Coffee Filter Art - Monsters!

We finished off our monster unit on Friday with a bang.

After reading Jeremy Draws a Monster on Thursday, we read Go to Bed Monster on Friday. These two books are very similar, so after reading we reviewed the story from the day before and talked about things that were the same and different by looking at the different story elements. Then the students created their own double bubble comparing the two stories. They did great!

Since it was "Fun Friday" and the end of our monster unit, I found this super fun monster art activity from Housing a Forest. To make these monsters, the students were each given a coffee filter and asked to color the entire thing, in any pattern they wanted, using marker. After it was colored, we sprayed it down with water and pressed it between two pieces of paper. When we peeled back the coffee filter what was left on the paper was the basis for our monster. I have made coffee filter art before, but never like this. I love the way the colors transfered to the paper and the great texture it left. I think it looks even better than the tie dyed coffee filter! The kids were amazed at the color transfer. I just love teaching them new simple ways to create art.  They cut the print out and used white and black paper to add the finishing details. Look how cute they are!

Here are a few up close so you can see the awesome texture left by the color transfer:

What a fun way to end our week!

Story Map Sticky Notes

This morning we read the book Jeremy Draws a Monster and used our story map again to discuss the different story elements. However, this time, I let the kids do ALL the work and I must say they impressed me.  I had each student bring a notebook and pencil to the carpet with them. I passed out a sticky note which they stuck to their notebook for something hard to write on.  I assigned each row on the carpet a different element to listen for (ie one row listened for characters, one for setting, one for problem, and one for solution). I read the story and while I read they used their pencil to write words and draw pictures representing their story element.  After reading each student got to come up and add their sticky note to the chart while sharing what they wrote. 

I'm so proud of the great work they did! We will definitely be using sticky notes more often as a whole class activity now that I know how responsible they can be with them.

Purple People Eater

Earlier this week our class did a new fun visualization activity. This group of kids really gets into the concept of visualization. They love the idea that they can "make a movie" in their head.

Continuing with our monster theme, we listened to the song Purple People Eater. First I had the kids listen to the song and close their eyes to get a picture of the monster in their head. Then we listened to the song a few more times on repeat while they set to work drawing their mental picture using crayons and markers. After everyone was finished we shared the examples with everyone. The interesting thing about this visualization lesson is the song does not tell all the information about what the monster looks like. It gives certain pieces of information and you have to fill in the gaps using your imagination. The kids loved seeing everyone's different interpretation of the monster. Here are a few examples:

After sharing the examples, I pulled up a picture of the movie cover to show the kids:

We had fun comparing our version of the monster to the one in the movie.

Monster Art

Yesterday we started a fun monster project. We read the book Where the Wild Things Are (such a classic; I remember my mom reading it to me when I was a kid), and then made connections to the story by creating our own unique "wild thing" ... otherwise known as a monster.

First the kids all had to sketch their wild thing using pencil. After they finished with pencil they used a black crayon to trace over each line then they used watercolor paints to color it in. They turned out FABULOUSLY! AND, this is the first time I have let a class paint and no one spilled any water anywhere. yay! The kids loved being able to paint. They were all so engaged and relaxed while doing it; the room has never been so quiet! haha

I seriously loved every single one of these, so here is just a preview of the great work they did (you'll notice some of the students gave their monsters names; those are not the name of the child that created it):

Today we used these monsters for a great thinking maps activity.  We started out making a tree map to describe our monsters. The students made branches for things their monster can do, has, and is. We looked at our paintings and came up with a list of things that could fit under each branch. I created the master list on the board and students were asked to choose 2 things I wrote for each branch and copy them on their own paper. We talked about how to choose something that is true of your monster, not just anything you see written.

After creating our tree map, we used it to create sentences. This is a great activity to help the students learn how to write a complete sentence. And, it's so easy because once the tree map is done, all the work is done for you and all the words are already spelled out for you.  I taught the kids how to read down the tree map to compose sentences. I was actually very impressed by how quickly they picked up on the concept. They were even able to start using the pronoun for their monster (either he or she) in their sentences.  I'm so proud of all their hard work. It took awhile, but these really turned out great. here are a couple so you can see what the writing looks like:

We will definitely be doing more painting in our class this year. The kids handled it so well and it was fun for everyone. Plus, we got some great practice writing out of it. win win!

Monster Unit Part 1

This week we have continued our unit investigating and learning the features of fiction books using a monster themed unit. The kids LOVE all the moster books! Seriously, it has never been so quite in the room as when I start to read one of these books; they are so interested and anxious to find out what happens in each.

We started off the week talking about using our schema to make connections. The kids learned that schema is a fancy word for "what you already know in your brain". We used this schema map that I found from Pinterest and recorded some of our schema about monsters. We had SO many ideas to add we ran out of space (and time haha)! Then we read the book There's a Monster Under my Bed and recognized that a lot of the ideas we had about monsters were written in the book.

I love this schema chart because we can use it for different topics all year. Once the kids get more proficient with writing they will be the ones recording their own thinking on the post it notes, but for now it's easier and faster for them to share out loud and have me write it down.

Next we added a new comprehension strategy to our CAFE wall: retell the story in sequence.  We read There's a Nightmare in My Closet and practiced retelling the beginning, middle, and end. The kids made a flip book to describe each part of the book using words and pictures. I wrote some key words on the board to help with spelling, but I left the sentence ideas up to each child (after of course we went over all the answers as a class after reading the book).  I was quite impressed with the sentences I got from each student.  Here is an example of our flip books:

We also reviewed making connections between our own lives and the text. We read Monster Mama and each student was asked to create a double bubble comparing themselves to the monster in the book. This was our first double bubble to create independently this year and they did great! Almost everyone grasped the concept of where to put the different pieces of information.  Here is an example:

Today we started a fun project relating to monsters that I will share with you tomorrow. Check back soon!