This was my first year explicitly teaching PIE...and I noticed a huge difference in the my both my Reading and Writing program. In the past, I taught Author's Purpose as a 6 week pathway, and referred to it (sometimes) inconsistently for the rest of the year.
To start, I downloaded, printed, and laminated these PIE charts from
Second Grade Shenanigans. They remained on my Reading and Writing Workshop bb all year long...
{click picture to go to Hope King's freebie}
We follow the "First Steps Writing" program in our board, which lays out specifically what type of writing you teach each year to each grade. In my opinion, kids need to be exposed to all sorts of writing (just like reading) and not pigeon-holed into one specific kind according to term. So, I taught procedure writing to both my 2s and 3s (which is what I do each year).
We started each lesson with author's purpose (new to me)...and I would remind them "It's all about the PIE." This was new to me because, in the past, I skipped over purpose. I guess that I figured I had taught it, they had learned it, time to move along. At times, I would refer to author's purpose but definitely not as often as I should have.
Another aspect I focused on was "Glow" and "Grow" self & peer feedback after each formal lesson. This gave kids a chance to talk about something that they did well on and a goal for improvement. Loved it.
I found this idea on Pinterest and immediately followed the link to "Wards Way of Teaching" to find out more about it. Since then, I've noticed it pinned like C.R.a.Z.y! I love it because it fits in with my "strength-based" approach...start with something that the kids are proud of THEN go to the goal for improvement :)
{click picture to go to blog post}
Our procedural writing this year included recipes, games, dioramas and crafts. Our Morning Routine anchor chart, one of my kids pointed out, was also a procedure. So smart. Click on the pictures to go to the post, site, blog etc that inspired me:
Purple Popcorn Muffins during Seuss Week
Kids LOVED this...they even remembered that it's a Non-Newtonian substance...
Puffy paint, another fun activity. The salt makes it sparkly...
{click for recipe}
Homemade sculpy thumbprint necklaces for Mother's Day...awesome. I made the sculpy at home and the kids rolled it out, cut it out, painted it and put it on ribbon...
Necklaces inspired by Monic at The Schroeder page. Thank you.
Healthy banana/strawberry smoothies made with yogurt.
Animal Research Project dioramas...made with salt dough animals.
On the last day of school we played Minute to Win-It which were all procedural games. Lots of fun!! I got the ideas from the NBC site.
{click picture for full Minute to Win It packet}
During the year, as kids completed each Procedure activity, they filled out a form. The form included a goal (why are you doing this?), materials, steps, diagram, and reflection. For the reflection, they had to write down one strength about their procedure and one next step. They were then required to switch with a partner and each do a glow and grow with a peer. I often used the random group generator for the partnerships.
It's a simple form but effective. Click the picture to download it :)
I am very fortunate and have a SmartBoard in my classroom. Each procedure could be displayed on the screen, and steps were easy to follow. It also meant that the outcome wasn't a surprise and kids could easily reflect on whether or not their procedure needed to be tweaked. We also completed the procedure form together and used it as a reference when doing independent work.
I taught procedures as Informing the reader...would you agree? At times, the kids were adamant that it must be Entertaining as they were having so much fun : ) Tricky...
