For the past two weeks, the authors in room 17 have been reviewing and writing new How To...books. This was a unit the students loved weeks ago. They had the chance to practice their crafts again on new pieces. The students started this by each writing a How To Build a Snowman book. They then read it to a partner and the partner acted it out. The students quickly figured out that they almost all forgot a very important step. They all rolled three different sized snowballs, but forget to give the direction to stack them. This lead to a big conversation about how important the sequencing of steps is when giving directions on how to make something. The students then had a chance to revise their pieces to include that very important pieces. Next the students worked on How To Brush Your Teeth. Through this piece students were targeting using very specific action words instead if just saying "put" or "get". Instead they used words like, grab the toothbrush, hold it under the water, and squeeze the toothpaste. They really fine tuned those crafts. The students then to got to pick their own topics to teach. During this time, students worked on adding in appropriate tips, warning and reminders, and using catchy introductions and conclusions that wrapped the piece up. I am so very proud of the students' hard work over the last two weeks in writing. Next week, we will be revisiting the Information writing unit. That was another favorite. The students will be so excited.