Flipping for Fall Mentor Texts: Little Boo


Happy Fall!!!! I just love Fall.....although we have yet to experience it this year in Texas there is hope it will be coming soon! 
When you think of Fall.....PUMPKINS are always one of the first things that come to mind.  What could be more fun than mixing PUMPKINS and literacy?
Sequencing is one of the many skills that helps increase a student's ability to comprehend what they are reading.  Sequencing is the ability to identify the beginning, middle, and end of a story, and also the ability to retell the events of the text in the order in which they occurred.  As students develop their ability to understand and place the details of a text in the correct order, they need to master the use of transition words. 
Little Boo is the perfect book for October.  It tells the story of a pumpkin seed that just can't wait to grow up and become scary.  It is a great fictional text that describes the life cycle of a pumpkin.  The illustrations in the book are wonderfully done.  
After reading the book, the kids work on completing this graphic organizer showing the steps in the life cycle of the pumpkin.  You can grab a copy of this graphic organizer by clicking HERE or on the image above.

Once the students have their graphic organizer completed, they use it to assist them with their writing.  This is a fun way to work on using transition words to show correct sequence in their writing.  The pumpkin mini-book includes a list of transition words that the kids can use as a reference.  Since it is still early in the year, I like to have my students highlight the transition words they use to illustrate how transitional words improve the overall flow of the writing.
You can grab a copy of this mini-book for FREE to use in your classroom by clicking on the image above or HERE.
My literacy block is based around a theme each week.  Little Boo fits in nicely during my pumpkin week.

In addition to working perfectly for sequencing and as a supplement to any unit on pumpkins, this book also conveys the importance of patience.  Through this book, children see that sometimes it is necessary to wait a bit for what they want or for a dream to come true.

Did you catch my mystery word?  If not, it is PUMPKINS. Now it's time to hop to the next stop. Thanks for visiting my blog today and I would love for you to stop back by sometime!


Looking for other great literacy ideas for October? Be sure to check out these other suggestions....let us do some of your planning for you!
     

Upper Elementary (3rd - 6th Grades) Blog Hop

Vocabulary from Gay
Imagery from Erin
Inference from Jessica
Characterization from Michelle
Sequencing from Lisa
Inference from Sandy
Vocabulary from Melissa
Summarizing from Andrea
Compare & Contrast from Tara
Transitional Phrases from Chrissy
Character Traits from Selma
Author's Craft from Carla
     

6 comments

  1. What a great post! I love using the life cycle of the pumpkin in teaching sequencing. Love these fall books. Thank you, Sandy

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  2. What a fantastic printable pumpkin booklet. Students will have a wonderful time writing a paragraph with this cute resource. The finished product will also be great for an interactive notebook. Thank you!

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  3. I LOVE these ideas, Lisa, and I can't wait to use these pumpkin ideas the last week of October! That Little Boo book just arrived from Amazon two days ago! :)

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  4. Lisa-This is an EXCELLENT post. I love every little piece of it, and I am adding in an extra copy of this book for me when I send them out to the winner! Thanks so much for joining in the hop!

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  5. Lisa-This is an EXCELLENT post. I love every little piece of it, and I am adding in an extra copy of this book for me when I send them out to the winner! Thanks so much for joining in the hop!

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  6. I love all the opportunity for writing along with the skill of sequencing in your freebies.

    Jessica
    Literacy Spark

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