Using Picture Books to Teach Writing

This resource, Using Picture Books to Teach Writing with the Traits, by Ruth Culham, has a variety of lesson ideas to use for demonstrating different aspects of writing with your class.

There are a couple of focus lessons in each chapter where the author explains explicitly how she uses a particular picture book to demonstrate an aspect of writing.  I copied the one below from Google books.  In this example, the author uses a text called, Through the Cracks, to show examples of "ideas" and "voice."  Lakehead University's Education Library has a copy of Through the Cracks.  This particular text has pictures of kids "falling through the cracks" at school.  I used this book with my ENG 2P class to talk about where we "fall through the cracks" and what we can do to avoid it, and help others (as well as looking at "ideas" and "voice").  There is another good one from Using Picture Books to Teach Writing with the Traits, that I used with my ENG 3E class to talk about why they were late for class.  We read, The Secret Shortcut, by Mark Teague, which is about why 2 little boys are late for school, and then we talked about where students went between period 1 and 2, and ended up drawing a map, and writing a short piece about it.  The Secret Shortcut is available at the Thunder Bay Public Library.  I also looked it up on our library system and we do have one copy of it at Armstrong Public School, but I don't know if they are part of inter-library loans!  :)  

For those of you who don't know, you can check for library books at all the LPS school libraries by going to the "staff resources" section of our board's website and clicking on "Insignia Library System."  You can then perform a search at "all libraries" for whatever title you're trying to find.  If/when you find the title, the librarian at your school should be able to help you set up an inter-library loan for it.

As well as the focus lessons, there are also many suggested picture book titles to use in relation to aspects of writing.  Many of the picture books in this resource are at the Thunder Bay Public Library, LU's Education Library, or through inter-library loan with our elementary schools.  The picture books are elementary level, but that's the point!  :)  It should be easy for everyone in the class to see how a particular aspect of writing is being used.  

P.S. I loaned this book out to someone and am missing it!  If you happen to have it, could you please send it back?  Thanks!  :)