Oral Writing Essay

Our class has been working on oral writing since the first day of school.  However, up until this point, it has just been individual students sharing individual sentences.  I decided that this week it was time to take the plunge and do our first oral writing essay as a class.  I have to be honest.  I was not sure how my class would do with it.  Out of my 18 students, 14 are well below grade level, with 6 of those in special education.  However, I decided that the only way for both my students and myself to learn was to just do it, so we did.

I knew that it would be important for my students to have a model to follow for putting together this essay, so I used the model that I had been teaching my students in writing.  Below is a picture of it that is now hanging up in our writing area.
                                                                         

The go sign was an answer to a question.  This became our topic sentence.  When I introduced this model to my students I placed a rock in each of their pencil boxes and asked the question, "What did Miss Ray give you?"  I then instructed them to look in their pencil boxes for the answer:  Miss Ray gave me a rock.  They now had their topic sentence.  Each star represents an adder.  (This is what Whole Brain Teaching calls a detail.)  Before each adder they had to use a "traffic light" transition word.  They needed a green light transition word before their first adder, a yellow light transition word before their second adder, and a red light transition word before their last adder.  Below is a picture of my traffic light transitions.

The stop sign after the stars represents the students' concluder.  (This is what Whole Brain Teaching calls the concluding sentence.)

This model worked really well and resulted in some great writing!  Since the students knew it so well, I decided that it would provide a great framework for their first oral writing essay.  The topic I chose was the retelling of a passage that we had been working on all week in reading.  It was about a mom and her daughter who made cupcakes together.  The students had read this passage numerous times and had used the "Connect 5W+H" Brainie to both write and answer who, what, when, where, why, and how questions about the passage.

Since it was their first time doing an oral writing essay, they needed some guidance, but I was amazed at how well they did.  The first student was able to tell the topic sentence.  Then it was time for the adders (details).  I wasn't sure how my students would do with remembering in order the important details, but they did really good.  I did not even have to remind them to use transition words.  Each student who shared remembered to use the correct transition word with the comma (zoop), when it was his/her turn.  The funnest part, however, was watching them ask for help.  If a student was not sure what to say next, he would say "help me".  The class would then gather around and give suggestions.  This part was a little shaky.  The kids did not quite understand that they each needed to give their own suggestions, instead of chiming in together and following each other.  I think this happened because my lower students are unsure of themselves, so they followed the lead of my few stronger ones. Since I have so many low students, it sounded like one big chorus.  Come to think of it, that is probably a good thing.  When the student sharing heard an idea that he wanted to use, he used "Class Yes" to have the rest of the class return to their seats, or in this case their spots on the floor. After the third adder, the next student knew that he was to give the concluder (closing sentence).  Once again, I did not have to remind this student, because the model was there for him to follow.

I have to admit that it was a pretty awesome thing to see.  I am looking forward to doing more oral writing essays on a variety of topics.  As my students' writing improves and they get more practice at doing oral writing essays, we should be able to move away from such a strict model.  I am very excited to see the progression.

Ready to Listen

This post is going to be short and sweet.  I just wanted to quickly share with you a trick that I tried that has really helped ensure that all of my students are ready to listen.  When I use "Class Yes" with my students, the attention getting signal used in Whole Brain Teaching, I expect all of my students to look at me and fold their hands.  This works well most of the time, especially if the students are not writing or working with something at their desk.  However, it doesn't work as well when they are writing or working with manipulatives or their white boards.  I have found that even when they answer "yes" and look at me, some will try to finish what they are doing, rather than follow directions quickly (rule one), by immediately stopping what they are doing and folding their hands.

We talked about this, practiced this, and even made it a team goal on the Super Improvers Wall, but there was still that group of students who did not immediately stop what they were doing and fold their hands.  My solution was "the hot potato".  I told them that when I say "class" anything that they are holding in their hands instantly becomes a hot potato, and they must drop it.  It worked like a charm.  Now they instantly stop what they are doing, fold their hands, and look at me.  We are now earning our team improver stars in this area easily.

To sum up, (Yes, we have been working on concluders this week.) if you are having trouble getting your students to instantly stop what they are doing and fold their hands, try the hot potato technique.  As I have learned, it truly works!

Blends

For years I have introduced blends to my students by having them make chocolate milk.  This year we are still making chocolate milk, but we are doing it as part of the WBT five step lesson plan.  Below is the lesson that I created for introducing my students to blends.  I also created a language arts Power Pic to go with the lesson.  I have attached it at the end of the lesson for you to download.

