Grades 5 and 6 Writing Units of Study.pdf

August
Launching Writing Workshop
*The following is intended to be specific in teaching new students and teachers how to
begin the writing process. Some of the information may seem obvious and/or repetitive.
Please filter for the specific needs of your classroom and for you as a teacher.
Goals for Launching Writing Workshop
1. Students will learn the rituals and routines of Writing Workshop.
2. Students will engage in lots of talk about the stories of their lives.
3. Students will listen to authors‘ stories and read alouds and make connections for
their own writing.
4. Students will learn about authors‘ habits and ―what writers do‖ as a basis for
developing their own habits as writers.
5. Students will begin to develop or continue to grow a love for writing.
6. Students will feel like a writer.
Expectations for Writing Workshop
Writers have a place where they collect their thoughts, feelings, and ideas
(typically inside of a notebook).
Writers are inspired by the lives they lead, always looking for writing ideas from
their own personal experiences.
Writers use tools and supplies appropriately.
Writers have a role during a mini-lesson, conference, and independent writing
time.
Writers know how to sit in the meeting area.
Writers write for long periods of time.
Writers move through the writing process (Collecting, Choosing,
Nurturing/Developing, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Publishing, Celebrating).
Writers tell their stories to other writers and effectively work with partners.
Writers revise, edit, and publish their work.

Preparing for Writing Workshop
Is there a meeting area in my classroom where I will teach each day‘s mini-lesson
from and where I will gather the students at the end of the Workshop for the
teaching share?
Is the meeting area large enough so that all my students can fit on the floor and
be close to where I am sitting?
Can I use the overhead projector in this area? (often the teacher will use
overheads during the teaching part of the mini-lesson – it‘s good to have your
meeting area in a place where you can use the overhead projector)
Do I have all the supplies for teaching a mini-lesson in the meeting area (chart
paper, easel, chart markers, tape, scissors, Post-it notes, blank overhead
transparencies, transparency markers, some books that support the Unit of
Study you are in, and anything else you find necessary)?
Will students take their Writer‘s Notebook home each day or will they be left at
school in a special place? (Sometimes, if students keep their Notebooks in their
desks, they get torn up and/or lost. It often helps to have a tub in the room in
which Notebooks can be kept.)
Where will my students keep their ongoing drafts? (students often have a writing
folder that is kept in a tub somewhere in the room that contains ongoing work
outside of the Writer‘s Notebook)
Will I have wall space in my room designated for an organizer that has kids show
where they are in the writing process? (It has been helpful for teachers to list
out the steps in the writing process where kids can move a clip to the step they
are in at a certain time.)
How will I keep/organize my conferring notes?
What are some things I will do to foster independence? (students sharpen pencils
without asking or keep a tub of sharpened pencils in the room / have a writing
center where students can access paper choices, highlighters, scissors, Scotch
tape, correction tape, colored pencils, pens, pencils, dictionaries, thesauruses,
check-lists, etc. / have a system for signing out for the bathroom
Where in my room will I keep charts up that need to stay up all year? (charts like
– ―Where Writers Get Ideas‖ ―How to Collect in you Writer‘s Notebook‖
―Nurturing Strategies‖ ―Revision Strategies‖ & ―Editing Strategies‖ might be left
up all year to encourage independence – Charts specific to a Unit of Study usually
will come down after the Unit of Study is over, but these other, more general
charts might stay up all year)
Will I periodically assess each student‘s Writer‘s Notebook? (some teachers
create rubrics that assess the Notebook and they share these with students in
the beginning of the year)
What are my expectations for the Writer‘s Notebook?

What can I write before school starts that will show my students that I am a
writer too (notebook entries, short stories, poetry)?
Will I start a Writer‘s Notebo
Will I have a catchy phrase or any other way to signal to the kids that it‘s time to
gather in the meeting area for the mini-lesson? (some classrooms have a bell the
teacher rings to let the students know it‘s time for WW – I was in one classroom
where the teacher had a wind chime in the middle of the room that she touched,
and the kids would just drop everything and go to the meeting area – this
definitely isn‘t necessary, but it deserves some thought)
What the Physical Room Looks Like – A CHECKLIST:
1. Is there a meeting area where my students can gather for mini-lessons and
shares?
_______ Yes _______ No
2. Is there a well organized, well stocked writing center with writing tools ready and
available at the onset of every writing workshop?
_______ Yes _______ No
3. Are the writing folders in a place where students are able to reach them and
include spaces for finished and unfinished writing?
_______ Yes _______ No
4. Are there examples of different genres hanging around the room in places that
are clear and easy to see (a poem, a song, a recipe, a list, different cards, letters,
a non-fiction article, etc.)?
_______ Yes _______ No
5. Are there words that students can copy in meaningful ways (color words, number
words, classmate names, your name, word wall with high frequency words, etc.)?
_______ Yes _______ No
6. Are there places to display examples of student‘s published and unpublished work,
or works in progress?
_______ Yes _______ No

7. Are there places for examples of your modeled writing, your works in progress?
_______ Yes _______ No
8. Is there an editing checklist the students can refer to all year long?
_______ Yes _______ No
9. Is there a large calendar with writing celebration dates/publication deadlines
clearly written in?
_______ Yes _______ No
10. Is there a library with books students can read and refer to for writing, including
a place to put books that are the genre you are currently studying?
_______ Yes _______ No
Teresa Caccavale & Isoke Nia
Teachers College Reading and Writing Project
The first unit of study should focus on helping students understand the structures of writing
workshop, the basic principles of writing process, and revision strategies that you feel they
could use, based upon your early assessments. Many teachers start with personal narrative
because they find that writing form experience is easiest for students. –Janet Angelillo
Overview of Unit
First, introduce Writer‘s Notebooks by sharing your Notebook with students. Create a
chart with the students of ways to Collect in the Notebooks (lists, webs, artifacts,
photographs, sketches, etc.) and a chart of what to Collect in the Notebooks (memories
you don‘t want to forget, special words/phrases, story ideas, fierce wonderings, etc.).
Keep adding to these charts as the students discover new ways to Collect and new ideas
for Collecting.
Have kids Collecting in their Notebooks for several days, building stamina as writers and
developing a sense of ―I am a writer.‖
Teach the steps in the writing process and the procedures of writing workshop. Assign
students the task of writing a personal narrative so that they have an authentic
assignment. Teach revision strategies within the context of writing those narratives,
choosing strategies that are simple so that students can be successful right from the
start.

Writing Notebooks
Start by giving students time to personalize their notebooks. This is really
important. Some teachers have a launching party where they give the notebooks
to the students and give them time to personalize with wallpaper, stickers,
construction paper, markers, etc.
As students start collecting inside their notebook, teach them to date each
entry.
It may be good to have 2 starting points inside the notebook: 1 from the front
where students are collecting their thoughts, ideas, and stories during
independent writing time and another starting point from the back of the
notebook. Students can flip the notebook to the back and start keeping notes
from mini-lessons. They can also cut down hand-outs and glue them in this section.
This way they can quickly reference something they learned during a mini-lesson.
Maybe have students put a Post-it in their notebook when they are starting a new
Unit of Study, so they can quickly turn in their notebooks.
We want to teach strategies for finding things to write about, not give prompts.
Teaching strategies rather than assigning prompts will allow our students to
become more independent as they use the strategy over and over.
You want to start a chart of all the ways you can collect inside a Writing
Notebook. You will want to demonstrate each strategy inside your own notebook
or on chart paper so that the students see you being a writer.
Share Writing Notebook rubrics with students right from the start. Teachers
often assess Notebooks for volume, variety, and neatness of entries. It is good to
share these expectations with students right from the start.
It is too overwhelming to collect all of the notebooks at one time for assessment,
so you may want to consider varied collection days. You could have 5 students
leave their notebooks on their desks at the end of the day on Monday, 5 on
Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday, etc. Then, you are assessing their notebooks once a
week and only doing 5 a day. This will make it more manageable.
You may have kids do Daily Pages to increase their writing stamina and fluency.
Some teachers have students write at least 1 full page (no skipping lines, no
starting way down on the page, and no writing HUGE so that only a few words fit
on the page) for homework each night or first thing in the morning. Often,
teachers will have students who are not shopping for books in the morning writing
their Daily Page. It can be writing about anything. It can be mundane and simple,
but at least they are writing. They can label the page with D.P. for Daily Page, so
you know when you are assessing.

WHAT‘S INSIDE A NOTEBOOK WHAT‘S OUTSIDE A NOTEBOOK
Daily entries
Collecting around and
nurturing a topic
Revision strategies – trying
out some possibilities
Editing, Grammar notes
Other notes and hand-outs
from mini-lessons
Drafts – the whole piece is
written outside the notebook
Revisions the author wants to use
Editing the actual piece
The final copy
Notebook Expectations
Students are expected to…
Write daily in their notebooks at school
and at home three times a week (minimum).
―find‖ topics for their notebook writing
from their life, from reading, and from
natural curiosity. Students are expected
to make decisions about their writing
topics on a daily basis.
Try strategies from the mini-lesson before
continuing with their own work for the day.
Respect the integrity of the notebook by
taking care of it and having it in class
every day. Students will respect other
notebooks by only reading entries they are
invited to read by the author.
Students can depend on the
teacher to…
Provide time each day for students to
write during writing workshop.
Teach writing strategies as ways to
discover writing topics. Teachers will also
confer with students to help nudge their
thinking and writing when students get
stuck.
Teach a mini-lesson each day to teach
students how to be better writers.
Not write inside of the students‘
notebooks.

Collecting Entries
Write about your name – what makes it special, how was it picked, what do you
like about it, what do you not like about it, just think about your name and write.
You can use Kevin Henkes‘ book, Chrysanthemum, to illustrate the
power/importance of a name and how often times there is a story behind our
name. So that this doesn‘t just become a prompt, you can teach kids that anytime
they are struggling to find something to write about, they can think of a person‘s
name, put it at the top of a page, and write about the name. Names are special and
usually have a story behind them.
Heart Map: Draw a large heart in your notebook and then mark off sections like a
quilt. Write special people, places, and things in the sections.
School Walk – jot down memories from places throughout the school
Draw a special place and put an X everywhere there is a memory of a story (jot
down a few words to remind you of the story).
Writing from a list – Best life events…jot down the 10 best things that ever
happened to you. Jot down the 7 worst things that ever happened to you. Choose 1
to put at the top of a clean page and write the story of that time. The important
thing about making these lists is that it leads into writing many stories. We don‘t
want kids just to make lists. So, you may give them 5 or 10 minutes to make a list
and then have them move to choosing 1 thing from the list to write the story of
that 1 time. Lists are good, but we want them to lead to long writing.
Other lists –
*make a list of emotions (sad, happy, mad, disappointed, and jealous). Choose 1,
put it at the top of clean page and list all of the times you felt that emotion.
Choose 1 time to write the story in your notebook.
*make a list of things you are an expert of, choose 1, put it at the top of a clean
page and list all the times you‘ve done that thing. Choose 1 time to write the
story.
*make a list of first times and last times
*make a list of all the things you wonder about
Write from a noun. Have students choose any noun, put it at the top of a clean
page, and write for 15 – 20 minutes. They should write anything that comes to
mind. Tell them that it‘s ok to stray from the original noun. This is a good
strategy to help writers get past writer‘s block. So, it‘s good to teach this at the
beginning of the year, just-in-case it is needed by some later in the year.

Teach the importance of rereading the notebook right from the beginning of the
year. Students will get new ideas from reading their old entries. Teach students
to reread with a highlighter in their hand. Have them highlight any interesting
lines, words, or ideas that they might want to write more about later.
Lift a line – have students reread their notebooks and choose a line they want to
write more about. They can put the line at the top of a clean page and continue
from there. This helps them see that there can be more than one starting point
for an idea.
Choosing an Idea, Nurturing/Developing that Idea
*You Collect ideas, then Choose a Seed Idea, and begin nurturing/developing that Seed
Idea INSIDE of the Writing Notebook.
Reread the notebook, putting a mark by all of the entries that could be
possible seed ideas.
Choose the one idea that holds enough memory to be developed into a full
piece.
Begin nurturing/developing that idea inside the notebook by using multiple
strategies.
Use a photograph from the time your writing about to help you think of more
details to include
Interview someone who was there to get another perspective and more details
to add to your writing
Sketch to help you remember all the tiny details
Go to the place (if possible) and write everything you can about it
Make a web
Make a time-line
Make a quick list of everything you can remember
Try out different leads (beginnings)
Make a list of words you know you want to use (try for exciting verbs and
adjectives/specific nouns)
Write questions you have about the time you are writing about and try to
answer them

Make a square and divide it into 4 boxes - use your senses as titles for each
box - write using your senses
Smell
The smell of salt
water filled my
nose.
Hear
I could hear the
waves crashing.
Touch
The rough sand
scraped the
bottom of my
feet.
See
Sea gulls were
flying over my
head.
Write the bones of your story (just get it down without all the dialogue and
wonderful details)
Think about the heart of your story (Where is the most action/emotion?) and
just write the heart in your notebook, stretching it out, writing it in slow motion
Tell your story to someone
Drafting and Revising
―If we expect our students to revise, we must provide them with specific strategies
with which to revise. We can teach and demonstrate specific revision strategies by
modeling our own and professional writers‘ writing and revision processes and by
teaching mini-lessons that include specific revision strategies.‖ (Georgia Heard, 2002 –
The Revision Toolbox)
The most effective way to teach these strategies is by modeling them with your writing
or with a child‘s writing.
Many of the following strategies were taken from the book, The Revision Toolbox.
Students reread ALL entries about their idea, close their notebook, and begin
drafting their story (skipping lines to save room for later revisions, not writing on
the back).
―Cracking Open Words and Phrases‖ – It was a nice day. = The sun peaked its head
up from the edge of the earth and covered the house with warmth. I swung open
the squeaky, white screen-door and stepped onto the porch. The cloudless blue
sky was everywhere. I just knew the fish would be biting today.

―Verbs are the Engines of Sentences‖ – Have students check their piece and
change some tired verbs to more exciting verbs - I walked up the stairs. = I
leaped up the stairs.
―Nouns are the Wheels of Sentences‖ – Have students check their nouns and
change some to more specific - I pulled stuff out of my bag. = I pulled sticky gum
wrappers, uncapped lipstick, and broken pretzels out of my bag.
Change the Lead – Try starting with a Question: How will I ever tell my mom I
broke the lamp? Or start with an Image: My feet crackled over the broken lamp
pieces.
Every time I moved, more crackling. Or start with Dialogue: ―Johnny! Hurry! I
need your help. Mom is going to kill me!‖ Or start with Action – Crack. Crack.
Crack. I tried not to look as I heard the lamp hit the tile floor.
Find the Heart of the Piece – Choose one or two sentences that are what the
piece is mostly about. Put those sentences at the top of a new page and just write
about those sentences.
Rereading – Teach kids to reread right from the start. Model writing a piece,
stopping after every few sentences to reread. We want kids to always do this.
Playing with time – Make a time-line of a piece and try starting the piece from
different places on the time-line.
Change the Point of View – Have students try writing their piece from a different
perspective.

Below is a sample 5 day schedule (easily extended to make a 10 day schedule) for
moving students through the writing process. It is ideal to move students through
the writing process within the first 2 weeks of launching and actually publish a piece
to share at the end. Then, you can start over and move through a 4 week narrative
study and slow the process down. It is good for students to feel that sense of
accomplishment (publishing) quickly in the beginning of the year.
Minilesson
Workshop
&
Conferring
Share
Day 1 Day 2
Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
Collecting Revising Editing Management Publishing
One way in
which writers
get ideas for
their work
Students write a
small moment
on paper,
teacher confers
to encourage
One way in One way in
which writers which
revise their writers edit
work their work
Students Students
revise their edit their
work, teacher work,
confers to teacher
encourage confers to
encourage
One thing writers
in our class need to
know about
management
Students rewrite
their work with
their revisions and
corrections
How writers
celebrate their
work
Students
celebrate their
work as a class
Whatever the teacher deems necessary. Students might share their work or the
teacher may do some management work with them.
The following might be great to write on chart paper or copy for the kids
to keep:
―I Am a Writer When…
I am a writer when I sit alone and write down my favorite memories about my
childhood and my children; when I take time to write by creating space in my
life; when I wake up in the middle of the night and fish around to find a pen
and paper to capture my thoughts.
I am a writer when I write about things that matter to me most…my parents,
family, special people, places, and things in my life; when I access childhood

memories; when I hear things I want to remember and take time to write
them down.
I am a writer when I capture thoughts, dreams, noticings, and wonderings in
my writer‘s notebook; when I write as a means of expressing my emotions;
when I write poetry that stems from my personal experiences.
I am a writer when the words in my notebook float effortlessly off the paper
like a musical composition that lingers in my head; when I have time to really
express my ideas and not have to share them with anyone; when I am given
time to reflect upon my personal and professional life.
I am a writer when the words I‘ve created bring me back to the me I should
be; when I allow myself to relax and write whatever I am feeling, whatever I
am frustrated by, whatever I am thinking, and when I am finished, I feel
cleansed; when I pour out my heart through words.

