Mr. Salsich's Class
Third Grade Explorations in Learning
Similes and Snowballs
Last week in writing we learned about similes and… snowballs?
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First, let’s focus on similes. These are techniques that can make our writing more descriptive.
Similes are comparisons between two different things using the words like or as.
Here is an example from Sandy:
My brother jumps like a kangaroo.
And here is one from Kali:
My jacket is as soft as a pillow.
The comparisons in similes help the reader visualize the writing.
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What do snowballs have to do with this? Hmm, that’s a good question…
Sometimes we need to move a little bit in the afternoons. It gets hard to do our best work if we are sitting too long. So, we have been having “snowball” fights in our classroom!
Well, they aren’t really snowballs. First we do some writing work on a small piece of paper. Then we crumple up the paper. These are our “snowballs.”
Paper “snowballs”
When Mr. Salsich gives the signal we throw our snowballs around the room and at each other. After everyone gets a bunch of throws, Mr. Salsich gives another signal and we stop and pick up the nearest snowball. Then we gather in a circle on the carpet and share what other people wrote on their snowball.
It is a fun way to get some movement and share our ideas.
Caution: Classroom snowball fights can cause uncontrollable excitement and laughter.
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Here are some similes from the students about how quiet the room was when we were writing our similes:
The classroom was as quiet as a tiger stalking its prey. – Sean
The room was as quiet as a mouse creeping downstairs. – Maddie
The room was quiet like an abandoned church in the middle of nowhere. – Bennett
And here are some similes about how loud the room was during our snowball fight:
Suddenly the classroom was as loud as a Super Bowl party! – Cayla
The classroom got very loud, like fireworks exploding. – Alicia
All of a sudden, the room was as loud as 20 roosters waking up in the morning! – Lindsey
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January 8th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
Dear students,
I loved this post about similes and snowball fights. Reading it was like slowly waking up on a beautiful morning.
Sincerely,
Mr. Hamilton Salsich (your teacher’s father)
January 9th, 2013 at 5:04 am
Dear Mr. Salsich’s class,
I found this article as inspiring as watching a miniscule person conquer over a bigger, fiercer opponent!
Your blog posts are the only ones that I read straight away as soon as I see them in my inbox…
From,
Mrs. N-C
January 9th, 2013 at 7:41 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I love the post! But I’m wondering why you didn’t put up the picture of you getting attacked?
I like the warning sign too! That activity had a lot of excitment And laughter!
Your Student,
Sandy
January 10th, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Reading your Class Blog is as exciting as fireworks on the Fourth of July! Your students will remember how to use similes their entire lives as a result of this lesson! Great lesson!
Sincerely,
Nora’s Grandmother
January 10th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
Dear Mr.Salsich,
I really liked the snowball fight. When can we do another snowball fight? I have a simile, “The student’s smile was as bright as a star.” I really liked throwing snowballs at my friends.
Your student,
Piper
January 10th, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Here’s a simile, “The room was as messy as a dump.”
I liked the part when Sophia was going crazy.
From,
Kali
January 11th, 2013 at 11:33 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
More examples for similes are; the snowballs whizzed around the room like lightning or the room was as messy as a dump.
From,
Alicia
p.s. I really liked the snowball fight in class, it was really fun!
January 11th, 2013 at 11:38 am
Dear Mr. Salsich
I thought the snow ball fight was fun. I hope we can have anther one soon! My simile is “The students smile was as bright as a pot of gold.”
Sincerly,
Natalia
January 11th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Dear Mr Salsich ,
I loved the snowball fight . You were attacked by your students. I thought it was awesome. Here is a simile for you – the snowball was flying like a jet.
Your friend,
Maddie
January 11th, 2013 at 11:39 am
Dear Mr.Salsich,
I like having the snowball fight in the class room. One part I liked was when you got hit with a snowball 1,000 times.
Your awesome student,
Sophia
January 11th, 2013 at 11:41 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I think having a ”snowball” fight in school was AWESOME! Here is a similie ”the snowballs whizzed around the room like a tiger stalking it’s prey.”
Your student,
Sean
January 14th, 2013 at 3:39 pm
Dear Mr Salsich and class,
What a fabulous idea this is! My class didn’t really believe me when we said we were going to have a snowball fight in our Literacy lesson… but it got them all writing furiously and laughing too! The only downside was most of the snowballs were aimed at the teacher… did that happen in your class too? You can see how we adapted your game on our blog (A Room with a View Class 2) http://middlehampri2.posterous.com
I was engulfed in a blizzard of surprisingly swift snowballs as fast and furious as a herd of rampaging elephants!
Your friend,
Mrs Monaghan