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Back to School Noun Practice for Second Grade

July 29, 2021 by Selena Robinson 12 Comments

Back to School Noun Practice for Second Grade

This back to school themed collective noun sorting activity is perfect for elementary language arts practice!

Early elementary grades are some of the most critical times for developing language arts skills.

Kids are learning how to read fluently, how to identify parts of speech, and how to create clear sentences on their own.

As part of second grade language arts standards, children often learn how to form and use both singular and plural nouns.

And that’s why I wanted to share a simple language arts lesson: a printable noun practice for second grade activity with a fun back-to-school theme!

Fun Back to School Noun Sorting Activity for Kids

This simple cut and paste activity is perfect for early grades.

And you can work on the singular and plural nouns and then add in collective nouns when your students are ready.

Read on to see how to get your copy.

And don’t miss our complete ELA lesson Construction Contractions for even more early grades language arts learning!

Printed back to school themed noun sorting worksheets with scissors and a pencil

Back to School Noun Practice for Second Grade Activity

To use this singular and plural noun practice for second grade activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer Paper
  • Child-safe scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Pencils
Singular and Plural Noun Sorting Activity

This noun sorting practice lesson is a cut and paste activity featuring singular nouns, plural nouns, and collective nouns.

Sorting Singular and Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are nouns that look like singular nouns but refer to a group, such as “team”, “group”, “class”, etc. 

Learning to distinguish between these types of nouns is a critical language arts skill for second grade.

Learning about Singular and Plural Nouns

Once kids decide which picture goes with which noun, they glue them into the box below.

Use the noun writing worksheets for reinforcement after the hands-on activity.

Singular and Plural Noun Sorting Activity for Kids

These also give students a chance to practice writing and spelling plural nouns and collective nouns correctly.

You can also send these writing activities home as an independent practice activity.

Get a look at this resource in action below!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Back to School Noun Practice for Second Grade activity!

Don’t miss these other ELA resources for early grades!

Learn the Spanish ABCs with this fun Spanish alphabet literacy center for early learners!
This fun pizza themed adjective sorting activity is a perfect hands-on lesson for ELA!
Work on early literacy skills with this fun fall apple CVC word literacy activity!

Want more early grade back to school learning fun? Get a look at these resources from my fellow bloggers!

Melting Crayons Science Experiment from Creative Family Fun

Free Addition Facts Game from Life Over C’s

Number Ordering Activity 0-999 from Sallie Borrink Learning

Interest Based Learning Project from Still Playing School

What I Love About School Art Project from Planet Smarty Pants

All About Me Flag Project from School Time Snippets

{Free!} Getting to Know You Back to School Game from Preschool Powol Packets

FREE All About Me Worksheets (Lego style) from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Me Llamo – Simple Spanish Game from Rainy Day Mum

Setting up a homework station from Crafty kids at home

Singular and Plural Noun Practice for Second Grade

To get your copy of this Back to School Singular and Plural Noun Sorting Activity, check out the details below!

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Language Arts Tagged With: homeschool printables, language arts

Pizza Pie ELA! Adjective Sorting Activity

December 1, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Does anyone else think learning about parts of speech is fun?

If not, it’s possible that it’s just me.

When I learned about them years (and years) ago in school, I thought it was so neat that the words I read and used everyday had different functions.

If your students aren’t quite as thrilled about the parts of speech as I was, this pizza-themed adjective sorting activity is fun way to practice recognizing describing words!

Pizza Themed Adjective Sorting Activity

If you’re reading a pizza-themed book with your class, this is a wonderful way to weave in some basic ELA practice.

Plus, it has a hands-on component that younger students will love!

Read on to see how to get your copy of this ELA activity – free!

And, for more ways to practice language arts in early grades, take a look at my Construction Contractions ELA unit!

This fun pizza themed adjective sorting activity is a perfect hands-on lesson for ELA!

Pizza Pie ELA! Adjective Sorting Activity

To use this pizza-themed adjective sorting activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Child-safe scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Laminator (optional)
Easy Adjective Sorting Activity for Kids

This ELA lesson lets students practice spotting and using descriptive words to describe everyone’s favorite food – pizza!

Printable Adjective Sorting Activity

It’s designed as a one-time cut and paste activity, but you can easily adapt it for repeated use at centers.

