1. Catawba County Schools Writing Plan
4th Grade
Catawba County Schools Writing Plan

2. Components of Writing Plan
NCSCOS Objectives
Essential Questions
Activities/Strategies
Resources
Assessment
Rubric
Writing Products
Portfolios

3. Writing Genres/Products
Taken from:
NCSCOS
4th Grade
Writing Genres/Products
Notes
Poems
Directions
Instructions
Learning Logs
Diary Entries
Autobiography
Biography
Personal/Imaginative Narratives
Journal Entries
Research Reports
Business Letters:
Letters of Request
Letters of Complaint
Letters to the Editor

4. Writing is
all around us…

5. Portfolios
4 published pieces will be collected in the Writing Portfolio
Each nine weeks one piece of writing will be taken to the publishing stage and submitted to the portfolio
Each of the final four published pieces should represent a variety of genres of writing
Students should be involved in the decision making process as to which pieces will be included in their writing portfolio

6. Short Reports
Probes
What is a probe?- “to search into; examine thoroughly; investigate”; Probes are notebooks (MEAD marble composition books) that are bound together and used for writing research reports on various topics. These will be kept all year.

7. Examples of Probes

10. Recipes Writing Directions Instructions Zoo fun Kid recipes
Recipe for procedural writing
Creature Recipes
Purposeful Writing Ideas/Activities

11. Poetry
Poetry as a Writing Genre
5 Ws Poem
Poem A Week

12. Business Letters Lesson plans for writing letters
Ideas for writing letters
Writing Business Letters lesson plan
Letters of Complaint

13. Response Journals
Journal Writing Tips

14. Writing Directions/
Instructions
Recipes

15. Learning Logs Interactive Notebooks I.N. Examples
Right Side of the Notebook
Notes on a:
mini-lesson
lecture
lab
reading
film/video/documentary
small group or large group discussion
collaborative group process
a copied excerpt of a text
Interactive Notebooks
I.N. Examples
Rubric for Grading I.N.
I.N. Powerpoint
I.N. Information
Left Side of the Notebook
Paraphrase or clarify items
Enter a drawing, photo, sketch, or magazine picture that illustrates the concept, ideas, or facts
Pose questions about the information
Form and express an opinion
Predict outcomes or next steps
Create a metaphor that captures the essence of the information/issue
Write a reflection on the information or experience
Find a quote that connects to the concept; record it and explain your rationale
Make connections between the information/text and your own life, another text, and/or the world
Create a mind map that captures the main topic and key concepts and supportive detail
Create an acronym that will help you to remember the information covered
Make connections to the content/processes of other courses
    
Interactive Notebooks

16. Learning Logs continued
What are learning logs?
Writing Focus for Learning Logs
Learning Logs and Double Entry Journal Explanations

17. Have students write in the Dear Diary…
Diary Entries
Have students write in the Dear Diary…
format. They can write the entries in their Writer’s Notebook, or on special paper. They can write the entries to a scenario that you have written on the board, or in a center. They can also write to a character in the book they are reading, or one from history. My
Diary

18. Notes
Note writing lesson plan
Thank you notes
Note taking tips for students

19. Autobiographies/Biographies
Writing an Autobiography tips
Mini Unit
Technology Autobiography
Alphabet Autobiography Book
Auto biography poem
Biography Maker
Student Biographers

20. Lucy Calkins Units of Study Writing Grades 3-5

21. What does Writing Workshop look like?
Mini Lesson
Independent Writing/Collecting Entries
(Writer’s Notebooks)
Conferring
Sharing

22. Narrative Writing
Personal Experiences
Small Moments in time

23. Lucy Calkins Units of Study
Grades 3-5
Lucy Calkins Units of Study
Components
Connection
Teaching (Mini Lesson)
Active Engagement
Link
Writing
Mid-workshop Teaching Point
Conferring
Sharing

24. Connection
Links what has been done to what is expected to be learned in the present lesson
May serve as a quick review of previous learning
Explicitly name what will
be taught/learned
The connection links what has been done before to what is expected in the present lesson. It provides the young writer with the purpose for the skill or objective being taught.

