Thanks to the Writers and Authors there for hosting!
Headline! Santa Upside Down in Nearby Chimney!
Working with the third grade writers today was such fun! Their teacher announced that Santa was stuck in a nearby chimney and needed to get out! The looks on their faces gave instant awareness that they seemed to believe it! So cute to see those looks of shock and worry...
My small group generated a list of things that might be helpful with getting things unstuck! Our list was quite large by the completion of our brainstorming session. Then they wrote. I took delight in watching their behaviors as they spread out and moved to tackle the work of explaining what would need to happen to rescue Santa from his "sticky situation"!
As they wrote, I did too! Since I've spent more time on Twitter lately, my Santa tweeted to his elves for help and...eventually got unstuck! Maybe someday I'll share it...the students beamed with excitement and wonder about how this situation came to be. Our writing time together was definitely a bright spot on a cold icy morning in NEO!
Oh I love these moments...when they are so excited and you can hear their pencils scribbling furiously. I'd love to see some examples. Thanks for sharing! This makes me miss working with 3rd graders.
ReplyDeleteNow that's never what you can expect from a class of kids 8-12. By then there's no more wonder about Santa but I can imagine the list they might produce to get Santa unstuck. Bet you can too :)
ReplyDeleteI love that you wrote right along with them. Such a powerful model!
ReplyDeleteI teach 4th graders and work very hard at avoiding Santa discussions. It is such a tricky time! I am sure your students' minds were hard at work trying to solve that one!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I could just imagine the scene - and Leigh Anne is right, Santa discussions can be tricky, but you had just the age before it gets that way.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! Thank you for the idea!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun topic! I love topics that get students writing and thinking!
ReplyDeleteSounds like such a great moment! :)
ReplyDeleteQuite often the students go beyond what we imagine when they have a creative assignment. I'd like to try this with my kids. In Estonia Santa doesn't come through a chimney. He politely knocks on a door and enters to listen to poems and songs before giving out presents. Sometimes he sends elves to leave a bag behind a door.
ReplyDelete