Vernon Public Schools
Grade 4 Unit 1 Writing, Realistic Fiction
Lesson Plans
Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: What is writer’s workshop? Writers keep a notebook.
Lesson: Teaching Point 1
Process: Prewriting, Drafting
Trait: Organization, Ideas, Voice
References: Below is a list of books to use at mentor texts in this unit:
• A Writer’s Notebook by Ralph Fletcher
• Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter
• You Have to Write by Janet S. Wong
• Dot by Peter Reynolds
• Ish by Peter Reynolds
Materials:
•
•
•
•
•
•
conference notebook (to record teacher observations)
anchor chart entitled Seed Ideas in our Writer’s Notebook (to be created together)
your own filled teacher’s writing notebook
student writing notebooks
pencils
sheets of paper, each with the names of 2 children numbered 1 and 2, to place on the
floor to indicate partners’ spots
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we
Point
talked about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
“Class, can I have your eyes and your attention? I want to tell
you something very important. I have been listening to the
stories of your summer-to stories of helping your grandma
shuck corn and stories of building model trucks and stories of
learning to whistle-and these stories are so extraordinary that
we can’t let them float away. We have been together for only
one day, one hour, and twenty minutes (fill in correct time), but
I’m already awed by all of you. You have amazing stories from
your lives!”
“You have such extraordinary stories to tell that I’m thinking
that this year I should teach you how to write like professional
writers! We need to save these stories forever! We need to
hold on to them so that as we learn how to be better and better
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
writers, we can make our stories better and better too! To be
writers, you need the tools that real writers use, and the most
important tool is this: a writer’s notebook. I’ve been learning
to become a writer, too, and so I keep my own writer’s
notebook.” (Hold up your own well-decorated and much-used
notebook and turn a few pages so the children can see your
pages filled with writing, sometimes also containing a sketch or
a photograph.)
“We will also need to spend time writing every day, just like
professional writers do. Our writing workshop will be at the
heart of our whole year. We will dedicate a big chunk of time
each day to writing. (Point to the daily schedule to show
students the time allotted for writing workshop.) Our workshop
will be like all sorts of other workshops. Usually workshops
begin with the artists-they might be writers, they might be
painters-convening to elarn a new strategy. The teacher says
‘Let me show you a strategy, a technique that has been
important to my work, ‘ and then she models it. After about ten
minutes together, everyone goes to work on his own project,
and the teacher becomes the coach.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Watch me as I… “Each day during writing time we will gather at the carpet,
sitting with our writing partners. The workshop will begin with
Did you see
a mini-lesson. During this time I will share with you specific
how I…
writing strategies. This is my turn to talk and your turn to listen.
Next, we will practice or try out a strategy with each other. This
could include a turn and talk, a stop and jot in your notebook, or
creating an anchor chart together. Then, I will send you to your
writing spot to begin your independent work. In fourth grade,
you will be given abundant time to write. This is your chance to
tell your stories. You may even find there is not enough time! I
will be conferring with a few students each day at during this
independent time. Finally, we will gather again at the carpet to
share our work and restate what we have learned.
“Every great writer has one thing in common… they keep a
writing notebook. This is something very personal and special
to every writer. You are in charge of your writing notebook.
You decide what goes into your notebook. You can include your
thoughts, your ideas, your wonderings, your observations, and
all of the things you are interested in and care about! It is a
place for you to write about what matters to you. It’s a place to
try out all sorts of interesting things, without worrying too much
about hot it will turn out in the end. It’s a place to collect and
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
imagine the writing you might want to come back to again in
the future, a place to hold onto all those ideas. That’s what a
writing notebook is for me. Let me show you my writing
notebook. (Briefly show a few entries and explain how
important it is to you.)
Finally, I want you to notice how I use the notebook. Each page
has a date. I use all the pages in order. I always keep a pen with
it. I take to not bend or crinkle the pages.”
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Now you try it… “Now let’s make an anchor chart to remind us of all the seed
ideas we can put in our writing notebook. Turn and talk with
Turn and talk to your partner. Can you come up with three things you might put
in your notebook?”
your partner
about…
Call on students to share ideas. Write ideas on anchor chart.
Stop and jot…
Example chart:
List across your
Seed Ideas In our Writing Notebook
fingers...
• wonderings
• memories
• overheard conversations
• dreams
• special events
• favorite places
• descriptions of people we know
• opinions on issues
Today and
every day…
“Today and every day you will write things that are important to
you in your writing notebook. It is about you and what matters
to you. Today at your seats I want you to begin writing in your
notebook. Off you go!”
Who thinks
they will try this
strategy today? Suggestions:
• students could generate topics by listing people, places,
Off you go!
events important to them
• students could write about their summer vacation
• students could decorate their notebooks to make them
personal and special (or this could be done as a
homework assignment to help get kids into the routine
of bringing the notebook back and forth to school each
day)
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
After ten or fifteen minutes of the workshop, you may feel that
your students’ attention is waning. This is a good time to
intervene. You will probably stand in the middle of the room
gathering students’ attention, using the mid-workshop teaching
point whenever necessary to teach additional, smallish points.
“Writers, can I have your eyes and your attention? (When I say
this, that means stop what you are doing, pens down, and all
eyes on me, please.)”
“I want to teach you one more thing. Some of you are telling
me that you are done. Writers have a saying, ‘When you’re
done, you’ve just begun.’ That means that when you think you
are done, there is a lot more to do. One thing we writers do
when we’re done is think, ‘What’s another small moment I have
experiend-maybe about the same person, maybe about
someone else?’ Then we leave a little space on our page or
move to another page and we think, ‘How did it start? What
happened first?’ and we sketch and/or write another story. Or
we simply think, “What’s another true story I could tell, another
memory that for some reason lingers for me?’ How many of
you think you are done with your first story, your first entry?
Thumbs up. Okay. Well, for the rest of the writing time, I am
going to admire what you do now that you know the saying,
‘When you’re done, you’ve just begun.’ Return to your work.”
Other anticipated need:
• What do you do if you don’t know how to spell a word? –
circle it and move on
• What does writers workshop sound like? I hear pencils on
paper, I see students thinking and writing. Respect the
writing community
Conferring
During writing time today, you’ll want to begin getting to know
your students as writers. You may be focusing upon reteaching
today’s teaching point or mid-workshop teaching point, or going
around the room briefly asking students what they are working
on as a writer today. This time can be used to evaluate
individual student learning goals. This time may also be used to
target within the classroom individual learning goals specific to
SRBI plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop
Share
“Writers, can I have eyes and your attention? (I love the way
most of you stopped what you were doing as soon as you hear
me say that! Thank You!) Let’s gather in the meeting area
because I need to talk with you today (as I will at the end of
nearly all of our writing workshop times).
“When you go to the meeting area, you’ll see a paper that has
two names on it-your name and another child’s name-and the
number, 1 or 2, next to each name. Sit where I’ve put the paper
containing your name and your number. You and your partner
will sit facing each other, knee to knee, and each hold two
corners of the paper.”
“Writers, these papers are really important because they signify
that the two people whose names are listed will work together
as writing partners for our first unit of study in our new writing
workshop. You won’t write the same stories, but you’ll sit
alongside each other in your designated place every time we
gather…and you’ll help each other write really great stories.
The numbers 1 and 2 are just a system to help us know who will
talk first or share first. If you are partner 1, give me a thumbs
up. If you are partner 2, give me a thumbs up. Terrific! “
“As partners, you’ll help each other write well. In my life, I’ve
had a few people who have helped me be a better writer.
Would you each think of a person who has helped you in your
writing life. Partner 2, will you tell partner 1 what that person
did that helped you?” After the children talk for a while,
add…”Over the next few days, I want you to pay attention to
ways that you both can be effective writing partners.”
“Can I have your eyes and your attention? I wonder if writers
like Patricia Polacco and Cynthia Rylant and Patricia MacLachlan
can remember back to the day they began keeping their writer’s
notebook or the day they first had a person who really helped
them as writers.” We are lucky because all year, we will
remember today, the day when we launched our writing
workshop. Right now, will you each think of one thing that you
did today or that a friend did or that you learned-one thing that
you are going to remember-and tell it to your writing partner.”
Listen in as children share their ideas in pairs. Convene the
group. “I heard you say so many important things! (Repeat a
few ideas you heard).
Assessment
Did the student write in their notebook?
Record observations and conference in your notebook.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers generate ideas using phrases about people and places.
Lesson: Teaching Point 2
Process: Prewriting, Drafting
Trait: Ideas
Materials:
•
•
•
•
chart paper
Anchor Chart entitled Strategies for Generating Ideas
writing notebooks
conferring notebook
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we
Point
talked about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Before children convene at meeting area establish routines.
“Please remember to check the section of the board that says
‘Writing Workshop’, because every day it will tell you what
you need to bring to the meeting area. That way we won’t
waste one precious minute on linguistics. Today it tells you
to sit beside your writing partner on the rug spot I gave you
yesterday, and to bring your notebook with a pencil tucked
inside.”
“Writers, can I have your eyes and your attention?” I had a
chance to peek at many of your writer’s notebooks as you
were coming in this morning, and you did a beautiful job
making them your own by inscribing and decorating them.
And many of you told me stories of what happened last night!
I could tell you lived like writers-you paid attention to the
stories that were around you. Some of you even went ahead
and wrote them in your notebooks! Donald Murray, a
Pulitzer-Prize winning writer, once said, ‘Writers see more,
hear more, think more because we are writing,’ (1968) and I
could tell that was true for you. (Share a student’s short
entry from last night.)
“Although we did great work in writing yesterday, it was also
hard work. At the start of writing time, some of you sat with
the blank page in front of you and thought, ‘Nothing happens
to me. I don’t have anything to write.’”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
“This happens to every writer. Today I want to teach you a
strategy I use to help me decide which story to write (because
writers aren’t usually given topics; we decide which stories we
will tell). If I can’t figure out what to write, one strategy I use
is this: I think of a person who matters to me and then I list
small moments I’ve had with that person. I list moment that,
for some reason, I remember with crystal-clear clarity. Then I
sketch the memory and write the story of that one time.”
Using the anchor chart, write:
Strategies for Generating Ideas
Think of a person who matters to you or a place that matters
to you. Then list clear phrases you remember about that
person or place. Choose one to sketch and then write the
accompanying story.
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Watch me as I… “So let’s say it’s writing time, and I’ve got my writer’s
notebook in front of me, open to the first blank page. I might
Did you see
pick up my pencil and think, ‘I already know what I want to
how I…
write,’ in which case I’d just get started writing an entry.”
“But, on the other hand, I might pick up my pencil and think,
‘Hmmm…What am I going to write about?’ When I don’t
know what to write, I think, ‘What strategies do I know for
generating ideas?’ and I use a strategy to help me generate
an idea for a story.”
Point to the start with the strategy. “Using our strategy, I’ll
think of a person or place that matters to me and list
moments or phrases connected to that person or place,
moments I remember with crystal-clear clarity. So watch me
while I use that strategy.”
Pick up marker and turn to chart paper. “The person I write
down should be someone who really matters a lot to me, not
just someone like the man at the checkout counter. So let me
think…hmmmm, I’ll write ‘Mom’. It’s a good choice because
my mom matters a whole, whole lot to me, and also because I
have a zillion tiny stories I remember with crystal-clear clarity
that I could tell about her.”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
“I’m thinking of my Mom. The first thing that comes to my
mind is that last Saturday I woke up, and she said, “I’m going
to make breakfast for you,’ and so I sat and read my book
while she went into the kitchen. I hear her get out the bowl
and pretty soon I started to smell bacon.” Write on the chart
paper (example):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mom
when Mom made me Saturday breakfast
riding the train to NYC, feeling excited
opening stockings this past Christmas morning
when my Mom walked into the basketball game
Belle (my dog)
first night in the house
fight with neighbor’s cat
Mashapaug Lake
first canoe ride without my parents
jumping off the big rock with my sister
Create anchor chart.
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Generating Ideas
jot down a person you care about
brainstorm several moments you recall
select some of these times
write memories in phrases, making a movie in your mind
as you think about those times
Now you try it…
“Now I want you to try. Close your eyes. Think about one or
Turn and talk to two important people or places. Now think about specific
memories of that person or place. Try and remember that
your partner
about…
small moment that was special.”
Stop and jot…
“Turn and talk to your partner. Share your ideas.”
List across your
fingers...
Have a few students share with the class. (Model how to
write ideas in a notebook.)
Today and
every day…
Today I want you to use this strategy to generate ideas for
writing. This should take about 5-10 minutes to quickly jot
down several ideas. Choose one to begin writing about. Off
you go!
Who thinks
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
they will try this
strategy today?
Off you go!
Anticipated needs:
• Remember to jot several ideas. You will be looking back
in your notebook for ideas in the future. This is the time
to record your thoughts. Not all of these ideas will turn
into stories.
•
Conferring
Remember we are not writing topics. Each moment can
best be described in a sentence or long phrase, not a
single word.
Tell me about that time specifically. Why was that time
special? (to encourage students to write in specific phrases).
Reteach lesson from today is students are struggling to
generate ideas.
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from studying
children’s notebooks. You may be focusing upon reteaching
today’s teaching point or you may want to focus this time to
work with groups based on specific need, including
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate individual
student learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals specific to SRBI
plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Call students back to carpet. Give students the opportunity
to share a special moment from their notebook and orally
rehearse the story which they may end up writing later on.
Turn and talk to your partner. Choose one moment from your
notebook. Briefly tell your partner the story (not just read
from notebook.
Assessment
Did student generate ideas as phrases in their notebook?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 3
Objective: Writers generate ideas by thinking about turning points and important issues (first
times, last times, something important).
Process: Prewriting, Drafting
Trait: Ideas, Voice
Materials:
•
•
•
•
Chart Paper
conference notebook
student writers notebook
teacher writers notebook
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we
Point
talked about…
“Yesterday we learned a strategy to generate story ideas
about people and places that are important to us. Today I
want to teach you that another way writers often generate
ideas is by thinking about turning points and important
issues.”