September
Literary Essay
Overview of the Unit
This unit aims to make reading a more intense, thoughtful experience for children
and to equip them to write expository essays that advance an idea about a piece of
literature. In order to write about reading in this way, you will need to decide which
piece(s) of literature your children will study in the unit. If your children are reading
novels and talking about the deeper meanings of those novels in book clubs, you could
use literary essays as a way to harvest their interpretations of these books.
However, students can also write literary essays about a short story or picture
book. Cynthia Rylant‘s book, Every Living Thing, has some wonderful examples you could
use. Also, Ever Bunting‘s pictures books are provide excellent opportunities for literary
essays. You can create a small collection of stories for students to read and respond to.
Likewise, you could begin the unit with the entire class reading the same short
text and responding to it in their notebooks. Then you could do a quick publish of this
as a model for a more in depth literary essay about the book they are reading in
reader‘s workshop. If you start your reader‘s and writer‘s workshop unit at the same
time, doing a quick publish of a short text will offer you time during reader‘s workshop
to collect entries about the characters in their stories. By the time you have completed
your quick publish, students will have completed work during reader‘s workshop about
their characters. This will give them information and ideas to use during writer‘s
workshop as they begin a more in-depth study of their character for their second
literary essay.
During the first few days of the unit, you will want to demonstrate a way of
reading and writing off of a story. Invite children to look closely at a text and to write,
―I see..‖ and then write what they notice. Encourage them to write long about this,
extending their observations by adding, ―The surprising thing about this is…, The
important thing about this is…, The thought This gives me is…, or I wonder if…
Once they have the short story/novel that they will write a literary essay for,
they will collect entries about the text. The process of choosing a seed idea in this unit
becomes double pronged. First, a child chooses a story. Then, the child lives wit that
one story and gathers entries about it. Eventually, the child will also reread those
entries to choose a seed idea – a claim- about their story.
Remind students to observe their lives and create thought patches in their
notebooks. They can use prompts like, ―The thought I have about this is… or This makes
me realize that…‖ They can pause as they read to observe what is happening to a
character and then grow an idea using the same sentence starters. They can also
extend their thought patches by using thought prompts to grow their thinking. As
students give examples to grow their thinking, remind them that they can linger on
these ideas too. Teach them to record an idea using new words by saying, ―that is..‖ or

―in other words…‖ and then rephrasing the idea. Teach them to entertain possibilities
by writing, ―could it be that…‖ or ―perhaps…‖ or ―some may say that..‖ Phrases like
―furthermore…‖ , ―this connects with…‖, ―on the other hand…‖, ―but you might ask…‖,
―this is true because…‖, or ―I am realizing that..‖ This will help them to elaborate upon
their ideas. Growing these sorts of ideas will allow children to write literary essay that
articulate the lessons they believe a character learns in a story or essays that name the
theme/idea a text teaches.
Children can look for a seed idea that is central to the story and provocative. You
can help them generate possible seed ideas. Some children will benefit from writing
inside this general structure: ―This is a story about… (someone), who is…(how?) at the
start of the story, but then ends up…(how?).‖ It could also be written, ―This is a about
___, who learns ___. Early in the text…Later in the text…‖ Some children will find
success if they try writing a sentence or two in which they lay out what the character
was like at the start of the story, contrasting this with how the character turned out at
the end.
Some children may want to write a thesis statement within this structure: ―When
I first read…, I thought it was about (the external plot driven story) but now, rereading
it, I realize it is about (the internal story).‖ This thesis would lead a writer to first
write about the plot, the external story, and then write about the theme, or the under
story.
Children will need to revise their seed idea so that it is a clear thesis, making sure
it is a claim or an idea, not a fact, phrase or a question. Help children to imagine how
they can support the thesis in a few paragraphs. Each paragraph shows how the claim is
true, citing specific reasons.
Children will plan their essays using boxes and bullets. They will need to collect
the information and insights needed to build the case. They can make a file for each
topic sentence/supporting paragraph and collecting examples to support their reasons.
On the other hand, children could bypass the process of gathering information into files
by using a rough form of an outline. They can plan each part of their essay by labeling
the top of separate pieces of drafting paper. Separate sheets of paper would be
labeled introduction, reason/evidence 1, reason/evidence 2, reason/evidence 3, and
conclusion.
You will need to teach writers how to cite references from a text and how to
unpack these citations. You may want to teach children that writers of literary essays
use literary terms such as narrator, point of view, and scenes.
You may also want to teach students to write introductory paragraphs that
include a tiny summary of the story. Closing paragraphs should link the story‘s message
to the writer‘s own life – the ending is a good place for a Hallmark moment. ―This story
teaches me that I, too…‖ An alternative is to link this story to another story or to an
issue in the world.

Alignment to the Standards
5.3.3 Contrast the actions, motives, and appearances of characters in a work of
fiction and discuss the importance of the contrasts to the plot or theme.
5.3.4 Understands that theme refers to the central idea or meaning of a selection
and recognize themes, whether they are implied or stated directly.
5.3.5 Describe the function and effect of common literary devices, such as imagery,
metaphor, and symbolism.
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keeping a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
5.4.3 Write informational pieces with multiple paragraphs that: present important
ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order; provide details and
transitions to link paragraphs; offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes
important ideas and details.
5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.9 Proofread one‘s own writing, as well as the writing of others, using an editing
checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific
errors.
5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.4.11 Use logical organizational structures for providing information in writing, such
as chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating
and supporting a hypothesis with data.
5.5.2 Write responses to literature that: demonstrate an understanding of a
literary work; support statements with evidence from the text; develop
interpretations that exhibit careful reading and understanding.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting
tone and style as appropriate.
5.6.2 Use transitions and conjunctions to connect ideas.
5.6.5 Use a colon to separate hours and minutes and to introduce a list; use
quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker and titles of articles,
poems, songs, short stories, and chapters in books; use semi-colons and
commas for transitions.
5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.
5.6.7 Spell roots or bases of words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable
constructions correctly.
5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.
5.7.11 Deliver oral responses to literature that: summarize important events and
details; demonstrate an understanding of several ideas or images
communicated by the literary work; use examples from the work to support
conclusions.

6.3.2 Analyze the effect of the qualities of the character on the plot and the
resolution of the conflict.
6.3.3 Analyze the influence of the setting on the problem and its resolution.
6.3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through characters,
actions, and images.
6.3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices, such as symbolism, imagery, or
metaphor, in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.
6.3.9 Identify the main problem or conflict of the plot and explain how it is
resolved.
6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
6.4.2 Choose the form of writing that best suits the intended purpose.
6.4.3 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that: engage the interest of
the reader; state a clear purpose; develop the topic with supporting details
and precise language; conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose
of the composition.
6.4.4 Use a variety of effective organizational patterns, including comparison and
contrast, organization by categories, and arrangement by order of importance
or climatic order.
6.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
6.4.9 Edit and proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent
errors.
6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and
between paragraphs.
6.5.2 Write descriptions, explanations, comparison and contrast papers, and problem
and solution essays that: state the thesis or purpose; explain the situation;
organize the composition clearly; offer evidence to support arguments and
conclusions.
6.5.3 Write responses to literature that: develop an interpretation that shows
careful reading, understanding, and insight; organize the interpretation around
several clear ideas; support statements with evidence from the text.
6.5.6 Use varied word choice.
6.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting
tone and style as necessary.
6.5.8 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the
most significant details.
6.6.1 Use simple, compound, and complex sentences; use effective coordination and
subordination of ideas, including both main ideas and supporting ideas in single
sentences, to express complete thoughts.
6.6.3 Use colons after the salutation, semicolons to connect main clauses, and
commas before the conjunction in compound sentences.

6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.
6.6.5 Spell correctly frequently misspelled words.
6.6.12 Deliver oral responses to literature that: develop an interpretation that
shows careful reading, understanding, and insight; organize the presentation
around several clear ideas, premises, or images; develop and justify the
interpretation through the use of examples from the text.
Teaching Points for Literary Essay:
For this unit, teaching points created and shared at our collaboration meetings
have been compiled together. The following teaching points are divided into the
different steps of the writing process. There are more teaching points listed for each
step than will be used in your unit of study. As a result, read through and choose those
teaching points that will work best for your classroom. Don‘t forget to use the Lucy
Calkin‘s book about literary essays for specific examples and additional ideas.
Immersion
Writers read literary essays in partnerships or small groups that others have
written. They jot down what they notice, share with the class, and create a chart
of noticings for everyone to use.
Writers reread examples of literary essays. They choose their favorite as a
mentor essay.
Collecting
Writers use text that they are reading to collect ideas for their writing. They
react to their text by say, ―I can‘t believe that…It surprises me that…‖
Writers use empathy to collect ideas for their writing. They empathize with the
character and say, ―I feel sorry for…I‘m angry that….I‘m happy for… I feel
hopeful for…‖
Writers use their reading to get ideas for their writing. They read a little bit,
stopping, and thinking about a line. They write, ―This line makes me think about…‖
or ―This line seems important because…‖
Writers use details in their reading to get ideas for their writing. They think
about the details we see and hear and our thoughts about those details. We
write entries like: I see… The thought I have about this…(or I think) To add on…
This reminds me of…. My idea is…
Writers use images from their reading to get ideas for their writing. They pick
out an image that makes them think and wonder. They read a little bit, stopping,
and writing: This image makes me think about…This image seems important
because…I‘m picturing ___ in my mind and I‘m thinking…

Writers use the character‘s actions in their reading to get ideas for their writing.
They pay attention to how the character acts or what the character does. They
think about how they would act or what they would do in a similar situation. They
write: This part makes me think ___ is a good person because…If it were me, I
would…I‘m really annoyed at ___ when he does this because…
Writers use ideas about their character to collect ideas for their writing. They
think about a character‘s traits, motivations, struggles, and changes.
Writers use thought prompts to push our thinking about our reading and help us
write longer and deeper about our first ideas. They write a thought, use a prompt
to push their idea further, and they extend/revise it. (Thought prompts can be
found in the Lucy Calkin‘s book on page 53 of the essay book.)
Writers elaborate on their thoughts/theories about their character. They give
examples of when this happened (in the beginning, middle, and end). They use the
words for example and another example of this is…
Writers find important ideas in stories. They reread their text and ask, ―What‘s
the story all about?‖ They pinpoint the main idea of the story and write long
about it. Writers use in-depth thought prompts to help them write long. Some
prompts include the following: The thing that surprises me about this is…, This
connects to…, This reminds me…, When I think about this part of the text, I
think…, I wonder about this part of the text, I think…, I wonder about this part
because…, I‘m realizing…, This whole story makes me think…, Some people
think…but I think…, I used to think…But this text makes me think…, This is
important because…, This fits with the whole text because…, On the other hand…,
I think this because…, Also…, and However… (Refer to chart on page 79 in the
Calkin‘s book has some too.)
Writers find issues that connect to their own lives. They reread a text and ask,
―How does this relate to things that have happened in my own life?‖ and ―Can this
story help me with my issues?‖ Also, they read their notebook, looking for topics
and themes that reoccur. They ask, ―Why does this entry matter to me? What
does this reveal about me? and How does the text connect to my life?‖
Writers get ideas for their writing from their character. They notice changes
their character has gone through. They can ask, ―Have I changed how I think of
my character?‖ In their notebooks, they can write I used to think ___ was ___
but now I realize…, In the beginning the character ___ but in the middle/end…,
or The character seemed ___ at first, but now he‘s…
Writers collect ideas for their writing. They summarize bits of the text. They
tell about the main character and their traits and motivations. They can
summarize an episode or a few examples that support a character trait.
(Summarizing steps are on page 140 in the Calkin‘s book.)
Choosing

Writers carefully choose a piece to write about. They ask themselves, ―Which do
I have the most to say about? Which one matters the most to me? and Which
one do I have at least 3 supporting examples for?‖
Writers use their notebooks to find thesis statements. They read their entries,
revising them to fit the whole text, and find supporting ideas using boxes and
bullets.
Nurturing/Developing
Writers revise their thesis statements and supporting details. They reread them
and decide if the thesis statement will present problems or if it can truly be
supported with the text. They ask themselves questions to help with their
decision. (Refer to page 112 in the Calkin‘s book for a list of the questions.)
Writers use their writing partner to help with the revision of their thesis
statement and/or supporting details. They talk with their partner about their
ideas and evidence and ask them for their thoughts or suggestions.
Writers support their thesis statement. They make a timeline of events that
occurred in the text that support the thesis statement.
Writers structure their literary essay with boxes and bullets. They write a
thesis that makes a claim or offers and idea about the text in the box. Then
each of their bullets represents a body paragraph that supports the thesis.
Writers support their thesis statement. They find evidence from the text to
support each of their ideas.
Writers extend an idea or claim. They list times, places, or reasons to support it.
Writers can make a thesis statement more memorable and powerful. They repeat
it and then add a supporting idea from the list as evidence each time they create
a new paragraph. For example:
Gabriel is a lonely boy.
* Gabriel is lonely when he eats his sandwich at school.
* Gabriel is lonely when he sits on the stoop outside his house.
* Gabriel is lonely when he walks the dark street.
Writers polish their essay with their leads. They write leads that contain broad
statements about literature, life, stories, or about the essay topic. They do this
to prepare the reader for the thesis they want to prove and to put it into a
context to be better understood. (Examples given in the Calkin‘s book on pages
189 and 190.)
Drafting
Writers draft their literary essay on lined paper, skipping lines, and not writing on
the back. They label the top of each sheet of paper. The sheets are labeled
introduction, evidence 1, evidence 2, evidence 3, and conclusion. Having separate
sheets allows us to reorder and rearrange our paragraphs as we draft and revise.
Writers draft an introduction for their essay. They mention the title and author
from the text they are writing about. They give a brief, angled retelling of the

story – telling only the significant parts of the story that pertain to their idea
and gives the reader a general idea of what the story is about. They state the
thesis.
Writers think about the order of their supporting paragraphs. They consider
ordering their paragraphs from the least powerful to the most powerful.
Writers use a similar structure for writing each of their support paragraphs.
Each paragraph includes a topic sentence. It also states the example(s) for
support. Writers include thought prompts to help them say more (elaborate)
about an idea. They explain how their example(s) prove the text part of the
thesis.
Writers draft a conclusion for their essay. They restate the thesis statement.
They quickly remind the reader of the examples they gave to prove the thesis.
They write a final wrap-up thought that touches on the whole essay and leaves
the reader thinking. Writers can make a connection to their own life, to the
world, or to another text.
Writers consider how they want to end their essays. They think about how a text
has impacted their thinking about their own lives, the world, or another text.
Revising
Writers revise their literary essay. They look at their ideas/supporting evidence
and decide what goes together. They may rearrange sentences, paragraphs, or
remove/add information to strengthen their argument. They may look to see that
their evidence follows the sequence of the text – their first example from the
beginning of the text and the last from the end.
Writers think about transition words to connect each part of their essay. They
use transitional words/phrases like: for example, another example, furthermore,
In one of the first scenes, we see this.., On the other hand…, however, In
addition, And yet, One reason/another reason, also, next, and although.
Writers often refer to the text for support. They quote the text and explain
how it relates to their idea. After they quote the text, they may comment on it
by saying, ―This scene particularly shows us… or This part is significant because…‖
Writers make our essays engage. They vary the way they begin their supporting
paragraphs.
Writers show how a text has moved them. They reread their writing and
comment on their thoughts or feelings about the idea of their essay. They can
make statements like, ―After reading this book, I now think/feel…‖
Writers analyze their writing. They ask themselves questions like: Does my
writing make sense? Have I used strong examples? Does my evidence refer back
to my thesis? Then they read their essay with their partner, asking the same
questions and revising as needed.
Editing

Writers edit their essays. They make sure what they read is on the page, not
omitting words they meant to write.
Writers edit their essays. They reread their essay to make sure their writing
makes sense.
Writers edit their essays. They make sure their punctuation follows grammar
rules learned.
Writers edit their essays. They reread their essay to make sure their
information is grouped in a way that makes sense.
Writers read their essays backwards looking for misspelled words to change or
look up.

October/November
Writing Fiction
(Historical Fiction, Fantasy, and Science Fiction)
Overview of Writing Fiction
This unit also offers a nice parallel to the reading unit at this time, where
students are in class-wide genre studies in book clubs. For this round of fiction, you will
teach your students to write the same kind of fiction that they are reading in their
book clubs. By partnering this writing unit with the same genre in their reading work, we
can provide students many opportunities to carry strengths from one discipline to
another. For example, in their book clubs, students will be talking about important
moments in their stories, moments that are windows into characters, moments of choice
and change, moments when characters bump into social issues, historical conflicts,
magical forces, or clues depending on the kinds of stories they are reading. The mind
work of interpretation in book clubs is clearly tied to the work of putting forth a
central meaning, not just retelling events, in writing. Then too, readers will notice
moments when they have strong emotional responses to their books. During writing, they
can create their own such moments. Of course this will mean that writers need to read
with the eyes of insiders, attending to not only being moved, but also the craft moves
the writer utilized in order to affect them.
Trust that your students will make discoveries from their own reading. Some of
them may be better at talking about fantasy or science fiction than we are! Fantasy
readers will notice how the authors of their books control time and they can then think
about manipulating time in their own drafts through foreshadowing, flashbacks, and
dream sequences. No matter the genre, we will be deepening our knowledge in writing
fiction.
Teach Students to Build On What They Know As Readers and Writers:
Lessons That Are Key to Any Genre
In this unit, you can choose to lead a whole study class on one of the three fiction
options. You will no doubt first want to look through this section, which builds upon the
work of your first narrative units, earlier in the year, and list out the teaching points
and unit bends that match and build on the strengths of your students. Then you will
want to spend some time carefully reading the three options below, adding to your plan
the points that will help your students craft within that specific genre.

