Writer’s Craft #5 by Donna Krause

“Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type” By Doreen Cronin

Writer’s Craft: Wonderful Ways With Print, Letter Texts

6 Traits of Writing: Ideas

Rationale: I chose this book because it is so much fun to read and the kids love it. It is also a Caldecott Honor Book and I like to introduce award winning books to my students whenever possible.

Objectives:

The students will:

1. Identify the ways with print craft used in the story.

2. Generate ideas for their writing based on the story, “Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type.”

3. Write a story using the letter text craft and ideas generated about animals that can communicate.

Time: Three 45 minute periods

Grade Level: 2nd grade - 5th grade

Anticipatory Set: What do you think your pet would say to you if it could talk? Do you think you are a good owner and provide everything your pet needs and wants? Do you think there are things your pet might want that it does not necessarily need? Do pets have feelings? Today we are going to read a story that might make you change your mind or confirm your answers to the questions we just discussed. The story is called “Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type.”

Prior Knowledge: Look at the front cover. What do you notice? What does the silver circle mean? A Caldecott Honor Book is a book that won second place for its illustrations or pictures. Can cows really type? Make some predictions. Who do you think the cows would type a letter to? What do you think cows would say in a letter? Where would they get a typewriter? How do they even know how to type? As we read the story, I want you think about your predictions and see if you were correct and decide if the illustrator deserved to win the Caldecott award.

Read as a Reader:

Read the story aloud to the students. Have the students read the repeated lines of, “Click, Clack, Moo. Click, Clack, Moo. Clickety, Clack, Moo” as a group.

After the story:

Were your predictions correct? What did you like about the story? What made you laugh? What made you think?

Reread as a Writer: I am going to read the story again to you. This time I want you to pay attention to how the writer writes. What do you notice about the words she uses and how she writes? Why do you think she chose to write the story the way she did (the different fonts)?

“Click, clack” (different font)

“MOO” and “QUACK” (different font, in bold print)

The letters (different font)

Could you use this writer’s craft in your own writing? The author had a great idea when writing this story; what if animals could communicate?

Writing Practice: Create an idea web about animals communicating. What animals in your life might write you a letter. What might the animals ask you for? Try writing a story using the idea of animals communicating and the craft of ways with print.

Assessment: The students will identify the ways with print in this story. The students will generate ideas about animals writing letters or communicating with them in their writer’s notebooks. They will also implement one of their ideas and write a story using this new craft and idea.