A Bad Case of Stripes Writing

This month the Virtual Book Club for Kids will feature books written by David Shannon. The author's books were very popular in my second grade classroom during read aloud time so I am pretty familiar with his books. One of my daughter's favorite picture books is The Bad Case of Stripes.

The colorful eye-catching illustrations will draw in many readers of all ages. This is an outstanding book that teaches children about accepting themselves for who they truly are regardless of what others think and no matter how different they are from their friends. I absolutely adore this book! Would you like to hear it online? You can listen to a telling of this story at School Tube or at StoryLine Online. The story is read by Sean Astin. Enjoy!

Alyssa has been extremely interested in writing since our review for Essentials in Writing, therefore I knew that I wanted to do a writing assignment related to this book. Two specific writing assignments online caught my attention.

The first writing assignment which implemented the writing process was found at Owl Inspire You. First, my daughter brainstormed and wrote a bulleted list of her favorite foods inside a lima bean graphic organizer. Then, her task was to she choose one food to focus on in her paragraph. A planning sheet was utilized to help get her thoughts down on paper in an organized manner. I encouraged her to stay on topic as she wrote her sentences. The planning sheet gave me the opportunity to review a few concepts from her writing curricula including the definition of a paragraph, use of indentations, and how to write topic, body, and closing sentences. Alyssa likes to write a lot and the paper didn't provide enough room for her paragraphs. I drew extra lines for the rest of her paragraph. She is younger than the age intended so her handwriting tends to be a little larger as well. Next, she edited her work for correct spelling, spacing, indentation, capitalization, and punctuation. She wrote her final draft and drew an illustration to match the writing piece. I think she did pretty good for a five-year-old . . . this mom couldn't ask for anything more. I am proud of her writing accomplishments and I am thankful that she enjoys writing.

The second writing assignment we completed was found at Step Into Second Grade with Mrs. Lemons. After reading the book, I drew a large t-chart on our white board. Alyssa and I discussed the definitions for the terms "cause" and "effect." We worked together to create a chart revealing cause and effect examples. Then, she had the job of writing a summary paragraph for a cause and effect example from the book. Our chart was erased before she began this writing assignment, because I wanted it to be written in her words.

She colored the face first.

Then, she cut out all of the pieces and set them aside.

Finished Writing Project

I had to add my magnetic google eyes to her picture.
The green eyes were creepin' me out!
Alyssa saw this when walking by and started laughing.

Other Resources (This list may be updated.)
Mom On Timeout
Squish Preschool Ideas
A Bad Case of Stripes Student Webquest (Home Page)

I will link this post up at Virtual Book Club for Kids (April Edition), Montessori Monday, Share it Saturday, Three Boys and a Dog: Homeschool on the Cheap, 123 Homeschool 4 Me TGIF Linky Party, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Read Explore Learn, and the The Children's Bookshelf.