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During National Autism Awareness Month, we have been using text and illustrations of the picture book Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch to enhance our teaching of feelings using the SGM heart icon, Feelings mini poster, and newly created maps. This is the final post of the Mr. Hatch series.

After completing these activities, older students may enjoy using the same Feelings template we began this blog with and a You Tube presentation of The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan. Click here to watch The Lost Thing...

While in NYC about a year ago providing a workshop, Maryellen displayed a group of books to use with the Story Grammar Marker^®. Three of the books were picture books and were written by Jacqueline Woodson. One of the participants came to Maryellen after the workshop to point out those books and especially the one entitled Each Kindness. The others on display were The Rope and The Other Side. Each Kindness is particularly well suited to this time of year with Valentine’s Day coming up and with the Celebration of Black History Month during February...

Making the world a better place for children. That’s what an Easthampton woman has done through her work in helping children solve problems. Maryellen Rooney Moreau is a speech and language pathologist. She was a professor at American International College and twenty years ago founded MindWing Concepts, a business that creates tools to help children communicate better to solve problems and resolve conflict. Maryellen says, “The tools that I’ve created over the past many years, 20 years, that I’ve been a speech and language pathologist for over 35 years, and the focus has always been to help children who maybe have ideas in their head, but can’t get the ideas out. So to foster that in areas of reading and writing, but especially in the area of social communication.”...

I can vividly remember trying to get my two young children up and ready for the day, gathering all needed belongings, buckling each into their car seat, driving to our daycare provider, and then rushing off to spend a day teaching kindergarten! Those were the days! Luckily for me, Michael and Mary were so cooperative and loved to go to their sitter. It was (some days!) actually fun! As spring got closer, we would play a game on the way to and from home looking for signs of spring. We had a song… Spring is coming, Spring is coming, How do you think I know? I saw a (the sign of spring said here, a pussy willow, a forsythia bush, a little robin, a daffodil, etc.) I know it must be so.

Activities that allow us to reflect on the past are helpful in establishing habits of reviewing what we have done well, what we enjoyed, and what we would like to change. We have included some suggested activities that use the SGM icons to add to your toolbox. Ask students to recall one day from 2018 that they especially remember. Give the students an SGM Writing form or a Student Marker to plan their story. Give students time to fill in notes on the sheet and/or practice with the student marker and then, students could orally share their stories with one another...

If you are looking for a quick lesson to review the Character and Setting icons with preschool and K students, check out the two versions of Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle. In both versions, a mouse runs to many animals in search of a friend, asking, “Do you want to be my friend?” At the end of the story, he accomplishes his goal with an added surprise! For each animal the mouse asks, we are given a clue of seeing the animal’s tail and then the page turns to show the entire animal. The miniature version has text which follows the same format throughout…The mouse asks each animal, “Do you want to be my friend?”...

Llama Llama Mad At Mama by Anna Dewdney is an early elementary favorite. The lesson below is geared to ending first grade/second, but of course, can be changed/modified to meet your student needs. The Critical Thinking Triangle^® In Action! tool has been a huge success with students in K-8. The Critical Thinking Triangle^® (CTT) is the crux of the Story Grammar Marker^® methodology for students when working through their problems, comprehending stories presented in academic settings, or when formulating and expressing personal narratives...

I thought this would also be a great way to review SGM components, create centers for individuals and story specific centers, and/or send weekly tasks home to parents! With this in mind, I went on a hunt to find these albums, which are plastic, hold about 25 photos, and measure 4”x6”. In my day, we referred to them as “brag books” and would have them filled with recent photos of children, dogs, garden, etc., whatever we wanted to share (“brag about”) with family and friends! I found a few at our local dollar store and our CVS had a good number for about two dollars each. The following are a few examples of how I will be starting to use these along with MindWing’s STAMPede Stamp Set this year. This is a work in progress and one of which I am excited!...

A trip to a local dollar store is always an adventure for teachers as we keep an eye out for items to use in our classrooms. Today, I netted a package of 75 plastic multi-colored counting chips, an inch and a half in diameter. With summer approaching, I also found a child’s small sand pail. Back at my desk, I took out my set of MindWing's Icon STAMPede Rubber Stamp Set and stamped out a complete episode, one stamp per chip...

