Introduce the book

• Show students the cover and title page of the book. Discuss why illustrations, or pictures, are important to a story. If applicable, identify the name of the illustrator, and ask students to explain the job of an illustrator.
• Explain to students that some authors create wordless books, or books that use only pictures to tell a story. These books allow readers to use their imagination and the pictures in the book to create their own story.
• Show students each page of a wordless picture book. Invite them to describe what they see on each page. Ask students to share any connections they can make to prior knowledge.
• Review words from the discussion of the pictures that might be useful for students to tell the story. List these words on the board. Encourage students to identify related vocabulary terms. Add these words to the list on the board.

Guide the writing

• Draw a story map on the board. Discuss the setting(s), character(s), problem, possible solutions, events, and solution of the story. Write this information on the board.
• Show students the pictures from the first half of the story. Have them describe what is happening in the pictures. Invite students to suggest sentences for each page. Write their sentences on chart paper. Use this opportunity to model using characteristics of good writing, including: similes, metaphors, transitions, descriptive language, and so on.
• Have students work with a partner to write sentences for the remaining pages of the book. Give each pair a copy of the wordless book. Have them write their sentences for each page on sticky notes. Encourage them to include one or more of the following elements of writing: use of dialogue, varied sentence types (simple, compound, complex), use of prefixes and suffixes, use of varied punctuation, including: possessives, contractions, and commas in a series. Remind students to use the information on the story map as they write.
• When finished, ask students to place their notes on the appropriate pages of their book. Invite students to share their story. Point out that each person's story may be different, but should match what is happening in the pictures.

Independent practice

• Give each student a different wordless picture book. Have them complete the story map. Ask students to use the information on their story map to write one or two sentences on sticky notes for each page of the book. Have students place their sentences on the appropriate pages in their wordless book.
• When they have finished writing, have them peer or teacher conference about their writing. Use this opportunity to discuss the following: correct spelling of high-frequency words, capitalization and punctuation, subject-verb agreement, elaboration of ideas, and correct sequence of events.
• Have students write the final version of their story on the pages of the book. Invite them to share their story with the class. Discuss similarities and differences across stories.

Whole Group Extension Activities

1. Grammar: Highlight a specific part of speech throughout the text (singular or plural regular and irregular nouns, verb tense, comparative or superlative adjectives).
2. Vocabulary: Identify words with prefixes and suffixes; use a thesaurus to identify synonyms and antonyms of words.
3. Writing: Place a variety of wordless books in a center for students to create additional stories.