Chapter 6 focuses on the reading and writing connection. The better students are a reading, the better they will be in writing. Students need to have meaningful interactions with texts and need to be given purposeful ways to respond to it. A quality writing response is one in which students have to re-examine what they have read. This reminded me of a writing project I just had the 5th grade do shortly after winter break. We have been focusing a lot on identifying cause and effect while reading, so I read “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” to the class. Then I had them go back through the text and identify the causes and effects and think about how they were related. Students quickly realized that it loops. The effect leads right in to the next cause, and so on. I took this activity to the next level by incorporating writing with it. Students then wrote their own versions of an “If You” story. They had to identify and map out all of the causes and effects, along with the narrative elements that would be present. I was so excited to see the enjoyment and enthusiasm across the room as we worked on writing and publishing these stories. I felt like students got so much out of this writing experience and that this project really capitalized on the reading and writing connection.
Below is a photo of one of my students “If You” books, titled "If You Give a Monkey Some Pancakes."
That is a cute project. Thanks for sharing!
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