Fun Pizza Adjective Sorting Activity

Instructions are included on the activity, so you can just print and then hand them out to students.

They can look for the adjectives, cut them out, and then paste them onto the pizza as mushroom and pepperoni “toppings”.

Adjective Pizza ELA Activity

Turn this into a reusable activity by laminating the pages. Then cut them out and let students use them again and again.

Adjective Sorting Activity for Early Elementary

This would also make a great take-home activity for practicing parts of speech.

Adjective Pizza Adjective Sorting Activity

Students can assemble their pizzas at home and then bring them in the next day!

Scroll down to get your copy of this free Pizza Adjective Sorting Activity!

Try some of these other ELA learning ideas for early elementary!

Have a sweet ELA lesson with this delicious donuts ELA activity set! Several ELA activities with a fun donut theme!
Teach children how to identify basic nouns, verbs, and adjectives with this winter-themed parts of speech sorting activity! Perfect for ELA over the winter!
Pick up these printable contraction flashcards to help early elementary students review English contractions!

To get your copy of this Adjective Pizza activity, click the image or the link below to grab it as a free download from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Adjective Sorting Activity for Kids

>>> Pizza Pie ELA! Adjective Sorting Lesson <<<

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Teaching Printables Tagged With: ela, homeschool printables, language arts

Delicious Donuts ELA Activity Set

October 31, 2019 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Donuts are life. 

Okay, maybe not life-sustaining. But definitely life-enriching.

Nothing gets my kids up and out of the bed faster than me shouting “Alright, let’s go to Krispy Kreme!”

So when I wanted to share a fun ELA activity set to keep them practicing creative writing, parts of speech, and more, I knew this Delicious Donuts Activity would be a winner!

Fun Delicious Donuts Themed ELA Activity Set

This is a fantastic activity pack for National Donut Day, which is usually in early June. But it’s a good fit for winter time, since most of us (myself included) start baking as soon as the weather turns cold.

Since these activities are low-prep, you can just print them once, laminate them, and use them at centers if you like!

Read on to see how to get your copy! And for more ELA fun with donuts, take a look at our Donut Colors Sentence Writing Activity!

Have a sweet ELA lesson with this delicious donuts ELA activity set! Several ELA activities with a fun donut theme!

Delicious Donuts ELA Activity Set

To use this donut themed ELA activity set, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer Paper (I like Astrobright paper)
  • Pencils

Delicious Donuts Elementary Activity Set

This product includes five different donut-themed writing activities, plus an answer key.

Donut Themed ELA Activity for Kids

On the Donut Adjectives page, students can brainstorm adjectives they’d use to describe donuts.

Printable Donut ELA Activity Set for Kids

On the Delicious Donuts page, kids can try to find as many individual words in the phrase as possible.

Donut Themed ELA Lesson for Kids

The Design A Donut page allows students to create their own confectionery masterpiece!

Then they can practice unscrambling donut-related terms too!

Donut ELA Activity Set for Elementary

Finally, there’s a donut code breaker activity students can complete to decode donut flavors!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Delicious Donuts ELA Activity Set!

Take a look at these other ELA activities for early grades!

Share these fun back to school writing prompts with the to help students write about the new school year! Perfect for creative writing lessons!

Help early writers practice naming colors and writing complete sentences with this donut colors sentence writing activity! Perfect for literacy centers!

Practice helping early learners memorize the letters of the alphabet with these printable finish the alphabet worksheets for kids! Great for learning alphabetical order!

See more ways to teach ELA on my Fun Language Arts Ideas for Kids Pinterest board!

To get your copy of this Delicious Donuts ELA Activity Set, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Printable Donut Themed ELA Activity Set

>>> Delicious Donuts! ELA Activity Set <<<

This delicious donuts themed ELA activity set is so fun for practicing parts of speech with early elementary grades!

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Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Language Arts, Teaching Printables Tagged With: ela, homeschool printables, language arts

Snow Globe Grammar: Parts of Speech Sorting Activity

December 13, 2018 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

I am a huge grammar nerd. I’ve always loved learning about language and how we use it.

My oldest is a fellow ELA junkie, but my middle kids are…less enthusiastic about learning the rules of lexicon. Plus, I just wanted to make a basic ELA lesson more fun, especially for our rising second grader.

