My Town Is Important 2003 - 2004: Resources

Important Book Pattern

The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown has a wonderful pattern on each page that even very young students can learn.

Beginning sentence: The important thing about my school is ....write one thing.
Middle sentence(s): mention a few or several other key features.
Ending sentence: repeat the beginning.

Note: The first & last sentences are the same.

This is a writing format that is effective for writers in all grades. Success comes with just a little practice.

My Town Is Important
by Mrs. McGowan's Class, Spring 2001

The important thing about Spring Lake, New Jersey is that nice people live here.

Our town also has good parks, playgrounds, hotels, restaurants, and shops. The ocean and beach, schools and teachers are great. There are beautiful houses and streets and brave fire fighters and policemen.

But the most important thing about Spring Lake is that nice people live here.

(Note: The first and last sentences are almost the same.)

Take a look at these sites for more examples:

My Town Is Important - This was our spring 2001 project. It's all about students' important towns and communities.

The Important Thing About London, Ontario
Debbie Rastin's Gr. 2/3 students wrote about their town

Lisa Gamache's 2nd grade: Important Snowflake Poems

OTHER "IMPORTANT" SITES

How far Is It? - find the latitude and longitude of your special place. Check out the other links when you get there.

Communities Connecting Internet Project - This project should fit nicely with My Town Is Important - check it out!

Margaret Wise Brown - Official site

Margaret Wise Brown - Another site.

Make Way For Ducklings - Comprehensive geography/economics lesson developed by Patricia King Robeson.

Farmer Fred's Frantic Farm - Webquest for K-2 by Tracy Montemayor.

Field Trip - Visit Awesome Places - Take a tour of some important places in your town; from HUD.

What's My Job? - About community helpers; from HUD.

World Safari at supersurf.com - Different countries are highlighted. Don't miss this one!

Scavenger Hunt - Lots of good ideas

Scavenger Hunt - Another source of good ideas for things to find on a scavenger hunt; from HUD.

City Profiles - A collection of 21 profiles of some of the world’s largest cities. Prepared by the United Nations CyberSchoolBus as part of their "Cities of Today, Cities of Tomorrow!" program.

Community - Activity/lesson ideas - search page from Houghton Mifflin's Education Place site. The next 5 links were found at this terrific resource.

Where I Live - from Houghton Mifflin

The Fabric of Our Lives - Students use the metaphor of a woven fabric to develop a cloth mural telling about their community.

Community Brochures - In this activity, students design and create a "Community Brochure" that would attract new residents or vistors to their neighborhood or community.

Town Guide - Make an illustrated guide of your town for new students and visitors.

Wish You Were Here - Lesson: Create a postcard about your important town.

Poetry Format Samples

acrostic	4 - line		5 w's
haiku	quatrain		cinquain
character	couplet		limerick
additional poetry resources		5 senses

Acrostic Format

The Ocean

O ver and over
C ome the waves
E very minute
A lways coming
N ever ending sound

This is one of the easiest poetry formats to use with young writers. It's also versatile enough for older or more experienced students. Click on the little balloons to reach these websites:

Fall Poems

4th Grade Poems about Sullivan County, Indiana

4-line Poems

		Fall in Spring Lake
Line 1:	a color describing word	Orange
Line 2 :	a noun	Leaves
Line 3:	a verb	Drift down
Line 4:	Fall is .... describing word	Fall in my town is windy!

5 Ws Poem

The 5W poem is perfect for beginners! Each line answers a question.
Line 1:	Who	Children
Line 2:	What	Playing in the leaves
Line 3:	When	After school
Line 4:	Where	In the park
Line 5:	Why	Making memories together

Character Poem

Here's an easy way to write a poem about a famous person in your town.

Line 1: Name of character
Line 2: Describing words
Line 3: Who loves
Line 4: Who feels ... about ...
Line 5: Who needs
Line 6: Who shares
Line 7: Who fears
Line 8: Who'd like to see
Line 9: Who dreams of
Line 10: Who ends up (emotion or situation at end of book)

All or just a few of these lines can be used for your poem.

The Crossing Guard
In her orange vest
and bright smile
Braves the road with speeding cars
to keep me safe
And wishes all a happy day!

More Poetry Formats

A haiku has three lines

Lines 1 and 3 have five syllables.

Line 2 has seven syllables.

Train Station

Station in the city
making engines stop for my
safe landing at home.

A cinquain has five lines.

Line 1 is one word (the title);

Line 2 is two words that describe the title.

Line 3 is three words that tell action

Line 4 is four words that express feeling

Line 5 is one word that recalls the title

Clock

Red and black

Ticking, glowing, towering

Let's listen and be proud

Clock

5 Senses or Sensory Poem

Winter Today
By Kendal from J. Ross' 1st Grade, Snoqualmie, WA

In winter I see snow
In winter I hear money drop in cans
In winter I feel warm and cuddly inside
In winter I taste good food
In winter I smell fires burning

A quatrain has four lines.

Lines 2 and 4 must rhyme.

Lines 1 and 3 may or may not rhyme.

Rhyming lines should have about the same number of syllables.

A limerick has five lines.

Lines 1, 2, and 5 have seven to ten syllables
and rhyme with one another.

Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven syllables
and also rhyme with each other.

A couplet has rhyming stanzas of two lines each.

Additional Poetry Resources

Poetry Workshop - article by Denise Johnson
(She mentions our project from last year in her resources list)

Writing Kids Poems by Regie Routman

Mrs. Hendrickson's Poetry Pages

RhymeZone Rhyming Dictionary and Thesaurus

Poems: Room 13

Acrostic Poems from Mrs. Schalfe's 2nd Grade

Some Poetry Forms

RhymeZone Rhyming Dictionary and Thesaurus

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