A Message in a Bottle

Author: Kristie Korth

Grade: 2-4

 

Integrated Disciplines: Language Arts

 

NE Standards: 4.1.4 By the end of the fourth grade, students will locate, access, and evaluate resources to identify appropriate information.  4.2.1 By the end of the fourth grade, students will identify, describe, and apply knowledge of the structure of the English language and Standard English conventions for sentence structure, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.  4.2.2 By the end of fourth grade, students will write compositions with a clear focus, logically related ideas, and adequate supporting detail.  4.2.4 By the end of the fourth grade, students will use a variety of forms to write for different audiences and purposes.  4.3.1 By the end of fourth grade, students will pose questions and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions in order to acquire new knowledge.

 

Objectives: Students will participate in brainstorming about the kind of information to include in their tales.  Students will write several paragraphs on the same topic, organizing their ideas.  Students will create a descriptive imaginary tale of travel and adventure.  Students will use reference materials to find information about their “place.”  Students will use correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling, paragraph indentation, nouns, verbs, and personal pronouns.

 

Materials: *Maps of the world, atlases

*Plastic bottles with caps (one for each student writing tale)

*A water table, fish tank, or large basin (optional)

 

PROCEDURES

Anticipatory Set: Start talking to students about messages in bottles.  Ask them if they have ever found one, or if they know of anyone who has found one.  Ask them if they know why people generally write messages and then send them in bottles.

 

Vocabulary: Any foreign countries that the children want to write about. 

 

Activities:

  1. Tell students that they are going to write a tale about an imaginary adventure or trip that has left them stranded on a deserted island.  Explain that the only chance for rescue is to write a message, put it in a bottle, and put the bottle in the water, with the hope that someone will find it.
  2. Brainstorm with the students the kind of information they should include in their tales.  For example, they might want to explain whom they are, where they are going when they got stranded, where they left from, and how they are traveling.  They should also include information about where they are, such as the climate, what the island is like, what plants and animals they have seen, and how they are surviving.  Record their suggestions on the board or chart paper.
  3. When the students are ready to begin writing, make maps and/or atlases available to them.  They can refer to the maps if they need help planning their trips or spelling the names of places they might want to include in their tales.
  4. When students have finished their tales, have them place the tales in the bottles and set the bottles afloat in the water table (or whatever container of water you have available).
  5. Then have the students fish the bottles out of the water, and read aloud the tales within them.  After reading each tale, they can each “rescue” the author by using maps and story details to find approximately where he or she is stranded.

 

Provision for special needs: Assist them in locating the island and in coming up with details for the story, if they are having trouble, pair them with another student who is grasping onto the concepts very well.

 

Closure: The students’ tales and the responses to their tales will be displayed in the hallway or in the classroom.  After they have been displayed for a week or so, they can be taken home in their bottles.

 

Assessment: Students participated in brainstorming about the kind of information to include in their tales.  Students wrote several paragraphs on the same topic, they organized their ideas.  Students created a descriptive imaginary tale of travel and adventure.  Students used reference materials to find information about their “place.”  Students used correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling, paragraph indentation, nouns, verbs, and personal pronouns.  The teacher graded the students based on how much detail they included in their tales, their accuracy of the information, and on their responses to the other students’ tales.

 

References: http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/gen_act/tales/bottle.html

 

Reflection: