Sunday, December 5, 2010

Some of My Favorite Books to Springboard into Writing Activities:

Here are some of my favorite books to springboard into writing activities for children:

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This book is about a tricky little pig that has a very lucky day.  The kids love that the pig has his way with the nasty fox that is trying to have him for dinner.  After I read the book to my kids, I have them brainstorm story ideas of other ways that animals could trick each other & other animals that they could use instead of a pig & fox. 
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The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, written  by Chris Van Allsburg, has amazing pictures and story starters to begin some amazing stories.  Love it!
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I used this book recently to have the kids write a story titled "Mrs. McWilkinbloom Clean Up Your Classroom".  I read up to the part that talks about the kids coming up with ideas for cleaning up Mrs. McBloom's classroom & then gave them index cards to come up with thier own ideas and then they did some sharing with partners & the whole class.  After that, they partnered up and wrote thier own story about our classroom.
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This is a great book about a crocodile that was raised as a 'duck' who becomes a hero for his 'family'.  This book can be heard on http://www.storylineonline.net/.  I like to get my kids to come up with other creatures that are usually considered scary to other animals that can be a hero to a family that adopts them into thier family.
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After we read & discuss this story I have the kids write using thier own title "The 3 Little _____ and the Big Bad _______".
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This is a great book for story ideas!  The kids love how Big Bad Bruce gets what's coming to him for being bad.  It's an awesome book for brainstorming ideas for other ideas & characters that kids can write about.
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What about Amazing ________ - a great book for any child to write about what amazing things that they could accomplish.
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A cute story about how three characters, who have amazing talents all on their own, come together to defeat the monsters.  What would you do?
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Princess Penelope missed out on her opportunity the first time due to her dreadful behavior.  Write the next chapter to her story...
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The _________'s ____________ Stew...
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A hillarious story to have the kids write about themselves being bad, bad, bad & turning a new leaf.  What would their 3 wishes be when they met the magical gnome?
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Come up with your own ideas for a title.  _____________'s Fancy _____________  (clothes, car, shoes, house).
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An awesome story that I like to start the year off with - are you listening?  Can you think of other animals that are famous for certain traits?  Write a story about an animal that isn't using their God given talents or skills to the best of their abilities.  What lesson are they going to learn?
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Me First, written by Helen Lester, is a laugh-out-loud book about a pig named Pinkerton who always has to be first.  He learns his lesson when he meets the Sand Witch!  What lesson will you learn?  What awful chores will the Sand Witch make you do?
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How about The _________ who Came For ________________?
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Wolf learns to read in this story.  What else could Wolf do if he set his mind to it?
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How about "The Cat Who Cried Jaguar", "The Donkey Who Cried Stallion", "The Hedgehog Who Cried Porcupine",......
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How about "The Last ____________lope"?



This is a great book for story ideas.  I had my kids come up with a plan for thier own Zoomer story with different ideas than Zoomer.  What crazy things would you do on a Saturday or some kind of holiday???

1 comment:

  1. I love these ideas of using literature to springboard into writing. The books provide a scaffold of ideas, as well as structure, and give kids the confidence to innovate on the text.

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