Good Beginnings, Endings

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Good Beginnings, Endings Stuff in Between

• This workshop will assist you with ideas,
  strategies, and techniques that will help
  students craft better writing.
• The Writing Workshop Resource Manual will be a
  great resource for you and your students

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Explicit instruction

• Explicit Instruction helps all students those
  with and without learning disabilities
• Instruction should be explicit about
• Process planning, revising, and helping kids
  learn to monitor what theyre doing
• Goals why kids are being asked to do the
  writing assignment and what they intend to give
  the reader

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Encouraging young writers

• Model the process. The work that goes into
  writing planning, drafting, revising, and
  editing all goes on inside the mind. Make it
  visible to students
• Help make handwriting, spelling, and sentence
  construction routine (automatized, so students
  dont have to stop and think of each word)
• Provide grammar and vocabulary instruction

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Extra attention to the fundamentals pays off

• As a students spelling improves and their
  writing improves, there is a carryover effect
  in
• improved sentence construction
• increased amount of writing
• increased quality of the writing

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Mechanics versus content

• Often interrelated. For example, if you struggle
  writing the words youre going to produce less
  content
• If a kid struggles with mechanics, provide
  focused instruction in letter formation and
  spelling to help kids move past that point. Look
  for alternatives to help the student keep up
  (e.g., word processing software, speech synthesis
  software)
• If a kid struggles with content, sometimes its a
  structure issue or a knowledge issue.
  Instruction should center on how to get ideas and
  ways to organize ideas

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Other effective strategies

• Explicitly teach children how to form sentences
• Use reading as a model for writing
• Have kids do research and ask questions to get
  ideas for writing
• But nothing beats a well-prepared,
  knowledgeable, dedicated teacher in helping kids
  become good writers.

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How to model sentence formation

• Take small, kernel sentences
• Show how to make those into more complex
  sentences
• Have kids work with you to do the same thing,
  then work with each other
• Have them apply the practice in their own writing
  

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The Writing Workshop Resource Manual

• Lets take a look inside to preview some helpful
  ideas, strategies, and techniques that will
  assist your writing instruction in your classroom
  or instructional setting

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Chicopee Writing RubricFourth Grade Proficient

• Topic is clearly stated and well developed
• All sentences on topic
• Adequate number and choice of details support the
  topic
• 5-paragraphs with precise introduction, body and
  conclusion
• Ideas logical and sequential
• Paragraphs are well organized to convey writers
  purpose
• Precise use of transitions
• Evidence of compound/complex sentences
• Sentences vary in type and length
• Word choice supports writers purpose
• Sensory words and figurative language

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Writing Conventions Proficient

• Capitalization
• Punctuation
• Grade level words spelled correctly
• Correct use of subject/verb agreement in and verb
  tenses
• Pronouns, plurals, and possessives

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Prewriting

• First step to a well developed composition is
  organizing your thoughts in the prewriting step
  which helps the writer
• Stay focused on the subject
• Think sequentially
• Form strategies for beginning, middle, and end
• Come up with all options before writing
• Write descriptively
• Consider the audience and purpose of their writing

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Some Prewriting Strategies

• Brainstorming
• Making a list
• Webbing
• Sequencing with a storyboard
• Graphic organizers
• Transition timeline
• First, next, after
• Memory Chart
• Who, What, When, Where, Why?

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Webbing
Detail
Detail
Detail
Detail
Main idea for 2nd detail paragraph
Main idea for 1st detail paragraph
TOPIC
Important words from the prompt
Detail
Detail
Main idea for 3rd detail paragraph
Detail
Detail
Detail
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Bold Beginnings

• Lets the reader know what the topic is
• In narrative, you let the reader know you are
  going to tell a story.
• In expository, the beginning makes an important
  statement that can be explained and supported
  with reasons and details.

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Bold Beginnings

• An introductory paragraph
• Includes the main idea/ topic sentence, as well
  as a sentence for each detail paragraph (from
  bubbles in web)
• Concluding sentence should restate main idea
  and/or add an emotion word
• A good introductory paragraph acts as a guide for
  the rest of the composition!!

