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

BIG IDEAS

• Authors develop fictional narratives through the use of descriptive details, dialogue, and clear even sequencing.
• Authors of fictional narratives follow a clear organizational structure throughout and have distinct transitions and conclusions.
• Authors of all genres work as part of a community and seek to improve their work after feedback is provided.
• Authors of all genres constantly consider their audience as they write.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers create and develop stories and characters that feel real?
• How do writers draft with an eye toward believeability?
• How do writers prepare for publication with an audience in mind?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-5: Writers generate ideas for fiction stories.

• collect ideas for fiction stories.
• turn real life events into fiction stories.
• rehearse fiction stories with partners as they write.
• develop believable characters.
• use character's wants and struggles to develop possible plot lines in stories.

Sessions 6-10: Writers organize and utilize elaboration techniques for opinion writing.

• develop fictional narrative work through the use of descriptive details, dialogue, and clear even sequence.
• use mentor texts to help generate ideas for effective leads.
• follow a clear organizational structure throughout a piece and have distinct transitions and conclusions.

Sessions 11-15: Writers write fiction stories with their audience in mind.

• revise their stories to make their writing easier to read.
• develop goals to strengthen their fiction writing.
• write about characters using specific actions and details.

Sessions 16-20: Writers generate multiple forms of fiction writing by creating independent projects.

• quickly apply what they learned about planning and drafting to create.
• work as part of a community and seek to improve their work after feedback is given.
• give clear targeted feedback to their peers.
• work through the writing process.
• analyze multiple mentor texts to experiment with literary devices.

BIG IDEAS

• Opinion pieces are supported with reasons and evidence.
• Opinion pieces follow a clear organizational structure with appropriate transitions and a clear conclusion that restates the author's point of view.
• Opinion writers write with a goal in mind.
• Well-written opinion pieces can shift other people's perspectives.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers use information to develop opinions?
• How do writers write with compelling content and ideas while using the boxes and bullets, traditional essay format?
• How do writers gather and revise their evidence so that it is angled to support their claim/thesis?
• How do writers use everything they know about writing personal essays to write persuasive essays that incorporates text-based evidence?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress

BIG IDEAS

• A literary essay has a thesis that is based on close reading of the text and contains passages from the text (quoted and paraphrased) to support the thesis.
• Essays about character and themes may contain ideas from more than one text.
• Writers support text interpretations with attention to craft moves made by the author.
• Writers recall relevant information from experiences and gather relevant information from print and digital sources in order to grow an idea about a fiction text.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers learn to write literary essays that not only have a thesis that is based on close reading of the text, but also that contains passages from the text (quoted and paraphrased) to support the thesis?
• How do writers write essays about character and themes, sometimes even writing about two texts in one essay?
• How do writers read with such attentiveness to detail that they grow an idea about text, and then write a quick essay about what they have read that is structured and full of evidence?
• How do writers develop more complex interpretations of the text and support those interpretations with attention to craft moves made by the author?
• How do writers draw on everything they have learned about literary essay writing in order to write a compare and contrast essay that discusses how two texts address the same theme similarly and differently?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress

BIG IDEAS

• Researchers write research reports by reading several research­-based books, each teaching readers about a subtopic.
• Researchers chunk their nonfiction books into chapters.
• Researchers choose a structure/genre that works for each chapter, often varying structures across chapters of a book.
• Researchers weave together facts, quotations, stories, and ideas to make a compelling nonfiction piece.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers learn to write research reports by writing several research­-based books, each teaching readers about a subtopic?
• How do writers learn to chunk their nonfiction books into chapters, to choose a structure/genre that works for each chapter, and to write each chapter in a way that welds together facts, quotations, stories, and ideas?
• How can writers learn about their topics by doing this kind of writing?
• How do writers choose an organizational plan that matches their content and works to forward their central idea?
• How do writers not only write about specific information but also, ask and explore questions and write about their ideas?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to . . .

Sessions 1-8: Writers generate ideas about information writing.

• use what they know about boxes and bullets and essay writing to create an information text.
• use what they know about text structure to make a decision about how their information text will go.
• plan out their writing using specific structures.
• organize research.
• take notes in an organized way.
• write about history by including specific details to help readers picture what happened long ago.

Sessions 9-17: Writers utilize elaboration techniques to write with independence.

• come up with a detailed plan to create new informational writing.
• support informational writing by citing details from specific texts.
• write introductions that are well organized.
• develop a logical structure to their information pieces.
• use transitional phrasing and words to clarify information pieces.
• continue to experiment with different text structures to generate new informational pieces.
• purposefully use text features to highlight important information.
• report history accurately.
• report history through different prospectives.

BIG IDEAS

• Historical narratives are like personal narratives that require descriptive details, dialogue, and a clear story structures.
• Developing a strong narrative requires ample practice collecting, developing, and expanding on a variety of story ideas and blurbs before the writer identifies a seed idea.
• Historical narratives require accurate periods of time in history which should be represented in the setting and character description as well as in the dialogue.
• Writers consider their audience as they draft, revise, edit, and publish.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers draw on all they know about narrative craft in order to collect and plan for powerful historical fiction stories?
• How do writers pick a first seed idea and begin to draft their stories, keeping an eye on historically accurate plotlines, details and characters?
• How do writers choose and draft a second story, continuing to draw on all they have learned about storytelling, internal and external plotlines, setting, and other story elements?
• How do writers pick a final, best piece to revise, edit and publish for celebration?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress

BIG IDEAS

• Writing about social issues can lead to change.
• Topic choice for news articles must be newsworthy.
• The tone of the article is quite different from other informational text.
• Journalists always write with their audience in mind.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS - Students will keep considering . . .

• How do writers find newsworthy stories about social issues in their world and write about them clearly and concisely?
• How do writers revise their original drafts while also continuing to collect new stories?
• How do writers use interviews to boost the level of their work?
• How can writers find support in partnerships?

CONTENT OBJECTIVES -> . . . in Progress