Using Picture Books to Inspire Writing {with a Freebie}

It's no secret that picture books are really my life. If you follow me on instagram, you know that I love the hunt for an amazing book. I use picture books to teach just about everything, but in the last two years, I've really focused on picture books that teach  writing traits. In this post, I'm going to give a few books that I like to use to inspire my students to create their own story.  I want my students to hear a story that they can relate to and create a spark for them to build upon.

Picture Books To Teach Writing

To inspire my students, I  like to start with some favorite books. One of my favorites is Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe. This book is about those special times that may only last a few seconds. It has a clear theme and lesson to the story. When I read this story, I have my students think about a time they've spent with their family or friends that was special to them. 

Another great story to use to inspire students and spark ideas is A Bad Case of Stripes. This is a classic story that is a student favorite. In this story, the character explores things she likes and dislikes. While reading this story, I ask my students to think about specific items they like or don't like as we come across them in the story. At the end of the story, students are encouraged to make a list of things they like and dislike. Once they've created a list,  they can start brainstorming on a writing piece. I encourage students to describe a time when they came across something they liked or didn't like. What was their reaction? How did it make them feel? I always tell my students writers answer questions readers ask. So just like good readers ask questions, good writers ask questions to provide an answer in the text. We use this free planning sheet after reading the story. 

This next book is one of my favorites to use at the beginning of the school year. In the story How I Spent My Summer Vacation,  the character takes a different journey during his summer than most. This is a great story for students to also practice visualizing. Students often feen like they are on this journey with the little boy! Throughout this story, I remind my students to think about an extreme vacation they would like to go on. We discuss how the story is very extravagant. When we begin to plan, we start with a map. The students identify a fancy or place to visit that they might not have an opportunity to, but have dreamed about visiting. Next, we discuss how they would get to that dream location. Then, we move on to questions such as who would be on the trip with them? What would they need to bring? What type of clothing would the trip require?  I use this free planning map with this story. 

Most of you know that I've taught 1st through 4th grades.I've used each story with all grade levels.  In first grade, we may just be focusing on creating a sentence or two. By fourth grade, I'd want an elaborate and detailed story. I just adjust the support I provide depending on their levels. 

I hope this helps your writers develop ideas of their own.  I'll work on read alouds I use for voice and organization next! 

*This post contains affiliate links that I make a small percentage back on*

Teaching Time in the Primary Grades

Can we say whoa?? It's been a while since I have paid attention to this little ole blog! Life has been crazy and now that we are out of the holiday period, it's time to get back to business. After my break, I'm starting to get a tad jealous of my friends on a year round calendar!

We went back on the 5th and it's been full force every.single.day. 

We started working on time right away. First graders often struggle with this skill, so I wanted to come up with a few different ways to introduce this skill. My anchor charts are usually so ugly, but I feel like they are productive and accomplish the overall goal. I like to complete them with my students and have them fill it certain parts so it's not just something hanging on the wall. I find when they participate in creating the charts,  they take ownership and it sinks it a little bit better. So I created this premade anchor charts that we could fill in together. The kids really enjoyed the graphics and seeing the information in a different way than the typically parker-yellow paper format.  This little packet includes a variety of charts. I used the poster printing function to print and then I just laminated it and boom! DONE! I used a few of the other pages as well and also used them as interactive notebook pages! Kids LOVED them! 

 I know I've said this before, but I love using read aloud to introduce my lessons. I started with this time read aloud. It's great for introducing key vocabulary and it's very kid friendly!

Then we started with our math centers. You can check those out here.

We used centers from my time bundle. The kids LOVED the variety of activities and they are so easy to prep!

This activity was fun to do at my teacher table first. We did a few problems together and then the kiddos completed the rest during math centers. They really loved them. They were engaged in the entire time they were working. They actually asked me to create a second set, so I did! I was shocked! 

ALL of these activities and MORE can be found in my Time Bundle and it's on SALE! Just click the image below!