As I was reviewing blogs written last year at this time in May, I came across one (Magnetic Spinner Activity for Narrative Expository Text Questions) that used the Narrative/Expository Text-Based Question Cards from MindWing’s The “Core” of the Core manual (pages 171-182). This manual is chock-full of ideas for classroom use, both whole group and small group instruction. These narrative and expository questions may be used for both fiction and nonfiction. All you have to do is print them, laminate, and cut… then choose the ones which reinforce your student goals. The questions are easily paired with your current reading selections and with SGM maps. You may also add your own questions, modified for your students, but the ones presented will certainly get you started!...

If you’re looking for a entertaining, summertime activity to do with preschoolers or kindergarten students, get a copy of the book Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill. This book was originally published in 1980 and was the first book in the Spot series. This engaging lift–the-flap book will bring you and your students on Sally’s journey to find her pup, Spot, in the house so that he will eat his supper. It’s the perfect book to reinforce the Descriptive Sequence and focus on the Character and Setting icons using Braidy the StoryBraid After reading (or viewing on YouTube) the book, make a list of characters (Sally, Spot, bear, snake, hippo, bird, lion, monkey, alligator, penguin, turtle) with the students...

Recently, I came across two books at my local library that both had the same Kick-Off: Hiccups for Elephant by James Preller and Clifford’s Hiccups adapted by Suzanne Weyn. In each, the main Character in the story has the hiccups. Maryellen Moreau has completed a workshop activity using the Preller book shown below. In the Hiccups for Elephant book, the hiccups that the elephant has is an Initiating Event (Kick-Off) for the animals in the forest who do not like being awakened by the hiccups, and each have a remedy to offer. The elephant, himself, is not seeking a remedy...

As you sip your iced tea on a hot summer day over the next couple of months, think about saving your iced tea containers for this very cool lesson and activity. It focuses on explicitly teaching how to recognize feelings and emotions in literature and in life. The explicit teaching of recognizing feelings in literature and in our interactions with others is imperative in our schools and in life. The above standards and quotes emphasize the importance of our need to help students identify feelings, recognize them in others, and make the connection to critical thinking and inference via the Critical Thinking Triangle. The SGM iconic structure is a concrete way to develop this necessity...

Earth Day is Friday, April 22, 2016! We have chosen five of our favorite book titles for this day to share with you. Clicking on any of the titles will take you to a description found on Amazon.

Also, please enjoy this Free Downloadable for your students to use to reinforce the SGM^® Setting icon and Earth Day!

Create a bulletin board of ideas entitled… The Setting, Our Earth is Ours to Care For!...

The Legend of The Indian Paintbrush (Legends Series) by Tomie dePaola

The following synopsis is taken from Goodreads

In spring, the hills and meadows of Texas and Wyoming are ablaze with the reds, oranges, and yellows of the Indian Paintbrush. How this striking plant received its name is told in an old Indian legend. Many years ago, when the People traveled the Plains, a young Indian boy had a Dream-Vision in which it was revealed that one day he would create a painting that was as pure as the colors of the evening sky at sunset. The boy grew up to become the painter of the tribe, but although he found a pure white buckskin for a canvas and made paints from the brightest flowers and the reddest berries, he could not capture the sunset...

We recently posted a blog using the SGM^® Setting Map with the four seasons:

• Winter’s Coming! Narrative/Expository Setting Lesson

With the official first day of the winter season right around the corner, check out some of these blogs and lessons that you may want to use with your students!

Read several poems or books of your choice about the four seasons to the children. After reading, hold a brief discussion with the students about what they like about a particular season.

Have the children break into four groups. Using chart paper, label one for each season next to the setting icon. Ask the groups to rotate from one “season” to another and brainstorm all the words that the particular season makes them think of. Have one student be the recorder for each group and have each group use a different color maker...

Back by popular demand: Use this new story to review the SGM components in a group or to sharpen student awareness of narrative structure.

1. Read the story below to the child. (download printed version).
2. Review the SGM^® components on the SGM^® Teacher Marker.
3. Have the students draw or stamp the icons above the correct SGM^® component. Note that the story is a complete episode, the first paragraph having the character, setting, initiating event, feeling and plan stated; the second paragraph containing all the planned attempts to carry out the plan; and the last paragraph having the direct consequence (tie-up) and resolution (feeling about how the story ended). We have found it helpful to go paragraph by paragraph. (See completed version)
4. Using the Teacher Marker, model retelling the story to the children.
5. After the activity is completed, have the student(s) work with a partner, Turn and Talk, and use his/her SGM^® Student Marker to retell the story.

