writing through the year unit aligned with common core

©Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills 2013

Day 1: Write about something you know a lot about

Day 2: Generate ideas list

Day 3: High 5: tell 5 things about your topic.

Day 4: Looking at what other authors do. Staying focused

Day 5: What to include. What to leave out.

Day 6: Looking at and naming text features.

Day 7: Text features: trying it out.

Day 8: Writing comparisons

Day 9: Organize into categories

Day 10: Creating a table of contents

Day 11: Moving pages if you need to

Day 12: Words we use: some, many, most, all, a few

Day 13: Using labels and telling more

Day 14: What questions will a reader have?

Day 15: Adding closure

Day 16: Reteach lessons as needed-Lesson can be from Unit 1 - Unit 5



Day 19: Preparing to publish, review, revise, and edit Fix-it up check list

Day 20: Celebrate

Unit 5:


On Our Way! Our little guys are such experts...just ask them!!!! They are experts on all sorts of things... their dance

class, their dog, snakes, fishing the list is endless. The Common Core ask that students, “Use a

combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name

what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.” The first grade standard asks

them to provide a sense of closure.

This unit will guide students to do just that. As with each unit, the students will be given the freedom to

select their topic as well as write in other topics. Student choice is important in primary writer’s workshops.

Students may choose to continue to write stories, procedural texts, and persuasive texts or in a way they

have the most energy and enthusiasm for. However, students will be expected to attempt this genre

during this 4 week unit.

You will continue to support your students by conferring with them during their independent writing time.

This will be the time when you guide your students towards their next steps in writing. You will expect

them to work differently as a result of your conference. Language such as, “So, as you write today and

every day after that, will you remember to...?” will help nudge your student along the continuum.

This unit will strengthen your students’ writing partnerships.

Writer’s workshop is…

Writer’s workshop is not…

Student Choice- Students chose to write about the topic they wish. Throughout the year, you will be asking them to write in a particular genre (descriptive, opinion) but the subject of their writing should be theirs.

Prompts: Writer’s workshop is not the time for students to write to a prompt. Although this is inarguably an important skill, writer’s workshop is a time for students to write on a topic of their choosing.

Frequent: Writer’s workshop should take place daily. As a writer, the students will need to know and anticipate daily writing. As these lessons progress, students will learn to sustain their writing topics over a period of days or weeks. Returning to it again and again…just like writers do!

Worked in: Writing is the direct application of all of the English Language Arts skills you teach. Phonemic awareness, phonics, and concepts of print can be reinforced and taught through writing. Don’t “work writer’s workshop in”. Make it an integral part of your daily instruction.

Learned from other writers: Students will learn writing by writing. They will watch as you write (modeled writing), as they share in the writing, (shared writing and interactive writing), and as they learn from each other (independent writing). Additionally, they will learn from published authors

Predictable Sentences: Predictable sentences (Johnny likes________, Amy likes__________) have their value, but they are not part of a writer’s workshop framework. Just like talking, writers learn to write by writing. We don’t wait until a child can speak in whole sentences before we allow them to talk. We


and their books. These books will be referred to as “Mentor Texts”.

hold precious their approximations.

Setting high expectations Students will write or participate in conferences on a daily basis. They are expected to be actively engaged throughout the entire writing time. In kindergarten, the students writing may just be pictures or scribbles at the beginning of the year.

Developmentally inappropriate: Students will work to their best ability. Writing is automatically differentiated. Each of your students will be at a different stage of their writing development. You will guide them from one stage to the next.

Accepting approximations: Some students will write with scrawling lines, while others will be able to form letters and words.

Handwriting: Handwriting is a fine motor skill that should be taught at a different time, not during writer’s workshop. Letter formation can be supported,, but it should not be the focus of the lesson.

The Routine

Mini-Lesson (10 minutes)

The mini-lesson is a time for students to sit up close and notice. Your mini-lesson might include modeled

writing, shared writing, or interactive writing. Your mini-lesson might include a mentor text where you ask

them to notice the craft of a particular author or illustrator.

It is important that you use explicit words like, “Today I will teach you how…”

Over time you will have students bring various materials with them for the mini-lesson (ie. their writing

folder, their whiteboard and dry erase marker).

Mini-Lessons work best when:

Teachers write in front of their students.

Familiar mentor texts are used and revisited.

Mini-lessons and modeled writing are displayed in the classroom for students to refer back to.

Status of the class (5mins)

Prior to going off to write independently, students will tell you what they will write about. Students

should be specific about what they want to write about. Should then say, “My dog.” You will want to use

some guiding questions so they will have a story to write about. So you might ask, “What story do you

want to tell us about your dog.”

In this unit students may be continuing a writing piece so they may say, “I am starting a new piece about

when I broke my arm.” Or “I’m going to write about why I want a dog.”


Students will consult with their writing partner about their topic prior to telling you. Once they tell you

about the topic, they will get started right away. If a student is unsure of their topic, they stay on the

carpet until they come up with one. They will be listening to the other students’ topics. Perhaps, a

classmate will inspire them.

It is tempting to skip “Status of the class” because it initially takes a bit of time. However, this is a

form of prewriting. Once a student has shared their topic, they can get right to work. Status of the

class works best when:

It is done out loud

You do it regularly

Everyone can hear everyone else.

Students choose their own topics

Writing time (5-20 mins)

Students will return to their writing place (I use desks) to practice independent writing. Put on soft music in

the background. This is their cue to work quietly. Music that is just instrumental works best. Music with

lyrics quickly turns into a sing-along.

*Using classical music is a great way to introduce students to this type of music.

Put on a timer for quiet work time. During this time the room should be quietly working. Overtime, students

will build their writing stamina. This can be charted (see attachment).