One of the most exciting aspects of this unit is that our reading and writing units
will perfectly align. Whichever genre our students are reading and discussing in their
book clubs during reading workshop will be the same genre they are writing. It is also
important to note that although the genre makes the unit feel fresh and engaging to our
students, as teachers we know that at the heart of this unit is the reinforcement of
skillful narrative writing. Some lessons and methods for teaching the craft of story
writing will be common to all the genres. You may want to look at where your children‘s
writing falls on the narrative writing continuum and think about how independent they
are in their use of the writing cycle to decide which of the following reminders you need
to spend more time on, no matter which subgenre of fiction your students are
practicing.
To remind your young writers that they know a lot about stories based on their
reading lives, you could set up partnerships or small groups to do a quick inquiry in which
they chart qualities of fiction stories that they have enjoyed. They will no doubt list
traits such as how the characters are likeable, have strong emotions and interesting
relationships. Depending on what you‘ve taught them to notice and talk about in the
books they are reading and how often they‘ve had opportunities for talk they might also
say how sometimes characters are complicated, face tough problems, desire things and
sometimes teach us lessons. They‘ll sometimes mention that writers use dialogue, detail,
and inner thinking and that they give details about place, people, and objects. Next,
teach your students to look across this chart of writer‘s craft, and decide which of
those they want to tackle this time as they write fiction. Don‘t let them choose too
many. They should choose a couple they already do, and add one or two they‘ll focus on in
this story. This way, you are teaching your writers to set writing goals, and to imagine
outgrowing themselves as writers.
You may also remind students of what they‘ve already learned in fiction writing.
Partners can review their writing process from writing fiction and make a quick plan
about how this unit will progress for them. They might jot down how they started by
developing a main character, particularly by describing what that character wants and
struggles with. They might recall they had multiple tries at creating timelines for their
stories or told them in many ways across mini-books and began writing some of those
scenes or moments that took place within a clear setting. They will remember how they
used their notebook to develop their character and to reflect on the issues their
character faced. They may have rehearsed their stories by telling them to a partner or
through dramatic storytelling with a small group.
You may also teach students to use their notebook and any charts in the room to
come up with ideas for writing. In their notebooks are probably a lot of small personal
moments. You can remind them that in fiction they can change the endings of these
moments, or use characters and issues they have real experience with, in their fiction

stories. So they can look through their notebooks for possible ideas. Even in fantasy,
science fiction, and historical fiction, the characters need to be interesting, and have
visible relationships, desires, and struggles. Otherwise you end up with too much
attention to the trappings of the genre, such as a historical or fantastical setting, and
characters that aren‘t compelling enough. By taking students on this walk through past
learning you are not only gently reviewing important teaching, but you are also adding to
their budding feelings of confidence. ―This may be a new genre for you,‖ you‘ll say to
your students, ―but you already know so much about writing fiction.‖
Our writers will no doubt be so enthralled with the idea of writing fiction—
especially writing the genres of fiction they are reading—that they will immediately
begin to write long and complex plots. You will no doubt want to bottle this excitement,
and remind them of how their thoughtful, paced work during the first unit led them to
uncover things they never expected. Remind students that they will be writing short
stories, and that their stories need to begin and end within a short time frame, to have
one central problem that needs to be solved and to involve just two or perhaps three
compelling characters.
Teach students they can rehearse ideas for their stories in their notebooks by
writing some scenes and then trying them again in multiple ways. All through the unit,
you will use your own writing to model how you rehearse, experiment and revise your
ideas. Show how you use what you know about good storytelling to try to create a vivid
setting, a character the reader knows intimately, and a problem we care about. Don‘t
feel you have to be fantastic at the particular genre though, as students benefit from
seeing their teacher learn and get better as a writer as well. This often gives them
more confidence in taking on new writing tasks. While demonstrating your own writing
during a mini-lesson you might say, ―You know, my first attempts at writing fantasy, have
been really tough, but I am learning a lot as a writer, like I discovered that if I try out
the same scene in multiple ways I almost always find the perfect one.‖
Next, you may find it helpful to teach or review with students how to tell their
story across a mini-book or storyboard before they draft out of their notebook. You
may, for instance, start with 3 scenes, one where the characters are introduced, one
where the problem becomes visible, and one where it is solved. That makes the story
manageable, and they can draft those scenes or moments first. Naturally, some of these
will develop into more than one moment. If you teach your students that each of these
scenes needs a convincing setting, that there is a balance of dialogue, action, and inner
thinking, so we can see both what the character does as well as feels, they‘ll make a
good start on their stories and their drafts will develop story tension and strong
characters right from the start.

Once your students have begun drafting, you can start teaching revision. Revision
lessons could include going back to the first scene and introducing hints about the
problem characters will face by showing some of what they want, or what may get in the
way. You might demonstrate by saying, ―In my piece I want to start building tension
right from the start, so I‘m going to go back and show what she is thinking as she
watches all the other kids crowding around. Maybe she can think something like, ‗I have
to do something about this, and I can‘t just do anything! But who would listen to me?‘ or
maybe...‖ You can also teach students to revise the first scene to develop relationships
more – showing who has power, for instance. Or they could revise to give more details
about time or place in every scene, and how that changes. In the scene where the
problem arises, you could teach them to revise to really elaborate how their character
responds to trouble. Or to focus on vivid imagery, so that readers will see pictures as
they read and remember them when they finish the story. Finally, students could revise
by looking at mentor text and saying: ‗What‘s a part I like and why? What specifically
did the author do that I could do too? Where could I try that in my piece?‖
Fiction writing is also a great place to teach conventions. One of the things you
can teach students is to pay attention to tense. You can, using your own writing as a
model, try the first scene of your story in past tense versus present, and notice how the
tone is different. Then show them how once you commit to a tense, you have to make
your verb endings match this tense. You may choose to teach your students some of the
most common irregular verbs, the ones that turn up a lot in their writing, such as
say/said, go/went, are/were, bring/brought, etc.
You could teach your writers how to use short or long sentences to have a rapid,
intense tone, or a more contemplative tone, and then you could show them how to
punctuate some of those longer sentences. Teaching students first how to use commas
in lists, ―In her bag she had a comb, a mirror, and a green stone.‖ and then how to
elaborate those lists by describing the objects, ―In her bag she had a golden comb that
had belonged to Princess Stargiver, a mirror that showed the future, and a green stone
that made you invisible,‖ will show them how to expand their powers at the sentence
level.
*The teaching points for each genre are specific for that genre. They do
not contain all of the teaching points necessary to teach fiction. General
teaching points for fiction can be found in the Lucy Calkins‘ book for
writing fiction or in your resources from collaboration meetings.
Alignment with the Standards:
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.

5.4.2 Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot,
describe the setting, and include an ending.
5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.9 Proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections with specific
errors.
5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.5.1 Write narratives that: establish a plot/point of
view/setting/conflict and show, rather than tell, the events of the story
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting
tone and style as appropriate.
5.6.5 Use a colon to separate hours and minutes and to introduce a list;
use quotation marks around the exact words of a speaker and
titles of articles, poems, songs, short stories, and chapters in books; use
semi-colons and commas for transitions.
5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.
5.6.7 Spell roots or bases of words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable
constructions correctly.
5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.
5.6.9 Identify and correctly use appropriate tense for verbs that are often
misused.
5.7.9 Deliver narrative (story) presentations that: establish a
situation/plot/point of view/setting with descriptive word/phrases and
show, rather than tell, the listener what happens
6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
6.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
6.4.9 Edit and proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using and
editing checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of
frequent errors.
6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and
between paragraphs.
6.5.1 Write narratives that: establish and develop a plot and setting and present a
point of view that is appropriate to the stories; include sensory details and
clear language to develop plot and character; use a range of narrative devices,
such as dialogue or suspense.
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
6.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting
tone and style as necessary.

6.6.1 Use simple, compound, and complex sentences; use effective coordination and
subordination of ideas, including both main ideas and supporting ideas in single
sentences, to express complete thoughts.
6.6.2 Identify and properly us indefinite pronouns, present perfect, and future
perfect verb tenses; ensure that verbs agree with compound subjects.
6.6.3 Use colons after the salutation, semicolons to connect main clauses, and
commas before the conjunction in compound sentences.
6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.
6.6.5 Spell correctly frequently misspelled words.
6.7.10 Deliver narrative presentations that: establish a context, plot, and point of
view; include sensory details and specific language to develop the plot and
character; use a range of narrative (story) devices, including dialogue, tension,
or suspense
Writing Historical Fiction
One option for this unit is to undertake a whole class study in reading and writing
Historical Fiction. When choosing this option you will no doubt first want to look through
the general fiction teaching described above, which builds upon the work of your first
narrative units, earlier in the year. From that section you might then list out the
teaching points and unit bends that build on the strengths of your students. Then you
will want to spend some time carefully reading this section, adding to your plan the
points that will help your students craft within this specific genre.
There are some aspects of historical fiction that involve some special tasks. First,
it is essential that the writer know something about the historical period in which his or
her story will be set. The first stage of collecting for historical fiction will therefore
involve collecting around the historical time period. One way to do this is to align your
social studies instruction with your historical fiction writing and reading work. For
example, in social studies, your students might be learning about the Civil War through
discussions, trips, film clips, and primary documents—all the while collecting jottings
about what they are learning about the period, spending time talking in partnerships and
clubs, and creating whole class word walls and charts gathering your current
understandings. Simultaneously, in reading workshop while your students are reading
historical fiction of various time periods, you will be careful to highlight Read Alouds
and club books specifically set within the Civil War, again collecting both individual and
whole class jottings about your new knowledge of the time period.
Other teachers might prefer to delve into the non-fiction work only in reading
workshop. If this is the case, you will want your students reading not only Historical
Fiction, but also nonfiction during this unit. For some classes your study might begin

with all clubs reading within the same time period, for others you might have one time
period that you model from in Read Alouds and Mini-lessons and then teach clubs how to
create their own charts, word walls, and have conversations about their learning within
their own time period. You will want to make sure clubs are keeping careful records in
their reading logs or in some other place of the texts they are reading and learning
from, so they are able to access them as both mentor texts and ―fact checkers‖ as they
write their Historical Fiction.
As your students develop a deeper knowledge of the time period they will be
writing in, they will learn even more as they move through the writing process. Remind
students that they already know a few ways to gather ideas for fiction stories –
beginning with plot, character or setting. Show them how to apply what they are learning
about their time to their repertoire of strategies for generating ideas by asking
themselves, ―Does this make sense for the time period? Does it ring true?‖ For example,
a student getting started by collecting plot ideas might have listed, ―a story about a boy
in the Civil War who wants to spend time with his older brother but he is working all the
time, so they drive together to Florida on vacation.‖ She will ask herself if it makes
sense for the period and if it rings true and then revise that point on his list to be
something more like ―a story about a boy in the Civil War who wants to spend time with
his older brother but their family is divided and he is on the Confederate side, so…‖
using these questions from the very beginning for everything from naming the character
a time-appropriate name to the sorts of period-based motivations a character might
have will help the writer get lost in the world of the story, as well as help off-set the
number of fact-based revisions that will occur later in the process.
While continuing to collect and rehearsing the student might write small moments
involving her main character. She might decide she wants her character to visit a friend,
you will teach her to ask herself, ―How would a person like my character go someplace in
this time period? Would he be alone? Would he walk? Ride in a carriage? On a horse? A
steam engine? What would he wear? What would he eat?‖ You will teach her to go back
to her jottings and find the answers to those questions and add them into her writing,
or to go back to nonfiction she found informative and seek out those answers.
Once your students have explored characters and plots and they have an idea for
a story, you might consider having the students try a ‗flash-draft‘ of a single everyday
scene in their notebooks. As the students experiment with trying their characters
having supper or getting dressed in the morning, we can assess what lessons we might
want to teach in drafting and revising. We can also teach students how to search for
additional historical information, showing them how to look for details that matter in
everyday life, such as types of transportation, clothing, or food. You will want them to
look closely at how these historical details are sprinkled throughout their historical
fiction books in order to help a reader envision the world of the story. Then, you might

model how from nonfiction texts and primary documents you gather more historical
details such as everyday objects, modes of transportation, common locations, dress, and
language. You can make sketches of artifacts and some entries in their notebook about
objects or ways of life, and show them how you incorporate these into your notebook
entries for your story. If your students are studying immigration, take them to the
Tenement Museum and have them write entries there, as imagined journal entries, or in
the voice of their character. If your students are writing about the American
Revolution, take them to the period rooms at the Metropolitan or Brooklyn museum or
your local museum. Or pull those visuals from the websites and show them the displays.
Next, when writing historical fiction, it‘s usually helpful to make a double timeline,
as in, one timeline that shows the historical struggle, and one that shows the personal
struggle your character will encounter. Some historical fiction begins with the historical
struggle, and some begins with personal tensions. For instance, in Nettie‘s Trip South,
the reader meets the main character and learns about the historical struggle right
away. In Freedom Summer we learn first about the two main characters and their
friendship, before finding out about the historical context that makes their relationship
so daring.
Meanwhile, as your book clubs develop theories about their characters in reading,
you might teach them to distinguish and discuss what influences the main character‘s
struggles across their book. Explain that in some historical fiction, the big problem a
character faces is, in fact, the historical struggle, such as slavery in Roll of Thunder
Hear My Cry, or enlistment in the army in My Brother Sam is Dead, or an arranged
marriage in…Bird). In others, the struggle is a more personal one (as in Sarah Plain and
Tall), such as learning to love someone, or adjusting to a family change, or standing up to
a bully, and the historical setting is really a backdrop. You might even do some shared
writing where you and your students imagine how the story you are modeling with might
go if you did it each way.
Once students begin drafting, there are some craft moves that are particular to
historical fiction that you may want to consider. For example, teach your students that
historical fiction writers really need to set the scene with careful detail in the first
moment. They need to let the reader know, through the details they include, when and
where this story takes place. Invite clubs to reread their historical fiction mentor texts
and carefully envision the setting from just the first scene. Show your students how to
unpack what the author has done and apply those same strategies in their own writing.
Expect to model this in your own story – thus, plan to not load your first draft with
detail, show your students how to add it in, as they will predictably need to do this too.
It will also be predictable that your students will need to revise again for historical
consistency or accuracy, so make your draft need this too – you might say, ―oops, in my
story Polly wrote a letter that only took two days to arrive! But this book I read about

the colonies said that everything took days and days to travel from state to state, I‘ll
have to change that detail in my story.‖ Or how you realized you didn‘t know what kind
of tool your character would even use to write with, and you went back to some of your
resources, or that you needed to check what he or she would be wearing for different
occasions.
Teach your students to use the visuals in their social studies books, and the
pictures from museum websites, and the good descriptions from their historical fiction.
You may teach students, as a whole class or in small groups, to craft their characters‘
dialogue carefully, to have them speak in the dialect and with the vocabulary not just
for the time period, but for the character‘s background and status. Primary documents
like diaries and film clips, historical fiction mentors and even fiction that was
contemporary for the time period, are all excellent sources for this work.
Sometimes in writing historical fiction, young writers tend towards the
melodramatic. Characters tend to get killed off in epic battles, or to suffer horrific
injuries, or to rise up like superheroes to defeat irresistible odds. You can decide
whether to let them wallow in melodrama (they are, after all, child writers), or to teach
them to revise for believability. A good place to practice this revision is in the scene
where the main character faces a crisis, choice, or problem. This is where you can teach
them to make their character believable, flawed, or complicated, by basing their
character on people they know or their own observations and self-reflections. For your
stronger writers, you can teach them to show that their character is complicated and
changeable, and perhaps they can even show their character learning to be different
across scenes – you can model this in your story.
Through the entire drafting and revision process, return again and again to the
students‘ book clubs, which you will have probably noticed have fast become the
students‘ writing response groups as well. Encourage students to bring their drafts to
book club discussions! Students can trade drafts, and just as they would in book clubs,
place post its on each other‘s writing with their predictions, inferences and
interpretations. The club can then discuss the texts as readers – giving the writer a
window into what readers are truly taking away from their drafts!
Finally, you can teach your students that historical fiction stories can end without
having to resolve the historical struggle. As students tend to critique how satisfying the
ending was at the completion of their book club books, you can teach them to consider if
their own storylines were tied up or not and how to leave the ending satisfying, while
still historically accurate. This is a time, once again, to be wary of the Superman-type
endings. It is very unlikely that any one of our students can give their characters full
credit for ending the Civil War, giving women to the right to vote, or landing a man on
the moon! So watch out for those sorts of endings. We might coach a student who is

considering an ending like this, ―so maybe in the end Jason can be so worried about his
brother that he tells Abraham Lincoln that he needs to free the slaves…‖ and we might
suggest, just as in your first unit, that he instead consider something the character
discovers about himself or about his brother that was hiding there all along. He might
try out something like, ―maybe Jason learns that while he cannot change his brother,
Jason will still always remember his brother as the one who believed in him. Or maybe…‖
Historical fiction often has more of a sense of being unsettled or lacking resolution than
other fictions, perhaps because it so closely resembles the unsettledness of true
historical events. Often these stories, such as Number the Stars or Rose Blanche, are
about bearing witness. In the story you write, you can show your students how, as you
think hard about revising your final scene, you can decide whether your story will be one
that celebrates overcoming adversity, or that bears witness to suffering.
Teaching Points for Writing Historical Fiction:
Writers need to know something about the historical period in which the story
will be set. The first stage of collecting for historical fiction will therefore
involve collecting around the historical time period. Writers use nonfiction
resources to collect ideas and facts about their time period.
Writers know how to gather ideas for fiction stories – beginning with plot,
character, or setting. Ask – does this make sense for the time period? Does it
ring true?
Writers name the character a time appropriate name. They consult other text
written during this time period to get ideas for names or to check the names they
are considering.
Writers create period based motivations. They use information about the time
period and other stories they have read from this time period to make sure the
motivations match the time period.
Writes nurture their character. They write small moments involving the main
character. How would a person like my character go someplace in this time
period? Would he be alone? Would he walk, ride in a carriage, on a horse, a
steam engine, what would he eat or wear?
Once writers have an idea, they consider writing a flash-draft of a single
everyday scene in their notebooks – having supper, getting dressed. They look for
historical details that need to be added to these scenes. They consult nonfiction
texts and previously written information about the time period.
Writers need to sprinkle these historical details throughout their stories so the
reader envisions the world of the story. They reread what they have written and
look for scenes where these important details are missing.
Writers make sketches of artifacts and some entries in notebook about objects
or ways of life. They use this information to add details in their writing so the
reader can better envision the scene or character.

Writers make a double timeline with one timeline that show the historical
struggle and one that shows the personal struggle your character will encounter.
Writers recognize that some stories begin with the historical struggle and some
begin with personal tensions. They try out different ways they want to begin
their story.
Writers distinguish and discuss what influences the main character‘s struggles
across their book. With some HF the big problem a character faces is the
historical struggle, like slavery. Others are more of a personal one like learning
to love someone, or adjusting to a family change or standing up to a bully. It does
not matter what type of influences are working on the character. Writers still
need to ask, ―Are these influences appropriate and match to my time period?‖
Writers begin drafting by setting the scene with careful details in the first
moment. They let the reader know through the details they include when and
where this story is taking place.
Writers use the visuals in their social studies book and websites for good
descriptions.
Writers craft dialogue carefully. They ask themselves, ―Is this how people spoke
during this time period? What types of vocabulary/words did they use that may
be different from today? How did adults and children speak to one another?
What were the accepted manners in conversation during this time period?‖
Writers use vocabulary of the time, their character‘s background, and their
status to help the reader live in the character‘s time period.
Writers prevent the melodramatic epic battle where the character gets killed off
or suffers a horrific injury and is like a superhero and defeats the odds. They
draft scenes where the character faces a crisis, choice, or problem.
Writers concentrate on writing believable, flawed, and complicated characters.
They base their character on people they know. They consider the internal and
external traits of these people and add them to their scenes with their
character.
Writers trade drafts and place post-its on each other‘s writing with their
predictions, inferences, and interpretations.
Some HF stories end without resolving the historical struggle. Writers need to
avoid the superman type endings. Characters can bear witness to suffering or
overcoming adversity. They should ask themselves, ―Is this ending something
that could have happened to someone?‖
Writing Fantasy
Another option for this unit is to organize a whole class study in reading and
writing Fantasy. Again, when choosing this option you will no doubt first want to look

through the first ―Lessons That Are Key to Any Genre‖ section of this write-up, which
builds upon the work of your first narrative units, earlier in the year. From that section
you might then list out the teaching points and unit bends that match and build on the
strengths of your students. Then you will want to spend some time carefully reading this
section, adding to your plan the points that will help your students craft within this
specific genre.
Many fantasy writers are often obsessive, and they develop, at an early age, a lot
of expertise in how fantasy goes – because a lot of fantasy does follow patterns. Your
own writers will need to be reading fantasy in their book clubs during this unit in order
to make those connections. Many of them will know fantasy through film as well as their
reading lives, through Harry Potter and Narnia. In reading workshop, you might
encourage clubs to do an inquiry across texts, noticing the patterns that seem to be
predictable within the fantasy genre. They might notice how one such structure is the
kind of fantasy in which it starts in the real world and then the characters are
transported to a magical one (as in Narnia or Harry Potter or Droon). Another kind of
fantasy is one that creates, right from the start, an alternate reality, often one which
has a kind of medieval quality to it, with castles, monarchies, pageantry, chivalry,
dragons, and legends (such as Deltora Quest, Wizard of Earthsea, Dragon Slayer
Academy).
You can model choosing between these two structures as a way to get started.
You will either be modeling a mythical, medieval world, or one that starts in the real
world and the characters get transported. Either way, you can teach students, in their
collecting stage, to write entries in which they play with describing this place, including
details about the setting and the inhabitants. Teach them to write with a lot of detail so
the reader can really envision the place and the creatures. For stronger writers, you can
also show them how fantasy usually creates a place in which some characters have more
power than others. In Narnia, for instance, Aslan and the White Witch are more
powerful than the others. Stronger writers may also be able to hint at the legends of
this place, which you could show them in your own writing, as in ‗there was a legend told
in the village that someday a boy would come, from another world, and he would bring
with him a savage dog and a golden key.‖
Be cautious however of getting too caught up in the dizzying freedom to create
any world they want. As students know from previous narrative units, plot and
characters also play important roles in strong storytelling. Remind students of what
they know from their work as readers of fantasy: heroes are flawed; villains have
motivations; and characters tend to go on quests that end happily.
The biggest challenge for fantasy writers is to keep the time period of their
story tight, otherwise they will tend to summarize when their stories spread over too

much time. It can be helpful to teach your writers that when fantasy writers are telling
short stories, they tend to have them happen within a day or two, and often the story is
a short quest that is given to the main character at the start, and that ends just a day
or two later when the character has conquered one or two challenges. You may want to
rehearse a story with them, such as one where you imagine a character opening up a
school locker or cubby and inside is a magical creature who tells the main character of a
quest, such as getting a golden book or key from the basement of the school, or baking a
secret recipe in the ovens of the cafeteria, or rescuing an imprisoned child-fairy from
the closet in the principal‘s office which is guarded at night by a werewolf. The main
thing is, the quest has to be definitive, there have to be one or two clear challenges for
the character to overcome, and it has to be over after that!
Additionally, one of the hallmarks of fantasy is the writer‘s ability to suspend his
reader‘s disbelief. How else to explain otherwise world-savvy readers suddenly holding
their breaths as the princess scales the mountaintop while chasing the unicorn? Fantasy
writers make us believe, while we are held entranced by the spell of the story, that the
events described are real – or at least real in that world. We can teach students how
they can accomplish those same effects by first studying short mentor fantasy texts
(picture books such as Merlin and the Dragons and The Paperbag Princess are great for
this). We can then show yet another way that fantasy writers are quite thoughtful in
their writing. Even if the entire story takes place in a fantastical world, the world still
has rules that it follows. In our world there is gravity and science. People grow food or
buy it from supermarkets. In a fantasy world there might be magic instead, but there is
logic to the magic – it follows rules that must be followed throughout the story. For
example, if a character needs to say a special word to cast a spell then the character
must always say the special word – not suddenly switch to a wand or have a fairy show up
that the writer never mentioned before! When students realize that each fantastical
element needs to be introduced fairly early in the story and then followed through until
the end, they naturally begin to limit themselves to just a few important characters,
creatures and magical elements.
You can do the same teaching listed above by teaching your students to rehearse
their story with a partner, to develop their character and their settings in their
notebook, and to use mini-books or story mountains to envision the scenes of their story
just as they might in any fiction piece. For fantasy, you can teach students to plot a few
main scenes or moments, for example: one where we meet the characters and they
discover their quest and/or other place, one where they face their first challenge, one
where they face a second challenge and a final scene where they succeed in their quest
(and perhaps return to their real world). In each scene, they‘ll need to give lots of
details about the place, the daily life, the dress, and the magic of this place. They‘ll also
have to develop one or two compelling characters. Within the fantasy structure, the
reader has to admire or sympathize with a main character, so model for your students

how you introduce a main character in the first scene that is likable because we get to
know their traits and desires.
It may be interesting for your writers, in their book club conversations and their
writing, to think about the roles characters play as archetypes, as in, a reluctant hero, a
villain, a sidekick, and perhaps a mentor. Many students talk knowledgeably about Harry
Potter this way, speaking of Snape as a possible villain or a reluctant hero. In their
writing, it sometimes helps them develop characters in fantasy if they put them in these
roles. You can teach stronger writers how characters may break out of these roles, by
being complicated or surprising, you might demonstrate, ―in the story we‘ve been working
on together, we decided that William would be really uncomfortable being the hero, but
maybe in this part he could have a minute where he feels proud of having helped the
little girl or maybe…‖ You can also teach them to pay attention to common elements of
fantasy such as magical creatures and objects. Again, teach them to limit themselves to
a few and try to describe these in detail.
Predictable revision lessons for fantasy include: teaching students to develop
likable, interesting characters; teaching them to show characters‘ desires through their
inner thinking or their dialogue; showing them how to develop small tensions with other
characters. You can also teach students how to use flashbacks or dreams, which are
common in fantasy, to give the history of a quest, an object, or a mythical beast. Teach
students to rely on their clubs which can morph into a fantasy writing group to work on
keeping their stories tight – helping them to imagine the story as one episode in this
place‘s history. And, just as with the historical fiction pieces, you might encourage clubs
to exchange drafts of their pieces to read as readers, complete with post-its marking
where the reader had questions, was surprised or was envisioning the world the writer
had created. These comments from their classmates, who just happen to be expert
fantasy readers, will go a long way towards helping students to see the effect (or lack
of) that different parts of their stories are having on readers. You could also teach
them how to use details from films and history texts they‘ve seen to capture castles,
clothing, dragons, etc. Finally, you could teach them to consider their choices for
endings. They could solve the quest, with the character returning to the real world
after conquering the ‗dragon.‘ Or they could end it as some fantasy does, where one
small problem has been solved, but the big enemies are still undefeated – only to be
dealt with another day.
Teaching Points for Writing Fantasy:
Writers notice that a lot of fantasy follows a pattern. It can start in the
real world and then the characters are transported to a magical one. It
can be created right from the start in an alternate reality, often one which
has a kind of medieval quality to it with castles, monarchies, chivalry,
dragons, and legends.

While collecting entries, writers need to play with describing this place,
including details about the setting and the people. They need to be able to
envision everything especially the creatures.
Writers create entries to explore how some characters have more power
than others. They decide who has power over others in terms of authority.
They also consider who has magical powers. They make sure that the
magical powers make sense with what they know about fantasy. The
magical powers need to fit the situation and character. If they are too
absurd, the writing can begin to sound silly and loses the good qualities we
know about fantasy.
Writers hint at the legends of this place. They consider the hierarchy of
power and the magical powers things have. They ask themselves, ―How did
this come to be? Can I create a legend that shows my reader how these
powers were created and sustained in my story?‖
Writers notice that fantasy stories have heroes who are flawed, villains
that have motivations, and characters tend to go on quests that end
happily. They check to make sure their descriptions and scenes with these
characters contain this information for the reader.
Writers develop a quest that is definitive. They ask, ―Does my reader
know exactly what the character has to accomplish in order for the
problem to be solved?‖
Writers need to create one or two clear challenges for the character to
overcome, and it has to be over after that. They can create a timeline or
story mountain to plan out the obstacles and solutions for their character.
They constantly ask, ―Does this fit with what we know about my character
and the setting of my story?‖ Writers are reminded that solutions do not
come out of nowhere. They need to fit with the rest of story and possibly
be a follow up from an idea hinted at earlier in the story.
Writers can use magic in their stories to develop their characters or the
plot. They understand that there is logic to the magic – it follows rules.
They list out the magical powers they are considering and jot down rules
that govern them. They can also use past/current legends as a way to
explain those rules.
Fantastical elements need to be introduced fairly early in the story, and
then followed through until the end. Writers write about or hint at these
ideas in some of the initial scenes. They later develop these ideas further
in subsequent scenes.
Writers use mini-books or story mountains to envision the scenes. They
plot a few main scenes or moments. Some scenes to consider are: where
we meet the characters and they discover their quest and/or other place,
one where they face their first challenge, one where they face a second
challenge and a final scene where they succeed in their quest.

Writers give lots of details about the place, daily life, the dress, and the
magic there. They use sensory details in their writing to help the reader
envision life in this fantasy land.
Writers introduce the main character in the first scene that is likable.
They include important character traits and hint at desires the character
has.
Writers consider the many roles character play like archetypes – reluctant
hero, a villain, a sidekick, or a mentor. Characters may also break out of
these roles by being complicated or surprising. They can use a T chart of
external and internal traits to develop the characters. Also, they can try
out scenes with the character, incorporating the traits and motivations the
important to them.
Revisions include developing likable and interesting characters. Writers
show the character‘s desires through their inner thinking or their dialogue.
They also show them how to develop small tensions with other characters.
Writers use flashbacks or dreams to give the history of a quest, an object,
or a mythical beast.
Writers use details from films and history texts they have seen to capture
castles, clothing, dragons, etc.
Writers consider their endings by solving the quest with the character
returning to the real world after conquering the ―dragon‖, or they could
have one small problem has been solved, but the big enemies are still
undefeated to be dealt with another day.
Writers exchange drafts with post-it responses. They consider
suggestions made by their writing partner.
Writing Science Fiction
It is ideal to be reading and writing Science Fiction at the same time, so you may
want to be doing the Reading Science Fiction at the same time. When beginning this
unit, you will want to first look through the first ―Lessons That Are Key to Any Genre‖
section of this write-up, which builds upon the work of your first narrative units, earlier
in the year. From that section you might then list out the teaching points and unit bends
that match and build on the strengths of your students. Then you will want to spend
some time carefully reading this section, adding to your plan the points that will help
your students craft within this specific genre.
It is important to be knowledgeable of the elements of science fiction. Every
science fiction story has something that is somewhat alien compared to the reality of
today‘s world. Some science fiction includes spaceships, time travel, dragons, magic
wands, or time running backwards. There is always something alien (nonexistent to
today‘s world) in the story. Typically, this alien feature is accepted by the characters in
the story and not written about as if it is weird or unusual.

Another aspect of science fiction is that there is a reason for the ―science‖ in
science fiction. That‘s because every science fiction story contains within it an
understanding that there is such a thing as technological and scientific advancement,
and that the human race is a part of it.
Science fiction includes imaginary elements that are largely possible within the
laws of nature. Exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional
purpose of science fiction. It includes a setting in the future or in a historical past that
contradicts known facts of history or the archeological record. It could also be a
setting in outer space or on other worlds (taken from Wikipedia).
Teaching Points for Writing Science Fiction:
Writers create the world of the story for their readers by including details that
will help the reader create a mental picture.
Writers help readers create mental pictures of the story in their minds by
zooming in and including all the small details from a place.
Writers help readers create mental pictures of the story in their minds by
including details that help the reader know when the story took place (how far
into the future).
Writers help readers create mental pictures of the story in their minds by
letting readers know the ‗norms‘ of this world.
Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world
and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the land and
sky. What would be the same as our world today, but what would be different
that couldn‘t possibly really exist.
Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world
and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the land and
sky. What would be the same about the land and sky in the made up world as our
world today, but what would be different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?
Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world
and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the homes
and other buildings. What would be the same as our world today, but what would
be different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?
Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world
and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the
weather. What would be the same as our world today, but what would be
different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?
Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world
and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the people.

What would be the same as our world today, but what would be different that
couldn‘t possibly really exist?
Writers create things in a different world by thinking of something in our world
and giving it qualities that don‘t exist. They do this by thinking about the
transportation. What would be the same as our world today, but what would be
different that couldn‘t possibly really exist?
Writers have to decide on a problem for their story. They think about all the
different possibilities for the larger context: alien encounters, machines
dominating people, cloning, time travel, robots, wars in the future, work of
scientist right now, technological advancements, an alternative world. They choose
one possibility and list out all the possible problems and solutions in regards to
this larger context.
Writers choose the setting for their story. They think about their problem and
think about which setting makes the most sense: future, now, past…space, the
underworld, on earth.
Writers develop the setting for their story. They list out everything you might
see in this place.
Writers develop the setting for their story. They use their senses to think of
possible ideas.
Writers create an antagonist (villain) and protagonist (hero) for their story. They
think about the setting and problem and think about what kind of characters
might make sense for their story. They can begin to sketch out what the
characters might look like.
These units were adapted from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

December/January
Persuasive Essay/Letters & Compare and Contrast Essay
Though there are two months to teach both of these essays, the time flies, and planning
out a two month calendar (while allowing some catch-up days/or snow days planned into
the monthly calendar) may be most helpful in ensuring that both units are taught and
completed.
Overview of Writing a Persuasive Essay
In this unit you will teach students to write idea-based pieces in which they continue to
craft powerful subjects and control structure, now in non-narrative form. This unit of
study invites students into the difficult and exhilarating work of learning to write well
within an expository structure. Students need scaffolding and support in order to
experience the process of writing effective essays. In this unit, you will reduce some of
the complexity of finished essays, highlight the most essential moves an essayist must
make, and show students that these moves are within their reach. You‘ll elongate the
process of writing an essay in order to show students how to do each aspect of this
work, and to give them practice at each one.
At the start of this unit, you will point out to writers that they could conceivably write
about a topic—say a visit to the Dominican Republic—as a narrative, retelling it
chronologically, or as a non-narrative piece, also referred to as an essay, in which case
they‘ll advance a certain idea (―Visits to the Dominican Republic feel like going home,‖
for example). You will teach students that the terms narrative and non-narrative (or
essay) refer to structure and genre, not to content. For some students, the fact that
they can write about personal topics in a genre other than personal narrative will be a
new realization. In this unit, each student will write a personal essay in which he or she
advances a theme of personal significance, arguing, for example, ―It‘s hard being an
older sister,‖ or claiming, ―My father is my best teacher.‖
This unit merits some time. It‘s no small task to teach children how to write modest yet
well-structured and competent essays. The first step is to help students write rough
drafts. Once they understand the basic structure of an essay, they‘ll move on to doing
lots of revision with the goal of learning as much as possible about logical thought. Then,
after helping kids spend two to three weeks writing one essay, you can give them the
option of churning out a quick essay in a day, and revising it on the next, and then show
them how to write an essay using the revision strategies they know in one period. Take
your time investing in this work – your effort will have enormous payoffs.
Strategies for Generating and Elaborating Upon Essay Writing

As with any unit of study in a writing workshop, you‘ll begin by helping students develop
a repertoire of strategies for collecting entries—this time, essay entries. It‘s important
to teach students that their lives are provocative. Writers observe things in the world,
recording what we see in all its detail, and then we shift and write, ―The thought I have
about this is. . .‖ or, ―This makes me realize. ...‖ For example, a student could spend a
minute unloading the chaos in his backpack, saying ‗I see…‘ and then listing the items as
he pulls them out. He might come across a pristine academic planner that his mother had
given him, hoping he would keep track of his school assignments. After describing the
planner (―I see….‖) he would shift to something like, ―and the thought I have about this
is….that a lot of people spend time trying to keep me organized, but to no avail.‖ Writers
can use this strategy to observe stuff that is literally before our eyes, or we can
mentally travel to a provocative place—say, the family kitchen—and observe, then push
off into writing-to-think. When teaching students to grow essays out of everyday
observations, you will really be teaching them to free-write in writers‘ notebooks. The
goal is to help kids realize the value of writing at length without a preconceived content,
trusting that ideas will surface as they go along. Students also learn the power of
imagining themselves in an evocative place and generating ideas in response to what they
―see.‖
During this early phase of the unit, you may also want to teach students that they can
reread entries they collected earlier in the year during narrative units of study and use
those entries as starting points, perhaps beginning, ―The idea I have about this is . . .‖ or
―The thing that surprises me about this is . . . .‖ A student might jot down a topic that
he cares about, then collect ideas about that big subject and write at length about one
of those ideas. Or, just as earlier in the year you taught your students to generate
ideas for writing personal narrative by jotting down a person who mattered to them and
then listing small moments they had spent with that person, they could now jot down a
person and list big ideas they have about that person. If a student‘s grandmother has
been growing elderly before her eyes, she might jot ―Nana‖ and then list big ideas she
has about her: it is hard to watch the strongest person in your life become vulnerable;
my grandmother is teaching me that few things matter more than family ties…. After
listing ideas in such a manner, students will take one of those ideas and write for a time
about it. Mini-lessons teaching students to use these and other strategies are available
in the Units of Study series.
Of course, if you teach a particular strategy for generating essay-entries, this doesn‘t
mean the entire class needs to use the strategy you have just taught! Students by now
should be accustomed to selecting the strategy that works best for that student on any
given occasion. That is, the strategy you introduce in a mini-lesson on a particular day is
not that day‘s assignment, as is more usual in traditional instruction, but is one of many
in a growing repertoire of strategies that writers can draw on as needed.

You and your students can think of your own wonderful ways to collect provocative ideas.
Perhaps your students will decide to read a novel for a few minutes, close the book and
write, ―The thought I have about this is…‖ Similarly, your students might decide to
quickly discuss a current event in the world or recent happening in their community,
return to their notebooks and write an idea they have. A student might jot down topics,
hobbies, or issues that he or she cares about, then collect ideas about that big subject
and write off one of them. This means that when a writer‘s goal is to write an essay, the
notebook‘s purpose is to provide a time and place for the writer to grow provocative,
insightful ideas so that when it comes time to choose one idea to advance in an essay,
the writer has a wealth of possibilities from which to choose. If a writer‘s goal is to
grow provocative interesting ideas, the writer‘s entries will not usually look like
miniature essays, nor will the writer immediately shift from stating an idea towards
providing evidence for that idea. Kids, when they do this, will write ideas such as, ‗My
Mom is important to me‘ or ‗I am good at baseball‘ and then they write, ‗For example,‘
and cite examples. At this stage, it is more important for them to linger for awhile
within writing about- ideas.
Essayists need tools to push past their first thoughts—to linger for awhile within
writing about- ideas—and many find it helpful to use thought-prompts to prime the pump
of their ideas. ―The surprising thing about this is…,‖ an essayist might write in her
notebook before spinning out a brand new thought in letters that scrawl down the page.
That is, once a student records an idea, the student will benefit from having strategies
to elaborate upon that idea. Using prompts such as, ―to add on . . . ,‖ or ―furthermore . . .
,‖ allows students to extend their first ideas and to use writing as a way of thinking.
Remind your students that when they finish one entry, they will want to skip a line and
then write another, and another.
Teach Writers to Choose an Idea, to Write It as a Thesis, and to
Build the Structure for the Essay
After collecting possible ideas, drawing on what they already know about rereading
notebooks, young essayists will select one idea. In the earlier, narrative units of study,
they selected one story; this time they will select an idea. Encourage students to reread
in order to select and expand upon ideas that seem especially important or interesting.
Students need to understand that they do this work to try to have ideas that are fresh
and important and worth developing.
When students wrote narratives, they used timelines or story mountains, or mini-books
to plan out the sequence of what they would write. When writing essays, it is equally
important to plan out the sequence, but this time the sequence will involve categories, or
sections. Once students have selected and articulated an idea (―The Dominican Republic
feels like home to me,‖ for example), you will want to teach them that one way to think
about the categories, or subordinate ideas, that they will address is to think about their

seed idea, and then list a few parallel reasons that support this claim. Writers can
restate the claim over and over, each time adding the transitional word because
followed by a reason:
• The Dominican Republic feels like home because…my adolescent memories
are there.
• The Dominican Republic feels like home because…my extended family is
there.
• The Dominican Republic feels like home because…my first language is
spoken there.
Repeating the stem of the thesis over and over results in a list that is full of
redundancy, but this can eventually be eliminated. Early on, however, if the writer does
not repeat the stem for each new item in the list, many writers lose all coherence.
There are other ways to support a claim (or thesis), and a teacher may or may not teach
those alternatives.
During this planning stage, students can explore their subordinate ideas and decide
which they really want to defend. In the end, we hope each student has a main idea (a
claim or a thesis) and several parallel supporting ideas. Teachers sometimes refer to the
main idea and supporting statements as ―boxes and bullets.‖
We have found it helps if students take their thesis and record it on the outside of a
folder, then make smaller internal folders for each of their bullets (topic sentences).
You may decide upon a different way to help students collect and sort entries that
support the frame of their essays.
Gathering Material for an Essay, Then Selecting the Most Compelling
and Appropriate Material and Constructing a Draft
When it is time to teach students to collect materials to support their topic sentences,
you will probably want to teach them that they can first collect micro-stories that
illustrate their ideas. It is also important to teach students to angle these stories so
they highlight and support the idea the writer wants to advance, and for them to learn
to ―unpack‖ those stories, just as a teacher debriefs after a demonstration in a minilesson.
After teaching students that writers sometimes collect angled stories, students
will have lots of opportunities to practice this technique and become proficient at it
because they will collect angled stories within each of their folders, substantiating each
of their topic sentences. They also, of course, may revise these in order to bring out the
point they want to make. Keep in mind that during one day of a writing workshop, a
student might collect three or four angled stories, filing these in the appropriate
folder. That is, it would not be considered a day‘s work for a student to write one tiny
anecdote supporting one of the student‘s three topic sentences!

Essayists ―unpack‖ their micro-stories by adding a sentence or two after the story in
which they discuss how the story illustrates the main idea. A little boy wrote about how
glad he is that his father taught him skating tricks. Then he wrote a story about
watching his father do a 360 degree turn and then trying it himself. The boy‘s story
ended, ―I came to in the boy‘s bathroom with blood on my head.‖ The story was totally
transformed when this young writer added the line, ―I‘m still thinking about how glad I
was my father had taught me to do the 360.‖
Writers can also collect lists to support their topic sentences. We often use Martin
Luther King‘s I Have a Dream speech as a model text for these lists. Additionally, you
might show students how statistics, observations, citations, quotations, and so forth can
enrich their work. Students can not only employ strategies they learned from past
experiences writing essays, they can also develop strategies of their own. It is
important to make a big deal out of a student who ―invents‖ a new way to gather ideas.
If these bits are collected not in a writer‘s notebook but on separate bits of paper, they
can be filed in the appropriate topic sentence folders.
It is important to help writers select compelling evidence from the material they collect
in these folders, and to help them ensure that the evidence closely supports their claim.
We teach them to look carefully from the claim to the evidence and back again because
often the two aren‘t as congruent as they appear at first glance. Eventually we teach
writers to sort through the materials in each folder, writing well-structured paragraphs.
Once writers have selected the most powerful and pertinent support material for each
of their topic sentences, they staple or tape or recopy this information into a paragraph
or two that supports each topic sentence, and in this manner construct the rough draft
of an essay. Special lessons on transitions, introductions, and conclusions are important
here.
Partnerships
Writing partnerships will have become part of the fabric of your classroom by now, so
you might move into teaching students how to give each other specific compliments
about each other‘s process, as well as the products. You might teach students to say
something such as, ―I‘m really impressed by the way you kept gathering lots of little
thoughts that didn‘t seem all that connected – but then you re-read those entries to
find a connection that I could never have guessed was there.‖ We also may want to
teach students to use what they know about good writing in order to not only
compliment well, but also to make suggestions on areas in which the writer could
improve. You might also want to teach students to ask helpful questions of each other,
such as, ―What are you trying to say in your piece? What part are you not sure about?
Can you be more specific?‖

Writers may meet together not only in partnerships but also, from time to time, in
student-led small groups. Some teachers who have created particularly vibrant
communities have spaces in the classroom where students can ask for and offer help to
their fellow writers. One example of such a space would be a bulletin board where
students might post their needs under a ―help wanted‖ sign, and their talents under
―help offered.‖
Alignment with the Standards:
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
5.4.3 Write information pieces with multiple paragraphs that: present important
ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order; provide details and
transitions to link paragraphs; offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes
important ideas and details.
5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.9 Proofreads one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific
errors.
5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.4.11 Use logical organization structures for providing information in writing, such
as chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating
and supporting a hypothesis with data.
5.5.4 Write persuasive letters or compositions that: state a clear position in
support of a proposal; support a position with relevant evidence and effective
emotional appeals; follow a simple organizational pattern wit the most
appealing statements first and the least powerful one last; address reader
concerns.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting
tone and style as appropriate.
5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.
5.6.7 Spell roots or bases or words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable
constructions correctly.
5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.
Teaching Points for Writing a Persuasive Essay:
This is a collection of teaching points that have been shared at collaboration. They are
to be used as needed and in the order you need for your class. Don‘t forget to consult

the Calkins‘ book on essay writing for additional teaching points and in-depth examples
of how to implement them.
Immersion
Writers read persuasive essays in partnerships or small groups that others have
written. They jot down what they notice, share with the class, and create a chart
of noticings for everyone to use.
Writers reread examples of persuasive essays. They choose their favorite as a
mentor essay.
Collecting
Writers reread their notebooks looking for causes and concerns they‘ve already
written about. They push their thinking by asking, ―So what‘s the bigger issue
here, or the deeper issue, that underlies this entry for me?‖ Then they record
their thoughts in their notebooks.
Writers get ideas for writing a persuasive essay from their own thoughts. They
think of all the things that bug them, things they want to change, daily problems,
or issues they face. They list out the social issues in these (poverty, divorce, not
fitting, sickness, loneliness, etc). They ask themselves, ―What injustices are in
the world that I have a solution to?‖
Writers get ideas for writing a persuasive essay from their list of social issues.
They choose one at a time and write long about it. They write everything that
they think about with that issue.
Writers think about their audience and the message they want to convey to this
audience. They choose an issue, an audience, and the message. They can ask,
―Who needs this information? Who has the power?‖ They try this out for several
issues.
Writers develop an idea/topic. They take an idea from their list or topics and
ask, ―What do I think about this?‖, write that and add the word because, which
leads to them to support their topic with reasons.
Choosing
Writers reread their entries to choose an idea for their persuasive essay. They
choose a topic that they are personally interested in and can take a personal
stand on (against or for the topic). They can use sentence starters like: I
think…, I feel…, or I believe… They will use this as their thesis statement.
Writers choose their topic. They look through their notebooks and find the topic
that has the strongest and most believable supports for their argument.
Nurturing/Developing

Drafting
Writers develop the reasons that support their thesis. They read a reason and
ask themselves ―why?‖ or ―how?‖.
Writers develop the reasons that support their thesis. They read a reason and
say ―for example‖ and then explain with a relevant piece of evidence.
Writers organize their ideas for their essay. They use boxes and bullets as their
tool. Their thesis statement is written in the box, while each of their bullets is a
supporting reason.
Writers create an organizational tool for their evidence. They make a mini-folder
for each of their reasons. They write the reason on the outside of their folder.
Then they collect slips of paper (evidence) that contain facts, stories, or
thoughts to support that reason.
(Teachers may want to organize their ideas using separate pieces of paper
labeled – introduction, reason 1, reason 2, reason 3, and conclusion. This is
explained in the literary essay unit. Using the mini-folders is just another
way to do the same thing.)
Writers develop their position about their topic further. They collect stories,
solutions, data, and pros and cons as examples for their position. They write this
information on slips of paper which they keep in the corresponding mini-folder.
Writers support their reasons. They make a list of examples that illustrate the
reason and write about them. They can also tell a story in which they illustrate
their reason clearly.
Writers elaborate their reasons. They write about a story from their live that
illustrates their reason, something from the world, something from TV or a book,
or writing ―This is important because…‖
Writers check their mini-folders for an adequate amount of support. They
reread their evidence and ask, ―Is this enough information to support my reason?
Can I write a complete paragraph using this information?‖
Writers organize the information in their mini-folders. They reread their
evidence and arrange their examples in order of importance. Then they tape the
papers together. They do this for all of their reasons/mini-folders. Each set of
taped pages will become the paragraph for their reason.
Writers connect examples and ideas for their reasons. They reread their taped
pages. They ask, ―Do all of these ideas connect and flow together? When I read
my page from beginning to end, does it make sense or does it sound like a list of
facts and ideas? Do I need to add a sentence(s) between the information?‖
Writers organize their paragraphs in order of effective to most effective. They
reread all of their taped pages/paragraphs and ask, ―Which is the most effective
reason?‖ This paragraph will be last. Then they repeat the process until all of
their reasons have been ordered from effective to most effective. They can
write corresponding numbers on the pages (1, 2, and 3) or staple them in order.

