Writers Workshop Lessons
Narrative
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction
Purpose
How to Use
Touchstone (Mentor) Texts
Writing Produced in This Study
How Long Is a Lesson?
English Language Learners
Conclusion
Lessons
Charts Used in Writers Workshop Lessons: Narrative
Sequence of Lessons for Writers Workshop Lessons: Narrative
What Do Students Already Know about Writing an
Effective Narrative?
Lesson 1: What Is Writers Workshop?
Lesson 2: How Do Writers Discover Ideas to Write About?
Lesson 3: Writing from Our Reading
Lesson 4: What Makes a Good Story?
Lesson 5: Generating Topics for a Good Story I
Lesson 6: Generating Topics for a Good Story II
Lesson 7: Zooming In on a Moment
Lesson 8: Writing About a Memorable Character
Lesson 9: Showing, Not Telling
Lesson 10: Developing a Setting
Lesson 11: The Writer’s Toolkit: What to Do When You Think
You Are Done
Lesson 12: Discovering the Structure of a Story
Lesson 13: Re-reading the Notebook for a Seed Idea
Lesson 14: Drafting an Autobiographical or Fictional Narrative
Lesson 15: Developing a Storyboard for a Narrative
Lesson 16: Developing a Rubric for Narrative I
Lesson 17: Developing a Rubric for Narrative II
Lesson 18: Writing a Great Lead Lesson 19: Magnifying the Moment
Lesson 20: Sentence Explorations for Narrative Writing Lesson 21: Sentence Modeling: Using Verb Clusters
Lesson 22: Using Verb Clusters for a Narrative
Lesson 23: Using Dialogue for a Narrative
1
3
4
4
4
5
5
6
7
9
11
12
13
16
29
35
44
49
55
63
70
78
86
93
99
105
112
116
119
125
129
139
145
155
165
170
Lesson 24: Writing a Great Ending
Lesson 25: What Revision Means
Lesson 26: The Structure of a Writing Conference: Record Keeping
Lesson 27: Response Groups
Lesson 28: What Editing Means
Lesson 29: Completing the Final Draft
Lesson 30: Sharing Student-Published Work
Lesson 31: Writing to a Narrative Prompt I
Lesson 32: Evaluating and Reflecting on Narrative Writing I
Lesson 33: Writing to a Narrative Prompt II
Lesson 34: Evaluating and Reflecting on Narrative Writing II
Lesson 35: Moving to a New Genre of Writing
180
187
192
199
206
215
217
220
224
227
229
231
References
235
Appendix
239
Touchstone Texts Used in Writers Workshop Lessons References for Writers Workshop Lessons
Excerpt: “My Name”
“The Jacket”
Excerpt: “The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen”
“Thank You, M’am”
Excerpt: All Over But the Shoutin’
Excerpt: My Dog Skip
Sentence Patterns for the Cumulative Sentence Style
Verb Clusters Paragraph Using Verb Clusters I
Paragraph Using Verb Clusters II
Using Dialogue
237
238
241
242
245
246
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
Introduction
Introduction
Secondary school students are really good
communicators. They can simultaneously
read e-mail, watch a TV show, and send a
text message to a friend, all while telling their
parents that they are “studying.” However,
sometimes when asked to write at school
they balk and write only briefly about a
topic they really know much about. They
may write long, elaborate notes to pass in
class, but when called upon to give adequate
responses to test questions requiring more
than a few sentences, they may say they do
not know what else to write.
Writers Workshop has these students in
mind, as well as students who are especially
skilled and enjoy writing. Writers Workshop
validates the strengths of young adolescents
and provides the scaffolding that they
require to become competent writers. Keep
these things in mind as you begin a writing
program for secondary school students:
•
•
Choice. Choice is motivating to all
learners and especially to young
adolescents. They like to make decisions
about what to write about, how to
structure their work, and whom to work
with. They can review their notebook
entries to select the themes and stories
they most prefer to tell. They can
choose among several ways to open and
close their writing after demonstrating
competence in an array of techniques.
Independence. The rituals and routines
of the Writers Workshop provide a
predictable structure for students to
move from activity to activity in the
class without the teacher always giving
directions. As students become more
practiced with the routines, they gain
self-sufficiency and take increasing
responsibility for their work.
•
Socialization. Reading and writing are
social activities, and young adolescents
are very aware of their classmates and
want to work together. They love to talk
and debate, and they have many opinions.
In the workshop model, students work in
small groups and with partners to share
their writing and give feedback.
•
Authenticity. Many of these students are
interested in what is real rather than the
hypothetical. They want to write from
their own knowledge and experience. For
many of these students, nonfiction is more
appealing than fiction. Students should
have the opportunity to explore both.
•
Support. Students want to know what is
expected of them and how to achieve the
expectation. Models, touchstone texts and
writers, and explicit rubrics support their
learning and experimenting with new
techniques.
Of course, there are some aspects of the
typical adolescent that are not conducive to
writing. They are often disorganized and
their attention spans are not very long (all of
that multi-tasking, perhaps) and they worry
about being embarrassed in front of their
peers. Praise from a teacher does not compare
with approval from a classmate. Working
with this age group is always a challenge.
However, the Writers Workshop is a great
opportunity to see your students at their best
and to have great evidence of the efficacy of
your teaching—remarkable pieces of writing.
Share those great papers with parents,
administrators, and other teachers.
Introduction
Purpose
The lesson plans in this book are meant to
support teachers in establishing a Writers
Workshop. The collection of lessons moves
from the simple to the complex, and the work
builds day by day. The lessons will assist
teachers in setting up the procedures for
the workshop, demonstrating the strategies
used by good writers and helping focus
students on the craft of writing. The lessons
lead teachers through a variety of modeling
and think-aloud demonstrations that allow
students to observe and learn appropriate
writing behaviors.
Using the lessons from Writers Workshop
Lessons: Narrative helps teachers develop an
awareness of their students as writers. With
this awareness of their students, and the
model of the instructional process contained
in the lesson continuum, teachers will be
able to continue the Writers Workshop
after completion of these lessons, creating
additional lessons tailored to the needs of
their students.
How to Use
The chart on page 12 is an overview of
the topics, the types of lessons, and a
recommended sequence for Writers Workshop
Lessons: Narrative. The chart is easy to follow,
with lessons numbered by day and grouped
by the significant work to be accomplished
over the week. While lessons here will be
taught in the first few weeks, many will
be reviewed, revisited, or repeated often
throughout the year. As teachers become
familiar with the instructional process of the
lessons and of the workshop model, and as
they become familiar with their students
as writers, they will begin to develop
additional lessons based on the needs of their
students, patterning their lessons after those
contained here.
To u c h s t o n e ( M e n t o r ) Te x t s
Touchstone texts are an integral part of
the Writers Workshop as they introduce
students and teachers to mentor writers.
It is by studying these published authors
that students can learn how to gather ideas
for writing, develop topics of interest, craft
writing into something purposeful, and
become more confident in their abilities
as writers. Touchstone texts are carefully
chosen by you, the teacher, in preparation for
launching a Writers Workshop, and should
include books from multiple genres that
inspire you with writing that is well crafted.
The touchstone texts should be books that
you and your students will want to discuss
and analyze over and over, and should be
what you deem models of good writing.
These lessons are built around carefully
chosen touchstone texts that you, too, may
want to use in your classroom. Sometimes the
texts recommended are not available at your
school or public library, so you may need to
choose additional texts for instruction based
on the guidelines above.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Writing Produced in This S t u d y
T h e W r i t e r ’s N o t e b o o k
Students will keep a Writer’s Notebook,
modeling the writerly habits of professional
writers. Students will write every day,
borrowing ideas and strategies from
published authors and developing their own
repertoire of topics. As the year progresses,
students will learn more and more topics and
ideas for inclusion in their notebooks, and
will take increasing ownership of what goes
into the notebooks. Periodically students will
look back at their notebook entries for ideas
for writing longer pieces. They may look
for a particular theme or image that keeps
appearing in their writing, strong memories
that can be developed into stories, areas
of expertise that can be developed into
reports, and opinions and beliefs that can
be the basis of persuasive essays.
Sentence Explorations. Students will
create a section for syntax study in the
notebooks where sentence constructions
particular to a genre will be analyzed,
emulated, and applied to emerging drafts.
Glossary of Literary Terms. Students will
also create a section for literary definitions—
vocabulary useful for discussing elements of
a specific writing genre, and for supporting
reading analysis and interpretation.
Note: The idea of using a Glossary of
Literary Terms in the Writer’s Notebook was
developed by Heather Wolpert-Gawron, 7th grade
English Language Arts teacher, Thomas Jefferson
Middle School, San Gabriel CA, and is used with
her permission.
Projects from This Study
Students will write notebook entries from
assigned topics and from topics of their own
choosing during independent writing time
and the work period. Once students have
produced an ample quantity of writing, they
will select a seed idea from their notebook
entries and produce an autobiographical
or fictional narrative. They will take their
narrative piece through several drafts to a
polished, “published,” narrative.
Students will also be assigned key texts
to read both in class and for homework. They
will analyze these short narrative texts to
learn writing strategies.
The first 30 lessons help students learn
how to produce a polished narrative piece.
The next four lessons present opportunities
for students to produce on-demand narrative
writing in response to prompts that are
typical of large-scale writing assessments.
Students will respond to a writing
prompt before the unit begins, then have
opportunities to compare end-of-unit and
post-unit practice prompts to earlier work.
The final lesson in this book
demonstrates how teachers can help students
transition to a new unit of study and a
different genre of writing.
How Long Is a Lesson?
The purpose of the lessons is to establish
a Writers Workshop in any language arts
classroom. There are 35 lessons in this book,
but there may be more than 35 days of
instruction because some lessons may take
Introduction
more than one day. The number of days it
will take to teach all the lessons depends on
several factors:
•
•
The number of minutes available for
instruction daily. We recommend that a
Writers Workshop lesson fits best into a
60 or 90 minute class period.
The number of class periods that are
devoted to Writers Workshop. Rituals
and routines take root best when they are
reinforced daily for several weeks. If the
lessons are interrupted by other content
then it will take students longer to get
back into the rhythm of the workshop. We
have embedded both reading and writing
into the 35 lessons.
•
The practicality of homework assignments.
If homework is not assigned or students
are not expected to complete homework
assignments, some work that could be
completed at home will have to be done
in class.
•
The ability of the students. If students
are not accustomed to writing or lack
very basic reading and writing skills, the
lessons may take longer to complete.
of their students speak languages other than
English as their primary language:
•
Do more modeling. Show samples of your
own writing and draft some pieces on a
transparency or chart as they observe.
•
Value the stories and knowledge that
students bring from their culture as
topics for writing. This means that you
might change some of the prompts and
touchstone texts to make connections more
culturally appropriate.
•
Develop vocabulary and syntactic
knowledge with students. Build Word
Walls or brainstorm words that students
might use in certain assignments. For
example, to help students develop a
setting for a story, first brainstorm a list of
words that can be used to create setting—
weather words, time words, adjectives
that describe places. In a similar way,
you might help students keep verb tense
straight in their narratives by listing the
present and past tense forms of common
verbs on a chart or other display.
•
Allow for oral rehearsal. Give students
the opportunity to “talk” the story or
notebook entry before they write it.
This gives students time to access the
necessary vocabulary and to fix the story
in their mind before they begin to write.
•
Encourage students to write initial
drafts and notebook entries without an
expectation of correctness. If students
know that they can go back and fix their
writing with your help, they may be
more willing to take the risk of exposing
their lack of spelling or grammatical
competence. You might consider allowing
English Language Learner s
For many English language learners writing
in English is a daunting task. This is true
even for students who speak English fluently
and who can read most school texts. The
scaffolding and explicit instruction in the
Writers Workshop lessons will enable all
students to develop writing skills, and
specific supports for English language
learners are highlighted. Here are some
things that teachers might do if a majority
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
students who cannot think of a word
or phrase in English to use their home
language as a placeholder in an early
draft. Then they can come back and insert
the English term when they think of it.
•
Allow more time—and more drafts. For
ELL writers it will make sense to have
most of the drafting done in class so that
you can provide support. You may want
to provide more structured feedback
to these writers as well. For example,
you might want to take time to work
on specific problems such as subjectverb agreement, or prepositions in the
context, or revising a paragraph or several
sentences in a shared writing lesson or
small-group conference.
Teachers should remember that all
students have stories to tell and topics of
expertise to share. Giving them the tools to
write skillfully and effectively is the purpose of
Writers Workshop.
Conclusion
•
The classroom walls are a rich resource
for learning, complete with attribute
charts, rubrics, and student work.
•
Students have daily opportunities to
develop writerly habits, analyze mentor
texts, and practice writing strategies.
•
Students understand writerly habits and
know that they are essential for writing
success.
•
•
Rubrics guide student improvement.
Teachers and students work
collaboratively to build a community of
writers.
Another use for these lessons is as
professional development for teachers. When
teachers in several classrooms teach the
lessons and periodically review student work
together, their conversations lead to a shared
understanding of their students’ strengths
and instructional needs. These conversations
and assessments by the teachers can be the
most important products of Writers Workshop
Lessons: Narrative.
So, what should the Writers Workshop
look like after it is established? Envision a
classroom in which:
•
•
Instruction is based on standards.
•
Students work excitedly on writing
projects, soliciting peer feedback and
sharing their work with others.
•
Teachers confer with students about their
work as writers.
Students read as writers—for meaning
and for learning the writer’s craft.
Introduction
Lessons
W riters Wo rk shop Less ons: N arrati ve
Charts Used in Writers W o r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Chart Title
First Used
Writers Workshop
Lesson 1
What Goes into a Writer’s Notebook
Lesson 1
Setting Up the Writer’s Notebook
Lesson 1
Writer’s Notebook Rituals
Lesson 2
The Quick Write Strategy
Lesson 2
Writing Ideas from Reading
Lesson 2
Summarizing a Plot
Lesson 4
Features That Make “The Jacket” a Good Story
Lesson 4
Images That May Lead to Writing Ideas
Lesson 5
Guide for Response
Lesson 7
Strategies of Good Writers
Lesson 7
Character Trait
Lesson 8
Features of a Good Story
Lesson 8
Rules for Writing a Show, Not Tell
Lesson 9
The Writer’s Toolkit: What to Do When You Think You Are Done
Lesson 11
Parts of a Story
Lesson 12
Structure of a Good Story
Lesson 12
Candidates for a Seed Piece for a Narrative
Lesson 13
Rubric
Lesson 16
Great Leads
Lesson 18
Strategies for Great Leads
Lesson 18
Magnifying a Moment
Lesson 19
Features of Some Modern Sentences
Lesson 20
Rules for Writing a Cumulative Sentence
Lesson 20
Features of Cumulative Sentences
Lesson 20
Placement of Dialogue in a Narrative
Lesson 23
Example from “The Game”
Lesson 23
Great Endings
Lesson 24
Strategies for Great Endings
Lesson 24
What to Do When Revising
Lesson 25
Guide for Response Groups
Lesson 27
What to Do When Editing
Lesson 28
Editing for Proper Paragraphing
Lesson 28
Sticky-Note
Lesson 31
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
11
Sequence of Lessons for W r i t e r s W o r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t iv e
Week
One
Week
Two
Week
Three
Week
Four
Week
Five
Week
Six
Week
Seven
12
Lesson 4
What Makes a Good
Story?, p. 44
Lesson 1
What Is Writers
Workshop?, p. 16
Lesson 2
How Do Writers
Discover Ideas to
Write About?, p. 29
Lesson 3
Writing from Our
Reading, p. 35
Lesson 6
Generating Topics for
a Good Story II, p. 55
Lesson 7
Zooming In on a
Moment, p. 63
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Writing About a
Showing, Not Telling,
Memorable Character, p. 78
p. 70
Lesson 11
The Writer’s Toolkit:
What to Do When You
Think You Are Done,
p. 93
Lesson 12
Discovering the
Structure of a Story,
p. 99
Lesson 13
Re-reading the
Writer’s Notebook for a
Seed Idea, p. 105
Lesson 16
Developing a Rubric
for Narrative I, p. 119
Lesson 5
Generating Topics for
a Good Story I, p. 49
Lesson 10
Developing a Setting,
p. 86
Lesson 14
Drafting an
Autobiographical or
Fictional Narrative,
p. 112
Lesson 15
Developing a
Storyboard for a
Narrative, p. 116
Lesson 17
Lesson 18
Developing a Rubric
Writing a Great Lead,
for Narrative II, p. 125 p. 129
Lesson 19
Magnifying the
Moment, p. 139
Lesson 20
Sentence Explorations
for Narrative Writing,
p. 145
Lesson 21
Sentence Modeling:
Using Verb Clusters,
p. 155
Lesson 22
Lesson 23
Using Verb Clusters
Using Dialogue for a
for a Narrative, p. 165 Narrative, p. 170
Lesson 24
Writing a Great
Ending, p. 180
Lesson 25
What Revision Means,
p. 187
Lesson 26
The Structure of a
Writing Conference:
Record Keeping,
p. 192
Lesson 27
Response Groups,
p. 199
Lesson 28
What Editing Means,
p. 206
Lesson 29
Completing the Final
Draft, p. 215
Lesson 30
Sharing StudentPublished Work,
p. 217
Lesson 31
Writing to a Narrative
Prompt I, p. 220
Lesson 32
Evaluating and
Reflecting on
Narrative Writing I,
p. 224
Lesson 33
Writing to a Narrative
Prompt II, p. 227
Lesson 34
Evaluating and
Reflecting on
Narrative Writing II,
p. 229
Lesson 35
Moving to a New
Genre of Writing,
p. 231
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Writin g to a N arrative Pr ompt
What Do Students Already Know
about Writing an Effective Narrative?
G o al
•
Provide students an opportunity to show what they know about
narrative writing.
•
Provide teachers an opportunity to determine what strengths
students bring to narrative writing and where they need to grow.
•
Provide an opportunity for students to look back after the unit is
completed, to see how far they have come.
Materials
Checklist
•Paper
•Prompt for writing a narrative
P reparation
Before beginning lessons that will establish the rituals and routines
for Writer’s Workshop and which will culminate in students producing
a narrative account, you should ask students to show what they already
know about effective story telling.
The purpose of this assessment is twofold: (1) to help students recall
what they already know about writing an effective narrative, and (2) to
help you prepare for the specific challenges these students will present
during this unit.
In preparation for administering the writing prompt, think about
ways you might help students recall what they already know about
narrative writing. Unlike some writing assessments, this writing
challenge is not a “gotcha,” or an attempt to put students in a position
where they must call up knowledge without any coaching or review. You
want to help students succeed in demonstrating what they have already
learned about effective writing, and, in this case, the art of the narrative.
What follows is a narrative prompt to which you might ask students
to write. (You are free to collaborate and suggest other suitable prompts.)
Either way, be certain to follow the guidelines for preparing students to
write, and overseeing the writing process.
What Do Students Already Know about Writing an Effective Narrative?
13
Preparati on
continued
Preparin g S t u d e n t s f o r t h e W r i t i n g P r o m p t
•
Have a conversation with students about what they already know
about writing a good narrative before administering the prompt.
•
If your state/district has specific criteria that you hope students will
master, try prompting the specific language with which students
might be familiar; for example: engaging the reader, developing a setting
and conflict, developing a good conclusion, conveying an important meaning
or significance.
•
Ask questions like:
– What do you already know about what makes for writing a good
story? (Feel free to chart their responses for reference during the
writing task.)
– Do you recall having written stories in other years of schooling?
What kinds of stories do you recall writing about?
14
•
Distribute the prompt and take any questions. Once you have
answered questions, students should continue on their own.
•
•
Ask students to write on lined paper.
•
Collect the writing, and plan to bring one class set to the first training
for the Writers Advantage Institute.
Allow students the remainder of the period for writing; they should
not take the assessment home, but they are free to revise during the
class period, if they choose.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
P reparation
continued
P rompt for Writing a Narrat i v e
Memory with a Good Friend
Many times when we get together with good friends we end up telling stories
about memorable experiences with other good friends. Think of a story you like to
tell about a memorable incident with a good friend. Your experience can be one
that happened recently or in the distant past. Select your experience because you
enjoy describing what happened.
Writing about a memorable experience means you will be writing a narrative
account. In a good narrative account you will want to:
• Describe your memory so that others who read your story will understand the
details of what happened.
• Convey why the memory is important to you and why you remember the
experience to this day.
What Do Students Already Know about Writing an Effective Narrative?
15
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 1
What Is Writers Workshop?
Materials
Checklist
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
•Writer’s Notebooks
Note to
Teacher
Create and maintain a Writer’s
Notebook of your own to model the
process for your students.
Go al
•
•
•
Students will know what to expect from the daily Writers Workshop.
Students will set up a Writer’s Notebook.
Students will think about themselves as writers.
Intr oducin g W riters Worksho p
Welcome students to your classroom, and give them an overview of
what it will mean to be a part of a Writers Workshop and a community of
writers. Cover the following key points:
•
•
This is a class that teaches students how to excel in their writing.
•
Students will read a lot of great examples of published writing in
various genres, in order to learn and practice different writing styles
and techniques.
•
Students will learn strategies for discovering their own ideas to write
about—drafting first thoughts, trying out ideas with each other, giving
each other support, fine-tuning, then publishing best their work.
This is a class that will use specific rituals and routines, which they
will soon learn. These routines will show them exactly what they are
expected to do as part of a community of writers, but they will have a
lot of choices as well.
Routines f o r W r i t e r s W o r k s h o p
Tell students that every day at this same time they are going to
participate in a Writers Workshop during which they will write, learn
writing strategies from many different authors and writers, explore
fiction and nonfiction, and have many opportunities to practice writing
and share ideas with others.
16
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
I ntr oducin g W riters Wo rksho p
continued
Display the Writers Workshop chart and explain the structure of the
daily routines:
Writers Workshop
Independent Writing
(5–10 minutes)
Opening Lesson
(5–10 minutes)
Work Period
(35–45 minutes)
Closing
(5–10 minutes)
Describe what will take place during each part of Writers Workshop,
drawing on the suggested analogies.
In d e p e n d e n t W r i t i n g
The first routine students will engage in is independent writing,
which takes place several times a week. Once class begins, students
will take out their Writer’s Notebooks and practice writing in a variety
of ways, for approximately 10 minutes. Tell students that this routine
will begin during the second week of Writers Workshop, after you have
introduced the Writer’s Notebook and they have practiced a number of
possibilities so they know what is expected of them.
Analogy: You may want to use an analogy to explain Writers Workshop
and independent writing: You might liken independent writing to how
dancers, musicians, or athletes have a regular routine when they attend
equivalent classes or practices. Dancers go right to the barre and begin
their stretching; musicians practice their scales to get ready for longer
pieces; athletes have stretching, warm-ups, and calisthenics to get ready to
practice their plays. As young writers, students also need time to warm up
and get the juices flowing, ready to begin the specific lessons of the day.
Va r i a t i o n s f o r Independent Writing
Tell students that periodically you will use the independent
writing time for short lessons that will ask students to practice specific
W h a t I s W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p ?
17
Intr oducin g W riters Worksho p
continued
strategies already introduced, as well as to apply various conventions
rules—grammar and usage, sentence variety, and use of transitions, for
example—that will bring polish and maturity to their performances.
O p e n i n g Lesson
Explain to students that once independent writing concludes, they
should be ready for you to conduct the opening lesson. Students should
sit quietly, listen to instruction, and participate in any discussion during
the lesson. Tell students that during the opening lesson, you will talk to
them about how their work is progressing, then demonstrate various
strategies and techniques they will be asked to try in their own writing.
Analogy: Since you will regularly model writing strategies on chart
paper or on an overhead transparency, you will want to make certain
students are close-up during the opening lesson and can readily view
your demonstrations. Think of a dance instructor demonstrating a step,
a music teacher illustrating hand positions on the piano, a football coach
modeling a good stance.
Wo r k P e r i od
During the work period, students will be expected to try strategies
they observed you demonstrating during the opening lesson. Students
will first work on their own, then share ideas with partners, and
eventually work in groups to seek responses from each other. The work
period affords students time for practicing and rehearsing, and you time
to circulate, coach, and lend support.
Analogy: Dance instructors, music teachers, and athletic coaches use the
majority of the lesson time to watch their students practice and to give
them advice. During the work period you will be circulating, coaching,
sometimes organizing small groups, and at other times conducting oneon-one conferencing.
18
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
I ntr oducin g W riters Wo rksho p
continued
Cl o s i n g
During the closing segment of Writers Workshop, students will
reconvene close-up for sharing their work. Writers who have used a
particular strategy from the daily lesson will be invited to share their
writing along with writers who may have tried something new or who
have solved another writing problem. Sometimes, the sharing of work
is formalized, with students taking the author’s chair and following
prescribed procedures; other times, the sharing of work will be
informal, with you asking volunteers to read excerpts while remaining
in their seats.
Analogy: Dance instructors, music instructors, and sports coaches
often conclude lessons and practices with students demonstrating
what they have learned and practiced during the day’s session. The
demonstrations can be likened to rehearsals of the recital or the big
game to come. After all, all the series of lessons are meant to build to a
certain kind of performance: a dance routine, a piano sonata, the Friday
night football game.
T h e P e r f o r m a nce
Tell students that for this first unit of study, their “performance” will be
to produce a good story—either an autobiographical or a fictional narrative.
Homework
Closings might also advise students of particular homework practices
they will be expected to complete. Students of dance must keep up their
exercises; music students must practice their scales; tennis amateurs need
to get out and play.
Ask students if they have any questions about the daily routines.
Once their questions are answered, begin a demonstration of a typical
day in Writers Workshop. As you take them through the following
lessons, draw attention to the Writers Workshop chart for reinforcement.
W h a t I s W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p ?
19
GETTIN G STARTED:
DEM O NSTRATIN G WRITERS W OR KSH OP
Independ e n t W r i t i n g
Remind students that several times a week, Writers Workshop begins
with independent writing. Recall, however, that how the independent
writing routine will not begin until the second week, until students have
set up their Writer’s Notebooks and have a sense of what to include in
them. In fact, today they will receive their Writer’s Notebooks and set
them up for writing.
Tell students you are transitioning to the opening lesson, and ask
them to move close-up.
Opening L e s s o n
T h e W r i t er’s Notebook: Establishing a Writerly Life
Remind students how, with the start of a school year or a new
subject, students usually begin new notebooks. Ask students to think
back to prior years of schooling and to recall whether they kept subjectspecific notebooks of various forms. Let them share ideas with the class.
Students might tell you they kept math notebooks to make
computations; history notebooks to record dates, facts, responses to
chapter questions; science notebooks to summarize findings from
experiments. For reading and language arts classes, they may mention
reading and/or writing journals—places to write reflections, answer
questions, keep track of grammar rules, vocabulary, and spelling lists.
Surprisingly, some may tell you they kept writer’s and reader’s
notebooks in a different way, keeping them always close at hand. These
students may tell you they used their notebooks 24/7—recording
descriptions, ideas, and insights about life, about what they were
reading, about what they were viewing in their day-to-day encounters in
20
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
D E MO N S T RATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
the world. This kind of a Writer’s Notebook is the kind you will want to
establish as the core of a writerly life.
A Writerly Life
In his book, Time for Meaning: Crafting Literate Lives in Middle and High
School, Randy Bomer likens a writer’s notebook to an artist’s sketchbook.
He reminds his students how artists carry sketchbooks around “in case
they see something they want to remember and use later in a painting
or sculpture or something.” He tells his students that, “Writers carry
them (notebooks) around all the time, to jot things that occur to them, to
describe things they see, to copy things they read, to write down funny
or interesting or beautiful things they hear people say” (Bomer 1995, 48).
Mo d e l i n g w i t h Yo u r O w n W r i t e r ’s Notebook
To illustrate this kind of a Writer’s Notebook and to generate
excitement about keeping such a notebook, take out your own Writer’s
Notebook, holding it up, showing students the cover, flipping through
the pages, revealing neatly written entries, entries written in a hurry,
lists of things, drawings, pasted-in excerpts clipped from an article or
photocopied from a book you were reading.
Select a few of your own entries you would like to share—short ones
to illustrate the variety of what can go into a Writer’s Notebook, and
ones that are likely to grab students’ interest, making them giggle, or
making them wonder. Mention how one of these entries later blossomed
into a finished piece—a piece you will not share at this time, but one you
can allude to.
Following your readings, refer to the chart you have posted called
What Goes into a Writer’s Notebook. Create a chart of the kinds of
entries you have in your notebook, and quickly review this list.
W h a t I s W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p ?
21
DEM O NSTRATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
Your list may be similar to the following:
What goes into a Writer’s notebook
• Observations
• Memories
• Interesting people
• Quotes
• Lists (what to write about)
• Interesting language
• Things you wonder about
• Poetry
• Free writing
• Trying out different writers’ techniques
In short, you want to build a strong image of what the Writer’s
Notebook will become for each and every student, and how that
notebook will be used and referenced throughout the year. You will also
want to build excitement for students’ keeping their own notebooks.
A u d i e n c e for Writer’s Notebooks
Tell students that the primary audience for the notebook is the writer;
however, from time to time you will read and discuss their entries from their
notebooks, and they will frequently share excerpts with their classmates.
Work Pe r i o d
Announce that you are now moving to the work period part of
Writers Workshop, and describe how work period is a time for students
to apply the lesson you just taught them about the purposes for a
Writer’s Notebook. For the lesson, they will need to set up their own
Writer’s Notebooks.
22
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
D E MO N S T RATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
Pa r t I : S e t t in g U p t h e W r i t e r ’s N otebook
Issue students their notebooks. Many teachers use the marble-cover
composition books with different colors from which to choose. These
notebooks usually have 100 pages.
Directions for how you would like the notebook organized should be
charted for easy reference. This chart should stay posted for a while so
that new and transitioning students can access instructions. Students will
be dividing their notebooks into these sections:
•
•
•
•
Table of Contents
Writing Explorations
Sentence Explorations
Glossary of Literary Terms
C r e a t i n g a Ta ble of Contents
Because the notebook will require a Table of Contents, you will
need to help students set one up. What follows is one possible set of
instructions based on a notebook that contains 100 pages. Whichever
system you use, write the instructions on a chart, taking students through
the steps and modeling with your own notebook.
W h a t I s W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p ?
23
DEM O NSTRATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
Setting Up the Writer’s Notebook
• On the cover of your notebook, write:
- Writer’s Notebook
- Your name
- School
- Teacher’s name
- Period (or block)
• (Optional) On the inside cover, write the name of a writing buddy with contact
information; this buddy can be a student’s support for gathering information during
absences when assignments are missed.
• On the first page, at the very top of the page, in the overhead margin, write the title
Table of Contents.
• At the top of the page, to the left of the heading, write the word Date.
• At the top of the page, to the right of these headings, write Page Number.
• Counting this Table of Contents page as page one, write the roman numeral i (lower
case) in the lower right-hand corner.
• Continue numbering pages, front and back, using roman numerals (page numbers for
the back side of pages can be placed in the lower left-hand column) to page vi.
• On the seventh page, create a title page Writing Explorations, and write the number 1 in
the lower right-hand corner; continue numbering pages, front and back, to page 124.
• On page 125, create a title page, Sentence Explorations, and continue numbering to
page 170.
• On page 171, write Glossary of Literary Terms across the top line. Add two more
headings to the right of Glossary of Literary Terms:
- To the right of the Glossary of Literary Terms heading, write the heading See Entry.
- To the right of the See Entry heading, write the heading Page.
• Continue numbering to the end of the notebook, to page 200.
• Return to the Table of Contents page and write these titles underneath the heading, then
draw a horizontal line under the last title:
24
I. Writing Explorations
Page 1
II. Sentence Explorations
Page 125
III. Glossary of Literary Terms
Page 171
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
D E MO N S T RATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
Pa r t I I : M a k i n g a F i r s t E n t r y
Tell students they will write a short entry to initiate their notebooks.
To get students started, you will demonstrate how to enter a topic, date,
and page number for the Table of Contents page.
On page 2, ask students to
enter the title: My History as a
Writer, and record today’s date to
the left of the title.
Date
Table of Contents
I. Writing Explorations
Next, have students turn back
to the Table of Contents page,
and, under the horizontal line,
enter the title My History as a
Writer. Be certain they enter the
date in the left-hand column and
the page number (2) in the righthand column.
Page
Number
1
II. Sentence Explorations
125
III. Glossary of Literary Terms
171
9/20/06 My History as a Writer
2
i
Writing Explorations
9/20/06 1
My History as a Writer
2
W h a t I s W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p ?
25
DEM O NSTRATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
Tell students that to learn more about them as writers, and to build
a community of writers with each other, you would like them to tell you
anything they can about their histories as writers. For this entry, they might:
•
•
•
•
Recall memories about writing in school.
Describe the kinds of writing they most like to do and least like to do.
Recall favorite pieces they have written.
Add other information that occurs to them as they write about their
histories as writers.
Ask students to turn and talk to a partner, sharing their experiences
with each other. Allow three or four minutes, then give students 10
minutes to write.
Students who are English language learners may write about writing
experiences with either their first or second language. Be advised that
some students might be products of interrupted schooling—missing
months or years of school between leaving their former country and
arriving in our country—and may need additional oral talk before
generating thoughts.
Before the closing, ask students to turn to a partner and take turns
reading their entries.
Closing
Remind students that they are moving to the closing segment of
Writers Workshop. Ask them to move close-up. Ask for a few volunteers
to read aloud their histories as writers. Understandably, students might
be reluctant to share so early in the year. To prompt them, you might
ask for someone who has had good experiences with writing; ask for
someone who has not particularly enjoyed writing; ask for someone
for whom English is a second language to share experiences; ask for a
26
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
D E MO N S T RATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
student to nominate a partner because the writing would be one the
whole class might find interesting.
Te a c h e r R e sp o n s e
As each writer concludes, be certain to give a response, offering
positive and specific praise. For example, “José, you have a great opening
line: ‘Reports, reports, reports. That’s all I can ever remember writing.’
I like that beginning because you get right to the point. I can hear the
frustration in your voice!”
Later on in the unit, you will teach lessons for showing students how
to give positive, specific response to each other. For now, however, your
own responses serve as a model from which they can learn.
Re v i e w i n g t h e P u r p o s e o f t h e L e sson
Tell students that you hope to learn about everyone’s histories as
writers and that eventually you will have writing conferences with each
of them so that they can share this first entry with you, one-on-one.
Recall the idea of a writer’s notebook being like an artist’s sketchbook—
that good writers and artists record the ideas that matter to them and
interest them, and that they use their own experiences as material.
Ho u s i n g t h e N o t e b o o k s
At the start of the year, you will ask that notebooks be kept in
class—especially for access when independent writing begins during the
second week. Later in the year, when students are more comfortable with
notebook requirements and take more ownership of their writing, you
may let students begin taking them home. The time for transitioning to
taking the notebooks home is up to individual teachers. There is no hard
and fast rule.
W h a t I s W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p ?
27
DEM O NSTRATIN G WRITERS W ORKSH OP
continued
Show students where the notebooks will be kept in the classroom.
Teach the ritual you want them to use for retrieving and storing the
notebooks at the beginning and ending of each class. Practice the ritual.
Remind students to retrieve their notebooks first thing when they come
to class the next day.
28
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 2
How Do Writers Discover Ideas to
Write About?
G o al
•
Students will practice borrowing writing ideas from a professional
writer.
Though we think of students as having many stories and
experiences to write about, it is often difficult for them to choose their
own writing topics if they are not practiced as writers, or, for that
matter, as readers. In the beginning you may hear writers, especially
struggling writers, say that they do not have anything to write about;
herein lies the challenge. Students may need many opportunities
to generate ideas for writing—and we need to provide them with
strategies that will teach them how to find ideas on their own. Through
your modeling, thinking aloud, referencing published works, and
serving as their coach, you will help students become self-directed in
discovering the ideas that most engage them.
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher copy of “My Name”
from The House on Mango
Street by Sandra Cisneros
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
As the Writers Workshop lessons unfold, students will turn to
literature for ideas and themes to inspire them, as well as for authors’
techniques for making writing effective. Teaching relevant reading
strategies and studying literature in these ways gives you the opportunity
to help students uncover how meaning and craft go hand in hand.
I ndependent Writin g
Observe how students enter the room and how faithfully they move
to retrieve their Writer’s Notebooks. Compliment students on how
well they follow through with the routine you practiced in Lesson 1. (If
procedures are rusty, you may need to practice the ritual again.)
Referencing the class chart for the Writers Workshop routines, remind
students that they have not yet established the independent writing
routine, but that by the second week they will be ready to use their
notebooks to write on their own.
How Do Wri t e r s D i s c o v e r I d e a s t o W r i t e A b o u t ?
29
Openin g less on
Remind students they are moving into the opening lesson. Recall
how in the previous day’s opening lesson, you shared with them the
purpose for a Writer’s Notebook and modeled using your own. Next,
during the work period, you showed them how to set up their own
notebooks and asked them to make a first entry.
Rememb e r i n g W h a t S t u d e n t s W r i t e
Try summarizing some information you learned about your students
as a community of writers—for example, how some students may have
shared great experiences or troublesome experiences, including students’
experiences with learning a second language; recall funny and engaging
points students may have made. Emphasize how writing from personal
stories and experiences is often the most interesting writing because
no one can tell your stories quite like you. Showing students how you
pay attention to what they are thinking and writing will build a bond
between you and your students, and help build a trusting community.
Review the rituals for recording entries, dates, page numbers, and
titles in the Writer’s Notebooks, and post a chart that reinforces them.
Writer’s notebook Rituals
• Date each entry.
• Write on both sides of a page.
• Do not tear out pages.
• Enter a title and the date for each entry on the Table of Contents pages.
D i s c o v e r i ng Ideas for Writing
For today’s opening lesson, tell students you are going to talk about
how writers find ideas for writing. Reference your own notebook and
the chart What Goes into a Writer’s Notebook. Ask students for their
ideas for how writers decide what to write about. They may tell you
everything from “they just sit down and write; they are born writers,”
30
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
to “they choose a subject they like, like mysteries or poetry or science or
sports.” Tell students that over the next several days you and they are
going to explore different strategies for coming up with ideas.
Tell students that one way you get ideas that inspire you to write is
by reading. Tell them that when you come across something in a story or
an article that reminds you of something in your own life, you may be
moved to write about it.
To u c h s t o n e Te x t : B o r r o w i n g a S u bject or Theme
Introduce The House on Mango Street as a novel written about a young
girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Make the connection
that Sandra Cisneros wrote this book based on experiences from her own
life. Though the stories are fictional, they are tied to real experiences. Tell
students that when you read one of the pieces from the novel you made
a connection and wanted to tell your own story. Using the piece, “My
Name,” demonstrate what it means to get ideas for your own writing.
Read aloud “My Name.”
Note to
Teacher
As an alternative, you might
select the nonfiction piece,
“Names/Nombres” by Julia
Alverez, often included in
literature anthologies, which
focuses on a similar theme.
Think-Aloud
After the reading, share how you were prompted to make your
connection through a text-to-self or text-to-world association. Tell
students how you asked yourself questions like these: What did the
author make me think about? What did her experience remind me of?
Explain how Esperanza’s thoughts about her own name makes you think
about a story about your name (or makes you think of somebody else’s
name that interests you).
R e t u r n i n g t o the Text
After sharing your story, be sure to reference Esperanza’s thoughts
to emphasize how literature influenced you to make connections worth
writing about. You might say something like:
How Do Wri t e r s D i s c o v e r I d e a s t o W r i t e A b o u t ?
31
Openin g Lesso n
continued
“So, I can understand how Esperanza has different sets of feeling
about her inherited name. On the one hand, she seems to like her name
by speaking fondly about how her great-grandmother was known as a
‘wild woman’; on the other hand, she isn’t so sure her grandmother led a
life that was all that happy, so she isn’t sure she wants the same name. I
also have mixed feelings about my own name.”
Once you have told your story, begin to draft your story on a sheet of
chart paper or on an overhead transparency (make a point of writing the
date) to demonstrate the connection between an oral story and writing
the story. Try deliberately using some of the language you shared in
your oral telling to emphasize the connection between the oral and the
written. It is not necessary to write the entire story at this time—just a
few introductory sentences.
Reinforce the idea that one way you get ideas for writing is from
making connections in your reading.
Wo rk P eri od
Partner S h a r e
Invite students to turn to a partner and share orally what Cisneros’s
story reminds them of. To get started, you might ask the class for a
show of hands: How many like their name? How many have sometimes
wished for another name? Esperanza tells us that her name means hope.
How many know what their name means? How many have a memorable
story to tell about their name or someone else’s name? Allow each
partner to have three or so minutes to share their thoughts. Monitor the
time, making sure each partner has a turn.
32
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
C irculating the Room
As students share their stories orally, circulate the room, offering
suggestions as needed. You want to hear the bustle of students talking
about their stories with each other. Once the oral telling is underway,
begin to eavesdrop on conversations, jotting down memorable lines
you hear students saying to each other. Do this unobtrusively, trying to
capture great language so that later you can emphasize the important
connection between oral and written language. Be alert for stories shared
by English language learners.
When the sharing is waning, ask students to open their Writer’s
Notebooks to the next available page and to enter this title: My Name (or
the name of somebody else, e.g., My Best Friend’s Name). Reference the
notebook rituals to review the entering of the date and page numbers,
especially in the Table of Contents.
Tell students they will write down their thoughts using the quick
write strategy.
Post a chart that describes this strategy:
The Quick Write Strategy
When you write a quick write, you:
• Write to get your ideas down.
• Let the thoughts occur to you freely.
• Do not worry about perfection.
Ask students to begin writing their stories, memories, or thoughts
about their names or the name of someone they know. Plan for about 10
minutes of writing time. As students begin to write, continue circulating,
helping students get started, looking out for promising examples for
sharing during closing. If you notice a promising entry, quietly urge the
writer to consider volunteering his or her work.
Have students read their entries to a partner, and leave enough time
for several readings for the closing.
How Do Wri t e r s D i s c o v e r I d e a s t o W r i t e A b o u t ?
33
Cl osin g
Ask students to get close-up; invite volunteers to read their drafts
from their seats or prompt students with questions: How about a writing
where someone wishes for a new name? How about a funny story about
a name? How about someone nominating his or her partner because it
was a great story? At the conclusion, read your own notes of interesting
language you overheard as you circulated the room. From this practice,
students will see that you take their oral telling seriously as a bridge to
writing, and that you are invested in their success as writers.
Ask students how many wrote a story or about an idea that is true.
Remind students that Sandra Cisneros’s story is fictional but sounds
true because she has Esperanza use the pronoun I and because she bases
the piece on her own life’s experiences. Tell students that by the end of
this unit, they will produce a story that is either fiction or nonfiction.
Emphasize how some authors create imaginary stories, but base them on
real life events.
Reinforc i n g t h e L e s s o n
Compliment students appropriately for following the routines for
Writers Workshop. Start a chart entitled Writing Ideas from Reading,
recording “Stories and thoughts about names” as the first example.
Emphasize how students borrowed the idea from the excerpt, “My Name”
from The House on Mango Street, and record the source next to the idea.
Writing Ideas from Reading
Reading
“My Name”
Source
From The House on Mango
Street, Sandra Cisneros
Idea
• Stories and thoughts about
names
As more touchstone texts are introduced—and when students begin
discovering ideas from their independent reading selections—this chart
will grow. Keep the chart posted in a prominent place in the room for
continued referencing and additions.
34
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 3
Writing from Our Reading
G o al
•
Students will make connections to texts as springboards for writing.
P reparation
Students will spend the next three lessons reading and re-reading
“The Jacket” by Gary Soto. In Lesson 3, students discuss the use of firstperson narration, participate in choral re-reading of the text, and write
about interesting connections. In Lesson 4, students analyze the story
for features of good story telling. In Lesson 5, students use one of Soto’s
techniques for generating good stories of their own.
For today’s lesson, you will initiate the Glossary of Literary Terms
section of the Writer’s Notebook. You will show students how to include
definitions for key literary devices, then how to cite use of those devices in
their notebook entries. You will also create a Word Wall for Literary Terms.
I ndependent Writin g
Remind students that independent writing will begin in about a week,
and students will begin choosing their own topics for writing.
Opening Less on
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher copy of “My Name”
from The House on Mango
Street by Sandra Cisneros
•Class set of “The Jacket” from
The Effects of Knut Hamsun on
a Fresno Boy: Recollections and
Short Essays by Gary Soto
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Note to
Teacher
Because there is much to be
appreciated and applied in
Soto’s work, you may find that
Lesson 3 takes more than one day
to complete.
Begin by recalling the previous two workshops, commenting on how
students have already written promising entries that might make for
good stories—the first, about their histories as writers, the second, about
their associations with their names. Remind students how you assigned
the first topic so that you could get to know more about them as writers,
and the second topic so they might see how literature can inspire writers
to develop their own ideas. In short, students “borrowed” an idea from
Sandra Cisneros as subject matter for their own stories.
As you mention the word borrow, distinguish that borrowing is not
the same as copying. Explain that students did not copy Cisneros’s words,
but used her topic as an idea for telling about their own experiences.
Writing from Our Reading
35
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Recalling the Touchstone Text and Students’ Work
It is important for you to develop the habit of referencing touchstone
texts and the writing students produce in response to them. Revisiting a
text builds an understanding of how reading in a genre and writing in
a genre support one another. At first students will read touchstone texts
to discover ideas worth writing about; later, students will study the texts
more deeply, to learn about the writer’s craft.
Revisit “My Name.” Ask students to recall Cisneros’s piece and
Esperanza’s thoughts about her name. Ask for a brief summary of what
“My Name” was about.
Re-read a short excerpt (a few lines) from the piece, and connect how
it may have sparked an idea in some students’ writing.
For example:
Yesterday I noticed how Michael and Keisha seemed to make connections to this
line in Cisneros’s piece:
At school they say my name funny as if the syllables are made out of tin
and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish, my name is made out of
a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as my sister’s name—
Magdalena—which is uglier than mine.
Both Michael and Keisha wrote about understanding what it feels like to have your
name mispronounced.
(If possible try paraphrasing some lines you recall from students’
writing that illustrate specific connections.)
Finding a C o n n e c t i o n o f O n e ’s Ow n
Tell students that soon you will want topics for writing to come from
the students themselves, and so you would like to let them practice
finding their own connections to a text. Tell them that today you are
going to again borrow some writing ideas from another published writer,
36
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
but that there will be many ideas students may discover to write about,
and that you will help them choose their own.
N ew Touchstone Text
Tell students that the author they are about to read, Gary Soto,
is a poet, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and dramatist who
frequently writes about his experiences growing up in the city of Fresno
in California’s Central Valley. Tell students that “The Jacket,” the story
they are about to read, is an excerpt from a collection of memoirs about
Soto’s teenage years, entitled The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy:
Recollections and Short Essays.
Tell students that this kind of collection is similar to the collection
that Sandra Cisneros published in The House on Mango Street in that the
pieces focus on experiences growing up in a specific neighborhood and
region of the country. Remind students that Cisneros’s stories in her
book are fictional, while this story, “The Jacket,” is true. Explain that
writers sometimes publish stories that actually have happened to them,
while other times they create imaginary stories based on events that are
true. Remind students that by the close of this unit, they will produce a
narrative that is either fictional or nonfictional, and that they will have
many opportunities to read examples to give them ideas.
La u n c h i n g t h e G l o s s a r y o f L i t e r ary Terms:
In t r o d u c i n g F i r s t - P e r s o n N a r r a t i on
Tell students that even though one story is fiction and the other is
nonfiction, each writer tells the story from a first-person point of view,
which means the narrator tells the story as he or she sees it, using the
words I, me, my, or we. Provide a brief definition of first-person narrative,
and ask students to record the definition in their Glossary of Literary
Terms, page 171, toward the back of their notebooks.
Writing from Our Reading
37
Openin g Lesso n
continued
You should draw on definitions provided in textbook anthologies
and reference books so that students work with consistent definitions.
A suitable definition for first-person narrator might be: “The narrator is
a character in the story and tells the story from his or her point of view,
using first-person pronouns such as I, me, my, and we.”
After students have recorded the definition, ask students to turn to
their first entry, My History as a Writer, and to determine whether they
have conveyed their histories from their own point of view. Ask for a
show of hands: How many used the words I, me, my, or we to describe
their experiences? Ask for a volunteer to read a sentence where a firstperson pronoun was used. More than likely, most students will have
written in the first person.
Next, tell students to return to their Glossary of Literary Terms and,
under the See Entry column, enter My History as a Writer next to the
definition to indicate use of first-person narration in their opening entry.
Under the Page column, enter 2. Next, ask students whether anyone used
the first-person point of view when writing about their names. Repeat
the process, asking for a sample sentence to be read aloud, then advising
students to cite the additional reference in the glossary.
Glossary of Literary Terms
See Entry
First-Person Narration: The narrator is a character in My History as a Writer
the story and tells the story from his/her point of view, My Name
using first-person pronouns such as I, me, my, and we.
Page
2
4
Point out that as they develop their own writing skills and strategies,
students will learn the special language of writers—the literary terms—
and be able to reference use of them in their growing collection of
notebook entries.
Re-introduce “The Jacket” as a nonfiction story told from the firstperson point of view. Read the story aloud as students follow along.
38
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
F inding a Memorable Quotat i o n
Te x t - t o - S e l f a n d Te x t - t o - Wo r l d C onnections
At the conclusion of the reading, ask students to consider:
•
•
What did this story remind me of?
•
Which lines make me stop and think?
What moments in the story remind me of moments in my life or
someone else’s life?
Ask students to scan the selection again, writing in their notebooks
or underlining or highlighting (or sticky-noting) lines and phrases they
remember or that especially appeal to them. Model highlighting a line of
your own, explaining to students why you remember the particular line.
Hi g h l i g h t i n g a n d S t i c k y - N o t i n g
You may also want to take a few minutes here to teach how to
highlight a line versus how to sticky-note a line or passage. Eventually
students will be determining important ideas and strategies in
published books and anthologies, so they will need to learn both
methods of note-taking.
W o rk P eri od
Allow five minutes for students to write down or to highlight their
own lines. Next, ask them to revisit the lines they selected and to put a
star by two of the lines that especially merit their attention. You should
walk around the room, helping students pinpoint their lines.
R e-reading the Text: Quaker o r P o p c o r n R e a d i n g
Conduct what is called a Quaker reading or a popcorn reading of the text.
Ask students to be ready to read one of the two lines which they have
starred. Tell them that in a Quaker reading, students say their line “as the
Writing from Our Reading
39
Wo rk P eri od
continued
spirit moves them,” in no particular order. Someone starts by saying her
line, and somebody at random follows with theirs. Students do not have to
raise their hands, nor do they need to say lines in the sequence that the story
follows. If someone takes a given student’s line, it does not matter; students
can repeat lines and phrases. Keep the reading going so that students get a
chance to chime in with the second of their starred lines.
R e h e a r s a l Reading
To prepare students to feel confident in reading their lines, and to
provide additional oral practice for English language learners, engage
students in a rehearsal reading before the official whole class sharing.
Round One: Tell students you would like for them to practice
reading their favored lines aloud. Tell students that they will say their
two lines, one after the other, in a low buzz out loud for themselves.
Advise them that when you say “go,” everyone will practice saying their
lines at the same time.
Round Two: Ask students to work with a partner for a second
rehearsal reading. Advise students to alternate, each partner reading one
of the two lines, then the second of the two lines.
Round Three: Conduct the Quaker reading, allowing for
spontaneous participation.
P u r p o s e of the Quaker Reading
This form of re-reading allows all students to participate and yet
validates individual differences. Hearing how others may have chosen
identical lines validates common experiences and draws attention to
universal themes. Students who do not participate in the whole-class
sharing can find acknowledgment when other students utter the lines
they themselves may have highlighted. Quaker readings also have the
advantage of allowing students to hear repeated language over and
over, an effective strategy for picking up cadences, rhythm, syntax, and
40
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
figurative speech. This re-reading technique especially supports English
language learner (ELL) instruction.
When you feel enough lines have been read and interest begins to
wane, ask students to turn to a new page in their Writer’s Notebooks.
Ask them to create an entry title: Memorable Quotation from “The Jacket” by
Gary Soto.
Modeling your own notebook entry on a chart, ask students to create
a double-entry (two-columned) chart with these titles: for the left-hand
column, Quotations; for the right-hand column, Connections. Require that
they select one quotation that is particularly important or interesting
to them, perhaps one that might lead to a story of their own. (Show
students how to place quotation marks around a quote.)
Note to
Teacher
You may need to distinguish the
idea of a quotation from dialogue
that uses quotation marks.
Sometimes students confuse the
two terms, thinking they are being
asked to cite a line of dialogue.
For the right-hand column, ask students to write a quick write,
explaining why they were drawn to the selected quotation or to write
about any memory or story it might remind them of. Model an opening
sentence or two for your own chart. An example might look like the
following:
9/22/06 Memorable Quotation from “The Jacket” by Gary Soto
Quotations
Connections
“When I needed a new jacket and my
mother asked what kind I wanted,
I described something like bikers
wear: black leather and silver studs
with enough belts to hold down a
small town.”
I never asked my mother for a biker’s
jacket, but I did ask her for a mint
green wool sweater with suede
patches on the elbows—the patches
on the elbows were all the rage
when I was in high school. But, she
said we couldn’t afford it, and that
money didn’t grow on trees.
So…
5
Give students 10 minutes for the writing.
Writing from Our Reading
41
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Circulat i n g t h e R o o m
You should move around the room as students write, making sure
that all students are generating text. At this point, there may be some
students eager to write while others are likely to need encouragement or
instruction. Your role is to show students how to write “off the cuff,” as if
they were talking to somebody.
If students are stuck, ask them a question. For example:
Teacher: Tell me more about why that line got your attention.
Student: Because it was funny.
Teacher: Why did you think that line was funny?
Student: Because he and his friends look stupid with the grass in their mouths.
Teacher: Yes, that’s a good place to begin. Did you ever see anyone put grass in their
mouths like that? What are your ideas for why the writer describes himself and his
friends this way? Write the words you are telling me.
Or ask other questions: Did this line remind you of something that
happened to you or to someone you know? Did it make you wonder
about something you never thought of before?
Before closing, have students get into groups of three and take turns
reading their responses. If possible, place ELL students who speak the
same language together. When students have finished, see if they can
create a list of the kinds of topics each writer wrote about—for example,
a similar memory about an objectionable article of clothing, feeling left
out of the crowd, having a mother who misunderstands you.
As part of closing, you want to capture the different ideas or subjects
students wrote about by their own choosing, and add them to the
Writing Ideas from Reading chart.
42
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
Ask students to move close-up, letting them know you are eager to
hear about the connections they have made. Ask for a few students to
volunteer their writing. As each writer concludes, bring the discussion
back to the text, asking the rest of the class: “How did this student’s
response connect to Gary Soto’s story?” Students might say, “Because he
had an ugly jacket, too,” or, “Because her mother misunderstands her,
too,” etc.
When volunteer readings have concluded, ask students to share any
other examples from their group lists so that you can post those ideas, too.
Writing Ideas from Reading
Reading
Source
Idea
“My Name”
From The House on Mango
Street, Sandra Cisneros
• Stories and thoughts about
names
“The Jacket”
From Effects of Knut Hamsun
on a Fresno Boy, Gary Soto
• Wanting something you
cannot have
• Feeling left out of the
crowd
• A misunderstanding with a
parent
• Thoughts about fashion
• Thoughts about cultural
differences
R einforcing the Lesson
Remind students that today’s lesson asked them to discover their
own ideas for writing. Even though you gave them a particular reading
to inspire some connections, you let them find the place of interest to
write about by asking them to find a memorable quotation.
Writing from Our Reading
43
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 4
What Makes a Good Story?
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher copy or a transparency
of the second paragraph of
“The Jacket” by Gary Soto
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
•
Students will summarize a story.
Students will identify features of a good story.
Preparati on
Today’s lesson focuses on building a features chart for the qualities
of a good story. Over the past four workshops, students have had
opportunities to read stories, tell stories, and write stories of their
own. Today you will want students to take stock and try capturing the
elements that make a story effective.
Plan for creating a large features chart which will eventually turn
into a rubric for standard-setting work, in future lessons. To help you
build the chart, students will need large sticky-notes or index cards and
markers.
In preparation for identifying features of a good story, students will
also practice summarizing a story to help recall important details. For this
activity you will need to provide chart paper for group presentations.
Independent Writin g
Referencing the two writing ideas charts, What Goes into a Writer’s
Notebook and Writing Ideas from Reading, remind students they will
have a chance to begin drawing on ideas like these when independent
writing begins in a few days.
Openin g Lesso n
Tell students that today’s lesson on summarizing a plot will focus on
capturing the qualities of a good story. Because students will soon craft
their own autobiographical or fictional narratives, you want to begin
identifying characteristics of effective stories.
44
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Ask students to recall “The Jacket,” the memoir by Gary Soto, and
to think about what makes this a good story. To initiate the discussion,
tell students you are going to ask them to first summarize the story, so
that they can recall the important details. Tell students that when you
summarize a plot, you identify the sequence of events in a story.
Ask students to write a definition for plot in their Glossary of
Literary Terms.
In her book When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do, Kylene Beers
suggests using a series of simple prompts to help students capture the
plot of a story. By having students retell a story in this way, students
work with sequence and learn how sequence builds to significance.
Record the following word prompts on a chart, along with the
questions that support them. Underneath the prompts, provide the
accompanying graphic, expressed in comic-strip format:
Summarizing a Plot
Somebody (Who is the main character?)
Wanted (What does the character want?)
But (What is the conflict? What prevents the character from getting what he or she wants?)
So (What does the character do to solve the conflict?)
Then (How does the story resolve itself or end? How does the character move on?)
Somebody
Wanted
But
So
Then
Review the chart, then give instructions for the first part of the work
period.
What Makes a Good Story?
45
Wo rk P eri od
Part I: S u m m a r i e s
Divide students into groups of five, and give each group a piece of
chart paper. Ask groups to collaborate on completing responses to the
five prompts, and to be prepared to present their summaries to the class.
Students will complete the comic strip sequence and, time permitting,
might draw caricatures or symbols to accompany their words.
Emphasize how the questions are written in the present tense because
whenever we write about a story we have read—whether a summary
or an opinion about the work—we always write in the present tense,
which is called the literary present. We write in the present tense because
when we read a story, it seems as though events are happening as we
read them.
Tell students to write neatly and large enough for others to be able
to read from a distance. Allow 15 minutes or so, then call for group
presentations. As each group presents, offer feedback for students’ ability
to summarize and recall important details in the story. Emphasize how
the build up of events results in a significance or a point to the story,
and that when students write their own stories, they will also want to
convey a special meaning. Save students’ charts for use in Lesson 12:
Discovering the Structure of a Story.
Part II: F e a t u r e s o f a Go o d S t o r y
Now that students have shared their summaries for “The Jacket,” ask
each group to collaborate on a list of four or five ideas for what makes
“The Jacket” a good story. Provide large sticky-notes or index cards,
asking students to write legibly and large. Give students several minutes
to create their cards. When time is up, have each group take turns
presenting their cards and posting them on the class chart.
46
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Sample features might be:
Features That Make “The Jacket” a Good Story
• Situation is real
• Characters are real
• Characters talk like real people
• Story is funny
• Good description
• Good action
• Has a good ending
• Story makes you think
When groups have finished, tell students you will combine their
cards into one list. Since different groups may have identified similar
features, you will prepare a combined list for the class chart.
Ask students to recall other good stories they have read in their
independent reading or great stories they have viewed on film. Ask them
to add other features to the class list. Students might say:
•
•
•
•
Gets your attention right away
Keeps you in suspense
Uses special effects that make the story seem real
Makes you feel that you are really there
Tell students they will add to this chart as they read more stories and
will turn to this chart as a guide for making their own autobiographical
or fictional narratives especially effective.
What Makes a Good Story?
47
Cl osin g
Review o f N o t e b o o k E n t r i e s
Ask students to take a few minutes to re-read their notebook entries
to notice whether they have been using any of these effective features in
any of their entries so far: My History as a Writer; My Name; Connections to
Memorable Quotations for “The Jacket.”
Ask students to highlight any place where they think they have
employed features of a good story.
Call for volunteers to read excerpts and to identify the feature they
think their writing illustrates.
Glossary o f L i t e r a r y Te r m s
“The Jacket” is a good story for introducing simile. You may want to
have students search for examples like these: “arms feeling like braille”;
“teeth chattered like a cup of crooked dice”; “girls who had been friendly,
blew away like loose flowers”; “forearms stuck out like the necks of
turtles.” Be sure to add simile to the Word Wall for Literary Terms.
48
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 5
Generating Topics for a Good Story I
G o al
•
•
Students will continue borrowing ideas from a writer.
Students will continue discovering their own ideas.
I ndependent writin g
Remind students that independent writing will begin in several days.
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher copy or a transparency
of the second paragraph of
“The Jacket” by Gary Soto
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Chart paper
•Markers
Opening Less on
For today’s lesson, tell students that they will continue to draw on
the work of Gary Soto’s “The Jacket” for writing ideas. Remind students
how in the previous lesson they worked to identify what makes this
story particularly effective, and that today they will learn more about
how Soto develops ideas for his stories.
I mages that Lead to Writing
Explain that one of Soto’s techniques for finding experiences to
write about—fictional and nonfictional—is to think about an object,
scene, character, or image from the past that sparks a strong memory.
Tell students that an image is a strong picture a person associates with a
particular person, event, subject, etc.—almost like a photograph that the
writer sees clearly in his mind’s eye.
In “The Jacket,” it is the image of the cheap, vinyl jacket his mother
purchased for him, “the color of day-old guacamole,” that stays in Soto’s
mind long after the experience takes place.
R e-reading the Text
Re-read the second paragraph of “The Jacket,” aloud, calling
attention to Soto’s strong feelings about this jacket which leads him
to use such strong imagery. Consider placing a transparency of this
paragraph on the overhead projector.
G e n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I
49
Openin g Lesso n
continued
When I needed a new jacket and my mother asked what kind I wanted, I described
something like bikers wear: black leather and silver studs with enough belts to
hold down a small town. We were in the kitchen, steam on her windows from her
cooking. She listened so long while stirring dinner that I thought she understood
for sure the kind I wanted. The next day when I got home from school, I discovered
draped on my bedpost a jacket the color of day-old-guacamole. I threw my books
on the bed and approached the jacket slowly, as if it were a stranger whose hand
I had to shake. I touched the vinyl sleeve, the collar, and peeked at the mustardcolored lining.
—Gary Soto, “The Jacket”
Tell students that, to get ideas for his writing, Soto sometimes
starts with trying to remember strong images from his childhood or
adolescence. Then, he turns the image into a title—even though he
has not written the story yet. He lets the image (the photograph in his
mind)—and the strong memories associated with it—lead him as he
writes. Many times the titles are simply the word the plus the name of
the object, person, place, or subject, like “The Jacket.”
Share some of Soto’s titles that follow this pattern. Sample titles from
A Summer Life are: “The Locket,” “The River,” “The Grandfather,” “The
Promises,” “The Confession,” “The Beatles,” “The In-Between Dinner
Snacks,” “The Old and New Tennies,” “The Concert,” and “The Talk.”
T h i n k - A l oud
To help students use Soto’s strategy for generating topics, you might
say something like: “Gary Soto’s titles seem so simple. When I read his
titles, I get ideas for a list I could create as I recall people, places, events
in my life that I always want to remember.“
Tell students that in your own Writer’s Notebook you have tried this
strategy for finding writing ideas. Show them your own list of possible
“the + a noun or phrase” by reproducing the list on a chart. List perhaps
four or five titles, and briefly describe one or two of the memories that
50
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
sparked that title. Tell the story to grab students’ interest, but avoid
telling the whole story. Strive to model with everyday subjects, in the
style of Soto and Cisneros. Here is a sample:
Images that may lead to Writing Ideas
• The phone call
• The ankle socks
• The cupcakes
• The other kids’ houses
• The public swimming pool
On chart paper, begin writing a quick write to one of your titles with
a few introductory lines. Reinforce how a quick write is just getting the
story down.
Tell students you are going to ask them to think of a list of titles or
images that could be used as a title for “the + a noun or phrase.”
W o rk P eri od
Ask students to turn to a new page in their Writer’s Notebook,
Section I. Call this page Images That May Lead to Writing Ideas. Be sure
students enter the title in the Table of Contents.
Giving students five or so minutes, ask them to list as many “the +
a noun or phrases” that bring strong memories to mind. (Tell them they
will be sharing their lists with you and other classmates, so they should
be sure to select memories that are appropriate for a public audience.)
Remind them that images can be people, places, objects, events, etc.
P artner Share
Pair students with partners, and give these directions:
•
•
Decide who goes first.
The first writer reads aloud her list of images.
G e n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I
51
Wo rk P eri od
continued
•
The partner selects one image that is especially interesting and asks
the writer to tell the story behind the image, orally.
•
•
The process is repeated with the second partner taking his turn.
Each partner will be given five minutes to read the list and tell a
selected story.
Circulat i n g t h e R o o m
As students begin sharing stories, circulate to jot down great lines
you overhear—lines that you will share at the end of closing.
When 10 minutes have passed, ask students to review their
individual lists and to put a star by the image that they are most
interested in writing about today. Advise students they do not have to
write about the image their partners chose; they are free to write about
that memory or any others on their list. Give students a few minutes to
make their selections.
Have students turn to a new page in their notebooks and enter a
heading, using the image they have chosen to write about as the title,
e.g., “The Phone Call.” Ask students to write a quick write, telling the
story behind the title. Allow 10 to 15 minutes.
P o s t - W r i t ing Challenge
At this point in the series of lessons, you will begin to suggest
the importance of conveying significance within a narrative account.
Ask students to skip a few lines and try to complete this sentence: The
important thing about this story is… Students do not have to have scholarly
interpretations of their own stories at this point; you are simply planting
the seed and reinforcing the notion that good stories have meaning and
significance. By beginning to prompt this kind of reflecting, you are
developing student capacity not only to write more thoughtfully, but
to read more critically as you have them pause to consider how stories
suggest significance.
52
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
Begin by going around the room and asking students to say their
titles. Hearing the titles can build trust (no one can do the assignment
wrong) and can also build interest among the community of writers.
Ask a few volunteers to read their pieces. At the conclusion of each
reading, model positive, specific response. Follow with asking whether
the writer was able to finish the sentence starter “So, the important thing
about this story is…” and, if so, to read the statement. Statements will
most likely be simplistic, but do not spend time on improving them.
Simply hear them and applaud the effort to convey significance.
Finally, have students identify the subject of each student’s writing to
add ideas to the Writing Ideas from Reading chart.
As you complete the chart, mention how students can also borrow
ideas from each other’s good writing.
Here is a sample of how the chart may grow:
Writing Ideas from Reading
Reading
Source
Idea
“My Name”
From The House on Mango
Street, Sandra Cisneros
• Stories and thoughts about
names
“The Jacket”
From Effects of Knut Hamsun
on a Fresno Boy, Gary Soto
• Wanting something you
cannot have
• Feeling left out of the
crowd
• A misunderstanding with a
parent
• Thoughts about fashion
• Thoughts about cultural
differences
• “The Taco”
• Jesse
• Memories with food
• “The Hamster”
• Marly
• Memories with pets
• “The Rollercoaster”
• Candice
• Scary rides at amusement
parks
• “The Party”
• Alejandra
• Finding a best friend
• “The Wish”
• Seth
• Losing a best friend
G e n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I
53
Cl osin g
continued
Reinforc i n g t h e L e s s o n
Remind students that today’s lesson gave them another way to
borrow a writing idea from a professional writer—inventing a title based
on a memorable image, then writing about the experience.
54
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 6
Generating Topics for a Good
Story II
G o al
•
Students will mimic an author’s writing technique to generate other
ideas for a narrative.
P reparation
For today’s lesson, have your own mimic of Paul Auster’s memory
piece from “The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen” in The Invention of
Solitude. Copy your “I remember...” mimic on a transparency or chart
Be ready to insert the pronoun conversions to turn the piece into thirdperson narration.
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher copy and a
transparency of the excerpt
from “The Book of Memory,
Book Thirteen” by Paul Auster
•Teacher “I remember...” mimic
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
I ndependent writin g
To add more ideas to the Writing Ideas from Reading chart, begin
today’s session by inviting students to read aloud their “the + a noun or
phrase” entries to a partner. (For those students who have already shared
during the previous lesson, be sure to match them with students who
have not yet shared.)
Ask students for a few more writing ideas to add to the class chart.
Opening Less on
Tell students that over the past series of lessons they have drawn on
literature to spark ideas for writing—writing to a theme, writing about a
memorable quote, trying out an author’s writing technique.
Today students will add a new strategy to their repertoire—
mimicking a sentence pattern.
Touchstone Text
Display the excerpt from “The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen”
by Paul Auster. Auster, a New York native, wrote this memoir after his
father passed away during the 1970s. This particular passage offers a nice
opportunity for mimicking a repeated line, and it influences students
Ge n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I I
55
Openin g Lesso n
continued
to add other memories to their growing lists of writing ideas. Because
of the lyricism of the repeated line, read the passage twice, or consider
conducting a Quaker or popcorn reading for students to share in the rereading. (Each student selects one memorable line for the reading.)
He remembers that he gave himself a new name, John because all cowboys were
named John, and that each time his mother addressed him by his real name he
would refuse to answer her. He remembers running out of the house and lying in
the middle of the road with his eyes wide shut, waiting for a car to run him over.
He remembers that his grandfather gave him a large photo of Gabby Hayes and
that it sat in a place of honor on the top of his bureau. He remembers thinking
the world was flat. He remembers learning how to tie his shoes. He remembers
that his father’s clothes were kept in the closet in his room and that it was the
noise of hangers clicking together in the morning that would wake him up. He
remembers the sight of his father knotting his tie and saying to him, Rise and
shine little boy. He remembers wanting to be a squirrel, because he wanted to be
light like a squirrel and have a bushy tail and be able to jump from tree to tree
as though he were flying. He remembers looking through the venetian blinds and
seeing his newborn sister coming home from the hospital in his mother’s arms.
He remembers the nurse in a white dress who sat beside his baby sister and gave
him little squares of Swiss chocolate. He remembers that she called them Swiss
although he did not know what that meant. He remembers lying in his bed at dusk
in midsummer and looking at the tree through his window and seeing different
faces in the configuration of the branches. He remembers sitting in the bathtub
and pretending that his knees were mountains and that the white soap was an
ocean liner.
—Paul Auster, “The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen”
Following the reading, engage students in a discussion that raises
awareness for why Auster may have written this passage. Say something
like: “What might have inspired the writer to write this passage after
his father had passed away?” Engage students in a discussion about the
power of memories to move us—both big events and everyday events.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Te x t - t o - Te x t C o n n e c t i o n s
Ask students: “How are Paul Auster’s and Gary Soto’s writing
strategies alike?” Give students a minute to discuss their ideas with a
partner, then call for responses. Strive to connect how both writers have
strong mental pictures—or images—that stay in their minds long after
the incidents take place. These images are like photographs which the
writer can see clearly in his mind’s eye. Recall how Gary Soto uses his
memorable images as titles. Recall how students have also written about
strong images.
Ask students if the series of memories in Auster’s passage follow one
from another or jump around. (Students should see that some memories
take their lead from the previous memory, while others seem to jump to
unrelated memories.)
F irst-Person Versus Third-P e r s o n N a r r a t i v e s
Asking students to mimic Auster’s format affords the opportunity to
generate more memories of significance, but it also can raise awareness
about the difference between first- and third-person narratives and the
effects of different points of view.
To get students thinking about this difference, ask students, “What
might be a reason Auster uses he instead of I for his list of memories?”
Some students might tell you it is because he is watching his life from a
distance, or because he feels so sad about losing his father, it is hard to say
I—as if he needs to pretend the memories are happening to someone else.
Tell students that they are going to borrow Auster’s writing
technique by generating a list of “I remembers....” At first they can write
with I, but later, you will ask them to switch their I’s to he’s or she’s, to
see what they notice about the difference.
On chart paper, model your own beginning list, showing how you
mimic the repeated line. Offer up to four “I remembers...” of your own.
Ge n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I I
57
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Show students how some of your “I remembers...” follow directly from
the previous “I remember...,” while others seem to come out of nowhere.
Here is an example:
T h i n k - A l oud
You might say, “That last line in Auster’s piece about sitting in a
bath tub, pretending his knees were mountains, suddenly triggered my
own memories as a child having to take a bath before bedtime. So, I am
going to start with that memory and see where it takes me:”
I remember making milkshakes with soap in a plastic cup, shaking the soap up
and down until suds overflowed, looking just like a vanilla float. I remember my
mother saying it was time to stop and go to bed, and to push my wet head of hair
all the way back into the bathwater, just one more time, to rinse the soap away. I
remember the feel of flannel pajamas with their own mittens for feet. I remember
removing the screen from my bedroom window, to send a paper airplane into
Heather’s bedroom window across the alley, with a note written on it, in the middle
of the night.
B a c k t o t he Text
Emphasize how your own growing list of memories also helps you
appreciate Auster’s list. You might say something like, “After I began my
list of ‘I remembers...,’ I felt I could keep adding. I can see how Auster may
have been able to go on and on without stopping, too, but I think his list
might be especially long because with the loss of his father, he is moved to
want to record everything he can think of when his father was alive.” Let
students know that Auster does in fact have additional “I remembers....”
Wo rk P eri od
Have students create a new notebook page entitled I Remember:
Mimicking Paul Auster and begin the mimic. Allow 10 minutes for writing.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
C irculating the Room and Co n f e r r i n g
Look for students who may have trouble getting started. Suggest they
turn to their Images for Writing Ideas page to find a memory to start with.
After 10 minutes of writing, have students go back and re-read
their writing to themselves. Next, tell them you would like them to try
Auster’s strategy of turning first person to third person to see what a
difference the point of view makes. Give students a definition for thirdperson narration to add to their Glossary of Literary Terms. Point out the
use of he/him, she/her, and they/them.
Model transforming first-person to third-person narration with your
own text. (To save time, you might have the rewrite already written out
on a chart.) Show students that when you switched to she or he, you also
had to change the pronoun reference from my to her—implying that they
might have to do the same.
She remembers making milkshakes with soap in a plastic cup, shaking the soap
up and down until suds overflowed, looking just like a vanilla float. She remembers
her mother saying it was time to stop and go to bed, and pushing her wet head
of hair all the way back into the bathwater, just one more time, to rinse the soap
away. She remembers the feel of flannel pajamas with their own mittens for feet.
She remembers removing the screen from her bedroom window, to send a paper
airplane into Heather’s bedroom window across the alley, with a note written on it,
in the middle of the night.
Ask students to create a new notebook page entitled My ‘Remembers’
in the Third Person. Ask students to take their first “I remember...”
sentence and rewrite it in third person. Ask for one or two volunteers to
read aloud the sentence the original way, with I, then the revised way,
with she or he. After a few examples have been shared, have students
complete the changes for the rest of their pieces. Roam the room to help
students convert from first person to third person, and give special
attention to English language learners who may not be as fluent with
personal pronoun references.
Ge n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I I
59
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Before closing, ask students to highlight some lines where they think
they do a good job with details or where they like how one line flows
into the next. Have them put a star by their own favorite line or two.
Cl osin g
Reinforc i n g t h e E f f e c t s o f F i r s t - P e r s o n V e r s u s
Third-Pe r s o n N a r r a t i o n
Try having each student in the class read his or her own favorite
line. Ask students to explain the difference between using I (first person)
and using he or she (third person). What is the difference in the effect on
a reader?
Make certain students see that third-person narration reflects a
perspective from the outside looking in, telling a story as it is happening
to someone else. Mention how many writers use their own life’s
experiences for stories but might tell those stories in the third-person, as
if they were occurring in someone else’s life. Remind students that for
their end-of-unit performances, they might decide to rewrite a memory
in the third person.
Ask students to turn to their Glossaries of Literary Terms, and next
to the definition for first-person narration, to record the page number
where they wrote their “I remembers...” in the first person; have
them record the page number for where they wrote their third-person
“remembers” similarly.
Applaud students for working diligently during the past several
lessons and urge them to take pride in all the writing they have
produced so far. Tell them that they have now been introduced to several
strategies they have borrowed from writers, and that these pieces, and
other pieces they will soon write, may become seed pieces for a finished
piece, or recital.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Refer to the Writing Ideas from Reading chart and add these
possibilities:
Writing Ideas from Reading
Reading
Source
Idea
“My Name”
From The House on Mango
Street, Sandra Cisneros
• Stories and thoughts about
names
“The Jacket”
From Effects of Knut Hamsun
on a Fresno Boy, Gary Soto
• Wanting something you
cannot have
• Feeling left out of the crowd
• A misunderstanding with a
parent
• Thoughts about fashion
• Thoughts about cultural
differences
• “The Taco”
• Jesse
• Memories with food
• “The Hamster”
• Marly
• Memories with pets
• “The Rollercoaster”
• Candice
• Scary rides at amusement
parks
• “The Party”
• Alejandra
• Finding a best friend
• “The Wish”
• Seth
• Losing a best friend
“The Jacket”
From Effects of Knut Hamsun
on a Fresno Boy, Gary Soto
• Using similes to describe
memorable objects, people,
places, feelings
“forearms that stuck out like
the necks of turtles”
“The Book of Memory, Book
From The Invention of
Thirteen” (“He remembers...”) Solitude, Paul Auster
• Using a repeated line
“The Book of Memory, Book
From The Invention of
Thirteen” (“He remembers...”) Solitude, Paul Auster
• Writing about your own
memory in the third person
H omework
Students should be well underway in an independent reading
program. They should be familiar with the reading standards and know
how much reading they should complete in a year. In some states, this
reading standard is expressed in numbers of words, for example, a
million words a year.
Ge n e r a t i n g To p i c s f o r a G o o d S t o r y I I
61
Cl osin g
continued
Starting with Lesson 7, you will want students to begin borrowing
thematic topics as well as trying out various writing techniques from their
independent reading. As a result, for homework, make certain students
have selected an independent reading book to bring to class daily.
62
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 7
Zooming In on a Moment
G o al
•
•
Students will learn strategies for expanding a writing topic.
Students will learn how to respond to writers in the author’s chair.
P reparation
Leave more time for closing.
I ndependent writin g
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher copy of “The Jacket”
•Independent reading books
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Tell students that independent writing will begin in two days. Tell
students that once independent writing begins, they may find they
want to borrow writing ideas from their independent reading books. Go
around the room, asking each student to hold up his or her independent
reading book, and say the title and the author.
Opening Less on
Remind students about the previous lesson and the use of a repeated
line to add emphasis and importance to a list—and in this case, a list of
memories. Also recall the discussion about the different effects that firstand third-person narration can have on a reader. Tell students that they
will continue drawing on these strategies for today’s lesson.
Tell students that today you are going to teach them a strategy for
zooming in on a topic and writing more about it. The strategy you
are going to teach them is a form of a quick write, but it asks that you
stay focused on a single idea. To illustrate, tell students you are going
to work with the “She remembers...” passage that you wrote for the
previous lesson.
First, you are going to re-read your entry and think about whether
there might be a memory that would be a candidate for more writing.
Model re-reading the entire passage. Then select a line where you have
more to write about because the memory is such a strong “photograph”
in your mind.
Zooming In on a Moment
63
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Analogy: Tell students that it is as if you were photographing your
memories and were now exchanging a wide angle lens for a zoom lens
for just one of those memories. Here is an example:
Wide Angle: She remembers removing the screen from her bedroom window, to
send a paper airplane into Heather’s bedroom window across the alley, with a
note written on it, in the middle of the night. Zooming In: She remembers how
cleverly she could remove the screen without making a noise. She remembers the
smell of the screen, a damp rusty kind of smell. She remembers how Heather and
she would muffle their giggles, knowing they were getting away with being up so
late at night. She remembers how the crickets sounded when there was silence
and how vast the dark sky looked with all the stars twinkling when she ventured
her head out the window, careful not to reach too far, to not fall out the window.
She remembers how they must have laughed too hard anyway because Heather’s
mother came into Heather’s bedroom and shut the curtains with an angry snapping
sound. She remembers her own mother screeching at the top of her lungs for her
to get to bed. She remembers how Heather’s mother had a talk with her mother the
next day, and both girls were put on restriction for a week.
Ask students to tell you how your writing used the “zoom lens,”
how it got close-up. Make sure they see that you include specific details,
like sounds, smells, visuals, actions, and feelings. Make sure they also see
you did not tell them everything that happened that day that led up to
that moment, nor did you go into detail about the events that followed.
Emphasize how you told a story about a moment.
Wo rk P eri od
Ask students to turn to their first-person and third-person
“remembers” from the previous lesson. Ask them to re-read their mimic
of Paul Auster’s passage and to look for a memory that might make for a
description of a good moment. Allow about five minutes for students to
re-read and select the places for expanding their memories.
64
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Tell students to create a new notebook page entitled Zooming In on
a Moment. Under the heading, ask them to copy the memory they have
selected onto this page. This line will be a starting point for the writing—
the wide-angle lens.
Ask students to zoom in on the moment and begin their chain of
“remembers,” allowing about 10 minutes for the writing. Students can
use first or third person, whichever viewpoint they prefer. Remind them
the strategy is still a quick write, so that they can write freely without
having to be perfect.
C irculating the Room and Co n f e r r i n g
Roam the room, taking notice of students’ ability to generate text. By
giving students this focusing strategy, you are asking them to concentrate
on a moment in time and to think of all the details that might accompany
it. Look for students who seem to use this strategy successfully, writing
chains of continuing details without much effort. Urge these students to
consider sharing their writing for closing.
For students who are slow to get moving, you might urge them to
begin by listing “remembers” that are just sounds, or just visuals, etc.
Some students, especially ELL students, might benefit from drawing
their moments before continuing with their lists.
As time goes on, you will notice your students’ abilities to get
started, what strategies seem to work best for different learners, and their
planning patterns. Once students become more self-sufficient during
the work period—and show they are using their time productively and
responsibly—you will begin hosting small-group conferences to reinforce
writing lessons.
At this point, you should conduct roving conferences, stopping to
observe and take notes, and having brief one-to-three minute conferences
on specific points.
Zooming In on a Moment
65
Wo rk P eri od
continued
As work period draws to a close, ask students to stop their writing, skip
a few lines, and try finishing the open-ended statement, “The important
thing about this moment is…” Remind students how good stories—and
now important moments—have something significant about them. Tell
students that good writers choose specific moments to describe because they
have special meaning to the writer and are worth describing in detail.
T h i n k - A l oud
Referring back to your own writing, tell students there must be
a reason you chose your particular memory/moment over the other
memories you could have selected. Ask yourself why this particular
moment may be important to you. You might say something like: “Why
is the story about taking the screens off the bedroom windows important
to me? What might be the significance of this moment for me?”
Try to finish your own sentence starter for “The important thing
about this moment is….”
At this point in the lessons students may begin to reflect on the
significance and meaning of the narratives they read and the narratives
they write, as a regular habit. In short, students will cultivate making
inferences about how details in a story imply meaning.
Cl osin g
During the previous lesson’s closing, you attempted to make sure
everyone read a line from their Auster mimic so that students would get
more used to sharing their writing publicly. Today you are going to begin
formalizing student sharing in a more interactive way by establishing the
ritual of author’s chair.
Begin a Guide for Response reference chart. This chart will begin
with a few tips for giving response to a writer, and will grow throughout
the year as students gain practice and additional strategies for working
with response partners in small groups.
66
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Guide for Response
After a writer reads a piece aloud, you might talk about:
• What the writer did well
• A specific line in the writing that got your attention
• How the writer used details
• Something you learned from the writer
• A question you have
The writer may also ask listeners for help or to listen for a specific strategy in his
or her writing.
Invite students—especially those you have nudged—to take the
author’s chair.
Be sure students read their completed statements for The important
thing about this moment is…. Call attention to any growing abilities to tell
the meaning of their stories.
I nterviewing the Writer
After each student reads, prompt him or her to talk about the
experience of writing. Encourage students to say how they came to
select their memory and what it was like for them to use the zooming-in
strategy for a single moment.
E liciting Peer Response
Referencing the Guide for Response chart, ask students to volunteer
some comments for the writer.
Applaud each writer as the exchange concludes.
Zooming In on a Moment
67
Cl osin g
continued
Reinforc i n g t h e L e s s o n
Review the purpose of today’s lesson. Tell students they worked
with choosing memorable moments as opposed to writing whole stories.
Recall how you asked them to detail a single event and to photograph
it just as they remember experiencing it. Tell them that taking the time
to focus on the important moments in a story is a skill of good writers.
Good writers know which moments are the most important ones to
spend time on and which moments are not as important.
Start a Strategies of Good Writers chart.
Strategies of good Writers
• Writers choose subjects that have special meaning to them.
• Writers focus on the most important moments.
• Writers expand the moments and tap what they see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and feel.
• Writers tell about their own lives in the third person.
• Writers create fictional characters based on their own memories.
Revisiting “The Jacket” for an Important Moment
Conclude today’s lesson by reading aloud this moment from Gary
Soto’s work, the moment of what happens when his jacket finally starts
to disintegrate:
That winter the elbows began to crack and whole chunks of green began to fall
off. I showed the cracks to my mother, who always seemed to be at the stove with
steamed-up glasses, and she said that there were children in Mexico who would
love that jacket. I told her that this was America and yelled that Debbie, my sister,
didn’t have a jacket like mine. I ran outside, ready to cry, and climbed the tree by
the alley to think bad thoughts and watch my breath puff white and disappear.
—Gary Soto, “The Jacket”
68
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Homework
Ask students to consider how Gary Soto might have finished this
sentence: The important thing about this moment is…. If time is limited,
assign students the task of finishing this sentence for homework. Possible
responses might be “The important thing about this moment is that Gary
Soto believes his sister gets preferential treatment.” Or, “The important
thing about this moment is that Gary Soto recognizes there is nothing he
can do to change his fate.”
G lossary of Literary Terms
You might think about giving students the definition of theme, and
asking them to cite the entries where they complete their own statements
for “The important thing about this story is….” Add theme to the Word
Wall for Literary Terms.
Zooming In on a Moment
69
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 8
Writing About a Memorable
Character
Materials
Checklist
•Class set or a transparency
of “Thank You, M’am” by
Langston Hughes
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
•
•
Students will begin the independent writing routine.
Students will write about a memorable character.
Students will make inferences about characters.
PREPARATI ON
Prepare a new chart entitled Features of a Good Story, transferring
characteristics charted for “The Jacket” onto the new poster. From this
lesson on, students will track features of effective narrative writing and
use the criteria to slowly build a class rubric.
Independent writin g
You and your students have co-created several charts for identifying
what writers write about and what might go into the Writer’s
Notebook—ideas students can turn to as resources for independent
writing. The What Goes into a Writer’s Notebook chart lists general
kinds of entries writers often include; the Writing Ideas from Reading
chart lists thematic topics that have emerged from class discussions and
reflections with touchstone texts.
To initiate independent writing, post these charts in a prominent
place where they will be easily seen and where they can continue to
grow. Review the charts quickly, then turn students over to independent
writing. Allow 10 minutes for the independent writing. Model the
routine by writing in your own notebook.
When time is up, ask for a show of hands: How many had a topic to
write about right away? How many used the charts to jog ideas? How
many got off to a slow start? How many could have kept on writing?
Tell students that at first the independent writing routine might feel
awkward, but with increased practice, they will find the writing time
more valuable and easier to fill.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
I ndependent Writin g
continued
You will not ask for anybody to read at this time. Make sure students
have given their entry a title and entered the title in the Table of Contents
of their notebooks. Compliment students for getting right to work, and
remind them how they will engage in independent writing several times
a week, unless you plan something different for them to do. Advise
students that as they near the time for revising and completing major
writing assignments, you will use independent writing time to help them
apply new techniques to their work.
Opening less on
Remind students that soon they will select one entry from their many
entries to turn into an expanded and completed draft of writing for
an autobiographical or fictional narrative. Just as an artist works with
sketches to turn into expanded works of art, they will soon choose one
of their favorite entries to develop and polish. Tell students that they will
continue exploring a few more possibilities to add to their repertoire of
writing ideas and strategies.
Refer to the Writing Ideas from Reading chart to see if there is
a link to writing about memorable people or characters. If you recall
any students having shared writing around memorable characters,
acknowledge their work.
Tell students how writers frequently write about the people in their
lives who they will always remember—sometimes they write about
them in the first person and sometimes they use what they know about
this person to develop a fictional character. Recall how Paul Auster
writes about himself as if he were another person, and how students
experimented with this strategy when they changed their own “I
remembers...” from first to third person. Tell students that today they are
going to write about a memorable person—a person who one day might
become an interesting fictional character in a story.
Wr i t i n g A b o u t a M e m o r a b l e C h a r a c t e r
71
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Touchsto n e Te x t
Introduce the short story “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes.
Tell students that the story takes place in the late 1950s in a section of New
York City called Harlem. Describe how Harlem attracted a community of
African-American musicians, artists, and writers in the early part of the
20th century, and that Langston Hughes lived in this community.
Distribute the class set of “Thank You, M’am,” or display as a
transparency if a class set of books with the story is not available. Read
aloud the story as students follow along.
T h i n k - A l oud
Note to
Teacher
To help English language learners
with vocabulary, when you notice
students offering synonyms
for character-trait words, call
attention to them and read
aloud the words in succession,
drawing attention to their parallel
meaning. Consider acting out
their meaning with gestures and
facial expressions as you say the
words aloud.
72
After reading the story, model the reader habit of asking questions
that help you connect to the text. “What does the story make me think
about?” Or “What does this story remind me of?” For example: “Well,
luckily, I have never had someone come right up to me on the street
and grab my purse out from under me, but if I had this happen, I can’t
imagine doing what this lady, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones,
did—lifting that boy up by his shirt front, and shaking him until his teeth
rattled, then taking him home after all that. I wonder how she got to be
that way?”
Ask students to tell you what words come to mind for a character
like this. Give students a minute or two to jot down descriptive words
that might capture her personality on sticky-notes. Have partners
exchange sticky-notes to see if partners used common words or
variations (synonyms) for the same word.
Explain that the words we use to describe people’s personalities or
character are called character traits. Ask for partners to volunteer the best
character-trait words they came up with, and chart their responses.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
In t r o d u c i n g I n f e r e n c i n g
Now would be an appropriate time to teach students the meaning
of infer, and explain how they have inferred a character trait from Mrs.
Jones’s actions. Make it a habit from now on to use infer and inference
consciously when asking students to articulate traits, themes, and
significances. Consider providing a definition for inference for students’
Glossary of Literary Terms.
Students might tell you:
Character Trait
Character
Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones
Character Traits
• Brave
• Crazy
• Unafraid
• Confident
• Wise
• Bold
• Understanding
• Forgiving
Ask students if they know anyone like Mrs. Luella Bates Washington
Jones. Tell students that when you read about such strong characters, you
start thinking about strong characters in your own life. Sometimes characters
remind you of people you know who are also similar, but other times the
characters can be so different, or opposite—for instance, maybe someone
you know would have been “fearful, screaming for help, and running
away” or judgmental, sending the boy straight to the police station.
Conclude the discussion by asking students whether they think “Thank
You, M’am” is a good story. Refer to the new poster you have made,
Features of a Good Story, and chart any additions.
Wr i t i n g A b o u t a M e m o r a b l e C h a r a c t e r
73
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Features of a Good Story
• Situation is real
• Characters are real
• Characters talk like real people
• Story is funny
• Good description: use of similes
• Good action
• Has a good ending
• Story makes you think
• Characters surprise you
• Story is suspenseful
• Writer uses dialogue
Wo rk P eri od
Writer’s N o t e b o o k
Have students create a notebook page called Memorable People and
Their Character Traits. Ask students to think of three people they know
well who have a certain kind of personality or way of looking at the
world. Next to each person’s name, ask them to assign a word or phrase
that names a special character-trait word they associate with that person.
English language learners with common home languages might benefit
from working together to help each other identify appropriate charactertrait words in English.
10/2/06 Memorable People and Their Character Traits
Aunt Becky—bold, daring
Patricia—patient
Jonnie Ann—intelligent
10
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
P artner Share
Give students several minutes to share their lists orally with a
partner. When time is up, ask for a show of hands for whether they
found themselves telling any stories about their memorable people. You
might ask something like: “As you reviewed your list of memorable
people with your partner, how many of you found yourself beginning to
tell a story about that person?” Tell students they are about to select one
person whose character trait would make for a good story.
Th i n k - A l o u d
Show your students how you narrow your own choices to the person
who would make the best choice for a good writing. For example:
My Aunt Becky is a real character, bold and daring like Mrs. Luella Bates
Washington Jones. I remember when she bought her kids a skunk as the family pet.
I could tell that story. Or, I could write about how Patricia is my best friend because
she always has time for my stories and is such a good listener. If I write about
Patricia, I have to think about different times when she was a good listener to me,
then select a good story to tell. My friend Jonnie Ann is really, really intelligent.
Growing up, she was the kind of student who would say she was panicked because
she didn’t have time to study for a test, then always got the highest grade in the
class. She is still the most knowledgeable of all my friends on any subject. I could
tell the story about how she says she knows nothing about how to garden, then
produces the most beautiful garden on her block.
Because I just saw Jonnie Ann’s garden recently, I think I would most like to tell
this story. I already have a strong image, like a photograph, of her buried in a
million books, reading about gardening, then digging her hands in the earth. I
could use a lot of details and zoom in on her planting techniques.
Ask students to review their lists and to select the one person they
would most like to write about—perhaps one whose image is strong
and ripe for describing. Give students a few minutes to select their
memorable characters.
Wr i t i n g A b o u t a M e m o r a b l e C h a r a c t e r
75
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Students should start a new Writer’s Notebook page and begin
telling the story that illustrates the character trait. Advise students not
to use the character-trait word in their story, to see whether (later on) a
reader might be able to guess the character trait. Allow 10 to 15 minutes
for writing.
Cl osin g
Guessing o r I n f e r r i n g t h e C h a r a c t e r Tr a i t
Note to
Teacher
For students who might like to
try using third person instead
of first person, encourage this
experimentation.
Note to
Teacher
If you conducted a lesson on
similes when reading “The
Jacket,” prompt students to
create a simile sentence about
their memorable person.
Invite as many students to take the author’s chair as time allows.
As a variation on offering response, ask the class to guess or infer the
character trait at the conclusion of each writer’s reading. Ask if anyone
wrote about a character in the third person, and urge these students to
read their stories.
Inaugurate a character-trait Word Wall at this time, drawing on
the words students assigned to their characters. As students read
other narratives from class anthologies and independent reading, post
additional trait words and reference these traits often—using them to
describe students in the class, other characters you read about, and wellknown personalities at large. Developing a list like this helps students
develop the kind of abstract language used in making inferences. This
practice is also especially productive for English language learners as
they grow their vocabularies in English.
Wrap up by emphasizing the power of illustrating somebody’s
character through a single story. Connect to the idea of Mrs. Luella
Bates Washington Jones’s being confident, wise, forgiving, etc. Mention
how writers often adapt memorable characters from their own lives for
characters in their stories. Ask students what would be a character-trait
word for Gary Soto in the story “The Jacket”? What would be a word for
his mother? Add these words to the Word Wall for Character Traits.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Suggest that students will have the opportunity to turn their personal
memories into third person stories if they choose to. When students
finally select a piece to expand and publish, they may decide to use their
character stories as a seed idea.
If writing about memorable people does not already appear on the
class charts, be sure to add it.
G lossary of Literary Terms
In addition to adding the term inference, you can introduce the
word characterization for students to enter into their glossaries, then
have them cite the use of inference and characterization in the entry for
memorable characters and their traits. For characterization you will want
to identify the different ways writers typify the personalities in their
stories: physical traits; inner thoughts, speech (dialogue), and actions;
thoughts, speech, actions from other characters; or by commenting on
a character’s personality directly. Add these terms to the Word Wall for
Literary Terms.
Wr i t i n g A b o u t a M e m o r a b l e C h a r a c t e r
77
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 9
Showing, Not Telling
Materials
Checklist
•Class set of “Thank You, M’am”
by Langston Hughes
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
•
Students will write a show, not tell.
Students will make inferences about places.
Preparati on
For the past several lessons, students have worked with exercises
moving from the general to the specific—the zooming-in strategy
to expand a moment; a character trait (abstract word) and a story to
illustrate its meaning.
Secondary students are at a developmental stage where grasping the
difference between abstract and concrete—generalities and specifics—is
critical. Because students tend to speak and write with sweeping
generalizations, you need to help them cultivate a sense of specificity,
where the use of examples and details broaden, deepen, and enrich their
thinking and writing.
Today you will teach students a new exercise they will practice
regularly—the art of showing, not telling. Showing, not telling, is really
another form of zooming in, but it has broader applications. Students
will learn rules for the exercise and will experiment with variations over
time. Eventually students should not need the exercise—the scaffold will
be withdrawn—because understanding the impact of telling versus
showing should be internalized.
Here are the rules for the exercise:
78
•
The teacher assigns a general statement called a telling sentence for
expansion.
•
Students are challenged to turn the telling sentence into a showing
paragraph with examples and details.
•
Students must write a minimum of one paragraph, but no more
than two.
•
Students should not use the telling sentence in the body of the
paragraph(s).
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
P reparation
continued
Sample sentences that you might assign:
•
•
•
My room was a mess. (Setting)
The atmosphere grew tense. (Conflict)
He or she is artistic. (Character development)
Later, as students become practiced at turning telling to showing,
they will use the strategy as a revision tool—to spot their own
underdeveloped places in their writing, their own telling sentences, and
expand them.
For today’s lessons, you will need to redistribute copies of
“Thank You, M’am” or display the story as a transparency.
I ndependent Writin g
Students write for 10 minutes. Students choose their own strategies
and topics to explore. Model this quiet time by writing in your
notebook yourself.
Opening Less on
Redistribute class set of “Thank You, M’am,” or display the story as a
transparency. Recall the previous day’s lesson and the focus on memorable
people in our lives and the character traits that distinguish them. Remind
students that Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is a fictional character,
but that Langston Hughes drew on his own experiences to develop such
an unusual, yet believable character. Ask students whether Langston
Hughes writes the story in the first or third person.
Review the Word Wall for character traits to remind students of the
descriptive words they used to characterize Mrs. Jones, and then the
Word Wall with students’ emerging list of traits. Connect how students
came up with their own traits for people they know well, then told
stories to illustrate their words.
S h o w i n g , N o t Te l l i n g
79
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Tell students that today they are going to revisit the story “Thank
You, M’am,” and look for specific strategies Langston Hughes uses to
show how brave or tough Mrs. Jones is. Recall how other writers they
have read use special strategies to bring objects, characters, scenes, or
emotions, to life.
Mention the zooming-in strategy to photograph a particularly
important moment or image to show its importance.
•
•
The zooming in on “the guacamole-colored jacket”
Their own zooming in on one of their “I remembers...”
Ask students to help you find places in “Thank You, M’am” where
Hughes seems to zoom in and photograph Mrs. Jones, demonstrating
her character traits. Examples might be (and you may wish to have
duplicated passages like these for a transparency):
The strap broke with the sudden single tug the boy gave it from behind. But the
boy’s weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose balance.
Instead of taking off full blast as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back on the
sidewalk and his legs flew up. The large woman simply turned and kicked him right
square in his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his
shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled.
And later:
Sweat popped out on the boy’s face and he began to struggle. Mrs. Jones stopped,
jerked him around in front of her, put a half nelson around his neck, and continued
to drag him up the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside,
down a hall, and into a large kitchenette-furnished room at the rear of the house.
Ask students how the photographs show that Mrs. Jones is brave or
tough. They should tell you that the descriptions of her actions, gestures,
physical strength, illustrate her fearlessness: “…picking the boy up by
his shirt front and shook him until his teeth rattled”; “…put a half nelson
around his neck and continued to drag him up the street,” etc.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Emphasize how Langston Hughes never comes out and says that
Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is tough or strong, but we infer those
qualities. Say that Langston Hughes illustrates those qualities through
showing instead of telling. Tell students that good writers strive to show
instead of tell when it comes to making the most important moments
in their stories come alive and become real for their readers. To show
instead of tell puts readers right in the action, as if the experience is
actually happening to them.
Explain how students were engaged in showing instead of telling
during the previous lesson. Recall how students conveyed their character
traits through showing a story instead of directly using the character-trait
word (telling).
S howing, Not Telling
Following this discussion, introduce the new practice or exercise you
would like students to try, called showing, not telling. Tell students that
every so often you will challenge them with an exercise in which you
will assign a telling statement and ask that they show the idea in the
statement through details and examples. The challenge will be to avoid
directly using the telling sentence in the elaborated paragraph, just as
they tried to not use character-trait words within their character stories.
You will ask them for a single paragraph, but no more than two. Post the
rules for writing a show, not tell.
Rules for Writing a show, Not Tell
• Use the assigned telling sentence as a title.
• Do not use the telling sentence in the paragraph.
• Show the telling sentence through details and examples—zooming in; photographing.
• Write one or two paragraphs, but no more.
S h o w i n g , N o t Te l l i n g
81
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Analogy: Once you review the rules with students, liken the exercise to
the game of charades. It is as though you have given students a folded
slip of paper with a saying on it, and they must act out the saying to see
if others get it. By portraying the exercise in this way, students might
take the challenge as an intriguing game, and enjoy not only their own
inventions, but how others have developed the same ideas.
Wo rk P eri od
Tell students that writers not only write about memorable characters,
they write about memorable places. Places they have lived and visited
often become the settings for their stories.
Assign the telling sentence: It was a memorable place.
Tell students to create a new notebook page, using the telling
sentence as a title. Ask them to recall a place they know well and
can show instead of tell why this place is special. (You may want to
brainstorm a list of possible places to get started: for example, a room in
your home, a backyard, someone else’s home, a park, a restaurant, etc.).
G e t t i n g R eady to Write a Show, Not Tell
Once students have selected their memorable place, you may want
to take them through an oral guided-imaging or ask them to draw
their memorable places. For ELL students particularly, either of these
strategies help students recall vocabulary and language that will help
them detail their impressions.
For an oral guided-imaging, you might say something like, “Close
your eyes and try to see this memorable place in your mind. Picture the
time of day and where you are. Pretend you are a video camera and
are slowly filming all around this place. What objects or scenery do you
notice? What colors surround you? Are there other people there at this
memorable place? Are there typical sounds and smells? What makes this
place so memorable? What about this place do you not want to forget?”
82
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Students, especially English language learners, may want to list some
details before writing.
Invite students to write their show, not tells. Remind students not to
use the sentence—It was a memorable place—in their paragraph(s).
C irculating and Conferring
Check to see that students are avoiding using the telling sentence.
P artner Share
Have students exchange their show, not tells with a partner. Ask
partners to select one or two sentences that are memorable—that are
good examples of showing, not telling. (Liken this response to how they
re-read “Thank You, M’am” for the showing details and re-read “The
Jacket” for the photograph of the guacamole jacket.)
Partners should write the memorable lines on a sticky-note, and
explain why they think those places are good examples of showing, not
telling, or, if a writer permits, partners may write their comments directly
in the notebooks.
C l o sing
For author’s chair today, place two chairs side by side—one which
will be for the author, the other for the response partner. Ask the writer
to read his or her show, not tell paragraph. Next, ask the partner to read
the lines he or she selected as examples of good showing, not telling, and
also the explanation. By trying this variation for author’s chair, you will
help students see how they can become effective readers for each other’s
writing—a practice to be nurtured later on as students work in response
groups, guided by the use of class rubrics.
S h o w i n g , N o t Te l l i n g
83
Cl osin g
continued
Cultivati n g E f f e c t i v e R e a d e r R e s p o n s e
As the partnership concludes, compliment the response partner first, for:
•
•
Being a good reader
Finding examples of good showing, not telling
Try characterizing what you observed the response partner doing
successfully as a critical reader. For example, “Nicole, I like the way
you noticed the smells in the kitchen—the cookies baking, the chocolate
melting. Your explanation that these details made your mouth water
shows the effect the setting had on you as a reader. The setting seems
inviting to you, and you are able to tell the writer why. Good response.”
Feedbac k f o r t h e W r i t e r
Offer a response of your own for the writer, modeling positive and
specific praise. Reinforce why the piece qualifies as an interesting setting.
Ask the writer whether this piece might ever be used as a setting for a
good story. Ask: “If you were going to write a fictional narrative, how
might you use the setting you developed? What would happen in your
story?” In this way, you are connecting the exercise to the bigger picture
of an effective narrative structure.
If setting has not been recorded on the class Features of a Good Story
chart, be certain to add it. In addition, be sure to add showing, not telling.
84
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Features of a Good Story
• Situation is real
• Characters are real
• Characters talk like real people
• Story is funny
• Good description: use of similes
• Good action
• Has a good ending
• Story makes you think
• Characters surprise you
• Story is suspenseful
• Writer uses dialogue
• Memorable settings
• Uses show, not tell to put you in the action
H omework
Assign another telling sentence for expansion, also a setting. Assign
My room was a mess for elaboration. Remind students of the rules to avoid
using the sentence in the writing and to limit the writing to no more than
two paragraphs.
G lossary of Literary Terms
Note to
Teacher
Because students may not yet
be taking home their Writer’s
Notebooks, you may want to
distribute an appropriately sized
paper (or tablet-size stickynote) that they can glue into the
notebook the next day.
Give students a definition for setting and have them cite the use of
setting for their show, not tell: It was a memorable place.
S h o w i n g , N o t Te l l i n g
85
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 10
Developing a Setting
Materials
Checklist
•Copies of All Over But the
Shoutin’ excerpt by Rick Bragg
•Copies of My Dog Skip excerpt
by Willie Morris
•Transparency of “The Book of
Memory, Book Thirteen” excerpt
by Paul Auster
•Independent reading books
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
Note to
Teacher
This lesson may take two days to
implement completely. You may
want to work with one text excerpt
one day, and the other text
excerpt on a consecutive day—or
even at a later time when
students are crafting settings for
their final pieces.
Go al
•
Students will study writing strategies for a setting from two
professional writers.
•
Students will connect their own strategies for showing, not telling, a
setting to the strategies of professional writers.
Preparati on
Have photocopies for the first two excerpts from these touchstone
texts and a transparency of the third excerpt available for students. (See
the appendix.)
•
•
•
All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
My Dog Skip by Willie Morris
“The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen” in The Invention of Solitude by
Paul Auster
Independent Writin g
Tell students that for today, in place of independent writing, you
want to hear some examples of show, not tells from their homework
assignment, My room was a mess. Explain how this sentence is asking
them to show another kind of setting.
Ask students to read their paragraphs to a partner, then ask partners
to nominate great examples of showing, not telling. Note the strategies
students use to convey a messy place. Most likely they will have lists of
gory items, so you can applaud their use of specific examples. Emphasize
how specific examples are what good writers strive to incorporate into
their writing—and with setting, the examples and description often set a
mood—the emotional feel for moments in a story.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
Explain to students that today they will have an opportunity to
study the work of two professional writers whose work also focuses
on setting. Today they will continue to read like writers to learn about
other strategies for settings. Remind them of their own efforts to create
settings for It was a memorable place and My room was a mess. Suggest that
it might be interesting for them to make comparisons between their own
strategies and those of professional writers.
Touchstone Text 1
Distribute copies of the excerpt from Rick Bragg’s All Over But The
Shoutin’. Tell students All Over But the Shoutin’ is a nonfiction work—a
true story (memoir) about the author’s growing up poor but managing
to overcome hardships to become an accomplished writer. Tell students
that, like some of the other authors they have been studying, this writer,
Rick Bragg, provides a specific setting to give the flavor of where he once
lived—in the deep South, in the state of Alabama. (Recall Gary Soto’s use
of the alley and the schoolyard in Fresno, California; Langston Hughes’s
use of Mrs. Jones and the streets of Harlem.)
Advise students that there may be vocabulary they might not have
encountered before, which describes sights and sounds and images from
where Bragg grew up: redbone and bluetick hounds (hunting dogs); Bruton
snuff (chewing tobacco); cracklin’s (the crisp part after pork or poultry fat
has been rendered). You may want to post these words before reading,
but assure students that they will not need to know every single word
to understand the picture and the mood Bragg tries to convey through
the setting.
Read the piece aloud.
Developing a Setting
87
Openin g Lesso n
continued
It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep-green mountains, where
redbone and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums
into the sacks of old men in frayed overalls, where old women in bonnets dipped
Bruton snuff and hummed “Faded Love and Winter Roses” as they shelled purple
hulls, canned peaches and made biscuits too good for this world. It was a place
where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing it right,
where fearless young men steered long, black Buicks loaded with yellow whiskey
down roads the color of dried blood, where the first frost meant hog killin’ time and
the mouthwatering smell of cracklin’s would drift for acres from giant, bubbling
pots. It was a place where the screams of panthers, like a woman’s anguished
cry, still haunted the most remote ridges and hollows in the dead of night, where
children believed they could choke off the cries of night birds by circling one wrist
with a thumb and forefinger and squeezing tight, and where the cotton blew off the
wagons and hung like scraps of cloud in the branches of trees.
—Rick Bragg, All Over But the Shoutin’
R e - r e a d i ng the Text
Tell students you would like them to re-read the excerpt aloud, in
a low buzz, all at the same time. Tell them not to worry if they do not
know how to pronounce certain words, but to keep on reading. The
purpose for the re-reading is not only to better acquaint students with
the specific details for the setting, but to have them hear the rhythm and
cadence of the repeated line: “It was a place where… a place where…”
Following students’ second reading, ask them whether they think
this place is a memorable place to the writer. Ask them to recall the
details that Rick Bragg uses to show, instead of tell, how the setting is
memorable. Students might say:
•
•
•
•
88
The scenery (mountains)
Kinds of animals (hounds, possums, panthers, birds)
The people, how they dressed (frayed overalls, bonnets)
Songs of the times (“Faded Love and Winter Roses”)
Opening Less on
•
•
•
continued
Cars of the times (Buick)
Food of the times (peaches, biscuits, cracklin’s)
Other typical habits or pastimes
See if students can suggest a telling sentence that characterizes this
place. Ask them, “What are all these showing details trying to tell us?”
They may tell you something like, “The town was old-fashioned,” or
“The place was scary.” Then, ask the question another way. Say, “How
might Rick Bragg have finished this sentence? ‘The important thing
about this setting is….’” In this way, you help students connect how
telling and significance can have parallel meanings.
Te x t - t o - Te x t C o n n e c t i o n s
Next, read a few of the opening lines of Paul Auster’s excerpt from
“The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen” in The Invention of Solitude (“He
remembers...”). Ask students to tell you what All Over But the Shoutin’
and “The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen” have in common. Make sure
students notice the structure of the passages as much as they notice
the specific details. Make certain they see the use of repeated lines to
unfold the setting and the list of memories. Have students underline the
repeated phrase “It was a place where… where…,” etc., to highlight the
use of repetition.
Ask students to tell you what they think the strategy does for the
writings—that is, why the writers may have used the repeated lines
for their descriptions. Help students see that by introducing each detail
with the repeated line, the writer emphasizes how each detail is just as
important as the others. The details are written as a list that adds up to
an important overall idea, theme or mood. Using a repeated line also
gives a sort of musical or poetic quality to the writing—like a chorus to a
song or a refrain to a poem.
89
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Touchsto n e Te x t 2
Tell students that you want them to look at another example of a
setting written by a different writer. Distribute copies of the excerpt of
My Dog Skip by Willie Morris. Tell students this piece is also a memoir
about growing up, this time in Mississippi in the 1940s. The writer, Willie
Morris, is shy and unable to make friends until his parents give him a
puppy which becomes beloved in the neighborhood and allows him to
come out of his shell. Read the piece aloud. Give students a chance to
read the piece a second time, silently.
The town where Old Skip and I grew up together was an unhurried and isolated
place then. About ten thousand people lived there, of all races and origins, and it
sat there crazily, half on steep hills and half on the flat Delta. Some of the streets
were not paved, and the main street, stretching its several blocks from the Dixie
Theater down to the bend in the river, was narrow and plain, but down along the
quiet, shady streets, with their magnolia and pecan and elm and locust trees,
were the stately old houses that had been built long before the Civil War, slightly
dark and decaying until the descendents became prosperous enough to have them
“restored,” which usually meant one coat of white enamel.
All of this was before the big supermarkets and shopping centers and affluent
subdivisions with no sidewalks and the monster highways and the innocence lost.
It was even before there was television, and people would not close their doors and
shut their curtains to watch the quiz games or the comedy hours or the talk shows
where everybody talks at once. We would sit out on our front porches in the hot,
serene nights and say hello to everyone who walked by. If the fire truck came past,
we all got in our cars to follow it, and Skip was always the first to want to go. The
houses were set out in a line under the soft green trees, their leaves rustling
gently with the breeze. From the river sometimes came the melancholy echo of a
boat’s horn.
—Willie Morris, My Dog Skip
Following their reading, ask students whether this example shows a
memorable place.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Ask students what all these showing details are trying to tell us about
the place. Make certain they see that “The town has changed,” or “The
town isn’t like it used to be.” Ask, “If Willie Morris finished the sentence
‘The important think about this setting is…,’ what might he say?”
Again, ask them to tell you how the writer shows that the town has
changed. They might say:
•
The landscape (half steep hills, half flat delta; and later, no sidewalks,
monster highways)
•
The kinds of buildings (Dixie Theater, stately old house; and later, big
supermarkets and shopping centers)
•
The people (all races and origins, people saying hello to everyone
who walked by; and later, people closing their doors and shutting
their curtains to watch television)
Ask students to describe the structure of these two showing
paragraphs, and how the structure differs from the repeated line strategy.
They should tell you that the structure is a compare and contrast strategy
in which the first paragraph describes the town a long time ago, and the
second paragraph describes the town after it changed. The transitional
line in the second paragraph, “All this was before…” emphasizes the
contrast between then and now.
W o rk P eri od
Tell students that you would like them to try one of these strategies
for writing about another memorable place or about the same place they
have already chosen for their show, not tell pieces, including My room
was a mess.
Tell them they can use the repeated line technique to emphasize
a list of details about one place, or they can describe a place that has
changed by using two contrasting paragraphs. For this choice, ask them
to use the transitional phrase, “All this was before…,” as they begin the
second paragraph.
Developing a Setting
91
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Circulat i n g a n d C o n f e r r i n g
Help students who may have trouble selecting another memorable
place. Review the list used for the show, not tell exercise for It was a
memorable place: a room in your home, a backyard, someone else’s home,
a park, a restaurant. Other ideas might be: a town where you once lived
versus your hometown, a grandparent’s home, a favorite street, a movie
theater, a mall. Students can also show their messy room before and after
it is cleaned.
Cl osin g
Host an author’s chair to invite volunteer students to read aloud their
emulations of Bragg’s and Morris’s strategies for developing a setting.
Call attention to the importance of the showing details of a setting to set
the mood of a story. As each writer concludes, ask the class what mood
the setting inspires. Ask students to infer the mood.
Glossary o f L i t e r a r y Te r m s
Give students the definition for mood, and ask them to identify the
mood for one of the settings they have developed. Add mood to the Word
Wall for Literary Terms.
Be sure to add the new writing ideas to the class chart for Writing
Ideas from Reading.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 11
The Writer’s Toolkit: What to Do When
You Think You Are Done
G o al
•
Students will take stock of writing strategies introduced in the first 10
lessons.
•
Students will be responsible for practicing new strategies when work
period assignments are complete.
P R E P A R ATION
Materials
Checklist
•Independent reading books
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
You should prepare a new class chart entitled, The Writer’s Toolkit:
What to Do When You Think You Are Done. (See opening lesson for
chart features.)
You should also select a short narrative from your own Writer’s
Notebook for illustrating how to revisit an entry to try out a new
strategy. For this lesson, find a narrative that would benefit from
increased showing details. You should be ready to spot a telling sentence
that needs elaboration. If possible, copy the original entry and the new
showing paragraph on a transparency or chart.
I ndependent writin g
Tell students you are interested in learning how the independent
writing time has worked for them. Students will have completed two to
three entries by now; tell them you are curious about the kinds of entries
they have developed.
Select an entry of your own that you have composed during
independent writing, preferably an example that was prompted from
the class charts. Tell students what you especially appreciate about your
own entry, and, if appropriate, where you might go next if you were to
expand this piece.
Ask students to take a few minutes to re-read their independent
writing entries and to place a star on the entry that pleases them the
most. Ask for two or three volunteers who would be willing to read
aloud their selections from their seats. Direct volunteers to:
The Writer’s Toolkit: What t o D o W h e n Yo u T h i n k Yo u A r e D o n e
93
Independent writin g
•
•
•
continued
Acknowledge whether they used prompts from the class chart
Say something they appreciate about what they chose to write
Suggest what they might do to expand the piece
As appropriate, connect students’ successes to the Features of a
Good Story chart. Ask the class questions like, “What features of a good
story did you hear in this piece?” If pieces selected are not necessarily
narratives, point out the difference between a good story and the kind of
writing (genre) the student has chosen to share.
Openin g Lesso n
You may have noticed that some of your students finish their work
before the work period is over. If appropriate, begin by saying something
like, “Yesterday, I noticed that some of you finished what you were
writing and did not know what to do. Some of you ended up talking
and distracting other writers. It is important that all writers have the
opportunity to continue working and not be interrupted. Today we’re
going to talk about what you might do when you think you have
finished your work.”
Since this is a Writers Workshop, ask students to think about what
else they might do with writing when the day’s assignment has been
completed. Urge them to think about the strategies they have been trying
in their notebooks. Create a chart called The Writer’s Toolkit: What to
Do When You Think You Are Done. Record students’ ideas, and add ones
they might not be thinking of.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
The Writer’s Toolkit: What to Do When You Think You Are Done
• Re-read your work and add more details.
• Re-read your work and zoom in on a moment.
• Re-read your work and find a telling sentence that could use more showing.
• Re-read your work and add a simile to a description.
• Add a setting to one of your notebook entries.
• Rewrite a notebook entry in the third person.
• Read your independent reading book to “borrow” ideas for writing.
• Mimic an author’s writing technique:
- Mimic a sentence pattern
- Mimic a paragraph pattern
• Think of a new idea for writing:
- Consult the class charts for What Goes into a Writer’s Notebook and Writing Ideas
from Reading
Post the chart prominently in the room and continue adding to the
chart as students discover responsible ways to work on their writing.
Refer back to the chart often.
Note to
Teacher
As Writers Workshop develops and
students engage in various genre
and/or author studies throughout
the year, the additional time
should best be spent working
on existing projects and less on
starting new writing ideas. At this
early stage in the year, however,
students are in an exploratory
mode and need to develop habits
of a writerly life.
W o rk P eri od
Remind students they have been writing entries that focus
on qualities of a good story because they will be producing an
autobiographical or fictional narrative for their first performance.
Refer to the Features of a Good Story chart again, and make
connections to the kinds of entries students have tried that reflect the list
on the chart:
•
Situation and characters are real
Stories about their writing histories, names, “the + a noun,” “I
remembers...,” memorable characters
•
Good description and Makes you feel that you are really there
Zooming in on a moment and showing, not telling
The Writer’s Toolkit: What t o D o W h e n Yo u T h i n k Yo u A r e D o n e
95
Wo rk P eri od
continued
•
Memorable settings
Show, not tell, for a memorable place, a messy room; use of a
repeated line; a then and now contrast
•
Story makes you think
Great sentences for “The important thing about this story is…”;
memorable stories shared with partners and in the authors’ chair
Tell students you want to have them practice using The Writer’s
Toolkit: What to Do When You Think You Are Done chart so they can
get in the habit of revising their work to make writing stronger. Have
students take out their Writer’s Notebooks and imagine that they have
extra time to write. Ask students to re-read their entries for a piece that
might be a strong candidate for a good story.
Urge them to review their Table of Contents to find strong
candidates, and give them about five minutes or so to make their
selection. Once they have found a promising piece, ask them to place
a star next to the title of this piece in their Table of Contents. Tell them
the star will be an easy way for them to find pieces they have practiced
making stronger.
Model this review process with your own notebook, thinking aloud
how you decide on your selection, and showing how you mark your
Table of Contents.
Tell students that today you are going to ask them to try one of the
strategies on the list: Finding a telling sentence that could use more showing.
Ask students to re-read the piece they have identified, and find a telling
sentence that might benefit from more showing. Tell students to highlight
the sentence with a colored marker.
Modeling t h e U s e o f S h o w i n g , N o t Te l l i n g
On an overhead transparency, model with your own selection,
highlighting a telling sentence and explaining to students why you
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
chose the particular sentence as needing more details. Share the showing
paragraph you completed to make the writing stronger.
Next, distribute sticky-notes that are large enough to handle a
paragraph’s worth of text, and ask students to write their telling
sentences at the top of the sticky-note. Give students 10 minutes or so to
show their own sentence—in a paragraph or two—and ask that they be
ready to share their expansions with a partner.
Before closing, ask partners to take turns reading their writing:
•
Exchange or read aloud the first draft version without the expanded
telling sentence.
•
Read the telling sentence chosen for expansion and say why it was
selected.
•
•
Read the new showing paragraph.
Ask the partner to consult the Features of a Good Story chart to see
if any qualities might have been added to the piece through the new
showing details.
C l o sing
Remind students that today’s lesson is giving them practice for what
to do when they have additional time during work period, and that
the chart might also give them ideas for what to spend time on during
independent writing. Tell them that for today, you directed them toward
which strategy to try, to help them see how to use the chart. Tell them
that, during future lessons, you might encourage them to try a particular
technique again, but that for the most part, they will make selections on
their own.
Host an author’s chair to invite volunteers to share expansions.
Remind the class to be ready to use the Guide for Response chart to
offer feedback.
The Writer’s Toolkit: What t o D o W h e n Yo u T h i n k Yo u A r e D o n e
97
Cl osin g
Note to
Teacher
This kind of metacognitive
question is one you will want to
ask students again and again as
students apply new strategies to
existing work and think about the
effects of particular strategies on
emerging drafts.
continued
Invite one or two students to take the author’s chair. Before each
writer reads, ask the writer to:
•
•
Read aloud the first draft without the expanded telling sentence.
•
•
Read the new showing paragraph.
Read the telling sentence chosen for expansion and say why it was
selected.
Conclude with this question: How did this strategy—changing a
telling sentence to a showing paragraph—change your story?
Ask the class to offer feedback to the writer, helping them toward
specific ties to the Features chart.
Homewo r k
Tell students you would like them to practice another strategy from
The Writer’s Toolkit chart. Ask students to identify a notebook entry
that could use a setting—perhaps the story of their names; perhaps an
introduction to their “the + a noun,” perhaps an introduction to their
memorable characters.
Remind students that good stories provide settings that help the
reader visualize the time and place the events take place and also cast
a mood. Refer students to previous work with settings by having them
consult their glossaries.
Ask students to develop a setting in a paragraph or two.
You should consider preparing your own examples for modeling.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 12
Discovering the Structure of a
Story
G o al
•
•
Students will provide responses to each other’s settings.
Students will discover the structure of a story.
P reparation
Prepare charts as described in the opening lesson.
Have students’ comic strip charts from summarizing “The Jacket”
available for posting.
Prepare two graphic organizers (templates) for a homework
assignment: one, a comic strip sequence with Beers’s “Somebody,
Wanted, But, So, Then” from Lesson 4; the other, a diagram which charts
rising and falling action (see diagram under work period).
Materials
Checklist
•Student drafts of narrative
account
•Short story in classroom
resources to assign for
homework
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
I ndependent writin g
Today students will share the settings they developed for a notebook
entry. Have students pair with a partner, but strive to match them with
students with whom they have not yet worked. Provide sticky-notes.
Give these instructions:
•
•
•
Decide who goes first.
•
The partner gives the writer a positive response about the addition,
then writes the comment on a sticky-note, and gives it to the writer.
Read your notebook entry without the setting.
Read the setting you developed, and tell your partner where you
might place it in the piece: the beginning, middle, or end.
Allow 10 minutes for the exchange.
Tell students you would like them to be thinking about nominating a
partner to share a great example for author’s chair during today’s closing.
Discovering the Structure of a Story
99
Openin g Lesso n
Tell students that in a day or two they will make their selections from
their notebook entries for developing an autobiographical or fictional
narrative. Emphasize how you will devote a class period to having them
review their notebooks for a seed piece that will become a polished and
finished story. Once they have chosen their pieces, they will begin to craft
their stories according to the Features of a Good Story chart that you
and they are identifying.
Tell students that the kind of work they have engaged in during the
past two lessons—expanding a telling sentence to add details, and adding
a setting to a story—are the kinds of rewriting or revision techniques they
will continue to learn and apply as they turn their seed pieces into high
quality work. As they polish their stories, they will also continue to study
professional writers’ strategies for making writing effective.
To help students decide which of their notebook entries might be a
good choice for a seed piece, tell them that you want to make certain
they understand the parts a story needs to have to make it effective.
Tell them that The Features of a Good Story chart identifies the overall
characteristics of what makes a story enjoyable, but the structure of a
good story is also important because it helps the reader understand the
meaning and importance of a particular sequence of events.
The Ten S e n t e n c e S t o r y
Display for students the following topics:
•
•
•
•
The shopping trip
The haunted house
The new kid
The game
Place students into groups of three. Tell students to create a new
notebook page entitled The Ten Sentence Story.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Tell students that as a group, they are to select one of these topics
and tell a story in 10 sentences or less. Suggest that they may even want
to combine the ideas, but they must have a whole story in 10 or fewer
sentences. Though they are collaborating on the story, ask that each
student record the story in his or her own notebook.
W o rk P eri od
Allow 15 minutes or so for the writing.
If students finish early, prompt them to draw on The Writer’s
Toolkit: What to Do When You Think You Are Done chart.
Place a set of three chairs in front of the class. Ask for volunteer
groups to take the author’s chairs together and read aloud their stories,
each taking a line until the story is completed.
Listen as they read for how much sense of story the students have.
For example, are the accounts complete—with beginnings, middles, and
endings? Do the stories have characters and settings? Most importantly,
do the students have a sense of plot—that the story has some kind of
conflict/resolution or problem/solution?
After a few group stories have been read and appreciated, ask
students, “How do you know how to write a story? The stories you
wrote had certain parts—plot, setting, characters, theme. These are
features of the genre of writing called narrative or story.”
Start a chart with four columns, and ask students what they already
know about each of these parts of a story. Add their correct responses to
the chart.
Discovering the Structure of a Story
101
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Students’ responses might look something like this:
Parts of a Story
Plot
Setting
Characters
Theme
• Events
• Time
• Major and minor
• Actions
• Place
• Have traits
• The meaning of the
story
• Are described with
showing details
• The point to the
story
• Conflict or problem • Details convey
mood
• Problem solved
• Endings
Tell students that writers know that if they are writing a story it has
certain parts. As writers, the students will want to make sure that they
have all of the necessary parts in their stories.
Analogy: Every baseball game uses the same rules, the same number
of players, and the same number of bases. Whether it is Little League or
professional leagues, the genre of the game of baseball has all the same
parts. The parts of the game of football are different even though they
are both games, both have two teams, and both keep score. That is the
way writing is. Reports are a different genre than stories. They both use
language effectively, have an organizational pattern, and use details. Ask
students if they can elaborate on the analogy.
Compliment students on how much they know about stories. Refer
back to the analogy. Baseball even has a shape (diamond) that is different
from the shape of football (gridiron). Stories have a shape, too.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Draw on the board or chart. Depending on local standards, use
relevant literary terms.
Structure of a Good Story
Introduction to
characters, situation
(exposition)
Conflict or
problem
ved
sol
t re on)
flic acti
Con lling
(fa
Inc
com ident
(ris plic s,
ing atio
ac ns
tio
n)
Turning point,
situation changes
(climax)
Ending
(denouement)
Explain the chart by saying that usually in stories the story starts out
with a character who has some problem or difficulty to overcome. The story
tells events that lead up to the point when there is a climax or the situation
changes; then, the conflict is resolved and the story ends.
Remind students of their comic strip summaries for “The Jacket” in
which they captured the sequence of events using “Somebody, Wanted,
But, So, Then” from the Summarizing a Plot chart. Re-post the students’
summaries and connect the sequence for “The Jacket” to the diagram
above. Point to the different places on the diagram and ask students to
make matches from their charts.
C l o sing
Remind students that you asked them to be ready to nominate
partners whose settings made a positive difference for one of their
notebook entries. Host an author’s chair for writers and partners. The
writer reads the original entry without the setting, then with it; the
partner reads the comment made on the sticky-note for why the addition
was effective.
Discovering the Structure of a Story
103
Cl osin g
continued
Close today’s lesson by building up excitement for the next class
in which students will determine their seed pieces. Referencing the
Structure of a Good Story chart, ask students to be thinking about which
of their notebook entries would have all the required parts to make the
story effective.
Homewo r k
Assign a short story to read for homework from classroom resources.
This should be a story that is fairly short and has a clear structure—plot,
setting, characters, conflict, resolution, ending. Tell students that they are
to look for the way the writer shapes the story. Give students the choice
of summarizing the plot through a comic-strip format (“Somebody,
Wanted, But, So, Then”) or the diagram that illustrates exposition, rising
action, falling action, denouement, etc. Students can use short phrases,
and, if they choose to, accompanying drawings.
Provide templates for both options. You will collect the templates at
the beginning of the next class.
Glossary o f L i t e r a r y Te r m s
This lesson affords you the opportunity to have students record
definitions for the structure of a story: exposition, rising action, conflict,
climax, falling action, resolution, denouement; theme can also be
added as a new literary element. Use terms appropriately as local
standards dictate, and add them to the Word Wall for Literary Terms.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 13
Re-reading the Notebook for a
Seed Idea
G o al
•
Students will re-read their notebooks for candidates for an
autobiographical or fictional narrative.
P reparation
You should have your own Writer’s Notebooks available to model
the look-back process. Plan to select one seed piece that will become your
own finished narrative. You will model your selection process, preparing
a think-aloud that demonstrates how you:
•
•
•
•
Review your Table of Contents
•
Make a selection
Materials
Checklist
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Colored dots, stars, tabs, etc.
•Chart paper
•Markers
Recall memorable pieces
Re-read excerpts
Deliberate according to entries that show promise for having the
features and structure of a good story
Flag the seed pieces you plan to read ahead of time so you can turn
to them readily. Your modeling should not be lengthy, but should give
students a strong idea for how to match entries to the quality features of
a good story. Plan for deliberating on no more than three possibilities.
You want the majority of the time given over to students for their own
selection process.
To help students during the selection process, you may want to
provide colored dots, stars, tabs, or special markers so that they can flag
their own entries prominently. You should also have work-in-progress
folders available to distribute at the close of the period.
I ndependent writin g
Today’s lesson will not require independent writing. Use the time
instead to have a volunteer student read the homework assignment to
explain the structure of the assigned story. Comment on any matches
made to the elements in the Structure of a Good Story chart.
Re-re a d i n g t h e N o t e b o o k f o r a S e e d I d e a
105
Independent writin g
continued
Collect students’ homework, and tell them you will study their
responses and give them feedback later on.
Establish i n g t h e R i t u a l o f “ L o o k -Ba c k s ”
You and your students have already practiced revisiting the Writer’s
Notebook and tried strategies form The Writer’s Toolkit chart to make
entries more effective. Students practiced finding a telling sentence and
showing more details; they practiced creating a setting for a piece that
might need one. If students are to take full advantage of the Writer’s
Notebook as a resource for writing ideas and literary strategies, regular
look-backs is a ritual you will want to make a writerly habit.
As you model the selection process today, you will want to
emphasize how you use your Writer’s Notebook as a rich resource of
material and ideas to return to again and again.
Openin g Lesso n
Tell students that today is the day they will spend time identifying
the seed piece that will become a longer story. Using the analogy of
the writer’s notebook as an artist’s sketchbook, tell students that good
writers review their writing constantly to find the best “sketches” that
might become polished works.
Tell them you hope they select an entry that will be inspiring for
them to want to complete—a piece they will look forward to sharing
with readers and that will give them a sense of accomplishment. Tell
them their primary audience for their writing will be their peers since,
at the conclusion of the unit, you will want students to share stories in a
celebratory way. (For example, you may choose to compile narratives in
a class anthology or host an author’s conference with open mike.)
Advise that once they have chosen the seed piece, they will learn a
variety of techniques that will make their piece quite professional.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
U sing the Features and Stru c t u r e o f a G o o d
S tory as a Compass
To get them started, tell students you are going to show them how
you choose a selection that might be a suitable seed piece. Prepare a chart
that shows how you take notes on your own candidates.
Candidates for a Seed Piece for a Narrative
Title
Reasons Why This Piece Might Make
for a Good Story
As you conduct your think aloud, fill in the chart accordingly.
Here is a sample process for showing students how to make a good
choice—accompanied by a completed chart at the end.
Sample Think-Aloud
Step One. Review the charts you and students created for Features and Structure of a
Good Story. Tell students you will use the features to steer you to a piece that may have all
the qualities of a good story.
Step Two. Show students how you consult your Table of Contents to see whether a title
might trigger interest. Think aloud two or so memorable pieces, and place colored dots next
to those titles.
Think-Aloud. Talk through possible ways of selecting a strong candidate. Share why
you think particular entries might make for a good story according to the Features and
Structure charts.
You might say something like:
One of our criteria for a good story is that the story might be funny. Sometimes I have a
strong hunch for what might make for a good story because the story is one I get a kick
out of telling friends all the time. Every time I tell my friends this story, I know I will get a
laugh out of them. The laugh comes just at the climax or at the ending. So I know I have
a structure to the story already. Also, because I tell this story often, I know it must hold
special meaning for me. For example, here is my piece called “The Game.” I used Gary
Soto’s technique of remembering a strong image, using “the + a noun.” My strong image
is of the silly game my friend and I used to play when we were children.
Re-re a d i n g t h e N o t e b o o k f o r a S e e d I d e a
107
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Heather and I used to wait for my parents to get out of the house, then go
upstairs to their bathroom to play this game we invented. Because my parents
had just installed a new large mirror over the sink, Heather and I used to love
to watch ourselves do crazy things in the mirror. So, we invented this “laughing
game” where one of us filled our mouth with water—‘til our cheeks puffed out
like a chipmunk—while the other was supposed to get you to laugh until you spit
the water all over the mirror. We would take turns, laughing, and spitting, and
giggling until we heard my parents’ car come into the driveway. Then we had to
mop up the mess. Sometimes we got away with it, but sometimes we got caught.
Whenever I tell this story to friends, they laugh at the moment when I imitate the puffy
cheeks of a chipmunk—which is a simile—then spit the water onto the mirror as streams
of slobber drip down the glass. I know I like to tell this story for that moment because it’s
guaranteed to get a laugh. I think people laugh because most everyone can relate to the
crazy ways kids entertain themselves and get so much enjoyment out of the little things in
life. Maybe that’s the special meaning this story holds for me and why I tell it again and
again.
I’m going to put a colored dot next to this entry as a strong candidate for a seed piece.
Or, I might choose an entry because the story makes you think. Every time I tell a certain
story, I know I will get a look of amazement because my story has an interesting conflict
that was solved in an memorable way. Here is a character trait story I wrote one day during
independent writing. I wanted to try developing another important character in my life.
This one is called “Patricia.” I worked to show patience as her character trait. I wrote
about the time when Patricia had an unexpected solution for helping me solve a conflict.
I like how I wrote the ending because I show how she taught me to think outside the
box. With her famous words: “It is not who is right, but what is right,” I already have a
meaningful ending. I’m going to put a colored dot by this entry, too.
Or, I might choose a piece because the writing already has a professional quality to it. I
might like it because I like how I sound when I imitated an author we were reading.
Here’s the exercise where we tried Paul Auster’s repeated line for “I remembers...,” then
zoomed in on a moment. Here I am writing about Heather again:
She remembers how Heather and she would muffle their giggles, knowing they
were getting away with being up so late at night. She remembers how the
crickets sounded when there was silence and how vast the dark sky looked with
all the stars twinkling when she ventured her head out the window, careful not
to reach too far, to not fall out the window. She remembers how they must have
laughed too hard anyway because Heather’s mother came into Heather’s bedroom
and shut the curtains with an angry, snapping sound. She remembers her own
mother screeching at the top of her lungs for her to get to bed. She remembers
how Heather’s mother had a talk with her mother the next day, and both girls
were put on restriction for a week.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
I really like my writing in this entry because I captured a lot of show, not tell details, which
is one of our features of a good story. Because I had to really think back to a moment and
photograph what I remembered, I already have some great description. I’m going to put a
colored dot on this page, too, as a final candidate for a seed piece.
Now I have to decide which story I would be most interested in writing about. It seems
to me that all my stories have features of a good story as well as a structure that has a
setting, strong characters, a conflict of some sort, a resolution, and some good endings. I
like how I keep writing about the days of youth with my escapades with Heather, and how,
as adults, we just don’t do silly things like that anymore. Maybe I can combine the two
pieces about Heather because they both have a similar theme. That’s what I think I will
select for my seed piece.
Sample completed chart for this think-aloud:
Candidates for a Seed Piece for a Narrative
Title
“The Game”
Reasons Why This Piece Might Make
for a Good Story
• Story is funny
• Characters are real
• Has a great simile
• Has a good climax
• Has a special meaning that others can
relate to
“Patricia: Character Trait: Patience”
• Conflict is unusual and interesting
• Character is unique, but real
• Resolution is amazing
• Can use her “words of wisdom” as a
great ending
“Zooming In on a Moment”
• Setting is vivid
• Conflict is strong
• Show, not tell details are strong; puts
the reader into the action
• Repeated line sounds professional and
sets a mood
• Ending can have a special meaning and
significance
Re-re a d i n g t h e N o t e b o o k f o r a S e e d I d e a
109
Wo rk P eri od
Have students create a new page in their notebooks for making a
note-taking chart like the one above. Guide them to begin re-reading
their notebooks to identify the entries they are drawn to.
Ask that they select two, but no more than three, possibilities—
placing a colored dot or star next to the titles in their Tables of Contents,
then filling in their candidates on their note-taking page.
Allow 20 minutes or so for the selection process and 15 minutes for
a closing.
Circulat i n g t h e R o o m a n d I n i t i a t i n g
Writing C o n f e r e n c e s
Your interaction with students during this selection time is critical.
By now, you should have a sense of those students who seem to enjoy
writing, are quick to have an idea and run with it, and are self-motivated.
It is important that you check in with as many students as possible,
but also prioritize your time to get to students who you think may be
struggling. Wait for students to be immersed in the review process, then
pull up a chair next to students who may be having trouble.
Engage in a conversation with interactions like these:
110
•
Of all the pieces you have written, are there one or two you
remember the most? Let’s find those pieces now so that you can read
one to me.
•
•
•
Why do think this might make a good story?
•
Is there a piece you have written where you really surprise yourself
by how good you sound?
Is there a piece you can find that would be really fun to write?
Is there a piece you would want to give to a special someone? To
your own child one day?
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Ask probing questions, specific to any of the pieces, to see whether
the writer is sufficiently interested in the piece and has enough
information to turn the entry into a story. Coach the student to take notes
on the note-taking page.
C l o sing
For the next lesson, you will be pairing students and asking each
student to take turns talking through the possibilities and the reasons
why their selections might make good stories. To get students started,
you will want to model the process with a volunteer student in the
author’s chair.
Invite a willing student to come to the author’s chair. Walk the
student through the deliberation process, asking him or her to read
excerpts (as appropriate) from their candidate seed pieces and to give
reasons from the note-taking page. At the conclusion of the modeling,
ask the class if they think any one of the candidates is especially
interesting and why. Then turn to the writer and ask: “What do you
think you might do? Which entry are you leaning towards?”
Tell students they will have an opportunity to work in pairs during
the next lesson and to recruit similar feedback from a partner. In the
meantime, they might want to think tonight about which entry will make
the best story.
Re-re a d i n g t h e N o t e b o o k f o r a S e e d I d e a
111
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 1 4
Drafting an Autobiographical or
Fictional Narrative
Materials
Checklist
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Colored dots, stars, tabs, etc.
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
•
Students will share seed-piece candidates with partners.
Students will select a seed piece and write a first draft.
Preparati on
Plan to write a first draft of your own narrative when students are
writing theirs.
Independent Writin g
Allow students to write for ten minutes and choose their own topics.
Openin g Lesso n
Remind students how they have been working to select seed pieces
for writing a narrative. Ask for a show of hands: “How many thought
about their candidates last night and think they know which piece they
are leaning towards selecting?”
Do not ask students to name their choices at this time, but tell them
you would still like them to have an opportunity to share their thinking
with a partner.
Ask students to take out their notebooks and turn to the note-taking
page for Candidates for a Seed Piece for a Narrative. Review how you would
like the sharing process to proceed by inviting another student to take
the author’s chair and following the same protocol outlined during the
closing for Lesson 13.
Wo rk P eri od
Guide students to share seed piece candidates with partners. Allow
about 15 minutes for this. Tell them that when time is up, you hope they
will have made their selections for their seed pieces.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
C irculating the Room
Again, your interaction with students during this selection time
can be instrumental. Look for students who may still be struggling and
encourage them to share with a partner. Allow the partners to interact,
adding your own responses only after they have shared ideas first.
Students might expect you to jump in and help them, but resist this
temptation, and tell them you want to hear them talk. Tell them you
might add thoughts later on. It is important that students interact around
the impact of their writing and use the language of the features charts as
a guide. Your role is to serve as a coach for those conversations.
At the conclusion of the sharing, ask how many students have now
chosen their seed pieces. Ask for a show of hands:
•
•
How many will write an autobiographical narrative?
•
How many will write a completely fictional piece?
How many will use an autobiographical entry to turn into a fictional
piece?
Ask for a show of hands from students who may still be undecided.
Ask them to pick one option anyway so that they can get started trying
one possibility. Tell these students that sometimes, in the act of writing, a
writer knows whether the story will be a good choice because more ideas
come to writers during the writing process.
F rom the Notebook to Lined P a p e r
Tell students they are now going to move out of the notebook and on
to lined paper to write their first drafts. Tell students they can keep the
page of the notebook open that contains the seed piece, if they need to,
but that you hope they might begin telling their piece afresh.
Drafting an Auto b i o g r a p h i c a l o r F i c t i o n a l N a r r a t i v e
113
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Give students these pointers before they begin to write:
•
Keep in mind the structure of a good story.
– A beginning where characters and setting are usually established
– A conflict that grows
– Climax where the conflict is addressed and/or something changes
– A resolution that leads to an ending
Distribute lined paper. Reference the Quick Write Strategy chart,
telling students to write freely about the story they have selected, telling
as much about the event, person, place, or situation as they can remember.
Tell students that if, during the writing process, they think of an idea to
use from The Writer’s Toolkit, they should, by all means, do so.
Some teachers ask students to write on every other line so they have
room to make additions and deletions later on.
Allow the remainder of the work period for writing
Reinforc i n g t h e I d e a o f S i g n i f i c a n c e
When the work period is about to conclude, ask students to skip a
few lines down the page from where they have stopped writing. Ask
them to finish this statement in a sentence or two: The important thing
about this story is….
Cl osin g
For closing today, ask students these questions:
114
•
•
•
How many like the seed piece they have chosen to expand?
•
How many could have kept on writing?
How many found they were adding details already?
How many think they know the “important thing” or significance of
their story?
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
•
•
continued
How many are stuck and need more details?
How many think they want to choose a different piece?
If some prefer to change their seed piece, ask that they prepare a draft
as homework and bring the piece to class the next day.
Ask students to get close-up for a special kind of author’s chair.
Ask each student to say the title of the piece he or she has chosen. Titles
do not have to be finalized, but students can say the gist, e.g., “my
memorable moment with my grandmother.”
Work-in-Progress Folders
Now that students are moving to lined paper, you will want to
provide them with folders to store their drafts. Distribute the workin-progress folders, asking students to write their names and other
appropriate information on the cover. Advise students to place their
drafts in the folders and to file the folders along with their Writer’s
Notebooks in the class filing system.
Congratulate students on their hard work selecting a seed piece and
drafting a new version.
Drafting an Auto b i o g r a p h i c a l o r F i c t i o n a l N a r r a t i v e
115
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 15
Developing a Storyboard for a
Narrative
Materials
Checklist
•Assessment Notebook
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
Students will use a storyboard to plan a structure for their narratives.
Preparati on
Prepare a storyboard template similar to the one used for the opening
lesson. Prepare your own example, using drawings, images, and captions
to show the structure of your own story.
Independent Writin g
Starting today, independent writing will be suspended in favor of
students working on their narratives and bringing them to standard. If
students finish assignments early during work period, they can turn to
The Writer’s Toolkit to decide how to best spend their time. Students
can also choose to write new material.
Independent writing will resume in Lesson 32, when students take
on a new genre, following the introductory study to establish Writers
Workshop.
Openin g Lesso n
Students should have their work-in-progress folders and the drafts
of their narratives in class. To make certain students are on their way
to fulfilling the requirements for the structure of a story, introduce the
concept of a storyboard. Tell students that movie scriptwriters usually
chart the sequence of images they want to film before the movie’s
production. They work to establish the setting, characters, conflicts,
climaxes, and endings.
Show students the storyboard template you would like them to
use. Some teachers have students fold an 8 ½” X 11” sheet of paper into
eight sections.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Storyboard for a Narrative
Ask students to take out their drafts and re-read them. Ask them to
see if they can tell the story in eight frames through the use of drawings
and captions. Tell them they must include all the structural components
of the story:
•
•
•
•
•
•
A setting
Characters
Actions that lead to a conflict
A climax
A change or turning point
An ending
The storyboard is a version of Kylene Beers’s “Somebody, Wanted,
But, So, Then” comic-strip format from Lesson 4, but allows students
more room to develop the sequence of events. Students do not have to go
lock-step—in other words, they could take two or more frames to show
rising action or two or more frames to show details of the conflict, etc.—
but they must account for all the structural elements. Students should
also include captions for each frame.
Note to
Teacher
You should be certain to use the
language of your local standards
as appropriate, e.g., rising action,
falling action, etc.
Model an example of your own. Show students how they do not
have to be superior artists to be successful. Students can use symbols and
stick-figures if need be.
Deve l o p i n g a S t o r y b o a r d f o r a N a r r a t i v e
117
Wo rk P eri od
Give students the work period to complete their storyboards.
Circulat i n g t h e R o o m
Be certain to roam the room, assisting students, as appropriate.
Check to make certain the story structures are accounted for.
Cl osin g
Place students in triads, and ask them to narrate their storyboards to
one another. Advise group members to provide feedback on whether all
story structure elements have been included.
Ask students to file their storyboards and drafts in the work-inprogress folders and return them to the class filing system.
118
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 1 6
Developing a Rubric for Narrative I
G o al
•
Students will create a rubric for narrative.
P reparation
Students will need copies of a blank rubric, similar to the one
illustrated in the closing for today’s lesson. If you prefer, you might
ask students to copy the rubric format over two pages in the Writer’s
Notebook. Have chart paper and markers available. Have copies of
rubrics that are used by the school or state to score writing.
Materials
Checklist
•Copies of a blank rubric
•Short story in classroom
resources to assign for
homework
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Opening Less on
Remind students that they have now completed a first draft for their
narratives and a storyboard. Ask for a show of hands for how many have
all the parts of a story. Ask for a volunteer for the author’s chair to read
a draft, then share the storyboard. Ask class members to acknowledge
whether all the parts are in the story. Ask questions like: How did the
writer begin the story? Is the writer writing in the first or third person?
What is the conflict? How does the story end? As a final question for the
writer, ask, “What is the important thing about this story? What might be
its theme?”
Remind students that over the past several lessons, they have worked
to identify examples from the Features of a Good Story and the Structure
of a Good Story charts. Remind them that ideas noted on the charts came
from analyzing stories like “The Jacket” and “Thank You, M’am,” various
narratives assigned from the textbook, as well as stories they have shared
orally and in writing with each other. Reference the charts.
Remind students that they have begun to put the features and
structures into use with their seed pieces, and that today they are going
to combine the lists and make them more specific, turning them into one
helpful tool—a rubric—that will guide them toward bringing their stories
to standard. Tell them that the rubric will help them know when their
work is meeting the standards and when it is falling short.
Developing a Rubric for Narrative I
119
Openin g Lesso n
continued
It may be that your students know about rubrics and have used them
in their writing. If they are available, distribute copies of the narrative
rubric used for the state writing test or other sample rubrics. Make sure
that students understand the following ideas about rubrics:
•
Sometimes rubrics are used to grade or score students’ writing. Thus
they show different levels from really good to really awful.
•
Students can use rubrics to control what score they receive on a
paper. The rubric tells you what you must do to get a good score.
•
Writers can use the rubric to revise and improve their work. If a
writer compares his or her work to a rubric, it is easy to see how to
move the work from one level to the next highest level.
•
Rubrics work best for writers, including students, when they give
very clear descriptions of each level.
Analogy: A rubric is like a dartboard. A person throwing darts knows
that she is aiming at the “bull’s eye.” Each of the rings around the bull’s
eye tells how far away the dart is from the target. Imagine that there is
no dartboard. The game is to throw the darts at a wall and somehow
figure out who hit the right mark. It would be a very difficult game to
play. With the dartboard, the person throwing the dart knows what to
aim for and how to improve (is he aiming too high, too low, too much to
the right, too much to the left). A rubric is the same as the dartboard. It
shows you what success is and lets you judge how to adjust your writing
to hit the bull’s eye.
You may want to draw a dartboard on a chart to dramatize the
purpose for a rubric. English language learners who may not have worked
with rubrics will benefit by the visual representation, as will all students.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
Divide the class into five groups. (If your class is large, you might
want to have two groups work on each topic.) Give each a piece of
chart paper and markers. Assign each group one of the following
narrative elements:
•
•
•
•
•
Plot
Characters
Beginnings and endings
Setting
Correctness (sentences, language, etc)
Each group will make a poster describing the characteristics of a
good story for that element. Make sure that they understand that the
purpose for this rubric is to help them know what they should have in
their stories.
Writing Conferences
While groups are collaborating, you may want to host writing
conferences to offer students feedback on their drafts and storyboards—
especially for those students who may be struggling. Be sure students record
next steps in their Writer’s Notebooks and you record them in your Teacher
Assessment Notebook.
C l o sing
Have the groups present their posters. Discuss the ideas and push for
agreement. Once all the groups have presented, say that you think that
they have begun to create their own rubric.
Distribute the blank rubrics. Say that for this rubric we will have
four levels.
Developing a Rubric for Narrative I
121
Cl osin g
continued
Say that the four levels describe the bull’s eye—a successful story that
any student who works hard should be able to write. The three, two and
one levels of the rubric will be like rings around the bull’s eye. The one
level is as though you did not even hit the target—a miss.
Using the following model, generate the language for the rubric.
You may want to fill in the 4 level in advance—drawing on the specific
language of your state rubrics—and then have the students detail the
various other levels. Allow humor, and use “kid” language if appropriate.
122
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Rubric
Criteria
4
Bull’s Eye
3­
Almost
Openings
Lead gets
The lead
readers attention introduces the
characters
Introduces
but is not that
characters and
interesting
situation
Setting
Describes a vivid
time and place
for the story
2
Not Close
1
A Miss
Start of story is No lead at all
confusing and
does not interest
the reader
Casts a mood
Characters
Complex and
interesting
characters
Plot and
organization
Story has a
complete set
of actions
that include
a conflict or
problem that is
solved
Closing
The story is
complete
and ends
satisfactorily
and has an
important point
to make
Conventions
The story is
neatly written
using correct
English
Has a few errors
in spelling or
punctuation
Messy and has
many errors—it
may be all one
paragraph
Cannot be read
Writers use
sentence variety
and transitions
Developing a Rubric for Narrative I
123
Cl osin g
continued
Criteria Ve r s u s S t r a t e g i e s
Compare the constructed rubric with the Features and Structures
of a Good Story charts to show students how the rubric combines and
expands the criteria. Ask students if they could use this rubric to improve
their writing.
Lead them to see that the rubric describes that a level 4 lead is more
interesting than a level 3 lead, but it does not tell the writer how to make the
lead more interesting.
Ask students: “How can a writer learn how to make interesting
leads?” Recall lessons about using touchstone texts. Say that writers
study the techniques of other writers.
These techniques are sometimes called writer’s strategies. Our rubric
tells what a story needs, now we need to think about how a writer makes
the story good.
Homewo r k
Assign a short narrative selection from the literature textbook. Ask
students to think as they read about any techniques that the writer uses
that they can identify. For example, how does the writer open the story?
How does the writer close the story? How does the writer make the
characters interesting? How does the writing get the point of the story
across?
124
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 1 7
Developing a Rubric for Narrative II
G o al
•
Students will continue creating a rubric for narrative.
I ndependent Writin g
Allow students 10 minutes for independent writing.
Opening Less on
Begin with a discussion of the story that was assigned for homework.
After a few minutes discussing the story itself—what happened and
what they thought about it—turn the discussion to the writer. What
did the writer know how to do that made this story good? (If they do
not agree that is was all that good, just say that the people who put this
book together hoped that they would like it, so what did those people
see in it?)
Materials
Checklist
•Short story assigned for
homework
•Copies of rubric generated in
Lesson 16
•Construction paper
•Scissors, glue sticks
•Transparencies of strategies
•Copies of strategies
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Chart the characteristics that students say make the story good
(include words from the list that follows if possible). For example, if they
say it was funny, then how did the writer make it funny?
If the students find it difficult to articulate how the writer made the
story good, then say that it would be very good to know some of the
writer’s techniques so that they can learn from him or her.
Post the rubric that they developed yesterday. Remind students that
the rubric that they created yesterday explained what a good story must
have but that it did not tell them how to hit the bull’s eye. A writer has
certain techniques or strategies for writing about a character or a setting
and for starting and ending stories in memorable ways. For answering
the question how, we look to other writers to learn their techniques.
Display a transparency with the following words:
• Description
• Dialogue
• Pacing
Developing a Rubric for Narrative II
125
Openin g Lesso n
continued
• Sensory language
• Actions
• Motivation
• Images
• Scenes
• Details
• Humor
• Suspense
• Repetition
• Summary
• Surprise
• Thoughts
• Physical appearance
• Sounds
• Paragraphs
• Sentence variety
• Significance/meaning
• Flashback
• Vocabulary
• Titles
• Illustrations
• Specific nouns
• Active verbs
Ask students if they know what any of these words mean. Call on
individual students who want to define the words. Ask what the words
have in common. Hopefully, they will recognize them as words that are
related to writing stories.
126
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Close the lesson by saying that during the work period today, they
will think about these words as ways to learn the how of writing stories.
W o rk P eri od
Use the same five student groups from Lesson 16: plot, characters,
beginnings and endings, settings, and correctness.
Give each group one copy of the list of words on the transparency,
several pieces of construction paper and markers (different colors of
paper and markers adds to the fun), and a pair of scissors.
Their assignment is to decide which strategies or techniques are
relevant to their narrative writing element. (Which ones go with plot,
for example.) For each relevant word, students are to create a word card
for it using construction paper and markers. They may also add their
own words.
C irculating the Room
Circulate quickly to make sure that students understand the task
and are working together productively. If there is a disagreement, push
students to share understanding of the meanings of the words. If they
want to alter the word to have a more specific meaning, they should.
C l o sing
Place five pieces of paper on the wall—one for each element. When
students have completed their word cards, give them glue sticks or tape
to attach their words to their charts.
When they have finished, let each group present their selections.
Keep your comments to questions to probe for reasons for some of their
choices. Note that it is interesting that some words are on more than
one chart. Also notice the words students added that were not on the
original list.
Developing a Rubric for Narrative II
127
Cl osin g
Note to
Teacher
This activity will let you assess
how much craft your students
know. For example, most will
know that dialogue is a part of
characterization, but do they know
the purpose of using dialogue. If
they do not know what flashback
or pacing are, then those can be
topics for future lessons.
128
continued
When all the charts have been presented, ask students how these
charts are similar to and different from the rubric. Ask how these charts
can help them write their stories. Continue the discussion until you sense
that most of the students understand that a writer uses these strategies
deliberately to write stories. These strategies can help students learn to
make their stories better.
End the lesson by having students go back to their notebooks to
make an entry. Ask them to write down one or two strategies that they
want to use to make their story better.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 18
Writing a Great Lead
G o al
•
Students will write leads using one of the following strategies:
character development to establish a major figure; snapshot for an
important image or moment; setting to create a mood; summary
statement or provocative line to suggest a prominent idea or theme.
P reparation
B eginning the Revision and E d i t i n g P r o c e s s
Starting today, students will begin the process of expanding, revising,
and editing their seed pieces for publication. Over the next series of
lessons, they will revisit touchstone texts, including mentor texts from
their independent reading, to identify writing strategies they might
apply to their emerging drafts. Students will give attention to the
elements described in the rubric so that they learn what it takes to meet
the standard for a narrative and to perform successfully.
Materials
Checklist
•Copies of the Great Leads chart
•Teacher copy of “Thank You,
M’am” by Langston Hughes
•Teacher copy of All Over But the
Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
• Teacher copy of My Dog Skip by
Willie Morris
•Teacher copy of “My Name” by
Sandra Cisneros
•Teacher copy of “The Jacket” by
Gary Soto
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
U se of Charts
Plan for creating a Great Leads chart in advance of the lessons,
similar to the one illustrated in the opening lesson. This chart will
be instrumental in helping students read like writers and craft their
narratives. You may want to designate an area of the classroom for this
poster, placing it alongside the class rubric for narrative account so that
students see the connection between the standard’s criteria and the
strategies that will help students meet them.
You and your students will co-create the chart as you identify the
various strategies writers use for leads, details, and conclusions.
The example used in the model chart references touchstone texts used
throughout these lessons, but you may wish to substitute or add other
examples, identified from textbook readings.
Writing a Great Lead
129
Preparati on
continued
Noteboo k Te m p l a t e s
Note to
Teacher
Because this lesson will be the first
time students begin to craft their
narratives, you may find the lesson
will take an additional day.
You may also want to prepare notebook-sized templates of this chart
so that students can paste into their notebooks replicas of what you
co-create on the posters. Because many of the chart entries use direct
quotes from the writers’ narratives and will take time for students to
copy, providing notebook-sized templates will move the process more
efficiently.
As students work with revision and editing of their seed pieces, they
may decide to use their independent writing time to work on their drafts,
though they are free to use it as they wish. Time to work on their pieces
will also be given during work period, and homework will be expected.
Openin g Lesso n
Present the class chart for Great Leads. Make the connection between
the class rubric which presents criteria in a telling way and the Great
Leads chart which shows possible strategies for making stories successful.
Next, you might say something like, “As readers we know that the
lead—the first line or first few lines—is very important to a piece of
writing, and we hope the lead is engaging. How about those times you
read the lead and did not read the book? Writers use many different
types of strategies to draw us in to their writing. Today we are going
to look at familiar texts to determine the strategies these authors use to
engage readers.”
Post the Great Leads chart, and provide students with a photocopy
for their own notebooks.
130
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Great Leads
Text and Author
“The Jacket,” Soto
Great Leads
Author’s Strategy
First two paragraphs
Begins with…
“My clothes have failed me...
Summary statement to
suggest a theme and make
you think
“When I needed a new jacket
and my mother asked what
kind I wanted, I described
Zooming in (snapshot) of an
something like bikers wear:
important moment to show
black leather and silver studs the conflict and characters
with enough belts to hold
down a small town… The
next day when I got home
from school, I discovered on
my bedpost a jacket the color
of day-old guacamole.”
“Thank You, M’am,” Hughes
All Over But The Shoutin’,
Bragg
First two sentences
Begins with…
“She was a large woman
with a large purse that
had everything in it but a
hammer and nails. It had a
long strap, and she carried it
slung across her shoulder.”
Character description
One paragraph
Begins with…
“It was a place where gray
mists hid the tops of low,
deep-green mountains,
where redbone and bluetick
hounds flashed through the
pines… where old women
in bonnets… It was a place
where playing the church
piano…”
Setting to establish time and
place
Using a personal possession
to symbolize an important
character trait of a major
figure in the story
Setting to create a mood
Using repeated lines for
emphasis
Writing a Great Lead
131
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Great Leads
Text and Author
My Dog Skip, Morris
Great Leads
Two paragraphs
Begins with…
“The town where Old Skip
and I grew up together was
an unhurried and isolated
place then…
Setting to establish time and
place
“All this was before the big
supermarkets and shopping
centers…”
“My Name,” Cisneros
Author’s Strategy
Setting to create a mood
Using “then and now” to
show contrast
Opening sentence
Begins with…
“In English my name means
hope.”
Summary statement to
suggest a theme and make
you think
Leads from Textbook
Narratives
Quote
Strategy
On Your Own
(from your independent
reading)
Quote
Strategy
Referenc i n g t h e C h a r t
Read the opening to “The Jacket,” beginning with the opening
sentence, down to “day-old guacamole.” Then, go back and discuss the
strategy Gary Soto uses to engage the reader. Ask, “How does Gary
Soto get our attention? What strategy does he use to grab our interest?”
Emphasize that Soto uses a summary statement and a snapshot to
establish the conflict and the major characters. Remind students of the
zooming in on a moment strategy they practiced earlier in the series of
lessons.
Next, read the opening paragraph to “Thank You, M’am,” and
focus on the use of character development as a lead into the story.
Emphasize Langston Hughes’s use of a purse—or personal possession—
to symbolize a character trait. Mention the effectiveness of describing
a character’s attire or accessories to show their character traits. Also
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Opening Less on
continued
highlight how the purse becomes the object for the theft and resulting
conflict. Ask students what the description of the purse might say about
Mrs. Jones’s character. Reference the Character Trait chart for Mrs. Luella
Bates Washington Jones.
Stop for a moment and ask students to consider whether they might
open their stories with a summary statement, a snapshot, or a character
sketch. Ask them to jot down responses to these questions on a stickynote:
•
If I open my story with a summary statement, could I use my
important point sentence?
•
If I open my story with a snapshot, what would the photograph be?
An image? An important moment?
•
If I open my story with a character sketch, who would be introduced?
What would this person’s character trait be?
Read a few sentences from All Over But the Shoutin’ and then the
opening sentence and transitional sentence into paragraph two of My Dog
Skip. Help students identify the use of setting to create a mood. Remind
students of the lesson in which they emulated one strategy or the other—
a repeated line, or a then-and-now to describe a setting.
•
If I open my story with a setting, what time and place would I
describe?
Ask students to jot down a short list of details for a setting they
might use.
Finally, read the opening line to “My Name.” Ask students how they
would describe this strategy as a great lead. Help them see the power
of a summary statement or a provocative line that hints at a theme
and makes the reader think. Then they might consider refining their
important point sentences to make them sharper.
Writing a Great Lead
133
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Discover i n g L e a d s i n Te x t b o o k S e l e c t i o n s a n d
Independ e n t R e a d i n g
Have students take out their textbooks, turning to a unit that
provides short stories and other narratives. Have students read aloud
opening lines at random and try describing the strategy. Record their
discoveries in the row on the Great Leads chart labeled Leads from
Textbook Narratives.
As a final note, direct students’ attention to the row on the chart for
recording their own discoveries from their independent reading (On Your
Own). For homework, you will ask them to fill in the blank columns with
an example of a great lead from their own reading.
Modeling Tw o A l t e r n a t i v e L e a d s
Model two possible openings for your own seed piece, then ask
students which lead they think is more interesting.
Here is one teacher’s example:
For my narrative about how Heather and I always got in trouble with our moms, I
am going to try two possible leads, one using Gary Soto’s zooming in or snapshot
strategy; and, for the other, trying Rick Bragg’s repeated line to introduce a setting.
For Soto’s strategy, I have to set the stage for the conflict. Let’s see what happens
if I zoom in on the moment when Heather and I would wait in great anticipation for
my parents to leave the house.
Snapshot Lead
Heather and I leaned our noses against the screen window in an upstairs
bedroom, looking down at the driveway to see if my parents had gotten
into the car yet. We would remain very still and quiet so they wouldn’t
see or hear us, waiting for the moment when we would have the house
to ourselves. It was hard to keep from laughing, but we stood as still as
statues, hoping they would hurry up and drive away.
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Opening Less on
continued
Setting/Repeated Line Lead
It was a time when the simple things in life were as big as a circus
coming to town. It was a time when we had more fun making up our own
crazy games than attending a carnival. More than anything, it was a time
when all we wanted was an excuse to laugh.
Which lead do you think is more interesting? Tell me why.
O ther Tips for Helping Stude n t s D e v e l o p L e a d s
Time permitting, you may want to share these other ideas for
developing leads, or hold off for an additional lesson on another day.
Ti p # 1 . R e - re a d i n g t h e N o t e b o o k for Suitable Leads
Al r e a d y W r i t t e n
At some point, you may want to suggest that students re-read their
notebooks for entries already written that might serve as appropriate
leads. Tell students they might consider whether an entry already
composed might fit with their seed piece. Model looking-back in your
own notebook.
Example:
Here is a line I like that I highlighted when we did one of our look-backs.
She remembers how Heather and she would muffle their giggles, knowing
they were getting away with being up so late at night.
I might like to use that line as a summary statement to open my piece since it’s
going to be about getting in trouble with our mothers, and how we were always
laughing at something.
Ti p # 2 . F i n di n g a S u m m a r y S t a t ement that Suggests a
Th e m e a n d Wo u l d M a k e a R e a d e r Think
Another strategy for finding a good opening line is to re-read a first
draft, moving down to the second or third paragraph. Often writers
Writing a Great Lead
135
Openin g Lesso n
continued
discover a great opening sentence once they are well into their stories.
They find they can delete the first few paragraphs from a first draft and
begin a piece with more punch further down the page.
When conferring with students, you might use this tip to help
students find provocative lines.
Wo rk P eri od
Direct students to take out their drafts for their seed pieces and try
two of the strategies they reviewed with you on the charts. Advise them
to create two notebook entries, Lead #1 and Lead #2. Review the options
again (you may want to list them on the board). Ask students to consider
whether their pieces might best begin with a choice from the Strategies
for Great Leads chart:
Strategies for Great Leads
• A setting to create a mood
• A description of a major character
• A snapshot of an important moment or object
• A summary statement that makes you think
• Use of repeated lines
• Other strategies discussed in class, e.g., the use of dialogue as an opener
• A reworking of an entry already composed in the Writer’s Notebook
Writing C o n f e r e n c e s
Continue conferring with students about their narratives. After you
have students read their drafts, confirm what you think the story is about
and offer specific praise. Now that you have established a class rubric, be
certain to use the language of the class rubric so that students associate
your feedback with the descriptors of good writing.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Offer one suggestion for improvement (again referencing the rubric),
but you might also take this time to work with students on their leads.
Ask these questions to prompt their thinking:
•
•
•
Would creating a setting to establish a mood be a good way to start?
•
Let’s see if there is a great line you could use further into your story.
Would it make sense to describe the major character right away?
Have you already written a piece in your notebook that goes with
this story?
C l o sing
Ask how many students were able to complete two possible leads. If
most students have finished two versions, host an author’s chair, inviting
students to summarize their seed piece (what their story is about), then
read the two possible leads. Ask the class to say which lead makes the
more interesting beginning and to say why. Then, ask the writer which
one he or she might decide to use. (The writer does not have to commit
at this time.) Remind students that they can choose one of their draft
leads or even create another, drawing on the other strategies or on ones
they discover from their independent reading.
H omework
Most likely, students will not have had enough time to craft two
distinct leads. As a result, you may have to assign the second lead as
homework. As a replacement for independent writing for the next lesson,
you can have students share their leads with a partner.
Also, remind students they should find an example of a great lead
from their independent reading, copy the quote on their notebook
templates, and be prepared to share the strategies in class.
Writing a Great Lead
137
Cl osin g
continued
Reinforc i n g t h e L e s s o n
Call attention to the idea that students are beginning to craft their
narratives by engaging in the revision process. Since they are adding
and/or deleting details and information, they are reworking their pieces
to bring them to the quality to which professional writers aspire. They
are learning strategies for meeting the rubric’s criteria so they can hit the
bull’s eye.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 19
Magnifying the Moment
G o al
•
Students will use the showing, not telling, strategy as a revision tool.
P reparation
You will need to make a new three-columned chart which illustrates
the use of showing details in various touchstone texts. Consider using
the examples referenced in the sample chart that follows and adding
others from your textbook readings. You may also want to make
photocopies of the chart for gluing in the notebooks. Have a model from
your own writing to share with students.
Materials
Checklist
•A model of your own writing on
a transparency
•Class copies of three-column
chart
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Opening Less on
S haring G reat Leads
Today students will share their leads with a partner. Tell students to
summarize their narratives (the gist) to a partner, then read alternative
leads for partner recommendations. Time permitting, host a brief
author’s chair so that more student examples and ideas are shared.
Conduct a random homework check, asking students to read aloud
the leads they found in their independent reading.
Remind students that they are in the process of crafting and revising
their drafts and borrowing strategies from professional writers, and
that they will soon make decisions about which lead will make the best
opening.
A dding Details to a Story
Announce that today you will demonstrate a strategy to add
important details to a story. Reference the class rubric for use of
sensory details. Emphasize how sensory details can enhance character
development, setting, actions—especially the conflict and resolution of a
story. Recall the idea of zooming in on a moment and showing, not telling.
Magnifying the Moment
139
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Ask a student to summarize the rules for writing a show, not tell.
Make sure to remind students of the difference between the general
(telling) and the specific examples and details (showing).
Tell students that when we first draft a piece of writing, we usually
get down the general details. When we go back to revisit our work,
we have the chance to add details to the most important places. Using
showing, not telling in this way allows us to zoom in or magnify
a moment.
Re-read sample excerpts from touchstone texts that will remind
students of the difference between showing and telling.
Textbook s a n d I n d e p e n d e n t R e a d i n g
Include models from your textbook readings, and encourage students
to find great examples of showing, not telling, in their independent
reading. Post a Magnifying a Moment chart to record great examples. A
sample follows.
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Opening Less on
continued
Magnifying a Moment
Text and Author
“The Jacket,” Soto
Magnifying a Moment
(Showing, Not Telling)
Telling Idea: “I tried to make
friends with my jacket.”
“I put the jacket on. I zipped
it up and down several times,
and rolled the cuffs up so
they didn’t cover my hands. I
put my hands in the pockets
and flapped the jacket like a
bird’s wings. I stood in front
of the mirror, full face, then
profile, and then looked over
my shoulder as if someone
had called me. I stood
against the bed and combed
my hair to see what I would
look like doing something
natural. I looked ugly.”
My Dog Skip, Morris
Telling Idea: “The town
where Old Skip and I grew up
together was an unhurried
and isolated place.”
Author’s Strategy
Showing details that recreate
a character’s actions,
expressions, and gestures
Showing details that describe
streets and houses for a
setting
“Some of the streets were not
paved, and the main street,
stretching its several blocks
from the Dixie Theater down
to the bend in the river, was
narrow and plain, but down
along the quiet, shady streets,
with their magnolia and
pecan and elm and locust
trees, were the stately old
houses that had been built
long before the Civil War…”
Showing, Not Telling from
Textbook Narratives
Quote
Strategy
On Your Own
(from your independent
reading)
Quote
Strategy
Magnifying the Moment
141
Openin g Lesso n
continued
You may also want to recall great examples of student-written, show,
not tells for It was a memorable place and My room was a mess.
Tell students they can use the strategy of showing, not telling, as a
revision tool for their own emerging drafts. Tell them they can re-read
their narratives for their own telling sentences that might benefit from
more showing. Remind them how they tried this strategy already, as an
exercise, for an earlier look-back in the Writer’s Notebook.
Model an example of your own use of telling to showing on a chart
or transparency. Here is one teacher’s illustration:
Here is my first draft of my laughing game with Heather. As I read this paragraph, I
came to an important place where I just tell instead of show; this might be a good
place to add showing details:
Heather and I used to wait for my parents to get out of the house, then
go upstairs to their bathroom to play this game we invented. Because
my parents had just installed a new large mirror over the sink, Heather
and I used to love to watch ourselves do crazy things in the mirror. So,
we invented this “laughing game” where one of us filled our mouth with
water—‘til our cheeks puffed out like chipmunks—while the other was
supposed to get the other to laugh until you spit the water all over the
mirror. We would take turns, laughing, and spitting, and giggling until we
heard my parents’ car come into the driveway. Then we had to mop up the
mess. Sometimes we got away with it, but sometimes we got caught.
I underlined this telling sentence because it’s the first place where I mention our
game, so I think it’s an important place to show more of the details.
Telling Sentence
So, we invented this laughing game where one of us filled our mouth
with water—‘til our cheeks puffed out like chipmunks—while the other
was supposed to get the other to laugh until you spit the water all over
the mirror.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Showing Details that Magnify the Moment
Heather would lean over the sink with her head sideways to gulp the
water from the running faucet. She filled her mouth until her cheeks
puffed out like a chipmunk’s. Next she would stare at herself in the mirror,
waiting for the next joke that would come. Sometimes I would tell a joke,
but more often I would invent a dance with crazy, wild moves or I would
tickle her. Not being able to stand it, Heather would spit the water in one
giant spray all over the mirror and streams of water would drip down the
glass. The two of us would turn red with uncontrollable laughter. Then it
would be my turn to fill-up with water.
Show students how you can insert the magnified moment back into
the flow of the narrative.
W o rk P eri od
Have students re-read their drafts for the places that would benefit
from showing, not telling. You may want to say, “Re-read your narratives
as if you were watching a movie of your own experience. Where would
you slow the camera to zoom in and magnify a particular scene, a
character, or moment? Which places would readers be most interested to
see more of who is involved and what happens?”
Ask students to find two places that are telling sentences that could
use more showing, and underline them. Once students have decided
which sentences to magnify, tell them to set aside two pages in their
notebooks to show each sentence.
Writing Conferences
Continue hosting individual writing conferences, helping students
see the positive features of their narratives and pushing them with
doable next steps. Be mindful to use the language of the class rubric.
Magnifying the Moment
143
Cl osin g
Invite students to the author’s chair to read aloud the first version,
without the magnified moment, then the revised version, embedding the
showing details. Ask the class for feedback on whether the added details
enhance the piece. Distinguish when added description and information
favorably affect the story, and when added details may seem superfluous
or artificial.
Reinforc i n g t h e L e s s o n
Emphasize how turning one’s own telling sentences into showing
details is a revision tool students can use throughout the year when they
re-read drafts to make them more elaborated and clear. Recommend that
students also seek partners to help them identify the underdeveloped
telling places.
Homewo r k
If students were not able to expand both telling sentences in class,
assign the completion of the second one for homework.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 20
Sentence Explorations for Narrative
Writing
G o al
•
Students will initiate the Sentence Explorations section of the Writer’s
Notebook.
•
Students will analyze descriptive sentences that use verb cluster
additions (present participial phrases).
P reparation
You will need to duplicate copies of the list of sentences for Sentence
Patterns for Cumulative Sentences and Verb Clusters (see appendix), making
them small enough to be able to be glued into the Writer’s Notebook. You
should also prepare transparencies for each list.
Materials
Checklist
•Sentence Patterns for
Cumulative Sentences
handouts
•Verb Clusters handouts
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Opening Less on
Remind students how they were to change telling sentences to
showing details for their drafts. Ask students to pair with partners and
share their expansions. Ask partners to say how the details add to or
detract from the descriptions. Tell students they will continue to learn
additional strategies for showing, not telling. In fact, for today’s lesson,
they will study ways to turn single sentences into professional-sounding
showing sentences.
Tell students that for today’s lesson, they will continue focusing on
good description, but will examine how writers write great sentences
that illustrate sentence variety—which is one of the characteristics of
mature writing, and one of the criteria for conventions for hitting the
bull’s eye.
S entence Modeling
Today’s workshop launches a series of lessons targeting sentence
variety and syntax study. Students will learn features of different
kinds of sentence patterns by modeling structures modern writers
use. Sentence modeling is particularly effective with English language
Sentence E x p l o r a t i o n s f o r N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g
145
Openin g Lesso n
continued
learners, not only for helping them with writing, but with reading
comprehension. With sentence modeling, students learn to untangle
the more complicated constructions in the English language that can
interrupt reading fluency.
For the next several lessons, students will work to add sentence
variety to their narratives through the use of complex sentences. Most
state standards call for expanded use of complex sentences and evidence
of sentence variety by the time students reach secondary school.
For the initial lessons, students will read examples of sentences
that put a premium on descriptive details—sentences that use present
participial clauses and phrases, or verb clusters. This kind of construction
is pervasive in modern descriptive writing, in narrative as well as
journalistic prose. By studying and emulating these sentence patterns,
students will not only have a new tool for The Writer’s Toolkit, they
will have new reading skills and an awareness of how sentence craft
contributes to meaning.
C o n n e c t i ng Sentence Explorations to Work Underway
Remind students that one of the most important features of a good
story is the use of showing, not telling details that put the reader right
into the action.
Tell students that today they are going to study how professional
writers use showing details in single sentences and that they will be
imitating these kinds of sentences themselves. Emphasize how the kind
of sentences they learn to write over the next several lessons can be
inserted into the drafts they are writing to add sophistication and polish
to their work. Tell them that sometimes writers add whole paragraphs to
add details to their work, while other times they find that a sentence or
two will work.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
In i t i a t i n g t h e S e n t e n c e E x p l o r a t ions Section of
th e N o t e b o o k
A n a l y z i n g S e n tence Patterns
Distribute copies of Sentence Patterns for Cumulative Sentences and
place a transparency of the list on the overhead projector. Make the
handout small enough to be able to be glued into the Writer’s Notebook.
Ask students to glue in their copies now, as the first entry for the
Sentence Explorations section.
Tell students a little about the work of linguistic researcher Francis
Christensen. Describe how Christensen, a university professor, spent
years studying the sentence patterns of famous modern writers. Explain
that he discovered that many writers use similar kinds of sentence
patterns to make writing especially descriptive.
Christensen called these sentences cumulative sentences, and you will
be challenging students to discover how he came up with that name. Tell
students you will also teach them how to write professional-sounding
sentences based on Christensen’s studies of modern writers.
Suggest that you would like students to pretend they are researchers
and are about to do some detective work to see if they can figure out the
patterns that Christensen uncovered when he studied modern sentences.
Tell students that the sentences on the list you have distributed come
from modern writers with a diversity of backgrounds. Read aloud the
names of the writers to see whether students have heard of them.
Then, ask students to follow along on the list of sentences as you read
the first four or so aloud, and see whether they notice a pattern in the
way the parts of the sentence are organized.
Sentence E x p l o r a t i o n s f o r N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g
147
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Calling fo r P a t t e r n s
Note to
Teacher
As you read each sentence, let
your voice rise with the reading
of the base (independent) clause,
then pause slightly after each
comma before reading on. In other
words, try to read each addition in
a one-at-a-time kind of rhythm so
that students might hear and see
the parts more readily.
Ask students what they notice about the patterns. Using chart paper
and markers, take notes on their ideas, corroborating any insights. Make
certain they see the following features:
Features of Some Modern Sentences
• The first part of the sentence—up to the first comma (or dash)—is rather general
or telling.
• The first part of the sentence—up to the first comma (or dash)—can actually
stand alone; you could put a period there and stop.
• The parts following the first comma/dash describe the first part of the sentence
and add showing details.
• The parts following the commas/dash cannot stand alone by themselves and are
actually fragments; in fact, they need the first sentence to make sense.
Demonstrate these points by re-reading the first four sentences
aloud and showing students the difference between a complete sentence
(independent clause) and a fragment.
•
Read the first part of a sentence aloud and stop at the comma/
dash. Say something like, “Do you see how we could stop here and
substitute a period, and the sentence would still make sense?”
•
Then read the additions, one at a time without the base clause to
show they make little sense; then re-read with the base clause to
allow students to hear the difference.
Rules for Writing a Cumulative Sentence, Part I
Tell students that Francis Christensen gave names to the sentence
parts and that you would like them to copy these definitions on the next
page into their notebook section called Sentence Explorations.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Rules for Writing a Cumulative Sentence
• The first part of the sentence—up to the first comma—is called the base clause
and can stand alone as a sentence by itself.
• The rest of the sentence—after the base clause—contains phrases called
additions. These additions cannot stand alone without the base clause.
• Each addition is separated from other additions by commas, and sometimes,
dashes.
Ask students if they have ideas for why Christensen may have
called these kinds of sentences cumulative sentences. After hearing their
thoughts, tell them Christensen named these cumulative sentences
because the sentences accumulate details as the reader reads from
beginning to end.
Read aloud the remaining sentences, asking students to listen for and
note the patterns of base clause + additions. Use your voice to dramatize
the complete and incomplete parts as you use the commas to guide you.
Note to
Teacher
Later students will learn that
the base clause does not always
have to come at the beginning of
the sentence. For now, however,
students will start with patterns
that have the base at the
beginning of the sentence.
W o rk P eri od
I dentifying Parts of Cumula t i v e S e n t e n c e s
Ask students to revisit all the sentences on the list. Ask students to
take pencils and do the following:
•
•
Underline the base clause in each sentence.
•
Count the number of additions and place that number in the right-hand
margin next to the sentence.
Place parentheses around each addition in the sentence. (Recall that
additions are separated from each other by commas/dashes and
that whether they are short or long, students should use the commas
dashes as their guide.)
Sentence E x p l o r a t i o n s f o r N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g
149
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Here is an example:
He lay for a quarter of an hour without thinking, (lips parted,) (legs and arms
extended,) (breathing quietly as he gazed at the figures in the wallpaper until they
3
were hidden in darkness.) When students are finished, ask for volunteers to come to the
overhead and place their markings on the transparency. Ask students
to read aloud the full sentence once, then re-read again, explaining the
markings. Reading and re-reading the parts of the sentence orally help
students hear and internalize the structures.
Correct any misconceptions.
When the sharing is finished, post this chart and review the features
of the cumulative sentence:
Features of Cumulative Sentences
• Sentence starts with a statement that could have been a sentence by itself
• With the simple use of commas, writers add more information to the initial
sentence
• Sentences have two parts—a base clause plus additions
• Additions add important details to the more general first statement
• Additions—although incomplete in themselves—frequently carry the weight of the
meaning
Next, tell students you are going to teach them to imitate one kind of
cumulative sentence that is often used in descriptive writing. This kind
of sentence has additions called verb clusters.
Verb Clu s t e r A d d i t i o n s
Distribute the list of sentences entitled Verb Clusters and tell students
you will ask them to put on their detective hats again to analyze patterns.
Tell them that these sentences are all cumulative sentences but have a
certain pattern in the additions that you hope they can recognize.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Repeat the process for reading aloud cumulative sentences. Read
aloud the first four sentences, raising your voice to indicate the base
clause and the pauses for the additions. Also, emphasize the -ing sound
when you read each addition. Ask students if they can hear the pattern.
Students may suggest:
•
•
The additions are -ing words.
The first word after the base clause and after each addition end in
-ing.
To reinforce their discoveries, have students underline the base clauses
on each of the sentences read, then highlight the -ing words that begin
each addition. Emphasize how the -ing word is a verb, an action word,
and that it comes immediately after the base clause. If you choose, tell
students that another term for a verb cluster is a present participial phrase.
Read through the remaining sentences. Ask students to see if they can
spot the verb cluster clusters as you read them.
C l o sing
O ral Reading: Hearing the R h y t h m o f t h e
V erb Clusters
For closing, tell students they are going to read aloud the verb
clusters sentences twice—the first time, reading out loud for themselves,
the second time, alternating with a partner.
Round One: When you say go, everyone will read each sentence
aloud in a low buzz at the same time. Model the reading of one yourself,
showing students how you want them to pause at the commas and
emphasize the -ing sound with their voices. Tell them their oral reading is
almost like singing a song because the sentences have a specific rhythm.
Sentence E x p l o r a t i o n s f o r N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g
151
Cl osin g
continued
Round Two: Turn to a partner and identify who will go first. Going
down the list of verb cluster sentences, take turns reading the sentences,
practicing the same oral emphases with each other.
Tell students they have begun analyzing how writers write effective
descriptive sentences for narrative writing. In particular, they have
learned the features of verb clusters today.
Homewo r k
Ask students to consult either their independent reading books or
another available text (from the library, from home) to see if they can
spot a verb cluster sentence. Tell them to record the sentence they find,
referencing the author and the name of the work. Advise students they
should be prepared to post their sentences during the next lesson.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Sentence Patterns for the C u m u l a t i v e S e n t e n c e S t y l e
•
He lay for a quarter of an hour without thinking, lips parted, legs and arms extended,
breathing quietly as he gazed at the figures in the wallpaper until they were hidden in
darkness.
—Saul Bellow
•
One remembers them from another time—playing handball in the playground, going to
church, wondering if they were going to be promoted at school.
—James Baldwin
•
The worst kind of rope was the kind you bought in the store—cloth ropes with red plastic
handles that came in plastic packages with pictures of little blonde girls on them.
—Veronica Chambers
•
•
I sensed a wrongness around me, like an alarm clock that had gone off without being set.
•
I did find work that afternoon, six houses nearly all in a row, all new with half-finished
landscaping, all proud that they had numbers on their curbs.
—Gary Soto
•
A moment later she was swimming back to the side of the pool, her head of short-clipped
auburn hair held up straight ahead of her, as though it were a rose on a long stem.
—Phillip Roth
•
On the corner a guy played the saxophone, the sound sliding into the darkness and echoing
off the bricks.
—Walter Dean Myers
—Maya Angelou
Her hair was slicked against her head with a bun in the back, a proper married-lady hairdo.
—Maxine Hong Kingston
Sentence E x p l o r a t i o n s f o r N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g
153
V erb Clusters
•
They were teenagers in the picture, grinning at the automatic camera they fed a quarter.
—John Edgar Wideman
•
In church on Sunday I saw women dressed impeccably, singing and swinging and getting
merry like Christmas.
—Veronica Chambers
•
Byron started walking toward Momma in slow motion, sliding his feet on the linoleum.
—Christopher Paul Curtis
•
Once in her mother’s lap she rested content all the way home, sucking her thumb, stroking
her nose with the forefinger of the same hand, and kneading a corner of her blanket with
the three fingers that were left.
—Alice Walker
•
The faces of clouds were piled up, hurting.
—Gary Soto
I climbed the fence, jumping down with a grunt.
—Gary Soto
•
•
In the classroom I sat back watching her graceful movements, admiring the translucent
quality of her unblemished skin, wondering whether both her calm and her beauty were a
gift from God, imagining myself in the medieval clothes of her nun’s habit.
—Judith Ortiz Cofer
What makes this sentence different?
• Standing at the front window and holding back the curtain, Agatha watched for the first star.
—Anne Tyler
154
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 21
Sentence Modeling: Using Verb
Clusters
G o al
•
Students will write cumulative sentences containing verb clusters.
P reparation
Prepare space for students to post the verb cluster sentences they
found from independent reading. Students can write on chart paper, two
or three sentences per chart, or on sentence strips. As students come to
class plan to nudge them toward posting their sentences right away, after
they retrieve their materials.
Also clear chalkboard space (or post a row of clean chart paper) for
use during the work period in which students will write verb cluster
sentences of their own.
Materials
Checklist
•Transparencies and copies
of photographic postcards or
magazine clippings
•Transparency of published
example that uses verb clusters
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Finally, compile a collection of six or seven photographic postcards
or magazine clippings that show interesting scenes, events, and/or
people in action. Make five copies of each photograph and prepare one
transparency of each of the pictures.
Opening Less on
Today students will post the verb cluster sentences they found.
Advise students to:
•
Copy the sentence onto a chart, large enough for others to read, and
be sure to use quotation marks.
•
Cite the source, including the title of the text and the author’s name.
Congratulate students for finding such a rich array of sentences that
follow the verb cluster pattern. Ask students to recall the components
of a cumulative sentence—base clause + addition; then review the
requirements for a verb cluster. Re-read a sample sentence from the
previous day’s lists, raising your voice for the base, pausing for each -ing
phrase, to remind them of the rhythm of the pattern.
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Openin g Lesso n
continued
Conduct a quick read-around, asking each student to read aloud the
sentence he or she found—in the same rhythm you have just modeled—
followed by the sources. Follow the order of charts or sentence strips,
asking the class to listen for the rhythm of the base plus the -ing phrase.
Ask students to chime in when it is their turn quickly, so there is no
wasted time. By the conclusion of the reading, the verb cluster pattern
should be ringing in their ears.
When the oral reading concludes, point out how verb clusters are
one kind of descriptive addition that writers use to enhance showing
details. Emphasize how students’ own research of writers’ sentences
shows this.
Sentence s t h a t D o N o t F o l l o w t h e P a t t e r n
Some students may have found sentences that do not follow the
verb cluster pattern. This may be especially true of English language
learners. For example, some students may have posted a simple or even
compound sentence that contains an -ing word, e.g., “All the girls went
swimming at the local pool last summer,” or “The game was a close
one, and the team was trying very hard to get an edge,” or confuse an
-ing verb with a gerund—which is a noun form of an -ing word, e.g.,
“Skateboarding is a popular sport.”
Scrutinizing whether students get the pattern is a type of formative
assessment. If some students did not understand the required pattern, do
not draw attention to the misconception at this time. However, do make
a note of which students might be confused, and make it a priority to
conference with them during today’s lesson.
Imitating Ve r b C l u s t e r s
Tell students you want them to try writing their own cumulative
sentences with verb clusters. They will practice imitating this sentence
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
pattern, then use the pattern in their seed pieces to see if the sentences
add effective description as well as contribute to sentence variety.
To start, select a student in the class who does not mind a lot of
attention. Have everyone look at this student. Say something like:
“Let’s everyone observe Michael. Someone give me a base clause about
Michael.”
