Fairytales are made up stories. They all have some things in common! Some things that most fairytales have are...

• Magic

• Make believe creatures

• Made up places

• Good and evil characters

• Happy endings

Your job is to write your own fairytale! Here's how to do it:

1. First, it might help to read some fairytales to get some ideas. You can read or listen to any fairytales that you have, or there's one here.

2. Next, start planning! You need a main character and a villain. The main character is usually good, and the villain is evil.

3. Make a name for the imaginary place where your story happens. This is called the setting.

4. Make a plan for what will happen in your story. Try to keep it simple. This is the plot.

5. Give your fairytale a title that is creative and tells what your fairytale is about. Usually fairytales have the name of their main character for the title.

6. Start writing! You might begin with "Once upon a time..." like other fairytales do.

7. When you think you are finished, end your writing with "... and they all lived happily ever after."

8. Read your writing again. Make sure you fix any mistakes. Maybe re-write it and add some new details!

9. Share your writing with someone. Ask them for advice! Then go and make your writing even better by adding to it or fixing your mistakes.

A few weeks ago we tried opinion writing. Today, we're going to share our opinion in a different way! Here's how:

1. First you need a new idea for something that you feel strongly about. My suggestion this time is:

• School should always be home school because...

• OR school should be back at Keating because...

2. Now make a list of the reasons why you have that opinion.

3. It's time to start writing! The title for your work this time should be your opinion. For example:

May 2020

_________ School is Best

4. Then start your first sentence with this:

Here's what I think about school: school should always be...

5. After your reader knows your main idea, start adding your reasons like this:

"School should be back at Keating because..."

6. When you have lots of reasons and maybe some details like how much fun you have with your friends at school, or how awesome it is to spend time with your family at home, then you need a concluding sentence. Like this:

"I've told you once and I'll tell you again: school should be..."

7. Now re-read your work! Are there any mistakes to fix? Is there a new detail you could add to make it better? You might consider re-writing your work to make a first good copy.

8. Just like last time, share your opinion! Read your writing to someone in your house and see what they think. Is their opinion the same? Why or why not?

What would you do if you were invisible for a day?

Your job is to write from that prompt! Here's how it works:

1. First, think about what you could do if you were invisible. Ask yourself:

• What are some things I know about being invisible?

• What are some things that I could only do while I'm invisible? Things that I want to do but can't now?

• Is there somewhere that I've heard of someone being invisible? What did they do?

2. Then start planning. Maybe use our main idea template to help you decide on your main idea and supporting details for your writing.

3. Then start writing!

Your first sentence might be:

If I were invisible...

4. Next add some details. What exactly would you do? Where would you go? Why?

5. End with a closing sentence like this:

It would be fun to be invisible.

6. After you have done your writing, re-read your work to see if you can make anything better. Add more, or take some of it away. Then share it with someone to get some more ideas or find mistakes.

7. If you're proud of your work, make a good copy to publish! This might take lots of tries before you get it right.

Here is a reminder of how to start:

If I were invisible...

This writing job is just like Tell Me About Yourself... almost! You are probably still an expert on the topic. Tell me about your favourite animal!

1. Brainstorm some things that are true about your animal.

   • Where it lives

   • What it looks like

   • What it does

   • Things that it has/is/can

   • Anything else that you know about your animal

2. Start writing with your first sentence:

Let me tell you about my favourite animal!

3. Write, write, write! Write some sentences about your animal. The more the better, just like last time.

4. When you're finished writing, draw a picture of your animal that shows some of the details that you wrote about.

We're going to write a letter to a character from a book that we've read! You get to choose which book, and which character. Here's how to do it:

1. First you need paper, and a pencil.

2. It's always important to write the date on your letter so that the person reading it knows when you wrote it, like this:

May 12th, 2020

3. Then you need to decide which book and character the letter is for and address them. Write:

Dear _____________,

It will be helpful to choose a character from a book that you know very well.

