Writing realistic fiction is a unit of study that fourth graders will be excited to write and will take off writing long pieces. Even though this sounds great, it might be wise to hold on to that enthusiasm with reigns of structure. Students, many times, create long stories that lack details and meaning. It just gets out of hand.
By keeping that in mind as this unit is started, the area of planning should be focused on far more time than normal. Students might be better off having a few guidelines as they begin. As they are thinking of characters, it is best to have their main characters be the same age as the writer. Using only two to three characters helps focus, too. It is also best to have no characters names be the same as anyone in their classroom. It might help to have the place and events be things the students have actually experienced.
In order to plan this piece of fiction it might help for them to draw out their story in their notebooks as a storyboard. Several possible stories could be planned out this way. After doing this for a couple days, students would then be able to choose the one that would fit best for them.
Next comes the characters. Since the story plan has been developed in their storyboard, choosing characters to fit the plot can now happen. Knowing their character will help the development of details in this piece. It might help to sketch their character in the notebook and then list external and internal characteristics. Another list could be possible problems due to those characteristics.
The planning stage also takes time to develop the story arc. As the students develop their plot, there will be a turning point where the story changes. This is the top of the arc. Talking our the story helps this plan. Having the fourth graders have the story planned out in great detail will help the actual drafting. Again, once they start writing, they will have energy to put into this work. This piece will be longer than other writing they have done. It will be in the area of four to five pages and so they need stamina to finish the project.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Interpretive Essay: How it Might Work
Writing the interpretive essay is a first step in argument writing. It is a way to help students have a thesis statement and support that statement with evidence. This month many fifth graders will be doing this. They will have two essays to write (plan, draft, revise, edit). The first one is a personal essay. Starting with the personal essay gives them topics they feel comfortable writing so they can focus on the process of this genre. This essay will take ten days to complete.
Starting on day one, the teacher can help students by going over a list of character traits. Helping them see these traits as personal will give them the tools they need to write their thesis statement. In other words, they will pick out traits that sound like them personally. Immersing them in this genre would be beneficial also. After a focus lesson on these traits, teachers will send them off to list several they could prove were traits they have. The notebook is perfect for this.
On day two, the focus lesson would teach students how to "try out" their statement to see if it is going to be a good fit for them. Modeling this for them with two - three samples would be the best way to go. Students would then work in their notebook and do two to three samples. This would be a thesis statement for each sample and then two to three stories. For this day the story would not have to be written out---just a title would work.
By the third day all students should have a thesis statement to turn in to the teacher. Now the focus lesson could be on planning the essay. How many small moment stories can you write to support this? How many quotes do you have for support? The plan could be a flow chart of the essay: statement, story, story, quote, story, conclusion. Each student would come up with their own plan naming each story.
From day four to day seven the students would be collecting stories to support their thesis. The focus lesson would be the teacher modeling her own way of collecting and writing her own stories. Students will collect and write more stories than they will use. Other lessons will be on quotes or other methods of support for the thesis statement.
On day eight to ten, the paper is ready to be put together using the strongest stories and quotes. This is the revising phases. Mini lessons on using transitioning words will be helpful. Also modeling how the teacher puts her essay together is a powerful focus lesson. Editing after it is written is the next step.
After the class has gone this far, it would be beneficial to share the essays in some sort of reflection. The next ten days will now focus on essay number two!
Starting on day one, the teacher can help students by going over a list of character traits. Helping them see these traits as personal will give them the tools they need to write their thesis statement. In other words, they will pick out traits that sound like them personally. Immersing them in this genre would be beneficial also. After a focus lesson on these traits, teachers will send them off to list several they could prove were traits they have. The notebook is perfect for this.
On day two, the focus lesson would teach students how to "try out" their statement to see if it is going to be a good fit for them. Modeling this for them with two - three samples would be the best way to go. Students would then work in their notebook and do two to three samples. This would be a thesis statement for each sample and then two to three stories. For this day the story would not have to be written out---just a title would work.
By the third day all students should have a thesis statement to turn in to the teacher. Now the focus lesson could be on planning the essay. How many small moment stories can you write to support this? How many quotes do you have for support? The plan could be a flow chart of the essay: statement, story, story, quote, story, conclusion. Each student would come up with their own plan naming each story.
From day four to day seven the students would be collecting stories to support their thesis. The focus lesson would be the teacher modeling her own way of collecting and writing her own stories. Students will collect and write more stories than they will use. Other lessons will be on quotes or other methods of support for the thesis statement.
On day eight to ten, the paper is ready to be put together using the strongest stories and quotes. This is the revising phases. Mini lessons on using transitioning words will be helpful. Also modeling how the teacher puts her essay together is a powerful focus lesson. Editing after it is written is the next step.
After the class has gone this far, it would be beneficial to share the essays in some sort of reflection. The next ten days will now focus on essay number two!
Friday, September 28, 2012
What I Am Reading Now!
One of the changes in the common core standards is going from persuasive writing to argument writing. It is more difficult to write and also to teach. These skills may be the most important ones teachers pass on to their students. That is why I am reading: Teaching Argument Writing by George Hillocks, Jr.
The book is advertised for grades 6-12, but I feel 4th and 5th grade teachers would gain from it, too. I've only begun reading, but already in the first three chapters it teaches simple arguments showing step-by-step how to teach students how to write and evaluate.
Anything that helps teachers teach students to problem solve, write arguments and support their claims---it gets my attention!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Interpretive Essay or Argument Writing
The Common Core State Standards have focused on three basic types of writing: narrative, informational, and argument. The interpretive essay/argument writing, is the next unit of study for many fifth graders. When I first saw this, I thought about how tough this would be for ten-eleven year olds. But if we break it down as it is done in A Curricular Plan For The Writing Workshop, Grade 5, it is manageable.
This month students will be writing two essays--one grounded in their lives and one in the lives of characters they have been reading about in literature--read alouds, independent reading, book clubs. To start this unit it will be easier for the children to write about an opinion and theory. They will dig deep to grow ideas about themselves. They might want to start by writing a list in their notebook: "I am the kind of person who..."
The students will choose a theory and write a thesis statement, for example: "I am the kind of person who cares about others." Taking the statement they will notice events and happenings that support or challenge that theory. Collecting these small stories can be done in their notebooks. This is where gathering evidence come into play. The stories, quotes, and observations will be the evidence to support their statement.
The organizing of these collections has to be done in a logical fashion. Perhaps, lessons on transitional phrases to show how each part supports their thesis statement will need to be done. Seeing what students are doing as they write, will drive your instruction.
They will need to learn how to use quotes, anecdotes and observations within the essay. It will take about two weeks to draft and revise this first essay. It will be rigorous work, but remember it will be approximating. You are teaching the writer...not the writing!
This month students will be writing two essays--one grounded in their lives and one in the lives of characters they have been reading about in literature--read alouds, independent reading, book clubs. To start this unit it will be easier for the children to write about an opinion and theory. They will dig deep to grow ideas about themselves. They might want to start by writing a list in their notebook: "I am the kind of person who..."
The students will choose a theory and write a thesis statement, for example: "I am the kind of person who cares about others." Taking the statement they will notice events and happenings that support or challenge that theory. Collecting these small stories can be done in their notebooks. This is where gathering evidence come into play. The stories, quotes, and observations will be the evidence to support their statement.
The organizing of these collections has to be done in a logical fashion. Perhaps, lessons on transitional phrases to show how each part supports their thesis statement will need to be done. Seeing what students are doing as they write, will drive your instruction.
They will need to learn how to use quotes, anecdotes and observations within the essay. It will take about two weeks to draft and revise this first essay. It will be rigorous work, but remember it will be approximating. You are teaching the writer...not the writing!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Writing for Readers
The unit of study for first grade in October is: Writing for Readers. This isn't a new unit, but the issue is to be sure it meets the rigor of the common core standards. They require that by the end of first grade, students are able to write narrative texts with a high level of proficiency. They should be able to use end punctuation and spell common words. These are what they need to be able to do at the END of the year...not in October. Right now they are learning!
Since students have been writing stories as they launch the writer's workshop, they will have a collection to sort through from their writing folders. As they sort, they will decide which are readable and which are not and have two piles. Now they need to decide how to move a story from the unreadable side to being readable.
The list of strategies used for this will differ from class to class. Some ideas are:
When telling/writing a small moment story, staying on focus on that story is important. One way to do that is to tell the story across their fingers and then moving page to page. It might sound like this: "On this page I'll write..." and "On the next page I'll write..." They might want to sketch (not draw) it across the pages and then come back and add the words.
If students get more focused with the stories they write, their writing will get better! Happy Writing!
Since students have been writing stories as they launch the writer's workshop, they will have a collection to sort through from their writing folders. As they sort, they will decide which are readable and which are not and have two piles. Now they need to decide how to move a story from the unreadable side to being readable.
The list of strategies used for this will differ from class to class. Some ideas are:
- How to stretch words to hear more sounds
- How to use the word wall to find words
- How to use what you learned in Word Study
When telling/writing a small moment story, staying on focus on that story is important. One way to do that is to tell the story across their fingers and then moving page to page. It might sound like this: "On this page I'll write..." and "On the next page I'll write..." They might want to sketch (not draw) it across the pages and then come back and add the words.
If students get more focused with the stories they write, their writing will get better! Happy Writing!
Approximating Small Moments
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| Meron adding details to her book. |
Next month in most kindergarten classes, the unit of study is going to be Approximating Small Moments. So far these children have been launching their writing workshop. This meant they were telling stories and listening to stories and doing some writing. Some of the writing might have been in journals. Some of it might have been on single sheets of paper. Still, they were learning that they could be authors, too.
Now it is time to bump up their writing and go to new levels. They will be writing a story over a day or two. They will be invited to choose books that have been stapled together and placed in a tray, basket or shelf. The books might be various sizes. They might be stapled on the side or on the top. Those are choices the little authors will make. But the biggest part is telling their stories.
Telling stories is an important part of kindergarten. As I have been working with Meron, four-years-old, she would tell me lots of stories. They would be about going to the zoo with her family. Or what her older brothers did at breakfast. Or how her older sister broke her arm. She is full of stories! This was a perfect set-up for me to get her to do some writing. I had a basket of various sizes of blank books that I made. She would choose a book, we would tell the story she decided to write. We would touch each page as we planned what it would say.
One day she wrote about how Lane, her brother, threw a tomato at a squirrel in the yard. It was a very funny story. Another time she wrote about how she and her little brother, Bamlaku, played house in a big refrigerator box. That was a very inventive story.
She knew right away what she wanted to write. We talked about each page of the story. The first page would say: "Meron and Bam play." The next page was to say: "Meron and Bam make a house." The last page was: "Meron and Bam play with a big box." At first, the last page didn't seem to fit the story, but after talking it over, she let me know that the big box was the house! She drew the pictures on each page along with an M for Meron and a B for Bam...labels!
Yes, she is approximating small moments! Happy Writing as you start your next month's new unit of study!
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| Meron and Bam play with a big box. |
Monday, September 24, 2012
Invite Others into the Discussion
As I have worked with groups of students learning to have purposeful discussions, I've noticed many times it's the same few students doing the talking. Last week as I did a read aloud, the teacher would say, "I keep seeing the same people talking. What do others think?" But no one commented or entered the discussions.
In Martha Heller-Winokur and Marcia Uretsky's book: Fourth Grade Readers, they suggest inviting others into the discussion. By talking to the group about being a strong speaker and listener and sharing the fact that it is important that everyone has a chance to share, hopefully all will soon feel welcome. They need to realize some have difficulty taking part in the discussion. The students all need to be aware of those who have not had a chance to talk and invite them to participate. They could simply call on someone and say: "What are you thinking?"
Give the students a chance to practice this by turning to a partner and say those words. Asking the class for other ways to say it might also help. When students invite others to join the discussion, it shows they care about their ideas. They need to realize this!
Using this strategy as you read a short story to the class, gives them a chance to actually try it out. Prompting individuals to invite others into the discussion may have to be done for awhile! This is not something that happens over night or in one session. It will take many reminders! So, what are YOU thinking?
In Martha Heller-Winokur and Marcia Uretsky's book: Fourth Grade Readers, they suggest inviting others into the discussion. By talking to the group about being a strong speaker and listener and sharing the fact that it is important that everyone has a chance to share, hopefully all will soon feel welcome. They need to realize some have difficulty taking part in the discussion. The students all need to be aware of those who have not had a chance to talk and invite them to participate. They could simply call on someone and say: "What are you thinking?"
Give the students a chance to practice this by turning to a partner and say those words. Asking the class for other ways to say it might also help. When students invite others to join the discussion, it shows they care about their ideas. They need to realize this!
Using this strategy as you read a short story to the class, gives them a chance to actually try it out. Prompting individuals to invite others into the discussion may have to be done for awhile! This is not something that happens over night or in one session. It will take many reminders! So, what are YOU thinking?
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