Owl Moon Unit-Mentor Text

Today I was able to do something fun with my students!  We used Owl Moon as a Mentor Text to teach descriptive writing using senses and figurative language.

First we talked about our prior knowledge of owls and I introduced the book.

Then, I read the book aloud to the students.  They LOVED "Whooo-whoo-who-who-ooo"-ing with me!!!

After that we discussed how the author used sensory language to describe what was going on in the story.  We determined that she used a lot of what we see, hear, and feel to help us visualize as we read. We made a class chart with these senses.  The students also made a foldable graphic organizer with see, hear, and feel at the top.

Prior to the lesson, I had typed the text of the story on a word document.  We went through the story page by page (using the projector) and highlighted sensory language.  We color coded it to match our GO-purple for hear, blue for see, and pink for feel.  The kids loved discussing the mental images that were created with the language.

Then the kids went through their graphic organizer and starred their favorite examples of sensory language.  We then added these examples to our class graphic organizer.  Next, the kids were given some time to be illustrators and draw pictures to match the mental images that were created through the sensory language.

After that, we delved into figurative language....similes and metaphors.  I taught a mini lesson about using similes and metaphors as authors to help our writing come alive.

Then we went to our mentor text, Owl Moon, to look for examples.  I had a few written on sentence strips.  The kids then had to decide what was being compared and what the author was trying to convey through the use of similes and metaphors.  They circled the comparison word (like, as, was, or is) and underlined the two things being compared.  On the notecard we described what they author meant through the simile or metaphor.  Each kid then wrote an example of a simile or metaphor on a post it that compared themselves or a friend to something in nature.

Finally, we were able to make some OWL TREATS!!  I had seen a cute idea on Pinterest and on the blog, 3rd Grade's a Hoot, and then modified it based on what I could find at the grocery store. I really wanted candy corn for the beak but since it's almost Thanksgiving, they did not have any in stock. I'll change some things next time, but the kids sure had fun!!  Owl Moon Day was a success!!