Some prefer to have their students write with pencil, and then add color. Other teachers may want their

students to use pens or markers.

Your goal is for students to write independently. They should not come up to you for any reason. Some

students will be capable of working independently while others will require some assistance. You will want

to relay to these students that they are fine, they do not need you, and that they should simply do their

best. Do not spell for your students. If you do, you will become a walking dictionary and your students will

become dependent on you. Just tell them to put down the sounds that they hear. (NOTE: this might cause

some student anxiety, if they are used to people spelling for them. Praise their attempts and they will be

more likely to take risks!)

You will begin your student conferences during this unit.

Writing time works best when students understand:

Self-help strategies (how they can help themselves)

They are to write (or illustrate) the whole time.

They are building stamina in their writing.


Sharing (10mins)

Most will agree that writing is meant to be heard and shared. Your emergent writers will want to share

their writing as well. This gives them a purpose and will help motivate and drive them towards writing.

Students will share their writing with their writing partners every day.

A select few will take turns sharing their

writing in front of the class. I like to have

a set sharing schedule. You can use the

first two students on the conferring schedule

plus one other student of your choosing

(perhaps a student who has done a nice job

to trying out your mini-lesson in their own

writing.) This is another opportunity to take

notes and informally assess your students.

Students will continue to grow in their use of

“Noticings” and “Questions” during share times.

Noticings are things that you notice the child

tried out. You may be on the lookout and

notice when a student applies your mini-lesson

ideas in their writing. I noticed that you stretched out the word “mom” on this page. That made it easier

for me to understand your writing. Or I noticed you colored your hair brown. That made it easier for me

to know it was you. Questions are ways to learn more about the writer’s story. I see you are at the

park. What is your favorite thing to do at the park? Overtime students will internalize these questions

and attempt to answer them as they compose their writing. You will need to continue to model and

support your students as they work to become more familiar with this part of writer’s workshop.

Sharing time works best when students can:

Notice and name the writing qualities they are learning.

When it is done consistently

Procedure Check (5-10mins) Procedures will need to be continuously reviewed and revisited. It is essential

that students follow the procedures so the learning can take place. You will need to be able to utilize

your conferring time to meet with students, not handle behavior issues.


Use Avery Labels color coding labels.

Green=Keep going Red= I’m done

The Supplies

Teacher Materials:

Quality texts,

chart paper

markers

correction tape

ABC Chart

Portable Word Wall

modeled writing can be done with chart paper, overhead, document camera,

interactive white board.

Conferring Notebook

Student Materials:

Single pages

Pre-stapled booklets(4-5 pages stapled together)

crayons

pencils

pens

Writing Folders (ABC chart, Portable Word Walls)

Mentor Text

Mentor Texts are books that display qualities of writing you want your

children to learn. Ideally these books should be read over and over again to your students

prior to introducing them to your writer’s workshop mini-lessons.

The students should know these stories well so when they return to look at them again, they can study

them as writer. Click on the book titles to find the

books.

I HIGHLY recommend this type of staple

remover. This will not rip up your pages and

it is easy for your students to learn to use.

They are inexpensive, so I have several of

them in my room.

You can find it on Amazon by clicking on the

picture.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Classics-Remover-Assorted-TPG-141/dp/B003BNDUCS/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1357876432&sr=8-12&keywords=staple+remover


Books Suggestions

Nicola Davies writes beautiful books that combine a narrative and informational format. They provide

wonderful word choices. Additionally, both of these books provide illustrative study opportunities.

Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear by Nicola Davies

Just Ducks by Nicola Davies

Question and Answer format

Guess What is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada

Illustrative Study

A Seed is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston

Primary texts with text features-Note these can be obtained via Scholastic Book orders

(you probably have a few books in this series already.) You can select book topics that

match what you are learning in your class.

The White House by Lloyd G. Douglas (Table of Contents, Glossary, Index) {Welcome

Books}

Arctic Foxes by Emily Rose Townsend (Table of Contents, maps, Glossary, Internet Sites,

Index) {Pebble Books}

Awesome Walruses by Eric Charlesworth (Contents, Chapters, Captions, Diagrams, Fast Facts, Maps,

Glossary) {Science Vocabulary Readers}

Books on how to draw

How to Draw Animals by Barbara Soloff Levy

How to Draw by Barbara Soloff Levy

How to Draw Cars and Other Vehicles by Barbara Soloff Levy

Conferring

As the students write you will conduct individual conferences. Each conference lasts for about 5 minutes.

Linda Dorn writes in her book, Scaffolding Young Writers, that “the writing conference is the heart of

teaching the writing process. When teachers confer with children, they provide them with individual guidance

within their zone of proximal development.”

The conference is broken into three parts:

1. Preconference: - “Tell me what you are working on?”

2. Heart of the conference – this is where you scaffold your language to coach the students to solve

their problems by giving hints or reminders.

http://www.cleverschoolteacher.com/ProductList/tabid/237/ProductID/568142/Default.aspx?txtSearch=*&ProductName=ice+bear

http://www.cleverschoolteacher.com/ProductList/tabid/237/productid/499669/Default.aspx?txtSearch=*&ProductName=just+ducks

http://www.amazon.com/Guess-What-Growing-Inside-This/dp/0822561921

http://www.cleverschoolteacher.com/ProductList/tabid/237/ProductID/503823/Default.aspx?txtSearch=*&ProductName=a+seed+is+sleepy

http://www.cleverschoolteacher.com/ProductList/tabid/237/catpageindex/5/ProductID/554742/Default.aspx?txtSearch=*&ProductName=how+to+draw




3. Conclusion – “Today and every day when you write...” Remember your lessons should be about the

writing, not the piece. For example, you might say, “Today and every time write, you will want to

stretch out those sounds and say them slowly. Then you can write them down.” This instruction can

be transferred to new writing

opportunities, vs. “When you write

the word “friend”, you should put

down the letters you hear” which

may not.