Write down the base clause that students offer on a chart or
transparency. For example,
Michael is sitting at his desk
Suggest that you have a base clause about Michael that is accurate
and true. Note that you have written a complete sentence, and that you
could place a period after the word desk. Illustrate by placing a period at
the end of the sentence.
Now suggest: “Let’s say we want to add more details about Michael
sitting there. Let’s practice adding some verb cluster additions or -ing
phrases. To add the verb clusters, we will need to change the period into
a comma.” (Illustrate by changing the period into a comma.)
Ask a student to volunteer a verb cluster that captures Michael as he
sits at his desk. For example:
Michael is sitting at his desk, rolling his eyes in his head.
Urge another verb cluster that will continue adding details. For
example:
Michael is sitting at his desk, rolling his eyes in his head, hoping that
everyone will stop looking at him.
Let students have fun adding -ing phrase after -ing phrase, even if
the length of the sentence gets exaggerated or out of hand. The more
students try inventing -ing phrases and saying them out loud, the more
they are likely to internalize the cadence and rhythm of the verb cluster
pattern and its use.
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Openin g Lesso n
continued
Compliment students’ inventions when they are especially accurate.
In other words, while you want students to have fun and success with
creating -ing phrases about an interesting class character, you also want
their observations to be believable and real. Later when students apply
the use of verb clusters to their seed pieces, they will want to write
believable descriptions that bring authenticity to their stories.
Wo rk P eri od
Tell students you will now ask them to create cumulative sentences
with verb clusters on their own. Tell them you are going to act out a little
scene and will want them to write a sentence about you—just as they
have done with their classmate.
Round On e : P a r t n e r P r a c t i c e
For the first round of practice, ask partners to invent the sentence
together. Tell them their sentences must include:
•
•
One base clause
At least two verb cluster additions
Draw from the ideas below to act out a little scene of interest that is
improvisational and brief:
•
•
•
Walk to the door and open it as if you are looking for late students.
•
Invent your own scene.
Pretend it is test day and you are correcting papers.
Pretend you have lost your grade book and are frantically searching
through piles on your desk.
Allow five minutes for the writing. Roam the room, focusing on
students who may have had misconceptions about the use of the verb
cluster additions.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
When students are ready, invite six or so students to go to the
chalkboard (or posted chart paper) and write their sentences. One
partner should be responsible for recording the sentence, the other for
reading it aloud.
Te a c h e r F e e d b a c k f o r t h e S e n t e n ces
Prepare to give each pair of writers feedback on their sentence. Stand
next to the sentence, then call for it to be read aloud by one of the writers.
Make it a habit of commenting on the precision and skill with which
writers observed the scene before you comment on the grammatical
correctness. Validate the care with which the writers describe a particular
event, then corroborate whether the sentence construction is correct. If
writers need correction, help them see the mistake in a helpful way.
Here is a sample sentence and an example of how you might respond:
Ms. Rodriguez madly searched for her grade book, shuffling papers back and
forth on her desk, peeking under stacks of books.
Response: “Seth and Julie. I like the way you paid careful attention
to all of my frantic gestures. You use such specific, concrete language
to capture my actions. The words shuffling and peeking show how you
watched my every move. Excellent observation.”
Next, ask the class to tell you where the base clause is in the student
sentence, then underline it on the chart. Then ask students to count
the number of verb cluster additions that were used. Place parentheses
around each addition as students tell you the parts.
Note to
Teacher
If you suspect that English
language learners might not be
familiar with certain vocabulary
or idioms, seize the opportunity
to act out or mime particular
words they might benefit from
learning. For example, from the
sample sentence, select the words
shuffling and peeking. Re-enact
the gestures of shuffling and
peeking, repeating the words as
you demonstrate their meaning.
Make the connection about how students dissected cumulative
sentences in this way when they studied the sentences of professional
writers. Congratulate them for how they are now composing sentences
of their own like the sentences of Walter Dean Myers, Alice Walker, Gary
Soto, etc.
Sent e n c e M o d e l i n g : U s i n g Ve r b C l u s t e r s
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Wo rk P eri od
continued
F e e d b a c k for Sentences that May Have Errors
Here is an example of a sentence that is incorrect and how you might
respond in a helpful way.
Ms. Rodriguez looking for her grade book, searching all over her desk,
hoping it was not stolen by a student.
Response: “Maribel and Linh. I like the way you add an air of
mystery to my actions. You make the scene seem intriguing when you
suggest that the teacher thinks a student may have stolen it. You are
trying to imagine a motivation (a reason) for my little scene. It would
make a reader want to read more about what happens next!
“I wonder if you were both so focused on the -ing clusters that
you forgot to include the helping verb needed to make the base clause
complete by itself. Instead of ‘Ms. Jones looking for her grade book,’ you
may have meant ‘Ms. Jones was looking for her grade book’ because
in the base clause you need the helping verb to allow the base to stand
alone.” (Insert a was next to looking.) “Let’s listen again for the difference
when a base clause is complete and when it is incomplete.”
Re-read the sentence without the helping verb and then with the
helping verb to illustrate the difference. Raise your voice when you
use the helping verb for the base clause. Ask the class to say aloud the
sentence the correct way, along with you, for a second read.
Conclude with something like, “It is good that you are trying to
master the -ing phrases, and always checking to see that your base clause
is complete by itself.”
E m p h a s i zing Differences in Point of View
After reading and responding to all the sentences, take a minute to
ask about differences in how student writers observed you. For example,
some students may have seen you as “searching frantically for your
grade book,” while others, quite cleverly, may have seen you “acting out
a scene for the class to write about.” Draw attention to how everyone
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
observed the same scene but translated what they saw, uniquely. This
difference speaks for a writer’s point of view. You may wish to add point
of view to the Glossary of Literary Terms.
R ound Two: On Your Own
Continue having students model verb clusters, but this time on their
own, without partners. In addition, invite volunteers to improvise the
scenes instead of you. Consider having a bag of interesting props that
might spark imagination: a comb, a mirror, a collection of marbles, a
magazine, an eyelash curler, a tambourine, a CD, a candy bar—anything
that students might use to create an interesting improvisation.
Sit with the class and compose your own sentences along with the
students. Once sentences are complete, call for a read-around in small
groups. This way, all students have the opportunity to share sentences
and hear others’ versions. Then ask for volunteers to write their
sentences on the board.
Provide feedback on the sentences, commenting on the quality of
the observations first, then the grammar. Keep track of students who are
still struggling.
R ound Three: Challenge Rou n d
After two or so practices with students improvising scenes, pose
a new challenge to students. Put this sentence on the board, and say,
“Here is another kind of verb cluster sentence. What makes this sentence
different from the ones we have been writing?”
Standing at the front window and holding back the curtain, Agatha watched
for the first star. (Anne Tyler)
Make certain students see that the verb cluster addition begins the
sentence, and the base clause comes at the end. Emphasize how writers
do not always have to begin the sentence with the base clause; they have
Sent e n c e M o d e l i n g : U s i n g Ve r b C l u s t e r s
161
Wo rk P eri od
continued
options for moving parts of the sentence around for different effects. Ask
students to talk about the difference between having this sentence begin
with the base clause or end with the base clause. Ask them for how the
different positions affect the reading.
R u l e s f o r Writing Cumulative Sentences, Part II
Ask students to see if they can reverse the order for the base clause
and additions for the next student improvisation, putting the base clause
at the end. Invite volunteers to post the sentences.
Congratulate students for their growing abilities to construct
sentences that will add variety to their writing.
Add the new rule to the Rules for Writing a Cumulative Sentence
chart.
Rules for Writing a Cumulative Sentence
• The first part of the sentence—up to the first comma—is called the base clause
and can stand alone as a sentence by itself.
• The rest of the sentence—after the base clause—contains phrases called
additions. These additions cannot stand alone without the base clause.
• Each addition is separated from other additions by commas, and sometimes,
dashes.
Variation
• Cumulative sentences can also begin with additions and conclude with the base
clause. The base clause must always be somewhere in the sentence to make the
sentence complete.
Cl osin g
Tell students you would like to see them begin using verb clusters
when the opportunity arises as they expand and revise their seed
pieces. Tell them you want to provide additional practice, however,
so that they acquire an understanding of how and when verb clusters
might best be used.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Distribute the array of postcards or photographs that are pictures
of scenes (settings), people (characters), and/or actions. Plan for five
different students to have the same photograph, but distribute them
randomly. In other words, create suspense for which student might
receive which photograph, and tell students not to show their assigned
photograph to anybody else. Try matching photographs to student
interests. For example, assign a photograph of Shaquille O’Neal to a
sports-minded student, an ocean scene for students who like to surf.
H omework
Tell students to create a new page in their Sentence Explorations
section of the notebook. Give them these directions:
•
•
Describe the photograph in a paragraph or two.
•
•
•
Try including a “reverse” verb cluster, with the base clause at the end.
•
Give your description a title.
Include at least two sentences in the piece that include cumulative
sentences with verb cluster additions.
Underline the sentences where you create the verb cluster sentences
Avoid making every sentence a cumulative sentence. Remember you
want sentence variety
To conclude, place on a transparency an example of a published
paragraph that uses verb clusters in both ways. The following excerpt
comes from an article written for National Geographic Magazine about a
visit to Glacier National Park. You may also want to distribute copies of
the selected paragraph for students to glue in their notebooks.
Ask students to listen for and spot the verb cluster sentences and the
mixture of uses.
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163
Cl osin g
continued
P a r a g r a p h Using Verb Clusters
Climbing an October mountainside in Montana’s Glacier National Park, I notice a
grizzly about the same time it notices me. Easing away, I circle far above. Now the
backdrop is of ice fields and limestone ramparts with lakes cupped at their base
and clouds surging over the top, driving 50-mile-an-hour gusts before them. They
clout me around and start hurling rain. It turns to snow that races bands of storm
from crag to crag. The scene is so immense I am hardly aware that the bear has
been zigzagging uphill my way as it feeds.
164
—From “Grizz, Survival: Their Fate is in our Hands” by Douglas H. Chadwick,
National Geographic, July 2001.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 22
Using Verb Clusters for a Narrative
G o al
•
Students will write verb cluster sentences for their seed piece.
P reparation
Prepare a transparency of another model paragraph where writers
use verb clusters.
Prepare transparencies of the photographs distributed during the
previous lesson and have them ready for use.
Opening Less on
Remind students how they have been practicing different ways
to add showing details to their narratives. Emphasize how showing
details put readers right into the action, as if they were present at the
time the experience takes place. Students have tried spotting telling
sentences in their writing and expanding them, and have begun writing
single sentences that are complex and that will add details and variety
to their writing.
Materials
Checklist
•Transparencies and copies
of photographic postcards or
magazine clippings
•Transparency of a second
published example that uses
verb clusters
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Share another touchstone paragraph where a writer uses verb
clusters. Place the paragraph on a transparency, and read it aloud to
students, asking them if they can spot the verb clusters. Here is an
example from a student description of a diving competition:
Springing high, the diver trains for an upcoming competition. Throwing herself
high into the air, twisting, twirling around, she dives into the pool with just a little
splash. Swimming over to the side, she gets out and repeats the dive until she has
perfected it.
—High school student
Students should recognize “Springing high”; “Throwing herself
high into the air, twisting, twirling around”; and “Swimming over to
the side.”
U s i n g Ve r b C l u s t e r s f o r a N a r r a t i v e
165
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Tell students that the writer of this paragraph had the same
homework challenge: to describe a picture postcard. The postcard
presented a scene—a setting—for an international swimming competition.
Wo rk P eri od
Part I
P r o c e s s f or Group Sharing
Tell students they will be sharing descriptions of their photographs
with other students who were assigned the same picture. Their task will
be to read each other’s versions and to select two examples that they
think the rest of the class might like to hear. Tell them the two selected
students will read aloud their descriptions, then a third student will
unveil the real photograph on the overhead projector, following the
reading. Tell students you have made a transparency of each of their
photographs for use in their presentations.
Announce which students will be gathering in the same group, and
ask that they still keep their photograph secret.
Once they are in groups, give these directions for sharing descriptions:
•
Round One: When you say, “Go,” everyone rehearses reading their
descriptions aloud, at the same time, in a low buzz.
•
Round Two: Group members decide who will go first, second, third,
etc. for sharing in the group.
– Each writer takes turns reading descriptions clearly so that others
can hear, then goes back to the verb cluster sentences that are
underlined and re-reads those aloud.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
•
Round Three: When all group members have shared, students
plan for a second reading. Students pass their descriptions to the
right, and continue passing until everyone has read each other’s
descriptions for a second time, silently.
•
Round Four: Group members select two descriptions from the group
that they want the whole class to hear as examples of effective
description and use of verb clusters.
– Students select a third member to unveil the photograph on the
overhead, following the readings.
Ci r c u l a t i n g t h e R o o m
You should sit with groups and take note of which students may still
be struggling with correct sentences. These students might need one-onone writing conferencing to help them understand misconceptions.
Gr o u p P r e s en t a t i o n s
Invite each group to present descriptions and share their
photographs. You may want to suggest that class members close their
eyes as each writer reads, seeing if they can imagine what the real
photograph might look like. When the picture is finally displayed,
students should enjoy discovering the image that prompted the writing.
Remind students of the wide angle/zoom lens analogy, where writers are
zooming in on the important details to bring the scene to life.
Take the opportunity to compliment effective use of verb clusters,
and emphasize the impact of differing points of view.
Student presentations also provide opportunities for formative
assessment. You will be able to learn which students are developing
fluency and skill with description and sentence variety, and which
students need coaching.
Note to
Teacher
You may want to post photographs
with accompanying student
descriptions for a student work
display, illustrating students’
growing abilities to write with
sentence variety and rich detail.
U s i n g Ve r b C l u s t e r s f o r a N a r r a t i v e
167
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Part II
Ask students to take out their seed pieces and the craft strategies
they have been using to try to hit the bull’s eye. Ask them to look for
places where they might write and insert verb cluster sentences. Remind
them that the photographs they practiced with were images of settings,
actions, and people, and because verb clusters emphasize movement,
actions, and gestures, they should consider places in their stories where
actions like these take place:
•
•
•
•
•
A lead that establishes a setting
A lead that establishes characters in action
A magnified moment of characters in action
A magnified moment of conflicts, climaxes, turning points
A magnified moment of a resolution or ending
Ask students to write one verb cluster sentence for one place in
their drafts. If students have been writing on every other line, they can
write their sentences at the place for appropriate insertion. Teach them
how to use the caret symbol (^).
Students can also use sticky-notes and paste them next to the text.
Cl osin g
Conduct an informal author’s chair, asking volunteer students to
read the verb cluster sentences they have created for their narratives. Ask
writers to say where in the piece they would place the sentences.
Reference the class rubric for writing a good story. Point out the
bull’s eye for places that call for description and for sentence variety
(conventions). Mention how effective details and conventions go handin-hand. Remind students they are working towards bringing their work
to standard.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
H omework
Assign students the task of writing three additional sentences they
might insert into their narratives.
U s i n g Ve r b C l u s t e r s f o r a N a r r a t i v e
169
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 23
Using Dialogue for a Narrative
Materials
Checklist
•Transparency of dialogue
•Class sets of “Thank You,
M’am”
•Grammar and usage handbooks
•Example from teacher’s use of
dialogue
•Sticky-notes
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Note to
Teacher
Because this lesson on dialogue
covers several uses, as well
as teaches rules for proper
punctuation, you may want to
spend an additional day on it.
Go al
•
•
Students will write dialogues for fictitious scenarios and plots.
Students will write dialogues for important moments in their
narratives.
Preparati on
Prepare a blank Placement of Dialogue in a Narrative chart based
on the chart used in the opening lesson. You will complete the chart
gradually with student input as students study various touchstone texts
for use of dialogue. You should also have these materials ready:
•
A transparency (or chart) of the dialogue cited in the opening lesson,
authored by Ray Bradbury
•
Class set of “Thank You, M’am” or another suitable narrative that
uses dialogue throughout a story
•
Grammar and usage handbooks for teaching conventions for proper
punctuation of dialogue
•
An example of how you use dialogue in your own narratives
Openin g Lesso n
Ask students to take out the three verb cluster sentences they
completed for homework and select one for oral sharing. Call on
students randomly to read their sentences aloud. Urge them to read
with “presentation voices” and to emphasize the rhythm of the verb
cluster pattern. Tell them you will not call on everyone today but will get
around to everyone over the next several days.
Taking S t o c k o f t h e S e r i e s o f P r a c t i c e s
Tell students they are coming into the home stretch for turning their
seed pieces into final drafts. Soon they will make decisions for which of
their trial strategies might best be suited for use in their pieces and which
will strengthen the stories the most.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Remind them they will continue to use the rubric to know how to hit
the bull’s eye. Review the list of criteria, mentioning how they have tried
new strategies for:
•
•
•
•
•
Plot and structure
Openings and leads
Use of setting
Character descriptions
Important points (meaning)
Tell them they have two criteria remaining for which they can try
new strategies. One is for organization, and the other is for closings. For
organization, they will have to make decisions about how the sequence
of events will unfold, and for endings, they will have to think about
bringing stories to a satisfying close.
Tell them that today they will focus on another way to develop
characters, but that the strategy—which is for the effective use of
dialogue— can also help them with organization.
U sing Dialogue to Develop C h a r a c t e r s a n d M o v e
t he Plot Forward
Tell students that writers of autobiographical and fictional narrative
frequently use dialogue to reveal or show their characters’ personalities
and traits by revealing what they say in relation to a conflict. Tell them
that the use of dialogue also “slows time” and builds suspense for how
the plot will move forward and the conflict will be resolved.
Using Dialogue for a Narrative
171
Openin g less on
continued
To illustrate, place on the overhead this introduction to Ray Bradbury’s
short story, “All Summer in a Day” and read the dialogue aloud:
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Now?”
“Soon.”
“Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it?”
“Look, look; see for yourself.”
The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds, intermixed,
peering out for a look at the hidden sun.
— From “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury, Magazine of Fantasy
and Fiction (Don Congdon Associates, 1954, renewed 1982)
M a k i n g I nferences and Predictions
Ask students to make an inference about the characters and the plot,
predicting what the characters might be like and what might be going on
in the story. Ask them, “Who do you think is speaking at the opening of
the story?” Hopefully they will infer that children are speaking since the
sentences are brief and childlike—“Will it happen today, will it?”—and
since the description following the dialogue mentions “the children,”
signaling the speakers of the lines.
Ask students, ”How does the dialogue create interest and engage the
reader?” Hopefully they will tell you, they know something mysterious
is going to happen soon, but the reader does not know what. The reader
must be ready, just as the children.
As a final challenge, ask students if they can spot a verb cluster in
the excerpt. Ask them how the verb cluster adds information about the
characters and their situation.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening less on
continued
P lacement of Dialogue in a N a r r a t i v e
Tell students that, just like Ray Bradbury in “All Summer in a Day,”
writers sometimes open their stories with intriguing conversations to
establish who the characters are and what the conflict might be. Using
dialogue as a lead also moves the plot forward as readers are curious to
know why certain lines are uttered.
Begin a chart that captures students’ discoveries about the different
uses of dialogue in a narrative. You will complete this chart gradually
throughout the lesson as students study various touchstone texts to learn
about different uses of dialogue.
Placement of Dialogue in a Narrative
Openings
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Endings
• To establish
characters
• To create
suspense
leading to the
conflict
• To establish
a conflict
between
characters
• To move the
plot forward
O pening a Narrative with Di a l o g u e
Tell students you want them to try writing some opening lines of
dialogue for a fictitious conflict you will assign them a little later. To
begin, put students with partners, and tell them they are going to write a
dialogue exchange or a written conversation taking different roles, based
on the conflict you will give to them. Ask them to imagine they are going
to write a story about the situation you provide, and that their story will
open with an intriguing dialogue to get the plot going.
Using Dialogue for a Narrative
173
Openin g less on
continued
Announce that before you give them the scenario, you want to review
the rules for punctuating dialogue properly. Once you have reviewed the
rules (and you hope they will use them effectively), you will describe the
scenario, and they can begin the exchanges.
Rules fo r W r i t i n g D i a l o g u e
Note to
Teacher
Show students how they might
make use of verb clusters in
their tags, using -ing phrases to
show actions and emotions. For
example, “There is no way I can
get my homework done tonight,”
Julia whined, avoiding her
mother’s stare.
Take the time to teach students rules for writing dialogue. You should
draw on lessons in available grammar and usage handbooks so that
students can turn to these references for clarification and review. Be sure
to address:
•
•
•
•
Use of quotation marks
Use of new paragraphs when speakers change
Rules for capitalization and end punctuation
Use of dialogue “tags,” calling attention to specific verbs and phrases
that show, not tell how characters may be feeling or reacting during
a conversation (e.g., he replied; she whined; hesitating to answer; joking
to make light of the situation, etc.), and options for their placement in a
quotation
Time permitting, you may want to duplicate a list of rules for gluing
in the students’ Writer’s Notebooks alongside experimentation with
dialogue.
Wo rk P eri od
Opening a N a r r a t i v e w i t h D i a l o g u e
When the review is completed, assign students the scenario for the
dialogues. You can use the suggestion here or create one of their own.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Sc e n a r i o
One of you is a teenager, and the other is a parent. The teenager is
invited to a party where all the friends are permitted to stay out until
midnight. The parent, however, insists that the teenager be home by
10 pm. Imagine you are writing a story about this conflict, and open with
a dialogue that will establish who the characters are and that will move
the plot forward.
Give students these directions:
•
•
•
Decide who is the teenager and who is the parent.
•
Bonus: Try using a verb cluster addition in a tag.
Decide who will write the very first line of dialogue.
Be sure to use the proper rules of punctuation and strive for effective
tags.
Allow eight or so minutes for the exchange. Circulate the room
checking whether students are applying the punctuation rules properly.
Then, call for oral sharing, with students role-playing the parts. Do not
be concerned if students do not completely finish. You want to give
students the gist of what it feels like to open a narrative with dialogue,
then move on to another placement for dialogue—during the rising
action, falling action, or the climax.
U sing Dialogue During Risin g a n d F a l l i n g A c t i o n
o r the Climax
For the next practice tell students you want them to revisit Langston
Hughes’s story, “Thank You, M’am,” to see if they can determine how
Hughes uses dialogue throughout his narrative. (You can also select a
substitute narrative from class anthologies.)
Distribute the class set of “Thank You, M’am.” Ask for a volunteer
to quickly summarize the plot. Next, suggest that, in addition to using
Using Dialogue for a Narrative
175
Wo rk P eri od
continued
dialogue to open stories, writers use dialogue throughout stories—usually
for important moments for the rising and falling action and the climax.
Writers magnify and zoom in on these moments using dialogue because
what the characters say shows how they are dealing with the conflict.
Ask students to highlight one place where dialogue is used in
“Thank You, M’am,” and see if they can determine how the conversation
dramatizes rising action, falling action, or climax. Help them see the
impact of examples like these:
•
Rising Action. After the opening snapshot which establishes the
conflict (the theft). The dialogue shows how each character reacts
to the conflict—Mrs. Jones, showing fearlessness in her talk, not
allowing the boy to get away with anything, and the boy, showing
insecurity and dread, with his one-word answers, indicating a
growing panic of what Mrs. Jones might say or do next.
•
Climax. When Mrs. Jones hints that she may once have committed
a similar act herself, when she was younger and “wanted things I
could not get.” At this point the young boy learns why Mrs. Jones
may have not turned him in.
•
Falling Action. Toward the end of the story when the boy confirms
that Mrs. Jones is not going to turn him in (conflict is resolving). The
dialogue shows the growing trust the boy (Roger) has for Mrs. Jones
and that Mrs. Jones has for the boy.
Summarize by saying how writers thread conversations throughout
their stories to show how characters are thinking, feeling, and changing
in response to conflicts. Writers select best moments to be magnified and
use dialogue as a strategy to show characters’ reactions and move the
plot forward.
Add ideas to the chart for rising and falling action, and climax.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Placement of Dialogue in a Narrative
Openings
• To establish
characters
• To create
suspense
leading to the
conflict
• To establish
a conflict
between
characters
• To move the
plot forward
Rising Action
Climax
• To show
the build
up between
characters in
response to a
conflict
• To show the
turning point
when things
change
between
characters
• To show the
build up of
suspense
around a
conflict
• To show
the turning
point when
characters
react to a
changed
situation
• To move the
plot forward
Falling Action
Endings
• To show how
characters
resolve a
conflict
• To show how
characters
respond to a
solution
• To move the
plot forward
• To move the
plot forward
Writing Dialogue for Rising A c t i o n , F a l l i n g
A ction, or Climax for Seed P i e c e s
Ask students to take out their seed pieces and the storyboards that go
with them. Ask them to put a sticky-dot or star next to the places in their
stories that are the rising and falling actions and the climax. Ask them to
select a place for trying an exchange of dialogue.
Have students use a large, tablet-sized, sticky-note for writing. Give
students these directions:
•
List two (or more) characters who might be talking together during
an important moment in the rising action, falling action, or climax.
This place might be considered a place to magnify an important
conversation.
•
•
Name the place in the story you have identified.
Ask students to write a dialogue, drawing on the rules for proper
punctuation and the use of appropriate tags. Tell them they will have
an opportunity to share their dialogues with the class.
Using Dialogue for a Narrative
177
Wo rk P eri od
•
continued
If a student tells you there are no other characters in his or her story
except themselves, suggest that they find a place where they are
talking to themselves as they try to resolve their conflict. Tell them
you can help them write an interior monologue which is like a dialogue
but the writer is talking to him- or herself.
You should plan to share your own examples from your narratives.
Here is an example based on the story, “The Game,” modeled earlier.
Example from “The Game”
• Characters: Heather and me
• Rising Action: Ready to get into mischief, taking precautions not to get into trouble
• Sample dialogue:
“I can’t wait until your parents leave the house,” Heather whispered with a gleam
in her eye. “Then we can play our laughing game, spitting water all over the
bathroom mirror.”
“Me, too,” I whispered back, hoping Heather’s mother hadn’t heard us talking. “We
better be careful, though. The last time we did this my mother screamed in horror
at the sopping mess, and I was put on restriction for a week.”
“Don’t worry,” Heather replied. “I’m bringing over a bunch of old towels, and we’ll
get the room dry in no time.”
Allow the remainder of the work period for students to write
their dialogues. Conference with students who do not have additional
characters in their stories, and spot check whether students are applying
punctuation rules accurately.
Cl osin g
Ask partners to read dialogues to each other, noting the place the
conversation takes place in the story. Ask that they have each other’s
writing in view so they can check if punctuation rules have been used
correctly. Call for volunteers for the author’s chair.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Draw attention to the fact that the chart is still missing examples
for endings. Tell students that the next lesson will target effective
ways to conclude stories, one of which might be to end a story with a
conversation.
A utobiographical or Fictiona l N a r r a t i v e
This moment might also be a good time to ask students for a show
of hands:
•
How many are writing in the first person and planning for an
autobiographical story?
•
How many plan to write an autobiographical story in the third
person—as if the experience is happening to someone else?
•
•
How many will write a fictional story?
Is anyone thinking of writing a fictional story in the first person? In
the third person? How many aren’t sure yet?
You should take note of students who are uncertain and target them
for the kind of writing conferences described in Lesson 26.
Using Dialogue for a Narrative
179
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 2 4
Writing a Great Ending
Materials
Checklist
•Touchstone texts
•A sample of your own writing
on a chart or transparency
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
Students will analyze different strategies writers use to end their
narratives effectively.
•
Students will write sample endings of their own.
Preparati on
Prepare a three-columned chart to record sample endings from
touchstone texts (and reproduce copies to be glued in the notebooks), a
chart with a summary list of Strategies for Great Endings, and a model
of an ending to your own narrative.
Openin g Lesso n
Call on several more students to read their verb cluster sentences
from homework assigned several days ago.
Ask one or two students to read their character dialogues for rising
action, falling action, or climax, from their seats.
Compliment students on their growing abilities to apply strategies of
professional writers to their emerging drafts.
Tell students you want to assign a show, not tell challenge. Write this
telling sentence on the board for expansion: “The story ends _________.”
Ask students to create a notebook page entitled, Writing Great
Endings. Ask students to think about the narratives they are writing, how
their stories end, and how conflicts may be resolved. Have them write
three possible ways to fill in the blank of this telling sentence for their
own stories.
Some examples:
•
•
•
180
This story ends in surprise.
This story ends on a sentimental note.
This story ends in laughter.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
•
•
continued
This story ends in disappointment.
This story ends with questions.
For their showing paragraph, have students select the one sentence
that best describes the meaning of their story and would make for the
best ending. Have them place a star by this sentence, then write it again,
several spaces below.
Analogy: Bring back the analogy of a movie and a close-up of an
important scene. Ask students to imagine the final moment of the film.
Say something like, “If someone were filming your story, what would
happen in the last scene?” Have them show the telling sentence they have
chosen as an ending, as if it were in slow motion or a still-life photograph.
Tell them this is just an exercise, and that they will learn other
strategies for crafting an ending, but that you want to see how they might
use show, not tell on their own. Allow five minutes or so for the writing.
Tell students to keep their show, not tells at hand. Tell them that
today you are going to help them work on other strategies for ending
narratives. Tell them that endings are often the most difficult part of
writing because writers want to convey the significance of their stories
and why the stories are important to them. The rubric that you and the
students have developed should point to the power of a great ending.
“ They Lived Happily Ever Aft e r ”
Tell students that, as younger writers, they may have concluded
stories with “And, they lived happily ever after,” or, “I woke up, and
it was all a dream,” or, “The moral of the story is…” because, as young
writers, they turned to the storybooks they knew to imitate an ending.
Tell them that as young adults, those kinds of endings might place them
on a 2 or 1 level for the rubric. You may want to add these clichés to the 2
and 1 levels on the rubric chart.
Writing a Great Ending
181
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Now that they are older, they can still turn to writers for ideas, but
they can learn to adapt the strategies instead of copying the words.
Explain that a good narrative does not simply tell a story. The writer
wants the reader to know the meaning or point of the story. The writer
sometimes writes the story in such a way that the reader will infer the
significance (get the message between the lines) or sometimes directly
tell the reader the meaning of the story.
Re-read various touchstone texts that offer different ways of
concluding a narrative, asking students to identify the strategies.
Textbook s a n d I n d e p e n d e n t R e a d i n g
Have students look in their textbooks for a unit with short stories
and narratives, and read aloud sample endings. Help them identify
the strategies and record them on the Great Endings chart. Encourage
students to find great endings in their independent reading.
182
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Here is a sample chart:
Great Endings
Text and Author
“The Jacket,” Soto
Ending
Author’s Strategy
“Finished, I went outside with
my jacket across my arm. It
was a cold sky. The faces of
clouds were piled up, hurting.
I climbed the fence, jumping
down with a grunt. I started
up the alley and soon slipped
into my jacket, that green
ugly brother who breathed
over my shoulder that day
and ever since.”
Ends with…
“She led him down the hall to
the front door and opened it.
‘Good night! Behave yourself,
boy!’ she said, looking out
into the street as he went
down the steps.
Ends with…
Endings from Textbook
Narratives
Quote
Strategy
On Your Own
(from independent reading)
Quote
Strategy
“Thank You, M’am,” Hughes
A final action and a reflection
(Now that time has passed,
how I view the event.)
Repeating or echoing
language used earlier in the
story—“that green, ugly
brother.”
Dialogue
Revealing the meaning of the
title of the story
Thoughtshot—what a major
character is thinking or
“The boy wanted to say
something other than, ‘Thank feeling
you, M’am,’ to Mrs. Luella
Bates Washington Jones, but
although his lips moved, he
couldn’t even say that as
he turned at the foot of the
barren stoop and looked up at
the large woman in the door.
Then he shut the door.”
Writing a Great Ending
183
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Here is a list of other strategies students might consider for
developing their endings:
Strategies for Great Endings
• Circular, in which the closing lines echo the opening lines (for example, using “It
was a place where… a place where…” at the beginning and the end)
• Circular, in which the closing is in direct contrast to an opening—a changed
setting (then and now), a changed character, a changed mood
• A provocative statement or question
• A proverb or saying that captures the theme of the story
• A poignant dialogue between two characters
• A snapshot
• A thoughtshot (inner thinking of a character)
• A simile, metaphor, or image
Model how you developed an ending for your own narrative. Here is
an example of a think-aloud.
Sample Think-Aloud
My telling sentence for, “The story ends _____,” is:
“The story ends on a sentimental note.”
I think as I wrote this story about Heather and me with all the crazy mischief, I became
sentimental about being a little kid again, but I wasn’t sure how to end the piece. The
easiest thing about writing this story is remembering all the details of our jokes and
games and mischief. The hard part is coming up with an ending that would mean
something besides just being goofy.
So, I asked myself, Why is this story important to me? Why might such silly tales still stay
with me today? Is there a reason I seem to be writing a lot about my crazy times with
Heather in my Writer’s Notebook?
I returned to my notebook for the times I tried finishing the statement: “The important
thing about this story is…”; or, “The important thing about this moment is…” and I found
this sentence after I zoomed in on the moment Heather and I were laughing uncontrollably
as we spit water all over the mirror. I wrote the sentence:
“The important thing about this moment is I never seem to laugh that hard anymore.”
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
So maybe I am sentimental about what it’s like to be a child and laugh for hours at the
little things. So, what would happen if I tried to end with that idea? Maybe I could try a
final action and a reflection, like Gary Soto does about the meaning of his jacket. I could
try writing about one of our last games (an action) and how I view our mischief today, now
that time has passed (a reflection).
Here is one possibility:
(A last action) When we heard the sound of my father’s car enter the driveway
below, Heather and I probably laughed harder than ever, knowing we had to
cover our tracks and get the bathroom dry. Racing to mop everything before my
parents yelled upstairs to announce their arrival, Heather and I about burst our
veins, trying to muffle our giggles.
(A reflection) What I wouldn’t give again, for those kind of days, when you laugh
so deeply, with all your heart, until you practically cry.
Or, maybe I could try ending with one of the leads I tried writing earlier—the one where I
used Rick Bragg’s repeated lines to establish a setting. Maybe I could end with:
It was a time when the simple things in life were as big as a circus coming to
town. It was a time when we had more fun making up our own crazy games than
attending a carnival.
More than anything, it was a time when all we wanted was an excuse to laugh.
What I wouldn’t give again, for those kind of days, when you laughed deeply,
with all your heart, every single day, until you practically cried.
Then ask the class: “Which ending do you think is more interesting? Why?“
W o rk P eri od
Ask students to try composing two different endings to their
narratives. Tell them they can revise their show, not tells written during
the opening lesson, then try another strategy. Or, they can start fresh with
two new strategies. Tell them that during closing today, they will have a
chance to try out both versions on a partner.
Writing a Great Ending
185
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Writing C o n f e r e n c e s
Continue student writing conferences, offering specific praise, and
helping students with their endings. Reference the language of the
rubric during your conversations, and suggest alternative strategies for
conclusions.
Cl osin g
Ask students to share their endings with a partner. Partners should
offer feedback for which ending makes the better closing. Ask partners to
nominate a writer whose endings are really great so that the writer might
take the author’s chair for the whole class to hear.
Ask for a show of hands. How many think they have found a way
to end their narratives? How many tried something new they have
never tried before? How many like the show, not tell they wrote at the
beginning of the period as their best ending?
Taking S t o c k
Tell students that the day has come where they will now work to
complete their stories for publication. Stand next to the class rubric and
then to the various strategies charts that show techniques for hitting the
bull’s eye. Tell students that all of the strategies are part of a Writer’s
Toolkit that help writers revise their writing to make it excellent.
Review the journey they have traveled using the strategies that good
writers use: developing leads, adding details for magnified moments,
using complex sentences (verb clusters) that add specificity and sentence
variety, using dialogue for rising and falling actions and climaxes, and
developing great endings that show the importance of a story.
Tell students that during the next lesson, they will take their new
additions and possibilities and make decisions for using them in a final
draft.
186
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 25
What Revision Means
G o al
•
Materials
Checklist
Students will generate a definition of revision.
P reparation
Now that students have a working draft, tentative additions to
expand their stories, and a rubric that identifies characteristics of a
good narrative, it is the time to teach them the revision process. Some
students will have difficulty with this process, thinking that it is merely
a time to recopy their work. Instead, you will teach them that revision
involves refining and considering whether the piece effectively meets its
purpose, addresses its audience, reflects the writer’s intention, and meets
the expectations defined in the rubric. Revising means giving writers
opportunities to consider options of clarifying meaning and improving
the craft of writing.
As you introduce students to the actual task of revising a piece of
writing, make sure they understand that the first thing they must do
is consider how well the choices they made in their original draft are
working; then, they must decide if alternative choices would work better.
They make these decisions independently, with others, and through
conferring with you. The feedback they give and receive becomes part of
the revision process.
Students will need their first drafts, storyboards, and craft lessons
for leads, magnified moments, sentence explorations, use of dialogue,
and endings. Students will need new sheets of lined paper to compose a
second draft.
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Note to
Teacher
Although this is early in
the year for students to be
really comfortable with the
revision process, as the year
progresses, the expectations
will become more advanced.
As the expectations grow from
simply adding on to deleting and
changing/rearranging, you will
need to continue to model those
revision strategies.
Create a What to Do When Revising chart, described in the opening
lesson.
Plan to announce the due date when completed narratives should be
ready for publication. Students will need approximately four or five days
(and evenings if they so choose) following today’s lesson on revision.
What Revision Means
187
Openin g Lesso n
Tell students that soon they will be making final decisions for
completing their narratives and finishing this project. Announce the due
date for when you would like to have papers completed.
Tell students that when Gary Soto was once interviewed, he was
asked whether he revises his writing. Display his response:
When writing, do you revise? Yes, all writers revise and almost all writers have
friends who look at his or her work. My first reader is my wife, poor thing. I bother
her almost daily as I beg, “Carolyn, could you please look at this masterpiece?”
Ask students whether they have benefited from getting feedback
about their writing from other students. Emphasize how we can be a
great support as readers for each other’s drafting, and acknowledge how
the class has served as a great response partner to you.
Tell students that writers always revise to make their writing better.
