This is one of my favorite activities/posts from last year and I am kickin' around creating a second volume of this one . . . WOW vs. BLAH Part Duex. Just gotta find that witty mo-jo that's hiding somewhere in my little toe! On that note, catch the original post below.
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Now that my October Break is in full swing, I am all rested up and have settled ever so nicely into a creative mode (I credit much of this to my daily cat naps). With this said, I was finally able to finish up my most recent packet . . . WOW vs. BLAH Sentences.
I came up with this random and rather "out of the box" way of teaching detailed sentence writing to my kiddos my first year of teaching. It was such a success in my room, that I have built upon it year after year. And now, 6 years later, it has grown and morphed into this . . .
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Aren't these just delightful . . . these are two of my extra special kiddos!!
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BOOM! How's that for a writing project?? You can't help but giggle when you see these and the kids totally got what I was "sellin'!" Let me explain.
WOW vs. BLAH is a way for me to create a "hook" to help my kiddos remember to add details when they are constructing sentences. By showing the kids the differences between a BLAH or basic sentence and a WOW or detailed sentences in a silly way, they always seem to remember it more. These sentence "labels" also come with movements. Oh, yeah baby . . . we're going after all of those wonderful modalities!
BLAH SENTENCES: A BLAH sentence is your basic sentence (ex: The cat sat). When we read one of these in my class, the kids give two thumbs up and swoop 'em down to the thumbs down sign while making a crazy crashing sound.
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Yes, Mrs. Dolling is a total freak!
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WOW SENTENCES: A WOW sentence is your quality detailed sentence (ex: The hungry cat sat on the green mat outside the butcher shop). It paints a picture for our readers. When we read one of these sentences in class, the kids put their hand on their cheeks and gasp, "WOW!"
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LOVE THIS KID . . . she is such a cutie pie both inside and out!
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Now that you have a little background on the whole WOW v. BLAH concept, let me outline what I do in my little roomy-room. First, we analyze and categorize basic and detailed sentences pocket chart style. Then, we move onto rewriting BLAH sentences as more of a shared writing experience. Finally, when my kids are ready to fly solo with this, I launch them into re-working sentences on their own via sorts, sentence games, and the craftivity you see below.
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Another couple of amazing kids from my room.
They went the extra mile on their sentences and completed them independently! |
Now, I get that this method might not be for everyone, but I wanted to share. I have had WONDERFUL success with this delivery and my kiddos always seem to step up to the writing challenges I dish their way following this little mini-unit. Interested in learning more about what this packet has to offer? Click on the image below to read more about it in my TPT Store.
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These are just a few of the pages/activities offered!
24 Different Craftivity Writing Templates provided as well as multiple practice sheets :)
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Alright sweet friends, I am off to finish up my Patriotic Unit and start on those November Good Morning Work Packets. Yup . . . I am rollin' in the creative mojo department this week. Thanks so much for visiting sweet friends. Check back on Friday as I will have a super awesome Halloween freebie up for grabs!!
Peace out.
