Standards: Connecticut has adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as the Connecticut State Standards (CSS).

BIG IDEAS

• Narratives contain descriptive details, clear event sequences, introductions, and organizational sequences.
• Feedback from peers and adults can support developing work.
• Studying mentor authors can help writers strengthen their own author's craft when engaged in the writing process.
• Writing can be developed and strengthened through planning, and then continuous revising and editing.
• Narrative writers draw on strategies consistently and with flexibility to craft a successful piece.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How can understanding narrative structure and craft help writers to craft strong narratives?
• How can writers independently craft true stories?
• How can a writer become a storyteller on the page?
• How can writers utilize learned skills and strategies to support the creation of a new piece?
• How can writers fancy up their writing through artful revision and editing?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

WRITING PERSONAL NARRATIVES WITH INDEPENDENCE

Session 1: Writing Workshop Components - Setting up Notebooks

• make goals about their writing and imagine the kind of writing they want to make.
• set up writer's notebooks (do and don't checklist).

Session 2: Small Moments

• generate ideas of special moments/people in our lives.
• tell a true story by writing about a small moment.
• write fast and furiously about several ideas.

Session 3: Writing with Independence - Strategies

• map small moments of important/special places.
• draw on the following strategies for different problems.
  • Draw a quick sketch to help get my mind going.
  • Reread good writing that others have written to warm myself up.
  • Set a goal for myself, like writing to the end of the page without stopping.
  • Look at the charts in the room and see if they give me an idea.

Session 4: Writing with a Storyteller's Voice

• visualize stories and tell them with a strong storytelling voice.
• find story ideas that are focused and important and write lots of entries.
• tell stories in small details to include actions and dialogue.

Session 5: Reflecting on Progress

• self-reflect on how they have grown and the next steps to get better at writing.
• self-select goals for future writing.

Session 6: Editing

• edit as they write.
• spell high frequency words correctly.
• break down words into syllables to approximate spelling.

BECOMING A STORYTELLER ON THE PAGE

Sessions 7-9: Rehearsing

• storytelling continuously by repeatedly adding on to a story until it is finished.
• write different leads to a story.
• fast-write discovery drafts/flash drafts.
• write with stamina to write long.
• read their writing aloud.
• incorporate different authors' writing style into their own writing.
• try what authors have done.
• notice how different authors use language.
  • putting in exact words people say, ex. "Is there thunder?" Mamma asks "No thunder," I say
  • write how people talk, ex. breathe, murmur, whisper
  • use descriptive details, ex. ice-chilled glass
  • tell the story bit by bit
• identify what tone they are writing in ( slow, sad, funny, sit on the edge of the seat, etc).

Sessions 10 - 11: Revising - Paragraphing to Support Sequencing, Dialogue and Elaboration

• add more to the heart of the story to develop stories further.
• bring out the internal story (I noticed...I wondered...I thought...).
• start new paragraphs by identifying subtopics, when time has moved forward, and when a new person is speaking.

WORKING WITH NEW INDEPENDENCE ON A SECOND PIECE

Working with Independence -> . . . in Progress

BIG IDEAS

• Writers can use events from their own lives to get ideas for stories.
• Writers can replicate an author's style in their own books.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How can writers study published authors to learn ways to craft small moment stories?
• How do writers write and revise small moment stories?
• How can writers study a published author to try out different craft moves to revise with intent?
• How can writers study their own mentor authors to learn and try out new craft moves?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will learn to . . .

Sessions 1-6: Writers generate ideas for opinion writing.

• flash draft a persuasive speech using brave and bold opinions.
• learn strategies for generating opinions keeping their audience in mind.
• edit their writing so that others can read it.
• self-assess and set goals for future writing.

Sessions 7-13: Writers organize and utilize elaboration techniques for opinion writing.

• collect evidence and facts to support their opinions.
• organize their evidence in a way that makes sense for their piece.

Sessions 14-18: Writers will generate multiple forms of opinion writing.

• set goals and deadlines for writing, holding themselves accountable for their work.
• utilize multiple ways to gather evidence for their opinion (interviews, surveys...).
• revise their introductions and conclusions.

Sessions 19-23: Writers will select a cause and write to inform others through different forms of opinion writing.

• collect information about a cause.
• draft an opinion piece to inform others about their cause.
• prepare their writing for publication.
• celebrate by sharing their opinion piece with a real audience.

