I read The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper to my class. After reading, I asked my students to tell about a time when they thought they couldn't do something, but really tried and could! Oh, their stories were glorious!! After this fascinating conversation, I told them to write about something they THINK they can do if they try. I also asked them to draw a picture of themselves actually DOING what it is they are writing about. I gave them a special paper with a train track as a frame and they illustrated their picture inside the track. This activity is from my four week long Thematic Literacy Unit called Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
