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Lesson Plan: Animal Homes (Writing - GR 1)

beaver

Subject:  Writing

Grade: 1

Lesson Objective: To write a story about what it would be like to be an animal building a home

Common Core Standard:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.3- Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

Materials:

Starter:

Say:

  • What do you think it would be like to be an animal building its home?  (Allow the students to answer.)

Main:

Say:

  • It is fun to image what it would be like to be an animal.  Do you ever pretend to be someone or something else?  It is so much for to use your imagination and make up stories.
  • When you are playing, the stories that you are making up are happening as you talk and move around.  Writing is a lot like this.  As you write, you make up the story, but instead of saying the story out loud, you write it down.
  • Today, you are going to be writing a story and you will pretend that you are an animal building its home.  You will start by writing an opening or beginning to your story.  Then, you need to add some details to make your story exciting.  The last thing you do is write an ending.
  • For example, “I am a bird and I need a nest.  I see twigs and leaves on the ground, so I am going to fly down and pick them up.  I am putting them together to make a nest so that I can lay eggs.  Building a nest is fun!”  (Write this on the board for the students to see)
  • I wrote an opening (underline or point to it).  I then added details before I wrote a closing.
  • You are now going to be writing a story about what it would be like to be either a beaver or a prairie dog building your home.  Remember to use as many details as you can.  Think about what you have learned about beavers and prairie dogs and how they build their homes.  You can include how you would feel, what you would see and what you would do. 
  • Does anyone have any questions?

Feedback:

Say:

  • Who would like to share what you wrote?  (Allow the students to share.)

Related lessons:

Lesson Plan: Animal Homes - Reading (GR 1)

Lesson Plan: Animal Homes - Writing (GR 1)

Lesson Plan: Animal Homes - Science (GR 1)

Lesson Plan: Animal Homes - Math (GR 1)

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Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

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