
    Jivey
    ideas by jivey
    Follow Me On Facebook! :)

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    1. Thanks for the comment Jivey. See my first comment to Tamra, there are so many ways to use this book. I also just updated it with a FREEBIE template if you want to come back and download it.
      Sidney

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  4. Great choice and I LOVE writingfix.com. Great site.
    ~Brandee
    Creating Lifelong Learners

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    1. Thanks Brandee! If you get a chance please come back and download the freebie templates I just uploaded.
      Sidney

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  5. So cute! I've used The Important Book to create a Thank-You gift for teacher candidates, but may pull it out with my new group this year! Thanks for linking up, Sidney!

    ~Erin
    Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

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  6. The important thing about this post is that it has so many applications. You can use it at the beginning of the year. You can tweak it to use with interdisciplinary studies and specific topics. It can reveal many things about our learners because it is so open-ended. But the important thing about this post is that it has so many applications.

    Thank you for sharing! I'm your newest follower!
    Belinda
    I Love 2 Teach

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  7. I love this book but I have never thought to use it at the beginning of the year! What a great idea!!!! I love it! Thank you so much for the freebie and it's so stinkin' fun to see when our "stuff" is used for products!! :O)

    Thanks for linking up!
    Amanda
    Collaboration Cuties

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  8. Such a great book! Thanks for sharing the writing sheets to go along with it...

    Smiles,
    Sarah @ Hoots N Hollers

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  9. I love this book too. I use it with first graders when we are learning about adjectives.
    I'm glad to see it speaks to big kids as well.

    School Is a Happy Place

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  10. I love this book too! It's a classic and I also use it the first week of school! I have my students interview each other-I'll post about it soon! Thanks for sharing the idea for 6th graders-I like it for 4th graders!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

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    1. Joanne,
      Can't wait to read your post about using The Important Book and having students interview each other. That sounds great, and it reminds me of how I would do a student biography the first few weeks of school. I would have a student interview another student and write their biography! I could have them do it as an Important Book! The Important Thing about Ms. McKay is that she has to have coffee in the morning....
      Sidney

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  11. I have always loved this book as well - but I never thought about using it as a first day book! Thanks for the great idea!

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    1. It's great when you get new ideas from old favourites isn't it? I just had a brain wave when I read the comment above yours from Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching! Thanks for stopping by and commenting, I really appreciate it!
      Sidney

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  12. Love the post and the comments! I can't decide if I want to do "The important thing about 4th grade" or the interviewing suggestion - too much good stuff!!! Thanks so much!

    Mrs. O'Donnell's Room

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    1. Thanks so much for your sweet comment. I like you am not sure how I am going to use it this year. I think I might do both the class book and the interview!
      Sidney

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  13. What a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing this. I am always looking for new ideas for mentor texts.

    -- Polliwog Place

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment Polliwog Place! I do really appreciate your feedback. I hope you can find a way to use this book next year, it really is great!
      Sidney

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  14. I love this book! My 4th graders are the big kids at my school, do your example works terrifically for us, too!

    Thanks for the freebie!

    Dawn

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    1. Great! So glad to hear that you think you can use the idea!
      I love teaching grade 4, I haven't had the chance to do it for over 20 years but I miss it!
      Sidney

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  15. I've never heard of this book before - thanks for highlighting it! I'm going to look for it right now. I found you through the Middle Grades Bloglovin' linky party!

    Have a great summer!
    Carla
    Surviving Sixth Grade

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  16. This is a very popular book at our school and it has been used for a variety of different topics. Thanks for the template. I look forward to using it this fall.

    Charlene/Diamond Mom
    Diamond Mom's Treasury

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  17. I love using the Important Book! The kids allude to it throughout the years as well.
    Ann
    http://devotedtovocabularydevelopment.com/

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    1. Thanks Ann! I have used this book time and time again for so many different purposes...I should call it my "go to book". Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment!
      Sidney

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