Seesaw Pattern
Writing Trait/Strategy:
organization; structure
Mentor Text Suggestions:
- Someday by Eileen Spinelli
- When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth by Jamie Lee Curtis
- I Am the Dog, I Am the Cat by Donald Hall
- Rosie and Michael by Judith Viorst
- Grandad Bill’s Song by Jane Yolen
- That’s Good! That’s Bad! by Margery Cuyler
- Fortunately by Remy Charlip
- My Mom Travels a Lot by Caroline Fellar Bauer
- Tough Boris by Mem Fox
Description:
The seesaw pattern is a simple pattern to teach young students, especially when you have mentor texts to model its use. Read aloud one of the books listed above and explain to students that it has a special pattern. After reading the book, ask students what pattern they noticed. Explain that this is called a seesaw pattern and is a common technique used by writers. Some writers use it throughout the entire book; others use this craft just in a section of a book. Choose a pattern and have students create one page for a class traveling book. The samples below come from a class advice book that my students made for a teacher who had just had a baby.
Student Samples:
Tags: Mentor Texts, Organization Trait, Six-Trait Writing, Writing Minilessons