4. Next, think of some things that you might like to tell your character in the main body of your letter!

   • What have you been doing lately that you could tell them about? Is there something like what happened in the book that you could tell them about? A connection you have?

   • Is there a memory that you can share with them? Something that you remember from the book?

   • Is there something that you could thank them for?

5. You could ask them some questions, too. They should be questions about things from the book. You could ask:

   • How are you?

   • What have you been doing lately?

   • How is your __________ from the book? (family? pet? friend?)

6. When you have written everything that you want to write in the body of the letter, it's time to close it. Here are some ways to do that:

   • Sincerely,

   • Yours truly,

   • Cordially,

   • With thanks,

Choose one of these to go in the bottom left under the body of your letter like this:

Yours truly,

7. Now it's time to sign your letter to show that it was you who wrote it, and that you meant it! Put it underneath your close like this:

Yours truly,

𝓜𝓼. 𝓡𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓵𝓮𝓲𝓰𝓱

8. Now pretend to send it to the person it's for! You could even address an envelope and put the letter inside, then tuck it inside the book for another time.

A diary is a cross between a journal and a letter. It's like writing a letter to yourself! Here is how it works:

1. Start just like you would in a letter:

   • Write the date

May 12th, 2020

1. • Address your letter with...

Dear diary,

2. Just like in a journal, think about your day. Remember what you did and how you felt about it.

3. Answer these guiding questions on paper or just in your head to help you think about your writing:

   • What did you do?

   • Who did you see?

   • What did you eat?

   • Where did you go?

   • Why do you want to remember that day? Was there something special about it, or do you want to remember it because it was ordinary?

   • How did you feel about all of the things that you did/saw/ate/remember?

4. Start writing! Make it sound like you're telling a friend about the day, except you're telling your future self. Your first sentence can start however you like. A suggestion is:

What a day! I felt __________ because...

As usual, take a look at my example to get an idea of what your writing might look like!

5. Finish the body of your writing, telling all about your day and how you felt about it. Try to write at least 3 sentences, and then end it with something like:

That's all for now.

6. Share your writing with someone, or keep it top secret! Usually a diary is only for the person who wrote it to see. If you do show someone, ask for ideas of how to make it better, and make sure you notice any mistakes and fix them. You could write in your diary every day, or just when you want to remember something!

Today, we're going to write a super simple story. We're going to start by thinking about a beginning, middle, and end for our story. Then we're going to glue them together with some other sentences! This story is creative, so it can be a story about anything!

Let me remind you how it works:

1. First you need a topic. That means an idea that you can write about. It is good to choose a topic that you already know a lot about so that you can do great writing. Some ideas to write about are:

   • A forest/nature story

   • Yourself

   • An adventure someone goes on

   • A mystery to solve

   • A story that has magic in it

   • A narrative story (about something that could happen to you or someone you know)

2. When you have picked your topic, start writing down some ideas. Choose at least one idea for the beginning, one for the middle, and one for the end.

See the example and template by this activity.

3. Give your writing a title that is creative and tells what your topic is. For example

In A Forest Far Away

4. Start writing! Start with your beginning, then your middle, and last your end idea. Tell your reader a lot about your topic. Like always, try to use juicy words to make it fun to read. Use words like:

first, then, suddenly,

5. When you think you are finished, read your writing again. Make sure you fix any mistakes. Maybe re-write it and add some new details!

6. Share your writing with someone. Ask them for advice! Then go and make your writing even better by adding to it or fixing your mistakes.

7. You could even add a picture to go with your creative story!

Today you get to tell the world, in writing, about something that you think is obvious: something that everyone should feel the same way about.

Here's how to do it:

1. First you need something that you think is obvious! My suggestion for today is:

It's obvious that __________ are delicious.

2. Now make a list of the reasons why you think that's true.

3. It's time to start writing! Give your work a title like this:

It's Obvious!

4. Then begin with your main idea:

It's obvious that __________ are delicious.

