Elementary teachers can develop students’ writing ability by teaching them how to write informative compositions based on an interview. A fun way for students to practice their interview and writing skills is to interview a family member at Thanksgiving and then write about the answers.
Thanksgiving Family Member Interview Lesson Objectives
- Primary students will use question words to write five interview questions.
- Primary students will interview a family member and record the answers.
- Primary students will use the family interview answers to write a composition.
Thanksgiving Family Member Interview Lesson Materials
- Thanksgiving Day at Our House by Nancy White Carlstrom [Simon and Schuster, 1999]
- Question Word Poster/visual
Use a Thanksgiving Poem to Introduce the Family Interview Writing Project
The teacher introduces the lesson by reading the class the poem Granny’s Thanksgiving by Nancy White Carlstrom. The class discusses what Thanksgiving was like when Granny was young.
The teacher asks the class how the author found out about Granny’s experience and guides the students to answer that the author might have asked her Granny questions. The teacher discusses how writers and reporters interview people to get information.
Review Question Words and Develop Interview Questions
The teacher reviews the six question words – who, what, where, when why, and how – with the class using a visual aid and talks about how they are used to start questions. The teacher uses a think aloud to model how to develop questions to get information needed for a composition or article.
Interview a Partner Practice Paragraph Writing Activity
The students practice writing interview questions by generating 3-5 questions they can ask a friend to find out what the friend’s family is like. The students then get a partner and ask each other the interview questions while the teacher goes around the room checking to make sure everyone is on the right track.
The students use their partner’s answers to write a paragraph about their friend’s family. Volunteers share their paragraphs with the class and the teacher provides feedback to provide clarification and ensure understanding.
Interview a Family Member at Thanksgiving Project
The teacher explains that over Thanksgiving break each student will be interviewing an older family member or friend about what Thanksgiving was like when they were little. During class the students write their Thanksgiving interview questions and turn them into the teacher to be checked. They bring the approved questions home and interview their family member for homework.
Write Composition Using Thanksgiving Interview Answers
After Thanksgiving break, the class brings the interview answers back to class. During Writer’s Workshop time the students follow the writing process to write a composition about their family member’s Thanksgiving experience. The students write and illustrate a second copy of their work to give to the family member they interviewed.
A writing lesson with a Thanksgiving theme teaches students to be better writers through the use of interviews. During the lesson the teacher reviews question words and how to generate questions and models how to write interview questions. The students interview a family member at Thanksgiving and use the answers to write a composition that they share with their interviewee.
Megan Sheakoski - Megan Sheakoski is a teacher, mom and writer whose ideas have been featured in college text books, graduate courses, on websites and on ...
Join the Conversation