Catawba County Schools Writing Plan

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Catawba County SchoolsWriting Plan
4th Grade
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Components of Writing Plan

• NCSCOS Objectives
• Essential Questions
• Activities/Strategies
• Resources
• Assessment
• Rubric
• Writing Products
• Portfolios

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Writing Genres/Products
Taken from NCSCOS
4th Grade

• Notes
• Poems
• Directions
• Instructions
• Learning Logs
• Diary Entries
• Autobiography
• Biography

• Personal/Imaginative Narratives
• Journal Entries
• Research Reports
• Business Letters
• Letters of Request
• Letters of Complaint
• Letters to the Editor

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Writing is all around us
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Portfolios

• 4 published pieces will be collected in the
  Writing Portfolio
• Each nine weeks one piece of writing will be
  taken to the publishing stage and submitted to
  the portfolio
• Each of the final four published pieces should
  represent a variety of genres of writing
• Students should be involved in the decision
  making process as to which pieces will be
  included in their writing portfolio

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Short Reports

• Probes

What is a probe?- to search into examine
thoroughly investigate Probes are notebooks
(MEAD marble composition books) that are bound
together and used for writing research reports on
various topics. These will be kept all year.
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Examples of Probes
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Recipes
Writing Directions Instructions
Zoo fun Kid recipes Recipe for procedural
writing Creature Recipes Purposeful Writing
Ideas/Activities
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Poetry

• Poetry as a Writing Genre
• 5 Ws Poem
• Poem A Week

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Business Letters

• Lesson plans for writing letters
• Ideas for writing letters
• Writing Business Letters lesson plan
• Letters of Complaint

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Response Journals
Journal Writing Tips
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Recipes
Writing Directions/ Instructions
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Learning Logs
Right Side of the Notebook Notes on
a mini-lesson lecture lab reading
film/video/documentary small group or large
group discussion collaborative group process a
copied excerpt of a text Interactive
Notebooks I.N. Examples Rubric for Grading
I.N. I.N. Powerpoint I.N. Information

• Left Side of the Notebook
• Paraphrase or clarify items
• Enter a drawing, photo, sketch, or magazine
  picture that illustrates the concept, ideas, or
  facts
• Pose questions about the information
• Form and express an opinion
• Predict outcomes or next steps
• Create a metaphor that captures the essence of
  the information/issue
• Write a reflection on the information or
  experience
• Find a quote that connects to the concept record
  it and explain your rationale
• Make connections between the information/text and
  your own life, another text, and/or the world
• Create a mind map that captures the main topic
  and key concepts and supportive detail
• Create an acronym that will help you to remember
  the information covered
• Make connections to the content/processes of
  other courses
•     

Interactive Notebooks
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Learning Logs continued

• What are learning logs?
• Writing Focus for Learning Logs
• Learning Logs and Double Entry Journal
  Explanations

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Diary Entries

• Have students write in the Dear Diary
• format. They can write the entries in their
  Writers Notebook, or on special paper. They can
  write the entries to a scenario that you have
  written on the board, or in a center. They can
  also write to a character in the book they are
  reading, or one from history.

My Diary
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Notes

• Note writing lesson plan
• Thank you notes
• Note taking tips for students

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Autobiographies/Biographies
Writing an Autobiography tips Mini
Unit Technology Autobiography Alphabet
Autobiography Book Auto biography poem Biography
Maker Student Biographers
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Lucy CalkinsUnits of StudyWritingGrades 3-5
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What does Writing Workshop look like? Mini Lesson
Independent Writing/Collecting Entries
(Writers Notebooks) Conferring Sharing
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Narrative Writing

• Personal Experiences
• Small Moments in time

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Lucy Calkins Units of Study
Grades 3-5

• Components
• Connection
• Teaching (Mini Lesson)
• Active Engagement
• Link
• Writing
• Mid-workshop Teaching Point
• Conferring
• Sharing

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Connection

• Links what has been done to what is expected to
  be learned in the present lesson
• May serve as a quick review of previous learning
• Explicitly name what will
• be taught/learned