5. Then start adding sentences about your reasons for feeling that way. Like this:

___________ are ________ on the outside, and _______ on the inside. They...

6. When you have lots of reasons for your obvious opinion, and maybe some details, then you need a concluding sentence. Like this:

I don't know how anyone could have a different opinion: __________ are delicious.

7. Now re-read your work! Are there any mistakes to fix? Is there a new detail you could add to make it better? You might consider re-writing your work to make a first good copy.

8. Share your It's Obvious! writing with someone. Do they think it's obvious, too?

If you were in charge, what vacation activities would you plan?

If I planned the ultimate vacation...

Your job is to write from that prompt! Here's how:

1. First, think about what you would love to do if you were in charge. Ask yourself:

• What are some things I know about vacations?

• What are some things that I have always wanted to do? Places that I have always wanted to go?

• Is there a dream vacation that I've always wanted to go on? Why?

• Who would I take with me on the ultimate vacation?

2. Then start planning. You could use our main idea template to help you decide on your main idea and supporting details for your writing.

3. Then start writing!

Your first sentence might be:

If I planned the ultimate vacation...

4. Next add some details. What exactly would you do? Where would you go? Who would go with you? Why?

Make sure to include lots of ideas from your planning in step 2!

5. End with a closing sentence like this:

Going to __________ would be the ultimate vacation!

6. After you have done your writing, re-read your work to see if you can make anything better. Add more, or take some of it away. Then share it with someone to get some more ideas or find mistakes.

7. If you're proud of your work, make a good copy to publish! This might take lots of tries before you get it right.

Here is a reminder of how to start:

If I planned the ultimate vacation...

This writing job is just like Tell Me About An Animal, but this time it's about a car! Tell me about your dream car!

A dream car is the car that you would want if you could choose any car in the world. It might even be able to do or have things that no car can!

1. Brainstorm some things that are true about the car you want to have.

   • Where would it come from?

   • What would it look like?

   • What could it do?

   • What would be special about it? Would it have any super powers?

   • Is there anything else that you know about your dream car?

2. Start writing with your first sentence:

Let me tell you about my dream car!

3. Write, write, write! Write some sentences about your car. The more the better, just like last time, and the time before that.

4. When you're finished writing, draw a picture of your car that shows some of the details that you wrote about.

P.S. Ms. Rashleigh loves to see these when they are finished!

We've written a letter to a friend, and to a character from a book. Now we're going to write a letter to ourselves! Here's how to do it:

1. First you need paper, and a pencil. Those are always good materials to start a letter with.

2. Next, write the date on your letter so that the future you will know when you wrote it, like this:

May 25th, 2020

3. Then you need to address yourself. Write:

Dear _____________,

Your name goes in the blank spot after Dear.

4. Next, think of some things that you might like to tell your future self in the main body of your letter!

   • What have you been doing lately? Is there something that might be interesting for your future self to know about? A thought that you have?

   • Is there a memory that you can share with your future self? Something that you want remember?

   • Is there something that you could thank yourself for? Or some advice that you have for your future self?

5. You could ask some questions, too. What do you want to know about your future self? You could ask:

   • How are you?

   • What have you been doing lately?

   • Do you have ___________ yet?

   • How are ____________? (this could be a question about some people who are close to you like family or friends).

6. When you have written everything that you want to write in the body of the letter, it's time to close it. Let me remind you of some ways to do that:

   • Sincerely,

   • Yours truly,

   • Affectionately,

   • With thanks,

Choose one of these to go in the bottom left under the body of your letter like this:

Affectionately,

7. Now it's time to sign your letter to show that it was you who wrote it, and that you meant it! Put your name underneath your closing like this:

Affectionately,

𝓜𝓼. 𝓡𝓪𝓼𝓱𝓵𝓮𝓲𝓰𝓱

8. Now put your letter somewhere safe! You could even address an envelope to yourself and put the letter inside, then tuck it away in a place that your future self will find it.