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Bold Beginnings

• Hook Sentence/Grabber Sentence
• Catches the readers attention
• Pulls the reader into the essay and makes the
  reader want to read more!
• Its appropriate for the purpose and audience
  being written for.
• (Binder p. 75-89)

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ACTIVITY

• Hooking your reader!! Winning a prize!
• A Day at the Beach
• What are some tacky beginnings?

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Marvelous Middle

• 3 detail paragraphs
• Paint a picture for the reader with specific
  details that are organized and stay on focus.
• Have students utilize the prewriting strategies
  to stay organized.

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Marvelous Middles

• Ingredients for a good composition
• Details! Details! Details!
• Stay on topic
• Sequential/logical order
• Emotion words
• Dialogue (limited!)
• Sensory Words
• Sentence variety and length
• Voice

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Marvelous Middles

• Show, dont tell
• Means to describe something to the reader instead
  of telling them something too obvious. It paints
  a picture in the readers mind

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Marvelous Middles

• The boy was very frightened.
• The boy screeched in terror and threw his hands
  up to protect himself. Even though his legs felt
  like they had turned to jelly, he jumped to his
  feet and ran screaming all the way.

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ACTIVITY

• Show, dont tell
• Rewrite one of the following sentences!
• The girl was happy to see her mom.
• He was mad they didnt win.
• The garden is pretty.
• That ride was fun.

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Marvelous Middles

• Vivid vocabulary
• Strong verbs
• Adjectives/adverbs
• Specific nouns
• Figurative language
• Similes
• Metaphors
• Idioms
• Onomatopoeia

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Marvelous Middles

• Conventions
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Spelling
• Creative spelling is OK for the first draft.
  Circle words that may be misspelled.
• Grammar

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Marvelous Middles

• Each detail paragraph should have a hook
  sentence/main idea sentence.
• Paragraph details come from the web, or
  prewriting.
• Concluding sentence should restate the paragraph
  topic or use a feeling word to make it more
  personal. The concluding sentence helps lend to
  the VOICE of the essay.

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Excellent Endings

• The concluding paragraph
• Restates the topic that is in the introductory
  paragraph.
• Summarizes the points in the body of the essay.
• Brings the essay to an end.
• Gives the reader something to think about.
• Wrap it up!
• What do you want the reader to remember?

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Excellent Endings

• Here are some ideas for excellent endings
• End with advice to the reader
• End with a quote
• End with a question
• End by rewording the beginning

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ACTIVITY

• Write an excellent ending! Win a prize!
• Have you ever been so frightened that you
  couldnt talk or move? Thats what happened to
  me last Thursday. It was the scariest day of my
  life.
• I had just arrived home after school. I was
  surprised to see the front door wide open. I
  called for mom, but no answer. I ran through
  every room in the house calling for her. I
  couldnt find her anywhere. Thats when I got
  really scared. What had happened to my mother?
  Imagine my relief when she walked into the house.
  
• (ADD AN ENDING!)

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Revising

• Students clarify their writing and make it more
  interesting to the reader. They may make changes
  in content, word choice, sentence structure and
  organization.

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Revising

• Helpful Hints
• Skipping lines on first draft makes it easier for
  students to make corrections.
• Have students use colored pencils in revising.
• Students should read their first draft aloud,
  either to themselves or a classmate.
• Make a revision checklist available, so students
  know what they are looking for when revising.
• Make word lists, thesauruses, and dictionaries
  available.

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Editing

• Students review their writing to correct errors
  in conventions
• Punctuation, spelling (circled words),
  capitalization, indenting, and grammar.
• Model and practice skills in small groups and
  center activities
• Differentiate instruction
• Provide editing checklist

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Publishing

• Not all writing needs to be brought to this
  point.
• Students do love to share their writing whether
  it be in completion or just a portion.

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Final Thoughts

• Give explicit instruction to demonstrate writing
  process and skills.
• Allow students time to practice writing.
• Write across the curriculum.
• MAKE WRITING FUN!