25. Has a Clear Objective - Teaching Point States the Purpose Explicitly
Teach (Mini-lesson)
Has a Clear Objective - Teaching Point
States the Purpose Explicitly
Teacher Models – Demonstrate
May Provide Guided Practice
Explains and Gives Examples
The mini-lesson last no more than 10 minutes. Younger children may need less time than older children.
This is direct teaching to the whole class on a specific topic.
It regularly occurs in a specific spot. It follows a similar format each time. The teacher states and restates her objective using the vocabulary that she will use throughout the year.
The teacher may use modeling, demonstrations, guided practice, or explanations with examples

26. Mini Lesson
The mini-lesson is where the teacher can make a suggestion to the whole class...raise a concern, explore an issue, model a technique, reinforce a strategy. After observing students’ writing and identifying concerns, ask yourself: "What is the one thing I can suggest or demonstrate that might help most?"   A mini-lesson generally lasts 5-10 minutes. Try to choose a teaching point that you feel would benefit the majority of the class.

27. Mini-Lesson Ideas Conventions Focus Content Focus
Getting an idea -making lists -things you love -writing from emotion -experiences -moments in time
Adding detail
Adds responses/telling the inside story
Choice of words/ descriptive language
Replacing tired words
Great beginnings
Wow endings
One moment in time
Observations
"I wonder" writings
Something ordinary
Staying on focus
Working with a seed idea
Developing a plan for writing
Finding your voice
Genre studies: -poetry -informational reports -letters -autobiographies -biographies
Use appropriate spacing
Spelling phonetically
Spell "High Frequency" words correctly
Spell using analogies
Capitalize I, names
Capitalize beginnings of sentences
Ending punctuation marks
Quotation marks
Commas
Use of "and"
Using appropriate grammar
Using paragraphs
Recognizing and correcting run-on sentences
Sample chart created during a Mini-Lesson
Content
Focus

28. Active Engagement
At the end of the mini-lesson students are given the opportunity to try-out the lesson through sharing with a partner
At times students may watch other students trying something out
This is where turn and talk procedures must be clearly expected.

29. Link
Before sending student off to write independently, restate the teaching point and encourage students to use the skill taught in the mini-lesson in their ongoing work for the day.
Using phrases like “Writers today and everyday you can use______.” helps focus students’ attention on using that skill during the writing time.

30. Writing Time Students write
Teacher confers with individual students or small groups
Student writing time increases as students develop their stamina. The teacher starts the launching unit teaching students how to be independent during writing time. After the first mini-lesson on developing independence, she may revisit what students do during this time. An anchor chart posted serves as a reminder. The teacher must decide what she needs to put in this chart, depending upon her procedures.

31. When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. ~Enrique Jardiel Poncela~  
The students need to understand that there will be times when they can “free write” for themselves, but there will also be times when their writing needs to be in a form that is easily read by others. This is the published form of writing. The students will have many “unfinished” pieces throughout the year.

32. Independent Writing/Collecting Entries
After the mini lesson, students work in their Writer's Notebook to collect entries that may later become published pieces of writing.  The total writing time lasts for about 35 minutes, but during that time some students may be involved in conferences with the teacher or with their peers.
Students choose entries in their notebooks to take into "draft form."  It is these carefully selected pieces of writing that will be taken through the process of editing and revising so that they can be published and shared with others.  All entries in the Writer's Notebook do not become published pieces of writing.  All published writing is added to each student's Writing Portfolio, and some pieces will even be put into student created books.

33. (Mid-workshop teaching point)
Sometimes you will find it necessary to stop and teach/re-teach a concept/skill during the writing workshop- this will be necessary when you are seeing several children struggling with the same issues

34. Conferring The teacher may meet with students individually.
The teacher may meet with small groups of students with similar needs
The teacher takes the time to record her compliment and teaching points

35. Conferring
While students are involved in independent writing, use this time to confer with your writers.  Take notes during conferences to document students' progress and to plan future mini-lessons.  During this time the teacher may:
Listen to students read their entries aloud
Help students decide what they want to say
Provide feedback
Re-teach skills taught during mini lessons
Teach necessary new skills
Reinforce a writer's strengths
Give writers new ways of thinking

36. Conferring Teaching Points
The teacher looks for what the student knows.
The teacher looks for what the student needs to know next
The teacher asks herself what is the most important thing that she can teach this student next?
The teacher must decide how she is going to teach the child
The teacher aids the student(s) learning by saying,”I am going to teach you something. I am going to teach you how to____”
During the conference she will repeat several times what she is teaching.
Conferences are conversations, not interrogations

37. Sharing
Students return to same place that they were for the mini-lesson.
The teacher may decide to restate the teaching point of the mini-lesson and share examples of student work.
The teacher may decide to
introduce a new writing
behavior that was observed.
Students are given opportunities
to share their work
During this time the teacher may decide to have students turn and talk.

38. Sharing
At the end of writing workshop everyday, students are brought back together for a 5-10 minute group share and reflection.  When students sign up to share or are asked to share, they take a seat in our coveted "Author's Chair."  Sometimes a writer might come to the author's chair to ask for help or receive feedback from his or her classmates ("I like my story, but I can't think of a good title.").  The author might also want to share part of an entry of which he or she is especially proud.
During “many” group shares, each student gets a turn to share a small part of an entry, especially if you have asked students to try a particular new skill during the day's mini-lesson.

39. Getting Ready for Writer’s Workshop
Getting Your Room and Yourself Ready -   Plans for 1st week – First Things First
Have a carpet large enough for everyone to sit with an assigned partner (A,B)
Arrange your room so students are in groups (this is needed for conferencing purposes and sharing materials)
Have baskets made up for each group (containing pencils, colored pencils, highlighters, tape, scissors, date stamps)
 Anchor charts on your walls as you make them with your class
Have writing folders with students names on them to house writing resources, rough drafts, and final copies 
Make sure you have Word Wall and mini offices available for student use
  Decide how you will record conferences and make appropriate paperwork
  Introduce parents to your writing program through newsletters, parent night, etc.
  Establish "writing territories" (place where children write independently) -  Decide on writing environment (lights dim, soft music)
Decide on transition procedures (song to go to the carpet, etc)

40. Anchor Charts
Anchor charts are tools for students to use during Writers' Workshop and aid children in remembering procedures and expectations.  Charts should be made with the children and added to throughout the year. Anchor charts need to be posted in the classroom where they are easily accessible to students.
This is an example of an anchor chart used to teach children how to write a small moment story.

41. Writer’s Notebook

42. Writer’s Notebook Entries “Gathering Ideas”
Poetry
Family stories that we know
Writing generated from conversations we've had or have heard
Lists of people or place names of interest
Entries about things we care about
Things we wonder about
Celebrations or victories
Dreams

43. Once a draft has been completed and students have conferenced with the teacher in the final step of the editing/revising process, students can choose a special themed paper on which to publish their final copy of the story.  The Writing Center should be stocked with a variety of decorated paper on which lines have been printed for students to write.
PUBLISHING IDEAS

44. PORTFOLIO IDEAS
The final product then becomes part of the students' Writing Portfolios.
1 Final Product will be selected to be included in each student’s portfolio each nine weeks.
Each nine weeks’ final product for the portfolio should be from a different writing genre.

45. Ideas for Supporting Writing

46. Mini- Offices Teaching Heart writing mini offices
JMeacham's Mini Offices
Busy Teacher's Cafe

47. Word Bags
Purpose: To prevent overuse of words and to encourage accelerated vocabulary.
Place a word on the bag and have the students
fill the bag with synonyms as they come across words in their reading.
spectacular
marvelous
Good
fabulous

48. Word Closets

49. Word Bank

50. Link Chains Purpose: Sequencing Events Accelerated Vocabulary
Run
Purpose:
Sequencing Events
Accelerated Vocabulary
(synonyms, antonyms)
Life Cycles
Contractions
dart
dash
scamper
trot

51. Picture Word Inductive Model Emily Calhoun

52. Picture Word Induction Model Research
In terms of general academic success, vocabulary knowledge is one of the best predictors of overall verbal intelligence, yielding correlations of .80 (Anderson & Freebody, 1981; Sternberg & Powell). Each word a student can comprehend and use appropriately adds to personal cognitive processing abilities. Plus, “one of the most consistent findings of educational research is that having a small vocabulary portends poor school performance” (Anderson & Nagy, 1992).