Finding the Adventure in Writing Reading Coaches Meeting January 10-12, 2012 Division of Language Arts & Reading
Covering All Your Bases Genres Personal Narrative Expository Personal Informational Fictional Narrative (Imagined Event) Organization & Craft Beginnings/Endings Appropriate Transitions Narrative-Time/Place Expository Descriptive Attributes Strong verbs Specific word choice Show Not Tell (clues for inference)
Characteristics of a Fictional Narrative Focus A plot consisting of conflict and resolution or goal and its attainment with passage of time Organization Chronologically based on a sequence of events involving a plot Graphic Organizers Timelines, storyboards, arch, & other linear planners to include notes about the characters, setting, plot Beginning- Struggle, goal or conflict is revealed or strongly hinted at in the first paragraphmay include a hook Transitions Related to time, place, and events Support Descriptive evokes 5 senses, attributes, movement, & comparisons Content Based on writer s imagination, memory, and observation Story has a theme Hard work pays off, beauty is only skin deep, don t judge a book by its cover, etc. Tension is created by: deadlines, readers knowing something a character doesn t, setbacks, and anticipation of a major event (foreshadowing) Character developed by: what he says, does, looks like, thinks, what others say about him, or how they react to him Dialogue Reveals characters & advances the plot Point of View 1 st Person or 3 rd person (main character s perspective) throughout, or alternating between two main characters, usually by chapter
When addressing imaginative narratives on the State s writing assessment If the prompt calls for a fictional narrative there is not enough time for a fully plotted story. An effective response is to create a short story that contains just one major descriptive setback & how the character overcame it. Start by having students tell short stories in response to imaginative story prompts & try to incorporate a setback. Setbacks should be noticed when reading through whole/small group lessons and through independent reading. Students should also collect lists of setbacks. Then have them practice writing stories with a setback. Freeman, 2003, p.147
Previous Prompts that lend themselves to an imagined event... One day your teacher comes in your classroom. She puts a bag down on her desk and leaves the room. As soon as she leaves the room, the bag begins to move. Write to tell what happens as the bag begins to move. You pass a door every day. It is always locked. One day you pass the door and it is not locked. You open the door and walk inside. Write to tell what happens when you open and walk inside. We all know that many animals are smart. Think about a time when an animal has done something smart. Now write to tell a story about a time an animal did something smart.
Previous prompts All of us have found something. Think about a time when you or someone else found something. Write to tell a story about what happened when you or someone else found something. Imagine a field trip to a special place. Think about what might happen on a field trip to a special place. Now write a story about a field trip to a special place. Most people have special rides they would like to go on. Think about a special ride you would like to go on. Now write to tell a story about going on a special ride.
How many of the fictional narrative elements does this paper exhibit.
Try it out orally Share a literature model. Generate examples. Share a teacher or student model. Listen to this!
See It
One day I went to the zoo in Kissime Fl. and I saw a elephant. What I saw that elephant do was so amazing! That elephant was reading a book and you would know he was because he was reading aloud and you could hear him 1,000 miles away! So I went up to him and, by, golly he could read, write, do everything we can do. So I invited him to my school. I told my friends and everbody that he could read and write. I asked him to read he did. I gave him a peanut and thanked him. I said you did a good job! He ate the peanut and asked for another so I gave him one more. So I walked the elephant back to the zoo. I waved goodbye and then went home. I told my mom all about my day. Now when I go to the zoo I bring him books to read and peanuts to eat.
Where would you put the setback(s) in this paper?
We can t wait to hear you read!
To quote a famous character in literature... The sky is falling! The sky is falling! The children don t remember a thing about conventions! Spell basic sight words wrong! They had those words in 2 nd grade.
1. Have students create their own personal EDITING LIST. If students have chronic problems with some areas of conventions, have them write the rules and some correct examples in the back of their writer s notebook for each specific issue. For example, how to spell because, commas in a series, the difference between there, their and they re. If the students are aware of their constant mistakes, make sure they at least proof for those issues every time they write. Even on TEST Day!
2. Take 5 minutes at the beginning of every writing period and to do a grammar lesson.
Here is another -
Our parting words... We have given you tools to meet the increasing demands of the FCAT Writes! 2012. The foundational craft skills should have been taught and now is the time to hone in and tweak what is needed as a whole in the class and with individual students. Break a Pencil! Get it?
Opening Routines for Writing Countdown Day 1. Capitalization rules- list- give examples First word in a sentence I when it stands alone Name of a person, specific place, day, month book, and movie Put on board or overhead the sample of a correctly capitalized sentence: On the last Friday in June, Mrs. Gutierrez leaves for vacation. Discuss with students the rule for each proper noun. Imitate the sentence with your name in it. Ex. On the last Monday in June, Mrs. Raska is working at the Zelda Glazer Writing Institute. Discuss the rules for each of the proper nouns. Let them imitate the sentence. Read some of the sentences collect and put up good ones. Assessmenton wednesday morning, we will be practicing writing at naranja elementary Day 2 Punctuation - different kinds of sentences Telling -. Question? Exclamation! Command. or! These are called end punctuation. We don t find them in the middle of a sentence unless there is a quotation/ dialogue. Write a sample of each with the class. Look at this sentence: We went to the mall and bought shoes. toys. and stuff at the mall stores Discuss the following: What do you notice about this sentence? There is end punctuation in the middle of the sentence. Is that right? Where is the punctuation at the end of the sentence? What kind of sentence is it? What should I put there? What should go between shoes toys and stuff? I need to pause when I read these words Commas. These are commas in a series. Give the rules. Let s put the commas in together. 1 M-DCPS Division of Language Arts/Reading
Try it again: I went to the movie and bought buttery popcorn a raspberry Slurpee and a giant box of Goobers Where do the commas go? What else do you see there? Now you write a sentence with items in a series. Be specific like I was. Read several sentences aloud. Assessment sentence: my favorite fruits are apples pears and watermelon Day 3 Comma Causers page 38 Mechanically Inclined Recall with students that yesterday you talked about commas that help you separate items in a series. Today we are going to talk about other ways of using commas. Show book When I Was Little by Jamie Lee Curtis Display the following sentence. When I was little, I didn t get to eat Captain Crunch or paint my toenails bubble-gum pink. Ask students what they notice about the sentence. Proper nouns Specific words for pink Comma Why is there a comma near the beginning of the sentence? Yes to pause There are several words that, when they are located at the beginning of a sentence, signal you to use a comma to separate the introduction form the rest of the sentence. They are called Magic Words or comma causers. Tell students if they START a sentence with a Magic Word they are almost guaranteed to have a comma the sentence. They will hear or feel the pause when they read the sentence. Imitate the sentence with a sentence about yourself. Ex. When I was little, I cut my hair off on one side. Have students write a sentence about themselves using when I was little. 2 M-DCPS Division of Language Arts/Reading
Let s practice: When the baboon saw the grouched leopard he trembled. When Lucy jerked away the football Charlie Brown fell flat. When Tony dangled a spider by her face Susie screamed. Since the tub overflowed the bathroom got wet. Assessment: Put these ideas together to create a sentence with a comma causer. her backpack from school Sally unpacked when she go home Answer: When she got home from school, Sally unpacked her backpack. Day 4 Comma causers using sentence stalking and imitating Sentence Imitating Example from Flipped: If there was an Olympic contest for talking, Shelly Stalls would sweep the event. (p.16) If there was an Olympic contest for, would sweep the event. What is the sentence telling us? (She talks a lot.) What else do you see in this sentence?( proper nouns name of person and event, comma causer magic word -if) Your example: If there was an Olympic contest for shopping, Audrey Raska would sweep the event. 3 M-DCPS Division of Language Arts/Reading
Now you try. Assessment Put the ideas in the box together to create a sentence that makes sense. an Olympic contest for talking if there was Shelly Stalls would sweep the event Which sentence below correctly combines the words from the box? A. If there was Shelly Stalls would sweep the event, an Olympic contest for talking B. An Olympic contest for talking would sweep the event if there was Shelly Stalls. C. If there was an Olympic contest for talking, Shelly Stalls would sweep the event. 60 Day 5 Subject/ Verb Agreement Two Word Sentence Smack Down Mechanically Inclined p.65 Every sentence has a subject (who or what) Every sentence has a verb. (tell what they do) I lay quietly in my bed. Subject I Verb lay Does a sentence have to be long? Is this a sentence? - They race. Yes it has a subject they and a verb-race. What about this next one Like winning that sack race. No, it has no subject. We need to be writing in whole sentences. And making sure our subjects and verbs agree with each other. 4 M-DCPS Division of Language Arts/Reading
Let s practice! Put a two column note on the board and have the students make one on their paper. Sentence Smack Down Subject I They Verb lay race Give students the following sentences to find the subject and the verb at their desks Then the students will be given a sentence. They will have to put the subject and verb on a index card or a sticky note Each group comes up to smack down their sentence. See Directions on p66. of MI. Sentences We traveled through cold, dark forests. The Polar Express never slowed down. Lights appeared in the distance. The North Pole. Outside we saw hundreds of elves. The conductor handed me up. Do you hear me? I said good-bye to a lot of people. I picked you because sometimes you get pizza. 5 M-DCPS Division of Language Arts/Reading