Month: May 2020 (Page 2 of 3)

Today we will be working on expository writing! Expository writing is writing that describes or explains something. You have already done this kind of writing many times before! When you’re describing something, remember to include lots of description words (adjectives like soft, tall, big, little, scary) so that the reader can picture what you’re writing about. Also, a tip is to pretend like your reader won’t know anything at all about what you’re talking about. Pretend like it’s completely new to them, so you will have to start from the beginning and explain everything clearly. Expository writing includes information writing like textbooks or non-fiction books which have facts. These books teach you about new animals, science experiments, extreme weather, history, and all about new skills.

For today, we will just focus on expository writing where you respond to the prompt and explain your perspective or how you feel or what your opinion is. 

Write a response to the prompt: “Explain what you love about your home.”

*I am the reader, remember that I have never been to your home, I don’t know what it looks like, what’s inside it, or anything about it! So you will have to try to include good descriptions of what you love about it so I can picture what you’re talking about in my head.

My example: I love my home because it has all of my favourite things in it. We chose each piece of furniture, chose the colours, chose where to put things, and have made it our own by changing the paint colour in some rooms and have been working in the garden! I love my home because I know Ollie is always there! I love my couch because it is big enough for us to sit with Ollie on it, and it has a big furry blanket that is super cozy when it’s cold outside. My home is comfortable and welcoming and I love that it has lots of windows so it gets lots of light from outside. I love that my home has lots of shelves for my books and that I have room for a desk to work at. I love that there is room for Ollie to play fetch inside if the weather’s really bad and we can’t go on a walk (he’s pretty small so it’s not hard to find a big enough space for him to play in) and I love that he finds little places to hide his treats!

Now I want you to try it, explain what you love about your home!

*Don’t forget to space out your words and to put in punctuation where it’s needed! 

Grade 1’s: Aim for 3 sentences! 

Grade 2’s: Aim for 4-5 sentences! 

Our Mom’s do lots of amazing things! They are incredible and strong people who do whatever they can to help us! Mother’s Day is on Sunday May 10th and while you may do something special this day or if you spread it out and do special things for your mom every day, today I would like you to do one of the following:

-Make a card for your Mom. It doesn’t have to be anything super fancy, but of course, if you would like to make it fancy go for it! Make sure you write Mom, Mum or whatever you call her at the top. Write a message to her. Think about what she does for you, what you can say thank you for, why she is special to you, what you like to do with her…  Write who the card is from at the bottom! You can write From: or Love: …. Draw a picture and decorate!

-Write a letter to your Mom and write about what she means to you! Why is she special? What makes her a great mom? What do you love about her? What does she do that makes you happy?

Here are some stories that talk about the love between moms and their kids and how much they do for them to make sure they’re happy and looked after. 

Here is a video to listen to the book “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw, it’s a very powerful story about the love between a mother and her child: Read aloud

Here is another video to listen to the book “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. This book has many meanings and messages, but one message that you might take away from it is how much a mom gives to their child without thinking of themselves. Listen to the story and see what you think!  Video

*You do not need to submit a photo of your child’s card or letter for Mother’s Day as some kids like to keep it private because it’s so special!

Here is an example with some sentence starters if you need them!

To: Mom

Thank you for everything you do for me. I love that we…..

You are special to me because….

Happy Mother’s Day!

I love you.

Love: _________________

Here is our word wall from our classroom. I have also put in a picture of our posters from our classroom which are reminders for punctuation.

For our writing today, please write a short story or beginning of a story which uses some of the words from our word wall. The goal is to use as many of these words as you can for inspiration and for parts of your story or introduction to a story, but a guideline is also listed below.

For example, I could start a story like I did below. I could easily continue this story because the reader is wondering where the story will go next. I used 4 words from our word wall and wrote 10 sentences!  I look forward to reading what you write! Remember punctuation and to try using different words. For example, instead of always using the word “said”, try using other words that add more to the story like “yelled” or “whispered” or “asked”.

Example: One day while drinking a cup of coffee and eating scrambled eggs, I looked out the window and saw someone walk through my backyard. I didn’t know who this person was, so I jumped out of my chair to see if I could get a better look. I watched them for a minute and I saw them take a shovel our of their backpack and saw then start to dig a hole in my garden. I kept watching them and saw them slowly place something into the hole they dug, cover it up, and then they walked away. It was very mysterious! I walked outside after they left, and went to the hole. I got out a shovel of my own and started digging. Soon I hit something hard in the dirt! I moved the dirt away with my hands and instead of treasure I found a mysterious box. I opened up the box and pulled out what was in it. It was a …….

Grade 1’s: please aim for 2-3 sentences. Please try to use 2 of the words from our word wall! See if you can do more!

Grade 2’s: please aim for 4-5 sentences, or more! Please try to use 3 of the words from our word wall! See if you can do more!