Writers draft their body paragraphs using their taped pages that have been put
in order of effectiveness. They read their information for each of their body
paragraphs and write it on drafting paper. They write on every other line and only
on the front side of the paper.
Writers draft an introduction for their essay. They can use their mentor texts
to notice ways authors start their essays. They introduce their arguments. They
state their thesis and the three supporting reasons in order of effectiveness.
Writers personalize their introductions. They ask, ―What in my life drew my
attention to this topic?‖ and write it down.
Writers draft a conclusion for their essay. They remind the reader of the thesis
statement they were supporting. They briefly restate their main reasons (As I
have said/stated or As I have written). They can offer an action that the reader
could take to remedy the problem. Likewise, they can leave the reader with an
emotional or thought provoking statement or question (I hope you realize, Some
people think/believe…, but I think/believe…, Other people should care about this
because…, or After writing this, I still believe…).
Revising
Writers use persuasive words to influence their reader. They reread their draft
and ask, ―Where have I written an idea that is important to proving my thesis?
What words of persuasion can I add here?‖ Some persuasive words to use are:
believe, I know/am certain, important, really need, strongly feel/recommend,
best, urge you, encourage, effective, and convince. They make sure to include
persuasive words in each paragraph.
Writers make the argument personal to the reader. They explain how this topic
affects the lives of the readers in one of the body paragraphs or in the
conclusion.
Writers add transitional words to their drafts. They reread their draft and ask,
―Have I connected my ideas together within my paragraphs? Between my
paragraphs?‖ Then they add transitional words as appropriate.
Possible Transitional Words and Phrases:
- To Add Information (and, again, an then, Besides, Equally important, finally,
further, furthermore, next, lastly, In addition, first, second)
- To Conclude or Summarize (To conclude, In conclusion, As I have shown, As
I have said, As a result, Finally, In summary, To sum up, I realize, I hope
you realize, As I have said/stated, As I have written)
- Contrast 2 Things or Show a Difference (On the other hand, Even though,
Although, However)
- Emphasize a Point (again, In fact, For this reason)
- To Compare/Show Similarities (In the same way, Also)

- To Clarify (In other words, To clarify, Put another way, Another way to
think about this is)
- To Show Location (Throughout, Beyond, beneath, alongside)
- To Show Time (Immediately, Finally, previously, First/Second/Etc, Next
Then)
- To Give Examples (For example, For instance, Another example is, To
illustrate)
- To Indicate Logical Relationships (As a result, For this reason, Since,
Accordingly, Therefore, Consequently)
Writers revise their drafts for emphasis. They vary the length of their
sentences to emphasize a point(s) they are making.
Editing
Writers check the spelling of their piece. They read the words backwards and
correct any words that are misspelled. They use print resources to correct
words they are unsure of.
Writers check their piece for the correct use of a comma with transitional
words/phrases. Writers reread their pieces and stop anywhere they have written a
transitional word or phrase. They can consult the chart of transitional words/phrases
created during revisions. They check for a comma.
Compare and Contrast Essay or Persuasive Letter
Please see the test preparation binder for materials on writing a Compare and Contrast
Essay.
Overview
For the Persuasive Letter, use the work completed in the Persuasive Essay unit.
This unit should take no more than 2 or 3 weeks because the majority of the writing
work is complete. You will have students choose an audience for their writing that is
already completed, then model how to add on a greeting, appropriate introductory and
conclusion paragraph (that sound like they are talking to their audience, sound like a
letter), ending with an appropriate closing and signature.
It‘s important to also teach students the purpose of a persuasive letter: to put
forward, to a particular person or organization (or, in the case of a letter to the editor,
the general public), an argument or point of view on some issue of concern.
Students will need to learn the basic structure of a persuasive letter:
1. Initial details, including senders address, date, recipient's name and address, and
greeting.
2. The writer's basic position or point of view is clearly stated.

3. Arguments for the point of view are presented in logical order, along with
evidence, reasons and/or examples. Older students might also make some
acknowledgement of the main arguments against their point of view, and answer
them.
4. Summing up of argument, and restating of the point of view taken.
5. Formal sign-off.
Persuasive letter language takes a formal tone. It is written primarily in the present
tense. It makes use of full sentences and paragraphs. Linking words to do with reasoning
and the idea of cause and effect are used, such as might, may, also, however, therefore,
thus, so, for this reason.
Example:
11 Sample Street
MADEUPTOWN 4890
15 May 2000
Mr John Brown
Federal Minister for Transport
54 Motorcar Avenue
CANBERRA 4001
Dear Mr Brown
Most people in the world drive their cars on the right side of the road. As international
travel becomes cheaper and more common, more and more people who are used to
driving on the right side of the road are getting confused and causing accidents on
Australian roads, where we drive on the left.
An obvious solution would be for countries in the minority, like Australia, which drive on
the left side of the road, to change their rules so that all people in the world drive on
the right side of the road. This would minimise confusion, and in the long term greatly
reduce the number of injuries and deaths due to road accidents.
An additional benefit would be the reduction in accident repair costs and a
corresponding reduction in the amount we all have to pay for car insurance.

One problem with this solution is that for a little while there would be more confusion
on Australian roads, and more accidents, while everyone got used to driving on the right
side.
In the long run though, changing to driving on the right side of the road in Australia
makes sense. We should not allow some short term disadvantages to deter us from
enjoying the huge long term advantages of making this change.
Yours sincerely
MWright
Marie Wright
Resource: http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/gpersuad.htm
http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/gpersuad.htm
Alignment with Standards:
5.4.2 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
5.4.4 Write information pieces with multiple paragraphs that: present important
ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order; provide details and
transitions to link paragraphs; offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes
important ideas and details.
5.4.12 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.13 Proofreads one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific
errors.
5.4.14 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.4.15 Use logical organization structures for providing information in writing, such
as chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating
and supporting a hypothesis with data.
5.5.7 Write persuasive letters or compositions that: state a clear position in
support of a proposal; support a position with relevant evidence and effective
emotional appeals; follow a simple organizational pattern wit the most
appealing statements first and the least powerful one last; address reader
concerns.
5.5.8 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.

5.5.9 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting
tone and style as appropriate.
5.6.9 Use correct capitalization.
5.6.10 Spell roots or bases or words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and syllable
constructions correctly.
5.6.11 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.
6.4.1 Organization and Focus: Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of
ideas, and use graphic organizers to plan writing. (Core Standard)
6.4.2 Choose the form of writing that best suits the intended purpose. (Core
Standard)
6.4.3 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that:
• engage the interest of the reader.
• state a clear purpose.
• develop the topic with supporting details and precise language.
• conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition. (Core
Standard)
6.4.4 Use a variety of effective organizational patterns, including comparison and
contrast, organization by categories, and arrangement by order of importance or
climactic order. (Core Standard)
6.4.5 Research Process and Technology:
Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing. (Core Standard)
6.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity. (Core Standard)
6.4.9 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.
(Core Standard)
6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and
between paragraphs. (Core Standard)
6.5.2
Write descriptions, explanations, comparison and contrast papers, and problem
and solution essays that:
• state the thesis (position on the topic) or purpose.
• explain the situation.

• organize the composition clearly.
• offer evidence to support arguments and conclusions.
6.5.5 Write persuasive compositions that:
• state a clear position on a proposition or proposal.
• support the position with organized and relevant evidence and effective emotional
appeals.
• anticipate and address reader concerns and counterarguments. (Core Standard)
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting. (Core Standard)
6.5.7 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a
specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as necessary. (Core Standard)

February
Test Prep
To make the most of this unit, please see your test prep manuals for
your respective grade. These manuals have numerous resources and
test prep items that come straight from the state test, but are
available for teacher use.

March/April
Nonfiction
Alignment with Standards:
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
5.4.3 Write informational pieces with multiple paragraphs that:
• present important ideas or events in sequence or in
chronological order.
• provide details and transitions to link paragraphs.
• offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes important ideas
and details
5.4.4 Research Process and Technology:
Use organizational features of printed text, such as citations, endnotes, and bibliographic
references, to locate relevant information.
5.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.
5.4.7 Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings.
5.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.9 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or
set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.
5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting
5.5.6 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a
specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as appropriate.
5.5.3 Research Application:
Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic
research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,
reports findings) and that:
• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and
documents sources (titles and authors).
• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.
• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing.

5.4.11 Use logical organizational structures for providing information in writing, such as
chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating and
supporting a hypothesis with data.
6.4.1 Organization and Focus:
Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to
plan writing.
6.4.3 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that:
• engage the interest of the reader.
• state a clear purpose.
• develop the topic with supporting details and precise language.
• conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition.
6.4.5 Research Process and Technology:
Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.
6.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
6.4.9 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.
6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and
between paragraphs.
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
6.5.7 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the most
significant details.(
6.5.3 Research Application:
Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic
research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,
reports findings) and that:
• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and
documents sources independently by using a consistent format for citations.
• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.
• demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and
credibility.
• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing, and demonstrates the
distinction between one's own ideas from the ideas of others, and includes a
bibliography (Works Cited).

Teaching Points for Nonfiction writing:
Nonfiction writers prepare to write by immersing themselves in great non-fiction
writing. They look for features of non-fiction writing that help them know it is
non-fiction. They scan through non-fiction books looking for features that stand
out, and mark them with post-its. After students have come up with many postits
with partners, create a chart of noticings, having students place post-its on
the chart.
Nonfiction writers prepare to write by immersing themselves in great Non-Fiction
writing to notice how the writing is put together. They take all their noticings,
and organize them into categories. The teacher and students will come up with
categories together during the mini-lesson: Text Organization, Page Features,
Special Features, Search Tools, Word Features. (Model placing post-its under
proper categories before allowing students to do so with their partners.)
Non-Fiction writers prepare to write by carefully studying different features of
great Non-Fiction writing. They look at features one at a time, and really think
about what that feature looks like and how it helps the reader. ―Let‘s start today
by looking at the Table of Contents…‖ (Mini-Lesson)… continue on following days
with glossary, index, captions, diagrams… (ORRRR… save this for the kids to do
with partners! That would cut out some days…)
Non-Fiction writers realize that different Non-Fiction books are written in
different ways. They carefully study different books on the same topic,
considering the different information found in the books, and the Non-Fiction
features that were used in the books.
Non-Fiction writers realize that Non-Fiction books are all about one topic. They
consider which topics they might be interested in writing about by considering
topics they know a lot about. They ask themselves, ―What are some topics that I
know so much about I could teach a course or write a book about them?‖ They
add those topics to a list in their Writer‘s Notebooks. Writers then begin to
―try-on‖ those ideas by brainstorming lists of sub-topics that might be included in
their writing.
Non-Fiction writers put a lot of thought into possible topics before choosing one
to stick with by brainstorming possible titles for their topics. They think deeply
about one of their top choices, then list out different titles that might make
their writing more, or less focused. (Demonstrate how you could write a book on
Horses, or Breeds of Horses, or Horse Colors, or Horse…) They try this for many
possible topics in order to really think through their writing.
Non-Fiction writers finally choose a topic. They ask themselves questions about
their top topics. They select their top 3 topics and ask themselves, ―Is this a
topic I at least know a little about?‖ ―Is this a topic I am really curious to learn
more about?‖ and ―Am I interested enough in this topic to stick with it for the
entire writing process?‖ Then, writers devote themselves to the topic by posting

it for all to see. (Could do a ―Coming soon!‖ Movie board previews for soon-to-be
published writing)
Non-Fiction writers begin planning how they will answer their questions by
considering what they already know. They make a web in their writer‘s notebooks
for each question. They add as many details as they can to each web before
moving on to the next.
Once they have committed to a topic, Non-Fiction writers look closely at a mentor
text to guide the structure of their writing. They ask, ―How will different
sections organize my information?‖ ―How will I make sure that the most
important ideas get through to the reader?‖ and ―How will visual information add
to my writing?‖ They look at a variety of texts while asking these questions, and
choose the text that answers them best.
**Don’t forget to talk to the students about bibliographies and keeping good
track of where they are getting their information. They may need to come
back to it during the drafting and revising stages.
Non-Fiction writers organize their writing by really thinking through the
different sub-topics they will address in their writing. They think about
different questions that they‘ll want to answer in their books, and write these
questions in their Writer‘s Notebooks. Then, they choose the top questions
they‘d like to answer, and star them.
Before writers can start researching, they must decide exactly what questions
their books will answer. They do this by using their partners to come up with 4
main questions (sections) they will answer with researching. (Look back through
planning to come up with questions.
Writers create their sections, or chapters, by turning their questions in headings.
Instead of, ―What do dolphins eat?‖, they would create a chapter entitled ―What
dolphins eat.‖ (Of course they could have headings that are questions, this is just
to show them how to flip it for the information.) These ―questions‖ should include
enough information for an entire chapter of writing. These are their sections.
Writers will begin organizing their information by writing their section titles on
envelopes. Each envelope can be kept in a folder or glued into a file folder for
easier access. Each envelope will hold the various facts for the specific headings.
Notecards are best to use for the facts, but paper strips can also be used.
Writers put what they‘ve read into their own words. One way they do this is by
reading a small section, then, when they are finished, asking themselves, ―What
did I just learn?‖ Then, they write down what they remember as being important.
This should be modeled by the teacher before the students try on their own.
Midworkshop: Writers take notes using a mix of numbers and facts. Sometimes,
when they find something that is worded perfectly, they write it down as a quote.
Good Non-Fiction writers react to notes as they write them, or, go back and react
to notes they‘ve already taken. They write down a fact, and then react to what
they‘ve written. They might react by starting, ―Wow! That makes me think…‖ or

―This makes me feel…‖ ―I‘m glad…‖ Anything that shows what they think/feel as a
result of learning the new information.
Writers constantly go back and look over their notes to add more. They read
their notecards 1 at a time and ask, ―Why?‖ ―How‖ ―What‘s this make me think?‖
Writers realize that some of their notes are bigger, more important ideas than
others. They keep track of these thoughts by marking cards that will be worth
an entire paragraph of writing. They may even flip over these cards and do boxes
and bullets for the main idea and supporting details.
Mid-workshop: Some students may realize that some of their note cards fit
together! Maybe some note cards could be combined into one, or used as bullets
for a ―smaller‖ main idea.
Writers think about drafting their books/research by looking at their envelopes
and asking themselves, ―Are there approximately an equal number of notes for
each chapter?‖ ―Do I need to find more information about one of my chapters?‖
Writers draft their books/research by taking one section and laying our all of the
facts that coincide. Is there an order to this information? Would numbering the
card help? Could some of these facts actually be bullets to another fact? Good
writers will place their facts in some sort of order before they begin drafting.
Writers will begin drafting by looking at their notes and turning each note into a
sentence or paragraph. They will pay special attention to the proceeding note. Do
these ideas flow together? Can I put some of these facts into the same
paragraph? Will I need to start a new paragraph for another note? (This would
be a great time to review or introduce using paragraphs….why and when do we
start a new paragraph…especially in non-fiction writing. Use mentor texts to
show this.
Writers look over their writing ask themselves, ―Are all of my facts in the
appropriate chapters?‖ ―Does this sentence make sense here, or would it make
sense under another heading?‖
Writers say more about their information by adding partner sentences. They look
at a fact and ask themselves, ―Is there more I could say about this?‖ ―Can this
sentence stand alone or could I add something to make it even more interesting?‖
Writers read the sentence and ask ―how‖ or ―why‖ at least 2 times.
Writers add more detail to their writing by thinking about their senses. Could I
tell more about what it looks like? Tastes like? Feels like? Sounds like? Would
any of these things help the reader understand the subject more?
Writers revise their writing by having a fact-quote-number-story. Writers
think about a fact that seems important to their heading. They then add a quote
that matches a statistical fact (number) and a story that proves the fact. This
would create a great paragraph and do even more than a simple partner sentence.
Remind students that this might require going back into one of their texts to find
additional information.

Writers let their readers know something important is coming. They use words
and phrases such as: for example, for instance, in fact, in conclusion, most
importantly….
Writers explain difficult vocabulary by inserting parenthetical phrases after
vocabulary words. Writers need to ask themselves, is there a word that confuses
me? Is there a word of which I am familiar but one that might confuse someone
else?
Writers also explain difficult vocabulary words by using margin definitions,
glossary, or picture definitions.
Writers also explain difficult words and concepts by comparing them to
something more familiar to the audience. To what could the audience really
relate? If I said it was as big as an elephant, would that make more sense that
giving the specific weight alone?
Writers elaborate on their ideas by adding a list of examples or counterexamples.
―Is there something I‘m telling the reader that might be clarified by giving an
example‖ ―Would giving a counter example clear up any possible confusion?‖
Writers can show greater detail visually by adding pictures. Pictures can be
action photos or enlarged to show detail. They should be labeled and include
captions.
Writers should vary their writing by using alternative types of pages. Examples
would include, ―Did you know?‖, ―A Closer Look‖, ―Crazy Facts‖, etc.
Editing
Writers should remember to edit their non-fiction writing the same as any other
writing Here are some suggestions:
Use an editing checklist
Have editing specialists that writers have to go to in their editing. For example,
―The Paragraph Specialist‖, ―The Proper Name Specialist‖, ―The Ending
Punctuation Specialist.‖
Re-read the piece backwards on word at a time.
Count non-name capitals and endmarks.

May
Creative Non-Fiction or Memoir
Not all of these standards will be met unless you teach memoir and the creative nonfiction
units. However, you will meet at least half of them.
Alignment with Standards:
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
5.4.2 Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot, describe the
setting, and include an ending.
5.4.3 Write informational pieces with multiple paragraphs that:
• present important ideas or events in sequence or in chronological order.
• provide details and transitions to link paragraphs.
• offer a concluding paragraph that summarizes important ideas and details
5.4.4 Research Process and Technology:
Use organizational features of printed text, such as citations, endnotes, and bibliographic
references, to locate relevant information.
5.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.
5.4.7 Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings.
5.4.8 Evaluation and Revision:
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.9 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or
set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.
5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.4.11 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist
or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.
5.4.12 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.5.1 Write memoirs that:
• establish a plot, point of view, setting, and conflict.
• show, rather than tell, the events of the story.
5.5.4 Research Application:
Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic
research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,
reports findings) and that:
• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and

documents sources (titles and authors).
• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.
• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
5.5.7 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting
5.5.8 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to a
specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as appropriate.
5.5.11 Use logical organizational structures for providing information in writing, such as
chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and stating and
supporting a hypothesis with data.
5.6.8 Use simple sentences (Dr. Vincent Stone is my dentist.) and compound sentences
(His assistant cleans my teeth, and Dr. Stone checks for cavities.) in writing.
6.4.1 Organization and Focus:
Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use graphic
organizers to plan writing.
6.4.4 Write informational pieces of several paragraphs that:
• engage the interest of the reader.
• state a clear purpose.
• develop the topic with supporting details and precise language.
• conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition.
6.4.6 Research Process and Technology:
Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.
6.4.9 Evaluation and Revision:
Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
6.4.11 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.
6.4.12 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and
between paragraphs.
6.5.1 Write narratives that:
• establish and develop a plot and setting and present a point of view that is
appropriate to the stories.
• include sensory details and clear language to develop plot and character.
• use a range of narrative devices, such as dialogue or suspense.
6.5.4 Research Application:
Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic
research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility,
reports findings) and that:
• uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and
documents sources independently by using a consistent format for citations.
• demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized.
• demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and
credibility.

• organizes information by categorizing and sequencing, and demonstrates the
distinction between one's own ideas from the ideas of others, and includes a
bibliography (Works Cited).
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
6.5.8 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the
most significant details.
Memoir Study Writing
This information is mostly from the book: Writing a Life Teaching Memoir to Sharpen
Insight, Shape Meaning – and Triumph Over Tests by Katherine Bomer
Definition of memoir: Memoir is a mere slice of ordinary life-a certain time period, a
special relationship, a particular theme or angle on a life. It contains the elements of
honesty, self-analysis, and self-revelation. The writer stands in one place and time and
looks back from that vantage point to make meaning of a distant time. Retrospection and
reflection are crucial elements of memoir also. The word memoir comes from the French
word memoire, which means ―memory.‖ It usually begins right in the midst of a
situation, when the author was eight or twenty-five. It is a slice-of-life story. The
writer writes about this slice in a way that makes others care about it and want to read
it. Memoir writing has a reflective quality. It looks back on experiences, finds patterns
in them and organizes them, and then finds meaning in them.
Just a reminder:
How we move through a unit of study (remembering that these steps are not always
linear)
Immersion – reading aloud and having kids read what you will expect them
to write
Collecting (generating) – students generate ideas for writing inside the
Notebook – lists, snippets of writing, sketches, and brief renderings of as
many memories as they can squeeze out.
Choosing a seed (selecting a topic)
Nurturing the seed (INSIDE the Notebook - collecting, layering, and
planning)
Drafting (OUTSIDE the Notebook - skip lines, only write on the front of a
page)
Revising (reseeing the piece – adding details, changing, deleting)
Editing (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc.)

Publishing
Celebrating
A Time Line for a Possible Six-Week Unit of Study in Memoir Writing
Week One: Immersion in the Memoir Genre
-Students read as many memoir picture books and excerpts from book-length
memoirs as possible.
-Teacher reads aloud from book-length memoirs, excerpts, and picture books.
-Students are simply collecting in their notebooks during this immersion time.
-The teacher is facilitating whole class discussions from reading aloud memoirs.
Questions to facilitate discussion into memoir texts:
What kind of person does the ―I‖ seem to be: competent, shy, aggressive,
compliant?
Do you believe the stories and memories this author is telling you? What
helps you believe the author? What makes you doubt the author?
What kinds of evidence does the author give you to help you believe the
memories?
What does this author use to help remember his or her life-objects,
history, places, photographs, childhood stories, interviews with family
members?
How does the author organize time in this story? Does this memoir tell a
chronological story, or does it skip around in time?
Does the author write the memoir from different periods in his or her life?
Where does the story begin and end?
What does this author come to know about him or herself and about the
world?
What can the person reading this story learn?
Can this memoir change the world?
-The lines between structured reading and writing times blur during a study like
memoir. It is beneficial to create memoir clubs that will take on reading projects.
Some possible memoir reading projects are:
As you read a memoir, prepare a mock interview of the author. What
questions do you want to ask this writer? What else do you wish you knew
about this story?
Gather five autobiographical pieces of writing about a favorite subject of
yours, such as cats, sports, family, or ethnic stories. Notice the different
ways each author has structured his or her story. What has each author
included and what has he or she left out? Notice differences in terms of
gender, race, class, or place.

Take an incident from a memoir and try writing it from the point of view of
a different person in the story. What does this say about the author‘s
perspective?
List 5 people whose life story you have read. For each person, write
something that you learned from him or her about a place, time period,
culture, race, or gender that you didn‘t know before.
Read a short story. Think about whether it is a memoir or not. What makes
it a memoir or not a memoir?
Imagine the notebook entries that may have led to a memoir you have read.
As you read different published memoirs, what parts or aspects do you find
attract you or hold your interest the most?
Sketch what a scene or place looked like from the narrator‘s perspective.
Sketch the narrator from a different character‘s perspective.
Act out a scene from a memoir. Write a reflection about what it felt like to
be in that scene. Begin the next day‘s discussion with evidence that might
support the idea.
Whole class reading response ideas:
Hot Seat – choose some of your students to sit in chairs in front of the
class and act as if they are the characters from a memoir. Have the other
students ask the memoir characters questions. The memoir character
students must respond in character.
Have students paint a mural in response to a class reading of a memoir
(they can paint whatever they felt or imagined during the reading).
Suggested memoir texts (not all are technically memoirs, but they are rich, evocative
first-person narratives that will be helpful for kids to think of memories from their
lives and also give them possibilities for structuring their memoirs):
Those Summers by Aliki
Momma, Where Are You From? By Marie Bradby
Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe
Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting
Hairs by Sandra Cisneros
Big Mama‘s by Donald Crews
Shortcut by Donald Crews
Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie DePaola
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray
Tell Me a Story Mama by Angela Johnson
Saturdays and Teacakes by Lester Laminack (I have this one.)
Dogteam by Gary Paulsen

The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco
Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
The Chalk Doll by Charlotte Pomerantz
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Grandfather‘s Journey by Allen Say
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past by Jacqueline Woodson
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Suggested memoir texts for grades 4 and up:
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie DePaola
Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid by Ralph Fletcher
Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz
Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little
Suggested memoir texts for grades 6 and up:
A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary
Little by Little by Jean Little
Bad Boy: A Memoir by Walter Dean Myers
But I‘ll Be Back Again by Cynthia Rylant
Knots in My Yo-Yo String: The Autobiography of a Kid by Jerry Spinelli
The Lost Garden by Laurence Yep
Week Two: Collecting/Generating:
-Students generate as many entries in their Writer‘s Notebook as possible,
including lists, sketches, bits of remembered dialogue, events, episodes, and
images.
-Writers generate entries by listing out special places and memories at these
special places.
-Writers generate entries by thinking of special people and memories of times
with those special people.
-Writers generate ideas by thinking of special objects and memories that special
object sparks.
-Writers generate ideas by thinking of their first memory of something or
someone…maybe the first memory of doing something or meeting someone.
-Writers generate ideas by thinking of turning points – an argument, realizing
that someone is not who or what you thought (good or bad)
-Writers generate ideas by thinking of the first time or last time they did
something

-Writers generate ideas by thinking of songs, smells, colors, or textures that
evoke memories.
-Writers generate ideas by looking at a special photograph. They start by
describing what it is – the obvious – and then moving into the layers of the
photograph: what‘s not in the picture? what happened before or after it was
taken? who was taking the picture? what‘s the mystery?
Week Three: Choosing a Seed/Selecting – Nurturing the Seed/Collecting and Layering in
the Writer‘s Notebook
-Writers write more deeply about events or memories by rereading the basic
facts of the event/memory and asking, ―How did this shape or change me?‖ or ―How does
it fit into the pattern of my life?‖ – For example, ―Does this always happen to me? Is
this the norm for my life? Was this out of the norm for my life?‖
-Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by
writing more in depth about the people in their memory. They can write more about how
the people in the memory move through life – in a frenzy of activity? Hesitantly?
Walking almost on toes? Sitting straight upright as if there is a wall right behind
him/her?
- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by
writing more in depth about the people in their memory. They can focus in on a
characters way of dressing. What would you call it: all business, whatever t-shirt was
next in the clean-clothes pile; a flair for the dramatic; homemade, hippie clothes; always
black clothes.
- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by
writing more in depth about the people in their memory. They can write a scene or two in
which they are talking with the person about something. Try to capture the words
he/she would most likely say in that type of discussion.
- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by
writing more in depth about the people in their memory. Write about the very first
memory of this person, even if it‘s simply a feeling or a splash of color.
- Writers layer more writing into their notebooks, start developing ideas, by
writing more in depth about the people in their memory. Write about what the person
means to your life. How do you think you have been shaped by this person? How are you
similar to this person and how are you different?
***If a student is writing mostly about place or an object, you can revise these teaching
points to fit with what they are doing.
Week Four: Planning and Drafting
-Writers decide what shape they will use for their memoir. Some writers choose
to write about one main event or memory. If they choose this shape, they know why
they‘ve chosen this one main event or memory. They say, ―This reveals

______________ about me.‖ and/or ―This event/memory changed me in this way:
_______________________.‖ and/or ―As a result of this event/memory, I realize
_________________________.‖
-Writers plan out the one main event or memory memoir by using a time-line or
story board. They think about what happened first, what happened next, next, next, and
then, finally.
Week Five: Revising
-Writers include sensory details to help their readers make a clear movie in their
mind. They read a small section of their memoir, stop and ask, ―In this part, what did
I/we see, hear, touch, taste, or smell?‖ They include some of these details in that
section, then read on and repeat this strategy.
-Writers show readers their character‘s emotions rather than just telling them.
They do this by finding places where their character is feeling a strong emotion and
asking, ―What did this person look like in this part? What did their face, hands, arms,
and/or legs look like?‖
-Writers try out things in their own writing that the writer of their mentor piece
did. They reread their mentor piece, find something they like about the writing and ask,
―What did this writer do in this part? How did he/she do it?‖ Then, they try out the
same technique in their own piece of writing.
Week Six: Editing, Publishing, and Celebrating
Teach students to focus on just one aspect of their writing at a time
(punctuation, spelling, capitalization, etc.) Model doing this with a piece of writing
on the overhead. Overemphasize looking at just one aspect (kids will usually yell
out all kinds of mistakes they are seeing, but make them focus on just one aspect
at a time).
Put a student‘s work on the overhead (with permission), and have the student edit
the work in front of the class. With the help of others, have the student make
decisions about punctuation, grammar, and spelling.
Remove the punctuation from a short, published piece of writing and have the
students insert punctuation where they think it is necessary. Then show them the
original writing and discuss their decisions.
Have students ask at least 2 other students to edit their work. Those 2 students
must sign the author‘s work after they are finished. This holds them accountable
for editing. Model editing in partnerships for the class.
Teach kids to use editing check-lists and proofreading marks.
When editing, read the paper from back to front.
Breaking the flow of ideas sometimes helps to focus on language issues rather
than on the content itself. Show kids how to start at the end of the piece and
read each word, focused on spelling and not meaning.

Options for what you might do after students have edited their pieces of writing and
have had 2 peer-editors and there are still mistakes:
Don't do anything about the remaining errors.
Respond only to selected kinds of errors.
Put a check mark in the margin of lines where there is an error and invite the
writer to find and correct the error(s).
Comment on the one or two most noticeable kinds or patterns of error, and invite
further scrutiny.
Serve as a copy editor: correct the errors for the writer.
***Adapted from information gathered from a presentation from Katherine Bomer
Travel Brochure Teaching Points
Travel brochure writers learn about the features of travel brochures by looking at
published brochures and asking, ―What did the writer do to make this brochure?‖
NOT ―What is this brochure about?‖ -Features of the brochure, not the content of
the brochure.
Travel brochure writers get ideas for brochures by making a list of all the places
they‘ve been before.
Travel brochure writers get ideas for brochures by making a list of all the places they
would love to go.
Travel brochure writers try out different ideas for their brochures by choosing one
place from one of their lists and writing long about that place. They do this by thinking
―What do I know about this place? What do I want to know about this place? What do I
think about this place?‖
Travel brochure writers choose one place to do their brochure about by rereading all of
their writing and asking, ―Which place makes me feel the most excited? Which place do
I know some about, but could still research?‖

Travel brochure writers develop their ideas for their brochure by writing all they know
or want to know about their place. They think of everything they‘ve ever heard about
that place and list it out.
Travel brochure writers get ideas about/plan for their brochure sections by looking at
published brochures and listing out possible sections that would work with what they
know or want to know about their topic.

Writing Poetry
Overview of the Unit
As in any unit of study, you will want to launch the unit by helping children learn
how to live writerly lives. As in previous units, you will probably want to remind your
young poets that they can find significance in the big issues and ordinary details of
their lives, gathering entries and images and lists that might later be developed into
publishable texts. Teach them to pay close attention to images or entries that have
surprising beauty, to reconsider memories, to ponder conversations. They can also
search for ideas in past entries. You may make this unit a time for close observation,
teaching students to select scenes, places and images that represent gigantically
important topics, and then to look with depth and honesty at those places, scenes and
images.
All through the unit, children will read poems out loud so that they can learn how
to savor the sounds of this genre. Help them to talk and think about the difference in
sound and meaning between fry and sizzle, shine and sparkle, cry and weep. Ideally,
they‘ll hear how the right choice of words can make a poem funny or wistful/sad. They‘ll
learn to create ―mind pictures‖ by placing an ordinary thing up next to something it‘s
never bee compared to before: ―Today the sky looks soft and worn, like my old baby
blanket.‖ Children may learn how to shape words on the page so that their texts not
only sound but also look like poems. That is, they will learn that poets think about where
to break a line so that the sound, rhythm, and look of each line achieve the overall tone
and meaning that the poet wishes to convey. They will learn how poets use the white
space around the words to pause, take a breath, and make something stand out from all
the other words.
You will probably emphasize free verse poetry. Rhyming well is a precise skill that
many adult poets find difficult to master. Teach children to aim first for meaning, and
for finding a way to describe what matters with words that will make the reader see
the world in a brand new way.
Once student have many beginnings and first tries of poems in their notebooks,
teach them that as poets draft new poems and re-work poems they have already
written, they try out many different versions of their poems. Poets make changes to
better express what they most want to convey to the reader. They sometimes find that
the act of revision brings new and more powerful ideas: What they want to say may
change as they play wit the way they‘re saying it.
But above all, the secret of poetry is heart. Poets write from the heart. Poets
teach all of us to look at the world differently. They help us to celebrate small
beauties. They inspire us to outrages over injustices great and small. And so, in this
unit, focus on the work that poets do in the world, the way that poets love the world
through words. Focus on the way poets sustain us during hard times, the way poets
express outrage and grief and joy.

For this unit, teaching points created and shared at our collaboration meetings
have been compiled together. The following teaching points are divided into the
different steps of the writing process. There are more teaching points listed for each
step than will be used in your unit of study. As a result, read through and choose those
teaching points that will work best for your classroom.
Alignment to the Standards:
5.1.3 Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and
homographs.
5.1.5 Understand and explain the figurative use of words in similes and
metaphors.
5.3.1 Identify and analyze the characteristics of poetry, drama, fiction,
and nonfiction and explain the appropriateness of the literary forms
chosen by an author for a specific purpose.
5.3.4 Understand that theme refers to the central idea or meaning of a
selection and recognize themes, whether they are implied or stated
directly.
5.3.5 Describe the function and effect of common literary devices, such as
imagery, metaphor, and symbolism.
5.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use
graphic organizers to plan writing.
5.4.7 Use a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings.
5.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
5.4.9 Proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set or rules, with specific examples of corrections of
specific errors.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
5.5.6 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person,
adjusting tone and style as appropriate.
5.6.6 Use correct capitalization.
5.6.7 Spell roots or bases of words, prefixes, suffixes, contractions, and
syllable constructions correctly.
5.6.8 Use simple sentences and compound sentences in writing.
6.1.1 Read aloud grade level appropriate poems and literary and
informational texts fluently and accurately and with appropriate
timing, changes in voice, and expression.
6.1.2 Identify and interpret figurative language and words with multiple
meanings.