1.  Question
                        T:  What is a blend?  Ask your partner what a blend is.  (Students ask their partners.)

2.  Answer
                         T:  Mirror Words.  (Pretend to hold an imaginary cup in one hand and with the other hand                                 make a stirring motion over the cup.)  A blend is a combination of two or three letters                                   whose sounds blend together.   (Students repeat the definition and the gesture.)  Clap,                                   clap Teach.

                        S:  Clap, clap Okay.  (Students make a full body turn and teach their partners what a blend
                              is.)
                        T:  Class class class.
                        S:  Yes yes yes.

3.  Explain:       T:  Mirror Words.
                        S:  Mirror Words.
                        T:  (Use gestures to accompany your words.)   The word blend means to
                             mix two or more things together.  Clap, clap Teach.
                        S:  Clap, clap Okay.  (Students teach their partners using gestures that the word blend                                      means to mix two or more things together.)
                        T:  Classity, class class.
                        S:  Yessity, yes yes.
                        T:  (Use gestures to accompany your words.)  When we cook we often blend
                             foods together.  Tell your partner that today we are going to blend chocolate and milk
                             together to make chocolate milk.  (Students tell their partners.)

Pass out spoons and cups with milk and chocolate already squirted into the milk, but not yet stirred.  Guide the students through blending the chocolate and the milk together by stirring it with their spoons.  Students may drink the chocolate milk now or at the end of the lesson.

                        T:   Did you know that just like we can blend chocolate and milk together to make chocolate

                              milk, we can also blend letters together.  Tell your neighbor how amazing it is that we 

                              can also blend letters together.  (Students tell their neighbors.)  There is a secret to 

                              blending letters.  Ask your partner if he knows the secret.  (Students ask their partners.)                               Mirror Words.  

                        S:  Mirror Words.

                        T:  (Use gestures to accompany your words.)  You can't just blend together any letters that

                             you want. 

                        S:  You can't just blend together any letters that you want.

                        T:  Blends come in families.

                        S:  Blends come in families.

                        T:  Today we are going to be reading blends in the "l" family.

                        S:  Today we are going to be reading blends in the "l" family.

Place a magnetic letter "b" and a magnetic letter "l" on the board.  Model how to blend the two letters together.  Repeat with the magnetic letters "cl" and "fl".  Pass out a blend strip to each student containing the blends in the "l" family.

                       T:  You are going to take turns reading the blends on your blend strip.  Peanut butters will go 

                            first.  (I call my partners Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Peanut Butter always sits closest to the

                           door and Jelly sits closest to my Brainy board.)  Peanut Butters, you will read the blends 

                           on your blend strip as many times as you can until I call "Uh Oh Switch".  (This is the  

                           signal for the partners to switch roles.)  Jellies, your job is to follow along.  Remember, 

                           Peanut Butters, if you are stuck on a blend, you can always say, "Help me!"  Clap, clap 

                           Teach.

                      S:  Clap, clap Okay.  (Peanut Butters read blends on strips while Jellies follow along and help

                           if needed.  After a couple of minutes the teacher calls "Uh Oh Switch" and the partners 

                           trade roles.)

                      T:  Oh my classy.

                      S:  Oh my yessy.

4.  Test:         T:  It is time for "Yes, No Way".  (The teacher will make a statement, and the students will

                          respond with the word yes, and a fist pump, or the words no way, touching fingertips of

                          both hands to forehead and moving hands outward away from forehead.)

Teacher Statements for students to respond to:

                                                                             "gl" says ____  (T. may pronounce correctly or

                                                                              incorrectly.  Repeat with other blends.

                                                                              "wl" is a blend.  (Repeat with both true and false

                                                                              blends.)

                     T:  It is now time for QT.  (This stands for question time.  Students will place their heads on

                          their desks with their eyes covered.  The teacher will make a statement and if the students

                          agree, they will give a thumbs up.  If they disagree, a thumbs down.  If less than 90% of

                          your students answer correctly during QT, go back and give more examples and then

                          repeat the QT time.)

                     S:  Cutie

                     T:  Heads down, eyes covered, and ready for the first statement.

Teacher Statements for students to respond to:

                                                                             To blend means to mix two or more things together.

                                                                             The gesture for blend is making a stirring motion

                                                                             over a cup.

                                                                             You can blend together any letters that you want to.