Scheduling conferences

Schedule 3 conferences a day, plus 1 quick

follow up. Try to meet with your students

at least once every other week. Your

struggling writers will need to meet with you

more often. You should get through your

entire class within a two week cycle. If

you have more than 20 students, you will

need to adjust how many times you meet

with your struggling students.

Leave the final line open so you will be able to write in the names of the students you want to follow up

with. Example: You confer with a student on Monday and ask them to try something out. You may want

to meet briefly with them on Thursday to see how it is going.

Hint: Let your students know who you will be meeting with that day. This will help them anticipate your

conference and they will help keep you accountable

Writing Continuum

As you confer, you will want to give your student a

suggestion that is within their zone of proximal development.

Look at the continuum (or your district’s continuum) to help

select “next step” goals for your student. Be mindful that

you want to gently nudge your students along the

continuum. When you push too hard or reach too far along

the continuum you run the risk of stalling the learning.

Your writer may become frustrated.

Rubric: Measures the standard of performance and is used to state expectations.


Continuum: Learning is a continual process. The continuum is used to look for evidence of learning and the

next stage of development. Some concepts are acquired and elaborated over time.

Questions to guide the conference

Use the questions to guide the conference if you need

suggestions.

The Lessons

These lessons are listed as Day 1, Day 2, and so on.

However, you may need to take the lessons out of order. Listen to the needs of your class and make

adjustments accordingly. The best lessons stem from the needs of your classroom. Please do not feel

you need to follow these lesson verbatim.

HINT: Students should bring their writing folder to the carpet for the mini-lesson. Teach them to sit on the

folder, so it won’t be a distraction.

When they come back to the carpet for “sharing” they should sit on their folder again until they meet with

their partner.


Day 1: Write about something you know a lot about

Materials needed: Individual writing pages

Mini-Lesson: This writing will be a baseline. By collecting this writing sample you will have a starting point and an understanding of your students grasp on the genre. Over the course of this unit you will see your students growth within this type of writing. Friends, we have learned so much this year already! I remember we studied about spiders a few months ago, holidays from around the world, penguins, and animals that live in the arctic (name a few things you have learned about already this year). But you know what? You also know a bunch of stuff that you didn’t really learn at school...stuff like fishing, dancing, princesses, superheroes, and Mario. I would love to learn more about the things you know. Take a minute to talk to your writing partner about some of the things you know a lot about. Try it out: Friends, today you might want to start a book about something you know a lot about. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Add words to help your readers understand your writing. Procedure Check: Writers please get started. I will be meeting with a few of you. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 25 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 2: Generate ideas list Materials needed: Anchor Chart

Mini-Lesson: Generating ideas list will be similar to the topic idea lesson that the class did in Unit 1. Friends, today I would like to brainstorm some ideas that we already know a lot about. When we brainstorm, it means we help each other think of ideas. We can write about of a lot different things. Have students sit knee to knee with their partner. Tell your partner one place that you know a lot about. Give students several minutes to talk with their partner. You may need to push into their conversation to help them along. Have students share out what they brainstormed and chart it. Then move onto the next topic. Tell your partner about a person you know a lot about. Continue repeating this process as you create your anchor chart.

Places (like the river, beach, the mall, Dave and Busters, places they have been) People (Justin Bieber, sports figures or teams, authors you have studied) Things (sea shells, video games, ) Animals (polar animals, ocean animals, dogs, bats, spiders, owls)

When you are done, you might ask: I wonder if there are any sports teams anyone knows a lot about. How about superheroes? Movie stars or singers?

Try it out: Today, you might want to start an informational book about one of these ideas. Remember, when we write informational books it is different than stories. Informational books teach about something. Stories tell about a time when something happened. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions. Show your partner where you named your activity.


Day 3: High 5-Tell 5 things! Materials needed: Anchor Chart

Mini-Lesson: Friends sometimes I wonder if I know enough to write about something. Do you remember how we used our story hand to write about something that has happened to us (Unit 2)? We can also use our hand to see if we have enough to write about. Let me show you what I mean. Suppose I wanted to write an all about on penguins. I need to check to see if I have enough to share. Let’s see, I could write, “Penguins are birds that can’t fly. Blubber helps to keep penguins warm. Penguins live south of the equator. Penguins eat fish, squid, and krill. A group of penguins is called a rookery.” Hold up one finger as you say each fact about penguins. What if I wanted to write, “Penguins are cute”? Would that go in my “All About” book? Should we test out your topics to see if you have enough to write about? Call on a few students to tell you what 5 things they can say about their topic. This is a great opportunity to weed out those things that do not belong in an all about book. Try it out: Today, when you are writing your all about book, you will want to be sure to include at least 5 things about your topic. Remember, when we write informational books it is different than stories. Informational books teach about something. Stories tell about a time when something happened. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 4: Looking at what other authors do. Staying focused

Materials needed: Ice Bear by Nicola Davies

Mini-Lesson: We have read this book by Nicola Davies about polar bear before. This time, I want to read it like a writer. This book is amazing because it is like two books in one. One part of this book sounds like the people in this book are talking. Then the other parts have little facts woven in. I also love how the words look like they are blowing across the page..sort of like I would imagine the wind would be blowing in this cold place. Even thought there are these two other people in this book, Nicola Davies stayed focused on writing about polar bears. She included so many great facts! Try it out: Today when you are writing, don’t forget to stay focused. If you are writing an “All About” book you will want to keep the book about your subject. Do this the best you can. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Add words to help your readers understand your writing. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 5: What to include, what to leave out. Materials needed: Ice Bear by Nicola Davies Mini-Lesson: Since the beginning of the year we have been writing all sorts of things. Sometimes we wrote about something that happened to us, sometimes we made up a story, and sometimes we wrote about something we know. When you write an informational book or an “All About” book, there are some things you put in, and some things you leave out. Let’s decide if these sentences sound like a time when something happened (a story) or an “All About.” Together with the students, sort out these sentences and chart where they belong. *Polar bears are the biggest hunters on land. *One day a polar bear decided to take a vacation. *Polar bears can swim for 100 miles without resting. *Cubs stay with their mothers for two years. *I saw a polar bear at the zoo. *When I went to my cousin’s house we watched a movie about polar bears. *A polar bear’s skin is black and hair is hollow to help keep him warm. Try it out: If you are writing a story about a polar bear, you might include one of these things. BUT, if you are writing an “All About” book, you will want to be sure tell facts about your topic. Do the best you can. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Add words to help your readers understand your writing. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 6: Looking and naming text features Materials needed: Awesome Walruses by Eric Charlesworth (or another book that offers informational text features)

Mini-Lesson: Note: A head of time you will want to take a copy of the text features you find in your book. So... if your book has a table of contents, photocopy that table of contents. There are numerous text features that you could use, but you may want to limit it to no more than 5. I your mentor text has a different feature than one that is included in this unit, you can simply write it in. Informational books have some great tools in them to help us better understand what we are reading. Usually, they have a lot of photographs but we also know they can be written with illustrations, like in Ice Bear. Today I want to look at Awesome Walruses and we can list all the great features it has. Table of contents: Helps the reader find what is in your book. Maps: Helps the reader know where things are in the world. Close-ups: Helps the reader to see the details up close. Labels: Tells about the picture and its parts. Cutaways: Shows your reader what something looks like on the inside. Captions: Tells your reader about the picture. Try it out: Today when you are writing, you might want to add some of the text features we learned about. This will help your reader understand your writing. Do the best you can. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions. Show your partner where you added labels or arrows.


Day 7: Text Features: Trying it out. Materials needed: Text Features anchor chart that was created on day 6.

Mini-Lesson: Yesterday, we talked about some of the text features we see in informational books. I want to try one out today. Suppose I wanted to write about how polar bears have hollow hair and black skin to help keep them warm. I might want to use a close up to show how that looks. Watch as I give this a try. Talk as your draw. So, I want to draw my polar bear pretty big to cover most of the page I think. Then I want to add a little close up window. I need to make sure that it is large enough so my readers will be able to see what I am drawing. Now I want to write the words. I want to make sure that my words tell about the close up, otherwise it might be confusing to my readers. Without the words, they might think these are spikes or something. Try it out: Friends, today you might want to add a text feature to your writing. If you do, you should also include words so your reader will understand your picture better. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 8: Writing comparisons Materials needed: Ice Bear or Awesome Walruses

Mini-Lesson: Writers add comparisons in their books to help you get a picture in your head and it makes them say, “Whoa!” They do this when they compare something you might not know very well, with something that you can easily picture. I remember reading in Ice Bear these sentences, “Polar bears are the biggest hunters on land. Male bears can be ten feet long and weigh as much as 10 men.” I remember thinking whoa! That is a lot. I got this picture in my head of a polar bear and 10 men! That weighs a lot! So today writers, I want to add a comparison in my writing. I want to add this fact... that a polar bear is as heavy as ten men. Talk as you draw. Let’s see... how could I draw that? I know! I could put them on a balance scale. We know that would NEVER happen, but I think it would help my readers understand better. So on one end I will draw the bear. On the other end I will draw the ten men. I don’t think I need to add all of their faces because I think you can tell that they are men without doing all of that. Now I need to make sure that I also explain my picture with my words, so I will write, “A polar bear is as heavy as ten men!” Because I think that is amazing, I am going to put an {!} point instead of a period. You may not have time to color your picture before your little sweeties get restless. You can color it later. NOTE: There is also a great comparison in Awesome Walruses which compares the weight of a walrus to that of a small car. Try it out: Friends, today you might want to add a comparison to your writing. Perhaps you know that an Emperor Penguin is as big as a 6 year old. You might want to add that comparison to help your reader get a picture in their head and make them say, “Whoa!” Does it have to be perfect? No, just do the best you can. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. If you added a label to your writing, but sure to show them. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 9: Organize your writing into categories Materials needed: Arctic Foxes by Emily Rose Townsend

Mini-Lesson: When writers write they organize their information so it is not all jumbled together. Sort of like when you put your clothes away. You put all of your socks together, you put all of your shirts together, and you put all of your shoes together. If you have them scattered all over the place it can be hard to find them. You will want to do the same thing when your write informational texts. Let’s look at Arctic Foxes. You can see that the first part of the book tells about Arctic foxes and what they look like. Then the author wrote about where the Arctic foxes live in the world. Boy, that map really helps me. Finally, the author wrote about some of the things Arctic foxes do, like how they hunt and how they act. So let’s say you are writing about soccer because you know a lot about soccer. You could write about the equipment you would need. Then you could write about the rules of the game. Question: Would you also tell about the time you played soccer and then your team went out to pizza after the game? No, because that would be a story about a time and probably not an informational piece. Try it out: In your own writing you might want to try to organize your writing into ideas that go together like Emily Rose Townsend did. My B (or A) partners will go first. Once you have finished sharing, you may get started with your writing. Walk around and listen in as the students discuss their writing plans with their partners. This is a great opportunity to take conferring notes. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 10: Creating a table of contents Materials needed: Arctic Foxes by Emily Rose Townsend Text Feature chart

Mini-Lesson: I want to look at Arctic Foxes again. I want to show you how she wrote the table of contents. Remember we said that the table of contents helps the reader find things. Yesterday we talked about how we want to organize our writing. The table of contents can help people find the information. Imagine you were writing about soccer like I said yesterday. You could add a table of contents. I think I will need do this last, after I have written my pages. Then I could go back and see how I have my book organized. You know I can always swap the pages around if I need to. Talk as you write the Table of Contents. So after I looked at how my book was written, I can get started. Imagine my first page was about the stuff that you needed to play the game. I could call that “Things you need.” Then I could add the page number. I will want to draw a picture so it will help my reader. Oops, I better put numbers on my pages. The next part of my book is about some of the rules. So I could write that down. I will have to look in my book to see what page that is on. The last part of my book is about how teams celebrate when they win or at the end of the season. Try it out: Today you might be ready to add a table of contents. You might be ready to add it to the book you have just finished or a book you finished last week. If you do, think about how you have your book organized and tell your reader where to find the information. Does it have to be perfect. No, just do your best. Please share with your partners about your writing. My B (or A) partners will go first. Once you have finished sharing, you may get started with your writing. Walk around and listen in as the students discuss their writing plans with their partners. This is a great opportunity to take conferring notes. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions. If you added a table of contents, please share it with your partner..


Day 11: Move you pages if you need to. Materials needed: Past writing samples Staple removers

Mini-Lesson: Prior to this mini-lesson, look over some student samples that could use some help in moving pages around. Ask the student permission to make these changes with the class. Friends, we have learned so much about how to make our books easier for our readers to read. Today I want to show you how you can go back to some of the “All About” books you wrote at the beginning of the unit and reorganize the pages so all the information is grouped together. Today we are going to help {student name} organize her book. Watch carefully, because you will be doing this with your partner in just a minute. After you organize a student’s book. Ask them if they would like to add a table of contents. Staple the book back together. NOTE: In my room the students remove the staples independently. They organize the pages, but I staple the pages together again. Try it out: Friends. Take a minute to look through your folder for a piece that you want to reorganize. If you do find one, please think about removing the staples and getting the pages in order. This might also be a GREAT time to add a table of contents. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions. If you illustrated your picture from a different point of view, be sure to show your partner.


Day 12: Words we use: Some, many, most, all, a few,

Materials needed: chart paper. Awesome Walruses Chart paper

Mini-Lesson: I was going back to read this book and I noticed that the author used a few words. Words like “some” p. 5 “Some are 12 feet long and weigh 3,000 pounds.” Does that mean that every walrus weigh 3,000 pounds? No, but some of them do. Then on page 8 it says, “All walruses have tusks.” Wow, that means that every single walrus has a set of tusks. On page 17 it says, “Most of them [walruses] have one baby at a time.” So that means that almost all of them have one baby, but I guess that means that a few have more than one baby. If you wanted to use these words, they might help you to say more about your topic. So let’s pretend I was writing about our school. I could write, “Most of the students buy their lunch at school.” Does that make sense? Usually we have 5 or 6 kids who bring their lunch, but everyone else has a school lunch. I could also write, “Some kids bring their lunch from home.” Try it out: Today in your writing you may want to try some of these words when you are thinking of telling more. Does it have to be prefect? No, just do your best. Please share with your partners about your writing. My B (or A) partners will go first. Once you have finished sharing, you may get started with your writing. Walk around and listen in as the students discuss their writing plans with their partners. This is a great opportunity to take conferring notes. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. Show your partner where you used one of our spelling strategies to help you write a word. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 13: Using labels and telling more Materials needed: Past writing samples Books with great examples of text features such as Walruses by Eric Charlesworth

Mini-Lesson: Friends, listen... sometimes writers will go back to a piece they have been working on again and again. Sometimes they will decide to make changes and add onto a piece instead of making a new one. You might decide to add more details with your words. Maybe you will want to do a close-up or zoom in like I did when I wrote about the

polar bear’s fur. You also may want to add words like some, many, or most like we talked about yesterday. You can also use labels to tell more like Eric Charlesworth did in his book about walruses. I love this picture of the walrus’s tusks. The label really makes it clear. I also love how he listed the fodd that walruses eat but also

included a few photos. You could do that with your inforamtion, tell more with pictures and with words. Try it out: Today in your writing you will want to see if you can tell more. You can add more information by adding a label or by adding more pictures to your pages. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Please share with your partners about your writing. My B (or A) partners will go first. Once you have finished sharing, you may get started with your writing. Walk around and listen in as the students discuss their writing plans with their partners. This is a great opportunity to take conferring notes. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. If you added a helpful hint, show your partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 14: What questions will a reader have? Materials needed: Student samples Mini-Lesson: Prior to this lesson look though a few student samples. Select a few that might have good questioning opportunities. Ask the students’ permission to use their writing for this lesson. One way we can tell more about our subject we are writing about is to think about the questions our readers might have. So Anna’s writing says, “In dance class you learn different dances.” Does anyone have any questions? Elicit responses from the class such as, “What are the dances called? Are they hard to learn? “ Then help your student answer these questions in her writing. It might sound something like this. “You can learn how to tap and do jazz steps. It can take weeks to get it right.” This might be a good time to remind your students how to use a caret. Friends, I want you to sit with your partners. Partner A listen to your partner and think of one question you have. Be ready to share that question with the group in a moment. Then Partner B, you will have a turn. Listen in and support your students as they ask their partner questions that might strengthen the writing. Then select a few who have done a great job of asking meaningful questions to share with the whole group. You may need to model questions that would not be helpful such as, “Do you like dance class?” Have partner B repeat the process. Try it out: Friends, writers think about questions there reader might have and they try to answer those questions in their writing. Your partner has given you a few ideas, but I bet you can think of a few. Today and every day, I want you to think of those questions and try to add them into your writing just like Anna did with her dance writing. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 15: Adding closure Materials needed: Student samples or one of your own writing samples.

Mini-Lesson: One of the things that writers do is sometimes they wrap up their writing in an interesting way. They call this a closure. As you have been writing your informational writing, you have been telling facts or things you know about your subject. When you get to the end of your writing, it is okay to tell how you feel about your subject. So my polar bear book might have a last page that says, “Polar bears are powerful and amazing animals.” Anna might have, “Dance class is a fun way to make friends and learn new things.” As you know it is really easy to add a page to our writing. You all know how to use the staple remover and I will staple your book back together after our workshop time. Try it out: Today you might want to go back and look at some of your “finished’ writing. You might find a place where you can add a closure. Does it have to be perfect? No, just do your best. Please share with your partner about your writing. My B (or A) partners will go first. Once you have finished sharing, you may get started with your writing. Walk around and listen in as the students discuss their writing plans with their partners. This is a great opportunity to take conferring notes. Procedure Check: Today I am going to be meeting with a few students to talk about their writing. These will be the students who will share today (hand out the share passes). I have one more share pass that I will hand out to the student who is really working hard at their writing. Can you interrupt me while I am working with my friends? No! I am going to set the timer for _______ minutes (or just add 1 minute to yesterday’s writing workshop). NOTE the expectation will grow until the independent writing time reaches 20 mins. Document their writing stamina. Sharing: Students will share their writing in front of the class. Call on students to offer noticings and questions. The teacher will continue to model “Noticings” and “Questions”. Get with your writing partner. Show them where you started with a capital letter. Show them where you wrote a word in all lower case letters. My A (or B sharers) will start first. Listen to your partner and practice your Noticing and Questions.


Day 16-18: Reteach any lessons covered in Unit 1 - Unit 5 as needed.

Materials needed: Premade book (write under a document camera), or chart paper.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we only needed to teach a lesson once and EVERY one of our students were ready for that lesson AND EVERY one of our students internalized these lessons? The reality is that some lessons need to be repeated. Here are a few suggestions.

Reading and touching each word. Add the words that are missing.

Are the word wall words spelled correctly?

Strategies for spelling longer words

Are my words easy to read? Is my handwriting clear?

Do I mostly have lowercase letters except at the beginning of my sentence?

Does it make sense?


Day 19: Fixing it up Materials needed: Fix-it up check list Student writing sample.

Mini-Lesson: We are getting ready to publish our writing. Right now I want you to find a piece that you would like to publish.

Have your students return to their desk and go through their folder. They can self-select 1 piece to publish. They should hold on to that one piece and bring you the other pieces in their folder. Those “unpublished” pieces will be bound together and sent home. Give the class a few minutes to complete this task. Ask your students to rejoin you on the carpet again. Your job today is to look over a piece of your writing that you would like to publish. One of the things that writers sometimes uses is a little checklist to make sure they have not forgotten anything. This checklist is like our Build a Sentence Chart. Let me show you how it can work. Take a student sample and use the checklist as you read their writing. I find it is helpful to ask for volunteers. I tend to select students who are

confident writers and who will not mind having their work edited in front of the classroom. If you prefer, you can make your own writing sample to use with the “Fix it” checklist. Then when you see something you have forgotten, you can just fix it up! I am going to give you this checklist. Take it back to your desk and go through and edit your work. Fix it up the best you can. It does not have to be perfect. Try it out: NOTE: Editing is a challenging skill that will require a lot of practice. Students will approximate this skill while you provide support. Those pages that were not selected to be published should be bound

together in chronological order.

You may decide to send this home (see parent letter) or keep this writing

in their writing portfolio until the end of the year. Writing is slow to grow.

Similar to a tree, it is hard to see the growth when you look at it every

day. When you can go back and compare old photographs (writing samples)

you will better see the progress.


Day 20: Celebration Materials needed: Student celebration papers. Student unit books.

Mini-Lesson: Today is the day we have been looking forward to. We get to celebrate our writing. Today we will have our publishing party. Students can celebrate their writing in several different ways. I enjoy bringing a little snack or asking parents to send in some cookies and juice. I then group the students and have them take turns reading their stories to each other. I rotate the groups a few times so each student has the chance to hear each other. Here is one way to rotate your students:

1. Number your students. Have half of your class sit on the outside of a circle. The other half will face them on the inside of the circle.

2. Have students take turns sharing their writing with each other.

3. Give a signal when it is time to switch partners. The outside of the circle rotates while the inside stays seated.

Signal could be a timer or music Other options:

1. Invite parents to join you. 2. Invite faculty to join you. 3. Invite another class to join you.

Display: Make their writing public by hanging in the hallway, somewhere in your classroom or elsewhere in your building.

We can write about…

©D. Jump and D. Wills

You can use the images on the following pages to make a large anchor chart for brainstorming and recording writing topics. There are individual planning sheets for the students to use as well.

Thin

gs I

can

w

rite

abou

t Nam

e

Use the resource on the following page with the lesson on Day 5.

Have the strips cut out and then as you read them aloud have your students help you decide

where they belong on the chart.

A Ti

me W

hen

Some

thin

g Ha

ppen

ed S

tory

Al

l Abo

ut B

ook

Polar

bear

s ar

e th

e bigg

est

hunt

ers

on lan

d.

One

day

a po

lar

bear

de

cide

d to

tak

e a

vaca

tion

.

Polar

bear

s ca

n sw

im f

or

100 m

iles

witho

ut r

esting

.

Cubs

sta

y with

their

mot

hers

for

two

year

s.

I sa

w a

polar

bea

r at

th

e zoo

.

