FREE Back-to-School Lesson #3: Create a Critter

I bet you've noticed most students just starting the school year are not too keen on the idea of writing. They've been on a break all summer and it just seems so sudden to start writing again. This writing activity is fun enough that they are willing to open their minds to the idea and actually get into it. Plus students interact just a tiny bit and you can pair them how you like to help get them acquainted comfortably. Perfect for grades 5-8!

BACK-TO-SCHOOL FUN WRITING LESSON #3

"Create an Animal" 

The FREE lesson includes pictures of sample hybrid animals in photographs as well as hand-drawn ones.

Students get to know each other in a relaxed atmosphere because you can have them write in pairs that you choose. (Don't have students pair themselves as friends try to get together in a frenzy and those left at the end feel left out). Puts their informative and explanatory writing to the test and smiles on their faces! Students get to be creative and have fun, yet they must also use their best writing skills. The purpose for their writing becomes so clear during this lesson -- which is to have their partners draw exactly what they've described: a new animal. Click on the product cover to take you to my store where you can download the lesson. Here is a sample of a final draft:

The Jaccoon

             The jaccoon is a wonderful animal that likes people. It does not attack or scratch angrily as a raccoon or jaguar would if you tried to pet it! The jaccoon would be a great pet. The jaccoon is a cross between a raccoon and a black jaguar (also known as a black panther). It is a large animal, with a body about the size and shape of an extra-large Labrador or like any of the big cats. Its head and tail are like that of a raccoon.

            Like the black jaguar, its fur is black and sleek except for on the head and tail. (Sleek means smooth and shiny.) The fur on its head and tail is bushy. Its tail is not pure black but is ringed like that of a raccoon with alternating bands of dark gray and off-white.

            The jaccoon’s head and face look like that of the raccoon. The fur on its head is bushy and mostly grey other than its black and white mask. The jaccoon's face is triangular but with rounded edges. Picture a triangle upside down so that there is one point at the bottom. This is where the nose is located and you cannot see any more of its face or head below the nose. It has a very pointy nose on the end of a very short snout. Its nose is like a small dog's nose and is pure black. There is a band of white all around its nose. Its mouth is tucked under the pointy snout.

            Right in the middle of its face, it has two small black eyes set on top of white fur just above its black “mask.” (People say the raccoon is “masked” because it looks like it is wearing one of those black masks people sometimes wear.) The black mask extends almost all the way down to the nose, but not quite. There is a band of white around the top and sides of the nose. The black mask extends all the way to the outer edges of its face. But the black part of the mask does not go over the eyes. Its eyes are set in white circles. Above its eyes, it has bushy white eyebrows. Other than the black mask and the white areas, the rest of its head and face are gray. It has long white whiskers.

            Its ears are located where the two top points of the triangle are, sticking out from the top of its head at a 45 degree angle. The ears are dark gray on the back and edges and off-white on the front with a little more dark gray fur in the middle of the off-white area.

ALSO TRY FREE BACK-TO-SCHOOL WRITING ACTIVITY #1

ALSO TRY FREE BACK-TO-SCHOOL WRITING ACTIVITY #2

ALSO TRY FREE BACK-TO-SCHOOL WRITING ACTIVITY #4

 Here are some other animal "inventions" (turtle/dog and moose/panda):

WANT ENGAGING READING FOR YOUR STUDENTS? WANT TO HAVE THEM PRACTICE ALL 10 READING INFORMATIONAL TEXT STANDARDS SKILLS? STUDENTS KEEP REPORTING HOW MUCH THEY LOVE THE TEXTS!!! TRY BOTH VOLUMES FILLED WITH 1-PAGE TEXTS PAIRED WITH 1-PAGE TASKS FOR EASY PRINT OR GOOGLE SLIDES FOR EASY DISTANCE LEARNING USING GOOGLE CLASSROOM: