We’ve all heard the phrase … “If you can’t beat them, join them!” “The Double Life of Danny Day” by Mike Thayer has a strong VIDEO GAME THEME, and I thought, “Wow,” my students are going to LOVE THIS! It was pretty fun to take something they love to do in their leisure time--playing video games--and bring it into their academic lives. Sneaky of me, huh? Anyway, no matter how you feel about children playing video games, that's usually a large part of their reality. So, JOIN THEM where they are, and teach this writing lesson that caters to one of their favorite activities!
If you aren’t familiar with this book (it was new to me), it's about a boy, Danny Day, who gets to live each day twice. The first time, it’s what Danny calls a ‘Discard Day’—a practice run. He can do what he likes, and he usually chooses to play video games. The motto for Discard Day is—“you have to find a line and then cross it.” At the end of the day, everything gets reset (except his memory). The next day, that’s when everything counts, and Danny’s actions stick. As you can imagine, ‘Sticky Day’ Danny is very different from ‘Discard Day’ Danny. What a fun concept!
You may be thinking, "That’s all well and good, but what does this ‘time loop story’ have to do with writing?" Well, as I mentioned in this lesson plan, we could look at our writing as having “Discard Days” and “Sticky Days”, couldn’t we? Sometimes we write something we immediately want to “discard,” and sometimes we write something we love—it “sticks”. The truth is that both of those pieces of writing are doing something important—because writing is a PROCESS. We need the “discards” in order to develop the “sticky” pieces of writing. We need the first drafts (the messy practice of first drafts) to play with language and words and to see what will “stick” eventually. And, as we progress in our writing, we need to set Writing Goals for ourselves....
In this Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC Lesson Plan (created by writer and writing teacher Andrea Felcone), you will find a FULLY SCRIPTED lesson plan to teach students to set Writing Goals for themselves based on Mike Thayer’s book “The Double Life of Danny Day.” Students will have the opportunity, through this lesson plan, to write a story inspired by this book—and to set a (gentle) writing goal for themselves. Thus, “DOUBLING DOWN ON THEIR WRITING!”
This lesson plan contains—20 pages of tested content—including Teaching Tips, Techniques, and a Writing Worksheet (filled with humorous and thoughtful writing prompts) to inspire student writers—even reluctant writers! This is a great lesson for Reluctant Writers! Writing Concept covered: Setting a (gentle) Writing Goal for yourself. This reinforces the idea that your students see themselves as writers, since writers often set writing goals. (This lesson was designed for 8 - 12-year-olds. There is content here to teach for 90 minutes. You can edit to fit your class length as needed.)
To purchase, simply CLICK on the “ADD TO CART” button. After CHECKOUT, you will receive a LINK to DOWNLOAD this LESSON PLAN. (Download as soon as possible after receiving the link to ensure the link stays active. Thank you!)
This Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC Lesson Plan includes:
* The Structure, Introduction, and Ground Rules of a Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC writing lesson. The goal: To make writing FUN for your students!
* A Few Author ‘Fun Facts’ about today’s featured author: Mike Thayer.
* Details on how to teach the featured Mentor-Text/Read Aloud: “The Double Life of Danny Day” and Writing Concept: Setting a Writing Goal!
* Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC Writing Worksheet: A Student handout filled with humorous and thoughtful Writing Prompts.
* Tips on how to deal with Student ‘Writer’s Block’.
* Comic Strip Storyboards — and how to use them. (Ideal for Reluctant Writers!)
* Sharing Work Aloud: Ways to Encourage and Support Your Students.
* Recommended Writing Games — to increase the fun!
* Bonus Content: Writing “Gamer” Nametags to playfully combine writing with the Video Game theme! Ideas for decorating your classroom! An additional storytelling game inspired by this book!
* A List of all Materials Needed to teach this lesson successfully, including the featured book: “The Double Life of Danny Day”. (Note: This is an Amazon Affiliate Link. I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!)
