Chris – thank you for sharing this wonderful idea. I will be using this to start off my year as it is a great starting point in our writing. This was also a great reminder about being sensitive to students sharing – I know I was very nervous about putting my pix on twitter, but you said kind things about it. Thanks again for a wonderful resource to use in my classroom! Kevin
Chris,
I am SO excited to use your lesson in my classroom. I thought it was super engaging, relevant, and important. I think my students will LOVE doing this! Start to finish it is a great way to teach setting. I always brush over this topic, and I can’t wait to challenge them. I touched on this last year during Halloween. I had the students write descriptions of the scariest character they could think of, and I randomly passed them out. A different student had to draw based on the description, so adding in as many details as possible was important. Strangely, I didn’t think to use something like this as an intro. to writing a setting. I am so excited!
Thanks,
Emily Peery
Your presentation was great. Having each student describe their picture and then trying to get other students to guess based on the description was a great way of getting students to make their descriptions vivid. I’m sure I will try something like this out in my class, it was lots of fun. The descriptions the writing group came up with were great.
Thank you Scott. I’m glad you were able to make some connections on how it can be used with middle school students too. I hope your students enjoy it as much as mine did!
Dear Chris,
Us high school teachers have so much to learn and be reminded of from our elementary teachers. I appreciated so much about this presentation. I loved that you used visual representations to convey meaning and to help support your students writing. I loved that you grounded the lesson with a mentor text. I love that you gave them time to share and give feedback to one another–”warm and cool” comments–so smart. I can tell that your students feel validated as writers and that what they have to say matters. This was so much fun!
I will definitely be using this all over the place in one way or another next year. I liked the idea Amanda gave of using this to help pull out more details after they have already written. I think I can pull this off at the high school level. Also using this to analyze multiple perspectives on current events would be super handy.
I”m wondering about next steps for this. Have you tried to use something like this in other areas or with other subjects? Did you have the same success with it in a different context? What were some areas that students stumbled and how did you get them through it?
Thank you for your insights and your questions really have me reflecting on how I can use this type of other areas of teaching writing. I did use picture prompts in a different lesson to try to help students add more details to sentences. I liked using picture prompts to teach setting, but I think it might also work well with teaching students about hooks in writing. I think 2nd graders always need lots of practice in adding more details to their writing and I plan on using picture prompts a lot more next year.
Chris,
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful ideas with us today! There is so much here that I will definitely be using with my junior high students. I really appreciated the art aspect and the various images and we got to write about. I can tell that you are very passionate about teaching and your students benefit from that passion. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Kim! I am glad you feel like you can take this lesson and use the concept of picture prompts with your junior high students. I felt like using pictures of animals was an easy way for 2nd graders to relate to the picture prompts.
Chris: thanks for your presentation. I appreciate how images can help students think about details and imagery to include in their writing. I am thinking about how I might apply Allie’s idea to use imagery to analyze rhetoric and the elements of writing.
I love that you used imagery to guide us through this lesson. This was such a perfect idea for second grade, and I want to use these ideas with my first graders! It was a whole different way to enjoy Owl Moon! It was a wonderful way for kids to express their ideas and thoughts on creating a setting, and I love that you introduced the lesson with a mentor text! Thanks for leading us through a well organized, engaging lesson.
This was so much fun! I’m going to use the entire lesson- different pics and book of course! Thank you for sharing. It is engaging for all levels and ages of learners, and I can see using it for grammar as well. You have such a lovely presentation style; you are calm and clear, and your students are super lucky to have you.
Thanks Sarah! I know you will do a wonderful job adapting this idea to your classroom. It was really fun finding and choosing the picture prompts for my students. I chose mostly funny animal ones because I think they are relatable to 2nd graders, but I might try some more challenging ones next year.
Chris Stedman 
Chris – thank you for sharing this wonderful idea. I will be using this to start off my year as it is a great starting point in our writing. This was also a great reminder about being sensitive to students sharing – I know I was very nervous about putting my pix on twitter, but you said kind things about it. Thanks again for a wonderful resource to use in my classroom! Kevin
LikeLike
I’m glad you will be able to use this in your 4th grade classroom. Thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone and sharing your picture. I loved it!
