1-2-3 Come Do Some Comparison-Contrast Writing With Me

Venn diagrams are a quick, easy and interesting way to introduce and practice comparison and contrast writing.  I designed Venn Friends, as an especially fun way to do that.  These are also a great way for you and your students to get to know each other better. 

I've made Venn friend packets for almost every month, but hadn't gotten around to do one for November.  Laurie, who's done several other packets with her kiddos, e-mailed me to ask if I was going to make one specifically for November.  Of course, and another thing was added to my "to do" list.

I'm never one to procrastinate, so I got right down to business.  Unlike the other monthly Venn Friends, I have more than one option for November.  Students have 3 choices for their Venn friend topper: a turkey, a Pilgrim boy or girl, or a Native American boy or girl. 

You can have a turkey find a turkey partner, a boy Pilgrim find a girl Pilgrim, or a boy Native American find a boy Pilgrim, mixing and matching however you or your students wish.  

As a way to get to know each other, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can ask their partner. 

From there, they choose what information they want to record on their Venn diagram. 

Each student does their own "different" portion of the circle, and then, once they glue their circles together, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn friend, in the middle "same" section.  (See completed sample.)

To make it easy for students to match up and glue their circles together, I've included both left and right circles.

I designed the Venn friends, specifically so students could get to know a classmate better, but you could certainly have students pretend to be "real" Pilgrims and Native American children, and then compare and contrast that way as well.

However, I do that sort of thing in the Thanksgiving Children's Packet with other Venn diagrams.

When everyone is done, have students come up with their partner to share their Venn Friend. This will give children some public speaking practice, as well as enable everyone to get to know each other a little better. 

Completed projects, look awesome hanging in rows on a hallway wall.  Click on the link to view/download the November Venn Friends packet.  For more Venn diagram activities, click on the link to pop over to that section of my site.

Thanks for visiting.  It's an overcast rainy November day; perfect for pouring over Pinterest boards, in search of some "pinspiration". 

As if my pile of "make this" projects is not big enough!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making homemade Christmas gifts though.  Wishing you a snuggly day.

 "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." ~W.J. Cameron

1-2-3 Come Do Some "I'm Thankful" Writing With Me!

If you're looking for an alternative to the "I'm Thankful" writing prompt activity, where students write what they are thankful for, on turkey feathers, (I did that for years) you may want to try the Thankful Tree. 

This craftivity offers a twist, as students write the things that they are thankful for in each season.  The tree-top writing prompt pages are larger, so students can write a bit more than on the typical feather. 

It's an interesting and fun way to review the 4 seasons, and a chance to showcase students descriptive writing, by encouraging the use of adjectives.

Here's what to do:

Print off the tops of the trees on appropriate colors of construction paper.  i.e. a green cover page, an orange one for fall, white or powder blue for the winter page, pink for the spring page, yellow for the summer page, and finally, ending with another shade of green, for the last "I'm most thankful for..." page, where students can include things like family, friends, etc.

Via a discussion, review the various seasons and what kinds of things children see and like to do in them. 

To help students with spelling and recall, write a list on the board.

Look at the list and ask students to think of descriptive words that would make those things and activities "come alive". 

List those as well.  This will help jump-start your students' brains, and ensure that they incorporate lots of adjectives in their writing.

Students should compose their rough draft on scratch paper. 

You may want to have them underline the adjectives, so that they can see at a glance, if they have included at least two per sentence. 

If they haven’t, they need to go back and add some. 

Children can work on a page a day, as part of their writing block, or for the writing portion of your Daily 5 activities. 

Remind students to use proper spacing and end punctuation, as well as trace the beginning words of each sentence, underlining the adjectives as they go.

Once they have written their sentences, students cut out their tree trunk and tops for the tree.  They need to make sure the pages are in order.  

Children start with the last page and glue it to the top of the tree, and then staple the rest of the tree-top pages together onto that last page, so that the staple acts as a hinge and the tree-top pages flip up.

To add that finishing touch, students glue their school photo to the hollow of the tree.  Children can also draw seasonally appropriate things to each of the tree tops, like leaves, apples, snowflakes, flowers etc.  They could also use stickers, clip art or paper punch-cut shapes. 

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gibbons, as well as Sutherland's, Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks are great read-aloud books, to go along with this craftivity.

Click on the link to view/download The Thankful Tree.

Thanks for visiting today.  I  design daily and try to blog about the newest items, so I hope you can stop by again tomorrow.  It's time for me to do a little grocery shopping,or my sweetie won't be very thankful for a loving wife, because of a non-existant dinner. 

"I read; I travel; I become." -Derek Walcott