Introduction
Wouldn't it be neat to live in the town of Chewandswallow? What if you could change the story to make your favorite foods fall from the sky? Now you have the chance to rewrite the story of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"! You will create a tasty 5 paragraph story in your own made-up town with your own made-up weather. The real question is: Will you leave your readers hungry for more? |
Task
Your group will consist of 3 weather predictors: 1. Breakfast forecaster- the job of this group member is to write about three breakfast foods that fall from the sky in your town. This forecaster will use creative food-related adjectives to describe the breakfast foods and use weather words in a well-prepared paragraph (1 introductory sentence, 3 detail sentences and 1 concluding sentence). 2. Lunch predictor- the job of this group member is to write about three lunch foods that fall from the sky in your town, in the same format as above. 3. Dinner analyst- the job of this group member is to write about three dinner foods that fall from the sky in your town, in the same format as above. Your group will decide on a name for your town, work on introductory and concluding paragraphs together and put all of your paragraphs together to complete your delicious story. You will then complete a scoring rubric to assess your group's work and present your story to the class. |
Process
As you complete each step, cross off the step number on the bottom of the group graphic organizer. STEP 1. Decide who will take on each role: Breakfast Forecaster, Lunch Predictor, Dinner Analyst. STEP 2. Go to your individual role pages to get further instructions and web pages for your role. STEP 3. Once everyone has gathered the information for their roles, get together as a group and complete the group organizer. The three foods for each meal should be written on the group graphic organizer. STEP 4. Use any of the "adjectives" websites (found on any of the role pages) to find 25 fantastic adjectives to describe your food items (stay away from the overused adjectives like good, nice, cool, etc.). Write the adjectives in the appropriate spaces on the group graphic organizer. STEP 5. Use any of the "weather words" websites (found on any of the role pages) and find 15 weather words to use in your story. Write these words in the appropriate spaces on the group graphic organizer. Decide who will use which adjectives and weather words in their paragraphs. STEP 6. INDIVIDUAL- Write the adjectives and weather words you will use for your paragraph on your individual graphic organizer. Using the paragraph template for your meal, fill in the missing adjectives, weather words and food items to complete the paragraph. You may be creative and slightly change the wording in the template, as long as the paragraph contains 1 introductory sentence, 3 detail sentences and 1 concluding sentence. STEP 7. GROUP- Fill in the template for the introductory and concluding paragraphs together. You may be creative and slightly change the wording in the templates, as long as the paragraph contains 1 introductory sentence, 3 detail sentences and 1 concluding sentence. STEP 8. Revise and edit the rough drafts of your paragraphs. Each member of the group should use the Idea Development, Organization, and Word Choice revising sticky notes to revise all paragraphs. Check spelling in a dictionary or on www.m-w.com. Read the paragraphs aloud to hear if they sound grammatically correct. STEP 9. Complete a final draft of your story by writing a neat copy on lined paper or typing the paragraphs in Microsoft Word. If there is time left, you may draw pictures to go along with the story or add clipart in your Microsoft Word copy. Hand in all your prewriting (3 individual graphic organizers and completed templates, group graphic organizer and rough draft) and final draft. STEP 10. Assess yourselves by completing a copy of the scoring rubric for your group (one per group)and hand in rubric to teacher.
Evaluation
Scoring Rubric For 3 points each- Paragraph Structure- Story contains 5 paragraphs. All paragraphs contain 1 introductory sentence, 3 detail sentences and 1 concluding sentence. There are no grammatical or spelling errors. Adjectives- Contains at least 15 different, creative food-related adjectives that accurately describe the food. Weather Words- Contains at least 8 different weather words. Pre-writing- All individual graphic organizers and paragraph templates are completed. Group organizer is completed, with at least 25 different adjectives and 15 different weather words. Time on-task- All individuals in group were on-task entire time. Reward website only visited with teacher permission. For 2 points each- Paragraph Structure- Story contains 5 paragraphs. All paragraphs contain 1 introductory, 3 detail and 1 concluding sentences. Contains few (1-5) grammatical or spelling errors. Adjectives- Contains at least 15 different, creative food-related adjectives that accurately describe food. Weather words- Contains at least 6 different weather words. Pre-writing- All individual graphic organizers and paragraph templates are completed. Group organizer is completed with at least 20 different adjectives and 10 different weather words. Time on-task- All individuals in group were on-task most of time. Reward website was only visited with teacher permission. For 1 point each- Paragraph Structure- Story contains 5 paragraphs. All paragraphs contain 1 introductory, 3 detail and 1 concluding sentences. There are 6-10 grammatical or spelling errors. Adjectives- Contains at least 5 different, creative food-related adjectives that accurately describe food. Weather words- Contains at least 4 different weather words. Pre-writing- All individual graphic organizers and templates are completed. Group graphic organizer is completed with at least 15 adjectives and 5 weather words. Time on-task- All individuals in group were on-task some of the time. Reward website only visited with teacher permission. For 0 points each- Paragraph Structure- Story does not contain 5 paragraphs...or paragraphs do not contain 1 introductory, 3 detail and 1 concluding sentence...or there are more than 10 grammatical or spelling errors. Adjectives- Contains less than 5 creative food-related adjectives that accurately describe food. Weather words- Contains less than 4 different weather words. Pre-writing- Individual graphic organizers and templates not completed. Group graphic organizer not completed. Time on-task- Reward website visited without teacher permission.
Conclusion
Excellent job! You have written an appetizing story! If there is extra time, you may choose to create a digital video with pictures from the internet and your narration on Microsoft Photo Story. Students who wish to earn bonus points may write a paragraph about the desserts that fall from the sky in their town! After all groups are finished with the assignment, each group will read their sizzling stories to the class or present thier video! Now you may reward yourself and play the weather crossword puzzle at the link at the bottom of your role page (notify teacher first)!