MindWing Concepts Blog

Below is one example of a collaborative effort that we used in January of first grade: a time when we were ready to begin more formal writing activities using SGM/Braidy. The SGM^® or Braidy^® Character Map is a wonderful scaffold for student use. The categories had already been introduced and were familiar to kindergarten and first grade students with the many activities/lessons we had previously done. January was our time to formally model how to use the complete map to write a basic character description in first grade...

Llama Llama Mad At Mama by Anna Dewdney is an early elementary favorite. The lesson below is geared to ending first grade/second, but of course, can be changed/modified to meet your student needs. The Critical Thinking Triangle^® In Action! tool has been a huge success with students in K-8. The Critical Thinking Triangle^® (CTT) is the crux of the Story Grammar Marker^® methodology for students when working through their problems, comprehending stories presented in academic settings, or when formulating and expressing personal narratives...

My father always told us to begin our essays with a clear definition of the topic. Thus, a promise to do something differently in the new year defines what many of us will be thinking of as 2018 rolls in! Several years ago, we presented a blog, “SGM is 25 Years Old & New Year’s Resolution Worksheet,” with a free downloadable for your classroom use. The worksheet, which would make an enjoyable group book for your classroom or with a few added touches, a bulletin board, has been updated and is available at right, modify as you wish...

In a previous post, I described a number of ways to complete language mapping activities digitally, taking paper out of the equation. Working with digital materials supports students who have difficulty writing and organizing their papers, and also makes strategic methodologies such as MindWing’s more shareable for consultation purposes. In that post I outlined how you can: • Annotate Maps on a Mac/PC • Annotate on iPad • Annotate in Google Drive • Create digital story maps in the SGM^® app. Recently we became aware of another resource, SnapType (Free to try, $4.99 for the full version), which was developed out of interventions in occupational therapy. SnapType was designed to be simple enough for a student to use independently, and has an interesting story behind it...

If you are looking for a delightful book to go along with cold, snowy weather, check out one I came across the other day, Snowmen at Night, written by Caralyn Buehner and illustrated by Mark Buehner. After a little boy notices that the snowman he built the day before looks a bit different, he begins to wonder what snowmen actually do at night. That is the kick-off of this rhyming story. The story is presented as a series of actions of the many activities of snowmen at night! It would be an ideal selection to use with Braidy the StoryBraid Doll...

If you are looking for a quick lesson to review the Character and Setting icons with preschool and K students, check out the two versions of Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle. In both versions, a mouse runs to many animals in search of a friend, asking, “Do you want to be my friend?” At the end of the story, he accomplishes his goal with an added surprise! For each animal the mouse asks, we are given a clue of seeing the animal’s tail and then the page turns to show the entire animal. The miniature version has text which follows the same format throughout…The mouse asks each animal, “Do you want to be my friend?”...