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Because writing matters for success in school, the community, and the workplace, Schoolwide’s Writing Fundamentals Units of Study have a central mission to improve students’ writing by providing explicit instruction that focuses on demonstrating why writers write and how writers communicate their ideas effectively. In order for students to write with power and purpose, the Writing Fundamentals units use quality literature and informational texts to provide authentic examples of various genres and text types.
Immersion - Generate - Select - Collect - Draft - Revise - Edit - Publish
Launch
Launch
The beginning of the school year is an exciting time. It is important to have a good start to the school year where we create a classroom community that listens, shares, and responds to each other's thoughts, stories, and ideas. That is one goal of this unit. Writing can be personal, challenging, or even intimidating. My classroom is a safe place to share, give it a try, or make mistakes. I want my students to realize writing is important and they are all writers!
Essay
Essay
Perhaps more than any other genre, essay writing will be required throughout students' educational careers. Essays can be written to explain, explore, or argue ideas on a specific topic and are often written to entertain through discussion of an idea or opinion. In addition to teaching the basic qualities of writing, an essay genre study creates the opportunity to familiarize students with the features of essays and helps them build confidence with and knowledge of the genre. Some of these features include a clear organizational form, including a thesis statement and introductory sentence; a tight focus on a topic; and details and facts to support the writer's point.
Memoir
Memoir
Memoirs are narratives that usually focus on a significant time, place, and event in the writer's life (unlike a biography, which is usually the story of a person's whole life). A memoir can be told in retrospect but is almost always told in the first person. Memoirs are often written to record a memorable experience that the writer can refer to and reflect on. These meaningful stories are very descriptive and are often filled with emotion and a sense of reflection.
Biography
Biography
The word "biography" comes from the Greek words "bios," meaning "life," and "graphein," meaning "to write." Studying biography gives students the opportunity to read and learn about inspirational people who have made a difference to many. As writers of biographies, students will express their opinions about the subjects they write about and include researched facts and details that highlight the subjects' achievements and influences. Biographers write about people who interest and inspire them. Through biographies, writers express their points of view or opinions about a subject—typically one they hold in high regard. People they admire and respect from the past or present are worthy subjects for students' biographical writing.
5th Grade Writing Standards
5th Grade Writing Standards
Text Types and Purposes:
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose.
Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Link ideas within and across categories of information using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., in contrast, especially).
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events.
Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
Production and Distribution of Writing:
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grade 5 here.)
With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge:
Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Apply grade 5 Reading standards to literature (e.g., "Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or a drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., how characters interact]").
Apply grade 5 Reading standards to informational texts (e.g., "Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point[s]"").
Range of Writing:
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
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