Balloons Over Broadway Project: Design a Parade Balloon Templates & Writing

Description

Every November I see the same thing. Teachers read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet, students get excited about making their own balloon, and the project turns into lots of coloring with very little thinking behind it.

This set fixes that. Before anyone glues anything, students plan their balloon the way Tony Sarg did. They work out what it is, why they chose it, how it would float and what could go wrong. You end up with a balloon design and writing that explains it.

What your students do

• Design a parade balloon on a circle, square or blank template. The handlers are already drawn in, holding the ropes.
• Give a reason for their design on the My Balloon Design page (“I chose this design because…”)
• Label how it floats: helium, ropes and handlers
• Write how-to steps with first, next, then and finally
• Describe Parade Day: where the balloon floats and how the crowd feels
• Fill in a 4 or 6 flap foldable book, finishing with how their design work compares to Tony Sarg’s

Stuck for balloon ideas?

The 11 filled-in examples follow one student’s balloon, Sammy the Sloth, through every page. Show them on the board before students start, and they’ll see what a finished page looks like and what a good reason sounds like.

What’s included

• 3 balloon templates (circle, square, blank)
• 4 worksheets: My Balloon Design, How My Balloon Floats, How to Build My Balloon, Parade Day
• 4 foldable books: 4 or 6 flaps, lined or blank, plus a cover page
• Teacher notes with a read-aloud stop point
• 11 filled-in examples

Ways to use it

• As a planning sheet before a 3D balloon project or class parade
• As a writing lesson on its own, with no craft supplies needed
• As a foldable book for a bulletin board or hallway display

Grades 1-4. Grade 1 students can use the circle template and blank flaps. Grades 2-4 can use the blank template and lined flaps.

Standards: W.1.1-W.4.1, W.1.2-W.4.2, RI.1.3-RI.4.3, SL.1.1-SL.4.1

You’ll need your own copy of Balloons Over Broadway, pencils and crayons.