"The Meanest Thing to Say" Character Development Activity

 

The Meanest Thing to Say" is a kid friendly story about bullying.  The main character decides to respond in an interesting way to name calling.  You could use this text in the beginning of the year or you could use it during Guided Reading groups. I attached a writing prompt to go along with the book.  It focuses on the "making connections" comprehension strategy.  I also attached a fun activity called "The Nicest Thing to Say."  Read the book in a whole group setting, and ask the kids to think about the nicest thing to say.  Then they can draw a picture of who they will say this nice thing to.  It would make a great bulletin board display.  Enjoy.  Feel free to have your students review the book in the comment section of the blog.  Click on the link below to get this comprehension strategy writing prompt.  I focused on making text connections while reading.

The Nicest Thing to Say - K-2
Click on the link above to print the writing response.

Making Connections with Bill Cosby's Text 
Click on the link above to print the writing response for comprehension strategies.

Mrs. Rockhold's Cultural Share

Mrs. Wills' class listened to Mrs. Rockhold's life story in the form of a timeline.  My students' commented on what they learned.  Check it out in the comments section.

Visual Summaries for Students to Synthesize

Do you have students who love to draw but are reluctant to write?  Have them brainstorm about the topic through a visual summary.  Here is an example of visual summary that someone created about a teacher's life.  I have also attached a template for students to create a visual summary about the life of a classmate.

The "My Heart Map" is a great example of a visual summary for students to reflect and share their lives with their classmates.  I got this example from the following website http://riversideelementaryart.blogspot.com/2011/01/heart-maps.html 

I created a writing prompt template to compliment the visual summary.  The prompt is titled, "What's inside your heart?"  Click on the link below.

Writing Prompt What's in my Heart?

"I can talk about it, but I won't write..."

Do you have students who can tell you their ideas, but won't write?  Pair students who don't socialize together and have them interview one another.  This holds students accountable for writing while providing an outlet for sharing cultural backgrounds.

Self Reflection "Before and After"

How often do your students reflect on their writing?  As a second grade teacher, I struggle with this. So, I decided two create a self reflection sheet and a writing profile for students to complete.  The Before and After sheet is a template for students to write a list of what they saw in their writing before and after making the changes on their self reflection sheet.  You could attach the before writing sample to one side of a file folder and the after sample on the other side.  Then staple the before and after writing list.

The "Incohesive Writer"

Do you have students who don't include all of the elements of the story in their writing?  If so, you could use the rainbow writing technique.  The activity can be completed two different ways.  Students can write a rough draft on a given topic and then underline the story parts according to the rainbow revising code.  The second way could be used in peer revising session.  Students could trade papers and find the story parts.

Extension for the "Avid Reader/ Writer"

 

In the "Writing in our Diverse Schools" training we saw a writing sample of a student who created a scrapbook diary of a Buffalo Soldier.  It was truly compelling.  I am still in the process of finding the teacher's name to give her credit for this amazing idea.

The character diary can be used for nonfiction books such as Harriet Tubman, and the Freedom Train or Helen Keller.  There are small group reading sets of  both books in our very own reading room.  So this writing response would be great for a guided reading group or introducing the concept of writing biographies. The student could create a scrapbook diary through the perspective of that person as a response to reading or as part of a writing unit.  I've attached a guided reading study guide for both books.  I often times find myself frantically trying to pull books at the last minute for reading groups or spending late nights pulling out important information in the text for my Guided Reading Lessons.  I hope that the study guide gives you a head start.:)  I want to give a special shout out to Cale and Greer.  Their book room is filled with Guided Reading lessons to accompany their books.  They are all teacher created.  Only a teacher would know exactly what a fellow teacher needs. The Helen Keller Writing Prompt Focuses on understanding the world from the character's point of view.  It says, "If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would it be and why..."  To add more depth to the prompt you could require students to choose two... Click below for the printable version.
Helen Keller Writing Prompt


Special Note: You could also personify a continent, state, or planet.  If you decide to use this template for fiction, the student would create a fictional character and write from their point of view.

Building excitement with the "Aloof Writer"

Teacher-student journals help to build relationships while increasing purposeful writing time.  Ten writing prompts are also included.

Engaging the "Reluctant Writer"

Writing can be a hands on experience too!  You can stimulate the student's thinking by giving them a tangible object to use as a writing topic.  This can also be a homework activity where students bring in and write about an object that is significant to their history.  Gloria Rockhold brought an object that represents her family's history.  My students really enjoyed learning about her cultural background.  She is bilingual, and this is always a plus.  Check out the kid-friendly template I created.