Friends and Family

Over the last five weeks in reader's workshop we have been researching the question: "How are my friends and family connected to me?"  In our small groups we have read several books on the topic.  Further, we have had wonderful class discussions. Click on the Friends & Family link above to see the leveled books the children have read in their guided reading groups.

The reading unit began by focusing on friends. In class, we read the book How to Lose All Your Friends.  While the students loved the book, they were appalled by the girl's behavior.  We decided to do a rewrite!  Together the students put together the main ideas of how to be a good friend.  They came up with six ideas:

1. Smile.

2. Share

3. Be a good sport.

4. Be kind and helpful.

5. Talk and listen.

Next, the students got into small groups.  Each group took one of the main ideas from our list.  They used our guided reading books about friends to come up with details (examples) of each good friend trait.  They had amazing discussions. Then, we began filming scenarios of children being good friends.  We used iMovie to put together this short video trailer on how to be a good friend.  The children did an amazing job on their first inquiry project about friends.


In the last half of the unit, we have been focusing on inquiry questions about family.  We have discussed how families are alike and different, how families are a part of who we are, and what families share.  Through all our reading and discussing, one main theme kept reoccurring: all families look and act differently but love is the most important thing to share.  Here is a poster of all our inquiry questions about friends and family and the notes from our class collaborative conversations.

To wrap up our family study, each student composed a story about their families.  To begin the writing project I showed the students a pencil drawing of stick figures and told them it was my family.  While the students were being very polite about my drawing, I eventually got them to tell me that my picture lacked detail.  I then showed them a colored drawing of my family that included lots of details.  They felt that drawing was much better.   The students then made very detailed drawings of their own families.

Next we compared two stories, one lacked detail (This is my family.  This is my mom. This is my dad.) It reminded the students of my stick figure drawing.  The writers had the assignment to take my "blah" story, cut it up, and add details.  They learned to revise.

We are still working on editing and publishing our family writing.  The children are proud of their work.  They are loving sharing their stories with the class.  Stay tuned, the published stories should be hanging in our hallway by the end of the week.  Here is a quick preview of a couple of the papers.

This is My Family

This is my family. My family is nice. This is my dad. He likes to build stuff. He likes football. This is my sister. She has a lot of friends. She went to this school for three years. This is my mom. She likes making glass. She is a nurse so she can help me when I get hurt. I love my family.

This is My Family

This is mom. She likes to be pretty. She likes to snuggle. This is my dad. My dad likes to rake. He is funny. This is my brother. He plays a lot. His favorite color is green. This is my sister. She is cute. She loves me. This is my family.