Ok testing season is almost over and although we've had fun preparing for it, sometimes it feels overwhelming don't you think? So anyways, after an exhausting month of test-prep, I decided to bring the LOVE for reading back to the classroom. We are analyzing stories while adding fun craftivity into it!

We just finished working on Las corbatas del Sr. Tanen or Mr. Tanen's Tie Trouble by Maryann Cocca-Leffler. This story is great for several reading skills. I used it for sequencing, story elements such as characters, scenario, problem and solution; then we also dig deep into characterization. We'll probably compare it to another story from the same author next week if I can find the book I need. 

Believe it or not, my students took learning in their hands and were asking about when could they finish their project. They were so excited!

This is what we did:

First, I provided construction paper and a template of a tie for the students to trace and cut their own. 

 For the next days, I used manila paper, a tie template and 2 graphic organizers in Spanish that you can access [HERE]

Keep in mind that if you plan to do this lesson again you don't want to start from scratch, it's always better to start somewhere ;-) that's why I store my crafts' templates in plastic bags. 

Once we had the materials ready, students traced their tie, cut it and glued it on the second sheet of construction paper. Then we wrote the titles and divided the paper in four. 

 On the first day, we did a choral reading (I play the story on the computer and students follow along in their books). This time we only worked on the story elements. This is a skill that has been previously introduced but we went over all the elements  as reinforcement. This was one of my favorites:

The next day we focused on sequencing the story's most important events. First they read the story with a partner (Read-to-Someone) and tried to find the most relevant details. Next we moved on to discussing the order in which things happened, we of course, discarded those non important events. Finally I directed them to their graphic organizer to work independently. I gave them one detail from the middle of the story, they had to find the rest, that means they found two details that happened before and two after the given detail. So our craftivity wasn't just fun it was also rigorous and purposeful. ;-)

By the third day, students were already familiar with the story because they had read it twice by now (first  time in a choral reading, second time in a Read to Someone reading). So, we discussed how Mr. Tanen's feelings changed throughout the story from the beginning to the end. Students mentioned what made him change his feelings, what motivated him to sell his ties, how he felt sad and happy at the same time; etc. They got to draw him in the center of their graphic organizer then write down his character traits, his feelings, his actions and his motivations (the hardest).

These are examples of the final product on the inside.

After they were all finished with their graphic organizers, I let them finish their decorations on their project. Each student also made their own Mr. Tanen's head and glued it to their project. Finally students had the chance to share their work and this brought more excitement. 

These are some of our final products:

And finally, they made it to the bulletin board... (sigh)

As always, please don't hesitate to comment or ask... See you next time!


  1. Where did you find the spanish version of this book? I can't find it anywhere.

    1. You can find it in english in Amazon for as low as $3.82. It is also in both english and spanish in the 2nd grade Journeys/Senderos book series used by my district. I hope this helps! :-)

  2. I love this. Are your four boxes Characters, Setting, Problems, Solutions?
    Could you provide the English translation of your graphic organizers? I don't mean provide the templates in English, but rather, just reply with what each page says in English? Thanks so much!

    1. Yes that's right! Characters, Setting, Problem and Solution.

  3. Also, one more thing...It might be a good idea for you to add a footer with your blog name. I can't tell you how many times I find a resources online that I love and I print or save it, but then later, when I want to go back to the source or need to give credit to the source, I can't remember where I got it.

  4. Hello,
    Love this!!! Do you have this in English?

    1. Unfortunately I don't have it in English at the moment.