Grades 5 and 6 Writing Units of Study.pdf

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.