Craft Lesson 1: Buzz

Discussion:
Onomatopoeia! What is that? This craft lesson draws on words that are formed by the sound they make. Buzz is a perfect example. I believe these words are important and fun to integrate into children's own writing.

How To Teach It:
I would first introduce the concept of an onomatopoeia by telling them the definition and then reading the book Buzz by Janet Wong. Have the children chime in when you are reading the book to the class by pointing to the word whenever it appears on the page; they will eventually start to get the idea of an onomatopoeia if you show them a good example. Then, as a class or in small groups, the children could come up with other words that are onomatopoeias. After their discussion in their groups or as a class, each child could write their own story including an onomatopeia. To show the significance of the words they used, they could imitate the sound whenever reading their story and have everyone join in when their word is coming up!

Then, you could have the children demonstrate the sound their word makes. For example, if their word is splash, they could drop a rock into a bowl of water to demonstrate their sound/word.