So we came up with this hands-on parts of speech sorting activity: Snow Globe Grammar! This is a perfect way to introduce different parts of speech to young learners – with a fun winter theme.

Elementary Snow Globe Parts of Speech Sorting Game

If you use literacy centers, this would be an excellent prep and reuse activity. Or if you wanted to make it into a one-time lesson, you could use it as a cut-and-paste activity for early grades.

Read on to see how to get your copy of this parts of speech sorting lesson! And, if you’d like more practice with ELA and foreign language, don’t miss our printable Spanish verb flashcards!

Teach children how to identify basic nouns, verbs, and adjectives with this winter-themed parts of speech sorting activity! Perfect for ELA over the winter!

Snow Globe Grammar: Parts of Speech Sorting Activity

To use this parts of speech sorting activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer Paper
  • Child-safe scissors
  • Glue stick
  • Laminator (optional)
  • Hook and loop sticky dots (optional)

Winter Parts of Speech Sorting Game

This activity includes sorting mats for three of the basic parts of speech: nouns, verbs, and adjectives – two sets for each.

Two parts of speech cards are included, which feature winter-themed words (24 in all).

Parts of Speech Sorting Activity

If you’d like to use this activity once, you can have students cut out the parts of speech cards and glue them on the correct mat.

Printable Parts of Speech Game

If you’d like to use it over and over, just laminate the mats and the parts of speech cards. Then add hook-and-loop dots to the mats and the backs of the parts of speech cards.

Printable Parts of Speech Sorting Activity

Kids can place the cards on the correct sorting mat and then remove them for use with the next student!

Parts of Speech Sorting Activity for Kids

If you introduce one part of speech per lesson, just cut out the cards and introduce the nouns in one lesson, the verbs in another, and the adjectives in another.

Let students sort them for themselves to review at the end of the week!

Parts of Speech Sorting Activity Answer Key

A full answer key is included.

Snow Globe Grammar Parts of Speech Sorting Activity

Plus, there’s a line art version if you need to save on ink. Or if you just want to let the kids color the pictures on their own!

Snow Globe Parts of Speech Sorting

Scroll down to get your copy of our Snow Globe Grammar: Parts of Speech Sorting Activity!

Stop by and see these other ELA learning ideas!

Work on recognizing syllables in common vocabulary words with this Scarecrow Syllables printable syllable activity for kids!

This back to school themed collective noun sorting activity is perfect for elementary language arts practice!

Learn how to use action words in Spanish with these printable English and Spanish verb flashcards!

LWL Snow Globe Grammar

To get your copy of Snow Globe Grammar, check out the details below!

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Language Arts Tagged With: ela, homeschool printables, language arts

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Graders Activity

September 20, 2018 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Graders - Look! We're Learning!
Scarecrow Themed Printable Syllable Activity
Work on recognizing syllables in common vocabulary words with this Scarecrow Syllables printable syllable activity for kids!
Printable Syllable Activity for Kids
Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Pack - Look! We're Learning!
Scarecrow Themed Syllable Activity for Kids
Printable Scarecrow Syllables Activity for Kids
Scarecrow Syllables Printable Activity
Scarecrow Syllables Printable Activity for Kids
Scarecrow Syllables Syllable Counting Activity

It’s time for another entry in our second grade activity series!

This week, we’re talking about how to help second graders count and identify syllables in common words.

In second grade, we tend to start helping students read slightly longer words. And that’s when it’s good to start sounding out syllables.

To add a fun fall theme to this concept, we’re sharing a fun Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade activity!

Fun Scarecrow Syllable Counting Lesson

This printable activity is an excellent literacy builder for early elementary students!

And, depending on your students’ vocabulary skills, it may even be useful in third grade classes as well.

And for more early elementary learning, take a look at our Superhero States of Matter Science Lesson! It’s an excellent and easy hands-on science lab for early grades.

Help students learn to count syllables in vocabulary words with this scarecrow themed syllable counting activity!

How to Teach Syllables in Early Grades

With our second grader, we use the typical “clap it out” method to count syllables.

So we’ll have him say a word and then for each sound he hears, he claps his hands.

For example, when he says the word “amazing”, he’ll end up clapping three times: A-MAZ-ING.

That helps him see that there are three syllables in the word.

Scarecrow Syllable Counting Lesson for Elementary

Before we got started with the lesson, I asked my second grader if he knew what syllables were.