                                                                             "pl" says ____  (T. may pronounce correctly or

                                                                              incorrectly.  Repeat with other blends.
                                                                              "tl" is a blend.  (Repeat with both true and false
                                                                              blends.)

5.  Critical Thinking:  Pass out a list of words containing words with "l" blends.
                  T:  It is now time for everyone to take out their sockless hand puppets.  (Sockless hand puppets
                       are one of the WBT's Brain Toys.  For more information on the Brain Toys, go to the WBT
                       website and under free downloads you will find "Whole Brain Teaching Seminar 3:  State
                       Standards and Critical Thinking".  On page 33 their is a description of all of the Brain Toys.)
                       You are going to take turns reading the words on your list, using your sockless hand                                       puppets.  Peanut butters will go first.  Peanut Butters, you will use your sockless hand
                        puppet to read the words on your list.  Jellies, your job is to follow along with your hand
                        puppet.  Remember, Peanut Butters, if you are stuck on a blend, you can always say, "Help                           me!" When you are done do "Tag Team Switch" (Partners high five each other and switch                             roles.)  Clap, clap Teach.
                   S:  Clap clap Okay.  (Students take turns reading words with their sockless hand puppets,
                        using tag team switch.
Ask students to write silly sentences containing blends from their lists.

                      Clink on the link below to access the  language arts Power Pic which accompanies this lesson.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pqo0yyne8wehlq0/language%20art%20pic%20for%20blends.pub

                            

                         

                       

                        

                              

                      

The Power of Power Pics

I am in love with Power Pics.  Power Pics are pictures that correspond to content standards in both math and language arts.  Each Power Pic contains a question, an answer, a gesture, and a picture that the students can associate with the gesture.  Here is an example of a question and an answer taken from the Setting Power Pic:  What is a setting?  A setting is where the story takes place.  While students are answering the question, they are making the gesture associated with the concept and looking at the picture.  They then use "Teach Okay" to share the answer and the gesture with their partner.  This process activates all areas of the students' brains, because they are seeing, saying, hearing, and doing.  After the concept is taught, the Power Pic is placed on either the math or the language arts Power Pic wall and reviewed frequently using the answer and the gesture.  The result is better comprehension and recall of content, which I have witnessed first hand since school has started.  Below you will find a picture of what my Power Pics Walls, after eight days of school, looks like.  As you can see, we have covered a lot of content since the beginning of the school year.

When I first heard about the Power Pics wall, I associated it with my old "Words to Know" wall.  On it I would place key vocabulary words.  Although I usually included a picture with the vocabulary words, the kids were only seeing and hearing the content.  There was not much saying involved, unless you count repeating the definition after me, and there was definitely no doing.  The Power Pics wall is so much better.

One of my favorite Power Pic lessons so far this year has been open and closed syllables.  For these I created my own Power Pics.  I wanted the students to get the idea that in an open syllable the vowel hangs out and in a closed syllable it is sandwiched between two consonants.  So, I decided to use a sandwich for my picture.  For my open syllable pic I was unable to find a picture of a sandwich with one slice of bread missing, so after I printed the Power Pic, I just used a black marker to cross out one of the slices of bread.  To further bring home this concept I brought in a sandwich that I had made at home.  I associated the meat with the vowel and the two slices of bread with the consonants on each side.  When discussing open syllables I took off one slice of bread to demonstrate that the vowel was hanging out.  After two days 100% of my students were able to identify open and closed syllables and explain the difference between the two.  Of course, the gestures that they had learned were usually involved in their explanations.  I have created a link for both of the Power Pics if you would like to use them.  Just remember to use a jumbo black marker to cross out the top slice of bread in the open syllable pic.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eixzkozfbz84ia2/closed%20syllable%20language%20art%20pic%20template%20-%20Shortcut.lnk?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vwxpchqm4iktxn3/open%20syllable%20language%20art%20pic%20template.pub?dl=0

I have also had a lot of fun with the Power Pic for a sentence.  Students are taught that a sentence is a complete message.  The picture is a phone ringing, and the gesture is pretending to hold a phone to one's ear.  Students are taught the "midnight phone call test":  Imagine that you are sound asleep and wake up to the phone ringing.  You pick it up and listen.  Then you ask yourself, "Was what I just heard a complete message?"  We had been working on this concept daily, and the students were getting very good at distinguishing between fragments and complete sentences. That's when I decided to put them to the test.  I wanted to see if they could tell where to place the periods in a piece of writing, by reading it and listening for complete messages.  So, I typed up a short passage for the students to proofread.  I left out both periods and capitals at the beginning of some sentences.  I chose to leave out the capitals, because we had also been using another Power pic to help us learn that every sentence must begin with a capital letter.  Right before the students began proofreading, I had a brainstorm.  I told the students to hold the phone to their ear, and when  they got to the end of a complete message, to hang up the phone and say "click".  It seemed like a natural extension to the sentence Power Pic, and I have to say that it worked beautifully.  Not only could most of them proofread a piece for periods, but when they wrote multiple sentences, most of them were doing a good job of knowing where their periods went.  Teaching kids what a sentence is and how to write in complete sentences has never been so easy.  Thank you Coach B. for the Power Pics.  They are amazing!

If you do not already have a Power Pic wall  up in your room, it is not too late to get started.  Create one space with a blue border for your language arts pics and one with a red border for your math pics.  You will also want to put letters and numbers along one side and on either the top or bottom of each wall.  This creates a grid system that makes it easy to find each Power Pic when you are doing review.  It also teaches kids how to read a grid.  Don't you just love those added bonuses?  You can find the pics themselves at the Whole Brain Teaching website.  The address is www.wholebrainteaching.com.  Be sure to register.  Once you do, you can go to downloads on the right hand side.  Within the download section you will find Power Pics for both math and language arts through the third grade.  They are yours to download and print.  By the way, did I mention that all of the downloads are free?

Week One in the Life of the Brainies

The Brainies were very excited.  The first day of school was here, and in a few minutes the students would be entering the room.  All of the Brainies were in their designated spot on the board in front of the room, so that all of the students could easily see them.  Below is the selfie that they took:

                                    

As the first day got underway, the Brainies each waited patiently for their turn.  The moment finally came in the afternoon.  Miss Ray introduced "Capital", "End Mark", and "Because Clapper" to help the students share orally about their first day of school.  The three Brainies were all so proud and were hoping that the students would eagerly use them.  It was awkward at first, but soon the students were beginning to catch on, and you could tell by their smiles that they all thought the Brainies were a lot of fun.

Day two was very exciting!  In the morning the students received their book bags, and Miss Ray taught them how to read using the "Capital" and "End Mark" Brainies.  It was a great sight seeing all of those little hands moving while they were reading.  A few students still hadn't caught on, but as Miss Ray walked around watching, modeling, and encouraging, they began to get the idea.  It was amazing how engaged all of the students were.  They were so focused on making the Brainies, that there were no off task behaviors.

By the time red/green writing arrived, the students had the idea.  They were having fun making the Brainies, as they wrote about the best part of their day, using a "Because Clapper".  One little girl wrote:  The best part about today was the Brainies, because they are fun.  All of the Brainies had huge smiles on their faces when they heard that.

Day three was a big day for "And".  He had been waiting all week for his turn, and he was very excited!  First Miss Ray showed the students how to play Puzzle 1 from the writing game.  The moment came when students had to make lists of two items.  Over and over "And" was being used as students said things like, "dogs and cats" or "footballs and baseballs".  The "Comma" Brainie even got a turn when students had to make lists of three items.  You could hear zoop (comma's sound effect) all over the room as students said things like, "mom, dad and sister" or "apples, oranges and bananas".  When they were done, the students were all asking if they were going to play again tomorrow.  Of course, Miss Ray was happy to oblige.

Day four was even more exciting for "And".  In the morning Miss Ray introduced students to Super Speed Grammar to help them learn about nouns.  As they shared with their partners the nouns that they saw in each slide, they were asked to used Brainies and the following sentence frame:  I see __________ and __________.  It was another workout for "And", along with "Capital" and "End Mark".

Later in the morning students not only played Puzzle 1 again, but they also learned how to play Complexor: And, which is also a part of the writing game.  By this time the students had the hang of  "And" and were able to use him in complete sentences, which they then wrote in their writing journals.  There was even more work for "And" at the end of the day, when students had two write a sentence sharing two things that they had learned that day.

Another Brainie also made his debut on day four. It was "5 W+H".  In preparation for the Crazy Professor Game, students learned how to ask each other questions about their phonics' story.  It was great to hear all of the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions that were flying around the classroom.  "5 W+H" felt very proud.

The highlight, however, for all of the Brainies was when students began to use them during "Teach Okay", without Miss Ray even asking them to.  There were a few students who received Super Improver Stars for this.