BIG IDEAS

• Information articles have various structures where information is purposefully organized.
• Articles are carefully developed using information from various multimedia sources.
• Writing is developed and strengthened by planning, and continuously revising, and editing.
• Research needs appropriate citations.
• Clear note­taking leads to a strong and well-developed writing piece.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How can writers thoughtfully collect, organize and present factual information to an audience?
• How can writers draft and revise simultaneously to lift the level of writing by using varied text structures across chapters?
• How can writers be sure to use text features, fact check, and correct grammar conventions when engaged throughout the writing process, especially publishing?
• How can writers transfer what they know about information writing to other content areas?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-5: Writers will generate ideas for information writing.

• rehearse various structures of an expository piece before drafting.
• organize their information writing utilizing a table of contents to help plan chapters.

Sessions 6-11: Writers will draft and revise their chapter books.

• study mentor texts to identify elaboration strategies.
• apply elaboration strategies to their writing.

Sessions 12-16: Writers will publish an informational book.

• set goals using a checklist and making plans for revision.
• utilize revision strategies.
• incorporate relevant text features to enhance their writing.
• edit their writing paying attention to paragraphing.

Sessions 17- 21: Writers will write informational pieces in a variety of genres.

• plan content area writing (current social studies unit).
• craft speeches, articles, or brochures using skills learned in the unit.
• teach their writing skills to younger students as a form of celebration.

BIG IDEAS

• Opinion writing has a clear organizational structure that states an idea (claim) clearly and has details (evidence) to support that idea.
• Opinion writers read and reread a text in search of evidence to support their claim
• Essayists write several essays to develop the muscles to choose and evaluate details in support of an idea, cite text evidence clearly, and organize their writing into paragraphs.
• Writers use transitional phrases to incorporate evidence and engage their audience.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How can writers read closely to find evidence to advance a claim?
• How can writers craft an essay that states a strong opinion about a piece of literature and support it clearly with evidence from the text?
• What kind of organizational structure will serve to support the advancement of a claim?
• What techniques and strategies can writers use to lift the level of their writing?
• How do writers use everything they know about essay writing to create compare or contrast essays about ideas in what is being read?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-5: Writers will understand the structure of an opinion essay and generate ideas.

• generate opinions about books they have read.
• gather evidence from the story to incorporate in their essay.
• rehearse and draft literary essays from a text.
• learn different strategies for collecting and presenting text evidence.
• utilize transitional phrases.
• self-assess their writing and set goals for the work they need to do utilizing an opinion writing checklist.

Sessions 6-10: Writers will generate literary essays using opinion strategies and essay structure.

• generate ideas and claims about characters (traits, relationships, character change, or lessons characters learn).
• gather and sort text evidence.
• draft introductions and conclusions.
• write in paragraph form.
• study mentor texts to understand authors' craft techniques and incorporate those qualities into their own writing.
• revise and edit their writing.

Sessions 10-15: Writers will use debate to rehearse and strengthen arguments about books.

• incorporate debatable positions about characters in their essay (e.g., character X is a better friend that character Y) and participate in quick debates.
• rehearse and draft brief literary essays.
• collect and present text evidence within their essays to support their arguments.
• utilize different argument and revision techniques to strengthen their essays.

BIG IDEAS

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-7: Writers will use all that they know about information writing to write research-based all-about books.

• create tables of contents.
• draft chapter books about a topic of choice to teach others.
• utilize elaboration strategies for informational writing.

Sessions 8-14: Writers will draft chapters using the structure of informational writing.

• draft an all-about book on a topic of choice with particular emphasis on text structure.
• collect and synthesize information across texts and incorporate the information across several chapters.

Sessions 15-21: Writers will identify a big idea to write an informational piece paying particular attention to the text structure.

• draft an informational text to communicate a big idea or theory about their topic.
• utilize all they know about text structure to draft chapters to teach others.
• confer with peers and self-assess their writing.

BIG IDEAS

• Traditional literature often follows a specific structure and includes specific components.
• As with other forms of narrative writing, descriptive details and clear event sequences will move the story forward.
• Dialogue is used to develop experiences or events and show how characters respond to situations.
• Fairy tales have sophisticated author craft moves like symbolism, figurative language, and complex sentences.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers learn about fairy tale structure through comparing and contrasting published fairy tales?
• How do writers craft their own fairy tale adaptations?
• How do writers take all they know about fairy tales to create their own original fairy tale trying very hard to include symbolism, figurative language, and complex sentences?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress