Posts with the label writing process
Showing posts with label writing process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing process. Show all posts
March 8, 2016
How To Writing: Introducing Informative Writing & Catching A Leprechaun!
With March in full swing and St. Patrick’s Day just next week I thought it would be fun to share out one of my favorite thematic writing units: How To writing! This type of informative writing allows students to become experts in a topic and hone in on specific writing skills such as adding details, writing for an audience, and continuing to practice the writing process.
How To writing is a very specific skill in that students learn to write step-by-step directions on how to do something. I always have fun with this unit because it allows for the teacher to demonstrate how authors should add detail where the writer assumes the reader knows what they’re thinking!
One example of this is my introductory lesson on How To. The topic I chose to demonstrate to the class is: How To Blow A Bubble. It’s a skill that all students should know and I can easily model my thinking for. I begin with a poster sized copy of my planning paper (included in download) where I think about the steps to blowing a bubble:
First, I put a piece of bubble gum into my mouth.
Then, I chew really hard for a while.
Next, I use my tongue to flatten the gum in my mouth.
After that, I chew some more to make it flexible.
Last, I blow a bubble.
Obviously you’ve noticed that my steps are very basic and include little detail. This is done on purpose as I will continue to model throughout the unit how to make my writing more engaging. However, this is typically the starting place that many of your kiddos will themselves be at in their writing. As we move through the unit and I introduce the next steps in their writing, I continue to use my blowing a bubble example to model for my kids how it evolves over time and eventually into a more cohesive and understandable piece of writing.
After I discuss this example I introduce to the class that the writing topic we’ll be practicing together is Catching A Leprechaun! Every year a pesky and mischievous leprechaun visits our school and plays tricks in our classroom. Students are instructed to develop and create a leprechaun trap in attempts to catch this little guy!
CREATING THE TRAPS
One thing that I’ve changed about this activity is no longer creating the traps during the school day. I found that having the parents involved with the creation of the leprechaun traps really helped students get creative and spend quality time with their families. This also frees up a lot of in-classroom time for students to begin working on the writing piece of this activity.
Send home the provided parent letter, which outlines the intention of the project and gives explicit directions on how to create the traps. Make sure it’s explained that this is their CHILD’S project and not theirs ;) I love seeing the traps come to school and how over the top some of them can be!
BEGIN WRITING
Now that the traps are made and the planning sheets that were sent home to be completed are returned to school, all students should be ready to begin their first drafts or finishing sketching their steps. It’s important that students have an opportunity to sketch how they built their traps because their illustrations will help them remember key details when they’re writing the directions.
EDITING THEIR WORK
Now that students have worked hard on their illustrations and writing out their directions, they are able to move on to edit and revise. This simple checklist allows students to ensure they’re looking for any mistakes and know how to fix them. Editing and revising is always an ongoing skill in my classroom and these checklists make it so much easier on my kiddos.
PUBLISHING & SHARING!
Once students have completed the writing process for this piece of writing they are finally able to publish their work! In this download there is a blank cover page and corresponding coloring page that students will color, cut, and attach to their covers. I recommend stapling their book along the top so when you display them their books flip up to read.
In their publishing, students not only want to use their best handwriting, but this is the time where they can spend a little more attention to their illustrations and color them in.
March 7, 2016
BTS: Writing Process Poster Set!
Writers Workshop has always been a subject where I really see students struggle and I am always looking for ways to engage my kiddos and reveal to them the creativity that is hiding inside. Every year I am always excited to launch my workshop and one way I do that is by teaching my kids about the process in which writers go through in order to publish great work.
In kindergarten and 1st grade, typically students learn to form sentences using proper spelling and making sure their work begins with a capital and ends with punctuation. By second grade students are expected by the end of the year to write paragraphs. What a leap!
This writing process poster set doubles as a teaching resource when launching your writers workshop, but it becomes a clip chart and usable part of your writing block! Here’s how!
Brainstorming
This step teaches students that they must plan out their ideas using graphic organizers. This gives teachers an opportunity to expose students to various organizers depending on the writing they’re wanting to create.
First Draft
The first draft is the starting point in a student’s writing where they are putting multiple sentences together to form paragraphs. They learn to write and get their ideas down on paper and worry about fixing any mistakes later in the writing process.
Self Editing
Editing ones work is an important skill that students will learn and will help them become productive partners in the peer editing step that comes next. Editing requires students to look for those spelling, capitalization, and punctuation mistakes in their work. This is also a time where teachers have the opportunity to show students the resources they can use to enhance their writing such as children’s dictionaries, classroom word walls, etc.
Peer Editing
Now students are able to help each other by reading over their peer’s work and help them fix any mistakes they find in their writing. It allows them to share their work and openly discuss their ideas.
Revising
Like editing, revising can be tricky for students since it requires them to add details to their writing for it to become more engaging and concise to their readers. Often times it’s hard for students to think about how others understand their writing since they’re so in their own minds about their stories. However, this is always a fun step to teach them and one where I see the most growth once the light bulb goes off.
Teacher Conference {this step can be inserted anywhere in the writing process}
This is an extremely important step because it allows you to touch base with each child and see what they’re working on. It also allows you to work with them to set writing goals and share a skill for them to practice independently. Keep a writing conference binder where you can easily access your notes or keep copies of student work.
Publishing
Possibly the most exciting step for any child in the writing process- publishing! Not only does a child take pride in writing their final drafts, but with all the work they put into this piece they’re probably ready to be done with it and move on. Publishing has students write their final drafts in their best handwriting and it’s always fun to have special publishing paper at their disposal.
A Celebration!
This step isn’t necessary to teach, but I think it’s important for students to celebrate their work and have an opportunity to share their published work with their peers or even parents if you’re able to have a quarterly get-together. Seeing themselves as student-authors is an important step in building their confidence as writers and to prove that although everyone has different writing abilities, everyone has work they should be proud of!
It’s also great for me to glance over and see who has been stuck on one step for a while or those who seem to steamroll through their writing. I am able to conference, or touch base, with those kiddos and see what goals they need to establish in order to get the most out of their writing.
July 15, 2013
Monday Made It Linky: Writing Process Poster Set
Back here with a little download and linky with the fabulous Fourth Grade Frolics!
Last year I used a great tool during writers workshop which was the great writing process poster from over at Second Grade Shenanigans. This little guy was a great addition to the classroom and became very useful (students were so eager to move their clips!). Unfortunately, the laminate started coming off and therefore I needed new posters...so, I created my own this time around!
Teacher Tip: One trick that I found to be extremely useful last year was to hot glue dixie cups to the back of my posters, which brings them up off the wall. It's perfect for any display where students will be using clips...and with these posters they'll be moving them very frequently :)
Teacher Tip: One trick that I found to be extremely useful last year was to hot glue dixie cups to the back of my posters, which brings them up off the wall. It's perfect for any display where students will be using clips...and with these posters they'll be moving them very frequently :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Hey there!