We have made journal entries before, but it might have been a while, so let's do one again! Here are some steps for starting your journal:

1. Think about your day, or maybe a day that happened a while ago. It could be an exciting one, or just an ordinary day!

2. Answer these guiding questions on paper or just in your head to help you think about your writing:

   • What did you do?

   • Who did you see?

   • What did you eat?

   • Where did you go?

   • Why do you want to remember that day? Was there something special about it, or do you want to remember it because it was ordinary?

3. Put the date on your page. It should go in the top right hand corner. Like this:

June 5th, 2020

4. Start writing! Your first sentence can start however you like. A suggestion is:

Today...

Take a look at my examples to get an idea of what your writing might look like!

5. Finish the body of your writing, telling all about your day and answering those guiding questions from number 2.

6. Share your writing with someone! Ask for ideas of how to make it better, and make sure you notice any mistakes and fix them. Remember: you can keep a journal every day, or every week!

We know that stories have a begining, middle, and end. Your job today is to tell me a story! It could be...

• a story from real life

• a story that you know and are retelling

• a story that you are making up

Here's how it works:

1. Get a pencil and at least 2 pieces of paper ready.

2. On the first piece of paper, draw 3 lines to make it into 3 sections.

3. In the first section of your paper, write the title:

Beginning

4. In the second section write:

Middle

5. In the third section write:

End

6. Now start thinking about what story you want to tell! Plan it out on your beginning, middle, end paper like this:

• Choose something that happens in the beginning of your story. Write it underneath Beginning.

• Choose something that happens in the middle of your story. Write it underneath Middle.

• Choose something that happens in the end of your story. Write it underneath End.

7. Get your second piece of paper ready. It's time to start writing!

8. Start by thinking of a title for your story. Write it at the top of your paper.

9. Next, write the beginning of your story from the planning sheet!

10. After your beginning, write your middle. Make sure to use full sentences!

11. Last, write your end! Then check over your work. Reread to make sure you did not make any mistakes!

12. Share your story with someone. Do they have any advice for you?

A few weeks ago we wrote about our thoughts on going back to school. Today, we're going to share our thinking about a different topic. This time you get to choose what to think about!

Here's how:

1. First you need a new idea for something that you think strongly about. Some good ideas could be:

• Something that is your favourite.

• Something that you think is the best of its kind.

• Something that you think is awful/horrible/disgusting.

• Anything that you feel strongly about.

2. Now make a list of the reasons why you think what you do.

3. It's time to start writing! The title for your work this time should be what you're thinking. For example:

June 2020

_________ is Disgusting

4. Then start your first sentence with this:

Let me tell you what I think about _________________...

5. After your reader knows your main idea, start adding your reasons like this:

"________________ is disgusting because..."

6. When you have lots of reasons and maybe some details, then you need a concluding sentence. Like this:

"There's no other way to think about it: ______ is disgusting."

7. Now re-read your work! Are there any mistakes to fix? Is there a new detail you could add to make it better?

8. Just like last time, share your thinking with someone! Read your writing to someone in your house and see what they think. Is their thinking the same? Why or why not?

We know that stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Sometimes the way that a writer chooses to end their story is not the way that we would choose to end it. Maybe it makes us feel sad, or upset. We might even think that we have a better ending!

You're going to get the chance to make up a new ending to a book today! Here's how:

1. First you need a book with a story that has an ending. The good news is: every story ends somehow!

2. Once you have your book, read it. Really notice the ending!

3. Now start thinking: what would you change about the ending?

   • Would you make it happier? or sadder?

   • Would you keep some characters who do not stay in the book? or add a new character?

   • Would you totally change what happens in the story?

   • Would you make the story go on longer? or get shorter?