On day five the students were using the Brainies more and more.  Today "Comma" got a real workout, as Miss Ray taught the students the Complexor:  Comma List.  Students also learned a new Brainie: "Triple Whammy Sentence".  "Triple Whammy" was so excited.  He had been waiting all week for his moment.  He worked as a team with "And" as students created "Triple Whammy" sentences during the Complexor game.  Students then wrote "Triple Whammy" sentences in their writing journals, using one of three sentence frames that Miss Ray provided.  Students could choose from the following three sentence frames, which Miss Ray explained were in three levels like a video game:

The "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeazy" sentence frame:  I like __________, __________ and __________.

The "Challenge" sentence frame:  My favorite __________ are __________, __________, and __________.

The "Super Duper Challenge" sentence frame:  My three favorite nouns are _________, __________, and __________.

Some students even asked if they could do all three!  Miss Ray's response:  Well, if you really want to.

The Brainies were loving life, but then the moment came when "If Then" was glowing.  He wasn't expecting to be used this week, so he was just kicking back, watching many of his other Brainie friends at work.  Then, it happened.  At the end of reading (Remember, students have been reading books all week using the Brainies.), one of the students raised her hand and said, "I found a new Brainie in my book.  She the pointed to "If _____, then _____" and made the gesture.  Miss Ray had never even mentioned this Brainie.  The student just saw it on the board.  It was a glorious moment for the Brainies, and for Miss Ray as well.

Another highlight came on day five.  Sadly, however, the Brainies did not get to hear it.  It was the end of the day and the students were in line and on their way outside to meet their parents.  On the way, one student raised her hand and said, "I have been using the Brainies when I read at night.  Is that okay?"  It was one of those "Miss Ray would like to jump up and down and shout at the top of her lungs how excited she was, but instead she contained herself and very calmly told the student that she thought it was a great idea" moments.  Miss Ray then stopped the line and, out of curiosity, asked her students if anyone else had tried reading with the Brainies at home or had shown the Brainies to their parents.  To Miss Ray's surprise and delight, almost everyone raised a hand.  It was just too bad that the Brainies missed all of this.

It had been a great first week of school in the life of the Brainies.  They are resting this weekend, but they are all very excited for week two of school.

I hope that you all have enjoyed my story of the Brainies.  If you are not familiar with the Brainies or the Writing Game, you can access them both by going to www.wholebrainteaching.com.  Register on the site. (Registration is free.)  Then you can access all of the free downloads.  After you have registered, just scroll down the right side of your screen and you will see a bar labeled downloads.  Click on it, and and not only will you find the Brainies and the Writing game, but you will also find a number of other great Whole Brain resources.

First day of school reflections

Where to even begin?  Day one was better than I could have ever imagined!  The morning went so smoothly and so quickly.  It all started with "Class Yes".  From the smiles on my students' faces, I knew that they were hooked.  Rule one was a lot of fun, especially when I tied it into the scoreboard.  My favorite part of the morning, however, was the "3-peats".  What a great management tool!  If you are not familiar with them, this is how they work:  First. make a list of all of your class transitions that you want to happen quickly and smoothly, and then come up with a code word/words for each one.  Here is the list that I taught my students today:
Transition                                                                     Code Word/s
Getting out pencils                                                     Pencils Out
Getting out a folder                                                     (insert folder's color) folder
Putting pencils away                                                  Pencils away
Standing behind desks                                             Bodies and chairs
Lining up                                                                       Line
Going to the meeting area                                        Meeting area
Sitting down at desks                                                Seats
Putting a folder away                                                 Folders away
Next, teach your students that when you say the code word, they repeat that word three times as they are following the procedures that you taught for the direction.  It is amazing how quickly things happen!  To speed things up even more, I added "Beat the Clock" to the bottom of my scoreboard for line and folders.  Whenever I said the code word, I started counting.  I then recorded on the bottom of the scoreboard the number of seconds it took for my students to accomplish the task.  By the end of the day we were lined up in a straight quiet line in under six seconds.  Wow!  Let's all give a ten finger Wooh for 3-peats.

