Cheryl C's plan

For Grade 2
Purpose: To teach children how to write instructions that are clear and easy-to-follow.
Rationale: This could be considered a boring topic, but kids need to know how to write things sequentially, not just for instructions, but for stories, poems, essays or virtually any other kind of writing. They need to learn to be purposeful in their planning of the sequence of their ideas and what can be used to enhance clarity along the way.
This skill can be useful in science (sequences are important both in conducting and responding to experiments), math (problem-solving), even physical education (where understanding and following directions can prevent injuries).
Overview
Major Activity: Write your own How-To
Familiarity with Text Type: Students will investigate the features of recipes, crafts, experiments, HowToons, WikiHow sites, Google Maps, Ikea assembly instructions and other manuals to see and understand all the types of instructions that are out there.
Capture Ideas: The teacher will determine a broad topic and the students will brainstorm anything relating to that topic that might need instructions. For example: a topic like ‘Going to School’ would generate all sorts of ideas like Making a Lunch, Taking the Bus, Putting on your winter gear, etc..
Plan: The students decide what their How-To will be and will further research the type of instruction they choose (recipe, HowToon, etc). They will use this research to justify the components, design, and layout they choose for their own How-To.
Draft: The students create a first draft and have a peer conference to see how easy their How-Tos are to follow.
Revise: Students use feedback from conference to create draft 2. Draft 2 is created in Microsoft Publisher.
Proofread: Students have a second conference with two readings of the How-To: one for design and layout and one for spelling/punctuation.
Present: Students make the last of the changes and save their files as JPEGs. The teacher posts them to their own WikiHow site and the students present to the class.
References
Alberta Education. English Language Arts (K-9) Program of Studies. 2000 http://education.alberta.ca/media/450519/elak-9.pdf
Bearne, E. & Wolstencraft, H. (2007). Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing. London, UK: Paul Chapman Publishing.
References Cont’d
Creature Features Project: Alberta Assessment Consortium: http://www.aac.ab.ca/pdfs/elementary.html
Print Resources
Griffith, S., Dragotta, N., & Bonson, J. (2007). Howtoons: The Possibilities are Endless. New York, NY. Harper Collins Publishers.
Howtoons are cartoons showing kids of all ages "How To" build or do things. Each illustrated episode is a stand-alone fun adventure and relays instructions in a unique way

Gabriel, Faith K. (2008). Nifty Thrifty Crafts Animal Crafts. Berkely Heights, NJ. Enslow Publishers Inc.
A fun craft book that includes drawings and pictures in the instructions on how to complete the crafts. Uses kid-friendly language

Cook, Deanna. (1995). The Kids’ Multicultural Cookbook: Food & Fun Around the World. Charlotte, VT. Williamson Publishing Co.
A great cookbook that includes pictures with the recipes. Uses kid-friendly language, multicultural.

Web Resources
Howtoons . (2007). Howtoons.com. Retrieved November 25, 2008, from www.howtoons.com
Howtoons are cartoons showing kids of all ages "How To" build or do things. Each illustrated episode is a stand-alone fun adventure and relays instructions in a unique way
Creative Commons. (2008). wikiHow: The How-To Manual That You Can Edit. Retrieved November 25th, 2008, from www.wikihow.com
wikiHow is a wiki (What I Know Is)- based collaboration to build the world’s largest, highest quality ‘how-to’ manual.
Ikea Systems. (2008). Ikea USA Assembly Instructions. Retrieved November 25, 2008, from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_service/assembly_instructions.html
A good spot to find .pdf files of assembly instructions for use in class.
User Manuals & Guides. (2005). Usersmanualguide.com. Retrieved November 25, 2008, from www.usersmanualguide.com
User Manuals and User Guides for various equipment like mobile phones, photo cameras, monitors, software etc… sorted by brand