August Launching Writing Workshop

*The following is intended to be specific in teaching new students and teachers how to

begin the writing process. Some of the information may seem obvious and/or repetitive.

Please filter for the specific needs of your classroom and for you as a teacher.

Goals for Launching Writing Workshop

1. Students will learn the rituals and routines of Writing Workshop.

2. Students will engage in lots of talk about the stories of their lives.

3. Students will listen to authors‘ stories and read alouds and make connections for

their own writing.

4. Students will learn about authors‘ habits and ―what writers do‖ as a basis for

developing their own habits as writers.

5. Students will begin to develop or continue to grow a love for writing.

6. Students will feel like a writer.

Expectations for Writing Workshop

Writers have a place where they collect their thoughts, feelings, and ideas

(typically inside of a notebook).

Writers are inspired by the lives they lead, always looking for writing ideas from

their own personal experiences.

Writers use tools and supplies appropriately.

Writers have a role during a mini-lesson, conference, and independent writing

time.

Writers know how to sit in the meeting area.

Writers write for long periods of time.

Writers move through the writing process (Collecting, Choosing,

Nurturing/Developing, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Publishing, Celebrating).

Writers tell their stories to other writers and effectively work with partners.

Writers revise, edit, and publish their work.

Preparing for Writing Workshop

Is there a meeting area in my classroom where I will teach each day‘s mini-lesson

from and where I will gather the students at the end of the Workshop for the

teaching share?

Is the meeting area large enough so that all my students can fit on the floor and

be close to where I am sitting?

Can I use the overhead projector in this area? (often the teacher will use

overheads during the teaching part of the mini-lesson – it‘s good to have your

meeting area in a place where you can use the overhead projector)

Do I have all the supplies for teaching a mini-lesson in the meeting area (chart

paper, easel, chart markers, tape, scissors, Post-it notes, blank overhead

transparencies, transparency markers, some books that support the Unit of

Study you are in, and anything else you find necessary)?

Will students take their Writer‘s Notebook home each day or will they be left at

school in a special place? (Sometimes, if students keep their Notebooks in their

desks, they get torn up and/or lost. It often helps to have a tub in the room in

which Notebooks can be kept.)

Where will my students keep their ongoing drafts? (students often have a writing

folder that is kept in a tub somewhere in the room that contains ongoing work

outside of the Writer‘s Notebook)

Will I have wall space in my room designated for an organizer that has kids show

where they are in the writing process? (It has been helpful for teachers to list

out the steps in the writing process where kids can move a clip to the step they

are in at a certain time.)

How will I keep/organize my conferring notes?

What are some things I will do to foster independence? (students sharpen pencils

without asking or keep a tub of sharpened pencils in the room / have a writing

center where students can access paper choices, highlighters, scissors, Scotch

tape, correction tape, colored pencils, pens, pencils, dictionaries, thesauruses,

check-lists, etc. / have a system for signing out for the bathroom

Where in my room will I keep charts up that need to stay up all year? (charts like

– ―Where Writers Get Ideas‖ ―How to Collect in you Writer‘s Notebook‖

―Nurturing Strategies‖ ―Revision Strategies‖ & ―Editing Strategies‖ might be left

up all year to encourage independence – Charts specific to a Unit of Study usually

will come down after the Unit of Study is over, but these other, more general

charts might stay up all year)

Will I periodically assess each student‘s Writer‘s Notebook? (some teachers

create rubrics that assess the Notebook and they share these with students in

the beginning of the year)

What are my expectations for the Writer‘s Notebook?

What can I write before school starts that will show my students that I am a

writer too (notebook entries, short stories, poetry)?

Will I start a Writer‘s Notebo

Will I have a catchy phrase or any other way to signal to the kids that it‘s time to

gather in the meeting area for the mini-lesson? (some classrooms have a bell the

teacher rings to let the students know it‘s time for WW – I was in one classroom

where the teacher had a wind chime in the middle of the room that she touched,

and the kids would just drop everything and go to the meeting area – this

definitely isn‘t necessary, but it deserves some thought)

What the Physical Room Looks Like – A CHECKLIST:

1. Is there a meeting area where my students can gather for mini-lessons and

shares?

_______ Yes _______ No

2. Is there a well organized, well stocked writing center with writing tools ready and

available at the onset of every writing workshop?

_______ Yes _______ No

3. Are the writing folders in a place where students are able to reach them and

include spaces for finished and unfinished writing?

_______ Yes _______ No

4. Are there examples of different genres hanging around the room in places that

are clear and easy to see (a poem, a song, a recipe, a list, different cards, letters,

a non-fiction article, etc.)?

_______ Yes _______ No

5. Are there words that students can copy in meaningful ways (color words, number

words, classmate names, your name, word wall with high frequency words, etc.)?

_______ Yes _______ No

6. Are there places to display examples of student‘s published and unpublished work,

or works in progress?

_______ Yes _______ No

7. Are there places for examples of your modeled writing, your works in progress?

_______ Yes _______ No

8. Is there an editing checklist the students can refer to all year long?

_______ Yes _______ No

9. Is there a large calendar with writing celebration dates/publication deadlines

clearly written in?

_______ Yes _______ No

10. Is there a library with books students can read and refer to for writing, including

a place to put books that are the genre you are currently studying?

_______ Yes _______ No

Teresa Caccavale & Isoke Nia

Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

The first unit of study should focus on helping students understand the structures of writing

workshop, the basic principles of writing process, and revision strategies that you feel they

could use, based upon your early assessments. Many teachers start with personal narrative

because they find that writing form experience is easiest for students. –Janet Angelillo

Overview of Unit

First, introduce Writer‘s Notebooks by sharing your Notebook with students. Create a

chart with the students of ways to Collect in the Notebooks (lists, webs, artifacts,

photographs, sketches, etc.) and a chart of what to Collect in the Notebooks (memories

you don‘t want to forget, special words/phrases, story ideas, fierce wonderings, etc.).

Keep adding to these charts as the students discover new ways to Collect and new ideas

for Collecting.

Have kids Collecting in their Notebooks for several days, building stamina as writers and

developing a sense of ―I am a writer.‖

Teach the steps in the writing process and the procedures of writing workshop. Assign

students the task of writing a personal narrative so that they have an authentic

assignment. Teach revision strategies within the context of writing those narratives,

choosing strategies that are simple so that students can be successful right from the

start.

Writing Notebooks

Start by giving students time to personalize their notebooks. This is really

important. Some teachers have a launching party where they give the notebooks

to the students and give them time to personalize with wallpaper, stickers,

construction paper, markers, etc.

As students start collecting inside their notebook, teach them to date each

entry.

It may be good to have 2 starting points inside the notebook: 1 from the front

where students are collecting their thoughts, ideas, and stories during

independent writing time and another starting point from the back of the

notebook. Students can flip the notebook to the back and start keeping notes

from mini-lessons. They can also cut down hand-outs and glue them in this section.

This way they can quickly reference something they learned during a mini-lesson.

Maybe have students put a Post-it in their notebook when they are starting a new

Unit of Study, so they can quickly turn in their notebooks.

We want to teach strategies for finding things to write about, not give prompts.

Teaching strategies rather than assigning prompts will allow our students to

become more independent as they use the strategy over and over.

You want to start a chart of all the ways you can collect inside a Writing

Notebook. You will want to demonstrate each strategy inside your own notebook

or on chart paper so that the students see you being a writer.

Share Writing Notebook rubrics with students right from the start. Teachers

often assess Notebooks for volume, variety, and neatness of entries. It is good to

share these expectations with students right from the start.

It is too overwhelming to collect all of the notebooks at one time for assessment,

so you may want to consider varied collection days. You could have 5 students

leave their notebooks on their desks at the end of the day on Monday, 5 on

Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday, etc. Then, you are assessing their notebooks once a

week and only doing 5 a day. This will make it more manageable.

You may have kids do Daily Pages to increase their writing stamina and fluency.

Some teachers have students write at least 1 full page (no skipping lines, no

starting way down on the page, and no writing HUGE so that only a few words fit

on the page) for homework each night or first thing in the morning. Often,

teachers will have students who are not shopping for books in the morning writing

their Daily Page. It can be writing about anything. It can be mundane and simple,

but at least they are writing. They can label the page with D.P. for Daily Page, so

you know when you are assessing.

WHAT‘S INSIDE A NOTEBOOK WHAT‘S OUTSIDE A NOTEBOOK

Daily entries

Collecting around and

nurturing a topic

Revision strategies – trying

out some possibilities

Editing, Grammar notes

Other notes and hand-outs

from mini-lessons

Drafts – the whole piece is

written outside the notebook

Revisions the author wants to use

Editing the actual piece

The final copy

Notebook Expectations

Students are expected to… Students can depend on the

teacher to…

Write daily in their notebooks at school

and at home three times a week (minimum).

―find‖ topics for their notebook writing

from their life, from reading, and from

natural curiosity. Students are expected

to make decisions about their writing

topics on a daily basis.

Try strategies from the mini-lesson before

continuing with their own work for the day.

Respect the integrity of the notebook by

taking care of it and having it in class

every day. Students will respect other

notebooks by only reading entries they are

invited to read by the author.

Provide time each day for students to

write during writing workshop.

Teach writing strategies as ways to

discover writing topics. Teachers will also

confer with students to help nudge their

thinking and writing when students get

stuck.

Teach a mini-lesson each day to teach

students how to be better writers.

Not write inside of the students‘

notebooks.

Collecting Entries

Write about your name – what makes it special, how was it picked, what do you

like about it, what do you not like about it, just think about your name and write.

You can use Kevin Henkes‘ book, Chrysanthemum, to illustrate the

power/importance of a name and how often times there is a story behind our

name. So that this doesn‘t just become a prompt, you can teach kids that anytime

they are struggling to find something to write about, they can think of a person‘s

name, put it at the top of a page, and write about the name. Names are special and

usually have a story behind them.

Heart Map: Draw a large heart in your notebook and then mark off sections like a

quilt. Write special people, places, and things in the sections.

School Walk – jot down memories from places throughout the school

Draw a special place and put an X everywhere there is a memory of a story (jot

down a few words to remind you of the story).

Writing from a list – Best life events…jot down the 10 best things that ever

happened to you. Jot down the 7 worst things that ever happened to you. Choose 1

to put at the top of a clean page and write the story of that time. The important

thing about making these lists is that it leads into writing many stories. We don‘t

want kids just to make lists. So, you may give them 5 or 10 minutes to make a list

and then have them move to choosing 1 thing from the list to write the story of

that 1 time. Lists are good, but we want them to lead to long writing.

Other lists –

*make a list of emotions (sad, happy, mad, disappointed, and jealous). Choose 1,

put it at the top of clean page and list all of the times you felt that emotion.

Choose 1 time to write the story in your notebook.

*make a list of things you are an expert of, choose 1, put it at the top of a clean

page and list all the times you‘ve done that thing. Choose 1 time to write the

story.

*make a list of first times and last times

*make a list of all the things you wonder about

Write from a noun. Have students choose any noun, put it at the top of a clean

page, and write for 15 – 20 minutes. They should write anything that comes to

mind. Tell them that it‘s ok to stray from the original noun. This is a good

strategy to help writers get past writer‘s block. So, it‘s good to teach this at the

beginning of the year, just-in-case it is needed by some later in the year.

Teach the importance of rereading the notebook right from the beginning of the

year. Students will get new ideas from reading their old entries. Teach students

to reread with a highlighter in their hand. Have them highlight any interesting

lines, words, or ideas that they might want to write more about later.

Lift a line – have students reread their notebooks and choose a line they want to

write more about. They can put the line at the top of a clean page and continue

from there. This helps them see that there can be more than one starting point

for an idea.

Choosing an Idea, Nurturing/Developing that Idea

*You Collect ideas, then Choose a Seed Idea, and begin nurturing/developing that Seed

Idea INSIDE of the Writing Notebook.

Reread the notebook, putting a mark by all of the entries that could be

possible seed ideas.

Choose the one idea that holds enough memory to be developed into a full

piece.

Begin nurturing/developing that idea inside the notebook by using multiple

strategies.

Use a photograph from the time your writing about to help you think of more

details to include

Interview someone who was there to get another perspective and more details

to add to your writing

Sketch to help you remember all the tiny details

Go to the place (if possible) and write everything you can about it

Make a web

Make a time-line

Make a quick list of everything you can remember

Try out different leads (beginnings)

Make a list of words you know you want to use (try for exciting verbs and

adjectives/specific nouns)

Write questions you have about the time you are writing about and try to

answer them

Make a square and divide it into 4 boxes - use your senses as titles for each

box - write using your senses

Smell

The smell of salt

water filled my

nose.

Touch

The rough sand

scraped the

bottom of my

feet.

Hear

I could hear the

waves crashing.

See

Sea gulls were

flying over my

head.

Write the bones of your story (just get it down without all the dialogue and

wonderful details)

Think about the heart of your story (Where is the most action/emotion?) and

just write the heart in your notebook, stretching it out, writing it in slow motion

Tell your story to someone

Drafting and Revising

―If we expect our students to revise, we must provide them with specific strategies with which to revise. We can teach and demonstrate specific revision strategies by modeling our own and professional writers‘ writing and revision processes and by teaching mini-lessons that include specific revision strategies.‖ (Georgia Heard, 2002 –

The Revision Toolbox)

The most effective way to teach these strategies is by modeling them with your writing

or with a child‘s writing.

Many of the following strategies were taken from the book, The Revision Toolbox.

Students reread ALL entries about their idea, close their notebook, and begin

drafting their story (skipping lines to save room for later revisions, not writing on

the back).

―Cracking Open Words and Phrases‖ – It was a nice day. = The sun peaked its head

up from the edge of the earth and covered the house with warmth. I swung open

the squeaky, white screen-door and stepped onto the porch. The cloudless blue

sky was everywhere. I just knew the fish would be biting today.

―Verbs are the Engines of Sentences‖ – Have students check their piece and

change some tired verbs to more exciting verbs - I walked up the stairs. = I

leaped up the stairs.

―Nouns are the Wheels of Sentences‖ – Have students check their nouns and

change some to more specific - I pulled stuff out of my bag. = I pulled sticky gum

wrappers, uncapped lipstick, and broken pretzels out of my bag.

Change the Lead – Try starting with a Question: How will I ever tell my mom I

broke the lamp? Or start with an Image: My feet crackled over the broken lamp

pieces.

Every time I moved, more crackling. Or start with Dialogue: ―Johnny! Hurry! I

need your help. Mom is going to kill me!‖ Or start with Action – Crack. Crack.

Crack. I tried not to look as I heard the lamp hit the tile floor.

Find the Heart of the Piece – Choose one or two sentences that are what the

piece is mostly about. Put those sentences at the top of a new page and just write

about those sentences.

Rereading – Teach kids to reread right from the start. Model writing a piece,

stopping after every few sentences to reread. We want kids to always do this.

Playing with time – Make a time-line of a piece and try starting the piece from

different places on the time-line.

Change the Point of View – Have students try writing their piece from a different

perspective.

Below is a sample 5 day schedule (easily extended to make a 10 day schedule) for

moving students through the writing process. It is ideal to move students through

the writing process within the first 2 weeks of launching and actually publish a piece

to share at the end. Then, you can start over and move through a 4 week narrative

study and slow the process down. It is good for students to feel that sense of

accomplishment (publishing) quickly in the beginning of the year.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Collecting Revising Editing Management Publishing

Mini-

lesson

One way in

which writers

get ideas for

their work

One way in

which writers

revise their

work

One way in

which

writers edit

their work

One thing writers

in our class need to

know about

management

How writers

celebrate their

work

Workshop

&

Conferring

Students write a

small moment

on paper,

teacher confers

to encourage

Students

revise their

work, teacher

confers to

encourage

Students

edit their

work,

teacher

confers to

encourage

Students rewrite

their work with

their revisions and

corrections

Students

celebrate their

work as a class

Share Whatever the teacher deems necessary. Students might share their work or the

teacher may do some management work with them.

The following might be great to write on chart paper or copy for the kids

to keep:

―I Am a Writer When…

I am a writer when I sit alone and write down my favorite memories about my

childhood and my children; when I take time to write by creating space in my

life; when I wake up in the middle of the night and fish around to find a pen

and paper to capture my thoughts.

I am a writer when I write about things that matter to me most…my parents,

family, special people, places, and things in my life; when I access childhood

memories; when I hear things I want to remember and take time to write

them down.

I am a writer when I capture thoughts, dreams, noticings, and wonderings in

my writer‘s notebook; when I write as a means of expressing my emotions;

when I write poetry that stems from my personal experiences.

I am a writer when the words in my notebook float effortlessly off the paper

like a musical composition that lingers in my head; when I have time to really

express my ideas and not have to share them with anyone; when I am given

time to reflect upon my personal and professional life.

I am a writer when the words I‘ve created bring me back to the me I should

be; when I allow myself to relax and write whatever I am feeling, whatever I

am frustrated by, whatever I am thinking, and when I am finished, I feel

cleansed; when I pour out my heart through words.

