Mrs. McGowan had offered so many wonderful resources, one of which was the 5 W's poem. I had never used this poetry form before and wanted to give it a try with the class. I first explained the type of poetry we would be writing. Then I did a first read of Snowflake Bentley with the class, asking them to listen for who, what, when, where, and why in the story. Next, using a 5-W star graphic organizer (one W on each point of a five-pointed star) from our Write Source resources, we did a second read, this time taking notes.  Note: Enchanted Learning has many 5 W's graphic organizers. I believe you need to be a member to print them, but at least you could see what they look like and, perhaps, make your own. Click here for 5 W's graphic organizers. Using our notes, we wrote a collaborative 5-W poem. We revised it and wrote a few versions. Below is the version the children selected for the project.
The story of Wilson Bentley is a fascinating one. As a matter of fact, the book so captured my imagination that my husband and I took a trip a couple of years ago to Jericho, Vermont to see the sign in the town center (shown in the book) and visit his museum! As a follow-up to our literacy work, we made a "Snowflake Quilt"... 
We were so inspired that we decided to join another poem project, Let It Snow and try another form of poetry, this time an acrostic, with another terrific book, Snowden by Nancy Carlson.
After our collaborative work with this acrostic, all the children wrote acrostics about their "study buddies". Great fun! Note: Study Buddies are partners that work together on various learning activities and change approximately monthly.
See our work from the project last year ~ Chinese calligraphy in the snow! Make Your Own Snowflake Online This is a MUST SEE (and DO!) site - create beautiful snowflakes online Print or email them, then take some time to visit the Gallery! Billy and Maria Learn About Winter Weather (Snowflakes) This is a printable coloring book in pdf format, that teaches children about the formation of snowflakes. Billy and Maria Learn About Winter Weather (Winter Storms) Billy and Maria are back in another printable coloring book. This time they're learning all about winter storms. Snow Crystals.com Very interesting info about snow crystals ~ See two of the pages below Snowflake and Snow Crystal Photos Guide to Snowflakes Learn the names of the different types of snowflakes Snowflakes - A Thematic Approach
Our class website ~ Window to Our World Animated snowmen from Cute Colors Special thanks to Marci McGowan for sharing the snowflake background! |