I saved the best part of the day for last.  It was oral writing with the Brainies and red/green writing all tied together.  I began with a question.  I asked the students what the best part of their day was.  I then had them put their heads down to think of an answer.  To assist them I posted the following sentence frame on the board:  The best part about today was ________________.  When students could complete that sentence in their minds they gave me a thumbs up.  I then had them share their sentence with their partners using "Teach Okay".  It was at this time that I introduced "Tag Team Switch".  (When one student finishes his sentence, he high fives his partner and says, "Tag team.  The partner then shares his sentence.")  I then called the class back together with "Class Yes" and introduced them to the following Brainies:  capital and end mark.  Next, I had students share their same sentences again using the techniques I just described, but they had to include the Brainies.  After that, I taught students our procedures for sharing with the whole class.  They absolutely loved saying "Class" and hearing the response "yes" when it was their turn to share.  Most students remembered the Brainies when sharing, but for those who didn't, we just gave them a "Your still cool."  Then they would try again, but this time using the Brainies.  Next, I introduced the "Because Clapper".  In my plans I had written that I would introduce "Adders", but I decided to wait on them.  The "Because Clapper," just seemed to fit better.  I used the same procedures as above, but this time the students had to add onto their sentences a reason why what they chose was the best part about today.  Finally, I introduced them to red/green writing.  (I give a detailed description of what this is in a previous post.)  I asked the students to write the sentences that they had been sharing orally.  I can honestly say that I have never had such great sentences from a class on the first day of school.  Even though I was only marking for neatness, not one student in the class forgot his capital or period.  Keep in mind that I am the inclusion room, so the majority my students have entered my room significantly below grade level.  Here is something else I did as I was walking around.  (This was not part of my red/green writing, but I couldn't resist.)  When I saw that a student had capitalized a word incorrectly - as we know many students will - I would simply point to the word and say, "Did we use a capital Brainy on this word?"  Most would say no and immediately make the letter lowercase.  Others would say no and just look at me.  I would then ask, "If we didn't use a capital Brainie, why did you capitalize the word?"  They immediately made the correction.  I seem to be using this word a lot today, but I will just say it again, "Amazing!"

In conclusion, (Wow, I just used another Brainie!  I can't wait to teach this one to my students.) WBT rocks!  Teaching has never been so much fun!  I can't wait to go back tomorrow.  Oh, I almost forgot.  An added bonus is that this is the first time since I have been a classroom teacher that I have not had a raw throat on the first day of school.  Another reason to not talk so much!

My Writing Program

I love all the components of the WBT writing program.  The more I studied each component, the more excited I became about teaching writing next year.  The question, however, that I kept struggling with was, "How do I put all of these various components together?"  I had the general idea, but I was interested in the nuts and bolts of what writing would look like in my classroom on a day to day basis.  Since I knew that my mind would not rest until I figured it all out, I got to work.  I decided to map out exactly what my first ten days would look like, so that I could get some practice in "putting it all together".  After that I just wanted a general idea of what I would be doing the rest of the year.  You might have already noticed that I am a list maker, so I put these plans in my favorite form:  a list.  Please know that these plans are very tentative and sketchy.  I just feel better having something down on paper.  I would appreciate feedback, especially from any second grade teachers who have already taught WBT writing for a year.

Day One:  Introduce students to oral writing. (Question, Answer, Adders, Concluder will be posted on board.)  Question:  What was the best part about today?  At the end of oral writing students will engage in 10 minute writing.  Teacher will introduce focus skill of neatness and do red/green writing.
Note to self:  At the end of oral writing pique the students' interest in the Wacky Star Fun Button by drawing the first line of a star on the board.

Note:  Oral writing will continue on a daily basis as part of writing lessons or lessons in other subject areas.

Day Two:  Use five step lesson plan to introduce students to what a sentence is.  Have LA pic to display.  Emphasize that from now on we will be answering all questions in complete sentences.  During step three read-aloud short vowel phonic's story.  Ask students to retell the story to their partner using the Two-Finger All-terrain Action Figure with Anti-gravity Boots Brain Toy.  (Poster for each Brain Toy will be displayed in room.)  For step five of the lesson, post the following sentence frame:  The best thing about me is that I am ______________.  (Students are encouraged to add several Adders.)

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  Today I learned _____________.

Day Three:  Do Coach B's lesson on what a sentence is.  Stop at the end of level one.  (This lesson can be downloaded from the WBT website.  It is under free e-books/common core.)  Also play the Writing Game:  Puzzle one and Complexor "and".

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  Today I learned ____________ and ____________________.

Day Four:  Using LA Pic, review what a sentence is.  Continue with Coach B's lesson on what a sentence is.  Stop after level two.  Play Writing game using the same puzzle and complexor as yesterday.

