Narrative Writing Mini lesson Reverse Mapping And Elaboration

transition Main idea Supporting detail transition

Last year my second grade class went to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. We went to see all of the animals we had been learning about. We began by visiting the African Area. We saw groups of elephants, with ears so large they were flapping in the breeze, roaming around in their natural habitat. There were also giraffes with long slender necks that made them tall enough to eat leaves from the tree tops. When we saw the zebras, I was amazed at how their striped fur made them look like inmates. After a while we moved on to the Bird Aviary. The most impressive bird that I saw was a peacock that spread his colorful tail into a giant fan. Parrots perched on trees and squawked as we passed their cages. Some of the parrots were very large and others were small. Later on we got to see the reptiles. My favorite was the giant python. He was aas long as three cars and as big around as a fire hydrant. We watched as he slowly slithered up a tree an climb across al long branch. When the teacher said it as time to go, I could hardly believe we had been there for five hours. Our class trip was a great way to learn more about some interesting animals.

Last year my second grade class went to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. We went to see all of the animals we had been learning about. First Paragraph

We began by visiting the African Area. We saw groups of elephants, with ears so large they were flapping in the breeze, roaming around in their natural habitat. There were also giraffes with long slender necks that made them tall enough to eat leaves from the tree tops. When we saw the zebras, I was amazed at how their striped fur made them look like inmates. Second Paragraph 1.Read the story carefully 2.Think about the main idea 3.Think about the supporting details 4.write them down

Saw African Area Elephants Giraffes Zebras How where these ideas/words tranferred into sentences.

We began by visiting the African Area. We saw groups of elephants, with ears so large they were flapping in the breeze, roaming around in their natural habitat. There were also giraffes with long slender necks that made them tall enough to eat leaves from the tree tops. When we saw the zebras, I was amazed at how their striped fur made them look like inmates. Second Paragraph 1.Read the story carefully 2.Think about the main idea 3.Think about the supporting details 4.4. write them down What are the adjectives and verbs that make these sentences interesting.

After a while we moved on to the Bird Aviary. The most impressive bird that I saw was a peacock that spread his colorful tail into a giant fan. Parrots perched on trees and squawked as we passed their cages. Some of the parrots were very large and others were small. Third Paragraph 1.Read the story carefully 2.Think about the main idea 3.Think about the supporting details 4.4. write them down

Went into bird aviary Peacocks Squawking parrot Different size parrots

After a while we moved on to the Bird Aviary. The most impressive bird that I saw was a peacock that spread his colorful tail into a giant fan. Parrots perched on trees and squawked as we passed their cages. Some of the parrots were very large and others were small. Third Paragraph 1.Read the story carefully 2.Think about the main idea 3.Think about the supporting details 4.4. write them down What are the adjectives and verbs that make these sentences interesting.

Later on we got to see the reptiles. My favorite was the giant python. He was aas long as three cars and as big around as a fire hydrant. We watched as he slowly slithered up a tree an climb across al long branch. Paragraph 4 1.Read the story carefully 2.Think about the main idea 3.Think about the supporting details 4.4. write them down

When the teacher said it as time to go, I could hardly believe we had been there for five hours. Our class trip was a great way to learn more about some interesting animals. Last Paragraph

What did you learn? How to reverse-map a narrative. How to elaborate on sentences. How to make sentences better, more meaningful.