Today students are going to learn how to take their new additions
and begin rethinking their pieces. Make sure your students know that
revision is a process used by writers to check their work for meaning and
to improve the craft of writing. Remind them about the use of strategies
to meet the criteria for the bull’s eye. Tell them that today they are going
to take their notebook and sticky-note possibilities and suggestions from
their classmates to write a new draft for their narratives.
Create a chart called What to Do When Revising. Ask students to
contribute their thoughts and list their responses. The following are
responses you want to generate.
188
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
What To Do When Revising
Read your piece again
• Use the rubric for a good narrative to assess your writing.
• Think about your readers, your classmates, and the responses they have given you about
different strategies you have tried; think about any questions or confusions they may
have had.
• Try to become better writers by thinking carefully about choices and what readers would
most want to know.
• Try to clear up confusion.
Use strategies of good writers
• Add a great lead that will grab the reader’s attention.
• Magnify the most important moments, scenes, and characters, using show, not tell.
• Delete information that might be boring or irrelevant.
• Insert verb cluster sentences for action parts of your story to build sentence variety.
• Insert dialogue for the opening, rising action, falling action, or the climax.
• Delete information that might be boring, irrelevant, or too telling.
• Move parts around if you need to.
• Take time with your ending to make the reader think.
Technical tips
• Skip lines so there is room to insert new writing (optional).
• Write on only one side of the paper.
• Do not erase (you may wish you had those words later).
• When using a computer, save all drafts.
Remind students to use this chart to help them when they are not
sure what they should do when it is time to begin writing their new
drafts. You will want to post this chart in a visible place. Also direct their
attention to the itemized charts as well, e.g., Great Leads, Great Endings,
Placement of Dialogue for a Narrative, etc.
What Revision Means
189
Wo rk P eri od
Tell students that for the next several days, they will work on
a new draft, crafting their leads and endings, inserting magnified
moments and magnified sentences (verb clusters), and considering
the use of dialogue. Students should write their new drafts on clean
sheets of paper in order to have plenty of room to insert new text.
Tell students that they will write for the entire work period each
day, and that they are also welcome to take their writing home in
the evening. Advise students that they should be ready to move into
formal response groups in two days.
As students work through their changes and additions, tell them
you will also host one-on-one conferences with them.
Writing C o n f e r e n c e s
For the past several weeks, you have been conferring with students
somewhat informally about the progress of their writing, and now
that students are nearing final drafts, conferences should become more
structured.
As you learn to establish Writer’s Workshop and become more
confident with the routines over time, you will begin to systematize
conferences more comfortably so that all students receive one-on-one
attention about every two to three weeks. For this first unit of study, you
may find you are not able to host sufficient formal conferences with each
and every student, but you should certainly strive to get to the students
who may need you the most.
The next lesson, Lesson 26, describes the structure of a writing
conference and how to begin hosting formal conversations related
to students’ emerging drafts. You should read ahead and plan for
presenting the idea of formal conferences as part of the next day’s
opening lesson—before students resume working on their drafts.
Students should know ahead of time what to expect and how to prepare.
190
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
Once writing conferences become a more comfortable and natural
routine for you and your students, conferences should take less time to
conduct. For the time being, strive to schedule as many conferences as you
can over the next week as students revise and edit their narratives, and
if you find you cannot fit everyone in, consider taking drafts home in the
evenings—preferably from students who may not need as much attention.
C l o sing
Emphasize that the revision process is not a time to simply copy a
draft, but a time to rethink and rework a piece to make it the best it can
be. Good writers craft their pieces as they revise.
Refer to the rubric for writing a good narrative as the dartboard
or compass for bringing a work to high standards, just as professional
writers are able to do. Applaud students for their hard work, and invite
one or two students who have added parts they think make their writing
more effective to read their work-in-progress. Ask the students to identify
which criteria in the rubric they are aiming for to hit the bull’s eye.
H omework
Advise students that their drafts must be completed and ready to
share in response groups in two days. If they would like, they may take
their writing home to continue working on their stories. Remind students
also of the publication date when all final drafts will be due.
What Revision Means
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W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 2 6
The Structure of a Writing
Conference: Record Keeping
Materials
Checklist
•Assessment Notebook
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Work-in-progress folders
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
•
Students will understand the conference structure and expectations.
Students will continue revising their narratives.
Preparati on
Now that students are more familiar with the Writers Workshop
structure and are getting more comfortable with writing, it is time for you
to establish the ritual of conferring by sharing with students how teacherinitiated conferences are structured. It is during the conference that you
can most effectively individualize instruction and provide support.
Therefore, it is critical that this component of the workshop is in place.
Writing conferences should be purposeful, focused, specific, have
a predictable structure, and be comfortable for the writer. They should
help students develop as writers and move forward on writing projects.
Writing conferences can be short (three to five minutes), similar to the
conferences conducted at students’ seats for the past several weeks.
Writing conferences can also be a quick question here and there, a few
moments of conversation stolen between a lesson and writing, or when a
student takes a natural break in work.
But longer writing conferences are also important for you to
establish and for your students to experience and practice. As time goes
by, students need to learn what it means to confer and develop selfinitiating skills. Without making the conference experience a burden to
you and your students, you should plan to meet with each student for a
conversation every two to three weeks.
Develop a S c h e d u l e
You will need to develop a schedule, planning for two to three
conferences a day. To get started, think of prioritizing according to
students who may need your support the most. Consider these factors as
you plan:
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P reparation
continued
•
•
Which students do not seem engaged with their choice of seed piece?
•
Which students may be writing too much, writing about multiple
events and conflicts in place of a single story?
•
Which students may be struggling turning an autobiographical piece
into third person?
•
Which students may exhibit low self-esteem and feel disengaged
from learning altogether?
Which students have limited fluency and may have only very sketchy
drafts?
D esignate a Conference Are a
You will need to either identify a place in the classroom where
students will come to you for conferences, or let students know that you
will be meeting with them at their own desks.
H elp Students Organize Mate r i a l s
Think about what materials you want students to have ready for
the conference: their drafts and storyboards, their notebooks, pencils,
highlighters, writing folders. Consider posting a chart for What to Bring
to a Writing Conference next to the conference area.
P repare a Teacher Assessm e n t N o t e b o o k
You should have an Assessment Notebook to keep records of
student performance as well as ongoing notes about work-in-progress.
For writing conferences, it is useful to create an anecdotal form for
recording what is taking hold and what needs improving. The results
of conferences call for doable next steps so the forms can help you keep
track of the recommendations you make for individual students.
The Structure of a W r i t i n g C o n f e r e n c e : R e c o r d K e e p i n g
193
Preparati on
Note to
Teacher
You might want to take a day to
review the conference process
as a lesson by itself, asking
volunteer students to role-play
a conference with you in front of
the class. This way, students are
clued in for what to expect and
how to put next-step expectations
into practice.
continued
Exiting t h e C o n f e r e n c e
Students will also need a way to record the results of the conference.
Some teachers ask students to take notes on a Writing Conference page in
their notebooks. You can have a yellow highlighter available for students
to highlight the title Writing Conference in their Table of Contents for easy
reference and access. You may also record notes on sticky-notes, hand
them to the student, and ask him or her to glue them into the notebooks.
The important thing is that both you and the student leave the
conference knowing what is working in the writing and what can
improve it.
Openin g Lesso n
Take a short poll on how students are coming along with their drafts.
Ask questions like:
•
•
•
How many have strong leads?
•
How many know how they will conclude their stories?
How many are using dialogue to move the plot forward?
How many are including verb cluster sentences to zoom in on the
action?
Ask students to turn to a partner and give a 60-second update of
where they are in their drafting and what they plan to work on today,
then switch partners.
Remind students they will have the remainder of the period to revise
their drafts, and that they will need to complete them in time for the next
lesson, when they will take their writing to a response group for feedback.
Announce that you are beginning writing conferences today, and
briefly describe what will occur during the session. Tell students you
will ask them to tell you about their writing, what is going well, or what
is difficult, and that you will give them feedback to help them take next
steps for bringing their work to standard.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
Students continue working on their drafts.
H osting th e Writing Confere n c e
Conferring can take on many different roles. Discussions can help
a student generate ideas, nurture oral talk, develop fluency, practice a
new strategy with the teacher present, or target conventions needs. As
students near completion of this first writing project, your role should be
to help them apply the lessons they have been learning, drawing on their
Writer’s Notebooks as a primary resource.
Typically, the following structure works well for a conference:
1. Celebrate something the writer did well, being specific.
2. Confirm, saying what you think the piece is about, to check for the
author’s purpose.
3. Continue, suggesting something to help the writer, focusing on one
or two areas needing improvement.
4. Conclude, making sure you and the student have recorded next steps.
C onference Tips
#1 . L e t S t u d e n t s Ta l k
Let the writer do the talking and be careful not to ask too many
questions. Often young writers still have stories in their heads, not
necessarily on paper, which is why many nonfluent writers, especially
English language learners, need many opportunities to orally retell
familiar stories.
#2 . Te a c h t h e W r i t e r, N o t t h e W r iting
Do not try to change the content of the piece at hand, try to change
the behavior or knowledge of the writer so that the next piece is better.
A conference may not drastically improve the one piece, but new
knowledge can affect future pieces.
The Structure of a W r i t i n g C o n f e r e n c e : R e c o r d K e e p i n g
195
Wo rk P eri od
continued
# 3 . D i s t i nguish between Revision and Editing
Revision and editing are two separate concepts, and you should not
read for both content and mechanics simultaneously. When conferring
for content (which is what you should do at the beginning of the year)
you should consider having the student read the piece to you and
not look at it because the natural tendency is to get caught up in the
mechanics, not the content. Listen attentively and then you will be able
to respond more authentically.
# 4 . N o t i n g Conventions Errors
Through the informal conferences you have conducted over the
past several weeks, you should be gaining a sense of the kinds of errors
students repeatedly make. You should make a habit of jotting down
students’ misconceptions in the Assessment Notebook.
Note to
Teacher
For this first unit of study, you
will hold students accountable
primarily for conventions rules
covered in this first unit of study,
including rules introduced in
the upcoming Lesson 28, What
Editing Means.
For your first conferences with students, however, you should
refrain from drawing too much attention to conventions needs because
you are focusing on content. If you think you can offer a quick remedy to
clear up a conventions misconception already covered in the lessons, by
all means do so—for example, a reminder to use a helping verb in a base
clause, calling attention to an error in dialogue punctuation, or clarifying
the use of first person and third person for an English language learner.
For other kinds of mistakes, you will want to make a note on your
anecdotal form regarding one or two patterns of error. By recording these
notes now, you can gain a sense of what the whole class may need as a
conventions lesson later on, and what only a few students might need.
# 5 . E x i t i ng the Conference
Let students know that you are recording the same notes as they are
in your Assessment Notebook so that when you see a student again—
either informally during class, or at a future writing conference—you
will look to see that they have responded to the agreed-upon directions.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
The following is a sample anecdotal form, indicating the results of a
writing conference. The example illustrates what a teacher might say to
the student, but the comments can be shortened to summary notes—both
for the student and for the teacher’s Assessment Notebook.
Name: Miguel Writing Conference
Period: 3-4 Student Work: Seed Piece (narrative) Date: 10/12/06
Title: The Phone Call
Strengths of the Work: Great character development. You show your friend’s character trait
of loyalty very believably. Your exact quotations of the dialogue during the phone call show
me what a good listener your friend is. The words seem so real, so I can understand why
they were inspirational to you and why you think so much of your friend. Capturing real and
authentic-sounding words that characters say is what good writers do.
A Suggestion for Revision: Because this phone call was so important to you and came at
the right moment, maybe you could zoom in on yourself as you listened to your friend’s words.
Were you standing or sitting? Were you pacing? Try to picture where you were and what
gestures you might have made as your friend gave you the advice you needed.
Teacher Notes on Conventions Needs: Switches verb tense; frequent run-ons.
Name: Miguel Summary Notes from the Writing Conference
Period: 3-4 Student Work: Seed Piece (narrative) Date: 10/12/06
Title: The Phone Call
Strengths of the Work: Great character development using authentic-sounding dialogue.
A Suggestion for Revision: Zoom in on your own reactions to your friend’s words of advice as
you were gradually feeling relieved.
Teacher Notes on Conventions Needs: Switches verb tense; frequent run-ons.
#6 . G e t t i n g t o A l l S t u d e n t s
In a perfect scenario, Writers Workshop should accommodate no
more than 25 students. This ideal class size would mean that you could
hold one-on-one conferences with every student about every two weeks.
If you have a substantially larger class size you will have to adjust to
build in regular attention to all writers.
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197
Wo rk P eri od
continued
You should:
•
•
Prioritize attention to writers who are most in need.
•
Consider students who receive adequate feedback by taking the
author’s chair as secondary priority compared to others who have
not yet received attention.
•
Host partner or small-group conferences to teach writers how to
support each other when you are not available.
(On occasion) take home the writing of more skilled writers, writing
out your comments and handing them back the next day with a brief
interaction.
Cl osin g
Have the students you conferred with share their experiences. Have
them read aloud excerpts from their pieces and then tell the class what
you thought they did well and what they are going to focus on next.
Remind students to have their drafts ready for sharing in a response
group for the next day’s lesson.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 2 7
Response Groups
G o al
•
Students will learn the rituals of working in a response group to give
and receive feedback about their writing.
P reparation
Students have now produced a hefty draft that warrants response. It
is important at this time that the students be able to receive meaningful
feedback from their peers while you are busy conferring. The lesson
today is the first of many that you will want to teach regarding writing
response groups. These response groups should become a regular part of
the Writers Workshop throughout the year as students gain new insights
about their writing through sharing, discussing, and receiving feedback.
By modeling and guiding students on how to participate in a response
group, you will cultivate a community of writers who will learn how to
be thoughtful evaluators—not only for each other—but for themselves.
Materials
Checklist
•Drafts from Lesson 25
•Sticky-notes
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
O rganizing Student Groups
For response groups to be effective, it will be critical for you to set
the expectations and to model what effective response groups look like,
sound like, etc. You will also need to think about how you will organize
the room for small groups, and how you will assign students to each
group. Many teachers organize groups by creating a combination of
students who are skilled with students who are less practiced. Balancing
student personalities and social maturity is another factor that will make
response groups more effective. Teachers usually plan for four students
per response group.
Ro t a t i n g R e s p o n s e G r o u p s
Once students are more practiced with response groups, you can
begin rotating groups so that students learn what it means to function
responsibly and effectively in different group settings.
Response Groups
199
Preparati on
continued
You should also prepare a chart, similar to the one in the opening
lesson, for a Guide for Response Groups.
Modeling a R e s p o n s e G r o u p
For today’s model lesson, be strategic about selecting students whose
maturity and willingness to role-play might be especially strong. Try for
a mix of skillful and less skillful writers, but avoid selecting students
who are well below grade level and might have anxiety about being part
of the modeling process. For today select three students for the role-play.
Have sticky-notes available for jotting down thoughts.
Openin g Lesso n
Tell students that today they are going to learn about a new way to
share and receive feedback through participating in a response group.
You might say something like, “Sometimes when you are writing, you
might have questions or get stuck or maybe need someone to listen to
the writing to make sure it makes sense. Recall how Gary Soto seeks the
regular feedback of his wife! As you have been drafting your seed pieces
and crafting possible additions, you have had several opportunities to
try out your revisions on a partner—or on the whole class in the author’s
chair. Receiving and giving feedback helps us become stronger writers as
we learn how readers might understand or misunderstand our ideas.”
Recallin g S t u d e n t W o r k
Try recalling some examples where various students took the
author’s chair and received some great feedback. Point out the value of
being collaborative and supportive, and emphasize how, when you show
students how to participate in a response group today, you will expect
the same courtesy, attention, and support.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
Say, “As you know, I can’t always confer with everyone every day,
and everyone in class is a reader, so we are going to turn to each other
for responses. During the work period, you will have the opportunity to
meet with three or four other students to read aloud, discuss, and receive
productive ideas about what to do next in your work.”
Model a response group for the whole class by inviting a small group
of three students to bring their chairs or desks to the front of the class
along with their drafts. Arrange the chairs in a semicircle so that no
student has his or her back to the class.
Reference the Guide for Response chart that students use for the
author’s chair. Remind students how they have been practicing giving
feedback to each other, but that you are going to suggest some additional
tips on a new chart called, Guide for Response Groups.
Review these steps on this chart to show how you would like the
response group to proceed.
Response Groups
201
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Guide for Response Groups
Determining who will go first
• Plan a process for who will go first, second, etc.
Reading a piece in a response group
• Rehearse your piece before you read it so you will not stumble.
• Read your piece clearly so everyone can hear easily—but not so loud that you will
disturb others.
• Plan to ask for feedback on one area of your narrative in which you:
- Identify the criteria on the class rubric you are working to improve.
- Call for an opinion on the strategy you are using or an opinion about which of two
strategies might be better, for example, two leads, two endings, the use of dialogue or
a snapshot at a certain moment, etc.
- Request help with a part of the story you are struggling with.
Listening to another writer’s piece in a response group
• Listen by looking at the reader and sitting quietly.
• Use sticky-notes to record responses.
Giving a response to the writer
1.Each member tells the writer something the writer did well. You might comment on:
– A specific line or place in the writing that got your attention
– How the writer used showing details; tell the writer which details you remember
– The effectiveness of a lead or ending
– Something you learned from the writer
2.Each member offers his or her suggestion in response the writer’s request for feedback
or help.
3.Each member asks the writer a question about a place where you wanted more
information or were confused.
Recording the responses and questions
• Response partners write their comments on sticky-notes and hand them to the writer.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
C oaching the Model Group
Taking one step at a time, move students through the response
group process.
•
•
Distribute sticky-notes so that responders can record their comments.
Give students a few minutes to read their narratives silently. Ask the
whole class to do the same since they will be moving into groups
later.
• Prompt writers to look to the class rubric and identify the criteria for
which they want feedback.
•
Prompt writers to think about whether they want their group
members to listen for a specific place or specific strategy used.
•
•
Ask the group to decide who will go first, second, etc.
Allow the first writer to read his or her draft; following the reading
the writer should:
– Identify which criteria on the class rubric he or she wants feedback
on.
– Describe the kind of response or help he or she wants in
relationship to the criteria.
•
Orchestrate each member’s response: (1) offering a positive comment,
(2) responding to the writer’s question, and (3) raising a possible
question a reader may have about the story.
•
Give response group members a minute to jot down responses on the
sticky-notes; then go around, one-at-a-time, asking each member for a
response. Group members should hand the sticky-notes to the writer
at the conclusion of the feedback, and the writer can put them in the
work-in-progress folder or the notebook.
•
•
Ask the writer what he or she thinks he or she might work on next.
Move on to the next writer.
Response Groups
203
Openin g Lesso n
continued
At the conclusion of the role-playing, debrief the process by asking
the rest of the class to tell you in what ways the group functioned
effectively. Ask students if they see ways to make the interactions even
more effective.
Wo rk P eri od
Announce the response groups, and give students time to assemble.
Quickly review the Guide for Response Groups chart again, and let
groups get started.
Normally, you would spend the entire work period conferencing with
students, but for today, plan to split the time between overseeing the
response groups and continuing with the writing conferences. Since today
is your students’ first experience with response groups, you will want
to circulate and monitor the groups. During closing, you should give
students feedback about the positive behaviors you saw them implement,
and offer suggestions to make response groups even more effective.
Cl osin g
Let students know what you observed about their groups that was
effective, and offer one or two suggestions to make the group process
stronger. Ask one student from each group to summarize how the group
process fared for their group. Conclude today’s lesson by asking for a
show of hands: How many heard positive responses to their work today?
How many received new ideas for making their writing stronger? How
many feel their group worked smoothly together? How many have ideas
for how to make the group process better the next time? Record any
suggestions on the Guide for Response Groups chart.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
H omework
Ask students to take home their drafts and consider revising their
work according to their response group’s recommendations. Counsel
students that the final piece is their own and that they can use the
feedback as they wish. At this early stage in the year, it is not necessary
to encourage absolute faithfulness to heeding response group’s
recommendations. For now, the raising of awareness of the value of
peer response is the goal. Suggest that students take additional time to
consider their classmates’ feedback, and to add or delete accordingly. Tell
students to bring their revised work to class the next day.
Response Groups
205
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 28
What Editing Means
Materials
Checklist
•Drafts from Lesson 27
•Copies of a short narrative on a
transparency
•Copies of Lessons Out My
Window
•Transparency of Lessons Out My
Window
•Grammar and usage books
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
Go al
•
Students will distinguish between revising and editing, and begin
editing their drafts.
Preparati on
It is crucial to understand that editing is not revision, and revision is
not editing. If students are paying too close attention to the conventions
of writing in their first draft, or even in the early stages of revision, the
content will suffer. The time for editing comes after revising.
For today’s lesson, you will distinguish what writers do at the
editing stages and also ask students to practice applying editing skills to
their drafts. To get started, you will model one editing task that writers
perform as they near the final stages of their writing—making sure
they have proper paragraphing and smooth-running transitions from
paragraph to paragraph.
Proper paragraphing is useful to review because, in the drafting
stages, students may tend to run paragraphs together. Also, because
they have added new text during their revisions, they may be confused
about where to make the breaks. Breaking text into paragraphs also
gives students the opportunity to learn about transitions that will help
sequence events and move the plot forward.
To prepare for this lesson, you will need:
206
•
Copies of a short narrative that is all one paragraph—one that runs
together the setting, time, situation, use of dialogue, etc. Or, create
an example yourself by taking a short, published narrative (from
the anthology) and rewriting it to combine into one or two giant
paragraphs. You should also remove any transitional words or
phrases. Be certain you have a transparency of this text as well as the
original version.
•
Available grammar and usage handbooks.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
P reparation
continued
Writing Conferences
Plan for continuing writing conferences today after you have initiated
the editing lesson.
Opening Less on
Review the writing process students have gone through to this point:
sketches in their Writer’s Notebook; drafting a first story; revising for
leads, added details, conclusions; receiving response from partners, in
the author’s chair, from response groups, and revising accordingly. Tell
students that today they will learn about the next step, editing—which
puts attention on clearing up final confusions and making corrections.
Tell students that editing skills are closely tied to the conventions criteria
on the class rubric. Remind them that to meet the standards, they have to
also hit the bull’s eye for correctness, sentence variety, and transitions.
Create a chart for What to Do When Editing.
Ask students what they already know about editing, and work to
distinguish the difference between revising and editing.
Make sure your chart covers these points. The list should not include
every possible conventions rule students will need to know, but selective
rules for producing an effective narrative—especially the ones you have
already been teaching.
What Editing Means
207
Openin g Lesso n
continued
What to Do When Editing
• Read the piece again.
• Pay attention to whether the piece makes sense.
• Check for correctness:
– Organization: Is there an opening, rising and falling action, a climax, an ending?
- Proper paragraphing: Have I separated the piece into paragraphs with logical breaks?
Have I used transitions to make one paragraph move smoothly to the next?
- Capitalization and punctuation: Are there capital letters at the beginning of
sentences? Are there end-punctuation marks at the ends of sentences?
- Dialogue: Have I punctuated my dialogue correctly?
- First-person versus third-person narration: Have I been consistent with using I, me,
my, we (first person) or he, she, their, them (third person)?
- Verb Tense: Do I keep in the same verb tense throughout my story (present or past
tense)? Are my verb clusters correctly written?
- Spelling.
As the year progresses, this list of rules will grow. You should also
turn to the conventions standards in your state documents to make
certain instruction is provided for all required conventions rules by the
time of end-of-year testing.
Editing f o r P r o p e r P a r a g r a p h i n g
Tell students that to become effective editors, they should review
their pieces for one rule at a time. Tell them that for today, you will
model re-reading a sample passage for proper paragraphing and use of
transitions. Tell them that re-reading for proper paragraphing will also
help them assess how well the story is organized.
Following your modeling, you will ask them to edit their own
narratives for proper paragraphing and use of transitions.
Tell students that when they first compose their drafts, they may
write at full speed, forgetting to separate paragraphs accurately. Tell
them this tendency is normal because writers are simply getting down
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
the story. Now that they are at the editing stage, however, they can begin
to read their papers to make certain they have the proper breaks for each
paragraph and that one paragraph leads smoothly to the next.
Drawing on your available grammar and usage books, make a
conventions chart for proper paragraphing that may look something like
the following:
Editing for Proper Paragraphing
Writers begin new paragraphs when:
• The lead is completed.
• The setting shifts.
• Time moves (forward, backward, or to a new dimension).
• The situation changes (a new event or development takes place).
• The speaker changes (in dialogue with another speaker).
• The story is ready to move to a conclusion.
Note to
Teacher
Using Transitions
Writers of narratives use transitions to move time forward, sometimes to move time
backward, and sometimes to show events that are happening at the same time.
• Words and phrases that move time forward: the next day, later that day, later that
year, during the next event, in the spring, suddenly without warning, after (a character)
entered the room
• Words and phrases that move time backward: all of this was before (My Dog Skip)
before this event took place, it hadn’t always been like this, last year, earlier that day
• Words and phrases that show events happening at the same time: during the same
time, meanwhile, while this event was taking place, simultaneously
You might want to put transition
words and phrases on sentence
strips under a heading:
Sequencing Time for a Narrative;
students can also think of
additional phrases to add to the
list.
Note to
Teacher
D emonstrating the Editing P r o c e s s
Using the sample narrative you have prepared, teach students how
to make the backwards P for the paragraph symbol (¶). Ask students
where they think the first paragraph break should come. Corroborate
their ideas, then show them how to insert the paragraph symbol
before the first word for the new paragraph. The symbol will indicate
where the paragraph should be indented. Next, ask them to suggest a
You might want to call attention
to the flashback and add it to the
Glossary of Literary Terms.
What Editing Means
209
Openin g Lesso n
continued
transitional phrase that will help the paragraphs connect, and insert the
phrase in the text.
Distribute copies of the sample narrative and ask students to work
with partners to finish inserting the paragraph symbols for the rest of the
story and to incorporate transitional phrases. When students are finished,
ask for their responses, filling in the paragraph symbols in the proper
places on your transparency and writing in their additional suggestions
for transitional phrases. If there are disagreements, ask students to
defend their choices, then help them understand any misconceptions.
Wo rk P eri od
Applying t h e L e s s o n f o r D r a f t s i n P r o g r e s s
Ask students to take their own drafts and do the very same editing
process, using the ¶ symbol for paragraph breaks and inserting
transitional phrases as needed.
Once students feel confident their breaks are accurate, tell them to
exchange papers with a partner to get a second opinion. When editing
for proper paragraphing is complete, urge students to consult the What
to Do When Editing chart to begin reviewing their work for other issues
of correctness—for example, capitalization and end-punctuation, and
proper punctuation for dialogue.
You should continue holding writing conferences.
Making Gr a m m a r a n d U s a g e H a n d b o o k s Av a i l a b l e
Make it a habit to have grammar and usage handbooks available for
student use—especially during the editing stages.
It is highly recommended that you take a day to acquaint students
with the handbooks, how they are organized, how to find help for
various conventions rules, etc. As the year unfolds, students should be
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
continued
turning to these resources more and more to find answers to their own
questions about grammar and usage. Also, any new rules covered in
class should go up on the class chart for What to Do When Editing, and
students should be held accountable for applying those rules.
C l o sing
Ask students to share examples of how they edited their work today
to make it better.
Ask students to explain how they changed a paragraph break, used a
transition, or began to review their work for other rules identified on the
What to Do When Editing chart.
Ask whether any students discovered new revisions they wanted to
make, even though they were focusing on correctness. If students concur,
mention something about the revising/editing link. Tell students that
sometimes, when writers are working on one process or the other, they
find they can make some changes simultaneously.
Congratulate students for their hard work to make their narratives
the best they can be. Confirm the due date for the completed drafts.
A Word About Differentiated I n s t r u c t i o n
The organizational structure for Writers Workshop puts a premium
on the work period, where you plan for differentiating instruction
according to individual student needs. Learning to differentiate
instruction will take time, however. Do not expect that you can conquer
all student needs—especially at the beginning of the year when you are
learning how to build students’ own self-sufficiency during the work
period at the same time you are learning to attend to small groups. Over
time, small-group instruction will become a more comfortable routine for
both you and your students as you learn how to best structure time for
individual needs.
What Editing Means
211
Cl osin g
continued
Small-G r o u p Gu i d e d W r i t i n g
To this point, you have been working to note patterns of error
in individual student work so that you can eventually pull students
together for common lessons. For example, you may have noticed a
pattern in which certain students switch verb tenses frequently as they
move through their narratives; or, you may have noticed certain ELL
students having confusions with should of (have) and could of (have).
For each lesson, you might create a sample paragraph that illustrates
a particular problem, then ask students in the small group to edit the
paragraph according to the strategy you have given them to make the
language correct.
Once you have taught the rule and have given students the editing
task, you will leave the students to work independently while you move
on to host a different group. You will tell students that you will return
later in the period to review their corrections. Once you determine that
they understand the rule, you ask them to apply the rule to their drafts
in progress.
Sample S m a l l -G r o u p W r i t i n g C o n f e r e n c e f or
Consiste n t V e r b Te n s e
Here is one example for how a small-group writing conference might
proceed around a conventions issue.
Tell students in this group that you have noticed they have a pattern
of confusion when they use verbs in their stories. Tell them you have
brought them together so that you can give them an editing tool to check
their verbs, and also so that they can work together to help each other.
Explain that writers frequently tell stories in the past tense because
the events they are writing about have already taken place. Tell them that
sometimes, however, it is easy for writers to lose their way and switch
to the present tense because, as they write, they are almost reliving the
experience as they write about it.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
Explain that you will share an example of this kind of accidental
error. Distribute two copies of the same faulty paragraph, similar to the
one shown below, to each student. If possible, have the group in close
proximity to the overhead projector so that you can write notes on a
transparency, or have the text written on a chart.
Read aloud the sample paragraph and ask students to listen for
consistent verb tense.
Lessons Out The Window
I walked into the classroom, getting ready for the day’s lessons. I needed my chart
paper, my colored markers, my Writer’s Notebook, and copies of the short story the
students and I were going to read together. I had a great lesson planned, one I
hoped would grab their interest before vacation and inspire them to read during
the holidays. Then Marie walks in and tells me she forgot her homework, and
Hussein spills a bag of M&M’s all over the floor, and the fire bell rings, and my
lessons for the day go right out the window.
Now ask students to help you edit this paragraph for consistent verb
tense. Choose either past or present tense. Mark on the transparency
as students help you edit the writing for that particular tense. Have
students make the same corrections on their own copies by drawing a
line through the erroneous word and writing the correct version above
the word.
Next, ask students to take the second copy of the same paragraph and
edit the paragraph for the opposite verb tense. While they are working on
this second practice, move to a new group—or individuals—who need
your help with other grammar or usage issues. Be certain to return to the
group before closing, to check their corrections.
In a lesson like this that deals with verb tense, it would also be
important to convey that writers can tell a story that has happened in
the past in the present tense as a choice—as a stylistic device. Advise
students that it is not wrong to write a story that happened in the past
in the present tense. Writing a story in the present tense offers a special
What Editing Means
213
Cl osin g
Note to
Teacher
To find other models of erroneous
paragraphs for use with wholegroup or small-group instruction,
consult your state test’s released
tasks. Many times sample test
questions are provided where
students must spot conventions
errors and correct them.
214
continued
dramatic appeal because it suggests that the events are happening as the
text unfolds, as the reader is reading it. The problem is that writers have
to be deliberate in their choices, for one tense or the other.
Be certain that students take out their own drafts and apply the
editing strategy you have just taught them to their own drafts.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 29
Completing the Final Draft
G o al
•
Students will finish revising and editing their drafts.
P reparation
The entire class time can be devoted to students completing their
final drafts for publication. You should continue to hold writing
conferences to assist selected students in their work.
Materials
Checklist
•Drafts from Lesson 28
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Paper
•Chart paper
•Markers
As a ceremonious gesture, you may want to put the class rubric in
the forefront, urging students to aim for the bulls’ eye.
Opening Less on
Explain to students how they will have the entire period to complete
their drafts.
Emphasize how you have worked with them to provide strategies
and tools to help them bring their work to standard. Tell them that you
have confidence that many of them will be able to craft their pieces
similarly to the way professional writers do because they have learned
writerly habits. Tell them that, as they work, you hope they will make
use of the available supports:
•
•
The class rubric that describes how to meet the standard
•
The tools they already have to answer their own questions: lesson
charts, touchstone and mentor texts, and reference books such as
grammar and usage handbooks
•
Their response group for feedback and support
Their Writer’s Notebooks with their craft lessons and sentence
explorations
Work to build excitement for the goal of students completing their
narratives for a day of celebration.
Completing the Final Draft
215
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Specific a t i o n s f o r t h e F i n a l D r a f t
You should also take this time to advise students of how you would like
cover pages to be completed or copies formatted for a class publication.
Wo rk P eri od
Students complete their final drafts.
Writing C o n f e r e n c e s
Continue to prioritize instructional needs and hold small-group and
one-on-one conferences.
Cl osin g
Ask for students who might be able to take the author’s chair to
describe their journey to complete their drafts. Seek a student or two
who might be able to describe their writing process—movement from
finding the seed idea, to crafting, receiving feedback, revising, and editing.
Ask students to tell you the important ideas they learned about
becoming good writers. Record their thoughts on a class chart so that
they can recall their points throughout the year.
216
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 30
Sharing Student-Published Work
G o al
•
To establish a ritual for students reading published work in the
author’s chair in order to celebrate writing and develop a community
of writers.
Materials
Checklist
•Collection of student-published
work or a student work display
of final drafts
P reparation
Sharing a student’s published work in a special way helps students
see the purposes for writing and celebrates the process and effort
needed to bring a piece to publication. It also enables the student
writer to connect with an audience in a way that is similar to the ways
professional writers do.
C lass Publication
If you have decided to publish each student’s narrative in a class
collection, you may want to wait until you have the publication ready for
distribution for the day of celebration. Printed collections do not have to
be fancy; you can elicit help from students to design a cover, and even
have students help you collate and staple.
A uthor’s Chair Readings
If time and resources do not allow for a publication, plan for several
days of author’s chair readings in which students each take the chair to
read aloud their piece.
P ost-Read ing Student Work D i s p l a y
If you choose not to publish a class collection, you might decide to
create a student work display for students to post final drafts once they
have read them in the author’s chair. You can post a description of the
project students have been engaged in and also post the class rubric
nearby.
If your school publishes a school literary magazine, urge students to
submit their stories for consideration.
S h a r i n g S t u d e n t - P u b l i s h e d Wo r k
217
Openin g Lesso n
Have the students get close-up, with their published work in hand.
You might say something like, “I am so proud of each of you and how
hard you have worked as writers so far this year. Using a Writer’s
Notebook to discover your own writing ideas, studying mentor authors
to learn how to become better writers, choosing topics, and learning how
to draft, revise and edit are just a few of the writerly habits you have
practiced. Today you will have the opportunity to share your published
work with others.”
Treating S t u d e n t s a s P r o f e s s i o n a l s
Discuss the expectations for sharing as well as listening. Let students
know that you will give the author a formal introduction similar to those
given to professional writers before a reading. The introduction may
mention other works by the author (you may want to recall other pieces
students have shared previously), special challenges the writer met
while composing the piece, and other personal relevant information. To
help plan for the introductions, you may want to consult your anecdotal
records for thoughts and ideas.
After each writer reads his or her piece, invite the writer to call on
two to three students to offer feedback. Students should raise their hand;
allow the writer to choose the responders.
Remind students that with published work, the author has decided
that the work is finished so that all comments should focus on only the
positive attributes. Make sure students know they can refer to the class
rubric and lesson charts to prompt effective responses. You may want to
model an effective response for the first several readers.
At the conclusion, the writer thanks the class, and the class should
respond with applause.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
Let each student take the author’s chair. Add additional days, as
needed.
C l o sing
Tell students again that you are proud of their work and announce
that they are officially published authors.
Transitioning to Assessment P r a c t i c e
The next series of lessons, Lessons 31–34, provide opportunities
for students to apply knowledge of narrative writing to on-demand
prompts. The first prompt targets fictional narrative, while the second
focuses on autobiographical narrative. (You can also substitute prompts,
customizing for local contexts.)
In between each practice, students have the chance to self-evaluate
performances against the class rubric and determine what strengths were
gained as well as what weak spots may need remedying. Students also
have the opportunity to revise performances according to self-assessments.
Mini-Portfolios as Testing P r e p a r a t i o n
You may decide to conduct only one assessment for now and hold
the other for later in the year. Either way, you might want to have
students place assessment performances (and students’ self-evaluations)
along with end-of-unit narratives in a mini-portfolio for use as “test
prep” before state or local writing assessments take place.
As you move to the study of other genres, you should plan to offer
post-unit assessment practice similarly—the performances of which can
be added to the portfolios. As local writing assessments near, students
can turn to their portfolios as an authentic means of preparing for highstakes testing.
S h a r i n g S t u d e n t - P u b l i s h e d Wo r k
219
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 31
Writing to a Narrative Prompt I
Materials
Checklist
•Narrative prompt I
•Assessment Notebook
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Sticky-notes
Go al
•
For students to practice writing to a fictional narrative prompt.
Openin g Lesso n
Remind students that they have written a complete narrative that
grew from notebook entries, to a seed idea, to various quick writes, to
drafts, to revisions, to publishing. They have learned that writing is
deliberate—that writers make choices and use a range of techniques to
make their writing interesting to readers.
Sometimes writers do not have the time to develop their story over
time even though this process produces their best writing. One of these
times for students is when they have to take part in a writing assessment.
In these cases, instead of choosing their own topic and writing multiple
drafts, they must write about a topic someone else picked and draft their
story in a specified amount of time.
The good thing is that they now know all sorts of strategies for
writing narratives. They know how to expand a moment; show, not tell;
use verb clusters and dialogue; and craft a lead and a conclusion. These
tools will help them get a top score. Today they are going to practice
using the strategies that they know to respond to a topic given ondemand to write a story.
Tell students that the word prompt in a writing assessment is the topic
written in a way to get them started and to tell them what to write. If the
prompt says, Write a Story, then they know that a narrative is expected.
Sometimes it is a personal narrative or memoir and other times it is
fictional, but they can use all that they have learned to write a story,
whichever it is.