Using Literacy in ALL Content Areas

So my husband has this hobby--it's called HUNTING! He spend countless hours in the woods...tracking, preparing and hunting animals! His hobby costs a few bucks here and there!! Many ask me "Why do you let him do that"...well, friends, this is a marriage, I'm not keeping him hostage! But don't think I don't get something out of it return haha!! My "hobby" is my classroom! Specifically, my classroom library. This year, I'm determined to add more content area books to my classroom library. I've found a few good deals on e-bay and amazon! I've searched garage sales, but my BEST deals were found at...the Goodwill!! They ALWAYS have children's books 2 for $1.00!! I've also been saving up my Scholastic Bonus Points. Somehow, I still do not have enough books! How is that possible?!?!? haha! 

I've started making a few of my own so that my students could have literacy in ALL content areas. I may not always be able to get the books here in time, or find them *after* the fact of teaching that subject.  The good thing about these as I can print as many as I need! I like to put them in math centers and have the students create questions after reading. It's a good way to kill two birds with one stone! I don't know about y'all but I'm constantly struggling to get in the amount of read alouds I need too. This is a perfect way to help with that! A math read aloud is something you can do almost DAILY!!!

Interactive read alouds are a great way to introduce a new math skill. Not only are they getting the math skill, but this is huge for literacy development. It's like killing two (or maybe five) birds with one stone! Since I've started doing interactive read alouds in all content areas, my little friends comprehension is improving so much! It's such a great time to model fluency as well. 

So far I've created a book on fractions and money

These little books are on sale, hurry over and check them out! 

Happy Sunday Friends! 

Balanced Literacy 101: Interactive Read Alouds

So this year I've jumped in to this thing called "Balanced Literacy". At first, I was a little nervous, unsure of the routines and the layout of the entire program. I always had a reading framework, and never thought I REALLY relied on it as much...until now :) So getting through that initial place where I was a little bit intimidated and all was difficult. But now I have to say, I'm IN LOVE with Balanced Literacy! I love the FREEDOM that I have to decide what MY students need, each and every one of them! I'm going to do a series of posts, but this one will be all about read alouds!!

The important part about read alouds is that they are planned. They are not something we grab off the shelf on the way in the classroom. Read Alouds offer a way to tie in your other subjects. I TRY to do 3-4 read alouds a day.

1 to kick off my reading block
1 math book to kick of my guided math routine
1 chapter book after lunch (just a few pages a day)
1 theme/holiday book

A great interactive read aloud is typically ABOVE your students reading level. This way they are exposed to higher vocabulary and text features. You can use fiction or non fiction books! I like to use a mixture of both!!



I try to use as many cross circular read alouds as I can. I often do not have enough time to spend on social studies or science. So that is the perfect time for me to use a read aloud that hits the skill or topic I'm trying to address. For example, we are learning about Presidents and Famous Americans in social studies. I ALWAYS begin my reading block with a read aloud. Right now I'm using books about Presidents and Famous Americans :)

Abraham Lincoln Read Alouds

Looking at Lincoln is a great book because it allows children to get to know Lincoln as a person, not just a President. The author provides several unheard of facts and the book is very engaging! It is a MUST have I promise! My kids LOVED this book! We made a nice little anchor chart using the top of Lincoln's hat {sorry, I accidentally deleted my picture}Y'all know it wasn't cute anyways bc my hand drawn charts are just awful!!!



We also read "My First Biography: Abraham Lincoln"
Another great book! We compared the two stories and how we learned different facts from each book. The kids loved this!

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George Washington Read Alouds

Another component ( that I'll blog about soon) is integrating writing into your literacy block. I was able to do that SO easily this week with my sweet friend Kelly's from Teacher Idea Factory  Presidential Packet! My kids LOVED The Lincoln Writing activity! They can't wait to finish out our Presidents unit using this packet!

Read Alouds are a great component to ANY literacy program. If you are not currently using read alouds, I encourage you to think about it. They can be very interactive and a great tool. I am able to hit on so many different areas. Modeling my critical thinking is so easy during a read aloud. Students do not even really look at it as learning, more of a discussion. That's what is so neat about it. Especially when you use titles and stories that THEY like.