4. Make some notes about things that you want to have in your new ending.

5. Start writing or drawing to show your new ending. This could be...

   • A comic strip

   • A picture with labels to tell what's happening

   • A few sentences of writing explaining what's happening

6. Share your story, and the new ending with someone!

It's time to make predictions again! Remember that predictions are good guesses about what might happen in the stories that we read. Here's how to do it:

1. Choose a book that you have not yet read, or one that you have not yet finished.

2. Think about everything that you already know about the story. Use these clues:

• the title of the story

• the picture on the cover

• what you have already read

3. Draw a picture of the next thing that you think will happen in the story!

• Will it be happy? Or sad?

• Will any problems get solved? Or will there be more?

• What event might happen next in the story?

Include lots of detail in your picture!

4. When you have finished your picture prediction, put it away somewhere that you can check back on it as you read.

5. Just like before, keep reading and checking back to see if any part of your prediction has actually happened in the story!

We all have likes and dislikes about books. Sometimes we might ask a friend what they think about a book, and they will tell us if they like it or not. That's what we do when we make a book review!

Here's your job:

1. Choose a book that you like or dislike.

2. Brainstorm some reasons why you like or dislike that book.

3. Write a book review! Start with the title of the book like this:

Because of Winn-Dixie: Book Review

4. Then write a star rating. Like this:

★★★★★

Usually star ratings are out of 5 stars.

5. Now explain in a few sentences why you gave the book that many stars. You could also tell your reader who you think the book would be best for.

See Ms. Rashleigh's example.

6. Draw a picture of the book to make your book review interesting and eye-catching.

7. Share your review! Let someone know if they should read the book because they'll love it, or save them the time if it isn't very good!

We already learned that there is a book for everyone. This time, let's talk about our favourite part of a book! This is your chance to share what you think is the best part of a book of your choice. Here's how to do it:

1. Look at the books that you have in your house. Choose one that you have already read.

It will be helpful if this book has something that you like in it.

2. Flip through your book and find your favourite part. This would be the place in the story that you...

• remember most

• feel happiest at

• want to read again and again

• like the picture or event best at

3. Take or draw a picture of that part of your book.

4. Make a list of things you like about that part in the book.

5. Share your best part of the book with someone. Tell them what you like about it, and then ask them if they have a favourite part of that book, too!

Just like we might have noticed in Reflective Reading, books can teach us things! Today, we're going to choose a book, read it, and then share what we have learned from our book of choice. Here's how:

1. First you need a book! It will be easiest to do the rest of our responding if this book is one you have not read, or have not finished before.

It should be a non-fiction book (one that has real facts in it).

2. Next, get a paper ready to make notes about things from the book! These could be notes in pictures, words, or even better: both! At the top of the page write...

I learned...

3. Now read the book! Make notes as you go. Ask yourself: what can I learn from this book?

4. Share your learning with someone! Is there one fact from your book that you can tell them about?

We know all about making predictions! There are many different ways to predict. Today, we're going to read a story, and then ask ourselves:

What if...

Here's how:

1. First, choose a book to read!

2. Read your book, and then ask yourself: what if...

   • What if ________________ hadn't happened?

   • What if _______________ had come sooner?

   • What if ________________ had been in the story?

   • What if _________________?

3. How would the story be different if one of your What if... ideas had actually happened? Think, write, and/or draw your What if... thoughts!

Think of a story that you know.

• What are the characters like?

• What do they do?

• What do they look like?

Today, you get to make yourself into a character in that book! Here's how:

1. Think about what you know is happening in the story. Notice what the other characters are like. If there are illustrations, notice how they are made!

• Are they painted? or pastels? or crayons? or something else?

2. Now, think about what you know about yourself! If you were a character in a book...

• What would you want yourself to look like?

• What would you have with you?

• Would you have a sidekick?

• What could you do in the story?

3. Start drawing. Draw yourself as a character in the book!

4. If you're really excited about this idea, when you're finished drawing yourself as a character in the book you could do some writing, to tell how you fit into the story!

5. Have some fun, get creative, and sneak your way into your favourite book.

See Ms. Rashleigh's example.

We know that good readers think about what they are reading to make sure that they understand it. Today, you're going to read a book, and then make a list of favourites!

