Saturday, October 8, 2022

Free Writing Unit For Grades 1 and 2: Opinion, Narrative, and Informational!

 Free Guided Writing Unit for Grades K-2

Fictional narrative, personal narrative, opinion and informational prompts!

I have another new FREE series that I think you are going to love as much as I do! This one is all about WRITING! I have other writing freebies too (and more to come!) you can see them here!

Have you ever sat down with your child to write and it just doesn't happen? I have been there and I totally know how you feel! When I first started homeschooling my oldest kiddo I used a super strict curriculum and sort of just expected him to follow along - and yeah, that did NOT work out so well!

The truth about writing and kids is that we cannot expect them to just come out with a plethora of papers and ideas. Even if you have a kiddo with a vivid imagination, putting those ideas onto paper, especially when you put them on the spot, can be a challenge. Remember, elementary kids, are still just learning how to put their own thoughts and feelings forward verbally. Writing is a whole other ballgame!

What I have found can really help is to use what I call guided writing. What this does is give your child a simple outline to fill in so that they know what to write and, with your guidance, really can write an entire paragraph or short paper. Really!

Whether they actually put pen to paper and write it themselves or you write down what they dictate to you, this type of writing helps kids organize their thoughts and give them ideas on what they could write about. It also shows them what a certain type of paper should look like.

In this unit, I have included four different papers for your kiddo to write. You could use these throughout the next two years if your kiddo is in cycle 1 (grades 1-2) or you could use one per month or week - I do plan on releasing more! (for older grades too!)

These will also cover the English Language Arts competency (for my Quebec homeschoolers) that states "to write self-expressive, narrative, and information-based texts". In fact, it covers all of those! If you add in typing or reading these out loud on audio, you can also add in the competency of "represents their literacy in different media" Check and check!

Of course, even if you are not following the Quebec education system, you are free to use these in your classroom, homeschool, co-op, or class! I really hope that you do! And that your learners enjoy them!

This unit has the following inside:

  • Peronsal Narrative: The first things I did this morning
  • Fictional Narrative: If I could fly like a bird
  • Opinion Piece: I do / do not like bugs because...
  • Informational Piece: All About my Favourite Animal
It also includes some cover sheets you can use to make this into a notebook, and some extra writing pages for final drafts, or just for fun!
 

I truly hope that you enjoy using this unit and that your learners do too! I especially hope it makes your teaching/homeschooling just a little bit easier!

You can download this freebie below using the link under the picture. Just be sure when sharing to share the link to this blog and not to google drive. Thank you!



Free Science Curriculum: My Body for Grades 1-2

Free Science Unit Human Body Systems
For Grades k-2 (elementary cycle 1)

 Have you seen all of my other free science journals? You can check them out here!

I am happy to bring another easy-to-use and free science journal to my science journal collection! Following the Quebec Education Program's learning progression, these journals are made especially for Quebec learners, but can be used by anyone, anywhere! 

They are simple introductions to concepts that are written with the younger age levels of grades k-2 in mind. My hope with these is that they will not only help you fill up your homeschool portfolio every year, but that they will introduce your child to concepts and gets them excited to learn more about them however you choose - through videos, books, or other units. These units cover the bases so that you know your child is on par with the basics required in public school.


This unit is all about the human body and covers the first progression for Living Things in elementary cycle 1 (grades 1-2), which is:

 "Describes the functions of certain parts of the anatomy (e.g. limbs, head, heart, stomach)"

So in this unit, I have included some simple diagrams and explanations about different systems of the body and how they work - since I do consider your kiddos already know what their limbs and head are ;)

Like most concepts taught in cycle 1, it goes into more detail in later grades. The science concepts taught in cycle 1 are meant to introduce students to the simple ideas that make the world around them work. In fact, the only science competency required to teach during these first 2 years is "to explore the world of science and technology" - how fun!


I have, of course, also included some easy and fun worksheets to show what your child has learned that can be put into their portfolio. Some sheets are simple drawing or matching options, while others require some writing or dictation. You can choose to do just one of them or to do them all and stretch the unit out over a few days or weeks. Whatever your learning goals for your child(ren) and whatever their level of learning, it's simple to make these units work for your homeschool.

This journal is the twelfth science unit I have made for cycle 1 elementary. There are 6 more progressions to cover after this which will probably be condensed into 4 more journals for a total of 16. This means that if you use 8 per year you will cover ALL of the progressions for cycle 1. Since these units are short and to the point, that's not difficult to fit in.

I hope this unit helps you in your homeschool or class! You can download the free journal below by clicking on the link under the image. All I ask is that if you wish to share this resource, you share the link to this blog, not the google link directly. Thank you!