We’ve all heard the phrase … “If you can’t beat them, join them!” “The Double Life of Danny Day” by Mike Thayer has a strong VIDEO GAME THEME, and I thought, “Wow,” my students are going to LOVE THIS! It was pretty fun to take something they love to do in their leisure time--playing video games--and bring it into their academic lives. Sneaky of me, huh? Anyway, no matter how you feel about children playing video games, that's usually a large part of their reality. So, JOIN THEM where they are, and teach this writing lesson that caters to one of their favorite activities!
If you aren’t familiar with this book (it was new to me), it's about a boy, Danny Day, who gets to live each day twice. The first time, it’s what Danny calls a ‘Discard Day’—a practice run. He can do what he likes, and he usually chooses to play video games. The motto for Discard Day is—“you have to find a line and then cross it.” At the end of the day, everything gets reset (except his memory). The next day, that’s when everything counts, and Danny’s actions stick. As you can imagine, ‘Sticky Day’ Danny is very different from ‘Discard Day’ Danny. What a fun concept!
You may be thinking, "That’s all well and good, but what does this ‘time loop story’ have to do with writing?" Well, as I mentioned in this lesson plan, we could look at our writing as having “Discard Days” and “Sticky Days”, couldn’t we? Sometimes we write something we immediately want to “discard,” and sometimes we write something we love—it “sticks”. The truth is that both of those pieces of writing are doing something important—because writing is a PROCESS. We need the “discards” in order to develop the “sticky” pieces of writing. We need the first drafts (the messy practice of first drafts) to play with language and words and to see what will “stick” eventually. And, as we progress in our writing, we need to set Writing Goals for ourselves....
In this Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC Lesson Plan (created by writer and writing teacher Andrea Felcone), you will find a FULLY SCRIPTED lesson plan to teach students to set Writing Goals for themselves based on Mike Thayer’s book “The Double Life of Danny Day.” Students will have the opportunity, through this lesson plan, to write a story inspired by this book—and to set a (gentle) writing goal for themselves. Thus, “DOUBLING DOWN ON THEIR WRITING!”
This lesson plan contains—20 pages of tested content—including Teaching Tips, Techniques, and a Writing Worksheet (filled with humorous and thoughtful writing prompts) to inspire student writers—even reluctant writers! This is a great lesson for Reluctant Writers! Writing Concept covered: Setting a (gentle) Writing Goal for yourself. This reinforces the idea that your students see themselves as writers, since writers often set writing goals. (This lesson was designed for 8 - 12-year-olds. There is content here to teach for 90 minutes. You can edit to fit your class length as needed.)
To purchase, simply CLICK on the “ADD TO CART” button. After CHECKOUT, you will receive a LINK to DOWNLOAD this LESSON PLAN. (Download as soon as possible after receiving the link to ensure the link stays active. Thank you!)
This Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC Lesson Plan includes:
* The Structure, Introduction, and Ground Rules of a Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC writing lesson. The goal: To make writing FUN for your students!
* A Few Author ‘Fun Facts’ about today’s featured author: Mike Thayer.
* Details on how to teach the featured Mentor-Text/Read Aloud: “The Double Life of Danny Day” and Writing Concept: Setting a Writing Goal!
* Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC Writing Worksheet: A Student handout filled with humorous and thoughtful Writing Prompts.
* Tips on how to deal with Student ‘Writer’s Block’.
* Comic Strip Storyboards — and how to use them. (Ideal for Reluctant Writers!)
* Sharing Work Aloud: Ways to Encourage and Support Your Students.
* Recommended Writing Games — to increase the fun!
* Bonus Content: Writing “Gamer” Nametags to playfully combine writing with the Video Game theme! Ideas for decorating your classroom! An additional storytelling game inspired by this book!
* A List of all Materials Needed to teach this lesson successfully, including the featured book: “The Double Life of Danny Day”. (Note: This is an Amazon Affiliate Link. I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!)