Here's how:

1. Choose a book. Make it one that looks interesting, or even one that you have read before!

2. Get a piece of paper and a pencil ready so that you can make a list of favourites when you finish reading. If you would rather tell someone about your favourites instead: skip this step.

3. Start reading, and notice if you have a favourite like these:

• A favourite character

• A favourite part

• A favourite page

• A favourite picture

• A favourite sentence or paragraph

4. When you finish reading, write down your favourites, or you could even tell someone about them!

Thinking about our favourites in a book helps us to synthesize the information. That means that we put it together in our thinking so that it makes sense!

We can train dogs. We can train horses. We can train dolphins. We can also train our ears! When we train our ears we get them used to listening for certain things. Here's your job:

1. Get a piece of paper and a pencil ready.

2. Pick a spot to listen from. It could be inside your house, or it could be outside! You could even start inside and then move outside part way through.

3. You're going to write or draw everything that you hear for at least 10 minutes! The longer you do it, the better.

   • You might hear your neighbour's weedwhacker.

   • You might hear your dog barking.

   • You might hear the heater in your house.

   • You might hear a bird chirping or a helicopter flying over.

4. When you have spent some time listening and doing, you might notice that you're starting to hear things that you did not hear before! You're training your ear to listen for new sounds.

5. When you're finished, put your paper away and then try again at another time of day! Do you hear anything different?

This activity is a fun one for practising your listening skills. You will need at least one other player to do it! Here's what to do:

1. Work with your partner to choose something that you want to try doing while you're blindfolded (or with your eyes closed tightly). Some ideas are:

• Make a sandwich

• Go from one place to another

• Draw something

• Build something

• Find something

2. Then, decide who is going to be the blindfolded listener/doer, and who is going to give the instructions! You can switch after the first partner finishes.

3. Put a blindfold on the first listener/doer. This person could also close their eyes if you do not have a blindfold.

4. The person with their eyes open will only use their words (communication) to tell the blindfolded listener/doer how to do the thing they chose.

5. When the first person does the thing that you chose, switch! The listener/doer is now the communicator, using their words to tell a new listener/doer what to do!

6. At the end, talk about what was harder for you:

• Was it easier to be the listener/doer? Why?

• Was it easier to be the communicator? Why?

Stories have lots of moments in them. A moment is when something happens in a story. Like the moment when the girl finally gets a dog, or the moment when the racecar driver wins the race.

Today we're going to listen to a story, and choose one moment to show in a picture, exactly how we see it in our mind. Here's how:

1. First, listen to a story! This could be one that someone reads to you, a story on RAZ Kids, or a story that you read to yourself. Listen for a moment that you could draw with lots of details!

It might help to listen to the story with your eyes closed, so that you can really see it in your head.

2. Draw a picture of the moment that you choose! Draw carefully, and show what is happening right then in the story. Include lots of details!

3. Share your moment. Tell someone who has not heard the story about just what is happening in the story right at the moment in your picture!

The last time we made a recipe it was made to help us have fun. The recipe showed us what ingredients to use, and how to use them to make the kind of fun that our family enjoys. Today we are going to make a Recipe For Being Active. Here's how it will work:

1. First think about ways that you know of to stay active! Some ideas are:

   • Playing sports.

   • Games like tag.

   • Going for walks, bike rides or hikes.

   • Gardening or cleaning your house.

Ask the other people in your house: "What do you do to be active?"

It might be helpful to take some notes so that you do not forget anything! We want our recipe to have lots of ideas for being active in it.

2. Now start writing out your recipe! Your recipe should have...

   • A title (to show what you are making).

   • Ingredients (what you will need to be active).

   • Instructions (for how to put the ingredients together to be active).

**See Ms. Rashleigh's example if you're not sure what to do!

3. When your recipe is finished, try it out! Get all of the ingredients together, and maybe ask someone from your household to join you and be active with you!

