On-Demand Writing in 5 th grade What is it?

On-Demand Writing is… Writing to a prompt in a limited amount of time –you will be given a choice of two prompts Writing in the form of a letter or an article –you will be told which form

Focusing on the Writing Task Let’s FAP It!!

What is FAP? FAP stands for FORM, AUDIENCE, and PURPOSE. –FAP can be used to organize the information that you will see in the prompts. –FAP is found in the writing task of the prompts. FAP is an acronym that helps you identify what you are being asked to do

F is for FORM WHAT are you writing? The two FORMS are letter and article.

A is for AUDIENCE To WHOM are you writing? You will be able to find the AUDIENCE in the writing task of the prompts, such as –parents –friend –principal –teacher –site-based council –author –student(s) –neighbor(s) –board of education, and others

P is for PURPOSE WHY are you writing? You will be able to find the PURPOSE in the writing task of the prompts. You will write for one of three purposes: –inform –persuade, or –narrate an event for a specific purpose (inform or persuade)

Let’s FAP! Write an article for the school newspaper informing readers about an upcoming event Write a letter to your teacher persuading him or her to allow you to have a class pet Write a letter to a new student about the importance of school rules. Support your idea by writing about a time when knowing the rules was really important form audience purpose

Using your time wisely Read both prompts carefully and complete short prewriting on both, e.g., identify key words, list ideas Choose prompt for which you have the most ideas and then complete full pre-write

Write first draft Revise first draft, making it clear and complete; edit your work to make it correct Write final draft

Let’s practice Writing to Persuade Read both prompts carefully

Prompt #1 SITUATION: Summer is almost over, school has started and kids are going to have less free time to be active outside. Your school newspaper is going to publish articles about the importance of physical activity to your health and wants your ideas about how to stay active now that you are back in school. WRITING TASK: Write an article for your school paper persuading students to stay active and giving your ideas about how to include physical activity now that you are back in school. FORM AUDIENCE PURPOSE

Prompt #2 SITUATION: I Love to Read Week is coming soon. Your librarian wants you to pick one of your favorite books and write a letter to a friend to convince him or her to read this book. WRITING TASK: Write a letter to a friend persuading him or her to read your favorite book. Be convincing! FORM AUDIENCE PURPOSE

Step two: identify key words Key words are found in the SITUATION of the writing prompts. Key words help you write the introductory paragraph of your response. Key words help your audience focus on the main ideas of your response.

Step Two: look for key words Summer is almost over, school has started and kids are going to have less free time to be active outside. Your school newspaper is going to publish articles about the importance of physical activity to your health and wants your ideas about how to stay active now that you are back in school.

Looking for key words… I Love to Read Week is coming soon. Your librarian wants you to pick one of your favorite books and write a letter to a friend to convince him or her to read this book.

Step three: list ideas Problem: Going back to school means less free time for physical activity Solution: Be organized Plan time for physical activity Plan homework time Limit time watching TV Stick to your plan

Listing ideas Favorite book Stone Fox Reasons: Easy to read About a dog About courage Suspenseful Surprise ending

Step four: Time to decide… What topic do you know the most about? or What topic do you know the most about and which one appeals to you the most?

Step five: write, revise, edit Write first draft Revise first draft, making it clear and complete Edit your work to make it correct Write final draft

Key words help write introduction… Summer is almost over, school has started and kids are going to have less free time to be active outside. Your school newspaper is going to publish articles about the importance of physical activity to your health and wants your ideas about how to stay active now that you are back in school. Let’s Get A Move On: Ways To Stay Active Now that a new school year has started, we are going to have less free time to play outside. We all know that it is really important to be active for our health’s sake but what are we going to do when we are inside all day? We could moan and groan but I bet we can all find ways to stay active. Here are some suggestions…

Another intro… I Love to Read Week is coming soon. Your librarian wants you to pick one of your favorite books and write a letter to a friend to convince him or her to read this book. Dear (friend’s name), I just heard that I Love to Read Week is coming to our school next week which means we get to choose the books we want to read. I know you don’t read a lot, so I want to tell you about a great book I read this summer that I know you will love…

Checking our work SITUATION: Some of your friends take lessons after school. They may be learning to play a musical instrument, speak a new language, program a computer, or build a birdhouse. Think about a special skill you would like to learn. WRITING TASK: Write a letter to convince your parents that you should take lessons after school to learn this new skill. Explain why you are interested in learning this skill and what you would do with it.

Some of your friends take lessons after school. They may be learning to play a musical instrument, speak a new language, program a computer, or build a birdhouse. Think about a special skill you would like to learn. Dear Mom and Dad, I am writing to you to ask you something important. You see, some of my friends are taking lessons after school, such as learning to play an instrument, speaking a new language, programming a computer and even building birdhouses. Since I would like to learn _________, I am hoping you will consider allowing me to take lessons after school too.

Drafting/Revising Use your prewriting as a guide Engage your reader with a lead Make revisions as you write Anticipate your reader’s questions to guide your writing Stay focused on your purpose Make sure you’ve convinced your reader with an effective conclusion

Editing Make sure: Your sentences are varied and complete You have used language appropriate for your reader and purpose Your spelling is correct You have used correct punctuation

Important points to keep in mind: Letter Use the correct letter form (business or friendly) Support your purpose with details Answer those questions you anticipate your reader will have

Important points to keep in mind: Article Focus on an interesting angle of the topic Support your purpose with relevant idea development Use text features effectively (sections with headings, bulleted lists, etc.)

Making A Point Main Idea #1 Supporting Detail Supporting detail Supporting detail Main Idea #2 Supporting detail Supporting detail Supporting detail Main Idea #3 Supporting detail Supporting detail Supporting detail Don’t forget: making a point means supporting your ideas with relevant details

For additional resources see: Jennifer Bernhard Literacy Specialist Clark County Schools