September Literary Essay

Overview of the Unit This unit aims to make reading a more intense, thoughtful experience for children

and to equip them to write expository essays that advance an idea about a piece of

literature. In order to write about reading in this way, you will need to decide which

piece(s) of literature your children will study in the unit. If your children are reading

novels and talking about the deeper meanings of those novels in book clubs, you could

use literary essays as a way to harvest their interpretations of these books.

However, students can also write literary essays about a short story or picture

book. Cynthia Rylant‘s book, Every Living Thing, has some wonderful examples you could

use. Also, Ever Bunting‘s pictures books are provide excellent opportunities for literary

essays. You can create a small collection of stories for students to read and respond to.

Likewise, you could begin the unit with the entire class reading the same short

text and responding to it in their notebooks. Then you could do a quick publish of this

as a model for a more in depth literary essay about the book they are reading in

reader‘s workshop. If you start your reader‘s and writer‘s workshop unit at the same

time, doing a quick publish of a short text will offer you time during reader‘s workshop

to collect entries about the characters in their stories. By the time you have completed

your quick publish, students will have completed work during reader‘s workshop about

their characters. This will give them information and ideas to use during writer‘s

workshop as they begin a more in-depth study of their character for their second

literary essay.

During the first few days of the unit, you will want to demonstrate a way of

reading and writing off of a story. Invite children to look closely at a text and to write,

―I see..‖ and then write what they notice. Encourage them to write long about this,

extending their observations by adding, ―The surprising thing about this is…, The

important thing about this is…, The thought This gives me is…, or I wonder if…

Once they have the short story/novel that they will write a literary essay for,

they will collect entries about the text. The process of choosing a seed idea in this unit

becomes double pronged. First, a child chooses a story. Then, the child lives wit that

one story and gathers entries about it. Eventually, the child will also reread those

entries to choose a seed idea – a claim- about their story.

Remind students to observe their lives and create thought patches in their

notebooks. They can use prompts like, ―The thought I have about this is… or This makes

me realize that…‖ They can pause as they read to observe what is happening to a

character and then grow an idea using the same sentence starters. They can also

extend their thought patches by using thought prompts to grow their thinking. As

students give examples to grow their thinking, remind them that they can linger on

these ideas too. Teach them to record an idea using new words by saying, ―that is..‖ or

―in other words…‖ and then rephrasing the idea. Teach them to entertain possibilities

by writing, ―could it be that…‖ or ―perhaps…‖ or ―some may say that..‖ Phrases like

―furthermore…‖ , ―this connects with…‖, ―on the other hand…‖, ―but you might ask…‖,

―this is true because…‖, or ―I am realizing that..‖ This will help them to elaborate upon

their ideas. Growing these sorts of ideas will allow children to write literary essay that

articulate the lessons they believe a character learns in a story or essays that name the

theme/idea a text teaches.

Children can look for a seed idea that is central to the story and provocative. You

can help them generate possible seed ideas. Some children will benefit from writing

inside this general structure: ―This is a story about… (someone), who is…(how?) at the

start of the story, but then ends up…(how?).‖ It could also be written, ―This is a about

___, who learns ___. Early in the text…Later in the text…‖ Some children will find

success if they try writing a sentence or two in which they lay out what the character

was like at the start of the story, contrasting this with how the character turned out at

the end.

Some children may want to write a thesis statement within this structure: ―When

I first read…, I thought it was about (the external plot driven story) but now, rereading

it, I realize it is about (the internal story).‖ This thesis would lead a writer to first

write about the plot, the external story, and then write about the theme, or the under

story.

Children will need to revise their seed idea so that it is a clear thesis, making sure

it is a claim or an idea, not a fact, phrase or a question. Help children to imagine how

they can support the thesis in a few paragraphs. Each paragraph shows how the claim is

true, citing specific reasons.

Children will plan their essays using boxes and bullets. They will need to collect

the information and insights needed to build the case. They can make a file for each

topic sentence/supporting paragraph and collecting examples to support their reasons.

On the other hand, children could bypass the process of gathering information into files

by using a rough form of an outline. They can plan each part of their essay by labeling

the top of separate pieces of drafting paper. Separate sheets of paper would be

labeled introduction, reason/evidence 1, reason/evidence 2, reason/evidence 3, and

conclusion.

You will need to teach writers how to cite references from a text and how to

unpack these citations. You may want to teach children that writers of literary essays

use literary terms such as narrator, point of view, and scenes.

You may also want to teach students to write introductory paragraphs that

include a tiny summary of the story. Closing paragraphs should link the story‘s message

to the writer‘s own life – the ending is a good place for a Hallmark moment. ―This story

teaches me that I, too…‖ An alternative is to link this story to another story or to an

issue in the world.

Alignment to the Standards

5.3.3 Contrast the actions, motives, and appearances of characters in a work of

fiction and discuss the importance of the contrasts to the plot or theme.

5.3.4 Understands that theme refers to the central idea or meaning of a selection

and recognize themes, whether they are implied or stated directly.

5.3.5 Describe the function and effect of common literary devices, such as imagery,

metaphor, and symbolism.

5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keeping a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

5.4.3 Write informational pieces with multiple paragraphs that: present important

ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order; provide details and

transitions to link paragraphs; offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes

important ideas and details.

5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.9 Proofread one‘s own writing, as well as the writing of others, using an editing

checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific

errors.

5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.4.11 Use logical organizational structures for providing information in writing, such

as chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating

and supporting a hypothesis with data.

5.5.2 Write responses to literature that: demonstrate an understanding of a

literary work; support statements with evidence from the text; develop

interpretations that exhibit careful reading and understanding.

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting

tone and style as appropriate.

5.6.2 Use transitions and conjunctions to connect ideas.

5.6.5 Use a colon to separate hours and minutes and to introduce a list; use

quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker and titles of articles,

poems, songs, short stories, and chapters in books; use semi-colons and

commas for transitions.

5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.

5.6.7 Spell roots or bases of words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable

constructions correctly.

5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.

5.7.11 Deliver oral responses to literature that: summarize important events and

details; demonstrate an understanding of several ideas or images

communicated by the literary work; use examples from the work to support

conclusions.

6.3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character on the plot and the

resolution of the conflict.

6.3.3 Analyze the influence of the setting on the problem and its resolution.

6.3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through characters,

actions, and images.

6.3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices, such as symbolism, imagery, or

metaphor, in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.

6.3.9 Identify the main problem or conflict of the plot and explain how it is

resolved.

6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

6.4.2 Choose the form of writing that best suits the intended purpose.

6.4.3 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that: engage the interest of

the reader; state a clear purpose; develop the topic with supporting details

and precise language; conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose

of the composition.

6.4.4 Use a variety of effective organizational patterns, including comparison and

contrast, organization by categories, and arrangement by order of importance

or climatic order.

6.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

6.4.9 Edit and proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent

errors.

6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and

between paragraphs.

6.5.2 Write descriptions, explanations, comparison and contrast papers, and problem

and solution essays that: state the thesis or purpose; explain the situation;

organize the composition clearly; offer evidence to support arguments and

conclusions.

6.5.3 Write responses to literature that: develop an interpretation that shows

careful reading, understanding, and insight; organize the interpretation around

several clear ideas; support statements with evidence from the text.

6.5.6 Use varied word choice.

6.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting

tone and style as necessary.

6.5.8 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the

most significant details.

6.6.1 Use simple, compound, and complex sentences; use effective coordination and

subordination of ideas, including both main ideas and supporting ideas in single

sentences, to express complete thoughts.

6.6.3 Use colons after the salutation, semicolons to connect main clauses, and

commas before the conjunction in compound sentences.

6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.

6.6.5 Spell correctly frequently misspelled words.

6.6.12 Deliver oral responses to literature that: develop an interpretation that

shows careful reading, understanding, and insight; organize the presentation

around several clear ideas, premises, or images; develop and justify the

interpretation through the use of examples from the text.

Teaching Points for Literary Essay:

For this unit, teaching points created and shared at our collaboration meetings

have been compiled together. The following teaching points are divided into the

different steps of the writing process. There are more teaching points listed for each

step than will be used in your unit of study. As a result, read through and choose those

teaching points that will work best for your classroom. Don‘t forget to use the Lucy

Calkin‘s book about literary essays for specific examples and additional ideas.

Immersion Writers read literary essays in partnerships or small groups that others have

written. They jot down what they notice, share with the class, and create a chart

of noticings for everyone to use.

Writers reread examples of literary essays. They choose their favorite as a

mentor essay.

Collecting

Writers use text that they are reading to collect ideas for their writing. They

react to their text by say, ―I can‘t believe that…It surprises me that…‖

Writers use empathy to collect ideas for their writing. They empathize with the

character and say, ―I feel sorry for…I‘m angry that….I‘m happy for… I feel

hopeful for…‖

Writers use their reading to get ideas for their writing. They read a little bit,

stopping, and thinking about a line. They write, ―This line makes me think about…‖

or ―This line seems important because…‖

Writers use details in their reading to get ideas for their writing. They think

about the details we see and hear and our thoughts about those details. We

write entries like: I see… The thought I have about this…(or I think) To add on…

This reminds me of…. My idea is…

Writers use images from their reading to get ideas for their writing. They pick

out an image that makes them think and wonder. They read a little bit, stopping,

and writing: This image makes me think about…This image seems important

because…I‘m picturing ___ in my mind and I‘m thinking…

Writers use the character‘s actions in their reading to get ideas for their writing.

They pay attention to how the character acts or what the character does. They

think about how they would act or what they would do in a similar situation. They

write: This part makes me think ___ is a good person because…If it were me, I

would…I‘m really annoyed at ___ when he does this because…

Writers use ideas about their character to collect ideas for their writing. They

think about a character‘s traits, motivations, struggles, and changes.

Writers use thought prompts to push our thinking about our reading and help us

write longer and deeper about our first ideas. They write a thought, use a prompt

to push their idea further, and they extend/revise it. (Thought prompts can be

found in the Lucy Calkin‘s book on page 53 of the essay book.)

Writers elaborate on their thoughts/theories about their character. They give

examples of when this happened (in the beginning, middle, and end). They use the

words for example and another example of this is…

Writers find important ideas in stories. They reread their text and ask, ―What‘s

the story all about?‖ They pinpoint the main idea of the story and write long

about it. Writers use in-depth thought prompts to help them write long. Some

prompts include the following: The thing that surprises me about this is…, This

connects to…, This reminds me…, When I think about this part of the text, I

think…, I wonder about this part of the text, I think…, I wonder about this part

because…, I‘m realizing…, This whole story makes me think…, Some people

think…but I think…, I used to think…But this text makes me think…, This is

important because…, This fits with the whole text because…, On the other hand…,

I think this because…, Also…, and However… (Refer to chart on page 79 in the

Calkin‘s book has some too.)

Writers find issues that connect to their own lives. They reread a text and ask,

―How does this relate to things that have happened in my own life?‖ and ―Can this

story help me with my issues?‖ Also, they read their notebook, looking for topics

and themes that reoccur. They ask, ―Why does this entry matter to me? What

does this reveal about me? and How does the text connect to my life?‖

Writers get ideas for their writing from their character. They notice changes

their character has gone through. They can ask, ―Have I changed how I think of

my character?‖ In their notebooks, they can write I used to think ___ was ___

but now I realize…, In the beginning the character ___ but in the middle/end…,

or The character seemed ___ at first, but now he‘s…

Writers collect ideas for their writing. They summarize bits of the text. They

tell about the main character and their traits and motivations. They can

summarize an episode or a few examples that support a character trait.

(Summarizing steps are on page 140 in the Calkin‘s book.)

Choosing

Writers carefully choose a piece to write about. They ask themselves, ―Which do

I have the most to say about? Which one matters the most to me? and Which

one do I have at least 3 supporting examples for?‖

Writers use their notebooks to find thesis statements. They read their entries,

revising them to fit the whole text, and find supporting ideas using boxes and

bullets.

Nurturing/Developing

Writers revise their thesis statements and supporting details. They reread them

and decide if the thesis statement will present problems or if it can truly be

supported with the text. They ask themselves questions to help with their

decision. (Refer to page 112 in the Calkin‘s book for a list of the questions.)

Writers use their writing partner to help with the revision of their thesis

statement and/or supporting details. They talk with their partner about their

ideas and evidence and ask them for their thoughts or suggestions.

Writers support their thesis statement. They make a timeline of events that

occurred in the text that support the thesis statement.

Writers structure their literary essay with boxes and bullets. They write a

thesis that makes a claim or offers and idea about the text in the box. Then

each of their bullets represents a body paragraph that supports the thesis.

Writers support their thesis statement. They find evidence from the text to

support each of their ideas.

Writers extend an idea or claim. They list times, places, or reasons to support it.

Writers can make a thesis statement more memorable and powerful. They repeat

it and then add a supporting idea from the list as evidence each time they create

a new paragraph. For example:

Gabriel is a lonely boy.

* Gabriel is lonely when he eats his sandwich at school.

* Gabriel is lonely when he sits on the stoop outside his house.

* Gabriel is lonely when he walks the dark street.

Writers polish their essay with their leads. They write leads that contain broad

statements about literature, life, stories, or about the essay topic. They do this

to prepare the reader for the thesis they want to prove and to put it into a

context to be better understood. (Examples given in the Calkin‘s book on pages

189 and 190.)

Drafting

Writers draft their literary essay on lined paper, skipping lines, and not writing on

the back. They label the top of each sheet of paper. The sheets are labeled

introduction, evidence 1, evidence 2, evidence 3, and conclusion. Having separate

sheets allows us to reorder and rearrange our paragraphs as we draft and revise.

Writers draft an introduction for their essay. They mention the title and author

from the text they are writing about. They give a brief, angled retelling of the

story – telling only the significant parts of the story that pertain to their idea

and gives the reader a general idea of what the story is about. They state the

thesis.

Writers think about the order of their supporting paragraphs. They consider

ordering their paragraphs from the least powerful to the most powerful.

Writers use a similar structure for writing each of their support paragraphs.

Each paragraph includes a topic sentence. It also states the example(s) for

support. Writers include thought prompts to help them say more (elaborate)

about an idea. They explain how their example(s) prove the text part of the

thesis.

Writers draft a conclusion for their essay. They restate the thesis statement.

They quickly remind the reader of the examples they gave to prove the thesis.

They write a final wrap-up thought that touches on the whole essay and leaves

the reader thinking. Writers can make a connection to their own life, to the

world, or to another text.

Writers consider how they want to end their essays. They think about how a text

has impacted their thinking about their own lives, the world, or another text.

Revising

Writers revise their literary essay. They look at their ideas/supporting evidence

and decide what goes together. They may rearrange sentences, paragraphs, or

remove/add information to strengthen their argument. They may look to see that

their evidence follows the sequence of the text – their first example from the

beginning of the text and the last from the end.

Writers think about transition words to connect each part of their essay. They

use transitional words/phrases like: for example, another example, furthermore,

In one of the first scenes, we see this.., On the other hand…, however, In

addition, And yet, One reason/another reason, also, next, and although.

Writers often refer to the text for support. They quote the text and explain

how it relates to their idea. After they quote the text, they may comment on it

by saying, ―This scene particularly shows us… or This part is significant because…‖

Writers make our essays engage. They vary the way they begin their supporting

paragraphs.

Writers show how a text has moved them. They reread their writing and

comment on their thoughts or feelings about the idea of their essay. They can

make statements like, ―After reading this book, I now think/feel…‖

Writers analyze their writing. They ask themselves questions like: Does my

writing make sense? Have I used strong examples? Does my evidence refer back

to my thesis? Then they read their essay with their partner, asking the same

questions and revising as needed.

Editing

Writers edit their essays. They make sure what they read is on the page, not

omitting words they meant to write.

Writers edit their essays. They reread their essay to make sure their writing

makes sense.

Writers edit their essays. They make sure their punctuation follows grammar

rules learned.

Writers edit their essays. They reread their essay to make sure their

information is grouped in a way that makes sense.

Writers read their essays backwards looking for misspelled words to change or

look up.

October/November Writing Fiction

(Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Science Fiction)

Overview of Writing Fiction

This unit also offers a nice parallel to the reading unit at this time, where

students are in class-wide genre studies in book clubs. For this round of fiction, you will

teach your students to write the same kind of fiction that they are reading in their

book clubs. By partnering this writing unit with the same genre in their reading work, we

can provide students many opportunities to carry strengths from one discipline to

another. For example, in their book clubs, students will be talking about important

moments in their stories, moments that are windows into characters, moments of choice

and change, moments when characters bump into social issues, historical conflicts,

magical forces, or clues depending on the kinds of stories they are reading. The mind

work of interpretation in book clubs is clearly tied to the work of putting forth a

central meaning, not just retelling events, in writing. Then too, readers will notice

moments when they have strong emotional responses to their books. During writing, they

can create their own such moments. Of course this will mean that writers need to read

with the eyes of insiders, attending to not only being moved, but also the craft moves

the writer utilized in order to affect them.

Trust that your students will make discoveries from their own reading. Some of

them may be better at talking about fantasy or science fiction than we are! Fantasy

readers will notice how the authors of their books control time and they can then think

about manipulating time in their own drafts through foreshadowing, flashbacks, and

dream sequences. No matter the genre, we will be deepening our knowledge in writing

fiction.

