Makeover Madness

I have joined the TpT {Seller} Challenge to help get me motivated and refocused. Our first challenge was to make over a TpT product. Like many of us teacher authors, we look at our first products and say to ourselves, "Yikes!"

I knew I wanted to redo my Reading Skills and Strategies inspired by Swimmy by Leo Lionni. As I looked through the product I was very proud of how thorough I was. My products have definitely changed for the better, but there is some great stuff that I have stopped including in my newer products.

This challenged has helped me to refocus, it has made think it's not just my older stuff that needs updating but also my newer stuff :)  So it looks like my summer is going to be busy with some more Makeover Madness!

So this makeover includes new fonts, black and white picture options, extra pages sequencing pages that are differentiated, extra visualizing pages and better asking question pages. I hope you like the new and improved packet.

 

Here are a few of the pages included in the new TpT Preview.

Happy reading!

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Swimmy

Swimmy finds fish that are just like him.

By Leo Lionni

 

Swimmy is a happy little fish until one day a big tuna fish eats his brothers and sisters. Swimmy finds himself alone and afraid in the big ocean. As Swimmy swims along, he discovers a world of wonderful sea creatures. At last, he comes upon a school of fish that look just like his brothers and sisters. He is so excited about all the creatures that he has seen in the ocean he tells the little red fish to come with him. Unfortunately for Swimmy, the fish won't go because they are too afraid of the big fish. Swimmy comes up with a brilliant idea so the little fish don't have to be afraid. What do you think Swimmy's idea is? Will the other fish like his idea? Have fun reading Swimmy with your students and discovering if Swimmy really did have a brilliant idea.

Reading level: 3.5

Theme: Cooperation, teamwork, confronting fears, marine life, and creativity and imagination

Genre: Fable, folk tale

Vocabulary:  mussel shell, swift, darting, gulp, marvel, Medusa, swaying

Reading skills and strategies: sequence, visualize, story mapping, asking questions, predicting, making connections, drawing conclusions/inferencing, Bloom’s leveled questions, classify and categorize

Grammar: nouns, adjectives 

Writing: letter writing, personal narrative using adjectives, journal entry and cinquain poem

I have included a 3 page inferencing activity as well as a list of leveled questions that can be used with this book. If you like what you see, I have created a packet of activities specifically for this book using all of the strategies and skills listed above.

A peak at all the goodies in the Swimmy Skills and Strategies Teaching packet.

Isn't this just a great little story, don't you love Leo Lionni's illustrations? Is this a "go to" book for you, or one you don't think to grab? Which Leo Lionni book is your favorite?

Let me know :)

Happy reading!

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