On a recent visit to Springfield’s Sixteen Acres Library, I was pleased to see a large display of books related to St. Patrick’s Day. One that caught my eye is The Leprechaun’s Gold written by Pamela Duncan Edwards and illustrated by Henry Cole. After reading The Leprechaun’s Gold, I immediately thought that this would make a great lesson to focus on how a change in the Setting signified a new episode, and how all three of the settings and episodes in this picture book overlap, as so often happens in chapter books. There are so many other aspects to this book also, such as character interactions and comparisons, and developing skills in identifying character traits. The book also lends itself to a quick project using a shamrock cut-out...

Valentine’s Day was always one of the most enjoyable days for students when I taught kindergarten, and Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama books were popular with this age group. Llama Llama Be My Valentine! is a Penguin Young Reader book based on an episode of Llama Llama’s animated Netflix television series. Below are some of the ways I used this selection recently with groups of kindergarten and first graders of varying skill levels. Modify as you wish, depending on your goals/objectives and students...

St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching! We have three terrific resources already on our website and here are two other titles to add to the fun of this upcoming special day. Leprechaun Tales is a delightful collection of six short leprechaun tales retold by Yvonne Carroll. It would be fun to start each day off next week reading one to your students. They lend themselves to retelling with the SGM. This book provides an easy way to review a complete episode. If you are looking for simple crafts for students to do, Crafts for St. Patrick’s Day is the book for you! There is a brief introduction about St. Patrick’s Day by the author and followed by twenty craft projects...

February 2nd was always a pleasant day when I taught kindergarten. After exploring groundhogs, we were ready for Groundhog Day! It was always an enjoyable break from our daily routine, especially during the long winter months here in New England. During a recent trip to our local library in Springfield, MA, I was reminded of this time and checked out a few books to share with you. We can always count on Gail Gibbon’s books to inform students in an entertaining way. So it is with Groundhog Day. The book gives information on the celebration itself, groundhogs, and includes additional “Groundhog Facts”...

The icons and maps of the Story Grammar Marker^®, Braidy^®, and ThemeMaker^® make abstract concepts of text structure visible and concrete for students. The use of the developmental stages of narrative development (shown below) enables you to differentiate instruction within your classroom. In schools I have worked, one such way we implemented SGM^® methodology to support instruction was to establish grade level group writing conferencing sessions three formal times a year...

Getting students back in the swing of a new school year can be a challenge. Here is an idea to help make this transition easier. Ask the students what their favorite summer memory is… Have them think about where they were (Setting) and what they did there. To help facilitate the sharing of these ideas students may use the SGM^® resources as shown below. Invite students to orally share these memories with the group. I used a removable adhesive tape so that I could display student work on the poster board as they orally shared memories. This lends itself especially well to teachers/interventionists/therapists who travel from class to class and who work with multiple grade levels...

In today’s classrooms, students are being asked to comprehend more complex materials in earlier grades with a particular emphasis on expository texts. The blending of both narrative and expository texts in many reading selections make understanding these structures a cornerstone for student comprehension success. The iconic structure of the SGM^® provides a concrete visual and tactile scaffold to teach these structures to children. The expository text structures “tie in” to the narrative sequence. The “Core” of the Core manual explains this connection in detail showing how each narrative stage facilitates thinking about information (expository) structures.

For those of you who own a copy of the ThemeMaker Teachers' Manual, you know that one of the novels featured is The River by Gary Paulsen. This novel is a sequel to Hatchet. The River is an excellent book for exploring character development. I recently came across my folder for The River and thought I would share a few additional activities with you before putting it away. One of our sixth grade teachers, Donna Mulligan and I collaborated to present this reading adventure to our students. Six students in her class were on educational plans for reading, two for decoding and comprehension, the others for comprehension skills only. Since all the students had knowledge of and had used the SGM^® for several years, it provided the needed scaffolding to support students within the classroom. This also made it easier for flexible groupings of students as the SGM^® was so familiar to all and a common language was already established among all participants...

Another story that I frequently used in kindergarten and first grade for development of the concept of the Setting was Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson. As always, read the book for enjoyment with the children. Then, choose any of the following ideas and modify them to meet the needs of your students. 1. Elicit words from the students to describe the setting of the woods. The text and illustrations will give plenty of ideas. Use the SGM Magnets as shown at right, creating an expository list map. 2. A simple project—easy for you to create—to further form this connection between the SGM icon and “Setting” term is shown below. Students may copy words from the list or you might want to have them written out for them, depending on the child(ren). The star icon is found on page 140 of the Braidy the StoryBraid manual...