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Teach(Mini-lesson)

• Has a Clear Objective - Teaching Point
• States the Purpose Explicitly
• Teacher Models Demonstrate
• May Provide Guided Practice
• Explains and Gives Examples

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Mini Lesson

• The mini-lesson is where the teacher can make
  a suggestion to the whole class...raise a
  concern, explore an issue, model a technique,
  reinforce a strategy. After observing students
  writing and identifying concerns, ask yourself
  "What is the one thing I can suggest or
  demonstrate that might help most?"   A
  mini-lesson generally lasts 5-10 minutes. Try to
  choose a teaching point that you feel would
  benefit the majority of the class.

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Mini-Lesson Ideas
Conventions Focus

• Use appropriate spacing
• Spelling phonetically
• Spell "High Frequency" words correctly
• Spell using analogies
• Capitalize I, names
• Capitalize beginnings of sentences
• Ending punctuation marks
• Quotation marks
• Commas
• Use of "and"
• Using appropriate grammar
• Using paragraphs
• Recognizing and correcting run-on sentences

• Getting an idea-making lists-things you
  love-writing from emotion-experiences-moments
  in time
• Adding detail
• Adds responses/telling the inside story
• Choice of words/ descriptive language
• Replacing tired words
• Great beginnings
• Wow endings
• One moment in time
• Observations
• "I wonder" writings
• Something ordinary
• Staying on focus
• Working with a seed idea
• Developing a plan for writing
• Finding your voice
• Genre studies-poetry-informational
  reports-letters-autobiographies-biographies

Content Focus
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Active
Engagement

• At the end of the mini-lesson students are given
  the opportunity to try-out the lesson through
  sharing with a partner
• At times students may watch other students trying
  something out

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Link

• Before sending student off to write
  independently, restate the teaching point and
  encourage students to use the skill taught in the
  mini-lesson in their ongoing work for the day.

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Writing Time

• Students write
• Teacher confers with individual students or small
  groups

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When something can be read without effort,
great effort has gone into its writing.
Enrique Jardiel Poncela  

• The students need to understand that there will
  be times when they can free write for
  themselves, but there will also be times when
  their writing needs to be in a form that is
  easily read by others. This is the published
  form of writing. The students will have many
  unfinished pieces throughout the year.

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Independent Writing/Collecting Entries

• After the mini lesson, students work in their
  Writer's Notebook to collect entries that may
  later become published pieces of writing.  The
  total writing time lasts for about 35 minutes,
  but during that time some students may be
  involved in conferences with the teacher or with
  their peers.
• Students choose entries in their notebooks to
  take into "draft form."  It is these carefully
  selected pieces of writing that will be taken
  through the process of editing and revising so
  that they can be published and shared with
  others.  All entries in the Writer's Notebook do
  not become published pieces of writing.  All
  published writing is added to each student's
  Writing Portfolio, and some pieces will even be
  put into student created books.

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(Mid-workshop teaching point)

• Sometimes you will find it necessary to stop
  and teach/re-teach a concept/skill during the
  writing workshop- this will be necessary when you
  are seeing several children struggling with the
  same issues

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Conferring

• The teacher may meet with students individually.
• The teacher may meet with small groups of
  students with similar needs
• The teacher takes the time to record her
  compliment and teaching points

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Conferring

• While students are involved in independent
  writing, use this time to confer with your
  writers.  Take notes during conferences to
  document students' progress and to plan future
  mini-lessons.  During this time the teacher may
• Listen to students read their entries aloud
• Help students decide what they want to say
• Provide feedback
• Re-teach skills taught during mini lessons
• Teach necessary new skills
• Reinforce a writer's strengths
• Give writers new ways of thinking

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Conferring Teaching Points

• The teacher looks for what the student knows.
• The teacher looks for what the student needs to
  know next
• The teacher asks herself what is the most
  important thing that she can teach this student
  next?
• The teacher must decide how she is going to teach
  the child

Conferences are conversations, not interrogations
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Sharing

• Students return to same place that they were for
  the mini-lesson.
• The teacher may decide to restate the teaching
  point of the mini-lesson and share examples of
  student work.
• The teacher may decide to
• introduce a new writing
• behavior that was observed.
• Students are given opportunities
• to share their work

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Sharing

• At the end of writing workshop everyday, students
  are brought back together for a 5-10 minute group
  share and reflection.  When students sign up to
  share or are asked to share, they take a seat in
  our coveted "Author's Chair."  Sometimes a writer
  might come to the author's chair to ask for help
  or receive feedback from his or her classmates
  ("I like my story, but I can't think of a good
  title.").  The author might also want to share
  part of an entry of which he or she is especially
  proud.
• During many group shares, each student gets a
  turn to share a small part of an entry,
  especially if you have asked students to try a
  particular new skill during the day's mini-lesson.

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Getting Ready for Writers Workshop

• Getting Your Room and Yourself Ready -   Plans
  for 1st week First Things First
• Have a carpet large enough for everyone to sit
  with an assigned partner (A,B)
• Arrange your room so students are in groups
  (this is needed for conferencing purposes and
  sharing materials)
• Have baskets made up for each group (containing
  pencils, colored pencils, highlighters, tape,
  scissors, date stamps)
•  Anchor charts on your walls as you make them
  with your class
• Have writing folders with students names on them
  to house writing resources, rough drafts, and
  final copies 
• Make sure you have Word Wall and mini offices
  available for student use
•   Decide how you will record conferences and make
  appropriate paperwork
•   Introduce parents to your writing program
  through newsletters, parent night, etc.
•   Establish "writing territories" (place where
  children write independently) -  Decide on
  writing environment (lights dim, soft music)
• Decide on transition procedures (song to go to
  the carpet, etc)
  
  

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Anchor Charts

• Anchor charts are tools for students to use
  during Writers' Workshop and aid children in
  remembering procedures and expectations.  Charts
  should be made with the children and added to
  throughout the year. Anchor charts need to be
  posted in the classroom where they are easily
  accessible to students.

• This is an example of an anchor chart used to
  teach children how to write a small moment story.
  

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Writers Notebook
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Writers Notebook EntriesGathering Ideas

• Poetry
• Family stories that we know
• Writing generated from conversations we've had or
  have heard
• Lists of people or place names of interest
• Entries about things we care about
• Things we wonder about
• Celebrations or victories
• Dreams

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PUBLISHING IDEAS

• Once a draft has been completed and students
  have conferenced with the teacher in the final
  step of the editing/revising process, students
  can choose a special themed paper on which to
  publish their final copy of the story.  The
  Writing Center should be stocked with a variety
  of decorated paper on which lines have been
  printed for students to write.

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PORTFOLIO
IDEAS

• The final product then becomes part of the
  students' Writing Portfolios.
• 1 Final Product will be selected to be included
  in each students portfolio each nine weeks.
• Each nine weeks final product for the portfolio
  should be from a different writing genre.

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• Ideas for Supporting
  Writing

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Mini- Offices
Teaching Heart writing mini offices JMeacham's
Mini Offices Busy Teacher's Cafe
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Word Bags

• Purpose To prevent overuse of words and to
  encourage accelerated vocabulary.
• Place a word on the bag and have the students
• fill the bag with synonyms as they come across
  words in their reading.

spectacular
marvelous
Good
fabulous
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Word Closets
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Word Bank
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Link Chains
Run

• Purpose
• Sequencing Events
• Accelerated Vocabulary
• (synonyms, antonyms)
• Life Cycles
• Contractions

dart
dash
scamper
trot
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Picture Word
Inductive ModelEmily
Calhoun
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Picture Word Induction Model Research

• In terms of general academic success, vocabulary
  knowledge is one of the best predictors of
  overall verbal intelligence, yielding
  correlations of .80 (Anderson Freebody, 1981
  Sternberg Powell). Each word a student can
  comprehend and use appropriately adds to personal
  cognitive processing abilities. Plus, one of the
  most consistent findings of educational research
  is that having a small vocabulary portends poor
  school performance (Anderson Nagy, 1992).