Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product Seventh Edition

Teaching Writing
Balancing Process and Product

S E V E N T H E D I T I O N
GAIL E. TOMPKINS
Fresno State University, Deceased
with
PAT DANIEL JONES
University of South Florida
330 Hudson Street, NY NY 10013

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Paperback ISBN: 0-13-450967-6/978-0-13-450967-9
[need additional ISBNs as appropriate]
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tompkins, Gail E., author. | Jones, Pat Daniel, author.
Title: Teaching writing : balancing process and product / Gail E. Tompkins,
Pat Daniel Jones.
Description: Seventh edition. | Boston : Pearson, 2019. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018000398| ISBN 9780134446783 | ISBN 013444678X
Subjects: LCSH: English language–Composition and exercises–Study and
teaching (Elementary) | Creative writing (Elementary education)
Classification: LCC LB1576 .T66 2019 | DDC 372.62/3–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.
gov/2018000398
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ISBN 10: 0-13-444678-X
ISBN 13: 978-0-13-444678-3
DEDICATION
Pearson Education dedicates this book to Gail E. Tompkins, one of our most gifted writers. Her talent
was valued not only by Pearson but also by many literacy and language arts professors who
recognized her ability to make research practical and teaching accessible for their students.
Gail understood the literacy needs of children and also the essential role teachers play
in meeting those needs. She masterfully wrote and deeply cared about both.
I met Dr. Gail Tompkins in her tiny office at the University of Oklahoma. She had blocked off part
of the office with bookcases. Sometimes she would disappear behind the bookcases and emerge
holding a book I needed to read. In some ways she was like her office: tiny, but packed full of resources
she could offer to someone who didn’t know they were in need.
The first time I met her, I asked if she would be my major professor in my doctoral studies. She
said, “I don’t know. First you need to take a class with me. Being a major professor to a doctoral
student is like a marriage. We need to get to know each other to see if we are compatible. Ask me again
after the class.” During the first class I took with her, I was thrilled to read her feedback on a paper I
wrote: “I’m happy to be your major professor.”
I took every class she taught. One night she said as she began a class collaboration with us, “It
almost feels silly doing this; you all know the routine.” It clicked for me then that she was modeling how
we should teach our students. I had already adopted much of her teachings, but in that moment, I
knew she was purposely modeling how to teach.
Gail told us one night in class that she would be leaving OU to join the faculty at California State
University in Fresno and marry one of their professors. I said to her after class, “I’ve found anything
worth having is worth waiting for.” Gail smiled. “I’ve waited. You’ll be fine. You’ve taken all my courses.
I’ll continue to be your major professor, but you will need to get a co-major professor on campus. I’m
not abandoning you. I’m doing this for me.” The time was 1989, before email.
She was right: She didn’t abandon me. She advised me over long-distance phone calls and letters.
After I graduated and moved to my third university and started a local site of the National Writing
Project, she came to see me and be our keynote speaker. She also met a few of my doctoral students,
whom she embraced as her professional grandchildren.
In May, when I was asked to help with the revisions for this seventh edition, I was humbled and
honored. When I spoke with Gail, she said, “You know my books are my babies. I know they are in
good hands with you.”
Gail was the best teacher I ever had, and I have had many great teachers. Her books will continue
to teach preservice and in-service teachers. She was as clear-thinking a writer as she was a teacher. She
knew so much! She read so much! She loved teaching!
If you were lucky enough to be one of her students, you hear her voice as you read her books.
Because you purchased this book, you are lucky to be taught by the best. Heed her advice. She made
me an incredible teacher because I was one of the lucky ones to sit in her classes.
With love and respect,
Pat Daniel Jones
To Gail E. Tompkins
One of Pearson’s finest writers.
This Editor will miss you most of all.
Linda Ashe Bishop
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gail E. Tompkins
After teaching writing for more than 30 years at elementary through university levels, Gail E.
Tompkins became a full-time writer. “I’ve always liked to write,” Dr. Tompkins explained. “My
dad was an army officer, stationed in postwar Germany when I was four. I remember sitting
beside my mother at the kitchen table while she wrote weekly letters to my grandparents. I
drew pictures and wrote my own notes that she mailed along with her letters. In third grade,
I received a journal and filled it with details about the everyday events in my life, like kids do.
I did lots of writing in sixth grade—more than in high school. I wrote a 126-page tome about
anthropology after reading a biography about Margaret Mead. My teacher urged me to
improve my spelling and predicted that one day I’d be a writer. Now I realize that I already
was one.”
Dr. Tompkins mentored elementary and middle school teachers on both coasts. She
taught at California State University, Fresno, where she received the prestigious Provost’s
Award for Excellence in Teaching and was inducted into the California Reading Association’s
Reading Hall of Fame. Previously, she taught at the University of Oklahoma in Norman,
where she received the Regent’s Award for Superior Teaching, and at Miami University in
Ohio. Before that, she was an elementary teacher in northern Virginia for 8 years. She
received both her master’s and doctorate degrees in reading/language arts at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Tompkins authored numerous articles for Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, and
other professional journals, and she’s the author of several books published by Pearson,
including Teaching Writing: Process and Product, 7th ed. (2019); Literacy for the 21st Century:
A Balanced Approach, 7th ed. (2017); Literacy in the Early Grades: A Successful Start for PreK–4
Readers and Writers, 4th ed. (2015); Literacy in the Middle Grades: Teaching Reading and Writing to
Fourth Through Eighth Graders, 2nd ed. (2010); Language Arts: Patterns of Practice, 9th ed. (2016);
and 50 Literacy Strategies, 4th ed. (2012). Each of Dr. Tompkins’s books have been the leading
texts in their respective markets. Thousands of preservice teachers across the United States
have learned to teach reading, writing, and language arts from her books.
In addition, Dr. Tompkins worked with elementary- through college-level writing
teachers at two National Writing Project sites during the last three decades. She directed the
Oklahoma Writing Project when she taught at the University of Oklahoma, and she led the
San Joaquin Valley Writing Project in California, where she encouraged teachers to write for
publication.
After a brief illness, Dr. Tompkins passed away in November of 2017 while this book was
in press. Her expertise in writing and the knowledge she imparted in her books will live on.
v
ABOUT THE COAUTHOR
Pat Daniel Jones

Pat Daniel Jones is delighted and honored to assist Gail Tompkins in revising this edition of
Teaching Writing. Pat’s and Gail’s lives intersected at the University of Oklahoma in 1988,
where Gail served as Pat’s major professor as she earned her PhD in language arts education
in 1991. Pat taught fifth through eighth graders for 12 years while she lived in Oklahoma.
Since earning her PhD, Pat has taught at the university level at the University of Houston-
Victoria, Western Kentucky University, and for over 20 years at the University of South
Florida, where she serves as the founding director of the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project.
She also spends many hours on school campuses working with teachers and their students.
Like her mentor, Gail Tompkins, Pat is a teacher’s teacher, serving as major professor to 13
doctoral students and as a committee member on 26 additional committees.
Pat has received numerous teaching awards, including Teacher of the Year at Bethel,
Oklahoma, Schools and Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award at the University of
South Florida three times.
Dr. Daniel Jones has written numerous articles for English Journal, Language Arts, The ALAN
Review, Equity and Excellence in Education, Teaching and Change, Teacher Education and Special
Education, and The Qualitative Report.
Married to Connie Jones, Pat enjoys spending time with their 12 grandchildren, 9 of
whom now live in Tampa. Pat and Connie also volunteer at their local community theater.
vii
PREFACE
With a sharpened focus on differentiating instruction in writing workshop classrooms, the
seventh edition of Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product offers a comprehensive vision
of the strategies that writers use, the writing genres, and the writer’s craft with techniques for
improving the quality of students’ writing.
This text continues to thoroughly examine genres and instructional procedures with a
strong focus on scaffolding instruction to ensure success for all students, including English
learners and struggling writers. The text provides insights on differentiation, technology,
assessment, writing to demonstrate learning, and the six traits of writing along with its
long-standing focus on process and product to offer the best possible preparation for teaching
writing in K–8 classrooms.
NEW TO THIS EDITION!

• For the first time, Teaching Writing is being offered as an eText to provide interactive
opportunities for studying and reviewing what has been learned through online appli-
cations, including the ability to highlight information, navigate back and forth within
the text, watch videos chosen to exemplify or extend text content, and take online quiz-
zes that align to learning outcomes.
• An introduction to writing standards appears at the beginning of each chapter, and
appropriate standards are aligned to the minilessons offered within each chapter.
• New Part One, Chapters 1–6, has been carefully restructured to closely examine the
writing process, writing workshop, and specifics on how to develop writers in primary,
middle, and upper grade classrooms and to assess their progress.
• Reorganized and revised Chapter 6, Writing to Learn, addresses ways teachers can use
writing as a tool for learning through a wealth of activities that ask students to demon-
strate their learning through writing.
• Updated Mentor Texts features list time-honored and newer texts, broken down by
grade level or by topic. Mentor texts are used to teach the writer’s craft, specific genres,
and many instructional procedures, introducing and engaging students in concrete
writing strategies.
• The Digital Toolkit features present in-depth information about technological appli-
cations and new and reliable ways to use technology in writing workshop classrooms.
• Takeaway Checklists fall at the ends of chapters where users can download these prac-
tical instructional guidelines and keep them handy.
• Margin notes link users to videos that exemplify teaching or provide additional teach-
ing support.
• Self-assessment online quizzes end each chapter section. In addition, an end-of-chap-
ter quiz—From Textbook to Classroom—identifies choices for classroom projects
meant to deepen teacher knowledge and provide experiences to sharpen a teacher’s
focus on writing development. Rubrics to judge the quality of these projects can be
found online.
ix
x Preface
PROCESS AND PRODUCT

Teaching Writing addresses both the process of writing, the recursive stages of the writing pro-
cess and the strategies students use to draft and refine text, and the products of writing, the
compositions that students write. Each chapter in this edition builds from a writing workshop
foundation to clearly articulated instructional procedures, including minilessons, guided
practice activities, suggestions for incorporating technology, techniques for assisting English
learners and struggling writers, and linking assessment to instruction.
Part One: The Process

Early chapters walk you through the stages of the writing process—prewriting, drafting, revising,
editing, and publishing—and explain how to implement writing workshop in K–8 classrooms. In
Part One, you’ll also learn about writing strategies that students use to monitor their writing
and solve problems, the six traits of writing, and ways to assess students’ writing, including
implementing a portfolio program and preparing your students for district and state writing
assessments.
Chapter 6 is now a bridge chapter illustrating the process for using writing to learn and
then offering a plethora of activities for students to demonstrate that learning through writing
paragraphs, letters, compositions, essays, books, or multigenre projects.
These features will guide your learning about the process of writing:
• Minilessons demonstrate how to teach writing strategies and writer’s craft lessons in
writing workshop classrooms.
• Mentor Texts features list recommended books that teachers can use as models when
they’re teaching about each genre.
• Accommodating EL Writers sections provide insight into the most successful methods
for scaffolding the teaching of students who are learning English as they’re learning the
craft of writing.
Part Two: The Product

Part Two chapters focus on writing genres supported by standards and applications in literature,
social studies, science, and other content areas:
• Poetry writing
• Narrative writing
• Biographical writing
• Nonfiction writing
• Writing arguments
In Part Two, you’ll find practical strategies for teaching and assessing each genre of writing
accompanied by abundant illustrative student samples.
There are also special features to guide your learning:
• Step-by-Step features explain the procedures that writing teachers use every day,
including word walls, clusters, and KWL charts.
• Instructional Overview features set benchmarks for students’ achievement for each
genre.
Preface xi
• How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems features analyze a specific problem, its
causes, and solutions as well as ways to prevent the problem.
• Preparing for Writing Tests features help you prepare students for high-stakes testing
by clearly describing each writing genre, providing prompts to generate a writing sam-
ple, and outlining pitfalls writers may face when writing in specific genres.
AUTHENTIC CLASSROOMS
Nothing beats authentic examples of classroom practice when it comes to truly understanding
classroom application. For that reason, this text provides many opportunities for you to
examine writing workshop classrooms and consider questions that writing teachers often ask.
• Vignettes opening each chapter present an intimate look at teachers who use the spe-
cific instructional procedures described in this text and illustrate how these procedures
play out in the classroom, including the conversations teachers have with real students.
• Artifacts of actual student writing are displayed in each chapter and show how stu-
dents execute what they learn. These examples point out what students understand
and what additional teaching might need to take place.
• Answering Teachers’ Questions About . . . This popular feature poses several chapter-
related questions that teachers frequently ask, and then offers advice from the author.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Gail’s heartfelt thanks go to the many people who have encouraged her over the years and
provided valuable assistance through each edition of Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and
Product. This text is a reflection of what the teachers and students she worked with in Califor-
nia and across the United States taught her, and is testimony to their excellence. The teachers
and students who are featured in the vignettes at the beginning of each chapter deserve spe-
cial recognition; thank you for welcoming Gail into your classrooms and for permitting her to
share your stories. She especially wants to express her appreciation to the children whose
writing samples appear in the text and to the teachers, administrators, and parents who have
shared writing samples with her as well.
Gail also thanks her reviewers for their insightful comments: Corrine Hinton, Texas A & M,
Texarkana; Melanie Hundley, Vanderbilt University; Angela Kinney, Mount St. Joseph Univer-
sity; Linda Murphree, Wayland Baptist; Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon, Oakland University;
Wayne Slater, University of Maryland. You’ll notice that many of your suggestions are reflected
in this seventh edition.
And to Gail’s editors and the production team at Pearson, she offers her heartfelt thanks.
To Drew Bennett, her portfolio manager, and to Linda Bishop, her development editor, thanks
for your encouragement and support. Gail’s thanks also go to Joan Gill, who successfully
moved this text through the maze of production details, and to Melissa Gruzs, who has again
cleaned up her manuscript and paid unparalleled, careful attention to detail. Gail is grateful.
CONTENTS
Minilessons 28
PART ONE
Check Your Understanding 31
The Process IMPLEMENTING WRITING WORKSHOP 31
Introduce the Writing Process 31
Arrange the Classroom 33
CHAPTER 1
Create a Community of Writers 35
Teaching Writing Today 1 Differentiate Instruction 36
Incorporate Technology 37
Vignette: Third Graders Talk About the Writing
Process 1 Accommodating EL Writers 38
Learning Outcomes 3 Monitor Progress 40
THE WRITING PROCESS 4
Stage 1: Prewriting 5 THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing
Workshop 42
Stage 2: Drafting 7
Stage 3: Revising 8 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 42
Stage 4: Editing 13 ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
Stage 5: Publishing 15 ABOUT . . . Writing Workshop 43
WRITING STANDARDS 17
CHAPTER 3
The Writing Strand 18
Other Strands 19 Developing Strategic
Check Your Understanding 20 Writers 44
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: The Writing
Process 20 Vignette: A First Grader’s Thinking Cap 44
Learning Outcomes 46
ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 20
WRITING STRATEGIES 46
ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
ABOUT . . . The Writing Process 21 Elaborating 48
Evaluating 49
Formatting 49
CHAPTER 2 Generating 49
Writing Workshop 22 Monitoring 50
Narrowing 51
Vignette: Sixth Graders Participate in Writing Organizing 52
Workshop 22 Proofreading 53
Learning Outcomes 24 Questioning 55
COMPONENTS OF WRITING WORKSHOP 24 Rereading 55
Writing 25 Revising 55
Sharing 27 Setting Goals 56
Interactive Read-Alouds 27 Self-Regulation of Strategies 56
xiii
xiv Contents
Capable and Less Capable Writers 57

CHAPTER 5
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 59 Assessing Writing 96
Teaching a Strategy 59
Vignette: Claire’s Writing Portfolio 96
Scaffolding Writers 61
Writing Workshop 63
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT 98
Assessing Strategy Use 64
The Instruction–Assessment Cycle 99
Assessment Procedures 100
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Developing Strategic
Writers 66 Accommodating EL Writers 107
WRITING PORTFOLIOS 109
ABOUT . . . Developing Strategic Writers 67 Collecting Writing Samples in Portfolios 109
Involving Students in Self-Assessment 110
Showcasing Students’ Portfolios 110
CHAPTER 4 Check Your Understanding 111
The Writer’s Craft 68 LARGE-SCALE WRITING TESTS 111
National Assessment of Educational Progress 112
Vignette: Noah’s “Wicked Cool” Writing 68 Preparing for Writing Tests 112
Learning Outcomes 70 Benefits of Testing 114
THE SIX TRAITS 70 Check Your Understanding 114
Ideas 70 THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing
Organization 73 Assessment 114
Voice 75 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 115
Word Choice 76 ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
Sentence Fluency 79 ABOUT . . . Assessing Writing 115
Conventions 80
Presentation 81
Check Your Understanding 82 CHAPTER 6
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 82 Writing to Learn 117
Introducing the Writer’s Craft 82
Teaching the Six Traits 84 Vignette: Fifth Graders Write Pioneer Guides 117
Writing Workshop 90 Learning Outcomes 119
Accommodating EL Writers 90 THE PROCESS: WRITING TO LEARN 119

Assessing the Writer’s Craft 92 Clustering 120
Check Your Understanding 94 Double-Entry Journals 120
KWL Charts 122
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: The Writer’s
Craft 94 Learning Logs 123
Semantic Feature Analysis 124
ABOUT . . . The Writer’s Craft 95 THE PRODUCT: WRITING TO DEMONSTRATE
LEARNING 125
Contents xv
Response to Literature Projects 125 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 167

Thematic Unit Projects 128 ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
Multigenre Projects 134 ABOUT . . . Writing Poetry 168
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 137
CHAPTER 8
Designing Writing Projects 137
Writing Workshop 137 Narrative Writing169
Accommodating EL Writers 140
Vignette: First Graders Write Stories 169
Assessing Writing in the Content Areas 142
THE GENRE: NARRATIVE WRITING 171
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing to
Plot 172
Learn 142
Setting 174
ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to
Characters 175
Classroom 143
Theme 178
Point of View 179
ABOUT . . . Writing to Learn 144
Narrative Devices 179
PART TWO INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 181

Introducing the Genre 182
The Product Teaching an Element of Story Structure 182
Guided Practice Activities 182
Writing Workshop 184
CHAPTER 7
Writing Poetry145 Assessing Narrative Writing 188
Vignette: Sixth Grade Poetry Workshop 145
Learning Outcomes 147 THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Narrative
Writing 190
THE GENRE: POETRY 147
Formula Poems 148
Free Verse 152 ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
ABOUT . . . Narrative Writing 191
Syllable- and Word-Count Poems 157
Model Poems 158
Poetic Devices 159 CHAPTER 9
Biographical Writing193
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 161
Introducing Poetry Writing 162 Vignette: A Class Biography 193
Writing Workshop 162 Learning Outcomes 195
Accommodating EL Writers 166 THE GENRE: BIOGRAPHY 195
Assessing Poetry 166 Personal Narratives 196
Check Your Understanding 166 Memoirs 198
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing Poems 167 Autobiographies 199
xvi Contents
Biographies 200 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 245

Check Your Understanding 208 ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 208 ABOUT . . . Nonfiction Writing 246
CHAPTER 11
Assessing Biographical Writing 213 Writing Arguments248
Vignette: Second Graders Write Mother’s Day
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Biographical Cards 248
Writing 216 Learning Outcomes 250
ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 216 THE GENRE: ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING 250
ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS Three Ways to Argue 251
ABOUT . . . Writing Biographies 217 Propaganda 251
Organization of an Argument 252
Types of Argumentative Writing 253
CHAPTER 10 Check Your Understanding 258
Nonfiction Writing218 INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 258
Vignette: Seventh Graders Study the Wild West 218 Writing Workshop 259
Learning Outcomes 220 Accommodating EL Writers 266
THE GENRE: NONFICTION WRITING 220 Assessing Argumentative Writing 267
Nonfiction Text Structures 221 Check Your Understanding 267
Nonfiction Features 223 THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing
Types of Nonfiction Writing 226 Arguments 268
Check Your Understanding 230 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 268
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 231 ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS
Introducing the Genre 232 ABOUT . . . Argumentative Writing 269
Nonfiction Writing Techniques 235
References 271
Assessing Nonfiction Writing 243

Index 281
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Nonfiction

Writing 245
SPECIAL FEATURES
Step-by-Step Digital Storytelling [[ch. 8]] 186
Multimedia Projects [[ch. 10]] 241
Revising Groups [[ch. 1]] 11
Interactive Read-Alouds [[ch. 2]] 29
Minilesson [[ch. 2]] 29 Assessment Tools
Think-Alouds [[ch. 3]] 61 A Third Grade Editing Checklist [[ch. 1]] 15
Interactive Writing [[ch. 3]] 62 Status of the Class Chart [[ch. 2]] 40
Word Walls [[ch. 4]] 87 A Writing Process Checklist [[ch. 2]] 41
Rubrics [[ch. 5]] 107 Fifth Grade Writing Strategies Checklist [[ch. 3]] 65
KWL Charts [[ch. 6]] 122 Checklist for Monitoring Writing Skills [[ch. 4]] 93
Semantic Feature Analysis [[ch. 6]] 124 A Self-Assessment Questionnaire [[ch. 5]] 101
Open-Mind Portraits [[ch. 6]] 126 State Report Checklist [[ch. 5]] 104
RAFT [[ch. 6]] 138 A Fifth Grade Rubric [[ch. 5]] 106
Hot Seat [[ch. 9]] 206 Rubric for Assessing Fifth Graders’ Oregon Trail Guides
Data Charts [[ch. 10]] 236 [[ch. 6]] 142
Venn Diagrams [[ch. 10]] 238 Third Graders’ Self-Assessment [[ch. 8]] 189
Second Grade Personal Narrative Checklist [[ch. 9]] 214
Minilesson A Multigenre Biography Rubric [[ch. 9]] 215
Two Assessment Checklists [[ch. 10]] 244
Four Types of Revisions [[ch. 1]] 10 A Writer’s Revision Checklist [[ch. 11] 264
Writing Summaries of Informational Articles [[ch. 2]] 30 A Reader’s Revision Checklist [[ch. 11]] 265
Questioning [[ch. 3]] 54
Word Choice [[ch. 4]] 91
Poetic Devices [[ch. 7]] 164 Accommodating EL Writers
Creating a Historically Accurate Setting [[ch. 8]] 185 How do teachers teach the writing process? [[ch. 2]] 38
Assessing Written Instructions [[ch. 10]] 240 How do teachers teach the writer’s craft? [[ch. 4]] 90
Persuasive Essays [[ch. 11]] 261 How do teachers assess writing achievement? [[ch. 5]] 107
How do teachers scaffold writing to learn? [[ch. 6]] 140
The Takeaway Checklist How do teachers teach poetry writing? [[ch. 7]] 166
How do teachers scaffold the teaching of narrative writing?
The Writing Process [[ch. 1]] 20 [[ch. 8]] 188
Writing Workshop [[ch. 2]] 42 How do teachers scaffold biographical
Developing Strategic Writers [[ch. 3]] 66 writing? [[ch. 9]] 212
The Writer’s Craft [[ch. 4]] 94 How do teachers scaffold the teaching of nonfiction
Writing Assessment [[ch. 5]] 114 writing? [[ch. 10]] 242
Writing to Learn [[ch. 6]] 142 How do teachers scaffold argumentative
Writing Poems [[ch. 7]] 167 writing? [[ch. 11]] 266
Narrative Writing [[ch. 8]] 190
Biographical Writing [[ch. 9]] 216
Nonfiction Writing [[ch. 10]] 245 How to Solve Struggling Writers’
Writing Arguments [[ch. 11]] 268 Problems
Students Don’t Make Substantive Revisions [[ch. 1]] 9
Digital Toolkit Ideas in the Composition Are Disorganized [[ch. 3]] 53
Laptops for Writing [[ch. 2]] 38 The Composition Has Weak Sentence Structure
Graphics Software [[ch. 3]] 52 [[ch. 4]] 79
Online Author Information [[ch. 4]] 77 The Composition Lacks an Exciting Lead [[ch. 8]] 174
Online Assessment Tools [[ch. 5]] 108 The Composition Lacks Focus [[ch. 9]] 197
WebQuests [[ch. 6]] 140 The Composition Is Plagiarized [[ch. 10]] 230
Online Poetry Generators [[ch. 7]] 165 Students Do the Bare Minimum [[ch. 11]] 253
xvii
xviii Special Features
Mentor Texts Preparing for Writing Tests

The Writing Process [[ch. 2]] 28 Large-Scale Writing Assessments [[ch. 5]] 113
Writing Strategies [[ch. 3]] 48 Summary [[ch. 6]] 141
Ideas [[ch. 4]] 72 Stories [[ch. 8]] 187
Organization [[ch. 4]] 74 Personal Narratives [[ch. 9]] 211
Voice [[ch. 4]] 76 Informative Writing [[ch. 10]] 242
Word Choice [[ch. 4]] 78 Argumentative Writing [[ch. 11]] 266
Sentence Fluency [[ch. 4]] 80
Presentation [[ch. 4]] 82
Multigenre Books [[ch. 6]] 136
Answering Teachers’ Questions
Poetic Forms [[ch. 7]] 148 About . . .
Verse Novels [[ch. 7]] 154 The Writing Process [[ch. 1]] 21
How to Write Poetry [[ch. 7]] 163 Writing Workshop [[ch. 2]] 43
Plot [[ch. 8]] 173 Developing Strategic Writers [[ch. 3]] 67
Setting [[ch. 8]] 176 The Writer’s Craft [[ch. 4]] 95
Characters [[ch. 8]] 177 Assessing Writing [[ch. 5]] 115
Theme [[ch. 8]] 178 Writing to Learn [[ch. 6]] 144
Point of View [[ch. 8]] 180 Writing Poetry [[ch. 7]] 168
Autobiographies [[ch. 9]] 198 Narrative Writing [[ch. 8]] 191
Biographies [[ch. 9]] 203 Writing Biographies [[ch. 9]] 217
Nonfiction Text Structures [[ch. 10]] 222 Nonfiction Writing [[ch. 10]] 246
Nonfiction [[ch. 10]] 233 Argumentative Writing [[ch. 11]] 269
Persuasive/Argumentative Writing [[ch. 11]] 260
CHAPTER
Teaching Writing
Today 1
Third Graders Talk About the Writing Process. The students in
Mrs. Nader’s third grade classroom write for 45 minutes each morning. Adam, Olivia,
Alex, and Taylor have just met with Mrs. Nader in a revising group to share their rough
drafts—new twists on familiar folktales—and receive revision suggestions. Alex explains his
story: “Well, I took the gingerbread man tale and set it in the future. We could change the
characters or the setting. My gingerbread man—I call him ‘G. M.’—takes off in a Tahoe that’s
equipped with jet propulsion. So in less than 9/10th of a second, he’s airborne, heading for the
stratosphere. The little old man and little old woman take off after him in a Toyota Prius that’s
great on gas mileage and quiet as a whisper but sadly can’t get more than 10,000 feet off the
ground. Next, G. M. runs up against some space robots who chase after him because they want
to check out his vehicle. That’s all I’ll tell you; you have to wait and read the book!”
The four writers agree to spend a few minutes talking to me about writing. They begin by
explaining the writing process: “It’s just the way writers work,” Olivia says. “It’s what kids do
at school and how grown-ups write.” Adam continues, “The most important thing to know
is that you don’t just sit down and write and then you’re done. That’s not good writing.”
“You have to keep working to make your writing better,” Alex adds. “By ‘better,’ I mean you
make it more interesting and you clean up your mistakes so it’s easy for people to read. You
always work on the ideas first and the spelling mistakes, capital letters, and punctuation
marks last.”
“You got to know that people do different things during the writing process,” Taylor
explains. “There are five steps.” Together, the four recite the stages: “prewriting, drafting,
revising, editing, and publishing”—and they point to the writing process charts the class
has made that are hanging over the windows on one wall of the classroom. Olivia explains
that “you always start with prewriting; that’s when you choose an idea and brainstorm
stuff to write. Next is drafting; that’s when you write the rough draft. You have to leave
plenty of space to make revisions later. The third step is revising, and that’s when you
make changes to make your ideas clearer. Next, you proofread to find your mistakes
and correct them; that’s the editing step. The last thing is publishing. It’s the funnest
part. You make your final copy and print it out and share it with everyone.” “Our
author’s chair is over here,” Adam explains. “It isn’t a real chair; it’s a stool that
Mrs. Nader painted orange and black, our school colors. We only sit on it when
we’re sharing our writing.”
When asked which stage is the most challenging, Adam answers that the revising
stage is hardest for him, and the others nod their heads in agreement. He continues:
“All of us are doing revising now because we just had a meeting with Mrs. Nader to
get suggestions about how to make our writing better. It’s the toughest step because
you already love what you’ve written and you really don’t want to change it.” “Think-
ing of better words to say something is really, really hard,” Taylor shares. “Some-
times I ask Joey or Alicia—they sit near me—how to fix something, if I can’t get
a good idea. But if they don’t know what to do, I just change a word or add a
word, but Mrs. Nader says we shouldn’t do that. She wants us to think harder.”
1
“Or, you can have another meeting with Mrs. Nader, and she’ll help you,” Adam suggests.
“Sometimes I don’t do enough prewriting,” Olivia explains; “That’s when I have trouble. Like
in my personal narrative book when I wrote about playing T-ball when I was 6 years old.
I thought I knew enough about it and could just sit down and write. I didn’t put very many
details in my draft, and I got so frustrated when my revising group didn’t understand and
kept asking questions.”
I ask the third graders to tell me about the community of writers they’ve developed in their
classroom, and Alex begins: “I guess you could say that it’s not like regular school. We work in
groups and get to pick our own topics. If you look around, you can see that everybody is writ-
ing and sharing their writing with each other, and Mrs. Nader is there to help us exactly when
we need the help.” Taylor adds, “A community of writers means we help each other and are
respectful. We act like writers because that’s what we are.” Olivia sums it up this way: “All I
can say is that it’s a lot better than doing workbooks. My mom says she’s absolutely amazed
at what we do, and she knows because she used to be a teacher.”
These third graders think of themselves as real writers. Taylor explains, “Sure, I’m a real
writer because I’ve met grown-up authors, and we’ve talked about our writing processes.”
“And I’m a writer because I’ve made about a million books,” Adam continues. “I started in
first grade. My first book was ‘Good Boy, Buddy.’ He was my dog, and we always played
together, but he got cancer and the vet had to put him down. I was crying and crying, but I got
a little better after I wrote a book about him. I’ll never forget that dog, but we do have another
dog now. She’s a girl dog, and her name is Roxy. I guess I should write a book about her
because she’s fun, too.”
“I’m a reader and a writer,” Olivia shares, “but I didn’t use to be. My nana always tells me
that I’m a good reader. This is kinda funny, but she calls me a ‘bookworm.’ My other teachers
told me I was a real reader, but no one ever said anything about my writing. I guess it used to
be boring, but now it isn’t because Mrs. Nader taught me how to write interesting stories—you
know, ones that everyone wants to read. You can’t be a writer if you’re not good. Now I am
because Mrs. Nader believed in me.”
What have these third graders learned about writing? “The most important thing I’ve
learned,” Adam explains, “is the writing process. After you learn to do the stages in order, you
figure out that you can go back and forth—like, I’m always revising, drafting, revising, and
drafting again. It takes a lot of work to get your writing good. Mrs. Nader told me that after
writers learn the regular writing process, they make their own special ways of using it. That’s
what I’m doing now.”
Olivia proudly shares that she’s learned how to word process. “I love computers!” she
says. “I use all my fingers for typing, and I’m getting faster because my dad lets me practice
on his laptop almost every night. And I know how to spell check and fix the mistakes. It’s
lots of fun, and when you print out the final copy, that’s really amazing! It looks just like a
real book.”
“I’ve learned all that stuff,” Alex shares, “but my answer is rubrics. In second grade I
didn’t know anything about them, but Mrs. Nader uses them. She passes them out before we
start writing, and I always use it to check my rough drafts when I’m revising and editing, and
Mrs. Nader will help you check your work, too. I also think rubrics are fairer because you know
what grade you’ll get. Some teachers put whatever grade they want on your writing, but Mrs.
Nader always uses one so you know how you can get better at writing.”
2
A
ll students, even kindergartners and
first graders, are writers. Notions that Writing Standards: Teaching Writing Today
they can’t write, that they have to
The Writing strand consists of 10 Standards that
become readers first, and that correct spelling address genres or text types, the production and distri-
and neat handwriting are the hallmarks of bution of writing, research to build and present knowl-
good writers are antiquated. Students learn edge, and range of writing. The fourth, fifth, and sixth
that writing is a powerful tool that they use to Standards focus on the writing process: Students are
record and organize information, communi- expected to produce clear and coherent writing in
which the development and organization are appropri-
cate with others, and demonstrate learning
ate to task, purpose, and audience. With support from
(Coker, 2013). Writing in 21st-century class- classmates and teachers, students develop and
rooms serves these purposes: strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach. They use technol-
Students Learn How to Write. Through ogy, including the Internet, to produce and publish
meaningful experiences with writing, stu- writing and present the relationships between informa-
dents become writers. Journal writing and tion and ideas clearly and efficiently. Even though the
other informal writing activities provide words writing process aren’t used, these Standards expect
students to participate in planning, revising, and other
opportunities to become fluent writers,
writing process activities. To learn more about the
and as they write personal narratives, infor- Writing Standards, go to http://www.corestandards
mational books, and essays, students apply .org/ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational
the writing process to gather and organize standards website.
ideas, write rough drafts, and refine and
polish their writing.
Students Learn About Written Language. As students write, they discover the
uniqueness of written language and the ways it differs from oral language and
drawing. They develop an appreciation for the interrelations of purpose, audi-
ence, and form in writing; they experiment with sentence types and word choices;
and they learn about writing conventions, including Standard English spelling,
grammar and usage, capitalization, and punctuation.
Students Learn Through Writing. Writing is a valuable learning tool with numer-
ous applications across the curriculum. Students write informally to analyze and
synthesize what they’re learning in literature and other curricular areas, and they
apply their knowledge when they write to share information, conduct research,
and present arguments (Halliday, 1980; Indrisano & Paratore, 2005).
Writing is a powerful tool for students, and it’s an essential component of the
language arts curriculum and Common Core State Standards for English Language
Arts.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.1 Describe the stages in the writing process.
1.2 Explain the Writing Standards.
3
4 PART ONE | The Process
THE WRITING PROCESS

The writing process is a way of looking at what writers think and do as they write. James
Britton and Janet Emig were two of the first researchers to examine students’ writing pro-
cesses. In her seminal study, Emig (1971) interviewed 12th graders as they wrote, and she
carefully examined one teenager’s writing process. Several years later, Britton and his col-
leagues (1975) examined 2,000 essays written by high school students and found that their
writing processes differed according to genre. At the same time, Donald Graves (1975)
examined young children’s writing and documented that 7-year-olds, like high school stu-
dents, used a variety of writing strategies.
These early researchers generally divided the writing process into three stages. Britton
(1970b) labeled them conception, incubation, and production: In the conception stage, writers
choose topics; in the incubation stage, they develop the topic by gathering information; and
in the production stage, they write, revise, and edit their rough drafts. Graves (1975) described
a similar process of prewriting, composing, and postwriting: In prewriting, writers choose topics
and gather ideas for writing; in the composing stage, they write the composition; and in the
postwriting stage, they share their writing.
Linda Flower and John Hayes (1977, 1981; Hayes & Flower, 1986) studied college stu-
dents’ writing and asked students to talk about their thought processes while they composed;
they then analyzed students’ reflections to examine the strategies writers use and developed a
model that describes writing as a complex problem-solving process. According to the model,
the writing process involves three activities: planning, as writers set goals; translating, as writers
put the plans into writing; and reviewing, as writers evaluate and revise the writing. These activ-
ities aren’t linear steps, according to Flower and Hayes, because writers continually monitor
their writing and move back and forth among the activities; this monitoring might be consid-
ered a fourth component of the writing process. An important finding from their research is
that writing is recursive: Using this monitoring mechanism, writers jump back and forth from
one activity to another as they write.
Other researchers examined particular aspects of the writing process. Nancy Sommers
(1982, 1994) described writing as a revision process in which writers develop their ideas, not
just polish them. Less experienced writers, according to Sommers, focus on small, word-level
changes and error hunting; this emphasis on conventions rather than content may be due to
teachers’ behavior. Sondra Perl (1994) examined how the writing process is used in high
school and college classrooms and concluded that teachers place excessive importance on
mechanical correctness. Flower and Hayes found that less successful writers have a limited
repertoire of alternatives for solving problems as they write, and Bereiter and Scardamalia
(1982) found that even though children participated in writing process activities, they were
less capable of monitoring the need to move from one activity to another. Through both
expert teaching and extensive writing practice, students can improve their self-monitoring by
the time they reach high school.
The five-stage writing process presented in this chapter incorporates activities identified
through research. The stages are prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, and the key
features of each stage are summarized in Figure 1–1. The numbering of the stages doesn’t
mean that this writing process is a linear series of discrete activities. Research shows that the
process involves recurring cycles; labeling is only an aid for identifying and discussing writing
activities because the stages merge and recur as students write (Barnes, Morgan, & Weinhold,
1997). In addition, writers personalize the process to meet their own needs and vary it accord-
ing to the writing assignment.
CHAPTER 1 | Teaching Writing Today 5
Figure 1–1 KEY FEATURES OF THE WRITING PROCESS
Stage 1: Prewriting
Choose a topic.
Gather and organize ideas.
Consider the potential audience.
Identify the purpose of the writing.
Choose an appropriate genre.
Stage 2: Drafting
Write a rough draft.
Craft leads to grab readers’ attention.
Emphasize content rather than conventions.
Stage 3: Revising
Share drafts in revising groups.
Participate constructively in discussions about classmates’ drafts.
Make changes to reflect the comments of classmates and the teacher.
Make substantive rather than only minor changes between the first and final drafts.
Stage 4: Editing
Set drafts aside for a few days.
Proofread compositions to locate errors.
Correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar errors.
Stage 5: Publishing
Publish writing in an appropriate form.
Share completed writing with an appropriate audience.
Stage 1: Prewriting
Prewriting is the getting-ready-to-write stage. The traditional notion that writers have thought
out their topic completely is ridiculous: If writers wait for ideas to fully develop, they’ll wait
forever. Instead, writers begin tentatively, by talking, reading, and writing to see what they
know and what direction the writing will take. Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Donald Murray
(2004, 2005) calls this stage “discovery”: You begin writing to explore what you know and to
surprise yourself.
Prewriting has probably been the most neglected stage; it’s as crucial to writers, however,
as a warm-up is to athletes. Donald Murray (1982) believes that 70% or more of writing time
should be spent in prewriting. Writers participate in these activities during prewriting:
• Choosing a topic
• Considering purpose, audience, and form
• Generating and organizing ideas for writing
CHOOSING A TOPIC Sometimes students choose their own topics, and at other
times, teachers specify the topics, or students and teachers identify topics collaboratively
(Chandler-Olcott & Mahar, 2001). More than 40 years ago, Donald Graves (1976) argued
that students should choose their own topics; he described the traditional practice of teachers
specifying topics as “writing welfare.” When students choose topics, they become more moti-
vated—even passionate—writers. Students often keep a writer’s notebook (Fletcher, 1996)
with ideas, observations, quotations, and other writing topics.
It isn’t always possible, or even advisable, for students to choose their own topics.
Sometimes teachers specify writing topics so students will learn how to handle new writing
tasks, including those they might not choose for themselves. Also, with the current empha-
sis on assessment, it’s become increasingly important for students to be able to deal with
topics regardless of personal interest. Students also work with teachers and classmates to
choose writing topics collaboratively, which Chandler-Olcott and Mahar (2001) argue may
be the most important approach because students learn how to negotiate topics with other
writers. Most teachers incorporate all three approaches to topic selection in their instruc-
tional programs.
CONSIDERING PURPOSE Writers need to identify their purpose: Are they writing
to entertain? to inform? to persuade? This decision about purpose influences other decisions
they make about audience and form. M. A. K. Halliday (1975) identified seven oral language
functions that also apply to written language:
• Instrumental language to satisfy needs, as in business letters and emails
• Regulatory language to control the behavior of others, as in invitations, notes, and
how-to directions
• Interactional language to establish and maintain social relationships, as in email, post-
cards, and journals
• Personal language to express personal opinions, as in reading logs, persuasive letters,
and blogs
• Imaginative language to express imagination and creativity, as in stories and poems
• Heuristic language to seek information and to find out about things, such as in learn-
ing logs
• Informative language to convey information, such as in reports, PowerPoint presenta-
tions, and essays
Students write for all these purposes.
CONSIDERING AUDIENCE Sometimes students write primarily for themselves,

to express and clarify their own ideas and feelings, or they write for others. Possible audi-
ences include classmates, parents, grandparents, and pen pals. Other audiences are more
distant; for example, students may write letters to businesses to request information or
submit stories and poems to online literary magazines. Students demonstrate their rela-
tionship with the audience in a variety of ways, often by adding parenthetical information
or asides. For example, a seventh grader begins “George Mudlumpus and the Mystery of
the Sumo Wrestlers,” his ninth mystery featuring George Mudlumpus, “the detective with
the outrageous rates,” this way: “The Emperor of Japan had hired me to solve a hideous
crime at the palace, as you already know from the last book. So, I bought a set of Learn
to Speak Japanese While You Sleep language CDs for the 14-hour airplane flight, packed
my clothes and a few essentials like PB & J crackers, got an airplane ticket and reserved a
rental car at Narita International Airport, and I was off to Tokyo!” This student feels a
close relationship with his unknown audience. He often includes asides in his stories, and
George sometimes comments to his readers, “I know! You think I should have recognized
that clue!”
When students write for others, teachers are the most common audience. Teachers can
be a trusted adult, a partner in dialogue, or a judge (Britton et al., 1975)—and how writers
perceive these roles is crucial. When writing to a trusted adult, students feel secure because
they rely on their reader to respond sympathetically, and when crafting a dialogue with a
teacher, they assume that he or she will be an interested reader, responding to what’s been
written, not to how it was written. Unfortunately, the teacher’s most common role is that of
judge, but this role is least conducive to good writing: When a teacher acts as a judge, stu-
dents produce writing to receive a grade.
CONSIDERING GENRE What form will the writing take? A story? A postcard? A
magazine article? An essay? A video journal? A writing project could be handled in any one of
these ways. There’s an endless variety of text and digital genres, but too often the choices are
limited to reports, stories, and poems. Instead, students need to experiment with a wide vari-
ety of genres and explore the purposes and formats of each. Through reading and writing,
students develop a strong sense of these forms and how they’re structured. Langer (1985)
found that by third grade, children responded in different ways to story- and report-writing
assignments: They organized compositions differently and varied the information and elabo-
ration they used, depending on the form. Similarly, Hidi and Hildyard (1983) found that chil-
dren differentiate between stories and persuasive essays. Because children are clarifying the
distinctions between various genres, it’s crucial that teachers use genre terminology and not
label all writing as “stories.” Some English learners, however, aren’t familiar with genres, so
they benefit from explicit instruction to be able to “succeed in school and actively participate
in the dominant community” (Gibbons, 2002, p. 60).
Although decisions about purpose, audience, and genre may change, writers must have at
least a tentative determination before moving into the drafting stage.
GATHERING AND ORGANIZING IDEAS Students gather and organize ideas

for writing and the words and sentences to express them in these ways:
• Drawing pictures
• Doing online research
• Talking with classmates and the teacher
• Reading stories, informational books, and other texts
• Dramatizing and retelling stories
• Doing informal writing
• Making diagrams and other graphic organizers
Graves (2003) calls these activities to activate prior knowledge, gather and organize ideas,
and collect words “rehearsal” activities.
Stage 2: Drafting
Writers focus on getting their ideas down on paper during drafting. They begin with tentative
ideas developed and organized through prewriting activities and elaborate on them as they
work. The drafting stage is the time to pour out ideas, not to worry about fixing spelling,
punctuation, grammar, and other errors. Writers are involved in these activities:
• Writing a rough draft
• Crafting leads
WRITING A ROUGH DRAFT Students skip every other line as they write rough
drafts to leave adequate space for revising; when they handwrite their rough drafts, this
wide spacing is crucial. Teachers often make Xs on every other line of young children’s
papers as a reminder to skip lines as they draft their compositions. Double-spacing is
equally important when students do word processing: Their drafts are easier to read, and
students have space to make revisions and corrections by hand. Similarly, they write on only
one side of a sheet of paper so that the paper can be cut apart or rearranged during the
next stage.
Students label their drafts by writing “Rough Draft” at the top of their papers or by
stamping the papers with a “Rough Draft” stamp; this label indicates to the writer, class-
mates, parents, and administrators that the composition is a draft in which emphasis has
been on content, not conventions. It also explains why teachers haven’t graded the paper
or marked errors. Also, if some children who are just learning the writing process plan to
make the rough draft their final draft by writing carefully, the label “Rough Draft” at the
top of the paper thwarts this idea and further emphasizes that writing involves more than
one stage.
As students draft their compositions, sometimes they modify their earlier decisions about
purpose, audience, and, especially, genre. For example, a composition that began as a story
might be transformed into a letter or poem if the new format allows the writer to communi-
cate more effectively. Adjusting these decisions continues into the revising stage as writers
develop and refine their writing.
Teachers don’t emphasize correct spelling during this stage even though they should
expect students to spell common words correctly and write legibly. In 1982, Sommers noted
that when teachers point out errors during drafting, they send a false message that correct-
ness matters more than content. It’s better to postpone correction to the fourth stage, editing,
when students correct conventions and other errors.
CRAFTING LEADS The lead, or opening sentences, is crucial. Students who consider
audience as they write will want to grab their readers’ attention by using a variety of tech-
niques, such as asking questions, listing facts, adding dialogue, retelling a brief story, and
describing a problem. Donald Graves (2003) and Lucy Calkins (1994) recommend that stu-
dents brainstorm several leads and try them out on classmates before choosing one. As stu-
dents work on leads, they gain valuable knowledge about how to manipulate language and
vary the viewpoint.
Stage 3: Revising
Writers clarify and refine ideas in their drafts during revising. Often novice writers terminate
the writing process as soon as they complete a rough draft, believing that once their ideas
have been jotted down, they’re done; in fact, they often see revision as punishment for not
having gotten it right in the first place (Heard, 2002)! Experienced writers, however, know that
they must turn to others for reactions and revise on the basis of these comments. Revision
isn’t just polishing; it’s meeting the needs of readers by adding, substituting, deleting, and
rearranging material. The word revision means “seeing again,” and in this stage, writers see
their compositions again with their classmates and the teacher helping them. They’re involved
in these activities:
• Rereading the rough draft
• Sharing the rough draft

• Revising on the basis of feedback How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems
Because revising is the most diffi-
The Problem Students don’t make substantive revisions.
cult part, teachers often postpone
teaching children how to revise, but What Causes It Students who don’t understand the impor-
even first graders can learn. To get tance of revising often view it as punishment,
started, children need to know what so they make cosmetic changes rather than
revising is, why it’s important, and how substantive ones.
it differs from editing (Saddler, 2003).
Franklin (2005) and Overmeyer (2005) How to Solve It QUICK FIX: Require students to make at
recommend that children also learn least two or three revisions, and have them
about the traits of the writer’s craft so make their changes with brightly colored
they’ll appreciate the differences pens so that they’ll stand out. Many stu-
dents try to hide their revisions because they
between more and less effective writing.
view them as a sign of failure.
Many teachers share anonymous stu-
dent samples they’ve saved from previ- LONG-TERM SOLUTION: Have students
ous years or pieces they’ve written participate in revising groups where they
themselves to point out differences and provide feedback to classmates about how
then develop charts listing the criteria to improve their rough drafts. At first, stu-
dents are usually more interested in offer-
of effective writing. Armed with this
ing feedback to others than in getting
knowledge, children can begin to spot feedback about their own writing, but with
problems, and they have the terminol- practice they learn the importance of mak-
ogy to talk about them. Teachers use ing constructive revisions. Teachers also
additional student samples to model teach and model the types of revisions in
revising in minilessons and have chil- minilessons, and they ask students to exam-
dren practice revising with partners ine and classify the revisions they make. In
because it’s easier to revise someone addition, teachers can include substantive
else’s writing. After this instruction, revision as a requirement on their assess-
children are ready to begin revising their ment rubrics.
own writing.
How to Prevent When students know how to make revisions
the Problem and regularly participate in revising groups,
REREADING THE ROUGH they’re more likely to revise their rough
DRAFT Writers are the first to revise drafts because they want to communicate
their compositions: Some revision effectively.
occurs during drafting when writers
make choices and adjustments as they
write. After finishing the first draft, writers need to distance themselves from the writing for
a day or two and then reread it from a fresh perspective, as a reader might. As they reread,
students make changes—adding, substituting, deleting, and moving material—and place
question marks by sections that need work. These trouble spots are what writers focus on
during revising.
REVISING GROUPS Students meet in small groups to share their drafts with class-
mates. Revising groups provide suggestions, show different revision possibilities, and speed up
revising (Mohr, 1984). These groups provide a scaffold, or supportive environment to talk
about plans and make strategies for revising (Franklin, 2005; Mohr, 1984). Step-by-Step:
Revising Groups describes the procedure.
TOPIC: Four Types of Revisions
Minilesson GRADE: Seventh Grade

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: W 7.5
Mr. Ortiz’s seventh grade language arts students are writing argumentative essays, and because
this is an important assignment, he wants them to revise more thoroughly than they some-
times do. The most common type of revision that his students make is single-word substitu-
tions; they might change the word suggest to recommend, for example. It’s easy for Mr. Ortiz to
check his students’ revisions because they code them in the margin of their papers using these
letters: A (additions), S (substitutions), D (deletions), and M (moves). In today’s minilesson,
his students try other types of revisions using a sample student essay.
1 Introduce the Topic

Mr. Ortiz asks his seventh graders to check their argumentative essays to see which types
of revisions they’re making. The students tally their revisions and report that most of the
changes are single-word substitutions.
2 Share Examples
Mr. Ortiz presents the first page of an anonymous student’s three-page, double-spaced,
typed essay (with conventions corrected) that needs a variety of revisions. He projects it
on the interactive whiteboard and reads it aloud. Together they revise it, and Mr. Ortiz
encourages his students to suggest revisions other than word substitutions. He points
out a sentence in one paragraph that doesn’t belong and another paragraph that’s out
of sequence. In all, the class makes 10 revisions.
3 Provide Information
After they finish making revisions, Mr. Ortiz codes each revision in the margin and tallies
each type: They made 5 additions, 2 substitutions, 2 deletions, and 1 move on the first
page of the essay. Of the 10 revisions, 4 involved single words; the other 6 involved
phrases, sentences, and paragraphs.
4 Guide Practice
Mr. Ortiz passes out copies of the entire sample essay and asks students to work with
partners to revise the rest of it. He encourages them to make all four types of revisions.
Afterward, students calculate the types of revisions they’ve marked and share some of
them with the class.
5 Assess Learning
Mr. Ortiz examines the types of revisions his students make on their argumentative
essays. His students also write a reflection about the types of revisions they made and
how they improved the quality of their writing through their revision choices.
S T E P - B Y- S T E P
Revising Groups
1 A writer reads aloud. A group of four or five students take turns reading their rough drafts aloud. Every-
one listens politely, thinking about compliments and revising suggestions they’ll make. Typically, only the
writer looks at the draft, because when others look at it, they quickly notice spelling errors even though the
emphasis is on content during revising.
2 Listeners offer compliments. Group members tell what they liked about the draft. These positive com-
ments should be specific, focusing on strengths. Comments such as “I like the way you wrote ‘Monika was
as scared as a kindergartner on the first day of school.’ That really makes me understand what she was feel-
ing” are much more effective than general “I like it” comments.
3 The writer asks questions. Writers ask their classmates for assistance on trouble spots or ask questions
that reflect more general concerns about how well they’re communicating. Admitting that classmates’ sug-
gestions are helpful is a big step in learning to revise.
4 Listeners offer suggestions. Classmates ask about unclear information and offer revision suggestions.
Students are careful to phrase their comments in helpful rather than hurtful ways.
5 Repeat the process. Other students in the group share their rough drafts, repeating the first four steps in
the procedure.
6 Writers plan for revision. Students each make a commitment about how they’ll revise their writing after
considering their classmates’ comments and suggestions. Because students verbalize their revision plans,
they’re more likely to complete the revision stage.
In some classrooms, revising groups form sponta-

neously; when students finish writing, they sit on an area rug
or go to a special table. As soon as a student with writing to
share arrives, others who are available to listen and respond
to the writing join the group. When three or four have
arrived, the writer reads the draft and the others respond to
it, offering compliments and relating this piece to their own
experiences and knowledge about writing. Sometimes the
teacher participates in revising groups, but at other times
the students work independently. In other classrooms, revis-
ing groups are more formal: Groups meet when everyone
has completed a draft and is ready to share. The teacher
participates in these groups, providing feedback along with
students. Sometimes revising groups function independently:
Four or five students are assigned to each group, and a list of
the groups is posted in the classroom. The teacher puts a
Watch Mrs. McColm’s sixth graders participate in a revising
star by one student’s name in each list, and that student
activity with classmates. How are these sixth graders helping
serves as a group leader. Every quarter, the leader changes. one another grow as writers?
REVISING CENTERS Teachers also set up revising centers to differentiate instruc-

tion. Each center focuses on a writing strategy or other topic, and students work at one
or more centers as they revise their rough drafts. At these centers, they talk with a class-
mate about the ideas in their rough draft, examine the organization of their writing by
making a diagram, improve their choice of words by consulting a thesaurus, or complete
a checklist to make sure they’ve included all the required components in their composi-
tions. Teachers develop centers to highlight the writing concepts they’re teaching. Here
are some examples:
Highlighting Center. Students use highlighter pens to mark their rough drafts according to
the teacher’s direction. Depending on the strategies and skills being taught, they may be
directed to highlight topic sentences, descriptive language, transitions between ideas, or
genre characteristics.
Organizing Center. Students draw a chart or diagram to illustrate the organization of
their compositions and make revisions if the organization isn’t effective or the writing isn’t
complete.
Rereading Center. Students reread their rough drafts with a partner, and the partner
offers compliments and asks questions.
Sentences Center. Students choose a section of their rough drafts with too many short
sentences (often signaled by the overuse of the word and) and combine sentences to
improve the flow of ideas.
Titles Center. Students brainstorm possible titles for their composition at this center.
They begin by writing three to five of the most important idea words in their composi-
tions, such as fishing–Dad–me–prize. Then they make a list of at least three descriptive,
intriguing titles, using the words they’ve identified. For more ideas, they can also refer to
the chart available at the center that the class developed earlier in the year about what
makes an effective title.
Word Choice Center. Students choose 5–10 words in their drafts and look for more spe-
cific or more powerful synonyms using a thesaurus, classroom word walls, or suggestions
from classmates.
Teachers usually organize these centers in plastic boxes with instructions and needed supplies and
set them out in corners of the classroom or another designated area during writing workshop.
MAKING REVISIONS Students add words, substitute sentences, delete para-

graphs, and move phrases as they make revisions. They cross out, draw arrows, and write in
the space they left between the lines of writing when they double-spaced their rough drafts.
They move back and forth into prewriting to gather additional information, into drafting to
write a new paragraph, and into revising to replace an often-repeated word (Dix, 2006).
Messiness is inevitable, but despite the scribbles, students are usually able to decipher what
they’ve written.
Writers make four kinds of changes as they revise: adding, substituting, deleting, and
moving text from one place to another (Faigley & Witte, 1981). Sometimes their changes
involve single words or phrases, and at other times their emphasis is on sentences or para-
graphs. Students often focus at the word and phrase level and make more additions and sub-
stitutions than deletions and moves. They can analyze the types of revisions they’re making by
examining their revised drafts. The number and type of revisions provide useful evidence of
students’ growth as writers.
Stage 4: Editing
Editing is putting the piece of writing into its final form. Before this stage, the focus has been
on developing the content of the composition; now it changes to writing conventions, and
students “polish” their writing by correcting spelling and other errors (Parsons, 2001). The
goal is to make the writing “optimally readable” (Smith, 1994). Writers who have audience
awareness understand that if their compositions aren’t readable, they’ve written in vain.
Conventions or mechanics refers to the commonly accepted rules of written Standard English;
they include capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, grammar and usage, and
formatting considerations that are specific to poems, scripts, letters, and other genres. Using
these conventions correctly is a courtesy to readers. It’s more effective to teach conventions during
editing than through workbook exercises: When students edit a composition that will be shared
with a genuine audience, they’re more interested in using mechanical skills correctly because they
want readers to understand their message. Writers are involved in these activities during editing:
• Distancing themselves from the composition
• Proofreading to locate errors
• Correcting errors
GETTING DISTANCE Students are more efficient editors when they set the composi-
tion aside for a few days before beginning to edit. After working so closely with the piece
during drafting and revising, they’re too familiar with it to locate many errors. After a short
break, students approach editing with a fresh perspective and gather the enthusiasm neces-
sary to finish the writing process.
PROOFREADING Students proofread their compositions to locate and mark possible

errors. Concentrating on conventions is difficult because of our natural inclination to read for
meaning; even experienced proofreaders often find themselves reading for meaning and over-
looking errors that don’t inhibit meaning. It’s important, therefore, to take time to explain
proofreading and to show how it differs from regular reading.
To demonstrate proofreading, teachers display a sample piece of writing and read it
slowly several times, each time hunting for a particular type of error. During each reading, the
teacher softly pronounces each word, touches the word with a pencil or pen to focus attention
on it, and marks possible errors as they’re located. Errors are identified with proofreaders’
marks; students enjoy using these marks, the same ones that adult authors and editors use. A
list of proofreaders’ marks is presented in Figure 1–2.
Teachers develop editing checklists to help students focus on particular types of errors as
they proofread their compositions. Checklists contain two to six items, depending on stu-
dents’ grade level. A first grade checklist, for example, might have an item about using a capi-
tal letter at the beginning of a sentence and another about putting a period at the end. In
contrast, a middle grade checklist might contain items on using commas in a series, indenting
paragraphs, capitalizing proper nouns and adjectives, and spelling homonyms correctly.
During the school year, teachers revise the checklist to focus students’ attention on skills
they’ve taught recently. A sample checklist is presented in Assessment Tools: A Third Grade
Editing Checklist. Using this checklist, two writers work together as partners to edit their com-
positions. First, they proofread their own compositions, searching for errors in each category
on the checklist. After completing the checklist, students sign their names and trade checklists
and compositions; now they become editors and complete each other’s checklist. Having the
writer and the editor both sign the checklist helps them take the activity seriously.
Figure 1–2 PROOFREADERS’ MARKS
Delete There were cots to sleep on and

food to eat on at the shelter.
Insert Mrs. Kim’s cat is the color carrots.
Indent paragraph Riots are bad. People can get hurt and
buildings can get burned down but
good things can happen too. People
can learn to be friends.
Capitalize Daniel and his mom didn’t like mrs. Kim

or her cat.
Change to People were Rioting because they were

lowercase angry.
Add period I think Daniel’s mom and Mrs. Kim

will become friends
Add comma People hurt other people they steal

things and they burn down buildings
in a riot.
Add apostrophe Daniels cat was named Jasmine.
EDITING CENTERS Teachers also use centers to individualize instruction during edit-
ing. They put together centers to help students focus on spelling, capitalization, punctuation,
and other conventions. For example, teachers who work with older students often prepare
these centers:
Apostrophes Center. Students highlight all words with apostrophes in their rough drafts
and correct any mistakes they’ve made. Then they write C for contraction or P for possessive
above each one.
Capitalization Center. Students check that each sentence in their rough drafts begins with
a capital letter, the word I is capitalized, and proper nouns and adjectives are capitalized.
After all errors are corrected, students highlight all the capital letters in their compositions.
Homophones Center. Students check their rough drafts for homophone errors (e.g., there–
their–they’re or to–too–two) and then consult a chart the class created that’s available at
the center to correct any errors they find.
Punctuation Center. Students proofread their rough drafts, focusing on punctuation
marks. They look for any missing punctuation and change any punctuation marks used
incorrectly. Then they use highlighter pens to draw attention to the punctuation marks,
tally how many of each type they’ve used, and complete a chart to document their use of
punctuation marks.
Sentences Center. Students analyze the sentences in their rough drafts and categorize
them on a chart as simple, compound, complex, or fragment. Then they make any neces-
sary changes.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Third Grade Editing Checklist
Author Editor
1. I have circled the words that might

be misspelled.
2. I have checked that all sentences

begin with a capital letter.
3. I have checked that all sentences

end with a punctuation mark.
4. I have checked that all proper nouns

begin with a capital letter.
Signatures
Author: Editor:
Spelling Center. Students work with a partner to proofread their rough drafts. They locate
misspelled words and turn to their classmate for assistance or use a dictionary to correct
them.
Teachers update centers and add new ones as they teach new writing concepts or as students
indicate confusion about a particular writing convention.
CORRECTING ERRORS After students locate as many errors as possible, they cor-
rect them individually or with an editor’s assistance. Some errors are easy to correct, some
require consulting a dictionary or checking a word wall displayed in the classroom, but others
involve instruction from the teacher. It’s unrealistic to expect students to locate and correct
every error in their compositions. Not even published books are error free! Once in a while,
students may even change a correct spelling or punctuation mark and make it incorrect, but
overall they correct far more errors than they create.
Editing ends after students and their editors correct as many mechanical errors as possi-
ble, or students can meet with the teacher in a conference for a final editing; when mechanical
correctness is crucial, this conference is important. The teacher proofreads the composition
with the student and assists in identifying and correcting the remaining errors, or the teacher
makes checkmarks in the margin to note errors that the student corrects independently.
Stage 5: Publishing
Students publish their writing and share it with an appropriate audience in this stage. Publish-
ing motivates them to improve their writing because they know they’ll share it with a real
audience. In fact, Elbow (2002) believes that publishing is the single best way to encourage
students to revise and edit their writing.
Students usually recopy a story or other piece of writing into a stapled booklet or hard-
cover book; these published books are added to the classroom or the school library. Some-
times students form a classroom publishing company and add the company name and the
year the book was made to the title page. In addition, students can include an “All About the
Author” page with a photograph at the end of their books, similar to the author bio found on
the jackets of books written by adult authors. A sixth grader’s “All About the Author” page
from a book she wrote is presented in Figure 1–3; notice that Emerson used the third-person
pronoun in writing about herself, as in a biographical sketch.
One of the most popular ways for students to share their writing with others is by mak-
ing and binding books. Simple booklets can be made by folding a sheet of paper into quar-
ters like a greeting card; children write the title on the front and have three sides remaining
for their compositions. They can also construct booklets by stapling sheets of writing paper
together and adding covers made of construction paper. Sheets of wallpaper cut from old
sample books also make sturdy covers. These stapled booklets can be cut into various
shapes, too. Students can make more sophisticated hardcover books by wrapping cardboard
covers with contact paper, wallpaper samples, or cloth. Pages are sewn or stapled together,
and the first and last pages (endpapers) are glued to the cardboard covers to hold the book
together.
As they share their writing with real audiences of their classmates, other students, parents,
and the community, students come to think of themselves as authors (Rubenstein, 1998).
Donald Graves and Jane Hansen (1983) suggest that a good way to help students develop the
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A STUDENT’S “ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR”

Figure 1–3
PAGE
Source: Courtesy of Emerson McLaughlin.

concept of author is to have a special chair in the classroom designated as the “author’s chair,”
where students sit whenever they read their own books aloud. Through author’s chair experi-
ences, students gradually realize that they’re authors. Graves and Hansen explain that
students first understand that authors are the people who write books; next, they realize that
they, too, are authors; finally, students realize that authors make choices when they write,
and this awareness grows after experimenting with various writing purposes, audiences,
and genres.
In addition to the author’s chair, students share their published writing with classmates
and with other audiences in these ways:
• Participating in a class “read-around” where students read each other’s books
• Placing the book in the class library
• Posting it on the class website
• Sharing it with parents and siblings
• Sending it to a pen pal
• Reading it to a student in another class
• Contributing it to a class anthology
• Submitting it to a literary magazine or eZine
Sharing writing is a social activity, and through sharing students develop sensitivity to the
audience and confidence in themselves as authors. Dyson (1993) advises that when students
share writing, teachers consider the social interpretations—students’ behavior, teacher’s
behavior, and interaction between students and the teacher—within the classroom context.
Individual students will naturally interpret the sharing event differently. More than just provid-
ing the opportunity for students to share writing, teachers need to teach students how to
respond to their classmates. Also, teachers themselves model how to respond to students’
writing without dominating the sharing.
Check Your Understanding 1.1
WRITING STANDARDS
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative has identified the language arts and
math knowledge students are expected to learn at each grade level, K–12. Collier (2011)
explains that the Standards are a focus for instruction, not “a rigid, one-size-fits-all checklist
of materials and lessons” (p. 8). They do not delineate any recommended instructional or
assessment approaches, but the rigorous Standards are consistent with the writing process
approach used in this text. The Initiative was spearheaded by the National Governors Associ-
ation and the Council of Chief State School Officers with the goal of ensuring that all students
graduate from high school able to succeed in college or in the workforce. More than 40 states
and the District of Columbia have adopted the CCSS, but some people distrust the Standards,
believing that they represent an intrusion by the federal government; it’s worth noting,
however, that the Initiative was the work of the state boards of education, not the U.S.
Department of Education.
The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts are organized into five
strands: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Media and Technology. They’re a
framework designed to improve teaching and learning, with clear and consistent academic
benchmarks (Kendall, 2011). The Standards are presented in grades K–5, 6–8, and 9–12 doc-
uments. Click to review the Standards document online (http://www.corestandards.org/
ELA-Literacy). The Standards are research based and include rigorous content that requires
students to use higher-level thinking skills because they apply their knowledge, and they’re
designed to be relevant to the real world because they reflect what students need for success
in college and careers. The curriculum spirals, from kindergarten through 12th grade, and at
each grade level students are required to read and write more complex texts. Reading and
writing are integrated across the curriculum, and students are required to conduct research to
answer questions and solve problems.
The Writing Strand

Students learn to use the writing process to compose texts representing a variety of genres—in
particular arguments, informative texts, and narratives. They also write to respond to litera-
ture and conduct research projects related to content area study. The 10 Standards in the
Writing strand are organized using these anchor standards:
Text Types and Purposes. The first three Writing Standards address writing genres—
narratives, informative/explanatory texts, and arguments. Students learn about the
genres and their characteristics and are expected to create writing projects applying each
genre.
Production and Distribution of Writing. The next three Writing Standards address the writ-
ing process, writing strategies, and the writer’s craft. In addition, the sixth Standard
emphasizes the digital writing and keyboarding skills.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge. The next three Writing Standards address
research projects: Students are expected to conduct research projects by gathering infor-
mation from print and digital sources, assessing the credibility and accuracy of the
sources, quoting or paraphrasing the data, and listing sources.
Range of Writing. The 10th Writing Standard addresses
the scope of writing projects students are expected to
complete each year, including both extended and short
projects. This Standard, beginning at the third grade level,
emphasizes that students are expected to write routinely
for a variety of purposes, tasks, and audiences.
Figure 1–4 presents the fifth grade Writing Standards,
grouped by anchor standards; the figure also points out
which chapters in this text focus on each anchor stan-
dard. You will no doubt notice that the Writing Standards
don’t address spelling, grammar and usage, vocabulary,
or handwriting even though teachers have often equated
students’ ability to apply conventions with their ability to
write. The focus of the Writing Standards is on communi-
cating ideas, not mechanical correctness; those topics are
addressed in other strands.
Listen as educators and students discuss how computers The Standards address the same topics at each grade
facilitate writing. What are the benefits for students who use level, but naturally the expectations vary in their complex-
computers when writing? ity. For instance, the seventh Writing Standard focuses on
Figure 1-4 THE FIFTH GRADE WRITING STRAND

ANCHOR STANDARDS STANDARDS CHAPTERS
Text Types and Purposes W 5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a Chapter 8, Narrative Writing
point of view with reasons and information. Chapter 9, Biographical Writing
W 5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a Chapter 10, Nonfiction Writing
topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Chapter 11, Writing Arguments
W 5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined
experiences or events.
Production and W 5.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the Chapter 1, Teaching Writing
Distribution of Writing development and organization are appropriate to task, Today
purpose, and audience. Chapter 2, Writing Workshop
W 5.5 Develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, Chapter 3, Developing Strategic
editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Writers
W 5.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce Chapter 4, The Writer’s Craft
and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate
with others; demonstrate keyboarding skills.
Research to Build and W 5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several Chapter 6, Writing to Learn
Present Knowledge sources to build knowledge through investigation of Chapter 8, Narrative Writing
different aspects of a topic.
Chapter 9, Biographical Writing
W 5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or
Chapter 10, Nonfiction Writing
gather relevant information from print and digital sources;
summarize information in notes and finished work and
provide a list of sources.
W 5.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing W 5.10 Write routinely over extended time frames and All chapters
shorter time frames for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
Source: Common Core Standards for English Language Arts by National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of
Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).
conducting research and reporting the results. Compare the increasing expectations at kinder-
garten, third grade, and eighth grade levels:
Kindergarten W K.7. Participate in shared research and writing projects.
Third Grade W 3.7. Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
Eighth Grade W 8.7. Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on
several sources and generating additional related focused questions that allow for multi-
ple avenues of exploration.
These Writing Standards demonstrate the spiraling design of this framework.
Other Strands
Other strands in the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts support the Writ-
ing strand. The Language strand addresses Standard English conventions, spelling, grammar
and usage, vocabulary, and handwriting. In addition, the Speaking and Listening strand empha-
sizes students’ collaboration with classmates. Students are expected to engage productively in a
variety of collaborative conversations and discussions. The first Speaking and Listening Stan-
dard explains that students are expected to come prepared, follow agreed-upon rules, make
useful comments, and draw conclusions. These criteria describe what students do in revising
groups, editing conferences, and the author’s chair.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: The Writing Process

The writing process involves five stages—prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing—that
students learn to use to develop and refine their writing. The Common Core State Standards
for English Language Arts consist of 10 Writing Standards that students are expected to meet
at each grade level, K–12. Use this checklist to guide your instruction:
Writing Process Stages Students learn to apply five stages of the writing process to
develop and refine their extended writing projects.
Prewriting Students learn to choose a narrow topic; consider purpose, audience, and
genre; and generate and organize ideas for writing.
Drafting Students learn to write rough drafts and craft leads that capture the audi-
ence’s attention.
Revising Students learn to reread their rough drafts, share their drafts, and revise on
the basis of feedback. They also meet with the teacher to get additional feedback on
their writing.
Editing Students distance themselves from their writing, proofread to locate errors,
and correct those errors. They often meet with the teacher for a final editing.
Publishing Students prepare the final copy of their writing and share it with appropri-
ate audiences.
Writing Standards Teachers ensure that they address the grade-level Writing Stan-
dards through their instruction.
ASSESSMENT: FROM TEXTBOOK TO CLASSROOM

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of the writing process and Writing
Standards through these activities. The questions ask you to collect and analyze data and
report the results. Your response should meet academic standards and adhere to Standard
English conventions. A rubric is available so you can self-assess your response, or your profes-
sor can use it to evaluate your achievement.
1. Interview several students about their use of the writing process, asking many of the
same questions used in the vignette at the beginning of this chapter. Then compare the
interview students’ responses to the vignette students’ responses. In your response,
describe the students, report their answers to your questions, and present the results
of your comparison of the interview and vignette students.
20
2. Observe several students involved in a writing project and analyze their use of the writ-
ing process as they develop and refine their writing. In your response, describe the stu-
dents and the writing project, explain how they used the writing process, and present
your analysis of your observations.
3. Interview two teachers about the impact of the Standards on their writing instruction.
Ask questions about how the teachers address the Standards, which Standards are the
easiest and the most difficult to teach, and how the Standards have influenced their
instruction and students’ growth as writers. In your response, describe the teachers,
report on teachers’ answers, and draw conclusions about the Writing Standards.
ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT . . .

THE WRITING PROCESS
Do students use the writing process every time they I’m a first grade teacher, and my students aren’t
write? ready for the writing process yet. What should I do?
Writing can be divided into two categories—for- I’m guessing that your students are more ready
mal and informal. Students use the writing pro- for writing instruction than you realize. Begin
cess when they’re doing formal writing—stories, with a three-stage modified writing process con-
poems, and persuasive essays, for example—that sisting of prewriting, drafting, and publishing.
they’ll publish and share with classmates and Children draw a picture about an experience
other audiences. In contrast, journal entries, (prewriting), write a sentence or two describing
email, and charts are examples of informal writ- the drawing (drafting), and then take turns shar-
ing, where the focus is on using writing as a ing their writing from the author’s chair (pub-
learning tool. This writing is personal, and stu- lishing). If you begin by modeling the process,
dents typically only draft their ideas. the first graders will follow your lead; in fact,
they quickly want to draw a series of pictures to
You make a big deal of separating the revising and
describe the experience more completely and
editing stages. Is that really important?
staple the pages to make a book. Plus, at the
Yes, it’s important because teachers often ignore same time, you’re teaching them to read and
revising and focus on editing when the two are spell high-frequency words and about other
presented together. It’s so much easier to identify Standard English conventions. Soon, they’ll
and correct the mechanical errors in students’ want to make revisions to communicate more
writing than to help them refine the message effectively and fix spelling errors so classmates
they’re trying to communicate. Revising their can reread their writing more easily.
writing is an essential part of the writing process.
21
CHAPTER
2 Writing Workshop
Sixth Graders Participate in Writing Workshop. Mr. Baghdassarian,
whom the kids call Mr. B, and his sixth graders are busy in their writing workshop put-
ting together a report about what they’ve learned in science. He began the workshop
with this statement: “Explain one part of a plant cell, such as vacuole or chloroplast.” The
students represent a wide range of abilities: Some are below grade level, some are on grade
level, and others are above grade level. Mr. B has created a culture of respect and community
in the classroom, realizing that with collaboration among a community of learners, students
can learn to have high expectations for one another and learn to respect each other’s opin-
ions, beliefs, and individual talents. The students eagerly get to work as the teacher adds six
more activities to the project list (see Mr. B’s Project List for Plant Cells below). Then he shared
with students a number of mentor texts on plant structures that they might use to find more
information.
Mr. B’s Project List for Plant Cells

Design the cover of the book about plant cells.
Draw and label a picture of a plant cell.
Create a table of contents.
Create a glossary of key terms about the parts of plant cells.
Explain one part of a plant cell, such as vacuole or chloroplast.
Describe a cellular process, such as photosynthesis.
Draw conclusions about the usefulness of plant cells for people.
Roberto notices, “We can’t do the table of contents until we know what we actually
put in it.” Tara volunteers, “Let’s put a list of the words we need to include in the glos-
sary and then we can actually define them.” Sophia agrees, “We’ll put them in alpha-
betical order after we have the entire list.” Aisha and Kent, two of the class artists, go
to the cabinet to get construction paper and colored pencils so they can begin design-
ing the book cover. Oliver volunteers to draw and label the plant cell. Tom and Maria
agree to work together to describe a cellular process, such as photosynthesis. Lexi,
Margo, Steve, and Ron want to work together to write about how plant cells are use-
ful to people. George, Kevin, Jeremy, Angela, and Bridget each want to explain one
part of a plant cell. The students begin talking about what they’re going to do in their
small groups. The teacher is pleased: He learned long ago that when students man-
age their own projects through writing workshop, they often work in sustained and
self-directed ways.
22
Mr. B allows 5 days for the students to write their book about plant cells; during this time,
they’ll plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish their work. He monitors any need for minilessons;
for example, at the beginning of the project, he determined that students would benefit from
a minilesson on taking notes and writing introductory paragraphs. And as the students
demonstrate what they’ve learned about plant cells to each other, they hold peer conferences.
Sharing provides opportunities for students to seek peer reactions to their work and improve
on it as they use constructive comments to make revisions. The students know that with every-
one doing their best, they’ll have a product that will make them proud.
Mr. B makes learning fun, and the students feel smart when they write about what they’ve
learned. Parents are amazed by their children’s learning and their attitude toward learning.
Mr. B says, “Learning is the hard part; writing is celebrating!”
The students approach their work with confidence because they always write about what
they’ve learned, and they have been successful and have received high praise from other teach-
ers, their parents, and their peers in other classes. They also look for ways to do more than just
what Mr. B requires. They make sure they do everything on the list, but if there’s time, they’ll
do additional work. For instance, once the glossary is finished, Kent, Aisha, and Oliver add
illustrations. Everyone wants to be busy and productive, so they look for what they can do to
make their publication even better. Students incorporate explanations about other parts of a
plant cell, including mitochondria, plasma membrane, and cytoplasm, and they write descrip-
tions about other cellular processes: osmosis, replication, and energy conversion. By working
together, they realize just how much they have learned and want to make sure they don’t leave
anything out.
On Friday, they read what they’ve created together and celebrate their publication with
cookies (making sure to avoid allergies) and bottled water. Their principal, the media center
specialist, and some parents join the celebration.
23
T
eachers use writing workshop to imple-
Writing Standards: Writing Workshop ment the writing process (Atwell, 2015;
Writing workshop provides the structure for teaching Overmeyer, 2005). According to Lucy
the Writing Standards. The first three Standards Calkins (1994), students write during writing
address genres, and students use the genres in their workshop about what’s vital and real for them.
writing projects. The next three Standards relate to the They assume ownership of their learning and
writing process, and students develop and refine the
choose what and how they’ll write. At the same
writing they do during writing workshop. The next
three Standards address research, and students con- time, the teacher’s role changes from being a pro-
duct research and report the results during writing vider of knowledge to serving as a guide. The class-
workshop. The 10th Writing Standard addresses the room changes, too: It becomes a community of
range of writing: Students are expected to write over writers. Self-selection, ownership, self-monitoring,
extended time frames, and that’s what they do during feedback, and individualized instruction are the
writing workshop. To learn more about the Writing
hallmarks of writing workshop (Atwell, 2015).
Standards, go to http://www.corestandards.org/
ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational stan- Students are active participants because they
dards website. choose the direction their writing will take, con-
sciously monitor their writing processes, and turn
to classmates and the teacher for guidance.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
2.1 Describe the components of writing workshop.
2.2 Explain how teachers implement writing workshop.
COMPONENTS OF WRITING WORKSHOP

Teachers, including Mr. B in the vignette, incorporate these four components in writing
workshop:
Writing. Students use the writing process as they develop and refine their writing, and
they conference with classmates and the teacher about their writing.
Sharing. The class gathers together to share their new publications, often during the last
5 to 10 minutes of the workshop.
Interactive Read-Alouds. Teachers use the interactive read-aloud procedure to read
picture books and chapter books aloud to share examples of effective writing.
Minilessons. Teachers provide 15- to 30-minute lessons on writing workshop procedures
and information about authors, writing strategies, and the writer’s craft, including
conventions.
It’s important to have a clear, simple structure for writing workshop so that students can
anticipate what they’ll be doing. Figure 2–1 presents four schedules at different grade lev-
els. Teachers organize their workshop depending on the other instructional programs
they’re using and the available time. For example, if teachers read aloud to the class every
day after lunch, it may not be necessary to include that component in writing workshop, or
when teachers have only a short period of time available, they can alternate minilessons
and sharing.
24
CHAPTER 2 | Writing Workshop 25
Figure 2–1 SCHEDULES FOR WRITING WORKSHOP
Ms.Yang’s First Grade Schedule

During the first 90 minutes of the school day, Ms. Yang has her first graders work at literacy centers while
she conducts guided reading lessons. After a short recess, children move into writing workshop. Here’s
her schedule:
10:00–10:15 Reading aloud to children
10:15–10:30 Interactive writing
10:30–11:00 Independent writing
11:00–11:15 Sharing
During interactive writing, Ms. Yang and the children write a sentence together based on the book she
read aloud.
Mr. Scott’s Third and Fourth Grade Schedule
Mr. Scott’s students spend the first hour of the school day working in reading and writing workshop. The
third and fourth graders alternate between reading and writing projects. Here’s his schedule:
8:45–8:50 Status of the class
8:50–9:40 Independent reading or writing
9:40–9:45 Sharing
During the independent writing period, students move through the writing process, and Mr. Scott
conferences with individual students as they work.
Mrs. Flores’s Fifth Grade Schedule
Mrs. Flores’s fifth graders begin their literacy block with either literature circles or a literature focus unit;
during the second half of the literacy block, students spend 75 minutes learning about authors,
practicing writing strategies, and writing independently. Here’s Mrs. Flores’s schedule:
10:30–10:50 Minilesson
11:55–12:05 Sharing
During the minilesson, Mrs. Flores alternates lessons on authors, spelling, and sentence building using
sentences from books students are reading.
Ms. Vargas’s Eighth Grade Schedule
Ms. Vargas teaches writing as part of a 2-hour language arts and social studies block. She alternates
reading and writing workshop, depending on the other activities students are involved in. Here’s her
schedule:
1:55–2:05 Sharing
During the sharing period, all students read aloud a powerful sentence they’ve written if no one has
completed the project to share.
Writing
Writing is the heart of writing workshop (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001). Students write inde-
pendently or collaboratively on topics related to literature, social studies, or science, or they
write about personal topics they’ve chosen themselves. Young children, especially, write about
their pets and family events. They spend a great deal of time writing rough drafts, and then
they take promising pieces through the writing process to publication.
Students use writing workshop to draft and refine writing projects during literature, social
studies, and science units; they make projects to apply what they’re learning. Sometimes students
choose their own writing projects related to a particular

unit, or they might work on a class project. For example,
during an author study on Eric Carle, first graders make
marbleized paper and use it to illustrate books they’re writ-
ing. Or, as part of a science unit on insects, fourth graders
each research a different insect and then create a website
with an entry about each bug. In these two examples, teach-
ers use writing workshop so that students can apply the
writing process to develop and refine their compositions.
Students use writing to extend learning in literature,
social studies, or science units; they apply what they’re
learning by creating poems, reports, posters, and other
projects. Sometimes several students work together on a
project, but at other times every student in the class is
working on a different project. Sixth graders, for example,
each chose a project to pursue after reading Tuck Everlasting
Watch Ms. Leonard introduce writing workshop to her first (Babbitt, 2007). One boy decided to put together a story
graders. What activities does she do to engage her young box. He brought a shoebox from home and decorated it
students in writing? with the title, scenes, and characters from the book. Then
he collected four items related to the story and placed them in the box: a small bottle of water,
Winnie’s tombstone made from construction paper, a picture of a Ferris wheel, and a small
music box. He wrote a paragraph-length piece explaining the book and the items in his box, and
he glued the final copy of the explanation into the inside of the box top. Here’s his explanation:
Tuck Everlasting is an awesome book. The story is about life and how life is like a wheel.
The wheel is supposed to keep turning from birth to death. But what happens if the wheel
stops? It could if you drank magic water and you stopped getting any older. You would keep
on living the same old way year after year after year. You would keep going back to the same
old places while the rest of the world lived and died. You would finally learn that the lucky
ones are the people who live and love and then grow old and die.
This project demonstrates the depth of understanding that students can develop and display
through writing projects.
Students also write about things they know well, often drawing topics from their own
lives. When students complain that they don’t know what to write about, teachers often help
them brainstorm lists of possible topics, including brothers and sisters, holidays, grandpar-
ents, pets, friends, and hobbies. Teachers also use trade books as writing models (Overmeyer,
2005), and students incorporate organizational patterns and language structures from favor-
ite books into their writing.
Of course, teachers can help students choose topics. Lee Heffernan (2004) reported that
the topics his third graders wrote about were often superficial, and they wrote without much
passion; also, they recycled the same topics again and again. He addressed these problems by
reading aloud books about social issues, such as Your Move (Bunting, 1998), a story about join-
ing a gang, that generated emotional responses and serious conversations about privilege and
injustice. As the students’ social awareness grew, their writing changed, too: They incorporated
social themes in the books they wrote. Another potential problem is unacceptable topics:
Sometimes students choose violent and offensive topics, so to avoid this problem, teachers
establish boundaries about which topics are acceptable.
Teachers circulate around the classroom, observing students and stopping to confer
briefly with individual students. What matters is that during these brief conferences, teachers
listen as students read and talk about their writing. Fletcher and Portalupi (2001) recommend
that teachers keep these conferences brief. They listen carefully, react honestly, and then move
on to the next student. Conferences also provide opportunities for teachers to clarify misun-
derstandings and nurture students. The emphasis should be on developing stronger writers,
not on fixing a particular piece of writing (Calkins, Hartman, & White, 2005).
Sharing
At the end of the workshop, the class gathers together to share their new publications and
make announcements; for example, a student who has just finished writing a puppet show
script and making puppets may ask for volunteers to help perform the script. Students take
turns sitting in the author’s chair to read their compositions. After the reading, classmates
clap and offer compliments. They may also make other comments and suggestions, but the
focus is on celebrating completed writing projects, not on revising the compositions to make
them better (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001).
Interactive Read-Alouds
Teachers read aloud award-winning and other high-quality picture books and chapter books,
often one that they’ve chosen carefully to highlight a writing concept. These books are called
mentor texts, and after reading them teachers refer to them again and again to teach students
about particular concepts during minilessons (Cappelli & Dorfman, 2007; Culham, 2014).
Teachers choose books to demonstrate writing strategies or the writer’s craft, or to teach
about a genre. Picture books are easy to use because they can be read quickly: First grade
teachers, for example, use How I Became a Pirate (Long, 2003) to teach children about plot
structure, third grade teachers contrast Tough Cookie (Wisniewski, 1999) with Owl Moon (Yolen,
2007) to teach voice, and fifth grade teachers use Dav Pilkey’s Dogzilla (2003a) and Kat Kong
(2003b) to introduce spoofs. Teachers also use excerpts from chapter books that they’ve read
previously or that students have read themselves. E. B. White’s classic Charlotte’s Web (2006),
for instance, can be used in many ways, including teaching students about descriptive lan-
guage, narrative structure, and sentence fluency.
Nonfiction picture books and chapter books are also chosen as mentor texts (Dorfman &
Cappelli, 2009). For instance, as part of a unit on community helpers, kindergarten teachers
read aloud Mule Train Mail (Brown, 2009), a book about a postman who carries the mail from
the top of the Grand Canyon to the village of Supai far below on the canyon floor, and then
use it as a model for writing about community helpers. Or eighth grade teachers use Which
Way to the Wild West? Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn’t Tell You About America’s Westward Expansion
(Sheinkin, 2009), a chapter book about the Wild West starting with the Louisiana Purchase
and ending with the 1890 Lakota massacre at Wounded Knee, to examine the range of nonfic-
tion genres writers employ before students create projects about this fascinating period of
American history.
Other books focus on authors, telling about events in their lives and their writing pro-
cesses. In Firetalking (Polacco, 1994), for example, Patricia Polacco tells how she uses the family
stories she heard her grandparents tell as the basis for the books she writes, and in Knots in My
Yo-Yo String (1998), Jerry Spinelli emphasizes the importance of incorporating sensory details to
breathe life into your writing. Teachers also locate biographical information about authors
and video interviews of authors online; two excellent resources are http://www.kidsreads.com
and http://www.scholastic.com. In addition, teachers use poems, magazine and Internet
articles, email messages, newspapers, and instruction manuals as mentor texts.
Mentor Texts The Writing Process

Topic Books
Writing Process Duke, K. (1994). Aunt Isabel tells a good one. New York: Puffin Books. PM
Fletcher, R. (2000). How writers work: Finding a process that works for you.
New York: HarperCollins. U
Spinelli, E. (2008). The best story. New York: Dial Books. PM
Wong, J. S. (2002). You have to write. New York: McElderry. M
Authors Christelow, E. (2013). What do authors and illustrators do? Boston: Houghton Mifflin Holt. PM
Lester, H. (2002). Author: A true story. New York: Sandpiper. M
Lowry, L. (1998). Looking back: A book of memories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. MU
Nixon, J. L. (1995). If you were a writer. New York: Aladdin Books. PM
Scieszka, J. (2008). Knucklehead: Tall tales and almost true stories of growing up. New York: Viking. M
Spinelli, J. (1998). Knots in my yo-yo string. New York: Ember. MU
Autobiographies in the Meet the Author series, published by Richard C. Owen. PM
Autobiographies in the Author at Work collection, published by Richard C. Owen. MU
Teacher Tools Cappelli, R., & Dorfman, L. R. (2007). Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children’s literature,
K–6. York, ME: Stenhouse. PMU
Culham, R. (2014). The writing thief: Using mentor texts to teach the craft of writing. Portland, ME:
Stenhouse. MU
Dorfman, L. R., & Cappelli, R. (2009). Nonfiction mentor texts: Teaching information writing
through children’s literature, K–8. York, ME: Stenhouse. PMU
Ehmann, S., & Gayer, K. (2009). I can write like that! A guide to mentor texts and craft studies for
writers’ workshop, K–6. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. PMU
Heard, G. (2002). The revision toolbox: Teaching techniques that work. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann. PMU
Lane, B. (1999). The reviser’s toolbox. Shoreham, VT: Discover Writing Press. PMU
P 5 primary grades (K–2); M 5 middle grades (3–5); U 5 upper grades (6–8)
Mentor Texts: The Writing Process lists fiction and nonfiction books about the writing
process, authors, and writing workshop; in upcoming chapters, Mentor Texts features list
books that teachers use in teaching about the topics presented in those chapters.
Teachers use the interactive read-aloud procedure that’s described in Step-by-Step: Inter-
active Read-Alouds to share mentor texts with students. In this procedure, students are
actively engaged in the text while teachers are reading.
Minilessons
Minilessons are focused explanations and demonstrations of writing workshop procedures, writ-
ing strategies, and the writer’s craft (Atwell, 2015; Hoyt, 2000; Ray, 2002). The purpose of this
instructional procedure is to highlight a topic, present information about it, and provide oppor-
tunities for guided practice. Teachers often share a mentor text, a picture book, or an excerpt
from a longer chapter book to demonstrate how an author handled the topic (Ehmann & Gayer,
2009). Worksheets are rarely used; instead, students apply the lesson to their own writing.
Teachers differentiate instruction as they teach minilessons: Some are conducted with the whole
class and others with small groups of students who need to learn more about a particular topic
or require more supervised practice. The procedure is presented in Step-by-Step: Minilesson.
Interactive Read-Alouds
1 Select a book. Teachers choose award-winning and other high-quality stories and nonfiction books that
are appropriate for students and that exemplify the writer’s craft.
2 Prepare to share the book. Teachers practice reading the book to ensure that they can read it fluently
and to decide where to pause and engage students with the text; they write prompts on self-stick notes to
mark these pages. Teachers also think about how they’ll introduce the book and highlight concepts and
vocabulary that might be unfamiliar to students.
3 Introduce the book. Teachers activate students’ background knowledge, set a clear purpose for listen-
ing, and preview the text.
4 Read the book interactively. Teachers read the book aloud and ask questions to direct students’ atten-
tion to specific points in the text. For stories, they also ask them to make and revise predictions at pivotal
points, share connections, assume the persona of a character and share the character’s thoughts, or reenact
a scene. For nonfiction books, teachers encourage students to ask questions or share information, raise
hands when specific information is read, take notes, or complete graphic organizers.
5 Involve students in after-reading activities. Students participate in discussions and other response
activities.
Minilesson
1 Introduce the topic. Teachers identify the topic for the minilesson, often writing it on chart paper or on
the whiteboard, and making a connection between the topic and ongoing activities in the classroom.
2 Share examples. Teachers explain the topic using mentor texts or students’ own writing. Then they invite
the class to identify other examples and write them on the chart paper or on the whiteboard.
3 Provide information. Teachers present additional information and demonstrate how to apply it in writ-
ing. They clarify misconceptions and contrast the topic with related topics.
4 Supervise practice. Students work in pairs or small groups to practice what they’re learning. The teacher
circulates around the classroom, providing assistance or reviewing the information that’s been presented
when necessary.
5 Assess learning. Teachers monitor students’ application of the information they’ve learned as they par-
ticipate in writing workshop.
TOPIC: Writing Summaries of Informational Articles
Minilesson GRADE: Fourth Grade

Mr. Surabian plans to teach his students how to write a summary; only a few seem familiar
with the term summary writing, and no one knows how to write one. Writing a summary is one
of the fourth grade standards, and the prompt for the district’s writing assessment often
requires summary writing.

Mr. Surabian explains that a summary is a brief statement of the main points of an arti-
cle. He presents a poster with these characteristics of a summary:
• A summary tells the big ideas.
• A summary shows the connections between the big ideas.
• A summary has a generalization or a conclusion.
• A summary is written in your own words.
• A summary is brief.
2 Share Examples
Mr. Surabian shares a one-page article about Wilbur and Orville Wright and the sum-
mary he’s written about it. The students check that the summary meets all of the charac-
teristics on the poster. Then he shares a second article about mummification, and the
students pick out the big ideas and highlight them.
Next, Mr. Surabian draws a diagram to show the relationships among the ideas, and
they develop a generalization or conclusion statement. Then he shares his summary, and
the fourth graders check that he included the big ideas and that the summary meets all
of the characteristics on the poster.
The next day, Mr. Surabian reviews the characteristics of a summary and shares an article
about motorcycles. The students read it, identify and highlight the big ideas, draw a dia-
gram to illustrate the relationships among the ideas, and create a generalization. After
this preparation, they write a summary of the article, checking that it meets the charac-
teristics listed on the classroom poster. On the third day, Mr. Surabian’s students repeat
the process with an article about rain forests.
4 Guide Practice
On the fourth day, Mr. Surabian shares an article about the Mississippi River. The students
read and discuss it, identifying the big ideas, relationships among them, and possible con-
clusions. Then the teacher divides the students into small groups, and each group writes a
summary. Afterward, they share their summaries and check them against the poster. The
class repeats this activity the next day; this time, they read about porpoises. Mr. Surabian
shortens the time spent discussing the article and identifying the big ideas and conclusions
so that students must assume more responsibility for developing and writing the summary.
5 Assess Learning
Mr. Surabian assesses students’ learning by monitoring them as they work in small groups. He
identifies several students who need practice, and he plans additional minilessons with them.
Teachers teach minilessons during writing workshop and at other times. Some address
strategies and skills, others focus on instructional procedures such as how to use a dictionary
or share writing from the author’s chair and concepts such as homophones or adjectives.
Minilesson: Writing Summaries of Informational Articles shows how Mr. Surabian teaches his
fourth graders about a new writing genre.
IMPLEMENTING WRITING WORKSHOP

Teachers begin by teaching the writing process and modeling activities at each stage. They
arrange the classroom for workshop activities, create a community of writers, and differenti-
ate instruction. Writing workshop isn’t easy to implement, but it’s worth the effort. Many
teachers and parents have reported the positive effects writing workshop has on students’
development as writers (Atwell, 2015). One thing that makes writing workshop difficult to
implement is that many teachers weren’t taught this way themselves, and they may not have
seen other teachers use writing workshop effectively. Another difficulty is that both students
and teachers take on new roles in writing workshop: Students assume more ownership of their
work, apply strategies to solve problems, and self-assess their writing, and teachers spend a
great deal of their time conferencing with students, working one-on-one or in small groups
rather than directing the whole class. These new roles are different for both students and
teachers, but with practice they become comfortable, and most teachers and students
couldn’t imagine a school day without writing workshop!
Introduce the Writing Process

Whether you’re teaching first graders or eighth graders, it’s crucial to introduce them to the
writing process and to teach the activities involved in each stage. Teachers begin by explaining
the process approach, describing and demonstrating each stage, and guiding students as they
develop several brief compositions to experience the writing process.
Students need to learn the procedures and associated activities in each stage—in particu-
lar, making clusters, participating in revising groups, and proofreading—and the terminology
associated with the writing process. Teachers use minilessons to demonstrate procedures and
then provide many opportunities for students to practice each procedure and activity through
writing workshop.
Learning the writing process takes time. Students need to work through the entire process
again and again until the stages and activities become automatic. Once they understand the
writing process, they can manipulate the activities of each stage to meet the demands of par-
ticular writing projects and modify the process to accommodate their personal writing styles.
WRITING PROCESS CHARTS It’s a good idea to hang charts in the classroom
outlining the writing process and related activities (Tompkins & Zumwalt, 2005). These charts
should be developed with students rather than made in advance by the teacher. Two writing
process charts developed by third graders are shown in Figure 2–2; the first chart, “Revision,”
lists many of the activities involved in the revising stage, and the second one, “Things to Say in
Revising Groups,” offers suggestions students refer to when they’re thinking of comments to
make about their classmates’ writing.
Figure 2–2 WRITING PROCESS CHARTS
Things to Say in Revising Groups

1. Be polite. Say things that won’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
• I like . . .
• I got confused when . . .
• Tell me more about . . .
• Your writing reminds me of . . .
• My favorite part is . . .
• Could you try to . . .
2. These are important things to say about someone’s writing:

Leads Beginning-Middle-End Descriptive Words
Details Dialogue Excitement
Lots of Facts Organization Setting
Comparisons Special $10 Words Sound Words
Metaphors Voice Sequence
Viewpoint Vivid Verbs Mind Pictures
CLASS COLLABORATIONS Teachers demonstrate the writing process by making

class collaborations: Students supply the ideas for writing, and teachers model how to tackle
common writing problems. Teachers begin by introducing the idea of writing a group compo-
sition and discussing the project. Almost any type of writing project can be written as a class
collaboration; what’s important is that everyone is familiar with the topic and the genre.
Teachers guide students through the writing process, and

because the writing duties are shared, everyone is more
successful. Teachers remain alert for indications of confu-
sions or misunderstandings students may have about the
writing process and, when necessary, review concepts and
offer suggestions.
To begin, teachers and students brainstorm and
organize ideas, and then students dictate a rough draft,
which the teacher writes on chart paper. Once the draft
is complete, they move on to revising. Teachers read the
draft aloud several times, and students point out things
they’ve done well and make suggestions about how to
fine-tune it. Some parts are reworked; others are deleted
or moved. More specific words are substituted for less
specific ones, redundant words and sentences are
deleted, and sometimes students add new sections. Watch Mrs. Porter review the writing process with her third
After making the necessary content changes, students graders. How do the charts the students made help them
proofread the composition, identifying and correcting understand the activities involved in each stage of the writing
process?
mechanical errors, checking paragraph breaks, and
combining sentences as needed. Finally, the composition is published: The teacher or sev-
eral students copy the completed composition on sheets of chart paper to display in the
classroom; they word process the document, print it out, and make copies for each student;
or they upload the composition to their class website.
Figure 2–3 presents an excerpt from a fourth grade class book, “California: The Golden
State,” the culmination of a yearlong study. Students brainstormed topics and then divided
into pairs and small groups to write the sections. This book is interesting because students
wrote each chapter from the viewpoint of a knowledgeable Californian in each setting: The
chapter about the gold rush was written from a miner’s viewpoint, and the chapter on
Yosemite National Park was written from naturalist John Muir’s viewpoint. The excerpt in
Figure 2–3, “A Tour of San Francisco,” was written from the viewpoint of a tour guide. This
perspective makes the writing more interesting and allows students to personalize the infor-
mation they’re presenting.
Arrange the Classroom

No special classroom arrangement is necessary for writing workshop, but the layout of furni-
ture, equipment, and supplies should facilitate collaborative workshop activities. Students
often sit at desks arranged in small groups so that they can either write independently or work
with classmates. One or more tables should be available for revising groups or teacher-led
conferences, and a large, open space is needed for the class to meet for minilessons and to
share their writing. A special author’s chair should be available for students to sit in when they
read their published pieces aloud.
Classrooms should be equipped with a bank of computers with word processing soft-
ware and printers so that students can produce professional-looking books. Different kinds
of paper, writing instruments, and book-making supplies are needed when students make
books by hand, and a class set of red and blue pens can be useful for revising and editing
activities. A well-stocked, accessible classroom library also supports writing workshop
because students use favorite books as models for writing, and they often need to consult
reference books while they’re writing.
SHARED WRITING: AN EXCERPT FROM

Figure 2–3
“CALIFORNIA: THE GOLDEN STATE”
A Tour of San Francisco

Clang! Clang! Clang! go the bells on the cable cars. The cable cars go up and
down the hills of San Francisco. Let’s take a ride. It’s a good way to learn about
this city. San Francisco is the third largest city in California and the population is
864,816. It is located on a peninsula next to the Pacific Ocean.
San Francisco is an old city. Spanish missionaries founded it in 1776. The city
really began to grow in 1848 with the Gold Rush. It was an important mining
supply center. People who made a lot of money came back to live in San
Francisco, and they built beautiful homes on Nob Hill. Most of the homes are gone
now because of the Great San Francisco Earthquake in 1906.
Our first stop is at Chinatown. There are many people from China that live in
San Francisco. Some Chinese people came to America to work in the gold rush
and some came to work on the First Transcontinental Railroad that was built in
the 1860’s. Now some of their great grandchildren live in one area that is called
Chinatown. Look on the street signs. You see the names written in Chinese and in
English. Do you hear people talking Chinese in the stores and on the street? We
can stop and eat Chinese food and buy little gifts that come from China. Did you
know there is a fortune cookie factory here, too?
Our second stop is at Fisherman’s Wharf. Many, many fishing boats used to
dock here. They caught fish in the ocean. Then they came here to sell the fish.
Now there are only a few boats but there are good seafood restaurants here.
We will walk over to two fun shopping centers. One shopping center is called the
Cannery. It used to be a factory that made canned food. That’s why it’s called
the Cannery. The other one is Ghirardelli Square, and it used to be a chocolate
factory. You can eat Ghirardelli chocolates at a store there.
Now we will take a boat tour of San Francisco Bay and see the sights. Look
straight ahead and you will see the Golden Gate Bridge. It is very tall and you
can see the two towers and the cables that hang down to hold the bridge up.
It is called a suspension bridge and it is 8,981 feet long. Many people drive
across the bridge every day and you can even walk across it. There is a
sidewalk. Over here you can see Alcatraz Island. It used to be a military fort
and prison. The most dangerous criminals in America used to be put here, but it
is closed now.
Thank you for taking this tour. I hope you have learned that San Francisco is
a great and interesting city. There is much, much, much more to see and you can
take more of our tours. I want you to leave your heart in San Francisco and
come back soon. Good bye!
Create a Community of Writers

Classrooms are social settings. Together students and their teacher create a secure classroom
community with honesty and trust, and this environment strongly influences students’ writing
development and their productivity (Angelillo, 2008). The classroom community should be
conducive to learning. Perhaps the most striking quality is the partnership between the teacher
and students: They become a “family” in which everyone respects one another and supports
each other’s learning. Students value culturally and linguistically diverse classmates and recog-
nize that everyone makes important contributions. A successful classroom community has
these identifiable characteristics:
Respect. Students and the teacher interact respectfully with each other, honor everyone’s
opinions and beliefs, and encourage students to become personally involved in writing
projects. Students’ cultural, linguistic, and learning differences are honored, and harass-
ment, bullying, and verbal abuse aren’t tolerated.
High Expectations. Teachers set high expectations and emphasize that they believe that all
students can be successful (Davis & Hill, 2003). Their high expectations promote a posi-
tive environment where students behave appropriately and develop self-confidence.
Collaboration. Students often work collegially with classmates on writing projects,
because when students collaborate, they provide scaffolding for classmates, increase
their motivation and interest in writing, and accelerate their achievement.
Differentiation. Because students vary in their writing experience, knowledge about writ-
ing strategies and the writer’s craft, and English language proficiency, teachers differenti-
ate or adapt their instruction and writing projects so all students can be successful
(Tomlinson, 2004).
Choice. Students make choices about writing topics and genres for writing projects and
the classmates they want to work with within parameters set by the teacher. When stu-
dents have opportunities to make choices, they’re more motivated to succeed, and they
develop a positive attitude toward writing.
Responsibility. Teachers view students as valued
members of the classroom community who are
responsible for their learning and behavior and the
contributions they make. Students assume leadership
roles, and students and the teacher share learning
and teaching responsibilities.
Establishing a nurturing classroom environment is a cru-
cial prerequisite for running a successful writing work-
shop program. Like Mr. B in the vignette, teachers create a
classroom culture that promotes acceptance of individual
differences and is conducive to matching instruction to
individual students. Having a classroom community
where students respect their classmates and can work col-
laboratively is vital. Teachers learn that students don’t
always do the same activity or read the same book, and
they focus on their own work rather than on what their
classmates are doing. Students become more responsible Listen as the value of a community of writers is explained.
for their own learning and develop more confidence in How does a community of writers provide a level of trust as
their ability to learn. students learn to write?
Differentiate Instruction
This view of the classroom as a community of writers reinforces the importance of differenti-
ated instruction, where teachers understand that their students vary in their interests and
motivation, writing development, and background knowledge and experiences and tailor
instruction accordingly (Tomlinson, 2014). Teachers consider these individual differences as
they work with students to set goals, design engaging writing projects, and provide opportuni-
ties for students to collaborate with classmates. They modify instruction in three ways:
Differentiating the Content. The content is the “what” of teaching, the knowledge about
writing, strategies, and the writer’s craft that students are expected to learn at each grade
level.
Differentiating the Process. The process is the “how” of teaching, the instruction that
teachers provide, the materials they use, and the activities students are involved in to
ensure that they’re successful. Teachers group students for instruction and make deci-
sions about involving students in writing projects that allow them to apply what they’re
learning.
Differentiating the Product. The product is the result of learning; writing projects demon-
strate what students understand and how well they can apply what they’ve learned.
Teachers often vary the complexity of the projects they ask students to create by changing
the level of thinking that’s required to complete the project.
In differentiated instruction, teachers strive for student independence, and they modify
instruction in these ways to meet their goal. It’s crucial that teachers recognize the diversity of
learners in 21st-century classrooms and understand that students don’t all need to partici-
pate in the same learning activities.
TIERED WRITING PROJECTS To match students’ needs, teachers create several

tiered or related activities that focus on the same essential knowledge but vary in complexity.
These projects are alternative ways of reaching the same goal because “one-size-fits-all” proj-
ects can’t benefit on-grade-level students, support struggling writers, and challenge advanced
students. Creating tiered writing projects increases the likelihood that all students will be suc-
cessful (Tomlinson, 2014). Even though the projects are different, they should be equally
interesting and engaging and require the same amount of effort from students.
Teachers vary writing projects in two ways. First, projects vary by complexity of thinking
that’s required: Some projects require students to retell or summarize, but students use
higher-level thinking for other projects when they compare, evaluate, and invent. Second,
projects vary by form of expression: For some projects, students draw diagrams, posters, and
collages, and for others they create journals and logs, record film videos, and write reports,
poems, and stories.
Tomlinson (2014) recommends that teachers begin by designing an interesting activity
that focuses on elemental knowledge and requires higher-level thinking. Next, they visualize a
ladder where the top rung represents advanced students, the middle rung on-grade-level stu-
dents, and the bottom rung struggling students, and then they decide where the activity
they’ve created fits on the ladder. The third step is to create other versions of the project:
Teachers devise one, two, or three versions of the activity at different levels of difficulty to meet
the needs of their students. Versions can vary according to thinking levels and forms of expres-
sion. Finally, teachers decide which students will do each version of the project. It’s important
to make tiering invisible. Heacox (2002) recommends that teachers alternate the order in
which they introduce the activities to students, show similar enthusiasm for each one, and use
neutral ways of identifying groups of students who will pursue each activity.
In the vignette, Mr. B began with this project: Explain one part of a plant cell, such as vacuole
or chloroplast. Then he added six other projects, providing opportunities for students to
choose activities that would allow them to be successful and demonstrate varying levels of
writing proficiency:
• Design the cover of the book about plant cells.
• Draw and label a picture of a plant cell.
• Create a table of contents.
• Create a glossary of key terms about the parts of plant cells.
• Explain one part of a plant cell, such as vacuole or chloroplast.
• Describe a cellular process, such as photosynthesis.
• Draw conclusions about the usefulness of plant cells for people.
All these topics are essential in preparing a report, and by sharing the work, students can create
an effective book in less time.
Incorporate Technology
One of the most common ways that students in grades K–8 incorporate technology into writ-
ing is by using computers with word processing software and Internet access (McNabb,
2006). Many students prefer word processing to handwriting because of greater writing speed,
ease of revising and editing, and the professional appearance of published writing projects.
Computers support the writing process in these ways:
Prewriting. Students research topics on the Internet and brainstorm lists of ideas and
words and then organize those ideas before beginning to draft. They also talk out their
ideas using instant messaging with a classmate and synchronous chats with small groups
of classmates.
Drafting. When students have good keyboarding skills, they pour out their ideas quickly
because typing is faster and more legible than handwriting. Students double-space their
drafts to leave room for revising and editing, and they’re less likely to censor their writing
because they know how easy it is to make changes. If they’re preparing multimodal proj-
ects, they insert hyperlinks and add photos and video clips.
Revising. Students meet in online revising groups in networked classrooms and get feed-
back on how to improve their writing. They apply what they’ve learned about netiquette–
guidelines for online behavior, including supportive ways to respond to classmates’
writing. Teachers also provide feedback about students’ drafts by posting comment bal-
loons. Students make revisions and then track changes they’ve made.
Editing. Editing is simplified because word processing programs automatically correct
common spelling errors and capitalize words. Students use spelling and grammar checks
and consult online dictionaries to correct the remaining mechanical errors.
Publishing. Students design their layout and format their compositions. They choose
fonts for titles and headings and then print out the final copy.
Digital Toolkit: Laptops for Writing describes how middle school teachers in Maine established
a successful laptop computer program in their schools.
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Laptops for Writing
Technology has the potential to support writing instruc- Gritter, 2007). Eighth graders’ writing, as measured by
tion through word processing, spell-check programs, mul- the Maine Educational Assessment (MEA), the state’s
timedia software, and the Internet (Karchmer-Klein, standardized assessment, improved significantly after
2007). One exciting program is Maine’s middle school lap- the laptop program was implemented.
top program. All seventh and eighth graders were given MEA writing scores from 2000 were compared with
laptops as part of a 5-year program to get kids ready for 2005 results: In 2000, 29% of eighth graders met the
21st-century literacy demands, and teachers learned to use state’s writing proficiency standard, but in 2005, 41%
laptops to teach writing. Students used Apple iBook com- did! The researchers found that the way laptops were
puters with AirPort wireless networking, Internet access, used inf luenced writing achievement. Students who
and Web browsers. Software included email, iMovie, and reported using their laptops at each stage in the writing
iPhoto. Students could take their laptops home in the eve- process received the highest test scores, and those who
nings and on weekends, and on school vacations. said they hadn’t used the laptops earned the lowest
Teachers participated in professional development scores. Silvernail and Gritter interviewed students and
programs to learn more about the writing process and teachers about the program; they found that more than
teaching writing with digital tools. The Maine Writing 70% of students believed that laptops improved their
Project’s Literacy Through Technology Team trained writing. The students reported doing more writing,
Teacher Leaders at each school site who would both help working more quickly, and self-correcting a higher
colleagues integrate the laptops into their instructional number of errors. Teachers’ perceptions were similar.
programs and provide technical assistance. Now, more than 10 years later, students continue to
Researchers reported a positive link between laptop successfully use laptops for writing, math, and other
use and the quality of students’ writing (Silvernail & curricular areas.
Because classroom sets of laptop computers are expensive, many schools are opting for
less expensive portable keyboards. Pomera DM 100, QuickPad Pro, and Writer are three
brands of keyboards commonly used in K–8 classrooms; these keyboard-writing tools have
word processors but no Internet access. Students use these lightweight keyboards to draft,
revise, and edit their writing, and afterward they transfer their files to the classroom computer
that’s connected to a printer to publish.
Accommodating EL Writers
How do teachers teach the writing process?
Learning to use the writing process is a challenge for all students, but it’s greater
for English learners (ELs) because of cultural differences and linguistic demands.
Writing doesn’t involve simply thinking of an idea, choosing words to express it, and
writing the words down; instead, students juggle a myriad of cognitive and linguistic
components as they develop and refine their ideas. Here are four of the most important
problems facing English learners who are learning to use the writing process:
Minimal Use of Writing Strategies. Many English learners don’t know how to use writing
strategies, either because they haven’t been taught or because they didn’t understand the
instruction (Chamot & O’Malley, 1994). Without strategy knowledge, students don’t
know how to make plans before beginning to write, pour out their ideas in a rough draft
without censoring them, question the effectiveness of their rough drafts, elaborate and
refine their ideas using feedback from classmates, or proofread to identify mechanical
errors. In addition, they may not know how to work effectively with classmates to revise
and edit their writing.
Unfamiliar Organizational Patterns. Writing is structured in culturally specific ways, and
even though people from different cultures use many of the same genres, they often orga-
nize them in different ways (Gibbons, 2002). That means that even though English learn-
ers are familiar with narrative or nonfiction genres, they may order them differently or use
different linguistic features because they don’t organize their thoughts the same way that
native English speakers do. One of the most common differences is that some ELs use a
circular structure rather than a linear or hierarchical structure.
Limited Vocabulary. English learners’ limited vocabulary makes it much harder for them to
express their ideas in writing (Chamot & O’Malley, 1994). Sometimes they can express an
idea using conversational language, but they don’t know the more sophisticated aca-
demic language they need for writing. Even though teachers introduce technical vocabu-
lary and write words on word walls, English learners often don’t practice the words
enough to be able to use them in the sentences they’re writing, or they may not know the
related word form needed for the sentences they’re writing.
Excessive Concern With Conventions. Even though English learners’ writing contains many
errors that reflect their developing knowledge of English syntax, many ELs are overcon-
cerned with correcting mechanical errors in their writing. These students equate good
writing with spelling words correctly, capitalizing words and punctuating sentences
appropriately, and using Standard English grammar. Although it’s important that stu-
dents learn English conventions, they matter less than the ideas students are expressing.
Teachers address these problems by scaffolding students’ writing development in the follow-
ing ways:
Direct, Planned Instruction. Minilessons are important for all students, but ELs often need
additional scaffolding when they’re learning to use the writing process and participate in
writing workshop activities. Teachers review writing concepts and procedures they’ve
already introduced and related terminology in minilessons, do more modeling of writing
activities, and guide students as they participate in practice activities.
Collaborative Writing Activities. Teachers often have ELs work together to write collabora-
tive compositions before asking them to write independently. As they write together, stu-
dents practice using writing process procedures, learn writing process terminology, and
balance their attention between developing ideas and correcting mechanical errors.
Authentic Writing Activities. “Real” writing activities are essential to all students’ writing
development. Through writing workshop, ELs apply what they’re learning about writing
as they develop and refine authentic compositions that they share with genuine audi-
ences. An added benefit is that students build self-confidence and motivation as they
become more successful writers.
Teachers differentiate instruction when they provide targeted instruction and include oppor-
tunities for ELs to collaborate on writing activities to practice what they’re learning before
expecting them to write independently.
Monitor Progress
Monitoring is an essential component of writing workshop because students are working on
different projects and moving through the writing process at different speeds. When teachers
don’t monitor students’ learning, they often feel as though they aren’t in control, and stu-
dents often feel that same loss of control. Teachers use three management strategies to mon-
itor students’ work. The first strategy is status of the class (Atwell, 2015): At the beginning of the
writing period, the teacher calls roll and students each respond with a word or phrase about
their progress on their writing project, such as “Making my final copy,” “Planning,” “Ready for
a revising group,” or “I’m still drafting.” The teacher writes a word or code number by each
student’s name on a chart. Many teachers use numbers representing the five stages of the
writing process on their charts, as shown in Assessment Tools: Status of the Class Chart.
Some teachers display status of the class charts using interactive whiteboards or overhead
projectors, but others make large paper charts that they post in the classroom.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Status of the Class Chart
WRITING WORKSHOP CHART
NAMES DATES
3/21 3/22 3/23 3/24 3/25 3/28 3/29 3/30
Anthony 4 5 5 5 5 1 1 1 2
Belle 2 2 2 3 2 2 4 5 5
Connor 3 3 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 5
Dina 4 5 5 5 1 1 1 1 2 3
Jason 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 1 1
Eddie 2 3 2 2 4 5 5 1 1 2 2 3
Elizabeth 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 1 2
Elsa 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 1 2 2
Code:
1 = Prewriting 2 = Drafting 3 = Revising 4 = Editing 5 = Publishing
Other teachers use variations of the status of the class chart. Some use pocket charts,
with a pocket for each of the five stages of the writing process, and students place popsicle
sticks with their names printed on them in the pocket for the stage showing their progress.
Others have students clip clothespins with their names printed on them onto writing stage
coat hangers or onto large circle charts made from pizza cardboards.
The second way that teachers monitor progress is by conferencing with students and mak-
ing anecdotal notes. Many teachers use clipboards with a page for each student, index cards
with a card for each student, or charts with boxes for each student. Teachers observe students,
read their writing, and talk with them about their progress. They also help students make plans
for their work over the next few days and set goals for new writing projects. This conference usu-
ally takes 5 minutes or less, and then teachers write notes before moving on to the next student.
Students also keep project checklists that they mark as they move through each stage.
They keep this checklist in their writing folders along with clusters, drawings, lists, drafts, and
other materials related to their project. They compile all these materials when they finish a
project and turn them in to the teacher along with the final copy of their project; these mate-
rials document students’ use of the writing process. Assessment Tools: A Writing Process
Checklist presents a fourth grade checklist; it serves as a reminder to students not to forget to
follow through with the entire writing process.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Writing Process Checklist
Name ___________________________ Date ____________
Title ____________________________________________
PREWRITING
____ Gathers ideas for writing
____ Organizes ideas using a diagram
____ Conferences with classmates or the teacher
DRAFTING
____ Labels paper as a “draft”
____ Double-spaces the text
____ Focuses on content rather than mechanics
REVISING
____ Rereads writing
____ Uses rubric to self-assess writing
____ Participates in a revising group
____ Conferences with the teacher
____ Makes important changes
EDITING
____ Proofreads to identify errors
____ Proofreads with a partner
____ Corrects most errors
____ Conferences with the teacher
PUBLISHING
____ Formats the composition
____ Prepares a final copy
____ Shares writing from the author’s chair
Ultimately, learning the writing process is far more important than the quality of a stu-
dent’s project. The writing process is a tool that students adapt for any project, and learning
that process is the most important goal of writing workshop.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing Workshop

Students participate in writing, sharing, minilessons, and interactive read-alouds during writ-
ing workshop. Sometimes students create writing projects related to literature, social studies,
and science topics, and at other times they write on self-selected personal topics. Teachers
introduce the writing process through writing workshop and have students create posters
about the writing process stages and work with classmates to write collaborative composi-
tions. Use this checklist to guide your instruction:
Writing Standards Teachers address the Production and Distribution of Writing Stan-
dards when students participate in writing workshop.
Writing Process Terminology Teachers use the names of each stage and other writing
terms, including proofread, leads, revise, and author’s chair, when talking about writing.
Writing Process Charts Teachers and students create charts describing each stage of
the writing process and display them in the classroom.
Mentor Texts Teachers choose fiction and nonfiction books to use as mentor texts for
teaching lessons about writing concepts.
Demonstrations Teachers model the activities in each stage of the writing process and
write collaborative compositions with the class to ensure that students understand the
activities involved in each stage.
Brief Compositions Teachers encourage students to keep their first compositions
brief so that they can move through the writing process more successfully.
Author’s Chair Teachers establish an author’s chair in the classroom and provide daily
opportunities for students to share their published writing.
Writing Folders Teachers provide writing folders to hold students’ prewriting notes,
rough drafts, editing checklists, and other papers related to the writing project.

Click on the icon to apply your understanding of writing workshop through these activities.
The questions ask you to collect and analyze data and report the results. Your response
should meet academic standards and adhere to Standard English conventions. A rubric is
available so you can self-assess your response, or your professor can use it to evaluate your
achievement.
1. Visit a K–8 classroom to observe the four components of writing workshop and ana-
lyze your observations. In your response, describe the classroom and the activities you
observed and present your analysis of the writing workshop.
42
2. Interview two students at different grade levels about their writing workshop experi-
ences. In your response, describe the students, report on their experiences, and analyze
the students’ understanding of writing workshop.
3. Conference with a student about his or her writing projects and use of writing work-
shop. In your response, describe the student, explain the writing projects, and reflect
on the student’s use of writing workshop.

WRITING WORKSHOP
I don’t feel comfortable with writing workshop. you value; those that you don’t include aren’t as
Really, I’m afraid I’ll lose control. important to you. Write out your schedule and
A writing workshop classroom operates differently look for a possible time. What can you combine?
than a traditional classroom. There’s more noise What might you alternate with writing work-
as students work in small groups and more move- shop? Some teachers alternate reading and writ-
ment as they participate in different activities, but ing workshop. Other teachers use writing
in this approach students are actively involved in workshop as part of their social studies and sci-
writing, and even more important, they’re assum- ence period. Others use writing workshop as the
ing responsibility for their own learning and behav- first or last activity of the day. If you really want
ior. To become more comfortable with writing to include writing workshop, you’ll find 30, 45,
workshop, teachers might observe in a classroom or even 60 minutes to squeeze it in. And, of
or two where it’s already being used to see how course, you should value it. Using the writing
teachers handle classroom management and how process daily provides lots of writing opportuni-
they monitor students’ achievement. ties and translates into improved learning in
reading, writing, and spelling.
Writing workshop is just for older students, isn’t it?
Is it better to have students write about anything they
No, writing workshop is for everyone, even kinder-
want during writing workshop or to coordinate writ-
gartners and first graders. At any grade level,
ing workshop with my thematic units?
teachers teach minilessons on topics that are
appropriate for students’ level of writing develop- Neither way is better; they’re both effective ways
ment, and students apply what they’re learning as to teach writing, but they serve different pur-
they write collaborative and individual composi- poses. When students write about their own
tions and share them with their classmates. Even lives, experiences, and interests, the focus is on
young children can be successful when they under- helping them learn the writing process, apply
stand how to choose topics, draw pictures to gen- writing strategies, and develop their knowledge
erate ideas, write rough drafts, get feedback from of the writer’s craft. Sometimes, too, students
classmates and the teacher about how to revise are using what they’re learning about writing
and edit their writing, and then share their finished genres in these activities. In contrast, when stu-
compositions with classmates. Teachers establish dents prepare thematic projects, they’re writing
a community of learners in their classroom, teach to demonstrate what they’ve learned during a
the writing process, set high expectations, and social studies or science unit. It’s important that
provide scaffolding so students can be successful. teachers understand the purpose of each writ-
ing workshop application and design writing
I just don’t have time in my daily schedule for writing activities and projects to fit their instructional
workshop. What can I do? programs.
Teachers never have enough time in their sched-
ules, but you find a way to include the subjects
43
CHAPTER
3 Developing
Strategic Writers
A First Grader’s Thinking Cap. Devon wears a plastic shower cap during
writing workshop. “I’m wearing my thinking cap!” this first grader proudly proclaims
as he pats his head. “It tells everyone that I’m busy thinking about my next story. I’m
going to write a book about playing soccer, and I’m drawing these pictures to think of
what to write. It’s called ‘gathering ideas.’” The sheet of paper has been divided into four
boxes, and Devon’s drawn a picture in each box. He continues to explain each of the pic-
tures that he’s drawn: “This is me, and I’m wearing my soccer clothes—my jersey, my shorts,
my socks, my shin guards, and my cleats. This one’s me kicking the ball to Ivan—he’s my best
friend. We’re on the same team. This one is Joe, and he’s my coach. He’s blowing his whistle
because the game is starting.”
When asked what he’ll draw in the last box, Devon sounds discouraged. “I don’t know.
That’s the hard part. I’m out of ideas. Oh, I know what to do—I’ll talk to Ivan. He’ll help me.”
Devon walks to Ivan’s desk and shares his drawings with his friend. After they talk, Devon returns
to his desk with his confidence restored and works on the fourth drawing. “Here’s my last pic-
ture,” Devon explains. “It’s about the game we played on Saturday—our team wins!”
The next day, Devon is wearing his thinking cap again; now he’s organizing ideas. He cuts
the drawings apart and lines them up on his desk. As he arranges them, he explains, “I’m think-
ing about what to write on each page. I think I’ll put this one first [picture of his coach], this
one next [picture of him kicking the ball to Ivan], then this one [picture of the game’s end],
and this one last [picture of Devon in his soccer clothes].” He begins to number the pictures
and tape them together; then he stops abruptly. “No,” he says, “this won’t work. This one
[the last picture] can’t go here. It needs to go up front.” He sequences the drawings again,
finally moving the last picture to the first position. Then he numbers the drawings, tapes
each one at the top of a sheet of lined paper, and staples the sheets together to make a
booklet.
Then Devon meets with his friend Ivan to rehearse or practice his writing, and both
boys are wearing their thinking caps. They sit knee-to-knee, and Devon talks about each
drawing, planning what he’ll write on each page of his story. As he points to the picture
of his coach, he says, “Coach Joe blows the whistle. Now the game starts and everyone
tries to kick the ball.” Ivan, who’s been listening intently, says, “They kick the ball to
make a goal, to score a point.” Devon agrees, “They want to make a goal and score a
point for their team.”
Devon returns to his desk, and he spends the next two writing workshop sessions
writing his story. Like all rough drafts, Devon’s is messy. He uses one or more layers of
white correction tape to cover words he’s changed and letters—including s and k—that
continue to challenge him. He spells most of the high-frequency words correctly,
but he uses invented spelling to write more sophisticated words, such as special
(SPESHUL), jersey (JURZEE), and guards (GRDS). As soon as they’re done, Devon and
Ivan share their stories with each other and make a few changes, mostly adding words
they inadvertently omitted while they were writing. Next, the boys meet with
Mrs. McNeal, who helps them polish their writing and choose titles. Finally, a sixth
44
grade Tech Aide helps them word process their final copies, and they add carefully drawn and
colored illustrations and bind the book. Here’s Devon’s book, “Last Saturday’s Game”:
Page 1: I am a good soccer player and I wear special clothes. I wear a team jersey and shorts.
I wear shin guards for protection and I wear cleats so I can run real fast.
Page 2: We played a game on Saturday. Coach Joe blows the whistle to start the game. Everyone
runs after the ball. They want to kick it to make a goal. They want to win the game.
Page 3: I am kicking the ball to Ivan. He is on my team and he is my friend. And Ivan kicked the
ball to me and I kicked it again and Ivan kicked it again. We scored a point!
Page 4: We played and played. Max and Javier scored points too. Then the game was over and we
won! The score was 7 to 5. Ivan and me are champion soccer players.
Mrs. McNeal is Devon’s teacher, and she’s teaching Devon, Ivan, and their classmates that
writers use special kinds of thinking called strategies when they’re reading and writing. Check
the figure Devon’s Writing Strategies for a list of the strategies that Devon’s learned. The
teacher often tells the first graders that “thinking is what writers do.” During the first half of
the school year, her students would don their thinking caps each time she taught a minilesson
about a writing strategy. Now Devon and some of his classmates like wearing their thinking
caps, so they continue to wear them to highlight that they’re writers who value thinking.
Devon’s Writing Strategies

Choosing a Title
Devon chooses an interesting title that describes his writing.
Gathering Ideas
Devon gathers ideas by drawing a series of pictures.
Organizing Ideas
Devon sequences his ideas by cutting drawings apart and arranging them in order.
Proofreading
Devon proofreads his writing to check that he’s spelled words as completely as possible, used
capital letters to begin sentences, and added punctuation marks.
Reading
Devon rereads his writing to be sure it makes sense and he’s written everything he wants to say.
Rehearsing
Devon talks out his plans for writing with a classmate before beginning to write.
Revising
Devon makes one or more changes to improve his writing, such as adding more information,
taking away sentences that don’t fit the topic, and fixing sentences that don’t make sense.
45
W
riting is a constructive process,
Writing Standards: Developing Strategic Writers and writers make deliberate
The Writing Standards offer a focus for instruction each choices as they construct meaning
year to help ensure that students advance in a range of (Flower, 1989). They apply strategies purpose-
skills and applications. Each year in their writing, stu- fully as they plan, revise, and edit their compo-
dents should demonstrate increasing sophistication in sitions. Researchers have found that strategic
all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax
writers’ compositions are dramatically better
to the development and organization of ideas, and they
should address increasingly demanding content and than those of other students and that instruc-
sources. To learn more about the Writing Standards, go tion in writing strategies is particularly import-
to http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy, or ant for struggling students (Graham & Perin,
check your state’s educational standards website. 2007; Olson & Land, 2007). Writers apply
some of the same strategies that readers use,
but they also draw on other, more specific strategies at each stage of the writing pro-
cess and for varied types of writing activities (Dean, 2006). Even the youngest writers
can learn to apply writing strategies, as the vignette about first grader Devon showed.
Becoming strategic is an important characteristic of learning. Students learn all
sorts of cognitive strategies, including reading, mathematical, and scientific investiga-
tion strategies, and the acquisition of writing strategies coincides with this cognitive
development. As students learn to reflect on their learning, for example, they begin to
reflect on themselves as writers; and as they learn to monitor their learning, they
develop the ability to monitor their writing. Most cognitive strategies have direct
application to writing; in this way, students’ growing awareness about thinking and
their writing are mutually supportive.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
3.1 Explain the strategies that writers learn to use.
3.2 Discuss the procedures teachers use to teach strategies.
WRITING STRATEGIES
Writing strategies are “deliberate thinking procedures writers use to solve problems that they
encounter while writing” (Collins, 1998, p. vii). Strategic writers take conscious and deliberate
control of the process they use: They select appropriate strategies to organize ideas for writing,
monitor and evaluate progress as they work, revise their meaning as they refine their writing,
and identify spelling errors and other problems with conventions (Lewin, 1992; Paris & Jacobs,
1984; Schmitt, 1990). Twelve strategies that writers use are summarized in Figure 3–1. Describ-
ing these thought processes is messy, and you’ll notice that several of these strategies seem
to overlap—monitoring involves evaluating and revising requires rereading, for instance.
Most of these writing strategies are considered cognitive strategies because they involve thought
processes, but four are metacognitive strategies because they regulate thought processes.
Today’s emphasis on writing strategies can be traced back to Flower and Hayes’s (1980)
landmark study about writers’ thought processes, in which they asked students to think aloud
or verbalize their thoughts while writing. From their data, these researchers identified three
46
CHAPTER 3 | Developing Strategic Writers 47
Figure 3–1 THE WRITING STRATEGIES

STRATEGY DESCRIPTION ACTIVITIES
Elaborating Writers expand their ideas by adding vivid details. Brainstorm a list of words.
Locate more information in books.
Do the Explode the Moment activity.
Complete the Snapshots activity.
Evaluating* Writers review and evaluate their compositions and Complete rubrics and checklists.
judge how well they met the goals they set. Write self-reflections.
Formatting Writers design the layout for their final copies and Decide on a title.
ensure that their writing is legible and their illustra- Make final copies.
tions enhance the text. Use word processing software.
Generating Writers collect words, sentences, and ideas for Draw pictures.
writing, often using their background knowledge, Create a cluster.
information they’ve collected through research, or Read or reread books.
other classroom resources. Search the Internet.
Talk with classmates.
Monitoring* Writers monitor their progress and coordinate writing Reread rough drafts.
strategies. Ask self-questions.
Get feedback from classmates and the teacher.
Narrowing Writers limit their topics so they’re specific and Use five “W” questions.
manageable. Create graphic organizers.
Examine books and Internet articles.
Organizing Writers group, sequence, and prioritize ideas for Create a graphic organizer.
their compositions. Use Kidspiration or another graphics program.
Make an outline.
Proofreading Writers carefully reread their writing to identify errors Reread rough drafts.
in spelling and other conventions. Proofread with a classmate.
Work at editing centers.
Use a red pen to edit.
Questioning* Writers ask themselves questions as they develop Conference with the teacher.
their compositions. Participate in a revising group.
Rereading Writers review their writing to check the flow of ideas Reread part or all of rough drafts.
and determine whether they’re meeting their goals.
Revising Writers add words and sentences, make sub- Participate in a revising group.
stitutions and deletions, and move text around to Work at revision centers.
communicate more effectively. Use a blue pen to revise.
Setting Goals* Writers set action-oriented goals to direct their Quickwrite about the purpose.
writing. Decide about the genre and the audience.
* = self-regulating strategy
mental operations that writers use: planning, translating, and reviewing. As writers plan what
to write and how to word it, they set goals, generate ideas, and organize them to create a writ-
ing plan. Next, they translate the plan into written text, and finally, they review the text to
improve it. Reviewing includes reading and editing the text. This cognitive model of writing has
had a powerful impact on our understanding of the strategies that writers use and why some
writers are more effective than others (Hayes, 2004).
Elaborating
Writers expand their ideas by adding details, examples, and quotes. Sometimes students brain-
storm additional words and ideas; at other times, however, they have to do more research to learn
more or expand their ideas. This strategy is most beneficial during drafting, when students are
writing their ideas, and during revising, when students notice that their writing lacks vivid details.
Barry Lane (1999) developed two activities to help students learn to elaborate their writing.
In “Explode the Moment,” writers choose a moment and expand it by adding vivid details to
describe the sights, sounds, thoughts, and feelings related to the moment. In Lane’s other activ-
ity, “Snapshots,” students use descriptive language to create a written picture of a moment in
time. In Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Gantos, 2014) and Because of Winn-Dixie (DiCamillo, 2009),
for example, the authors demonstrate these techniques. Books that can be used for teaching
about elaborating and other writing strategies are listed in Mentor Texts: Writing Strategies.
Mentor Texts Writing Strategies

Strategy Books
Elaborating Almond, D. (2007). My dad’s a birdman. London: Walker. M
Gantos, J. (2014). Joey Pigza swallowed the key. New York: Square Fish Books. U
Henkes, K. (1996). Lilly’s purple plastic purse. New York: Greenwillow. P
Lowry, L. (2015). Gooney Bird Greene. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. PM
Patron, S. (2009). The higher power of Lucky. St. Louis: Turtleback Press. U
Formatting Cheney, L. (2003). A is for Abigail: An almanac of amazing American women. New York: Simon &
Schuster. MU
Cronin, D. (2013). Diary of a spider. New York: HarperCollins. PM
Klise, K., & Klise, M. S. (2000). Letters from camp. New York: HarperCollins. M
Martin, B., Jr. (2003). Panda bear, panda bear, what do you see? New York: Henry Holt. P
Sherrard, V. (2015). Down here. Brighton, MA: Fitzhenry and Whiteside. PM
Generating Bunting, E. (2000). The memory string. New York: Clarion Books. PM
Henkes, K. (2000). Wemberly worried. New York: Greenwillow. P
Schotter, R. (1999). Nothing ever happens on 90th Street. New York: Scholastic. M
Van Allsburg, C. (1996). The mysteries of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. MU
Woodson, J. (2016). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Puffin Books. U
Narrowing Ackerman, K. (1988). Song and dance man. New York: Knopf. PM
Brown, D. (2015). Aaron and Alexander: The most famous dule in American History. New York:
Roaring Brook Press. PM
Fradin, D. B. (2008). Duel! Burr and Hamilton’s deadly war of words. New York: Walker. MU
Laminack, L. (2014). Three hens and a peacock. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers. P
Yaccarino, D. (2009). The fantastic undersea life of Jacques Cousteau. New York: Knopf. PM
Yolen, J. (2010). Sea queens: Women pirates around the world. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. MU
Organizing Hesse, K. (2003). Witness. New York: Scholastic. U
Ignotofsky, R. (2016). Women in science: 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world. Berkeley, CA:
Ten Speed Press. U
Numeroff, L. (2000). If you give a mouse a cookie. New York: HarperCollins. P
Rylant, C. (1993). The relatives came. New York: Aladdin Books. PM
Schnell, L. K. (2015). High tide for horseshoe crabs. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. PM
Evaluating
Writers evaluate or reflect on their writing and make judgments about it. During each stage of
the writing process, they review the text they’re producing to see if it matches their intended
meaning and to regulate their use of other writing strategies. For example, they consider the use-
fulness of their topics, determine whether their prewriting activities have prepared them to begin
writing, question whether their rough draft is complete, decide what to revise, check that they’ve
corrected all spelling errors, and assess their classmates’ response as they share their published
writing from the author’s chair. As a strategy, evaluating isn’t a teacher’s judgment handed down
to students; instead, it’s students’ own thinking about whether their goals have been achieved.
Teachers often develop rubrics and checklists to provide specific evaluation criteria and
to prompt students to use the evaluating strategy. Not only do students evaluate the quality of
a particular piece of writing, they also reflect on the writing strategies they’ve used and
whether they’ve accomplished the goals they’ve set for themselves. In addition, students use
this strategy when they work with classmates to revise their writing (MacArthur, 2013).
Formatting
Writers use the formatting strategy during the publishing stage to design the layout and pre-
pare their final copies. They ensure that their handwriting is legible, the font used in the word
processing program is appropriate, and titles and headings support the message; use white
space to highlight the text; and add illustrations to extend the text because the presentation
can either enhance or detract from a composition’s readability. Formatting plays a more
important role in some genres; for example, students spend a great deal of time formatting
the poems they write and the digital compositions of information, including PowerPoint pre-
sentations and websites.
Students learn the importance of formatting and get presentation ideas when they exam-
ine books that have been formatted effectively. Kindergartners follow the format of Polar Bear,
Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (Martin, 1992) when they write their own repetitive books, and
sixth graders follow Jeff Kinney’s format in Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007) when they write diary
entries from Brian’s viewpoint while they read and discuss Hatchet (Paulsen, 2007). A few
books feature a unique formatting design, and teachers take time to share the design when
they’re reading these books to students.
Generating
Students use the generating strategy to gather ideas and collect words for writing. They acti-
vate their background knowledge as they consciously think about what they know about a
topic. Writers use these activities to generate ideas:
Brainstorming. Students rapidly develop a list of words and phrases about a topic. Later,
they can review their lists, delete any redundant or unrelated ideas, and group the remain-
ing ideas into categories or sequence them.
Clustering. Students create a cluster full of ideas they’ve brainstormed; it looks like a spi-
der’s web with the topic written in a circle placed in the center of the paper. Then they
write more words, each at the end of a line drawn from the center circle or from the brain-
stormed word that prompted it.
Drawing. Young children often draw pictures to develop ideas for writing. Sometimes they
draw only one picture; at other times, they draw a series of pictures, each representing a
main idea.
Quickwriting. Students “think on paper” as they write about a topic for 3 to 5 minutes
without pausing. Afterward, students sometimes identify the big ideas they mentioned
and use them as the topics of additional quickwrites.
Talking. Students talk with partners to generate and elaborate ideas. Many teachers call
this knee-to-knee sharing, and they encourage students to share the ideas they’ve brain-
stormed, drawn, or clustered as a final prewriting activity before they begin drafting.
Another way students generate ideas is by learning more about a topic. For example, they read
articles and books, check information on the Internet, examine artifacts, conduct surveys and
experiments, and view films and DVDs. Figure 3–2 shows a chart that third graders created
when they were learning about generating ideas. Writers regularly use this strategy during the
prewriting stage, but they also use it during the drafting and revising stages if they need to
generate more ideas.
Monitoring
Students use monitoring to keep track of their progress, detect problems as they arise, and
quickly take action to resolve them (Graham & Harris, 1993). This metacognitive strategy
plays the role of supervisor: Writers use monitoring to regulate their application of the other
strategies. As they develop and refine compositions, students ask themselves how well their
writing is progressing at each stage of the writing process, consider whether the strategies
they’re using are successful, and judge the effectiveness of their writing. Two strategies that
students use in conjunction with monitoring are questioning and evaluating: Students ask
self-questions as they think about their writing, and they use evaluating to detect problems.
Students’ monitoring ability develops along with their knowledge about the writing pro-
cess, writing strategies, and the characteristics of effective compositions. Beginning writers
typically monitor local concerns in their rough drafts—misspelled words, omitted words, and
forgotten punctuation marks, for instance—but more experienced writers attend to global
issues, such as developing big ideas and organizing their compositions.
Teachers often move around the classroom while students are writing and ask individual
writers to share their thinking, or they have students make a record of their monitoring by writing
annotations or notes about their thinking on small self-stick notes and attaching them in the mar-
gins of their rough drafts. Later, the student rereads the notes and reflects on his or her thinking.
Figure 3–2 THIRD GRADERS’ CHART ABOUT GENERATING
Ways to Gather Ideas

1. Make a cluster, a map, or another chart about your topic.
2. Draw a picture about the topic, and add lots of details.
3. Brainstorm a list of 10 words about your topic.
4. Read a book and take notes about the big ideas.
5. Use CyberSleuth Kids to search the Internet for information.
6. Talk to a friend about your topic to get more ideas.
7. Interview your parents or another adult to learn more.
Narrowing
When writers choose a topic, they ask themselves if it’s specific and manageable, or if it’s too
broad. Students often find themselves overwhelmed with information if the topic’s too broad,
and even though they spend a prolonged time writing, they’re unable to complete the compo-
sition. Broad topics are typically a problem when students are writing reports, so teachers
advise them to use the number of library resources or amount of online information they
locate as a gauge: If there’s more information than they need, the topic may be too broad; if
there’s very little information, the topic may be too narrow; but if there’s the right amount, the
topic is suitable. Students examine their topics during prewriting and narrow them if neces-
sary, but when topics grow unwieldy after they begin writing, they can prune them later in the
writing process.
To narrow a topic, writers often use the five “W” questions (who, what, where, when, why) to
examine their topic; these questions help writers identify a specific area of interest. Another
technique is to create a cluster or other graphic organizer about their topic and then narrow
the topic to one main idea. A third way is to examine books or Internet articles on the broad
topic to find a more specific one. Students often pick a narrow topic that sparks their interest,
one they know a lot about, or one that’s controversial.
Instead of a broad topic such as birds, writers can narrow their topics to a single species
such as penguins, nests and other homes for birds, how owls or other birds help people, pet
birds, backyard bird feeders, seabird adaptations, a class of birds such as raptors, or the reha-
bilitation of injured birds. To introduce narrowing, teachers often share a variety of books on
a broad topic. Consider these picture books about birds:
A Place for Birds (Stewart, 2009)
Beautiful Birds (Roussen, 2015)
Bird (Burnie, 2008)
Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard (Café, 2013)
National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America (Aldefer, 2013)
Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City (Schulman, 2008)
Penguins (Simon, 2007)
Vulture View (Sayre, 2007)
What Bluebirds Do (Kirby, 2013)
Bird is a spectacular DK Eyewitness book, and like all Eyewitness books, it combines eye-catching
photographs and drawings with detailed explanations. It demonstrates the narrowing strategy
effectively because each two-page spread narrows to a single topic: a bird’s body, birds’ nests,
their feet and tracks, types of beaks, the structure of feathers, courtship rituals, speed and
endurance, and ways to attract birds.
Some biographies provide accounts of a famous person’s entire life, but others focus on a
single pivotal event. The life stories that focus on a single event present powerful examples of
narrowing. Rosa (Giovanni, 2005), for example, focuses on December 1, 1955, the day Rosa
Parks got on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, and refused to give up her seat to a white
man. This book doesn’t recount Mrs. Parks’s childhood or the last years of her life; it focuses
on the incident that sparked the civil rights movement. Similarly, Duel! Burr and Hamilton’s
Deadly War of Words (Fradin, 2008) describes the bitter rivalry between two American patriots
that culminated in the most famous pistol duel in American history, and Elizabeth Leads the
Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote (Stone, 2010) tells the inspiring story of one
woman’s passionate fight for women’s rights. Students can compare birth-to-death life stories
to single-event biographies to gain an appreciation of the choices authors make when they
narrow their topics.
Organizing
Writers organize the ideas they’ve generated as they prepare to write. They group ideas and
details together and sequence them so that their writing will be easier to understand. Students
often make clusters, diagrams, and other graphic organizers that are appropriate for their
ideas, their purpose, and the genre they’ll use. They also use software programs, including
Kidspiration 3 and Inspiration 9, to organize their writing; check Digital Toolkit: Graphics
Software to learn more about these two programs. Outlining is a traditional form of organiz-
ing ideas, but clusters and other graphic organizers are usually more effective because the
formal structure of outlining often inhibits rather than facilitates students’ writing. Most
teachers postpone introducing outlining until students reach seventh or eighth grade.
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Graphics Software
Inspiration is a popular online graphics tool to help stu- Afterward, they export the texts into multimodal proj-
dents visualize, organize, and learn (Silverman, 2005). ects or print them.
Inspiration 9 was developed for older students (grades Inspiration 9 is similar: Students create diagrams that
6–adult), and a simpler version, Kidspiration 3, was can be transformed into outlines and used for writing
designed for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and Web-based projects. They use toolbars to navigate
and students with special needs. Students use these soft- the program, and they choose images from the Symbol
ware programs for both reading and writing as well as Library that’s loaded with more than one million pic-
learning across the curriculum. tures or design their own. Students integrate video and
Kidspiration 3 is an easy program to navigate. To sound clips, record their own audio, use a hyperlink tool
begin, students choose the picture view on the starter to connect to research documents and websites, and
screen and click on icons arranged on a toolbar to create export Inspiration 9 documents to word processing or
graphic organizers. They choose images from the 3,000 PowerPoint programs.
symbols in the Symbol Library or create their own using Both software programs include templates and a
Symbol Maker, and they add links to highlight relation- template wizard that teachers use to modify the dia-
ships. There’s a SuperGrouper tool that students use to grams and create their own. These programs are com-
categorize words, a 13,000-word dictionary/thesaurus, patible with other emerging classroom technologies,
and an audio feature that allows students to describe including interactive whiteboards and handheld devices.
and document their work. In the writing view, their Teachers can download Kidspiration 3 or Inspiration 9
graphic organizers are transformed into outlines or skele- software at http://www.inspiration.com for a free
ton compositions, and students expand the words into 30-day trial, and afterward the software’s available for
sentences and paragraphs. purchase online.
Organizing is usually considered a prewriting strategy, but students also use the strategy
during the drafting and revising stages: If their organizational plan isn’t working during
drafting, students design a new plan, and if they get feedback from their revising group mem-
bers that their organization is confusing or their ideas are hard to understand, they revamp
their plan.
Organization varies according to

genre; writers organize ideas differently for How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems
stories than for reports. They impose an
order on their presentation of ideas using The Problem Ideas in the composition are disorganized.
their knowledge of genres and the struc-
tural elements of each genre. When stu- What Causes It When students begin to write before they’ve
dents write personal narratives about a gathered and organized ideas, they tend to
family vacation, for example, they orga- add ideas as they think of them, and the
nize their ideas into the beginning, middle, result is a disorganized composition.
and end, and when they write about a
frog’s life cycle, they sequence the animal’s How to Solve It QUICK FIX: Write the sentences in a stu-
dent’s composition on sentence strips for
developmental milestones. Students often
him or her to sequence or organize into
examine the organization in books they’re related groups. Next, the student adds any
reading. The beginning-middle-end struc- needed sentences on sentence strips to more
ture is clear in Officer Buckle and Gloria fully develop the ideas. Once the ideas are
(Rathmann, 1995) and Princess Academy organized, the student creates a new draft
(Hale, 2007), for instance. Other stories by copying the sentences on a sheet of paper.
utilize a circular structure, as in The Rela-
LONG-TERM SOLUTION: In a series of
tives Came (Rylant, 1993), or the story is minilessons, teach students how to use dia-
told from multiple viewpoints, as in Wit- grams to organize ideas before beginning to
ness (Hesse, 2003). Nonfiction books illus- write. They can also practice talking about
trate other structures: America: A Patriotic their plans with classmates before starting
Primer (Cheney, 2002) shows how alpha- to write.
bet books are organized, Extreme Animals:
The Toughest Creatures on Earth (Davies, How to Prevent Writers who know how to organize ideas
2006) incorporates a problem–solution the Problem before starting to write are more likely to
structure to explain how each animal has craft well-organized compositions that have
adapted to its environment, and Regarding a clear focus.
the Fountain (Klise, 1999) is a multigenre
book that uses letters, newspaper articles,
illustrations, and class projects to tell a story.
Proofreading
Writers proofread to identify misspelled words, capital-
ization and punctuation errors, and grammar mistakes in
their rough drafts so they can correct them. It’s a special
kind of reading where the physical features of words are
more important than their meaning. Students often
proofread their writing two or three times, each time
looking for a different type of error; for example, they
might proofread first to locate misspelled words, and
then proofread the writing a second time to check for
capitalization and punctuation errors. Teachers often
provide editing checklists to direct students’ attention to
particular types of errors. This strategy is normally used Watch as Ms. Barajais works with her English learners to
during the editing stage, just before writers prepare their organize sentences into topical paragraphs for a class report.
final copies. Why is this an important skill for any writer to learn?
TOPIC: Questioning

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: W 4.4, W 4.5
Mr. Tedeschi is teaching his fourth graders a weeklong minilesson on the questioning strategy
during writing workshop. He introduces and demonstrates the strategy on Monday, and
during the week he moves through the steps of the minilesson.

“Questioning is a strategy that both readers and writers use. We’ve already talked about
asking questions during reading. Writers use the strategy in a similar way: They ask ques-
tions while they’re writing—it’s a question-and-answer conversation inside their heads,”
Mr. Tedeschi explains. “The questioning strategy is a ‘biggie,’” he continues, “because it
makes you think while you’re writing: Are your ideas in the best order? Did you forget
something? Do you need to explain more? Are you making sense? This way, you know
when you’re off track.”
2 Share Examples
Mr. Tedeschi demonstrates a question-and-answer conversation with himself while he
writes about Max, his 7½-month-old son, who’s just started crawling. As he writes about
Max’s latest adventure, he asks himself questions to guide his writing—for example, “Do
I remember what happened next?” “Will everyone understand that I didn’t realize that
Max could reach those cords?” He stops to revise when his answers indicate that he
needs to make changes. The teacher demonstrates the strategy again the next day as he
writes about baby-proofing his home. Each time he asks himself a question, Mr. Tedeschi
makes a question mark on a small self-stick note and attaches it to the whiteboard beside
the text that prompted the question; later he explains that he’s using the notes to anno-
tate his use of the questioning strategy.
Mr. Tedeschi and his students review what they’ve learned about questioning and make a
chart about the strategy to hang in the classroom.
4 Guide Practice
The students divide into small groups to write about their pets. One student in each
group does the writing and asks questions while another places self-stick notes marked
with a ? beside the text. The other students list the questions the writer asks. The next
day, they repeat the activity with a different writer in each group.
5 Assess Learning
Next week, Mr. Tedeschi plans to conference with students in small groups during writing
workshop and ask them to point out self-stick notes with question marks in their current
writing project to demonstrate that they’re using the strategy in their own writing.
Questioning
Students ask self-questions to guide their thinking during writing. They construct questions such
as “Am I ready to begin drafting?” and “Should I move this part?” in their minds to direct their
thinking about the writing process. They pose self-questions about their use of writing strate-
gies: “Do I need to add more information here?” addresses the elaborating strategy, and “Should
I reread to get started again?” focuses on rereading. Students also ask self-questions about the
content of their compositions; for example, “Does my lead-in hook readers?” and “Do I need
to combine the sentences?” Questioning is a metacognitive strategy that writers use to self-
regulate their writing. They ask questions as they set goals, monitor, and evaluate their writing.
Barry Lane (2008) emphasizes the importance of creating a questioning culture in writing
classrooms because students who ask questions are more actively involved in learning.
Self-questioning improves reading comprehension because students think more actively about
the text they’re reading, and the same happens during writing.
Teachers help students generate questions to think about their writing. They model how
to ask questions as they demonstrate the strategy, and then they support students as they
practice constructing their own questions. Minilesson: Questioning shows how a fourth grade
teacher introduces and teaches the strategy. With lots of writing practice, students do learn to
pose self-questions automatically.
Rereading
Rereading is one of the most commonly used writing strategies, but its importance is rarely
emphasized. Writers stop writing periodically to read and review what they’ve written; they
monitor their flow of ideas and sentence fluency, check that they’re achieving their goals, and
appreciate the voice they’ve crafted. Rereading is an effective problem-solving strategy when-
ever writers run out of ideas because it helps to generate more ideas and details (Hayes,
2004). Many writers use this strategy to try out revisions: As they read the revision softly to
themselves, they check its flow and effectiveness. And, after taking a break, students should
reread to remember where they left off so they can begin to write again. Students use this
strategy as they’re drafting and revising their writing.
This strategy shouldn’t be confused with proofreading; it’s a different kind of rereading.
The focus is on meaning when writers reread their writing during drafting and revising—they’re
examining and evaluating the content of their compositions. On the other hand, in proofread-
ing, students focus on catching mechanical errors so they can fix them.
Teachers model the rereading strategy whenever they’re writing collaborative composi-
tions with students or taking their dictation, and it’s important to point out why they’re using
this strategy. For example, “I’m going to reread what we’ve written to check that our ideas are
in the right order” or “Let’s reread this section to check that the transitions between para-
graphs are smooth.”
Revising
Revising isn’t just the name of a stage in the writing process; it’s also a strategy that writers use
to improve the quality of their compositions. Donald Murray (1991) explains that “writing is
revising, and the writer’s craft is largely a matter of knowing how to discover what you have to
say, develop, and clarify it, each requiring the craft of revision” (p. 2). Students use the revis-
ing strategy throughout the writing process, but the strategy is most important during the
revising stage. They make changes while they’re gathering and organizing ideas during prewrit-
ing, and as a result, the form of the composition might change, for example, from a letter to a
story or an essay. The focus might change, too, as students realize that some ideas are more
powerful than they expected. During drafting, students may think of a better way to phrase a
sentence or paragraph and quickly make the changes. During the revising stage, of course, the
focus is on making changes to communicate more effectively. Students reread their writing,
think of ways to make it more effective, participate in revising groups, work at centers, and get
feedback from classmates and the teacher. They remember the goals they established before
they began to write as they add, substitute, delete, and move words, sentences, and para-
graphs to refine their drafts.
Setting Goals
Students set goals when they begin a writing project, and these goals provide direction for the
entire project. Goals are action oriented; they serve as a map from where students start to
where they want to finish. It’s essential that students’ goals are reasonable, specific, and attain-
able, and that they reflect their purpose for writing, the genre they’ll use, and the audience
who will read their writing. Students use this strategy to regulate their application of strategies.
Figure 3–3 shows how these writing strategies fit into the writing process. As the chart
makes clear, many writing strategies are used during more than one stage.
Self-Regulation of Strategies
It’s not enough for students to apply some writing strategies; successful writing requires active
and deliberate self-regulation of writing strategies. Self-regulation is metacognitive because it
involves the active control of thought processes, and for writers these thought processes are
writing strategies. Writers are regulating their use of writing strategies when they set goals, ask
questions to guide their thinking, monitor their progress, evaluate whether their writing makes
Figure 3–3 HOW THE WRITING STRATEGIES FIT INTO THE WRITING PROCESS
STAGE WHAT WRITERS DO STRATEGIES WRITERS USE
Prewriting Students plan their compositions as they set goals and then Evaluating Organizing
gather and organize ideas. They also ask themselves Generating Questioning
questions as they prepare to begin drafting. Narrowing Setting Goals
Drafting As students get their ideas down on paper, they focus on Elaborating Organizing
organizing the ideas and developing them using questioning, Evaluating Questioning
narrowing, and elaborating. They monitor their progress, and Monitoring Rereading
from time to time stop writing and reread their drafts. Narrowing
Revising Students reread, ask self-questions, and evaluate their drafts Elaborating Organizing
to discover ways to refine them. They reorganize, elaborate, Evaluating Questioning
and narrow text as they revise, and they monitor the changes Monitoring Rereading
they’re making to ensure that they’re communicating Narrowing Revising
effectively.
Editing Students proofread to identify spelling, capitalization, Evaluating Proofreading
punctuation, and grammar errors and then correct them. As Monitoring Questioning
they work, they ask questions and monitor their progress to
ensure that they’re catching as many errors as possible.
Publishing Students format or design the layout for their composition and Evaluating Monitoring
prepare the final copy. They also evaluate the quality of their Formatting Questioning
writing and their use of writing strategies.
sense, and apply strategies to solve problems to create an effective composition and cope
successfully with the demands of writing (Pritchard & Honeycutt, 2007). They orchestrate
these metacognitive writing strategies:
Setting Goals. Writers identify goals that focus and direct their writing.
Questioning. Writers ask themselves questions to generate, explore, organize, and revise ideas.
Monitoring. Writers track their progress, identify problems, and implement strategies to
solve them.
Evaluating. Writers assess their writing by determining whether they’ve achieved the goals
they set.
You read about these four writing strategies earlier in the chapter, but they’re unique because
writers use them to regulate their application of other writing strategies. In addition, writers
carry on a running conversation with themselves about their progress as they orchestrate these
strategies. They consider what to do next, think about why some ideas won’t work, and
encourage themselves (Harris, Graham, Mason, & Friedlander, 2008).
Capable and Less Capable Writers

Inexperienced writers lack knowledge about the writing process and have few problem-solving
mechanisms that involve complex thinking processes available to use while they’re writing.
Researchers have compared more and less capable writers and identified these characteristics
of capable writers:
• Capable writers vary how they write, depending on their purpose for writing and their
audience.
• Capable writers use the writing process flexibly.
• Capable writers focus on developing ideas and communicating effectively.
• Capable writers turn to classmates for feedback on how well they’re communicating.
• Capable writers monitor how well they’re communicating in the piece of writing.
• Capable writers use appropriate formats and structures for stories, poems, letters, and
other texts.
• Capable writers use a variety of strategies and self-regulate their strategy use.
• Capable writers postpone attention to mechanical correctness until the end of the
writing process.
• Capable writers assess their writing according to how well they communicate with
their audience.
Perhaps the most remarkable difference between capable and less capable writers is that better
writers are strategic (Faigley, Cherry, Jolliffe, & Skinner, 1985; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1986).
Less capable writers seem reluctant to use unfamiliar strategies or those that require
much effort. They don’t seem motivated or expect to be successful. These students don’t
monitor their writing, and they move through the writing process in a lockstep, linear
approach, applying a limited number of strategies, most often a “knowledge-telling” strategy
in which they list everything they know about a topic with little thought about meeting the
needs of their readers or putting related ideas together.
In contrast, capable writers understand the recursive nature of the writing process and
turn to classmates for feedback about how well they’re communicating. These writers are
more responsive to the needs of the audience who will read their papers and work to organize
their papers in a cohesive manner. Figure 3–4 compares capable and less capable writers.
Figure 3–4 COMPARISON OF CAPABLE AND LESS CAPABLE WRITERS

CHARACTERISTICS CAPABLE WRITERS LESS CAPABLE WRITERS
Audience, Purpose, Capable writers vary how they write, depending Less capable writers are unaware of audience,
and Form on their purpose for writing and the audience purpose, and form.
who will read the composition.
Process Capable writers use the writing process flexibly. Less capable writers move through the writing
process in a lockstep, linear approach.
Goal Capable writers focus on developing ideas and Less capable writers view writing as putting
communicating effectively. words on paper.
Peer Response Capable writers turn to classmates for Less capable writers are unable to collaborate
feedback on how they’re communicating. with classmates.
Self-Assessment Capable writers monitor how well they’re Less capable writers are unable to assess their
communicating in the piece of writing. own writing.
Genres Capable writers use formats and structures for Less capable writers don’t vary how they format
stories, poems, letters, and other texts. or structure writing according to the assignment.
Strategies Capable writers use a variety of strategies and Less capable writers use few strategies, most
monitor their strategy use. often a knowledge-telling strategy.
Editing Capable writers postpone attention to mechanical Less capable writers are more concerned with
correctness until the end of the writing process. mechanics than with ideas.
Quality Capable writers assess the quality of their Less capable writers assume that longer is
writing according to how well they better and neater is better.
communicate with their audience.
These comparisons have important implications for writing instruction. Because the most
significant difference between capable and less capable writers is their strategy use, it’s essen-
tial that students learn to apply writing strategies and self-regulate their use. The goal is to
teach novice writers to think strategically about writing: Not only do writers need to know
about the strategies, but they need to understand why they’re important and how and when
to use them (Collins, 1998; MacArthur, 2013).
Sometimes the terms strategies and skills are confused or used to mean the same thing, but
in this book they’re used differently. We all have skills that we use automatically, as well as
self-regulated strategies for things that we do well—driving defensively, playing volleyball,
training a new pet, or maintaining classroom discipline. We unconsciously apply skills we’ve
learned and solve problems as we think strategically. When we are just learning how to drive
a car, for example, we learn both skills and strategies. Some of the first skills we learn are how
to start the engine, make left turns, and parallel park; with practice, these skills become auto-
matic. Some of the strategies we learn are how to pass another car and how to stay a safe
distance behind the car ahead of us; these are strategies, not skills, because drivers must think
about speed, visibility, road condition, and other variables in using the strategies. At first, we
have only a small repertoire of strategies, and we don’t always use them effectively. That’s one
reason why we take lessons from experienced drivers and practice with their guidance and
supervision; these seasoned drivers teach us defensive driving strategies. We learn strategies
for driving on interstate highways, on slippery roads, and at night. With practice, we become
more successful drivers, able to anticipate driving problems and take defensive actions.

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Teachers change how students approach writing tasks by teaching them to use writing
strategies. They organize instruction into minilessons where they explicitly teach students to
use writing strategies, at first with scaffolding and then independently. Graham (2006)
conducted a meta-analysis to determine whether strategy instruction is effective in improv-
ing students’ writing performance, and he found that strategy instruction not only has a
strong impact immediately after instruction, but the positive effects are maintained over
time. In addition, strategy instruction is effective in preventing writing problems (Berninger,
Garcia, & Abbott, 2009). Then students apply what they’re learning about strategies and
self-regulation of strategies as they write compositions during writing workshop. The
Instructional Overview: Writing Strategies lists the goals for teaching students to use writ-
ing strategies at each grade level.
Instructional Overview Writing Strategies
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten–Grade 2 • Children explain what writing strategies are and why they’re important.
• Children apply 4–6 writing strategies (e.g., generating, organizing, proofreading,
rereading) as they develop and refine a composition.
• Children monitor their use of writing strategies.
Grades 3–5 • Students apply 8–10 strategies (e.g., elaborating, evaluating, formatting,
narrowing, revising) as they develop and refine a composition.
• Students self-regulate their use of writing strategies.
• Students reflect on their use of writing strategies.
Grades 6–8 • Students apply the 12 writing strategies as they develop and refine
a composition.
• Students self-regulate their use of writing strategies.
• Students reflect on their use of writing strategies.
Teaching a Strategy
Teachers teach students about writing strategies in minilessons. According to Harris, Graham,
Mason, and Friedlander (2008), strategy lessons should exemplify these characteristics:
Explicit Instruction. Teachers provide explicit instruction about the strategy, explaining
what the strategy does and how it helps students to become better writers. They talk
about how and when to use the strategy, and they share examples of the strategy in men-
tor texts and anonymous student samples. Teachers often work with students to make a
poster about the strategy.
Modeling. Teachers demonstrate the strategy as they write, revise, or edit a piece of writ-
ing, and while they’re working, they think aloud to share their thought processes and the
decisions they make.
Collaboration. Teachers scaffold students’ use of the strategies they’re learning and their
regulation of these strategies through collaborative writing activities. They work with the
class as they compose a piece of writing together, and then students work in small groups
and with partners to apply the strategies in other guided writing activities before they’re
expected to use them independently.
Independent Application. Teachers support students as they transition to applying the
strategy independently, and they encourage writers to reflect on how they regulate their
use of a particular writing strategy.
As they teach students about a strategy, teachers follow the minilesson format. They begin by
introducing the strategy and demonstrating it through a writing activity. Next, they provide
guided practice through whole-class, small-group, and partner writing activities. Finally, stu-
dents apply the newly learned strategy in authentic writing activities.
Just teaching students how to use each writing strategy isn’t enough. Harris et al., (2008)
explain that writers must self-regulate their use of strategies; that is, they must be “goal-
oriented, resourceful, and reflective” (p. 4). They emphasize that students must also learn to
self-regulate their use of strategies because this metacognitive management helps writers
improve their use of strategies, the quality of their compositions, and their attitudes about
writing. Teachers focus additional minilessons on how to orchestrate the use of writing strat-
egies, and they have students self-evaluate their strategy use.
Effective strategy instruction is especially important for struggling writers because many
students have difficulty using writing strategies, especially generating, organizing, and revising.
Troia (2006) recommends explicitly teaching strategies in minilessons and supervising stu-
dents as they begin to apply the strategies themselves. Struggling students are more likely to be
successful when they use cognitive routines to manage the complexities of writing tasks.
THINK-ALOUDS It’s difficult to make thinking visible, but think-alouds are an essential
tool for sharing what someone’s thinking. Teachers use the think-aloud procedure to teach
students how to direct and monitor their thinking during writing; it’s similar to the procedure
that teachers use to demonstrate reading strategies, but in this case, they use it to show what
capable writers are thinking as they write (Pritchard & Honeycutt, 2007). As they think aloud,
teachers can model any writing strategy during any stage of the writing process; for example,
how they narrow topics during prewriting, ask self-questions during revising, identify hom-
onym errors during editing, and format a script during publishing. The steps are listed in Step-
by-Step: Think-Alouds; this procedure is valuable because students learn to be more strategic
writers and to regulate their own writing processes.
After teachers model a strategy, students use the think-aloud procedure as they partici-
pate in guided writing activities. Once students know how to think aloud, teachers can use
this procedure as an assessment tool. During student–teacher conferences, students reflect on
their writing, evaluate how well they used particular strategies, and think aloud about what
they could do differently to improve their writing. They can also write reflections about their
ability to use particular strategies.
ANNOTATIONS Teachers often ask students to use little self-stick notes to record their
strategy use when they’re writing. Students write the strategy’s name or an icon on a note and
attach it to the margin of their paper. For example, to indicate elaborating, they often write an E,
the first letter of the strategy’s name; for narrowing, they draw an inverted triangle to symbolize
a funnel; and for revising, they draw an eye to represent “reseeing.” Attaching these notes usually
is more effective than just writing directly in the margin because students’ rough drafts often get
Think-Alouds
1 Plan the think-aloud. Teachers choose a strategy to highlight, identify the kinds of thinking they want to
model, and collect writing samples, mentor texts, or other materials.
2 Introduce a strategy. Teachers describe the strategy they’ll model and explain how writers use it.
3 Demonstrate the strategy. Teachers model how they use the strategy as they write and talk about their
thinking and the decisions they make to solve problems. They speak from the first-person viewpoint: “I think
I need a new paragraph here because . . .” and “I want to write a lead sentence to grab my readers so . . . .”
4 Add annotations. Teachers write small self-stick notes about their strategy use and attach them in the
margin of their composition to document their thinking.
5 Reflect on strategy use. Teachers check their annotations to review their strategy use, and they talk
about the impact of this strategy on the effectiveness of their writing.
crowded and messy as they move through the writing process. Later, students use their record of
strategy use as they talk about their writing with teachers and write self-reflections.
Scaffolding Writers
Teachers use four levels of support as they teach writing strategies, moving from more to less
guidance as students learn and assume more responsibility themselves (Cappello, 2005;
Fountas & Pinnell, 1996); these levels are based on Vygotsky’s (1978) notion of scaffolding
and Pearson and Gallagher’s (1983) Gradual Release of Responsibility model of reading com-
prehension. You might think that kindergartners and first graders would always need the most
support and older students the least, but teachers in every grade use all four levels.
MODELED WRITING Teachers demonstrate or model how an expert writer uses

writing strategies while children observe. This is the level of the greatest support because
teachers create the text themselves. They write on chart paper or use a computer and project
the text on a whiteboard so everyone can see what’s being written. Teachers think aloud about
the strategies they’re modeling and reflect on how they solve writing problems. They use this
level when they’re introducing a new strategy, for example, how to proofread or set goals.
SHARED WRITING Teachers and students work together to compose a text, and the
teacher serves as the scribe to record the text. Primary grade teachers developed the interactive
writing procedure, but it can be used with older students, too (Button, Johnson, & Furgerson,
1996). The class composes a text, and teachers guide children as they write it word by word on
chart paper. Depending on their level, children take turns writing familiar letters and words,
adding punctuation marks, and marking spaces between words. The teacher assists in spelling
all words correctly so the text can be read easily. At the

same time they’re writing the text on chart paper, children
are also actively involved in writing it on small whiteboards.
The steps in the procedure are explained in Step-by-Step:
Interactive Writing, and the first grade class chart about
insects shown in Figure 3–5 is an example of interactive
writing. Many of the words have lines under each letter,
which the teacher drew as a spelling aid. The dotted letters
represent letters that the teacher wrote, and the small
squares represent correction tape used to cover spelling
and handwriting errors.
GUIDED WRITING Teachers continue to provide

support, but they share more responsibility because stu-
dents do the actual writing themselves. Teachers plan struc-
tured writing activities and then supervise as students write,
Watch Ms. McCloskey engage her English learners in and they use guided writing to provide instruction and
interactive writing. What concepts about writing does she assistance while students are actually writing. It’s similar to
point out to her first graders? guided reading, where teachers read with small groups and
Interactive Writing
1 Set a purpose. Teachers present a stimulus activity or set a purpose for writing.
2 Pass out writing supplies. Teachers distribute whiteboards and dry-erase pens and erasers so children
can write the text individually as it’s written on chart paper.
3 Craft a sentence to write. Children compose a sentence to write and repeat it several times, segmenting
it into words. Depending on developmental level, they may count the number of words in the sentence.
4 Write the first sentence. Children write the sentence word by word with the teacher’s support. More
experienced writers take turns writing each word or phrase, but less experienced writers move more slowly.
They pronounce each word, “stretching” it out, and take turns writing the letters to spell the word on chart
paper. Children write the letters using one color pen, and teachers use another color to write the parts that
children can’t spell. Children cover spelling errors and poorly formed letters with white correction tape.
They reread the sentence from the beginning each time a new word is added; when appropriate, teachers
point out writing strategies they’re using, the writer’s craft topics, and conventions of written language.
5 Repeat for additional sentences. Teachers repeat this procedure to write additional sentences to com-
plete the text.
6 Display the composition. Teachers display the text in the classroom and have children reread it often
and refer to it when they’re writing independently.
INTERACTIVE WRITING: A FIRST GRADE CLASS

Figure 3–5
WRITING ABOUT INSECTS
provide assistance as it’s needed. Teachers often have students each prepare a page for a class
book, such as an alphabet book on pioneers during a fourth grade unit on the westward move-
ment, or have students work in small groups to create a book with short chapters about the Bill
of Rights during an eighth grade unit on the U.S. Constitution.
INDEPENDENT WRITING Now students assume almost complete responsibility

for applying the writing strategy or regulating the use of strategies they’ve been practicing. Writ-
ing workshop provides an authentic context for students’ independent application of strategies.
Teachers also use these levels of support when they teach students about the writer’s
craft, genres, and other writing concepts, as well as writing strategies.
Writing Workshop
Teachers teach minilessons on writing strategies, and students independently apply the strate-
gies and regulate their use through writing workshop (Harris et al., 2008). As they participate
in authentic writing activities, the responsibility for applying writing strategies gradually shifts
to students as they become more adept at monitoring and managing their own writing. Teach-
ers provide differentiated feedback to meet students’ individual needs and ensure that all
students increase both their knowledge about what writers do and their confidence in them-
selves as writers.
As students participate in minilessons, independent writing, and sharing, they learn to
apply writing strategies. Teachers introduce strategies and provide guided practice during
minilessons, and then students apply the strategies in their writing projects. They document
their strategic thinking by making annotations on self-stick notes and attaching them to the
edges of their compositions. Finally, students reflect on their strategy use as they share their
published writings from the author’s chair. Through these workshop activities, students grad-
ually assume responsibility for applying writing strategies and monitoring their use.
Teachers use the four levels of support to scaffold students as they’re learning to apply
new strategies. As they teach minilessons, teachers use modeled writing, shared writing, and
guided writing, gradually shifting responsibility to students. Then students apply strategies on
their own during independent writing and reflect on their strategy use during writing confer-
ences and when they share their writing from the author’s chair. While most students are writ-
ing independently, teachers differentiate instruction for struggling students, reteaching
strategies to small groups and doing interactive writing with others to provide more practice
with new strategies. Figure 3–6 identifies some of the ways teachers use the four levels of sup-
port during writing workshop.
Assessing Strategy Use

Teachers track students’ growth as writers in a variety of ways. One focus is on writing strategies:
They assess students’ knowledge about specific writing strategies, their application of strategies
to solve problems that arise during writing, and their ability to manage multiple strategies.
WAYS THAT TEACHERS SCAFFOLD WRITERS DURING WRITING

Figure 3–6
WORKSHOP
INDEPENDENT
LEVEL MINILESSONS WRITING SHARING
Modeled Teachers model a strategy and Students refer to mentor texts Students share their independent
think aloud about it. They also for ideas during independent writing from the author’s chair and
use mentor texts and student writing. reflect on their strategy use.
samples as models.
Shared Students and teachers use Teachers differentiate Students share their interactive
interactive writing to practice a instruction by doing writing activities with classmates
strategy and annotate their interactive writing with small and point out annotations of strategy
strategy use. groups of students. use.
Guided Teachers supervise while students Teachers provide guidance as Students share their guided writing
write with partners or in small they conference with students activities with classmates and talk
groups to practice a new strategy. during independent writing. about their strategy use.
Independent Students think about ways Students apply new writing Students share their independent
they’ve already used the strategy strategies as they use the writing and reflect on their strategy
or can apply it in future writing writing process to develop and use.
projects. refine their writing.
Teachers usually have students perform think-alouds to share how they use strategies during
writing, examine their strategy using annotations, and complete writing strategy checklists. For
an example, see Assessment Tools: Fifth Grade Writing Strategies Checklist. Teachers also have
students write reflections or self-evaluation letters about their strategy use after they complete
the writing project. Harris et al., (2008) emphasize the importance of having teachers involve
students as coevaluators. Through reflection, students increase their sense of responsibility for
using strategies and enhance their confidence about writing.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Fifth Grade Writing Strategies Checklist
Explain how you used at least five of these strategies in this writing project.
CHECK STRATEGY EXPLANATION
Elaborating
Evaluating
Formatting
Generating
Monitoring
Narrowing
Organizing
Proofreading
Questioning
Rereading
Revising
Setting Goals
Teachers also have students collect the best examples of their writing (including rough
drafts, rubrics, and related materials) in portfolios and, from time to time, reexamine them to
look for signs of growth. By checking the self-stick notes in the margins of their rough drafts or
their self-reflection letters, students can compare the strategies they’re using now with those
they used earlier in the school year and in previous grades.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Developing Strategic Writers

Writing strategies are thoughtful procedures that students use. Elaborating, evaluating, format-
ting, generating, monitoring, narrowing, organizing, proofreading, questioning, rereading, revising, and
setting goals are the 10 most important strategies for K–8 students. They learn to use these
strategies to direct and monitor their thinking when they’re writing. Use this checklist to guide
your instruction:
Minilessons Teachers teach minilessons as part of writing workshop to introduce and
review a writing strategy.
Explanations Teachers present step-by-step explanations so that students understand
how and when to use a writing strategy.
Demonstrations Teachers model how capable writers use a strategy and share their
thoughts during writing by thinking aloud.
Strategy Charts Teachers create a chart with students to explain each strategy.
Mentor Texts Teachers share books and other writing samples that illustrate the strat-
egy being taught and talk about how the author’s use of the strategy affected the qual-
ity of the text.
Practice Opportunities Teachers provide collaborative writing activities so students
can practice the strategy they’re learning with the support of classmates.
Independent Application Teachers ensure that students transition from using the
strategy in practice activities to applying it when they’re writing independently.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of writing strategies through these
activities. The questions ask you to collect and analyze data and report the results. Your
response should meet academic standards and adhere to Standard English conventions. A
rubric is available so you can self-assess your response, or your professor can use it to evaluate
your achievement.
1. Observe a kindergarten teacher conducting an interactive writing lesson and identify
the writing strategies the teacher demonstrates. In your response, describe the teacher
and the students, present your analysis of the writing activity, and identify the writing
strategies that the teacher demonstrated.
2. Teach a minilesson on a writing strategy and create a strategy chart with a small group
of students. In your response, describe the students, list the steps in your minilesson,
and evaluate your effectiveness. Also include a photo of the strategy chart.
66
3. Interview three students about their use of writing strategies and decide whether they’re
capable writers. Use the information about capable and less capable writers in Figure
3–4 to guide your thinking. In your response, describe the students and their writing
experience, identify the strategies they use, and decide whether they’re capable writers.

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC WRITERS
I teach second grade, and my students are too young structure, lack of paragraphing, and handwriting
to learn strategies, so I focus on skills instead. problems stand out on some students’ papers,
You might not realize it, but your students are and we want to fix these problems. Teachers usu-
already using both reading and writing strate- ally know how to fix them because we know how
gies. For example, they draw pictures or dia- to teach skills. In contrast, other writing prob-
grams to generate ideas before writing and make lems—disorganization, single-draft composi-
predictions to guide their reading. Teachers at tions, or a lack of audience awareness—are less
every grade level are responsible for teaching obvious when teachers first look at a paper.
strategies. You demonstrate strategies as well as These are strategy problems, and they’re much
skills when you write collaborative books with harder to fix, but it’s crucial that students learn
your students, and you support your second about organization, revising, editing, audience
graders’ use of strategies during interactive writ- awareness, and other writing strategies. Good
ing. Teaching the proofreading strategy fits per- writers use both strategies and conventions
fectly with your emphasis on skills, and you effectively.
might want to try teaching several other strate- I already teach reading strategies. Are they the same
gies, such as organizing, narrowing, and revising. as writing strategies?
Do I need to teach writing strategies? I’m a seventh Reading and writing strategies are alike in sev-
grade teacher, so I assume my students already know eral ways. Both are active mental processes that
all about them. involve thinking, and they serve similar pur-
Start by finding out what your students already poses: Students use reading strategies to
know about writing strategies. Ask them to name improve decoding and comprehension, and
some writing strategies, to explain their impor- they apply writing strategies to improve the
tance, and to describe how they’re used during effectiveness of their compositions. It’s not sur-
writing. They probably will know about a few prising that some reading and writing strategies
strategies, such as organizing and revising, but have similar names because both reading and
they’re less likely to know why they’re important writing are written language processes. Even
or be able to reflect on how they applied particu- with these similarities, it’s still important to
lar strategies in their last writing project. If they’re explicitly teach students about writing strate-
familiar with a few writing strategies, you’ll be able gies; however, it should be easier to teach writ-
to quickly review them and then focus on getting ing strategies to students who already use
students to apply cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies because they appreciate the
strategies independently while they’re writing and role of thinking in learning. They may also
on teaching them to reflect on their strategy use. already know about self-regulating their think-
ing; setting goals, monitoring, questioning, and
Aren’t writing conventions more important than evaluating are just as important in writing as
strategies? they are in reading.
It’s true that both skills and strategies are import-
ant. Spelling errors, unsophisticated sentence
67
CHAPTER
4 The Writer’s Craft

Noah’s “Wicked Cool” Writing. “This year I’m learning how to make my
writing wicked cool,” Noah explains. “You’ve got to think of interesting ideas and add
lots of details so readers can have a movie playing in their minds.” I’m talking to Noah in
Mrs. Chase’s fifth grade classroom, and I ask him where he gets his ideas. “From my life,”
he explains. “I do lots of interesting things: I take karate; I’m a purple belt. I play golf with my
grandpa, but right now he’s better than I am. And I have a little sister named Maddison—you
spell it with two ds. It seems like she’s always getting in trouble. My dad says she lives in Time-
Out City. I’ve written two Time-Out City books about Maddison and her Webkinz that live
there.”
Noah continues talking about how he adds details to his writing: “That’s easy. I just start
thinking about the topic, and it becomes a movie in my mind. I write down everything I see. I try
to use ‘dollar words’—that’s what Mrs. Chase calls them—and I’m wicked good at making com-
parisons. The kids in my revising group are always asking me to think of comparisons for their
writing. Sometimes I add too many details, so I’m always asking my buddies if I have just the
right amount.”
I ask about his revising buddies. “Oh, they’re Jordan, William, Ivan, and Amie. Sometimes
we meet with Mrs. Chase, but lots of times I just take my draft over to William and get his opin-
ion. He’s a good writer, and he always tells me what he really thinks.
“The second reason why I’m a wicked good writer is my voice: It’s got to be strong if you
want people to like the stuff you write. You never want your voice to be boring,” Noah contin-
ues. “I think Greg’s voice in Diary of a Wimpy Kid [Kinney, 2007] is totally awesome. He sounds
like a real kid. In fact, he’s a lot like me. He has a big brother named Roderick who makes
trouble for him like my little sister does to me. Greg’s funny, and sometimes he gets embar-
rassed. I know about that; sometimes my dad embarrasses me. Greg always tries to do
what’s right, but he also wants to be popular and causes a lot of problems.
“Another thing is presentation; that’s what we’re studying now,” Noah explains.
“We’ve been looking at nonfiction books to see how words, headings, illustrations,
charts, and other stuff is put on pages. Writers add illustrations and charts and diagrams
and maps because books can be very confusing unless you know what’s going on. Mrs.
Chase asked us to bring in books from home with interesting layouts, and I immediately
thought of my Geronimo Stilton books. I brought in Shipwreck on the Pirate Islands [Scho-
lastic, 2003] to share. We looked at each other’s books in small groups, and then Wil-
liam and I made this list of the cool stuff we found in my Geronimo Stilton book.”
Noah pulls their list out of his writing folder and shows it to me. Here’s their list of
“cool stuff ”:
Words in different styles and colors
Rebus words
Really exciting chapter titles!
Big colorful illustrations
68
Bios of Geronimo, Thea, Trap, and Benjamin
A chart of the staff at “The Rodent’s Gazette”
A guidebook for pirates
A box with information about a galleon
Maps of New Mouse City and Mouse Island
A guidebook with survival tips
A box of sailor jokes
Directions for Geronimo’s joke contest
A glossary called the Pirate ABCs
A box with the recipe for Pirate Soup
Noah continues, “If you count everything on our list, there’s fourteen things. Our list was the longest
one in the whole class.” I wonder why their list was the longest, and Noah replies that it’s because the
Geronimo Stilton books combine elements of fiction and nonfiction. “Think about this,” Noah
explains. “Marisa and Jamie’s list was the next longest, and it had eleven things on it. They used
one of The Magic School Bus books—I think it was The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip
[Cole, 1999]—and those books are a combination of a story and an informational book.”
Currently, Noah’s working on a nonfiction book about rocks: “My dad and I—we’re rock hounds.
We go looking for interesting rocks almost every weekend, and last summer we went to an awesome
rock and mineral show in Chicago, and I bought a wicked cool piece of amber with a bug in it for my
collection.” I ask about his plans for the book, and Noah explains: “I’m going to have four chapters.
The first one is about collecting rocks and minerals, and the second one is about how they’re formed.
I have the rough drafts done of them, and now I’m working on a chapter about the different kinds of
rocks. If there’s enough time, I’m going to write one more chapter about classifying rocks.” Noah
explains that he’s writing about topics he already knows well: “I really know a lot about rocks, so I
know I can write about these subjects, but I’m still learning about gems and metals.”
He’s writing this book on the computer, and he’s going to make the chapter titles and headings
larger so they’ll stand out and add a special font to highlight technical words. He also plans to
include some special features in his book: He’s already uploaded the digital photos he took of his
rock collection to use as illustrations, drawn a diagram showing how rocks are formed and scanned
and imported it into his document, and written a guidebook with tips about collecting rocks safely.
Noah plans to add a glossary at the end of the book that he’ll call “The Rockhound ABCs,” following
the style he found in his Geronimo Stilton book.
Mrs. Chase’s goal in this writing project is for the fifth graders to focus on the writer’s craft and
the presentation trait, in particular, but I ask Noah if he’s thinking about any other traits while he’s
writing. “Yes, I am,” he answers. “If you want your writing wicked cool—and I do—you have to use all
of them. Of course, voice is important because I want to sound like a scientist, and my topic is com-
plicated, so my organization is important. One more thing: I have to pick my words carefully. I’m
writing words like specimen, luster, quartz, and geology, and some kids don’t know them; that’s why I’m
adding a glossary.”
69
T
he specific techniques and tools writers
Writing Standards: The Writer’s Craft use to capture readers’ attention and
Writing Standard 4 for grades K–8 focuses on students convey meaning are referred to as the
producing writing in which the development and orga- writer’s craft. Establishing a clear voice, incorpo-
nization are appropriate to the task, purpose, and rating a useful organization, choosing precise
audience. Writing Standard 5 for grades K–8 indicates words, and fashioning effective sentences are
that with assistance from their peers and the teacher,
often mentioned as essential components of
students will develop their writing by planning, revis-
ing, and editing. To learn more about the Writing the writer’s craft. People often compare the
Standards, go to http://www.corestandards.org/ writer’s craft to what a master carpenter does
ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational stan- to build chairs, tables, and cabinets: The skilled
dards website. furniture craftsman chooses a design that bal-
ances form and function, constructs dovetail
joints, inserts corner blocks for strength, enhances the style with carved moldings, and
stains the wood to bring out its grain. Writers are artisans, too, but they work with
language to build stories, essays, autobiographies, poems, and other types of writing.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
4.1 Discuss the six traits.
4.2 Explain the instructional procedures for teaching the six traits.
THE SIX TRAITS

More than 35 years ago, researchers at Education Northwest identified six techniques of the
writer’s craft, which they called traits: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and
conventions. Later presentation was added as the seventh quality, but these qualities are still
referred to as “the six traits” or “the six traits plus one.” Figure 4–1 presents an overview of
these traits. Two of the researchers who developed the six traits—Ruth Culham (2003, 2005,
2010a, 2010b) and Vicki Spandel (2012, 2013)—continue to design instruction and assess-
ment procedures and share them with teachers.
The six traits fit easily into the writing process. Students apply some traits at one stage
and others at another stage. For instance, they focus on voice during drafting and revising
because it’s during these stages that students develop the “personality” of their writing. At
least one trait is used at each stage, as shown in Figure 4–2.
Ideas
The ideas are the heart of a composition—the message and its meaning. Writers pick a topic
they’re knowledgeable about and stick to it. They arrange their writing to fit a genre or form of
writing, such as a story or persuasive letter, and they present their ideas clearly using words
and illustrations. This trait is the foundation of the composition, and it affects every other
trait (Spandel, 2013): If the idea is serious, for example, then each of the other traits will have
a serious tone. The ideas trait involves these components:
Choosing a Topic. Writers select a topic that’s personally meaningful and important.
Focusing the Topic. Writers address the topic with a clear sense of purpose.
70
CHAPTER 4 | The Writer’s Craft 71
Identifying the Genre. Writers choose the genre—biography, story, or letter, for example—
that best suits their purpose.
Developing the Topic. Writers expand and clarify the topic by including details to make
their compositions more vivid.
Figure 4-1 THE SIX TRAITS

TRAIT WHAT WRITERS DO THE IMPACT ON READERS
Ideas Writers use big ideas and pertinent details to convey Readers are more engaged in reading when the
their message. ideas are stimulating.
Organization Writers create an effective internal structure that Readers grasp the author’s message more easily
emphasizes the big ideas. when the structure is clear.
Voice Writers enhance their message through the Readers continue reading when the author’s voice
personality or tone they adopt. is compelling.
Word Choice Writers choose precise, descriptive words to convey Readers enjoy reading when the author’s words
their message more effectively. evoke strong feelings and sensory images.
Sentence Fluency Writers develop a within-sentence rhythm and weave Readers appreciate the lyrical quality of expressive
sentences together so they flow smoothly. language.
Conventions Writers use correct spelling, punctuation, Readers read the text more easily when the writing
capitalization, and grammar as a courtesy to readers. is reader-friendly.
Presentation Writers arrange the words and visuals to highlight the Readers are more likely to want to read a composition
big ideas and make their compositions appealing. when the presentation is clear and inviting.
Figure 4-2 HOW THE SIX TRAITS FIT INTO THE WRITING PROCESS
TRAIT DESCRIPTION STAGES
Ideas Writers choose topics and gather ideas during prewriting, get these ideas down on Prewriting
paper during drafting, and make refinements during the revising stage. Drafting
Revising
Organization Writers plan their organization during prewriting, and it evolves during drafting. Later, Prewriting
during revising, writers make changes to ensure a logical presentation Drafting
of ideas. Revising
Voice Writers develop their voices during drafting as they choose words and create a Drafting
rhythmic flow of sentences, and during revising they make changes to improve their Revising
“personality.”
Word Choice Writers substitute descriptive language and precise words during revising to make Revising
their message clearer and strengthen their voice.
Sentence Fluency Writers improve sentence fluency during revising by rereading their drafts aloud to Revising
listen for a rhythmic flow, checking for sentence variety, and reviewing transitions.
Conventions Writers check that they’ve applied spelling, paragraphing, punctuation, capitalization, Editing
and grammar rules during editing to ensure that their writing is clear and readable.
Presentation Writers design the visual layout of their compositions, including page arrangement Publishing
and illustrations, to enhance readers’ ability to understand their message during the
publishing stage.
Writers know that they’ve developed their ideas effectively when readers keep reading because
the ideas are compelling.
Teachers often use mentor texts to examine the ideas trait; check Mentor Texts: Ideas. In
Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street (Schotter, 1999), for instance, a girl named Eva has a home-
work assignment to write about what she knows. She observes the goings-on in her neighbor-
hood, expecting the activity to be boring, but she’s wrong: There’s plenty of drama for an
exciting story. Teachers also like to share The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Van Allsburg, 1996), a
collection of 14 fantastic drawings with titles and captions that lure students to create their
own stories.
Mentor Texts Ideas

Component Books
Choose a Topic Anderson, L. H. (2016). Ashes (The seeds of America trilogy). New York: Atheneum. U
Paulsen, G. (2000). Worksong. San Diego: Voyager. M
Schwartz, D. (2005). If dogs were dinosaurs. New York: Scholastic. PM
Thomson, S. L. (2005). Imagine a day. New York: Atheneum. PM
Van Allsburg, C. (1996). The mysteries of Harris Burdick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. MU
Wyeth, S. D. (2002). Something beautiful. New York: Dragonfly. M
Focus the Topic Almond, D. (2008). My dad’s a birdman. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. M
Duke, K. (2014). In the rainforest. New York: HarperCollins. PM.
Haas, J. (2013). Bramble and Maggie give and take. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. PM
Kajikawa, K. (2009). Tsunami! New York: Philomel. M
Paulsen, G. (2007). Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster. MU
Woodson, J. (2009). Feathers. New York: Puffin Books. U
Identify the Genre Domeniconi, D. (2002). G is for golden: A California alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping
Bear Press. M
Jenkins, S. (2003). What do you do with a tail like this? Boston: Houghton Mifflin. M
Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid: A novel in cartoons. New York: Abrams. M
Marrin, A. (2009). Years of dust. New York: Dutton. MU
Rathmann, P. (1995). Officer Buckle and Gloria. New York: Putnam. P
Schlitz, L. A. (2008). Good masters! Sweet ladies! Voices from a medieval village. Cambridge, MA:
Candlewick Press. MU
Develop the Topic Almond, D. (2009). Skellig. New York: Delacorte. MU
Law, I. (2008). Savvy. New York: Dial Books. MU
Mayhew, J. (2004). Katie’s Sunday afternoon. New York: Scholastic. PM
Polacco, P. (2009). January’s sparrow. New York: Philomel. U
Stewart, T. L. (2008). The mysterious Benedict Society. Boston: Little, Brown. U
Willems, M. (2004). Knuffle bunny: A cautionary tale. New York: Hyperion Books. P
Teaching Tools Duke, K. (1992). Aunt Isabel tells a good one. New York: Dutton. P
Fletcher, R. (2007). How to write your life story. New York: HarperCollins. MU
Schotter, R. (1999). Nothing ever happens on 90th Street. New York: Scholastic. PMU
Wong, J. S. (2002). You have to write. New York: McElderry. M
Writers address ideas throughout the writing pro-

cess, but this trait is especially important in prewriting
and drafting. Students begin a writing project by brain-
storming ideas and choosing the most promising one to
develop into a composition. Often, the best ideas deal
with familiar topics that students examine in fresh,
unexpected ways.
Organization
Organization provides the skeleton or structure for a com-
position, and when it’s effective, this structure enhances
the ideas by providing readers with a clear sense of direc-
tion (Spandel, 2013). Elements of story structure, nonfic-
tion text structures, and poetic forms provide
organization. Writers also use flashbacks or alternating
or different voices in each chapter to provide organiza- Watch Mrs. Arneson as she instructs her students in using
tion. This trait includes these components: a writing traits checklist. What instructions does she give
students for checking one another’s writing ideas?
Crafting the Lead. Writers create interesting leads to
quickly grab their readers’ attention. To hook read-
ers, they state an opinion, share a personal experience, ask a question, present a bold
statement, or use figurative language in the first sentence or paragraph they write.
Structuring the Composition. Writers present ideas logically using structures and genre pat-
terns they’ve learned. Stories are built with narrative structures; nonfiction with expository
structures, and poems with poetic formulas. Stories, for example, are usually organized
into a beginning, middle, and end.
Providing Transitions Between Ideas. Writers insert transitions between sentences, para-
graphs, and sections of a text to clarify the organization and signal relationships among
ideas. Transition words, including for example, next, in
summary, and therefore, provide directions for under-
standing a text.
Ending With a Satisfying Conclusion. Writers wrap up
their compositions thoughtfully. They satisfy readers
and answer important questions.
Writers need to know how to organize their writing and
learn ways to make their structure clear and logical for
readers.
Teachers share mentor texts exemplifying different
structural patterns, including Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What
Do You See? (Martin, 2010), a predictable book with a
repetitive structure and rhythmic language that entice
young children to create their own predictable books, and
This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness (Sidman,
2007), a collection of apology poems purportedly written
by a class of sixth graders and the responses their poems
generated. This book is an invitation for children to exper- Watch Mrs. Ockey discuss organizing text into paragraphs
iment with this poetic form. Check Mentor Texts: Organi- with her second grade English learners. How does the topic
zation for other titles. of paragraphing relate to organization?
Mentor Texts Organization

Component Books
Crafting the Lead Choldenko, G. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York: Putnam. MU
Cronin, D. (2011). Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. New York:
Simon & Schuster. PM
O’Brien, P. (2009). You are the first kid on Mars. New York: Putnam. PM
Schachner, J. (2003). Skippyjon Jones. New York: Puffin Books. P
Schmidt, G. D. (2007). The Wednesday wars. New York: Clarion Books. U
Structuring the Fleischman, P. (2004). Seedfolks. New York: Harper Trophy. M
Composition Gratz. A. (2009). The Brooklyn nine: A novel in nine innings. New York: Dial Books. U
Jenkins, S. (2009). Never smile at a monkey and 17 other important things to remember. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin. PM
Perkins, L. R. (2005). Criss cross. New York: Greenwillow. U
Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books. M
Providing Avi. (2012). Sophia’s war: A tale of the revolution. New York: Beach Lane Books. MU
Transitions McNaughton, C. (1998). Suddenly! A Preston Pig story. New York: Sandpiper. PM
Paulsen, G. (2007). Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster. U
Steig, W. (2010). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Atheneum. PM
Teague, M. (1996). The secret shortcut. New York: Scholastic. PM
Ending With a Hemphill, M., & Riddleburger, S. (2009). Stonewall Hinkleman and the Battle of Bull Run.
Satisfying New York: Dial Books. M
Conclusion Hicks, K. L. (2016). Maddie’s pet peeve. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke Educational Media. PM
Klise, K. (2005). Regarding the trees. San Diego: Harcourt. MU
Ryan, P. M. (2001). Mice and beans. New York: Scholastic. P
Sachar, L. (2008). Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. U
Yang, G. L. (2008). American born Chinese. New York: Square Fish Books. U
Teaching Tools Brown, M. W. (1990). The important book. New York: Harper Trophy. P
Brown, M. W. (2006). Another important book. New York: Harper Trophy. P
Janeczko, P. B. (2005). A kick in the head: An everyday guide to poetic forms. Cambridge, MA:
One other mentor text deserves special mention: Newbery Medal–winning Holes (Sachar,
2008), a sophisticated novel for seventh and eighth graders with dual intertwined plots.
One plot focuses on Stanley Yelnats, a boy with a palindromic name and a family curse. He’s
unjustly sent to a juvenile detention facility where boys are required to dig 5-by-5-foot holes
every day in the hot Texas sun, and the second plot explains the family curse: Stanley’s
great-great-grandfather stole a pig from a one-legged Gypsy who, in revenge, put a curse on
him and his descendants. By the story’s end, these plots come together and Stanley is
redeemed.
Writers focus on organization during the prewriting and drafting stages of the writing pro-
cess. The organization needs to enhance the ideas—showcase them in the best way possible.
Writers create diagrams to explore their ideas, searching for an effective organizational scheme
that fits with the topic and the genre. Sometimes students reconsider their organization plan
during revising, and when it isn’t working, they devise a different arrangement to highlight their
most important ideas.
Voice
The writer’s distinctive style is called voice; it’s the quality that breathes life into writing.
Each writer’s voice is unique. Spandel (2013) explains that “voice is the imprint of the
writer” (p. 128). It’s the writer’s style, and it’s what matters most. Whether it’s humorous
or compelling, reflective or persuasive, voice personally connects writers to readers. Accord-
ing to writing guru Donald M. Murray (2004), “voice allows the reader to hear an individ-
ual human being speak from the page” (p. 21). This trait includes these components:
Choosing Personally Meaningful Topics. When writers care about their topics, their voices
are stronger. That’s one reason why it’s important for students to have opportunities to
choose their own topics and to write about things that matter to them.
Writing With Passion. When writers are passionate about a topic, their voices have more
energy.
Writing With Knowledge. Writers’ confidence shines through their writing when they
understand what they’re writing about and can use related terminology. Their voices
often disappear when they’re expected to write about unfamiliar topics.
Adopting a Tone. A writer’s tone is his or her opinion or feeling about a topic; it ranges
from serious to silly and casual to formal. Examples include approving, teasing, anxious,
objective, admiring, angry, witty, sarcastic, mischievous, gloomy, ironic, critical, disap-
pointed, confusing, patriotic, hopeful, and sincere. Writers craft the tone through their
choice of words and arrangement of words into sentences.
Writers’ personalities emerge through these components. During the drafting and writing
stages, students craft their voices using their knowledge and passion about a topic, words
they choose, the way the sentences flow, and the tone they adopt.
Creating an effective voice depends on the words writers choose and how they arrange
them into sentences and paragraphs. Some writers craft lyrical rhythms, as Jane Yolen does
in Owl Moon (2007); some show their mischievous side, as Mo Willems does in his sarcastic
pigeon series that began with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2003); and others create
mesmerizing stories with hopeful themes, such as Savvy (Law, 2008). Kate Klise projects
multiple voices in her popular multigenre books; she uses letters, memos, and other texts to
tell the story objectively in Regarding the Bathrooms: A Privy to the Past (2008) and other punny
books in the “Regarding the . . .” series and in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series, which
began with Dying to Meet You (2009). Mentor Texts: Voice lists additional books with strong
author voices.
Students can learn about how favorite authors write, including how they use the writer’s
craft, by visiting authors’ websites, where they can read blogs and FAQ features, listen to
interviews, play games, and enter contests. They also access other information about authors
at publishers’ websites and websites for teachers and librarians. To learn more about author
websites and other online information about authors, check Digital Toolkit: Online Author
Information.
Mentor Texts Voice

Strategy Books
Choosing Crutcher, C. (2018). Losers bracket. New York: Greenwillow. U
Meaningful Topics Dahl, R. (2009). Boy: Tales of childhood. New York: Puffin Books. MU
Hoose, P. (2009). Claudette Colvin: Twice toward justice. New York:
Farrar, Straus & Giroux. U
Ryan, P. M. (2002). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic. M
Soto, G. (2005). Neighborhood odes. New York: HarperCollins. M
Woodson, J. (2005). Show way. New York: Putnam. PM
Writing With Cronin, D. (2011). Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. New York: Simon & Schuster. P
Passion Curtis, C. P. (2000). The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963. New York: Laurel Leaf. MU
Frazee, M. (2006). Rollercoaster. New York: Sandpiper. PM
Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Knopf. MU
Pennypacker, S. (2008). Clementine. New York: Hyperion Books. M
Schmidt, G. D. (2008). The Wednesday wars. New York: Clarion Books. U
Writing With Cronin, D. (2007). Diary of a fly. New York: HarperCollins. P
Knowledge Cushman, K. (2005). Catherine, called Birdy. New York: HarperCollins. U
Dana, B. (2009). A voice of her own: Becoming Emily Dickinson. New York: HarperCollins. U
Schulman, J. (2008). Pale Male: Citizen hawk of New York City. New York: Knopf. PM
Wiles, D. (2010). Countdown. New York: Scholastic. U
Woodson, J. (2013). This is the rope: A story from the Great Migration. New York:
Puffin Books. PM
Adopting a Tone Anderson, L. H. (2014). The impossible knife of memory. New York: Penguin. U
Erickson, J. R. (2003). Hank the cow dog. New York: Puffin Books. M
Konigsberg, B. (2013). Openly straight. New York: Scholastic. U
MacLachlan, P. (2005). Sarah, plain and tall. New York: Scholastic. M
Raschka, C. (2007). Yo! Yes? New York: Scholastic. P
Yolen, J. (2007). Owl moon. New York: Philomel. PM
Word Choice
Writers choose words carefully to convey the precise meaning they intend. As students craft
their pieces, they learn to choose lively verbs and specific nouns, adjectives, and adverbs; cre-
ate imagery through colorful language and sensory words; and use idiomatic expressions. The
goal is to find a fresh, original way to express the message while being concise. This trait links
ideas with voice (Spandel, 2013). Word choice includes these components:
Painting a Picture With Words. Writers use descriptive language, including words repre-
senting the five senses, to bring their writing to life.
Choosing Precise Words. Writers select specific, accurate, powerful, and engaging words
to add depth, enhance meaning, and clarify understanding.
Energizing Writing With Strong Verbs. Writers add energy by avoiding all forms of the
verb to be and replace common action words, such as ate, said, or walked, with more
descriptive ones, such as gulped, insisted, or trudged.
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Online Author Information
Authors create websites and do interviews to publicize Allsburg’s (http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com), Gordon

their books and reach out to their readers. Some authors Korman’s (http://www.gordonkorman.com), Linda Sue
also share information about how they get ideas, how Park’s (http://www.lindasuepark.com), and Jacqueline
they deal with writer’s block, how they revise their writing, Woodson’s (http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com).
and how they handle rejection. Here are several ways
teachers and students can locate online information ▶ Video Interviews
about authors: To access video interviews of Avi, Jerry Pinkney, Lois Lowry,
Jerry Spinelli, Kate DiCamillo, Walter Dean Myers, and
▶ Online Author Directories others, go to the Reading Rockets website (http://www.
Search online directories to locate authors’ websites, including readingrockets.org) and select Children’s Books and Authors
the American Library Association’s Great Web Sites for Kids on the menu, or go to All About Adolescent Literacy (http://
(http://gws.ala.org; click on Literature and Language, then www.adlit.org) and select Books and Authors on the menu.
click on Authors and Illustrators), HarperCollins Children’s In these interviews, authors talk about themselves, how they
site (http://www.harpercollins.com/childrens; on the write, and the books they’ve written. Many interviews are
homepage, click on Kids and Teens or on the Authors tab), available online or as podcasts.
and KidsReads.com (http://www.kidsreads.com; on the
homepage, click on the Authors tab). ▶ Other Websites
Scholastic’s website (http://www.scholastic.com) provides a
▶ Author Websites wealth of information about Blue Balliett, Christopher Paul
Use search engines to locate authors’ websites. Besides a Curtis, Carl Hiaasen, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Brian Selznick, and
biographical sketch, lists of publications and awards, and other authors. Click on the Books and Authors tab to locate
information about upcoming events, many sites also include a author biographies, video interviews, and games featuring
blog, video clips, advice for writers, contact information , authors and their books.
games, and contests. Among the best websites are Laurie
Halse Anderson’s (http://www.madwomanintheforest.com), At these websites, students learn about authors and gain
Jane Yolen’s (http://www.janeyolen.com), Chris Van a new appreciation of the writer’s craft.
Playing With Words. Writers use poetic devices and other inventive techniques, including
puns, alliteration, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, and palindromes (words
that read the same left to right and right to left), to evoke images and make their writing
memorable.
Writers focus on these components of word choice as they draft and revise their writing.
Children’s books have many wonderful examples of this trait. For example, Skippyjon Jones
(Schachner, 2005) and its sequels feature a hyperactive Siamese kitten who thinks he’s a Chi-
huahua superhero named El Skippito. The author has sprinkled Spanish words and expres-
sions through each book in the series, and these word choices energize the writing. Savvy
(Law, 2008) is the story of a family in which each child has a magical power that the author
calls a “savvy”; the characters use these powers to protect and save the family. Ingrid Law
demonstrates how to develop a story around a single interesting word—savvy. And in Open
Wide: Tooth School Inside (Keller, 2000), the author shows how to integrate technical vocabu-
lary, including crown, incisor, gargle, crooked, enamel, permanent, and decay, into a story. Mentor
Texts: Word Choice lists additional books to use to teach this trait.
Mentor Texts Word Choice

Component Books
Painting a Picture Almond, D. (2009). Skellig. New York: Delacorte. MU
With Words Babbitt, N. (2007). Tuck everlasting. New York: Square Fish Books. U
Fletcher, R. (1997). Twilight comes twice. New York: Clarion Books. M
Frame, J. A. (2008). Yesterday I had the blues. New York:
Tricycle Press. PM
Horowitz, R. (2004). Crab moon. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick
Press. PM
Rylant, C. (1991). Night in the country. New York: Atheneum. P
Choosing Precise Curtis, C. P. (2012). The mighty Miss Malone. New York: Yearling. MU
Words O’Connor, J. (2008). Fancy Nancy’s favorite fancy words. New York:
HarperCollins. PM
Frasier, D. (2007). Miss Alaineus: A vocabulary disaster. San Diego: Voyager. M
Lowry, L. (2006). The giver. New York: Delacorte. U
Patron, S. (2008). The higher power of Lucky. New York: Atheneum. U
Soto, G. (2005). Neighborhood odes. Orlando: Harcourt. M
Energizing Writing Hale, S. (2007). Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury. MU
With Strong Verbs Paulsen, G. (2007). Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster. MU
Sachar, L. (2008). Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. U
Schaefer, L. M. (2003). Pick, pull, snap! New York: Greenwillow. PM
Playing With Cleary, B. P. (2006). Rhyme and PUNishment: Adventures in wordplay. Minneapolis:
Words Millbrook Press. M
Gable, B. (2011). Skin like milk, hair of silk: What are similes and metaphors? Minneapolis:
Millbrook Press. PM
Most, B. (2003). The cow that went OINK. New York: Sandpiper. P
Loewen, N. (2011). Stubborn as a mule and other silly similes. Mankato, MN: Picture Window
Books. M
Loewen, N. (2011). You’re toast and other metaphors we adore. Mankato, MN: Picture Window
Books. M
Prelutsky, J. (2002). Scranimals. New York: Greenwillow. M
Wiles, D. (2006). Each little bird that sings. New York: Sandpiper. MU
Teaching Tools Banks, K. (2006). Max’s words. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. P
King, S. (2010). On writing. New York: Scribner. U
Leedy, L., & Street, P. (2003). There’s a frog in my throat! 440 animal sayings a little bird told me.
New York: Holiday House. PM
Schotter, R. (2006). The boy who loved words. New York: Schwartz and Wade. M
Terban, M. (2006). Scholastic dictionary of idioms. New York: Scholastic. MU
Terban, M. (2007). In a pickle and other funny idioms. New York: Sandpiper. M
Terban, M. (2007). Mad as a wet hen and other funny idioms. New York: Sandpiper. M
Sentence Fluency How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems

Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of
language. Writers vary the length and The Problem The composition has weak sentence
structure of sentences so their writing has structure.
a natural cadence and is easy to read
aloud. They vary how they begin sen- What Causes It Students write the way they talk, and those
tences, use sentence fragments sparingly, who speak in short, choppy sentences, use
and invent natural-sounding dialogue to run-on sentences, or lack sentence variety in
add style (Spandel, 2012). This trait their conversation will sound the same way
includes these components: on paper.
Achieving a Rhythmic Flow. Writers How to Solve It QUICK FIX: During revising, have students
invent natural-sounding dialogue and read their rough drafts aloud to locate
add transition words so that their short, choppy sentences that they can com-
writing flows smoothly. bine, run-on sentences that they can cor-
rect, or places where they can vary the types
Constructing Effective Sentences. of sentences they’re using. And as students
Writers carefully craft complete sen- participate in revising groups, they can ask
tences that enhance the text’s meaning. their classmates for suggestions about how
Varying Sentence Patterns. Writers to improve the flow of sentences in their
var y the structure of sentences, drafts.
including types of sentences, sentence LONG-TERM SOLUTION: In a series of
beginnings, and sentence lengths, to minilessons, teach students about the types
create a natural cadence. of sentences, run-on sentences and how to
Breaking the Rules. Sometimes writ- eliminate them, and how to combine sen-
ers break the rules and use sentence tences to make their writing more interest-
ing. Students can work in small groups to
fragments, nonstandard English, or
practice combining sentences and improv-
slang to create fluency. ing the sentence variety of sample composi-
As students examine these components, tions. In addition, they can examine the
they acquire a better understanding of variety of sentences in books they’re read-
sentences and the relationship of sentence ing and practice imitating their favorite
sentences.
f luency with the writer’s voice. They
develop this trait as they draft and revise How to Students who do lots of reading learn more
their writing. Prevent the sophisticated sentence structures and can
Teachers share mentor texts to Problem apply these structures in their own writing.
demonstrate how authors develop sen-
tence fluency. In Crab Moon (Horowitz,
2000), the author’s rhythmic sentences
tell how a boy and his mother go to a moonlit beach to witness horseshoe crabs laying their
eggs in the sand. How I Learned Geography (Shulevitz, 2008) is a first-person narrative that reads
like a fable; it’s the story of the author’s father who buys a map at the bazaar to feed his fam-
ily’s dreams instead of food to fill their stomachs. After responding to the story and its mes-
sage, students can examine the effective sentences in this award-winning story. Jacqueline
Woodson’s Show Way (2005) tells how her freedom-seeking slave ancestors used quilts as
maps to escape from their owners. She uses lyrical language as well as sentence fragments and
nonstandard English to tell her story effectively. Mentor Texts: Sentence Fluency lists addi-
tional books that teachers use in teaching this trait.
Mentor Texts Sentence Fluency

Component Books
Achieving a DiCamillo, K. (2009). Because of Winn-Dixie. Cambridge, MA:
Rhythmic Flow Candlewick Press. U
Golio, G. (2010). Jimi: Sounds like a rainbow (A story of Jimi Hendrix).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. U
Lowry, L. (2009). Crow call. New York: Scholastic. M
Myers, W. D. (2009). Looking like me. New York: Egmont USA. MU
Schachner, J. (2005). Skippyjon Jones. New York: Puffin Books. P
Constructing Babbitt, N. (2007). Tuck everlasting. New York: Square Fish Books. U
Effective Dahl, R. (2007). James and the giant peach. New York: Puffin Books. MU
Sentences Davies, N. (2001). One tiny turtle. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. PM
Montgomery, S. (2010). Kakapo rescue: Saving the world’s strangest parrot. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt. MU
Waldman, N. (2003). The snowflake: A water cycle story. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press. PM
Varying Sentence Avi. (2005). Poppy. New York: HarperCollins. M
Patterns Brown, P. (2009). The curious garden. New York: Little, Brown. P
Barry, D., & Pearson, R. (2005). Peter and the starcatchers. New York: Hyperion Books. MU
Davies, N. (2004). Bat loves the night. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. P
Freedman, R. (2006). The adventures of Marco Polo. New York: Scholastic. MU
Schaefer, L. M. (2003). Pick, pull, snap! New York: Greenwillow. PM
Breaking the Rules Schmidt, G. D. (2011). Okay for now. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. MU
Taylor, M. D. (2004). Roll of thunder, hear my cry. New York: Puffin Books. U
Williams, S. A. (1997). Working cotton. New York: Voyager. PM
Wisniewski, D. (1999). Tough cookie. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. M
Conventions
The term conventions refers to the correct application of the rules of Standard English spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, and grammar and usage. When these conventions are used effec-
tively, they reinforce writers’ ideas and enhance the readability of compositions. Writers check
each word, sentence, and paragraph as they prepare their pieces for publication. This trait
includes these components:
Spelling Words Conventionally. Writers spell words correctly as a courtesy to readers.
Paragraphing Accurately. Writers use paragraphing to highlight the composition’s organi-
zation and hierarchy of ideas.
Punctuating Effectively. Writers use within-sentence and end-of-sentence punctuation
correctly to make their compositions more reader-friendly.
Capitalizing Correctly. Most of the time, writers capitalize proper nouns and adjectives
correctly; sometimes, however, they avoid capital letters, especially in poems.
Applying Standard English Grammar and Usage Rules. Writers use Standard English and
adhere to mainstream usage rules unless they’re writing dialogue.
Students who have a good grasp of these conventions correct most errors during editing to
make their compositions “reader ready” (Culham, 2010b, p. 261).
Teachers can choose almost any favorite book to use as a mentor text for teaching this
trait because most books apply Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and grammar
conventions. In addition, a number of books focusing on punctuation are available, including
The Girl’s Like Spaghetti: Why, You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes! (Truss, 2007), Punctuation
Takes a Vacation (Pulver, 2003), Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!
(Truss, 2006), Greedy Apostrophe: A Cautionary Tale (Carr, 2009), and Twenty-Odd Ducks: Why,
Every Punctuation Mark Counts! (Truss, 2008).
Presentation
Presentation means making the final copy of a composition look good; Ruth Culham (2010b)
compares a visually appealing piece to a welcome mat because it invites readers to enter. The
way the text is formatted enhances readers’ ability to understand the message. Writers use
titles, headings, margins, and white space to emphasize the purpose of their writing, and they
integrate the words and illustrations and make clear connections between them. In addition,
it’s essential that students produce final copies carefully with legible handwriting, or they word
process the compositions so classmates and other readers can read them. Presentation
includes these components:
Adding Text Features. Writers add titles, headings, and bullets to guide readers through
the text and experiment with font styles and rebus symbols to represent words. They also
create a variety of illustrations to provide additional information and extend the text,
including drawings, photos, and charts. Adding these text features is easy to do when
writers use word processing and have Internet connections.
Arranging Words and Illustrations on the Page. Writers consider margins, headings, para-
graph breaks, and placement of titles and illustrations because they want to make the
best use of white space to enhance their presentation.
Using Legible Handwriting. When writers handwrite their final copies, their goal is legibil-
ity. They strive to make their writing neat, without distracting smudges or corrections,
because readers don’t want to struggle to figure out what a writer is saying.
Using Word Processing Effectively. Writers want their compositions to be reader-friendly
so they choose legible fonts for their compositions, make sure the font size is appropriate,
and limit the number of fonts on a page.
When students take pride in their work and apply these components, their presentations will
be effective.
Students examine fiction and nonfiction mentor texts to learn how authors add text fea-
tures and arrange the text and illustrations on the page. In The Night I Followed the Dog (Laden,
1994), the story of a boy who follows his dog one night to see exactly what dogs do when
they’re on their own, the author handwrites the text and inserts rebus symbols to make this
charming story more fun to read. Do Not Open: An Encyclopedia of the World’s Best Kept Secrets
(Farndon, 2010) is a remarkable collection of nearly 100 mysteries and unexplained phenom-
ena with strong visual appeal: Foldouts, liftable flaps, and other features convey detailed
information effectively, and traditional nonfiction features, including a table of contents and
an index, are incorporated as well. Mentor Texts: Presentation lists additional books teachers
use in teaching this trait.
Mentor Texts Presentation

Component Books
Adding Text Balliett, B. (2005). Chasing Vermeer. New York: Scholastic. MU
Features Bosch, P. (2008). The name of this book is secret. Boston: Little, Brown. M
Cole, J. (2010). The magic school bus and the climate challenge. New York:
Scholastic. PM
Gibbons, G. (2008). The vegetables we eat. New York: Holiday House. PM
Osborne, W., & Osborne, M. P. (2001). Pirates (a nonfiction companion
to Pirates past noon). New York: Random House. M
Sands, E. (2005). The Egyptology handbook: A course in the wonders of Egypt. Cambridge,
MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Arranging Words Ering, T. B. (2008). The story of frog belly rat bone. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. PM
and Illustrations Frazee, M. (2008). A couple of boys have the best week ever. San Diego: Harcourt. M
on the Page Marceau, F. (2009). Panorama: A foldout book. New York: Abrams. PM
Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic. U
Watanabe, E. (2009). My Japan. New York: Kane/Miller. P
Wilkinson, P., Leslie, J., Roberts, D., & Bridgman, R. (2009). Pick me up. New York:
Dorling Kindersley. MU
Students focus on this trait during publishing, the final stage in the writing process. They
add text features and plan their layout before they handwrite or word process their final cop-
ies. Presentation matters whenever writers take their writing through the writing process:
Young children, for example, add titles and page numbers and integrate drawing and writing
when they make little books; middle graders explore ways to use white space and font size as
they arrange text and illustrations in multigenre reports; and older students insert boldfacing,
headings, and bullets to highlight ideas in their professional-looking essays.
Students expand their knowledge of the writer’s craft each year through lessons about the six
traits and more reading and writing experience. The traits aren’t taught only at one grade
level; rather, teachers build on and refine students’ understanding each year by teaching mini-
lessons on each trait, having students read and analyze authors’ use of the writer’s craft in
mentor texts, and encouraging them to apply what they’re learning in practice activities and
independent writing during writing workshop. The Instructional Overview: The Writer’s Craft
sets goals for students in the primary, middle, and upper grades.
Introducing the Writer’s Craft

Teachers draw students’ attention to the effectiveness or quality of writing when they intro-
duce the writer’s craft. Some teachers divide students into small groups and distribute
Instructional Overview The Writer’s Craft
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten– • Ideas: Children choose and narrow topics.
Grade 2 • Organization: Children structure ideas to include a beginning, middle, and end or to
highlight big ideas.
• Voice: Children demonstrate their knowledge about personally meaningful topics.
• Word Choice: Children add specific information, paint word pictures, and incorporate
sensory details.
• Sentence Fluency: Children write in complete sentences and combine sentences to avoid
overuse of “and.”
• Conventions: Children spell high-frequency words correctly; use end-of-sentence
punctuation marks; capitalize beginnings of sentences, names, and the word I.
• Presentation: Children print final copies legibly and add illustrations to extend the text’s
meaning.
Grades 3–5 • Ideas: Students develop topics and vary writing according to genre.
• Organization: Students craft leads, structure transitions, and write satisfying conclusions.
• Voice: Students develop a tone that connects with readers.
• Word Choice: Students choose precise vocabulary, energize writing with strong verbs,
and play with words.
• Sentence Fluency: Students craft strong sentences that vary in structure and length, and
demonstrate a rhythmic flow of words.
• Conventions: Students paragraph accurately to reflect the text’s organization, and apply
Standard English spelling, capitalization, and punctuation conventions.
• Presentation: Students use word processing effectively, and arrange the words and
illustrations on the page to highlight big ideas and enhance appearance.
Grades 6–8 • Ideas: Students develop ideas in genre-appropriate ways.
• Organization: Students structure writing with clear and logical patterns that fit the genre.
• Voice: Students set the tone and allow their writer’s voice to emerge through the writing.
• Word Choice: Students select words to convey the precise meaning they intend.
• Sentence Fluency: Students craft sentences with an easy cadence that demonstrates a
strong sense of “sentence.”
• Conventions: Students apply Standard English spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and
grammar conventions correctly.
• Presentation: Students add text features, connect illustrations with text, and use
formatting to enhance the look of their compositions.
anonymous samples of student writing (from a different classroom or written in previous

years) that range in effectiveness for each group to read. Then they ask students which sam-
ples they liked better and why they preferred them. Fourth graders offered these reasons:
The story was so funny. We were laughing.
The topic was fascinating and we learned a lot.
This story was good because it was like a comic book and it had all these crazy sound words.
This book was like a movie that we could see in our minds.
It was so sad; it made us almost cry.
The words were so beautiful, like in a book called Owl Moon [Yolen, 2007].
Other teachers share favorite books and ask students what makes these books good, and they
offer similar reasons. Once students have begun to think about what makes writing effective,
they’re ready to learn about the six traits.
Teaching the Six Traits

Teachers use a combination of minilessons, mentor texts, and guided practice activities to
teach one or more components of each trait, and then students apply what they’ve learned in
their own writing. Fletcher (2010) recommends teaching students about the writer’s craft—
language play, in particular—because it energizes their writing.
As students learn about the six traits, they internalize what good writers do. They learn to
recognize effective writing, develop a vocabulary for talking about writing, and acquire tech-
niques for improving the quality of their writing. In addition, they gain valuable experience in
evaluating their own writing.
TEACHING THE IDEAS TRAIT Teachers involve students in activities to expand

their knowledge about ideas that make interesting stories and to learn how to develop ideas.
They use these activities to teach about the ideas trait and provide guided practice opportunities:
Read-Alouds. Teachers read aloud mentor texts with well-developed ideas and books
illustrating the other traits using interactive read-alouds. This procedure is recommended
because students are actively engaged while teachers are reading.
Wordless Books. Students learn how authors develop ideas by writing texts to accompany
wordless books, such as The Lion and the Mouse (Pinkney, 2009), Pancakes for Breakfast
(dePaola, 1978), and The Red Book (Lehman, 2004) for younger children and Wave (Lee,
2008), Frog Goes to Dinner (Mayer, 2003), and Flotsam (Wiesner, 2006) for older students.
Folktales. Students compare several versions of a familiar folktale, and then they create a
new version. For example, young children can compare some of these Gingerbread Boy
stories before writing a new version: The Gingerbread Boy (Egielski, 2000), The Gingerbread Girl
(Ernst, 2006), The Gingerbread Cowboy (Squires, 2006), and Gingerbread Baby (Brett, 1999);
older children can examine these versions of Cinderella: Princess Furball (Huck, 1994), Mufa-
ro’s Beautiful Daughters (Steptoe, 1987), The Rough-Face Girl (Martin, 1998), Cindy Ellen: A
Wild Western Cinderella (Lowell, 2001), Ella’s Big Chance: A Jazz-Age Cinderella (Hughes, 2004),
Ella Enchanted [novel] (Levine, 2004), and The Amaranth Enchantment [novel] (Berry, 2009).
TEACHING THE ORGANIZATION TRAIT Teachers direct students’ attention

to the internal structure of compositions by having them examine anonymous student writing,
mentor texts, and their own writing. Culham and Coutu (2008) compare well-organized writ-
ing to “a highway that gets the readers to where they want to go” (p. 48). In these activities,
students examine the overall organization of a piece of writing, its internal structure, and how
to effectively begin and end a composition:
Drawing Diagrams. Students analyze the overall structure of a book by making diagrams
that highlight its structure. To focus on the beginning-middle-end of stories, for instance,
students divide a sheet into thirds and draw a picture and write a summary sentence
about each part. Or, to explore a story’s plot development, they make a mountain-like
diagram and use pictures and words to label the problem, the roadblocks, the high point,
and the resolution. For nonfiction books, students examine the structure and draw a dia-
gram that fits the organization. For example, for a life cycle book, students draw a circle
diagram, or for a book comparing two topics, they make a Venn diagram.
Collecting Effective Leads/Endings. Students examine how effective authors grab the
reader’s attention at the beginning of a story by rereading the first sentences of mentor
texts, choosing their favorites, and writing them on sentence strips. Then students share
the sentences and sort them into categories such as “just one word,” “an opinion,”
“sound words,” “a quick action,” or “a question.” Teachers can also have students use the
same procedure to examine how authors wrap up a story.
Building Paragraphs. Teachers copy the sentences in a well-crafted paragraph taken from
a mentor text onto sentence strips for students to sequence. Working in small groups,
students read the sentences and arrange them to build a paragraph. Sometimes teachers
include a sentence that doesn’t belong in the paragraph for students to remove. Or,
teachers can cut apart paragraphs in one episode or chapter for students to sequence.
TEACHING THE VOICE TRAIT The writer’s voice reflects the person doing the
writing; it sounds natural, never stilted. Pulitzer Prize–winning author and teacher Donald
Murray says that a writer’s voice is the person in the writing (Newkirk & Miller, 2009). As stu-
dents gain experience, their writer’s voice will emerge, especially when they’re writing on topics
they’re passionate about. They learn to vary their tone depending on their purpose for writing,
and they recognize that some genres require a more formal voice. Teachers use these practice
activities to highlight this trait:
Lots of Reading. As students read books and listen to the teacher read others aloud, they
deepen their appreciation of how the writer’s voice affects a piece of writing. Teachers
highlight the lyrical tone in My Mama Had a Dancing Heart (Gray, 1999), the uproarious
spirit in Barn Dance! (Martin & Archambault, 1988), the exaggeration in Straight to the Pole
(O’Malley, 2006), and the soothing repetition in The Napping House (Wood & Wood,
2010). As students become aware of these techniques, they experiment with them in their
writing.
Lots of Writing. At the same time they’re examining authors’ voices in books they’re read-
ing, students do lots of informal writing to develop their own voice. They need to write
every day to become fluent. Keeping a personal journal is a good way to get started, and
more experienced writers make entries in reading journals and write journal entries from
the viewpoint of book characters.
Writing From Different Viewpoints. Students write from varied viewpoints to personalize
a story and experiment with tone. They can compare characters’ different viewpoints in a
story or in a collection of related stories, such as The Three Little Pigs (Marshall, 2000), The
Three Pigs (Wiesner, 2001), The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (Trivizas, 1997), and
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! (Scieszka, 1996); in each of these stories, the wolf ’s view-
point is different than the pigs’.
TEACHING THE WORD CHOICE TRAIT Good writers use words effectively.
They learn to use “dollar words,” as Noah explained in the vignette at the beginning of the chap-
ter: They choose more precise words for said, such as cried or mentioned, and more descriptive
words for noise, such as racket and uproar; energize sentences with vivid verbs; and enrich their
writing with figurative language. These practice activities provide opportunities for students to
expand their knowledge about words:
Examining Alphabet Books. One way that students acquire word knowledge is by examin-
ing alphabet books designed for K–8 students, such as Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words
(O’Connor, 2008) and America: A Patriotic Primer (Cheney, 2002). Sleeping Bear Press has
published a series of alphabet books celebrating each state and a variety of other topics,
including A Is for Anaconda: A Rainforest Alphabet (Fredericks, 2009), S Is for Story: A Writer’s
Alphabet (Hershenhorn, 2009), and B Is for Battle Cry: A Civil War Alphabet (Bauer, 2009).
These books also provide models for students’ writing.
Posting a Word Wall. Teachers collect words related to a book they’re reading or a the-
matic unit on a word wall hanging in the classroom. They use construction paper squares
or sheets of butcher paper that have been divided into alphabetized sections for the word
wall. Usually students choose the words to add, and they may even do the writing them-
selves, but teachers add any important words that students haven’t chosen. Then stu-
dents refer to the words when they’re writing journal entries, books, and essays. The
procedure for completing a word wall is presented in Step-by-Step: Word Walls.
Using a Thesaurus. Teachers teach students how to locate synonyms in a thesaurus, and
they have students create lists of synonyms for imprecise and overused words, including eat,
said, nice, and walk. The best thesaurus to introduce to young children is A First Thesaurus
(Wittels, 2001); students in the middle grades use The Clear and Simple Thesaurus Dictionary
(Wittels & Greisman, 2006) and The American Heritage Children’s Thesaurus (Hellweg, 2009a).
The American Heritage Student Thesaurus (Hellweg, 2009b) and Scholastic Student Thesaurus
(Bollard, 2007) are appropriate for students in sixth through eighth grades. These reference
books are arranged in alphabetical order; students look up the word and select the most
appropriate synonym. One of the hardest lessons for writers to learn is that even though a
word is a synonym for another, it may not fit the meaning of the word in a particular sen-
tence. For example, scampered, dashed, sprinted, flowed, jogged, chased, escaped, and galloped are
synonyms for ran, but only a couple make sense in this sentence: The dog ran after the boy.
Inserting Vivid Verbs. Teachers remove verbs from a passage in a mentor text, and stu-
dents work in small groups to choose replacements. It’s often helpful to have students
consult a thesaurus or list of vivid verbs they’ve brainstormed to find the most effective
replacements. Afterward, students compare their word choices with the author’s.
TEACHING THE SENTENCE FLUENCY TRAIT Teachers teach students

that sentences express a complete thought and that, depending on the number of independent
and dependent clauses they contain, sentences are classified as simple, compound, complex,
and compound-complex. Students locate examples of each sentence type in mentor texts, and
they examine the author’s sentence structure and explore how the meaning would change if
another structure were used. They acquire the terminology for parts of sentences—dependent
clause, prepositional phrase, and coordinating conjunction, for example. Students also learn to com-
bine short, choppy sentences to smooth the flow. Anderson (2005) argues that zooming in at
the sentence level is valuable because when students examine sentences in mentor texts, they’ll
“understand the connections between mechanics, craft, style, and meaning” (p. 19). Teachers
use these guided practice activities as they teach about sentence fluency:
Collecting Favorite Sentences. Students write favorite sentences from mentor texts and
other books they’re reading on sentence strips and post them in the classroom. Later,
Word Walls
1 Prepare the word wall. Teachers prepare a blank word wall using sheets of construction paper and
labeling them with letters of the alphabet.
2 Introduce the word wall. Teachers introduce the word wall and explain how it will be used.
3 Add words. Students suggest “important” words for the word wall as they’re reading a book or participat-
ing in a thematic unit. Students and the teacher write the words in the alphabetized blocks, making sure to
write large enough so that most students can see the words. If a word is misspelled, it’s corrected because
students will be using the words.
4 Use the word wall. Teachers use the words on the word wall for a variety of vocabulary activities, and
students refer to the word wall when they’re writing.
teachers have students choose sentences from the collection to use in language arts
activities.
Composing Sentences. Killgallon (1997) recommends that students compose sentences
using well-crafted sentences taken from mentor texts as models. The first activity is
sentence unscrambling: Teachers select a sentence and break it apart into phrases, and then
students rearrange the phrases to build a sentence and compare their sentence with the
original one. The second activity is sentence imitating, in which students write a new sen-
tence that imitates the structure of a sentence from a mentor text. The third type is
sentence combining: Teachers choose a sentence and break it into several simple sentences;
then students combine the short sentences to build a more sophisticated one and com-
pare their sentence with the original one. The fourth activity is sentence expanding: Here
teachers select a sophisticated sentence, and students expand the nucleus of the sentence
into a longer sentence in the author’s style; then students compare their sentence with the
original one. Killgallon’s four sentence-composing activities are reviewed in Figure 4–3
with sample sentences from E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (2006).
Teaching Transitional Words. Teachers teach students to use transition words to keep
the sentence-to-sentence rhythm going in their writing. Sequence transitions, including
first, second, next, finally, and later, are the most common, but teachers also teach these
types:
• Cause-and-effect transitions: therefore, as a result, since, because of
• Comparing transitions: on the other hand, however, in contrast, nonetheless
• Connecting-ideas transitions: besides, for example, meanwhile, in addition
• Spatial-relationship transitions: above, below, next to, across from
Students often overuse the transition word suddenly, so Colin McNaughton’s Suddenly! A Preston
Pig Story (1998) is a good book to use for experimenting with other transition words.
Figure 4-3 KILLGALLON’S SENTENCE-COMPOSING ACTIVITIES
Sentence Unscrambling
Students reassemble a sentence that’s been broken apart to examine how authors structure sentences.
Here are the parts of a sentence to unscramble:
in the middle of the kitchen
teaching it to suck from the bottle
a minute later
with an infant between her knees
Fern was seated on the floor
The model sentence from E. B. White’s classic Charlotte’s Web (2006) is “A minute later
Fern was seated on the floor in the middle of the kitchen with an infant between her knees, teaching it to
suck from the bottle” (pp. 6–7).
Sentence Imitating
Students create new sentences that imitate the structure of a model sentence. The model sentence from
Charlotte’s Web is “Avery noticed the spider web, and coming closer, he saw Charlotte” (p. 71). A group
of sixth graders wrote this imitation sentence: “The police officer noticed the car parked at the side of
Route 99, and coming closer, he saw a woman running away from the car and a man racing after her.”
Sentence Combining
Students combine short sentences, examine possible combinations, and compare their results with the
original sentence. Here are the short sentences:
No one ever had such a friend.
The friend was so affectionate.
The friend was so loyal.
The friend was so skillful.
The model sentence from Charlotte’s Web is “No one had ever had such a friend—so affectionate, so
loyal, and so skillful” (p. 173).
Sentence Expanding
Students expand an abridged version of a sentence so that the text they compose blends in with the rest
of the author’s sentence. The model sentence from Charlotte’s Web is “There is no place like home,
Wilbur thought, as he placed Charlotte’s 514 unborn children carefully in a safe corner” (p. 172).
Students expand “There is no place like home . . . ” One sixth grader wrote, “There is no place like home,
like his home in the barn, cozy and warm straw to sleep on, the delicious smell of manure in the air,
Charlotte’s egg sac to guard, and his friends Templeton, the goose, and the sheep.” Although the
students’ sentence differs from the model, it retains the character of E. B. White’s style.
TEACHING THE CONVENTIONS TRAIT Students learn that mechanical cor-

rectness is a courtesy to readers, and they proofread their rough drafts during the editing
stage to correct errors. Through these practice activities, teachers connect the skills they’re
teaching about capitalization, punctuation, and spelling to writing:
Using Spell Checkers. Teachers teach students to use spell checkers to search their compo-
sitions for misspelled words and correct the errors they find. Spell checkers draw students’
attention to misspelled words, but they don’t mark incorrect inflectional endings on words
or homonym errors; for instance, students may write their and spell it correctly, but if the
word should be there, this software won’t catch the error. Students can also learn to use
other editing software, including grammar checkers and online dictionaries and thesauri.
Examining Capitalization. Students often begin writing with only capital letters, but
during kindergarten and first grade, they learn to print lowercase letterforms and to
capitalize I, the first word in a sentence, and names

and other proper nouns and adjectives. Within a
few years, their most common problem is capitaliz-
ing too many words, and this problem persists
because students have trouble differentiating
between common and proper nouns: Too often,
they assume that all “important” words should be
capitalized. With instruction, students learn that
capital letters divide sentences and signal important
words within sentences, and teachers provide
opportunities for them to examine how writers use
capitalization in mentor texts. Sometimes teachers
remove the capital letters in a passage from a men-
tor text and have students work in small groups to
replace them.
Investigating Punctuation. It’s a common misconcep-
tion that punctuation marks signal only pauses in Watch this sixth grade teacher teach a minilesson about
speech, but they play a greater role (Wilde, 1992). inflectional endings. Why is it important for students to
Some punctuation marks—periods, question marks, categorize word cards as part of this word study lesson?
and exclamation points—indicate sentence boundar-
ies, but others—commas, semicolons, and colons—mark grammatical units within sen-
tences. Quotation marks and apostrophes express meaning within sentences: Quotation
marks often indicate dialogue, but they also express irony, as in He “loves” to wash dishes.
Apostrophes are used in contractions to join two words and in possessive nouns to
show relationships. Teachers teach students about the punctuation marks and locate
examples of them in mentor texts and in students’ own writing.
TEACHING THE PRESENTATION TRAIT The presentation trait reflects the

technological advances of the past decade, and it’s evolving as a component of the writer’s
craft. Teachers work with students to examine the trait in mentor texts and in their own writ-
ing, both handwritten and word processed compositions, and to teach them how to use tech-
nology to make their compositions more reader-friendly. These practice activities suggest
some ways to focus on presentation:
Examining Presentation in Books. Students examine fiction and nonfiction books to see
how authors make use of white space in the layout; the effect of font style, size, and color
on readability; the impact of formatting options, such as boldface, underlining, and itali-
cizing; and the usefulness of headings and other markers. To begin, teachers make copies
of a page from a book and examine it with students, and then students work in small
groups to analyze books they’re reading and mentor texts.
Assessing Handwriting. Students assess their published compositions to determine
whether their handwriting is legible. They consider these elements of legibility:
• Are the letters formed correctly?
• Is the proportional size of uppercase to lowercase letters appropriate?
• Is there adequate spacing between letters in words and words in sentences?
• Is the slant consistent so letters are parallel?
• Are the letters uniform in size?
• Do the letters touch the baseline?
Teachers review students’ evaluations and provide minilessons to address handwriting

problems.
Teaching Keyboarding. Teachers use tutorial programs to introduce students to keyboard-
ing and teach the home keys and correct fingering on the keyboard. One of the best-
known comprehensive online programs is Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Other tutorial
programs, such as JumpStart Typing, have an arcade game format and are designed to
develop typing speed. Keyboarding is important because students who don’t know the
locations of keys on the keyboard depend on the hunt-and-peck technique to arduously
produce their compositions, and on bad keyboarding habits that are hard to break. Many
teachers recommend teaching children basic keyboarding skills as soon as they begin to
use computers, but others suggest postponing keyboarding instruction until third or
fourth grade (Roblyer, 2016).
Teachers use these guided practice activities as part of minilessons and to provide additional
support for struggling students.
Writing Workshop
Students apply what they’re learning about the writer’s craft in writing workshop as they write
compositions using the writing process and then publish them.
TEACHING MINILESSONS Teachers teach minilessons on the writer’s craft during

writing workshop, but they’re careful to balance the amount of time they spend on instruction
with independent writing time. As they teach each trait, teachers describe the trait, delineate
the components, show examples from mentor texts and anonymous students’ writing, and
involve students in activities to investigate the trait and internalize what good writers do. Then
students apply their new knowledge as they write independently during writing workshop.
Check Minilesson: Word Choice to see how a sixth grade teacher works with her class on
choosing vivid verbs.
INDEPENDENT WRITING Students apply what they’re learning about the writer’s
craft during independent writing. It’s natural to connect the six traits with the writing process
because the six traits focus on writing effectiveness, and the writing process describes what
students do as they develop quality compositions (Spandel, 2013). As students use the writing
process, they set goals using one or more traits during prewriting, get feedback from class-
mates in revising groups about how to improve their application of the traits, focus on con-
ventions with editing partners, and design an eye-catching layout before preparing the final
copy. During conferences, teachers also base many of their comments on the trait they’re
teaching and the ones they’ve already taught.
How do teachers teach the writer’s craft?
English learners learn how to make their writing more effective as they study the
writer’s craft, and they expand their knowledge of technical vocabulary, such as
lead, plot, metaphor, sentence fragment, and layout, words they can use to talk about
TOPIC: Word Choice
Minilesson GRADE: Sixth Grade

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: L 6.4, L 6.5, L 6.6
Mrs. Hernandez is concerned that her sixth graders use common, familiar words instead of
more powerful and precise words that would energize their writing, so she’s teaching a series
of minilessons about the word choice trait. She’s introduced the thesaurus and explained the
importance of choosing words carefully. Today, she’s focusing on using vivid verbs.

“The focus of today’s minilesson is on verbs because verbs are often the most powerful
words in a sentence. They’re the motor that drives the sentence,” Mrs. Hernandez
explains.
2 Share Examples
The teacher passes out copies of two anonymous compositions (written by students the
previous year) and asks students to highlight the verbs as she reads the compositions
aloud; she accentuates each verb as she reads to assist students in identifying them. Then
students read aloud the verbs they highlighted. Verbs in the first composition include is,
wanted, and thought; annoys, startled, and crackle appear in the second composition. The
sixth graders quickly notice that the verbs in the first composition are lackluster when
compared to those in the second composition.
Mrs. Hernandez explains that during revision, writers should make sure the verbs they’ve
used are vivid. Tami asks if they should highlight the verbs in their own writing, and the
teacher agrees that it’s a good way to check. Then, she continues, if students find that the
verbs aren’t vivid, they should substitute better words. Sometimes they can think of more
powerful words themselves, and sometimes they should check a thesaurus to find better
words.
4 Guide Practice
Next, Mrs. Hernandez passes out copies of the thesaurus and asks students to work in
pairs to substitute more vivid verbs in the first composition to make the writing more
powerful. As students work, she circulates around the classroom, checking that the syn-
onyms they choose are appropriate.
5 Assess Learning
As she ends the lesson, Mrs. Hernandez asks students to highlight 10 vivid verbs in the
compositions they’re working on now, and if they don’t find that many, to revise so that
they do.
their writing and reflect on their growing ability to use written language effectively. Teachers
nurture English learners’ knowledge about the writer’s craft in these ways:
Explicit Instruction. ELs often need more explicit instruction to learn these written lan-
guage concepts and extra guided practice activities to be able to apply the six traits in
their own writing.
Mentor Texts. Teachers read aloud mentor texts that aren’t too difficult for English learn-
ers to understand and provide opportunities for ELs to reread these models of fluent
English and adapt them for their own writing.
Model Compositions. Teachers have ELs examine anonymous samples of student writing
that they’ve collected from previous classes and participate in guided practice activities to
revise and edit these model compositions. EL writers benefit from the opportunity to
work with grade-level writing samples and to manipulate the language of more fluent
English writers.
Collaborative Writing Projects. ELs are more successful when they work on writing projects
with partners or in small groups because classmates with differing levels of English flu-
ency and knowledge about writing assist each other.
Assessment Rubrics. Teachers often use assessment rubrics that focus on a specific trait or
another aspect of the writer’s craft, and it’s helpful for students to study the rubric in
advance so they’ll understand how their writing will be evaluated. EL writers can also use
the rubric to self-assess their writing during revising and again at the end of the writing
process.
When teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of the EL writers in their classrooms,
these students will become more effective writers.
Assessing the Writer’s Craft

The six traits link instruction with assessment and offer a useful way to assess the quality of
students’ writing. The traits also provide a common language for teachers and students to talk
about the characteristics of effective writing. When students write, they “think, understand,
remember, and make connections they may not have otherwise made” (Spandel, 2013,
p. 402). As we ask students to read what they write, they observe their own thinking, which
prompts them to scrutinize what they’ve written and “reshape” it. The more students engage
in writing, the more they learn from it. Spandel suggests that teachers must ask students to
write much more than they assess.
Teachers assess the writer’s craft in these ways:
Student–Teacher Conferences. Teachers meet with students at different stages of the writ-
ing process to monitor their progress and offer feedback—especially during revising and
editing—to improve the quality of their writing as well as after students publish their com-
positions. Culham (2006, 2008, 2010a) has prepared a series of guides with trait-specific
comments that teachers can use when they’re talking to students about their composi-
tions and use of the writer’s craft.
Rubrics. Spandel (2013) has prepared rubrics that focus on each trait, written in kid-
friendly language, and Education Northwest (http://www.educationnorthwest.org/traits),
individual teachers, and school districts have also developed other six-trait scoring guides
that are available online. Teachers can use these scoring guides to monitor and assess stu-
dents’ writing. They choose rubrics that reflect what they’ve taught (or they adapt them to
fit their instruction) and share them with students before they begin a writing project so
they’ll understand how they’ll be assessed. This way assessment is more fair and consis-
tent, and it also saves valuable assessment time because students’ writing will more closely
match teachers’ expectations.
Scoring Practice. Teachers learn more about the writer’s craft and how to assess students’
writing when they examine how experts have scored sample papers and practice scoring
students’ compositions using materials that are available online at Education Northwest
and in professional books, especially Culham (2008, 2010a) and Spandel (2013). Stu-
dents can also participate in scoring practice activities to learn more about how to assess
their own writing.
Checklists. Teachers create checklists to monitor students’ increasing ability to apply the
writer’s craft. Some list all six traits, and others address a single trait. Teachers use the
checklist in Assessment Tools: Checklist for Monitoring Writing Skills to monitor students’
knowledge of punctuation marks.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Checklist for Monitoring Writing Skills
Punctuation Marks
Name: __________________________________ Grading Period: 1 2 3 4
PERIOD COMMA
u at the end of a sentence u to separate words in a series
u after abbreviations u between day and year
u after numbers in a list u between city and state
u after an initial u after greeting in a friendly letter
u after closing of a letter
QUESTION MARK u after an initial yes or no
u at the end of a question u after a noun of direct address
u to separate a quote from the speaker
EXCLAMATION MARK u before the conjunction in a compound
u
after words or sentences showing sentence
excitement or strong feeling
u
after a dependent clause at the
beginning of a sentence
QUOTATION MARKS
u before and after direct quotations
u around title of a poem, story, or TV PARENTHESES
program u
to enclose nonessential information
u
to enclose stage directions in a script
APOSTROPHE
u in contractions
u to show possession HYPHEN
u
between parts of a compound noun
COLON u
to divide a word at the end of a line
u before a list u
between parts of some compound words
u in time
u
after the greeting in a business letter
Involving Students in Assessment. Teachers involve students in using rubrics to assess their
own writing, both during the writing process and afterward. Self-assessment has a pow-
erful impact on students, increasing motivation and developing responsibility. Students
take a step back to reflect on their knowledge about the writer’s craft and evaluate how
well their writing matches the assessment criteria.
Through these assessment activities, both teachers and students deepen their understanding
about the writer’s craft.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: The Writer’s Craft

The writer’s craft refers to specific tools, known as the six traits, that writers use to develop and
refine their writing; the traits are ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions,
and presentation. Students learn to apply these traits to make their writing more effective. Use
this checklist to guide your instruction:
Minilessons Teachers teach minilessons about the traits—ideas, organization, voice, word
choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation.
Terminology Teachers teach the writer’s craft terminology, including voice, conventions,
and layout, to develop a common language for students and teachers to use when
talking about their writing.
Mentor Texts Teachers share mentor texts that illustrate the traits, and then students
refer to the picture books and longer texts as they write.
Sample Compositions Students examine, revise, and assess anonymous student
papers to learn more about the traits.
Guided Practice Activities Students participate in activities to deepen their under-
standing of the writer’s craft before applying the trait they’re learning in independent
writing.
Advice from Authors Students listen to author interviews and investigate author web-
sites to get advice about the writer’s craft.
Rubrics Students use rubrics that address one or more of the traits to assess their
rough drafts and use the results to revise their writing. They also use these rubrics to
evaluate their published compositions and set goals for future writing projects.
Assessment Students reflect on their writing and self-assess their use of the writer’s
craft in their compositions.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of the writer’s craft through these
your achievement.
94
1. Observe a teacher conducting a minilesson using mentor texts to teach one of the
traits. In your response, describe the teacher and the students, identify the trait, and
present your analysis of the minilesson.
2. Interview a student who has learned about the six traits and examine a piece of the
student’s writing. Ask the student to reflect on his or her use of the traits in the piece of
writing. In your response, describe the student, present your analysis of the student’s
knowledge about the traits, and include a copy of the student’s writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson about one of the six traits to a small group of students.
Create an anchor poster with key points to use in your lesson. Referring to your poster
in the minilesson, introduce information about the trait, and read and discuss a men-
tor text. In your response, describe the students, list the steps in the minilesson, include
a copy of the poster, and present your reflections about the lesson.

THE WRITER’S CRAF T
I don’t know where to begin. Which trait should I How many mentor texts do I need to have?
teach first? There’s no set number. You start with a few books
When students aren’t familiar with the six traits, and add to your collection as you discover new
teachers usually begin with ideas, but there isn’t books. Many experienced teachers refer to the
a recommended sequence. It makes sense to same 10 grade-appropriate books again and again
begin with ideas because students will never be during minilessons. I suggest that you start with
successful writers if they’re choosing uninterest- two or three books that you share with students
ing topics. Upper grade teachers often examine early in the school year, and make a list of the traits
samples of students’ writing first, and based on you could teach using each book. Then ask col-
their analysis, teach those traits that will improve leagues and librarians for suggestions for the
students’ writing. remaining traits, and read the books they recom-
mend to see if they’re suitable. You can also check
Do I need to teach the writer’s craft in seventh and
the Mentor Texts features in this text and profes-
eighth grades since my students are already familiar
sional books, including Using Picture Books to Teach
with the six traits?
Writing With the Traits (Culham & Coutu, 2008) and
It’s a good idea for teachers to address all or Books, Lessons, Ideas for Teaching the Six Traits (Span-
almost all of the traits each year because each del, 2001), for additional recommendations.
trait involves several components, more than
students can learn in a single year. At the middle How can I connect the writer’s craft with my author
school level, students should be familiar with studies?
the six traits, but there are more sophisticated That’s a great idea! Many popular children’s
components that your students aren’t likely to authors have written autobiographies, partici-
be familiar with. For example, can all of your pated in online interviews, or created websites
students distinguish between a thesis and a lead for the children who read their books, and they
or revise a paper with a weak thesis? If not, usually include information about how they
they’d benefit from more instruction about the think of ideas, their revising processes, or other
ideas trait. Or, do any of your students add topics related to the writer’s craft. Students can
unnecessary commas or make comma splices? If also email or write letters to authors with spe-
so, they need more instruction about the con- cific questions about how they organize their
ventions trait. writing, invent dialogue, or use other traits.
95
CHAPTER
5 Assessing Writing
Claire’s Writing Portfolio. Claire is a self-confident and articulate second
grader in Mr. Hamilton’s class. She invites me to examine her portfolio, and I sit down
next to her. Her portfolio is an expandable envelope that’s stuffed with six folders, each
containing a writing project. She picks out four to share with me.
“First of all, this is my book on freezing. Did you know I want to be a meteorologist?
Well, I do, so that’s why I like to write books about weather,” Claire explains. “The title of my
book is 32°. I picked it because water freezes at 32°. It was the first book I wrote in second
grade.” She reads the book aloud:
Page 1: Water freezes at 32°. It goes from a liquid to a solid.

Page 2: Rain freezes to make snowflakes.
Page 3: An ice cube tray freezes to make ice cubes.
Page 4: Ponds freeze to make skating rinks.
Page 5: But if you put salt or sugar into water, it won’t freeze at 32°. The temperature has to be
much colder.
There’s a picture at the top of each page with a sentence or two handwritten underneath. I
ask why she chose this book for her portfolio, and Claire responds, “It’s an informational
book, and all of the information is completely accurate. And, in the middle, I used a good
pattern: ‘_____ freezes to make _____.’ One more thing: I have capital letters at the beginning
and periods at the end, and I know how to write this little circle beside the temperature num-
ber. It’s a degree mark.”
Next, Claire shares her story titled “Run for Cover!” She explains, “I like to add weather
to my stories so I put a tornado in this one. My Pop-Pop grew up in Kansas, and he told me
about getting in the basement during thunderstorms. This is amazing: He said he lived
through three tornadoes! I dedicated this book to him because he is very brave. Oh yes,
I used Thunder Cake [Polacco, 1997] for my mentor text. It’s about weather, too.”
Claire reads the story aloud, and then she comments on the plot: “This story is good
because it has a beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning, I tell you that it’s been a hot
summer day and Robbie—that’s my Pop-Pop’s real name—has been riding his horse named
Chief. A storm is coming, so he has to hurry home. In the middle, Robbie puts Chief in the
barn and he gets in the basement because the thunderstorm is bad. A siren sounds off
because a tornado is coming. Robbie hears a noise like a jet, but it’s really the tornado.
In the end, Robbie’s safe and Chief is OK, but the roof was blown clear off the house.
Don’t you think this story is exciting? I got my writer’s voice with this story.” She shows
me the rubric her teacher scored, points to the word suspenseful, and I pronounce it.
Claire continues, “Mr. Hamilton said it’s suspenseful. That means I’m a good writer.”
Then Claire opens another folder and begins, “We read biographies—you know,
books about real people—and I picked Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Did you know she
worked for her whole life to make women equal? We made biography posters, but I
don’t have mine in my portfolio because it’s too big so Mr. Hamilton took a picture
96
of it for me. Here’s the picture. I read a book that said that Elizabeth had a ‘strong spirit,’ and
my dad says I do, too, so that’s why the title of my poster is ‘Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Woman
With a Strong Spirit.’ I made a life line for her, and I got some pictures from the Internet, and
I wrote paragraphs about her. At the bottom I put this quote: ‘Elizabeth tossed a stone in the
water and the ripples grew wider and wider and wider.’ It’s confusing because the stone isn’t a
real stone; it means that she made people think about women being equal because back then
women couldn’t have money or even vote.
“Then I dressed up in a costume to look like Elizabeth and did a presentation,” Claire
explains. “I showed my poster and talked about her and I answered some questions. The pic-
ture on the cover of Elizabeth Leads the Way [Stone, 2010] is of her wearing a bonnet and a long
blue skirt. She’s carrying an American flag. So that’s how I dressed up. Here’s a picture of me
wearing my costume. Mr. Hamilton videotaped our presentations; they’re on our class web-
site, and I have it on this flash drive.”
Claire picks up the fourth folder and shows me a booklet of paper stapled together. “And
this is my reading log for Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Cleary [1992]. It’s a funny story about a
girl named Ramona Quimby. She’s in kindergarten, and she’s always getting into trouble. I
wrote one page in my reading log after we read every chapter. I made tons of text-to-self con-
nections because the book really made me remember when I was in kindergarten. Mom got
out my kindergarten box and we looked at everything. I asked my mom if I could go and visit
Mrs. Cruz—she was my kindergarten teacher—so my mom called and asked her. She said OK,
so Mom took me for a visit. She was happy to see me and I told her about Ramona the Pest.
Mom took a picture of us, and I taped it in my reading log.”
I ask Claire why she included this reading log in her portfolio, and she explains, “Well, I
did lots of thinking for this reading log, and Mr. Hamilton likes it when we’re reading, thinking,
and writing. I knew he’d want me to keep it, and it’s the biggest reading log I made all year.”
Claire has clearly grown as a writer during second grade. Her compositions are longer,
but more important, she’s tackled difficult topics, used the writing process effectively, and
applied her knowledge of the writer’s craft—organization, voice, and word choice, in particu-
lar. I compliment Claire on her writing and ask about the most important things she’s learned
about writing this year. She shares the reflection from her portfolio that highlights her accom-
plishments; check the figure Claire’s Reflection. She’s learned to revise her writing, developed
a writer’s voice, and learned to do word processing. In fact, she’s one of three Net Heads who
help their classmates use the computers and other technology tools.
Claire’s Reflection
This is my second grade portfolio. It has my best writing and it shows how much I have learned.
1. I have learned about revising. I listen to kids give me suggestions. Sometimes I don’t like them,
but I say thank you anyway. I do not like to make cross outs, but sometimes I have to.
2. I have a writer’s voice now. Junie B. Jones [Park, 2007] and Hank the Cowdog [Erickson, 2003]
are my best models. I like to make my writing sound funny and interesting.
3. I type on the computer so my writing looks really cool. I’m a Net Head because I know about
computers. This summer I’m going to learn keyboarding so I can type faster.
I hope you like my portfolio.
97
A
ssessment provides information about
Writing Standards: Assessing Writing what writers know and what they can
The Common Core State Standards focus on what stu- do. It’s something that teachers do
dents are expected to learn at each grade level, not on every day, in one form or another. Assessing
the assessment procedures that teachers use to monitor writing involves more than just looking at
and evaluate students’ achievement, including deter- pieces of writing; instead, teachers focus on the
mining whether they’re meeting the Standards. To learn
writers themselves (Anderson, 2005). Writing
more about the Writing Standards, go to http://www
.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s assessment has five purposes:
educational standards website.
• Documenting students’ growth as writers
• Informing students and parents about
writing achievement
• Guiding writing instruction
• Substantiating that students meet grade-level standards
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the instructional program
Kuhs et al., (2001), explain that “more frequent assessment and the use of different
approaches will improve the reliability, validity, and fairness of classroom assess-
ment” (p. 6). Teachers informally monitor students’ writing progress by regularly
observing them as they write and by conferencing with them about their writing; this
enables them to make informed decisions about instruction. They also assess stu-
dents’ writing with checklists and rubrics and have students collect writing samples in
portfolios. In addition, teachers administer district- and state-mandated writing
assessments where students respond to writing prompts under test conditions. Even
though many teachers don’t like these performance-based assessments, they’re being
used to judge students, teachers, and schools.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
5.1 Discuss how teachers assess students’ writing.
5.2 Explain how teachers use writing portfolios.
5.3 Describe large-scale writing assessments.
CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT
Risko and Walker-Dalhouse (2010) urge teachers to broaden evaluation to examine more of
the multimodal ways students participate in writing from prewriting to publishing, both in
and out of school. It’s not enough to simply evaluate the writing projects that students create;
instead, teachers should consider these points when assessing students’ writing:
• The process students use to develop and refine their writing
• Students’ activities during writing workshop
• Students’ ability to collaborate with classmates
• The writing strategies students employ
98
CHAPTER 5 | Assessing Writing 99
• The writer’s craft traits students use to make their writing more effective
• Students’ use of digital media
• Students’ ability to produce final drafts in both print and digital formats
Peverini (2009) urges teachers to design authentic assessments that address these points as
well as meet their instructional goals and grade-level standards.
The Instruction–Assessment Cycle

Teachers assess students throughout the writing process with the instruction–assessment
cycle, as shown in Figure 5–1. This approach is authentic because teachers examine and doc-
ument what students do as they develop and refine their writing projects. The four steps in this
cycle are planning, monitoring, evaluating, and reflecting. Each step serves a different purpose, so
teachers need to include all the steps in their writing program.
STEP 1: PLANNING FOR ASSESSMENT Teachers plan for assessment at the

same time they’re planning for instruction, and they choose the assessment tools they’ll use to
get answers about what students are learning to apply in their writing and which topics con-
fuse them. For instance, teachers introduce rubrics at the beginning of a writing project to
focus their instruction and so that students know what’s expected of them. By planning for
assessment before students begin a writing project, teachers are prepared to use assessment
tools wisely; otherwise, classroom assessment often turns out to be haphazard and post-
poned until the end of the writing project.
STEP 2: MONITORING STUDENTS’ PROGRESS Monitoring students’

progress is vital. Teachers observe students’ learning every day and use the results to make
instructional decisions and assist struggling students. As they monitor students’ progress by con-
ducting conferences, examining rough drafts, and using other procedures, teachers learn about
their students’ individual strengths and limitations and about the impact of their instruction.
Figure 5-1 HOW ASSESSMENT FITS INTO THE WRITING PROCESS

ASSESSMENT TOOL WRITING PROCESS STAGES
Checklists Teachers distribute a checklist at the beginning of a writing project to guide students’ work and
identify the components of the assignment. Then students refer to the checklist as they draft, revise,
edit, and publish their writing.
Conferences Teachers meet with students throughout the writing process. They regularly hold revising and editing
conferences, but teachers also conference with students about their prewriting plans and the ideas
they’re developing during drafting. Students also meet with teachers during publishing to evaluate
their completed writing projects and to reflect on their experience.
Observation Teachers observe students as they participate in writing workshop and make anecdotal notes of
their progress throughout the writing process.
Rubrics Teachers introduce a rubric at the beginning of a writing project so students understand how their
work will be evaluated after it’s published. The focus is on quality. Students also use rubrics to
self-assess their rough drafts during the revising and publishing stages.
Writing Samples Teachers monitor students’ progress by examining their writing samples during revising, editing, and
publishing.
STAGE 3: EVALUATING STUDENTS’ WRITING Teachers evaluate and

document students’ writing to make judgments about their achievement. They often use
checklists and rubrics to identify their evaluation criteria and guide their evaluations.
Tests are a traditional way to evaluate learning, but the results of writing tests that require
students to identify the types of sentence structure, correct a sentence with spelling and gram-
mar errors, or match vocabulary words with synonyms don’t provide much useful information
about students’ growth as writers. Instead, students’ achievement must be evaluated using
their own writing projects to provide valid information.
STAGE 4: REFLECTING Both students and teachers reflect on writing projects. Stu-
dents reflect on their achievement to develop self-awareness and to take more responsibility
for their learning. Self-assessment is metacognitive: Students evaluate their achievement, their
use of the writing process, and their work habits, and they share their reflections during con-
ferences and in notes that they attach to writing samples, as Claire did in the vignette at the
beginning of the chapter. Students also set goals for their next writing projects. A seventh
grader’s list of goals includes these points:
• I will have my rough drafts ready for my revising group on time.
• I will locate 75% of my spelling errors when I proofread.
• I will explain the purpose in the first two paragraphs of the essays I write.
To teach self-assessment, teachers often develop a questionnaire to guide students’ reflection
after they complete their writing projects. Students respond to questions that ask them to think
about their use of the writing process and the details of this writing project. A questionnaire for
eighth graders is presented in Assessment Tools: A Self-Assessment Questionnaire. Not surpris-
ingly, as students gain experience with self-assessment, they write more sophisticated reflections.
Teachers reflect on their instruction to improve teaching effectiveness. They ask themselves
questions about lessons that were successful and those that weren’t and how they might adapt
instruction to better meet their students’ needs. They also analyze students’ achievement,
because teachers aren’t effective if students aren’t learning. Danielson (2009) recommends
that teachers work with colleagues who can help to solve problems and improve instruction.
Assessment Procedures
Keeping track of students’ progress is a demanding task because writing is multidimensional
and not adequately measured simply by counting the number of compositions a student has
written. Teachers use a variety of procedures; five of the most useful are observation, conferences,
checklists, rubrics, and writing samples.
OBSERVATION Careful, focused observation of students as they write and keeping

detailed notes of these observations are the hallmark of good teaching and are useful in assess-
ment as well (Graves, 1994; Kuhs et al., 2001). Teachers watch students as they write, partici-
pate in revising groups, revise and proofread their writing, and share their finished compositions
with genuine audiences. Through their observations, teachers learn about students’ attitudes
toward writing, their use of the six traits, their ability to participate in writing workshop, and
their approach to revising and editing. Teachers also notice students’ work habits and their will-
ingness to collaborate with classmates or share their writing from the author’s chair.
While observing, teachers often interact with students to gather more information. They
ask students to explain what they’re doing or to read aloud what they’re writing. If students
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Self-Assessment Questionnaire
Name __________________________________ Date ___________________
Title __________________________________________________________
Reflect on your writing process and the writing project you’ve

just finished. Then answer 3 questions in each part.
Part 1: Describe your writing process.
• Which writing strategies did you use?
• What problems did you encounter, and how did you solve them?
• Which stage of the writing process was easiest for you? Why?
• Which stage was the most challenging? Why?
•
What problems do you want to learn how to solve to become a
better writer?
Part 2: Describe your writing project.
• How will your readers know which genre you used?
• Did you use a mentor text? Which one? Why?
• Which traits does your writing exemplify?
• What was easiest about this writing project?
• What was most challenging about this writing project? Why?
•
Which traits do you want to learn more about to become a
better writer?
are struggling, teachers ask questions or provide guidance to clarify confusions and solve
problems. Observation isn’t necessarily time-consuming: Even though teachers watch and
interact with students throughout writing projects, these observations take only a few min-
utes, and for experienced teachers who know their students well, a single glance may provide
the needed information about a student’s progress.
Teachers make brief anecdotal notes as they observe students, which provide rich details
about students’ writing development, their ability to apply strategies, and their knowledge of
writing traits (Rhodes & Nathenson-Mejia, 1992). As teachers take notes, they describe a spe-
cific event and report what they’ve observed, without evaluating or interpreting the informa-
tion. A yearlong collection of these notes provides a comprehensive picture of a student’s
development as a writer. Instead of recording random samples, teachers should choose events
that are characteristic of each student’s writing.
Several organizational schemes are possible, and teachers choose a format that’s com-
fortable for them. For example, some make a card file with dividers for each student and write
anecdotes on note cards; they feel comfortable jotting notes on these small note cards or even
carrying around a set of cards in their pockets. Others divide a spiral-bound notebook into
sections for each student and write in the notebook, which they keep on their desks. A third
scheme is to write anecdotes on sheets of paper and file these papers in assessment folders.
Another possibility is to use self-stick notes that can be attached to note cards, stuck into
notebooks, or added to assessment folders. Like note cards, little pads of these notes are
small enough to fit into a pocket.
Teachers need a routine for making anecdotal notes. They generally concentrate on one
small group each day, and periodically, they review and analyze the notes they’ve collected.
Over time, teachers identify patterns that emerge, identify strengths and weaknesses, and
make inferences about students’ writing development. It’s important that teachers make time
to both record and analyze anecdotal notes.
An excerpt from an anecdotal record documenting a fifth grader’s progress on an Ameri-
can Revolution biography project is presented in Figure 5–2. In this excerpt, the teacher has
dated each entry, used writing terminology such as drafting and revisions, and offered compli-
ments. Each entry provides information about the strategies the student has demonstrated.
CONFERENCES Teachers hold a variety of short, informal conferences to talk with stu-
dents about their writing. Sometimes they focus on the progress students have made, and at
other times, they clarify confusions and solve problems. Most of these types of student–teacher
conferences highlight the importance of teachers interacting with students while they’re writ-
ing, not just afterward:
On-the-Spot Conferences. Teachers visit briefly with students at their desks to monitor some
aspect of the writing assignment or to see how they’re progressing. These conferences are
brief, with the teacher often spending less than a minute at a student’s desk before moving on.
Prewriting Conferences. The teacher and student make plans for writing. They may dis-
cuss possible writing topics, how to narrow a broad topic, or how to gather and organize
information before writing.
Drafting Conferences. Students bring their rough drafts to the conference and talk with
the teacher about specific trouble spots in their writing. They discuss the problem and
brainstorm ideas for solving it.
Figure 5-2 ANECDOTAL NOTES

March 4 Matthew selected Ben Franklin as historical figure for American Revolution project.
March 7 Matthew fascinated with information he has found about B. F. Brought several sources from home. Is
completing B. F.’s life line with many details.
March 10 Simulated journal. Four entries in four days! Interesting how he picked up language style of the period in his
journal. Volunteers to share daily. I think he enjoys the oral sharing more than the writing.
March 15 Nine simulated journal entries, all illustrated. High level of enthusiasm.
March 16 Conferenced about cluster for B. F. biography. Well-developed with five rays, many details. Matthew will work
on “contributions” ray. He recognized it as the least developed one.
March 21 Three chapters of biography drafted. Talked about “working titles” for chapters and choosing more interesting
titles after writing that reflect the content of the chapters.
March 24 Drafting conference. Matthew has completed all five chapters. He and Dustin are competitive, both writing on
B. F. They are reading each other’s chapters and checking the accuracy of information.
March 24 Writing conference. Matthew confused Declaration of Independence with the Constitution. Chapters longer
and more complete since drafting conference. Compared with autobiography project, writing is more
sophisticated. Longer, too. Reading is influencing writing style—e.g., “Luckily for Ben.” He is still somewhat
defensive about accepting suggestions except from me. He will make 3 revisions— agreed in revising group.
March 28 Revisions: (1) eliminated “he,” (2) resequenced Chapter 3, and (3) added sentences in Chapter 5
March 30 Editing conference—no major problems. Discussed use of commas within sentences, capitalizing proper
nouns. Matthew and Dustin more task-oriented on this project; I see more motivation and commitment.
April 4 Final copy of biography completed and shared with class.
Revising Conferences. A small group of students and the teacher meet in a revising confer-
ence to get specific suggestions about how to improve their compositions. These conferences
offer student writers an audience to provide feedback on how well they’ve communicated.
Editing Conferences. Teachers review students’ proofread compositions and help them
correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and other mechanical errors.
Instructional Conferences. Teachers meet with several students to provide instruction on a
strategy or skill (e.g., writing a lead, using commas in a series) that confuses them.
Assessment Conferences. Teachers meet with students after they complete a writing proj-
ect to talk about their growth as writers and their plans for future writing. Teachers and
students set goals for the next writing project or grading period, and students add their
lists of goals to their writing folders; they’ll talk about them to begin the next assessment
conference.
Conferences can be held at students’ desks as the teacher moves around the classroom, at the
teacher’s desk, or at a special writing conference table.
At these conferences, the teacher’s role is to be a listener and a guide. Teachers learn a
great deal when they listen as students talk, and once students explain a problem, teachers are
often able to help them decide on a solution. Figure 5–3 presents a list of questions that
teachers can ask in conferences to encourage students to talk about their use of the writing
process. Teachers balance the amount of their talk with students’ talk during the conference,
and at the end they reflect on what the students said, what responsibilities the students can
assume, and whether they understand what to do next (Calkins, Hartman, & White, 2005).
Figure 5-3 WRITING CONFERENCE QUESTIONS

Prewriting What are you going to write about?
How did you choose your topic?
What prewriting activities are you doing?
How are you organizing your writing?
What do you plan to do next?
Drafting How is your writing going?
Are you having any problems?
Revising What did you learn about your draft from the rubric?
What questions do you have for your revising group?
What help do you want from your revising group?
What compliments or suggestions did your revising group give you?
What changes are you planning to make?
Editing What kinds of errors have you found?
How has your editor helped you proofread?
How can I help you identify (or correct) errors?
Have you completed the editing checklist?
Publishing Are you ready to make your final copy?
How will you format your final copy?
Are you ready to share your writing with the class?
What do you like best about this piece of writing?
What would you like to learn to do better?
CHECKLISTS Teachers develop checklists that typically list the components students are
to include in their writing projects. Assessment Tools: State Report Checklist, for instance,
lists the types of information students are required to include in their reports, but it doesn’t
address the quality of students’ writing. Teachers add checkmarks, dates, comments, or other
information to complete checklists. These checklists help students understand the teacher’s
expectations and list the items teachers will evaluate (Kuhs et al., 2001). Teachers usually dis-
tribute copies of a checklist at the beginning of the project so that students can use the infor-
mation in planning and drafting their writing projects. Sometimes students complete one
copy of the checklist during revising so they can monitor their progress and add any compo-
nents they’ve neglected, then both students and teachers complete the checklist again at the
end of the writing process to evaluate their achievement.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
State Report Checklist
Name: _________________________ State: _________________________
After you have written the rough draft of your state report,
complete this checklist to make sure that you have included all
the necessary information.
Yes No
u u Have you written information about the geography of the state?

u u Have you drawn a map of the state?
u u Have you written information about the history of the state?

u u Have you made a time line of the state?
u u Have you written information about the economy of the state?

u u Have you written information about places to visit in the state?

u u Have you written something special about the state?
u u ave you included maps and other information that the state
H
tourist department sent to you or from their website?
Students often use self-assessment as they select pieces of writing to place in their port-
folios. They choose favorite compositions as well as those that demonstrate new competen-
cies or new techniques. During assessment conferences, teachers help students make
selections and talk about how the writing demonstrates their growth as writers. Students
also write self-assessments or reflections to attach to compositions that they place in port-
folios; in their reflections, students comment on their reasons for selecting a particular
piece of writing.
Self-assessment can also be used for the year-end evaluation. Coughlan (1988) asked his
seventh graders to “show me what you have learned about writing this year” and to “explain
how you have grown as a written language user, comparing what you knew in September to
what you know now” (p. 375). These upper grade students used a process approach to
develop and refine their compositions, and they submitted all drafts with their final copies.
Coughlan examined both the content of their compositions and the strategies they used in
thinking through the assignment and writing their responses. He found that this “test” was
very worthwhile because it “forced the children to look within themselves . . . to realize just
how much they had learned” (p. 378). Moreover, the students’ compositions verified what
they’d learned about writing and that they could articulate that learning.
RUBRICS Rubrics are scoring guides that teachers and students use to assess quality on a
particular writing project (Bratcher, 2004). They simplify evaluating and grading students’
writing. Teachers use rubrics to assess students’ writing, and they’re often used in district-wide
and statewide writing assessments because they make the evaluation process more reliable
and consistent. Although commercially prepared rubrics are available, teachers and students
often develop their own rubrics because it provides the opportunity to teach valuable lessons
about what makes an effective piece of writing.
Rubrics can have 3 to 6 levels, with descriptors at each level. In most rubrics, the
descriptors are related to ideas, organization, language, and conventions, but they vary to
fit the writing project. The levels range from weak to strong, and the level just above the
midpoint usually specifies grade-level proficiency standards—that’s 3 on a 4- or 5-point
rubric and 4 on a 6-point rubric. Primary grade teachers sometimes use rubrics with 3 lev-
els, but middle and upper grade teachers generally use rubrics with 4, 5, or 6 levels. Although
researchers recommend either 4 or 6 levels so that there isn’t a “middle” score, teachers
often prefer rubrics with 5 levels so that scores can be equated to letter grades. They some-
times find that developing rubrics with 6 levels is difficult because it’s challenging to differ-
entiate criteria at so many levels; nonetheless, students are more likely to show growth
during a school year when rubrics have more levels. It seems obvious, for example, that a
student’s writing could improve from a 3 to a 4 more easily when a rubric has 6 levels
instead of 4.
Some rubrics are general and work for almost any writing assignment, but others are
designed for specific writing projects. General writing rubrics, such as the one presented in
Assessment Tools: A Fifth Grade Rubric, often incorporate the six traits (Spandel, 2013). The
same traits are described at each level; for example, the first bulleted item on the fifth grade
rubric focuses on ideas, the second on organization, the
third on vocabulary, the fourth on sentences, and the fifth
on conventions. Notice that the bulleted traits are scaled
from weak at the first level to strong at the fifth level. The
fourth bulleted quality in each level on the rubric, for
instance, deals with sentences, and the qualities range
from “sentence fragments” at level 1 to “sophisticated
sentences” at level 5. Each level represents improvement
in students’ application of that trait.
Teachers present the rubric when they’re introducing
the writing project so students will understand how they’ll
be assessed, and they distribute copies for students to
refer to as they write. Sometimes students also use the
rubric to self-assess their drafts during revising. Step-by-
Step: Rubrics lists the steps in the procedure.
WRITING SAMPLES Students keep their current Listen as Mrs. Morris asks students to create a rubric
writing projects in manila writing folders; these works-infor their persuasive essays. Why might teachers change the
progress are being developed and refined using the criteria for rubrics they use to assess students’ writing?
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Fifth Grade Rubric
5 Exceptional Achievement
• Creative and original
• Clear organization
• Precise word choice and figurative language
• Sophisticated sentences
• Essentially free of mechanical errors
4 Good Achievement
• Some creativity, but more predictable than an exceptional paper
• Definite organization
• Good word choice, but no figurative language
• Varied sentences
• Only a few mechanical errors
3 Nearly Adequate Achievement
• Predictable paper
• Some organization
• Adequate word choice
• Little variety of sentences, and some run-on sentences
• Some mechanical errors
2 Limited Achievement
• Brief and superficial
• Lacks organization
• Imprecise language
• Incomplete and run-on sentences
• Many mechanical errors
1 Minimal Achievement
• No ideas communicated
• No organization
• Inadequate word choice
• Sentence fragments
• Overwhelming mechanical errors
writing process. They collect all of the pieces related to a project—prewriting notes and clus-
ters, rough drafts, revising group notes, checklists and rubrics, the final copy, reflections, and
teacher evaluation—and clip them together. These collections are important because they
document students’ growth as writers (Moore-Hart, 2010). Teachers store the writing folders
in tubs or file boxes between writing workshop sessions so they can review students’ work and
monitor their progress.
In a writing workshop classroom, students rarely throw away a piece of writing or take it
home because part of the record of the student’s writing development will be lost. Also, these
pieces of writing may be used in the classroom for minilessons on writing strategies and the
writer’s craft.
Rubrics
1 Choose a rubric. Teachers create a rubric that’s appropriate to the writing project.
2 Introduce the rubric. Teachers distribute copies and talk about the criteria listed at each level, focusing
on the requirements at the proficiency level.
3 Self-assess progress. Students use the rubric to self-assess their writing-in-progress. They highlight
phrases in the rubric that best describe their writing. Then they determine which level has the most high-
lighted phrases; that level is the overall score, and students circle it.
4 Evaluate students’ projects. Teachers evaluate students’ work by highlighting phrases in the rubric that
best describe the project. Then they assign the overall score by determining which level has the most high-
lighted phrases and circling it.
5 Conference with students. Teachers talk with students about the assessment, identifying strengths and
weaknesses. Afterward, students set goals for the next writing project.
ONLINE ASSESSMENT Technology is changing how students’ writing is assessed.

Scoring programs are available that enable teachers beginning in fourth grade to quickly
evaluate rough drafts and provide feedback students can use to revise and edit their writing.
These digital tools are controversial, however, because they equate writing quality with word
frequency, sentence structure, and grammatical correctness. For more information, check
Digital Toolkit: Online Assessment Tools.
Accommodating EL writers
How do teachers assess writing achievement?
The best way to assess English learners’ writing achievement is through authentic
writing projects—sometimes called performance assessment tasks—so students can
demonstrate what they know about writing in ways that are appropriate for their
level of English development (Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger,
2006). Too often teachers lament that they’re evaluating their students’ English language
proficiency rather than their writing achievement, but when they observe students during
writing workshop, conference with them about the writing strategies they’re using, and
examine their compositions for evidence of the writer’s craft, the resulting assessment is
more likely to be valid.
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Online Assessment Tools
Automated scoring programs allow teachers to quickly ▶ Feedback for Students

assess their students’ online writing, especially their rough These programs point out problems in organization, grammar,
drafts, in grades 4–12. One program claims to evaluate a and sentence structure for students to address as they revise
composition in 20 seconds! These time-saving tools pro- their rough drafts. They also provide holistic scores.
vide immediate feedback that helps students revise and
edit their drafts. They also provide holistic scores for stu- ▶ More Instructional Time
dents and class reports for teachers and administrators. Teachers who use a scoring tool have more time available for
These three software programs critique students’ compo- instruction and working with students.
sitions when they’re written with a word processor:
▶ High-Stakes Tests
• Criterion Online Writing Evaluation Service (ETS/ These programs prepare students for state writing tests and
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) other on-demand writing assessments because the prompts
• Writing Roadmap (McGraw-Hill) are similar to those used in high-stakes tests.
• My Access (Vantage Learning)
Online assessment tools provide a bank of writing On the basis of website testimonials, teachers who use
prompts, and in some programs, teachers can create these programs report that their students’ writing
their own. These programs charge an annual subscription improved.
for unlimited classroom use. Others caution against using online assessment tools
Programs are touted for providing quick and consis- (Cheville, 2004; Herrington & Moran, 2009). They com-
tent feedback plus these other features and benefits: plain that the evaluation is generic; it can’t be tailored to
individual compositions. More importantly, they argue
▶ Diagnosing Instructional Needs that writing is a complex human activity, and computers
These tools identify students’ strengths and weaknesses, and can’t respond to creative ideas, the author’s voice, and
teachers use this information to differentiate instruction. other aspects of the writer’s craft.
Rothenberg and Fisher (2007) and Peregoy and Boyle (2013) recommend these guide-
lines for assessing English learners:
Authentic Assessment Tasks. Teachers evaluate students’ writing achievement using mean-
ingful writing projects, not tests, because authentic projects are more valid measures of
their English language development and writing achievement.
Informal Assessment Tools. Teachers use informal assessment tools to collect data as they
regularly observe students, conference with them, and examine their rough drafts and
published compositions.
Multiple Assessments. Teachers collect data in different instructional contexts, including
writing workshop, thematic units, and literature focus units, to make their assessments
more accurate, and they evaluate both collaborative and independent compositions to
gauge students’ writing proficiency.
Self-Reflection. Teachers provide opportunities for ELs to reflect on how they’ve grown as
writers and set goals for what they want to learn next. In addition to addressing their
compositions, students can assess their writing process, their use of writing strategies,
and their knowledge about writing genres.
Teachers analyze the data they collect to diagnose students’ needs, monitor their progress
toward meeting state standards, and document their learning.
Mechanical errors in ELs’ writing can be overwhelming, and sometimes they interfere with
understanding students’ messages. Nonetheless, conventions are only one of the six traits,
and their relative importance shouldn’t be exaggerated. Unconventional spellings, odd expres-
sions, improper word choices, and ungrammatical sentence structures typically remain in stu-
dents’ compositions even when they’re developed using the writing process. Fu (2009)
recommends that students work together to edit their rough drafts and that teachers assist
students in correcting other errors, according to their level of English language development;
it’s not effective, however, to insist on eliminating all errors. She explains that “making every
piece perfect doesn’t always produce good writers, but may instead inhibit students from tak-
ing risks” (p. 85).
WRITING PORTFOLIOS
Portfolios are collections of writings that provide evidence of students’ growth as writers
(Afflerbach, 2012; Johnson & Mims-Cox, 2009). They’re authentic because entire writing
projects—rough drafts that have been revised and edited, prewriting notes and diagrams, and
checklists and rubrics that have been marked—are included with the final copy to document
learning. Students select the writing projects to include in their portfolios, and in the process
they learn to establish criteria for their selections, as Claire showed in the vignette at the
beginning of the chapter. Because of students’ involvement in selecting pieces for their portfo-
lios and reflecting on them, portfolio assessment respects students and their abilities.
Portfolios help students, teachers, and parents see patterns of growth from one writing
milestone to another in ways that aren’t possible with other types of assessment. There are
other benefits, too:
• Students feel ownership of their writing.
• Students become more responsible about their writing.
• Students set goals and are motivated to work toward accomplishing them.
• Students make connections between learning and assessment.
Teachers use portfolios in parent conferences and to supplement the information provided on
report cards. In schools where portfolios are used schoolwide, students overwhelmingly
report that they’re better able to show their parents what they’re learning and also to set goals
for themselves (Kuhs et al., 2001).
Collecting Writing Samples in Portfolios

Portfolios are folders or boxes that hold students’ writing samples. Teachers often have stu-
dents label and decorate large folders and then store them in plastic crates or cardboard
boxes. Students date and label items as they place them in their portfolios, and they often
attach notes to the items to explain the context for the writing project and why they selected
that writing sample. Portfolios should be stored in the classroom in a place where they’re
readily accessible because students like to review their collections periodically and add new
projects to them.
Students usually choose items to place in their portfolios within the guidelines the teacher
provides. Some students submit the original project; others want to keep the original, so they
place a copy in the portfolio instead. Large writing projects can be photographed and the
photos placed in the portfolio.
Many teachers collect students’ work in folders, but the two types of collections differ in
several important ways. Perhaps the most important difference is that portfolios are student
oriented and work folders are usually teachers’ collections—students choose which samples
will be placed in portfolios, but teachers often place all completed assignments in work fold-
ers. Next, portfolios focus on students’ strengths, not their weaknesses. Because students
decide what to put in their portfolios, they choose samples that best represent their accom-
plishments. Another difference is that portfolios involve reflection; through reflection, stu-
dents pause and become aware of their strengths as writers. They also identify their use of
writing strategies and writer’s craft traits that they’ve applied in their writing projects.
Involving Students in Self-Assessment

Portfolios are a tool for engaging students in self-assessment and goal setting. Students learn
to reflect on and assess their own writing projects and their development as writers. Teachers
begin by asking students to think about their writing in terms of contrasts: Students identify
their best compositions and others that weren’t as effective, and they think about how they
use the writing process, the writing strategies they apply, and the writer’s craft traits they’ve
incorporated in the project. By making these contrasts, students begin to reflect on their writ-
ing achievement and acquire the vocabulary to use in their reflections, such as goal, strategy,
trait, and rubric.
Students write notes on items they choose to put into their portfolios. In these self-assess-
ments, students explain the reasons for their choices and identify strengths and accomplish-
ments in their writing projects. In some classrooms, students write their reflections on index
cards, and in other classrooms, they design special comment sheets that they attach to the
items in their portfolios.
Teachers usually collect baseline writing samples at the beginning of the school year and
then conduct portfolio review conferences with students at the end of each grading period. At
these conferences, the teacher and the student talk about the items chosen for the portfolio
and the student’s self-assessments. Students also talk
about what they want to improve or what they want to
accomplish next, and these points become their goals for
the next grading period.
Showcasing Students’ Portfolios

At the end of the school year, many teachers organize
“Portfolio Share Days” to celebrate students’ accomplish-
ments and to provide an opportunity for students to
share their portfolios with classmates and the wider com-
munity. Often family members, local businesspeople,
school administrators, local politicians, college students,
and others are invited to attend. Students and community
members form small groups and students share their
portfolios, pointing out their accomplishments and
strengths. This activity is especially useful in involving
Watch Mrs. Wright explain how her first grade students community members in the school and showing them the
share their portfolios with family and friends. Why is the types of writing activities students are engaged in as well
portfolio celebration worthwhile? as how students are becoming effective writers.
These showcasing days also help students accept responsibility for their own learning—
especially those who haven’t been as motivated as their classmates. When less motivated stu-
dents listen to their classmates talk about their writing and how they’ve grown as writers, they
often decide to work harder the next year.
LARGE-SCALE WRITING TESTS

Large-scale writing tests are a fact of life today. Most states require that students participate
in large-scale writing tests at least three times during their school careers, often in 4th, 7th,
and 11th grades, and the prompts that are used typically reflect the state’s language arts stan-
dards. In addition, many school districts conduct writing assessments at least once each year:
Students at each grade level, beginning in kindergarten, write in response to prompts that
focus on particular genres, and teachers work in teams to score the writing samples. Writing
is also part of high school exit exams in some states, and the College Board’s SAT includes an
optional writing component.
Large-scale writing tests assess writing directly by having students write in response to
prompts. These tests, however, measure students’ ability to write rough drafts, not their ability
to use the writing process to refine a piece of writing. The tests are usually administered in an
hour or two, and real writing takes much longer (Hillocks, 2002).
Students respond to prompts in writing tests. A prompt has two parts: the writing topic
and the directions for writing. Prompts must be stated clearly and must accommodate stu-
dents’ varied backgrounds and experiences. This fourth grade writing prompt, for example, is
appropriate for most students:
Think of a time you helped a friend to do something. Then write a story about what you
did, telling what happened and what you learned from it.
The first sentence introduces the topic, and the second sentence presents the directions for
writing. Students should also recognize that they’re supposed to write a personal narrative
because they’re asked to write a story about a personal experience. It’s crucial that stu-
dents understand what the prompt is asking them to do. They also need to be knowledge-
able enough about the topic or have had the prerequisite experiences specified in the
prompt to have something to say and be able to generate ideas and respond to the prompt
quickly.
Most prompts require that students apply what they know about a genre. Large-scale
writing assessments in kindergarten through eighth grade often focus on these genres:
• Personal narratives
• Responses to literature
• Stories
• Informative writing
• Argumentative writing
• Summaries
The prompts don’t specify a particular genre, but they provide clue words that signal the
genres (Kiester, 2000). When students are asked to convince someone about something, for
instance, they’re writing an argument. In upcoming chapters, you’ll find Preparing for Writing
Tests features that present information about each of these genres.
Trained readers evaluate students’ papers in large-scale writing assessments; in state and
national assessments, professional readers are used, and for district assessments, trained
teachers do the scoring. The rubrics that scorers use are normally available before the testing,
so teachers can show students how their writing will be assessed.
National Assessment of Educational Progress

In addition to taking district- and state-mandated writing tests, many students participate in
the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments. These tests are admin-
istered every 4 years to determine students’ achievement levels in reading, writing, and math
at 4th, 8th, and 12th grades.
In the writing assessment, students respond to prompts that ask them to write in these genres:
• Narrative genre, where students write personal narratives or creative stories to capture
readers’ imagination
• Informative genre, where students write essays or reports to share knowledge with readers
• Argumentative genre, where students persuade readers to take action or agree with a
viewpoint
The prompts also suggest an intended audience; for example, “encourage your teacher to . . .”
or “write to your grandparent to explain . . .” Students are encouraged to use the writing pro-
cess as they respond to the prompt. Space is provided in the test booklet for students to plan
their writing before they begin to write. The directions also recommend that students revise
and edit their writing, if there’s time available after they finish their draft. Trained readers
score students’ writing and rank it as “basic” (below grade-level expectations), “proficient”
(meeting grade-level expectations), or “advanced” (beyond grade-level expectations).
As explained in The Nation’s Report Card: Writing 2011 (National Center for Education Sta-
tistics, 2012), beginning with the 2011 writing assessment, students were required to use lap-
tops and use the editing, formatting, and text-viewing tools to develop and refine their writing.
The results indicated that 80% of students scored at or above the Basic level and 27% scored
at or above the Proficient level. As in past assessments, girls outperformed boys.
Preparing for Writing Tests

Excellent writing instruction is the best way to prepare for large-scale writing tests (Angelillo,
2005). Regie Routman (2005) says “research shows that high achievement and high test
scores result when what is tested is woven into daily teaching and challenging curriculum in a
relevant manner” (p. 245). Through writing workshop, students develop these competencies:
• Use the writing process to develop and refine compositions
• Vary their writing according to particular genres
• Spell most words conventionally
• Use Standard English grammar
• Demonstrate legible and fluent handwriting
In addition, teachers should prepare students for writing tests because there’s a huge differ-
ence between writing workshop and large-scale tests where students respond to a prompt and
write a composition within time constraints.
Teachers prepare students for writing tests in several ways. They begin by teaching a series
of minilessons about how to read and interpret prompts and recognize the specialized vocab-
ulary used in them. Teachers model how to write responses and score them using a rubric, and
they provide sample papers for students to examine and score to get a better understanding of
what they’re expected to do. Students write practice tests with prompts similar to those used
in the writing tests to learn what to expect on test days and how to pace themselves. They also
self-assess their practice tests with the same rubrics used in the large-scale assessment to
understand how they’ll be assessed and to identify the areas for improvement. For more infor-
mation, check Preparing for Writing Tests: Large-Scale Writing Assessments.

Large-Scale Writing Assessments
Students write in response to a prompt, usually within a specific time period, in large-scale writing
tests. In their writing, students are expected to demonstrate their ability to perform these tasks:
• Respond directly to a prompt

• Control specific genres
• Develop the main idea in an organized and thoughtful way
• Add details to support the main idea
• Choose specific vocabulary
• Vary the sentence structure
• Express an individual voice
• Make few mechanical errors
State-mandated writing tests are administered several times during students’ school careers, and
school districts often require quarterly or yearly writing assessments.
PARTS OF A PROMPT
Prompts have two parts, the topic and the directions for writing. They can be formatted as a
question, an issue, or a hypothetical situation. Students need to understand the writing process
terms (e.g., organize, revise, complete sentences) and genre-specific words (e.g., explain, describe, argue)
that are often used in the prompts.
HOW TO RESPOND TO A PROMPT

Before beginning to write, students read the prompt several times and examine any accompany-
ing visuals. They use an abbreviated writing process to respond to the prompt. Students gather
and organize ideas before beginning to write; sometimes they have scratch paper for making
notes and drawing graphic organizers. Then they write a rough draft that they reread, revise, and
edit within the allotted time. Students don’t usually have the opportunity to get feedback from
classmates or recopy their writing.
HOW ARE WRITING TESTS SCORED?

Writing tests are generally assessed holistically or with a combination of holistic and primary trait
scoring, using a 4- or 6-point scale; on a 4-point scale, a score of 3 is considered “proficient” or
“on-grade level,” and on a 6-point scale, a score of 4 is considered “proficient” or “on-grade
level.” Tests are read and scored by two trained readers, and the two readers’ scores are averaged.
Most teachers spend too much time practicing for
writing tests, not too little. Mark Overmeyer’s (2005)
solution is to spend 10 days spread throughout the year
on test practice in his fifth grade classroom. He teaches
his students how to write to a prompt, has them practice
doing timed writings, examines their responses to identify
areas of need, and plans instruction and additional prac-
tice tests based on their needs.
Benefits of Testing
It’s easy to argue against large-scale writing tests because
they’re artificial writing situations that use up valuable
Middle school teacher Charles Bull has students practice for instructional time, but these tests highlight the importance
mandatory writing tests using Chromebooks. What com- of writing for teachers, students, and parents (Spandel &
puter skills does he say students need to ensure they pass
Stiggens, 1997). When students participate in large-scale
high-stakes writing tests?
writing tests, teachers are more likely to emphasize writing
instruction and to raise their expectations about students’
performance. In addition, teachers who take part in scoring writing tests learn more about
teaching writing. Even though these assessments have problems, there’s no doubt that they’re
much better than multiple-choice tests for assessing students’ writing performance.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing Assessment

Writing assessment includes both classroom assessment and large-scale writing assessments.
Teachers use the instruction–assessment cycle to integrate assessment with instruction; the four
steps in the cycle are planning, monitoring, evaluating, and reflecting. Teachers use a variety of assess-
ment procedures, including observation, conferences, checklists, rubrics, and writing samples.
Students collect their best work in portfolios to document their learning and achievements. Teach-
ers also prepare students for large-scale writing assessments by teaching them about the genres
that are tested and how to respond to prompts. Use this checklist to guide your assessment:
Assessment Tasks Teachers use authentic and meaningful writing projects to assess
students’ writing proficiency, not spelling, grammar, or vocabulary tests.
The Writing Process Teachers have students use the writing process to revise and edit
writing projects that will be assessed.
Writing Strategies Teachers evaluate students’ ability to apply writing strategies to set
goals, monitor their progress, and solve problems.
Evaluation Criteria Teachers use checklists and rubrics and explain how the writing
will be evaluated before students begin writing so they’ll understand what they’re
expected to do.
Self-Assessment Teachers teach students to reflect on their use of the writing process
and the effectiveness of their writing projects.
Instruction–Assessment Cycle Teachers integrate instruction and assessment through
planning, monitoring, evaluating, and reflecting.
114
Portfolios Students document their learning by collecting their best writing samples in
portfolios.
Large-Scale Writing Tests Teachers teach students how to respond to prompts and
prepare them to write genre-specific compositions.

Click on the icon to apply your understanding of assessing writing through these activities. The
questions ask you to collect and analyze data and report the results. Your response should
meet academic standards and adhere to Standard English conventions. A rubric is available so
you can self-assess your response, or your professor can use it to evaluate your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conferencing with a student about a writing project. In your
response, describe the teacher and the student, identify the focus of the conference,
and present your analysis of the conference.
2. Interview several students who are self-assessing their writing projects with rubrics. Ask
questions about the procedure and purposes of rubrics. In your response, describe the
students, their writing projects, and rubrics; analyze the students’ understanding and
use of rubrics, and include copies of writing projects and rubrics.
3. Participate in a portfolio showcase event and talk with a student about his or her writ-
ing projects. In your response, describe the student and his or her writing projects,
reflect on the portfolio showcase, and include copies of the student’s writings.

ASSESSING WRITING
Don’t I have to grade every paper my students write? If I don’t correct students’ errors, how will they learn
In a writing workshop classroom, students write not to make them?
many more papers than teachers could read You do help students correct many, many errors
and critique. As often as possible, students during editing, but focusing on error correction
should write for themselves, their classmates, doesn’t ensure that students become capable
and other genuine audiences rather than for the writers. Writing researchers have documented
teacher. Teachers need to ask themselves that students make different kinds of errors
whether assessing each piece of writing will depending on their writing experiences and that
make their students better writers, and most the errors of inexperienced writers are less sophis-
teachers will admit that such arduous critique ticated than those made by more experienced
won’t. It’s more likely that grading every compo- writers. Teachers can make a far more important
sition will clear teachers’ consciences. Teachers contribution to students’ learning by structuring
should use the informal monitoring procedures worthwhile writing experiences, providing
and process assessment measures described in instruction in writing as it relates to the writing
this chapter as well as grades. Donald Graves projects that students are involved in, and creat-
(2003) recommends that teachers grade only ing opportunities for students to share their writ-
the compositions that students identify as their ing with classmates than by correcting students’
best ones. errors after the writing has been completed.
Continued
115
I just don’t agree with you. The conventions are space in their classrooms for thick collections of
important—they are the mark of a good writer— 5 years’ worth of papers. What do you suggest?
and they should count the most in grading a student’s Teachers find many reasons for not using portfo-
writing. lios, and it’s true that they’re a great deal of
It’s true that using correct spelling, grammar, work; nonetheless, portfolios are an essential
and other conventions is one indication of a component of a writing workshop classroom,
good writer, and when the conventions of writ- whether or not they’re passed on to the next
ten English are followed, writing is easier to read. teacher. Students’ writing changes substantially
But literary prizes aren’t awarded for technically when they reflect on their writing and collect it in
correct writing; they’re awarded for writing that portfolios. Without portfolios, students often
exhibits unique content. Writing that’s clever, view their writing simply as work to be com-
creative, and well organized, that will make read- pleted for a grade. Teachers can begin by having
ers laugh or cry, even with some spelling errors, students put their completed projects into their
is preferable to bland, error-free compositions. portfolios; at the end of each grading period,
Think for a moment about book reviews: Are they sort what they’ve collected, select several
books ever recommended because they don’t pieces to keep, and take the rest home. Having
have grammar errors, or are they recommended students review their own writing helps them to
because of their memorable characters or vivid set purposes for themselves, and the end of a
language? The conventions of writing are grading period is an appropriate time for self-
important, but they’re better dealt with during reflection. If the other teachers at your school
editing, after students have drafted and revised aren’t interested in implementing a schoolwide
their writing, than in the early stages of the writ- portfolio program, then students can take their
ing process, when students are concerned with portfolios home at the end of the school year.
gathering and organizing ideas and finding the One way to make portfolios manageable is to
words to express those ideas. pass only two writing projects each year; that
way, portfolios moving to sixth grade would con-
We’ve tried keeping portfolios, but they’re too much
tain 12 compositions with attached student
work. And what are we supposed to do with all the
reflections.
stuff we collect? Upper grade teachers don’t have
116
CHAPTER
Writing to Learn 6
Fifth Graders Write Pioneer Guides. Mr. Garcia’s fifth graders are play-
ing The Oregon Trail (1997; Riverdeep Interactive, 2001), a simulation game that asks
players to engage in trailblazing. They play in teams, assuming the roles of pioneers in 1848
and traveling 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri, to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.
As they play, the students learn the geography of the Oregon Trail, the dangers the pioneers
faced along the way, and how the pioneers solved problems. They make decisions about their
travel, and the computer generates a trail log with their decisions and important events.
Tyler, Luz, Marianne, Stacy, and George are the “Oregon or Bust” team. They begin their
simulated journey on April 1, 1848, and buy supplies, including 5 oxen, 500 bullets, and 250
pounds of food. Four days later, they reach the Kansas River and hire a ferry to take their wagon
across. As they travel to Fort Laramie and then to Independence Rock, one team member dies
from a snakebite and another breaks an arm. Periodically they run short of food and hunt deer
and buffalo. They travel past Fort Boise and through The Dalles, where they reach the Columbia
River. The team decides to raft down the treacherous Columbia River. At first they navigate it
well, but then disaster strikes: Their wagon falls off the raft, and all but one person is drowned.
As the game ends, the remaining person reaches the Willamette Valley on August 5, 1848.
The teams take turns using the classroom computers to play the simulation game, and
students who have completed the game participate in related activities: They make maps of
their journey, create a classroom display of trail life, and write a simulated journal using infor-
mation from the game’s trail log. These entries are from the “Oregon or Bust” team’s journal:
April 1, 1848
Dear Diary,
Today we left Independence, Missouri, for the Oregon Trail. It was sad to say good-bye to our fami-
lies. We have lots of supplies. We have 5 oxen, 5 sets of clothing, 500 bullets (in case we get in a
fight with the Indians), 2 wagon wheels, 2 wagon axles, 1 wagon tongue, 250 pounds of food, and
more than $900. We want to make it to Oregon by October before the snows begin.
May 17, 1848
Dear Diary,
Life on the trail is very hard now. Everyone is too tired to sing or dance. We have been out of
water until we thought we would go crazy and die. No water for us or for the animals. At Fort
Bridger we drank and drank lots of water. We rested for two days and drank lots more water.
We used some of our money to buy more food at the store. Now we have decided to continue.
August 3, 1848
Dear Diary,
Today we are resting beside the Columbia River. We want to be strong before we raft down
to the Willamette Valley. We think it will take three days to reach Oregon. We have talked
to people here to get advice about how to travel on the dangerous river. Rocks and broken
wagons and other stuff in the river. We are sure that we will make it to Oregon now.
117
August 5, 1848
Dear Diary,
It’s just me, Stacy, now. I made it to the Willamette Valley. It was terrible on the Columbia River. Our
raft hit a rock and it turned over. All the oxen drowned real fast. We tried to swim to shore but I was
the only good swimmer. When I got to shore, I looked for them but I couldn’t find them. Some pioneers
on another raft picked me up. They let me go with them.
After everyone completes the game, they share their experiences at a class meeting. They talk
about their decisions, what they learned, and how they would play the game differently next time.
Now the fifth graders apply what they’ve learned by writing guidebooks for future pio-
neers on the Oregon Trail. (The second Writing standard in the Common Core State Stan-
dards is to write informative texts.) “We could share these guides with the other fifth grade
classes,” Stacy suggests. Mr. Garcia approves their plan and shares several guidebooks from a
trip he took to France a few years ago. After examining them, the class brainstorms topics for
their guides, including lists of supplies to bring and advice about how to caulk a wagon to
cross a river. They create rough drafts and share them with Mr. Garcia. Afterward, they revise
and edit their drafts, design the format, and make their final copies. The figure A Page From a
Collaborative Guide on the Oregon Trail comes from the “Oregon or Bust” team’s guide.
A Page From a Collaborative Guide on the Oregon Trail
118
W
riting to learn integrates writing
into all content areas. Pressley, Writing Standards: Writing to Learn
Mohan, Fingeret, Refitt, and
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for writing are
Raphael-Bogaert (2007) explain that integra- addressed as students use writing to learn and to
tion is essential: “Writing instruction must be demonstrate their learning. The CCSS expect students
integrated with other instruction-writing in to write opinion pieces, informative/explanatory texts,
response to reading, writing as part of social and narratives; engage in planning, drafting, revising,
studies projects, writing as integral to scientific and editing; use technology to research and to publish;
and write routinely for a range of tasks, purposes, and
process instruction, and even writing about
audiences. To learn more about the Writing Standards,
problem solving. The only way there will be go to http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy, or
time for everything in the school day is if there check your state’s educational standards website.
is integration” (p. 25). Daniels and Zemelman
(2014) advocate writing across the curriculum
for additional reasons, including these:
• Writing promotes content area learning.
• Writing bolsters students’ achievement of state literacy standards.
• Writing helps students pass high-stakes writing tests.
• Writing leads to a more satisfying life.
Linking reading, writing, and thinking improves students’ literacy learning and their
content area learning.
Students use writing in two distinct ways: as a tool for learning and as a way to
demonstrate their learning. Writing to learn is informal and exploratory, but writing
to demonstrate learning is substantial and is audience centered (Daniels & Zemelman,
2014). When students write journal entries and make diagrams and charts, they’re
usually writing single drafts that aren’t revised or edited; when they write essays and
reports, however, they move through the stages of the writing process to refine and
polish their writing.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
6.1 Describe the ways students use writing to learn in the content areas.
6.2 Explain how students demonstrate learning through writing.
6.3 Explain how various instructional procedures can be used to differentiate
writing instruction.
THE PROCESS: WRITING TO LEARN

Students use writing as a tool for learning during literature units and in the content areas:
They take notes, categorize ideas, draw charts and diagrams, and write summaries. The focus
is on using writing to help students think and learn, not on spelling every word correctly. Nev-
ertheless, students should refer to classroom resources to spell most words correctly and write
as legibly as possible so that they can reread their own writing. Armbruster, McCarthey, and
Cummins (2005) point out that when students write about what they’re learning, it helps
them become better writers, and teachers can use students’ writing to assess their learning.
119
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A FOURTH GRADER’S

Figure 6–1
CHARACTER MAP
Clustering
Students make spider web–like diagrams called clusters to organize ideas and details (Rico,
2000). They write the topic in a center circle on a sheet of paper and draw out branches for
main ideas and then add details to elaborate each idea. Students also apply descriptive tech-
niques during literature focus units and thematic units. While a fourth grade class was reading
Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery (Howe & Howe, 2006),
for example, students learned about the roles of characters
in a story and then chose their favorite character to exam-
ine. They began by making a cluster with the character’s
name in a circle in the middle of a piece of paper, drawing
lines from the center circle for main ideas. At the end of
each ray, they wrote information about the character. A
fourth grader’s character map for Harold, the literary dog
in Bunnicula, is shown in Figure 6–1. The activity can end
with the character map, or students can use the informa-
tion to write an essay.
Double-Entry Journals
Students use double-entry journals to respond to literature
and as a learning tool in the content areas. When they’re
Listen as Dr. Shanahan discusses the development of writing writing about stories or poems they’re reading, students
fluency. What kinds of research-based strategies does he say often record quotes in the left column and write responses
are effective with young writers, especially English learners? to each quote in the right column. Students’ responses are
CHAPTER 6 | Writing to Learn 121
indicative of their thinking; they reflect their current understanding of the text as well as their
knowledge about literature. The double-entry format is flexible; teachers vary how they use it
according to their instructional goals. For example, students can write predictions in one col-
umn and what actually happened in the other or plot events in the left column and thematic
connections in the right column. The second column is more important because it’s interpretive.
When engaged in thematic units, students use the double-entry format in learning logs,
recording important facts in the left column and writing their reactions or making connections
in the right column (Daniels & Zemelman, 2014). Sometimes students respond with questions
in the right column, as shown in Figure 6–2, a sixth grader’s double-entry journal about drug
prevention that her teacher called “Taking Notes/Making Notes.” These questions demon-
strate the sixth grader’s curiosity, and they also provide a useful direction for future research.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A SIXTH GRADER’S

Figure 6–2
DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL PAGE
KWL Charts
Teachers use KWL charts during thematic units to activate students’ background knowledge
and organize the information they’re learning (Ogle, 1986). They hang a large sheet of chart
paper on a classroom wall, divide it into three columns, and label the columns K, W, and L; the
letters stand for “What We Know,” “What We Wonder,” and “What We Learned.” This proce-
dure takes several weeks to complete because it spans the length of a thematic unit. Teachers
introduce the KWL chart at the beginning of the unit and use it to identify what students already
know about the topic and what they want to learn. Then at the end of the unit, students com-
plete the last section, demonstrating what they’ve learned. Teachers may have students com-
pare what they recorded in the K column with what they wrote in the L column and write an “I
Used to Think, But Now I Know” summary of their learning. Step-by-Step: KWL Charts lists the
steps in the procedure, and Figure 6–3 shows a sixth grade class KWL chart about the Titanic.
KWL Charts
1 Prepare a KWL chart. Teachers hang a large chart on the classroom wall, divide it into three columns,
and label the columns K (What We Know), W (What We Wonder), and L (What We Learned).
2 Complete the K column. At the beginning of a thematic unit, students brainstorm information that they
know about the topic, and teachers write this information in the K column of the chart. Sometimes students sug-
gest information that isn’t correct; these statements should be turned into questions and added to the W column.
3 Complete the W column. Teachers write questions that students suggest in the W column. They
continue to add questions during the unit.
4 Complete the L column. At the end of the unit, students reflect on what they’ve learned, and teachers
record this information in the L column of the chart.
Figure 6–3 SHARED WRITING: A KWL CHART ABOUT THE TITANIC

K W L
WHAT WE KNOW WHAT WE WONDER WHAT WE LEARNED
It sunk. Why wasn’t the crew watching for icebergs? The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.
It happened a long time ago. Why did the ship sail so far north? The ship sank 4 hours after hitting the iceberg.
The Titanic sailed from England. How many people died? Only 868 people survived.
The ship was supposed to be Are any survivors alive today? Most of the survivors were women and children.
unsinkable. Why weren’t there enough lifeboats? A passenger named Molly Brown became the
It hit an iceberg. A lot of people Why didn’t the radio operator pay attention famous “Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
died. to the warning? The Carpathia picked up most of the survivors.
The tragedy happened on its How long did it take to sink? Today all ships have enough lifeboats for
first voyage—its maiden How could the survivors live with the terrible everyone on it.
voyage. memories? Tragedy brings out the best and worst of
There was a movie of it. Could this happen today? people.
Learning Logs
Students use learning logs to record information and explore ideas they’re learning in social
studies, science, or other content areas. Robb (2016) explains that learning logs are a place to
record their thinking on paper. Students write entries in these journals to discover gaps in their
knowledge and to explore relationships between big ideas. They practice taking notes, writing
descriptions and directions, and making diagrams and charts.
Students use learning logs to take notes about science experiments and make daily entries
to track the growth of a plant or animal. Figure 6–4 presents a first grader’s seed journal that
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A FIRST GRADER’S

Figure 6–4
SEED LOG
Translation: We planted a plant. Translation: It cracked open.
Translation: We dug up the seed. It grew a root. Translation: It got fatter. It grew roots.
combines drawing and writing. Tyler writes each entry on a new page, and he invents spelling
based on his knowledge of phoneme-grapheme correspondences. Because his writing is diffi-
cult to decipher, the text has been translated into standard orthography.
Learning logs are also used as a learning tool in math (Armbruster et al., (2005)). Stu-
dents write explanations, list examples of concepts presented in class, and ask questions to
clarify any confusion or problems they may be having. Some upper grade teachers summa-
rize the day’s lesson in the last 5 minutes of math class and have their students respond in
their math logs; they write about what they’ve learned, the steps involved in solving a prob-
lem, definitions of technical vocabulary, or things that confuse them. Writing in learning
logs has several advantages over class discussion: All students participate simultaneously
in writing, and teachers can review written responses more carefully than oral ones and
identify misunderstandings and gaps in students’ thinking. Also, students practice using
mathematical vocabulary and become more precise and complete in their answers.
Semantic Feature Analysis

Teachers create a semantic feature analysis to help students examine the characteristics of
nonfiction topics (Pittelman, Heimlich, Berglund, & French, 1991). They draw a grid to ana-
lyze words listed on one axis and the characteristics listed on the other, and then students
mark relationships using a plus, minus, or question mark. Teachers often do a semantic
feature analysis with the whole class, but students can work in small groups or individually
to complete the grid. The steps in the procedure are listed in Step-by-Step: Semantic Feature
Analysis.
Teachers have students do a semantic feature analysis on a nonfiction topic to gather
information to use in a writing project. During a thematic unit on immigration, for example, a
fifth grade class did the semantic feature analysis that’s shown in Figure 6–5 to review what
they had learned about America as a culturally pluralistic society. They listed the groups of
people who immigrated to the United States on one axis and historical characteristics on the
Semantic Feature Analysis
1 Prepare a grid. Teachers create a grid about a nonfiction topic with terms listed on the vertical axis and
characteristics on the horizontal axis.
2 Complete the grid. Students examine the relationship between each term on the vertical axis and the
characteristics on the horizontal axis. Then they mark each cell with a plus to indicate a relationship, a
minus to indicate no relationship, and a question mark when they’re unsure.
3 Examine the grid. Students examine the grid, looking for relationships and patterns, and then they draw
conclusions based on the patterns they notice.
GUIDED WRITING: A SEMANTIC FEATURE ANALYSIS ON

Figure 6–5
IMMIGRATION
CAME TO CAME FOR CAME FOR
ARRIVED IN ARRIVED IN ARRIVED IN ARRIVED IN ELLIS RELIGIOUS CAME FOR OPPOR- WERE EXPERIENCED
THE 1600S THE 1700S THE 1800S THE 1900S ISLAND FREEDOM SAFETY TUNITY REFUGEES PREJUDICE
English 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2
Africans 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
Irish 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
Other 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Europeans
Jews 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1
Chinese 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
Latinos 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 1
Southeast 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1
Asians
Code: 1 5 yes
2 5 no
? 5 don’t know
other. Next, they completed the grid by marking each cell. Afterward, the students examined it
for patterns and drew these three conclusions:
Different groups of people immigrated to America at different times.
The Africans who came as slaves were the only people who were brought to America
against their will.
The English were the only immigrants who didn’t suffer prejudice.
THE PRODUCT: WRITING TO

DEMONSTRATE LEARNING
Students develop writing projects to demonstrate their learning in literature focus units and
thematic units. They write about the big ideas they’re learning and use the writing process to
develop their compositions. Their writing projects are authentic, like the travel guides for the
Oregon Trail that students created in the vignette at the beginning of the chapter.
Response to Literature Projects

Students create a variety of projects after reading picture-book stories, novels, and informa-
tional books. In these projects, they use a combination of drawing and writing to demonstrate
their understanding of the story.
BOOK BOXES Book boxes are collections of objects and pictures related to a book that
students prepare to demonstrate their comprehension. After finishing a book, students deco-
rate the outside of the container, collect four or five items that are important to understand-
ing the book, and write a letter to include in the box explaining the importance of each item.
For example, a book box for The Giver (Lowry, 2006) might contain an apple, a toy bicycle, a
card with the number 19, a toy sled, and a hypodermic syringe from a child’s doctor kit.
OPEN-MIND PORTRAITS Students draw open-mind portraits to think more deeply

about a character and reflect on story events from the character’s viewpoint (McLaughlin &
Allen, 2001). These portraits have two parts: the character’s face on the “portrait” page
and several “thinking” pages showing the character’s mind at pivotal points in the story. As
students draw open-mind portraits, they’re visually representing characters and their thoughts.
Step-by-Step: Open-Mind Portraits lists the steps students follow. Two pages from a fourth
grader’s open-mind portrait on Sarah, the mail-order bride in Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan,
2005), are shown in Figure 6–6.
POEMS Students write “I Am . . .” poems, poems for two voices, found poems, and other
types as projects after reading books and during thematic units. As they craft their own
poems, they write formula poems by beginning each line with a particular word or each stanza
with a particular line, they create free-form poems, and they follow the structure of model
poems. For example, fourth graders created this found poem about a Saguaro cactus after
reading Cactus Hotel (Guiberson, 2007):
A young cactus sprouts up.

After 10 years only four inches high,
after 25 years two feet tall,
Open-Mind Portraits
1 Draw a portrait of a character. Students draw and color a large portrait of the head and neck of a main
character in a story they’re reading.
2 Cut out the “portrait” and “thinking” pages. Students cut out the portrait and use it as a pattern to
trace around three more sheets of drawing paper—the thinking pages. They cut out the thinking pages, place
the portrait page on top, and clip them together with a brad or staple. It’s important to place the fastener
at the top of the portrait so there’s plenty of space to draw and write on the thinking pages.
3 Design the thinking pages. Students lift the portrait page and draw and write about the character’s
thoughts on the thinking pages. They show the character’s thoughts at key points in the story, often in the
beginning, middle, and end.
4 Share the completed open-mind portraits. Students share their portraits with classmates and talk
about the words and drawings they included on the thinking pages.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: AN OPEN-MIND

Figure 6–6
PORTRAIT OF SARAH FROM SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL
Portrait Page Thinking Page
after 50 years 10 feet tall.

A welcoming signal across the desert.
A Gila woodpecker,
a white-winged dove,
an elf owl
decide to stay.
After 60 years an arm grows,
the cactus hotel is 18 feet tall.
After 150 years 7 long branches
and holes of every size
in the cactus hotel.
Students culled words and phrases from the book they’d finished reading and arranged them
into a free-form poem.
SIMULATED LETTERS Students write simulated letters from one character to

another to demonstrate their understanding of a story they’ve read. They use the friendly-letter
format to share experiences and offer advice, and they try to incorporate the character’s voice
in the letter. After reading Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan, 2005), third graders assumed
the persona of Sarah or her brother William. Here’s one student’s letter written from Sarah’s
perspective:
Dear William,
I’m having fun here. There was a very big storm here. It was so big it looked like the sea.
Sometimes I am very lonesome for home but sometimes it is very fun here in Ohio. We swam in
the cow pond and I taught Caleb how to swim. They were afraid I would leave. Maggie and
Matthew brought some chickens.
Love,
Sarah
Then a classmate wrote back from William’s viewpoint:
Dear Sarah,
You sound happy. That’s good. I might come for a visit and bring my wife. I have never
seen the prairie so I think I should come.
Your brother,
William
These letters clearly show how well these two students comprehend the story, and teachers
can use them to monitor students’ understanding.
STORY BOARDS Students create posters with a drawing and a summary that are
called story boards, one for each chapter of a novel they’re reading. The class divides into small
groups, and each group prepares a story board for a different chapter. They make a detailed
drawing illustrating events in the chapter, write a paragraph-length summary to go with it,
and then attach the drawing and the summary to a sheet of poster board. Figure 6–7 shows a
story board of a chapter from Dragonwings (Yep, 2000) that a small group of eighth graders
developed.
Thematic Unit Projects

Students create projects to demonstrate what they’ve learned in thematic units. They use the
writing process to draft and refine their writing, and they publish their projects online and as
books and posters.
“ALL ABOUT . . .” BOOKS Young children write “All About . . .” books in which
they write facts they’ve learned during a thematic unit. They often fold a sheet of paper in half
and then in half again to create a four-page booklet; the first page is the cover, and children
draw a picture and write a fact on the other three pages. Children can also staple together a
booklet of five, six, or more pages to write longer “All About . . .” books. Here is a second grad-
er’s book about rattlesnakes:
Page 1: Rattlers! by Jordan
Page 2: Do you hear a sizzle? It could be a rattlesnake! They are easy to recognize because
they have rattles on their tails to scare people off.
Page 3: What do rattlers look like? Here are four clues: They are 3 or 4 feet long. They are
tan or gray color. Their head looks like a triangle, and they have rattles on their
tails.
Page 4: Are they dangerous? Yes! Their 2 fangs are filled with poison venom. That’s how
they catch prey. If you get bitten, go to the hospital so you won’t die.
Page 5: Do they live in San Diego? Yes! Everyone needs to be careful when they are outside.
If you see a rattler go ahead and move away from it. Don’t touch it!
Jordan’s question-and-answer format adds interest to his book.
GUIDED WRITING: AN EIGHTH GRADE STORY BOARD FROM

Figure 6–7
DRAGONWINGS
Moon Shadow meets his Uncle Bright Star. He had worked in the California Gold Rush and building the
railroad. Then Windrider, Moon Shadow’s dad, shows Moon Shadow around, to make him feel safe at home.
They go past the Barbary Coast where the white demons live to his new home in Chinatown, the town of the
Tang People. It looks like his old home in China. Moon Shadow’s dad gave him a kite to fly. It was like a blue and
green butterfly. Moon Shadow loved his new kite. Moon Shadow hasn’t flown his kite yet, but I bet that he
can’t wait! They all go into a big house called the Company of the Peach Order Vow and then Uncle Bright
Star’s son named Black Dog comes. He is in a gang and he takes drugs. He tells everyone that the demons hate
them and want to kill them. Then they heard the sound of a window shattering. So they went downstairs and
they saw that a window was broken and the white demons were yelling and shouting at them. Moon Shadow
is scared but Windrider protects him.
ALPHABET BOOKS Students write alphabet books on topics they’ve studied; they
choose facts related to each letter and present them in alphabetical order. Children in the pri-
mary grades present a single fact on each page, as this excerpt from a first grade ABC book on
bears shows:
A is for angry. Mama bears get angry if you bother their kids.
B is for big. Bears are very big animals.
C is for cubs. Baby bears are called cubs.
D is for den. Bears hibernate in a den.
Older students write longer texts and present more details about their topic. For example, a
fourth grader wrote this paragraph for a class alphabet book on the California missions:
U is for unbearable. Some of the Indians thought life was UNBEARABLE at the missions.
They thought this because they couldn’t hunt or do the things they were used to. Once they
were at the missions they couldn’t leave. They were sometimes beaten if they did.
CLUSTERS Students use clusters in two ways: They make one-draft clusters when they’re
using them as a learning tool or to organize their thinking, and they use the writing process to
create polished charts to demonstrate learning. A sixth grader’s cluster on Poseidon is shown
in Figure 6–8. It’s a finished piece of writing; notice that this student wrote legibly, used con-
ventional spelling, and added artistic touches.
CUBES This writing activity revolves around the number six. Cubes have six sides, and in
this activity students examine an object, event, person, idea, or other topic from these six
perspectives:
Describe It. Students describe the topic’s colors, shapes, and sizes; they ask themselves
what it looks like.
Associate It. Students relate or compare the topic to something else; they ask themselves
what it’s like or what it reminds them of.
Contrast It. Students contrast the topic to something else; they ask themselves what it’s
different from.
Analyze It. Students tell how the topic is made or what it’s composed of; they ask them-
selves what the ingredients are.
Apply It. Students explain how to use the topic; they ask themselves what they can do
with it.
Argue For or Against It. Students take a stand in favor of the topic or opposed to it; they
ask themselves why they like or dislike it.
Almost any topic can be examined from these six dimensions, from earthquakes to the
California gold rush, from eagles to the Internet, from the Great Wall of China to ancient
Egypt.
Students often work together in small groups to do a cubing. They divide into six groups,
and each group examines the topic from one dimension. Together, they develop a paragraph
or two to explore their dimension. Students brainstorm ideas, use the ideas to develop their
paragraphs, revise, and edit. Then one student in the group writes the final copy. All six groups
share their writing with the class. The final copies can be taped to a large square box and dis-
played in the classroom.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A SIXTH GRADER’S CLUSTER ON

Figure 6–8
POSEIDON
POSTERS Students draw pictures, make diagrams, and write labels on posters. For exam-
ple, they draw diagrams of the inner and outer planets in the solar system, identify important
events in a person’s life, or chart the explorers’ voyages to America or around the world on a
map. Students plan the information they want to include on the poster and consider how to
devise an attention-getting display using headings, illustrations, captions, boxes, and rules.
They sketch a rough draft of their posters, write the text for each section, and revise and edit
their draft. Then they make the final copy and glue the sections to the poster, and they share
their posters with classmates the same way they would published compositions. Figure 6–9
presents a second grader’s poster about penguins’ enemies.
RIDDLES Students compose riddles to share information they’ve learned. Riddles use a
question-and-answer format and incorporate two or three facts, or clues, in the question
part. Sometimes the answer is written upside down on the page, on the back of the page with
the question, or on the next page. The writing process is important for creating riddles, and
during the revising stage, students make sure they’ve provided essential descriptive informa-
tion and that the information is correct.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A SECOND GRADER’S

Figure 6–9
POSTER ABOUT PENGUINS
Small groups of students or the whole class can compose books of riddles related to
social studies or science units. During a study of life in the desert, first graders wrote these
riddles as part of a class book:
I live in underground cities of tunnels. I fly in wide circles above the earth.
I get my name from my barking cry. Sometimes I’m called a buzzard.
I eat grass and other plants. What am I? (a vulture)
What am I? (a prairie dog)
SIMULATED JOURNALS Students assume the role of another person and write
journal entries from that person’s viewpoint. As they read biographies or study social studies
units, students assume the role of a historical figure, and as they read fiction, they become a
character in the story. In this way, students gain insight into the lives of other people and into
historical events. A look at a series of diary entries written by a fifth grader who has assumed
the role of Betsy Ross shows how she carefully chose the dates for each entry, wove in factual
information, and tried to incorporate the language of the era:
May 15, 1773
Dear Diary,
This morning at 5 o’clock I had to wake up my husband John to get up for work but he
wouldn’t wake up. I immediately called for the doc. He came over as fast as he could. He asked
me to leave the room so I did. An hour later he came out and told me he had passed away. I am
so sad. I don’t know what to do.
June 16, 1776
Dear Diary,
Today General Washington visited me about making a flag. I was so surprised. Me making a
flag! I have made flags for the navy, but this is too much. But I said yes. He showed me a pat-
tern of the flag he wanted. He also wanted six-pointed stars but I talked him into having five-
pointed stars.
July 8, 1776
Dear Diary,
Today in front of Carpenter Hall the Declaration of Independence was read by Tom Jeffer-
son. Well, I will tell you the whole story. I heard some yelling and shouting about liberty and
everyone was gathering around Carpenter Hall. So I went to my next door neighbors to ask
what was happening but Mistress Peters didn’t know either so we both went down to Car-
penter Hall. We saw firecrackers and heard a bell and the Declaration of Independence being
read aloud. When I heard this I knew a new country was born.
June 14, 1777
Dear Diary,
Today was a happy but scary day. Today the flag I made was adopted by Congress. I
thought for sure that if England found out that a new flag was taking the old one’s place
something bad would happen. But I’m happy because I am the maker of the first American flag
and I’m only 25 years old!
In Catherine, Called Birdy (Cushman, 2005), Amelia’s Notebook (Moss, 2006), and other
books, the author assumes the role of a character and writes from the character’s point of
view. These books are like simulated journals; they’re rich with historical details and feature
period words and phrases. Scholastic has created four series of historical journals for fourth
through eighth graders. The “Dear America” series features diaries written from girls’ view-
points, including A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple (Lasky, 2003)
and A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl (McKissack, 2003). The second series,
“My Name Is America,” features historical diaries written from boys’ viewpoints, including The
Journal of Biddy Owens: The Negro Leagues, 1948 (Myers, 2001) and The Journal of Patrick Seamus
Flaherty: United States Marine Corps, Khe Sanh, Vietnam, 1968 (White, 2002). The third series, “My
America,” has shorter books with larger print that are written at the third grade reading level.
Most of the diaries in this series continue through two or three related books, such as Free-
dom’s Wings: Corey’s Underground Railroad Diary (Book 1) (Wyeth, 2001) and the continuation in
Flying Free: Corey’s Underground Railroad Diary (Book 2) (Wyeth, 2002). The fourth series, “The
Royal Diaries,” features the simulated diaries of Cleopatra (Gregory, 2005) and other queens
from Europe, Africa, and Asia. These books are handsomely bound to look like old journals:
The paper is heavy and rough cut around the edges, and a ribbon page marker is bound into
the book.
A variation of simulated journals is a multivoiced journal, in which students write entries
from the viewpoints of different characters as they read a novel or examine a historical event
from a variety of perspectives. Styslinger and Whisenant (2004) asked eighth graders to write
in the role of various characters as they read Crossing Jordan (Fogelin, 2000), the story of a
friendship between two girls, one African American and the other white. The teachers stopped
reading at pivotal points for students to write entries reflecting on the racism some characters
felt and the prejudice other characters exhibited. Through this experience, the eighth graders
not only deepened their comprehension but also grew in their ability to “see” the world
through other people’s eyes. Multivoiced journals work best as collaborative projects.
Students plan their journals carefully, choose important dates, and use the writing pro-
cess to draft, revise, edit, and publish their entries. They often add covers typical of the histor-
ical period. For example, a simulated journal written as part of a unit on ancient Greece might
be published as a scroll on a long sheet of butcher paper, or a pioneer journal might be backed
with brown construction paper to resemble a deer hide.
Multigenre Projects
Students explore a topic through several genres in a multigenre project (Allen, 2001; Romano,
1995, 2000), combining reading and writing in meaningful ways. Tom Romano (2000)
explains that each genre offers ways of learning and understanding that others do not; stu-
dents gain different understandings, for example, by writing a simulated journal entry and by
writing a riddle. Teachers or students identify a repetend, a common thread or unifying fea-
ture for the project, which helps students move beyond the level of remembering facts to a
deeper comprehension level. Tom Romano (2000) describes multigenre writing as combining
the cognitive with the emotional.
Depending on the information they want to present and their repetend, students use a
variety of genres for their projects, including these forms:
acrostics found poems postcards
advertisements games posters
“All About . . .” books greeting cards questions and answers
alphabet books “I Am . . .” poems quotes
biographical sketches journals riddles
book boxes letters scrapbooks
cartoons life lines songs
clusters maps stories
cubes newspaper articles time lines
diagrams open-mind portraits Venn diagrams
essays photo galleries word sorts
They also include information they’ve downloaded from the Internet and these digital
productions:
blogs PicLits video slide shows
digital storytelling podcasts Wallwisher pages
Glogsters PowerPoint presentations websites
mind clouds scrapbook pages WebQuests
museum boxes vidcasts Wordles
Students usually incorporate three or more genres in a multigenre project and include both
textual and visual genres. What matters most is that the genres amplify the repetend.
The design of a third grade class’s multigenre project on honeybees is presented in Figure
6–10. The class studied bees as part of an agriculture unit, and they learned how the insects
help farmers pollinate crops. The multigenre project included these textual and visual genres:
Collage. Students created a collage of honeybee words and pictures cut from magazines,
and the title was printed over the collage.
DESIGN OF A THIRD GRADE CLASS’S MULTIGENRE

Figure 6–10
PROJECT
Honeybees
True True I Am Poems True True True True

or or or or or or
False? False? False? False? False? False?
Honeybees Help Us!
Advertisements
True True True

or or or
False? False? False?
Word
Cards
A Bee’s Life
egg larva pupa adult bee
True or False Flip Books. Students used facts on the KWL chart to write flip books with
true or false statements about honeybees. The statement is written on the first page and
the answer on the second page:
Page 1: Bees do not communicate.
Page 2: False. Bees communicate by dancing.
Advertisements. Third graders wrote advertisements from the viewpoint of a farmer who
needs bees to pollinate the crops and others from the viewpoint of a bee that offers the
colony’s services to farmers.
“I Am . . .” Poems. Students assumed the role of a queen, drone, or worker bee and wrote
a poem from that bee’s viewpoint:
I am a busy worker bee.
I gather food for the colony.
I build combs with wax from my body.
I defend the hive from our enemies.
I am a brave worker bee.
Honeybees Help Us! Chart. Students drew pictures of four ways honeybees help people
and wrote paragraph-long explanations to accompany the pictures.
Word Cards. Third graders wrote key vocabulary words on word cards, including pollinate,
drone, migrate, hive, communicate, comb, metamorphosis, and swarm, and then drew pictures
and wrote definitions.
Life Line. Students drew a bee’s life cycle, showing the stages that bees move through
during the first 21 days of their lives as they grow from egg to adult.
The teacher displayed the multigenre project in the classroom, and the students often stopped
to reread the true-false booklets, review the word cards, and look at the advertisements placed
in a pocket on the chart.
Some authors write multigenre books, integrating narrative, nonfiction, and other genres;
The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge (Cole, 2010) and other books in the Magic School
Bus series are awesome examples. Each book features a story about Ms. Frizzle and her stu-
dents on a fantastic science adventure, and on the side panels of pages, explanations, charts,
diagrams, and essays are presented. Together, the story and the informational panels present
a more complete, multigenre presentation or project. Titles for all grade levels are listed in
Mentor Texts: Multigenre Books.
Mentor Texts Multigenre Books

Grade Levels Books
Kindergarten– Cole, J. (2001). The magic school bus explores the senses. New York: Scholastic.
Grade 2 Harvey, R. (2010). In the city: Our scrapbook of souvenirs. St. Leonards, NSW:
Allen & Unwin.
Grades 3–5 Benson, L. L. (1999). Washington, DC: A scrapbook. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
Cole, J. (2010). The magic school bus and the climate challenge. New York: Scholastic.
(And other books in the series.)
Hoyt-Goldsmith, D. (2002). Celebrating Ramadan. New York: Holiday House.
Kinney, J. (2007). Diary of a wimpy kid. New York: Scholastic. (And other books in the series.)
Klise, K. (2007). Regarding the trees: A splintered saga rooted in secrets. New York: Sandpiper.
Matthews, J. (2006). Pirates. New York: Atheneum.
Grades 6–8 Avi. (2010). Nothing but the truth. New York: Scholastic.
Conrad, P. (2005). Our house: Stories of Levittown. New York: Scholastic.
Fleming, C. (2011). Amelia lost: The life and disappearance of Amelia Earhart. New York:
Schwartz & Wade.
Holm, J. L. (2011). Middle school is worse than meatloaf: A year told through stuff. New York:
Atheneum.
Patt, B. (2010). Best friends forever: A World War II scrapbook. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall
Cavendish.
Revenson, J. (2017). J. K. Rowling’s’ wizarding worlds: The dark arts: A movie scrapbook. Somerville,
MA: Candlewick Press.
Ryan, P. M. (2012). The dreamer. New York: Scholastic.
Teachers involve students in writing activities as they participate in literature focus units and
thematic units. In some of the activities, students use writing as a tool for learning, and in
others, they use writing to demonstrate what they’ve learned. These activities provide options
for differentiating instruction to meet students’ individual needs. Teachers differentiate
instruction because their students vary in their interest, motivation, prior knowledge, writing
development, and experiences (Tomlinson, 2014). They differentiate the content, process,
and the final product so each of their students can learn and succeed.
Designing Writing Projects

Teachers use the RAFT technique to design writing projects to enhance students’ learning
(Holston & Santa, 1985). RAFT is an acronym for role, audience, format, and topic, and teachers
consider these four dimensions as they design response to literature and thematic unit projects:
Role. The role is the person or people that students role-play for this project. Sometimes
they take on the role of a book character, historical figure, or contemporary personality,
such as Oprah, and at other times, they are themselves.
Audience. The audience is the person or people who will read or view the project, such as
students, teachers, parents, or community members, as well as simulated audiences, such
as book characters and historical personalities.
Format. The format is the genre or activity that students create; it might be a letter, bro-
chure, cartoon, journal, poster, essay, newspaper article, speech, or digital scrapbook.
Topic. The topic is the subject of the project; it can be an issue related to the text, an essen-
tial question, or something of personal interest.
Students process ideas and information in different ways as they assume varied viewpoints
and complete projects directed to specific audiences. Their thinking is imaginative and inter-
pretive; in contrast, students’ thinking tends to be more literal when they do traditional
assignments, such as writing answers to questions.
RAFT is an effective way to differentiate instruction by
providing tiered activities; projects on the same book or
topic can be adjusted according to students’ achievement
levels, English proficiency, and interests. The steps in the
procedure are explained in Step-by-Step: RAFT. A seventh
grade teacher developed the chart of RAFT ideas shown in
Figure 6–11 for the Newbery Honor Book The Wednesday
Wars (Schmidt, 2007), a coming-of-age novel that chroni-
cles the everyday trials of Holling Hoodhood, who’s at
odds with his seventh grade English teacher, Mrs. Baker.
Writing Workshop
Students participate in writing workshop as they write
collaborative and individual compositions during litera-
ture focus units and thematic units. They use the writing Watch as fifth grade teacher Mrs. Andresen shares her idea
process to draft and refine their writing, and classmates about engaging students in oral presentations to prepare
respond to students’ rough drafts and help each other them for written ones. Why does she think this idea is
proofread and correct errors. Teachers conference with effective?
R AFT
1 Establish the purpose. Teachers reflect on what they want students to learn through this activity and
consider how it can enhance their learning.
2 Prepare a RAFT chart. Teachers prepare a RAFT chart of possible projects by brainstorming roles,
choosing audiences, identifying genres and other formats for projects, and listing topics.
3 Read the book or study the topic. Students read and discuss a book or learn about a topic before they
create RAFT projects.
4 Choose projects. Sometimes teachers assign the same project for all students, but at other times, they
vary the assignment for small groups or let students choose a project from the RAFT chart.
5 Create projects. Students create their projects and get feedback from the teacher as they work.
6 Share completed projects. Students share their projects with small groups, the whole class, or other
audiences.
Figure 6–11 RAFT IDEAS FOR THE WEDNESDAY WARS

ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TOPIC
Holling and William Our class Interview Explain “To thine own self be true” and other life lessons.
Shakespeare
Mrs. Baker Her son, a U.S. soldier in Letter Tell why you took such an interest in Holling.
Vietnam
You Our class Poster Describe the cultural and political uproar of
the 1960s.
You Newbery Award Persuasive essay Present reasons why this book should win the Newbery
committee Award.
Bullies Students at Camillo Speech Research bullying, and explain how to deal with bullies.
Junior High
Mai Thi (Holling’s Our class Digital scrapbook Share information about Vietnam and the war’s effect
classmate) on you and your home country.
Holling Mrs. Baker Letter, written Explain how you’ve followed Mrs. Baker’s advice:
when Holling is “Learn everything you can—everything. And then
30 years old use all that you have learned to be a wise and
good man.”
students about their projects and teach minilessons on how to develop particular projects and
on the writer’s craft.
RESPONSE TO LITERATURE After students read and discuss a book during a

literature focus unit, teachers present project options or invite students to select their own
project ideas. Then students work with classmates or on their own to develop their projects
during writing workshop. They participate in these activities:
Minilessons. Teachers teach minilessons about the projects students are preparing. They
review the procedure for creating a project and share sample projects, review nonfiction
text structures and nonfiction features, or focus on the writer’s craft that they’ve asked
students to use for this project.
Independent Writing. Students develop their projects, conference with the teacher about
their work, and collaborate with classmates to fine-tune their projects.
Sharing. After finishing their projects, students take turns sharing them from the author’s chair.
Teachers use the Status of the Class chart, anecdotal notes, and conferences to monitor
students’ progress.
THEMATIC UNITS After students have learned about the big ideas in a thematic unit,
they develop projects to extend or demonstrate their learning. They use the same writing
workshop activities described for response to literature projects to write books and poems,
prepare reports, and create multigenre projects.
INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY Technology supports students’ writing across

the curriculum in a variety of ways. They can use the Internet to gather research about topics,
to collaborate with students in the United States and around the world, and to assume roles
related to topics they’re learning about:
Search Engines. Students should use kid-friendly Internet search engines to locate online infor-
mation about a topic; some of the best are CyberSleuth Kids (http://www.cybersleuth-kids.
com), Fact Monster (http://www.factmonster.com), KidRex (http://www.kidrex.org), Kids
Click! (http://www.kidsclick.org), Kid’s Search Engine (https://kidssearch.com), and Kidz-
Search (https://www.kidzsearch.com). Even when they’re using a recommended search engine,
students need to know how to evaluate websites because information on the Internet isn’t
always accurate, objective, or up to date. One way to check is to consider the purpose of the
website: Is it commercial, informative, entertaining, or personal? URLs ending in .net or .gov are
the safest choices; they’re more likely to be authoritative than those ending in .com.
Collaborative Sites. Teachers interested in conducting global learning projects can find
partners at collaborative sites such as the Global School Network (http://www.
globalschoolnet.org). Other recommended sites include ePals Classroom Exchange (http://
www.epals.com), Global Education Motivators (http://www.gem-ngo.org), Kids Online
(http://www.kids-online.net), and sites ALIVE! (http://www.sitesalive.com), a website that
links classrooms with researchers for live learning adventures on land and at sea.
WebQuests. WebQuests are Internet-based inquiry projects in which students examine
and analyze online information related to books they’re reading and to thematic units.
These online activities are carefully structured and require only basic Internet skills, includ-
ing searching and word processing (Karchmer-Klein, 2007). For more information, check
Digital Toolkit: WebQuests.
Through these activities, students expand their knowledge, explore global perspectives, and
increase their ability to use digital tools.
DIGITAL TOOLKIT WebQuests
WebQuests are inquiry-oriented online projects that • Conclusion. Opportunities are presented for students
enhance students’ learning by scaffolding their thinking to share their experience and pursue extensions.
and involving them in meaningful writing tasks. These
These online learning projects were invented in 1995 by
projects also foster students’ ability to use the Internet to
Bernie Dodge, of San Diego State University. His website
search and retrieve information from websites and under-
at http://webquest.org provides useful information
stand multimodal presentations (Pak, 2015). WebQuests
about teacher-made WebQuests.
have these components:
Teachers have created hundreds of WebQuests on social
• Introduction. An engaging scenario is presented with studies, science, and literature topics that are available free
background information and descriptions of the roles online. In one WebQuest, students who have read Hatchet
that students will assume, such as botanist, super- (Paulsen, 2007), for example, embark on a wilderness jour-
hero, or archaeologist. ney and answer scavenger-hunt questions as they learn sur-
• Task. The creative activity that students will accomplish vival skills, and in another, students studying ancient Egypt
is described. Possible tasks include making brochures, travel back to 1250 b.c. to find King Tut’s burial mask and
writing newspaper articles, or creating video-diaries. decode the message hidden inside it. Other topics include
• Process. The steps that students will follow to com- biomes, voting, polygons, World War II, and hurricanes, as
plete the task are outlined. well as popular books, such as The Outsiders (Hinton, 2007).
• Resources. The bookmarked websites and any other Teachers should choose WebQuests that enhance stu-
needed resources are listed. dents’ learning, provide meaningful writing tasks, and
• Evaluation. A rubric is available so students can include the components described here. Resource links
self-assess their work. must be active, or they need to be replaced.
PREPARING FOR WRITING TESTS As students participate in writing activities

in the content areas, they learn to summarize information from Internet articles, chapters, and
books. Teachers can coordinate test-preparation lessons with writing activities during litera-
ture focus units and thematic units. To learn more about preparing students to write summa-
ries on district- and state-mandated writing tests, read Preparing for Writing Tests: Summary.
How do teachers scaffold writing to learn?
Teachers differentiate instruction to provide the additional support that English
learners need to understand literature and nonfiction topics. They use KWL charts
to build students’ background knowledge and vocabulary, preview texts with ELs
before introducing them to the entire class, and use photos, videos, and artifacts to
teach big ideas. To prepare students for writing projects, teachers involve them in informal
writing activities, provide opportunities for them to work with classmates, and encourage
them to create visual projects that involve writing brief texts. These activities are suggested:
Learning Logs. ELs write and draw entries in learning logs about big ideas they’re learning
during thematic units and practice using technical vocabulary in these nonthreatening
activities. They quickwrite about the big ideas and draw and label diagrams to explain

Summary
Summaries are shorter, condensed versions of a text that maintain the integrity of the original; they
present a clear and accurate overview of a text. Writing a summary requires a thorough understand-
ing of the text’s message and the ability to paraphrase—that is, to rewrite something using different
words without changing the original meaning. Summaries vary in length, depending on the length
of the original text and its purpose, but as a rule of thumb, they’re approximately one fourth of the
length of the original source. In some state writing assessments, however, students are asked to
paraphrase rather than summarize a text. Paraphrased texts are almost as long as the original text.
WHAT DO WRITERS DO?

