Supporting Heartland Writers with Write from the Beginning and Beyond

Write from the Beginning...and Beyond: Narrative writing curriculum is

• Vertically aligned from one grade level to the next

• Developmental

• Directly instructed through mini-lessons

• Focused on essential criteria of effective writing

• Implemented using the I do, You do, We do method

• Focused on specific goals

• Able to assess writing skills objectively

• Able to measure writing skills easily

• Reliant on Thinking Maps to organize writing

• Reliant on teacher ingenuity and intuition in knowing where students are succeeding and needing to be challenged, then crafting mini-lessons to advance those students in the next skill

To implement the Write from the Beginning...and Beyond: Narrative writing curriculum follow these steps:

1. Determine writing goal for student

2. Develop mini-lesson

3. Instruct student

4. Model skill (I do)

5. Guide student (We do)

6. Provide independent practice (You do)

7. Assess student

8. Affirm student

9. Challenge student

10. Reflect on student needs

11. Repeat steps 1-10

Modeling...

Shows instead of tells

Offers an example

Provides a reference

Teaches organizational structure

Teaches strategies

Is sensitive to the student's level of ability

For Kindergarteners is 5 days a week

For 1st - 3rd graders is 3 days a week

Focuses on a specific skill

Moves into strategies after starting with basic structures

Shows students how to write to prompts

Focuses on the essential criteria of effective writing

Is the first step of a gradual release toward student independence 

Mini-lessons are...

Simple

Brief

Focused

Concise

Reflective of student needs

Non-threatening

Daily

Fun

Consistent

Responsive to students

Exposing students to essential criteria of effective writing

A time for students to practice

Gentle

Light

Informative

Humorous

Playful

Inviting

Interactive

Hands-on

The following are characteristics of what narratives can be or have: 

Stories

Personal

Realistic

Imaginative

Entertainment

Life lessons

Oral

Written

Visual

Structured

Chronological

Categorical

Problem/solution

Intriguing adventure

Characters

Setting

Humor

Suspense 

Tension

Drama

WBBN Rubrics..

Are skills-based and analytic

Measure multiple elements

Are relevant to quality in writing

Ascribe point values

Measure unassisted work

Are accessible to students

Provide lots of information

Inform instruction

Are at the student's level

Can be modified for EL and SPED students

Are vertically aligned

Have a Kinder goal of 6 points

Have a 1st - 3rd grade goal of 20 points

Measure Kinder competency at 5-6 points

Measure 1st - 3rd grade competency at 16-20 points