Today we are beginning new units of study in both our reading and writing workshops. We will first be discovering patterns in our reading books. Analyzing patterns in stories helps early readers to read effectively and with greater fluency. Today's reading example will be about the classroom. We will reread a story we shared early in the fall to see how the pattern in the first pages of the book helps us predict the rest of the story. The book goes something like this: "See the computer." "See the crayons." etc. We will also revisit a class favorite, "Brown Bear, Brown, What Do You See?" to talk about the story's pattern and discuss why this book is so popular. During December we will quickly transition to more complex story patterns. First, the sample books will be more like lists in book form. Later, we will explore pattern books that tell a story.
In writers' workshop we will begin creating our own pattern books using the formats we discovered in our reading. We will be writing about a number of non-fiction topics chosen from a long list of topics that the class brainstormed. Later, we will include stories that are fiction, too, as well as ones that ask questions.
In our study of pattern books we will emphasize reinforcing basic vocabulary both to read and spell, ( look, here, come, etc.) We will stress working neatly, using spaces between words, including periods and question marks at the end of sentences, staying on the chosen topic, and writing stories that are easy to read. Our lessons will include changing the characters, places, and settings to create patterns stories. We will introduce adding colors, numbers, and other descriptive words to our sentences to make our writing come alive. We will discover that many pattern books have a twist at the end to summarize book, such as "My Classroom." Sometimes the twist is also the same as the title.
With so much to learn about pattern books, December will find us very busy.