Ask students what they think the test makers/graders will expect
to see in their stories. Students should say that they want to see plot,
characters, setting, conflict, significance, etc.—all the criteria for hitting
the bull’s eye on the class rubric. Explain that the test writers really want
to know that they, the students, know how to write a good story.
220
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W o rk P eri od
Display the prompt:
A student is looking through a drawer in his grandparents’ home and finds a rusty
old key. The student takes the key and begins to look for the door the key fits. Write
a story about what happens when the student opens the door with the key. Be sure
to have a point to make about the events that happen in the story.
After you display the prompt, underline the words Write a story about.
Remind students that they will first want to plan their piece. Briefly
discuss that the story will need one or more characters, a setting, some
events, a conflict, and a resolution. The story will need to be very brief
because it all has to be written in this class period. They will also want to
proofread and edit for correctness.
Note to
Teacher
If you want to replace this prompt
with one that your district has
provided or one that you think is
more suited to your students, that
is fine.
When they are ready, tell them to begin.
C irculate the Room
Make sure that students are on task but do not answer questions
or help in any way. When students have about 10 minutes left, give a
warning that they should focus on bringing their stories to a close.
As students finish, have them take out their Writer’s Notebooks and
write on a topic of their choice.
C l o sing
Debrief the test-taking experience. Ask students what strategies they
used. How did they come up with ideas? What kept them from doing
their best work? What did they know that helped them?
F ollow-Up
Take the papers home and review them quickly according to your
state narrative writing rubric or the rubric that the class developed. Note
instances of students deliberately using the strategies that have been
taught and practiced. It is important that students know that writing to
Writing to a Narrative Prompt I
221
Cl osin g
continued
a prompt is no different than writing any other story and that strategies
like show, not tell or writing interesting leads and conclusions are expected.
The test is a chance to show off what they have learned to do.
For each student you might use a sticky-note to evaluate the story.
+
–
X
For instance, in the + column write what the student was able to do—
what did he or she incorporate into his or her story that would make it
acceptable at the state or local assessment level.
In the – column, write what the student failed to do that would have
made the writing work better.
In the X column, write any editing and usage problems that might
overwhelm the writing evaluation overall.
At this point do not make corrections or write comments on the
papers. Write students’ names on the sticky-notes and save them for
distribution in the next lesson.
After you have reviewed each paper individually, look over them
as a group. Think about what students need to learn next. If there is
something that the whole class needs to learn—for example, how to
make the plot detailed enough to be credible—then think of how you can
teach this lesson to the whole class.
222
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
C l o sing
continued
For things that only some of the students need to learn—such as, how
to punctuate with quotation marks-—plan a small-group lesson.
For things that only one or two students need to learn, plan one-onone conferences.
From this assessment, you should be able to plan the next several
lessons that your students need. However, the next step is to make
students aware of their performances.
Writing to a Narrative Prompt I
223
W riters W o r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 32
Evaluating and Reflecting on
Narrative Writing I
Materials
Checklist
•Students’ narratives from
prompt I from Lesson 31
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Colored highlighter pens
•Sticky-notes
•Work-in-progress folders
Go al
•
To give students an opportunity to evaluate their responses to the
narrative writing prompt and to revise it.
Independent Writin g
Today is a good day to re-establish the independent writing block
that begins the workshop routines. For the past few weeks you have
used independent writing to teach specific strategies needed for students
to bring work to standard. Now, as you and your students prepare for
taking on a new unit of study, you want to reinstate independent writing.
To reconnect them to the writing block, have them write some
thoughts on how they think they fared in their writing to a narrative
prompt exercise. Ask them to think about how they felt about the
experience and how they think their paper would be rated. Urge them to
use the class rubric.
Openin g Lesso n
Purpose
The purpose of this lesson is to make students aware of their use of
narrative structures and strategies—to make them metacognitive. For
students to become metacognitive they need feedback and reflection.
Your goal is to teach them that they have an array of tools at hand that
they can use to develop a piece of writing. Their thoughtful application
of these tools, whether they work on the piece of writing for weeks or
minutes, gives substance to the writing and shows the readers that they
have the skills to express themselves well.
Analogy: You might want to illustrate with an analogy of a toolbox.
Consider bringing to class a typical took kit of different sized hammers,
screwdrivers, nails, wrenches, and other such items found in the typical
household. Include some different kinds of adhesive tape, rulers and
224
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Opening Less on
continued
tape measures, bolts and screws. Hold up several different tools and ask
students what they are used for. Ask, for example, when would a worker
use a hammer and when would a worker need a screwdriver instead. It
is almost a sure bet that someone in the class will be able to explain the
use of most of the tools.
Then say, that a writing strategy like show, not tell is a tool. You
cannot use it for every job, but if you know how to use it you can
accomplish many things. Using different tools, ask students to create
analogies—the ruler is like the rubric, perhaps, and the duct tape
stands for the transition words. It does not matter how farfetched the
comparisons are, you are looking for the understanding that workers
deliberately choose certain tools for a given job and the more tools you
are capable of using, the better work you can do. Conclude the discussion
by reminding students that editing for conventions is also a tool that writers
use. Writers do not want their best efforts marred by misspelled words or
incorrect use of punctuation. Encourage them to refer to the What to Do
When Editing chart as they work on their revision.
R eview
Remind students that in the last lesson they wrote a story in a testlike situation. They were given a topic and had to draft a story within
a short period of time. This is a situation that makes some writers
uncomfortable, especially when they know that they could write a better
story if they had a better topic or more time.
You might then say that it is typical for some people to think back on
an experience like they had yesterday and mentally write what they wish
they had written if they had had more time. Today, they will have the
opportunity to go back into the “Rusty Old Key” story and write what
they wish they had written yesterday—it is a “do over.”
Return the unmarked papers to the students. Call attention to the
rubrics that they created and the charts of strategies. Using colored
Evaluating an d R e f l e c t i n g o n N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g I
225
Openin g Lesso n
continued
highlighter pens, ask them to highlight and label the parts of their papers
that incorporate any of their strategies. For example, label the kind of
lead and closure that they used, and where they used show, not tell,
dialogue, verb clusters, and so on.
Then, using another color, ask them to mark where they would go
back into the story and make revisions. They should label the kind of
revision that they would make.
Have several students report what they have highlighted with
each color.
Wo rk P eri od
Give students time to work with sticky-notes, rewriting the parts of
their story that they would like to change to improve it. Encourage them
to use any strategies that they have thought of since their first writing.
Conferri n g
As students are rewriting, circulate and conduct one-on-one
conferences with as many students as you can get to. You might give
each student the sticky-note you completed or ask the student what he
or she feels are the strengths and weaknesses and then share your stickynote afterward. Be sure to commend what is commendable in each paper.
Validate any use of narrative strategies and structure.
Cl osin g
Have students come to the author’s chair for before and after
readings. In this instance a student reads a passage from the original
story and then reads a revision. The students respond by commenting on
the effectiveness of the revision.
Ask students to put the drafts into their writing folders.
226
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 33
Writing to a Narrative Prompt II
G o al
•
To reinforce students’ abilities to write to an autobiographical
narrative prompt.
I ndependent Writin g
Suspend independent writing for this day. Tell students to have their
notebooks ready so that if they have time at the end of the period they
can write an entry.
Materials
Checklist
•Narrative prompt II
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Sticky-notes
Note to
Teacher
Opening Less on
Remind students that sometimes writers do not have the opportunity
to write multiple drafts, get feedback, and revise. They must produce
writing on-demand. For students, an on-demand situation is when they
are taking a writing test. Today they will have another opportunity to
practice on-demand narrative writing.
This lesson is a repeat of Lesson
31 with a new prompt. The prompt
should be very similar to the first
one, but you might word it for a
first-person narrative this time.
Use the sample below or one that
is provided by your school.
Recall the process that they learned when they did their last practice.
Say that you expect them to also recall their do-overs and to keep in
mind some of the writing strategies that they know how to use.
W o rk P eri od
Display the prompt:
We are always learning lessons—some of our best lessons are learned at school
and some are learned from parents or friends or experiences we have outside
of school. Write a story about a time when you or someone you know learned an
unexpected but important lesson. Be sure to convey why the lesson is so memorable.
After you display the prompt, underline the words Write a story about.
Remind students that they will first want to plan their piece. Briefly
discuss that the story will need one or more characters, a setting, some
events, a conflict, and a resolution. The story will need to be very brief
because it all has to be written in this class period.
Note to
Teacher
If you want to replace the prompt
with one that your district has
provided or one that you think is
more suited to your students, that
is fine.
When students are ready, tell them to begin.
Writing to a Narrative Prompt II
227
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Circulat e t h e R o o m
Make sure that students are on task, but do not answer questions
or help in any way. When students have about 10 minutes left, give a
warning that they should focus on bringing their stories to a close.
As students finish, have them take out their Writer’s Notebooks and
write on a topic of their choice.
Cl osin g
Debrief the test-taking experience. Ask students what strategies they
used. How did they come up with ideas? What kept them from doing
their best work? What did they know that helped them?
Follow-U p
Use the same sticky-note method to analyze the papers that you used
in the previous practice. This time, look for improvement and for signs
that the students are responding to your conferences by incorporating
the suggestions you made. Students should be accountable to your
instruction as well as metacognitive about structuring a story according
to their rubrics for good stories.
Plan your conferences based on your assessment.
228
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 3 4
Evaluating and Reflecting on
Narrative Writing II
G o al
•
To give students another opportunity to evaluate their responses to a
narrative writing prompt and to revise it.
I ndependent Writin g
Have students write an evaluation of how they did in their writing
to a prompt exercise for narrative prompt II. Ask them to think about
how they felt about the experience and how they think their paper
would be rated.
Materials
Checklist
•Students’ narratives from
prompt II from Lesson 33
•Note cards
•Writer’s Notebooks
•Colored highlighter pens
•Sticky-notes
•Work-in-progress folders
Opening Less on
Remind students of the toolbox analogy. What tools did they use to
develop their story about an “Unexpected Lesson”? Let several students
give examples.
Return the unmarked papers to the students. Call attention to the
rubrics that they created and the charts of strategies. Using colored
highlighter pens, ask them to highlight and label the parts of their papers
that incorporate any of their strategies. For example, label the kind of
lead and closure that they used, and where they used show, not tell.
Then, using another color, ask them to mark where they would go
back into the story and make revisions. They should label the kind of
revision that they would make.
Have several students report what they have highlighted with
each color.
W o rk P eri od
Give students time to work with sticky-notes, rewriting the parts of
their story they would like to change to improve it. Encourage them to
use any strategies that they have thought of since their first writing.
Evaluating and R e f l e c t i n g o n N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g I I
229
Wo rk P eri od
continued
Conferri n g
As students are rewriting, circulate and conduct one-on-one
conferences with as many students as you can. You might give each
student the sticky-note you completed or ask the student what he or she
feels are the strengths and weaknesses of the story, and then share your
sticky-note. Be sure to commend what is commendable in each paper. Be
sure to note the ways that this on-demand story is an improvement over
the previous one, especially if the student tried some new strategies.
Cl osin g
Have students look in their writing folders and retrieve the do-over
draft from the first on-demand writing practice. Ask them to re-read both
drafts—the one that they did today and the previous one. Then distribute
note cards or small sheets of paper and ask students to respond to this
prompt: “As a writer of narratives, I am very good at _____.” Give about
three minutes for them to write a completion of the statement.
Then have the students turn the card or paper over to the back and
respond to “As a writer of narratives I need to get better at _____.” After
a few minutes, ask students to sign their cards and date them. Collect the
cards to review and, if you wish, add comments. When you return the
cards let students staple them into their writing folders.
230
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
W riters Wo r ksh o p: Narrati ve, Less o n 35
Moving to a New Genre of Writing
G o al
•
•
To provide a model lesson for moving to a new genre of writing.
To have students use their notebook entries to explore possible topics
for reports.
Materials
Checklist
•Teacher’s Writer’s Notebook
•Writer’s Notebooks
P reparation
This lesson is intended to serve as an illustration for how you
might transition to a new unit of study. Whether the next unit
focuses on informational writing, persuasive writing, or response to
literature, poetry, or drama, you can draw on the instructional process
demonstrated in this lesson.
At the close of this lesson are reminders for maintaining and
reinforcing the workshop model for any genre of writing taken on
throughout the year.
I ndependent Writin g
Tell students you are going to initiate another notebook look-back.
This time have them look for topics that might be more in the form of
a report. For example, if a student finds an entry about going fishing
with her grandmother, have the student highlight fishing as a possible
report—fishing tools, kinds of fish, how to fish, where to fish, etc.
Students should highlight as many topics as they can find that show
knowledge about a specific body of information.
Opening Less on
Narrative writing is a good starting point for teaching not only the
rituals and routines of Writers Workshop but also for teaching how
writers choose and develop topics. Because every person has stories
to tell, all students have something to write about. Using mentor texts,
developing a tool kit of strategies, and writing with intention are lessons
that can then be transferred to other genres.
Moving to a New Genre of Writing
231
Openin g Lesso n
continued
Just as everyone has stories to tell, everyone has areas of expertise.
It makes sense then that novice writers of nonfiction start writing about
topics that they know about or want to know about. Once they develop
their toolbox of strategies they can then apply them to more distant topics.
Open the lesson by remembering the toolbox analogy. Compliment
students on their writing tools and their participation in writerly habits
like keeping a notebook and reading like a writer, as well as knowing
how to use the rituals and routines of the Writers Workshop to develop
good pieces of writing to be proud of.
Explain that while they have been mainly writing stories­ (narratives),
they have learned how to write in other genres as well. The next project
is to write to inform readers about topics that we know about.
Writers write from their knowledge and their curiosity. To find topics
to write about for our next project, they need to think about what they
know about and what they are curious about. Everyone is an expert on
something, and readers are interested in learning from experts.
Have volunteers read passages where they found topics they might
write about for reports. Probe for as many ideas as possible so that
everyone has the concept. You might want to model this from your own
notebook. You may want to select pedestrian topics from everyday life
like camping, riding the subway, and shopping for school clothes, or
local landmarks like rivers or mountains.
Then send students back to their notebooks and a new entry: Topics
for Informational Writing.
Wo rk P eri od
While students are looking for topics, confer with those who need
encouragement. Make sure that they understand that the topic does not
have to be a traditional report. It can be a simple thing like how to do
something or where to find something. When everyone has a list, invite
them to make a second entry—a free write on a topic in which they write
what they know and what they do not know about it.
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C l o sing
Have a read-around of topics and, if there is time, of some of the free
writes. Develop a class chart for Topics We Know Something About.
H omework
Ask each student to bring in an example of informational writing that
could become a touchstone text for our next writing genre.
R einforcing Rituals and Rou t i n e s f o r
Writers Workshop
From here you are prepared to begin a new sequence of lessons
very similar to the ones that you used for narrative writing. Choose
touchstone texts carefully, including some from popular media such as
magazines, brochures, newspapers, advertisements, and guidebooks.
Explore the shape of informational text—organized around topics, and
many times, subtopics, rather than moving through time. Explore the
use of graphics—heading, diagrams, charts, and pictures. Explore the
strategies of developing informational texts—comparisons, explanations,
reasons, examples, anecdotes, and definitions.
S ummary of Rituals and Rou t i n e s t h a t B u i l d t h e
Workshop Model
As you move to a new genre, keep in mind these practices to
maintain and reinforce:
Before a unit begins and following its completion:
•
Ask students to write to a prompt before a unit begins to learn what
they already know about a genre.
•
Plan for end-of-unit practice prompts, with days in between for
student self-assessment, reflection, and revision.
Evaluating and R e f l e c t i n g o n N a r r a t i v e W r i t i n g I I
233
Cl osin g
continued
To build the workshop model:
•
•
Provide independent writing time regularly.
Grow lists of topics and strategies from touchstone texts
representative of a genre, and add them to The Writer’s Toolkit.
• Seek culturally relevant literary models for touchstone texts.
• Urge students to read in the specific genre they are learning to write
for independent reading.
234
•
•
Build rubrics for what makes for excellence in a specific genre.
•
Encourage, oral reading, choral reading, and re-reading so that
students hear the rhythms and cadences particular to a genre.
•
Continue notebook look-backs to select use of entries and strategies
for emerging drafts.
•
•
Build the Glossary of Literary Terms.
•
Create class charts or post sentence strips for signal words and
transitional expressions; for example: it is true that, however, therefore,
admittedly, on the other hand, nevertheless, for persuasive writing.
•
Make oral talk and peer interaction a priority; build students’ skills
for giving each other feedback as partners, in response groups, and
for the author’s chair.
•
Make writing conferences and small-group guided writing a priority
as you work to differentiate instruction.
•
Write along with your students, showing them how you use the
Writer’s Notebook for cultivating a writerly life.
Make language visible—using sticky-notes, attribute charts, Word
Walls, and sentence strips, and creating student work displays.
Embed syntax study to build sentence variety; for example: appositives
and noun clauses, colons with lists, for informational writing.
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
References
Touchstone Texts Used in W r i t e r s W o r k s h o p L e s s o n s
Auster, Paul. 1988. The Invention of Solitude. East Rutherford, NJ: Penguin Books.
Bradbury, Ray. 1954. Renewed 1982. All Summer in a Day. Magazine of Fantasy and Fiction. Don
Congdon Associates.
Bragg, Rick. 1998. All Over But the Shoutin’. New York: Vintage Books.
Chadwick, Douglas H. Grizz, Survival: Their Fate is in our Hands. National Geographic. July
2001.
Cisneros, Sandra. 1991. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books.
Hughes, Langston. 1996. Short Stories of Langston Hughes. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Morris, Willie. 1996. My Dog Skip. New York: Vintage Books.
Soto, Gary. 2000. The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and Short Essays. New
York: Persea Books.
References
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Referen ces for Writers W o r k s h o p L e s s o n s
Beers, Kylene. 2002. When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Bomer, Randy. 1995. Time for Meaning: Crafting Literate Lives in Middle and High School.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Bucker, Aimee E. 2005. Notebook Know How: Strategies for the Writer’s Notebook. Portland, ME:
Stenhouse.
Calkins, Lucy. 1994. The Art of Teaching Writing. 2d ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Caplan, Rebekah. 1984. Writers In Training: A Guide to Developing a Composition Program for
Language Arts Teachers. Dale Seymour Publications.
Christensen, Francis. 1968. Notes Towards a New Rhetoric: Six Essays for Teachers. New York:
Harper and Row.
Christensen, Francis, and Bonniejean Christensen. 1976. A New Rhetoric. New York: Harper and
Row.
Lane, Barry. 1993. After THE END: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Ray, Katie Wood. 2002. What You Know By Heart: How to Develop Curriculum for Your Writing
Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Gray, James, and Robert Benson. 1982. Sentence and Paragraph Modeling. Curriculum Publication
Number 17. Bay Area Writing Project. University of California Press at Berkeley.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Appendix
Literature e x cerpts and Hand outs
Excerpt: “My Name”
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it
means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays
on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.
It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like
me in the Chinese year of the horse­—which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female—but I
think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don’t like their women strong.
My great-grandmother. I would’ve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild
she wouldn’t marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just
like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That’s the way he did it.
And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way
so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or
was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited
her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.
At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof
of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as
thick as sister’s name—Magdalena—which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least can come
home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.
I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody
sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
From The House on Mango Street. Copyright © 1984 by Sandra Cisneros. Published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House,
Inc., and in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf in 1994. No further reproduction or distribution of this material is permitted. Reprinted
by permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York. All Rights Reserved.
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
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“The Jacket”
My clothes have failed me. I remember the green coat that I wore in fifth and sixth grades
when you either danced like a champ or pressed yourself against a greasy wall, bitter as a
penny toward the happy couples.
When I needed a new jacket and my mother asked what kind I wanted, I described
something like bikers wear: black leather and silver studs with enough belts to hold down a
small town. We were in the kitchen, steam on the windows from her cooking. She listened so
long while stirring dinner that I thought she understood for sure the kind I wanted. The next
day when I got home from school, I discovered draped on my bedpost a jacket the color of dayold-guacamole. I threw my books on the bed and approached the jacket slowly, as if it were a
stranger whose hand I had to shake. I touched the vinyl sleeve, the collar, and peeked at the
mustard-colored lining.
From the kitchen mother yelled that my jacket was in the closet. I closed the door to her
voice and pulled at the rack of clothes in the closet, hoping the jacket on the bedpost wasn’t
for me but my mean brother. No luck. I gave up. From my bed, I stared at the jacket. I wanted
to cry because it was so ugly and so big that I knew I’d have to wear it a long time. I was a
small kid, thin as a young tree, and it would be years before I’d have a new one. I stared at the
jacket, like an enemy, thinking bad things before I took off my old jacket whose sleeves climbed
halfway to my elbow.
I put the big jacket on. I zipped it up and down several times, and rolled the cuffs up so
they didn’t cover my hands. I put my hands in the pockets and flapped the jacket like a bird’s
wings. I stood in front of the mirror, full face, then profile and then looked over my shoulder as
if someone had called me. I sat on the bed, stood against the bed, and combed my hair to see
what I would look like doing something natural. I looked ugly. I threw it on my brother’s bed
and looked at it for a long time before I slipped it on and went out to the backyard, smiling a
“thank you” to my mom as I passed her in the kitchen. With my hands in my pockets I kicked
a ball against the fence, and then climbed it to sit looking into the alley. I hurled orange peels at
the mouth of an open garbage can and when the peels were gone I watched the white puffs of
my breath thin to nothing.
I jumped down, hands in my pockets, and in the backyard on my knees I teased my dog,
Brownie, by swooping my arms while making bird calls. He jumped at me and missed. He
jumped again and again, until a tooth sunk deep, ripping an L-shaped tear on my left sleeve. I
pushed Brownie away to study the tear as I would a cut on my arm. There was no blood, only
a few loose pieces of fuzz. Damn dog, I thought, and pushed him away hard when he tried to
bite again. I got up from my knees and went to my bedroom to sit with my jacket on my lap,
with the lights out.
That was the first afternoon with my new jacket. The next day I wore it to sixth grade and
got a D on a math quiz. During the morning recess Frankie T., the playground terrorist, pushed
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“The Jacket” (continued)
me to the ground and told me to stay there until recess was over. My best friend, Steve Negrete,
ate an apple while looking at me, and the girls turned away to whisper on the monkey bars.
The teachers were no help: they looked my way and talked about how foolish I looked in my
new jacket. I saw their heads bob with laughter, their hands half-covering their mouths.
Even though it was cold, I took off the jacket during lunch and played kickball in a thin
shirt, my arm feeling like braille from the goose bumps. But when I returned to class I slipped
the jacket on and shivered until I was warm. I sat on my hands, heating them up, while my
teeth chattered like a cup of crooked dice. Finally warm, I slid out of the jacket but a few
minutes later put it back on when the fire bell rang. We paraded out into the yard where we,
the sixth graders, walked past all the other grades to stand against the back fence. Everybody
saw me. Although they didn’t say out loud, “Man, that’s ugly, “ I heard the buzz-buzz of
gossip and even laughter that I knew was meant for me.
And so I went, in my guacamole-colored jacket. So embarrassed, so hurt, I couldn’t even
do my homework. I received Cs on quizzes, and forgot the state capitals and rivers of South
America, our friendly neighbor. Even the girls who had been friendly blew away like loose
flowers to follow the boys in neat jackets.
I wore that thing for three years until the sleeves grew short and my forearms stuck out like
the necks of turtles. All during that time no love came to me—no little dark girl in a Sunday
dress she wore on Monday. At lunchtime I stayed with the ugly boys who leaned against the
chainlink fence and looked around with propellers of grass spinning in our mouths. We saw
girls walk by alone, saw couples, hand in hand, their heads like bookends pressing air together.
We saw them and spun our propellers so fast our faces were blurs.
I blame that jacket for those bad years. I blame my mother for her bad taste and her cheap
ways. It was a sad time for the heart. With a friend I spent my sixth-grade year in a tree in the
alley, waiting for something good to happen to me in that jacket, which had become the ugly
brother who tagged along wherever I went. And it was about that time that I began to grow.
My chest puffed up with muscle and, strangely, a few more ribs. Even my hands, those fleshy
hammers, showed bravely through the cuffs, the fingers already hardening for the coming
fights. But that L-shaped rip on the left sleeve got bigger, bits of stuffing coughed out from
its wound after a hard day of play. I finally Scotch-taped it closed, but in rain or cold weather
the tape peeled off like a scab and more stuffing fell out until that sleeve shriveled into a
palsied arm. That winter the elbows began to crack and whole chunks of green began to fall
off. I showed the cracks to my mother, who always seemed to be at the stove with steamed-up
glasses, and she said there were children in Mexico who would love that jacket. I told her that
this was America and yelled that Debbie, my sister, didn’t have a jacket like mine. I ran outside,
ready to cry, and climbed the tree by the alley to think bad thoughts and watch my breath puff
white and disappear.
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
243
“The Jacket” (continued)
But whole pieces still casually flew off my jacket when I played hard, read quietly, or took
vicious spelling tests at school. When it became so spotted that my brother began to call me
“camouflage,” I flung it over the fence into the alley. Later, however, I swiped the jacket off the
ground and went inside to drape it across my lap and mope.
I was called to dinner: steam silvered my mother’s glasses as she said grace; my brother
and sister with their heads bowed made ugly faces at their glasses of powdered milk. I gagged
too, but eagerly ate big rips of buttered tortilla that held scooped-up beans. Finished, I went
outside with my jacket across my arm. It was a cold sky. The faces of clouds were piled up,
hurting. I climbed the fence, jumping down with a grunt. I started up the alley and soon
slipped into my jacket, that green ugly brother who breathed over my shoulder that day and
ever since.
From The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and Short Essays by Gary Soto. Copyright © 1983, 2000 by Gary Soto.
Reprinted by permission of Peresa Books, Inc. (New York).
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Excerpt: “The Book of Me m o r y, Bo o k T h i r t e e n ”
He remembers that he gave himself a new name, John because all cowboys were named
John, and that each time his mother addressed him by his real name he would refuse to answer
her. He remembers running out of the house and lying in the middle of the road with his
eyes wide shut, waiting for a car to run him over. He remembers that his grandfather gave
him a large photo of Gabby Hayes and that it sat in a place of honor on the top of his bureau.
He remembers thinking the world was flat. He remembers learning how to tie his shoes. He
remembers that his father’s clothes were kept in the closet in his room and that it was the
noise of hangers clicking together in the morning that would wake him up. He remembers the
sight of his father knotting his tie and saying to him, Rise and shine little boy. He remembers
wanting to be a squirrel, because he wanted to be light like a squirrel and have a bushy tail and
be able to jump from tree to tree as though he were flying. He remembers looking through the
venetian blinds and seeing his newborn sister coming home from the hospital in his mother’s
arms. He remembers the nurse in a white dress who sat beside his baby sister and gave him
little squares of Swiss chocolate. He remembers that she called them Swiss although he did not
know what that meant. He remembers lying in his bed at dusk in midsummer and looking at
the tree through his window and seeing different faces in the configuration of the branches. He
remembers sitting in the bathtub and pretending that his knees were mountains and that the
white soap was an ocean liner.
From “The Book of Memory, Book Thirteen” in The Invention of Solitude by Paul Auster. Reprinted with permission.
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
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“Thank You, M’am”
She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and
nails. It had a long strap, and she carried it slung across her shoulder. It was about eleven
o’clock at night, dark, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to
snatch her purse. The strap broke with the sudden single tug the boy gave it from behind. But
the boy’s weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance. Instead
of taking off full blast as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk and his legs
flew up. The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his bluejeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirtfront, and shook him until
his teeth rattled.
After that the woman said, “Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here.”
She still held him tightly. But she bent down enough to permit him to stoop and pick up
her purse. Then she said, “Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?”
Firmly gripped by his shirtfront, the boy said, “Yes’m.”
The woman said, “What did you want to do it for?”
The boy said, “I didn’t aim to.”
She said, “You a lie!”
By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, and some stood watching.
“If I turn you loose, will you run?” asked the woman.
“Yes’m,” said the boy.
“Then I won’t turn you loose,” said the woman. She did not release him.
“Lady, I’m sorry,” whispered the boy.
“Um-hum! Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain’t you got
nobody home to tell you to wash your face?”
“No’m,” said the boy.
“Then it will get washed this evening,” said the large woman, starting up the street,
dragging the frightened boy behind her.
He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild, in tennis shoes and blue
jeans.
The woman said, “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can
do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?”
“No’m,” said the being-dragged boy. “I just want you to turn me loose.”
“Was I bothering you when I turned that corner?” asked the woman.
“No’m.”
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“Thank You, M’am” (conti n u e d )
“But you put yourself in contact with me,” said the woman. “If you think that that contact
is not going to last a while, you got another thought coming. When I get through with you, sir,
you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones.”
Sweat popped out on the boy’s face and he began to struggle. Mrs. Jones stopped, jerked
him around in front of her, put a half nelson about his neck, and continued to drag him up
the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside, down a hall, and into a large
kitchenette-furnished room at the rear of the house. She switched on the light and left the door
open. The boy could hear other roomers laughing and talking in the large house. Some of their
doors were open, too, so he knew he and the woman were not alone. The woman still had him
by the neck in the middle of her room.
She said, “What is your name?”
“Roger,” answered the boy.
“Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,” said the woman, whereupon she
turned him loose—at last. Roger looked at the door­—looked at the woman—looked at the
door—and went to the sink.
“Let the water run until it gets warm,” she said. “Here’s a clean towel.”
“You gonna take me to jail?” asked the boy, bending over the sink.
“Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere,” said the woman. “Here I am trying
to get home to cook me a bite to eat and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe you ain’t been to
your supper either, late as it be. Have you?”
“There’s nobody home at my house,“ said the boy.
“Then we’ll eat,” said the woman. “I believe you’re hungry—or been hungry—to try to
snatch my pocketbook!”
“I want a pair of blue suede shoes,” said the boy.
“Well you didn’t have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes,” said Mrs. Luella
Bates Washington Jones. “You could’ve asked me.”
“M’am?”
The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. A very
long pause. After he had dried his face and not knowing what else to do, dried it again, the boy
turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He could make a dash for it down
the hall. He could run, run, run, run!
The woman was sitting on the daybed. After a while she said, “I were young once and I
wanted things I could not get.”
There was another long pause. The boy’s mouth opened. Then he frowned, not knowing
he frowned.
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
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“Thank You, M’am” (conti n u e d )
The woman said, ‘Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn’t you? You thought I
was going to say, but I didn’t snatch people’s pocketbooks. Well, I wasn’t going to say that.” Pause.
Silence. “I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son­—neither tell God, if He
didn’t already know. Everybody’s got something in common. So you set down while I fix us
something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable.”
In another corner of the room behind a screen was a gas plate and an icebox. Mrs. Jones got
up and went behind the screen. The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run
now, nor did she watch her purse, which she left behind her on the daybed. But the boy took
care to sit on the far side of the room, away from the purse, where he thought she could easily
see him out of the corner of her eye if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust
him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.
“Do you need somebody to go to the store,” asked the boy, “maybe to get some milk or
something?”
“Don’t believe I do,” said the woman, “unless you just want sweet milk yourself. I was
going to make cocoa out of this canned milk I got here.”
“That will be fine,” said the boy.
She heated some lima beans and ham she had in the icebox, made the cocoa, and set the
table. The woman did not ask the boy anything about where he lived, or his folks, or anything
else that would embarrass him. Instead, as they ate, she told him about her job in a hotel
beauty shop that stayed open late, what the work was like, and how all kinds of women came
in and out, blondes, redheads, and Spanish. Then she cut him a half of her ten-cent cake.
“Eat some more, son,” she said.
When they were finished eating, she got up and said, “Now here, take this ten dollars and
buy yourself some blue sued shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto
my pocketbook nor nobody else’s—because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet. I got
to get my rest now. But from here on in, son, I hope you will behave yourself.”
She led him down the hall to the front door and opened it. “Good night! Behave yourself,
boy!” she said, looking out into the street as he went down the steps.
The boy wanted to say something other than, “Thank you, m’am,” to Mrs. Luella Bates
Washington Jones, but although his lips moved, he couldn’t even say that as he turned at the
foot of the barren stoop and looked up at the large woman in the door. Then she shut the door.
Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, LLC: “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories of Langston Hughes by Langston
Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad.
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Excerpt: All Over But the S h o u t i n ’
It was a place where gray mists hid the tops of low, deep-green mountains, where redbone
and bluetick hounds flashed through the pines as they chased possums into the sacks of
old men in frayed overalls, where old women in bonnets dipped Bruton snuff and hummed
“Faded Love and Winter Roses” as they shelled purple hulls, canned peaches and made
biscuits too good for this world.
It was a place where playing the church piano loud was near as important as playing
it right, where fearless young men steered long, black Buicks loaded with yellow whiskey
down roads the color of dried blood, where the first frost meant hog killin’ time and the
mouthwatering smell of cracklin’s would drift for acres from giant, bubbling pots. It was a place
where the screams of panthers, like a woman’s anguished cry, still haunted the most remote
ridges and hollows in the dead of night, where children believed they could choke off the cries
of night birds by circling one wrist with a thumb and forefinger and squeezing tight, and where
the cotton blew off the wagons and hung like scraps of cloud in the branches of trees.
Rick Bragg. 1997. All Over But the Shoutin’. New York: Random House.
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
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Excerpt: My Dog Skip
The town where Old Skip and I grew up together was an unhurried and isolated place
then. About ten thousand people lived there, of all races and origins, and it sat there crazily,
half on steep hills and half on the flat Delta. Some of the streets were not paved, and the main
street, stretching its several blocks from the Dixie Theater down to the bend in the river, was
narrow and plain, but down along the quiet, shady streets, with their magnolia and pecan
and elm and locust trees, were the stately old houses that had been built long before the Civil
War, slightly dark and decaying until the descendants became prosperous enough to have
them ”restored,” which usually meant one coat of white enamel. All of this was before the
big supermarkets and shopping centers and affluent subdivisions with no sidewalks and the
monster highways and the innocence lost.
It was even before there was television, and people would not close their doors and shut
their curtains to watch the quiz games or the comedy hours or the talk shows where everybody
talks at once. We would sit out on our front porches in the hot, serene nights and say hello to
everyone who walked by. If the fire truck came past, we all got in our cars to follow it, and Skip
was always the first to want to go. The houses were set out in a line under the soft green trees,
their leaves rustling gently with the breeze. From the river sometimes came the melancholy
echo of a boat’s horn.
Willie Morris. 1996. My Dog Skip. New York: Vintage Books.
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Sentence Patterns for the C u m u l a t i v e S e n t e n c e S t y l e
•
He lay for a quarter of an hour without thinking, lips parted, legs and arms extended,
breathing quietly as he gazed at the figures in the wallpaper until they were hidden in
darkness.
—Saul Bellow
•
One remembers them from another time—playing handball in the playground, going to
church, wondering if they were going to be promoted at school.
—James Baldwin
•
The worst kind of rope was the kind you bought in the store—cloth ropes with red plastic
handles that came in plastic packages with pictures of little blonde girls on them.
—Veronica Chambers
•
•
I sensed a wrongness around me, like an alarm clock that had gone off without being set.
•
I did find work that afternoon, six houses nearly all in a row, all new with half-finished
landscaping, all proud that they had numbers on their curbs.
—Gary Soto
•
A moment later she was swimming back to the side of the pool, her head of short-clipped
auburn hair held up straight ahead of her, as though it were a rose on a long stem.
—Phillip Roth
•
On the corner a guy played the saxophone, the sound sliding into the darkness and echoing
off the bricks.
—Walter Dean Myers
—Maya Angelou
Her hair was slicked against her head with a bun in the back, a proper married-lady hairdo.
—Maxine Hong Kingston
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
251
V erb Clusters
•
They were teenagers in the picture, grinning at the automatic camera they fed a quarter.
—John Edgar Wideman
•
In church on Sunday I saw women dressed impeccably, singing and swinging and getting
merry like Christmas.
—Veronica Chambers
•
Byron started walking toward Momma in slow motion, sliding his feet on the linoleum.
—Christopher Paul Curtis
•
Once in her mother’s lap she rested content all the way home, sucking her thumb, stroking
her nose with the forefinger of the same hand, and kneading a corner of her blanket with
the three fingers that were left.
—Alice Walker
•
The faces of clouds were piled up, hurting.
—Gary Soto
I climbed the fence, jumping down with a grunt.
—Gary Soto
•
•
In the classroom I sat back watching her graceful movements, admiring the translucent
quality of her unblemished skin, wondering whether both her calm and her beauty were a
gift from God, imagining myself in the medieval clothes of her nun’s habit.
—Judith Ortiz Cofer
What makes this sentence different?
• Standing at the front window and holding back the curtain, Agatha watched for the first star.
—Anne Tyler
252
Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Paragraph Using Verb Clu s t e r s I
Climbing an October mountainside in Montana’s Glacier National Park,
I notice a grizzly about the same time it notices me. Easing away, I circle
far above. Now the backdrop is of ice fields and limestone ramparts with
lakes cupped at their base and clouds surging over the top, driving 50mile-an-hour gusts before them. They clout me around and start hurling
rain. It turns to snow that races bands of storm from crag to crag. The
scene is so immense I am hardly aware that the bear has been zigzagging
uphill my way as it feeds.
—From “Grizz, Survival: Their Fate is in our Hands” by
Douglas H. Chadwick, National Geographic, July 2001
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
253
Paragraph Using Verb Clu s t e r s I I
Springing high, the diver trains for an upcoming competition. Throwing
herself high into the air, twisting, twirling around, she dives into the
pool with just a little splash. Swimming over to the side, she gets out and
repeats the dive until she has perfected it.
—High school student
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Writers Workshop Less o n s : N a r r a t i v e
Using Dialogue
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Now?”
“Soon.”
“Do the scientists really know? Will it happen today, will it?”
“Look, look; see for yourself.”
The children pressed to each other like so many roses, so many weeds,
intermixed, peering out for a look at the hidden sun.
—From “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury,
Magazine of Fantasy and Fiction
(Don Congdon Associates, 1954, renewed 1982)
W r i t e r s Wo r k s h o p L e s s o n s : N a r r a t i v e
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