Dear Blaise and George, this summer I...

This week I read DEAR DRAGON, written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Rodolfo Montalvo with my first and second graders. 

It was a huge hit. They loved how the illustrations showed what each letter writer was envisioning as he read the letter.  I read Dear Dragon as the first read aloud of the school year. The book provided a natural way for me to have the students share something about their summer. As pen pals do during their correspondence, the students could share something about a hobby, a tradition, an experience, or really any aspect of their summer. This allowed me to get a little insight into how they spent their summers.

I chose one class to pilot a pen pal project. This group of second graders had no problem writing and drawing about their summers even though they had no idea who would receive the letter. A perfect pen pal experience lies ahead! I will be finding a class of second graders to which to send the letters and begin a year of writing. I am excited to see how they grow as writers. 

The other seven classes shared their summer adventures on posters like these:

This is Niagara Falls with ore beneath the rock.

As I have said before, it is hard to hear from twenty-five students about their summer in only thirty minutes and have a lesson and browse and borrow. Projects like this give every student a voice and give me the opportunity to look back at a quieter moment.