His response: “Oh yeah, I learned that in school.”

Me: “Really? What are they?”

Him: “They’re all the letters in a word.”

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Pack - Look! We're Learning!

He was really serious about that explanation.

After we talked about what syllables really were, we tried matching up the words with the right number of scarecrows.

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Pack - Look! We're Learning!

The “clap it out” method worked beautifully!

Scarecrow Syllables for Second Grade Activity

To use this printable scarecrow syllables for second grade activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer Paper
  • Pencils
  • Laminator (optional)
  • Dry erase markers (optional)
Printable Scarecrow Themed Syllable Counting Activity

This printable language arts lesson includes:

  • Three color scarecrow syllable counting worksheets
  • Three line art scarecrow syllable counting worksheets
  • A full answer key
  • And a set of instructions!
Scarecrow Themed Syllable Counting Activity

Kids can sound out the words and count the syllables in each word.

There are one-syllable words, two-syllable words, and three-syllable words on each page.

Then students can draw lines to match the words with the correct number of scarecrows to show the right number of syllables.

Printable Scarecrow Syllable Counting Lesson

Turn this into a reusable activity by printing the pages half size and then laminating them.

Students can practice completing them with dry erase markers at centers!

See this product in action in the video below!

Scroll down to get your copy of our printable Scarecrow Syllables for Second Graders Activity!

Looking for more early elementary learning printables? Don’t miss these!

Share this When the Leaf Blew In Storybook Extension to help early learners understand this classic fall story!
Use these realistic leaf identification activity cards to help students recognize common tree species!
Use the print or digital version of this nocturnal and diurnal animals sorting activity to teach students about animal sleep habits!

To get your copy of our Scarecrow Syllables ELA Lesson, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Printable Scarecrow Syllables Activity for Kids

>>> Scarecrow Syllables ELA Activity <<<

Check out the other scarecrow-themed posts from the 2nd Grade Blogging Team!

Free Scarecrow Expanded Form Memory Game from Life Over C’s

Make a Scarecrow Literacy Game from Planet Smarty Pants

Scarecrow Measures from Crafty Kids at Home

Scarecrow Silhouette Art Project from School Time Snippets

Scarecrow Compound Word Match Game from Creative Family Fun

Scarecrow Place Value Math from Sugar Aunts

Scarecrow Craft with Landscape from Sallie Borrink Learning

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Teaching Printables Tagged With: fall, language arts, printables, second grade

Construction Contractions: Construction Themed Language Arts Contractions Lesson

February 20, 2018 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

We have two very active boys in our family. They are not big fans of language arts. But they ARE big fans of anything related to construction.

So I thought I’d make a language arts contractions lesson that lets them learn how to “build” basic English contractions: Construction Contractions!

It’s a complete construction themed language arts lesson on how to make and use standard English contractions that’s perfect for construction fans!

Construction Contractions Language Arts Lesson

Read on to see how to get your copy of Construction Contractions and what’s included in this ELA resource!

If you’re looking for more language arts learning ideas, don’t miss our printable Punctuation Mark Flashcards!

And be sure to share these fun construction picture books with your construction fans too!

Teach kids how to form English contractions with this printable construction themed language arts lesson!

Construction Contractions: Construction Themed Language Arts Contractions Lesson

Inside Construction Contractions, you’ll find 66 pages of language arts learning fun! This is truly a complete lesson for teaching kids about how to form common English contractions.

Printable Construction Themed Language Arts Lesson

The product includes “building” activities for 24 basic English contractions, such as:

  • aren’t
  • isn’t
  • I’m
  • they’d
  • should’ve
  • you’re
  • And 18 more!

Construction Themed English Contractions Lesson

With each English contraction, kids learn which words are used to form it and how they should spell and write the contraction.

Forming English Contractions with Kids

Along with writing and spelling practice, kids can get to practice rewriting sentences using the contractions they learn.

Learning English Contractions with Kids

There are three matching activity quizzes included as well, which offer a simple way to review the concepts after you complete the pack.

Printable English Language Arts Contractions Lesson

Plus, ALL of our construction contraction flashcards are included! There are 48 contraction flashcards in this product!

Construction Themed English Contractions Lesson for Kids

One set with word pairs and the matching contraction, and another set without the contraction so that you can quiz your little learners.

English Contractions Flashcards

Scroll down to pick up your copy of Construction Contractions: Construction Themed Language Arts Contractions Lesson!

Check out these other language arts resources for homeschoolers!

Practice letter and number literacy with these winter alphabet and number playdough mats!

Make early reading fun this winter with these printable winter sight word flashcards for kids!

Work on basic phonics with these printable long vowel flashcards for kids!

Did you know that email subscribers get exclusive learning printables? Sign up using the widget below for access to our special Subscriber Library!

 

 

Construction Contractions Language Arts Pack - Look! We're Learning!

 

To get your copy of Construction Contractions! Language Arts Lesson, check it out below!

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Language Arts Tagged With: homeschool printables, language arts

Constructing Contractions! Basic English Contractions Flashcards

February 6, 2018 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Free Contraction Flashcards - Look! We're Learning!

Remember when you first learned how to form contractions? 

I remember learning that in about first grade and thinking “It’s so cool that you can stick two words together and make a shorter word.”

I started looking at contractions as their own special code language, because you had to know what the original two words were to understand what the contraction meant.

It’s easy to see why I ended up becoming an English major, right?

Time has passed, but it’s still important to teach students how to “build” basic English contractions. Which is why I thought a construction theme would be perfect for these printable contractions flashcards!

Fun Construction Themed Contraction Flashcards

My boys are deep into a construction phase right now.

Our youngest son, in particular, is obsessed with earth movers, bulldozers, cranes, dump trucks, and just about anything related to building.

He told me last week that he intends to be a firefighter, a builder, and a policeman.

I told him that was good, because he could build a house. Then if the house caught on fire, he could put it out and take the person who caused the fire to jail.

To this he replied, “And then I’d build it all over again!”

So, I made these flashcards to help him learn about language arts in a fun way.

Read on to get your set!

And for more language arts fun, check out Construction Contractions – our complete English contractions ELA lesson!

Pick up these printable contraction flashcards to help early elementary students review English contractions!

Printable Construction-Themed Contraction Flashcards

To use these contractions flashcards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links provided below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer Paper
  • Scissors
  • Laminator (optional)

Printable Contraction Flashcards

This product features flashcards that show how to “build” eight basic English contractions, including:

  • he’d
  • I’m
  • they’d
  • And five more!

Basic English Contractions Flashcards for Kids

There is one set of cards with the base words plus the contraction, and another set with just the base words.

Printable Language Arts Contraction Flashcards

That way, you can go over how to build the contraction and then quiz the kids on which contraction each pair of words forms.

English Contractions Flashcards

These would be an excellent ELA review for early elementary students!

As you go over each contraction’s root words, show students how the final contraction is altered (missing letters are replaced with an apostrophe).

Then let students flip through the blank word flashcards and try to remember which contraction is formed by the root words on the construction sign!

Scroll down to get your copy of our Printable Contractions Flashcards!

Teach kids how to build basic language arts contractions with these printable contractions flashcards!

You might have noticed that there are more than eight English contractions on the cards in these pictures. 

Want the full set of TWELVE English contractions flashcards, plus printables for learning how to build and use these contractions in writing?

Grab your copy of Construction Contractions: A Printable Language Arts Lesson!

It’s loaded with 60 pages of language arts printables for recognizing and using all of these contractions with kids!

Construction Contractions Language Arts Unit

Don’t miss these other printable flashcards for kids!

Practice reading sight words this summer with these fun summer sight word flashcards! Great for building reading fluency before the new school year!

These printable short vowel flashcards make it simple to practice phonics with kids!

To get your copy of these basic English contraction flashcards, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

Printable Contraction Flashcards for Kids

>> Construction Contractions Flashcards <<<

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Language Arts, Teaching Printables Tagged With: homeschool printables, language arts

Free Printable Flashcards: Punctuation Flashcards

December 29, 2015 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Use these free punctuation flashcards to help kids learn to recognize common punctuation marks!
Free Printable Flashcards Punctuation - Look! We're Learning!

Punctuation is one of those concepts that’s kind of boring, but you just have to learn it.

We start talking about the use of periods, question marks, and exclamation marks in the early grades, but when kids get into their upper elementary years, it’s time to introduce other marks (colon, semi-colon, quotation marks, etc.).

So I thought I’d make a batch of punctuation flashcards for our collection of free printable flashcards to make learning this language arts skill a little more fun!

Printable Punctuation Flashcards for Students

These are a simple way to add hands-on learning to grammar lessons, which can be a huge help if you have active learners like we do. Plus, they’re just plain old fun!

If you like these, try our Construction Contractions language arts lesson! It’s full of writing practice for learning about contractions with a fun construction theme!

Pick up these printable punctuation flashcards to help kids memorize common punctuation marks in ELA!

Free Printable Flashcards: Punctuation Flashcards

To use these printable punctuation flashcards, you’ll need the following: (Affiliate links are provided here for convenience. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

  • Printer (with ink)
  • Printer paper
  • Scissors
  • Laminator

Printable Punctuation Mark Flashcards

This flashcard set includes cards for eight different punctuation marks:

  • Period
  • Comma
  • Question Mark
  • Exclamation Mark
  • Quotation Marks
  • Apostrophe
  • Colon
  • and Semi-Colon

Printable Punctuation Flashcards for Kids

Try using the unlabeled cards to quiz kids on which punctuation mark is which. Once the children learn to identify each mark, write sentences without punctuation and ask which mark belongs in each sentence.

Punctuation Flashcards for Kids to Use

If you’re teaching punctuation to younger kids, you can probably skip quotation marks, colon, and semi-colon. But those would be excellent review concepts for upper elementary and middle school children!

Punctuation Flashcards for Kids

Once the kids learn the correct names for each punctuation mark, try the unlabeled cards to give them a little quiz!

You can also use them to play a fun matching game – as a review!

Scroll down to get your free printable punctuation flashcards!

More Resources for Learning Punctuation:

If you want to teach your kids even more about how to use punctuation, try these great resources!

  • Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver
  • Professor Grammar’s Punctuation Packets: Fun, Reproducible Learning Packets That Help Kids Master All the Rules of Punctuation-Independently!
  • Basher Basics: Punctuation: The Write Stuff

Don’t miss our other language arts learning ideas!

Teach kids how to form English contractions with this printable construction themed language arts lesson!

Teach children how to identify basic nouns, verbs, and adjectives with this winter-themed parts of speech sorting activity! Perfect for ELA over the winter!

And be sure to follow our Homeschool Language Arts board on Pinterest for more inspiration!

Printable Punctuation Mark Flashcards for Students

To get your copy of our Free Printable Flashcards: Punctuation Flashcards, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll receive these flashcards, plus lots of other freebies, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!

Just use the widget below to get started!

NOTE: If you don’t receive the welcome email with the access information, check your spam folder. It might be hiding in there. 🙂

Filed Under: Homeschooling Printables, Language Arts Tagged With: free printable flashcards, homeschooling printables, language arts, printable flashcards, printables, punctuation flashcards

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review

September 7, 2015 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Creative writing is one of the most difficult subjects I’ve ever had to teach in our homeschool. I was an English major in college and I love the writing process, but letting go of what English “should” sound and look like has been a real issue for me personally, so it’s hard for me to teach my kids to write freely.

So I was thrilled to get a chance to post a Brave Writer review after trying the program’s Faltering Ownership for fifth grade creative writing! In fact, I loved Brave Writer so much that it’s going to be our creative writing program for this homeschool year!

Check out our review to see how we used Brave Writer to make creative writing accessible and fun!

*Disclosure: I received access to this resource in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review.*

Fifth Grade Creative Writing - Brave Writer Review

The Faltering Ownership Philosophy

For fifth grade, we used “Faltering Ownership”, the Brave Writer program that’s geared toward 11-12 year olds. I was a little puzzled by the title until I read the introduction to the program, but it turns out that the title fits the program perfectly!

As Julie explains in the intro, middle school is the time when children begin to “take the wheel” of the writing process. It’s kind of like giving your child the keys to the car for the first time and riding in the passenger seat as they drive.

They make turns you’re not expecting and the loss of control can be unnerving for parents, but the experience is essential for kids so that they can take ownership, even if it’s faltering, over their own direction. And Julie applies that analogy to writing.

In middle grades, kids need to develop more confidence in their writing ability. As parents, we shift from teachers to consultants, giving our children direction but also instilling them with confidence to write what they feel. And that means letting them learn to look at language differently.

