Star Writing Interview

Hillsborough County Public Schools 2011-2012

Student:__________________ Teacher:________________
Date:___________________ Topic:___________________
1. What did you write about and how did you plan?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Teacher Observations:
Did the author focus on his/her chosen topic?
Did the author use a full-piece plan, including a beginning, middle, middle, end
(B,M,M,E)?
Did the author circle the main idea for each middle section?
Did the author make a short list of ideas under each part of the B,M,M,E?
Did the author plan in 5 minutes or less?
Help the child create a full-piece plan if one was not created or complete a plan if
lists do not support each section.

2. Have the student read his/her writing aloud (demand writes, revised
portion, daily draft).
3. Where do you think you elaborated your ideas?
_______________________________________________________
Teacher Observations:
Did the author elaborate or just extend ideas? (If necessary, have a conversation
about the difference between extension and elaboration.)
Did the author elaborate in more than one place?
OPTIONAL: If time allows, use two different colors of highlighters, one to
highlight extensions and one to highlight elaborations.

4. Where can you go back and revise your writing to add elaboration?
Place a
by the location chosen by the child if it supports elaboration
of the big idea.
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5. Ask open-ended questions to support elaboration in a logical location. Start with an

open-ended question and probe with follow-up questions to promote elaboration of
that one section. For example, Tell me more about.
Open-ended question and probe with follow-up questions:
Response:

6. What type of elaboration will you use to stick, stay, and stretch using
writers craft?
Teacher Directions:
Offer elaboration strategies using craft techniques. (For example: moment/action
description using vivid verbs, setting description using sensory details, how-to
elaboration using attributes of number (quantity, amount, temperature, size),
anecdotes using specific details, and so on.)
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

7. Leave this interview form with the author. Now its the authors turn
to revise and elaborate by sticking, staying, and stretching with their
ideas.

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