Writers workshop is the perfect place to explore all areas of the curriculum. I’m all about the integration of subjects where possible and this month’s Hooked on Writing is no different. This month, the focus is on poetry but I have also integrated earth and environmental themes through the month with the selection of some wonderful books.
Mentor Texts
If you have never read the Adventures of a Plastic Bottle, I highly recommend it for your Earth Day studies. It is fantastic! It reinforces the personal “diary” type writing like Diary of a Worm and it teaches students how a bottle is made, recycled and made again. In addition to The Adventures of a Plastic Bootle, Our Big Home is a beautiful poem about the earth celebrating all the things that make earth a wonderful place to live. Human Footprint is an eye opener! It is a great book to show students (and us!) how much garbage etc only ONE person makes and some suggestions on how ONE PERSON can reduce their human foot print. It’s a great feeling to know that one person can make a difference. Compost Stew is a very simple A B C book on items that go into a compost bin. It is simple, yet effective for teaching about composting and the resulting soil that can be used for growing things.
In this April writers workshop unit students will learn about poetry and will practice Free Verse, Haiku as well as skills like using alliteration. This unit combines skills learned throughout the year and gives students a place to apply them here. For example, students will write informational pieces, create drama about the environment, write adventure stories, and they will summarize their story by writing a poem as a summary! This unit is jam packed!
Hooked on Writing April is perfect for writing, Earth Day studies, poetry and plants.
Hooked on Writing Year Long Unit is now available. Click here to see more.
There is also a year long overview you can view here.
What a perfect way to combine April's literary focus on poetry with its Earth Day focus on the environment! I'm late to discover it, but thank you so much, Shelley, for including my COMPOST STEW as a mentor text in this terrific Hooked on Writing unit, which I look forward to adding to the book's resource page on my website.