Guest Blogger- Pam from Moments to Teach

Hey guys! I'm Pam from Moments to Teach and I'm excited to be guest blogging for the first time. Kimberly said I could choose my own topic to blog about and I think this made it harder for me. I don't make choices very easily. However, I did come with a lesson that I'm eager to try with my firsties after we start back to school.

Every year, I end up having to teach my kids what my expectations are for their illustrations on their stories. It's one of those things that I forget to teach until I see the things they are producing. After a few reminders of what effort looks like, I find I get better results from them. This year, I'm going to be proactive and teach my expectations early in my writing instruction.

For this activity, I whipped up a few examples of how I would teach this lesson. Please be kind to my drawing abilities - I am no Picasso. I did get excited when I realized that I got to use my big box of crayons and that it came with the cutest crayon sharpener ever!

For this activity, I took the banner page that I created and went to town on how I would teach this to my kiddos. I am including a link to the banner page with this post. I will eventually be making it cute and uploading it to TPT, but you can use the not-so-cute version I've included to recreate my idea. Below you will find a picture with step by step instructions.

For this activity, I would demonstrate what a "good" drawing has by walking the students through good and bad examples. I would then display these for their reference. The object of this lesson is for them to create a banner that tells others about them using only pictures.

One - This picture has one color, a name, and a stick figure. Now, there is nothing wrong with stick figures - they can be very cute if done right - but where's the color and excitement? This child (me) did not put much time or effort into their drawing.

Two - The next drawing has a little color, but the student has not added any extra details. They have simply written their name and drawn themselves. I am not able to tell much about them.

Three - This student is beginning to add details about their life. From their picture, I know they have a dog. I also see different colors being used.

Four - This student has added a lot of color and detail to their picture! They have used the entire space by adding a background. They have also added two or three pictures in addition to their self portrait.

I would draw these in front of the students and we would critique them together. Then, I would give each student the page for themselves and have them complete a banner. I'm thinking this may be a good time to review expectations for using supplies as well.

The last step is my favorite - displaying it for all to enjoy! I cut pennants out of scrapbook paper and used them to add a little pizzazz to the display. You could also have students color the pennants that are included in the banner file if you'd like. Thanks again Kimberly for allowing me to be a guest blogger on your adorable blog!

3 comments freebie, guest blogger