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  The best parts about today were ________________ and ______________.  Students may also choose to use yesterday's sentence frame.

Day Five:  Using LA Pic, review what a sentence is.  Continue with Coach B's lesson through level three.  Teacher will guide students through using each of the following Brain Toys to share with their partner what a sentence is:  Hand Puppets, Air Blackboard, and Props.  Play the Writing Game.  Do Puzzle 3, Subject/Verb Agreement

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  See yesterday.

Day Six:  Introduce students to the Genius Ladder (first two levels) using the following Blah sentence:  My mom ran.  (There is a free download about the Genius Ladder on the WBT website under free downloads.)
Do Five step lesson on capitalizing the beginning of a sentence.  Display LA Pic.

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  After school today I am going to ____________ and ______________.

Day Seven:  Begin with the Genius Ladder (first two levels) using the following sentence:  A fireman burped.
Do five step lesson on end marks.  Display the LA Pic.

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  Students may choose between any of the sentence frames learned with the word "and".

Day Eight:  Play the Writing Game using the Complexor because.  Be sue to teach the "because clapper".  (See the Brainy Game for more information.)
Guide students through level three of the Genius Ladder, using the extender "because".  Students will write as many sentences as they can think of at level three of the Genius Ladder.

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  See yesterday.

Day Nine:  Begin with the Genius Ladder, orally doing the first three levels with the following sentence:  My sister cried.  Use the extender "because".
Use LA Pics posted on Power Pics Wall to quickly review sentence, capitalizing the first word of a sentence, and end marks.  From Coach B's Common Core Free e-book on what a sentence is, put up the "Cartoon Writing" slide of a cat that says, "In the morning, I _____________."  Guide students through an oral writing lesson with the question being, "What does the cat say that he does in the morning?"  Introduce students to "adders" and the gesture for "adders"  (See the Brainy Game.)  Students follow up the answer to the question with "adders".

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  Over the weekend I __________ and _________________.  (Today is the first day that students will be required to use adders.  Teacher will not be doing red/green writing today.)

Day Ten:  Look back at the Genius Ladder began yesterday:  My sister cried.  Review what students learned yesterday about adders, and guide students through orally completing the Genius Ladder.  Students write an extender sentence, followed by as many adders as they can.

Note:  During the first ten days of school, I also plan on introducing students to nouns, by playing Electronic Super Speed Grammar daily.

Oral Writing Sentence Frame:  Teacher will give students red and green pens and they will do their own red/green writing on writing done yesterday.

During the remainder of September and the first week of October, my goal is to focus on teaching different extenders, through the use of the Genius Ladder.  I will use the Writing Game to assist me with this.  During oral writing I want to introduce students to Concluders, and teach the the Brainstorming Puzzles in the Writing Game.  I would also like to spend some time on verbs, using Coach B's free Common Core e-book download and Electronic Super Speed Grammar.

Note:  If I feel my students are ready, around the end of September or beginning of October, I would like to introduce students to the "Triple Whammy" sentence.  As the year progresses, I can teach students how to add a detail sentence for each part of the "Whammy" and a Concluder.  This would take place during red/green writing time.  I will create sentence frames to post on the wall that students can use to guide them in how to do "Triple Whammy" writing.

For the remainder of October I will work on explanatory writing.  I do a unit every year in which students write a book on "How to Make an Ice Cream Sundae".  For our Halloween party, I make each student's sundae, according to the directions in each of their books.  I am very literal, so it can be quite hilarious, especially when a student writes something like, "Put one scoop of ice cream on the bowl."  During this month I will also focus on transition words.

For November and the first week of December my focus will be topic sentence paragraphs and simple essays, using the Puzzles in the Writing Game as a guide.

For the remainder of December I will work on letter writing, using the Letter Writing Puzzle in the Writing Game.  This unit will culminate in letters to Santa.

In January and February my focus will be on narrative writing.  Within the writing game I will use "adjective noun" and "descriptive sentence" complexors, as well as the Narrative Puzzle to work on writing narrative pieces.We will also spend time on "College Talk" verbs, and I will introduce students to conjunctions and compound sentences.

In March my focus will be research writing.  I will introduce students to the "Paraphrase Complexor".

In April my focus will be Opinion Writing.  I will consider using the "Argumentative Puzzler".

For the remainder of the year I will focus on more advanced essay puzzlers.  I will also teach compound complex and mega complex sentences.