Mr. MacGregor has shared his favourite story with us! He even reads in some fun accents. Your job today is a simple one! Here's what to do:

1. Listen to Mr. MacGregor's favourite story here.

2. Write out a compliment to Mr. MacGregor that you can give him when you see him next!

Let's brighten Mr. MacGregor's day!

We can tell that a song is great if it makes us feel something. Some songs make us feel happy! Some songs make us feel sad. Some songs make us excited! Other songs make us calm. Today, here's your job:

1. Choose five songs that you can listen to!

2. Write out the titles of each song in a list.

3. Listen to each song one a a time, and write down some feelings that each song makes you feel!

See Ms. Rashleigh's example!

4. If you can, try doing this same activity with another person in your home! Do they feel the same things when they listen to your songs?

A synonyms are words that mean the same thing. For example: begin and start. Today we're going to search for synonyms and make a list of all of the ones we can think of! Here's how:

1. Start by looking at the examples by this lesson.

2. Next, start making a list of all of the synonyms that you know. Don't worry too much about spelling. Just give it your best try!

3. When you run out of new synonyms that you know, try looking some up in books or on a computer! How many synonyms can you find?

4. Stuck? A Thesaurus can be a great place to find synonyms!

5. Have fun, and maybe next time you speak or write, you can try to include some synonyms!

A musical instrument can be anything that you use to make sound. There are many things that can be used to make musical instruments including:

• string

• elastics

• a stretched cover like cloth or thin plastic to make a drum

• something that vibrates to make noise

• something that catches air to make a sound

Today, your job is to make a musical instrument, or at least to try! Here's how:

1. First, choose how you want to make sound.

The easiest way is likely to make a kind of drum or guitar using elastics or something hollow with a stretched cover on top.

2. Next, collect the materials that you will need.

It may be helpful to make a drawing of your plan. You could also look up some musical instruments to see how they are made!

3. Start building. Use materials that you have collected and that you have in your house to build your instrument.

4. Try it out! Can your instrument make music? Have some fun seeing what kinds of sounds it can make.

5. Make a song to share with someone. Communicate a feeling or thought using your instrument!

Many stories, movies, and even games that we see have artifacts in them. Artifacts are things made by people that are important to us. Your job today is to make an artifact! Here's how:

1. Collect some materials that you can make an artifact with! These might include:

   • paper, scissors, and glue

   • clay

   • recycling items

   • cloth and thread or glue

   • small items or craft items you have at home

2. Think of something that you could make from a story, movie, or game that you like. Some examples:

   • A paper dog puppet from Because of Winn Dixie

   • A clay snitch from Harry Potter

   • A cloth creeper from minecraft

   • A mini tinfoil wrecking ball from Diary of a Wimpy Kid

3. Make the thing you thought of! Do your best, use the materials you have at home, and make an artifact from a story, movie, or game that means something to you.

4. Tell someone why you made your artifact, and then put your artifact somewhere special that you can see it. When you look at it, you will remember the story, movie, or game that it's from.

You will need:

• White paper

• A Pencil

• Colourful pens/felts/pencils/crayons

Choose a special event that your family celebrates, like Mother’s Day, and let’s make a thoughtful card:

1. Fold the paper in half.

2. On the front of the card we will make an acrostic poem.

This is a poem that uses one word written vertically to make the first letter of each word in the poem. For example:

Magnetic personality

Observant

Teaches me to paint

Helps others

Eats chocolate

Really funny

2. On the inside of the card address it by writing:

Dear __________,

3. Then use a holiday saying, for example:

Happy Mother's Day.

4. Write one to three sentences telling why this person is special to you and finish by thanking them.

5. Finally, sign the card:

With love from,

________________

Here's how it might look inside:

Dear Mom,

Happy Mother’s Day!

You are special to me because you always make me smile. I love your hugs when I am sad. Thank you for always taking care of me.

With love from,

Ms. Rashleigh

Let's create poetry! One of the easiest kinds of poetry is acrostic poetry, just like in the Let's Make A Card activity above. Here's how it works:

1. Choose a word and write it vertically on your page. Like this:

S

P

R

I

N

G

2. Think of words or sentences that start with each letter in your word. You could also choose words or sentences that match up with your letter part way through!

