Turkey Book Reports - Freebie

      Starting in November, I realized that many students in my class were reading their required twenty minutes at home, but they weren't reading an entire book or a book at their level. To keep them accountable for doing these things, I started giving a monthly book report. I keep it simple since my purpose isn't to test comprehension but to make sure that they are reading at least one whole book every month (not counting their literature circle) that is at or close to their level.
 
     For November, I made them do their book reports in the format of a turkey. My students enjoy projects, so many of them enjoyed making this turkey. Since we were learning about writing paragraphs, three of the five feathers required a complete paragraph. The report covered setting, problem and solution, favorite part, and characters. Overall, it went well, except for a few students who didn't read the directions or simply didn't do the project (yep, that was a big 0).

If you want a copy of the instructions, click the picture below.

Columbus Day Writings and Bulletin Board

     On Columbus Day, my teacher wanted me to do a lesson about Christopher Columbus. Usually she has the students complete a writing, which goes in the hallway. I was fine with doing something for the hallways, but I wanted it to be something the students would enjoy too. Looking for ideas I came across a pin like this one. I thought that doing a picture like this would be fun for the kids because they rarely have the chance to use paint (my teacher did not even have any). Since this was the only lesson I was teaching, I knew that I could pull them out earlier in the day for their handprint.

 

     First in the lesson, I talked about Christopher Columbus, showing them where he was from, wanted to go, and actually landed on the globe. Then, I made a story web with key details they remembered from what I had said. Next, the students completed their writing. I required them to have two well-written, complete sentences in their neatest handwriting. I used the pictures as an incentive. They needed to do their best work on the writing before they would receive their handprint to complete the picture. The boats were their handprints, and they colored water and other things with their crayons or markers. Finally, we added three paper sails that I had cut out. I love that this illustration uses a variety of mediums. The projects turned out very well! Here are a few of my favorites:

 



 

     When I hung the writings in the hallway, my teacher asked me to use our bulletin board as well. I titled it "Sailing with Columbus" in white like a cloud and wrote the objective "We can write in complete sentences" in blue for the water. Then, I added a big ship as the Santa Maria and two smaller ones for the Pinta and Nina. I also put the work of three different students on the board.

 

 

     Overall, this was a very fun project. My students loved the pictures, and I did too! Let me know what you think. This project could also work for learning about the Mayflower or other ships.