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I… Today, before you start generating personal narrative entries,
I want to teach you one more strategy that I often use when I
Did you see
want to write personal narratives. This is a strategy that
how I…
especially helps me write entries that can become powerful
stories. Specifically, I find it helps to list moments in my life
that have been turning points for me. These are often first
times, last times, or times when I realized something
important.
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Let me show you how I use the strategies of thinking of first
times I did something, thinking of last times I did something,
and thinking of when I realized something important, because
these are all ways for me to think of turning point stories.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
In order to come up with a first or last time, I take something –
anything I do all the time. So I pick ice skating. Then I think,
“When is the first time I ice skated?” And suddenly I
remember a time (it might not have been the very first time,
but it was an early time) when I skated out to an island,
pushing a little red chair in front of me so I wouldn’t fall. I
write that time on my list, knowing I might come back and tell
the story of it later.
Jot a phrase representing the episode on chart paper. (ice
skating to island with red chair)
In order to come up with a last time I did something, I go
through the same steps… and this time, I end up remembering
the last time I saw my grandfather, on a visit to the nursing
home.
When I want to pick a topic for a personal narrative that will
make a really good story, one that will have the shape of a
story – a beginning, middle, and an end – and one that
matters, it often helps to think about turning point moments.
Here is a turning point my son wrote about… It was his last
recess as a fifth grader. He realized he would never have
recess again. He was growing up. The turning point was his
realization that he was becoming a young adult. That last
recess was that turning point moment.
*Note – teachers will want to come up with their own
examples of first times, last times, and turning points. Make it
your own.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Let’s try it. I’m going to suggest some general topics, and you
Turn and talk to try to think of a turning point story you could write. If you
your partner
think of one, jot it down in your writer’s notebook so that later
about…
you’ll have a list of ideas you can come back to.
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
“Think about the first time you did something that felt, at the
time, like it was hard for you, like swimming across the pool,
or climbing to the very top of a mountain, or taking the
subway by yourself”
“Think about the first time you did something that now you do
every day, like seeing your younger brother, or coming into
this classroom, or walking to school from your apartment/
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
house, or playing a sport, or reading a chapter book”
“Think about the last time you saw a person (or a pet) who
died, or the last time you saw someone who left you.”
“Think about a time when realized something about yourself,
or about a person you know well.”
Example:
“When you realized that the scary neighbor across the street
was a friendly, caring older lady, that you now help shovel her
driveway”
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Today and
every day…
Writers, I hope you remember that you carry with you an
invisible backpack full of strategies, including all the strategies
we’ve learned so far, for generating personal narratives.
Who thinks
Today, you learned one more strategy to add your backpack.
they will try this You learned that if you want to turn a small moment in your
strategy today? life into a really good story, it can help to start by thinking of
turning point moments, and, more specifically, to think of first
time or last time moments, or times when you realized
Off you go!
something important. I’ll add that to our chart over here.”
“As you gather entries today, draw on any strategy from this
chart. Remember that it should take you just a few minutes to
jot a few quick lists of ideas for entries, and then you’ll need to
select an idea from your list and write it. You may have time
to write two entries (as well as some lists) today.”
“Take a minute to think about some first time, last time, or
other turning point moments. Once you have an idea, give me
a thumbs up, then quietly head back to your seat to begin
writing in your Writers Notebook.”
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
“If you’re having a difficult time thinking of turning point
moments, think about something you do every day, or would
like to do every day, and write down your earliest memory of
that activity”
“When writing your entry, focus on getting your ideas and
details on the paper. Write how you felt, what you saw, who
was there. We might use this quick write and the details to
write a story about this small moment later. It’s important to
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
get your ideas down now, so we won’t forget when we begin
writing the story later.”
Conferring
“Tell me about your ideas”
“What strategies from the anchor chart did you use today?”
“Read me what you have so far.”
Be sure to give student a positive note, and something to
work on every time you meet with them.
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from studying
children’s notebooks. You may be focusing upon reteaching
today’s teaching point or you may want to focus this time to
work with groups based on specific need, including
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate individual
student learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals specific to SRBI
plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Call students back to the carpet with their Writers Notebook,
sitting next to their writing partners.
“Today we focused on generating ideas from turning point
moments in our lives. We thought about first times, last times,
or realized something important about ourselves. If you used
this strategy today, give me a thumbs up.”
Ask 2-3 students to share their “Turning Point” ideas with the
class.
Assessment
Did students generate turning point story ideas in their
Writers Notebook?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 4
Objective: Writers weigh ideas and record promising ones (how is it important to your life?)
Process: Prewriting, Drafting
Trait: Ideas, Voice
Materials:
•
•
•
Owl Moon
Chart Paper
Anchor Chart
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we
Point
talked about…
We’ve spent time working on ideas for our personal narrative
stories. We’ve worked on strategies to help us generate story
ideas. Today, I want to show you how writers weigh ideas,
and choose promising ones to actually write about.
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I… Today I want to share with you how writers choose topics
that have a powerful meaning to them. I’m going to read the
story, “Owl Moon”, and I want you to think about what the
Did you see
author is trying to say. Also, ask yourself, “What did this
how I…
author do that I could also do in order to make my writing
powerful?”
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Good writers are always able to put their feelings across in
their writing, and allow the reader to feel the same way.
Now, watch me as I weigh two different story ideas I came up
with the other day, and how I choose which story will be the
most promising idea to write about, just like Jane Yolen did
with “Owl Moon”.”
In my notebook, I’m looking at two ideas; one, is about the
first time I had a Salmon dinner at a restaurant in Seattle.
The other idea I was looking at, was when my mother and I
went to NYC together, and I realized she was not just my
mother, but that we had a lot in common, and were starting
to become friends.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Which of these two ideas have the most meaning to me, so I
can turn it into a powerful writing piece? Hmmm….The
salmon was really good, but it doesn’t carry a powerful
meaning, or a strong emotion. Going to NYC with my mother
was fun, but it was the beginning of our friendship, and a
turning point in how I view her as a person…not just my
mother any more….
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
I think there is a lot more meaning and feeling behind the
story with my mother, and as I writer, I think I can put
meaning behind what actually happened, to help the reader
feel what I felt on that trip.
Now you try it… Now it’s time for you to try. Look back into your writer’s
notebook, and choose two story ideas that you think carry
Turn and talk to strong meanings. Share these two ideas with your partner to
your partner
weigh out which of these ideas would be the most promising
about…
to write about and why. Put a star next to the idea that has
the most meaning.
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Today and
every day…
Today and every day, I want you as good writers to weigh out
your ideas to find meaningful story ideas, that carry powerful
feelings.
Who thinks
they will try this Now that you and your partner have selected a meaningful
strategy today? story idea, I want you to go back to your desk, and continue
weighing and staring other ideas, or begin writing about this
Off you go!
meaningful story.
“I want you to think about the feelings, or meaning that goes
with each idea, and not just select an idea you want to write
about.”
“Don’t forget that once you have weighed out and selected
several story ideas, this would be a great time to begin
writing.”
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from studying
children’s notebooks. You may be focusing upon reteaching
today’s teaching point or you may want to focus this time to
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop
Share
work with groups based on specific need, including
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate individual
student learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals specific to SRBI
plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
Assessment
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 5
Objective: Once writers have many seed ideas, they choose one that calls to them because it
carries a strong meaning.
Process: Prewriting, Drafting
Trait: Ideas, Voice
Reference: Launching the Writing Workshop by Lucy Calkins, session 6
Materials:
• anchor chart paper
• teacher’s writing notebook
• students’ writing notebooks
• sticky notes
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we
talked about…
Point
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
We’ve been collecting lots of entries, at school and at home, in
our writer’s notebooks. We call these seed ideas. At some
Today I want
point, writers have to make decisions about which seeds they’ll
to teach you
turn into writing projects to publish. I’m going to show you
that whenever what authors do to choose a seed to develop and publish so you
…
can do it too.
Today I want
to remind
you…
Watch me as
I…
Did you see
how I…
Today we’re going to choose a seed from our writer’s notebook.
But before we talk about that seed, let’s talk about a regular
seed. What happens to a regular seed? (It grows.) What does
it need to grow? (It needs water, sun, soil, and care.)
Well, a writing seed is just like a regular seed. It is a piece of
writing you are going to take care of for a while. Over the next
few lessons, your seed will grow as you think about it more and
add more information. You’ll want to choose an entry that
really matters and make a commitment to that one entry. Once
we decide to work on it, it can become our very best writing.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Your important job today is to look for a piece in your
notebook that you would like to spend time nurturing so you
may publish it as a finished piece.
Let’s talk about the best way to do that. For most writers, the
answer begins with rereading all of the things you’ve collected
so you can find the most valuable pieces. When you reread
your notebook, try to be the best possible reader in the world. If
you’re like me, you’ll probably talk to yourself while you reread.
Here are some ‘writer’s questions’ you might ask yourself,
questions to help you focus on your reactions to the entries.
Create chart as you are talking.
Let me show you how I would choose a seed from my writer’s
notebook.
Model rereading some entries in your writer’s notebook, using
some of the questions in your think aloud to see if the entries
would be good seed ideas. Below is an example, but it is best
to use your own seed ideas.
Here’s an entry about my trip to Greece. I have a lot to say
about that topic, so maybe it could be my seed idea. I’m going
to put a post-it there. Here’s another entry I really enjoyed
writing, the one about my cousin’s laugh. I don’t really have
anything more to say about that idea, so I’m not going to put a
post-it. This entry about what I did when I visited my
grandparents might be something to explore. Visiting my
grandparents was really important when I was a kid, so I think
it would be a good seed to choose. I like what I wrote already,
and I think I could make it even better. Let me think about
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
whether I’d rather write about my trip or my grandparents… I’ll
choose visiting my grandparents for my seed idea since they
were so important to me.
Refer to the chart to show them how you went through the
process.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
Now you try
it…
How will students
participate and
practice?
Turn and talk
to your
partner
about…
Now I want you to try. Reread the ideas in your notebook.
Give students a few minutes to read.
Turn and talk to your partner. Tell them one seed idea that you
would like to nurture and grow.
Stop and jot…
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
List across
your fingers...
Today and
every day…
Who thinks
they will try
this strategy
today?
Today when you go back to your desks, get three sticky notes.
Use our “Choosing a Seed” chart to help you narrow your
notebook entries down to three likely possibilities. Look for
entries that draw you in. Then reread those possibilities even
more carefully and leave the sticky note on the one you finally
select. When we return for share time today, be prepared to
share which entry you chose and why you chose it. Off you go!
Off you go!
Writers, can I have your eyes and your attention? Thumbs up if
you’ve chosen one entry that matters to you, an entry that you
think you could work on more. Great. Before you write the
story of that entry, please turn to the person next to you, and
tell the story of your seed idea. Tell it long. Tell it in ways that
gives your listener goose bumps.
After just a couple of minutes…Writers, let me stop you. I’m not
surprised you selected these particular stories from your
notebooks. They are incredible! I loved hearing that the stories
grew as you told them; you seemed to remember more things
right in the middle of the stories! That’s exactly why we often
story-tell before we write. But let me tell you something else.
Writers don’t just tell our stories once before we write them –
we tell and retell them. When you go back to your writing,
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
would you tell your story again to yourself, not to your partner?
Conferring
•
•
•
After the Workshop
Share
Assessment
Where are you with choosing a seed?
Tell me what you’ve thought about as you go through your
notebook.
Let’s look at the “Choosing a Seed” chart – how could that
help?
Have students bring their writer’s notebooks back to the
meeting area. Tell them to turn and talk to their response
partner about which seed idea they chose to nurture and grow
and why they chose it. You may want to demonstrate this
process with one student if your class still needs modeling for
effective partner talk. Ask a few students to share out.
Did the student choose a strong seed idea to develop into a
story?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers take time to plan their story (timelines, consider possible events to
include, continuously revise, which dot is not essential)
Lesson: Teaching Point 6 (Part 1)
Process: Planning
Trait: Organization
Materials:
• Chart paper
• Your own (short) story to share (plan parts for timeline)
• Idea for a shared class story (an event class experienced together)
“Yesterday we talked
“Writers, yesterday we talked about how writers that
Connection/Teaching
generate many seed ideas choose one that calls to
Point
about…”
“Today I want to teach
them because it carries a strong meaning. Today, I
Relate today’s teaching
you that whenever …”
want to teach you that once you have selected that
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of the
“Today I want to remind strong and meaningful idea, writers then take time to
lesson
you…”
plan their story, including the most essential events.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Watch me as I…”
“Did you see how I…”
Sometimes people use plans or diagrams before they
start to build something or when they are stuck and
don’t know where to begin. When you build a story,
sometimes a plan helps too. Writers need to imagine
how their story is going to go based on the memory
they have of that episode from their life. They need to
plan and organize so their story comes out the way
they imagined. Today I’m going to show you a tool that
writers sometimes use to help them plan. Some
writers use timelines to help them plan and organize.
Timelines can also help you remember what happened
first, then next, until the end of the story.
Watch how I create a timeline to help me plan for
writing a story from one of my seed ideas . I want to
write a story about _____________(refer to your
chosen seed idea from previous lesson). I will use a
timeline to do that (draw vertical line on chart paper).
Model and think aloud through a story that you have
written. Model by mapping out a timeline, taking big
steps through your story, including only the most
essential events (add in a few extra points to be used
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
later during the mid-workshop lesson).
Possible
prompts to include:
• When I think back to the memory of that time, the
first thing I see is….
• I will write that here, as the first dot on my
timeline…
• If I think of the order in which things happened
within my memory, my next dot would be…
• The next thing I remember is…
“You’ll notice I write just a few words on each dot of
my timeline, and that each dot represents a new
action”.
“Did you notice about how I thought of the order in
which they occurred and how I used this timeline as a
tool for planning out my story?”
