Writing can be so hard to teach, at least it is for me! I decided that this year I was going to over haul my writing instruction. I am so tired of kids writing a list and not developing an idea with details. I have tried several approaches to tackling this issue and none have worked for me or my kiddos to the extent I would have liked. And then…. the idea hit me. Boom! STICKY NOTES! Yes, sticky notes. Kids go crazy for sticky notes and …. and…Santa. All I had to do was tie in the two and angels would sing. Okay, angels didn’t sing, but it was AWESOME to watch the blending of these two elements to produce the most perfect letters to Santa. They were thoughtful, polite, kind and detailed. Yes, detailed. My teacher heart was doing a happy dance. I plan to use this technique for future writing lessons!!!
I knew I wanted their letters to answer the question if they were naughty or nice and give Santa a reason to support their answer. I wanted the letters to address a need and a reason why they needed that item. Their third sentence would be an item that they want and why they want that item. Finally, they needed to close with a compliment for Santa. I came up with this graphic organizer:
