by Doreen Cronin
When Farmer Brown’s cows find a typewriter in the barn, they start making demands and go on strike when the farmer refuses to give them what they want.
Strategies/Skills Used
Reading Strategy 1: Access background knowledge.
Reading Strategy 2: Predict what will be learned or what will happen.
Reading Strategy 3: Figure out unknown words.
Reading Strategy 4: Self-monitor and self-correct.
Reading Strategy 5: Make mental pictures.
TEACHING THE ACTIVITY: PRE-READING
(1) Show students images from the PowerPoint before showing them the picture book.
(2) Distribute the words and images from the handout Click, Clack, Moo pictures, one copy to each group of students.
Using Sort and Predict procedures, ask each group to sort the words into categories and name and label the categories. Then ask each group to predict what the story will be about based on the words/images.
(3) Share group discussions and predictions. Discuss similarities and differences and reflect on the language circulating around the collaborative thinking.
TEACHING THE ACTIVITY: DURING READING
(4) Read the text and confirm or reject predictions.
(5) Call attention to surprises.
TEACHING THE ACTIVITY: POST-READING
(6) Explain to the students that they will use the words from the Sort and Predict activity to create sentences inspired by refrigerator magnetic poetry.
(7) Provide students with vocabulary words from the Magnetic Poetry vocabulary handout so they can cut, sort and add additional words to make their sentences.
(8) Ask students to share with a partner.
(9) Ask students to take a photo of their sentences using an iPad, and then project the images so students can share their ideas with the class. Ask students to post their image on their blog to share with the global community.