Active Engagement (“We
Do”)
How will students
participate and practice?
“Now you try it…”
“Turn and talk to your
partner about…”
“Stop and jot…”
“List across your
fingers...”
Let’s try making a timeline together. We will use a
timeline to plan a story we could write as a class about
the time ________( choose the memory the whole
class selected from the previous lesson). .
“With your partner, say how a timeline could go for
our class’ story. For now use your fingers as dots on
your timeline. “
Call back your writer’s attention. Call on student
volunteers to visually create your class timeline.
“Did you notice how we took our class event and used
the timeline to help us remember what happened first,
and next until the end? Planning on this timeline has
helped us organize our writing so that we can grow our
seed idea into an actual story.”
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
“Today and every day…”
“Who thinks they will try
this strategy today?”
“Off you go!”
“When I send you off, you are going to practice using a
timeline as a tool to organize your seed idea and begin
growing it into a story.
Today and everyday,
remember that writers take time to plan out their
stories and a timeline is one way that we can do this
work.”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
Conferring
After the Workshop Share
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
As I was revisiting my timeline, I noticed that I might
have included a few events in my story that are not the
most essential to my story. This makes me realize that
I need to go back and revise my planning, stretching
out the most essential parts of my story and taking out
parts that are NOT necessary. Take 1-2 minutes to
evaluate your timeline aloud , adding to and/or
removing events from the timeline.
Other possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reinterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work thus
far (a helpful hint, something that has worked for
them, how they have problem solved a particular
situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebooks. You may be
focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point or you
may want to focus this time to work with groups based
on specific need, including enrichment. This time can
be used to evaluate individual student learning goals.
This time may also be used to target within the
classroom individual learning goals specific to SRBI
plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
Gather students together to share student work. This
time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning goal.
Once students have shared within partnerships,
call the attention of the whole group, selecting one
or two students to share to the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one
or two students, and/or ask for a few student
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Assessment
Did the writer take the time to plan their story, using a
timeline as a tool to organize the essential events of
what happened first, next, until the end?
This is an opportunity for students to self-assess their
progress towards the teaching objective and/or
learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers take time to plan their story
Lesson: Teaching Point 6 (Part 2 of 2)
Process: Planning
Trait: Organization
Materials:
•
•
•
Chart paper
Your own (short) story to share (plan parts for timeline)
Idea for a shared class story (an event class experienced together)
Connection/Teaching
Point
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of the
lesson
“Yesterday we talked
about…”
“Today I want to teach you
that whenever …”
“Today I want to remind
you…”
“Writers, yesterday we talked about how writers
that generate many seed ideas choose one that calls
to them because it carries a strong meaning. Today,
I want to teach you that once you have selected that
strong and meaningful idea, writers then take time
to plan their story, including the most essential
events.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Watch me as I…”
“Did you see how I…”
Sometimes people use plans or diagrams before
they start to build something or when they are stuck
and don’t know where to begin. When you build a
story, sometimes a plan helps too. Writers need to
imagine how their story is going to go based on the
memory they have of that episode from their life.
They need to plan and organize so their story comes
out the way they imagined. Today I’m going to show
you a tool that writers sometimes use to help them
plan. Some writers use timelines to help them plan
and organize.
Timelines can also help you
remember what happened first, then next, until the
end of the story.
Watch how I create a timeline to help me plan for
writing a story from one of my seed ideas . I want
to write a story about _____________(refer to your
chosen seed idea from previous lesson). I will use a
timeline to do that (draw vertical line on chart
paper).
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Model and think aloud through a story that you
have written. Model by mapping out a timeline,
taking big steps through your story, including only
the most essential events (add in a few extra points
to be used later during the mid-workshop lesson).
Possible prompts to include:
• When I think back to the memory of that time,
the first thing I see is….
• I will write that here, as the first dot on my
timeline…
• If I think of the order in which things happened
within my memory, my next dot would be…
• The next thing I remember is…
“You’ll notice I write just a few words on each dot of
my timeline, and that each dot represents a new
action”.
Did you notice about how I thought of the order in
which they occurred and how I used this timeline as
a tool for planning out my story?
Active Engagement (“We
Do”)
How will students
participate and practice?
“Now you try it…”
“Turn and talk to your
partner about…”
“Stop and jot…”
“List across your fingers...”
Let’s try making a timeline together. We will use a
timeline to plan a story we could write as a class
about the time ________( choose the memory the
whole class selected from the previous lesson). .
“With your partner, say how a timeline could go for
our class’ story. For now use your fingers as dots on
your timeline. “
Call back your writer’s attention. Call on student
volunteers to visually create your class timeline.
“Did you notice how we took our class event and
used the timeline to help us remember what
happened first, and next until the end? Planning on
this timeline has helped us organize our writing so
that we can grow our seed idea into an actual
story.”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
Conferring
“Today and every day…”
“Who thinks they will try
this strategy today?”
“Off you go!”
“When I send you off, you are going to practice
using a timeline as a tool to organize your seed idea
and begin growing it into a story. Today and
everyday, remember that writers take time to plan
out their stories and a timeline is one way that we
can do this work.”
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
“As I was revisiting my timeline, I noticed that I
might have included a few events in my story that
are not the most essential to my story. This makes
me realize that I need to go back and revise my
planning, stretching out the most essential parts of
my story and taking out parts that are NOT
necessary. Take 1-2 minutes to evaluate your
timeline aloud , adding to and/or removing events
from the timeline. “
Other possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reinterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem
solved a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you
made from studying children’s notebooks. You may
be focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point
or you may want to focus this time to work with
groups based on specific need, including
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate
individual student learning goals. This time may
also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504
plans, and/or IEPs.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop Share
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal.
Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to
the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or learning
goal.
Did the writer take the time to plan their story,
using a timeline as a tool to organize the essential
events of what happened first, next, until the end?
This is an opportunity for students to self-assess
their progress towards the teaching objective
and/or learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers draft multiple beginnings and endings, selecting the one that conveys
their message most effectively.
Lesson: Teaching Point 7
Process: Drafting
Trait: Organization, Ideas, Voice
Materials:
•
•
Chart paper (beginning drafting story, use every other line, leave room for revision)
Your own (short) story to share (plan parts for timeline)
**Important Note: As you model drafting your story ideas with the students, include
sentence fragments and run-on sentences-see lesson 10)**
Connection/Teaching
Point
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of the
lesson
“Yesterday we talked about…”
“Today I want to teach you
that whenever …”
“Today I want to remind
you…”
“Writers, yesterday we learned that writers
identify an emotion they want their readers to
feel. They then revise their timelines in order to
include the events most essential in capturing
that emotion. Today, I want to teach you that
writers draft multiple beginnings and endings,
selecting the one that conveys their message the
most effectively.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Watch me as I…”
“Did you see how I…”
As writers get ready to draft their stories, they
begin to try different ways to tell their story,
thinking, “How do I want to start my story?
Maybe my story will go like this.” Then we reimagine the story, and think, “Or maybe the story
will go like this,” and try a second starting point,
a second ending. I step back and realize that the
same story can be told differently, depending
upon the perspective the writer wants to bring
out.
Watch me as I ask myself a few questions,
considering where I want to begin and end my
story.“
(Think aloud, using the questions
mentioned above. Tie in the emotions identified
yesterday, as you try different beginnings and
endings.).
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Active Engagement (“We
Do”)
How will students
participate and practice?
“Now you try it…”
“Turn and talk to your partner
about…”
“Stop and jot…”
“List across your fingers...”
Using the class story timelined from the day
before, select a starting point. Begin to live write
a beginning, discussing the perspective and
emotion communicated with this starting point.
Think aloud to the class, asking “Is this how I
want my story to begin? Maybe the story should
start in a different spot?” Then select, using
yesterday’s timeline, a different place to start
your story. Begin to write that beginning with
the class.
When finished compare the
perspective and emotion communicated. Model
a think aloud regarding which beginning to
select.
Now, model the same thinking, this time
selecting an ending from your timeline. Practice
writing an ending for your story, asking yourself,
does this ending communicate my message to
the reader?
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
“Today and every day…”
“Who thinks they will try this
strategy today?”
“Off you go!”
“When I send you off, you are going to draft
multiple beginnings for your story, deciding
which beginning most effectively communicates
your message. Once you have decided upon your
beginning, draft at least one ending for your
story, asking yourself, does this beginning most
effectively communicate your message.
Today and everyday, remember that writers can
begin and end their stories in multiple ways. It is
important to choose the starting and ending
point for your story that most clearly
communicates your message as an author.
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students
to reinterate the teaching point (ex:
“Writers, so remind me of the type of work
we are focusing upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
•
Conferring
After the Workshop Share
Assessment
Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem
solved a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to
convene small groups based upon the
assessments you made from studying children’s
notebooks.
You may be focusing upon
reteaching today’s teaching point or you may
want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment.
This time can be used to evaluate individual
student learning goals. This time may also be
used to target within the classroom individual
learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal. Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share
to the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or
learning goal.
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to draft
two beginnings, each communicating a different
emotion?
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to draft an
ending that captures the same emotion or feel of
their selected beginning?
This is an opportunity for students to self-assess
their progress towards the teaching objective
and/or learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers zoom into the scene and make a movie in their mind to help tell the story
and put the whole story on the page.
Lesson: Teaching Point 8
Process: Drafting
Trait: Ideas, Organization
Materials:
•
•
Chart paper (as you live write, be sure to skip lines and make sure your ideas leave
opportunities for revisions—see lessons 9 and 10)
Your own (short) story to share (plan parts for timeline)
**Important Note: As you model drafting your story ideas with the students, include at least
one sentence fragment and run-on sentence-see lesson 10)**
Connection/Teaching
Point
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of the
lesson
“Yesterday we talked about…”
“Today I want to teach you
that whenever …”
“Today I want to remind
you…”
“Writers, yesterday we learned that writers draft
multiple beginnings and endings, selecting the
one that conveys their message most effectively.
Today, you will learn that writers zoom into the
scene and make a movie in their mind to help tell
the story and put the whole story on the page.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Watch me as I…”
“Did you see how I…”
“Today, I want to teach you that writing personal
narratives well involves reliving episodes from
our own lives. Whenever I write a personal
narrative, I relive my own experience. Remember
my story (recall back to the memory selected
during lesson 5)….. Let me show you how I go
about doing this kind of writing and then we’ll try
it together. I’m going to close my eyes and really
put myself back into that memory. I remember
exactly where I was, what I was thinking, and
how I was feeling. And I remember … (briefly
relive moment aloud to students).”
“Did you see how I recreated the event in my
mind (in your own personal story), then wrote it,
trying to stay specific, detailed and true to the
unfolding story?”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Active Engagement (“We
Do”)
How will students
participate and practice?
“Now you try it…”
“Turn and talk to your partner
about…”
“Stop and jot…”
“List across your fingers...”
“Now we are going to have a chance to try out
this strategy of reliving the event and putting the
whole story on the page as a class.”
‘I want you to close your eyes and begin to relive
the event, as I read our beginning aloud.
Remember where we were, what you were
thinking, what was happening. Relive that
moment, detail by detail, in your mind.”
Open your eyes and look at our timeline we
created together. Ask yourself, ‘Where does this
story pick up? What scene do I need to zoom into
in order to put our own story on the page?” Now
turn and talk to your partner regarding where
and how we should be continuing our story.
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?” Call on
a group to share their thinking about where and
how to begin telling the story. Begin live writing
your class story for students, thinking aloud as
you relive the event, writing detail after detail,
zooming into one dot (on your class timeline) at
a time. (model writing the next scene in your
class story, reliving the event detail after detail—
eliciting student input in the process).
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
“Today and every day…”
“Who thinks they will try this
strategy today?”
“Off you go!”
“When I send you off, you are going to zoom into
your story, fast-forwarding through your
beginning and picking up on the scene you left off
with. Remember to truly put yourself back into
the moment, reliving it step by step, detail by
detail. Before you know it, your entire story
would have unfolded on the page right before
your very own eyes. Off you go.”
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students
to reinterate the teaching point (ex:
“Writers, so remind me of the type of work
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
we are focusing upon today and everyday?”)
Solve a problem that has come up
Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem
solved a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to
convene small groups based upon the
assessments you made from studying children’s
notebooks.
You may be focusing upon
reteaching today’s teaching point or you may
want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment.
This time can be used to evaluate individual
student learning goals. This time may also be
used to target within the classroom individual
learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal. Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share
to the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or
learning goal.
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to draft
two beginnings, each communicating a different
emotion?
•
•
Conferring
After the Workshop Share
Assessment
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to draft an
ending that captures the same emotion or feel of
their selected beginning?
This is an opportunity for students to self-assess
their progress towards the teaching objective
and/or learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers step back and ask, “Is this really saying all that I want it to say?”
Lesson: Teaching Point 9
Process: Revision
Trait: Ideas, Organization
Materials:
•
•
•
•
•
Chart paper
Your own (short) story to share (plan parts for timeline)
Teacher completed class story (with room for revision)
Mentor Text: Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
References (Lucy Calkins-Raising the Quality of Narrative Writing-Lesson VI)
**Important Note: As you model drafting your story ideas with the students, include at last
one sentence fragment and run-on sentence-see lesson 10)**
Connection/Teaching
Point
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of the
lesson
“Yesterday we talked
about…”
“Today I want to teach you
that whenever …”
“Today I want to remind
you…”
“Writers, yesterday we learned that writers zoom
into the scene and make a movie in their mind to
help tell the story and put the whole story on the
page. Today we will learn that writers step back and
ask, “Is this really saying all that I want it to say?”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Watch me as I…”
“Did you see how I…”
“Today, I want to teach you that every good author
stops writing, takes a step back, and asks
themselves, “Is this story REALLY saying all that I
want it to say?” Good writers know that the same
story can be written to show very different things.
For example, you could write about going on a roller
coaster. The story might be about finally conquering
your fear of speed and heights OR it could be about
growing up and finally being tall enough to ride the
roller coaster. So as writers, you need to stop and
think, “Is this REALLY saying all that I want it to
say?,” and let that answer guide your writing.
