Amusement Park Writing

Book Cover of "Tickets to Ride: An Alphabetic Amusement"

I'm so excited about this post, because I simply love roller coasters.  The anticipation, the stomach-dropping fear, and the spontaneous laughter when you shoot down the tracks at high speed feel so awesome!  You might say "Why do a post about amusement parks?"  Sounds a little strange, right?  But it all started when I got back from spring break and my kids were talking about what fun they had at Six Flags and Kings Dominion.  Actually, they couldn't stop talking about amusement parks.  We spent about two minutes doing a turn-and-talk, and then every single child wanted to talk about their favorite ride.  It was just one of those times when I knew I wasn't going to get to what I actually had planned for that day.  Then I stopped and thought "Wow!  They are so into this!"  So I asked them "Hey guys, would you like to write about amusement parks?"  They started clapping, cheering, and shouting "Yes!  Let's write about amusement parks!"  I knew I didn't have the materials for that day, so I told them to give me two days, and that we would do some special amusement-park-centered projects.

The first thing I found was the book pictured above, Tickets to Ride: An Alphabetic Amusement by Mark Rogalski.  This is an alphabet book, but it also has lots of hidden treats in it.  There's a highlighted animal and a concealed number in each illustration, and a surprise map at the end.  This is to timely because I'm teaching about maps right now in social studies.  I really enjoy showing the kids maps about things they care about, such as parks, zoos, and fairy tale maps.  I think it's so much cooler than showing kindergartners maps of their state.  I've tried doing state maps, and the kids just don't understand and don't care about what they're looking at; it's too abstract.  I notice with picture maps they really get into them and even start asking each other really great geography questions.

There's a song by Jack Hartmann called "Roller Coaster Ride" that offers an opportunity for your children to role play going on a roller coaster ride.  The song really tells you what to do, step by step, and the kids will catch on quickly because they've been on roller coasters before.

I made a brand-new amusement park writing folder with all of the rides and treats that the children could think of.  I was extremely happy with the way it came out, and decided to bundle it in a Warm Weather Writing Package on TPT.  Here are a few samples of what my kids did with the amusement park folder:

Amusement Park Samples by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

Finally, I thought it would be really motivating for the children to also have their own guided reading amusement park book.  Here it is.  I hope your students love it as much as mine.

Amusement Park by Sharon A Blachowicz Dudley

Let me know if you like these ideas, and I'm also really interested to know what your children are writing about!