So this past week we won the lottery-the 3rd grade Crayfish Lottery, that is! My son had been studying crayfish in science, and after his classroom learning was completed, his teacher decided to allow students the opportunity to take one of the three classroom crayfish home! While I figured it would be a long-shot to win the permission slip crayfish lottery, we did! You have never seen a boy more excited about winning such a prize! My sweet third grader could not have been more excited to bring home a plastic container with a real, live, crustacean.
Here is a pic!
So Norma, our crayfish, is not the snuggliest pet we have ever had, but she has added some excitement to our pet-free home. In addition, Norma got me thinking about how I can share this experience with my students…
Along with Norma, Brennan came home with a simple note about what we needed to do to care for our new family member. To bring this critter home, we needed to do a bit of research to learn as much as we could to keep her alive. We did a Google search to find out what to feed her, what size tank she would need, and how to make sure she was most comfortable.
Through our research we have learned something we didn’t know how to do before, which made me consider my students… what experiences can our students share that they have learned to do? With some reflecting, brainstorming, and discussion, you can turn student knowledge into a fun writing exercise.
And here is what I created if you are looking for an expository writing resource to enhance student writing, grab this FREEBIE!
The FREEBIE includes:
-directions for immediate implementation
-Teacher Lesson Planning
-Notes on Expository Writing
-Notes on Sequential Writing
-Sample Essay Organizer
-Sample Essay Labeled for student understanding
-Brainstorm Organizer
-Student Drafting Organizer
I hope you can use it to enhance the writing abilities of your student writers! Find more freebie resources here.