“When Sandra Cisneros wrote “Eleven” [or mention
other mentor text], I am sure that she must have
asked herself, “What do I really want to say about
that incident?” She could have written her story in a
way that showed how kids are always losing things
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
in the classroom. If she did that, she might have
had Mrs. Price come out of the coat room with her
arms full of lost belongings – not just the red
sweater, but also books, jackets, and lunch bags.
Instead, I think Cisneros decided that she wanted to
write a story about growing up and in some
situations people seem younger, or older, than they
really are. Even though Rachel is eleven and old
enough to stand up for herself when Mrs. Price says,
‘Of course it is your sweater. I remember you
wearing it once,’ and puts the sweater on Rachel’s
desk, Rachel seem to explain that the sweater is not
hers. Since this part of the story really matters, and
it is what I think this story is really about, Cisneros
describes this section carefully with lots of details.
[Point to excerpt and read aloud to emphasize.]
When we write, we must always ask ourselves
“Which parts of the story will I tell with lots of
details and which parts will I only write a little
about?” One way emphasize the important parts of
a story is to slow down the story in that section and
write every tiny detail so that the reader can really
imagine and experience the events. For example,
when Cisneros got to the part of “Eleven” when
Rachel put on the sweater she could have just
written something like, ‘I put on the sweater.’
Instead, Cisneros decided that this part of the story
could really help to show that Rachel doesn’t have
the courage to say, “It’s not mine,” so she took tiny
steps through this part and wrote with as much
detail as she could. [Read aloud “Eleven” from “I put
one arm….germs that aren’t even mine” to illustrate
this point.]
Using the teacher-created story from the previous
lesson, model stopping, rereading, and asking
yourself the following questions:
• What’s really important?
• How am I going to show this?
Active Engagement (“We
Do”)
How will students
“Now you try it…”
“Turn and talk to your
partner about…”
“Now we are going to have a chance to try out this
strategy of asking ourselves the very important
question of ‘Is this REALLY saying all that I want it to
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
participate and practice?
“Stop and jot…”
“List across your fingers...”
say?’” Using the shared writing created in the
previous lesson, model using the strategy and
asking the questions:
• What’s really important?
• How am I going to show this?
Using turn and talk, try telling the story from
different angles and then asking the guiding
questions.
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
Conferring
“Today and every day…”
“Who thinks they will try
this strategy today?”
“Off you go!”
“You told the story differently that time, didn’t you?
This time it was the story of…You brought out
different details in the story because you were
trying to show something different in each version.”
“I want you to remember that good writers ask
themselves, ‘Is this REALLY saying all that I need it to
say?’ and the answer to that question guides the
rest of their writing decisions. You’ll want to try
using this strategy today, writing an entry about
what you are really trying to say. In your entry, you
should answer these two very important questions:
What’s really important? How am I going to show
this? Even if you have already begun writing, I want
you to spend a little bit of time writing this entry to
explore how you will angle your story. Off you go!”
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reinterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem
solved a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you
made from studying children’s notebooks. You may
be focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop Share
Assessment
or you may want to focus this time to work with
groups based on specific need, including
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate
individual student learning goals. This time may
also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504
plans, and/or IEPs.
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal.
Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to
the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or learning
goal.
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to ask
themselves: “Is this really saying all that I want it to
say?”
This is an opportunity for students to self-assess
their progress towards the teaching objective
and/or learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Objective: Writers use complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate
fragments and run-ons. (CCSS: 4.L.1f)
Lesson: Teaching Point 10
Process: Revision
Trait: Organization, Sentence Fluency, Voice, Ideas
Materials:
•
•
•
•
Chart paper
Anchor Chart: Characteristics of a Sentence (already written-see below)
Teacher-created/Modeled Story
Pre-selected student piece with sentence fragments and/or run-on sentences
Connection/Teaching
Point
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of the
lesson
“Yesterday we talked about…”
“Today I want to teach you
that whenever …”
“Today I want to remind
you…”
“Writers, yesterday we learned that step back
and ask, “Is this really saying all that I want it to
say? Today, we are going to learn that writers
use complete sentences, recognizing and
correcting fragments and run-on sentences.
Writers use complete sentences in order to
communicate their ideas clearly to the reader.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
What are the steps?
Will I use an anchor chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Watch me as I…”
“Did you see how I…”
“Writers, the stories you have been working on
are powerful ones. What you’re doing, which is
what I did with my own story as well, is letting
your words flow quickly on the page. You are
fired up about your stories, and you are writing
fast and long. That is great.”
“But since you and I want readers to really take
in our writing, we need to take a step back, and
evaluate our writing for complete sentences.
Complete sentences allow our readers to easily
understand the ideas we are trying to express.
First, let’s just refresh our minds about the
characteristics of a sentence. (Show and share
chart).”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Characteristics of a Sentence
1. A sentence always begins with a capital
letter.
2. A sentence always ends with a period (.), a
question mark (?), or an exclamation point
(!). These are called end marks.
3. A sentence always contains a subject.
4. A sentence always contains a predicate.
5. A sentence always expresses a complete
thought.
“But those guidelines don’t tell us exactly what to
do-we need to make artful decisions. What while
I read my own story, looking for sentence
fragments and run-on sentences to correct-and
then you will be able to do the same with your
entry. “
Active Engagement (“We
Do”)
How will students
participate and practice?
“Now you try it…”
“Turn and talk to your partner
about…”
“Stop and jot…”
“List across your fingers...”
Read your teacher-created story aloud, stopping
at sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
Model correcting those sentences, trying
different ways to write the new sentence. Write
the complete sentence in the space above the
original idea.
“Now we are going to have a chance to try out
this new strategy of rereading what we’ve
written, and correcting any sentence fragments
or run-on sentences.”
Using a pre-selected student piece rewritten on
chart paper, reread the story aloud to the class.
Tell the students they will work with their
partners to find and correct any sentence
fragments or run-on sentences. Pass out a copy
of the student work to partnerships, allowing
them a few minutes to find any incomplete
sentences and to write their corrections.
“So as each of you rereads this story, be sure you
are making artful decisions about what sentences
to correct and how best to correct them.!”
After a few minutes to discuss the work with
their partners, call on a few partnerships to share
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
their ideas. Write the ideas on the chart paper
and discuss how the sentences may be worded
differently, but still express the same ideas.
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
Conferring
“Today and every day…”
“Who thinks they will try this
strategy today?”
“Off you go!”
“I want you to remember that good writers take
a step back and evaluate their writing for
complete sentences, fixing any sentences that
may be fragments or run-ons. You’ll want to try
using this strategy today, rereading your stories
and correcting any sentences you may find. Be
sure to use our Characteristics of a Sentence
chart to help guide your thinking! Off you go!”
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• You may want to use today’s mid-workshop
TP to discuss sentence fluency, and its
importance as students are correcting their
sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students
to reinterate the teaching point (ex:
“Writers, so remind me of the type of work
we are focusing upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem
solved a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to
convene small groups based upon the
assessments you made from studying children’s
notebooks.
You may be focusing upon
reteaching today’s teaching point or you may
want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment.
This time can be used to evaluate individual
student learning goals. This time may also be
used to target within the classroom individual
learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop Share
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal. Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share
to the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or
learning goal.
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to identify
sentence fragments and run-on sentences?
Did the writer demonstrate the ability to correct
any sentence fragments and run-on sentences?
This is an opportunity for students to self-assess
their progress towards the teaching objective
and/or learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 11
Objective: Writers imagine stories from ordinary moments.
Process: Prewriting
Trait: Voice, Ideas
Materials: Entries from your own writer’s notebook
Entries from your writer’s notebook copied onto chart paper
Charlotte’s Web or any other mentor realistic fiction text.
Resources: Adopted from Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions by Lucy Calkins and M.
Colleen Cruz
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we talked
Point
about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
“Writers we have collected ideas and wrote personal
narrative stories that were about
important
moments in our lives”
“Today, I want to teach you that writers get ideas for
fiction, just as we get ideas for personal narratives,
by paying attention to the moments and issues in our
own lives. Today we will collect ideas for fictional
stories in our writer’s notebook.”
Tell children that you’ve come to realize that fiction
writers get their ideas from real life.
Using Charlotte’s Web or any other mentor realistic
fiction text.
“A lot of people think that fiction writers just look up
in the sky and imagine a story. But that’s not how it
works. Fiction writers pay attention to what happens
to them, to people they know, or people they hear
about. For example, _________ got the idea for
______ by ________. He/she probably wrote an
entry in his/her writer’s notebook about that moment
______, and later used that story idea for inspiration
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
for a fictional story.”
For this part of the (One example is that E.B. White
got the idea for Charlotte’s Web by watching a
spider build a web in the corner of his barn. You
may wish to substitute a different author and
his/her inspiration lesson.)
“So writers take a little piece of life and save it away
in their writer’s notebooks to come back to it later.
Then they might think to themselves, ‘This gives me
an idea…I could write about….’”
“Watch me show you what I mean. I was carefully
rereading my notebook and I remember writing an
entry about __________.
I remember that
happening and how I felt, but now I can imagine
some other things that weren’t really actually part of
what happened. I can now see other possibilities. I
think to myself, ‘What if______’.”
Give a few examples of some changes you could
make/add to the original episode as you begin to
fictionalize it and plan for a fictional story.
“So now I think that this is my story idea…”
Briefly write a blurb about a story that encompasses
the original small moment referred to in the Writer’s
Notebook, but that now has several changes and/or
additions. For example, if your entry was going to a
baseball game maybe you could describe the story
idea where the character goes to a game but catches
a fly ball and then is able to meet the player who hit
the ball with whom he/she becomes friends and
learns baseball tips. The original small moment part
of life is encompassed in the new “fictionalized”
story idea.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to
* A story blurb is a series of short statements, or jots,
that tell a story.”
“You heard my original entry, my small moment,
from my writer’s notebook which I reread and
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
How will students
participate and
practice?
your partner about… thought and imagined more about it. Then you
heard my story blurb based on that small moment.”
Stop and jot…
“Turn and talk to your partner about how they are
the same and how they are different, especially what
List across your
you noticed that I changed or added in my story idea.
fingers...
Allow time for partners to share.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
“So writers of fiction need imagination to write, but
they don’t imagine everything. They look into the
small moments of their lives and see other
possibilities. That’s how they use their imaginations,
to see story possibilities based in ordinary moments.
So today and every day you can reread ideas in your
notebooks…finding an idea that inspires you and
imagining other possibilities and write a story blurb
about that .
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
re-interate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and every day?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem solved
a particular situation)
Conferring
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebook. You may be
focusing upon re-teaching today’s teaching point or
you may want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment. This
time can be used to evaluate individual student
learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
specific to SRBI, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal.
Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to
the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one
or two students, and/or ask for a few student
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Were the students able to find an ordinary small
moment that inspired them to imagine other
possibilities and write story blurbs about those
moments?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 12
Objective: Writers imagine stories they wish existed in the world.
Process: Prewriting
Trait: Ideas
Materials:
•
•
•
•
Students’ writer’s notebook
Teacher’s writer’s notebook
Chart paper with the start of a list: How to find ideas for fiction
Three Billy Goats Gruff or other familiar fairy tale
Connection/Teaching
Point
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
“Yesterday we
talked about…”
“Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …”
“Today I want to
remind you…”
“Yesterday we talked about how writers get ideas for
their stories from the ordinary things in their lives and
we wrote story blurbs for our ideas. Today, I’m going to
teach you that writers collect ideas for stories by paying
attention to the stories we wish existed in the world.
Sometimes writers may think, “How can I write a story
for people like me, so we can see ourselves in books?”
Materials:
Students’ writer’s notebook
Teacher’s writer’s notebook
Chart paper with the start of a list: How to find ideas
for fiction:
•
Observe the world or reread entries. Mine you
notebook for story ideas.
•
Ask “What books do I wish existed in the
world?” Let this question lead you to invent a
character with traits, struggles, actions.
•
Think about an issue that is important to you
and create a character who struggles with that
issue.
Three Billy Goats Gruff or other familiar fairy tale
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
Many times when we are looking for a book in the
library, we are often looking to find ourselves in a story.
In other words, finding a book where we can connect to
the characters or events. We want to read about
characters that are just like us. If you want to find
yourself in a book on the library shelves and no book
seems to tell the story you want told, then you might
decide it is important to make that idea your story. Let
me show you how I use this strategy to come up with a
story. (The following is an example. You may decide to
use an example of your own.)
First of all, I’m thinking about stories I want to read. I
wish there were more books about kids like me who
have moved a lot and find it difficult to make new
friends. So in my notebook, I’ll write my story idea. I
don’t just write the big outline of my story – a girl who
moves a lot and has trouble making friends. I write a
detailed plan of the story. Watch how I do that:
A girl whose father is in the Navy moves a lot. Her
family has lived in many different cities. Every time she
moves, she has to make new friends, which is really
hard for her. She is afraid of ever having a “best
friend” because she knows that she will not live there
very long. Having to say good-bye to a best friend is
heartbreaking, so she avoids having close friends. She
feels very lonely.
Did you see, writers, that when I wrote my entry, I
didn’t say, “I wish there was a story about a girl who
moves a lot and has trouble making friends?” Instead, I
jotted down a few sentences about how such a story
might go. I thought about what the character might
want and struggle for. Characters in all stories have
big longings.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
So let’s try it. Pretend that you think to yourself, “I wish
Turn and talk to
your partner about… there were books about kids just like me who ________
(are not good at sports, have trouble making friends,
Stop and jot…
live with their grandma, etc.) Remember that to make
your wish into a story, you need to invent some details.
List across your
Ask yourself some questions: “Why isn’t this kid good at
fingers...
sports? Which sports? What has happened lately that
shows these struggles? What does the character really
want?, etc.” Give students a couple of minutes of think
time. Then turn and talk to a partner about their story
idea. Tell your partner how you could turn this into a
story idea. Remember to think about the character and
his or her struggle, what the character wants, and what
the character does.
