3rd grade reading class

An extra responsibility I have at school, unrelated to school counseling, is assisting in a reading group.  This 9 weeks I was placed in 3rd grade with one of our best teachers.  We follow a 6 day cycle in reading with the 6th day being a writing day and I have found these days to be the best because 3rd graders write the cutest things.  On this particular day, the assignment was to write a persuasive letter for something you need or want.  The teacher asked me to be the example.  What do I want? 

"Well, I really want a sewing machine for Christmas," I said, and she wrote that up on the board.  Then, the teacher asked the students to come up with 3 reasons I could write for wanting a sewing machine.  The 1st student she called on said, "maybe she's poor, and she has to make clothes instead of buying them!" Wow, that student probably had no idea how right she was!  The 2nd student responded, "maybe she has an annoying brother at home and she wants to sew his mouth shut!"  She must have been talking of personal experience!  In our class we call that strategy using "background knowledge!"

Take a look at one 3rd grader's persuasive letter...

This is why I LOVE working with kids all day!