You've Got to be Kidding!

You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

Real stories built around a repeating phrase can be a fun way to share real experiences!

Think of a number of different situations in which you could have or might have said to yourself,"You’ve got to be kidding!” or “How could they?” or “Oh, No!” Write a series of short descriptive paragraphs about each of these situations, and end each paragraph with the target phrase you are focusing on.

There are thousands of possible repeating words or phrases.  

“CRASH!”

“Babooom!”

“Get Real!”

“How Can This Be!” 

Just to clarify.  I shared these writing ideas with my kids in a mini lesson, but did not REQUIRE them to use the strategy that day.  I gave them a handout with this information, then allowed them to write whatever they wanted to write each day.  However, the handouts were most helpful when a student needed an idea later down the road.  The handouts were intended to be a long term resource to use anytime they needed them.

Also, in making a reading-writing connection, I used a number of picture books that use this pattern.  Reading picture books daily is actually where I got the idea!  Many times I observed what I saw picture book authors doing, then created a mini lesson to teach kids a new crafting strategy.

Do you have any favorite picture books in mind for this lesson?