Teach Students to Build On What They Know As Readers and Writers:

Lessons That Are Key to Any Genre

In this unit, you can choose to lead a whole study class on one of the three fiction

options. You will no doubt first want to look through this section, which builds upon the

work of your first narrative units, earlier in the year, and list out the teaching points

and unit bends that match and build on the strengths of your students. Then you will

want to spend some time carefully reading the three options below, adding to your plan

the points that will help your students craft within that specific genre.

One of the most exciting aspects of this unit is that our reading and writing units

will perfectly align. Whichever genre our students are reading and discussing in their

book clubs during reading workshop will be the same genre they are writing. It is also

important to note that although the genre makes the unit feel fresh and engaging to our

students, as teachers we know that at the heart of this unit is the reinforcement of

skillful narrative writing. Some lessons and methods for teaching the craft of story

writing will be common to all the genres. You may want to look at where your children‘s

writing falls on the narrative writing continuum and think about how independent they

are in their use of the writing cycle to decide which of the following reminders you need

to spend more time on, no matter which subgenre of fiction your students are

practicing.

To remind your young writers that they know a lot about stories based on their

reading lives, you could set up partnerships or small groups to do a quick inquiry in which

they chart qualities of fiction stories that they have enjoyed. They will no doubt list

traits such as how the characters are likeable, have strong emotions and interesting

relationships. Depending on what you‘ve taught them to notice and talk about in the

books they are reading and how often they‘ve had opportunities for talk they might also

say how sometimes characters are complicated, face tough problems, desire things and

sometimes teach us lessons. They‘ll sometimes mention that writers use dialogue, detail,

and inner thinking and that they give details about place, people, and objects. Next,

teach your students to look across this chart of writer‘s craft, and decide which of

those they want to tackle this time as they write fiction. Don‘t let them choose too

many. They should choose a couple they already do, and add one or two they‘ll focus on in

this story. This way, you are teaching your writers to set writing goals, and to imagine

outgrowing themselves as writers.

You may also remind students of what they‘ve already learned in fiction writing.

Partners can review their writing process from writing fiction and make a quick plan

about how this unit will progress for them. They might jot down how they started by

developing a main character, particularly by describing what that character wants and

struggles with. They might recall they had multiple tries at creating timelines for their

stories or told them in many ways across mini-books and began writing some of those

scenes or moments that took place within a clear setting. They will remember how they

used their notebook to develop their character and to reflect on the issues their

character faced. They may have rehearsed their stories by telling them to a partner or

through dramatic storytelling with a small group.

You may also teach students to use their notebook and any charts in the room to

come up with ideas for writing. In their notebooks are probably a lot of small personal

moments. You can remind them that in fiction they can change the endings of these

moments, or use characters and issues they have real experience with, in their fiction

stories. So they can look through their notebooks for possible ideas. Even in fantasy,

science fiction, and historical fiction, the characters need to be interesting, and have

visible relationships, desires, and struggles. Otherwise you end up with too much

attention to the trappings of the genre, such as a historical or fantastical setting, and

characters that aren‘t compelling enough. By taking students on this walk through past

learning you are not only gently reviewing important teaching, but you are also adding to

their budding feelings of confidence. ―This may be a new genre for you,‖ you‘ll say to

your students, ―but you already know so much about writing fiction.‖

Our writers will no doubt be so enthralled with the idea of writing fiction—

especially writing the genres of fiction they are reading—that they will immediately

begin to write long and complex plots. You will no doubt want to bottle this excitement,

and remind them of how their thoughtful, paced work during the first unit led them to

uncover things they never expected. Remind students that they will be writing short

stories, and that their stories need to begin and end within a short time frame, to have

one central problem that needs to be solved and to involve just two or perhaps three

compelling characters.

Teach students they can rehearse ideas for their stories in their notebooks by

writing some scenes and then trying them again in multiple ways. All through the unit,

you will use your own writing to model how you rehearse, experiment and revise your

ideas. Show how you use what you know about good storytelling to try to create a vivid

setting, a character the reader knows intimately, and a problem we care about. Don‘t

feel you have to be fantastic at the particular genre though, as students benefit from

seeing their teacher learn and get better as a writer as well. This often gives them

more confidence in taking on new writing tasks. While demonstrating your own writing

during a mini-lesson you might say, ―You know, my first attempts at writing fantasy, have

been really tough, but I am learning a lot as a writer, like I discovered that if I try out

the same scene in multiple ways I almost always find the perfect one.‖

Next, you may find it helpful to teach or review with students how to tell their

story across a mini-book or storyboard before they draft out of their notebook. You

may, for instance, start with 3 scenes, one where the characters are introduced, one

where the problem becomes visible, and one where it is solved. That makes the story

manageable, and they can draft those scenes or moments first. Naturally, some of these

will develop into more than one moment. If you teach your students that each of these

scenes needs a convincing setting, that there is a balance of dialogue, action, and inner

thinking, so we can see both what the character does as well as feels, they‘ll make a

good start on their stories and their drafts will develop story tension and strong

characters right from the start.

Once your students have begun drafting, you can start teaching revision. Revision

lessons could include going back to the first scene and introducing hints about the

problem characters will face by showing some of what they want, or what may get in the

way. You might demonstrate by saying, ―In my piece I want to start building tension

right from the start, so I‘m going to go back and show what she is thinking as she

watches all the other kids crowding around. Maybe she can think something like, ‗I have

to do something about this, and I can‘t just do anything! But who would listen to me?‘ or

maybe...‖ You can also teach students to revise the first scene to develop relationships

more – showing who has power, for instance. Or they could revise to give more details

about time or place in every scene, and how that changes. In the scene where the

problem arises, you could teach them to revise to really elaborate how their character

responds to trouble. Or to focus on vivid imagery, so that readers will see pictures as

they read and remember them when they finish the story. Finally, students could revise

by looking at mentor text and saying: ‗What‘s a part I like and why? What specifically

did the author do that I could do too? Where could I try that in my piece?‖

Fiction writing is also a great place to teach conventions. One of the things you

can teach students is to pay attention to tense. You can, using your own writing as a

model, try the first scene of your story in past tense versus present, and notice how the

tone is different. Then show them how once you commit to a tense, you have to make

your verb endings match this tense. You may choose to teach your students some of the

most common irregular verbs, the ones that turn up a lot in their writing, such as

say/said, go/went, are/were, bring/brought, etc.

You could teach your writers how to use short or long sentences to have a rapid,

intense tone, or a more contemplative tone, and then you could show them how to

punctuate some of those longer sentences. Teaching students first how to use commas

in lists, ―In her bag she had a comb, a mirror, and a green stone.‖ and then how to

elaborate those lists by describing the objects, ―In her bag she had a golden comb that had belonged to Princess Stargiver, a mirror that showed the future, and a green stone that made you invisible,‖ will show them how to expand their powers at the sentence

level.

*The teaching points for each genre are specific for that genre. They do not contain all of the teaching points necessary to teach fiction. General teaching points for fiction can be found in the Lucy Calkins‘ book for writing fiction or in your resources from collaboration meetings.

Alignment with the Standards:

5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

5.4.2 Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot,

describe the setting, and include an ending.

5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.9 Proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections with specific

errors.

5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.5.1 Write narratives that: establish a plot/point of

view/setting/conflict and show, rather than tell, the events of the story

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting

tone and style as appropriate.

5.6.5 Use a colon to separate hours and minutes and to introduce a list;

use quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker and

titles of articles, poems, songs, short stories, and chapters in books; use

semi-colons and commas for transitions.

5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.

5.6.7 Spell roots or bases of words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable

constructions correctly.

5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.

5.6.9 Identify and correctly use appropriate tense for verbs that are often

misused.

5.7.9 Deliver narrative (story) presentations that: establish a

situation/plot/point of view/setting with descriptive word/phrases and

show, rather than tell, the listener what happens

6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

6.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

6.4.9 Edit and proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using and

editing checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of

frequent errors.

6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and

between paragraphs.

6.5.1 Write narratives that: establish and develop a plot and setting and present a

point of view that is appropriate to the stories; include sensory details and

clear language to develop plot and character; use a range of narrative devices,

such as dialogue or suspense.

6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

6.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting

tone and style as necessary.

6.6.1 Use simple, compound, and complex sentences; use effective coordination and

subordination of ideas, including both main ideas and supporting ideas in single

sentences, to express complete thoughts.

6.6.2 Identify and properly us indefinite pronouns, present perfect, and future

perfect verb tenses; ensure that verbs agree with compound subjects.

6.6.3 Use colons after the salutation, semicolons to connect main clauses, and

commas before the conjunction in compound sentences.

6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.

6.6.5 Spell correctly frequently misspelled words.

6.7.10 Deliver narrative presentations that: establish a context, plot, and point of

view; include sensory details and specific language to develop the plot and

character; use a range of narrative (story) devices, including dialogue, tension,

or suspense

Writing Historical Fiction

One option for this unit is to undertake a whole class study in reading and writing

Historical Fiction. When choosing this option you will no doubt first want to look through

the general fiction teaching described above, which builds upon the work of your first

narrative units, earlier in the year. From that section you might then list out the

teaching points and unit bends that build on the strengths of your students. Then you

will want to spend some time carefully reading this section, adding to your plan the

points that will help your students craft within this specific genre.

There are some aspects of historical fiction that involve some special tasks. First,

it is essential that the writer know something about the historical period in which his or

her story will be set. The first stage of collecting for historical fiction will therefore

involve collecting around the historical time period. One way to do this is to align your

social studies instruction with your historical fiction writing and reading work. For

example, in social studies, your students might be learning about the Civil War through

discussions, trips, film clips, and primary documents—all the while collecting jottings

about what they are learning about the period, spending time talking in partnerships and

clubs, and creating whole class word walls and charts gathering your current

understandings. Simultaneously, in reading workshop while your students are reading

historical fiction of various time periods, you will be careful to highlight Read Alouds

and club books specifically set within the Civil War, again collecting both individual and

whole class jottings about your new knowledge of the time period.

Other teachers might prefer to delve into the non-fiction work only in reading

workshop. If this is the case, you will want your students reading not only Historical

Fiction, but also nonfiction during this unit. For some classes your study might begin

with all clubs reading within the same time period, for others you might have one time

period that you model from in Read Alouds and Mini-lessons and then teach clubs how to

create their own charts, word walls, and have conversations about their learning within

their own time period. You will want to make sure clubs are keeping careful records in

their reading logs or in some other place of the texts they are reading and learning

from, so they are able to access them as both mentor texts and ―fact checkers‖ as they

write their Historical Fiction.

As your students develop a deeper knowledge of the time period they will be

writing in, they will learn even more as they move through the writing process. Remind

students that they already know a few ways to gather ideas for fiction stories –

beginning with plot, character or setting. Show them how to apply what they are learning

about their time to their repertoire of strategies for generating ideas by asking

themselves, ―Does this make sense for the time period? Does it ring true?‖ For example,

a student getting started by collecting plot ideas might have listed, ―a story about a boy

in the Civil War who wants to spend time with his older brother but he is working all the

time, so they drive together to Florida on vacation.‖ She will ask herself if it makes

sense for the period and if it rings true and then revise that point on his list to be

something more like ―a story about a boy in the Civil War who wants to spend time with

his older brother but their family is divided and he is on the Confederate side, so…‖

using these questions from the very beginning for everything from naming the character

a time-appropriate name to the sorts of period-based motivations a character might

have will help the writer get lost in the world of the story, as well as help off-set the

number of fact-based revisions that will occur later in the process.

While continuing to collect and rehearsing the student might write small moments

involving her main character. She might decide she wants her character to visit a friend,

you will teach her to ask herself, ―How would a person like my character go someplace in

this time period? Would he be alone? Would he walk? Ride in a carriage? On a horse? A

steam engine? What would he wear? What would he eat?‖ You will teach her to go back

to her jottings and find the answers to those questions and add them into her writing,

or to go back to nonfiction she found informative and seek out those answers.

Once your students have explored characters and plots and they have an idea for

a story, you might consider having the students try a ‗flash-draft‘ of a single everyday

scene in their notebooks. As the students experiment with trying their characters

having supper or getting dressed in the morning, we can assess what lessons we might

want to teach in drafting and revising. We can also teach students how to search for

additional historical information, showing them how to look for details that matter in

everyday life, such as types of transportation, clothing, or food. You will want them to

look closely at how these historical details are sprinkled throughout their historical

fiction books in order to help a reader envision the world of the story. Then, you might

model how from nonfiction texts and primary documents you gather more historical

details such as everyday objects, modes of transportation, common locations, dress, and

language. You can make sketches of artifacts and some entries in their notebook about

objects or ways of life, and show them how you incorporate these into your notebook

entries for your story. If your students are studying immigration, take them to the

Tenement Museum and have them write entries there, as imagined journal entries, or in

the voice of their character. If your students are writing about the American

Revolution, take them to the period rooms at the Metropolitan or Brooklyn museum or

your local museum. Or pull those visuals from the websites and show them the displays.

Next, when writing historical fiction, it‘s usually helpful to make a double timeline,

as in, one timeline that shows the historical struggle, and one that shows the personal

struggle your character will encounter. Some historical fiction begins with the historical

struggle, and some begins with personal tensions. For instance, in Nettie‘s Trip South, the reader meets the main character and learns about the historical struggle right

away. In Freedom Summer we learn first about the two main characters and their

friendship, before finding out about the historical context that makes their relationship

so daring.

Meanwhile, as your book clubs develop theories about their characters in reading,

you might teach them to distinguish and discuss what influences the main character‘s

struggles across their book. Explain that in some historical fiction, the big problem a

character faces is, in fact, the historical struggle, such as slavery in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, or enlistment in the army in My Brother Sam is Dead, or an arranged

marriage in…Bird). In others, the struggle is a more personal one (as in Sarah Plain and Tall), such as learning to love someone, or adjusting to a family change, or standing up to

a bully, and the historical setting is really a backdrop. You might even do some shared

writing where you and your students imagine how the story you are modeling with might

go if you did it each way.

Once students begin drafting, there are some craft moves that are particular to

historical fiction that you may want to consider. For example, teach your students that

historical fiction writers really need to set the scene with careful detail in the first

moment. They need to let the reader know, through the details they include, when and

where this story takes place. Invite clubs to reread their historical fiction mentor texts

and carefully envision the setting from just the first scene. Show your students how to

unpack what the author has done and apply those same strategies in their own writing.

Expect to model this in your own story – thus, plan to not load your first draft with

detail, show your students how to add it in, as they will predictably need to do this too.

It will also be predictable that your students will need to revise again for historical

consistency or accuracy, so make your draft need this too – you might say, ―oops, in my

story Polly wrote a letter that only took two days to arrive! But this book I read about

the colonies said that everything took days and days to travel from state to state, I‘ll

have to change that detail in my story.‖ Or how you realized you didn‘t know what kind

of tool your character would even use to write with, and you went back to some of your

resources, or that you needed to check what he or she would be wearing for different

occasions.

Teach your students to use the visuals in their social studies books, and the

pictures from museum websites, and the good descriptions from their historical fiction.

You may teach students, as a whole class or in small groups, to craft their characters‘

dialogue carefully, to have them speak in the dialect and with the vocabulary not just

for the time period, but for the character‘s background and status. Primary documents

like diaries and film clips, historical fiction mentors and even fiction that was

contemporary for the time period, are all excellent sources for this work.

Sometimes in writing historical fiction, young writers tend towards the

melodramatic. Characters tend to get killed off in epic battles, or to suffer horrific

injuries, or to rise up like superheroes to defeat irresistible odds. You can decide

whether to let them wallow in melodrama (they are, after all, child writers), or to teach

them to revise for believability. A good place to practice this revision is in the scene

where the main character faces a crisis, choice, or problem. This is where you can teach

them to make their character believable, flawed, or complicated, by basing their

character on people they know or their own observations and self-reflections. For your

stronger writers, you can teach them to show that their character is complicated and

changeable, and perhaps they can even show their character learning to be different

across scenes – you can model this in your story.

Through the entire drafting and revision process, return again and again to the

students‘ book clubs, which you will have probably noticed have fast become the

students‘ writing response groups as well. Encourage students to bring their drafts to

book club discussions! Students can trade drafts, and just as they would in book clubs,

place post its on each other‘s writing with their predictions, inferences and

interpretations. The club can then discuss the texts as readers – giving the writer a

window into what readers are truly taking away from their drafts!

Finally, you can teach your students that historical fiction stories can end without

having to resolve the historical struggle. As students tend to critique how satisfying the

ending was at the completion of their book club books, you can teach them to consider if

their own storylines were tied up or not and how to leave the ending satisfying, while

still historically accurate. This is a time, once again, to be wary of the Superman-type

endings. It is very unlikely that any one of our students can give their characters full

credit for ending the Civil War, giving women to the right to vote, or landing a man on

the moon! So watch out for those sorts of endings. We might coach a student who is

considering an ending like this, ―so maybe in the end Jason can be so worried about his

brother that he tells Abraham Lincoln that he needs to free the slaves…‖ and we might

suggest, just as in your first unit, that he instead consider something the character

discovers about himself or about his brother that was hiding there all along. He might

try out something like, ―maybe Jason learns that while he cannot change his brother,

Jason will still always remember his brother as the one who believed in him. Or maybe…‖ Historical fiction often has more of a sense of being unsettled or lacking resolution than

other fictions, perhaps because it so closely resembles the unsettledness of true

historical events. Often these stories, such as Number the Stars or Rose Blanche, are

about bearing witness. In the story you write, you can show your students how, as you

think hard about revising your final scene, you can decide whether your story will be one

that celebrates overcoming adversity, or that bears witness to suffering.

Teaching Points for Writing Historical Fiction:

Writers need to know something about the historical period in which the story

will be set. The first stage of collecting for historical fiction will therefore

involve collecting around the historical time period. Writers use nonfiction

resources to collect ideas and facts about their time period.

Writers know how to gather ideas for fiction stories – beginning with plot,

character, or setting. Ask – does this make sense for the time period? Does it

ring true?

Writers name the character a time appropriate name. They consult other text

written during this time period to get ideas for names or to check the names they

are considering.

Writers create period based motivations. They use information about the time

period and other stories they have read from this time period to make sure the

motivations match the time period.

Writes nurture their character. They write small moments involving the main

character. How would a person like my character go someplace in this time

period? Would he be alone? Would he walk, ride in a carriage, on a horse, a

steam engine, what would he eat or wear?

Once writers have an idea, they consider writing a flash-draft of a single

everyday scene in their notebooks – having supper, getting dressed. They look for

historical details that need to be added to these scenes. They consult nonfiction

texts and previously written information about the time period.

Writers need to sprinkle these historical details throughout their stories so the

reader envisions the world of the story. They reread what they have written and

look for scenes where these important details are missing.

Writers make sketches of artifacts and some entries in notebook about objects

or ways of life. They use this information to add details in their writing so the

reader can better envision the scene or character.

Writers make a double timeline with one timeline that show the historical

struggle and one that shows the personal struggle your character will encounter.

Writers recognize that some stories begin with the historical struggle and some

begin with personal tensions. They try out different ways they want to begin

their story.

Writers distinguish and discuss what influences the main character‘s struggles

across their book. With some HF the big problem a character faces is the

historical struggle, like slavery. Others are more of a personal one like learning

to love someone, or adjusting to a family change or standing up to a bully. It does

not matter what type of influences are working on the character. Writers still

need to ask, ―Are these influences appropriate and match to my time period?‖

Writers begin drafting by setting the scene with careful details in the first

moment. They let the reader know through the details they include when and

where this story is taking place.

Writers use the visuals in their social studies book and websites for good

descriptions.

Writers craft dialogue carefully. They ask themselves, ―Is this how people spoke

during this time period? What types of vocabulary/words did they use that may

be different from today? How did adults and children speak to one another?

What were the accepted manners in conversation during this time period?‖

Writers use vocabulary of the time, their character‘s background, and their

status to help the reader live in the character‘s time period.

Writers prevent the melodramatic epic battle where the character gets killed off

or suffers a horrific injury and is like a superhero and defeats the odds. They

draft scenes where the character faces a crisis, choice, or problem.

Writers concentrate on writing believable, flawed, and complicated characters.

They base their character on people they know. They consider the internal and

external traits of these people and add them to their scenes with their

character.

Writers trade drafts and place post-its on each other‘s writing with their

predictions, inferences, and interpretations.

Some HF stories end without resolving the historical struggle. Writers need to

avoid the superman type endings. Characters can bear witness to suffering or

overcoming adversity. They should ask themselves, ―Is this ending something

that could have happened to someone?‖

Writing Fantasy

Another option for this unit is to organize a whole class study in reading and

writing Fantasy. Again, when choosing this option you will no doubt first want to look

through the first ―Lessons That Are Key to Any Genre‖ section of this write-up, which

builds upon the work of your first narrative units, earlier in the year. From that section

you might then list out the teaching points and unit bends that match and build on the

strengths of your students. Then you will want to spend some time carefully reading this

section, adding to your plan the points that will help your students craft within this

specific genre.

Many fantasy writers are often obsessive, and they develop, at an early age, a lot

of expertise in how fantasy goes – because a lot of fantasy does follow patterns. Your

own writers will need to be reading fantasy in their book clubs during this unit in order

to make those connections. Many of them will know fantasy through film as well as their

reading lives, through Harry Potter and Narnia. In reading workshop, you might

encourage clubs to do an inquiry across texts, noticing the patterns that seem to be

predictable within the fantasy genre. They might notice how one such structure is the

kind of fantasy in which it starts in the real world and then the characters are

transported to a magical one (as in Narnia or Harry Potter or Droon). Another kind of

fantasy is one that creates, right from the start, an alternate reality, often one which

has a kind of medieval quality to it, with castles, monarchies, pageantry, chivalry,

dragons, and legends (such as Deltora Quest, Wizard of Earthsea, Dragon Slayer Academy).

You can model choosing between these two structures as a way to get started.

You will either be modeling a mythical, medieval world, or one that starts in the real

world and the characters get transported. Either way, you can teach students, in their

collecting stage, to write entries in which they play with describing this place, including

details about the setting and the inhabitants. Teach them to write with a lot of detail so

the reader can really envision the place and the creatures. For stronger writers, you can

also show them how fantasy usually creates a place in which some characters have more

power than others. In Narnia, for instance, Aslan and the White Witch are more

powerful than the others. Stronger writers may also be able to hint at the legends of

this place, which you could show them in your own writing, as in ‗there was a legend told

in the village that someday a boy would come, from another world, and he would bring

with him a savage dog and a golden key.‖

Be cautious however of getting too caught up in the dizzying freedom to create

any world they want. As students know from previous narrative units, plot and

characters also play important roles in strong storytelling. Remind students of what

they know from their work as readers of fantasy: heroes are flawed; villains have

motivations; and characters tend to go on quests that end happily.

The biggest challenge for fantasy writers is to keep the time period of their

story tight, otherwise they will tend to summarize when their stories spread over too

much time. It can be helpful to teach your writers that when fantasy writers are telling

short stories, they tend to have them happen within a day or two, and often the story is

a short quest that is given to the main character at the start, and that ends just a day

or two later when the character has conquered one or two challenges. You may want to

rehearse a story with them, such as one where you imagine a character opening up a

school locker or cubby and inside is a magical creature who tells the main character of a

quest, such as getting a golden book or key from the basement of the school, or baking a

secret recipe in the ovens of the cafeteria, or rescuing an imprisoned child-fairy from

the closet in the principal‘s office which is guarded at night by a werewolf. The main

thing is, the quest has to be definitive, there have to be one or two clear challenges for

the character to overcome, and it has to be over after that!

Additionally, one of the hallmarks of fantasy is the writer‘s ability to suspend his

reader‘s disbelief. How else to explain otherwise world-savvy readers suddenly holding

their breaths as the princess scales the mountaintop while chasing the unicorn? Fantasy

writers make us believe, while we are held entranced by the spell of the story, that the

events described are real – or at least real in that world. We can teach students how

they can accomplish those same effects by first studying short mentor fantasy texts

(picture books such as Merlin and the Dragons and The Paperbag Princess are great for

this). We can then show yet another way that fantasy writers are quite thoughtful in

their writing. Even if the entire story takes place in a fantastical world, the world still

has rules that it follows. In our world there is gravity and science. People grow food or

buy it from supermarkets. In a fantasy world there might be magic instead, but there is

logic to the magic – it follows rules that must be followed throughout the story. For

example, if a character needs to say a special word to cast a spell then the character

must always say the special word – not suddenly switch to a wand or have a fairy show up

that the writer never mentioned before! When students realize that each fantastical

element needs to be introduced fairly early in the story and then followed through until

the end, they naturally begin to limit themselves to just a few important characters,

creatures and magical elements.

You can do the same teaching listed above by teaching your students to rehearse

their story with a partner, to develop their character and their settings in their

notebook, and to use mini-books or story mountains to envision the scenes of their story

just as they might in any fiction piece. For fantasy, you can teach students to plot a few

main scenes or moments, for example: one where we meet the characters and they

discover their quest and/or other place, one where they face their first challenge, one

where they face a second challenge and a final scene where they succeed in their quest

(and perhaps return to their real world). In each scene, they‘ll need to give lots of

details about the place, the daily life, the dress, and the magic of this place. They‘ll also

have to develop one or two compelling characters. Within the fantasy structure, the

reader has to admire or sympathize with a main character, so model for your students

how you introduce a main character in the first scene that is likable because we get to

know their traits and desires.

It may be interesting for your writers, in their book club conversations and their

writing, to think about the roles characters play as archetypes, as in, a reluctant hero, a

villain, a sidekick, and perhaps a mentor. Many students talk knowledgeably about Harry Potter this way, speaking of Snape as a possible villain or a reluctant hero. In their

writing, it sometimes helps them develop characters in fantasy if they put them in these

roles. You can teach stronger writers how characters may break out of these roles, by

being complicated or surprising, you might demonstrate, ―in the story we‘ve been working

on together, we decided that William would be really uncomfortable being the hero, but

maybe in this part he could have a minute where he feels proud of having helped the

little girl or maybe…‖ You can also teach them to pay attention to common elements of

fantasy such as magical creatures and objects. Again, teach them to limit themselves to

a few and try to describe these in detail.

Predictable revision lessons for fantasy include: teaching students to develop

likable, interesting characters; teaching them to show characters‘ desires through their

inner thinking or their dialogue; showing them how to develop small tensions with other

characters. You can also teach students how to use flashbacks or dreams, which are

common in fantasy, to give the history of a quest, an object, or a mythical beast. Teach

students to rely on their clubs which can morph into a fantasy writing group to work on

keeping their stories tight – helping them to imagine the story as one episode in this

place‘s history. And, just as with the historical fiction pieces, you might encourage clubs

to exchange drafts of their pieces to read as readers, complete with post-its marking

where the reader had questions, was surprised or was envisioning the world the writer

had created. These comments from their classmates, who just happen to be expert

fantasy readers, will go a long way towards helping students to see the effect (or lack

of) that different parts of their stories are having on readers. You could also teach

them how to use details from films and history texts they‘ve seen to capture castles,

clothing, dragons, etc. Finally, you could teach them to consider their choices for

endings. They could solve the quest, with the character returning to the real world

after conquering the ‗dragon.‘ Or they could end it as some fantasy does, where one

small problem has been solved, but the big enemies are still undefeated – only to be

dealt with another day.

Teaching Points for Writing Fantasy:

Writers notice that a lot of fantasy follows a pattern. It can start in the

real world and then the characters are transported to a magical one. It

can be created right from the start in an alternate reality, often one which

has a kind of medieval quality to it with castles, monarchies, chivalry,

dragons, and legends.

While collecting entries, writers need to play with describing this place,

including details about the setting and the people. They need to be able to

envision everything especially the creatures.

Writers create entries to explore how some characters have more power

than others. They decide who has power over others in terms of authority.

They also consider who has magical powers. They make sure that the

magical powers make sense with what they know about fantasy. The

magical powers need to fit the situation and character. If they are too

absurd, the writing can begin to sound silly and loses the good qualities we

know about fantasy.

Writers hint at the legends of this place. They consider the hierarchy of

power and the magical powers things have. They ask themselves, ―How did

this come to be? Can I create a legend that shows my reader how these

powers were created and sustained in my story?‖

Writers notice that fantasy stories have heroes who are flawed, villains

that have motivations, and characters tend to go on quests that end

happily. They check to make sure their descriptions and scenes with these

characters contain this information for the reader.

Writers develop a quest that is definitive. They ask, ―Does my reader

know exactly what the character has to accomplish in order for the

problem to be solved?‖

Writers need to create one or two clear challenges for the character to

overcome, and it has to be over after that. They can create a timeline or

story mountain to plan out the obstacles and solutions for their character.

They constantly ask, ―Does this fit with what we know about my character

and the setting of my story?‖ Writers are reminded that solutions do not

come out of nowhere. They need to fit with the rest of story and possibly

be a follow up from an idea hinted at earlier in the story.

Writers can use magic in their stories to develop their characters or the

plot. They understand that there is logic to the magic – it follows rules.

They list out the magical powers they are considering and jot down rules

that govern them. They can also use past/current legends as a way to

explain those rules.

Fantastical elements need to be introduced fairly early in the story, and

then followed through until the end. Writers write about or hint at these

ideas in some of the initial scenes. They later develop these ideas further

in subsequent scenes.

Writers use mini-books or story mountains to envision the scenes. They

plot a few main scenes or moments. Some scenes to consider are: where

we meet the characters and they discover their quest and/or other place,

one where they face their first challenge, one where they face a second

challenge and a final scene where they succeed in their quest.

Writers give lots of details about the place, daily life, the dress, and the

magic there. They use sensory details in their writing to help the reader

envision life in this fantasy land.

Writers introduce the main character in the first scene that is likable.

They include important character traits and hint at desires the character

has.

Writers consider the many roles character play like archetypes – reluctant

hero, a villain, a sidekick, or a mentor. Characters may also break out of

these roles by being complicated or surprising. They can use a T chart of

external and internal traits to develop the characters. Also, they can try

out scenes with the character, incorporating the traits and motivations the

important to them.

Revisions include developing likable and interesting characters. Writers

show the character‘s desires through their inner thinking or their dialogue.

They also show them how to develop small tensions with other characters.

Writers use flashbacks or dreams to give the history of a quest, an object,

or a mythical beast.

Writers use details from films and history texts they have seen to capture

castles, clothing, dragons, etc.

Writers consider their endings by solving the quest with the character

returning to the real world after conquering the ―dragon‖, or they could

have one small problem has been solved, but the big enemies are still

undefeated to be dealt with another day.

Writers exchange drafts with post-it responses. They consider

suggestions made by their writing partner.

Writing Science Fiction

It is ideal to be reading and writing Science Fiction at the same time, so you may

want to be doing the Reading Science Fiction at the same time. When beginning this

unit, you will want to first look through the first ―Lessons That Are Key to Any Genre‖

section of this write-up, which builds upon the work of your first narrative units, earlier

in the year. From that section you might then list out the teaching points and unit bends

that match and build on the strengths of your students. Then you will want to spend

some time carefully reading this section, adding to your plan the points that will help

your students craft within this specific genre.

It is important to be knowledgeable of the elements of science fiction. Every

science fiction story has something that is somewhat alien compared to the reality of

today‘s world. Some science fiction includes spaceships, time travel, dragons, magic

wands, or time running backwards. There is always something alien (nonexistent to

today‘s world) in the story. Typically, this alien feature is accepted by the characters in

the story and not written about as if it is weird or unusual.

Another aspect of science fiction is that there is a reason for the ―science‖ in

science fiction. That‘s because every science fiction story contains within it an

understanding that there is such a thing as technological and scientific advancement,

and that the human race is a part of it.

Science fiction includes imaginary elements that are largely possible within the

laws of nature. Exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional

purpose of science fiction. It includes a setting in the future or in a historical past that

contradicts known facts of history or the archeological record. It could also be a

setting in outer space or on other worlds (taken from Wikipedia).

Teaching Points for Writing Science Fiction:

Writers create the world of the story for their readers by including details that

will help the reader create a mental picture.

Writers help readers create mental pictures of the story in their minds by

zooming in and including all the small details from a place.

Writers help readers create mental pictures of the story in their minds by

including details that help the reader know when the story took place (how far

into the future).

Writers help readers create mental pictures of the story in their minds by

letting readers know the ‗norms‘ of this world.

Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world

and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the land and

sky. What would be the same as our world today, but what would be different

that couldn‘t possibly really exist.

Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world

and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the land and

sky. What would be the same about the land and sky in the made up world as our

world today, but what would be different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?

Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world

and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the homes

and other buildings. What would be the same as our world today, but what would

be different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?

Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world

and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the

weather. What would be the same as our world today, but what would be

different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?

Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world

and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the people.

What would be the same as our world today, but what would be different that

couldn‘t possibly really exist?

Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world

and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the

transportation. What would be the same as our world today, but what would be

different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?

Writers have to decide on a problem for their story. They think about all the

different possibilities for the larger context: alien encounters, machines

dominating people, cloning, time travel, robots, wars in the future, work of

scientist right now, technological advancements, an alternative world. They choose

one possibility and list out all the possible problems and solutions in regards to

this larger context.

Writers choose the setting for their story. They think about their problem and

think about which setting makes the most sense: future, now, past…space, the

underworld, on earth.

Writers develop the setting for their story. They list out everything you might

see in this place.

Writers develop the setting for their story. They use their senses to think of

possible ideas.

Writers create an antagonist (villain) and protagonist (hero) for their story. They

think about the setting and problem and think about what kind of characters

might make sense for their story. They can begin to sketch out what the

characters might look like.

These units were adapted from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

December/January Persuasive Essay/Letters & Compare and Contrast Essay

Though there are two months to teach both of these essays, the time flies, and planning

out a two month calendar (while allowing some catch-up days/or snow days planned into

the monthly calendar) may be most helpful in ensuring that both units are taught and

completed.

Overview of Writing a Persuasive Essay

In this unit you will teach students to write idea-based pieces in which they continue to

craft powerful subjects and control structure, now in non-narrative form. This unit of

study invites students into the difficult and exhilarating work of learning to write well

within an expository structure. Students need scaffolding and support in order to

experience the process of writing effective essays. In this unit, you will reduce some of

the complexity of finished essays, highlight the most essential moves an essayist must

make, and show students that these moves are within their reach. You‘ll elongate the

process of writing an essay in order to show students how to do each aspect of this

work, and to give them practice at each one.

At the start of this unit, you will point out to writers that they could conceivably write

about a topic—say a visit to the Dominican Republic—as a narrative, retelling it

chronologically, or as a non-narrative piece, also referred to as an essay, in which case

they‘ll advance a certain idea (―Visits to the Dominican Republic feel like going home,‖

for example). You will teach students that the terms narrative and non-narrative (or

essay) refer to structure and genre, not to content. For some students, the fact that

they can write about personal topics in a genre other than personal narrative will be a

new realization. In this unit, each student will write a personal essay in which he or she

advances a theme of personal significance, arguing, for example, ―It‘s hard being an

older sister,‖ or claiming, ―My father is my best teacher.‖

This unit merits some time. It‘s no small task to teach children how to write modest yet

well-structured and competent essays. The first step is to help students write rough

drafts. Once they understand the basic structure of an essay, they‘ll move on to doing

lots of revision with the goal of learning as much as possible about logical thought. Then,

after helping kids spend two to three weeks writing one essay, you can give them the

option of churning out a quick essay in a day, and revising it on the next, and then show

them how to write an essay using the revision strategies they know in one period. Take

your time investing in this work – your effort will have enormous payoffs.

Strategies for Generating and Elaborating Upon Essay Writing

As with any unit of study in a writing workshop, you‘ll begin by helping students develop

a repertoire of strategies for collecting entries—this time, essay entries. It‘s important

to teach students that their lives are provocative. Writers observe things in the world,

recording what we see in all its detail, and then we shift and write, ―The thought I have

about this is. . .‖ or, ―This makes me realize. ...‖ For example, a student could spend a

minute unloading the chaos in his backpack, saying ‗I see…‘ and then listing the items as

he pulls them out. He might come across a pristine academic planner that his mother had

given him, hoping he would keep track of his school assignments. After describing the

planner (―I see….‖) he would shift to something like, ―and the thought I have about this

is….that a lot of people spend time trying to keep me organized, but to no avail.‖ Writers

can use this strategy to observe stuff that is literally before our eyes, or we can

mentally travel to a provocative place—say, the family kitchen—and observe, then push

off into writing-to-think. When teaching students to grow essays out of everyday

observations, you will really be teaching them to free-write in writers‘ notebooks. The

goal is to help kids realize the value of writing at length without a preconceived content,

trusting that ideas will surface as they go along. Students also learn the power of

imagining themselves in an evocative place and generating ideas in response to what they

―see.‖

During this early phase of the unit, you may also want to teach students that they can

reread entries they collected earlier in the year during narrative units of study and use

those entries as starting points, perhaps beginning, ―The idea I have about this is . . .‖ or

―The thing that surprises me about this is . . . .‖ A student might jot down a topic that

he cares about, then collect ideas about that big subject and write at length about one

of those ideas. Or, just as earlier in the year you taught your students to generate

ideas for writing personal narrative by jotting down a person who mattered to them and

then listing small moments they had spent with that person, they could now jot down a

person and list big ideas they have about that person. If a student‘s grandmother has

been growing elderly before her eyes, she might jot ―Nana‖ and then list big ideas she

has about her: it is hard to watch the strongest person in your life become vulnerable;

my grandmother is teaching me that few things matter more than family ties…. After

listing ideas in such a manner, students will take one of those ideas and write for a time

about it. Mini-lessons teaching students to use these and other strategies are available

in the Units of Study series.

Of course, if you teach a particular strategy for generating essay-entries, this doesn‘t

mean the entire class needs to use the strategy you have just taught! Students by now

should be accustomed to selecting the strategy that works best for that student on any

given occasion. That is, the strategy you introduce in a mini-lesson on a particular day is

not that day‘s assignment, as is more usual in traditional instruction, but is one of many

in a growing repertoire of strategies that writers can draw on as needed.

You and your students can think of your own wonderful ways to collect provocative ideas.

Perhaps your students will decide to read a novel for a few minutes, close the book and

write, ―The thought I have about this is…‖ Similarly, your students might decide to

quickly discuss a current event in the world or recent happening in their community,

return to their notebooks and write an idea they have. A student might jot down topics,

hobbies, or issues that he or she cares about, then collect ideas about that big subject

and write off one of them. This means that when a writer‘s goal is to write an essay, the

notebook‘s purpose is to provide a time and place for the writer to grow provocative,

insightful ideas so that when it comes time to choose one idea to advance in an essay,

the writer has a wealth of possibilities from which to choose. If a writer‘s goal is to

grow provocative interesting ideas, the writer‘s entries will not usually look like

miniature essays, nor will the writer immediately shift from stating an idea towards

providing evidence for that idea. Kids, when they do this, will write ideas such as, ‗My

Mom is important to me‘ or ‗I am good at baseball‘ and then they write, ‗For example,‘

and cite examples. At this stage, it is more important for them to linger for awhile

within writing about- ideas.

Essayists need tools to push past their first thoughts—to linger for awhile within

writing about- ideas—and many find it helpful to use thought-prompts to prime the pump

of their ideas. ―The surprising thing about this is…,‖ an essayist might write in her

notebook before spinning out a brand new thought in letters that scrawl down the page.

That is, once a student records an idea, the student will benefit from having strategies

to elaborate upon that idea. Using prompts such as, ―to add on . . . ,‖ or ―furthermore . . .

,‖ allows students to extend their first ideas and to use writing as a way of thinking.

Remind your students that when they finish one entry, they will want to skip a line and

then write another, and another.

Teach Writers to Choose an Idea, to Write It as a Thesis, and to

Build the Structure for the Essay After collecting possible ideas, drawing on what they already know about rereading

notebooks, young essayists will select one idea. In the earlier, narrative units of study,

they selected one story; this time they will select an idea. Encourage students to reread

in order to select and expand upon ideas that seem especially important or interesting.

Students need to understand that they do this work to try to have ideas that are fresh

and important and worth developing.

When students wrote narratives, they used timelines or story mountains, or mini-books

to plan out the sequence of what they would write. When writing essays, it is equally

important to plan out the sequence, but this time the sequence will involve categories, or

sections. Once students have selected and articulated an idea (―The Dominican Republic

feels like home to me,‖ for example), you will want to teach them that one way to think

about the categories, or subordinate ideas, that they will address is to think about their

seed idea, and then list a few parallel reasons that support this claim. Writers can

restate the claim over and over, each time adding the transitional word because followed by a reason:

• The Dominican Republic feels like home because…my adolescent memories

are there.

• The Dominican Republic feels like home because…my extended family is

there.

• The Dominican Republic feels like home because…my first language is

spoken there.

Repeating the stem of the thesis over and over results in a list that is full of

redundancy, but this can eventually be eliminated. Early on, however, if the writer does

not repeat the stem for each new item in the list, many writers lose all coherence.

There are other ways to support a claim (or thesis), and a teacher may or may not teach

those alternatives.

During this planning stage, students can explore their subordinate ideas and decide

which they really want to defend. In the end, we hope each student has a main idea (a

claim or a thesis) and several parallel supporting ideas. Teachers sometimes refer to the

main idea and supporting statements as ―boxes and bullets.‖

We have found it helps if students take their thesis and record it on the outside of a

folder, then make smaller internal folders for each of their bullets (topic sentences).

You may decide upon a different way to help students collect and sort entries that

support the frame of their essays.

Gathering Material for an Essay, Then Selecting the Most Compelling

and Appropriate Material and Constructing a Draft When it is time to teach students to collect materials to support their topic sentences,

you will probably want to teach them that they can first collect micro-stories that

illustrate their ideas. It is also important to teach students to angle these stories so

they highlight and support the idea the writer wants to advance, and for them to learn

to ―unpack‖ those stories, just as a teacher debriefs after a demonstration in a mini-

lesson. After teaching students that writers sometimes collect angled stories, students

will have lots of opportunities to practice this technique and become proficient at it

because they will collect angled stories within each of their folders, substantiating each

of their topic sentences. They also, of course, may revise these in order to bring out the

point they want to make. Keep in mind that during one day of a writing workshop, a

student might collect three or four angled stories, filing these in the appropriate

folder. That is, it would not be considered a day‘s work for a student to write one tiny

anecdote supporting one of the student‘s three topic sentences!

Essayists ―unpack‖ their micro-stories by adding a sentence or two after the story in

which they discuss how the story illustrates the main idea. A little boy wrote about how

glad he is that his father taught him skating tricks. Then he wrote a story about

watching his father do a 360 degree turn and then trying it himself. The boy‘s story

ended, ―I came to in the boy‘s bathroom with blood on my head.‖ The story was totally

transformed when this young writer added the line, ―I‘m still thinking about how glad I

was my father had taught me to do the 360.‖

Writers can also collect lists to support their topic sentences. We often use Martin

Luther King‘s I Have a Dream speech as a model text for these lists. Additionally, you

might show students how statistics, observations, citations, quotations, and so forth can

enrich their work. Students can not only employ strategies they learned from past

experiences writing essays, they can also develop strategies of their own. It is

important to make a big deal out of a student who ―invents‖ a new way to gather ideas.

If these bits are collected not in a writer‘s notebook but on separate bits of paper, they

can be filed in the appropriate topic sentence folders.

It is important to help writers select compelling evidence from the material they collect

in these folders, and to help them ensure that the evidence closely supports their claim.

We teach them to look carefully from the claim to the evidence and back again because

often the two aren‘t as congruent as they appear at first glance. Eventually we teach

writers to sort through the materials in each folder, writing well-structured paragraphs.

Once writers have selected the most powerful and pertinent support material for each

of their topic sentences, they staple or tape or recopy this information into a paragraph

or two that supports each topic sentence, and in this manner construct the rough draft

of an essay. Special lessons on transitions, introductions, and conclusions are important

here.

Partnerships Writing partnerships will have become part of the fabric of your classroom by now, so

you might move into teaching students how to give each other specific compliments

about each other‘s process, as well as the products. You might teach students to say

something such as, ―I‘m really impressed by the way you kept gathering lots of little

thoughts that didn‘t seem all that connected – but then you re-read those entries to

find a connection that I could never have guessed was there.‖ We also may want to

teach students to use what they know about good writing in order to not only

compliment well, but also to make suggestions on areas in which the writer could

improve. You might also want to teach students to ask helpful questions of each other,

such as, ―What are you trying to say in your piece? What part are you not sure about?

Can you be more specific?‖

Writers may meet together not only in partnerships but also, from time to time, in

student-led small groups. Some teachers who have created particularly vibrant

communities have spaces in the classroom where students can ask for and offer help to

their fellow writers. One example of such a space would be a bulletin board where

students might post their needs under a ―help wanted‖ sign, and their talents under

―help offered.‖

Alignment with the Standards:

5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

5.4.3 Write information pieces with multiple paragraphs that: present important

ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order; provide details and

transitions to link paragraphs; offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes

important ideas and details.

5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.9 Proofreads one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific

errors.

5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.4.11 Use logical organization structures for providing information in writing, such

as chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating

and supporting a hypothesis with data.

5.5.4 Write persuasive letters or compositions that: state a clear position in

support of a proposal; support a position with relevant evidence and effective

emotional appeals; follow a simple organizational pattern wit the most

appealing statements first and the least powerful one last; address reader

concerns.

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting

tone and style as appropriate.

5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.

5.6.7 Spell roots or bases or words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable

constructions correctly.

5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.

Teaching Points for Writing a Persuasive Essay:

This is a collection of teaching points that have been shared at collaboration. They are to be used as needed and in the order you need for your class. Don‘t forget to consult

the Calkins‘ book on essay writing for additional teaching points and in-depth examples of how to implement them.

Immersion Writers read persuasive essays in partnerships or small groups that others have

written. They jot down what they notice, share with the class, and create a chart

of noticings for everyone to use.

Writers reread examples of persuasive essays. They choose their favorite as a

mentor essay.

Collecting Writers reread their notebooks looking for causes and concerns they‘ve already

written about. They push their thinking by asking, ―So what‘s the bigger issue

here, or the deeper issue, that underlies this entry for me?‖ Then they record

their thoughts in their notebooks.

Writers get ideas for writing a persuasive essay from their own thoughts. They

think of all the things that bug them, things they want to change, daily problems,

or issues they face. They list out the social issues in these (poverty, divorce, not

fitting, sickness, loneliness, etc). They ask themselves, ―What injustices are in

the world that I have a solution to?‖

Writers get ideas for writing a persuasive essay from their list of social issues.

They choose one at a time and write long about it. They write everything that

they think about with that issue.

Writers think about their audience and the message they want to convey to this

audience. They choose an issue, an audience, and the message. They can ask,

―Who needs this information? Who has the power?‖ They try this out for several

issues.

Writers develop an idea/topic. They take an idea from their list or topics and

ask, ―What do I think about this?‖, write that and add the word because, which

leads to them to support their topic with reasons.

Choosing

Writers reread their entries to choose an idea for their persuasive essay. They

choose a topic that they are personally interested in and can take a personal

stand on (against or for the topic). They can use sentence starters like: I

think…, I feel…, or I believe… They will use this as their thesis statement.

Writers choose their topic. They look through their notebooks and find the topic

that has the strongest and most believable supports for their argument.

Nurturing/Developing

Writers develop the reasons that support their thesis. They read a reason and

ask themselves ―why?‖ or ―how?‖.

Writers develop the reasons that support their thesis. They read a reason and

say ―for example‖ and then explain with a relevant piece of evidence.

Writers organize their ideas for their essay. They use boxes and bullets as their

tool. Their thesis statement is written in the box, while each of their bullets is a

supporting reason.

Writers create an organizational tool for their evidence. They make a mini-folder

for each of their reasons. They write the reason on the outside of their folder.

Then they collect slips of paper (evidence) that contain facts, stories, or

thoughts to support that reason.

(Teachers may want to organize their ideas using separate pieces of paper labeled – introduction, reason 1, reason 2, reason 3, and conclusion. This is explained in the literary essay unit. Using the mini-folders is just another way to do the same thing.)

Writers develop their position about their topic further. They collect stories,

solutions, data, and pros and cons as examples for their position. They write this

information on slips of paper which they keep in the corresponding mini-folder.

Writers support their reasons. They make a list of examples that illustrate the

reason and write about them. They can also tell a story in which they illustrate

their reason clearly.

Writers elaborate their reasons. They write about a story from their live that

illustrates their reason, something from the world, something from TV or a book,

or writing ―This is important because…‖

Writers check their mini-folders for an adequate amount of support. They

reread their evidence and ask, ―Is this enough information to support my reason?

Can I write a complete paragraph using this information?‖

Writers organize the information in their mini-folders. They reread their

evidence and arrange their examples in order of importance. Then they tape the

papers together. They do this for all of their reasons/mini-folders. Each set of

taped pages will become the paragraph for their reason.

Writers connect examples and ideas for their reasons. They reread their taped

pages. They ask, ―Do all of these ideas connect and flow together? When I read

my page from beginning to end, does it make sense or does it sound like a list of

facts and ideas? Do I need to add a sentence(s) between the information?‖

Writers organize their paragraphs in order of effective to most effective. They

reread all of their taped pages/paragraphs and ask, ―Which is the most effective

reason?‖ This paragraph will be last. Then they repeat the process until all of

their reasons have been ordered from effective to most effective. They can

write corresponding numbers on the pages (1, 2, and 3) or staple them in order.

Drafting

Writers draft their body paragraphs using their taped pages that have been put

in order of effectiveness. They read their information for each of their body

paragraphs and write it on drafting paper. They write on every other line and only

on the front side of the paper.

Writers draft an introduction for their essay. They can use their mentor texts

to notice ways authors start their essays. They introduce their arguments. They

state their thesis and the three supporting reasons in order of effectiveness.

Writers personalize their introductions. They ask, ―What in my life drew my

attention to this topic?‖ and write it down.

Writers draft a conclusion for their essay. They remind the reader of the thesis

statement they were supporting. They briefly restate their main reasons (As I

have said/stated or As I have written). They can offer an action that the reader

could take to remedy the problem. Likewise, they can leave the reader with an

emotional or thought provoking statement or question (I hope you realize, Some

people think/believe…, but I think/believe…, Other people should care about this

because…, or After writing this, I still believe…).

Revising Writers use persuasive words to influence their reader. They reread their draft

and ask, ―Where have I written an idea that is important to proving my thesis?

