FALL-ing into the ELA Common Core Standards!

Fall is the perfect time to bring your class outside to spark new seed ideas for writing. First, I want to introduce seeds for writing to those who are not familiar with the concept :-) If your district uses Lucy Calkins or Fountas/Pinnell than you already know about teaching your students to gather "seed ideas" for their writing journals in the beginning of the year. This can be done by giving each student a photocopy of a heart or a photocopy of an inverted watermelon. Inside the heart or watermelon the students write all the things they like. Outside the heart or watermelon they write all the things they don't like. Students should just write words- not sentences. Throughout the year students will refer back to this for seeds to write about when they have "writers block." In an article titled, Using the Environment as an Integrating Context: ELA Common Core Standards and the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Plan (KLEP) by Vivian Bowles it discusses ways for teachers to provide authentic implementation of ELA Common Core Standards for writing. While you can use print and the internet to provide authentic learning, you can also bring your class outside the walls of your classroom. It does not matter if your school has an elaborate outside classroom. Give each of your students a clipboard, pencil, and a few sheets of notebook paper. Tell your class you are taking them outside to gather more "FALL SEEDS." You can take them for a walk around your school or have them sit in one spot. Have your students use their 5 senses to write down observations they see, hear, smell, (taste- depending on your lesson), and feel. These observations can provide inspiration for real or imaginative narratives, informative/explanatory texts, and substantiated arguments.