In recognition of Autism Awareness Month, we would like to share with you 31 Blog Posts, Free Lessons, Webinars and Videos that focus on social communication which can be used to help children along the Autism Spectrum. The themes in these blogs/lessons/videos/webinars are perspective-taking, social problem solving, critical thinking, social emotions, theory of mind, story-telling and more! In addition to these FREE resources, for the month of April our Autism/Social Communication Collection is $50 OFF! The sale price is $99.95 for the whole collection (normally $149.95)! We want to give you the chance to use this kit of materials with the population of students who can benefit from it most...

Cead Mile Failte 
(A Hundred Thousand Welcomes)!

I always enjoy trickster tales and have been amazed at the discussion and enthusiasm that these tales elicit from children. The tales from this folktale genre exists worldwide. So, with this in mind and St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, I thought it would be fun to look at books involving leprechauns, those mischievous fairies from Irish folklore. A brief trip to my local library in Springfield, Massachusetts, netted many books sure to put a smile on your student’s face! One such tale is Clever Tom and the Leprechaun. Here is a link to a YouTube video of a reading of the book. I would begin by reviewing two words in the title: clever and leprechaun...

Children’s book author and Illustrator, Bernard Waber created many books for children including the Lyle the Crocodile series and Ira Sleeps Over. Another book, You Look Ridiculous Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus, is an old favorite that lends itself very well to introducing/reinforcing the SGM^®/Braidy^® List Map.

In this story, the hippopotamus is told by a series of other jungle animals that she looks ridiculous. Each animal then tells the hippopotamus that she needs features that he/she possess (examples include the leopard telling the hippo she needs spots and the giraffe telling the hippo she needs a long neck)...

Are you looking for a story to review the SGM^® components in a group or to sharpen student awareness of narrative structure?

1. Read the story below to the child (download printed version).
2. Review the SGM^® components on your Teacher Marker.
3. Have the students draw or stamp the icons above the correct SGM component.
4. Have the students draw or stamp the icons above the correct SGM^® component (see completed version)
5. After the activity is completed, have the student work with a partner, Turn and Talk, and use his/her SGM^® Student Marker to retell the story...

Here in Western Massachusetts, we just had a Thanksgiving weekend storm that dropped 2 FEET of snow in our backyards! It reminded us to share with you links to our past blog posts that contain winter-themed lessons and downloads. Also, we included a comprehensive list of favorite winter-themed books. At left is Maryellen and granddaughter Casey (aged 5) with their snowman.

Today, I came across a book with a Thanksgiving theme that I would like to share with you. Also, at the end of this blog, you will find a list of additional resources for Thanksgiving that may be of interest to you. This book would be ideal to use with the setting icon as we follow the firefighters throughout their Thanksgiving Day. The book is presented in rhyme and the acrylic painting illustrations enhance the story of being thankful and joining together to show appreciation. After reading the selection, I reviewed the firefighters' day with my small group of students with my magnetic whiteboard and Story Grammar Marker Icon Magnets. I used the setting icon to emphasize that a setting is not only a place, but also time as well as the action icons for the sequence of events...

The Day You Begin, by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael Lopez, is a beautiful, nonlinear story to share with children, especially at the beginning of the school year. It encourages children to think about their feelings when entering new situations and creates an opportunity for teachers to provide a discussion with and to show support of children in such situations. Before sharing the selection, take a look at the following links for background information. This book is actually a story of a girl named Angelina, included with examples and guiding suggestions for fitting in, with which all of us can identify. Included below is also a link to the illustrator’s website, Rafael Lopez, discussing the development of the artwork for this book, which older students would find interesting...

Today I visited the Sixteen Acres Library in Springfield, MA. As I was browsing in the children’s section, I turned to find three youngsters reading a big book, “Big Red Barn,” written by Margaret Wise Brown. We have a farm-related blog on our website using this book that you can find here. The blog includes a wonderful downloadable activity you may be interested in sharing with your students about the farm. On a table of featured books, I then found “The Cow Who Climbed A Tree” by Gemma Merino. To continue with the farm theme, I checked out this book and thought you may enjoy sharing it with your students...

