Lori: 2nd Grade Writing Focus of Organization/Ideas

2nd Grade Writing Focusing on Organization and Ideas
By Lori Gentry

Duck On A Bike
by David Shannon




Mentor Text: Duck On a Bike is a great story about a duck trying out transportation on a bike. Along the Duck's journey all the animals from the barnyard have something to say about Duck's wild adventure. This story really can engage students by asking them questions like "What is the animals really thinking?".


Purpose: The reason I chose this book is because it is fun and really gets the kids thinking as to what happens next and thinking about how others perceive the duck's choice to ride a bike. Using animals is a general topic that students love, and students can easily see the organization of the characters.


About the Author: David Shannon is an author and illustrator of many very well know children's books. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, with a fine arts degree, and then moved to New York City. His editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, Time, and Rolling Stone, and his artwork has appeared on numerous book jackets. For more information and a video interview on David Shannon go to http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/shannon.




Lesson Plan: The teacher will read Duck On A Bike and ask thinking questions like"What do you think will happen next?" and "What do you think the other animals really think?".

Once finished the teacher will provide an graphic organizer to the student's. The graphic organizer should include an animal, a transportation, and a setting. Then on the graphic organizer break it into steps. Step one will be the animal getting on the choice of transportation. Then you will have 2 or 3 additional steps of what happens when the animal passes the first person or animal, ect. Then final step is to conclude the story.


This graphic organizer will help students organize and get all their ideas down. Once this prewriting process is complete students can write their story. If time allows once student's finish they can share their stories or even help edit each others story.



Content Standard: Writing Process Standard
A. Generate ideas for written compositions
C. Use organizers to clarify ideas for writing assignments.
D. Use revision strategies and resources to improve ideas and content, organize word choice and detail.