WRITER'S WORKSHOP MINI LESSONS

Labeling our Stories

 

Lesson 3:  What Labels Look Like

Gather students around the carpet area.

Tell students that today's book will help us all to become better writers.

Ask, "The last two days we read books that told us about labels - - what are labels?"

Facilitate discussion:

• what do they look like

• who uses them

• what are they for

• what do they tell us

Say, "Today's book also has labels in it, just like the other books.  It will help us to become better writers."

Share the title of the book.

Ask, "Have you ever eaten vegetable soup?  Have you ever grown it?"

Bring in a can of vegetable soup.

Read Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert.

While reading, show students the illustrations.

When finished, close the book.

Say, "Labels are writing that authors and illustrators use to tell their audience [readers] what something is."

Share with students that writers often make the labels look different than the words in the story.

Open the book again and take a picture walk, observing how the labels look different than the text.

Remind students that writers [authors and illustrators] use labels to tell their readers what something is.

Ask, "Why was it important for Lois Ehlert, the author and illustrator of this book, to add labels to her book?"

Facilitate Discussion.

Remind students that writers [authors and illustrators] use labels to tell their readers what something is.

Model for students how to add a label [or labels] to a story:

• write a simple sentence such as "I like vegetable soup."

• draw a bowl of vegetable soup (or tape the label to your journal)

• talk about what vegetables are in the soup (look on the label)

• draw simple illustrations depicting the veggies that are in the soup

• label the veggies

Encourage students to use labels in their own writing.

Resources:

 

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert