Writing - Robbinsville Public School District

Fourth Grade 

Writing: Launching the Writing Workshop With Personal Narratives 

and Writer’s Notebooks Robbinsville Unit of Study 

Teacher Note 

Why: 

This unit launches fourth graders into using their writer’s notebooks as an indispensable tool for living writerly lives and as 

workbenches for experimenting with different strategies. If this is the first time your students are keeping a writer’s notebook, 

you’ll want to support them in learning to use their notebooks as a place to collect lots of quick-write narrative entries as 

opposed to fully written stories or diary or journal entries, and you’ll notice that there are mini-lessons to help you do that. 

The writing workshop is a perfect structure for fourth grade writers to live within, considering they will also be living with a 

reading workshop too! Writers will take an active role in their growth as authors, sharing events from their lives through 

sketches and narratives. Another purpose is to establish the routines and expectations of writing workshop. These routines 

will help develop habits that will build student confidence and independence, so that you will be able to work individually and 

in small groups with students knowing that the rest of the class is engaged constructively with their writing. Please embark 

upon this adventure with your fourth grade authors, helping them to live like writers from the first day of school. 

Community Building: 

It is important to establish routines and expectations to establish a productive community that is predictable, respectful, and 

nurturing. In such a community, students are accountable to themselves and to each other ensuring that everyone has the 

opportunity to do their best work and grow as writers. Community building should be woven throughout the day at the 

beginning of the year to establish a solid foundation that will minimize management issues later in the year and set the tone 

for writing work to come. 

“The creation of a supportive learning community is a pivotal factor for students’ academic success. The creation of our 

learning communities does not come easily at the start of the school year, and once created, strong communities require 

constant nurturing and upkeep. If our community weakens, and students no longer feel safe in the classroom environment or 

no longer believe that their ideas will be treated with respect, they will not continue to risk sharing their thinking.” –Maria 

Nichols 

To build community, you may decide to devote some time to learning about children’s histories as writers, using the 

suggested mini-lessons. Ask children to bring writing from home, to jot about times in their lives when writing has been a 

particularly good thing, or to think over what it is they need from a writing partner. Use the information to help you plan 

together for how writing will go in your classroom. 

Homework: 

Fourth grade marks the first time students will carry their notebooks between home and school. Prior to fourth grade, all 

writing (except for finishing a draft or creating a final copy for publishing) is done at school. Lucy Calkins (2006) helps us be 

strategic about supporting the home-school writing connection. She writes, “Certainly by the time children are in fourth 

grade, the writers’ notebooks need to travel between home and school, with children writing entries in them every night at 

home as well as in school. If you need to spend a week or two inducting children into the ritual of carrying their notebooks to 

home and then back again to school, you may want to start the year off with a Writer’s Notepad (perhaps made by stapling 

some pages together). These can be disassembled at the end of a week, with pages taped into the writers’ notebooks. Act as if 

it is crucial that children remember to bring these notepads between home and school so you use them as a way to induct 

children into the very important habit of carrying both writers’ notebooks and reading books back and forth between home 

and school. Of course, before long, children should be able to carry notebooks themselves between home and school without 

there being a great risk that they’ll leave them at home. By using evenings as well as school-time as a time for gathering 

entries, this should double the volume of writing that children do in their notebooks—a worthy goal!” 

You’ll see the code HW in Teaching Points with ideas for how to extend the writing into homework options. Many of the 

homework ideas are from the CD-ROM that accompanies Calkins’ Units of Study and the reference code is given so that you 

can print and adapt her homework assignments for use with your students. Remember, homework is ALWAYS for 

reinforcing what was already taught and done well by students in the classroom. Homework is NOT a place to assign new 

Robbinsville School District page 1

Fourth Grade 

learning. Homework assignment should also be in response to what evolves each day in the classroom. Therefore, homework 

suggestions are not given for every day of the Unit of Study. 

Immersion: 

Before expecting the students to write personal narratives, it is wise to immerse them in the sound of mentor personal 

narratives through read aloud and shared reading with a focus first on comprehension. Then encourage students to talk about 

what they notice about characteristics of the personal narrative genre, what they notice writers doing with language, and how 

the stories are written. 

When considering approaches of effective instruction to immerse your students in the writing work of this unit, you will lean 

heavily on oral storytelling, shared writing, and modeled writing. Students will see how their oral storytelling and writer’s 

craft take form on paper through whole-group shared writing around shared-class experiences. It is also important to continue 

to consider the reading and writing connection, helping our fourth graders to see themselves as capable as their favorite 

mentor text authors (see suggested mentor texts). 

Modeled Writing and Shared Writing of a Whole Class Text: 

Through every phase of the writing process, students need to see writing modeled and participate in the co-creation of writing, 

watching how writing unfolds, changes, and grows over time. Therefore, you are encouraged to compose a personal narrative 

as part of your mini-lessons, taking your writing from collecting through to publishing. Sometimes your decision will be to 

use modeled writing because your students need ample support. Other times your decision will be to have the students help 

you compose your writing through shared writing because your students are ready to take on more of the work. You’ll notice 

MW-SW on nearly every Teaching Point. 

Assessment: 

During this unit you will assess each writer in your class formally and informally. You will be determining each student’s 

strengths as writers, noticing not only what letter/sound/word and grammar knowledge they have but also what they like to 

write about. You may want to consider administering a development spelling assessment to determine their spelling strengths 

and areas of need. This assessment data will help you better understand the strengths, needs, and interests of the writers in 

your class. The data also helps you think about the upcoming lessons while reflecting on your particular students. 

Writing Workshop Structure: 

The structure of writing workshop is designed to provide all students with grade level content while providing each student 

with the resources and instruction to practice writing true narratives from their lives. After the mini-lesson, the students will 

go off to their table (or writing spot) and write independently in their writer’s notebooks or on looseleaf paper, depending on 

where they are in the writing process. 

You’ll notice a new 3-minute structure within the Intermediate Writing Workshop that is not explicitly part of the Primary 

Writing Workshop called “Reread and Revise.” 

Whole group Minilesson (5-10 minutes): (Planning forms available on the Literacy Forum) 

Connect 

Teach 

Active Engagement 

Link 

Independent Writing Time (20-35 minutes): 

Beginning in this unit we are helping students build stamina by collecting many entries and gradually increasing the 

number of minutes they write independently during the year from 20 minutes to 35 minutes. Students maintain focus 

while writing independently. During independent writing, the teacher’s role is to confer, assess, and teach strategy or 

small group component lessons in order to support all students with individual progress. 

Mid-Workshop Interruption (1-2 minutes): 

This minute or two interruption is a perfect opportunity to refocus your writers, reminding them of the minilesson strategy 

and how they could be incorporating it into their writing. The mid-workshop interruption can fall anywhere within the 

independent writing time. Many teachers pause their writers for this reminder when they sense that their writers’ stamina 


Fourth Grade 

is waning. Because you will be conferring or pulling small groups while students are writing independently, you may also 

choose to share new learning or an experience from that work with the rest of the class that may enhance their writing. 

Reread and Revise (3 minutes): 

At the end of independent writing time, before students shift to working in partners, provide students with three minutes to 

reread and revise their writing everyday. Remind students to hold themselves accountable for applying the strategies you 

are teaching about: 

spelling words on the word wall correctly 

writing legibly for an audience 

using already taught grammar and punctuation rules 

and, making sure their writing makes sense. 

Partner Time (5-10 minutes): 

Students reread their writing or talk to a partner about their writing work. This time is a wonderful way to continue 

strengthening your community through oral discourse. Writers will work with partners during the collecting, choosing, 

developing, revising, and editing phases of the writing process within this unit of study. Consider adding in the option of 

a “silent share.” Prior to the day’s independent writing, let students know that rather than reading to their partners, they 

will swap notebooks or looseleaf paper (depending on the phase of the writing process). Remind students that in order for 

their partners to read their writing, they will need to try to use conventional spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and 

legible handwriting. 

Whole-Group Share (5 minutes): 

Students return to the carpeted meeting area. The teacher calls attention to students who demonstrated the targeted 

writing strategy. Celebrate successes; validate efforts. This is also a good time to talk about how the routines enabled or 

hindered students’ ability to grow as writers. It is critical that the share within the writing workshop is nurtured by the 

teacher and student, very specifically stating how they took on the work of the mini-lesson that day within their writing. 

The purpose of the share is not to have students sit in an “author’s chair” and read their writing from the day. This will 

occur with all students during the celebration at the end of the unit of study. 

Celebration: 

Small moment narratives should be read aloud as part of the celebration. Small moment narratives are fairly short, but not 

short enough for every student to read aloud to the whole class. Instead, consider breaking the students into groups of six. 

They can arrange their chairs in a tight circle or sit on the floor together, with some groups in the classroom and other 

groups in the hall or breezeway. Small moment narratives will likely appeal to family and loved ones since they may be 

characters in the narratives or were there when the significant moment occurred. But since this is the first publishing 

celebration of the year, you and your students may not be ready for a grand celebration of their first attempts at publishing. 

Perhaps keeping it simple and celebrating as a class may make more sense than inviting lots of guests. You decide. Just be 

sure to let students know when they begin to draft their pieces who their audience will be at the celebration so that they can 

write with that audience in mind. 

Possible Small Group Instruction: 

Strategy Lessons 

o Re-teaching for students that need a quick review of a minilesson strategy, based on previous data from your 

conferring notes. 

o Nurturing writers in a single session that are ready for more sophisticated strategies based on previous data 

from your conferring notes. 

Small group component lessons (a string of lessons that can be approached through components of effective 

instruction…shared writing, interactive writing (if necessary) , word study, oral storytelling, read aloud, shared 

reading) 

o Re-teaching for students that need several (4-6) review sessions of a minilesson strategy, based on previous 

data from your conferring notes. 

o Nurturing writers in a strand of sessions (4-6) that are ready for more sophisticated strategies based on 

previous data from your conferring notes. 


Fourth Grade 

Glossary of Terms: 

Oral Storytelling: Teacher and students retell shared-class experiences in a sequenced oral narrative as a whole group. 

Scene: A scene is the smallest bit of fiction that contains the essential elements of story. Stories aren’t built from words and 

sentences and paragraphs. Instead, stories are built of scenes, one after the next, and each changing something that came 

before, all moving the story forward. The concept of a scene in fiction comes from theater, where it describes the action that 

takes place in a single setting. Writers should have a goal to accomplish with each scene because each scene gives a story life, 

movement, and excitement by containing the element of change. 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

Writers function in the routines of the workshop, navigating tools with efficiency and independence. 

Writers understand the purpose of and engage successfully in each phase of the writing process. 

Writers understand that the writer’s notebook is a tool for collecting entries, finding seed ideas, and 

developing ideas. 

Writers collect narratives generated from times in their lives representing a variety of topic choices. 

Writers learn to come out of their notebooks to draft a personal narrative with characters, setting, and plot 

based on a seed idea found in collected entries and developed and planned in their notebooks. 

Writers organize their writing using a logical organizational structure. 

Writers demonstrate a developing control in the area of conventions and accuracy: 

• Writing includes word wall words, words appearing on class charts, and words in personal tricky word 

lists written accurately. 

• Dialogue is written with conventional dialogue punctuation. 

• Ideas are formed into paragraphs. 

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts 

Reading Standards Literature: 

RL 4.3 

Reading Standards Foundational Skills 

RF 4.3, 4 

Writing Standards K-5 

W 4.3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 

Speaking and Listening 

SL 4.1 

Language Standards 

L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 6 

21 st Century Skills: 

Creativity and Innovation Critical thinking and Problem Solving 

Communication 

Collaboration 

Writing Process 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COLLECTING CHOOSING DEVELOPING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING 

POSSIBLE MENTOR TEXTS 

The Paper Boy by Dave Pilkey 

Whistling by Elizabeth Partridge 

“A Play” from Childtimes by Eloise Greenfield 

The Leaving Morning by Angela Johnson 

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman 

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson 

TEACHER RESOURCE TEXTS 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

Launching the Writing Workshop by Lucy Calkins and 

Marjorie Martinelli *book one from Lucy Calkins and 

Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and Writing 

Project. Units of Study for Teaching Writing: Grades 3-5. 

(2006). 

Writing Fundamentals 2-3 Launching Unit Overview by 

Schoolwide, Inc. (2008). 

How’s It Going A Practical Guide to Conferring With 

Student Writers. Carl Anderson. (2000). 

Assessing Writers. Carl Anderson. (2005). 


Fourth Grade 

 

 

 

 

 

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams 

The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant 

Do Like Kyla by Angela Johnson 

The Longest Wait by Marie Bradby 

Sweet, Sweet Memory by Jacqueline Woodson 

 

 

 

The Art of Teaching Writing. Lucy McCormick Calkins. 

(1994). 

A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You. 

Ralph Fletcher. (1996) 

The Continuum of Literacy Learning: Grades K-8: Behaviors 

and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support by Gay Su 

Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas. (2007). 

 

Jalepeno Bagels by Natasha Wing 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

Suggested approaches are listed within these lessons. RA=Read Aloud, SR=Shared Reading, ML=Mini lesson, 

SW=Shared Writing, MW=Modeled Writing, and OS=Oral Storytelling. Teaching points where a mini lesson is not 

suggested are not expected to be mastered independently at this grade level. Finally, all immersion decisions are made 

by the teacher based on the needs of the students. 

1. Assess students using 

writing narrative prompt. 

HW-Decorate your 

writer’s notebook with 

artifacts from your life. 

2. Rehearse expectations for 

mini-lesson (Decorate/share 

notebook). 

Identify qualities and define 

purpose for personal 

narratives by investigating 

mentor text. 

3. Rehearse expectations 

for independent 

writing/share (Create a heart 

map). 

Generate by using ideas 

from notebook cover. 

4. Rehearse expectations 

for partner work. 

Generate personal 

narrative entries by 

thinking of a person, 

place, or thing and 

listing moments. 

ML 

ML 

ML 

HW – Choose another 

person, place or thing 

from your lists to write an 

entry off of. 

5. Set goals for stamina 

by writing fast for a given 

time period (10 minutes) 

and measuring 

productivity. (Choose 

another idea from any 

previous strategy.) 

ML 

6. Generate personal narrative 

entries by thinking of turning 

points (best times, worst 

times, lessons learned, or 

favorites) or strong feelings 

and moments. 

Revising to blend two lessons 

ML 

7. Raise the quality of 

personal narratives by 

creating a timeline to zoom 

in and focus on a small 

moment. 

ML 

8. Develop stories by 

helping the readers see, 

feel, hear, and experience 

their stories. Writers 

include the true, exact 

details from the movie 

they have in their heads. 

ML 

9. Writers learn their role 

in a writing conference by 

observing a fishbowl 

writing conference, 

identifying roles and 

expectations then 

rehearsing with a partner. 

HW- Choose another idea 

from any previous strategy to 

write an entry off of 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you writing about What are special people, places, and things in your life that you could write stories 

about 

Tell me about your history as a writer. What could you write about that we just discussed 

What strategies are you using to generate more entries 

How are you making sure you are staying focused when you write long 

What makes this idea important in your life 

Have you made sure all of the words on the word wall are spelled correctly in your narrative 

What strategy are you using to increase your stamina and get more writing done 

How are you working with your partner Did your partner’s advice help you How How were you inspired by 

your partner’s collection of narratives How are you preparing your writing to be read by your partner 

What movie do you see in your mind What details can you add to your writing to help me see the same movie 

when I read your words 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategies for Generating Personal Narrative Writing: 

Look at artifacts that are special in your life and write the stories that come to mind. 

Think of a person who matters to you, then list clear important moments you remember with 

him or her. Choose one to sketch and then write the accompanying story. 

Think of a place that matters to you, then list clear, memorable moments you remember 

there. Choose one to sketch and then write the accompanying story. 

Notice an object, and let that object spark a memory. Write the story of that one time. 

Qualities of Good Personal Narrative Writing 

Write a little seed story; don’t write all about a giant watermelon topic. 

Zoom in so you can tell the most important parts of the story. 

Include true, exact details from the movie you have in your mind. 

 

 

 

 

 

During writing conferences, writers talk about… 

What they think about how their writing is going 

What they are working on as a writer 

Strategies they are working on at the moment 

Areas where they need support 

Plans for improving as a writer 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHIN 

G POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 





10. Writers select a seed idea by rereading entries and 

writing an entry about why you are choosing this idea 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

HW-Storytelling over and over. Retell your story again to 

yourself. Then tell it to your parent or to your friend. 

Think about your story, too. Stories get much better if we 

play them over in our minds…try to tell them in ways that 

really affect listeners and readers. Do you want to make 

people shiver, worry, laugh aloud, gasp, or wince Try 

telling the story so that you make listeners feel whatever it 

is you want them to feel. (Calkins 1-6-A) 

 

 

 

Have you reread all of your entries 

Which idea or entry is important enough to you to develop into a published piece 

Which ideas or entries did you decide not to consider and why 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Writers choose a seed idea (or entry) by asking themselves: 

• Of all of the entries I’ve written, is there one idea (or entry) that says the most about my 

life or me 

• Which one idea would be worthy of developing and publishing 

• Which one idea would really interest the reader 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 

COLLECTING CHOOSING DEVELOPING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 


SW=Shared Writing, MW =Modeled Writing, and OS=Oral Storytelling. Teaching points where a mini lesson is 

not suggested are not expected to be mastered independently at this grade level. Finally, all immersion decisions are 

made by the teacher based on the needs of the students. 

11. Plan personal narrative 

by plotting on a timeline and 

storytelling (Beginningmiddle-middle-middle-end) 

HW-Develop stories by 

creating a pictorial timeline 

to develop a well-structured 

small moment that consists 

of scenes (B-M-M-M-E) 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Did you tellsketchwrite your narrative with a B-M-M-M-E structure If not, how could you 

reorganize your pictorial timeline to make your small moment narrative more sequenced 

How did your partner help you develop your scenes 

Which author’s language are you mentoring your writing on 

How did storytelling help you bring your story to life 

How did you bring your writing to life with sensory details 

Pictorial Timeline 

B 

(Sketch) 

M 

(Sketch) 

M 

(Sketch) 

M 

(Sketch) 

E 

(Sketch) 

Caption Caption Caption Caption Caption 

Sensory Details Sensory Details Sensory Details Sensory Details Sensory Details 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

Suggested approaches are listed within these lessons. RA=Read Aloud, SR=Shared Reading, ML=Mini 

lesson, SW=Shared Writing, MW=Modeled Writing, and OS=Oral Storytelling. Teaching points where a 

mini lesson is not suggested are not expected to be mastered independently at this grade level. Finally, all 

immersion decisions are made by the teacher based on the needs of the students. 

