Could there really be warm weather on the horizon? At least the calendar says so! One of the perks of the month of March is experiencing the first day of spring. If you are lucky, greenery and flowers are starting to bloom. So why is there a surge of color and lovely annual and perennial flowers in the spring? Students can find out for today’s Wonder Wednesday!
Students can find the above visual prompt in the Write About This gallery by searching the term “flowers” or under the Nature category. Have students select the picture and choose an appropriate Write About This prompt to start their planning.
1- What is your favorite season? Explain how that time of year makes you happy.
2- Write a poem or song about the springtime.
3-What are some things that have helped you “bloom” as a writer?
Have students share their responses and discuss any similarities and differences they hear from each other’s responses. Students can now work to generate their own investigative question for further research. This can include the science of plants and flowers or even why flowers and spring blooming can cause allergies! Wonderopolis has several great entries, including “Do All Plants Bloom? Once students have decided on their investigative question, have them complete a KWL chart. They can then generate their research questions/topics from the “What I Want To Know” column in an I-Chart. This is a great way for students to organize the evidence they gather during their research! They can take notes in the Write About This app and add their own audio interpretations to their notes as well.
Finally, invite students to use the Write About This app and the iPads to go on a nature walk outside of the school. They can take pictures of any available “blooms” as further evidence to write about or to add to their own Custom prompts! They can review their original writing response from the Write About This and write a report on their chosen investigative question in the Write About This app. They may want to build upon what they originally wrote and/or tie it in to the investigate response.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Lani deGuia is a teacher, instructional technologist, and social media manager. She has over 13 years of educational experience in traditional and online classroom settings for both K-12 and adult learners. She currently works in digital content and strategy for businesses and personally blogs at Rose Tinted Traveler.