Once I read the introduction to the program, I had a new outlook on what it means to teach creative writing, even though I’ve already finished a degree in English! So Brave Writer taught me quite a lot as well. 🙂

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review

We jumped right in with the activities in month 1 – Word Collecting and Building.

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

One of the first monthly exercises in “Faltering Ownership” is to collect words and learn to use them as building blocks for writing prompts and expressions. Tigger started off by listening to television shows and conversations, as well as by reading signs, snippets of books that were lying nearby, and product labels in stores.

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

Once she filled several pages of paper with various words, she copied them onto trimmed pieces of index cards.

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

As you can see, we ended up with quite a lot. She really liked collecting those words.

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

When we had all of our index cards completed, it was time to group the words into piles. In Faltering Ownership, the instructions are quite liberal, so Tigger could group the words however she wanted: alphabetically, adjective/noun pairs, similar topics, or any other way she could think of.

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

We aimed for about six or seven words per pile.

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

Then she started matching them up to create two-word phrases. Faltering Ownership suggested pasting the words on household objects, so we started with our homeschooling space: the dining room.

Craftsy
Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

From the random word pairings, we got some great phrases, including “fuzzy television”,

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

“teetering library”,

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

…and “beautiful friendship”. Awww… 🙂

Fifth Grade Creative Writing: Brave Writer Review - Look! We're Learning!

After creating another phrase “cheeky station”, Tigger wrote a short story:

A Land Where Objects Talk

“You should go to Weirdoland. Objects talk, flowers and trees dance, and MUCH MORE. For instance, one day the sun said, “I will shine.” The clouds said, “We will glide.” A grumpy train pulled in. “You’re the grumpiest object I’ve ever seen!”, laughed a cheeky station. “STOP!” snapped the grumpy train. (Psst…they’ve never gotten along.)”

Faltering Ownership recommended asking students how their perspective on language has changed after completing the word building activity. When I asked Tigger, she wrote down her answer:

“Before when I learned language, especially in school, I used to think that language was easy. Now I’m learning that sometimes you have to think about some things. And guess what? IT’S NOT BORING!”

She’s absolutely right. Creative writing is not boring, especially when you can learn to look at words differently and free your mind to use them in new ways.

How to Use Faltering Ownership

Faltering Ownership is designed to be used along with The Writer’s Jungle, the focal point of the Brave Writer curriculum. The Writer’s Jungle is a homeschooling creative writing course that is geared toward parents. 

It’s a complete overview of language arts in general – from narration and freewriting to editing and publishing. If you’re unsure where to begin when you’re teaching creative writing, The Writer’s Jungle is basically a guided journey through teaching language arts to your kids.

Since Faltering Ownership is a year-long curriculum, there are exercises for an entire year of creative writing. Naturally, we began with Month 1: Wild Words, but the program continues for 9 months more, covering topics such as historical writing and composing reports. There are also two bonus activities, in case you teach year-round or just want to round out your program with more activities.

Faltering Ownership is based on three core segments: language arts, oral language, and writing projects. One of the things I’m truly enjoying about the program is its emphasis on appreciating language in general before beginning to write. So children can learn to use copywork, narration, and dictation (core components of the Charlotte Mason approach) as keys to examining literature. These are great stepping stones to building their own creativity for what they’ll write later.

Plus, the ebook is beautifully laid out, complete with pictures, diagrams, and prompts. All of the instructions are included for each activity, so you don’t have to be an expert on teaching English before you begin. I can’t tell you how much of a help that was, especially when you’re teaching kids with ADHD and you need to get a lesson done before their attention span goes out the window. 🙂

We can’t wait to use Brave Writer for our fifth grade creative writing program to see how much further we can stretch our writing muscles! If you’re interested in trying Faltering Ownership or another one of the Brave Writer programs, you can save 10 percent on your purchase with the code iHomeschoolDiscount. This code is valid through September 21, 2015 only.

To learn more about Brave Writer, visit the program’s website or keep up with Brave Writer on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram!

Filed Under: 2015-16 Curriculum, Curriculum Reviews, Homeschool Curriculum, Language Arts Tagged With: creative writing, fifth grade, fifth grade curriculum, homeschool curriculum, language arts

Hi! I'm Selena, a teacher and a veteran homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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