The Final Count Down

Writing Writing Writing- I thought after Phase 1 of the LEAP writing would no longer be a focus in my science and social studies classes. Wow, was I ever wrong.  There is a writing task included in the social studies section of LEAP. Check out the new task in science and social studies on Louisiana Pass.
I created a lesson modeled after the Louisiana Pass task.

Explain why good citizenship is important in democracy. In your answer include examples of how citizens are contributing to restoring the wetlands. Support your answer with both examples from the documents and your own knowledge.

The documents in the lesson are a newspaper article,  interview, and a website. 

If you would like to try the lesson with your students click the link below.

Restoring the Wetlands

The Wolves Are Back --

Writing Writing Writing

Writing is on the mind of every fourth grade teacher in Louisiana. 

We are  days away from Phase 1 LEAP Testing  March 19, fourth grade students  will be tested on  writing and math constructed response items.  I don't teach ELA, but I sill want to help my students succeed in writing. We are studying the ecosystem system in science. I have the book The Wolves are Back, written by Jean Craighead George in my class library. It tells the story of how, over a century, wolves were persecuted in the United States and nearly became extinct. Gradually reintroduced, they are thriving again in the West, much to the benefit of the ecosystem. It has beautiful drawings and really captivated my students. I incorporated segments from a  documentary produced by National Wildlife Federation and Turner Original Productions  hosted by Matthew Fox and Discovery Education resources into my lesson really allowing my students to see the wolves of Yellowstone. My students used the Weekly Reader article to write informative text describing the impact of the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park.  My students had become so interested in the wolves and their plight, the writing assignment was greeted with enthusiasm. Of course they used details and evidence to support their writing which  is so important for LEAP.   I have added this writing item  to my store on Teachers Pay Teachers