Sunshine

Poppies blooming

Red roses everywhere

Inside when it rains

New

Green all over

3. Write one word or sentence for each letter.

4. Decorate your page with things that go with your word!

5. You're finished! Share your poem with someone to brighten their day.

Today we're going to write a haiku! Haikus are short poems that started being written many years ago in Japan.

Haiku poems have 3 lines of words, stacked up on top of each other:

Line 1: 5 syllables

Line 2: 7 syllables

Line 3: 5 syllables

A syllable is a section of a word. Sometimes we clap to show each syllable. *See example.

In a haiku, each line of the poem always has the same number of syllables.

Here's how to make your own haiku:

1. First, choose a topic. Animals are great topics for haikus!

2. Next, write a few words or ideas about your topic on a piece of paper.

3. Use the template here to write our your haiku, making sure to have the right number of *syllables in each line.

4. Share your haiku with someone!

Find some more about haikus here.

Today you get to be an illustrator! Illustrators use many different things to make pictures for story books. Here are a few ideas:

• clay

• cut paper

• painted and cut paper

• paint

• photographs

• drawing

Here's your job:

1. Choose your materials. Think about trying something new, like using clay or painting and cutting out paper to show what is happening in your picture!

You will also need a piece of paper or cardboard to make your book page on.

2. Think of a story you know, or make one up, and choose just one part of it that you could show. This would be like one page in a book.

3. Create it! Make a picture using your materials, that shows what is happening in your story, your life, or another story that you know.

4. Share you work: show it to someone and tell them all about it! You could even tell them about how you made it!

Today we're going to write a shape poem. A shape poem is written in the shape of what the poem is about! When you write a shape poem, you get to use all of your best describing words. Here's how it works:

1. You will need:

   • a pencil

   • paper

   • pencil crayons (if you want to colour it in)

   • a black pen or pencil (if you want to go over your words)

Then...

1. Think of your favourite treat or game.

• an apple?

• chocolate?

• watermelon?

• soccer?

• football?

• Monopoly?

• Minecraft?

2. Use a pencil and lightly sketch the shape of your treat or a game piece on your paper.

3. On a separate piece of paper write some sentences and juicy words that describe the treat or game.

4. Reread your sentences to check for mistakes.

5. Copy those sentences onto the light lines outlining your shape.

See the pictures to know what this might look like!

6. Go over the sentences in black marker or pencil crayon.

7. Colour in your shape if you like, or just leave it as an ouline!

8. Send me a picture to show me your creativity, and to teach me about something that is your favourite!

When we get a book like a journal or diary, it's fun to make it personalized. That means we decorate it with things that make it truly our own!

Here's what to do:

1. First you need a piece of paper that is big enough to cover a journal or some paper that you already have.

2. Next you need some fun things to decorate the paper with! These could include:

• Markers

• Crayons

• Stickers

• Scrapbook items like pretty papers or decorative items.

3. Now, start decorating! Are there some important words, colours, or pictures that you could be sure to put on your cover?

4. Get some tape or glue, and attach your new cover to your journal or staple it onto your papers to make your own homemade journal! Use scissors to trim the edges to fit if you like.

5. Write or draw in your journal!

We know from writing recipes that instructions tell us how to do something. Instructions are most helpful when they tell us what to do one step at a time!

Here's your job for this activity:

1. Think of something that you know how to do. This could be:

• cooking something

• drawing something

• creating something

• playing a game

• going somewhere

2. Write down the steps of how to do this thing.

3. Try following your steps to do what they say. Did you miss anything?

4. Now, make a good copy! Write out your instructions in your neatest printing.

Maybe add some pictures or decorate the edges to make the instructions look beautiful!

5. Ask someone in your home to follow the instructions. Can they do it? If not: go back and make them better so that they can be followed!