I wat

ched

a m

ovie a

bout

po

lar

bear

s at

my

cous

in’s

hous

e.

A p

olar

bea

r ha

s blac

k sk

in t

o ke

ep h

im w

arm.

I go

t a

stuf

fed

polar

bear

for

my

birt

hday

.

Tab

le o

f C

on

ten

ts

Ma

ps

He

lp th

e re

ade

r fin

d w

hat

is in

th

e b

oo

k.

He

lp th

e re

ade

r kno

w w

he

re

thin

gs are

in

th

e w

orl

d.

Type o

f anim

al 2

W

here

it

lives

3

What

it e

ats

4

Clo

se-U

ps

Lab

els

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lp th

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r to

se

e th

e

de

tails up clo

se

.

Te

ll ab

out

the

pic

ture

and it

s

part

s. ta

il fin

dors

al f

in

gill

slits

pect

oral

fins

Cu

taw

ay

s C

ap

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ns

Sho

w th

e re

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r w

hat

so

me

thin

g

loo

ks like

o

n

the

in

sid

e.

Te

ll th

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ade

r ab

out

the

pic

ture

.

This

is a

gre

at

w

hit

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hark

..

There

are

many d

iffere

nt

ty

pes o

f s

hark

s t

hat

live

In t

he o

cean.

After teaching the kids about the different text features have them help you match up the name of the text feature and what it is used for. Next, assign each group a feature to illustrate and use them to create anchor charts. {See example on following page} OR simply sort and glue the text features you copied to use in Day 6

Tell about the picture and its parts.

Labels

Text Features

Table of Contents

Maps

Close-ups

Labels

Cutaways Capti

ons

Help the reader find what is in the

book.

Help the reader know where things are in the world.

Help the reader to see details up

close.

Tell about the picture and its

parts.

Show the reader what something looks like on the

inside.

Tell the reader about the picture.

A w

alr

us c

an

we

igh a

s m

uch

as a

sm

all c

ar.

Co

mp

ar

iso

ns

He

lp t

he

re

ade

r ge

t a p

ictu

re

in t

he

ir h

ead t

o u

nde

rsta

nd

rela

tio

nship

s b

etw

ee

n t

wo

or

m

ore

thin

gs.

Co

mpari

so

ns

He

lp t

he

re

ade

r ge

t a

pic

ture

in t

he

ir h

ead t

o

unde

rsta

nd r

ela

tio

nship

s

be

twe

en t

wo

or

mo

re

part

s.

Use to create an anchor chart if desired.

Make Believe Story

All About Book

If your little ones are still having trouble distinguishing between a make believe book and an all about book you can use the chart headers and pictures to sort into the appropriate categories. As your little ones help you sort the pictures discuss as a class the reasons why they belong under that category.

Behaviors to notice

Emergent 1 Emergent 2 Emergent 3 Early Writer 1 Early Writer 2 Early Writer3 Transitional writer 1

Sentence structure

No evidence of intended message

Includes 1 intended word

Includes 1 intended simple sentence

Includes 2-4 simple and/or 1 complex/compound sentences.

Includes 5 simple and/or 2 complex/compound sentences.

Includes 3 complex/compound sentences

Includes 4-6 complex/compound sentences

Directionality, spacing,

punctuation

Places squiggles or letter-like shapes randomly on the page

Places letter-like shapes in a left to right direction and may have space between 2 words

Places letters and/or words in left to right direction with 3 or more spaces. Punctuation attempt may be made.

Ends 1 sentence or story with a period

Ends 2-4 sentences with periods. May use other forms of punctuation appropriately at times.

Ends 5 sentences with periods. May use other forms of punctuation appropriately at times.

Ends 6 sentences with periods and uses 2 other forms of punctuation appropriately at times.

Letter formation, capitalization

Forms squiggles or letter-like shapes

Forms mostly uppercase letters. May have 1 word in lowercase letters

Forms 2 or more words with lowercase letters

Capitalizes the first word in the sentence.

Capitalizes 2-4 sentences. May use other forms of capitalization correctly

Capitalizes at least 5 sentences. May use other forms of capitalization correctly

Capitalizes at more than 6 sentences. May use 1 other form capitalization correctly most of the times.

Spelling Represents words with letter like shapes with no sound correspondence

Represents 1-2 words by recording at least 1 sound. May spell 1 word conventionally.

Represents most words by recording 1 or more sound. May spell 2-3 words conventionally`

Spells 4-8 different words conventionally.

Spells 9 or more single syllable words conventionally

Spells 3-5 different two-syllable words conventionally

Spells 6-8different two-syllable words conventionally

Supporting Details Does not include a, an, the or describing word

Include a, an, the or describing word

Includes 2 describing words or modifiers

Includes 3-4 describing words or modifiers

Includes 5 different describing words or modifiers

Supports 1 idea with details in at least 3 sentences

Supports 2 ideas with details in at least 3 sentences

Word Choice Includes no evidence of intended words

Uses 1-3 intended high frequency words

Uses 4 or more intended high frequency words

Uses 1 precise word that is more exact in meaning

Uses 2 precise words that are more exact in meaning

Uses 3-4 precise words that are more exact in meaning

Uses 5-6 precise words that are more exact in meaning

Ideas/Focus Unable to develop ideas

Develops an idea with assistance

Develops ideas independently

Writes 1-2 sentences while maintaining focus



Maintains writing focus through out.

Writing Continuum

Writing Through the

Year: informational

texts

Sustained attention Unable to maintain

attention during writing

workshop.

Maintains attention during

writing workshop some of

the time


writing workshop most of

the time


writing workshop all of

the time

Author’s message Makes uncontrolled or

unidentifiable scribbling

Draws picture and labels Picture and/or words

carry the message

Picture and words carry

the message

Topic generation:

Provide persuasive

argument

No attempt at providing a

reason

Attempts to provide a

reason

Provides a reason Provides a convincing

reason

Genre writing Does not provide

information about the

subject

Provides information, but

they facts are not

grouped.

Provides information with

facts that are somewhat

grouped 1-2 sentences per

big idea.

Provides information with

facts that are grouped.

2-3 sentences per big

idea.

Letter attempts Forms easily recognizable

letters most of the time

All letters are easily

recognizable

All letters are formed

correctly

Letters are formed

correctly and uses mostly

lowercase letters.

Letter-sound

representation

Hears and records some

consonant letter sounds

Hears and records most




and some vowel sounds



and vowel sounds

Rubric Name: ____________________________________________ Date:_____________________________

Starts with a capital letter. Uses spaces between your words. Uses punctuation at the end. Mostly lowercase letters.

Fix It Up Checklist

Here is my dog.

Here is my dog.

Here is my dog.

Here is my dog.

Name: __________________________________

Starts with a capital letter. Uses spaces between your words. Uses punctuation at the end. Mostly lowercase letters.

Fix It Up Checklist

Here is my dog.

Here is my dog.

Here is my dog.

Here is my dog.

Name: __________________________________

Writing Conference Schedule Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

________________________________________________________________

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Visit with three scheduled students a day. Leave one slot a day open for quick follow up checks.

Questions to guide the conference

If you notice this... Try this

Unfocused piece Do you have more than one story here? What’s the most important part? What’s your favorite part? How can we build on that? What do you want your reader to know about ______________?

The piece is just a list of events with little of the writer’s reaction

How did you feel when this happened? What do you think about all of this What made this so important to you?

“I like” or “I love” story or a vague idea.

Tell me what you love about _____________?

Conferences should feel like a conversation, not an interrogation. However, here are some conference starters: • So, how’s it going? • Show me where you are in your writing. • What is the best part? • What can I help you with? • What can you do to help yourself? • What do you think your next step will be?

Setting up your conferring notebook

• 90 page spiral notebook • Add tabs (one for each student) • Write student names on the tabs (I will wait until school

starts because my class list always changes). I like to keep the tabs in alphabetic order.

• Paperclip the conference schedule to the front page. • Schedule students in pencil so they can be rearranged if

needed.

• Tape or glue the writing continuum if you feel it would help you in identifying writing behaviors.

I used Post-it Filing Tabs. You can write on them and they are repositionable.

Our

writing

st

amina Da

tes

Minutes

Awes

ome

Writing

! P

leas

e Sh

are!

Awes

ome

Writing

! P

leas

e Sh

are!

Awes

ome

Writing

! P

leas

e Sh

are!

Writing

Par

tner

s

Part

ner

A

Part

ner

B

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My

Writing

Nam

e:

___________________

Date

s:

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Kinde

rgar

ten

Writing

Nam

e:

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Date

s:

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1st G

rade

Writing

Nam

e:

___________________

Date

s:

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2nd Gra

de

Writing

Nam

e:

___________________

Date

s:

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Dear

Par

ents

. We

have

jus

t finish

ed o

ur f

ifth

writing

unit

on in

form

ationa

l o

r “A

ll Abo

ut” bo

oks. D

uring

this p

ast

mon

th w

e ha

ve c

ontinu

ed o

ur w

ork

with

mak

ing

book

s. S

tude

nts

prac

tice

d writing

abo

ut t

hing

s th

ey k

new a

lot

ab

out.

We

cont

inue

d ou

r st

udy

in t

elling

our

mes

sage

thr

ough

pictu

res

and

thro

ugh

wor

ds. We

stud

ied

the

wor

k of

oth

er a

utho

rs a

nd illu

stra

tors

who

wro

te in

form

ationa

l te

xts. W

e lear

ned

that

write

rs o

rgan

ize

their

wor

k in a

way

tha

t mak

es s

ense

. We

also

loo

ked

at s

ome

of

the

text

fea

ture

s th

at a

re s

een

in in

form

ationa

l bo

oks.

We

cont

inue

d ou

r wor

k on

str

etch

ing

out

unkn

own

wor

ds. W

e pr

actice

d ou

r ne

w s

trat

egy

to h

elp

us f

igur

e ou

t multi-s

yllable

wor

ds,

as w

ell as

, writing

our

wor

d wall wor

ds.

Enj

oy y

our

little

auth

or’s h

ard

wor

k!

And

rem

embe

r... We

lear

n to

write

by

writing

! Sinc

erely,

Pape

r ch

oice

Multiple

pape

r ch

oice

s ar

e av

ailable.

This

unit f

ocus

es o

n pe

rsua

sive

tex

ts, bu

t yo

u st

uden

ts m

ight

also

wan

t to

write

in

othe

r ge

nres

. The

refo

re, multiple

pape

r op

tion

s ar

e av

ailable.

The

se f

orms

will b

e us

ed t

o mak

e bo

oks. S

imple

copy

the

boo

k pa

ges

(4-5

pag

es) an

d st

aple t

hem b

ehind

the

book

cov

er. Mak

e yo

ur b

ooks

hea

d of

time.

Stud

ents

can

add

pag

es o

r re

mov

e un

used

pag

es. St

uden

t will w

ait

until th

eir

book

is

almos

t co

mplet

ed

to a

dd t

he t

able o

f co

nten

ts.

Book

Cov

er

Tab

le o

f Co

nten

ts

By ______________________________________________

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le o

f Co

nten

ts

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writing through the year unit aligned with common core

Documents

barbara soloff levy

emily rose townsend

naming text features

polar bear decided

consonant letter sounds

yesterdays writing workshop

syllable words conventionally

generate ideas list