12. Draft personal narrative by storytelling and 

writing long and fast. 

(Day 1) 

13. Draft personal narrative by storytelling and 


(Day 2) 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS When you story-told, you brought the story to life using descriptive language and details. How are 

you going to bring your draft to life 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Using a chart paper that looks like the looseleaf paper students are using for their drafts, create an example 

of how a draft should look (page numbered, skipped lines, paragraph indentations, etc). 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 





14. Revise by using mentor 

texts to craft leads that 

include dialogue, though, 

feeling, or action. 

HW-Type draft and 

revisions 

15. Revise by using 

mentor texts to bring 

narratives to a 

resolution that leaves an 

impression on the 

reader. 


revisions 

16. Revise by 

restructuring into 

paragraphs. 


revisions 

17. Revise by adding 

details through twin 

sentences (thoughts, 

dialogue, actions, and 

feelings). 


revisions 

ML 

ML 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

Which sensory details can you add to help the reader see, hear, and feel the scene 

Which lead do you think will capture your reader’s attention and match the style of your small 

moment personal narrative 

Which ending do you think will bring your story to a strong resolution 

What were you thinking in your head (internal dialogue) or saying out loud (external dialogue) that 

can be added to this scene How are you going to incorporate that into your piece 

How did you decide to group your ideas together into paragraphs 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Writers use mentor texts to craft engaging beginnings or leads 

Title of Mentor Text Kind of lead Language from text 

Small action 

External Dialogue 

Setting 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qualities of Good Personal Narrative Writing 

Write a little seed story; don’t write all about a giant watermelon topic. 

Zoom in so you can tell the most important parts of the story. 

Include true, exact details from the movie you have in your mind. 

Begin with a strong lead – maybe action, setting, dialogue, or a combination, which creates a mood. 

Make a strong ending – maybe use important actions, dialogue, images, and whole-story reminders 

that make a lasting impression. 

When to Use Paragraphs in Narrative Writing 

New character comes along 

New event happens; new idea is introduced 

New setting 

New person speaking 

Time moves forward (or backward) a lot 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


Suggested approaches are listed within these lessons. RA=Read Aloud, SR=Shared 

Reading, ML=Mini lesson, SW=Shared Writing, MW=Modeled Writing, and 

OS=Oral Storytelling. Teaching points where a mini lesson is not suggested are 

not expected to be mastered independently at this grade level. Finally, all 


18. Edit by 

applying rules for 

capitalization, 

ending punctuation, 

and spelling. 

19. Edit by applying rules 

for quotation marks. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

Revising to blend 

3 lessons 


revisions 


revisions 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

How did you edit your personal narrative 

How did you choose where to place punctuation in your piece 

Does the punctuation you used show your reader how to read your piece 

Did you double-check that all of the words on the word wall, on class charts, and in your personal tricky word 

list are spelled like a book in your writing 

Did you begin each sentence with a capital letter and capitalize every proper noun 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writers edit their writing by: 

Beginning sentences with capital letters. 

Capitalizing proper nouns. 

Using conventional dialogue punctuation. 

Selecting ending punctuation that conveys the meaning of their small moment personal narrative. 

Making decisions about paragraphing. 

Using book spelling. 

Making sure the small moment narrative makes sense. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 



suggested are not expected to be mastered independently at this grade level. Finally, all immersion decisions are 


20. Generate 

final draft by 

rereading for 

sense 

HW 

~Type draft 

and revisions 

21. Celebrate 

as authors 

during 

Publishing 

Party. 

22. Self-reflect, selfassess, 

and set goals 

as a writer by 

rereading personal 

narrative and 

completing rubric. 

~Create a title 

and cover 

illustration that 

best captures 

the importance 

of their 

personal 

narrative. 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS How did you decide what to illustrate 

Have you practiced reading your writing aloud in preparation of our celebration 

Have you reread your published draft to make sure it makes sense and is legible 

What are you most proud about your small moment personal narrative 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

 

 

 

Writers publish their pieces by… 

Drawing illustrations that capture the importance of their small moment personal narrative 

Copying their writing as neatly as possible 

Rehearsing with attention to accuracy, pacing, and expression 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Lift the Level of Their Narrative Writing 

Robbinsville Unit of Study 

Teacher Note 

“We invest another month of work in personal narrative writing because we know that real progress comes not from 

constantly exposing children to yet another form of writing but from working long enough within one form to help children 

write longer, more significant, more conventional, and more graceful pieces in general.” Calkins & Kesler 

Why: 

This unit is the second consecutive personal narrative unit of study. By revisiting personal narratives, a genre with which 

students are familiar, students can turn their attention to increasing the quality of their writing. In this unit students are 

expected to carry all of the strategies for collecting, choosing, developing, drafting, revising, and editing from the first unit of 

study. They are introduced additional strategies for collecting narrative writing. 

Students begin by rereading, analyzing, and emulating the work of published authors and refer to the mentor texts throughout 

the unit of study. During developing, students lift the level of their writing by considering the structure of the piece to 

highlight the heart of the narrative. They explore writing with an expanded middle and paragraphing to develop the meaning 

of the piece. During revision and editing, students lift the level of their writing by exploring conventions (writing conventions 

include spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure). This unit emphasizes the conventions of sentence 

structure and length and using the appropriate punctuation. 

Immersion: 

You immersed children in the sound of mentor personal narratives through read aloud and shared reading in the first unit of 

study. Revisit those familiar mentors in this unit, so that students can select a mentor author to emulate. You will see the 

same list of mentor texts from the first unit of study, with several additional titles. 

Mentor Text Folders/Binders: 

During the first session, students mentor personal narratives and select the texts that they plan to emulate. Prior to the first 

session, create folders of personal narratives for each table group of students containing multiple copies of mentor texts. (You 

may need to retype the words of the books onto a single sheet of paper so that students have a copy of the text that they can 

mark up as they study it). 

Assessment: 

Use the narratives students published during the first unit of study to determine their strengths and areas of need in this unit. 

Here are a few questions to shape your assessment: 

Do students write about something significant 

Does the writing follow the arc of a story 

Do the narratives have strong leads and endings 

How developed is the main character 

Do students use paragraphs appropriately 

How well do students use commas and vary sentence length 

Writing Workshop Structure: 

Students are still working on building stamina, gradually increasing the number of minutes they write independently during 

the year from 20 minutes to 35 minutes. In addition to conferring with individual writers to provide one-on-one support, 

consider pulling together small groups of students with similar needs for a few minutes of targeted support, especially with 

sentence variation, making decisions about paragraphing, and use of commas. 

Celebration: 

The back-to-back nature of these first two units of study allows students to analyze and evaluate the progress they are making 

as writers. Students use the class’ co-created list of questions to compare and contrast their two published pieces. They 

celebrate by writing a brief description of how they have grown as personal narrative writers. 


Fourth Grade 


Oral Storytelling: Teacher and students retell shared-class experiences in a sequenced oral narrative as a whole group. 

Scene: A scene is the smallest bit of fiction that contains the essential elements of story. Stories aren’t built from words and 

sentences and paragraphs. Instead, stories are built of scenes, one after the next, and each changing something that came 

before, all moving the story forward. The concept of a scene in fiction comes from theater, where it describes the action that 

takes place in a single setting. Writers should have a goal to accomplish with each scene because each scene gives a story life, 

movement, and excitement by containing the element of change. 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

Writers select mentor authors to emulate. 

Writers stay focused on one controlling idea. 

Writers write about significant, emotional moments, the turning points in their lives. 

Writers craft personal narratives that follow the arc of a story using a story mountain. 

Writers develop their writing by using strong leads and endings, and by developing the heart of their narrative. 

Writers lift the level of their writing by developing the internal as well as the external story, and by adding scenes 

from the past or the future. 

Writers use paragraphing to support meaning, structure, and the flow of the narrative. 

Writers demonstrate a developing ability to analyze and evaluate their writing using established criteria and set 

writing goals. 

Writers demonstrate a developing control in the area of conventions and accuracy: 

• Writing includes word wall words, words appearing on class charts, and words in personal tricky word 

lists written accurately. 

• Sentences begin with a capital letter and end with appropriate punctuation. 

• Dialogue is written with conventional dialogue punctuation. 

• Writing includes a variety of sentence structures. 

• Sentences are various lengths. 

• Appropriate comma use. 



RF 4.3,4 

Reading Standards Literature 

RL 4.3 

Writing Standards 

W 4.3, 4, 5, 6, 8,10 


SL 4.1 


L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 



Mentor texts from the Launching Unit of Study 

Whistling by Elizabeth Partridge 

“A Play” from Childtimes by Eloise Greenfield 

Do Like Kyla by Angela Johnson 

The Longest Wait by Marie Bradby 

Sweet, Sweet Memory by Jacqueline Woodson 

Jalepeno Bagels by Natasha Wing 

Several additional titles 

“Eleven” from Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra 

Cisneros 

Your Name in Gold 

“Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” from House 

on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (included in unit) 

Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing by Lucy Calkins and 

Ted Kesler *book two from Lucy Calkins and Colleagues 

from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. 

Units of Study for Teaching Writing: Grades 3-5. (2006). 

Writing Fundamentals 2-3 Launching Unit Overview by 

Schoolwide, Inc. (2008). 




The Art of Teaching Writing. Lucy McCormick Calkins. 

(1994). 

A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You. 

Ralph Fletcher. (1996) 



Fourth Grade 

 

 

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen 

Smoky Night by Eve Bunting 




Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 

COLLECTIN CHOOSING DEVELOPI DRAFTING REVISING EDITING 

P U B L I S H I N G 

AND 

CELEBRATING 





1. Writers improve 

their writing by 

emulating published 

authors. They read 

mentor texts (such as 

“Eleven” by Sandra 

Cisneros, included in 

this unit) and chart the 

writing techniques that 

are worth emulating. 

2. Writers generate 

personal narrative entries 

by reviewing strategies 

learned. 

New: Linda Z. 

3. Day 1: Writers generate 

personal narratives by 

creating a class graffiti wall 

of social issues we face and 

listing moments. 

Use lesson from last year 


personal narratives by listing 

issues, people, and moments. 

(same lesson as day 3 but 

write another entry) 

Barb 

ML 

ML 

5. Writers generate a personal narrative entry by 

thinking about a strong emotion and then thinking 

about specific times associated with that emotion. 

ML 

ML 

Strong 

Emotion 

Hope 

Times when… 

The time when I saw the moving truck 

in the neighbor’s driveway and hoped 

for a new playmate. 

My brother and I hoped and prayed to 

be selected for roles in the summer 

camp play. 

The time when I was hoping that my 

father noticed how I’d changed my 

attitude about playing with my little 

brother. 

Revise old lesson: Donna 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS What qualities do you notice in this mentor text that you could try 

Why are these qualities good 

What makes this moment important in your life 

What is the heart of your story 

What message are you trying to get across to reader 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

 

 

 

Qualities of Personal Narratives 

Writers often write about a seemingly small episode – yet it has big meaning 

for the writer 

Writers often tell the story in such a way that the reader can almost 

experience it from start to finish. It helps to record the exact words a 

character uses 

Writers often convey strong feelings, and they often show rather than tell 

about those feelings 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategies for Generating Personal Narrative Writing: 

Look at artifacts that are special in your life and write the stories that come to mind. 

Think of a person who matters to you, then list clear important moments you remember with him or her. Choose 

one to sketch and then write the accompanying story. 

Think of a place that matters to you, then list clear, memorable moments you remember there. Choose one to 

sketch and then write the accompanying story. 

Notice an object, and let that object spark a memory. Write the story of that one time. 

Think of turning points (first times, last times, or times when you realized something important). Write about 

one of these moments. 

Think of a strong feeling, then list small moment stories pertaining to that feeling. Choose one to sketch and then 

write about. 

Think of issues, then list small moment stories pertaining to that issue. Choose one to sketch and then write 

about. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 





6. Personal narrative writers choose the seed idea that 

really matters, the one they want to develop into a 

published entry, by rereading their entries and asking 

themselves questions and writing a reflection. 

Revise lesson from unit 1: Carol 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

Which idea or entry is important enough to you to develop into a published piece Why 

What are you really trying to say in this story 

What can the reader learn about you and your life from this story 

How did this moment in your life change you 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Writers choose a seed idea (or entry) by asking themselves: 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 


SW=Shared Writing, MW =Modeled Writing, and OS=Oral Storytelling. Teaching points where a mini lesson is not 



7. Day 1: Personal narrative writers develop their seed idea by mapping their story onto a story mountain. 

Climax 

Rising Action 

Falling Action 

Lead 

Resolution 

ML 

Revise lesson: Barb 

8. Day 2: Writers develop personal narratives by 

adding the internal story to their story mountain. 

(thoughts & feelings) 

See lesson 7 

ML 

10. Personal narrative writers develop paragraphs 

to structure their drafts by using their story 

mountains to break up their drafts into at least five 

paragraphs. 

9. Personal narrative writers develop and write leads for 

their stories by studying the leads in mentor texts to name 

and imitate what mentor authors do. 

(see chart below) 

Revise lesson on leads from unit 1: Carol 

ML 

They label five pieces of loose leaf with the scenes 

or events included in their story mountains. 

New lesson: Linda Z. 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

Tell me a little about your character. How will you show that in your story 

Tell me about what you wrote at the climax. How will you slow it down 

What did you discover when you looked at leads that you can use in your writing 

What is the heart of your story What do you want the reader to feel 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS Learning About Leads (Calkins & Kesler, page 85) 

Author’s Lead What the Author Has Done Our Lead, Using the Same 

Technique 

Mama and I stand well back 

from our window, looking 

down. I’m hiding Jasmine, 

my cat. We don’t have lights 

on though it’s almost dark. 

People are rioting in the street 

below. Mama explains about 

rioting. “It can happen when 

people get angry….” (Smoky 

Night, by Eve Bunting, p. 5) 

One summer day, my grandpa 

arrives home with a tiny pig 

on a leash. “Pablito, it’s for 

you,” he says. I am so 

excited. I do not know what 

to say. (My Pig, Amarillo, by 

Satomi Ichikawa, p. 5) 

The first sentence tells who is 

doing what, and then there is a 

comma, followed by a tiny 

explanation of their main 

action. Then the story names 

the circumstance – the rioting 

– that happens around the 

characters. 

The story begins by telling 

when, then with a main 

character doing an action in a 

place, followed by dialogue. 

Then the narrator expresses 

her feelings. 

My classmates and I listened 

to the story, picturing the 

scenes in the book. Hermie’s 

cage was empty. Robert 

pointed out that he’d left a 

trail of shavings. “We can 

follow them.” 

One fall afternoon, my teacher 

read aloud in the meeting 

area. “What’s that noise” I 

whispered. It sounded like 

Hermie. I was nervous. I 

didn’t know what to say. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 





11. Day 1: Writers draft by storytelling and 


12. Day 2: Writers draft by storytelling and writing 

long and fast. 

Teacher note: Have students begin typing 

and save draft to flashdrive. All drafts should 

be printed out and dated. This will help to 

show growth. 

Use lesson from unit 1 

Use lesson from unit 1 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

Which part did you stretch out the most 

Which part do you feel you could add to 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 


lesson, SW=Shared Writing ,MW=Modeled Writing, and OS=Oral Storytelling. Teaching points where a 



13. Writers practice identifying 

the external story (what 

happens) and the internal story 

(the character’s response to and 

feelings and thoughts about 

what happens) in “Eleven” 

(included in unit). 

14. Writers revise their 

writing by rereading their 

drafts and writing the internal 

story where needed. 

15. Writers revise the ending of their 

story to convey what they most want 

to say by linking back to the top of 

their story mountain and rewriting the 

ending to show the heart of the story. 

See chart: Questions to Ask While 

Revising Endings 

New Lesson: Carol 

ML 

New Lesson: Barb 

ML 

New Lesson: Donna 

ML 

16. Day 1: (Optionalchallenge) 

Writers practice 

identifying how writers add 

scenes from the past and future 

by studying “Papa Who Wakes 

Up Tired in the Dark” (included 

in unit) and creating a timeline 

of events. 

17. Day 2: 

18. Writers revise sentence structure 

by investigating mentor text and 

applying the strategies to their piece. 

(see chart below) 

New Lesson: Linda Z. 

ML 

New lesson: Barb 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

Looking at your story mountain, where is it important to share the internal story 

Which other endings did you consider aside from this one 

How does your ending tie back to the idea at the top of your story mountain 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

 

 

 

 

 

Questions to Ask While Revising Endings 

(adapted from pages 138-141, Calkins & Kesler) 

What is my story really about 

What was I wanting or struggling to achieve or reaching towards in my story 

How does that story end 

What is it I want to say to my readers about this struggle, this journey 

How can I bring the story to some resolution to show the lessons learned 

Internal and External Story Using Eleven 

I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and eraser as far 

away from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. [external] 

Not mine, not mine, not mine. [internal] 

In my head I’m thinking how long till lunchtime, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw it over the 

schoolyard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the alley. 

[internal] 

Except when math period ends Mrs. Price says loud and in front of everybody, “Now, Rachel…” [external] 


Fourth Grade 

Writers Use Mentor Texts to Vary Their Sentence Length and Structure 

Title Language from text What we notice A strategy to try 

Five Dollars 

(in 

Childtimes) 

by Eloise 

Greenfield 

By now, if I told her, it would be 

like confessing. By now, I feel 

as though I stole it. I didn’t 

though. I’ll tell her. I’ll just 

casually tell her. (I can’t. I’ve 

tried.) 

Repeating “by now” 

makes it sound like 

she’s giving excuses. 

Lots of short sentence 

starting with “I” 

makes the character 

Using short 

sentences can feel 

choppy, exciting, 

nervous. 

A Play (in 

Childtimes) 

by Eloise 

Greenfield 

Come On, 

Rain! by 

Karen Hess 

Come On, 

Rain! by 

Karen Hess 

I used to slide down in my chair 

and stare at my desk while the 

teacher was giving out the parts, 

so she wouldn’t pay any 

attention to me, but this time it 

didn’t work. She called on me 

anyway. 

I stare out over rooftops, past 

chimneys, into the way off 

distance. And that’s when I see 

it coming, gray clouds rolling in, 

gray clouds, bunched and 

bulging under a purple sky. 

Is there thunder” Mamma asks. 

“No thunder,” I say. 

“Is there lightning” Mamma 

asks. 

“No lightning,” Jackie-Joyce 

says. 

“You stay where I can find you,” 

Mamma says. 

“We will,” I say. 

“Go on then,” Mamma says, 

lifting the glass to her lips to 

take a sip. 

seem nervous. 

The very long 

sentence helps us 

picture the character 

and feel how slowly 

time passed for her as 

she hoped she 

wouldn’t get called on. 

The long sentences 

help us see what the 

character sees and 

brings the clouds to 

life. 

The short sentences in 

the dialogue help build 

excitement 

Using a long 

sentence can 

stretch out a 

moment. 

Using a long 

sentence can help 

describe 

something fully. 

Short sentences in 

dialogue can help 

build excitement. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 





19. Writers study how commas are used to improve their 

piece by reading aloud parts of mentor texts, talking 

about the role of the comma, and filling out a chart. 

20. Writers reread their drafts for proper capitalization 

making sure proper nouns and the beginnings of 

sentences are capitalized. 

Examples of 

commas 

What does the 

comma do 

Using the 

comma in my 

writing 

 

See lesson from unit 1 on capitalization& 

spelling* 

New lesson: Barb 

ML 

Combine with lesson 21 if your kids are capitalizing 

21. ML Writers correct their spelling by doublechecking 

for correct spelling on tricky word lists. 

22. Writers apply rules for using quotation marks by 

comparing how they wrote dialogue with how 

published writers write dialogue, and then making 

changes. 

New Lesson: Donna 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

What did you discover about commas from studying mentor authors that you can apply to your 

writing 

How did you edit your personal narrative 

Show me where you used commas and tell me why. 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS Examples of Commas What Does the Comma Do Using the Comma in My Writing 

“For one minute, three minutes, Commas make you think about I saw three, seven, a million mitts 

maybe even a hundred minutes, we 

stared at one another.” (Owl Moon) 

what goes in between other things 

happening. 

piled on the shelves. 

“If you go owling, you have to be 

quiet, that’s what Pa always says.” 

(Owl Moon) 

“A farm dog answered the train, and 

then a second dog joined in.” (Owl 

Moon) 

Calkins & Kesler, pg. 150 

Commas mean ‘stop,’ but not all the 

way. 

Commas mean that’s one part of it, 

but there’s another part coming up. 

I hated her, but she was still my 

sister. 

There was pink frosting, rainbow 

candles, and a plastic ballerina with 

a silver skirt. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writers edit their writing by: 

Beginning sentences with capital letters. 

Capitalizing proper nouns. 

Using conventional dialogue punctuation. 

“Where are you going” asked my sister. 

My mother yelled, “Please watch where you are going!” 

“I’m in my bedroom,” I replied. 

“We were about to leave the house,” my mother explained, “when we saw the bug 

crawling on the wall.” 

Selecting ending punctuation that conveys the meaning of their personal narrative. 

Making decisions about paragraphing. 

Using tricky words list. 

Making sure the personal narrative makes sense. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 





23. Writers publish their drafts by making final 

edits and typing corrections. 

24. Writers title their pieces with words that hold importance for 

themselves and will be interesting to their readers by emulating 

mentor texts. 

Working day- no lesson plan 

Suggestion: Have students partner edit with two 

different partners. 

Title 

Salt Hands 

Come On, 

Rain! 

Nothing Ever 

Happens on 

90 th Street 

Importance 

She held out salt for the deer to lick 

off of her hands. Makes the reader 

curious to find out more about the 

unusual idea of salt hands. 

The characters want it to rain so badly 

to relieve them of the heat. Karen 

Hesse repeats, “Come on, rain!” four 

times during the story. 

Though the character thinks nothing 

ever happens on her street, she comes 

to learn that if she’s observant, much 

is happening on her street. 

New lesson: Linda Z. 

ML 

ML 

24. Writers reflect by writing a brief description 

of the growth they’ve made as writers and then 

setting goals. 

25. Writers celebrate their personal narratives and give feedback 

to other writers. 

New lesson: Carol 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

ML 

How did you decide on the title you selected 

How has your writing improved since the first personal narrative you wrote 

What are your goals for future growth as a writer 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Questions for Analyzing and Evaluating Growth 

Compare and contrast your two personal narratives. 

1. How do you feel you’ve grown as a writer 

2. Compare how you developed the significance, the heart of the story, in each narrative. 

3. What are your goals for your future writing 


Fourth Grade 

“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros from House on Mango Street 

What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re 

also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. And when 

you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you don’t. You open your eyes and 

everything’s just like yesterday, only it’s today. And you don’t feel eleven at all. You feel like you’re still 

ten. And you are—underneath the year that makes you eleven. 

Like some days you might say something stupid, and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some 

days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five. 

And maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s 

okay. That’s what I tell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. Maybe she’s feeling three. 

Because the way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside a tree trunk or like my little 

wooden dolls that fit one inside the other, each year inside the next one. That’s how being eleven years old 

is. 

You don’t feel eleven. Not right away. It takes a few days, weeks even, sometimes even months before you 

say Eleven when they ask you. And you don’t feel smart eleven, not until you’re almost twelve. That’s the 

way it is. 

Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box. 

Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have 

known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk. I would’ve known how to tell her it 

wasn’t mine instead of just sitting there with that look on my face and nothing coming out of my mouth. 

“Whose is this” Mrs. Price says, and she holds the red sweater up in the air for all the class to see. 

“Whose It’s been sitting in the coatroom for a month.” 

“Not mine,” says everybody. “Not me.” 

“It has to belong to somebody, ”Mrs. Price keeps saying, but nobody can remember. It’s an ugly sweater 

with red plastic buttons and a collar and sleeves all stretched out like you could use it for a jump rope. It’s 

maybe a thousand years old and even if it belonged to me I wouldn’t say so. 

Maybe because I’m skinny, maybe because she doesn’t like me, that stupid Sylvia Saldivar says, “I think it 

belongs to Rachel.” An ugly sweater like that all raggedy and old, but Mrs. Price believes her. Mrs. Price 

takes the sweater and puts it right on my desk, but when I open my mouth nothing comes out. 

“That’s not, I don’t, you’re not…Not mine.” I finally say in a little voice that was maybe me when I was 

four. 

“Of course it’s yours, ”Mrs. Price says. “ I remember you wearing it once.” Because she’s older and the 

teacher, she’s right and I’m not. 

Not mine, not mine, not mine, but Mrs. Price is already turning to page thirty-two, and math problem 

number four. I don’t know why but all of a sudden I’m feeling sick inside, like the part of me that’s three 

wants to come out of my eyes, only I squeeze them shut tight and bite down on my teeth real hard and try 


Fourth Grade 

to remember today I am eleven, eleven. Mama is making a cake for me for tonight, and when Papa comes 

home everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you. 

But when the sick feeling goes away and I open my eyes, the red sweater’s still sitting there like a big red 

mountain. I move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and books and 

eraser as far from it as possible. I even move my chair a little to the right. Not mine, not mine, not mine. In 

my head I’m thinking how long till lunchtime, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw it over the 

schoolyard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the 

alley. Except when math period ends Mrs. Price says loud and in front of everybody, “Now, Rachel, that’s 

enough, ”because she sees I’ve shoved the red sweater to the tippy-tip corner of my desk and it’s hanging 

all over the edge like a waterfall, but I don’t care. 

“Rachel, ”Mrs. Price says. She says it like she’s getting mad. “You put that sweater on right now and no 

more nonsense.” 

“But it’s not –“ 

“Now!” Mrs. Price says. 

This is when I wish I wasn’t eleven because all the years inside of me—ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, 

four, three, two, and one—are pushing at the back of my eyes when I put one arm through one sleeve of the 

sweater that smells like cottage cheese, and then the other arm through the other and stand there with my 

arms apart like if the sweater hurts me and it does, all itchy and full of germs that aren’t even mine. 

That’s when everything I’ve been holding in since this morning, since when Mrs. Price put the sweater on 

my desk, finally lets go, and all of a sudden I’m crying in front of everybody. I wish I was invisible but I’m 

not. I’m eleven and it’s my birthday today and I’m crying like I’m three in front of everybody. I put my 

head down on the desk and bury my face in my stupid clown-sweater arms. My face all hot and spit 

coming out of my mouth because I can’t stop the little animal noises from coming out of me until there 

aren’t any more tears left in my eyes, and it’s just my body shaking like when you have the hiccups, and 

my whole head hurts like when you drink milk too fast. 

But the worst part is right before the bell rings for lunch. That stupid Phyllis Lopez, who is even dumber 

than Sylvia Saldivar, says she remembers the red sweater is hers. I take it off right away and give it to her, 

only Mrs. Price pretends like everything’s okay. 

Today I’m eleven. There’s a cake Mama’s making for tonight and when Papa comes home from work we’ll 

eat it. There’ll be candles and presents and everybody will sing Happy birthday, happy birthday to you, 

Rachel, only it’s too late. 

I’m eleven today. I’m eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one, but I wish I was 

one hundred and two. I wish I was anything but eleven. Because I want today to be far away already, far 

away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny—tiny you have to close your eyes to see it. 


Fourth Grade 

“Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in the Dark” by Sandra Cisneros from House on Mango Street 

Your abuelito is dead, Papa says early one morning in my room. Está muerto, and then as if he 

just heard the news himself, crumples like a coat and cries, my brave Papa cries. I have never 

seen my Papa cry and don’t know what to do. 

I knew he will have to go away, that he will take a plane to Mexico, all the uncles and aunts will 

be there, and they will have a black and white photo taken in front of the tomb with flowers 

shaped like spears in a white vase because this is how they send the dead away in that country. 

Because I am the oldest, my father has told me first, and now it is my turn to tell the others. I 

will have to explain why we can’t play. I will have to tell them to be quiet today. 

My Papa, his thick hands and thick shoes, who wakes up tired in the dark, who combs his hair 

with water, drinks his coffee, and is gone before we wake, today is sitting on my bed. 

And I think if my own Papa died what would I do. I hold my Papa in my arms. I hold and hold 

and hold him. 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Write Personal Essay 


Teacher Note 

Why: 

This unit of study is designed to help students continue to learn to write within the expository structure of personal 

essay. An essay is non-narrative, meaning it is does not involve telling a story. The purpose of an essay, according 

to Margaret Mooney, is “to explain, explore, or argue ideas on a single topic.” In a personal essay, student advance 

an idea or theme of personal significance, and do so by creating a thesis statement such as, “It is hard being an only 

child,” or “My dog is my best friend,” or “Mexico feels like home to me.” Later in fourth grade students will study 

literary essay, in which they advance an idea or theme revealed through reading literature. 

Immersion: 

As Calkins explains, one of the challenges in this unit of study is that “children’s bookshelves don’t contain 

anthologies of essays written specifically for youngsters.” (Calkins & Gillette, p. 2) Therefore, this unit will begin 

with students reading, analyzing, and mentoring themselves off of a variety of published personal essays. Keep in 

mind that student samples are written by students and are not the work of highly polished writers. 

Because of the lack of mentor texts it is crucial that you write as a part of daily lessons so that students can see you 

demonstrate what is expected and can collaborate with you as you take your personal essay through the phases of 

the writing process. Your writing can take the form of modeled writing, shared, writing, or write out loud, which 

involves writing out loud for students without writing it down. 

Structure: 

During collecting, students use the prompts to push themselves to elaborate on their ideas. If you do not have a 

chart, an example is provided. Students also revisit the entries they wrote during the first two narrative units of 

study to inspire a new entry. This collecting lesson reminds of the power of keeping a writer’s notebook – 

rereading and reflecting on previous entries can inspire new writing. 

Developing: 

You’ll notice that the developing phase is crucial in this unit of study with seven teaching points. Much of the work 

of writing an essay is developing strong topic sentences and gathering supporting details. Students are reintroduced 

to two organizing structures they used in third grade. First, students revisit the “box and bullets” strategy. Students 

write their thesis statement in the box and bullet three supporting ideas, written as topic sentences. 

Second, students turn the box and bullets into a tangible organizing system that they use to develop and draft their 

personal essays. Optional for organization: Each student needs four file folders – one colored file folder and three 

manila file folders. Students write their thesis statement across the front of a colored file folder. They write a topic 

sentence on the front of each manila folder. Students put all three manila folders (representing the three topic 

sentences that support their thesis statement) into the colored folder. As they develop their essays, they write on 

looseleaf paper and add supporting details in the manila folders. 


Thesis statement –a thesis is “an idea – or a claim – that the writer wants to advance, that the writer wants to 

explore or defend.” (Calkins & Gillette, p. 72) 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

• Essayists generate ideas for essays by observing and responding to what they experience in life. 

• Essayists elaborate on their ideas using conversational prompts such as, in addition… another example 

is… the important idea is… 

• Essayists return to personal narrative entries to inspire essay entries. 

• Essayists develop a clear, straightforward thesis statement. 

• Essayists utilize an organization system (folders with topic sentences written on the cover) to gather 

material to support their thesis statement. 

• Essayists develop strong paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting material. 

• Essayists write introductory and concluding paragraphs. 

• Essayists edit their sentences for punctuation (commas & parentheses). 

• Essayists use paragraphs to organize ideas. 



RF 4.3, 4 


W 4.1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 


SL 4.1 


L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 



 

 

“My Father Is My Worst Enemy” Student Writing 

Sample, (Calkins & Gillette, pages 215-216). 

Sample student personal essays from previous years 

Breathing Life into Essays by Lucy Calkins and Cory 

Gillette *book three from Lucy Calkins and Colleagues 

from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. 

Units of Study for Teaching Writing: Grades 3-5. 

(2006). 

Text Forms and Features: A Resource for Intentional 

Teaching. Margaret Mooney. (2001). 





Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


1. Essayists identify qualities and purposes of 

personal essays by investigating, mapping out 

mentor text, and answering guiding questions. 

(two days) 

Day 1:Use lesson posted from previous year for 

qualities 

Day 2: Use lesson from previous year for purposes 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

2. Essayists distinguish differences and similarities between 

narrative and non-narrative for purpose, structure, form, and 

style by using a Venn diagram. 

Use lesson from previous year for differences and similarities 

ML 

ML 

3. Essayists generate personal essay entries by 

rereading narrative entries in Writers’ 

Notebooks, answering questions and marking for 

big ideas or issues. 

Use lesson from previous year 

ML 

4. Generate personal essay entries by utilizing a three column 

list: issues, ideas, and small moments. 

Issue Idea Small Moments 

Sibling rivalry 

It’s unfair that my 

sister gets more 

freedom. 

-One time I wanted to 

stay up to watch my 

favorite show, but I had 

to go to bed and my 

sister got to watch the 

show. 

-Another time I wanted 

to ride my bike to the 

park with my friends 

like my sister does, but 

my mom said I 

couldn’t. 

Lesson to be revised by Donna 12/21 

5. Essayists generate ideas for essay by thinking of a 

person, place, or thing that is meaningful, listing 

ideas, and small moments. 

ML 

6. Repeat lesson 4 or 5 to collect another entry. 

(no new lesson) 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

Person, place, 

thing 

mom 

Idea 

My mom is the 

best role model 

New lesson: Linda Z. 12/22 

ML 

 

 

 

Moment 

-One time my mom 

stayed up all night 

preparing for her 

presentation because 

she is such a hard 

worker. 

-Another time my mom 

volunteered to help the 

senior citizens because 

she thinks of other 

people. 

What are the issues you care about in your life What ideas do you have about that What does the issue make you 

think about, realize, or see in a new way 

List your reasons for your idea across three fingers. 

Who are some people, places, and things you care about in your life What ideas do you have about that What 

moments do you have from your life to support your thinking 


Fourth Grade 

Strategies for Generating Essay Entries 

 

 

 

Generate personal essay entries by rereading narrative entries in Writers’ Notebooks and marking for big 

ideas or issues. 

Generate personal essay entries by utilizing a three column list: issues, ideas, and small moments. 

Generate ideas for essay by thinking of a person, place, or thing that is meaningful, listing ideas, and 

small moments. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


7. Essayists choose an idea to develop by rereading, 

reflecting, and answering questions that get at the heart of 

their claim. 

Lesson to be revised by Carol (bullet point questions, add 

chart, create graphic organizer for each… See Donna or 

Heidi for help if needed) 

Lesson due 1/3/11 

ML 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

8. Essayists write a few versions of their thesis statement 

to determine what it is they are really trying to say. 

Ex: 

 

 

 

Kids should be able to get exercise more often. 

Schools should have gym more often. 

Instead of plopping on the couch, eating junk 

food, watching television, and playing video 

games, kids should get up off the couch and go 

exercise. 

New lesson Heidi lesson due 1/4/11 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS Which idea is significant enough to you to advance and develop into a published piece 

What do you want readers to know about this 

Why would other people care about this 

What small moments in your life can you remember to support this idea 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

9. Essayists develop a thesis by writing the different 

reasons for an idea using the “box and bullets” 

strategy. They write a thesis statement about their 

chosen topic in a box. Underneath the box, they 

write their reasons in a bulleted list. 

Reading is magical because… 

Reason 1: books let me travel to far 

away places. 

Reason 2: stories take my mind off of 

problems in my life. 

Reason 3: I can learn about so many 

different topics. 

Use Lesson from previous year “draft thesis and 

reasons” 

1/5/11 

ML 

11. Essayists develop their thesis statement by 

identifying other types of evidence to support their 

reasons using mentor text. 

-list 

-quote 

-mini-story 

-outside source 

10. Essayists develop their thesis by writing about 

different times or instances (mini-stories) that 

support their reasons. 

Reason 1: 

Books let me travel to far away places 

-Small moment 1: One time I read the book, 

Out of the Dust, which took place in the 

mid-west during the dust bowl. 

-Small Moment 2: Another time I read a 

Percy Jackson book that took place in a 

mystical world. 

-Small Moment 3: Another time my teacher 

read us an ancient Chinese fable and I heard 

all about what it was like in China a long 

time ago. 

New lesson: Donna and Stacey Cappuzello 1/6/ 

ML 

12. Essayists frame their essays and determine 

whether they have enough evidence to proceed 

with the chosen thesis by using a graphic 

organizer. 

ML 

ML 

13. Essayists frame and organize their essays by 

setting up folders: 

writing their thesis statement on the front of a 

colored outer folder 

drafting reasons to support their thesis (topic 

sentences) along the top of each of three folders 

setting each of the topic-sentence folders inside 

the thesis folder 

ML 

14. Day 1: Essayists write mini-stories to support 

their reasons (remembering what they know 

about writing small moment stories) 

make a movie of how the story unfolded 

highlight one significant idea 

remember it needs to be a tiny story 

They place the mini-story in the folder with the 

corresponding topic sentence. 


Fourth Grade 

15. Day 2: Continue collecting mini-stories 16. Essayists reread and revise their mini-stories to 

make sure the mini-stories actually support the thesis. 

1. Start with stating the topic sentence. 

2. Include a transition into the story such as, 

for example or one day or one time. 

3. Make sure the story has a beginning, middle, 

and end. 

4. Make sure the story illustrates the thesis and 

bullet points. 

End the story with a sentence that refers back to or 

repeats the main idea of that paragraph. 

ML 

17. Essays elaborate their thesis by creating a list to 

support reasons. 

Reason 2: stories take my mind off of problems in 

my life. 

Stories have helped me get through times of 

grief, times when I was punished, and times 

when I felt alone. 

ML 

18. Personal essayists research quotes and/or 

outside sources. (They interview other students for 

their opinions or stories that can help support their 

reasons or research quotes on the internet). 

ML 

19. Drafting day 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

Which pieces of evidence best support your thesis 

How does your mini-story support your reason 

Remember what you know about writing small moments and use those strategies to bring your 

mini-story to life. 

Show me where you need to revise your mini-story to better support your claim. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

20. Day 1: Essayists draft the body paragraphs by 

following a consistent structure: 

21. Day 2: Continue drafting 

-Topic sentence. 

-Transition (for example, one day…) 

-Mini-story, list, quote or outside source 

-Sentence that refers back to or repeats the 

main idea of the paragraph. 

They cut and tape parts they already wrote and draft 

the unwritten parts. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

How does each bit of material develop the idea 

Is each bit based on different information or are you being repetitive 

If you do not have enough support, what more can you add 

As you draft, continually ask yourself, “How does what I am writing support my thesis statement” 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

21. Essayists elaborate on thoughts by writing in a 

different genre about their issue to express the idea 

in a different way. (poetry) 

ML 

23. Essayists craft introductory paragraph by 

beginning with a question, personal statement, 

mini-story, poetry, naming the thesis, naming 

the reasons, and adding a concluding sentence. 

22. Essayists elaborate on thoughts by writing in a 

different genre about their issue to express the idea 

in a different way. (reflection/ outpouring) 

ML 

24. Essayists craft closing paragraph by restating 

the thesis and reasons, and adding personal 

statements, mini-stories, poetry, and/or 

reflection. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

ML 

25. Essayists revise by highlighting transitional 26. Essayists revise by rereading for sense from the 

words and replacing repetitive language with reader’s perspective using checklist. 

new transitions by using mentor text. 

ML 

ML 

How should other people act differently after reading your essay 

How does your closing paragraph help prove your thesis 

What parts did you take out Why What did you add in Why 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


27. Personal essayists edit their drafts for punctuation by 

establishing uses for parentheses and commas. 

Ways to Add Support Information into Sentences 

Parentheses Matthew (the toughest bully in the 

school) had a soft heart. 

Commas 

Matthew, the toughest bully in the 

school, had a soft heart. 

For example, (after transitional 

phrases) 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

28. Essayists copy or type a final copy of their essay. 

They add a title that communicates the big idea of their 

personal essay by pulling the subject and big idea out of 

their thesis statement. 

Ex: 

Thesis Statement 

Reading is magical because 

stories take my mind off of 

problems in my life 

Parents losing jobs effects 

children very much. 

Title 

Reading is Magical 

Effects of Parents Losing 

Jobs 

29. Catch up day 

30. Essayists celebrate their published piece. 

31. Essayists reflect about their growth as writers and 

what they learned about personal essays. 

My grandmother is the head 

and heart of our family. 

The Importance of 

Grandmothers 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Craft Realistic Fiction Pieces 


Teacher Note 

Why: 

“Although your children will probably enter this unit expecting it to be altogether different from anything they’ve 

experienced, they’ll come to see that there is only a thin line between personal narrative writing and realistic fiction.” 

“The core structure of a short story, in a nutshell, is that a character wants or needs something (or needs to learn something) 

and then encounters obstacles in reaching this goal. This continues for most of the story until something happens, or someone 

helps, such that the character achieves that desire.” 

Lucy Calkins and M. Colleen Cruz 

The goal of this unit of study is to “show children that fiction can be a way to explore and write about the truest and deepest 

parts of ourselves.” After beginning the year with personal narratives and then exploring personal essays, students are writing 

a narrative, this time shifting away from writing personal narrative to realistic fiction. Capitalizing on students’ zeal for 

fiction, this unit emphasizes rehearsal and revision. 

Immersion: 

When considering approaches of effective instruction to immerse your students in the writing work of this unit, you will lean 

heavily on modeled writing, shared writing, and oral storytelling. As in all units of study, it is crucial that you model your 

own writing throughout the unit of study. Students will get to watch and help your story unfold day by day as you model each 

lesson with your writing before having students try the lessons on in their writing. 

Be sure the collecting, revising, and editing checklists you created in previous units of study are accessible to students. Most 

teachers find it helpful to leave them posted in their room. It is important for our fourth grade writers to realize that once a 

strategy has been taught and added to the collecting, revising, and editing checklist charts, they should be using those 

strategies “on-the-go” as they write each day, not waiting until the revision or editing phases to incorporate those strategies. 

Structure: 

Students will collect story ideas in their writer’s notebooks from everyday moments in their lives and from previously 

gathered entries, fleshing the ideas out to become story ideas. After they select a seed idea (which will be called their story 

idea) the unit guides them towards writing realistic fiction involving a few characters. Those characters resemble the authors, 

at least in age. While children often want to write stories with older characters, they struggle to craft realistic characters since 

they themselves do not have experience being that age. 

Once children select a story idea, they will develop the character by thinking about external and also internal characteristics of 

that person, trying to craft a coherent, realistic character. They will think about the character’s wants and struggles and will 

also develop secondary characters. That character development is the driving force of story writing is an important concept 

for students to learn. They often think the central element of story is plot, and try to write stories with lots of (often 

convoluted) events. The better story revolves around not what happens to characters, but rather, what happens between or 

within characters. 

Students will plot their story on a story mountain, thinking about how to focus on just two or three scenes, narrowing the 

plotline because they are writing a short story, not a novel. They will write their drafts in story-booklets, with one page of the 

booklet for each dot on the story mountain. They will think about how they’ll create a rising action by making the problems 

get worse and worse. They will be taught how to find the resolution to their stories. They will be encouraged to find the 

solution within the problem, avoiding the solution that magically appears from outside the story. 


Fourth Grade 


Setting: “The setting is the time and place in which the story occurs. We learn about setting through words and pictures.” from Guiding 

Readers and Writers Grades 3-6: Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy by Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas. [page 

395] (2001). 

Scene: There can be many scenes that unfold within one setting. Setting versus scene can be compared to a home. The house represents 

the setting where the rooms within the house represent various scenes. E.g. You may be at the park (setting) and one scene would be 

playing on the swings, another scene may be playing in the sandbox, and yet another on the slide. 

Internal characteristics: The character’s personality, hopes, dreams, fears, wishes, how the character views others and the 

world, etc. 

External characteristics: The character’s physical appearance, including height, weight, race, age, eye and hair color, how 

they move, any mannerisms, etc. 

Rising action: The rising action is the series of events that lead to the climax of the story, usually the conflicts or struggles of 

the protagonist. 

Story mountain: The story mountain is an organizing tool that acts like a timeline or an outline. “It allows the writer to step 

outside the details of the story to see the big picture. …the shape of the mountain (as opposed to a timeline) can help writers 

visualize that in a story characters journey uphill, against obstacles. By asking children to plan their plot against a story 

mountain, we steer them away from writing in a chain of equally important events. Instead of planning a story which involves 

just a string of episodes, children will plan a story in which a character reaches toward a goal, then meets and overcomes 

difficulty” from Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions Grades 3-5 by Calkins and M. Colleen Cruz, book four from 

Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grades 3-5. [page 59] (2006). 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

• Writers develop a realistic fiction story based on everyday moments in their lives. 

• Writers develop characters with wants, realistic and consistent external and internal features, who face and 

overcome challenges. 

• Writers ground scenes with realistic setting and dialogue. 

• Writers develop secondary characters that interact with the main character. 

• Writers structure their story using a story mountain, developing a rising action, turning point, and resolution. 

• Writers rehearse and revise their writing throughout the writing process – especially before and while drafting – 

rather than wait until the end of the writing process. 

• Writers reread and revise their writing through various lenses. 

• Writers make reading-writing connections with mentor texts, using mentors to shape their own realistic fiction 

writing (idea generation, internal and external characteristics, setting, dialogue, the arc of the story, beginnings, 

and endings). 

• Writers use mentor texts to shape dialogue, make paragraphing decisions, and accurately use punctuation 

including quotation marks, commas, question marks, periods, exclamation points, and ellipses. 

Common State Standards for English Language Arts 


RL 4.3 


RF 4.3, 4 


W 4.3, 4, 5, 6, 8,10 


SL 4.1 


L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 

Writing Process 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 


Mentor Texts: 

The Wall by Eve Bunting 

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson 

Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie DePaola 

“Seeing, Really Seeing” from Chicken Soup for the 

Children’s Soul 

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone. (1981). 

Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse. (1999) 

Pet Show! by Ezra Jack Keats. (2001). 

The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (1989). 

“John and the Snake” in Childtimes: A Three 

Generation Memoir by Eloise Greenfield and Lessie 

Jones Little. (1993). 

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams. (1984). 

 

 

 

 


Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions Grades 3-5 by 

Calkins and M. Colleen Cruz, book four from Units of Study 

for Teaching Writing, Grades 3-5. (2006). 


Teaching by Margaret Mooney. (2001). 

Past Perfect, Present Tense: New and Collected Stories by 

Richard Peck. (2004). 

Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency: Thinking, 

Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8 by Irene C. Fountas 

and Gay Su Pinnell. (2006). 


Fourth Grade 

 




Assessing Writers by Carl Anderson. (2005). 

Thinking Through Genre by Heather Lattimer. (2003). 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


1. Identify 

characteristics of 

realistic fiction by 

listening to read aloud. 

Stories based on real 

lives 

Characters who face 

challenges 

Well-developed 

characters (external and 

internal characteristics) 

Develop their story by 

plotting it on a story 

mountain 

Write scenes, not 

summaries 

Craft a powerful lead 

Build the rising action 

until they reach the 

turning point of the 

story 

RA 

2. Identify story 

elements in realistic 

fiction by listening to 

read aloud. 

RA 

4. Generate ideas for 


creating a list of 

significant achievements 

and memories about a 

character. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

3. Generate ideas for 


creating a list of problems 

characters could face in 

their lives. 

Issue 

Friendship 

ML 

Character 

that faces 

the issue 

-Sara’s 

friend tells 

her a 

secret and 

Sara 

betrays 

her trust. 

Moments 

of 

Success 

-Dance 

recital 

Character 

that 

achieves 

success 

-Cleo 

dances in 

her first 

recital 

after 

being too 

afraid to 

be on 

stage. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

• What is happening in your life that could be meaningful to write about in a realistic fiction story 

• What are some issues facing you or people you know that could be meaningful to write about 

• What has happened in your life that you wish you could alter by saying, “What if” How might you write 

entries that could lead to a possible story idea 

• Which generating strategy works best for you and why 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE WRITING 

PROCESS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

5. Realistic fiction 

writers reread all of their 

entries and choose the 

one seed idea to develop 

into a publishable story 

by asking and answering 

reflective questions. 

ML 

7. Writers plan 


using a story mountain 

to plan the external 

and internal story. 


writers develop their 

story idea by creating a t- 

chart and listing internal 

and external features of 

their main character. If 

they need to, they sketch 

a drawing of their 

characters or story tell to 

bring the characters to life 

in their minds. They ask 

themselves questions 

about their character. 

External features: 

How does my 

character look (what 

is my character’s 

physical appearance) 

How does my 

character move 

How does my 

character dress 

How does my 

character talk 

ML 

(Part of lesson 6) 

Internal Features 

What is my 

character’s 

personality 

What makes my 

character happy 

What is my character 

afraid of 

How does my 

character feel about 

herself or himself 

What does my 

character really 

want 

What does my 

character think 

about 

How does my 

character feel 

What does my 

character hope for 

8. Writers plan realistic 

fiction by sketching and 

summarizing each scene 

using a storyboard. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

 

 

 

Of all of your possible story ideas, why did you choose the story idea you did choose 

What are your character’s external features How do they look Dress Move 

What are your character’s internal features Feelings Wants Hopes Dreams Fears 

Thoughts about others Thoughts about self 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 



writers draft a lead by 

investigating mentor text 

and applying author’s 

craft. 

Mentor 

Lead 

ML 

Craft 

New 

Lead 


writers draft scenes by 

including the important 

elements of a scene. 

Scene Elements 

A beginning, middle, 

and end 

A setting 

Characters who want 

things 

Characters who feel 

and think 

Challenges that get 

in the way of what 

characters want 

Action 

Meaningful dialogue 

that relates to the 

problem 

They use a separate page 

for each point on their 

story mountain. There 

will be one or two pages 

for the opening scenes of 

the story, several pages 

for the heart of the story, 

and a page or two for the 

ending scene. 


writers draft scenes by 

rereading to be sure that 

the character’s troubles 

get worse and worse 

(called the rising action) 

until they reach the 

turning point in the story. 

(day 2) 

Students will still be 

drafting scenes. This 

lesson provides a 

checking point for the 

development of the plot. 

ML 

• How did you craft your lead 

• Where in your story do you feel you show your character’s internal features best 

• How did show the reader your character’s external features 

• How does the problem get worse in your story 

ML 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


12. Realistic fiction writers use 

settings in each scene to ground 

their stories so that the characters 

exist in a concrete, specific world 

by adding time, place, and 

character’s actions to dialogue. 

Floating 

character 

I didn’t know 

what to do. I 

looked at her. 

“Hey, are you 

mad at me” I 

asked. 

“No. Are you 

mad at me” she 

asked. 

I took a deep 

breath. “No. I 

don’t think so,” I 

said. 

Grounded 

character 

“Are you mad at 

me” I asked as 

we walked 

down the 

sidewalk 

together late one 

afternoon. . 

“No. Are you 

mad at me” 

Zoe responded. 

A car whizzed 

past us, kicking 

up water from 

the rain-filled 

streets as it 

went. I thought 

about what Zoe 

was asking, and 

shifted the 

umbrella so that 

it protected her 

as well as me. 

“No. I’m not 

mad,” I said. 

She smiled at 

me from 

beneath her 

yellow rain 

hood. 

14. Realistic fiction writers craft 

powerful endings by connecting 

the ending to the challenge the 

character faced in the story. 

Guiding Questions for Revising Endings 

-How did your story begin 

-How does the beginning connect to the 

problem 

-How can you change your ending to circle 

back to how your story began or the 

problem 

-How can you show how your character 

changed in your ending 

- Does my ending make sense or does it 

come out of nowhere 

-Does your ending answer all of the 

questions the reader may have about the 

problem and how it was solved 

ML 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

13. Realistic fiction writers revise 

the resolution generating possible 

solutions using a graffiti wall of 

how stories could go. 

Problem 

Jake 

irresponsi 

bly lets 

his dog 

out the 

door when 

his mom’s 

not home. 

ML 

Positive 

Outcome 

-Jake 

admits 

his 

mistake 

and calls 

his 

mother 

for help. 

-Jake 

finds the 

dog on 

his own 

before 

his mom 

comes 

home. 

Negative 

outcome 

-Jake 

leaves his 

house 

alone to 

look for 

the dog 

and gets 

lost. His 

mom 

can’t find 

him and 

calls the 

police. 

-On her 

way 

home, 

mom sees 

the dog 

running 

around 

the 

neighborh 

ood and 

Jake gets 

into big 

trouble. 

“Great, then let’s 

race,” she said. 

“Good. Then 

let’s race!” She 

took off ahead 

of me, splashing 

through every 

puddle on the 

sidewalk.” 


Fourth Grade 

15. Revise by adding and deleting 

details to clarify meaning. 

16. Revise by rereading for sense 

with a focus on verb tense. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

How did you develop the setting in each scene to show that the characters exist in a concrete, specific 

world 

How did you incorporate some setting into the dialogue (For example, instead of writing, “’Get over 

here,’ she yelled, you could write, ‘Get over here,’ she yelled, untangling herself from the cords he’d left 

all over the floor.” 

How did you craft your ending to circle back to the beginning 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


17. Realistic fiction writers remember 

everything that they know about spelling, 

punctuation, and grammar, to edit their work. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

 

They reread and fix up their writing a 

number of times: 

• Read to make sure the story 

makes sense 

• Read to fix up spelling by 

checking 

mentor texts 

tricky word lists 

dictionaries 

spell check 

• Read to fix up punctuation and 

capital letters. 

Ending punctuation 

Commas 

Quotation marks 

Writers work on editing their stories alone 

and then work with an editing partner. 

(It’s a good idea to have students switch with 

a different partner who is not their writing 

partner for a different perspective) 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

-ML 

Show me how you edited your story. Which types of mistakes were most common How did you make 

sure dialogue is correctly punctuated 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

You may assign the "About the 

Author" page for morning work, 

homework, or during Flex. 

Realistic fiction writers create an 

“About the Author” paragraph. 

They include a photograph of the 

writer and a few facts about the 

writer’s life – where she lives, with 

whom she lives, any hobbies she 

has. 

18. CELEBRATION 

You may assign the Writing 

Reflection for morning 

work, homework, or during 

Flex. 

Writers reflect on their 

accomplishments by 

rereading their realistic 

fiction story and answering 

questions about growth. 

ML 

19. Writers prepare to take a 

common assessment by: assessing 

and creating a list of characteristics 

of a good on-demand writing task. 

Writers do this by investigating 

student samples and the rubric. 

(day 1) 

20. Writers demonstrate strategies 

learned by completing a common 

assessment. (day 2) 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

-What did you choose to share in your “About the Author” page 

-See reflection questions in lesson 28 for more ideas 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writing to Convey Ideas and Information 

Through Research within a Content-Area 


Teacher Note 

An Inquiry Approach to Nonfiction 

“Learners are naturally curious. Teachers who invite kids to identify an interest and ask questions about it are 

rewarded with classrooms filled with excitement, enthusiasm, and wonder. Classrooms like these give students the 

courage to wonder and take risks that lead to deeper explorations, longer journeys, and more valuable insights. 

Teachers and schools that celebrate curiosity and value wonder provide the foundation needed for lasting learning 

to take place. Live the questions. Value the questions. They are the doors to understanding.” (Nonfiction Matters 

by Stephanie Harvey, page 31.) 

The goal of this fourth grade unit of study is to teach students how to engage in research and how to effectively 

convey ideas and information through informational writing. Fourth graders will learn that research reports do not 

have to be dry lists of facts; instead, reports should be engaging while being informative. 

This unit of study represents an important departure from the informational writing students did in kindergartenthird 

grade. Up until now, students have written on topics about which they have knowledge. While they utilized 

research techniques, such as interviewing and collecting facts, laws, and statistics from a variety of informational 

sources, students were doing so in topics they already knew a great deal about. Fourth graders are taking a big step 

into unfamiliar social studies or science research topics. The cognitive demands of this unit will be higher than in 

previous years because students will need to read, process, and understand unfamiliar content while deciding which 

information to include in their research reports. 

Like the fifth grade unit of study, this unit is grounded in an inquiry approach to nonfiction. An inquiry approach 

strives to channel our students’ curiosity about the world into motivation to read, research, and write about the 

questions they have about their research topic. On page six in Nonfiction Matters, Stephanie Harvey lists the 

notions that guide her practice in nonfiction inquiry. These ideas are reflected in this unit of study. 

Teachers can demonstrate how to engage in nonfiction inquiry by going through the process themselves. 

Teachers need to share their passion and curiosity about inquiry and research. 

Research begins with a question. 

Research projects take time. 

To write nonfiction, read nonfiction. 

Writers write best about things they know about, care about, and wonder about. 

Writers need to own their topics and projects. 

Writers need opportunities to share their products. 

Nonfiction inquiry must be authentic whenever possible. 

Content-Area Topics 

A guiding premise of nonfiction inquiry is that students “write best about things they know about, care about, and 

wonder about.” Yet you’ll notice this unit of study is situated within a content-area. Rather than being given free 

reign to choose any topic under the sun they are passionate and knowledgeable about (as students are allowed to do 

in grades K-3), students will be expected to write about a content-area topic. How can being assigned to write 

within a content-area topic allow for the inquiry process to occur Stephanie Harvey explains, “nonfiction inquiry 

lends itself to specific content-areas. A specific science or social studies unit can become an umbrella for an array 

of related topics. Teachers can teach content within a schema that incorporates the whole class, and students can 


Fourth Grade 

choose a specific topic underneath this umbrella that allows them to explore a personal interest.” (Harvey, pages 

34-35). 

For example, the umbrella topic in 4 th grade science we learn about biomes/ecosystems. Under the umbrella of the 

biomes/ecosystems, students could generate research questions such as: 

• How does the climate affect this biome 

• How do the plants and animals coexist in this biome 

• Where in the world can you find this biome 

• What are some examples of food chains in this biome 

• What are some factors that threaten the existence of this biome 

• Which species of plants and animals can be found in this biome 

Immersion in the Umbrella Topic 

It is primarily a writing unit of study, with an emphasis on teaching students to be effective informational text 

writers. It is assumed that students will be learning and reading about the umbrella topic during either social studies 

or science. 

You’ll want to gather a large collection of resources to support student learning in both the content-area and during 

writing workshop. Create “research baskets” with ample texts at different levels connected to the umbrella topic 

(your school or local librarian may be able to help suggest titles). Include books, magazines, material downloaded 

from the internet, photographs, maps, atlases, videos, etc. Booklinks Magazine, published by the American Library 

Association, is a fantastic resource that can help you find a wide variety of print materials connected to an umbrella 

topic. 

Immersion in the topic is a crucial step before students start collecting entries. As Carol Newman, a school 

librarian in Boulder, Colorado, told Stephanie Harvey, “Kids need time to explore topics before we can ask them to 

formulate definitive research questions. Often they don’t know which questions to ask early in the research 

process, because they don’t know enough. They can investigate topics, build background knowledge, and learn as 

they research, becoming more knowledgeable and more curious, gathering important questions along the way. I 

have seen kids go to great lengths to find answer to questions that compel them.” 

Can You Ever Assign a Topic 

Here is Stephanie Harvey’s answer to this question. “In some schools, teachers routinely assign topics, denying 

students the opportunity to learn how to choose their own. O. Henry said, ‘Write what you like. There’s no other 

rule.’ Writers write best about topics they choose. 

Sure, you can occasionally assign topics. Activities in school should reflect those in the world, and professional 

writers are sometimes told what to write about. However, if our goal is to improve the quality of writing and 

research, self-selected topics should predominate. Donald Graves suggests that about 80 percent of a student’s 

yearly writing topics should be self-selected, the remainder assigned. Selecting from an array of subtopics under an 

umbrella topic often satisfies the teacher’s need to have the student write about a content-area and the student’s 

need to choose a topic of interest.” (Harvey, page 41). 

Class’ Mentor Author or Series: 

In this fourth grade study, students emulate the writing style of a mentor author or series of the teacher’s choosing. 

Everyone in the class writes in the style of that author or series. In this way, how they write is heavily scaffolded 

while students concentrate on learning how to research to discover what information is important about their topic. 

In fifth grade, students will be ready for an opportunity to select a mentor author of their choice. 


Fourth Grade 

To choose a mentor author or series, examine your informational text collection. Look at how much information 

authors put on each page, the writing style (is it narrative non-fiction, or a list of facts, or a blend of information and 

commentary), the use of images like photos, diagrams, timelines, charts, and drawings, and the use of text features 

like headings, glossaries, tables of content, bold words, and so on. Remember that “report writing” is interesting 

and engaging, not written in the “five paragraph essay” style so popular in school, yet non-existent in published 

texts. 

Select an author that you are excited to have your writers emulate and that you can gather a number of copies of. 

Recommended authors include: 

Author or Series Style Sample Titles 

Ann Mcgovern Question and Answer If You Lived In Colonial Times 

If You Sailed on the Mayflower 

If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln 

Kate Waters 

Let’s Read and Find Out 

Seymour Simon 

(SeeMore Readers) 

Jean Fritz 

DK Readers Series 

1 st person narrative non-fiction 

Explains history through the eyes 

of a child’s day 

Includes photographs 

Expository style 

Explains one animal or idea per 

page with a large illustration, 

photo, or labeled diagram 

Expository 

Uses photos 

Just a few sentences and facts per 

pay 

Narrative non-fiction 

Often biographical 

Tells the story of events 

Photographs or drawings dominate 

each page 

Uses labels and captions to 

enhance the information in the 

running text 

Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim 

Times 

Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy 

On the Mayflower 

Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast 

Germs Make Me Sick! 

Look Out For Turtles 

Life in a Coral Reef 

Volcanoes 

Almost Gone 

Incredible Sharks 

Killer Whales 

Amazing Bats 

Pyramids and Mummies 

George Washington’s Breakfast 

Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock 

Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! 

Around the World in 100 Days 

Antarctic Adventure 

Space Station 

Pirate 

Titanic: The Disaster That Shocked the World! 

Phases of the Writing Process: 

You’ll notice that students only spend a day in each of the first three phases – immersion, collecting, and choosing 

– because it is presumed that students have spent at least a few days immersed in studying the umbrella topic during 

science or social studies. Students need to come to the writing unit of study with some background knowledge of 

the umbrella topic and with the inquiry process of getting excited about learning more about a topic already begun. 

As in all units of study, you are strongly encouraged to engage in nonfiction research in front of your students so 

that you can model each phase of the process. 

Recommended ideas for student topics: animals, biomes, motion, electricity, solar system, Northeast region, 

states, U.S. government 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

• Writers generate compelling research questions from reading, discussing, and exploring the class’ umbrella topic. 

• Writers select their own questions to research. 

• Writers research their topic using a variety of nonfiction resources. 

• Writers gather quotes from the nonfiction resources and accurately punctuate the quotations. 

• Writers begin to learn to cite their sources by recording information about the source when directly quoting or taking notes 

from a resource. 

• Writers analyze mentor informational texts to determine the author’s craft moves and to emulate the mentor’s style of writing. 

• Writes present their research in a clear and concise manner, utilizing the informational text features used by the class’ mentor 

author or series to support the readers’ understanding of the information. 

• Writers demonstrate increasing control in the area of conventions and accuracy: 

• Writing includes any words appearing on charts or word walls written accurately. 

• Sentences are appropriately punctuated (quotation marks, commas, periods) 

• Writers recognize and use grade level appropriate spelling patterns. 

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy 

Reading Standards Informational Text 

RI 4.1,3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 


RF 4.3, 4 


W 4.2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 


SL 4.1 


L 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 



Mentor Texts: 

See the list of recommended authors and series in the Teacher’s 

Note. Once you decide which author or series your students will 

emulate, gather a collection of books by that author or in that 

series. 

Research Texts: 

In addition to the mentor author or series, students will need 

content-area research materials about the umbrella topic so that 

they can engage in research. Be sure to include high interest- low 

readability texts as well as on and above grade level texts so that 

students at all reading levels are supported while researching. 

Mentor Texts: 


Nonfiction Matters by Stephanie Harvey. (1998). 

 

 

 


Teaching by Margaret E. Mooney. (2001). 

Nonfiction Craft Lessons by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph 

Fletcher. (2001). 

Nonfiction Author Studies in the Elementary Classroom 

edited by Carol Brennan Jenkins and Deborah J.D. 

White. (2007). 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE WRITING 

PROCESS 

IMMERSION COLLECTING CHOOSING DEVELOPING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING 

1. Writers identify the characteristics of 

content area texts by investigating mentor text 

and asking themselves, “What do I notice” 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

(Students should be immersed in collection of 

mentor author or series) 

ML 

2.Writers get to know the umbrella topic by 

reading mentor text and creating a list of what 

they already know and what they wonder about 

this topic. Umbrella topic chosen by teacher. 

(Teacher and class create content area book 

model throughout this unit that will be used to 

teach lessons) 

3.Writers create possible categories for a topic 

by considering different parts of the umbrella 

topic. ML 

Climate 

Biomes 

Plant life 

Animal life 

Threats to life 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

• What did you learn that you have questions about 

• What seems interesting to you to research further 

• How can I help support you as you write 

• What features did you notice in the mentor text 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


4. Writers revise their research questions by 

asking themselves, “Can this question be 

answered with a yes or no How can I rewrite it 

so there’s more to investigate about the topic 

using (how & why questions)” 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

What I find interesting 

in the text 

One photograph shows 

Polar bears hunting for 

fish in Alaska 

Research question 

How has global warming 

affected food supply for 

polar bears in Alaska 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

Which questions did you revise from being “yes/no” to being more researchable 

Which questions are you most interested in researching 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


5. Writers choose one topic to research based on 

a combination of: 

1. Personal curiosity 

2. Compelling research questions 

3. Availability of research sources 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

By rereading their possible research questions 

and asking themselves: 

 

 

 

Which questions am I interested in 

researching And why 

Are there enough resources in the classroom 

that can help me conduct my research What 

are the resources 

What do I want to teach my readers about my 

topic 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

Use the conferring questions on the Choosing a Nonfiction Research Topic chart. 

Which questions am I interested in researching And why 

Are there enough resources in the classroom that can help me conduct my research What are the 

resources 

Where else could you find information about this topic 

What do I want to teach my readers about my topic 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

IMMERSION COLLECTING CHOOSING DEVELOPING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

6.. Writers get ready to 

develop their topics by 

rehearsing the guidelines for 

researching a topic. 

See chart below entitled, 

(Research Guidelines) Use 

class mentor book for 

students to rehearse using 

the guidelines) 

8. Day 1: Writers restate 

the exact words from the text 

into their own words by 

reading in small chunks, 

covering the text, and asking 

themselves, “What is this 

mostly about” 

9. Day 2: Writers develop 

their research topic by 

adding a personal reaction to 

the information they have 

gathered. 

7.. Writers organize their 

writer’s notebook to get ready 

to research by: 

Writing one research question 

related to their research topic at 

the top of each page. They skip 

a few blank pages in case, 

while researching, they develop 

new research questions. 

Label one page “Fun Facts” 

where they can jot down 

information that does not 

necessarily answer one of the 

research questions, but is 

interesting and may make the 

research writing more 

interesting. 

Writers jot down quick notes in 

bullets to answer their research 

questions. 

Writers give credit to the source 

where they found the answers 

to their questions. 

ML 

Direct 

quote 

from text 

This is 

mostly 

about 

I think 

I feel 

I believe 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

Where are you finding the most useful information 

How are you locating the information 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE CHARTS 

What synonyms or other words have you tried to use when searching in an index, table of 

contents, or online 

How are you determining what is important to write down 

Where do you feel stuck 

How to Record Information about the Source 

If the information Then you record…. 

is from…. 

A book 

Title of the Book by Author’s First and Last Name, page numbers. 

If You Lived in Colonial America by Ann Mcgovern, pages 17-18. 

An article from a 

magazine 

“Title of the Article” by Author’s First and Last Name in Name of 

the Magazine, page numbers. 

“Pack Your Wagon” by Joshua Gibbons in AppleSeeds, pages 13- 

15. 

A website 

“Title of the article.” 

“Just for Kids – Trail Kids.” 

http://www.blm.gov/or/oregontrail/education-kids-trail.php 

Research Guidelines 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choose the source that will best serve your needs, and start there. 

Use the table of contents, index, and titles to help you find your information. 

Skim and scan text features before attempting to read word for word. 

Mark important information with sticky notes for later reference. 

Use what you already know to help understand new information. 

Pay attention to publication dates. 

Go online for up-to-the-minute information and determine which sources are reliable. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 


AND 

CELEBRATIN 

10. Writers plan to draft by analyzing their 

mentor author or series to figure out how to 

present their information and create a mock 

layout. (Indicating where visuals, text 

boxes, headings, subheadings, captions, 

and vocabulary will be.) 

 

 

 

 

Page Layout 

• How much information is on 

each page Where is the 

information 

• How are visuals used Where 

are the visuals 

Text Features 

• Does our mentor use headings, 

subheadings, captions, bold 

words, or other text features on 

the page 

Organization 

• How is the book organized In 

chapters or in continuous text 

Table of contents Index 

Glossary 

Voice and Writing Style 

• How does each page/section 

begin What information does 

the author include (examples, 

definitions, opinions, facts, 

story) 

11-12. Writers draft by using a separate 

sheet of paper for each section of 

information and accumulating their notes. 

ML 

What did you learn about how to share your information from your mentor author or series 

Let’s see your outline. Share with me how you made your decision about how to organize 

your information. 

What visuals do you plan to include Why 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


13. Writers revise by reviewing the 

characteristics of their mentor texts. They 

create the necessary text features to help 

support their readers. 

Write appropriate and catchy titles for each 

section of information 

Adding or taking out visuals 

Consider where to place text boxes with 

additional information (i.e. fun facts) 

Write what is to be included in the text boxes 

Reread to make sure the information is clear 

and all questions have been answered 

ML 

15. Writers revise by creating a glossary of 

their new vocabulary. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

14. Writers revise their visuals by crafting 

descriptive captions that include who, 

what, where, when, how, and/or why. 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

How have you made decisions about the text features to add based on our mentor 

Do you have a balance of running text and visual supports 

Show me where you have included new vocabulary. How did you introduce the 

vocabulary 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


16. Writers edit by using a 

checklist for spelling, 

capitalization, and 

punctuation. They include 

quotation marks whenever 

including a direct quote from 

research. Then, writers peer 

edit. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML 

Have to made sure you have: 

o Capitalized the beginning of each sentence and proper nouns 

o Used appropriate punctuation at the end of sentences 

o Correctly punctuated your quotations 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

17. Writers create a front and 

back cover, adding appropriate 

cover art. They craft an 

engaging title and add a 

dedication page. 

18. Writers celebrate their 

accomplishments. 

19. Shared Writing/Reflection 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

How did you choose the cover art for your text 

Have you made sure to leave room for visuals, headings, and other text features 

What are you most proud about your nonfiction text 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Live as Poets and Write Poetry 


Teacher Note 

Why Poetry 

“I’ve never heard a poet describe the origin of a poem by saying it came from an assignment 

about pretending to be a grass blade glowing in the wind, or from a poetry contest on health 

safety. Finding where poems hide for us is part of the process of being a poet and of living our 

lives as poets” (page 47). 

“It comes as no surprise that when teachers tell me they dislike poetry they also tell me their 

primary experience with poetry was to dissect it in high school. To dissect comes from the Latin 

word sicare, to cut. To cut apart a poem in order to learn about what poetry is, is similar to – and 

as repellent as – cutting open a frog to really understand what a frog is” (page 62). 

Poet comes from the word poiein, from the Greek to make or to do. Poets need to be masters of 

their craft, but only to serve the urgency of our hearts. A poet’s job is to make experience, no 

matter how fragmented or unresolved, whole again in the act of writing a poem” (page 63). 

“One of the reasons to invite poetry into our lives and into the lives of our students is to meet our 

invisible guests – grief, joy, anger, doubt, and confusion. We read poetry from this deep hunger 

to know ourselves and the world” (page 19). 

Now that you have read the four quotes from Georgia Heard’s Awakening the Heart, think about your own 

experience with poetry. Imagine how a poetry unit of study can to empower our students to find their voices about 

important ideas in their lives and their world. This fourth grade unit of study is designed to just that. 

Georgia Heard’s Awakening the Heart stands out as exemplary among the numerous resources that support teachers 

as they teach poetry writing. Because she is an outstanding poet and brilliant teacher of teachers, her thinking 

forms the foundation of this unit of study. 

How This Poetry Unit Builds from Third Grade: 

Third graders learned that part of the process of being a poet is finding where poems hide for us. Using Georgia 

Heard’s Five Doors, students learned to access poems through the heart door (their emotions), the observation door, 

the concerns about the world door, the wonder door, and the memory door. Students free-wrote to collect ideas and 

then selected an idea to develop, draft, revise, edit and publish. 

This fourth grade unit extends the third grade work of finding where poems hide in our lives, by focusing on 

helping students consider significant issues and big ideas in their lives and the world around them. Poets are taught 

to write poems that communicate ideas from their personal experiences, observations, and reflections with the 

support of mentor poets. 

Immersion in Poetry: 

Included in this unit of study are suggested mentor poems. You are encouraged to supplement the suggested poems 

or replace them with poems you like more or that you believe your students will connect to better. Read aloud 

poetry everyday, not just during the immersion phase of the unit of study. Encourage students to read aloud poetry 

to each other and to search for inspiring poems in books, in songs, and in their family’s oral storytelling traditions. 


Fourth Grade 

As in all units of study, you as the teacher need to also be writing poetry through the teaching points along with 

your students. Modeling what you are asking students to take on through your own writing is an integral part of the 

Gradual Release of Responsibility. Many of the teaching points are labeled Modeled Writing (MW) or Shared 

Writing (SW) for this reason. 

Poetry Study Centers: 

Poetry writing workshop can be enhanced by providing students with a variety of ways to interact with poetry. 

Georgia Heard describes ten centers where students can independently explore poetry. Third graders were 

introduced to five centers – the Amazing Language Center, the Illustration Center, the Performance Center, the 

Poetry Reading Center and the Discovery Center. For a detailed description of each center, take a look at the 3 rd 

grade poetry unit of study. Fourth graders are introduced to two more centers in this unit, and will be introduced to 

three more in fifth grade. 

Two of the third grade centers will certainly enhance fourth graders’ work with big idea poetry – the Amazing 

Language center and the Poetry Reading Center. In both of these study centers, place collections of poetry that 

reflect the type of poetry you want fourth graders writing. 

Both of the fourth grade study centers are an outgrowth of mini-lessons within this unit. That way, students are 

given explicit instruction about how to engage in the center as a whole class and can visit the center when time 

allows during writing workshop (or during small group instruction time). 

Poetry Editorial Center (page 15 in Awakening the Heart): 

Poetry can be sparked not only by nature and memories from our personal lives, but also by what’s happening in 

the world around us. In preparation for this center, ask students to bring in newspaper clippings or written thoughts 

about events and ideas they’re concerned about in the world. After discussing the articles and concerns, post them 

on the News Bulletin Board and leave space for poems. 

Directions for students: 

Reread some of the newspaper articles that we’ve collected and discussed. Choose one of the articles that 

interests you and write down any feels, questions, or thoughts you have. Create a poem from these 

reflections to display as an editorial. 

Revision Center (page 14 in Awakening the Heart): 

In this center students will have the opportunity to experiment with revisions such as rearranging line-breaks, 

cutting out excess words, and condensing a poem. Select a poem and rewrite it as a paragraph. 

Directions for students: 

Read the poem on the chart. I’ve added and changed endings on words, changed line-breaks, and made it 

look and sound like a paragraph in a story. Revise the poem as if it were your own – cut out extra words or 

endings and rearrange the line-breaks. Make two revised versions, and then look at the original. 

An example of a poem Georgia Heard used is “Red” by Lilian Moore: 

(Story version) 

I was standing at my window and all day I saw across the way, on someone’s windowsill, a geranium which looked 

like it was glowing red bright – it looked like a tiny traffic light faraway. 


Fourth Grade 

(Original version) 

Red 

All day 

across the way 

on someone’s sill 

a geranium glows 

red bright 

like a 

tiny 

faraway 

traffic light. 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writers gather ideas for possible poems by considering significant issues or big ideas in their lives and the world around 

them. 

Writers publish poems that communicate a big idea the poet feels strongly about based on her/his personal experiences, 

observations, and reflections. 

Writers demonstrate an understanding of the structure of poems; poets convey a message by carefully considering wordchoice 

and by eliminating anything extraneous. 

Writers use mentor poems for support in creating mood and tone and in communicating the big idea without stating it 

directly. 

Writer of poetry consider the overall meaning, desired message and tone of the poem and reheard the reading of it to perform 

it accordingly. 

Writers demonstrate developing control of poetry conventions: 

• Use of imagery. 

• Decisions about line breaks. 

• Use of repetition. 

• Decisions about sentence length (use of fragments and run-ons to convey meaning), 

Writers demonstrate increasing control in the area of accuracy: 



Common State Standards for English Language Arts 

Reading Standards Literature 

RL 4.1, 2, 4, 5 


RF4.3, 4 


W 4.4, 5, 6, 10 


SL4.1 


L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 



Mentor Texts: 

Knock at a Star: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry by X.J. 

Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy 

A Writing Kind of Day by Ralph Fletcher 

Come With Me: Poems for a Journey by Naomi Shihab Nye 

My Name Is Jorge: On Both Sides of the River by Jane 

Medina 

Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young 

Poets compiled by Paul B. Janeczko 

Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and 

Middle School. Georgia Heard. (1998). 

Climb Inside a Poem: Reading and Writing Poetry Across 

the Year. Georgia Heard and Lester Laminack. (2008). 

The Place My Words Are Looking For selected by Paul B. 

Janesczko. (1990). 

The following poems are used in lessons and are included in 

the back of this unit of study. 

“T-shirt” by Jane Medina 

“Forgotten” by Cynthia Rylant 

“Two People” by Eve Merriam 

“My Paper” by Jane Medina 

Poetry Matters: Writing A Poem From the Inside Out. 

Ralph Fletcher. (2002). 


Fourth Grade 

 

 

 

 

“Courage” by Naomi Shihab Nye 

“Bill of Sale” by Ralph Fletcher 

“I’d Mark with Sunshine” by Kalli Dakos 

“Red” by Lilian Moore 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE WRITING 

PROCESS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


lesson, SW=Shared Writing, and MW=Modeled Writing. Teaching points where a mini lesson is not 

suggested are not expected to be mastered independently at this grade level. Finally, all immersion 

decisions are made by the teacher based on the needs of the students. 

1. Poets immerse themselves in poetry that 

sparks conversations about big ideas by 

listening to poems, discussing the big ideas in 

each poem, and then recording the big ideas in 

each poem. 

2. Poets continue to immerse themselves in 

poetry that sparks conversations about big ideas 

by listening to poems, discussing the big ideas 

in each poem, and then recording the big ideas 

in each poem. 

Teachers Notes: 

Suggested included poems 

“T-shirt” by Jane Medina 

“Forgotten” by Cynthia Rylant 

“Two People” by Eve Merriam 

Teachers Notes: 

Suggested included poems 

“My Paper,” by Jane Medina 

“Bill of Sale” by Ralph Fletcher” 

“Courage” by Naomi Shihab Nye 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

Students can react to the ideas in the poems and jot those 

ideas in their writer’s notebook. 

RA-SR-ML 

RA-SR-ML 

• What is your reaction to each of the poems 

• How would you explain the big idea in each of the poems 

• How are these poems different from other poems you’ve read 

• How are these poems similar to other poems you’ve read 

• What ideas about life do these poems spark in your mind 

Students continue to record the ideas in poems they are 

reading. 

They can continue to react to the ideas in the poems and 

jot those ideas in their writer’s notebook. 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Poems Can Spark Conversations About Big Ideas 

Title and Poet 

Big Idea(s) 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

TEACHING 

POINTS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 


SW=Shared Writing, and MW=Modeled Writing. All immersion decisions are made by the teacher based on the needs 

of the students. 

3. Poets “lift a line” to write a longer entry off of 

by rereading past entries in their writer’s 

notebooks to find entries connected to strong 

emotions or significant experiences. Writing long 

can inspire future poems. 

4. Poets gather ideas for poems from their everyday 

lives by listing what happens in their lives during a 24 

hour period and then reread the list, noticing if any 

questions or reflections surface. They can write a long 

entry in response to the questions or reflections. 

Example: 

Playing in the school yard, I noticed two 

boys playing tag. Jeremiah raced around 

after Emerson, trying repeatedly to catch 

him. It seemed whenever Jeremiah got 

within reach, Emerson dashed away, 

darting through other children like a cat. 

Jeremiah raced around after Emerson, 

trying repeatedly to catch him. 

We’re supposed to be having fun during 

recess, but lots of times I think recess is 

really stressful. Boys like Jeremiah just 

aren’t fast enough to keep up with the boys 

they want to be friends with. Jeremiah 

always looks disappointed, like he simply 

can’t get what he wants – a friend. 

Sometimes when my best friend Karen is 

absent, I play by myself because it is hard 

to break into the games other girls are 

playing. I wish we had a recess monitor 

like we did when we were younger who 

could organize group games for us. That 

way we could all play without anyone 

having to be brave enough to organize the 

game. 

MW-ML 

5. Poets write down any feelings, questions, or 

thoughts they have about world events in their 

writer’s notebook by reading newspaper 

clippings or reflecting on what they have 

heard on TV. 

ML (becomes the Poetry Editorial Center) 

Example: 

Things that 

happened last 24 

hours 

Woke up and it was 

cold in the house 

Had breakfast and 

we were out of 

cereal 

Walked to school 

with my brother 

Hung out with Tyler 

at lunch 

Helped clean the 

fish tank 

Questions / 

Reflections that 

come up about them 

So annoying that my 

brother takes the last 

of everything 

Why do some parents 

let their little kids 

walk alone 

Why won’t my mom 

trust me with a pet 

Why won’t my mom trust me with a pet 

I feel sometimes like my mom only pretends to 

trust me. Trust is something you either have or 

don’t have. If I can take care of my baby sister, 

why can’t I take of a fish Or a hamster Maybe 

it is a money thing and not a trust thing. She 

should just be honest about it. Etc… 

MW-ML 

6. Poets choose 2-3 ideas to free-write by revisiting the 

reflections they wrote about the events in 24 hours of 

their lives and the questions or thoughts they have 

about world events. 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

• Where are there entries in your writer’s notebook from which you could lift a line and write 

more 

• What more do you have to say about that idea 

• How has your thinking changed since you wrote the original entry 

• What happened in the last 24 hours that makes you stop and think about the way your life is 

going 

• What have you read about in the newspaper What have you heard on TV What have you 

heard adults talking about What are your reactions to what you are reading and hearing 

• What ideas are you eager to express in free-writes and then in poems 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Things that happened last 

24 hours 

Woke up and it was cold in 

the house 

Questions / Reflections that come 

up about them 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


7. Poets choose 2 or 3 poetry ideas that they 

feel will become strong inspiration for poems 

by rereading the poetry ideas collected in this 

unit and then answering reflective questions to 

find meaningful about their lives and the world. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Poets share their choices with a partner, verbally 

stating what was strong and memorable about their 

choice. 

ML 

Use the conferring questions on the Choosing a Poetry Topic chart. 

Choosing a Poetry Topic 

1. Why does this topic inspire me 

2. How does this topic make me feel 

3. What am I trying to say about this topic 

4. Am I willing to commit to writing poetry about this topic 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

8. Poets develop their poetry 

ideas by rereading mentor 

poems to notice how poets 

use story elements (internal 

dialogue and external 

dialogue, action, and setting). 

Teacher Notes: 

Together as a class, poets analyze 

evidence of story elements in Ralph 

Fletcher’s “Bill of Sale.” 

Students use the elements of story to 

develop their ideas in preparation for 

drafting. 

Poets will likely use lines from the 

story elements graphic organizer in 

their drafted poem. 

Setting/ Place 

Physically on 

the bus, 

mentally 

remembering 

the poem in 

school. 

External 

Dialogue 

None 

Action 

Read a poem 

Picturing Lydia 

standing in the 

hot sun 

Internal 

Dialogue 

Uses rhetorical 

questions. How 

can I go on with 

my life 

…how could 

this ever 

happen 

9. Poets develop mood in 

their poems by studying 

mentor poems. 


Together as a class, poets analyze the 

craft moves in Jane Medina’s “My 

Paper,” noticing how she creates the 

overall mood of her poem. 

Poets create a t-chart and think about 

the overall mood they want to evoke in 

their poem. They practice writing lines 

that will help evoke that mood. 

Text 

explicitly 

says 

She held up 

my paper 

and all the 

noise 

stopped. 

Then their 

eyes 

became a 

bit wider, 

and their 

pencils 

moved a bit 

faster 

and I grew 

a bit bigger 

Overall mood 

What I can infer 

about the mood 

Curious 

anticipation – is 

a student going 

to be praised or 

embarrassed 

Amazement and 

pride – students 

seem impressed 

with the paper 

Triumphant and 

proud 

10. Poets create mood and 

craft their poems with 

internal and external 

dialogue, images, and action 

to infer the big idea by listing 

what they want to say or tell 

their readers directly on one 

side, and how they might 

write it without telling them 

directly on the other side. 

What I want to 

tell my reader 

about my big 

idea 

ML 

Lines I can 

write that let 

the reader 

infer my big 

idea 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Help me picture the setting and the action that you’ll use to communicate your idea. 

Will you use external dialogue in your poem Why or why not 

Will you use internal dialogue in your poem Why or why not 

What mood will you try to evoke in your poem 

Which words, phrases, or images can help evoke that mood 

What is the big idea you’ll try to communicate in your poem 

How will you show, not tell, that message or idea 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Poets Consider Story Elements When Developing Poems 

Setting/ Place 

Action 

External Dialogue 

Internal Dialogue 

Overall Mood 

Text explicitly says… 

What I can infer about the mood 

What I want to tell my 

reader about my big idea 

Lines I can write that let the 

reader infer my big idea 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

11. Poets draft their poems by first writing 

down ideas in a narrative structure and then 

using line breaks to break it up into 

possible lines of a poem. 

Poets revise the poem by cutting out extra 

words or endings, and rearranging linebreaks. 

They make two revised versions 

and then compare those to the original. 


Together as a class, poets look at a story 

version of the poem “Red” by Lilian Moore. 

12. Poets draft a second version of their 

poems by eliminating extraneous words, 

using only the words they absolutely need 

to convey their message and crossing out 

words that are not essential and paying 

close attention to line breaks. 

ML 

I was standing at my window and all day I 

saw across the way, on someone’s windowsill, 

a geranium, which looked like it was glowing 

red bright – it looked like a tiny traffic light 

faraway. 

Red 

All day 




red bright 

like a 

tiny 

faraway 


CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

ML (becomes the Revision Center) 

 

 

 

 

 

Please share the narrative version of your poem with me. 

How did you make decisions about where to place line breaks 

Which decisions about line breaks did you make that you decided not to use Why 

Which words seem extraneous to you 

Please listen as I read your poem to you. Are the line breaks where you expected 

them Are there any extraneous words you’d like to eliminate 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 


13. Poets revise ordinary language to 

poetic language to help the reader better 

picture or experience what the poem is 

trying to convey by “cracking open” 

overused and abstract words and sentences 

such as, “It was a nice day,” or “she was 

very nice,” by finding the image inside. 

Overused 

or 

abstract 

language 

It was a 

nice day. 

She was 

nice. 

Language that paints a 

picture 

The bright sun, appearing 

from behind Mt. Chocorua, 

cut diamonds across the 

blue lake. 

Her kindness wrapped 

around me like a warm hug, 

saving me from my sadness. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATIN 

14. Poets use repetition – repeating 

particular words or phrases – within the 

poem to add to the mood or to better 

convey the big idea by studying mentor 

poems such as Cynthia Rylant’s 

“Forgotten” and Naomi Shihab Nye’s 

“Courage” to notice how repetition affects 

the meaning of the poem. 

Poet 

and 

Poem 

Repeated 

word or 

phrase 

Meaning 

Poets reread their poems to determine where 

repetition can help communicate the meaning, 

and revise their poems with repetition in mind. 

Poets rewrite their poems after cracking open ML 

overused and abstract words and sentences. 

ML 

• Where did you revise overused language 

• Which language that paints a picture did you try and then discard Why 

• How did you decide which words or phrases to “crack open” and which words or 

phrases did you decide to leave alone 

• How do you plan to use repetition in your poem 

• Listen to me read your poem to you. Does the repetition add what you had hoped If 

not, how might you revise your poem 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Overused or abstract 

language 

Language that paints a 

picture 

Poet and Poem 

Cynthia Rylant’s 

“Forgotten” 

Naomi Shihab 

Nye’s “Courage” 

Repeated word or 

phrase 

“Nobody else’s dad 

had” 

(repeated 5 times) 

“A word” 

(repeated 4 times) 

Meaning 

Helps the reader understand how 

alone Cynthia felt when her father 

died, how different from other 

children his death made her feel. 

Helps the reader understand how 

much she loved his unique ways. 

Helps the reader understand that 

the type of courage Nye is talking 

about is the courage to speak up, 

to say what one needs to say. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


15. Poets strategically use punctuation to help 

convey meaning and help bring rhythm to the 

poem by reading mentor poems aloud, pausing 

at commas and periods, noticing fragments 

(incomplete sentences) and run on sentences 

(sentences that stretch conventional sentence 

structure) and then talking about how those 

punctuation decisions shape the meaning of the 

poem. 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

16. Poets edit for spelling by using all available 

tools (words around the room, word walls, 

personal spelling lists, and dictionaries). 

Teacher Notes 

While there are no clear rules of punctuation in poetry, 

poets can study mentor poets to learn about how poetry 

shapes meaning. 

Poets experiment with punctuation in their poems to 

better convey meaning. 

Poem/ 

Poet 

Line 

from 

poetry 

How the 

punctuation shapes 

the meaning 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

What have you learned about the use of punctuation in the mentor poems 

How have you edited the punctuation in your poem to affect the overall meaning 

To what degree are you comfortable using unconventional sentences (run-ons and fragments) 

What tools have you used to correct the spelling of words in your poems 

Which words do you think are misspelled despite your efforts to correct the misspelling 

How do you think this word is spelled 


Fourth Grade 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Poem/ Poet Line from poetry How the punctuation shapes 

the meaning 

“Forgotten” by 

Cynthia Rylant 

But then 

nobody else’s dad had worn 

red-striped pajamas 

and nobody else’s dad had made 

stuffed animals talk 

and nobody else’s dad had gone 

away 

nine years ago. 

Creates a very long sentence from 

3 ideas. Makes me feel Cynthia’s 

pain because her voice is rushing 

out all of the things she has to say 

about her dad without taking a 

breath. 

“T-shirt” by 

Jane Medina 

Teacher 

Yes, Teacher. 

Yes, T— 

I mean, Mrs. Roberts. 

Yes… Mrs. Roberts. 

Mrs. Roberts 

Please, call me Jorge. 

Short, choppy sentences show that 

Jorge is on the receiving end of 

Mrs. Roberts’ respect lesson. But 

the simple sentences make his 

statement at the end, “Please, call 

me Jorge,” even more powerful. In 

that short sentence he is saying that 

he deserves the same respect the 

teacher is asking for. 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


AND 

CELEBRATING 

17. Poets create the final draft of their poem by 

considering the overall meaning, desired 

message, and tone of their poems and 

rehearsing reading them in order to perform 

them and then making any necessary final 

changes. 


In small groups, poets practice reading their poems 

aloud to maximize the impact on the readers’ emotional 

reaction and connection to the content. They solicit 

feedback from peers. 

18. Poets celebrate their poems by sharing them 

with the whole class in a poetry share. 

Poets arrange their chairs in a circle and perform their 

poem (giving thought to the pace, volume, and possible 

movement). 

Poets gather their poems together into a poetry 

anthology. 

Poets ask someone else to read their poems back to them 

to help hear their poem read in a different voice. 

As poets listen to their poem, they ask themselves the 

“Questions Poets Ask As They Listen To Their Poems 

Read Aloud By Another Reader.”(See Chart below) 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

ML 

What did you learn about your poem from critically listening to another person read your 

poem aloud 

What last minute changes will you make to improve your poem 

How do you plan to place your words on the page to communicate the meaning you want to 

convey 

How do you plan to use your voice and body to communicate the meaning of your poem 

What did you learn about yourself as a poet in this unit of study 

Questions Poets Ask As They Listen To Their Poems 

Read Aloud By Another Reader 

Are there any words or lines that sound awkward, that clink on the page 

What words or lines sound strong, pleasing, “poetic,” or memorable 

Does the poem make you feel anything 

Which words, lines, or images move you the most 

Does the poem feel emotionally true 

Are there any words or images that feel untrue 

Is the poem clear or does it feel confused 

Does the poem “explain” rather than “show” 

Does the “energy” leak out of the poem Does your mind begin to wander 


Fourth Grade 

T-Shirt (A poem in two voices) 

By Jane Medina 

Teacher 

George, 

please call me “Mrs. Roberts.” 

Yes, Teacher. 

George, 

please don’t call me “teacher.” 

Yes, T— 

I mean, Mrs. Roberts. 

You see, George, 

it’s a sign of respect to 

call me by 

my last name. 

Yes… Mrs. Roberts. 

Besides, 

when you say it, 

it sounds like “t-shirt.” 

I don’t want to 

turn into a t-shirt! 

Mrs. Roberts 

Yes, George 

Please, call me Jorge. 


Fourth Grade 

FORGOTTEN 

By Cynthia Rylant 

Mom came home one day 

and said my father had died. 

Her eyes all red. 

Crying for some stranger. 

Couldn’t think of anything to do, 

so I walked around Beaver 

telling the kids 

and feeling important. 

Nobody else’s dad had died. 

But then 

nobody else’s dad had worn 

red-striped pajamas 

and nobody else’s dad had made 

stuffed animals talk 

and nobody else’s dad had gone away 

nine years ago. 

Nobody else’s dad had been so loved 

by a four-year-old 

And so forgotten by one 

now 

thirteen. 


Fourth Grade 

My Paper 

By Jane Medina 

She held up my paper 

and all the noise stopped. 

Everything became still. 

Everyone turned their heads 

to hear the words she read 

--- my words. 

Then their eyes became a bit wider, 

and their pencils moved a bit faster, 

and 

I grew a bit bigger, 

when she helped up my paper 

and all the noise stopped. 


Fourth Grade 

Two People 

By Eve Merriam 

She reads the paper, 

while he turns on TV; 

she likes the mountains, 

he craves the sea. 

He’d rather drive, 

she’ll take the plane; 

he waits for sunshine, 

she walks in the rain. 

He gulps down cold drinks, 

she sips at hot; 

he asks, “Why go” 

She asks, “Why not” 

In just about everything 

they disagree, 

but they love one another 

and they both love me. 


Fourth Grade 

Bill of Sale 

By Ralph Fletcher 

We read a poem 

about a bill of sale 

for a slave girl 

named Lydia Wells. 

She was sold for $133 

on July 18, 1858, to a man 

named Samuel Rothrock. 

Coming home on the bus 

I kept picturing Lydia, 

the same age as me, 

her bare feet in the dirt, 

standing in the hot sun, 

sold like an animal 

to the highest bidder. 

In a country like America 

how could this ever happen 

How can I go on with my life 


Fourth Grade 

Courage 

by Naomi Shihab Nye 

A word must 

travel through 

a tongue and teeth 

and wide air 

to get there. 

A word has 

tough skin. 

To be let in, 

a word must slide 

and sneak 

and spin 

into the tunnel of the ear. 

What’s to fear 

Everything. 

But a word 

is brave. 


Fourth Grade 

I’d Mark with the Sunshine 

By Kalli Dakos 

If I were a teacher, 

I wouldn’t mark in red, 

Because red reminds me 

Of blood that 

Oozes out of cuts, 

And fire engines that 

Rush to fight blazes 

So hot you could 

Die in them, 

And STOP signs that 

Warn you of danger. 

If I were a teacher 

I’d mark in yellow – 

For corn muffins, 

Mustard on a fat hot dob, 

Gardens of dandelions, 

And sunbeams that 

Dance on daffodils. 

If I were a teacher, 

I’d throw out 

My STOP pen, 

And I’d mark with 

The sunshine itself! 

To give light to an A, 

Warmth to a C, 

And hope to an F. 


Fourth Grade 

Red 

By Lilian Moore 

All day 




red bright 

like a 

tiny 

faraway 



Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Write Literary Essays 


Teacher Note 

What is a Literary Essay 

“A literary essay is a formal piece of writing that involves analytical thinking. The writer is required to organize 

thoughts, support that thinking with examples, and revise and edit to be sure the argument is clear to the reader,” 

(Fountas and Pinnell, page 474). Some examples of literary essays include “a report of an author or illustrator 

study, an examination of a particular theme across texts, a character analysis or comparison, or a book critique” 

(Fountas and Pinnell, page 464). Furthermore, on page 492, Fountas and Pinnell explain that a literary essay may 

include a short retelling of the text and: 

Requires planning and organizing 

Involves drafting, revising, and editing to be sure that the argument is clear to the reader 

Involves developing a new understanding from a well-presented argument 

Requires analytical and critical thinking on the part of the reader 

Requires using evidence from the text to support thinking 

Requires reaching the quality of publication 

Margaret Mooney defines the why of an essay: “to explain, explore, or argue ideas on a single topic; to entertain 

through discussion of an idea or opinion,” (Mooney, page 40). In a personal essay, the writer writes about lessons 

learned from the people they know and interact with. In a literary essay, the writer writes about lessons learned 

from the characters they get to know. Janet Angelillo explains: 

The literary essay in elementary school is the predecessor of the writing about reading that 

students will be expected to do in secondary school. It is an examination of some theme or 

original thinking behind a book or it compares some element in one or more books. Literary 

essays often focus on a theme or on story elements such as characters or plot (page 65). 

The ideas in a literary essay “come from two places: What you think the author is saying about life through this 

text, or what you think about an idea and how this text supports your idea,” (Angelillo, page 84). Furthermore, a 

literary essay, “advances an idea about a text (or texts) the author has read, may include a short retelling of the 

text(s), organizes the sections of the essay in a logical, point-by-point way, and the author develops his points by 

referring to parts of the text(s),” (Anderson, page 70). 

Not all texts lend themselves to be written about in a literary essay. Writing about reading should be thought about 

on a continuum. Some reading experiences lend themselves to jottings or quick blurbs to advertise the books and 

others lead themselves to thoughtful essays about deeper issues. Because some reading experiences are more 

memorable than others, it is important to teach students a range of ways to record their thinking in writing. This 

unit of study focuses on writing about texts with memorable and important themes or big ideas. 

How the Fourth Grade Unit Builds on the Third Grade Unit: 

Like the third grade unit, this literary essay unit is designed with supports and challenges in mind. In third grade, 

the focus of the essay was deliberately supportive -- the literary essay focused on character – so that the students 

could focus on the challenge of developing and supporting an idea about a text across multiple paragraphs in the 

form of an essay. In this unit fourth graders will build on the literary essay writing skills they gained as third 

graders by following a similar literary essay structure. Since kindergarten students have engaged in reading units of 

study on story elements (most recently Readers Analyze Story Elements in January), providing them with the skills 

they need to determine the important ideas and themes in stories. This unit will teach them to write about those 

themes or big ideas. 


Fourth Grade 

Immersion: 

Immersion is going to take on three forms in this unit of study. Please be sure to select texts that have rich 

themes or big ideas. 

First, as in all units of study, writers need to be immersed in the type of writing they are expected to write. Finding 

literary essays that can serve as mentor texts for students can be a challenge because most literary essays are not 

written on children’s levels. You are strongly urged to write some literary essays for yourself that can serve as 

mentors for your students. Two sample literary essays are included with this unit. 

Second, as you write in front of your students everyday, you will immerse them in your own thinking around 

crafting a literary essay (another good reason to write a literary essay prior to the start of the unit). You will 

identify one mentor read aloud text with which to model all of the mini-lessons as you craft your piece from 

around this text. 

Third, students need to be immersed in talking and thinking about the read alouds that will serve as the texts about 

which students write their literary essay. During the immersion and collecting phases, students will choose to work 

with one or more of 3-4 familiar picture books (most likely read during Readers Analyze Story Elements) chosen by 

you in support of this study. Suggested read aloud texts are listed in the possible mentor texts section. 

Phases of the Writing Process: 

You’ll notice that this unit of study does not follow the typical phases of the upper grade writing process. Rather 

than beginning with this unit of study with collecting, it begins with three days of immersion. Why Students need 

to be immersed in reading and analyzing a literary essay because, unlike genres they listen to and read relatively 

frequently such as personal narrative, memoir, and poetry, students rarely encounter literary essays. The immersion 

phase provides students with time to get the ‘sound’ of a literary essay in their ears. Also, they need to 

refamiliarize themselves with the texts about which they will write their essays. 

Scaffolds in the Unit: 

The unit is designed with scaffolds in mind following a gradual release of responsibility model. You will 

demonstrate through modeled and shared writing how to write a literary essay every day. In this way, students will 

help you create a class literary essay. 

During the collecting phase, students will select texts previously read during immersion and will analyze and write 

about ideas in the familiar texts. In this way, students will be practicing the challenging work of thinking beyond, 

doing so in a familiar text. 

During the choosing phase, students will reread what they collected and select an idea about one text to develop 

into a literary essay. Naturally, students may select the same mentor text, but during the developing phase, 

encourage students to write as individuals since they likely have their own ideas about the text. 

Create and photocopy a typed text version of each mentor text so each student gets a copy of his or her mentor text. 

Continue to make the picture book mentor texts available for student use. The developing phase is an opportunity 

for students to go back into the text they are working with and to look for all evidence that supports their statements 

about the character. Reexamining the text gives students the opportunity to confirm whether or not their initial 

pieces of evidence were the strongest examples to include when supporting their statements. Students can choose 

stronger pieces of evidence to use in their literary essays. This is also a time for teachers to confer/pull small 

groups offering additional support where necessary. 


Fourth Grade 


Theme- is a universal idea that conveys one possible message of the story. This idea transfers cross texts and can 

be applied to one’s own life. Students may come up with different themes based on their unique perspectives. For 

example after reading Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes the following themes were generated: 

Be happy with who you are. 

Kids will tease you, so try not to let it bother you. 

Teasing hurts, maybe I shouldn’t do it. 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

• Writers write statements about themes and big ideas for literary essays by closely reading memorable, theme-rich texts. 

• Writers gather evidence from the texts to support their claims and carefully punctuate direct quotations from the text. 

• Literary essays unfold across multiple paragraphs including an introductory paragraph, a sufficient number of body 

paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. 

• Writers select carefully chosen transitional phrases to move the reader through the essay. 

• Writers end the literary essay by synthesizing the information in the body of the essay and concluding with a bigger idea 

extending beyond the writer’s personal experience into a call to action. 

• Writers demonstrate increasing control in the area of conventions and accuracy: 


• Sentences are appropriately punctuated (quotation marks, commas, periods, ellipses (to indicate deliberate omission 

of part of the direct quotation)). 




RL 4.1, 2, 3, 4 


RF 4.3, 4 


W 4.2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 


SL 4.1 


L 4,1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 



Sample Literary Essays: 

 

 

“Student Samples (Matilda) 

Sample from Eleven by Sandar Cisneros 

Read Alouds with Memorable Themes or Big Ideas: 

A Pet by Cynthia Rylant 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco 

Cheyenne Again by Eve Bunting 

Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting 

Going Home by Eve Bunting 

The Other Side by Jaqueline Woodson 

Writing About Reading: From Book Talk to Literary Essays, 

Grades 3-8 by Janet Angelillo. (2003). 

Literary Essays: Writing About Reading Grades 3-5 by Lucy 

Calkins and Medea McEvoy, book five from Lucy Calkins 

and Colleagues from the Teachers College Reading and 

Writing Project. Units of Study for Teaching Writing, 

Grades 3-5. (2006). 

Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency: Thinking, 

Talking, and Writing About Reading, K-8 by Irene C. 

Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. (2006). 


and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support by Gay 

Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas. (2007). 



and Understandings to Notice, Teach, and Support by GaySu 


 

 

 

My Name is Maria Isabel by 

Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie de Paola 

Those Shoes by 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

IMMERSION CHOOSING DEVELOPING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING 

1. Read aloud to prepare for generating. 

Use A Pet by Cynthia Rylant 

2. Read aloud to prepare for 

generating. 

Use Those Shoes by Maribeth 

Boelts 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

3. Read aloud to prepare for 

generating. 

Use The Other Side by 

Jaqueline Woodson 

4. Writers prepare to write literary essays by 

immersing themselves in examples of the 

genre, asking themselves, “What do we notice 

about literary essays” 

ML 

What We Notice About Literary Essays 

Includes a short retelling of the text 

Organized into paragraphs 

First paragraph includes a compelling idea 

Contains 3-5 points to advance the 

compelling idea 

Includes quoted sections of the text as 

evidence 

Tells the reader what the essay is about 

Concluding paragraph circles back to the 

beginning & shows new insight 


ideas by revisiting their read 

aloud texts, naming big ideas, 

and reacting to the message of 

texts. 

(with read aloud texts) 

Summary 

of text 

ML 

What’s the 

life lesson 

the author 

wants me 

to know 


ideas by revisiting their read 

aloud texts, naming big 

ideas, and reacting to the 

message of texts. 

(with read aloud texts) 

Summary 

of text 

What’s the 

life lesson 

the author 

wants me 

to know 

7. Writers select a text read during immersion 

to think and write a long entry about the 

issues, big ideas or themes. 

They answer the following questions in their 

writer’s notebook to get to the theme or big 

idea. 

What is the message in this text 

What did the character learn 

How do I know 

 

 

What did I learn 

How will I live differently after reading 

this text 

ML 

CONFERR- 

ING 

QUESTIONS 

• What did you notice about the literary essays 

• What big ideas did you have from your reading 

• What part in the text made you think that 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

8. Writers reread their entries and select a thesis by 

answering questions. 

 

 

 

 

 

ML 

Why is this theme important to me 

What are some ideas I have about the theme 

or life lesson 

What evidence from the text or your life 

will help support your thesis 

Why is the theme or life lesson important 

for people to know 

How does this theme or life lesson connect 

with my life 

9. Writers create thesis statements expressing their 

chosen ideas and then choose the best one. 

They practice writing their statement using several 

sentence frames: 

1. Many people think that __(title)_ by _(author)_ is 

a story about …, but what the author is trying to 

teach the reader is … 

2. After several close readings of _(title)_ by 

_(author )_, you will realize that this story teaches 

you about… 

3. In the book, _____, (title) by _____ (author) the 

_______ (main character) learns… 

4. Create two thesis statements of your own. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

Which text interests you enough to write a literary essay about it Why 

What evidence do you have to support your thinking about the theme or big idea 

Why is this life lesson important to you 

How does the text and theme or big idea help you think about how people should behave in 

this world 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

IMMERSION 

CHOOSING DEVELOPING 

10. Writers plan their literary 

essay by using a graphic 

organizer (boxes and bullets). 

They identify the thesis and 

supporting reasons. 

ML 

(page 2) 

DRAFTING REVISING EDITING PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

11. Writers develop their 

literary essays by gathering 

supportive text evidence. They 

reread the text, highlighting 

and identifying evidence that 

supports their statement. 

Evidence may include: 

Characters’ actions, 

dialogue, thoughts, and 

feelings 

Ideas evoked in 

illustrations 

Repeated phrases 

How the character changed 

Problem/ resolution: What 

did the character learn 

12. Day 1: Writers plan their literary 

essay by listing evidence for each 

reason by plotting highlighted 

evidence on graphic organizer for 

each reason. They use quotation 

marks when copying exact phrases 

and sentences from the text. 

ML 

They staple five sheets of drafting 

paper together to represent each of 

the five paragraphs that will 

comprise the finished literary essay. 

13. Day 2: Writers plan their 

literary essay by listing 

evidence for each reason by 

plotting highlighted evidence 

on graphic organizer for each 

reason. They use quotation 

marks when copying exact 

phrases and sentences from 

the text. 

ML 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS What smaller thoughts did you have about your idea 

What evidence are you finding to support your idea 

Show me how you copied an exact phrase from the text. 

How has your thinking changed as you’ve gathered more information about your idea 

How strong is your evidence Where might you need more evidence Where might you need to eliminate 

evidence 

How does your evidence connect back to the compelling idea you started with 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

IMMERSION CHOOSING DEVELOPING DRAFTING REVISING EDITING PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

14. Writers draft an introduction paragraph by: 

ML 

 

 

 

 

Including a short retelling of the text 

Naming the thesis 

Naming the reasons 

Adding a closing sentence 

15-16. Day 1-2: Writers draft a body paragraph 

for each reason by: 

Including a topic sentence that 

restates the thesis and names the 

reason 

Includes text evidence (1-2) 

Includes a linking sentence for each 

piece of text evidence (connects the 

evidence to the thesis and reason) 

Adding a closing sentence 

17. Writers draft a concluding paragraph that 

includes: 

ML 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

Thesis statement-restated in other words 

(rephrase) 

Refer back to the topic to remind the 

reader of one or two pieces of evidence 

Adding a reflection statement that 

connects the message to life 

Call to action! Show how the issue 

matters to the real world. (How will the 

reader live differently) 

How does your introduction hook the reader 

Which reason is your strongest and why 

Which evidence best proves the thesis 

Show me where you added your linking sentences to each reason. 

How does your concluding paragraph make the reader keep thinking about your thesis or the text 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 


PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

18. Writers revise their work by 

adding transitions to make sure 

the essay flows. 

ML 

21. Writers edit their 

quotations from the text by 

applying rules. 

(See chart below: How to 

Include Evidence) 

ML 

19. Writers revise their 

quotations by including an 

introduction. They do this by 

rereading mentor text and 

emulating published authors. 

-ML 

22. Writers edit by using a 

checklist to self-edit and 

then edit with a partner. 

ML 

20. Writers revise for sense by reading out 

loud to a partner and getting feedback. 

 

 

 

 

 

ML 

What is my best reason and why 

Which part is not clear Why 

Which part needs more evidence 

How does my introduction grab your 

attention 

What does my conclusion make you 

think about my thesis or the text 

23. Writers generate their final draft. 

24. Writers celebrate published essay. 

25. Writers demonstrate literary essay 

skills by completing a common assessment. 

26. Writers self-reflect and create goals for 

next writing piece. 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your best reason and why 

Which part is not clear Why 

Which part needs more evidence 

How does my introduction grab your attention 

What does my conclusion make you think about my thesis or the text 

Literary essay writers use transitions such as: 

For example… 

More importantly… 

Other parts of the text where I see… 

It is interesting how the character (or author, or narrator) says… 

Notice how… 

The author writes, “…” 

How to Include Evidence 

Example 

Use of Punctuation 

I want to copy the entire sentence. 

Start with “ 

End with ” 

“He planned to stay, he had no doubt. He loved that Put the period at the end of the sentence, before the ” 

house, inside and out.” 

I want to copy part of a sentence. 

Start with “ 

End with ” 

“We were going to end up barely speaking for at Put an ellipses (…) at the end, 

least two days and we’d both hate it. It’s terrible, Put a period after the ellipse, right before the ” 

when you are dying to talk….” 


Fourth Grade 

Sample Literary Essay #1 

A Literary Essay About “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros 

When students are bullied by classmates and teachers, they start losing their joy, their confidence – they lose 

themselves. Many people read Sandra Cisneros’s essay “Eleven” and think it is about a girl who has to wear a 

sweater she doesn’t want to wear. Instead, it is a story about a girl who lacks self-confidence because when people 

challenge her, she loses her voice, she does not stand up for herself, and she loses her composure. Rachel learns 

that when you are eleven, you sometimes feel ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and one. 

One reason why Rachel doesn’t feel secure is because she loses her voice when people challenge her. For 

example, Rachel’s classmate betrays her and begins to lose herself by losing her voice. One day Rachel’s teacher 

ask who owns a stretched out, itchy red sweater that was left behind in the coatroom. Sylvia Saldivar puts Rachel 

in the spotlight when she says to Mrs. Price, “I think the sweater is Rachel’s.” Sylvia is challenging Rachel, which 

makes Rachel feel lost. Sylvia’s betrayal is made worse when Mrs. Price agrees with Sylvia and puts the red 

sweater on Rachel’s desk. Being challenged by both Sylvia and Mrs. Price causes Rachel to start to lose herself by 

losing her ability to defend herself. “When I open my mouth nothing comes out.” This example shows how Rachel 

has difficulty sharing her feelings. 

In addition, Rachel does not stand for herself when Mrs. Price claims to have seen Rachel wearing the 

sweater saying, “Of course it’s yours… I remember you wearing it once.” Rachel protests, trying to tell Mrs. Price 

it is not hers, but Mrs. Price does not believe her. Rachel reacts to Mrs. Price’s actions by escaping into her 

imagination where her family loves her, daydreaming of her birthday party. She daydreams about getting her 

power back. “In my head I am thinking how long till lunch time, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw 

it over the school yard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the 

alley.” Another time where Rachel lacks self-confidence is when she thinks over and over in her head, “Not mine, 

not mine, not mine,” instead of standing up for herself like someone else would have done. These parts from the 

text prove how Rachel does not handle problems well because of her low self-esteem. 

Another way Rachel illustrates her lack of confidence is when she loses her composure when Mrs. Price 

forces her to put on the sweater. Rachel reacts by thinking, “That’s when everything I’ve been holding in this 

morning, since when Mrs. Price put the sweater on my desk, finally lets go, and all of a sudden I’m crying in front 

of everybody.” She doesn’t feel special like it’s her birthday. Instead she feels humiliated and betrayed by Sylvia 

and Mrs. Price. School is no longer a place where she can learn. Rachel is so upset she wishes she could become 

invisible by running away like a tiny, tiny balloon. Clearly, Rachel’s reactions keep her feeling insecure because 

she holds things in until she explodes. 

In Eleven, Rachel is betrayed by her teacher, Sylvia Saldivar, and her entire class because they did not come 

to her defense, and Rachel is not confident enough to stand up against them. The bullying causes Rachel to lose her 

voice and her composure. Instead of defending her rights, she escapes by thinking about what she should have said 

if she had the courage. Eleven helped me realize that in life it is important to have confidence so that you can take 

a stand when other people challenge you. If you ever find yourself being humiliated or intimidated by someone 

else, speak up for yourself, demand that you are treated fairly, and make your voice heard! 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Write Well in Testing Situations 


Teacher Note 

The purpose of this series of lessons is to teach student how to take everything they have learned about narrative 

and expository writing and apply that knowledge to a testing situation. 

Like other genre units of study, this unit recommends that students be immersed in the genre: namely, students 

should get their hands on NJ ASK test materials and examine them. As Santman (2002) explains, “In order to learn 

to negotiate the format of the test or avoid its tricks and traps, it’s important to use materials that closely resemble 

the test your kids actually take.” 

Most of the lessons described in the unit should be begun as a whole class, with varying levels of teacher support. 

The unit asks us to resist the temptation to have the students start by immediately writing to a prompt. Lucy 

Calkins, Kate Montgomery and Donna Santman (1998) insist, “Test practice is NOT test preparation.” Mary Jett- 

Simpson (1998) agrees: “Simply taking practice test after practice test can reinforce non-productive strategies. 

Instead, we must equip students with strategies for taking tests and dealing with vagaries of the genre.” Students 

are gradually released to spend some time working independently with the NJ ASK test materials. 

Like in all units of study, charting is a crucial scaffold for supporting students. Our goal is to close the 

achievement gap and to support all students in their learning. One way to do that is to make sure all students have 

access to information, and charting allows students to have visual access that serves as reminders for students as 

they work independently. Charts are removed the day of testing, but having them up throughout the testing unit 

will help imprint a visual reminder in students’ minds. 

Text Selection 

In this unit, the materials you will use for most teaching points are from the NJ ASK released items or from 

other grade level appropriate test prep booklets. To help teach students how to identify the characteristics of highscoring 

stories, please use sample responses which can be found for 

Grade 4 at: 

http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/es/LAL-manual.pdf 

Grade 5 at: 

http://oaklyn.k12.nj.us/NJASK%20Writing%20Handbook%20Grade%205.pdf 

If you choose to design your own writing prompts, please format them to resemble those found on the NJ ASK so 

that students become familiar and facile with the format. 

Independent Writing 

Writing well in a testing situation requires a different type of stamina. Rather than spending multiple days 

composing a piece of writing, students need to go through all of the phases of the writing process in one sitting. 

After supporting students in understanding the expectations of writing a narrative and an expository piece for the 

NJ ASK, and what is required to score well, student will practice in a timed mock testing situation. Analyze the 

experience with students: determine what went well, what students struggled with, and create follow-up lessons to 

support students as test takers. 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

• Test takers connect what they already know about narrative writing and expository writing to the expectations of the NJ ASK 

testing situation 

• Test takers recognize and understand how to use the various parts of an NJ ASK writing test booklet (checklist for writing to 

tell a story, directions, Your Task (the prompt) prewriting, draft and revisions). 

• Test takers understand that the difference between writing a story (narrative piece) and writing a composition (expository 

piece). 

• Test takers know that the audience for NJASK writing is a “general audience.” 

• Test takers review prewriting strategies and decide on a prewriting method that successfully prepares them to write a story. 

• Test takers review prewriting strategies and decide on a prewriting method that successfully prepares them to write a 

composition. 

• Test takers identify, name, and apply the characteristics of high scoring written responses. 

• Test takers complete a writing sample in one sitting. 

• Test takers reread their writing and use revision strategies to improve the quality of their piece. 

• Test takers reread their writing to edit their writing by applying rules for capitalization, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. 



RF 4.3, 4 


W 4. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 


SL 4.1 


L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 


Fourth Grade 

 

 

 


Teacher-created “test format” prompts 

Commercial test prep materials 

Annotated student writing samples to use with students to 

learn about the characteristics of high scoring written 

responses. 

Grade 4 at: 

http://www.state.nj.us/education/assessment/es/LALmanual.pdf 

Grade 5 at: 

http://oaklyn.k12.nj.us/NJASK%20Writing%20Handbook% 

20Grade%205.pdf 

 

 

 

 

 


A Teacher’s Guide to Standardized Reading Tests: 

Knowledge is Power by Lucy Calkins, Kate 

Montgomery, Donna Santman. (1998). 

Guiding Readers and Writers: Teaching 

Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy by 

Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. (2001) 

[Chapter 27: Understanding the “Testing Genre”: 

Preparing Students for High-Quality Performance.] 

Putting Thinking to the Test by Lori Conrad, Missy 

Matthews, Cheryl Zimmerman and Patrick Allen. 

(2008). 

Teaching to the Test Test Preparation in the 

Reading Workshop by Donna Santman. (2002). 

Writing to the Prompt: When Students Don’t Have 

a Choice by Janet Angelillo. (2005). 


Fourth Grade 

PHASE OF 

THE 

WRITING 

PROCESS 

WEEK ONE: 

SPECULATIVE 

PROMPT 


1. Writers learn the purpose and 

directions for the speculative prompt. 

Writers determine qualities of a wellcrafted 

narrative story by studying 

student samples and the Holistic 

rubric. 

Students create list of qualities of a 

well written narrative story (true or 

fictional). Combine students’ ideas 

into a class strategy chart. 

 

 

 

Elaboration: sensory details, figurative 

language, internal/external details to 

develop story, vivid personality traits 

to develop characters 

Strong opening: action, dialogue, 

thoughts, feelings 

Narrative stories include: setting, 

characters, problem, rising action, 

climax, solution 

ML 

4. Writers revise their drafts by 

choosing a craft strategy that 

improves the quality of their piece. 

Teacher Note: 

Teacher utilizes teacher model from 

day 2 to demonstrate possible 

revision strategies. 

2. Writers plan and draft speculative 

prompt to include qualities of good 

narrative. 

Teacher note: 

Teacher reads prompt, models plan, and 

writes sample speculative piece without 

student input to demonstrate time 

management and craft. Teacher does 

this in allotted time (30minutes) while 

thinking out loud the process for 

students. Students take notes on 

strategies they observe the teacher 

demonstrating. 

Students then work with a partner (using 

another prompt) to plan and storytell a 

response. Partners give each other 

feedback. 

ML 

5. Writers set goals for writing a 

well-written speculative prompt. 

Writers apply strategies learned 

for writing speculative prompt in 

a mock testing situation (30 

minutes for planning and 

writing). 

PUBLISHING 

AND 

CELEBRATING 

3. Writers edit by rereading 

and applying rules for 

capitalization, spelling, 

grammar, punctuation. 

Teacher note: 

Have students review their 

plan from previous day and 

draft their speculative 

prompt. (Allow 20 minutes 

only because they planned 

already and storytold). 

Then… model editing minilesson 

using your teacher 

model from day 2. 

Have students apply editing 

strategies to their piece. 

ML 

 

Partner work or independent 

work 

Possible Revision Strategies: 

Adding internal story (thoughts and 

feelings) 

Show not tell feelings through actions 

and facial expressions 

Describing the setting using sensory 

details to create mood 

Flashback or flashforward 

Elaborating the heart 

Reread for sense 

ML 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

WEEK TWO: 

EXPOSITORY 

PROMPT 

1. Writers learn the purpose and 

directions for the expository prompt. 

Writers determine qualities of a wellcrafted 

composition by studying 

student samples and the Holistic 

rubric. 

Students create list of qualities of a 

well-written composition. Combine 

students’ ideas into a class strategy 

chart. 

 

 

 

 

 

Elaboration: types of evidence (mininarratives, 

lists, quotes) 

Strong opening: Shocking fact, 

reflection, quote, angled mini-story, 

connection to a text/world event, 

thesis/idea, 

Strong closing: reflection, talking to the 

reader, call for action restate 

thesis/idea 

Transitions 

Answers all parts of the question clearly 

and with specific examples from life 

and/or texts 

2. Writers plan and draft expository 

prompt to include qualities of good 

compositions. 

Teacher note: 

Teacher reads prompt, models plan, and 

writes sample expository piece without 

student input to demonstrate time 

management and craft. Teacher does 

this in allotted time (30minutes) while 

thinking out loud the process for 

students. Students take notes on 

strategies they observe the teacher 

demonstrating. 

Students then work with a partner (using 

another prompt) to plan and describe 

possible examples. Partners give each 

other feedback about strength of 

evidence. 

ML 

3. Writers edit by rereading 

and applying rules for 

capitalization, spelling, 

grammar, punctuation. 

Teacher note: 

Have students review their 

plan from previous day and 

draft their composition. 

(Allow 20 minutes only 

because they planned 

already). 

Then… model editing minilesson 

using your teacher 

model from day 2. 

Have students apply editing 

strategies to their piece. 

ML 

ML 

4. Writers revise their drafts by 

choosing a craft strategy that 

improves the quality of their piece. 

Teacher Note: 

Teacher utilizes teacher model from 

day 2 to demonstrate possible 

revision strategies. 

5. Writers set goals for writing a 

well-written expository prompt. 

Writers apply strategies learned for 

writing an expository prompt in a 

mock testing situation (30 minutes 

for planning and writing). 

 

Partner work or independent 

work 

ML 

Possible Revision Strategies: 

Adding transitions 

Revising the introduction to grab the reader’s 

attention 

Elaborating evidence 

Adding internal story to mini-stories 

Revising the conclusion to leave a lasting 

impression 

Revise to include powerful word choice 

Elaborate to include figurative language 

Revise length and structure of sentences to 

show variety 

ML 


Fourth Grade 

Writing: Writers Assess Their Growth and 

Choose a Piece Most Worthy of Revising 


Teacher Note 

This is a time of year when we look back on a year of assessment and growth with our writers. It is a time to 

celebrate and recognize the love of writing that each of your students has developed this year thanks to your months 

of planning and thoughtfulness. 

Unit Layout/Prep: 

In this unit students will be reflecting on their growth as writers, thinking about strategies they have learned to 

improve their writing, revising a chosen published work they feel is worthy of improving and making a plan for 

their writing over the summer. 

Writer’s notebooks, published piece portfolios and mentor texts will be an important support to students in this unit. 

Students will be reviewing these writing tools as they reflect on their writing over this past year. It will be helpful 

for you to create a list of several possible craft/revision strategies that were covered within the year’s units. After 

this, students will spend time using the strategies they feel will best improve the piece they have chosen to revise. 

It will be helpful to gather some extra copies of mentor texts in a variety of genres that match each writing unit 

from the year. These texts can be used by students to not only help generate a list of possible revision strategies, but 

also emulate these published authors to take some compositional risks. 

For the third indicator, writers will explore how writing can fit in to their summer lives. You will need to model 

this work for students by generating a list of possible real-world writing opportunities. You will support students 

through conferring individually, in partnerships and in small groups. 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATORS: 

Writers reflect about their writing lives over the past year and choose a published piece most 

worthy or revising 

Writers design a list of possible revision strategies and apply them to their chosen piece 

Writers make plans for their summer writing 



RF 3, 4 


W 4.4, 5, 6 


SL 4.1 


L 4.1, 2, 3, 4, 6 



Communication 

Collaboration 

POSSIBLE 

READ ALOUD TEXTS 

 

For this unit, revisit read alouds 

that left a strong impression on 

your students…possibly leaving 

them with different perspectives 

now that they are at the end of 

their fifth grade year. 

POSSIBLE 

SHARED READING 

TEXTS 

 

For this unit, revisit shared 

reading pieces that left a strong 

impression on your 

students…possibly having them 

note difference in fluency and 

word recognition now that they 

are at the end of their fifth grade 

year. 

TEACHER 

RESOURCE TEXTS 

 

 

The Continuum of Literacy 

Learning: Grades K-8: Behaviors 

and Understandings to Notice, 

Teach, and Support by Gay Su 

Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas. 

(2007). 

The Art of Teaching Reading by 

Lucy McCormick Calkins. 

(2001). 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATOR 

ONE 

TEACHING 

POINTS 

Writers reflect about their writing lives over the past year and 

choose a published piece most worthy or revising 


lesson, SW=Shared Writing and IAW=Interactive Writing. Teaching points where a mini lesson is not 



1. Writers reflect by revisiting their writer’s notebooks and writing portfolios to reflect 

on their writing and choose a piece that is most worthy of revising. 

Reflection questions: 

Which piece reflects my best effort as a writer Why 

Which piece could use the most improvement Why 

Which piece best shows that I tried something new as a writer 

Which piece do I feel is the most meaningful Why 

Which piece would I most like spend more time on to improve 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What have you noticed about yourself as a writer this year 

Which piece reflects my best effort as a writer Why 

Which piece could use the most improvement Why 

Which piece best shows that I tried something new as a writer 

Which piece do I feel is the most meaningful Why 

Which piece would I most like spend more time on to improve 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATOR 

TWO 

TEACHING 

POINTS 

Writers design a list of possible revision strategies and apply 

them to their chosen piece 





2-3. Writers revise their chosen piece by using mentor texts and what they have learned 

throughout the year to generate a list of revision/craft strategies and then applying those 

strategies. 

See possible chart on next page 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

 

 

What are some craft strategies you plan to use to improve this piece Why those 

strategies 

What are some craft/revision strategies you have not tried 

What are some mentor texts/authors that have inspired you Why 

What parts of your piece are you planning to focus on Why 

How will these changes improve your piece as a whole 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATOR 

TWO 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Writers design a list of possible revision strategies and apply them to 

their chosen piece 

All charts are to be co-constructed with students: 

 

As students reflect on their chosen piece, chart together: 

Possible Revision/Craft Strategies 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance of internal/external elements 

Add/enhance setting details 

Balance of dialogue throughout 

Add/enhance transition words/phrases 

Monitor for sense 

Edit for correct use of mechanics (capitalization, spelling, punctuation) 

Revise to add a variety of punctuation for effect/tone 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATOR 

THREE 

TEACHING 

POINTS 

Writers Make Plans for Their Summer Writing 





4. Writers explore ways to continue their writing lives through the summer by creating a 

list of real-world writing options and setting reasonable writing goals. 

See possible chart on next page 

CONFERRING 

QUESTIONS 

 

 

 

What are some ways you write in your daily life 

What are some writing opportunities that may present themselves over the summer 

How often would you like to write over the summer 


Fourth Grade 

INDICATOR 

THREE 

POSSIBLE 

CHARTS 

Writers Make Plans for Their Summer Writing 

All charts are to be co-constructed with students: 

Possible Real-World Writing Opportunities 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letters written to family/friends 

Journal/diary 

Letter to editor of local paper 

Postcards from a vacation 

Travel log 

Responding to reading 

Complaint letter to organization/company 

Poetry 

Call to action letter to community leader 

Play/reader’s theater 

Comic strip

Writing - Robbinsville Public School District

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