Have a couple of students share out with the group.
Notice the details that students use in their
descriptions, particularly those details about the
character’s struggles.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
So writers, we pretended we wished there were stories
about us that we can connect to. Remember that when
you are living your life as a fiction writer, you’ll invent
your own characters who are struggling with
something.
When you are collecting ideas for stories in your
writer’s notebook, you can get ideas from rereading old
entries, but you can also get ideas for stories by
thinking about books you wish existed in the world.
Today, you can use either of these ways to grow story
ideas. Remember that these story ideas should be story
blurbs, just like the ones we practiced writing
yesterday. Let’s list both of these strategies on a chart.
(List on the How to Find Ideas for Fiction chart)
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
After the Workshop
Share
Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reiterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work thus
far (a helpful hint, something that has worked for
them, how they have problem solved a particular
situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from
studying children’s notebook. You may be focusing
upon reteaching today’s teaching point or you may
want to focus this time to work with groups based on
specific need, including enrichment. This time can be
used to evaluate individual student learning goals. This
time may also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
•
•
•
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
Gather partnerships together. Have students share
their work within their partnerships, celebrating
their progress towards the day’s teaching point or
their own personal learning goal. Once students
have shared within partnerships, call the attention
of the whole group, selecting one or two students
to share to the entire group.
Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one
or two students, and/or ask for a few student
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Were my students able to imagine stories they wish
existed in the world and write story blurbs for their
ideas?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 13
Objective: Writers reread all their ideas, choose a story idea, and then develop believable
characters.
Process: Drafting
Trait: Voice, Ideas, Organization, Word Choice
Materials:
o How to Find Ideas for Fiction chart from preceding lesson
o Your own character and story line that you will use as a model throughout the
unit
o T-Chart on chart paper, with two columns: Outside (external features) and
Inside (internal features) (see attached)
o Advice for developing a character on chart paper (see attached chart)
Resources: based upon lesson from Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions by Lucy
Calkins and M.Colleen Cruz
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s teaching
point to prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of the
lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
“Yesterday, we collected ideas by imagining stories
we wished existed in the world and chose our seed
idea and wrote story blurbs on those ideas.”
“Today, we’re going to look at other seed ideas and
begin to develop believable characters that might
exist in those stories.”
“I told you before that we’ll need to reread all of our
story ideas and choose one to develop into a
publishable story. Honestly, I don’t think that we
choose an idea; instead I think that it chooses us. I
usually find that one idea stays with me and almost
haunts me enough that it feels I must write about it.”
(You can add in your own story about a
person/character you wrote about in your notebook)
“As I was driving to work this morning, I realized that
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
I had already decided to write about a girl who is
afraid of the dark and wants to buy a night-light. So,
I put sticky notes on the page in my notebook related
to that entry, and now I am going to begin
developing that seed idea, that story idea. Notice
that I don’t start by thinking about what will happen.
Instead, I want to really get to know my character
first.”
Demonstrate how you develop your story idea by
listing external and internal features of your main
character on a T-Chart. (The following is an
example. You may decide to use an example of
your own.)
“I already know that she’s part Mexican, so I can add
that on the external side of my chart. I need to give
her a name that goes with the fact that she’s
Mexican. I’m thinking about what I know about my
character already and I definitely know that she is
afraid of the dark…I can add that to the internal side
of my chart. I know…I’ll name her Luz because that
means light. Do you notice how I’m really thinking
about who my character is, I’m not just adding any
random characteristics that come to mind. I want to
try and put together a real person, so she can come
to life. What else can I add? Let me think…I want
Luz to be a little like me and I’m sensitive, so I want
Luz to be sensitive too and artistic.”
Add those characteristics to the chart. Reread what
you have written so far. Think aloud how the
internal and external features need to fit together
and make sense.
“Let’s see, does being sensitive and artistic fit
together with everything I know about Luz? When
her dad is gone, she is afraid of the dark. She’s
sensitive. Sensitivity goes with imagination and
creativity. I can imagine that Luz is home alone and
creating all sorts of frightening thoughts in her mind.
She paints to help ease her fears. So, yes those go
together. Do you see that when I’m creating a
character, I begin with whatever I know? I wanted
my character to be a bit like me. You might want
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
your character to go from being tough to gentle. You
have to start with whatever you want your character
to be. I keep rereading what I have written to make
sure that I’m creating a believable character.”
Show the children the chart for developing
character and model how to use it.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and practice?
I’m going to do one last thing that I want you to
notice. I’m going to think about the word sensitive
and think about what that means for Luz. Lots of
people can be sensitive, but I think for Luz it means
she really cares about people. But as I write this I
keep thinking “Is this character believable?”. I’m
worried that Luz is too good to be true. If she’s
human, she can’t be all-caring and all-kind. She
needs to be more complicated. I think that Luz is
really thin-skinned. I mean she lets things get to her
really easily. She lets the dark get to her, and her
dad being away. Her feelings get hurt easily. I’ll add
these to the internal side of my chart.
Now you try it…
“So now it’s your turn to try. Let’s think about our
character Luz. For now, you and your partner will try
Turn and talk to
and think of some things to add to the external side
your partner about… of the chart.
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Develop the internal side first, and then make sure
the external reflects the internal.
“As you work, remember these things we’ve learned
so far about developing characters.”
(Refer to the Advice for Developing a Character
chart)
“Talk to your partner about her hobbies, her looks,
her ways of acting, how she looks at the world, her
friends and family, her experiences at school and
home. Make sure her internal features fit with her
external features.”
Allow them time to talk with their partner.
Discuss their findings and add them to the chart.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Link
Restate the skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop Teaching
Point
Conferring
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
“You have some big work to do today in writer’s
workshop. You’ll begin thinking about one of your
seed ideas, an idea that has chosen you. Once you
have committed to one story idea, you can begin to
develop your character. To think about your
character, you may want to fill out an
internal/external features chart or just make a chart
in your notebook. From this day on, I hope that
when you write fiction, you stop and take time to
really get to know your character.”
“Off you go!”
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reiterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and every day?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work
thus far (a helpful hint, something that has
worked for them, how they have problem solved
a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebook. You may be
focusing upon re-teaching today’s teaching point or
you may want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment. This
time can be used to evaluate individual student
learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals
specific to SRBI, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop
Share
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal. Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to
the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one
or two students, and/or ask for a few student
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Students should self-assess their progress toward
the teaching objective and /or personal learning
goal.
“Writer’s you have done some great work today!”
Point out one child’s work and how they began to
develop their character. “Writers, will you now look
at your characters with your partner? Discuss if they
have a good side and a bad side. Have you worked
through the ups and downs of your character’s
personalities?”
Share one or two examples with the class.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 14
Objective: Writers give characters struggles and motivation
Trait: Ideas
Materials:
•
•
•
My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada
Ways to Develop Characters Chart (prepare ahead based on students’ work in previous
lesson)
Shared Writing Story (started in previous lesson)
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we
talked about…
Relate today’s teaching Today I want to
point to prior work.
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Connection:
Writers, I feel like there is a whole crowd of people here
today besides us.
Give some examples of characters the students have
developed.
I made a list after our discussion yesterday of ways that
we can develop characters.
Display a list of their ideas.
Today, I want to teach you that even though there are so
many things that we could talk about, there are just one
or two things that we must talk about. Specifically, every
fiction writer needs to know what his or her characters
want, what they yearn for, and what gets in the way. I
also want to teach you that when we know what our
character yearns for, we don’t just come right out and
say it. We show what our characters want by putting
examples of this into small moments, into what fiction
writers call “scenes”. (creating scenes to show)
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
I learned to do this by studying published authors.
Writers like Alma Flor Ada show what a character yearns
for and what gets in the way for that character. In the
book “My Name is Maria Isabel” (or another book of
your choice), remember how the teacher decided that
because she had two students with the name Maria that
she’d call Maria Isabel Lopez, Mary. Of course, Maria
Isabel didn’t feel like a Mary at all and she yearned to be
accepted for who she is. Notice that the author doesn’t
just come right out and say this, but she puts examples
of this yearning into scenes. Share an example from the
text in the chapter “The First Snowfall” pg. 28-29 where
the author reveals Maria Isabel’s longings and also the
trouble she encounters at school.
Some people say that fiction is like a brick wall, and the
bricks that go together to make the story are scenes.
This scene shows what school is like for Maria, when she
gets into trouble for simply not recognizing or hearing
her name. We see how Maria desperately wants to be
part of things, and how she hides her sadness.
When we are developing our characters, we need to
think not only of what our character wants and what
gets in their way, but also how we can create little
scenes that show all of this.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to
your partner
about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Use the character from the class story and follow the
think-aloud below.
Now let’s try this with Luz. (Substitute your modeled
shared writing story line) I’ll start by thinking about
what she wants. Let’s see, I know that Luz is afraid of
the dark and she is going to have a slumber party with
all of her friends, but she doesn’t want them to know
that she’s afraid of the dark. That’s the story, but I have
to think of what she really wants. I think she wants her
friends to think that she is cool, but she feels different
because her dad is Mexican. She wants to feel accepted.
So, will you imagine a scene that could show some of
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
this? Let’s put Luz somewhere- packing for a slumber
party,
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
Today and every
day…
So writers, whenever you write fiction, remember that
there are so many things you can write about when you
are developing a character such as best friends, favorite
Who thinks they
things to do, collections. There are so many things we
will try this strategy can think about, but just one or two things we must
today?
think about: As fiction writers, we must know what our
character yearns for and what gets in their way. We
Off you go!
usually build our story out of the struggles and
motivations of our character. Once we know what our
character yearns for and struggles with, then it’s smart
to create little scenes that show this. Remember how we
just put Luz someplace and came up with something she
could be doing. You’ll want to do this same work with
your story idea, not once, but many times today and
you’ll also want to remember to do this every time you
write fiction. The scenes that you end up writing today
may not end up in your story, but you are bringing your
character to life.
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:

Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation

Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reiterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so remind me
of the type of work we are focusing upon today and
everyday?”)

Solve a problem that has come up
Ask a few students to reflect upon their work thus far (a
helpful hint, something that has worked for them, how
they have problem solved a particular situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from
studying children’s notebook. You may be focusing
upon reteaching today’s teaching point or you may want
to focus this time to work with groups based on specific
need, including enrichment. This time can be used to
evaluate individual student learning goals. This time
may also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
After the Workshop
Share
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work. This
time may be used in different ways such as :

Gather partnerships together.
Have students share
their work within their partnerships, celebrating their
progress towards the day’s teaching point or their own
personal learning goal. Once students have shared
within partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to the
entire group.

Gather the entire group together
. Pre-select one or
two students, and/or ask for a few student volunteers to
share their progress towards the teaching objective
and/or learning goal.
Students should self-assess their progress toward the
teaching objective and /or personal learning goal.
Were my students able to create scenes to show the
characters struggles and motivation.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 15
Objective: Writers stretch out story lines with a story mountain/arc
Trait: Ideas
Materials:
• Story mountain on chart for Peter’s Chair (or other story of your choice)
• Shared writing story idea from previous lessons
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we talked
Point
about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
We have been thinking a lot about the characters in our
stories. We have developed their characteristics and
experimented with their life struggles, what they yearn
Today I want to teach for, and what gets in the way. Today, we are going to
you that whenever … focus more carefully on our character’s struggles and
use that to plan our stories.
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Writers, when we think about what we know about
stories, we know that there is a way that they usually
go. There is usually a main character who wants
something, and something gets in the way of the
character getting all that he or she wants. So the
character encounters trouble or obstacles, or what we
call the problem in the story. After encountering the
problem, things often get worse or more difficult or
more complicated for the main character.
When we were studying personal narratives, we looked
at Ezra Jack Keats’ Peter’s Chair (or other book you
studied), noticing that the story could be outlined in a
story mountain. Show example story mountain from
Peter’s Chair, or other book of your choice. See
attached
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
When Ezra Jack Keats wrote this book, he probably
knew that it would start with Peter’s block tower
crashing down and his mother responding not with, “Oh
your tower. Let me help you rebuild it.”, but with saying
“Shush! You’ll wake the baby.” Ezra Jack Keats knew
that the trouble would escalate or get worse and worse.
But he probably didn’t know when he started to write
the story, exactly what would happen. I bet he
imagined the story in different ways.
Authors always know that the trouble will grow and the
characters will make choices, some of which will not
work out. Authors also know that somehow in the
middle of all the trouble, there will be something that
makes a difference. I bet Ezra Jack Keats didn’t know
before he started writing that Peter would try to sit in
his chair and it wouldn’t fit.
When we plot our story, I know that our character will
struggle to achieve something he or she yearns for and
our character will make choices. Some of these choices
may not work out, but something will make a
difference. Our character will find a way to resolve his
or her struggle.
Just as a story mountain gets steeper and steeper, the
challenges our character faces will get more and more
difficult until things are decided. That will be the top of
the mountain.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
So let’s try planning our story. Rethink the start of your
shared story with the class and write it at the bottom of
the story mountain.
Talk with your partner and think what the first few dots
on the story mountain would be. Remember that the
mountain needs to get steeper, so the challenges need
to get more difficult for the main character as he or she
climbs the mountain. Remember that we should be
thinking about the actions of the character. Try to
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
make a movie in your mind about what is happening in
the story. Turn and talk with your partner to plan the
start of our story mountain.
Reconvene the class and fill in the points along the
story mountain. You may fill in a couple of points, then
have students turn and talk again about what might
come next in the story. Make sure that the story
mountain reflects the character’s struggles and that the
problems need to get worse and worse.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
Writers, I want to remind you that today and everyday
when you are writing stories, you can use story
mountains as a way to plot your stories. You may not
be exactly sure of what will happen next in your story,
but you can plan the shape of the story. Remember
that the story mountain should show the character’s
struggles and that the problems get worse and worse
on the way up the mountain. It is at the top of the
mountain where the struggle gets decided.
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
• Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
• Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reiterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and everyday?”)
• Solve a problem that has come up
• Ask a few students to reflect upon their work thus
far (a helpful hint, something that has worked for
them, how they have problem solved a particular
situation)
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from
studying children’s notebook. You may be focusing
upon reteaching today’s teaching point or you may
want to focus this time to work with groups based on
specific need, including enrichment. This time can be
used to evaluate individual student learning goals. This
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
time may also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Gather students together to share student work. This
time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students share
their work within their partnerships, celebrating
their progress towards the day’s teaching point or
their own personal learning goal. Once students
have shared within partnerships, call the attention
of the whole group, selecting one or two students
to share to the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one or
two students, and/or ask for a few student
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Assessment
Students should self-assess their progress toward the
teaching objective and /or personal learning goal.
Did the student’s create a story mountain?
Did the student’s story mountain show the character’s
struggles, getting worse and worse on the way up the
mountain?
Did the student’s struggle get decided at the top of the
mountain?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 16 – Show Don’t Tell: Planning and Writing Scenes
Objective: Writers create drama in a scene, using dialogue and characters’ physical
movement to unfold moments step by step
Trait: Ideas, Voice,
Materials:
•
•
•
The Three Billy Goats Gruff (or other familiar fairy tale of your choice)
Chart paper/markers
Story booklets (per student)
Resources: Lucy Calkins Units of Study – Writing Grades 3-5 (
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we talked
Point
about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to teach
you that whenever …
Today I want to
remind you…
Connection:
Yesterday, we worked on planning out our story using
a story mountain. We thought about the actions the
character would take as he or she worked through his
or her struggles in the story. The story mountain
helped us organize our writing. We can think of each
dot on our story mountain as a different small
moment, or scene, in the story.
Today, when we create a scene, we are creating
drama. Sometimes, dialogue or a small action can
help us get each scene started. We can put each
scene on a different page to help us draft our stories.
Use chart paper to demonstrate how you transfer
each dot from the story mountain onto its own page
of story paper.
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
I want to remind you of the difference between a
summary and a scene. Listen as I tell the story of The
Three Billy Goats Gruff in a summary way.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Will I use an anchor
chart?
It’s a story about three goats who are trying to
cross a bridge to go eat some grass on the other side,
and there’s this troll who wants to eat them. So as he
goes across, each goat tricks him by promising he can
eat the next goat who is even bigger. The troll’s greedy
so he waits for the next one, but the biggest goat
pushes him in the water, so they all get across safely.
The end.
What will my
language sound
like?
Didn’t you feel like that story just rushed by you? Didn’t
you want me to slow down and give the troll a voice,
and some sound effects, and put in some suspense to
help you see and hear what is happening? Now listen
as I write in the air a scene from that story. Notice how
I show exactly what the characters are doing and
saying.
“That’s the greenest green grass I’ve ever seen in
my life,” said Third Goat. “Can we go over to that hill to
eat some, pleeeeeeeese?”
“Yeah, we’re hungry!” said Second Goat. So First
Goat placed one foot gingerly onto the little wooden
bridge that would carry them over the rushing river to a
delightful afternoon snack. The bridge felt good and
sturdy. “Nothing’s stopping us! Follow me!” And First
Goat stepped out onto the bridge toward the grassy
hillside.
“No, No, NO!” boomed a voice. “Who dares to
cross my bridge?” Suddenly, First Goat felt the hot
breath of a troll on his muzzle.
Can you hear the difference between telling what
happened and then the sound where the characters
talked in their voices?
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
Let’s try it together. Think of a moment from your story
mountain. Turn to your partner and tell this part of the
story as a summary.
Listen to students share. Choose one student’s
summary to use as a storytelling example or use one
from your shared story mountain from the previous
lesson.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
fingers...
Let’s listen to ___________’s story summary. Wouldn’t
you like to know what the characters are saying?
Model storytelling this part of the story for the
students.
Now think about your same part of the story? Visualize
the movie in your mind of what is happening and what
the characters are saying. Remember that I began by
using dialogue for The Three Billy Goats Gruff. I began
by saying, “That’s the greenest grass I’ve ever seen in
my life!” When a character starts a scene by talking, it
instantly brings the scene to life.
A second way to start your scene is with a small bit of
action. So I might have started my Three Billy Goats
Gruff by having the First Goat put his little hoof on the
bridge to see how sturdy it was. So it might have
sounded like this:
First Goat gingerly placed one hoof onto the
wooden bridge and leaned his weight into it. It seemed
sturdy enough. “Let’s cross to the other side and eat
some of that greeny, green grass,” said the First Goat.
Give students a couple of minutes to visualize their
story scene.
Okay, now let’s all try to write our scenes in the air. You
can try using dialogue or action to start your scene to
pull in your readers right away. Remember to show
what your character is doing or saying.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
Give students a couple of minutes to “write” their
scene in the air. Have a couple of students share their
ideas with the group.
Writers, your first task today is to transfer your story
mountain onto a story booklet. Then use that booklet
to support your storytelling. Try telling each page like it
is a small moment. When you are ready, start working
on your lead. Make sure that when you start writing a
scene that the scene sounds like a story. Create a movie
with dialogue and action to show exactly what the
characters are saying and doing.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Practice (“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
After the Workshop
Share
Writers might want to move right on to the next page
or the next scene, but it’s important to revise as you
write. I think about how we’ve given characters
struggles and stretched out stories, so instead of just
moving on to the next page, I’m going to reread what I
wrote and see if I can add any of these things.
(You could do this with a student’s story as a model.)
You’ll want to make sure that every student is now
drafting scenes rather than summarizing. If students
are having trouble moving from entries that are about
the story to entries that sound like a story, it may help
for you to model. Listen to the child’s story and ask
them prompting questions for more specifics so it gets
them to rehearse bits of a story out loud.
Writers, let’s pretend that we have movie cameras
today to film your scenes. Let’s try acting out some of
your scenes to see how they look and sound, and to see
how that helps us revise them. I’ll choose five writers to
be directors of one of their scenes. Each director needs
to choose actors. You will have five minutes to give the
actors directions so they know what your characters are
saying and doing, and then you will rehearse the scene
really fast, one time. Then another group of kids will
watch your scene to see if it is ready for filming or if it
needs some revision.
Give kids time, then perhaps have one group share with
everyone, or save the group share for tomorrow’s minilesson and modeling.
Assessment
Remember, when you are writing your scenes, to start
with dialogue or small action and to show throughout
exactly what your characters are saying and doing.
Can students use dialogue and character movement to
show as opposed to tell their stories?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: 17 – Feeling and Drafting the Heart of Your Story
Objective: Writers draft the heart of their story by letting the story unfold as if it were
happening to them; “Let empathy determine the course of the story”
Trait: Ideas, Voice
Materials:
•
•
Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe
“Lead to Luz story” pg. 87-88 (or your own story) written on chart paper
Resources: Lucy Calkins Units of Study – Writing Grades 3-5 ; “Second Step” – 4th grade Unit 1
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to prior
work.
Today I want to teach Today, I want to teach you that above all else we need
you that whenever … to lose ourselves in the story. We become the
characters, and writing is kind of like a movie that is
Today I want to
happening to us.
remind you…
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Yesterday, we worked on showing exactly what our
characters were doing and saying.
You all know that when we read, we almost feel like
the character in the story. In the book “Fireflies!” we
almost become that boy sitting at the dinner table,
looking out the window onto our backyard at dusk,
seeing the dots of light flicker by the dark shape that is
our tree house- seeing through his eyes and living as
his self. Readers can do that, suddenly be in the shoes
of the character, but writers can do the same thing. As
writers, we need to do this, live in our characters’ skins
as we draft our stories.
So, today I’m going to reread the latest lead to our Luz
story (substitute your own class story) where she
writes invitations to her slumber party. I’m not rethinking the lead, but adding more to it. I’m going to
pretend to be Luz.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Read the latest draft, written on chart paper.
I’m going to keep in mind that the next dot on the
story mountain says, ‘Her friends arrive and they don’t
like her games’. I’m going to remember that Luz
desperately wants to fit in and feel popular. But I want
to be Luz right now.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
Invite students to try it today?
This is the start of
Independent Practice Off you go!
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Model how to think and add more to the lead by being
Luz. (See pgs. 87-88)
Writers, do you see that when we write, when any
fiction writer writes, we keep in mind the big plan for
how our story will go, but we let the details emerge
from the specific, exact actions that we take? Our
scenes usually involve two characters, and one does or
says something and the other reacts. To continue our
Luz story, you need to be Luz. You need to keep in
mind that Luz desperately wants her party to go well.
She’s got it all planned, the games were supposed to
keep everyone happy. Right now pretend that you are
Luz. Picture the games out on the table and one of
your friends looks at Twister with disgust. What does
Luz (you) do? Remember actions matter, not just talk.
Turn and tell the next bit of the story to your partner.
Share a few examples with the class.
Writers, I want to remind you that writing is a lot like a
movie. Once we have written our lead, we need to
reread it and become the main character. We need to
stand in their shoes, feel what they feel, see through
their eyes. You’ll probably do as I did today, and
reread your lead. Then turn to the second dot on your
story mountain on page 2 and write out that story as if
you were acting it out.
Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
·
Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
·
Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reiterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
remind me of the type of work we are focusing
upon today and everyday?”)
·
Solve a problem that has come up
Ask a few students to reflect upon their work thus far
(a helpful hint, something that has worked for them,
how they have problem solved a particular situation).
Conferring
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebook. You may be
focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point or
you may want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment. This
time can be used to evaluate individual student
learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals specific
to SRBI, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Tell children that you can’t move fast enough for each
writer, so you’ll teach them how to be writing teachers
for each other. “It is more efficient to revise earlier
rather than waiting to revise the whole story.” Tell
children that they need to look at leads asking, “What
story does this set up?”
Assessment
Writers, I want you to reread your leads with a
partner. There are two common problems that writers
have, so watch out for these. Sometimes first drafts
are too far from the turning point, and you’ll need to
zoom in on an event that is closer to the main actions.
On the other hand, sometimes you’ll decide that you’ve
told your whole story right from the start and have
nothing left for page 2 or 3. If this is the case, then you
need to back up and work on your story mountain
again. We’ll work more on our leads tomorrow when
we examine leads of various authors.
Students should self-assess their progress toward the
teaching objective and /or personal learning goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: 18 – Studying Published Texts to Write Leads
Objective: Writers study published texts to revise their leads
Process:
Trait: Organization, Word Choice, Voice
Materials:
•
•
•
Leads of two stories children are familiar with (possibly on an overhead or chart paper)
Lead that invites further revision, such as from the shared writing story or from a
student’s developing story written on chart paper
Other mentor texts with strong leads that students might read (Peter’s Chair, Stevie by
John Steptoe, “Merry Christmas My Friend” – short story from Chicken Soup for the Kid’s
Soul, Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann, …)
Resources:
Lucy Calkins – Writing Units of Study – Grades 3-5
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to prior
work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Yesterday we worked on being the character and
experiencing what they feel. We also worked on
crafting the lead for our stories and thinking about
where you really want your story to go.
Today I’m going to teach you that when writers revise
their leads, they are actually revising their entire
stories, often hinting at the heart of their story in the
lead. We can use the work of other authors to help us
revise.
Writers, you already know that the very beginning of a
piece is called the lead because this is the way the
author leads the readers into the text. I always like to
work hard on my lead because I want it to draw the
readers along. Sometimes when I want to learn how
to do something, I study texts by other authors. When
I look closely at what other authors have done with
their writing, I try the same techniques in my writing.
Let’s read the lead from Ruby, the Copy Cat, written by
Peggy Rathmann (or another published lead of your
choice).
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Monday was Ruby’s first day in Miss Hart’s class.
“Class, this is Ruby,” announced Miss Hart. “Ruby, you
may use the empty desk behind Angela. Angela is the
girl with the pretty red bow in her hair.”
Angela smiled at Ruby.
Ruby smiled at Angela’s bow and tiptoed to her
seat.
Notice what this author did in her lead. She started
with dialogue, the teacher introducing Ruby to the
class. In this story, Ruby tried to earn Angela’s
approval and does that by wearing a red bow just like
Angela’s. Because that is an important part of the
story, the author made sure to describe it in her lead.
So what I can learn from this author about writing
leads is to start with dialogue to get the scene going
and to hint about the heart of the story, like this
author did with Angela’s red bow.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Let’s look at the lead in our shared story (or a student’s
example.) Let’s apply what we’ve learned from Peggy
Rathmann to our lead. Using dialogue and hinting at
the heart of the story, revise the sample lead.
Now you try it…
Let’s look at another author’s lead and see what we
can learn that we might try in our writing. Read the
Turn and talk to
lead from Julie Brinckloe’s Fireflies! (see pgs.102-103
your partner about… in Calkins) or another book of your choice.
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
There are lots of techniques that this author used. I’m
going to reread the lead and I want you to identify
some of the things this author has done.
After rereading, direct students to turn to a partner
and talk about the techniques the author used in her
lead. Reconvene the students to share out and
discuss. You might consider labeling the techniques
on the chart paper or overhead where the lead is
written. Try to encourage students to focus on what
the author did as opposed to what the author didn’t
do.
You’ve noticed several things that authors do with
their leads.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Review the students’ ideas (ideas for leads may
include a description of the setting, characters in
action, a thought or question, suspense, …)
Let’s look at our lead (or the student sample) one more
time, and see if we can try anything else to revise our
lead.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
Invite students to try it today?
This is the start of
Independent Practice Off you go!
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Work with students on the sample lead to continue
the revision process.
When writers want to try something new in their
writing, they often reread literature and study what
other authors have done. Today I want you to think
about what we’ve learned from the leads we read.
You might try different leads for your story and decide
which one works the best for you.
Off you go!
