Catch a Small Moment!

Hello Everyone!

It is no secret that I love teaching writing to my firsties. Today we talked about how the authors of some of our favorite books write about "small moments. In her book, "Small Moments-Personal Narrative Writing," Lucy Calkins describes the action of these authors as taking a small moment of life and stretching it out to make even longer stories.  My kiddos already know that they write best about what they know--from their own schema, but today I wanted them to "catch" one of their small moments.  We donned our "safari" hats and caught some small ideas on sticky notes, made some lists,  visualized those moments in our minds, and began our "small moment" piece. We are discovering our own stories! 

Our Small Moment Anchor chart

 Catch a small moment. Picture that moment in your head. Talk about the details of that moment. Draw that moment, and write about the action!

I got the safari hats from the Dollar Tree this summer! I knew I would find a good use for them!!

Small Moment Catcher hats are ready!

For your printable of our "Small Moment" writing activity, click here

I was so excited at the amount of writing my kids did today.  Many of them didn't want to stop!  We will work hard tomorrow and the rest of the week.  I am so looking forward to conferring with each and every one of my "Small Moment Catchers!"

I hope you catch one of your own small moments and discover a story!

Joyfully!

Nancy