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Lesson Plan

Silly Animal Problems- Writing an Original Story Focusing on Sequencing Using "Dog Breath" by Dav Pilkey by NNWP


Subject

English Language Arts (NYS P-12 Common Core)

Grade Levels

Elementary, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade


Extension of Lesson

To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach Revision & Response Post-Its to your students' drafts. Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5." Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings. For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.

After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write neatly, require them to find an editor. If you've established a "Community of Editors" among your students, have each student exchange his/her paper with multiple peers. With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post Its.

When they are finished revising and have second drafts, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block. Their stories might become a longer story, a more detailed piece, or the beginning of a series of pieces about the story they started here. Students will probably enjoy creating an illustration for this story as they get ready to publish it for their portfolios.

Description

Dav Pilkey’s story, Dog Breath, involves a family's distress over their dog, Hally Tosis, and his horrible breath. After enjoying the story, students will plan detailed and sequenced stories about an animal with a silly problem. While planning and revising, students will think about their use of memorable details and their story's pacing.

Website(s)

The Northern Nevada Writing Project
The National Writing Project

Six-Trait Overview

The focus trait in this writing assignment is idea development; the writer's goal is to create a unique story idea that is made memorable by its use of details. The support trait in this assignment is organization; a sequence of events will be planned by the writer, and the pacing of those events will be thoughtfully planned.

Author

Laina Flemming

Materials

  • Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey
  • Copies of Dog Breath First Grade models (one per student)
  • Copies of Dog Breath Pre-Write handout (one per student)
  • Copies of Silly Animal Problems Instructions (one per student)
  • Overhead of Dog Breath Pre-Write Teacher Model
  • Dog Breath First Grade Samples.pdf
  • Dog Breath Pre-Write.pdf
  • Dog Breath Pre-WriteTeacher Model.pdf
  • Silly Animal Problems Instructions.doc

    • Duration

    One 40-minute class period

    Step-by-Step Procedure

    Anticipatory Set: Ask students to identify the good things and bad things about having a pet. Discuss student answers.

    1. Introduce Dav Pilkey's story Dog Breath. Tell students it involves a family's distress over their dog, Hally Tosis, and his horrible breath. The author uses a unique approach to writing about this ordinary topic, which is a sub-skill of the writing trait Idea Development.
    2. Read the book aloud. While reading, point out what the author has done particularly well to tie together the writings and illustrations in the story of Hally Tosis. The problems that Hally faces are wonderfully described with great details. Pilkey gives equal time (through his descriptions) to each piece of the story, which is called pacing.
    3. Distribute the Silly Animal Problems Instructions handout. Challenge students to think of an original story idea of an animal with a silly problem. Review the directions and allow time for students to select an animal and a problem.
    4. Distribute the student models. In small groups or pairs, have students read and respond to the models. The groups will want to talk about idea development as well as organization and pacing.
    5. Discuss with the class the student models and what they did well.
    6. Distribute the Pre-Write worksheet. Show the teacher model on the overhead and discuss with the class.
    7. Allow time for students to complete the Pre-Write worksheet for the animal and problem they selected.
    8. Have students share with a partner and ask for volunteers to share with the class.
    9. Once students are preparing to move from the worksheet to a draft, remind them to front load their original stories with memorable descriptions that really help us visualize the problems their animals might face.
    10. Allow time for students to start the draft; they can use the space provided on the student models page or their own paper.

    Closure: Have students volunteer to share with class what they have written so far.

    Content Provider

    The Northern Nevada Writing Project: WritingFix

    Interested in publishing student work on-line?

    WritingFix invites student writers to post final drafts of their original at WritingFix's Community of Student Writers at: http://writingfix1.edublogs.org/2008/02/12/using-90th-streets-advice-prompt/ This is a safe-to-use blog for students and teachers. No writing is posted until it is approved by the moderator. Contact WritingFix at publish@writingfix.com if you have questions about getting your students published.


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