LikeLike
Chris,
I am SO excited to use your lesson in my classroom. I thought it was super engaging, relevant, and important. I think my students will LOVE doing this! Start to finish it is a great way to teach setting. I always brush over this topic, and I can’t wait to challenge them. I touched on this last year during Halloween. I had the students write descriptions of the scariest character they could think of, and I randomly passed them out. A different student had to draw based on the description, so adding in as many details as possible was important. Strangely, I didn’t think to use something like this as an intro. to writing a setting. I am so excited!
Thanks,
Emily Peery
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Emily! I think your Halloween idea is perfect for this kind of activity. I think I might steal that idea, great for 2nd graders too!
LikeLike
Your presentation was great. Having each student describe their picture and then trying to get other students to guess based on the description was a great way of getting students to make their descriptions vivid. I’m sure I will try something like this out in my class, it was lots of fun. The descriptions the writing group came up with were great.
LikeLike
Thank you Scott. I’m glad you were able to make some connections on how it can be used with middle school students too. I hope your students enjoy it as much as mine did!
LikeLike
Dear Chris,
Us high school teachers have so much to learn and be reminded of from our elementary teachers. I appreciated so much about this presentation. I loved that you used visual representations to convey meaning and to help support your students writing. I loved that you grounded the lesson with a mentor text. I love that you gave them time to share and give feedback to one another–”warm and cool” comments–so smart. I can tell that your students feel validated as writers and that what they have to say matters. This was so much fun!
I will definitely be using this all over the place in one way or another next year. I liked the idea Amanda gave of using this to help pull out more details after they have already written. I think I can pull this off at the high school level. Also using this to analyze multiple perspectives on current events would be super handy.
I”m wondering about next steps for this. Have you tried to use something like this in other areas or with other subjects? Did you have the same success with it in a different context? What were some areas that students stumbled and how did you get them through it?
Thanks so much for sharing this!
Lindsey
LikeLike
Thank you for your insights and your questions really have me reflecting on how I can use this type of other areas of teaching writing. I did use picture prompts in a different lesson to try to help students add more details to sentences. I liked using picture prompts to teach setting, but I think it might also work well with teaching students about hooks in writing. I think 2nd graders always need lots of practice in adding more details to their writing and I plan on using picture prompts a lot more next year.
LikeLike
Chris,
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful ideas with us today! There is so much here that I will definitely be using with my junior high students. I really appreciated the art aspect and the various images and we got to write about. I can tell that you are very passionate about teaching and your students benefit from that passion. Thank you so much for sharing!
LikeLike
Thank you Kim! I am glad you feel like you can take this lesson and use the concept of picture prompts with your junior high students. I felt like using pictures of animals was an easy way for 2nd graders to relate to the picture prompts.
LikeLike
Chris: thanks for your presentation. I appreciate how images can help students think about details and imagery to include in their writing. I am thinking about how I might apply Allie’s idea to use imagery to analyze rhetoric and the elements of writing.
LikeLike
Thanks Doug! I’m glad Allie’s idea sparked some ways you can use this with your high school students.
LikeLike
Dear Chris,
I love that you used imagery to guide us through this lesson. This was such a perfect idea for second grade, and I want to use these ideas with my first graders! It was a whole different way to enjoy Owl Moon! It was a wonderful way for kids to express their ideas and thoughts on creating a setting, and I love that you introduced the lesson with a mentor text! Thanks for leading us through a well organized, engaging lesson.
Lorrie
LikeLike
Thanks Lorrie! I think this idea is perfect for first graders too!
LikeLike
Chris,
This was so much fun! I’m going to use the entire lesson- different pics and book of course! Thank you for sharing. It is engaging for all levels and ages of learners, and I can see using it for grammar as well. You have such a lovely presentation style; you are calm and clear, and your students are super lucky to have you.
Thanks again- great ideas.
Sarah
LikeLike
Thanks Sarah! I know you will do a wonderful job adapting this idea to your classroom. It was really fun finding and choosing the picture prompts for my students. I chose mostly funny animal ones because I think they are relatable to 2nd graders, but I might try some more challenging ones next year.
LikeLike