Writers, can I stop you? I know by talking to many of
you and looking over your shoulders, that almost all of
you are using dialogue in your stories. Give me a
thumbs up if you are using dialogue in your stories.
That’s great! We know that fiction writers use
dialogue all the time, so it makes sense that we are
using it. I just want to give you one caution. When we
use dialogue in our stories, there has to be a reason.
We usually use dialogue because we’re trying to show
something about a character. It’s important that we
don’t use dialogue just as a filler.
Demonstrate a dialogue showing characters greeting
each other without a purpose (“Hi. How are you? …”)
Then compare that with the following:
Conferring
“After we exchanged greetings, I said what I had been
meaning to tell him for days. “Mike,” I blurted out. “I
can’t stand the way you pick on me all the time!”
“I had no idea,” Mike said quietly. “Why did you wait
so long to tell me? I would have stopped a long time
ago.”
As you are conferring with writers, encourage them to
try using different types of leads.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebooks. You may be
focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point or
you may want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment. This
time can be used to evaluate individual student
learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals specific
to SRBI plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Writers, I want you to do some work with your partner.
You are going to read one of your leads and then write
how the rest of the story might go in the air. Then do
the same thing with a different lead. Use this to figure
out which lead will set you up for the story you want to
tell. Remember that writers test out leads as one way
to help us choose and revise.
Assessment
Are students able to try more than one lead strategy
and choose the lead that will be most effective in
driving their story in the right direction?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: 19 – Orienting Readers with Setting
Objective: Writers will orient readers with setting by showing place and time and relating
setting to the character’s internal feelings
Trait: Organization, Word Choice, Voice
Materials:
•
•
•
•
Scene containing almost nothing but dialogue copied onto chart paper or overhead
(pg.117)
Revised scene showing more story details (pg.117-118)
Passage from the class story copied onto chart paper or overhead to practice with
setting (pg.119 for example)
Passage from a favorite real aloud that communicates setting well
Resources:
Lucy Calkins – Writing Units of Study – Grades 3-5
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s
teaching point to prior
work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
Last night I was sleeping, and the phone rang. When the
phone woke me up, my whole room was dark and I
didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t see anything. I
couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or awake. Has that ever
happened to you? You wake up and for a minute, you
can’t remember where you are?
When the phone rang again, I looked at where the sound
was coming from and saw a light blinking and it dawned
on me that I was in my bedroom and that I’d just been
woken by the phone. My eyes got used to the dark and I
saw the dresser that held the phone.
That unanswered phone call ended up helping me.
Because when I was abruptly woken in the middle of the
night like that and didn’t know where I was, this made
me realize that sometimes readers experience our drafts
as if the events in our stories happen in the dark. The
sounds---the voices---come out of nowhere, and readers
are disoriented and need to ask themselves, “Wait,
where am I?” and “What’s going on?” and “Where’s that
sound coming from?” Readers can hear the words a
character says, but it’s like the words come out of
nowhere.
Sometimes when we are writing a scene to our story, we
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Writers, do you see how we aren’t in the dark anymore?
We can really picture them and see what they are doing?
Now you try it…
So, let’s try it. Let’s read this section of Luz’s story- I’ve
been writing more of it and as we read let’s ask
Turn and talk to
ourselves, “Will this make sense to my readers? Is this
your partner about… clear?
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
get so caught up in our dialogue that we forget about
everything else. Let me give you an example. Ryan, a
high school writer, wrote this- see pg. 117 in Calkins
Fiction (show on chart paper). Some things work in this
scene. The characters are talking and we know how
they are feeling. The characters are just kind of floating,
though. We can’t tell where the characters are and
we’re not sure what they are doing. To make sure our
readers understand our writing, we always need to
include two things: action and setting. Watch how
Ryan’s draft becomes clearer when he used action and
setting. He decided to revise his draft so his characters
were walking home from school. He decided that it’d be
a gray, rainy day, so his characters could use an
umbrella and step into puddles. Ryan thought those
actions would just fill up his story, but instead they
revealed the real story in a very important way. Listen to
his next draft- see pg. 117-118 in Calkins Fiction (show
on chart paper).
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
Invite students to try it today?
This is the start of
Independent Practice Off you go!
(“You Do”)
Read a part of the story that is developed well and a
part that is not. (See pg. 119- show on chart paper).
Talk to your partner about what is good and what needs
improvements.
Come back together and discuss why the part the first
part is developed well and what needs to be done to the
second part shown.
Writers, today you will continue to draft and revise your
stories, shifting between the two processes. When you
revise you’ll reread through different lenses. You’ll make
sure your characters feel real, keep an eye on the deeper
meaning of your story. You’ll make sure you don’t leave
your readers in the dark. You will revise parts of your
story that seem disorienting by adding setting and
actions to the scene.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
“Writers, can I have your eyes and ears?”
Possible ways to utilize the mid-workshop TP:
·
Celebrate the work that students are doing,
pinpointing a particular observation
·
Reiterate the teaching point or ask students to
reiterate the teaching point (ex: “Writers, so remind
me of the type of work we are focusing upon today
and every day?”)
·
Solve a problem that has come up
Ask a few students to reflect upon their work thus far (a
helpful hint, something that has worked for them, how
they have problem solved a particular situation)
Conferring
After the Workshop
Share
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene small
groups based upon the assessments you made from
studying children’s notebook. You may be focusing
upon reteaching today’s teaching point or you may want
to focus this time to work with groups based on specific
need, including enrichment. This time can be used to
evaluate individual student learning goals. This time
may also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI, 504 plans,
and/or IEPs.
(Note: A small group conferring suggestion could be the
mid-workshop teaching point on pp. 122, using mentor
texts in revision, for those students who are having
difficulty weaving together action, thought, and
dialogue.)
Gather students together to share student work. This
time may be used in different ways such as :
· Gather partnerships together. Have students share
their work within their partnerships, celebrating
their progress towards the day’s teaching point or
their own personal learning goal. Once students
have shared within partnerships, call the attention of
the whole group, selecting one or two students to
share to the entire group.
· Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one or
two students, and/or ask for a few student
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Assessment
Are writers able to make their characters feel real,
keeping an eye on the deeper meaning of their story?
Have they revised parts of their stories that seem
disorienting by adding setting and actions to the scene?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 21
Objective: Writers revise by rereading their work with a lens.
Trait: all
Materials: Chart paper, marker, writing notebooks, pencils
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s teaching Today I want to
point to prior work.
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Over the last few weeks, we have worked very hard
developing our realistic fiction stories. Many of us have
finished our drafts or are approaching the end. The
best news is that when you reach the end of your story,
you have a chance to look over your story and make
the whole thing fit together into a single coherent
piece.
Today I want to teach you that writers revise. They
reread their stories with a purpose and with a specific
lens to deliberately revise their stories. The word
revision literally means “to see again.” It helps to
reread our stories “wearing glasses.” This means that
we reread our story with one particular question or
concern in mind. For example, we might be rereading
to see if our character development satisfies us, or to
study how well we’ve varied our sentence lengths and
punctuation to create rhythm in the story.
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
Sometimes when we write longer texts, we stop and
revise along the way before the story is finished. So I’m
going to reread what we’ve written so far in our class
story. As I reread, I’m going to use a special lens. I’m
going to choose an issue that really matters to me in
my story (This may vary depending on your class’s
needs i.e you may choose to focus on organization or
adding details or another area of concern. However
there is a heavy emphasis on character development
within the common core. ) Do you remember earlier
that we talked about thinking, “What am I really trying
to show?” As I reread the draft, I will be thinking
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
“What is this story really about? Have I shown the
reader the deeper meaning in the story?”
Reread the draft, underlining places that illustrate the
deeper meaning of the story. Did you see how I reread
the draft, looking at it simply through the lens of
whether I’d shown what the story is really about? As
writers, we can choose any lens we want, and we
usually reread and revise several times with several
different lenses.
Another lens we might use is a character lens.
Remember when we talked about making sure our
characters had good traits, but also some not-so-good
traits? I could reread the story looking through that
lens and identifying good traits and not-so-good traits
to check to make sure they are there.
You may want to create an anchor chart with the class
on different lenses you may use when revising.
You can refer to the lessons previously taught within
this unit to develop the lenses. For example, you can
use the lens of looking at setting to ensure that your
setting conveys characters feelings. This is taken
directly from lesson 19.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Put up student sample. Let’s try rereading this story
through the character lens. I’ll reread the story. As I’m
reading, look for believable character traits that are
good and not-so-good.
After reading, have students turn and talk to their
partners and identify the good and not-so-good traits
about the main character as well as suggestions for
revision. Then have students share ideas with the
class.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
Today, like professional writers, you are going to
reread your stories with lenses. You might look at your
own writing and think, “Have I brought out what the
story is really about?” or “Is the character believable
with good and not-so-good traits?” You might think of
other lenses that you could use for rereading and
revising your story.
Today and every day, remember that all writers write
good drafts, but when we return to those drafts and
reread them with different lenses in mind, we can
revise our great stories and make them even greater.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Point out and read a student’s writing that revised
their writing with a specific lens.
Encourage students to look through a different lens, if
students have only focused on one.
Refer to the anchor chart to help guide students.
Conferring
Remember, your mid-workshop teaching point does
not always have to directly link to the objective of the
lesson.
What lens are you using to revise your writing?
What changes have you made?
Refer to the anchor chart to help guide students.
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebooks. You may be
focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point or you
may want to focus this time to work with groups based
on specific need, including enrichment. This time can
be used to evaluate individual student learning goals.
This time may also be used to target within the
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
classroom individual learning goals specific to SRBI
plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Ask children to share the lenses they used to revise
their work. (These students should be pre-chosen
during conferencing time to ensure that they have
exemplar.)
Give examples of revisions they made to make their
stories better.
Assessment
Did your students revise their work?
Could your students explain what “lens” they were
revising with?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 22
Objective: Writers use mentor texts to flesh out characters. (Use actions and revealing details
to show rather than tell.
Process: Revising
Trait:
Materials:
•
•
•
•
Excerpt from Pippi Goes on Board copied onto chart paper or overhead (see pg.167
from Lucy Calkins’ new CCSS book) or a text that is important to you that shows
character through actions,
Shared writing story from this unit,
Excerpt from Fireflies! or other mentor text copied on chart paper or overheard (see
pg.168 from Lucy Calkins’ new CCSS book),
Variety of Mentor Texts for students to use
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s teaching Today I want to
point to prior work.
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
Yesterday we worked on rereading our stories with
a specific lens, so we could be deliberate with our
revisions. Some of us looked at our characters and
if they had good traits and not so good traits, and if
they were believable. Some of us made sure our
ending answered questions the reader would have
had.
Today, I want to teach you that sometimes writers
get help from other writers.
Most writers, writers like Eve Bunting or Ezra Jack
Keats, don’t actually have a daily schedule with
time set aside for writing instruction. But authors
know that they can make their own writer’s
workshop, to do so they read. I have learned from
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
chart?
writers like Cynthia Rylant, that I didn’t know
personally, but I read.
What will my language
sound
like?
Post an excerpt from Pippi Goes on Board by Astrid
Lindgren or use something of your choice.
Highlight how the author shows what they
character is doing.
So class, after I notice something that an author
has done that I admire, I think to myself, ‘Are there
places in my writing where I could use this? So,
let’s reread our story and see if I can not only tell
what the character is doing, but show it.” (This
should come from your class/shared writing)
Reread a part of your class story that you can write
in more detail, showing what the character is
doing.
Do you see how I used some actions to show what
____ is doing to show more what she’s like? That’s
what Astrid did with her character Pippi, and so
that’s what I tried to do.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Now, let’s try to do this together. Let’s look at this
Turn and talk to
section of Fireflies! Tell your partner what Brinckloe
your partner about… has done here that works so well that you could use
it in your writing.
Stop and jot…
Daddy called from the hallway,
List across your
“See you later, alligator.”
fingers...
“After a while, crocodile,” I called back.
“I caught hundreds of fireflies—“
Listen as the children talk to each other.
Reconvene and discuss how the author uses real
words that kids say so the story sounds true. Think
together about how Fireflies! gives you an idea for
your class story. Revise a section of your class
story, focusing on making the story sound so true
like Brinckloe did.
Link
Today and every
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Off you go!
Today and every day, when you revise your writing,
you should reread with a lens focused on your
characters. As we discussed yesterday, some
scenes just float and we have to make sure to write
in detail, who is talking, where the person is and
what the person does.
You can learn to re-see your draft if you find a text
that you admire, find a part that seems to work
especially well, and then ask yourself, ‘What did
this author do that I could try?’ I have a variety of
mentor texts for you to use as you are revising
today. Make sure you choose a mentor text that
you are familiar with because we do not want to
spend our entire reading.
(Have mentor texts available in specific place in
room. Students may choose to go back to their
seats and re read their stories before choosing a
mentor text. Give students about 5 minutes to
choose their mentor text. Students should be at
their “writing spot” after and then working on their
own writing.)
Choose a student who chose an appropriate
mentor text and share how they are using it to
guide their revisions.
Remember, your mid-workshop teaching point
does not always have to directly link to the
objective of the lesson.
Conferring
What mentor text did you choose? Why did you
choose it?
How is the mentor text helping you develop your
characters?
What changes have you made?
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you
made from studying children’s notebooks. You
may be focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching
point or you may want to focus this time to work
with groups based on specific need, including
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate
individual student learning goals. This time may
also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504
plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Turn and share with your partner what mentor text
you used today and how it helped you.
Give them time to share, and then ask some pairs
to share with the group what they discussed.
Assessment
Did students use mentor text to revise and develop
characters within their stories?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit1 : Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 23 (Peer Conferencing & Feedback)
Objective: Writers conference with each other when revising their stories.
Process: Revising
Trait: Voice, Ideas, Organization, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency
Materials:
•
•
Student with a story to be revised,
anchor chart entitled Peer Revising (already completed prior to lesson)
Connection/Teaching Yesterday we talked
Point
about…
For the past several days, we have been working
on revising our stories with a specific lens.