What words of persuasion can I add here?‖ Some persuasive words to use are:

believe, I know/am certain, important, really need, strongly feel/recommend,

best, urge you, encourage, effective, and convince. They make sure to include

persuasive words in each paragraph.

Writers make the argument personal to the reader. They explain how this topic

affects the lives of the readers in one of the body paragraphs or in the

conclusion.

Writers add transitional words to their drafts. They reread their draft and ask,

―Have I connected my ideas together within my paragraphs? Between my

paragraphs?‖ Then they add transitional words as appropriate.

Possible Transitional Words and Phrases:

- To Add Information (and, again, an then, Besides, Equally important, finally,

further, furthermore, next, lastly, In addition, first, second)

- To Conclude or Summarize (To conclude, In conclusion, As I have shown, As

I have said, As a result, Finally, In summary, To sum up, I realize, I hope

you realize, As I have said/stated, As I have written)

- Contrast 2 Things or Show a Difference (On the other hand, Even though,

Although, However)

- Emphasize a Point (again, In fact, For this reason)

- To Compare/Show Similarities (In the same way, Also)

- To Clarify (In other words, To clarify, Put another way, Another way to

think about this is)

- To Show Location (Throughout, Beyond, beneath, alongside)

- To Show Time (Immediately, Finally, previously, First/Second/Etc, Next

Then)

- To Give Examples (For example, For instance, Another example is, To

illustrate)

- To Indicate Logical Relationships (As a result, For this reason, Since,

Accordingly, Therefore, Consequently)

Writers revise their drafts for emphasis. They vary the length of their

sentences to emphasize a point(s) they are making.

Editing Writers check the spelling of their piece. They read the words backwards and

correct any words that are misspelled. They use print resources to correct

words they are unsure of.

Writers check their piece for the correct use of a comma with transitional

words/phrases. Writers reread their pieces and stop anywhere they have written a

transitional word or phrase. They can consult the chart of transitional words/phrases

created during revisions. They check for a comma.

Compare and Contrast Essay or Persuasive Letter

Please see the test preparation binder for materials on writing a Compare and Contrast

Essay.

Overview For the Persuasive Letter, use the work completed in the Persuasive Essay unit.

This unit should take no more than 2 or 3 weeks because the majority of the writing

work is complete. You will have students choose an audience for their writing that is

already completed, then model how to add on a greeting, appropriate introductory and

conclusion paragraph (that sound like they are talking to their audience, sound like a

letter), ending with an appropriate closing and signature.

It‘s important to also teach students the purpose of a persuasive letter: to put

forward, to a particular person or organization (or, in the case of a letter to the editor,

the general public), an argument or point of view on some issue of concern.

Students will need to learn the basic structure of a persuasive letter:

1. Initial details, including senders address, date, recipient's name and address, and

greeting.

2. The writer's basic position or point of view is clearly stated.

3. Arguments for the point of view are presented in logical order, along with

evidence, reasons and/or examples. Older students might also make some

acknowledgement of the main arguments against their point of view, and answer

them.

4. Summing up of argument, and restating of the point of view taken.

5. Formal sign-off.

Persuasive letter language takes a formal tone. It is written primarily in the present

tense. It makes use of full sentences and paragraphs. Linking words to do with reasoning

and the idea of cause and effect are used, such as might, may, also, however, therefore,

thus, so, for this reason.

Example:

11 Sample Street

MADEUPTOWN 4890

15 May 2000

Mr John Brown

Federal Minister for Transport

54 Motorcar Avenue

CANBERRA 4001

Dear Mr Brown

Most people in the world drive their cars on the right side of the road. As international

travel becomes cheaper and more common, more and more people who are used to

driving on the right side of the road are getting confused and causing accidents on

Australian roads, where we drive on the left.

An obvious solution would be for countries in the minority, like Australia, which drive on

the left side of the road, to change their rules so that all people in the world drive on

the right side of the road. This would minimise confusion, and in the long term greatly

reduce the number of injuries and deaths due to road accidents.

An additional benefit would be the reduction in accident repair costs and a

corresponding reduction in the amount we all have to pay for car insurance.

One problem with this solution is that for a little while there would be more confusion

on Australian roads, and more accidents, while everyone got used to driving on the right

side.

In the long run though, changing to driving on the right side of the road in Australia

makes sense. We should not allow some short term disadvantages to deter us from

enjoying the huge long term advantages of making this change.

Yours sincerely

MWright

Marie Wright

Resource: http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/gpersuad.htm

http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/gpersuad.htm

Alignment with Standards:

5.4.2 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

5.4.4 Write information pieces with multiple paragraphs that: present important

ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order; provide details and

transitions to link paragraphs; offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes

important ideas and details.

5.4.12 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.13 Proofreads one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific

errors.

5.4.14 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.4.15 Use logical organization structures for providing information in writing, such

as chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating

and supporting a hypothesis with data.

5.5.7 Write persuasive letters or compositions that: state a clear position in

support of a proposal; support a position with relevant evidence and effective

emotional appeals; follow a simple organizational pattern wit the most

appealing statements first and the least powerful one last; address reader

concerns.

5.5.8 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.9 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting

tone and style as appropriate.

5.6.9 Use correct capitalization.

5.6.10 Spell roots or bases or words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable

constructions correctly.

5.6.11 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.

6.4.1 Organization and Focus: Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of

ideas, and use graphic organizers to plan writing. (Core Standard)

6.4.2 Choose the form of writing that best suits the intended purpose. (Core

Standard)

6.4.3 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that:

• engage the interest of the reader.

• state a clear purpose.

• develop the topic with supporting details and precise language.

• conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition. (Core

Standard)

6.4.4 Use a variety of effective organizational patterns, including comparison and

contrast, organization by categories, and arrangement by order of importance or

climactic order. (Core Standard)

6.4.5 Research Process and Technology:

Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing. (Core Standard)

6.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:

Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity. (Core Standard)

6.4.9 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.

(Core Standard)

6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and

between paragraphs. (Core Standard)

6.5.2

Write descriptions, explanations, comparison and contrast papers, and problem

and solution essays that:

• state the thesis (position on the topic) or purpose.

• explain the situation.

• organize the composition clearly.

• offer evidence to support arguments and conclusions.

6.5.5 Write persuasive compositions that:

• state a clear position on a proposition or proposal.

• support the position with organized and relevant evidence and effective emotional

appeals.

• anticipate and address reader concerns and counterarguments. (Core Standard)

6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting. (Core Standard)

6.5.7 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a

specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as necessary. (Core Standard)

February Test Prep

To make the most of this unit, please see your test prep manuals for

your respective grade. These manuals have numerous resources and

test prep items that come straight from the state test, but are

available for teacher use.

March/April Nonfiction

Alignment with Standards:

5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

5.4.3 Write informational pieces with multiple paragraphs that:

• present important ideas or events in sequence or in

chronological order.

• provide details and transitions to link paragraphs.

• offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes important ideas

and details

5.4.4 Research Process and Technology:

Use organizational features of printed text, such as citations, endnotes, and bibliographic

references, to locate relevant information.

5.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.

5.4.7 Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings.

5.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:

Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.9 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or

set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.

5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting

5.5.6 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a

specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as appropriate.

5.5.3 Research Application:

Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic

research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,

reports findings) and that:

• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and

documents sources (titles and authors).

• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.

• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing.

5.4.11 Use logical organizational structures for providing information in writing, such as

chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating and

supporting a hypothesis with data.

6.4.1 Organization and Focus:

Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to

plan writing.

6.4.3 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that:

• engage the interest of the reader.

• state a clear purpose.

• develop the topic with supporting details and precise language.

• conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition.

6.4.5 Research Process and Technology:

Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.

6.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:

Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

6.4.9 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.

6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and

between paragraphs.

6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

6.5.7 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the most

significant details.(

6.5.3 Research Application:

Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic

research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,

reports findings) and that:

• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and

documents sources independently by using a consistent format for citations.

• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.

• demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and

credibility.

• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing, and demonstrates the

distinction between one's own ideas from the ideas of others, and includes a

bibliography (Works Cited).

Teaching Points for Nonfiction writing:

Nonfiction writers prepare to write by immersing themselves in great non-fiction

writing. They look for features of non-fiction writing that help them know it is

non-fiction. They scan through non-fiction books looking for features that stand

out, and mark them with post-its. After students have come up with many post-

its with partners, create a chart of noticings, having students place post-its on

the chart.

Nonfiction writers prepare to write by immersing themselves in great Non-Fiction

writing to notice how the writing is put together. They take all their noticings,

and organize them into categories. The teacher and students will come up with

categories together during the mini-lesson: Text Organization, Page Features,

Special Features, Search Tools, Word Features. (Model placing post-its under

proper categories before allowing students to do so with their partners.)

Non-Fiction writers prepare to write by carefully studying different features of

great Non-Fiction writing. They look at features one at a time, and really think

about what that feature looks like and how it helps the reader. ―Let‘s start today

by looking at the Table of Contents…‖ (Mini-Lesson)… continue on following days

with glossary, index, captions, diagrams… (ORRRR… save this for the kids to do

with partners! That would cut out some days…)

Non-Fiction writers realize that different Non-Fiction books are written in

different ways. They carefully study different books on the same topic,

considering the different information found in the books, and the Non-Fiction

features that were used in the books.

Non-Fiction writers realize that Non-Fiction books are all about one topic. They

consider which topics they might be interested in writing about by considering

topics they know a lot about. They ask themselves, ―What are some topics that I

know so much about I could teach a course or write a book about them?‖ They

add those topics to a list in their Writer‘s Notebooks. Writers then begin to

―try-on‖ those ideas by brainstorming lists of sub-topics that might be included in

their writing.

Non-Fiction writers put a lot of thought into possible topics before choosing one

to stick with by brainstorming possible titles for their topics. They think deeply

about one of their top choices, then list out different titles that might make

their writing more, or less focused. (Demonstrate how you could write a book on

Horses, or Breeds of Horses, or Horse Colors, or Horse…) They try this for many

possible topics in order to really think through their writing.

Non-Fiction writers finally choose a topic. They ask themselves questions about

their top topics. They select their top 3 topics and ask themselves, ―Is this a

topic I at least know a little about?‖ ―Is this a topic I am really curious to learn

more about?‖ and ―Am I interested enough in this topic to stick with it for the

entire writing process?‖ Then, writers devote themselves to the topic by posting

it for all to see. (Could do a ―Coming soon!‖ Movie board previews for soon-to-be

published writing)

Non-Fiction writers begin planning how they will answer their questions by

considering what they already know. They make a web in their writer‘s notebooks

for each question. They add as many details as they can to each web before

moving on to the next.

Once they have committed to a topic, Non-Fiction writers look closely at a mentor

text to guide the structure of their writing. They ask, ―How will different

sections organize my information?‖ ―How will I make sure that the most

important ideas get through to the reader?‖ and ―How will visual information add

to my writing?‖ They look at a variety of texts while asking these questions, and

choose the text that answers them best.

**Don’t forget to talk to the students about bibliographies and keeping good

track of where they are getting their information. They may need to come

back to it during the drafting and revising stages.

Non-Fiction writers organize their writing by really thinking through the

different sub-topics they will address in their writing. They think about

different questions that they‘ll want to answer in their books, and write these

questions in their Writer‘s Notebooks. Then, they choose the top questions

they‘d like to answer, and star them.

Before writers can start researching, they must decide exactly what questions

their books will answer. They do this by using their partners to come up with 4

main questions (sections) they will answer with researching. (Look back through

planning to come up with questions.

Writers create their sections, or chapters, by turning their questions in headings.

Instead of, ―What do dolphins eat?‖, they would create a chapter entitled ―What

dolphins eat.‖ (Of course they could have headings that are questions, this is just

to show them how to flip it for the information.) These ―questions‖ should include

enough information for an entire chapter of writing. These are their sections.

Writers will begin organizing their information by writing their section titles on

envelopes. Each envelope can be kept in a folder or glued into a file folder for

easier access. Each envelope will hold the various facts for the specific headings.

Notecards are best to use for the facts, but paper strips can also be used.

Writers put what they‘ve read into their own words. One way they do this is by

reading a small section, then, when they are finished, asking themselves, ―What

did I just learn?‖ Then, they write down what they remember as being important.

This should be modeled by the teacher before the students try on their own.

Midworkshop: Writers take notes using a mix of numbers and facts. Sometimes,

when they find something that is worded perfectly, they write it down as a quote.

Good Non-Fiction writers react to notes as they write them, or, go back and react

to notes they‘ve already taken. They write down a fact, and then react to what

they‘ve written. They might react by starting, ―Wow! That makes me think…‖ or

―This makes me feel…‖ ―I‘m glad…‖ Anything that shows what they think/feel as a

result of learning the new information.

Writers constantly go back and look over their notes to add more. They read

their notecards 1 at a time and ask, ―Why?‖ ―How‖ ―What‘s this make me think?‖

Writers realize that some of their notes are bigger, more important ideas than

others. They keep track of these thoughts by marking cards that will be worth

an entire paragraph of writing. They may even flip over these cards and do boxes

and bullets for the main idea and supporting details.

Mid-workshop: Some students may realize that some of their note cards fit

together! Maybe some note cards could be combined into one, or used as bullets

for a ―smaller‖ main idea.

Writers think about drafting their books/research by looking at their envelopes

and asking themselves, ―Are there approximately an equal number of notes for

each chapter?‖ ―Do I need to find more information about one of my chapters?‖

Writers draft their books/research by taking one section and laying our all of the

facts that coincide. Is there an order to this information? Would numbering the

card help? Could some of these facts actually be bullets to another fact? Good

writers will place their facts in some sort of order before they begin drafting.

Writers will begin drafting by looking at their notes and turning each note into a

sentence or paragraph. They will pay special attention to the proceeding note. Do

these ideas flow together? Can I put some of these facts into the same

paragraph? Will I need to start a new paragraph for another note? (This would

be a great time to review or introduce using paragraphs….why and when do we

start a new paragraph…especially in non-fiction writing. Use mentor texts to

show this.

Writers look over their writing ask themselves, ―Are all of my facts in the

appropriate chapters?‖ ―Does this sentence make sense here, or would it make

sense under another heading?‖

Writers say more about their information by adding partner sentences. They look

at a fact and ask themselves, ―Is there more I could say about this?‖ ―Can this

sentence stand alone or could I add something to make it even more interesting?‖

Writers read the sentence and ask ―how‖ or ―why‖ at least 2 times.

Writers add more detail to their writing by thinking about their senses. Could I

tell more about what it looks like? Tastes like? Feels like? Sounds like? Would

any of these things help the reader understand the subject more?

Writers revise their writing by having a fact-quote-number-story. Writers

think about a fact that seems important to their heading. They then add a quote

that matches a statistical fact (number) and a story that proves the fact. This

would create a great paragraph and do even more than a simple partner sentence.

Remind students that this might require going back into one of their texts to find

additional information.

Writers let their readers know something important is coming. They use words

and phrases such as: for example, for instance, in fact, in conclusion, most

importantly….

Writers explain difficult vocabulary by inserting parenthetical phrases after

vocabulary words. Writers need to ask themselves, is there a word that confuses

me? Is there a word of which I am familiar but one that might confuse someone

else?

Writers also explain difficult vocabulary words by using margin definitions,

glossary, or picture definitions.

Writers also explain difficult words and concepts by comparing them to

something more familiar to the audience. To what could the audience really

relate? If I said it was as big as an elephant, would that make more sense that

giving the specific weight alone?

Writers elaborate on their ideas by adding a list of examples or counterexamples.

―Is there something I‘m telling the reader that might be clarified by giving an

example‖ ―Would giving a counter example clear up any possible confusion?‖

Writers can show greater detail visually by adding pictures. Pictures can be

action photos or enlarged to show detail. They should be labeled and include

captions.

Writers should vary their writing by using alternative types of pages. Examples

would include, ―Did you know?‖, ―A Closer Look‖, ―Crazy Facts‖, etc.

Editing Writers should remember to edit their non-fiction writing the same as any other

writing Here are some suggestions:

Use an editing checklist

Have editing specialists that writers have to go to in their editing. For example,

―The Paragraph Specialist‖, ―The Proper Name Specialist‖, ―The Ending

Punctuation Specialist.‖

Re-read the piece backwards on word at a time.

Count non-name capitals and endmarks.

May Creative Non-Fiction or Memoir

Not all of these standards will be met unless you teach memoir and the creative non-

fiction units. However, you will meet at least half of them.

Alignment with Standards:

5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

5.4.2 Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot, describe the

setting, and include an ending.

5.4.3 Write informational pieces with multiple paragraphs that:

• present important ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order.

• provide details and transitions to link paragraphs.

• offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes important ideas and details

5.4.4 Research Process and Technology:

Use organizational features of printed text, such as citations, endnotes, and bibliographic

references, to locate relevant information.

5.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.

5.4.7 Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings.

5.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:

Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.9 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or

set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.

5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.4.11 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist

or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.

5.4.12 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.5.1 Write memoirs that:

• establish a plot, point of view, setting, and conflict.

• show, rather than tell, the events of the story.

5.5.4 Research Application:

Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic

research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,

reports findings) and that:

• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and

documents sources (titles and authors).

• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.

• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing.

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.7 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting

5.5.8 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a

specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as appropriate.

5.5.11 Use logical organizational structures for providing information in writing, such as

chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating and

supporting a hypothesis with data.

5.6.8 Use simple sentences (Dr. Vincent Stone is my dentist.) and compound sentences

(His assistant cleans my teeth, and Dr. Stone checks for cavities.) in writing.

6.4.1 Organization and Focus:

Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic

organizers to plan writing.

6.4.4 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that:

• engage the interest of the reader.

• state a clear purpose.

• develop the topic with supporting details and precise language.

• conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition.

6.4.6 Research Process and Technology:

Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.

6.4.9 Evaluation and Revision:

Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

6.4.11 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.

6.4.12 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and

between paragraphs.

6.5.1 Write narratives that:

• establish and develop a plot and setting and present a point of view that is

appropriate to the stories.

• include sensory details and clear language to develop plot and character.

• use a range of narrative devices, such as dialogue or suspense.

6.5.4 Research Application:

Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic

research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,

reports findings) and that:

• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and

documents sources independently by using a consistent format for citations.

• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.

• demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and

credibility.

• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing, and demonstrates the

distinction between one's own ideas from the ideas of others, and includes a

bibliography (Works Cited).

6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

6.5.8 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the

most significant details.

Memoir Study Writing

This information is mostly from the book: Writing a Life Teaching Memoir to Sharpen

Insight, Shape Meaning – and Triumph Over Tests by Katherine Bomer

Definition of memoir: Memoir is a mere slice of ordinary life-a certain time period, a

special relationship, a particular theme or angle on a life. It contains the elements of

honesty, self-analysis, and self-revelation. The writer stands in one place and time and

looks back from that vantage point to make meaning of a distant time. Retrospection and

reflection are crucial elements of memoir also. The word memoir comes from the French

word memoire, which means ―memory.‖ It usually begins right in the midst of a

situation, when the author was eight or twenty-five. It is a slice-of-life story. The

writer writes about this slice in a way that makes others care about it and want to read

it. Memoir writing has a reflective quality. It looks back on experiences, finds patterns

in them and organizes them, and then finds meaning in them.

Just a reminder:

How we move through a unit of study (remembering that these steps are not always

linear)

Immersion – reading aloud and having kids read what you will expect them

to write

Collecting (generating) – students generate ideas for writing inside the

Notebook – lists, snippets of writing, sketches, and brief renderings of as

many memories as they can squeeze out.

Choosing a seed (selecting a topic)

Nurturing the seed (INSIDE the Notebook - collecting, layering, and

planning)

Drafting (OUTSIDE the Notebook - skip lines, only write on the front of a

page)

Revising (reseeing the piece – adding details, changing, deleting)

Editing (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.)

Publishing

Celebrating

A Time Line for a Possible Six-Week Unit of Study in Memoir Writing

Week One: Immersion in the Memoir Genre

-Students read as many memoir picture books and excerpts from book-length

memoirs as possible.

-Teacher reads aloud from book-length memoirs, excerpts, and picture books.

-Students are simply collecting in their notebooks during this immersion time.

-The teacher is facilitating whole class discussions from reading aloud memoirs.

Questions to facilitate discussion into memoir texts:

What kind of person does the ―I‖ seem to be: competent, shy, aggressive,

compliant?

Do you believe the stories and memories this author is telling you? What

helps you believe the author? What makes you doubt the author?

What kinds of evidence does the author give you to help you believe the

memories?

What does this author use to help remember his or her life-objects,

history, places, photographs, childhood stories, interviews with family

members?

How does the author organize time in this story? Does this memoir tell a

chronological story, or does it skip around in time?

Does the author write the memoir from different periods in his or her life?

Where does the story begin and end?

What does this author come to know about him or herself and about the

world?

What can the person reading this story learn?

Can this memoir change the world?

-The lines between structured reading and writing times blur during a study like

memoir. It is beneficial to create memoir clubs that will take on reading projects.

Some possible memoir reading projects are:

As you read a memoir, prepare a mock interview of the author. What

questions do you want to ask this writer? What else do you wish you knew

about this story?

Gather five autobiographical pieces of writing about a favorite subject of

yours, such as cats, sports, family, or ethnic stories. Notice the different

ways each author has structured his or her story. What has each author

included and what has he or she left out? Notice differences in terms of

gender, race, class, or place.

Take an incident from a memoir and try writing it from the point of view of

a different person in the story. What does this say about the author‘s

perspective?

List 5 people whose life story you have read. For each person, write

something that you learned from him or her about a place, time period,

culture, race, or gender that you didn‘t know before.

Read a short story. Think about whether it is a memoir or not. What makes

it a memoir or not a memoir?

Imagine the notebook entries that may have led to a memoir you have read.

As you read different published memoirs, what parts or aspects do you find

attract you or hold your interest the most?

Sketch what a scene or place looked like from the narrator‘s perspective.

Sketch the narrator from a different character‘s perspective.

Act out a scene from a memoir. Write a reflection about what it felt like to

be in that scene. Begin the next day‘s discussion with evidence that might

support the idea.

Whole class reading response ideas:

Hot Seat – choose some of your students to sit in chairs in front of the

class and act as if they are the characters from a memoir. Have the other

students ask the memoir characters questions. The memoir character

students must respond in character.

Have students paint a mural in response to a class reading of a memoir

(they can paint whatever they felt or imagined during the reading).

Suggested memoir texts (not all are technically memoirs, but they are rich, evocative

first-person narratives that will be helpful for kids to think of memories from their

lives and also give them possibilities for structuring their memoirs):

Those Summers by Aliki

Momma, Where Are You From? By Marie Bradby

Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting

Hairs by Sandra Cisneros

Big Mama‘s by Donald Crews

Shortcut by Donald Crews

Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie DePaola

Abuela by Arthur Dorros

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray

Tell Me a Story Mama by Angela Johnson

Saturdays and Teacakes by Lester Laminack (I have this one.)

Dogteam by Gary Paulsen

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

The Chalk Doll by Charlotte Pomerantz

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant

Grandfather‘s Journey by Allen Say

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past by Jacqueline Woodson

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Suggested memoir texts for grades 4 and up:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie DePaola

Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid by Ralph Fletcher

Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz

Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little

Suggested memoir texts for grades 6 and up:

A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary

Little by Little by Jean Little

Bad Boy: A Memoir by Walter Dean Myers

But I‘ll Be Back Again by Cynthia Rylant

Knots in My Yo-Yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid by Jerry Spinelli

The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep

Week Two: Collecting/Generating:

-Students generate as many entries in their Writer‘s Notebook as possible,

including lists, sketches, bits of remembered dialogue, events, episodes, and

images.

-Writers generate entries by listing out special places and memories at these

special places.

-Writers generate entries by thinking of special people and memories of times

with those special people.

-Writers generate ideas by thinking of special objects and memories that special

object sparks.

-Writers generate ideas by thinking of their first memory of something or

someone…maybe the first memory of doing something or meeting someone.

-Writers generate ideas by thinking of turning points – an argument, realizing

that someone is not who or what you thought (good or bad)

-Writers generate ideas by thinking of the first time or last time they did

something

-Writers generate ideas by thinking of songs, smells, colors, or textures that

evoke memories.

-Writers generate ideas by looking at a special photograph. They start by

describing what it is – the obvious – and then moving into the layers of the

photograph: what‘s not in the picture? what happened before or after it was

taken? who was taking the picture? what‘s the mystery?

Week Three: Choosing a Seed/Selecting – Nurturing the Seed/Collecting and Layering in

the Writer‘s Notebook

-Writers write more deeply about events or memories by rereading the basic

facts of the event/memory and asking, ―How did this shape or change me?‖ or ―How does

it fit into the pattern of my life?‖ – For example, ―Does this always happen to me? Is

this the norm for my life? Was this out of the norm for my life?‖

-Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by

writing more in depth about the people in their memory. They can write more about how

the people in the memory move through life – in a frenzy of activity? Hesitantly?

Walking almost on toes? Sitting straight upright as if there is a wall right behind

him/her?

- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by

writing more in depth about the people in their memory. They can focus in on a

characters way of dressing. What would you call it: all business, whatever t-shirt was

next in the clean-clothes pile; a flair for the dramatic; homemade, hippie clothes; always

black clothes.

- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by

writing more in depth about the people in their memory. They can write a scene or two in

which they are talking with the person about something. Try to capture the words

he/she would most likely say in that type of discussion.

- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by

writing more in depth about the people in their memory. Write about the very first

memory of this person, even if it‘s simply a feeling or a splash of color.

- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by

writing more in depth about the people in their memory. Write about what the person

means to your life. How do you think you have been shaped by this person? How are you

similar to this person and how are you different?

***If a student is writing mostly about place or an object, you can revise these teaching

points to fit with what they are doing.

Week Four: Planning and Drafting

-Writers decide what shape they will use for their memoir. Some writers choose

to write about one main event or memory. If they choose this shape, they know why

they‘ve chosen this one main event or memory. They say, ―This reveals

______________ about me.‖ and/or ―This event/memory changed me in this way:

_______________________.‖ and/or ―As a result of this event/memory, I realize

_________________________.‖

-Writers plan out the one main event or memory memoir by using a time-line or

story board. They think about what happened first, what happened next, next, next, and

then, finally.

Week Five: Revising

-Writers include sensory details to help their readers make a clear movie in their

mind. They read a small section of their memoir, stop and ask, ―In this part, what did

I/we see, hear, touch, taste, or smell?‖ They include some of these details in that

section, then read on and repeat this strategy.

-Writers show readers their character‘s emotions rather than just telling them.

They do this by finding places where their character is feeling a strong emotion and

asking, ―What did this person look like in this part? What did their face, hands, arms,

and/or legs look like?‖

-Writers try out things in their own writing that the writer of their mentor piece

did. They reread their mentor piece, find something they like about the writing and ask,

―What did this writer do in this part? How did he/she do it?‖ Then, they try out the

same technique in their own piece of writing.

Week Six: Editing, Publishing, and Celebrating

Teach students to focus on just one aspect of their writing at a time

(punctuation, spelling, capitalization, etc.) Model doing this with a piece of writing

on the overhead. Overemphasize looking at just one aspect (kids will usually yell

out all kinds of mistakes they are seeing, but make them focus on just one aspect

at a time).

Put a student‘s work on the overhead (with permission), and have the student edit

the work in front of the class. With the help of others, have the student make

decisions about punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

Remove the punctuation from a short, published piece of writing and have the

students insert punctuation where they think it is necessary. Then show them the

original writing and discuss their decisions.

Have students ask at least 2 other students to edit their work. Those 2 students

must sign the author‘s work after they are finished. This holds them accountable

for editing. Model editing in partnerships for the class.

Teach kids to use editing check-lists and proofreading marks.

When editing, read the paper from back to front.

Breaking the flow of ideas sometimes helps to focus on language issues rather

than on the content itself. Show kids how to start at the end of the piece and

read each word, focused on spelling and not meaning.

Options for what you might do after students have edited their pieces of writing and

have had 2 peer-editors and there are still mistakes:

Don't do anything about the remaining errors.

Respond only to selected kinds of errors.

Put a check mark in the margin of lines where there is an error and invite the

writer to find and correct the error(s).

Comment on the one or two most noticeable kinds or patterns of error, and invite

further scrutiny.

Serve as a copy editor: correct the errors for the writer.

***Adapted from information gathered from a presentation from Katherine Bomer

Travel Brochure Teaching Points

Travel brochure writers learn about the features of travel brochures by looking at

published brochures and asking, ―What did the writer do to make this brochure?‖

NOT ―What is this brochure about?‖ -Features of the brochure, not the content of

the brochure.

Travel brochure writers get ideas for brochures by making a list of all the places

they‘ve been before.

Travel brochure writers get ideas for brochures by making a list of all the places they

would love to go.

Travel brochure writers try out different ideas for their brochures by choosing one

place from one of their lists and writing long about that place. They do this by thinking

―What do I know about this place? What do I want to know about this place? What do I

think about this place?‖

Travel brochure writers choose one place to do their brochure about by rereading all of

their writing and asking, ―Which place makes me feel the most excited? Which place do

I know some about, but could still research?‖

Travel brochure writers develop their ideas for their brochure by writing all they know

or want to know about their place. They think of everything they‘ve ever heard about

that place and list it out.

Travel brochure writers get ideas about/plan for their brochure sections by looking at

published brochures and listing out possible sections that would work with what they

know or want to know about their topic.

Writing Poetry

Overview of the Unit

As in any unit of study, you will want to launch the unit by helping children learn

how to live writerly lives. As in previous units, you will probably want to remind your

young poets that they can find significance in the big issues and ordinary details of

their lives, gathering entries and images and lists that might later be developed into

publishable texts. Teach them to pay close attention to images or entries that have

surprising beauty, to reconsider memories, to ponder conversations. They can also

search for ideas in past entries. You may make this unit a time for close observation,

teaching students to select scenes, places and images that represent gigantically

important topics, and then to look with depth and honesty at those places, scenes and

images.

All through the unit, children will read poems out loud so that they can learn how

to savor the sounds of this genre. Help them to talk and think about the difference in

sound and meaning between fry and sizzle, shine and sparkle, cry and weep. Ideally,

they‘ll hear how the right choice of words can make a poem funny or wistful/sad. They‘ll

learn to create ―mind pictures‖ by placing an ordinary thing up next to something it‘s

never bee compared to before: ―Today the sky looks soft and worn, like my old baby

blanket.‖ Children may learn how to shape words on the page so that their texts not

only sound but also look like poems. That is, they will learn that poets think about where

to break a line so that the sound, rhythm, and look of each line achieve the overall tone

and meaning that the poet wishes to convey. They will learn how poets use the white

space around the words to pause, take a breath, and make something stand out from all

the other words.

You will probably emphasize free verse poetry. Rhyming well is a precise skill that

many adult poets find difficult to master. Teach children to aim first for meaning, and

for finding a way to describe what matters with words that will make the reader see

the world in a brand new way.

Once student have many beginnings and first tries of poems in their notebooks,

teach them that as poets draft new poems and re-work poems they have already

written, they try out many different versions of their poems. Poets make changes to

better express what they most want to convey to the reader. They sometimes find that

the act of revision brings new and more powerful ideas: What they want to say may

change as they play wit the way they‘re saying it.

But above all, the secret of poetry is heart. Poets write from the heart. Poets

teach all of us to look at the world differently. They help us to celebrate small

beauties. They inspire us to outrages over injustices great and small. And so, in this

unit, focus on the work that poets do in the world, the way that poets love the world

through words. Focus on the way poets sustain us during hard times, the way poets

express outrage and grief and joy.

For this unit, teaching points created and shared at our collaboration meetings

have been compiled together. The following teaching points are divided into the

different steps of the writing process. There are more teaching points listed for each

step than will be used in your unit of study. As a result, read through and choose those

teaching points that will work best for your classroom.

Alignment to the Standards:

5.1.3 Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and

homographs.

5.1.5 Understand and explain the figurative use of words in similes and

metaphors.

5.3.1 Identify and analyze the characteristics of poetry, drama, fiction,

and nonfiction and explain the appropriateness of the literary forms

chosen by an author for a specific purpose.

5.3.4 Understand that theme refers to the central idea or meaning of a

selection and recognize themes, whether they are implied or stated

directly.

5.3.5 Describe the function and effect of common literary devices, such as

imagery, metaphor, and symbolism.

5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use

graphic organizers to plan writing.

5.4.7 Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings.

5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

5.4.9 Proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of

specific errors.

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person,

adjusting tone and style as appropriate.

5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.

5.6.7 Spell roots or bases of words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and

syllable constructions correctly.

5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.

6.1.1 Read aloud grade level appropriate poems and literary and

informational texts fluently and accurately and with appropriate

timing, changes in voice, and expression.

6.1.2 Identify and interpret figurative language and words with multiple

meanings.

6.3.1 Identify different types of fiction and describe the major

characteristics of each form.

6.3.4 Define how tone or meaning are conveyed in poetry through word

choice, figurative language, sentence structure, line length,

punctuation, rhythm, alliteration, and rhyme.

6.3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through

characters, actions, and images.

6.3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices, such as symbolism,

imagery, or metaphor, in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.

6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use

graphic organizers to plan writing.

6.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.

6.4.9 Edit and proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using

an editing checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of

corrections of frequent errors.

6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

6.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person,

adjusting tone and style as necessary.

6.6.1 Use simple, compound, and complex sentences; use effective

coordination and subordination of ideas, including both main ideas and

supporting ideas in single sentences, to express complete thoughts.

6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.

6.6.5 Spell correctly frequently misspelled words.

Immersion Writers become familiar with what poetry looks like. We read poems and jot

down what they see. We ask ourselves, ―What do I see?‖

Writers find poems that are personal to them. We read poems and choose one

(or more) that they feel a connection to. Then, we write that poem in our

notebooks noting the qualities we admire.

Groups of writers become familiar with the craft of poetry. We find pomes that

fit into different forms of poetry and explain how those poems fit that form.

