Adrienne’s OLLI (Online Learning Lesson Idea) #3 – How to Be My Mom

Hello everyone!  Hope you all had a restful weekend and were able to take a break from planning your online lessons and enjoyed some time with family and perhaps some outdoor fun.  I know some districts and provinces are in the process of gradually returning to modified versions of “in person teaching”, but most remain focusing on distance learning.  No matter what your teaching situation is at the moment, I am sending you positive thoughts and energy!

Many of you have been using my OLLI – “Online Learning Lesson Ideas“.  (You can see my first OLLI HEREand second HERE. ) This week, in preparation for Mother’s Day, my OLLI is all about MOMS!  Taking an idea from my book Nonfiction Writing Power from the chapter on Instructional/Procedural writing, why not have your students write  instructions for “How To Be My Mom”.   Now I realize that it might be challenging for some of the younger students to be working on this lesson at home without their mom seeing it, but you could encourage them to try working on it when mom is not looking!

As always, I like to start with an anchor book! I know there are many great Mother’s Day books out there, but every year, my “go to” book is always Anthony Browne’s “My Mum” (UK edition) or “My Mom” (US edition).  It’s simple, fun, has great illustrations, great similes, and is a perfect book for making connections!   And if you don’t have a copy that you can share online,  it is available as a read-aloud on YouTube!  Hurray!

After watching the video, students can use the optional planner page to brainstorms ideas about their own Mom.  Using their ideas, I like to have them turn their statements about their moms into instructions using simple instructional phrases or words such as:

  Always….    Remember to…    Try to…    Never…   Don’t….  Be…  

Encourage your students to come up with ideas unique to their moms.  See example below:

How to Be My Mummy

Always drink coffee at Tim Hortons

Remember to answer the phones at the dentist office.

Never eat raw sushi (or else you’ll get sick!)

Wear your sparkly sari when you go to weddings.

Make delicious chocolate chip pancakes on the weekend.

Go walking with Auntie every Saturday morning.

Love your family more than anything.

Be smart and encouraging.

 

Here is the read-aloud on YouTube

Here is the optional planner for Primary.

Here is the optional planner for Intermediate.

Here is the template for Primary.

Here is the template for Intermediate.

You will find more “How To” instructional lessons in my Nonfiction Writing Power book and my new Powerful Writing Structures book.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week, everyone!  You are doing a great job!

Come back again for more OLLI posts!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms, Grandmas and Caregivers out there!