6.3.1 Identify different types of fiction and describe the major
characteristics of each form.
6.3.4 Define how tone or meaning are conveyed in poetry through word
choice, figurative language, sentence structure, line length,
punctuation, rhythm, alliteration, and rhyme.
6.3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through
characters, actions, and images.
6.3.7 Explain the effects of common literary devices, such as symbolism,
imagery, or metaphor, in a variety of fictional and nonfictional texts.
6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas, and use
graphic organizers to plan writing.
6.4.8 Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and clarity.
6.4.9 Edit and proofread one‘s own writing, as well as that of others, using
an editing checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of
corrections of frequent errors.
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
6.5.7 Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person,
adjusting tone and style as necessary.
6.6.1 Use simple, compound, and complex sentences; use effective
coordination and subordination of ideas, including both main ideas and
supporting ideas in single sentences, to express complete thoughts.
6.6.4 Use correct capitalization.
6.6.5 Spell correctly frequently misspelled words.
Immersion
Writers become familiar with what poetry looks like. We read poems and jot
down what they see. We ask ourselves, ―What do I see?‖
Writers find poems that are personal to them. We read poems and choose one
(or more) that they feel a connection to. Then, we write that poem in our
notebooks noting the qualities we admire.
Groups of writers become familiar with the craft of poetry. We find pomes that
fit into different forms of poetry and explain how those poems fit that form.
Collecting
Writers create a class poem inspired by a mentor text. Students take lines from
a mentor text. Everyone has a copy of the same poem. Each student
chooses/highlights 1 line they love. Someone starts the poem with a line from
anywhere in the original poem. This line is written on a chart. Students say out
their line as they see it would fit with the poem. Other students may say the

same line over again. When all the lines have been written, the class rereads the
newly created poem.
Writers create a personal poem inspired by a mentor text. We repeat the
previous activity for creating a class poem, except we use one of our poems we
have recorded in our notebooks or found. We choose a favorite line to start the
new poem, and we continue with the same process written above.
Writers collect ideas for poems. We make a list of questions, things we wonder
about, or things that mystify us. Then, we choose 1 and write a poem that
provides a possible answer.
Writers collect ideas for poems using things that are most meaningful to them.
We make a heart map filled with the people, places, things, and ideas that are
closest to us. Then we write poems that explore why these things are important
to us.
Writers respond to issues in the world to collect ideas for poems. We look at
issues in the news and ask, ―What do I think about this story? What do I feel
about it?‖
Writers use objects to collect ideas for a poem. We brainstorm a list of odd,
ordinary objects, or objects that intrigue us. Then we record everything about it
that we notice (size, shape, texture, or color).
Writers collect poetic words for their poems. We gather interesting and poetic
words from our reading or other poems.
Writers collect ideas for poems from their notebooks. We reread our notebook
entries, lift an important phrase from an entry, and write more about that entry.
Writers collect ideas for poems from their notebooks. We revisit the collections
in our notebooks from the launch/personal narrative units (special people, places,
objects, etc…) to find ideas for poems.
Writers collect ideas from observing the world around us. We take a walk around
the school/house and write down things that spark a memory (memory walk).
Writers remember places from our past and stories that accompany those places
to collect ideas for poems. We draw a memory map remembering every visual
detail. Then we focus on one small place on the map and write stories that
happened there, including the visual details in our writing.
Writers use special places to help them collect ideas for poems. We write what
it‘s like to be in a place that‘s interesting or significant to us. We jot down actual
conversations we hear, other sounds we hear, and the quality or light and color.
We write exactly what we see and hear.
Writers use their emotions to collect ideas for poems. We make a list of strong
emotions and then list times we felt those emotions.
Writers use personal belongings to collect ideas for a poem. We can choose an
item from our keepsake envelope that sparks their interest. Then, they make a
list/write about what it reminds them of as they look at it.

Choosing an Idea
Writers choose a seed idea for a poem. We choose a prose entry from our
notebooks which we have strong feelings about.
Writers reread their work to choose poems to further develop. We look for
poems we really love, feel the strongest connections to, or poems that touch on
subject that are close to us.
Writers reread their work to choose poems to further develop. We look for
poems that we enjoy the thought of and were fun to write.
Writers choose poems to further develop. We can ask, ―Which of my poems do I
like the best? Why? What are some ways I could group my poems together?
What kind of poetry writing did I enjoy the most? What images have stayed with
me?‖
Nurturing (some of these can be used in revision)
Writers add descriptive details using imagery. They visualize the object(s) and
make a list of what they see in their head. Then they use sensory words for
these details so that the reader can visualize the same image in their minds.
Writers use synonyms to vary verbs and nouns in their poems so that their writing
is more interesting. Writers choose an important verb or noun in their poem and
brainstorm a list of all the word that would mean the same thing. Using a word
cluster might be helpful. If they get stuck or need more word choices, a
thesaurus will help them add to their word group.
Writers use metaphors to describe things in a new way. We ask, ―What does this
remind me of? or What does this look like/sound like?‖ Then writers create
metaphor comparing those two things.
Writers use new words to create poems with beautiful and specific language. We
can display words we find in our reading and writing on a poetry word wall, making
categories for words that express color, emotion, action, etc…
Writers develop an idea for a poem using a six room poem. We choose a place we
remember well and envision the place like a detailed photograph. Then we fill in
the six rooms describing the 1) image, 2) light, 3) sound, 4) questions, 5) feelings,
and 6) repeating words.
Drafting
Writers draft a poem using a notebook entry. We choose an entry in our
notebook strongly connect with, and then we write main words or phrases from
the entry. We arrange these ―lifted‖ words/phrases into lines and stanzas for
our poem.
Writers develop an anthology of related poems. We find poems that seem to fit
together based on similar settings, themes, issues, style, or voice.

Writers develop an anthology of related poems. We ask, ―Which poems do I like
the best? Why?‖
Revising
Writers create interesting and fitting titles that give the reader the gist of what
the poem will be about. We look at titles of mentor poems and ask, ―Why did they
choose that title? and How could I do that for my poem?‖
Writers create interesting and fitting titles that give the reader the gist of what
the poem will be about. We write a title that comes from an important phrase or
image in our poem.
Writers create interesting and fitting titles that give the reader the gist of what
the poem will be about. We write a title that clues our readers into the topic of
our poem.
Writers insert line breaks to create pauses or emphasize words in our poems. We
insert a line break when you want to toke a breath, before and after important
words, or to counter their natural breath to create tension and change of pace.
Writers revise the tone of our poem. We choose one topic to write about using
several different emotions. We ask ourselves, ―Which tone gives my poem
meaning and helps the reader understand what I am trying to say with my
writing?‖
Writers revise the tone of our poem. We write the poem as if we were another
person, picturing in our mind how this other person would sound. Then we ask
ourselves, ―Does this tone give my poem meaning and help the reader understand
what I am trying to say with my writing?‖
Writers revise the tone of our poem. We omit adjectives in our poems and
replace them with image-oriented verbs.
Writers revise our poem for meaning and importance. We choose a
meaningful/important line to repeat at the end of each of our stanza.
Writers use white space to get the reader to pause and think. We choose an
important line(s) and skip lines above and below it.
Writers use white space to get the reader to pause and think. We write small or
in a certain shape to have a lot of white space.
Writers use white space to get the reader to pause and think. We leave a lot of
white space to suggest emptiness or silence. Likewise, we crowd our words
together to create chaos or noise in our poem.
Writers use alliteration in our poems. Writers choose a word in their poem and
create other words that have the same beginning sound. Then we try out these
words to see which word combinations help our poem sound better for the reader.
Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We write our strongest line at
the end of our poem.

Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We end our poem with a word
that has been repeated throughout the poem.
Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We write an ending that ties
together other parts of the poem that may seem unconnected.
Writers develop powerful endings for our poems. We write an ending that is tied
back to the beginning of the poem. We may use the same words or line.
Writers add illustrations to our poems. We ask, ―What picture do I want my
reader to see?‖ Then we create an image/illustration that helps the reader to
envision this.
Writers revise the shape of our poem to match an idea or image we are conveying.
We find a mentor poem that has a structure we like. They we try to make our
poem look like that one.
Writers revise the shape of our poem to match an idea or image we are conveying.
We make concrete poems that take the shape of the object or make a
metaphorical shape that moves in a suggested way.
Writers use repetition to get the reader to see the important part(s) of our
poem. We choose an important word or phrase to write more than once in our
poem. We can check for importance by asking, ―Is this the most important idea I
want my reader to get from my poem?‖
Writers use similes to revise our poems. We use a 3 circle chart to find things
they can compare using like or as. Each circle asks/answers a different question.
The first circle asks, ―What am I trying to tell you about?‖ The second circle
asks, ―What does it do?‖ The third circle asks, ―What else does that?‖ Writers
connect the information from the first and second circles to the information in
the third circle using the words like or as.
Writers use metaphors to describe things in a new way. We ask, ―What does this
remind me of? or What does this look like/sound like?‖ Then writers create
metaphor comparing those two things.
Writers use personification in our poems. We look at an object, think of what
that object does, and ask, ―How would a person do that?‖
Writers use personification in our poems. We add thoughts and feelings to make
the object come alive for the reader.
Writers can rearrange the order of our lines. We cut the lines of our poem into
strips. Then we move the lines around in various ways to find the arrangement
that sounds the best.
Writers emphasize words in our poems. We capitalize words throughout our poem
that we feel are important.
Writers revise our poems for meaning. We take out unnecessary words or
phrases from our poem.
Writers use writing partners to revise our poems. We read one another‘s poetry
and try one another‘s techniques.

Editing
Writers edit their poems for misspelled words. We read our poem backwards and
look at the spelling of each word, one at a time. We fix misspelled words and
circle those that we are uncertain of their spelling. Then we consult print
resources (word wall or dictionary) for the correct spelling.
Writers use an editing checklist to edit our poems. We read each item listed on
the checklist, reread our poems specifically for that item, and make necessary
changes.
Publishing/Celebrating
Writers publish our poems. We put them into a personal or class anthology of
poetry.

Narrative
Alignment with Standards:
5.4.1 Organization and Focus: Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas,
and use graphic organizers to plan writing.
5.4.2 Write stories with multiple paragraphs that develop a situation or plot, describe
the setting, and include an ending.
5.4.8 Evaluation and Revision: Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and
clarity.
5.4.9 Proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing checklist or
set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of specific errors.
5.4.10 Edit and revise writing to improve meaning and focus through adding, deleting,
combining, clarifying, and rearranging words and sentences.
5.5.1 Write narratives that:
• establish a plot, point of view, setting, and conflict.
• show, rather than tell, the events of the story.
5.5.5 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
5.6.8 Use simple sentences (Dr. Vincent Stone is my dentist.) and compound sentences
(His assistant cleans my teeth, and Dr. Stone checks for cavities.) in writing.
6.4.1 Organization and Focus: Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list or notebook of ideas,
and use graphic organizers to plan writing.
6.4.8 Evaluation and Revision: Review, evaluate, and revise writing for meaning and
clarity.
6.4.9 Edit and proofread one's own writing, as well as that of others, using an editing
checklist or set of rules, with specific examples of corrections of frequent errors.
6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and
between paragraphs.
6.5.1 Write narratives that:
• establish and develop a plot and setting and present a point of view that is appropriate
to the stories.

• include sensory details and clear language to develop plot and character.
• use a range of narrative devices, such as dialogue or suspense.
6.5.6 Use varied word choices to make writing interesting.
Teaching Points for Narrative Writing:
Immersion
*Spend a lot of time during this initial phase (3 to 5 days) just reading and rereading
personal narrative picture books and/or short texts. Let kids read in small groups, with
partners, and on their own. Maybe have students jot down what they are noticing about
personal narratives inside their notebook. Writing Workshop will feel a little like
Reading Workshop during this week and that‘s okay. The better we immerse kids in the
new genre, the better their final pieces will be.
Decide on a mentor text during this phase. Pay close attention to which book or short
text the students seem drawn to. This will make for a good mentor text. It might be
good to have two mentor texts that your kids become very familiar with throughout this
study.
Writers learn about the features of a new genre by reading and rereading
books in the genre and asking, ―What do I notice? What makes this a personal
narrative? What are the parts?‖ (Start a chart of personal narrative
noticings)
Writers read books in two different ways: as a reader and as a writer. First,
we read books as a reader, just to enjoy. Then, we read as writers, to notice
what other writers do that we might try in our own writing. We read a book
that we‘ve already read, stopping to pause after each section, and asking,
―What do I love about this part? What really pops out at me that this writer
did? Where is a part that makes me feel a strong emotion?‖ Writers can put
post-its on all of these parts to hold onto them for later. (add to the chart of
personal narrative noticings)
One way that writers make writing powerful is by emulating narrative writing
we admire. Writers read through narrative writing and ask, ―What did this
writer do that I could do to make my own writing more powerful?‖ (Add to the
chart of personal narrative noticings)
Writers want to have a large stack of books in a specific genre that can help
us be the best writer possible. We want to learn from multiple books and try
out multiple strategies for making great writing. Writers search the classroom
library and at home for other texts that fit this genre. We search through

ins of books looking for books with the same characteristics as the initial
books used. We choose a book, flip through it, read small chunks, and ask,
―Does this book have the same characteristics as the ones we have listed on
the chart?‖
Sample noticings you may have on a chart at this point:
-Writers often write about a seemingly small episode-yet it has big meaning for
the writer.
-Writers often tell the story in such a way that the reader can actually
experience it from start to finish.
-It helps to record exact words a character uses.
-Writers often convey strong feelings, and they often show rather than tell
about those feelings.
-Writers often include two and sometimes three small moments so that there is a
sense that the stories have a beginning, middle, and an end.
Collecting
Writers get ideas for personal narratives by thinking about where other
writers may have gotten their ideas. They choose a book and ask, ―Where
might this author have gotten the idea for this book?‖ Then, we try the same
strategy. Writers look through multiple books and try out multiple strategies
inside our writer‘s notebook.
Writers get ideas for personal narratives by listing out turning points in our
lives. We think of first times, last times, or times when we realized something
important.
-first/last time you did something hard to do
-first/last time you did something you now do every day
-first/last time with a person, an animal, a place, an activity
-a time you realized something important about yourself or someone else

-a time you realized a huge change in your life almost happened
Writers get ideas by thinking of a person, place, or thing that matters, then
listing out clear, small moments we remember well. Writers can then choose
one to sketch and write the accompanying story.
Writers get ideas by thinking of a strong emotion and listing small moments of
when we felt that strong emotion.
During this phase of the writing process, you can go back and look at the launching
information to get more strategies for generating ideas. You also want to be tucking in
management information during these Writing Workshop sessions. It‘s important that
students learn in these first several weeks how to sit in the meeting area, how to get
started with work, and how to stay working for long stretches of time. Don‘t feel bad
about weaving management into these workshop times.
Choosing
Writers choose an idea, an idea from our notebook, that we think holds a lot
of emotion and is worthy of writing about over time. We do this by rereading
our notebook and stopping after each entry and asking, ―Would this make a
good story? Does it hold a lot of emotion? Do I love it enough to write about it
over time?‖
Nurturing/Developing/Planning
You can refer back to all of the nurturing/developing strategies from the launching unit.
Teach or reteach any strategies that you feel would be helpful to your class. Also,
remember, it is crucial that you are writing in front of your class and trying all
strategies on your own writing first.
Writers plan our stories by making a time-line, story mountain, or story board
(choose 1 or 2 to show your class). Writers make a movie in our mind of our
story and think about what happened first, next, next, next, and then, finally.
We jot down the main events to hold onto our story for when we are drafting.
Writers ask ourselves, ―Which part of this story will I tell with lots of details,
and which parts will I write only a little about? Which part seems important?
Which part really shows what my story is mostly about?‖ We go back over our
plan, reading each part of our plan, and deciding if it is a part for lots of
details or a part for just a few. We want to tell lots about parts that seem
important to our stories…parts that really show what our story is mostly
about. We can make little marks on our plan for reminders.
Writers study the leads of mentor texts to try out different leads inside our
notebook. We choose a book, read the first several lines and ask, ―What did

this writer do to write this lead? What is it about? What is it telling me?‖
Then, writers think about our own beginning to our story (refer to the plan),
think about what was happening, and then try to write about what was
happening using the mentor text‘s technique. Below is a sample that could be
on a chart and in students‘ notebooks:
Author‘s Lead
What the Author Has
Done
Our Lead, Using the
same technique
Drafting
Writers choose the best lead from all of the work we did inside our notebook.
We reread all of our leads and think, ―Which one is best for my story? Which
one will invite my readers in most effectively?‖ We begin our draft using the
best lead.
Writers follow our plan as we write. We have it out at all times. Write about
each main event in order of our plan. (It‘s possible to have your students write
about each dot on the time-line or each dot on a story mountain or each box of
a story board on a separate page. This gives them room to revise later and to
show them that each dot is a new episode and needs to be developed.)
Writers use paragraphs in narrative writing when a new character comes along;
new events happen; new setting; new person speaking; or time moves forward a
lot (large chunk of time passes). Writers pay attention as we write to when we
might need a new paragraph. We write a sentence and ask, ―Is a new character
coming now? Is a new event about to happen? Is my character moving to a new
setting? Is a new person speaking? Is a large chunk of time about to pass?‖
Writers do this the whole time we are writing.
Writers write with lots of detail about the parts that seem important. One
way to emphasize a part of the story that really says what the story is about
is to take tiny steps through that bit, writing down every little part. Writers
try to see that part in our minds and write down everything we see in slow
motion.
Revising
Writers tell the external story as well as the internal story. We add in what
the characters are thinking. We reread our stories, stop after each chunk, and
ask, ―What was I (or my character) thinking in this part?‖ We add that to our
story to show the internal story.

Writers tell what happens in the story and the response to what happens. We
reread our stories and find parts where something important happens and ask,
―What happened just seconds after this happened? What did I hear, see, say,
feel?‖
Writers tell what might happen in the future or recall the past to give the
reader more information. Writers reread a significant part, stop and ask,
―What event led up to this moment or what might happen in the future
because of it?‖ Example from Sandra Cisneros‘ Papa Who Wakes Up Tired in
the Dark: ―Your grandfather died.‖ My papa cries. I think of what will happen.
He‘ll fly to Mexico. The relatives will convene. They‘ll take pictures by the
grave. Meanwhile, I‘ll tell the other kids my papa is sitting on my bed.‖
Editing
Writers study punctuation marks in our mentor texts and try to use them in
the same way in our pieces. We choose one mark to focus in on and look
through all mentor texts for this mark. We think about what it does, why it is
used, how it changes the meaning, and try to use it in our own writing in the
same way.
Examples of Commas
What Does the Comma
Do?
Using the Comma in my
Writing
Writers use an editing check-list to check one thing at a time. We look at a
check-list, read the first item, then check our entire piece for that one thing.
Repeat until finished with the check-list.