Collecting Writers create a class poem inspired by a mentor text. Students take lines from

a mentor text. Everyone has a copy of the same poem. Each student

chooses/highlights 1 line they love. Someone starts the poem with a line from

anywhere in the original poem. This line is written on a chart. Students say out

their line as they see it would fit with the poem. Other students may say the

same line over again. When all the lines have been written, the class rereads the

newly created poem.

Writers create a personal poem inspired by a mentor text. We repeat the

previous activity for creating a class poem, except we use one of our poems we

have recorded in our notebooks or found. We choose a favorite line to start the

new poem, and we continue with the same process written above.

Writers collect ideas for poems. We make a list of questions, things we wonder

about, or things that mystify us. Then, we choose 1 and write a poem that

provides a possible answer.

Writers collect ideas for poems using things that are most meaningful to them.

We make a heart map filled with the people, places, things, and ideas that are

closest to us. Then we write poems that explore why these things are important

to us.

Writers respond to issues in the world to collect ideas for poems. We look at

issues in the news and ask, ―What do I think about this story? What do I feel

about it?‖

Writers use objects to collect ideas for a poem. We brainstorm a list of odd,

ordinary objects, or objects that intrigue us. Then we record everything about it

that we notice (size, shape, texture, or color).

Writers collect poetic words for their poems. We gather interesting and poetic

words from our reading or other poems.

Writers collect ideas for poems from their notebooks. We reread our notebook

entries, lift an important phrase from an entry, and write more about that entry.

Writers collect ideas for poems from their notebooks. We revisit the collections

in our notebooks from the launch/personal narrative units (special people, places,

objects, etc…) to find ideas for poems.

Writers collect ideas from observing the world around us. We take a walk around

the school/house and write down things that spark a memory (memory walk).

Writers remember places from our past and stories that accompany those places

to collect ideas for poems. We draw a memory map remembering every visual

detail. Then we focus on one small place on the map and write stories that

happened there, including the visual details in our writing.

Writers use special places to help them collect ideas for poems. We write what

it‘s like to be in a place that‘s interesting or significant to us. We jot down actual

conversations we hear, other sounds we hear, and the quality or light and color.

We write exactly what we see and hear.

Writers use their emotions to collect ideas for poems. We make a list of strong

emotions and then list times we felt those emotions.

Writers use personal belongings to collect ideas for a poem. We can choose an

item from our keepsake envelope that sparks their interest. Then, they make a

list/write about what it reminds them of as they look at it.

Choosing an Idea Writers choose a seed idea for a poem. We choose a prose entry from our

notebooks which we have strong feelings about.

Writers reread their work to choose poems to further develop. We look for

poems we really love, feel the strongest connections to, or poems that touch on

subject that are close to us.

Writers reread their work to choose poems to further develop. We look for

poems that we enjoy the thought of and were fun to write.

Writers choose poems to further develop. We can ask, ―Which of my poems do I

like the best? Why? What are some ways I could group my poems together?

What kind of poetry writing did I enjoy the most? What images have stayed with

me?‖

Nurturing (some of these can be used in revision)

Writers add descriptive details using imagery. They visualize the object(s) and

make a list of what they see in their head. Then they use sensory words for

these details so that the reader can visualize the same image in their minds.

Writers use synonyms to vary verbs and nouns in their poems so that their writing

is more interesting. Writers choose an important verb or noun in their poem and

brainstorm a list of all the word that would mean the same thing. Using a word

cluster might be helpful. If they get stuck or need more word choices, a

thesaurus will help them add to their word group.

Writers use metaphors to describe things in a new way. We ask, ―What does this

remind me of? or What does this look like/sound like?‖ Then writers create

metaphor comparing those two things.

Writers use new words to create poems with beautiful and specific language. We

can display words we find in our reading and writing on a poetry word wall, making

categories for words that express color, emotion, action, etc…

Writers develop an idea for a poem using a six room poem. We choose a place we

remember well and envision the place like a detailed photograph. Then we fill in

the six rooms describing the 1) image, 2) light, 3) sound, 4) questions, 5) feelings,

and 6) repeating words.

Drafting

Writers draft a poem using a notebook entry. We choose an entry in our

notebook strongly connect with, and then we write main words or phrases from

the entry. We arrange these ―lifted‖ words/phrases into lines and stanzas for

our poem.

Writers develop an anthology of related poems. We find poems that seem to fit

together based on similar settings, themes, issues, style, or voice.

Writers develop an anthology of related poems. We ask, ―Which poems do I like

the best? Why?‖

Revising Writers create interesting and fitting titles that give the reader the gist of what

the poem will be about. We look at titles of mentor poems and ask, ―Why did they

choose that title? and How could I do that for my poem?‖

Writers create interesting and fitting titles that give the reader the gist of what

the poem will be about. We write a title that comes from an important phrase or

image in our poem.

Writers create interesting and fitting titles that give the reader the gist of what

the poem will be about. We write a title that clues our readers into the topic of

our poem.

Writers insert line breaks to create pauses or emphasize words in our poems. We

insert a line break when you want to toke a breath, before and after important

words, or to counter their natural breath to create tension and change of pace.

Writers revise the tone of our poem. We choose one topic to write about using

several different emotions. We ask ourselves, ―Which tone gives my poem

meaning and helps the reader understand what I am trying to say with my

writing?‖

Writers revise the tone of our poem. We write the poem as if we were another

person, picturing in our mind how this other person would sound. Then we ask

ourselves, ―Does this tone give my poem meaning and help the reader understand

what I am trying to say with my writing?‖

Writers revise the tone of our poem. We omit adjectives in our poems and

replace them with image-oriented verbs.

Writers revise our poem for meaning and importance. We choose a

meaningful/important line to repeat at the end of each of our stanza.

Writers use white space to get the reader to pause and think. We choose an

important line(s) and skip lines above and below it.

Writers use white space to get the reader to pause and think. We write small or

in a certain shape to have a lot of white space.

Writers use white space to get the reader to pause and think. We leave a lot of

white space to suggest emptiness or silence. Likewise, we crowd our words

together to create chaos or noise in our poem.

Writers use alliteration in our poems. Writers choose a word in their poem and

create other words that have the same beginning sound. Then we try out these

words to see which word combinations help our poem sound better for the reader.

Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We write our strongest line at

the end of our poem.

Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We end our poem with a word

that has been repeated throughout the poem.

Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We write an ending that ties

together other parts of the poem that may seem unconnected.

Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We write an ending that is tied

back to the beginning of the poem. We may use the same words or line.

Writers add illustrations to our poems. We ask, ―What picture do I want my

reader to see?‖ Then we create an image/illustration that helps the reader to

envision this.

Writers revise the shape of our poem to match an idea or image we are conveying.

We find a mentor poem that has a structure we like. They we try to make our

poem look like that one.

Writers revise the shape of our poem to match an idea or image we are conveying.

We make concrete poems that take the shape of the object or make a

metaphorical shape that moves in a suggested way.

Writers use repetition to get the reader to see the important part(s) of our

poem. We choose an important word or phrase to write more than once in our

poem. We can check for importance by asking, ―Is this the most important idea I

want my reader to get from my poem?‖

Writers use similes to revise our poems. We use a 3 circle chart to find things

they can compare using like or as. Each circle asks/answers a different question.

The first circle asks, ―What am I trying to tell you about?‖ The second circle

asks, ―What does it do?‖ The third circle asks, ―What else does that?‖ Writers

connect the information from the first and second circles to the information in

the third circle using the words like or as.

Writers use metaphors to describe things in a new way. We ask, ―What does this

remind me of? or What does this look like/sound like?‖ Then writers create

metaphor comparing those two things.

Writers use personification in our poems. We look at an object, think of what

that object does, and ask, ―How would a person do that?‖

Writers use personification in our poems. We add thoughts and feelings to make

the object come alive for the reader.

Writers can rearrange the order of our lines. We cut the lines of our poem into

strips. Then we move the lines around in various ways to find the arrangement

that sounds the best.

Writers emphasize words in our poems. We capitalize words throughout our poem

that we feel are important.

Writers revise our poems for meaning. We take out unnecessary words or

phrases from our poem.

Writers use writing partners to revise our poems. We read one another‘s poetry

and try one another‘s techniques.

Editing Writers edit their poems for misspelled words. We read our poem backwards and

look at the spelling of each word, one at a time. We fix misspelled words and

circle those that we are uncertain of their spelling. Then we consult print

resources (word wall or dictionary) for the correct spelling.

Writers use an editing checklist to edit our poems. We read each item listed on

the checklist, reread our poems specifically for that item, and make necessary

changes.

Publishing/Celebrating Writers publish our poems. We put them into a personal or class anthology of

poetry.

Narrative

Alignment with Standards:

5.4.1 Organization and Focus: Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas,

and use graphic organizers to plan writing.

5.4.2 Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot, describe

the setting, and include an ending.

5.4.8 Evaluation and Revision: Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and

clarity.

5.4.9 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or

set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.

5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,

combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.

5.5.1 Write narratives that:

• establish a plot, point of view, setting, and conflict.

• show, rather than tell, the events of the story.

5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.6.8 Use simple sentences (Dr. Vincent Stone is my dentist.) and compound sentences

(His assistant cleans my teeth, and Dr. Stone checks for cavities.) in writing.

6.4.1 Organization and Focus: Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas,

and use graphic organizers to plan writing.

6.4.8 Evaluation and Revision: Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and

clarity.

6.4.9 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing

checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.

6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and

between paragraphs.

6.5.1 Write narratives that:

• establish and develop a plot and setting and present a point of view that is appropriate

to the stories.

• include sensory details and clear language to develop plot and character.

• use a range of narrative devices, such as dialogue or suspense.

6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

Teaching Points for Narrative Writing:

Immersion

*Spend a lot of time during this initial phase (3 to 5 days) just reading and rereading

personal narrative picture books and/or short texts. Let kids read in small groups, with

partners, and on their own. Maybe have students jot down what they are noticing about

personal narratives inside their notebook. Writing Workshop will feel a little like

Reading Workshop during this week and that‘s okay. The better we immerse kids in the

new genre, the better their final pieces will be.

Decide on a mentor text during this phase. Pay close attention to which book or short

text the students seem drawn to. This will make for a good mentor text. It might be

good to have two mentor texts that your kids become very familiar with throughout this

study.

Writers learn about the features of a new genre by reading and rereading

books in the genre and asking, ―What do I notice? What makes this a personal

narrative? What are the parts?‖ (Start a chart of personal narrative

noticings)

Writers read books in two different ways: as a reader and as a writer. First,

we read books as a reader, just to enjoy. Then, we read as writers, to notice

what other writers do that we might try in our own writing. We read a book

that we‘ve already read, stopping to pause after each section, and asking,

―What do I love about this part? What really pops out at me that this writer

did? Where is a part that makes me feel a strong emotion?‖ Writers can put

post-its on all of these parts to hold onto them for later. (add to the chart of

personal narrative noticings)

One way that writers make writing powerful is by emulating narrative writing

we admire. Writers read through narrative writing and ask, ―What did this

writer do that I could do to make my own writing more powerful?‖ (Add to the

chart of personal narrative noticings)

Writers want to have a large stack of books in a specific genre that can help

us be the best writer possible. We want to learn from multiple books and try

out multiple strategies for making great writing. Writers search the classroom

library and at home for other texts that fit this genre. We search through

bins of books looking for books with the same characteristics as the initial

books used. We choose a book, flip through it, read small chunks, and ask,

―Does this book have the same characteristics as the ones we have listed on

the chart?‖

Sample noticings you may have on a chart at this point:

-Writers often write about a seemingly small episode-yet it has big meaning for

the writer.

-Writers often tell the story in such a way that the reader can actually

experience it from start to finish.

-It helps to record exact words a character uses.

-Writers often convey strong feelings, and they often show rather than tell

about those feelings.

-Writers often include two and sometimes three small moments so that there is a

sense that the stories have a beginning, middle, and an end.

Collecting

Writers get ideas for personal narratives by thinking about where other

writers may have gotten their ideas. They choose a book and ask, ―Where

might this author have gotten the idea for this book?‖ Then, we try the same

strategy. Writers look through multiple books and try out multiple strategies

inside our writer‘s notebook.

Writers get ideas for personal narratives by listing out turning points in our

lives. We think of first times, last times, or times when we realized something

important.

-first/last time you did something hard to do

-first/last time you did something you now do every day

-first/last time with a person, an animal, a place, an activity

-a time you realized something important about yourself or someone else

-a time you realized a huge change in your life almost happened

Writers get ideas by thinking of a person, place, or thing that matters, then

listing out clear, small moments we remember well. Writers can then choose

one to sketch and write the accompanying story.

Writers get ideas by thinking of a strong emotion and listing small moments of

when we felt that strong emotion.

During this phase of the writing process, you can go back and look at the launching

information to get more strategies for generating ideas. You also want to be tucking in

management information during these Writing Workshop sessions. It‘s important that

students learn in these first several weeks how to sit in the meeting area, how to get

started with work, and how to stay working for long stretches of time. Don‘t feel bad

about weaving management into these workshop times.

Choosing

Writers choose an idea, an idea from our notebook, that we think holds a lot

of emotion and is worthy of writing about over time. We do this by rereading

our notebook and stopping after each entry and asking, ―Would this make a

good story? Does it hold a lot of emotion? Do I love it enough to write about it

over time?‖

Nurturing/Developing/Planning

You can refer back to all of the nurturing/developing strategies from the launching unit.

Teach or reteach any strategies that you feel would be helpful to your class. Also,

remember, it is crucial that you are writing in front of your class and trying all

strategies on your own writing first.

Writers plan our stories by making a time-line, story mountain, or story board

(choose 1 or 2 to show your class). Writers make a movie in our mind of our

story and think about what happened first, next, next, next, and then, finally.

We jot down the main events to hold onto our story for when we are drafting.

Writers ask ourselves, ―Which part of this story will I tell with lots of details,

and which parts will I write only a little about? Which part seems important?

Which part really shows what my story is mostly about?‖ We go back over our

plan, reading each part of our plan, and deciding if it is a part for lots of

details or a part for just a few. We want to tell lots about parts that seem

important to our stories…parts that really show what our story is mostly

about. We can make little marks on our plan for reminders.

Writers study the leads of mentor texts to try out different leads inside our

notebook. We choose a book, read the first several lines and ask, ―What did

this writer do to write this lead? What is it about? What is it telling me?‖

Then, writers think about our own beginning to our story (refer to the plan),

think about what was happening, and then try to write about what was

happening using the mentor text‘s technique. Below is a sample that could be

on a chart and in students‘ notebooks:

Author‘s Lead What the Author Has

Done

Our Lead, Using the

same technique

Drafting

Writers choose the best lead from all of the work we did inside our notebook.

We reread all of our leads and think, ―Which one is best for my story? Which

one will invite my readers in most effectively?‖ We begin our draft using the

best lead.

Writers follow our plan as we write. We have it out at all times. Write about

each main event in order of our plan. (It‘s possible to have your students write

about each dot on the time-line or each dot on a story mountain or each box of

a story board on a separate page. This gives them room to revise later and to

show them that each dot is a new episode and needs to be developed.)

Writers use paragraphs in narrative writing when a new character comes along;

new events happen; new setting; new person speaking; or time moves forward a

lot (large chunk of time passes). Writers pay attention as we write to when we

might need a new paragraph. We write a sentence and ask, ―Is a new character

coming now? Is a new event about to happen? Is my character moving to a new

setting? Is a new person speaking? Is a large chunk of time about to pass?‖

Writers do this the whole time we are writing.

Writers write with lots of detail about the parts that seem important. One

way to emphasize a part of the story that really says what the story is about

is to take tiny steps through that bit, writing down every little part. Writers

try to see that part in our minds and write down everything we see in slow

motion.

Revising

Writers tell the external story as well as the internal story. We add in what

the characters are thinking. We reread our stories, stop after each chunk, and

ask, ―What was I (or my character) thinking in this part?‖ We add that to our

story to show the internal story.

Writers tell what happens in the story and the response to what happens. We

reread our stories and find parts where something important happens and ask,

―What happened just seconds after this happened? What did I hear, see, say,

feel?‖

Writers tell what might happen in the future or recall the past to give the

reader more information. Writers reread a significant part, stop and ask,

―What event led up to this moment or what might happen in the future

because of it?‖ Example from Sandra Cisneros‘ Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark: ―Your grandfather died.‖ My papa cries. I think of what will happen.

He‘ll fly to Mexico. The relatives will convene. They‘ll take pictures by the

grave. Meanwhile, I‘ll tell the other kids my papa is sitting on my bed.‖

Editing

Writers study punctuation marks in our mentor texts and try to use them in

the same way in our pieces. We choose one mark to focus in on and look

through all mentor texts for this mark. We think about what it does, why it is

used, how it changes the meaning, and try to use it in our own writing in the

same way.

Examples of Commas What Does the Comma

Do?

Using the Comma in my

Writing

Writers use an editing check-list to check one thing at a time. We look at a

check-list, read the first item, then check our entire piece for that one thing.

Repeat until finished with the check-list.