Relate today’s
teaching point to
prior work.
Today I want to
teach you that
whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Today I want to teach you how to work with a
partner in revising each of your stories with a
lens. Working with a partner to revise will help
your stories and writing grow. Having a partner
will give you a different perspective on your
writing.
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my
language sound
like?
Choose a student prior to this lesson to model
peer conference with. Be sure to ask this
student if it is alright with him/her before you do
this.
Have a prewritten example text or the student’s
own writing posted.
Remind students what peer conferencing looks
like
and
sounds
like,
as
peer
conferencing/partnerships was explicitly taught
earlier in the unit and has been reinforced with
each lesson of this unit. Today, the lesson will
focus on pushing each other’s writing through
peer conferencing.
Model the steps of peer revision:
1) The first author/writer reads his story aloud
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
2)
3)
4)
5)
while his partner follows along to gain a
general understanding of the story.
The author chooses a lens for revision. He
might consult with the partner or ask for
help in choosing. Model using the lens
anchor chart created in previous lesson.
The author rereads the story again with both
sets of eyes on the story as he reads. Both
should be thinking of revisions through the
lens.
Give a compliment.
Give a suggestion(s). Give students a
sentence starter for this. Acknowledge the
importance of respect and positivity. (“I
noticed you ____________. Maybe instead
you could ____________.”)
Create a class anchor chart to delineate this
process.
You don’t have to model switching roles in peer
conference. But do note that for each story you
will be making multiple revisions/ compliments
before you switch.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try
it
This is the start of
Independent
Practice (“You Do”)
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to
your partner
about…
Stop and jot…
Stop and close your eyes. Think about what lens
you would like someone else to read your story
through.
Turn and talk about what lens you chose and
why.
List across your
fingers...
Today and every
day…
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
You may want to set a timer so that each partner
has a chance to have revisions.
Off you go!
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Stop and have students switch.
Before switching, point out a partnership that
worked well together and note specific revision
that was made with the help of the partner.
Conferring
What lens are you revising through?
What is one compliment you gave?
What is one revision/suggestion you made?
How is having a partner helping you see your
story differently?
After the Workshop
Share
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal. Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share
to the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or
learning goal.
Did the students follow the steps of partner
revision?
Did students compliment?
Did students give useable feedback?
Assessment
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 24
Objective: Writers edit with various lenses. Writers listen to their writing carefully; choosing
words, structures, and punctuation that help up convey the content, mood, tone,
and feelings. Writers edit by using correct relative pronouns (who, whom, whose,
which, that) and adverbs (where, when, why).
Process: Revising, Editing
Trait: Sentence Fluency, Conventions, Word Choice, Voice, Ideas
Materials:
•
•
•
•
•
chart paper,
marker, pencils
writing notebooks,
sample paragraph from previous day copied on paper for each student,
example student work
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s teaching Today I want to teach
point to prior work.
you that whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
We have already revised our stories through specific
lenses.
Today I want to teach you that just like revising, we
edit our stories through a specific lens.
Choose one child’s work to model editing—make
sure this piece includes relative pronouns and
adverbs.
John finished drafting and revising his work, then
edited for spelling. He reread his draft looking for
one kind of thing --spelling. Each of us will edit our
work today through different lenses one at a time.
None of us can simply read our draft once, fixing
everything that we want to fix. We will have to read
our stories several times.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
First, I will edit for punctuation. Model editing.
Next, I will choose to edit for capitalization, because I
noticed that John did not use the correct
capitalization on several words.
Start to create an anchor chart of things to edit
(punctuation, capitalization, complete sentences,
word choice).
Model strategies as you see fit, reminding students
that you must reread the story every time you use a
different lens.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Link
Today and every day…
Restate the
skill/strategy
Who thinks they will
try this strategy
today?
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Post paragraph from the day before. Give a copy to
each student on paper.
Jim was so happee to see his mom after school he
had been waiting too get the surprise she promisd.
this was how he was ancshus all day
Have students read it to themselves then turn and
talk to edit for punctuation.
Discuss.
Next, have students read it again to themselves and
then turn and talk to edit for capitalization.
Discuss.
Finally, have students read it again to themselves
and then turn and talk to edit for word choice
(relative pronouns and adverbs).
Discuss.
Today while you are editing, make sure you reread
the story and look through one lens at a time. Off you
go!
Off you go!
Point out a lens that students might have not used
yet, such as word choice.
Remember, your mid-workshop teaching point does
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
not always have to directly link to the objective of
the lesson.
Conferring
What lens are you editing with?
What have you changed in your story?
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebooks. You may be
focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point or
you may want to focus this time to work with groups
based on specific need, including enrichment. This
time can be used to evaluate individual student
learning goals. This time may also be used to target
within the classroom individual learning goals
specific to SRBI plans, 504 plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Assessment
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal.
Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to
the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select one
or two students, and/or ask for a few student
volunteers to share their progress towards the
teaching objective and/or learning goal.
Did students edit their work looking at punctuation,
capitalization, word choice?
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 25
Objective: Writers edit their writing for spelling errors and frequently confused words (to,
too, their, there).
Process: Editing
Trait: Conventions
Materials:
•
•
•
•
•
•
chart paper,
marker,
writing notebooks,
pencils,
list of frequently misspelled words,
dictionaries
**writing partners need to write an introduction about their writing partner-to be read
tomorrow during the author’s celebration. This should be done as homework.**
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s teaching Today I want to teach
point to prior work.
you that whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Writers, you have worked so hard and should be
proud of yourselves. We are all excited to share our
stories, but first we have some important work to
do. We still need to edit our stories, fixing up the
spelling, punctuation, and grammar of them, so it
will reflect our best work.
Today I want to teach you that before you edit your
draft for paragraphing and punctuation, you must
read your draft and check your spelling. You will
reread the letters in each word to double-check that
those letters actually spell the word you have in
mind. When a writer is uncertain whether a word is
correctly spelled, we circle that word, and then try
spelling it again and again. I will show you what I
mean.
Choose a paragraph from a student’s work. This
piece should be about 5-6 sentences long and
should have misspelled words include frequently
confused words like to, too and their, there.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Will I use an anchor
chart?
Read it aloud to the class. This piece was difficult for
me to read fluently because some of the words were
misspelled. I can edit this writing to make sure that
the words are spelled. I will view it again word for
word, checking for misspelled words.
What will my language
sound
like?
Model editing for spelling errors. Focus on one
word at a time. Model circling misspelled word.
Model how and where to find the correct spelling.
Introduce a frequently misspelled/confused words
list and have students add it to their notebooks.
Introduce how to use a dictionary. If students do
not know the beginning sound, teach them to circle
the word and move on. This can be edited again at
a later date by teacher/peer.
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
List across your
fingers...
Post the following sentences. Have students turn
and talk about what word/words are misspelled and
to find the correct spelling.
Pass out at least 1 dictionary and frequently
misspelled words list to each partnership.
Jim was so happee to see his mom after school he
had been waiting too get the surprise she promisd.
this was how he was ancshus all day
Some students might realize that there is incorrect
punctuation, capitalization, use of pronouns and
adverbs. Save this editing work for tomorrow.
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Today and every day… “Writers, you have some very important work to do
today. Today you will edit your work using many
Who thinks they will
different lenses. Writers listen carefully, choosing
try this strategy
words, structures, and punctuation to help convey
today?
ideas, mood, tone, and feelings.
Off you go!
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
Post an example of a student’s work in which the
student correctly edited a misspelled word and
highlight the strategy he used.
Remind the students of the various strategies the
students can use to edit unknown misspelled words.
Remember, your mid-workshop teaching point does
not always have to directly link to the objective of
the lesson.
What words are misspelled?
How did you know that?
What strategy did you use to spell the word
correctly?
During writing time today, you’ll want to convene
small groups based upon the assessments you made
from studying children’s notebooks. You may be
focusing upon reteaching today’s teaching point or
you may want to focus this time to work with
groups based on specific need, including
enrichment. This time can be used to evaluate
individual student learning goals. This time may
also be used to target within the classroom
individual learning goals specific to SRBI plans, 504
plans, and/or IEPs.
After the Workshop
Share
Gather students together to share student work.
This time may be used in different ways such as :
• Gather partnerships together. Have students
share their work within their partnerships,
celebrating their progress towards the day’s
teaching point or their own personal learning
goal.
Once students have shared within
partnerships, call the attention of the whole
group, selecting one or two students to share to
the entire group.
• Gather the entire group together. Pre-select
one or two students, and/or ask for a few
student volunteers to share their progress
towards the teaching objective and/or learning
goal.
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Assessment
Did students identify misspelled words?
Did students use strategies to edit misspelled
words?
Homework: Preparing
for the Celebration
“Writers, our first Author Celebration is just around
the bend. Tonight, I hope you will help with
preparations for that event. You might think this
means that I’m hoping bring in pretzels or juice…and
yes, I want you to think about ways to make the
occasion a special one. But the truth is that when a
person writes, when we send our words out into the
world, what we long to receive is not pretzels…but a
response.
One writer said that sometimes,
authorship feels like tossing petals into a well and
waiting, hoping to hear a splash. Let’s be sure that
every writer in our community knows that someone
has truly heard that writer’s work, and truly
recognized the time and care invested in that story.
And who is in a better place to take notice of what a
writer has accomplished than the writer’s partner?”
“At our celebration, it will be your job to introduce
your partner to his or her audience. You’ll say to the
second graders, “I want to introduce you to…” and
then you’ll say, “This writer is especially famous for
her ability to…Notice the way he (or she)…”You will
need to think tonight about your partner’s writing,
and try to use precise details to exactly name what
your writer has done that is especially noteworthy.
Keep what you write to yourself, just as you keep
Valentines to yourself, until the ‘Big Day’ comes.”
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Grade 4 Unit 1: Writing Realistic Fiction
Lesson: Teaching Point 26 (Author Celebration)
Objective: Writers create a class anthology to publish and celebrate their work.
Process: Publishing
Trait: Voice, Presentation
Materials:
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Empty bulletin board prepared to receive each child’s writing, in the hall, if possible-to
be unveiled after students read their writing
Tacks
Juice and Cups
Assorted Stickers
Guests (parents, teachers, administrators, reading buddies)
4-Author’s Chairs set up in 4 corners of the classroom
Each student should have written an introduction about their writing partner-to be
read during today’s celebration
Connection/Teaching
Point
Yesterday we talked
about…
Relate today’s teaching Today I want to teach
point to prior work.
you that whenever …
Articulate the goal of
the lesson
Today I want to
remind you…
Build anticipation prior to today’s writing workshop
time, heightening their excitement. “You all seem
to be bursting with energy this morning. No wonder
–it’s our Author Celebration!”
Invite guests into classroom. Explain the structure
of today’s celebration.
“This is a very special moment. Today we are
gathering to celebrate that each of these students is
truly becoming writing…authors. Last Saturday, I
went to a reading at our local bookstore. Lots and
lots of people gathered in a corner of the bookstore,
just like we’ve gathered in a corner of our classroom,
and the author’s writing partner, a person known as
her editor, spoke first. She said, ‘I want to introduce
you to someone whose writing I know very well.’
Then the editor went on to tell us what this writer
did so remarkably.”
“Afterwards, the author read her writing aloud, and
we got a chance to ask her questions about her
writing life, questions like, ‘Where did you get the
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
idea for your story?’ or ‘Who especially helped you
write this story?’ or ‘What did you learn from writing
this?’”
“I’m telling you this because today we will celebrate
your writing just as we celebrated that famous
author’s writing. In a few minutes, we will father in
one of our four corners and then, in each corner, an
author will take her place in the author’s chair. The
author’s writing partner will sit beside her, and our
reading will begin. First, the writing partner will
introduce the author. You will read the introduction
you wrote at home last night!”
“Then, Authors, read your stories. When you have
finished, please leave a little bit of time for silence.
Let there be just a moment when no one speaks and
everyone lets the story sink in. Then one of you can
ask the writer a writing question-just one, for now.”
Teaching (“I Do”)
Watch me as I…
What are the steps?
Did you see how I…
Will I use an anchor
chart?
What will my language
sound
like?
Active Engagement
(“We Do”)
How will students
participate and
practice?
Link
Restate the
skill/strategy
Now you try it…
Turn and talk to your
partner about…
Stop and jot…
When each member of each group has shared her
piece and answered one question, ask everyone to
gather next to the bulletin board.
“Writers, the work that you shared deserves to be
sent out into the world. At the bookstore, after the
reading, the bookstore created a gigantic display of
the author’s work, and that made me realize we,
too, needed a way to display your work. So you’ll
see, “ (dramatically pull the cover off a beautifully
matted bulletin board) “I’ve created a special display
for your masterpieces!...Now, when I gesture to you,
please say the name of your writing partner and
that writer please come up with your story. I will
decorate it with stickers and then hang it up for
everyone to see!”
In this fashion, name each child, adorn their work
with stickers, and hang it on the bulletin board.
List across your
fingers...
Today and every day… “Writers, I need to tell you that frankly, I am
incredibly excited because I listen to this writing and
think, “And this is still Unit One!” I know it will be
Who thinks they will
amazing to watch how your writing gets even
try this strategy
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.
Invite students to try it
This is the start of
Independent Practice
(“You Do”)
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Conferring
today?
Off you go!
better. Maybe our last celebration better be at that
bookstore…because look out world, here these
writers come!”
“Before we end our celebration, could we hear from
our guests?” (call on a few people, including
reading buddies, to share a thought about the
authors.)
“Writers and guests, before we return to our other
work, would everyone help yourselves to something
to eat and drink…and let’s make a toast to our
wonderful authors!”
**Once the work has been displayed for a few days,
put all their published writing
After the Workshop
Share
Assessment
Mini-lesson includes Connection/ Teaching Point, Teaching, Active Engagement, and Link sections.
Independent practice includes Independent Practice, Mid-Workshop TP, and Conferring sections.