If you are looking for a lively read for Halloween, check out Room on the Broom, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Alex Scheffler. This book is presented in delightful rhyme, making it an ideal book for the younger set (Pre-K—Gr 2). It is a perfect selection to map out two Complete Episodes emphasizing a new Kick-Off. Below is the story mapped out from the witch’s perspective. Use Braidy the StoryBraid^® or the Story Grammar Marker^® to retell it to the students. At the end of this blog, we have also included a downloadable “Retelling Wheel” to be used by students to retell the story to one another...

Maryellen recommended this book at a workshop I attended many years ago, and I found so many uses for it when our second, third, fourth, and fifth graders began to explore narrative and expository text structures. Using the picture book Alaska’s Three Bears shows the flexibility of the SGM^® for both narrative and expository texts. She shared lessons and activities for use with grades K-5 and noted that this book could be used with a variety of grade levels (2-5) as it helped to support a number of her goals and objectives as a Language Arts Teacher. There is both a story and expository information presented. The book is one that can be used with a variety of goals/objectives in mind, during whole-group and/or small-group instruction, and with a wide span of grade levels...

Who doesn’t love chameleons? I remember when I saw this book in our school library many years ago! I couldn’t wait to use it with our second grade students featuring the SGM List Map and Descriptive Map. At the time, I travelled from class to class, K-2, and brought SGM Marker and Braidy the StoryBraid, narrative and expository elements, into the classrooms. This time around, I created an informational sheet for grade 2 from various sources to begin our lessons. Notice how the information could be easily entered on an SGM Descriptive Map using the categories Physical Appearance, Habitat, Food and Eating, Young, and Special Characteristics. We completed the project in three sessions...

After facing 27 heart breaking rejections, Dr. Seuss was heading back to his apartment to burn his first book. It was on his journey back that a chance encounter changed his future forever. As he was walking to his apartment along Madison Avenue he bumped into an old Dartmouth College friend, Mike McClintock. McClintock, by chance, had just started working that very morning at Vanguard Press children’s section as editor. A few hours later the two had signed a contract to publish Dr. Seuss’s first book, “And to Think that I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” after it had been rejected 27 times...

I recently have read several articles in our local papers describing encounters between residents and wild turkeys within our state (Massachusetts). I was surprised to learn that wild turkeys once were extinct in our area. Not knowing many facts about wild turkeys, my nephew and I came across a book at our local library here in Springfield, Massachusetts, written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky, All About Turkeys. This book and the companion fact sheets referenced above would be ideal to use with the Expository “My Research” Cut–and-Fold Booklet found in our “Core” of the Core manual. After reading both, invite students to fill in the booklet with a partner and share their results...

It’s amazing how quickly summer flies by! I have mentioned many times that throughout my 38 years of teaching, I always appreciated the fact that each school year brought about new opportunities to improve my teaching techniques. Not all occupations offer one a chance to reflect on what worked and what could be refined, both in materials and delivery, with the overall goal of building upon children’s strengths. From our group at MindWing, we wish you a successful school year and hope you enjoy the following blog to help with ideas to “KICK-OFF” your school year!...

I recently came across a book, Fireflies! written and illustrated by Jule Brinkloe, that I had used to demonstrate the concept of two episodes in a story: the first episode leading to a new Kick-Off, creating a second episode. Told in the first person, the beautiful pencil drawings compliment and enhance the story of a young boy learning a valuable lesson of letting go and doing the right thing. Following, we have analyzed the book in two episodes...

Our baby cousin Avery
celebrating Dr. Seuss!

This week brings us to an exciting yearly event…

Read Across America Day, March 2nd, created in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Dr. Seuss—Theodor Seuss Geisel—was born here in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904 and grew up on Mulberry Street, just a short walk from our MindWing office. We are looking forward to the completion and opening of the Dr. Seuss Museum here in Springfield! It will be such an exciting destination for children as well as adults who grew up loving Dr. Seuss stories! “The more that you read the more things you will know. the more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” With this quote in mind, please enjoy reading and sharing the following links to Seuss-related information!...

After receiving many positive comments regarding a recent post, Using Data Collection and Collaboration to Enhance Instruction, I wanted to share two other ideas that you may find helpful when first using the SGM^® in your school. If you are not using the SGM^® school-wide, then try working with a colleague as the SGM^® is the perfect vehicle to establish collaboration and a common language around student comprehension questions and the thought processes involved in answering those questions...