Synthesizing with a GREAT book!

Hey Everyone!  I am so excited to share a fun project you can do with your students to practice their "synthesizing!"

What is synthesizing?

We talk about it as being the 

BIG IDEA or the

 Author's Message

I've done these two things to show synthesizing.  We first talk about this picture:

the kids tell me the "details" of the picture

~sand

~water

~sunset

~people

~clouds

And then we talk about the BIG IDEA of the picture- this is the "Frame" that might be put around the picture.

We end up with- the beach or even family time on the beach.

I've also used nesting dolls to represent synthesizing too...

Each idea builds on another until you have the Big Idea!

We were just in the midst of practicing this tough skill when I was contacted by the author of this book:

by Vincent A. Mastro

(click on picture to check out the book)

It was the "ah ha" moment I needed... YES Fables were perfect to help the kids see the Big Idea or the Author's Message!!

So my brain started on overdrive.. how can I incorporate this great book with this skill and still have a cute outcome??

Cue cute project (thanks TpT!)

 

Spring Fever Butterflies

So here is what we did...

I started by sharing a story called The Fox and the Stork in the first grade Basal

and we filled out an organizer together.

Once they knew the expectation of finding the "Big Idea" and the details of the story, I sent them off to work with a partner to read one of the the 3 fables from the 1st Book of Childhood Adventures.

They had a copy of the story and their highlighters ready!

It was so cute to see them intently reading the story and highlighting the important information.  This book is so well written and really captivated the interest of my students! :)

(plus the illustrations are amazing!)

Then they used the information they highlighted to fill out the organizer.

This was really "key" because I could quickly see who got it and who didn't.  Then I could do a short reteach using the text (I could also see who truly understood the story!)

Click for organizer

Once they completed the organizer and had it checked, they moved on to creating their butterfly!!

They grabbed the materials they needed

And started writing their notes from the organizer onto the parts of the butterfly.

And then cut, glued, and added more to the butterfly...they turned out SO cute!!

And they look adorable hanging in the room!

I'd love for you to check out the great book used in this lesson (and the just released companion book which I will be purchasing!!)

I am also VERY excited to be able to give a copy of either book (your choice) away!  Please leave a comment below with your email and let me know how you might use the book. 
(Vincent will be thrilled to hear your ideas!)

I will pick a book winner on Saturday (5/18)

Don't forget about the other giveaway that will end Thursday night!

Thanks so much for reading!