writing posters

by Steve Peha

WritingTheReading-

PosterPack

© Copyright 1996-2003 by Steve Peha. For more posters like this one and other great teaching materials, please contact: Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. • E-mail [email protected] • Web www.ttms.org

Ideas that are interestingand important.

Good WritingHas all of these traits…

Organization that islogical and effective.

Voice that is individualand appropriate.

Sentence Fluency thatis smooth and musical.

Word Choice that isspecific and memorable.

Conventions that arecorrect and communicative.

Main Idea Details ”Showing” Purpose Surprises

Beginnings Length Expression Effects Structure

Leads Endings Sequencing Pacing Transitions

Topic Feelings Individuality Personality Appropriateness

Verbs Modifiers Memorable Accurate Appropriate

Punctuation Capitalization Paragraphing Spelling Grammar


Good WritingHas all of these traits…Interesting IDEAS readerslike.

ORGANIZATION you canfollow.

My own personal VOICE.

SENTENCE FLUENCY thatmakes it fun to read out loud.

WORD CHOICE that sayswhat I mean.

Correct CONVENTIONSeveryone can read.


IdeasInteresting &Important

An important main idea.

A clear and meaningfulpurpose.

Interesting details.

“Showing,” not just telling.

Something unusual orsurprising that works.

What’s the one most important thing the author wantsthe audience to know? Why is it important to the au-thor? Why is it important to the audience?

Which details are the most interesting? How do they help theaudience understand the main idea?

Where does the author use “showing” details? Howdoes the “showing” help to improve the audience’sunderstanding?

Why did the writer write this? Why is thisa good reason to write something? What doesthe author want the audience to think and/or do?

What is surprising or unusual about the writing?How does this differ from other things you’veread?


IdeasFun & Interesting!You might learnsomething new!

My writing has animportant message.

I wrote this for a goodreason.

I included lots ofinteresting details.

The one most important thingI want my audience to know is…

The most interesting thingabout my topic is…

I wrote this because…


OrganizationLogical & Effective

Catches the audience’sattention at the start.

Spends the right amount oftime on each part.

Feels finished at the end;makes the audience think.

Arranged in the best order.

Easy to follow frompart to part.

How does the beginning catch the audience’s attention? Whywould the audience want to read more?

How does the ending make the piece feel finished? What doesit make the audience think about?

Can you easily identify the different parts of the piece? Doeseach part follow logically from the next? Is the sequencing ef-fective and entertaining?

Why does the author spend more time in some parts than in oth-ers? Are there places where the author moves ahead too quicklyor hangs on too long?

How does the author move from partto part? How do these transitionswork?


OrganizationEasy to Follow…

My beginning will makeyou want to find outmore about my piece.

I put everything in thebest order.

My ending will make youthink about somethingimportant.

You’ll be interestedin my piece because…

You should remembermy piece because…

…From Start to Finish

The most importantpart of my piece is…


VoiceIndividual &Appropriate

The author cares about thetopic. How can you tell that the author cares about the

topic? Where can you find evidence of strong opin-ions?

Individual, authentic, andoriginal. Does this writing feel as though it could only

have been written by one person? Does thewriting sound like it was written by a realperson? How original is it?

Displays a definite and welldeveloped personality.

How would you describe the author’s personality in this writing?What examples from the text tell you you’re right?

Strong feelings; honeststatements. Where are the author’s strongest state-

ments? How can you tell that the authoris saying what he or she really thinks?

Appropriate tone for purposeand audience. Is the writer using an appropriate tone

for this situation? How can you tell?Which parts, if any, seem inappropriate?


VoiceMy topic! My feelings!My choice!

I like this piece, and myaudience will like it,too!

You can tell exactlyhow I feel.

I really care about mytopic.

I like this piece because…

I wanted to writeabout this topic because…

The feelings I haveabout this topic are…


Word ChoiceSpecific & Memorable

Words and phases usedaccurately and effectively.

Is the writer’s usage accurate? Where has the author used unusual wordseffectively? Where has the author used common words in new ways?

Adjectives and adverbsthat make things specific.

Where has the author used adjectives and adverbs to make the writingmore specific? How does this improve the reader’s understanding?

Words and phases you canremember.

Which words and phrases do you remember? Why are they so memorable?

Strong verbs that tell howactions are performed.Where has the author used strong verbs? What makes them effective?

Appropriate language forpurpose and audience.

Is the language appropriate? Are there any words or phrases that aretoo casual, too formal, too hard to understand, or possibly offensive?


Word ChoiceThe best way to say it!

I used words that I knowand understand.

I used just the rightwords to say exactlywhat I wanted to say.

I used some interestingwords that you’llremember.

The best wordsin my piece are…

You’ll rememberthese words because…

I chosethese words because…


SentenceSmooth and Expressive

FluencyVariety in sentencebeginnings.Variety in sentence lengthand structure.

Easy to read expressively;sounds great read aloud.

Rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, andother “sound” effects.

Sentences structured sothey are easy to understand.

What are some of the different ways the au-thor begins sentences? Do you no-tice any patterns? Does the authorever begin two or three consecu-tive sentences in the same way?

Does the author vary the length and structure of his orher sentences? Do you notice any patterns? Does the author usethe same length or structure in two or three consecutive sen-tences? What sentence structures does the author use most often?

What are the most expressive parts? What is it about how theysound that makes them so much fun to read out loud?

Where has the author used rhythm, rhyme, alliteration orother effects? How does this improve the piece?

How does the author use connecting words and punctuation marks tomake sentences easy to understand? How does the order of sentenceparts make the writing easy to understand?

Musical


SentenceFun to read out loud!

FluencyI wrote my piece insentences.

My writing sounds goodwhen I read it out loud.

I used words thatsound cool when youread them together.

The best sounding sentencein my piece is…

The coolest sounding wordsin my piece are…

My piece isfun to read because…


“Outside” punctuation.

“Inside” punctuation.

Capitalization.

Paragraphing.

Spelling.

ConventionsCorrect & Communicative

Has the author used periods, question marks, and exclama-tion marks in ways that make sense to the audience? Isit easy to tell where ideas end and begin?

If the writing has spelling mistakes, do these errors make the piecedifficult to read and understand? How does the author’s spelling af-fect the way the audience feels about the writing and the personwho wrote it?

Does the author’s use of commas, colons, dashes, paren-theses, and semicolons make sense to the audience?How does the author’s use of these marks help makesentences with many parts easier to understand?

Has the author used capital letters in ways that make senseto the audience? Is it easy to tell where new ideas begin?Has the author capitalized the word “I”, as well as names,places, and things that are one of a kind?

Has the author grouped related sentences into paragraphs in waysthat make sense to the audience? Has the author started a newparagraph each time a new person starts speaking? Has the authorindented or skipped a line to show where new paragraphs start?


ConventionsEveryone Can Read It!

I started my sentenceswith capitals and putperiods at the end.

I did my best to spelleach word correctly.

The conventionsI know are…

The conventionsI am learning are…

You can tellI edited my piece because…

I used capitals for theword “I” and the namesof people and places.


For talking about your writing, thewriting of others, and the books you read.

What makes this writing good?

What would make this writingbetter?

What’s the one most importantthing the writer wants you to know?

Why did the writer write thispiece?

What does the audience need toknow?

The Big Questions5➀

Which parts do you like? Why do you like those parts? Are parts of thiswriting better than other writing you’ve read? How do you know?Use the language of your classroom criteria to explain how you feel.

Which parts are not as good as they could be? Whydon’t you like them? What changes could the authormake that would help you understand and enjoy thewriting more? How would those changes make thewriting better? Use the language of your classroomcriteria to explain how you feel.

Is there one clear message the writer wants you to remember? What is it? Howdo you know? What details tell you you’re right? This “one most importantthing” is the writer’s main idea. Sometimes, it often feels like a moral or a les-son the writer wants you to learn.

What was the author’s purpose in writing this piece? Writerswrite for a reason. Writing to entertain or to inform is great; allgood writing must be entertaining and informative. But there hasto be a deeper purpose. What does the writer want you to thinkand/or do after you’ve finished the piece? Why would it bevaluable or meaningful for someone to read this?

Who is this writer writing for? What information does the audi-ence need to enjoy and understand this piece? What questionsdo they have? What would they like to know more about?What part of the piece will interest them most? How does theauthor’s voice, and the details the author decides to include,show that he or she is thinking about the audience?

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The Facts of Fiction5Fiction is all about character.

Fiction is all about what yourcharacter wants.

Fiction is all about how your charactergets or does not get what he orshe wants.

Fiction is all about how your characterchanges as a result of getting or notgetting what he or she wants.

Fiction is all about a world that youcreate.

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A fun way to write great fiction,and a great way to have fun reading it!

How do you create a world? What kinds of people, places, andthings does a world need? What successes, disasters, and conflictsdoes a world have? What are the good things in a world? Whatare the bad things? Remember: your story can be made up, butit must BE TRUE TO YOUR WORLD!

Who is your main character? What does your character looklike? Can you describe your character’s personality? How didyour character get to be this way? The more you know aboutyour character, the better your story will be.

What does your character want more thananything else? Why does your character

want it? Some characters want a lot, some want a little. It doesn’treally matter as long as it’s VERY IMPORTANT to your character. Themore important it is, the more your character will do to get it, and

the more interesting your story will be.

Is your character successful? Or does your character’s quest end in failure? Either way, you can have agreat story. The trick is to describe HOW your character suc-ceeds or fails. What obstacles does your character encounter?What solutions can your character craft to meet the challengesof your story?

How does your character change as a result of what has hap-pened? What was your character like at the beginning? What isyour character like at the end? What has your characterlearned? What will the audience learn from reading the story?


Something you have strongfeelings about.

Something you know a lotabout.

Something you can describe ingreat detail.

Something your audience will beinterested in.

Something your audience willfeel was worth reading.

What’s a

What are those feelings? How willyou communicate those feelings to

your reader? Is there a key moment ora particularly important detail you want to emphasize so

your reader will understand EXACTLY how you feel?

Good Idea?

What are the main things you want tocover? What’s the most important part ofyour piece? What’s the one thing you wantyour audience to know about your topic?

What are some of the details ofyour topic? Why are these detailsimportant? How do these details helpthe reader understand your mes-sage?

Who is your audience? Why willthey be interested in yourtopic? What will interest themmost?

What will your audience get from reading your piece? Willyour audience learn something new? What will make your audi-ence want to follow your piece all the way to the end?


Inspect the writing closely.

Detect those parts that work andthose that don’t.

Reflect on why some parts work andothers don’t.

Connect your reactions to the writer’sintent.

Inject your own opinions.

Respect the writer’s reactions.

Perfect communication betweenreader and writer.

Expect to repeat the process…

Don’t Correct…

Be a READER, not a TEACHER!

What do you like? What do you thinkcould be improved? Use the language ofyour classroom criteria to explain howyou feel.

Why do you like certain parts? How would im-proving other parts make the writing better? Usethe language of your classroom criteria to explainhow you feel.

What is the writer’s purpose? Why did the writer choose towrite this particular piece? Who is the writer’s audience?What’s the ONE THING the writer wants you to know?

Be honest. Communicateusing the language of

your classroom criteria so that everyone can understand you. RE-MEMBER: This is just YOUR OPINION; it’s not the final word.

Listen closely to what the writer has to say about your comments.The writer does NOT have to make the changes you suggest.

Do you really understand each other?Make sure you’re both using the language

of your classroom criteria. Review the writer’s pur-pose, audience, and message.

…as long as the WRITER wants to continue. OR……until the reader UNDERSTANDS the writer’s message.

Read thoughtfully and thoroughly.


Say it slowly.

Hold the sound.

Find the letter.

Write it down.

Sound it OutA Great Way to Spell Words You Don’t Know!

you’re not 100% sure it’s right, and you don’t know how to fix it,draw a line under it and GO ON TO THE NEXT WORD. After your

piece is finished, you can correct your spelling during theEDITING STAGE of the WRITING PROCESS.

1) Show someone thewords you didn’t know.

We went to Diznelnd.

2) Ask them tocorrect it for you.

Diznelnds ey a

3) Write it correctly onyour published copy.

We went to Disneyland.

If

Say it out loud.Listen carefully in the middle of the word.

Really stretch the word out.

Hold out the next sound.Try to hear the sound all by itself.

Think of the letter orletters that make that sound.

Write the letters as soon as you guess them.Don’t try to spell the whole word in your head!

Keepgoinguntil

you’vewritten

atleastone

letterforeachsoundyouhear!


Perfect topics every time!

Like

Like

Typical-Unusual

Hate

Fun-Have To

Regret-Proud Of

Topic T-Chart

Typical life experiences and unusual life experiences.

Things you do for fun and things you do because you have to.

Things you regret and things you’re proud of.

PizzaBaseballCatsWritingMovies

HomeworkVegetablesRainy DaysChoresBeing Sick

#1


Like

What

What do you think?

Why do you think it?

How do you know?

This is your opinion. Make a it a complete sentence.

These are the reasons for your opinion. Have at least 4 of 5.

These are your pieces of evidence, your examples, your proof.

Great support for your opinions!What-Why-How#2

Why How(Opinion) (Evidence)(Reasons)

My dog is themost amazingpet in the wholeworld.

He does myalgebra homeworkfor me.

He’s great in mathbut sometimes heneeds help holdingthe pencil.

He’s helping mepay my way tocollege.

He just signed adeal with CNNfor his own talkshow: “A Dog’sEye View.”


Like

Idea

Make a Paragraph

Details

Idea-Details

“Sometimes, my dog and I go up to the park to playfrisbee. As soon as I throw it, he runs as fast as he can tocatch it. He jumps high in the air and catches it in his teeth.He can jump about five feet high. People can’t believe howgood he is because he almost never misses. But he’ll onlycatch it if I throw it.”

At the park we playfrisbee. He catches it inhis mouth and brings itback.

He runs really fast.He jumps up in the air.He never misses.People can’t believe howgood he is.He can jump about fivefeet high.He’ll only catch it if Ithrow it.

Add details to your writing instantly!

#3


Like

Tell

Think about your telling details.

Show

Tell-Show

Treat each thing like a character in the story.

My dog runs as fast as hecan and jumps in the air.

As I take out the frisbee,he starts to wag his tail. Assoon as I let it fly, he tearsafter it as fast as he can.Just when I think he’s notgoing to get it, he leaps intothe air, stretches out hisneck, and snags it betweenhis teeth like an animalcapturing its prey.

Add descriptive detail to your writing!

#4

Picture the scene in your mind.

Describe what you see in the picture.Notice the attributes of each thing you see.

Focus and concentrate on this one image.


Like

TransitionPut anything into a logical sequence.

Transition-Action-Details

#5

Action DetailsAbout a monthago,

My dog and Iwent toAndrews Park toplay frisbee.

The wind wasreally blowing.

I took out thefrisbee, threw ithard, and it tookoff over the trees.

I tried to stop mydog from goingafter it, but it wastoo late.

The frisbee wentover the treesand down asteep hill.

I was worried mydog might gethurt.

He was reallydirty. It lookedlike he’d been inthe mud.

My dog camerunning backwith thefrisbee.

A few minuteslater,

I ran him aroundfor a while, andthen


Capture a scene with many details!

Draw-Label-Caption

#6

This is a sketch, not finished artwork.

Label everything you can think of.

Each label is a detail you can write about.

I’m playing frisbee with my dog at Andrews Park.

Big trees

Me

It’s windy

My dog

Wagging tail

He’s excited

Birds

Work quickly. Include as many details as you can.

Use a single word or a short phrase. Identify everything.

The more details you have, the better your piece will be.


Action:

Feelings:

Setting:

Create an effective description of any scene!

Action-Feelings-Setting

#7

I’m excited but also scared. He’s going to runoff into the trees where he might get hurt.

I’ve just thrown the frisbee, and my dog ischasing after it.

We’re up at Andrews Park. It’s really windyand cold. There aren’t many people around.

“It was cold and windy that day at Andrews Park, and there weren’tvery many people around. I threw the frisbee hard into the wind and itjust took off like I’d never seen before. Immediately, my dog startedchasing after it. And as I saw it sail off over the trees, I started to getworried that he might get hurt if he tried to catch it.”


One strategy for all kinds of writing!

#8Content-PurposeAudience-

Main Idea Key Details

Think Do

What’s the onemost important thing

you want youraudience to know?

People Questions

What do you wantyour audience to

think after they’refinished?

What do you wantyour audience todo after they’re

finished?

What specific personor group of people

are you writing thisfor?

What does youraudience want toknow about your

topic?

What does youraudience need to

know to understandyour main idea?

writing posters

Documents

great teaching materials

interestingand important

important thingi

author wantsthe audience

grammar copyright

showing help

interesting thingabout

lots ofinteresting details