Yesterday Jacob finished one of his reading books, which means he had to write a book summary. Jacob hates to write book summaries. I make him do it (most of the time) anyway because I know I don't do enough writing with him, and the kid needs to learn to write correctly. But yesterday as I was looking over the instructor's guide to see what his book was about I decided to approach this assignment a little differently....
The story was about a little cat that was searching for a good home. I had Jake write an essay about what makes a good home - for a cat and then for a boy. He started out doing his usual complaining and trying to cut corners, but then as he was getting into the assignment he said "I like this a lot better than what I usually do - summaries are boring and this is kind of fun". That made me pretty excited - I thought of something fun!!!!!
I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner to find a more interesting way to approach book summaries, maybe it is because I lack imagination and creative genius. Whatever the reason, I will strive to be a little more creative when it comes to writing assignments. It seems that a little creativity goes a long way! I have held back from creative writing because Well Trained Mind says not to start it till 4th grade, and I personally hate anything with the word creative in it. Plus there is the pull between just letting him write (without correcting every little mistake), allowing him to re-enforce bad habits and correcting his writing so much that is discourages him.
Here is Jacob's take on what makes a good home (with a little help from mom like don't start all your sentences with AND).
Dec 4, 2007
Getting Creative
What Makes a Good Home
by Jacob
In The Last Little Cat by Meindert DeJong the little cat thought a good home would be warm and have friends. And she also thought there would be a nice warm bowl of milk. I think a nice warm home for a boy would have nice furniture and games and toys to play with. It should have decorations. It would be nice to have a big yard to play in. Running watter and lots of food to eat are important. It would be nice to have a bed and a t.v. Electricity to give light and a solid structure are especially important.
Posted by Kelly (Arnold) Young at 8:48 AM
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1 comments:
Hi I read your blog...That's a great writing assignment. I am a teacher and it is important to find ways to get kids to see the connection between a book and their life. It makes them internalize what they are reading and see a purpose for what they are writing. Don't forget that writing can be done for many purposes. Getting the summary across can be done in many ways...a comic, a letter to a friend, a persuasive piece convincing someone else to read the book. Reading and writing don't have to be painful...the less it is the more Jacob will enjoy it!
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