• Read the text several times, making notes on the text, if possible
• Cite the title, author, and source, if it’s known
• Clearly articulate the main ideas
• Include the most important details that support the main ideas
• Show relationships among the ideas
• Arrange the information in the same order as in the original text
• Use their own words in writing the summary
• Stay true to the tone of the original text
• Remain objective without inserting personal ideas and opinions
WHAT MISTAKES DO WRITERS MAKE?

• Don’t follow the order of information in the original text
• Include nonessential information
• Incorporate quotes from the original text
• Share personal knowledge or opinions
SAMPLE PROMPTS
• Read the informational article on the moon. After reading it, write a summary of what you
have read. Make sure that you state the main ideas of the article and identify important
details that support the main ideas.
• Read the selection “Why Do Kids Smoke?” Read it several times, and be sure to think about
the main ideas as you read. You may take notes to help you remember the main ideas and
important details. Then write a summary of the selection.
important concepts. They’re using writing as a tool for learning, and sharing their journal
entries with other English learners provides an opportunity for them to talk about the big
ideas and use new vocabulary words. Taking time to share their entries also sends a message
about the importance of the activity, and students are likely to work harder on their entries.
Collaborative Projects. Many of the writing across the curriculum projects described in this
chapter involve a great deal of writing and drawing, and having students share the work
makes them more manageable. Students provide scaffolds for each other as they collaborate,
and ELs typically are useful contributors when they participate on collaborative projects.
Activities for writing in the content areas are especially valuable because they support students’
learning and demonstrate their learning more effectively than traditional tests do.
Assessing Writing in the Content Areas
Teachers assess students’ writing projects using checklists and rubrics. Mr. Garcia, the teacher
in the vignette at the beginning of the chapter, developed a rubric with students before they
began their pioneer guidebook project. As a class, they decided that the guides should exem-
plify these qualities: useful and interesting information, attention-getting design, historically
accurate and technical vocabulary, mechanical correctness, and illustrations that support
and extend the text. Mr. Garcia divided a sheet of chart paper into six rows and five columns.
In the top row, he wrote the scores 1 (Poor) to 4 (Great), and down the left column, he wrote
labels for the five qualities the class identified, as shown in Assessment Tools: Rubric for
Assessing Fifth Graders’ Oregon Trail Guides. Then Mr. Garcia and the class talked about the
characteristics of each of the five qualities and chose descriptors to complete the rubric. With
this information, the students were prepared to create high-quality guides.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Rubric for Assessing Fifth Graders’ Oregon Trail Guides
1 POOR 2 SATISFACTORY 3 GOOD 4 GREAT
Information Very little Some useful Lots of useful Lots of
useful information information detailed
information information
Design Confusing Organized into Good Attention-
arrangement and sections with organization getting
no headings some headings with headings organization
for every and headings
section
Vocabulary No history A few history Some history Lots of history
words make it words words make the words make it
hard to message clear interesting
understand
Conventions Many errors Some errors A few errors No errors
Illustrations No pictures, or A few useful Useful pictures Very detailed
pictures aren’t pictures and and charts pictures and
about pioneers charts charts
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing to Learn

There are several ways to engage students in writing to learn and to demonstrate their learn-
ing. Students benefit from activities such as clustering information, recording their learning in
a learning log, keeping a double-entry journal, using a KWL chart, completing a semantic
142
feature analysis, responding to a literature project, creating a thematic unit project, and using
the RAFT technique. Use this checklist to guide your instruction:
Clusters Students use clusters to organize ideas and to present what they’ve learned.
Learning Logs Students record information and explore the big ideas they’re learning,
and practice using technical vocabulary.
Double-Entry Journals Students record information from a text or a thematic unit in
the left column and then write responses or make connections in the right column.
KWL Charts Teachers use KWL charts to activate students’ prior knowledge and orga-
nize the information they’re learning.
Semantic Feature Analysis Teachers create a semantic feature analysis to help
students carefully examine specific characteristics of a topic.
Response to Literature Projects Students create a project after reading a book to
demonstrate their understanding of the story.
Thematic Unit Projects Students create a project to demonstrate what they’ve learned
from the thematic unit.
RAFT Teachers design tiered writing projects using the four dimensions of the RAFT
technique: role, audience, format, and topic.
Multigenre Projects Students gain different understandings by creating projects using
multiple genres and a theme or repetend to explore a book or a content area topic.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of writing to learn through these
your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conducting a lesson using writing to learn. In your response, describe
the teacher and the students and the writing to learn strategy and present your analysis
of the lesson.
2. Interview a student who has used writing to learn. Ask the student to reflect on his or
her learning as a result of writing. In your response, describe the student, present your
analysis of the effectiveness of writing to learn, and include a copy of the student’s
writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson to a small group of students in which they use writing as
a tool for learning. Create an anchor poster with key points to use in your lesson.
Referring to your poster in the minilesson, introduce information about the strategy to
the students. In your response, describe the students, list the steps in the minilesson,
include a copy of the poster, and present your reflections about the lesson. Be sure to
address why you chose this strategy for these particular students.
143
WRITING TO LEARN
I have to give social studies and science tests in my pages, or teachers can take their dictation. You
sixth grade classroom to prepare students for middle can also use interactive writing to make charts
school. How can I have my students make projects? about topics ranging from George Washington
Tests are only one way to evaluate students’ to a frog’s life cycle or directions for washing
learning; students can also develop a writing your hands.
project in addition to taking an end-of-unit test.
I’m a fifth grade teacher, and these projects sound
In fact, developing a project is a good way to pre-
like they’re very time-consuming. Is there something
pare them for a test, as long as the project
quicker that my students could do?
addresses the same big ideas that the test does.
You might try using the RAFT procedure to design Teachers never have enough time for all the proj-
a variety of writing projects for your students. ects they’d like to do; nevertheless, when stu-
dents create projects, they’re using instructional
I’m a kindergarten teacher, and I have my kiddos time profitably. They’re deepening their knowl-
write in journals every day, but I don’t see how they edge of important concepts, practicing the writ-
can do writing in the content areas. ing process, applying writing strategies,
Because your kindergartners are already familiar developing their knowledge about the writer’s
with journal writing, it’s easy to have them create craft, and learning to work collaboratively with
learning log entries using a combination of classmates. Completing a worksheet or taking a
drawing and writing. They also can contribute to test is certainly quicker than creating a project
KWL charts and make Venn diagrams and other but less conducive to learning. A good way to
graphic organizers. To demonstrate learning, begin is to make time for students to do projects
kindergartners can work together to make class during two or three units during the school year,
books where each child contributes a page; chil- and compare their learning during those units to
dren draw pictures and write facts on their their achievement on other units.
144
CHAPTER
Writing Poetry 7
Sixth Grade Poetry Workshop. Miss Clark’s sixth grade class participates in
poetry workshop, where they read and examine poetic forms and poems written by particu-
lar poets, and then they apply what they’re learning in the poems they write. Her focus this
week is Jack Prelutsky, America’s first Children’s Poet Laureate. Miss Clark’s sixth graders are
English learners who love to listen to her read aloud Prelutsky’s wacky verse, and now they’re able
to read many of his poems themselves. They individually read poems from the text set of the poet’s
books, including Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face (Prelutsky, 2008), and they gather together to read
aloud “The New Kid on the Block,” “Mean Maxine,” “Louder Than a Clap of Thunder!” and other
favorites using choral reading. The figure Text Set of Books by Jack Prelutsky lists popular titles.
Text Set of Books by Jack Prelutsky

A Pizza the Size of the Sun (2013)
Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face (2008)
It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles (2005)
I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus (2012)
My Dog May Be a Genius (2008)
Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem (2008)
Something Big Has Been Here (2010)
The Carnival of the Animals (2010)
The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight: More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep (1992)
The New Kid on the Block (2013)
The Swamps of Sleethe: Poems From Beyond the Solar System (2009)
Students keep a poetry log in which they respond to the poems they’re reading. In these
entries, they explain why they like a particular poem, examine the poem’s formula, point
out poetic devices that Prelutsky uses, and make connections between the poems and their
own writing. Here’s one student’s response to “Louder Than a Clap of Thunder!”:
I love this poem. It’s cool to read because you can sort of yell and it’s the truth for my
dad. He snores real loud, real, real, real loud. And I think Jack Prelutsky was smart
to use comparisons. He keeps you guessing until the last line. It is about snoring. I
think that’s why the title is just the first line of the poem because if he called it “My
Father’s Snoring” there would be no surprise. It’s not a very good title. Sort of bor-
ing. I would call it “Can You Beat This?” I’m going to write a poem like this but
change it to softer than and write about how soft my cat is when she tiptoes across
my bed. Or when she curls up in my lap.
145
Miss Clark teaches a minilesson each day, and she incorporates Prelutsky’s poems into
her instruction. The first minilesson focuses on the poet’s life, and she introduces http://www.
jackprelutsky.com and other websites she’s bookmarked for students to investigate. Because
rhyme is an important device in Prelutsky’s poems, Miss Clark shares several poems with
different rhyme schemes in the next minilesson and has the sixth graders examine the arrange-
ments. On another day, the teacher focuses on alliteration using several poems from Prelutsky’s
The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight (1992); the sixth graders like these spooky poems and rec-
ognize that the poet uses alliteration effectively to evoke a frightening mood.
Miss Clark also teaches minilessons about poetic forms. After reading “Spaghetti!
Spaghetti” in Be Glad Your Nose Is on Your Face (Prelutsky, 2008), she introduces odes, and
students write poems to things they love. Here’s one student’s ode to cell phones:
I love you, cell phone!
You’re an awesome device,
Voice, text, and Internet
Packed into a sleek silver body.
Ring tones, messages, and photos,
Plus a G.P.S. tracker to keep me safe.
I love you, cell phone!
You’re an awesome device,
Everyone’s got one but me!
During poetry workshop, the sixth graders use the writing process to draft and refine
both original poems and poems they create incorporating a line from one of Prelutsky’s
poems. They draft their poems, meet in small revising groups to revise them, edit them with
Miss Clark, and then write the final copy in the second half of their poetry logs.
On Friday, the students work together to craft a new version of Prelutsky’s poem “I’m Thank-
ful” from The New Kid on the Block (2013b). They follow Prelutsky’s format, including the “except”
arrangement of the last line. Here’s an excerpt from their collaborative poem, “I’m Thankful”:
I’m thankful for my cell phone.
It hardly ever rings.
I’m thankful for my cat.
He scratched me in the face.
I’m thankful for my basketball.
It broke my mother’s vase.
I’m thankful for my bicycle.
I ran into a car.
I’m thankful for my skateboard.
I fell and scraped my knees.
I’m thankful for so many things
Except, of course, for peas!
146
P
oetry is unique among the genres: It’s a
concise form that evokes readers’ emo- Writing Standards: Writing Poetry
tional responses. Poets see the world in
Standard 10 in the grades K–5 and 6–12 Writing strand
unexpected ways, and their insights often sur- focuses on a range of writing. Students are expected to
prise us. Some poems are serious explorations write routinely over extended time frames (time for
of life’s meaning, and others make us laugh research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time
with their humorous interpretations of every- frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of
day events. Poets choose words carefully and tasks, purposes, and audiences. Poetry is included in
this range and provides a unique opportunity to address
structure lines and stanzas in creative ways.
each of the stages of the writing process as well as differ-
Children have a natural affinity for songs, ent tasks, purposes, and audiences. To learn more about
verses, and rhymes. Kindergartners, for exam- the Writing Standards, go to http://www.corestandards
ple, invent their own rhyming ditties, and third .org/ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational
graders write acrostic poems that spell their standards website.
names when the first letter of each line is read
vertically. Miss Clark’s sixth graders share this interest in poetry, too. They’re enthusi-
astically involved in writing poetry and think of themselves as poets. When students
know how to write poems and use poetic devices, they can create vivid word pictures,
powerful images, and touching emotional expressions.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
7.1 Explain the poetry genre.
7.2 Describe the procedures teachers use to teach poetry writing.
THE GENRE: POETRY

Students write poetry successfully using poetic formulas: They write formula poems by begin-
ning each line with particular words, and they count syllables for haiku and create word pic-
tures in concrete poems. Mentor Texts: Poetic Forms recommends books with poems illustrating
the forms. Because these poems are brief and written quickly, students use the writing process
to revise, edit, and share their writing more easily than with other types of writing. Poetry also
allows them more freedom in how they use punctuation, capitalization, and page arrangement.
Because rhyme is often a sticking point for would-be poets (Linaberger, 2004), many
types of poetry that students write don’t use this device. In searching for a rhyming word, chil-
dren often create inane verse:
I see a funny little goat
Wearing a sailor’s coat
Sitting in an old motorboat.
Of course, students should be allowed to write rhyming poetry, but rhyme shouldn’t be imposed
as a criterion for acceptable poetry; instead, they should be encouraged to incorporate rhyme
when it fits naturally into their writing.
Kindergartners’ and first graders’ poems may seem little more than lists or sentences
when compared to older students’ more sophisticated poems, but as children experiment
with poetry, they develop their own voices and create sensitive word pictures, vivid images,
and unique comparisons.
147
148 PART T WO | The Product
Mentor Texts Poetic Forms

Form Books
Acrostic Poems Harley, A. (2009). African acrostics: A word in edgeways. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick
Press. PM
Schnur, S. (2001). Summer: An alphabet acrostic. New York: Clarion Books. (And books
about the other seasons.) PM
Apology Poems Levine, G. C. (2012). Forgive me, I meant to do it: False apology poems. New York:
HarperCollins. M
Sidman, J. (2014). This is just to say: Poems of apology and forgiveness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. M
Color Poems O’Neill, M. (1990). Hailstones and halibut bones. New York: Doubleday. PM
Sidman, J. (2009). Red sings from treetops: A year in colors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. PM
Yolen, J. (2003). Color me a rhyme: Nature poems for young people. Honesdale, PA: WordSong. PM
Concrete Poems Grandits, J. (2004). Technically, it’s not my fault: Concrete poems. New York: Sandpiper. MU
Janeczko, P. B. (2009). A poke in the I: A collection of concrete poems. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick
Press. M
Lewis, J. P. (2002). Doodle dandies: Poems that take shape. New York: Atheneum. PM
Haiku Cleary, B. P. (2014). If it rains pancakes: Haiku and lantern poems. Minneapolis: Millbrook
Press. MU
Rosen, M. J. (2009). The cuckoo’s haiku and other birding poems. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick
Press. MU
Rosen, M. J. (2011). The hound dog’s haiku: And other poems for dog lovers. Cambridge, MA:
Limericks Brooks, L. (2009). Twimericks: The book of tongue-twisting limericks. New York: Workman. M
Marshall, J. (2003). Pocketful of nonsense. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. M
List Poems Cleary, B. P. (2017). Underneath my bed: List poems. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press. MU
Heard, G. (Ed.). (2009). Falling down the page: A book of list poems. New York: Roaring Brook
Press. MU
Odes Bennett, K. (2010). Dad and Pop: An ode to fathers & stepfathers. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick
Press. PM
Poems for Two Fleischman, P. (2004). Joyful noise: Poems for two voices. New York: HarperCollins. PMU
Voices Franco, B. (2009). Messing around on the monkey bars: And other school poems for two voices.
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Gerber, C. (2013). Seeds, bees, butterflies, and more: Poems for two voices. NY: Henry Holt. MU
Formula Poems
Poetic formulas may seem like recipes to be followed rigidly, but that’s not how they’re
intended; rather, they provide a skeleton for students’ poems. Working with students in New
York City schools, Kenneth Koch (2000) developed some simple formulas that make it easy for
nearly every student to become a successful poet. Some of these forms may seem more like
sentences than poems, but the line between poetry and prose is blurry, and these poetry expe-
riences help direct students toward authentic poetic expression.
CHAPTER 7 | Writing Poetr y 149
COLOR POEMS Students begin each line of their poems with a color: Either they repeat
the same color in each line or use a different color (Koch, 2000). For example, fourth grader
Zach describes green in this poem:
Green is go, and green means grow.
Green is spring, and comes on a wing.
Green is healthy, and a lot of green means wealthy!
Green is welcome, and green brings momentum.
Green is life, but green is NOT strife.
Zach chooses words that fit his description of green as a safe, welcoming color. Older stu-
dents, such as seventh grader Samantha, who wrote the following poem, “Orange,” expand
each idea into a stanza:
Orange is a basketball
bouncing on the gym floor,
dribbling through my legs,
rolling off my fingertips
into the orange hoop.
Orange is a flower
opening up to the world,
giving its aroma,
sharing its pollen
with butterflies and bees.
Orange is my brother’s hair

shining in the sunshine,
bouncing across the lawn,
slinging water from the pool
all over me!
Teachers often share Mary O’Neill’s book of color poems, Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adven-
tures in Color (1990); O’Neill uses rhyme, however, so it’s important to emphasize that poems
don’t have to rhyme.
“I AM . . .” POEMS Students assume the role of a book character, historical figure, or

some other person and write a poem from that viewpoint. They begin and end the poem (or
each stanza) with “I am . . .” and begin all other lines with “I.” After reading a biography about
John F. Kennedy, eighth grader Ryan wrote this “I Am . . .” poem from the viewpoint of the
35th president:
I am John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I commanded a PT boat in World War II.
I saved my crew after a Japanese ship hit us.
I became a politician because that’s
what my dad wanted me to do.
I was elected the 35th president of the United States.
I said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—

ask what you can do for your country.”
I believed in equal rights for blacks and whites.
I began the Peace Corps to help the world live free.
I cried the tears of assassination because
Lee Harvey Oswald shot me dead.
I left my young family in America’s love.
I am John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
In this poem, Ryan combines the facts he learned about President Kennedy with the emotional
impact of the genre, particularly “I cried the tears of assassination . . .” and “I left my young
family in America’s love.”
“IF I WERE . . .” POEMS Students write about how they’d feel and what they’d do
if they were something else—a tyrannosaurus rex, a hamburger, or sunshine (Koch, 2000).
They begin each poem with “If I were” and tell what it would be like to be that thing. For exam-
ple, 8-year-old Liam writes about what he would do if he were a lizard:
If I were a lizard
I would crawl into corners
And I would climb up windows.
I would outrun all the dogs
And leave them panting.
In composing “If I were . . .” poems, students use personification, explore ideas and feelings,
and consider the world from a different vantage point.
“I USED TO . . . BUT NOW . . .” POEMS In these contrast poems, students

begin the first line (and every odd-numbered line) with “I used to” and the second line (and
every even-numbered line) with “But now” (Koch, 2000); with this formula, students explore
ways they have changed as well as how things in the world change. Eighth grader Dakota
writes from the point of view of an open field:
I used to be an open field of wild flowers
inviting people to roam through my colors,
leaving their cares and responsibilities for a while.
But now I’m an expressway
carrying people to their responsibilities,
racing to their next appointment.
A fifth grade teacher adapted this formula, and her students wrote this collaborative poem
using the pattern “I used to think . . . But now I know . . .” and information they’d learned
during a unit on the American Revolution:
I used to think King George III was an old man,
but now I know he was really only 22 years old.
I used to think every American wanted to be independent of Britain,
but now I know there were a lot of Tories loyal to the King.
I used to think Whigs were the men who wore white wigs,
but now I know they were the patriots who wanted to be free.
I used to think the minutemen were America’s first trained military,

but now I know they were volunteers ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
I used to think Paul Revere’s ride to warn the colonists was unplanned,
but now I know the Committee of Thirty had been spying on the British and the
Sons of Liberty had an intricate, detailed plan.
I used to think Paul Revere was the only rider,
but now I know Billy Dawes and Dr. Sam Prescott joined him.
I used to think the American Revolution started when colonists wrote the
Declaration of Independence,
but now I know trouble started when King George III started taxing the colonists
to pay for the French and Indian War.
I used to think John Hancock wrote the Declaration of Independence,
but now I know Thomas Jefferson wrote it, then John Hancock was the first to
sign it since he was the President of the Second Continental Congress.
I used to think the Declaration of Independence made America free in 1776,
but now I know that the American Revolutionary War lasted until October 19, 1781.
This poem clearly shows both students’ misconceptions and the information they learned
during the unit.
“. . . IS . . .” POEMS Students describe what something is or what something or

someone means to them. To begin, the teacher or students identify a topic, filling in the blank
with a word such as anger, a friend, liberty, or fear. Then students start each line the same way
and describe or define the thing they’ve chosen. Andy, a sixth grader, wrote the following
poem in which he described fear:
Fear is not knowing what’s around the next corner.
Fear is strange noises scratching on my window at night.
Fear is a cold hand touching you in an old, dusty hallway.
Fear is being in a jet that’s losing altitude at 50,000 feet.
Fear is the earth blowing up.
Andy evoked strong, concrete images of fear in his poem. Students often write very powerful
poems using this formula when they move beyond “Happiness is . . .” and “Love is. . . .”
PREPOSITION POEMS Students begin each line of preposition poems with a prepo-
sition, and a delightful poetic rewording of lines often results. A fourth grader wrote this
poem, “We Ran Forever,” about a race:
About noon one day
Along came my friend
To say, “Want to go for a run?”
Below the stairs my mom said, “Go!”
Without waiting, I flew out the door,
Down the steps,
Across the lawn, and
Past the world we ran, forever.
It’s helpful for students to brainstorm a list of prepositions to refer to when they’re writing.
Sometimes they need to drop the preposition for a line or two to give their ideas top priority,
or they may mistakenly begin a line with an infinitive (e.g., “to say”) rather than a preposition,
as in the third line of “We Ran Forever.”
WISH POEMS Students begin each line with the words “I wish” and then complete the
line with a wish (Koch, 2000). In this second grade class collaboration, children simply listed
their wishes:
I wish I had a computer.

I wish I had a spaceship.
I wish I had a kitten.
I wish I had an alligator!
I wish I were a magician.
I wish I were an astronaut.
I wish I could see my daddy.
I wish my brother was well.
I wish I had wings.
I wish I had a guitar.
Then children choose one of their wishes and expand on the idea in several more lines. Seven-
year-old Chloe chose her wish, “I wish I had a kitten,” and wrote:
I wish I had a kitten

Who was cute and little,
Who could chase a toy
All around the kitchen
Until she plopped down
And I picked her up,
Held her to my cheek,
And she snuggled into my neck.
Free Verse
Unrhymed poetry is called free verse. Word choice and visual images take on greater impor-
tance, and rhythm matters less than in other types of poetry. Students use free verse to
describe an idea, send a message, or tell a story. The number of words in a line and use of
punctuation marks vary. In this poem, Danny, a sixth grader, writes a humorous free-form
poem about his dad growing up in Kentucky:
Dad told me of
Growing up in Kentucky.
Hoeing the vegetables,
Slopping the hogs.

Grandma in the kitchen
From before sun up
To after sun down.
So he gave her a gift

Of surprise, a snake
Tucked in his lunch box.
He laughed as she
Screamed and chased him around
The house, but was careful
She didn’t catch him.
In contrast, in this poem, “Sanctuary,” eighth grader Robert poignantly states his preference
for solitude using only 15 well-chosen words:
Surrounded by
people
I retreat
within myself
Safe
Questions
B D
O R
M A
B B
A M
R O
D B
my shelter,
shatter
my sanctuary.
Students use several methods for writing free verse. Sometimes they select words and
phrases from brainstormed lists and arrange them to create a poem. Or, they write a para-
graph, “unwrite” to craft the poem by deleting unnecessary words, and arrange the remaining
words for a poem. Eighth grader Craig wrote his poem, “A Step Back in Time,” by “unwriting”:
It is late evening hooting in the trees,
on a river bank. a deer crossing the river.
The sky has clouds Life overflows around me
that seem to be moving like many different colored bugs.
towards the moon. The wind is chilly,
The only light is my lantern, making the large pines dance.
which gives enough glare to see The sand is damp.
a few feet in front of me. It’s like the beginning of time,
Several sounds are heard before man existed,
in the distance: an owl just animals and plants.
Increasingly, today authors write novels in free verse. Love That Dog (Creech, 2001), Hate That
Cat (Creech, 2010), and Locomotion (Woodson, 2010) are about kids writing poetry at school.
A collection is listed in Mentor Texts: Verse Novels.
Mentor Texts Verse Novels

Grade Level Books
M Creech, S. (2005). Heartbeat. New York: HarperCollins.
Weston, R. P. (2014). Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff.
New York: Razorbill.
MU Herrera, J. F. (2005). Downtown boy. New York: Scholastic.
Hesse, K. (2009). Out of the dust. New York: Scholastic.
Testa, M. (2005). Becoming Joe DiMaggio. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Puffin Books.
U Alexander, K. (2014). Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hesse, K. (2003). Witness. New York: Scholastic.
M 5 middle grades (3–5); U 5 upper grades (6–8)
ACROSTIC POEMS Students write acrostic poems using key words. They choose a
key word and write it vertically, and then they draft lines of poetry, each one beginning
with a letter of the key word they’ve written (Janeczko, 1994). Students use their names, or
the names of characters during a literature focus unit. For example, after reading Officer
Buckle and Gloria (Rathmann, 1995), the story of a police officer and his dog who give
safety speeches at schools, first graders wrote this acrostic using the dog’s name as the key
word:
Gloria
Loves to do tricks.
Officer Buckle tells safety
Rules at schools.
I wish I had
A dog like Gloria.
Another group composed this acrostic using the same key word:
Good dog Gloria
Likes to help
Officer Buckle teach safety
Rules to boys and girls.
I promise to remember
All the lessons.
Students also write acrostic poems during thematic units, choosing key words related to the
unit and creating poems to share information they’ve learned.
BILINGUAL POEMS Students write bilingual poems by inserting words from other
languages into their poems (Cahnmann, 2006). Mora’s Confetti: Poems for Children (1999) and
Soto’s Neighborhood Odes (2005) and Canto Familiar (1995) provide examples of Spanish–
English bilingual poems. When bilingual students and English learners write bilingual poems,
they move between the linguistic and cultural communities of home and school, and their
poems are often very powerful.
CONCRETE POEMS Students create concrete poems by arranging words to form a

picture to help convey meaning; in fact, sometimes the layout of words, lines, and stanzas is
spread across a page or two. Concrete poems delight the eye, and their meaning extends
beyond the words: Sometimes individual words are written in a special way, such as with an
artistic font or even hand drawn, or words are arranged to make a picture (Janeczko, 2009),
as in the free-form poem “Sanctuary.” Two collections of concrete poems to share with stu-
dents are A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems (Janeczko, 2009) and Doodle Dandies:
Poems That Take Shape (Lewis, 2002).
FOUND POEMS Students create poems by culling words from other sources, such as
newspaper articles, songs, and stories. A gifted sixth grader crafted this found poem, “The
Man in the Garage,” after reading Skellig (Almond, 1998), a haunting story about redemption:
His face, pale as dry plaster
with hundreds of tiny creases and cracks
and a few colorless hairs growing on his chin.
His hair, black with a tangle of knots.
Wearing a filthy black suit, hanging like a sack on his thin bones,
Great bulges on his back, beneath his jacket.
Feather-covered wings folded on his shoulders.
His name, Skellig.
As they write found poems, students manipulate words and experiment with sentence structures
they don’t write themselves.
LIST POEMS Students create a poem using words and phrases from a list they’ve brain-
stormed about a topic, following the models in Georgia Heard’s (2009) book of list poems.
Each line in the poem follows the same structure, and the last line presents a twist or sums up
the topic. Jeremy wrote this list poem, titled “Jeremy’s Favorite Pizza”:
crispy crust
tomato sauce
Italian seasoning
pepperoni slices
sausage meatballs
mushrooms—OK
NO olives
mozzarella cheese
PIPING HOT!
Jeremy proudly pointed out that each of the lines has two words, and he used uppercase letters
to indicate which words should be emphasized when reading the poem aloud.
ODES Students write odes to celebrate everyday objects, especially those things that aren’t
usually appreciated. The poem, written directly to an object, tells what’s good about it and
why it’s valued. Traditionally, odes were sophisticated lyrical verses, such as Keats’s “Ode to a
Nightingale,” but Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (2000) introduced an informal contemporary
version. Gary Soto’s Neighborhood Odes (2005) is a great collection of odes that celebrate
everyday things, including water sprinklers and tennis shoes.
POEMS FOR TWO VOICES Poems for two voices are a unique form. They’re writ-
ten in two columns, side by side, and the columns are read together by two readers; one
reader reads the left column, and the other reads the right column. When both readers have
words—either the same words or different words—written on the same line, they read them
simultaneously so that the poem sounds like a duet. The two well-known collections are Paul
Fleischman’s I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices (1989), which is about birds, and his Newbery
Award–winning Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (2004), which is about insects.
A class of second graders wrote this poem for two voices about Halloween:
Halloween is coming! Halloween is coming!

Let’s have some fun.
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Where are the black cats?
Hiss-ss. Me-ow.
You’re here.
We’re here.
We’re ready for some fun.
Where are the spooky ghosts?
Boo-oo. Boo-oo.
You’re here.
We’re here.
Where are the bony skeletons?
Rat-tle. Rat-tle.
You’re here.
We’re here.
Where are the scary witches?
Hocus pocus.
Hocus pocus.
You’re here.
We’re here.
Where are the children?
Trick or treat.
Trick or treat.
You’re here.
We’re here.
Happy Halloween!
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Happy Halloween!
Syllable- and Word-Count Poems

Haiku and other syllable- and word-count poems provide a structure that helps students suc-
ceed; however, the need to adhere to the formula in these poems may restrict students’ free-
dom of expression. In other words, the structure of these poems can both help and hinder
writers. The exact syllable counts force students to search for just the right words to express
their ideas and feelings and provide a valuable opportunity to learn to use a thesaurus.
CINQUAINS A cinquain (SIN-cane) is a five-line poem containing 22 syllables in a 2-4-6-
8-2 syllable pattern. These poems usually describe something, but sometimes they tell a story.
Teachers encourage students to search for words and phrases that are precise, vivid, and sen-
suous, and they have students ask themselves what their subject looks like, smells like, sounds
like, and tastes like. They use this formula:
Line 1: A one-word subject with two syllables
Line 2: Four syllables describing the subject
Line 3: Six syllables showing action
Line 4: Eight syllables expressing a feeling or observation about the subject
Line 5: Two syllables describing and renaming the subject
This cinquain poem was written by third grader Avery:
Cats
Black and white
Meowing, licking, scratching.
Curling up in your lap for naps.
Kittens*
If you compare Avery’s poem to the formula, you’ll notice that some lines are short or long;
she bent some rules in order to craft a powerful image. The poem’s message is always more
important than adhering to a formula.
An alternative cinquain form contains five lines but doesn’t follow the syllable count.
Instead, each line contains a specified number of words rather than syllables: The first line is a
one-word title, the second line has two words that describe the title, the third line has three
words that express action, the fourth line has four words that express feelings, and the fifth line
contains a two-word synonym for the title. This cinquain was written by fourth grader Olivia:
Swimming
Refreshing, wet
Splashing, kicking, floating
Fun, exciting, happy, relaxing
Pool fun!
HAIKU The best-known syllable-count poem is haiku (high-KOO), a Japanese poetic form
consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5-7-5. Haiku deals with nature and pres-
ents a single clear image. It’s a concise form, much like a text message or a telegram. A fifth
grader, Koa, wrote this haiku about animals in a pond:
The koi dive deeper
When the ducks splash in the pond.
The frogs croak applause.
*Courtesy of Avery McLaughlin.

Books of haiku poems to share with students include Guess Who, Haiku (Caswell, 2016), Cool
Melons—Turn to Frogs! (Gollub, 2004), Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys (Raczka, 2010), Don’t Step
on the Sky: A Handful of Haiku (Chaikin, 2002), The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems (Rosen,
2009), and If Not for the Cat (Prelutsky, 2004). An added benefit is that the artwork in these
books provides ideas for illustrating haiku poems.
Model Poems
Students write poems that model or imitate poems composed by adult poets, an approach
Kenneth Koch suggests in Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? (1990). Students read and examine
a poem and then craft their own poems using the same theme or other characteristics in the
model poem.
APOLOGY POEMS Using William Carlos Williams’s poem “This Is Just to Say” as the
model, students write a poem in which they apologize for something they secretly aren’t sorry
they did (Koch, 1990). Most students are familiar with offering apologies, and they like to
write humorous apologies to inanimate things. For example, fifth grade Clay wrote an apol-
ogy to his eraser:
Dear Eraser,
This is just to say
I’m so sorry
for biting you off
my pencil
and eating you
and putting you
in my digestive system.
Forgive me!
Forgive me p-l-e-e-e-a-s-e-e-e.
Apology poems don’t have to be humorous; they can be genuine apologies, as this poem, “I
Screamed,” written by eighth grader Riley, illustrates:
I screamed
hate-filled
words like
venom from
my fangs.
Forgive me,
you were
not the
target. Misfire.
For other examples of apology poems using Williams’s poem “This Is Just to Say” as a model,
check Joyce Sidman’s This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness (2007). This special book
is presented as a collection of apology poems written by Mrs. Merz’s sixth graders.
INVITATIONS Students write poems in which they invite someone to a magical, beauti-
ful place full of sounds and colors and where all kinds of marvelous things happen; the model
poem is William Shakespeare’s “Come Unto These Yellow Sands” (Koch, 1990). This poem,
“The Majestic Mountain,” was written by a seventh grader, Angelica:
Come unto the majestic mountain
Where days are filled with wonder,
And nights with harmony.
Where evergreen trees persevere
Marking the passing epochs.
Come, let me take your hand
As we ascend the exalted mountain.
Angelica referred to a thesaurus for more sophisticated words as she fine-tuned her poem; for
instance, she changed mighty to exalted in the last line.
Poetic Devices
Poets choose words carefully. They create strong images when they repeat sounds within a line
or stanza, imitate sounds, use unexpected comparisons, repeat words and phrases, and
choose rhyming words. These techniques are called poetic devices. Many students notice these
devices when they read poems, and they need to be aware of them before they can use them in
their writing. Familiarity with the appropriate terminology—comparison, alliteration, onomato-
poeia, repetition, and rhyme—is also helpful when students want to compliment classmates on
their use of a device or suggest that they try a particular device.
ALLITERATION Alliteration is the repetition of an initial consonant sound in consecu-

tive words or in nearby words. Repeating an initial sound makes poetry fun to read, and stu-
dents enjoy reading and reciting alliterative books, such as Jane Bayer’s A My Name Is Alice
(1992), Agent A to Agent Z (Rash, 2004), and Chris Van Allsburg’s The Z Was Zapped (1987).
Students often follow the format of Van Allsburg’s book to make their own versions.
COMPARISON Students use comparisons—metaphors and similes—to describe images,

feelings, and actions in the poems they write. A metaphor compares two things by implying that
one thing is something else, and a simile is an explicit
comparison of one thing to another, signaled by the use
of the words like or as. Students learn traditional compar-
isons, such as “high as a kite” and “soft as a feather,” in
kindergarten or first grade, and then they experiment with
creating new comparisons, such as this metaphor:
Anger is a volcano
Erupting with poisonous words.
Sixth grader Maya uses a combination of traditional and
unexpected similes for her poem, “Families”:
Families are like treasure chests
They are full of surprises.
Sixth grade teacher Dani Ramsey reviews poetic devices
Families are like a fort
before giving an assignment for writing biopoems, poems
They protect you from harm. about real people. How is knowing a variety of poetic devices
Families are like fireworks useful to young writers?
They are loud and beautiful.

Families are like the weather
They keep changing.
Families are like clothes
They come in assorted sizes and colors.
ONOMATOPOEIA Poets use onomatopoeia, words such as crash, slurp, varoom, and
me-e-e-ow that sound like their meanings, to make their writing more sensory and more vivid.
Students often compile a list of sound words that they find in stories and poems, display the
list in the classroom, and refer to it when they’re writing. Koch (2000) recommends having
students write noise poems in which they include a noise or sound word in each line. Their first
poems may sound contrived (e.g., “A dog barks bow-wow”), but through these experiences,
students learn to use this poetic device effectively. This poem, “Hurricane,” written by sixth
grader Alex, incorporates onomatopoeia:
Hurricane
Woosh! the wind blows,
The trees snap,
Electric lines spark and sizzle,
A train roars in our driveway.
Then everything is silent

And we see what the noises left.
PERSONIFICATION Poets use personification when they attribute human traits to

inanimate objects, plants, and animals. These traits include qualities, feelings, actions, and
characteristics: For example, jet engines scream during take-off, autumn leaves dance in the
wind, and the earth shivers during an earthquake. Students often assume the viewpoint of an
object, such as their shoe or their backpack, and incorporate personification as they write
from that object’s viewpoint.
REPETITION Repetition of words and phrases is another device that students can use
effectively to structure their writing and add interest. Edgar Allan Poe’s use of the fearful word
nevermore in “The Raven” is one example, and the gingerbread boy’s boastful refrain in The
Gingerbread Boy is another. Repetition adds both structure and enjoyment. As they read a poem
aloud, the teacher reads each stanza, and the children chant the refrain. In the following
poem, “Chocolate,” a fifth grader writes about a piece of chocolate, using the refrain “Here it
comes” to heighten anticipation:
I drool.
Here it comes.
The golden brown covering never looked
so scrumptious, so tempting, so addicting.
Here it comes.
I don’t know anything that’s going on around me.
All I can concentrate on is chocolate.
Here it comes.
I can feel the sweet, rich, thick chocolate

on the roof of my mouth. A-a-a-ah-h!
And the chocolate is gone.
RHYME It’s unfortunate that rhyme has been considered synonymous with poetry.
Although rhyme is an essential poetic device, it shouldn’t dominate students’ poems. When
rhyme comes naturally, it adds a delightful quality, but it can interfere with vivid images. Third
grader Nate describes how quickly his puppy tires after a burst of energy:
Puppies are so much fun.
I love to see them run.
They go so fast,
But they can’t last.
Sleep comes when they’re done.
It’s not enough to just invite students to read and write poems; they need instruction and
guided writing experiences to be successful poets. Students learn to write poems through
minilessons about poetic forms and devices, through reading and examining poems, and by
writing their own poems. At the beginning of the chapter, Miss Clark incorporated these com-
ponents in her poetry workshop, and her sixth graders were very successful. The Instructional
Overview: Poetry shows how students grow in their understanding of what poets do and in
their ability to write poetry.
Instructional Overview Poetry
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten–Grade 2 • Children identify the characteristics of poems.
• Children write collaborative poems.
• Children write formula poems independently.
Grades 3–5 • Students use the writing process to craft effective poems.
• Students write formula, free-form, word- and syllable-count, and model poems.
• Students identify poetic devices in the poems they read.
• Students incorporate one or more devices in the poems they write.
Grades 6–8 • Students develop a repertoire of poetic forms.
• Students analyze how poets use poetic devices.
• Students incorporate poetic devices in the poems they write.
Introducing Poetry Writing

Many students have misconceptions about poetry. Too often, they think poetry has to rhyme,
or they’re unsure how it should look on a page. Students need to develop a basic understand-
ing of the genre as they begin to write poems. One way to expand their knowledge is to share
a variety of poems written by children and adults. Teachers can choose from poems included
in this chapter as well as poems written by well-known poets, such as Karla Kuskin (2003),
David McCord (1999), and Jack Prelutsky (2013a, 2013b). It’s important to include poems
that don’t rhyme and concrete poems with unique formatting.
Teachers often develop a chart with their students about the poetry genre; sixth graders
developed the genre chart in Figure 7–1. Expanding students’ understanding of poetry is a
crucial first step because although they have some knowledge about poetry, many of their
ideas are antiquated. To learn more about teaching students how to write poems, teachers
can check the books listed in Mentor Texts: How to Write Poetry.
Writing Workshop
Students apply what they’re learning about poetry and use the writing process to craft their
poems during writing workshop. Many teachers begin with a formula poem, such as color
poem, because the form makes the writing easier for students who don’t think they can write
poetry. Too often, teachers will explain several poetic forms and then allow students to choose
any form they like and write poems. This approach, however, ignores the teaching compo-
nent; it’s back to the “assign and do” syndrome. Instead, students need opportunities to
experiment with a poetic form. A good way to scaffold them is to write a collaborative poem
together as a class or in small groups; this step provides a practice run for students who aren’t
sure what to do, and the 5 minutes it takes to write a collaborative poem often makes the
difference between success and failure. After these preliminary experiences, students are pre-
pared to apply what they’ve learned to write poems.
TEACHING MINILESSONS Teachers teach minilessons on poetry forms as part of

writing workshop, and they use mentor texts with examples of the concepts they’re teaching.
They also teach students about alliteration, personification, and the other poetic devices and
how to use them to make the poems they’re writing more effective. Minilesson: Poetic Devices
shows how a fifth grade teacher teaches her students to analyze and write poetry.
Figure 7–1 GUIDED WRITING: SIXTH GRADERS’ GENRE CHART
Rules for Writing Poetry

1. Writers write poems to make you laugh or cry or to create word pictures.
2. Writers choose silly or serious topics.
3. Writers can use rhyme, but they don’t have to.
4. Writers use formulas to organize their poems, or they write free-form poems.
5. Writers use their “voice” to set the tone.
6. Writers decide if they want to capitalize any words.
7. Writers decide if they want to add punctuation marks.
8. Writers can write poems in shapes or anywhere on a page.
Mentor Texts How to Write Poetry

Topic Books
Advice From Janeczko, P. B. (Ed.). (2002). Seeing the blue between: Advice and inspiration for young
Published Poets poets. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Koch, K. (1990). Rose, where did you get that red? Teaching great poetry to children.
New York: Vintage. MU
Koch, K. (2000). Wishes, lies, and dreams: Teaching children to write poetry. New York:
HarperPerennial. PM
Prelutsky, J. (2008). Pizza, pigs, and poetry: How to write a poem. New York: Greenwillow. PM
Wong, J. S. (2002). You have to write. New York: McElderry. PM
Wood, J. R. (2006). Living voices: Multicultural poetry in the middle school classroom. Urbana, IL:
National Council of Teachers of English. U
Forms and Fletcher, R. (2002). Poetry matters: Writing a poem from the inside out. New York:
Formulas HarperCollins. MU
Janeczko, P. B. (2009). A kick in the head: An everyday guide to poetic forms. Cambridge, MA:
Model Poems Fletcher, R. (2005). A writing kind of day: Poems for young poets. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills
Press. MU
Koch, K. (1990). Rose, where did you get that red? Teaching great poetry to children. New York:
Vintage. MU
HarperPerennial. PM
Sidman, J. (2007). This is just to say: Poems of apology and forgiveness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. M
Wood, J. R. (2006). Living voices: Multicultural poetry in the middle school classroom. Urbana, IL:
National Council of Teachers of English. U
Teaching Tools Fletcher, R. (2002). Poetry matters: Writing a poem from the inside out. New York: Harper-Collins. MU
Franco, B. (2006). Math poetry: Linking language and math in a fresh way. Tucson, AZ: Good Year
Books. PM
Heard, G. (1999). Awakening the heart: Exploring poetry in elementary and middle school.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. PMU
Koch, K. (1990). Rose, where did you get that red? Teaching great poetry to children. New York:
Vintage. MU
HarperPerennial. PM
Prelutsky, J. (2005). Read a rhyme, write a rhyme. New York: Knopf. PM
Prelutsky, J. (2008). Pizza, pigs, and poetry: How to write a poem. New York: Greenwillow. PM
Wong, J. S. (2002). You have to write. New York: McElderry. PM
INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY Students use technology during writing work-

shop to learn about poetry and to write and share their own poems with wider audiences.
Here are five technology applications:
Connecting With Poets. Students learn about poets and listen to them reading and discuss-
ing their own writing online. Many poets have their own websites, such as Jack Prelutsky
(http://www.jackprelutsky.com), Joyce Sidman (http://www.joycesidman.com), and Janet
Wong (http://www.janetwong.com), with biographical information, interviews, information
TOPIC: Poetic Devices
Minilesson GRADE: Fifth Grade

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: RL 5.4, RL 5.5,
W 5.5, W 5.10
The fifth graders in Ms. Cook’s class are reading and writing poems during their workshop
period. The teacher has taught a series of minilessons on repetition, rhyme, alliteration,
comparison, and onomatopoeia; as part of each minilesson, the students made a chart
about the poetic device and posted it in the classroom. In today’s minilesson, Ms. Cook
asks her fifth graders to apply what they’ve learned about poetic devices to write their own
poems.

Ms. Cook says, “We’ve been reading a lot of poems and figuring out what poets do to
craft a good poem. I’m thinking you’re eager to try out these poetic devices in your own
poems.” Students offer a variety of devices, including this one from Heather: “Poets
choose the best words and sometimes make you laugh.”
2 Share Examples
The teacher displays three familiar poems on the interactive whiteboard. She rereads
“Snow Rhyme,” by Christine Crow (Yolen, 1993), and a student points out that it rhymes.
Next, she rereads “Dad,” by Janet Wong (Kennedy & Kennedy, 1999), and a student says
he likes how the poet compared a dad to a turtle. Then she rereads “A Pizza the Size of
the Sun,” by Jack Prelutsky (2013a), and several students volunteer that the exaggeration
is funny and the poet uses both rhyme and repetition. Finally, Darren blurts out, “I get it.
You want us to think about the five kinds of poetic devices, and then we can use them in
our own poems.”
Ms. Cook agrees, adding, “Now you’re going to experiment with a poetic device in your
own poems,” and she reviews the five posters.
4 Guide Practice
Ms. Cook asks students to choose a poetic device to use. She reminds them of topics the
authors used; if they don’t already have a topic, she suggests they look at their brain-
stormed list of topics. The teacher circulates as the students begin writing in their poetry
notebooks, assisting anyone who’s having difficulty.
5 Assess Learning
Ms. Cook asks students to write the poetic device they used under the poem they wrote
and to underline its use in the poem.
about their books, and other activities. In addition, in its Writing With Writers section, Scho-
lastic (http://www.scholastic.com) features a step-by-step workshop with Karla Kuskin and
other poets sharing how they write and inviting students to write their own poems.
Poetry Forms. Students explore poetry forms and read poems written by kids their age
and adults on websites, including Giggle Poetry (http://www.gigglepoetry.com), and they
use online poetry generators to craft their own poems. For more information, check Dig-
ital Toolkit: Online Poetry Generators.
Word Processing. Students use word processing programs to write poems and publish
professional-looking compositions. Unique computer capabilities simplify the writing
process, especially revising and editing the rough draft and designing the final copy.
Illustration Tools. Students use Kid Pix and other digital tools to create poetry projects by
adding graphics, incorporating digital photos, creating a sound track, or producing a
slide show or video.
Publishing. Students publish their poems and enter writing contests online at Poetry 4
Kids (http://www.poetry4kids.com), The Poetry Zone (http://poetryzone.co.uk), and
other free websites. Each site includes information about submitting entries, and parents
are required to sign a statement giving their consent to have their child’s poem considered.
The power of technology to engage students becomes clear when they use technology to write
poems and create poetry projects (Hamilton, 2007).
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Online Poetry Generators
An online poetry generator is an interactive tool that stu- ▶ readwritethink

dents use to learn about poetic forms and write their own (http://www.readwritethink.org)
poems. Most online poetry generators offer formats for The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the
specific kinds of poems. Students choose a poetry form, International Literacy Association (ILA) have created a
such as haiku or limerick, and information is provided to website that provides interactive tools with engaging graphics
explain its formula and the form is illustrated with one or and sound effects for writing acrostics, found poems, riddles,
two sample poems. Next, students see a poetry frame shape poems, and other forms. To locate these tools, click on
and type words in blanks to compose the poem. Once Student Interactives in the Classroom Resources tab and type
they’re satisfied with their work, students click one but- “writing poetry” in the search box. Lesson plans and teacher
ton to view their finished poem and another to print it. and parent resources are included. (Grades K–8)
This online tool allows students to explore poetry
forms and encourages creativity because the focus is on ▶ Poetry Idea Engine
developing ideas. Students don’t worry about the format (http://www.scholastic.com)
because it’s provided for them. This tech resource is avail- At the website, click on Student Activities in the Teachers tab
able at these websites: and type “Poetry Idea Engine” in the search box to reach the
poetry generator. Students compose haikus, free verse,
▶ Poem Generator limericks, and more, but instead of writing words, they
(https://www.poem-generator.org.uk) choose and drag words into the poetry frame to create a
This website provides a very structured format for poetry poem. This online tool is interactive whiteboard ready.
writing. Students select a poem type from a wide variety, then (Grades 1–5)
choose keywords as prompted. When this process is
completed, the student’s poem is automatically generated. In addition to these tools, other writing generators are
This site could serve as an introduction to various kinds of available online that assist students in conducting
poems, but after this practice, students should be encouraged research, organizing ideas, planning stories, and writing
to create poems without it. (Grades 4–8) essays.
How do teachers teach poetry writing?
Teachers differentiate instruction and provide scaffolds so that English learners can
write poetry successfully. They incorporate these components as they differentiate
their instruction:
Step-by-Step Instruction. Teachers present minilessons about poetry forms and
poetic devices to small groups and to the entire class so that students understand how to
write poems.
Models. Teachers share sample poems with students and demonstrate how to write and
revise poems during minilessons. These experiences prepare ELs for writing their own
poems.
Reading–Writing Connections. Teachers link reading and writing because when students
read poems, they’re more prepared to write, and when they write poems, they become
more informed readers.
Collaboration. Teachers provide opportunities for students to work with partners and in
small groups because when classmates work together, they’re usually more successful.
The good news is that English learners are more successful with poetry than with other genres.
Perhaps the structure that the poetic forms provide, or the fact that poems are shorter than
stories or reports, makes writing easier. In addition, ELs’ sometimes unconventional phrasing
can be an asset when they’re writing poetry.
Assessing Poetry
A variety of poetic formulas have been presented in this chapter; they allow students to exper-
iment with different ways to express their thoughts. Although students experiment with differ-
ent forms, they shouldn’t be tested on their knowledge of particular formulas. Knowing, for
example, that a haiku is a Japanese form composed of 17 syllables arranged in three lines
doesn’t make a child a poet. Instead, information about the forms should be available in the
classroom.
Assessing the quality of students’ poems is difficult; instead of giving a grade for quality,
most teachers assess students’ poetry using these criteria:
• Has the student applied the formula?
• Has the student used the writing process to draft, revise, and edit the poem?
• Has the student incorporated a poetic device in the poem?
Teachers incorporate these criteria into rubrics. They also ask students to assess their own
progress in writing poems. Students keep copies of their poems in writing folders or in poetry
booklets so they can review and assess their work. If a grade for quality is absolutely necessary,
students should be permitted to choose several of the poems from their writing folders to be
evaluated.

THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing Poems
Teachers provide instruction on many features of poetry when teaching students to write
poems, and students benefit from being reminded of or taught each of them. Students who
learn to play with words by writing poems will make their writing more effective. Use this
checklist to guide your instruction:
Topics Teachers encourage students to write poems on a wide range of silly and
serious topics.
Poetic Forms Teachers teach students to use a variety of poetic forms.
Poetic Devices Teachers teach the poetic devices so students can use them to make
their writing more effective.
Rhyme Teachers remind students that poems don’t have to rhyme, but they can.
Unwriting Teachers advise students to delete unnecessary words from their poems to
add “punch” to their writing.
Conventions Teachers allow students to experiment with using capitalization and
punctuation in unconventional ways.
Formatting Teachers invite students to arrange poems in different shapes and place
them anywhere on a page.
Sharing Teachers have students share their poems orally to appreciate the cadence
and wordplay.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of teaching poetry writing through
these activities. The questions ask you to collect and analyze data and report the results. Your
your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conducting a minilesson using mentor texts to teach poetry. In your
response, describe the teacher and students, identify the mentor texts, and present
your analysis of the minilesson.
2. Interview a student who has learned about writing poems using poetic devices and
examine a piece of the student’s writing. Ask the student to reflect on his or her use of
the poetic device(s) in the piece of writing. In your response, describe the student,
present your analysis of the student’s knowledge about poetic devices, and include a
copy of the student’s writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson about one poetic device to a small group of students.
Create an anchor poster with key points to use in your lesson. Referring to your
poster in the minilesson, introduce information about the poetic device, and read
and discuss a mentor text. In your response, describe the students, list the steps in
the minilesson, include a copy of the poster, and present your reflections about the
lesson.
167
WRITING POETRY
Isn’t it true that students either have poetic ability or design different arrangements for a collaborative
they don’t? poem. Students can type their poems on the
Perhaps it’s true that great poets are born, not computer and easily arrange them in various
made, but everyone can learn to write poems ways. For example:
successfully. Students benefit from experiences Words
with poems; they develop a sensitivity to lan- written
guage and learn to play with words and evoke up and down
fresh images. The poetic forms presented in this and
chapter have been field-tested, and both teach- centered
ers and students find these poetry-writing activi- SMACK
ties to be valuable learning experiences. in the middle
How can I convince my students that poems don’t of the page—
have to rhyme? That’s a poem to me!
It’s common for students to think that poems If the poem sounds like a paragraph, teach stu-
must rhyme. Begin by teaching students about dents to use “unwriting” and delete unnecessary
the poetic devices and introducing the concept and repetitive function words. For example, the
that poems are more than strings of rhyming following paragraph was unwritten to create the
words. Learning about concrete poems, acros- poem just shown:
tics, list poems, haiku, and other forms that
don’t use rhyme will help students understand In a poem you can write words up and down on a
that they have other options available. Also, it’s page. They are centered right in the middle of the
crucial to read aloud some poetry that doesn’t page. They are fun to write. That’s what a poem is
rhyme. to me.
My students’ poems look more like paragraphs than How can I teach poetry when I’ve never liked it or
poems. What can I do? been any good at writing poetry myself ?
Have students examine the poems written in This book offers a fresh way of writing poetry;
books to see how they’re arranged on the page. the emphasis has changed from rhyming verse to
Also, write class poems and discuss with stu- expressing feelings and creating word pictures.
dents the various options that poets have for Students’ enthusiasm for this type of poetry is
arranging their poems on the page. To demon- contagious, and even the most skeptical teacher
strate some of the options, have small groups quickly becomes a convert.
168
CHAPTER
Narrative Writing 8
First Graders Write Stories. “Clever trick number 4!” cries LaWanda. “That
mean ol’ crocodile is pretending to be a picnic bench.” “Don’t worry, Trunky is going to
warn the kids,” replies Ashton. The first graders in Ms. Dillen’s class are listening to their
teacher reread a favorite story, Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile (2009). They eagerly listen
to the crocodile’s four clever (but unsuccessful) attempts to catch and eat a fat and juicy child
for supper, and they join in as Ms. Dillen reads, predicting the failure of the crocodile’s tricks
again and again. Although many adults find Dahl’s story repulsive, these first graders love it.
Ms. Dillen uses The Enormous Crocodile to explain that stories have three parts: a beginning,
a middle, and an end. The children take turns identifying events in the beginning, middle, and
end of the story. Next, she draws a cluster on chart paper, writes the story’s title in the center
circle, draws three rays, and labels them “Beginning,” “Middle,” and “End.” The children draw
small pictures of the events that belong in each part and add them to the cluster.
The following day, Ms. Dillen uses the cluster to review the story, and then the class
decides to retell the story collaboratively in a six-page book, with one page for the beginning,
one page for each of the four tricks, and one page for the end. Ms. Dillen records their dicta-
tion on the whiteboard, page by page. Then they reread their rough draft, and the children
make several revisions. After a final reading, the children work in teams to draw pictures and
write the text. Then the pages are compiled and bound. Here’s the text of their story, “The
Enormous Crocodile in Ms. Dillen’s Classroom”:
Page 1: The enormous crocodile wanted to eat the children in Ms. Dillen’s class.
Page 2: The enormous crocodile made himself look like a coconut tree. The trick didn’t work.
Page 3: The crocodile tried another trick. He made himself into a seesaw. But Muggle-Wump
warned the children.
Page 4: The crocodile turned himself into a merry-go-round. The Roly-Poly Bird warned the
kids. Clever trick three didn’t work!
Page 5: The crocodile was a picnic bench. Trunky warned the children. Clever trick four
didn’t work either.
Page 6: Trunky spun the enormous crocodile around and around. He threw him up into the sun.
The children personalized the story by having the enormous crocodile try to catch the
children in their class rather than children in the nearby town, as Roald Dahl wrote in
his version of the story.
Several days later, Ms. Dillen suggests that they write another class story using
clever tricks. They brainstorm a list of clever tricks and discuss possible plots. The
class decides to write a story about six hungry rabbits who use clever tricks to fool
a fox so they can eat the vegetables in the garden. The children decide on three
clever tricks and develop a cluster with a beginning, middle, and end. With this
preparation, they dictate the story to Ms. Dillen, who records it on the whiteboard.
169
After they revise their rough draft, Ms. Dillen types the story and makes a copy for each
child. Here’s their story, “The Hungry Rabbits”:
Page 1: Once there were six rabbits. They wanted carrots and lettuce. But the fox chased the
rabbits out of the garden.
Page 2: The rabbits think of clever tricks. They tell the fox there’s a deer in the forest so the fox
will chase the deer instead of them. But the trick didn’t work.
Page 3: The rabbits dig a hole trying to get to the garden but they didn’t dig far enough. They
were only by the fence.
Page 4: Then the rabbits ran to the briar patch and jumped over it. The fox tried to jump over it
but landed in it. “Ouch, ouch,” cried the fox. He couldn’t get out.
Page 5: So the rabbits jumped real high over the briars and got the carrots and lettuce. And they
lived happily ever after.
Now the first graders are prepared to write stories independently. They begin talking
about the stories they want to write, and Ms. Dillen reminds them that their stories should
have a beginning, three (or more) clever tricks in the middle, and an end. Children stack five,
six, or more pages of paper on their desks and begin to work. Eddie eagerly draws a picture in
the top half of each page. Then he writes his story, using a combination of invented and stan-
dard spelling. As soon as he finishes writing, he gets construction paper for the cover and
staples his book together. Then he goes over to Barry’s desk to share his story with his best
friend. “Hey, Bar’, listen to this. You’re gonna love it,” he says. Check the figure Eddie’s Story,
written in standard spelling.
Eddie’s Story
The Dog
Page 1: The little dog is very, very hungry and he sees a little rabbit. He chases the rabbit but
he ran too fast.
Page 2: Clever trick 1. The dog jumped on the rabbit’s tail but the trick didn’t work.
Page 3: Clever trick 2. He hid under the bushes and jumped out of the bush but he missed the
rabbits and they ran away.
Page 4: Clever trick no. 3. The dog dressed up into a carrot and the rabbit walked by the dog
and the dog ate him.
Page 5: That’s the end.
Eddie’s story is well developed: He established a conflict between the hungry dog and the
rabbit in the beginning; in the middle, he presented three attempts to catch the rabbit; and
with the third attempt, the dog is successful. Although the end is not as elaborate as it might
be, it follows the style often used in folktales (e.g., “Snip, snap, snout, this tale’s told out!”)
and in television cartoon shows (e.g., “That’s all, folks!”).
170
C
hildren’s concept of story begins in the
preschool years; children as young as Writing Standards: Writing Narrative
2½ years have a rudimentary sense of
Standard 3 in the grades K–5 and 6–12 Writing strand
story (Applebee, 1978; Pitcher & Prelinger, focuses on narrative writing. Students write narratives
1963). They acquire this concept of story grad- to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
ually, first through listening to stories read effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and
aloud, and later by reading stories themselves well-structured event sequences. They engage and ori-
and telling and writing stories. Not surprisingly, ent the reader by establishing a context and introducing
a narrator and/or characters, and organize an event
older children have a better understanding of
sequence that unfolds naturally and logically. Students
the genre than younger children do. Similarly, use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and
the stories that older children write are increas- description, to develop experiences, events, and/or
ingly complex; plot structures are more tightly characters; and a variety of transition words, phrases,
organized, and characters are more fully devel- and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from
oped. Yet Applebee (1980) found that by the one time frame or setting to another. Students use pre-
cise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details,
time children begin kindergarten, they’ve
and sensory language to convey experiences and events,
already developed a concept of what a story is, and provide a conclusion that follows from the nar-
and these expectations guide them as they rated experiences or events. To learn more about the
respond to stories and tell their own. For exam- Writing Standards, go to http://www.corestandards
ple, he found that kindergartners could use .org/ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational
three story markers: the convention “Once standards website.
upon a time . . . ” to begin a story, the past
tense for telling a story, and formal endings such as “The End” and “they lived happily
ever after.”
Most of the research examining children’s knowledge about stories has been
applied to reading. Children’s concept of story plays an important role in their ability
to comprehend the stories they read (Stein & Glenn, 1979). However, their under-
standing about the genre is equally important in writing (Golden, 1984). Dressel
(1990) found that children who read and discussed higher-quality stories wrote better
stories than children who read lesser-quality stories.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
8.1 Explain the narrative genre.
8.2 Describe the procedures teachers use to teach narrative writing.
THE GENRE: NARRATIVE WRITING

Stories have unique structural elements and stylistic devices that distinguish them from other
genres. In fact, the structure of stories is quite complex because authors manipulate charac-
ter, plot, setting, and other elements to produce interesting stories. The stories that students
write reflect their knowledge about the genre and their experiences reading and analyzing
mentor texts.
171
Plot
Plot is the sequence of events involving characters in conflict situations that can be divided
into the beginning, middle, and end. The plot is based on the goals of one or more characters
(Lukens, Smith, & Miller Coffel, 2013): The main character wants to achieve a goal or solve a
problem, and other characters try to prevent the main character from being successful. The
story is put into motion as the main character attempts to overcome obstacles to reach the
goal or solve the problem.
BEGINNING-MIDDLE-END The most basic aspect of plot is the division of the

main events into three parts: the beginning, the middle, and the end. (With upper grade stu-
dents, the terms often used are introduction, development or complication, and resolution.) In
Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 2012), for instance, the three story parts can be picked out
easily. As the story begins, Max plays a mischievous wolf and is sent to his room for misbehav-
ing. In the middle, Max magically travels to the land of the wild things to become their king.
Then Max feels lonely and returns home to find his supper waiting and still hot—the end of
the story.
Authors include specific types of information in each part. In the beginning, they intro-
duce the characters, describe the setting, and present a problem; the author uses the char-
acters, setting, and events to develop the plot and sustain the theme through the story. In
the middle, authors introduce conflict; they create roadblocks that keep the characters
from solving their problems. How the characters deal with these obstacles adds suspense,
which keeps readers interested. In the end, readers learn whether the characters’ struggles
are successful.
CONFLICT Conflict is the tension or opposition between forces in the plot, and it’s usually
the element that entices readers to continue reading the story. Conflict generally takes one of
four forms (Lukens et al., 2013):
• Conflict between a character and nature
• Conflict between a character and society
• Conflict between characters
• Conflict within a character
Conflict between a character and nature is represented in stories in which severe weather
plays an important role, as in Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the Wolves (2003), and in stories
set in isolated geographic locations, such as Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins (1990), in
which the Indian girl, Karana, struggles to survive on a Pacific island. In some stories, a char-
acter’s activities and beliefs are different from those held by other members of the society, and
these differences cause conflict. One example is Elizabeth Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond
(2001), in which Kit Tyler is accused of being a witch because she behaves in ways that were
acceptable in the Caribbean community where she grew up but not in the New England com-
munity she lives in now. Conflict between characters is used in many stories. In Judy Blume’s
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (2007), for instance, the never-ending conflict between Peter and
his little brother, Fudge, is what makes the story interesting. The fourth type is conflict within
a character. In The Puppeteer’s Apprentice (Love, 2003), for instance, a story set in medieval
England, a timid orphan named Mouse escapes a miserable life and finds happiness when she
learns to be a puppeteer. Mentor Texts: Plot lists stories illustrating conflict and the other
components of plot.
CHAPTER 8 | Narrative Writing 173
Mentor Texts Plot

Component Books
Beginning- Curtis, C. P. (2000). The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963. New York:
Middle-End Laurel Leaf. MU
Fleming, C., & Karas, G. B. (2010). Clever Jack takes the cake. New York:
Schwartz & Wade. P
Lowry, L. (2011). Number the stars. New York: Sandpiper. MU
Mitchell, S. (2007). The ugly duckling. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. PM
Pinkney, J. (2006). The little red hen. New York: Dial Books. P
Schiffer, M. B. (2015). Stella brings the family. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. PM
Willems, M. (2010). Knuffle bunny: An unexpected diversion. New York:
HarperCollins. P
Woodson, J. (2012). Each kindness. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books. PM
Conflict Kajikawa, K. (2009). Tsunami! New York: Philomel. PM
Levine, E. (2007). Henry’s freedom box. New York: Scholastic. M
Lowry, L. (2006). The giver. New York: Delacorte. U
Schwartz, C. R. (2012). The three ninja pigs. New York: Penguin. P
Plot Development Almond, D. (1998). Skellig. New York: Delacorte. U
Bunting, E. (2006). Pop’s bridge. New York: Harcourt. PM
Hale, S. (2007). Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury. MU
Sachar, L. (2008). Holes (10th anniversary ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. U
PLOT DEVELOPMENT Authors develop the plot through these four steps:
• A problem that introduces conflict is presented in the beginning of a story.
• Characters face roadblocks as they attempt to solve the problem in the middle of
the story.
• The high point occurs when the problem is about to be solved; it separates the middle
and the end.
• The problem is solved and the roadblocks are overcome at the end of the story.
The problem is introduced at the beginning of the story, and the main character is faced with
trying to solve it; this problem determines the conflict. Once the problem has been intro-
duced, the author throws roadblocks in the way of an easy solution. As one roadblock is
removed, another emerges to thwart the main character. Postponing the solution by introduc-
ing roadblocks is the core of plot development. Stories may contain any number of road-
blocks, but they typically have three, four, or five.
The high point comes when the solution to the problem hangs in the balance. Tension is
high, and readers continue reading to learn whether the main character will be successful. At
the end of the story, the problem is solved.
Second grade Riley wrote this story,

How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems “Charge!” Notice how clearly he identifies a
problem in the beginning and uses it to drive
The Problem The composition lacks an exciting lead. the plot through the middle and end:
It was a beautifully sunny day with the sun
What Causes It Students often assume that a composition up bright ’n early. And so was the president! He
should be written from beginning to end,
was getting married! So as you probably
and that the lead has to be written first.
However, it’s often more effective if students already know, everybody else was up, too.
postpone creating an exciting lead para-
But the president was a worrywart, so as
graph until after they’ve written the rest of
the rough draft. I’m sure you know, he was worried about what
was on the front page of the newspaper. It
How to Solve It QUICK FIX: During revision, have students said:
generate several leads using a personal expe- Rhino Escaped from Zoo!
rience, a question, a quotation, humor, or a
1,000,000 Dollar Reward
comparison, and then choose the best one
for the composition. They can get feedback “What if it blows down our wedding?” the
about which lead is most effective from
president asked his future wife.
classmates in their revising group.
“Oh, but it won’t, honey,” she replied.
LONG-TERM SOLUTION: In a series of
minilessons, teach students about the differ- But she found out how wrong those very
ent types of leads and have them examine words could be. Right when he slipped the ring
the leads in familiar stories and informa- on her finger, the door blew down and the
tional books. In addition, students can keep missing rhino (now not missing) came charging
a list of interesting leads in their writers’ through the church. Pews were flyin’, the
notebooks or on a classroom chart. church got shattered, and the rhino had its
horn engraved in the organ, which it was shat-
How to Prevent In classrooms where students do a lot of tering as well.
the Problem reading, they’re better able to write different
types of effective leads. “Run for your lives!” someone shouted.
“Break for it!” shouted someone else.
“It’s the rhino that escaped from the zoo!” shouted another.
All of the people but twelve got out. Those twelve, all mighty and strong if you hope to
know, were trying to pick up the rambunctious rhino. After an hour and a half, they hauled off
the mighty being. So they returned the rhino, got the million, split it up, and went home to tell
the tale.
The president did the marriage again (without the rhino), and Washington had other
marriages (without the rhino), and it lived happily ever after (without the rhino).
The rhino presents the conflict in this story, and it’s classified as conflict between characters
and nature. This story shows how even young children can craft effective stories using conflict.
This story is even more charming because of Riley’s sophisticated vocabulary, expressions, and
asides to readers.
Setting
In some stories, the setting is barely sketched; this is a backdrop setting. Folktales, for example,
have relatively unimportant settings, and the convention “Once upon a time . . . ” is used
to set the stage. In others, however, the setting is integral to the story’s effectiveness; these
settings are integral settings (Lukens et al., 2013). How much attention writers give to describ-
ing the setting depends on whether it’s important to plot and character development. Some
stories could take place anywhere, and the setting requires little description; others, however,
require a specific setting, and authors take care to ensure the authenticity of the historical
period or geographic location in which the story is set.
Setting is one element that many people feel comfortable with. Often they think that set-
ting is simply where the story takes place. Certainly location is an important dimension, but
there are three other dimensions as well: weather, time, and time period.
LOCATION Location is the very important dimension of setting in many stories. For
example, the Boston Commons in Make Way for Ducklings (McCloskey, 2004), postwar Holland
in Boxes for Katje (Fleming, 2003), isolated Mount Eskel in Princess Academy (Hale, 2007), and
Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series are integral to these stories’ plots. The settings are artfully
described and add a unique dimension to the story. In contrast, many stories take place in
everyday settings that don’t contribute to the stories’ effectiveness.
WEATHER Weather is the second dimension and, like location, is crucial in some stories;
at other times, the author may not even mention the weather because it doesn’t affect the
story. Many stories take place on warm, sunny days. Think about the impact weather could
have on a story; for example, what might have happened if a thunderstorm had prevented
Little Red Riding Hood from reaching her grandmother’s house?
TIME The third dimension, time, involves both time of day and the passage of time within
a story. The time of day isn’t significant in many stories, except for ghost stories, which typi-
cally take place after dark. Many stories span a brief period of time, often less than a day. Mo
Willems’s picture book Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (2004), for instance, takes place in 2 or
3 hours. Other stories, such as The Little Red Hen (Pinkney, 2006) and Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen
(Best, 2006), span months or years.
TIME PERIOD The fourth dimension of setting is the time period in which a story is set.
The time period is important in stories that are set in the past or in the future. For example, Karen
Hesse sets her lyrical novel Witness (2003) in 1924, and she uses the voices of 11 townspeople to
bear witness to what happens when the Ku Klux Klan moves into a small Vermont town. Other
stories, such as Eager (Fox, 2004), are set in the future and raise important questions about what
it means to be human. Stories with integral settings are listed in Mentor Texts: Setting. These
stories illustrate the four dimensions of setting—location, weather, time, and time period.
Even though this element is often taken for granted, an integral setting exerts a great deal
of influence on a story. Watson (1991) recommends that teachers help students to recognize
the importance of setting as a narrative element and to notice the connections between set-
ting and plot, character, and other elements. For example, in Number the Stars (Lowry, 2011),
a story of two friends—a Christian child and a Jewish child—set in Denmark during World War
II, the setting is integral to the development of the plot. The time period influences the plot
development because readers expect that the Nazis will try to relocate the Jewish girl and her
family and that the Christian girl and her family will try to protect or rescue the Jewish family.
Characters
Characters are the people or personified animals in a story. Often character is the most import-
ant element because the experience the author creates for readers is centered on a character
Mentor Texts Setting

Component Books
Location Hale, S. (2007). Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury. MU
LaMarche, J. (2016). Pond. New York: Simon & Schuster Paula Wiseman Books. PM
Patron, S. (2006). The higher power of Lucky. New York: Atheneum. U
Pfeffer, S. B. (2011). The world we live in (Life as we know it series). New York:
Harcourt. U
Rowling, J. K. (1997–2007). Harry Potter series. New York: Scholastic. MU
Rylant, C. (2017). Henny, Penny, Lenny, Denny, and Mike. New York: Beach Lane Books. P
Sachar, L. (2008). Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. M
Weather Kajikawa, K. (2009). Tsunami! New York: Philomel. PM
Lehman, B. (2017). Red again. New York: Harcourt. P
Paterson, K. (2005). Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Harper Trophy. M
Steig, W. (2011). Brave Irene. New York: Square Fish Books. PM
Taylor, T. (2003). The cay. New York: Laurel Leaf. U
Time Bunting, E. (1999). Smoky night. San Diego: Harcourt. M
Hutchins, P. (2005). Rosie’s walk. New York: Aladdin Books. P
Mitchell, S. (2007). The ugly duckling. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. PM
Steig, W. (2006). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Aladdin Books. PM
White, E. B. (2006). Charlotte’s web. New York: HarperCollins. M
Time Period Cline-Ransome, L. (2013). Light in the darkness. New York: Disney Jump at the Sun Books. PM
Curtis, C. P. (2000). The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963. New York: Laurel Leaf. MU
Levine, E. (2007). Henry’s freedom box. New York: Scholastic. PM
Nielson, J. A. (2015). A night divided. New York: Scholastic. U
Peterson, K., & Churchill Club, T. (2015). The boys who challenged Hitler. New York: Farrar,
Straus & Giroux. U
or group of characters. Usually, one fully rounded character and two or three supporting
characters are developed in a story. Fully developed characters have all the characteristics of
real people. Mentor Texts: Characters lists books with fully developed main characters.
In Olive’s Ocean (Henkes, 2005), for instance, 12-year-old Martha is the main character.
On her family’s summer visit to her grandmother’s beach cottage, Martha gains perspective
on the death of a classmate named Olive. Readers get to know her as a real person as she
shares secrets with her aging grandmother, exchanges a kiss with an older boy who then
betrays her trust, and decides to become a writer. Readers also get to know a little about the
supporting characters in the story: the people in Martha’s family; her boyfriend, Jimmy, and
his brother, Tate; and even Olive and her mother.
Characters are developed in four ways:
• Appearance: Authors generally provide some physical description—facial features, body
shapes, habits of dress, mannerisms, or gestures—when characters are introduced.
• Action: What a character does is the best way of knowing about him or her, and it
drives the plot.
Mentor Texts Characters

Grade Levels Books
Kindergarten– Dykman, A. (2015). Wolfie the bunny. New York: Little, Brown Books for
Grade 2 Young Readers.
Kugler, T. (2016). Snail and worm: Three stories about two friends. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.
Lionni, L. (2006). Alexander and the wind-up mouse. New York: Knopf.
Nargi, L. (2011). The honeybee man. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
Steig, W. (2006). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Aladdin Books.
Zelinsky, P. O. (1996). Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Puffin Books.
Grades 3–5 Hale, S. (2007). Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury.
Hopkins, H. J. (2013). The tree lady: The true story of how one tree-loving woman changed a city forever.
New York: Beach Lane Books.
Lowry, L. (2011). Number the stars. New York: Sandpiper.
Paterson, K. (2005). Bridge to Terabithia. New York: Harper Trophy.
Rubin, A. (2016). Those darn squirrels and the cat next door. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Books for Young Readers.
Stimpson, C. (2013). Jack and the baked beanstalk. Surrey, UK: Templar Publishing.
Grades 6–8 Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games trilogy. New York: Scholastic.
Cushman, K. (2005). Catherine, called Birdy. New York: HarperCollins.
Lowry, L. (2006). The giver. New York: Delacorte.
Paulsen, G. (2007). Hatchet. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Sanchez, A. (2003). Rainbow boys trilogy. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Schmidt, G. E. (2007). The Wednesday wars. New York: Clarion Books.
Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic.
Shulman, M. (2012). Scrawl. New York: Square Fish Books.
• Dialogue: What characters say is important, but so is the way they speak.
• Monologue: Authors provide insight into their characters by telling what they’re thinking.
Authors use these four techniques to bring their characters to life. Shannon Hale uses all
four in her Newbery Honor book, Princess Academy (2007). In the story, 14-year-old Miri and
all the teenage girls from her mountain village are sent to an academy for potential princesses,
but the story’s not about becoming a princess. Instead, it’s about Miri, who feels she is a bur-
den to her family. While she’s at the academy, she discovers a way to improve the quality of life
for the people in her village, and in the process, she learns to value herself. Her appearance is
unremarkable: She’s a slight girl, named for a tiny mountain flower. She’s too delicate for
strenuous quarry work, but Miri does her part by cleaning the house, caring for the goats, and
bartering with the traders. Her actions are important: She learns to read easily, teaches the
village elders how to improve the village’s economy, and summons help when the girls at the
academy are kidnapped. Miri’s personality is unveiled through dialogue: She’s cheeky, for
example, when the soldiers come to take her to the academy. Through monologue, we under-
stand that Miri fears she’s a burden to her village, and we learn about her growing affection
for her friend Peder.
Theme
Theme is the underlying meaning of a story, and it embodies general truths about society or
human nature. According to Lehr (1991), the theme “steps back from the literal interpreta-
tion” to state more general truths (p. 2). The theme usually deals with the characters’ emo-
tions and values.
Themes can be stated explicitly or implicitly (Lukens et al., 2013): Explicit themes are
stated openly in the story, but implicit themes are suggested through characters’ actions, dia-
logue, and monologue as they strive to resolve their problems. Friendship, responsibility, cour-
age, and kindness to others are common topics around which authors build themes.
In Charlotte’s Web (2006), E. B. White builds a theme around the topic of friendship. Wil-
bur, who is grateful for Charlotte’s encouragement and protection, remarks that “friendship is
one of the most satisfying things in the world” (p. 115); Wilbur’s statement is an explicitly
stated theme. Friendship is also central to Bridge to Terabithia (Paterson, 2005), but it’s implied
through Jess and Leslie’s enduring friendship rather than explicitly stated in the text. For other
useful texts, check Mentor Texts: Theme.
Students develop and refine their understanding of theme as they read and respond to
literature. Kindergartners have a very rudimentary sense of theme, and through a wide expo-
sure to books and many opportunities to discuss books, they grow in their ability to under-
stand themes (Au, 1992). Even so, students in the middle and upper grades often think
about theme differently than adults do (Lehr, 1991). Older children become more sensitive
to the structure of stories, develop a greater ability to generalize story events, increasingly
Mentor Texts Theme

Grade Levels Books
Kindergarten– Adderson. C. (2015). Eat, Leo! Eat! Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.
Grade 2 Demi. (2007). The empty pot. New York: Henry Holt.
Ludwig, T. (2013). The invisible boy. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Mitchell, S. (2007). The ugly duckling. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Steig, W. (2006). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Aladdin Books.
Woodson, J. (2001). The other side. New York: Putnam.
Grades 3–5 De la Peña, M. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New York: Penguin.
Kajikawa, K. (2009). Tsunami! New York: Philomel.
Law, I. (2008). Savvy. New York: Dial Books.
Naylor, P. R. (2000). Shiloh. New York: Aladdin Books.
Ryan, P. M. (2002). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic.
Uhlberg, M. (2016). The sound of all things. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.
Grades 6–8 Babbitt, N. (2007). Tuck everlasting. New York: Square Fish Books.
Lord, C. (2017). A handful of stars. New York: Scholastic.
Lowry, L. (2006). The giver. New York: Delacorte.
Patron, S. (2006). The higher power of Lucky. New York: Atheneum.
Sachar, L. (2008). Holes (10th anniversary ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic.
understand the characters’ motivations and the subtleties of the plot, and expand their own
worldviews and ability to interpret literature.
Most stories have more than one theme, and as students talk about stories, they may
head toward a different theme, rather than the one the teacher had in mind. In this way,
teachers can gain new insights about themes from their students (Au, 1992).
Point of View
People see the world from different points of view; listening to several people recount an event
they have all witnessed proves the impact of viewpoint. The focus of the narrator determines
to a great extent readers’ understanding of the story—the characters, the events—and whether
readers will believe what they’re being told.
Authors use these four viewpoints to tell a story:
First-Person Viewpoint. Authors tell the story through the eyes of one character, using the
first-person pronoun I. This viewpoint enables readers to live the story as the narrator tells it.
Omniscient Viewpoint. Authors are godlike, seeing and knowing all. They tell readers
about the thought processes of each character without worrying about how the informa-
tion is obtained.
Limited Omniscient Viewpoint. Authors use this point of view to overhear the thoughts of
one of the characters without being all-knowing. The story is told in the third person, and
authors typically concentrate on the thoughts and feelings of the main character.
Objective Viewpoint. Authors write as though they were making a film of the story and
learn only from what can be seen or heard. Readers are confined to the immediate scene.
A limitation of this perspective is that authors can’t probe very deeply into characters
(Lukens et al., 2013).
Stories representing each viewpoint are listed in Mentor Texts: Point of View.
Sometimes authors tell stories from two or more viewpoints. Paul Fleischman, for example,
has written two stories using multiple viewpoints: In Bull Run (1993), he paints a vivid portrait
of the first battle of the Civil War using 16 voices, and with 13 voices in Seedfolks (1997), he
tells how an inner-city vacant lot is transformed into a community garden.
Narrative Devices
In addition to the five elements of story structure, authors use narrative devices to make their
writing more vivid and memorable; without these devices, writing can be lifeless and dull
(Lukens et al., 2013). A list of narrative devices is presented in Figure 8–1. Imagery is proba-
bly the most commonly used device; many authors use it as they paint rich word pictures
that bring their characters and settings to life. Authors use metaphors and similes to com-
pare one thing to another, personification to endow animals and objects with human quali-
ties, and hyperbole to exaggerate or stretch the truth. They also create symbols as they use
one thing to represent something else. In Chris Van Allsburg’s The Wretched Stone (1991), for
example, the glowing stone that distracts the crew from reading, from spending time with
their friends, and from doing their jobs symbolizes television or, perhaps, computers. For
students to understand the theme of the story, they need to recognize symbols. The author’s
style conveys the tone or overall feeling in a story; some are humorous, some are uplifting
celebrations of life, and others are sobering commentaries on society.
Young children focus on the events and characters as they read and write stories, but stu-
dents gradually become more sophisticated readers and writers. They learn to notice both
Mentor Texts Point of View

Viewpoint Books
First Person Applegate, K. (2015). The one and only Ivan. New York: HarperCollins. U
Cushman, K. (2005). Catherine, called Birdy. New York: HarperCollins. U
Frank, S. (2018). One chance. Tampa, FL: BeaLu Books. MU
Kearney, M. (2013). Trouper. New York: Scholastic. PM
Ludwig, T. (2012). Confessions of a former bully. New York: Dragonfly Books. U
Scillian, D. (2016). Memoirs of a parrot. Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. P
Shulevitz, U. (2008). How I learned geography. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. PM
Omniscient DiCamillo, K. (2006). The tale of Despereaux. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Lewis, C. S. (2005). The lion, the witch and the wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins. U
Sachar, L. (2008). Holes (10th anniversary ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. U
Steig, W. (1990). Doctor De Soto. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. PM
White, E. B. (2006). Charlotte’s web. New York: HarperCollins. M
Limited Lowry, L. (2006). The giver. New York: Delacorte. U
Omniscient Rex, A. (2016). School’s first day of school. New York: Roaring Book Press. P
Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone. New York: Scholastic. U
Ryan, P. M. (2002). Esperanza rising. New York: Scholastic. M
Steig, W. (2006). Sylvester and the magic pebble. New York: Aladdin Books. PM
Zelinsky, P. O. (1996). Rumpelstiltskin. New York: Puffin Books. M
Objective Cronin, D. (2011). Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. New York: Simon & Schuster. PM
Ehrlich, A. (2004). Cinderella. New York: Dutton. PM
Kellogg, S. (2002). The three little pigs. New York: Harper Trophy. P
McCloskey, R. (2004). Make way for ducklings. New York: Puffin Books. PM
Potter, B. (2006). The tale of Peter Rabbit. New York: Warne. P
Alternating or Avi. (2004). Nothing but the truth: A documentary novel. New York: Harper Trophy. U
Multiple Daywalt, D. (2013). The day the crayons quit. New York: Penguin Books for Young Readers. P
Viewpoints DiCamillo, K., & McGhee, A. (2014). Bink and Gollie, best friends forever. Somerville, MA:
Candlewick Press. M
Fleischman, P. (2004). Seedfolks. New York: Harper Trophy. M
Grimes, N. (2002). Talkin’ about Bessie. New York: Orchard Books. MU
Hesse, K. (2003). Witness. New York: Scholastic. U
Klise, K. (2009). Dying to meet you: 43 Old Cemetery Road. Boston: Harcourt. M
Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. U
Pearsall, S. (2006). All of the above. Boston: Little, Brown. U
Rosenthal, A. K. (2013). Duck rabbit. New York: Scholastic. P
Schwartz, V. F. (2006). 4 kids in 5E and 1 crazy year. New York: Holiday House. M
what the author says and how he or she says it. Teachers facilitate students’ growth by direct-
ing their attention to narrative devices and to the author’s style as they discuss stories they’re
reading and by encouraging students to use these devices in their own writing.

Figure 8–1 NARRATIVE DEVICES

Comparison Authors compare one thing to another or view something in terms of something else. When the comparison
uses the word like or as, it’s a simile; when the comparison is stated directly, it’s a metaphor. For example,
“the ocean is like a playground for whales” is a simile; “the ocean is a playground for whales” is a metaphor.
Hyperbole Authors overstate or stretch the truth to make obvious and intentional exaggerations for a special effect. “It’s
raining cats and dogs” and “my feet are killing me” are two examples of hyperbole. American tall tales also
have rich examples of hyperbole.
Imagery Authors use descriptive words and phrases to create a picture in the reader’s mind. Instead of saying “the
kitchen smelled good as grandmother cooked Thanksgiving dinner,” authors create imagery when they write
“the aroma of a turkey roasting in the oven filled grandmother’s kitchen on Thanksgiving.”
Personification Authors attribute human characteristics to animals or objects. For example, “the moss crept across the
sidewalk” is personification.
Symbolism Authors use a person, place, or thing as a symbol to represent something else. For example, a dove
symbolizes peace, the Statue of Liberty symbolizes freedom, and books symbolize knowledge.
Tone Authors create an overall feeling in a story through their voice and choice of words. For example, some
stories are humorous, and others are uplifting or scary.
Children develop their concept of story through listening to stories read aloud and telling sto-
ries during the preschool years. With this introduction to narratives, they’re ready to learn
more about how stories are organized and how authors use the elements of story structure to
create stories. Students apply this knowledge to compose the stories they write as well as to
comprehend stories they read. The Instructional Overview: Narrative Writing lists the goals for
teaching about writing stories.
Instructional Overview Narrative Writing
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten–Grade 2 • Children identify the characteristics of a story.
• Children draw and write complete retellings of familiar stories with a beginning,
middle, and end.
• Children compose original stories with a beginning, middle, and end.
Grades 3–5 • Students include conflict situations in their stories.
• Students use more than one technique to develop characters in their stories.
• Students include one dimension of setting in their stories.
• Students rewrite familiar stories from varied viewpoints.
Grades 6–8 • Students use conflict situations to move the story ahead.
• Students craft well-developed characters in their stories.
• Students experiment with different viewpoints in the stories they write.
• Students develop themes in their stories.
Introducing the Genre

Teachers build on students’ concept of story by examining the elements of story structure—
plot, setting, character, theme, and point of view—in mentor texts and then having students
apply these elements in the stories they write. Teachers use an integrated approach in which
students read, listen to, discuss, and write stories. The reading–writing connection is particu-
larly crucial: As readers, students think about how the author used a particular structure and
consider its impact; then, as writers, they experiment with the structure in the stories they
write and consider the impact on their classmates who read them.
Teaching an Element of Story Structure

Teachers teach students about an element of story structure through a series of minilessons in
which they examine mentor texts that illustrate the element. Students read stories and analyze
how authors applied the element in them. They participate in guided practice activities, such as
retelling stories and drawing diagrams, in which they apply the information they’re learning.
Once students understand how to apply what they’ve learned about the element, they write sto-
ries independently. Teachers also use this procedure to teach students about narrative devices.
Guided Practice Activities

Students investigate how authors use plot, character, setting, theme, and point of view
through guided practice activities. As they retell and dramatize stories, compare versions of
stories, and write new versions, students are refining their understanding of the genre and
gaining the experience necessary to write well-developed stories.
RETELLING STORIES Students retell stories orally and in writing to deepen their
understanding of how authors use narrative elements and devices to develop stories. Young
children and English learners are often more successful when they sequence pictures or small
artifacts, use puppets, or wear costumes to scaffold their retelling.
Class Collaboration Retelling. Teachers choose a favorite story that students have read or
listened to several times, and they have each student draw or write a retelling of a page or
episode of the story, then they collect the pages and compile them to make a class book.
Young children can draw pictures and dictate their retellings, which the teacher prints in
large type. Then these pictures and text can be attached to sheets of posterboard to make
a big book that students can read together.
Oral Retelling. Students retell familiar stories to small groups of classmates using simple
hand or finger puppets or with pictures on a flannel board. Similarly, students can invent
original stories to tell.
Retelling With Pictures. Students retell a favorite story by drawing a series of pictures and
compiling them to make a wordless picture book. Young children can make a booklet by
folding one sheet of drawing paper in quarters like a greeting card. Then they write the
title of the book on the front; on the three remaining pages, they draw pictures to repre-
sent the beginning, middle, and end of the story. A first grader’s four-sided booklet is
presented in Figure 8–2.
Written Retellings. Students write retellings of familiar stories in their own words. Predict-
able books—stories that use repetition—are often the easiest to retell. Students don’t
copy the text out of a book; rather, they retell a story that they know well. A sixth grader
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A RETELLING OF THE TALE OF PETER

Figure 8–2
RABBIT
wrote the following retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Notice that her sentences are
written in alphabetical order: The first sentence begins with A, the second with B, the
third with C, and so on.
“Another plain day,” said Little Red Riding Hood. “Boy, oh boy, oh boy,” she wondered.
“Could I do something fun today?”
“Dear,” called her mother to Little Red Riding Hood. “Eat your breakfast and then
take these goodies to Grandma’s house.”
“Fine, I’ll do it. Great,” said Little Red Riding Hood, “my first time I get to go through
the forest.”
“Hold it,” said a wolf in the forest. “I want to look in that basket of yours.”
“Just stay out of there, you wolf. Keep your hands off me! Let go of me, you wolf.”
Mighty and brave, she slapped the wolf. Not knowing what to do, she ran down the path
to Grandma’s house.
Open minded, the wolf ran to Grandma’s house. Putting his hands through the window,
he climbed in and swallowed Grandma. Quietly he jumped in her bed.
Running to Grandma’s house, still scared from the wolf, Little Red Riding Hood knocked
on Grandma’s door. Silently the wolf came to meet her. Too late for Red Riding Hood to run,
she panicked and yelled. Unaware she was. Very loudly her yell traveled through the forest.
Wondering what it was, a woodsman heard it and came to Grandma’s house and
killed the wolf. X-raying the body of the wolf, he saw Grandma.
“Your help sure has paid off,” said Little Red Riding Hood after the woodsman saved
her. Zooming from Grandma’s house came Little Red Riding Hood, to tell her mom what had
just happened.
After writing, students can explain how they used a story element or a narrative device in their
retelling; they can point out the conflict situation, the point of view, or hyperbole. This activity
is a good confidence builder for students who can’t continue a story to its conclusion: By
using a story they’re familiar with, students are more successful.
COMPARING VERSIONS OF STORIES Students compare different versions

of folktales and fairy tales such as “The Hare and the Tortoise” and “Cinderella”; they can
compare the beginning, middle, and end of each version. For example, in one version of
“The Hare and the Tortoise,” the beginning is much longer because the author describes the
elaborate plans for the race, but in other versions, the beginning is brief. Students can also
compare the events in each story. In one version of “Cinderella,” for instance, the heroine
attends two balls.
CHANGING THE VIEWPOINT Students experiment with point of view to under-

stand how the author’s viewpoint can slant a story. They can retell or rewrite a familiar story,
such as Red Riding Hood (Marshall, 1993), from different points of view—through the eyes of
Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, the wolf, or the woodsman. As they shift the point of
view, students learn that they can change some aspects of a story but not others.
Writing Workshop
Students learn about stories and apply what they’re learning in the compositions they write
during writing workshop. Teachers teach minilessons and involve students in guided practice
activities, share mentor texts, and provide independent
writing time so students write stories on their own and
with classmates.
TEACHING MINILESSONS Teachers teach

minilessons about the story genre that focus on the ele-
ments of story structure and on narrative devices; in
these lessons, teachers provide information about the
topic, share mentor texts and anonymous student
samples, and involve students in guided practice activi-
ties. To see how a sixth grade teacher helped her students
work on stories in their multigenre projects on ancient
civilizations, check Minilesson: Creating a Historically
Accurate Setting.
I N CO R P O RAT I N G T E C H N O L O GY The
Mrs. Gall, a second grade teacher, has spent a lot of time Internet makes it possible for students to publish their
helping her students understand the parts of a story. How stories using a variety of multimedia formats (Hicks,
does using Venn diagrams to compare stories help her 2009; Richardson, 2010). A microphone, an inexpensive
students better understand the elements of a story? video camera, and a computer with Internet access—that’s
TOPIC: Creating a Historically Accurate Setting
Minilesson GRADE: Sixth Grade

As part of a semester-long unit on ancient civilizations, Mrs. Clay’s sixth graders are working
in small groups to make multigenre projects that focus on each of the civilizations, and each
project will include a story set in that civilization. Mrs. Clay has emphasized that their
stories must be historically accurate. She meets with the small groups during revising
to help them examine the settings they’ve created. Today, she’s meeting with the “Greek
Civilization” group.

Mrs. Clay explains that an important characteristic of historical fiction is that the setting
is detailed and historically accurate. Today, she’d like the students to examine the histor-
ical information included in their story.
2 Share Examples
Mrs. Clay distributes copies of the rough draft of the story to each student. She also
passes out highlighter pens. While one student reads aloud, the others highlight words
and phrases about life in Athens in the story. Then they take turns sharing what they’ve
highlighted.
The teacher commends the students for their use of many historical words, particularly
at the beginning of the story, but she calls their attention to the fact that most of their
highlighted words and phrases are on the first page of the story. She suggests the stu-
dents draw a series of pictures to illustrate the story and add as many historical details to
their drawings as possible. Then they can go back and add historically accurate words
and phrases to the story.
4 Guide Practice
The sixth graders each take a section of the story to illustrate and decide to add phrases
using words from the word wall to mark the historical details in their drawings, for example,
citizens wearing linen tunics at the Temple of Nike on the Acropolis, vendors at the crowded agora
selling goats and sheep, women in the looming room making clothes for their family, altars to Zeus in
the courtyard of the home, and slaves who are craftsmen making pottery and shields. Then they add
many of these historical details to their story.
5 Assess Learning
Mrs. Clay will assess students’ use of historically accurate information and vocabulary
when she reads their published stories.
all students need. As they develop these projects, students learn to use digital tools and work
collaboratively with classmates. Students incorporate audio and visual components into
narrative writing in these ways:
Podcasts. Students make and share podcasts of stories they’ve written. They create
audio files by reading their stories aloud and editing them with software such as Audac-
ity and then publish them using an Internet server such as Podifier. Students can also
make podcasts as they retell familiar stories or tell narratives from different characters’
viewpoints.
Video Podcasts. Students shoot videos of classmates reading their newly published stories
aloud from the author’s chair and share them online. It’s easy to create video podcasts,
often called vidcasts or vodcasts, using inexpensive video cameras and free online editing
software.
Digital Storytelling. Students create short multimedia productions of stories they’ve writ-
ten by combining audio narration with visuals and music and post them online. To learn
more, check Digital Toolkit: Digital Storytelling.
Teachers begin these projects by sharing sample programs and teaching students how to
use the digital tools and software they’ll need for these productions. The Internet has
numerous examples of podcasts, video podcasts, and digital storytelling that were created
by K–8 students.
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Digital Storytelling
Students create digital movies to tell stories they’ve writ- 1. Introduction. Teachers share samples of digital
ten; these 2- to 5-minute movies combine the narrated stories and explain how they’re created.
text with photos, video clips, and sound tracks (Frazel, 2. Digital Tools. Teachers teach students how to use
2010; Miller, 2014). Digital storytelling boosts students’ the digital equipment and software programs.
motivation, fosters a new appreciation for the power of 3. Collaborative Story. Teachers and students develop
stories, and helps them develop their own voice (Sylvester a story to review the procedure and practice using
& Greenidge, 2009). Students learn to use these tools as digital tools.
they create digital stories: 4. Story Selection. Students choose stories they’ve
• Digital cameras to take photos written for the project.
• Photo Story 3 or Keynote to create slide shows 5. Storyboards. Students make storyboards to design
• Animoto to turn slides into video productions the visual component and connect it with the narra-
• Video cameras to film video clips tion and the sound track.
• iMovie or Movie Maker to import and edit the audio 6. Visuals. Students film video clips and take photos.
and video components 7. Narration. Students record the narration.
• GarageBand to create the sound track with music and 8. Sound Track. Students create the music and sound
sound effects effects.
9. Editing. Students use a video editor to fine-tune the
Older students and parent volunteers often serve as tech
audio and video components.
assistants to help students with digital tools.
10. Publish. Students upload their stories using Teacher-
Digital storytelling fits into writing workshop: Teach-
Tube or another video-sharing website.
ers teach students about digital tools in minilessons, and
students write stories and create digital projects during The publishing step is crucial because students need real
independent writing. Here are the steps: audiences to view their projects.
PREPARING FOR WRITING TESTS Students are often asked to write stories
on district and state writing tests. The stories students create include a beginning, middle, and
end; use conflict and suspense to move the plot along; establish the setting; and develop the
main character through description, dialogue, and behavior. For more information, check
Preparing for Writing Tests: Stories.

Stories
Stories are accounts of a series of events, told in chronological order, and they include charac-
ters, a setting, and a plot in which a problem is identified and later solved. They’re organized
into a beginning, middle, and end. The characters, setting, and problem are introduced in the
beginning. In the middle, the problem gets worse, and roadblocks are thrown in the way of the
character trying to solve the problem; then the problem is finally resolved in the end. Stories are
invented; they’re based on the writer’s imagination and creativity. Students write stories in either
first or third person, and they use narrative devices, including comparison, imagery, and symbol-
ism, to make their writing more interesting. Stories also have a theme that provides insight into
human nature. Stories are similar to personal narratives, but they’re usually fictional; in con-
trast, personal narratives are based on real events.
WHAT DO WRITERS DO?

• Develop the plot with dramatic action
• Organize the story into the beginning, middle, and end
• Stay focused on story events
• Develop the characters and their goals
• Create a setting using descriptive details
• Tell the story from a clear, consistent viewpoint
• Use dialogue or another narrative device effectively
• Suggest a theme or central idea
• Hold the readers’ interest with their writer’s voice

• List a series of events without tying them together
• Omit the middle of the story
• Describe a character without creating a story
SAMPLE PROMPTS
• Imagine that you started to shrink: You got smaller and smaller. Create an interesting story
about what happens to you.
• Imagine that you’re a player on your favorite sports team. Write a story about your
experience. Be sure to organize it with a beginning, middle, and end, and include details to
help readers imagine the experience.
How do teachers scaffold the teaching of narrative
writing?
Teachers differentiate instruction as they provide additional instruction about the
narrative genre and involve English learners in these guided practice activities that
link talking, reading, and writing:
Wordless Picture Books. ELs tell and write stories to accompany wordless picture books,
such as Rainstorm (Lehman, 2007) and Frog Goes to Dinner (Mayer, 2003) for younger chil-
dren and Hogwash (Geisert, 2008) and Hurricane (Wiesner, 2008) for older students, but
they often benefit from more guidance than native English speakers need. Teachers begin
by sharing the story with students, building their knowledge about unfamiliar topics,
introducing new vocabulary, and highlighting the story’s structure. When extra copies of
the book are available, teachers can cut apart two copies and have students sequence the
pages and use them to guide their storytelling. Sometimes teachers write key vocabulary
words on small self-stick notes and attach them to each page to provide additional scaf-
folding for ELs who are telling the story. Once students understand the story, they prac-
tice retelling it orally in small groups or with partners before they write their own versions.
Story Mapping. ELs draw pictures and diagrams called story maps to highlight the structure
of stories they’re reading. For example, after reading The Night I Followed the Dog (Laden,
1994), Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Willems, 2003), or Chato’s Kitchen (Soto, 2008),
students can draw pictures illustrating the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and
create a mountain-shaped plot diagram on which they label key events: the problem at
the beginning, roadblocks thrown in the main character’s way in the middle, the high
point in the action, and finally the resolution. When they’re preparing to write stories,
students draw story maps, or they create storyboards with a series of small drawings to
develop their stories. Then they talk out their story with classmates or the teacher before
they begin to write. Peregoy and Boyle (2013) emphasize the importance of using story
maps and storyboards to help students develop their ideas to create stories.
Collaborative Stories. Teachers work with small groups of ELs to write collaborative stories
before they write independently. Working together, the students invent the characters,
plot, and setting and develop the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Sometimes
teachers take students’ dictation, or they do interactive writing to write the text. Writing a
story together provides extra practice for English learners before they write independently.
Teaching English learners about the narrative genre improves their reading comprehension as
well as their ability to tell and write stories (Fu, 2009).
Assessing Narrative Writing

Assessing the stories that students write means more than just evaluating the quality of their
compositions; it involves these components:
Evaluating Students’ Knowledge About the Genre. Teachers read students’ writing to
determine whether they’ve applied what they’ve learned about the elements of story
structure and narrative devices in their stories. Sometimes teachers ask students to write
letters to them explaining how they applied their knowledge about the genre in their com-
positions, or they ask students to write a reflection to analyze how they used a particular
structural element or narrative device. Assessment Tools: Third Graders’ Self-Assessment
shows what third graders used to self-assess how well they developed the main character
in their stories. They completed the checklist after they wrote their rough drafts and used
the results to make revisions.
Monitoring Students’ Use of the Writing Process. Teachers observe students as they draft
and refine their writing during writing workshop, and they have students submit their
rough drafts along with their final copies to document their use of the writing process.
Teachers also examine the writing strategy annotations that students added in the margin
of their rough drafts to determine how they monitored their progress and solved prob-
lems that arose.
Assessing Students’ Use of the Writer’s Craft. Teachers evaluate the quality of students’
compositions using the writer’s craft—ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence
fluency, conventions, and presentation. In particular, teachers check for these points:
Are the ideas focused and interesting?

Do the ideas enhance the theme?
Is the story organized into a beginning, middle, and end?
Does the conflict build suspense?
Is the writer’s voice appealing?
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Third Graders’ Self-Assessment
Characters
Name _________________________________________________________________________
Story ________________________________________________________________________
Who is the main character? Who are the other characters?
How did you develop the main What is the most important thing
character? about your main character?
______ How the character looks
______ What the character does
______ What the character says
______ What the character thinks
Is the tone appropriate for the story?
Do the words create powerful images?
Are any narrative devices used?
Do the sentences flow smoothly?
Does the dialogue sound natural?
Are spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar generally correct?
Does the paragraphing reinforce the organization?
Does the presentation enhance the story?
Are the text and visuals integrated?
Teachers often use rubrics to assess students’ stories, and they typically include aspects of all
three components.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Narrative Writing

There are several features to include when teaching students to write stories. Students benefit
from minilessons, reading mentor texts, seeing student samples, participating in guided prac-
tice activities, preparing for district and state writing assessments, using technology to pub-
lish, and completing rubrics and other self-assessments. Use this checklist to guide your
classroom instruction:
Minilessons Teachers use minilessons to teach students about story structure and
narrative devices.
Mentor Texts Teachers share mentor texts to show how authors organize stories and
use narrative devices.
Student Samples Teachers have students analyze anonymous student samples to learn
more about the narrative genre.
Guided Practice Activities Teachers involve students in practice activities, including
retelling familiar stories, creating stories for wordless books, and comparing versions
of folktales, to learn how the elements of story structure and narrative devices interact.
Large-Scale Writing Assessments Teachers prepare students for district and state
writing assessments by teaching the narrative genre and having them take practice
tests.
Technology Teachers provide opportunities for students to use digital tools to publish
their stories online.
Narrative Rubrics Teachers design rubrics to address the characteristics of the narra-
tive genre as well as writing strategies and the writer’s craft.
Assessment Teachers introduce the rubric at the beginning of the project so students
know how they’ll be assessed, use it to evaluate students’ writing, and have students
use it to self-assess their compositions.
190
Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of teaching narrative writing
through these activities. The questions ask you to collect and analyze data and report the
results. Your response should meet academic standards and adhere to Standard English con-
ventions. A rubric is available so you can self-assess your response, or your professor can use
it to evaluate your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conducting a minilesson using mentor texts to teach students how
to write a story. In your response, describe the teacher and students, identify the men-
tor texts, and present your analysis of the minilesson.
2. Interview a student who has learned about writing stories using the elements of story
structure and the narrative devices, and examine a piece of the student’s writing. Ask
the student to reflect on his or her use of the elements and narrative devices in the
piece of writing. In your response, describe the student, present your analysis of the
student’s knowledge about the elements of story structure and narrative devices, and
include a copy of the student’s writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson about a narrative device to a small group of students.
in the minilesson, introduce information about the narrative device, and read and dis-
cuss a mentor text. In your response, describe the students, list the steps in the miniles-
son, include a copy of the poster, and present your reflections about the lesson.

NARRATIVE WRITING
I told my sixth graders about plot and then they wrote presented in this chapter. Plot (and the concept
stories, but their writing wasn’t very good. of beginning-middle-end in particular) is the
It sounds as if you explained plot to the students most basic element of story structure. Even older
rather than helping them analyze stories to see students need to understand this basic organiza-
how authors use plot. It’s important to follow tional pattern before examining the other
the instructional procedures laid out in this elements. If students haven’t been taught about
chapter and allow time for students to examine plot, setting, characters, theme, and point of
and experiment with plot before they write sto- view, they need to study each element and write
ries. It isn’t enough to explain an element of stories incorporating it.
story structure to students. Did they write a class What should I do when Wilson can’t write a story?
collaboration story before they wrote individual
You should work with Wilson to figure out why
stories? Writing a collaborative story is an
he can’t. First, check his understanding of the
important step because it gives you an opportu-
elements of story structure. Can he explain an
nity to see if the students understand the ele-
element and give examples? If not, he isn’t pre-
ment and how to apply it in their stories.
pared to write a story incorporating that ele-
Is there a sequence in teaching the elements of story ment and should be involved in additional
structure, or can I teach them all together? activities to examine it. Second, check Wilson’s
Each element should be taught separately, ability to retell a story he’s read that incorpo-
and it’s best to teach the elements in the order rates the element. Can he retell a story orally?
Continued
191
If not, read a short story to him or have him read have time to teach them about story elements. Is
one himself and retell it to you. If he can retell a that OK?
story successfully, you might want to have him Teaching your third graders about the elements
retell a story in writing instead of writing an orig- of story structure should fit well within your writ-
inal story. Third, check to see if he has an idea ing workshop framework. You can teach miniles-
for his story. If he doesn’t, talk to him about sons about the elements of story structure and
possible story ideas, encourage him to write a then have students apply what they’re learning in
sequel to a story he’s read, or, if all else fails, sug- their writing. You’ll find that your students’ sto-
gest that he retell a favorite story. It’s important ries will become more sophisticated when they
for Wilson to write something so he can over- apply information about plot, characters, set-
come his writer’s block. ting, and the other elements of story structure.
There are benefits for reading, too, because
My third graders spend an hour each day in writing knowing about story structure will improve their
workshop and they often write stories, but I don’t reading comprehension.
192
CHAPTER
Biographical
Writing 9
A Class Biography. Mrs. Jordan’s first grade class is studying plants, and they’ve
taken a field trip to a local plant nursery and interviewed an agricultural extension agent.
The teacher reads aloud Aliki’s A Weed Is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver (1988),
and after listening to the book, the children get into a circle to talk about it. Mrs. Jordan starts
by asking “Who wants to begin our conversation about George Washington Carver?” and
then the first graders take turns sharing ideas and asking questions. They talk about how Carver
was born a slave and was taken away from his mother, how he struggled to learn about plants,
and the many uses he found for common plants such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. Tyler asks
why Carver has George Washington’s name, Dylan asks if the class can make a meal entirely from
peanuts like the botanist did, and Jasmine says that Carver reminds her of Martin Luther King Jr.
Mrs. Jordan seizes this opportunity to review the concept of biography. She asks the first grad-
ers if they know what kind of book A Weed Is a Flower is, and when no one recalls the term biography,
she writes the word on the whiteboard and pronounces it. Then Grace remembers that a biography
“is a story of someone’s life,” and Dylan says, “It’s a book that tells about the important things that
happened in somebody’s life.” Rhyan recalls that a biography “tells why we remember the person.”
Mrs. Jordan suggests that the children brainstorm a list of reasons why George Washington
Carver is special and remembered today. Anna suggests, “He invented stuff like peanut butter,”
Rhyan says, “He was a scientist,” and Jasmine comments, “People admired him a lot.” Then Mrs.
Jordan points out that people such as Carver are also a lot like us. The children make a second list
of the ways that Carver is “just like us”; the list includes “he liked peanut butter,” “he was good,”
“he went to college and I’m going to college too,” and “he wanted people to like him.” Each child
chooses something from the “special” list or the “just like us” list as the topic for a quickwrite.
Mrs. Jordan has a set of Aliki’s book, which children reread with her in small groups.
Several children remember Carver’s saying, “A weed is a flower growing in the wrong place,”
and after rereading the book, they decide to make a mural about it. Others work together
in a group to make a life line (a line marked into 10-year intervals on a long sheet of chart
paper) of Carver’s life, noting the most important events, from his birth in 1864 to his
death in 1943; children take turns identifying important events in Carver’s life and writ-
ing them on the chart. Mrs. Jordan shares other information about the famous botanist
and adds some of the information to complete the life line. For the year 1890, for
instance, Hailey wrote, “GWC finally earned enough money to go to college.” After they
finish work, children share their projects with the class.
The class then plans two special whole-class activities: They cook a meal made
entirely of vegetables, including peanut butter, and they make a class collaboration
book about the great botanist. Individually or with a classmate, children choose
events from Carver’s life to write about; on each page, they write a sentence or two
about an event in the botanist’s life and add an illustration. Children use the writing
process to make their class book the best it can be. They begin by drawing their illus-
tration on “good” paper and writing a rough draft of their text on “draft” paper.
Then the class gets into a circle, arranging themselves so the pages of the book
are in sequential order, and the children take turns reading their pages. They read
193
through the entire book; then each page is reread, and classmates offer compliments and sug-
gestions about how to communicate more effectively. As children find gaps, several volunteers
do additional pages to complete the book. Then children make revisions and meet with the
teacher to edit their compositions. Finally, children add the text to the illustrations they’ve
already done, and the book is compiled: They line up to sequence the pages, one child makes
a cover and a title page, and then the book is bound with a plastic spiral. One page is shown
in the figure A Page From a First Grade Collaborative Biography.
Mrs. Jordan inserts a blank page at the back of most books for children, parents, and
other readers to make comments after reading. Children read the book during independent
reading, and they take turns taking the book home for parents to read. Here are some of the
comments on the “Readers’ Comments” page:
This book is so good I read it twice!
Cool, dude!
This book was very interesting. We never get too old to learn.
We have enjoyed each of the books this year.
A Page From a First Grade Collaborative Biography
194
B
iographical writing focuses on people.
Students like to investigate the lives of Writing Standards: Biographical Writing
well-known personalities as they read
Writing Standard 2 in the grades K–5 and 6–12 Writing
biographies and to share information about strand focuses on addressing descriptive details, clear
themselves and their lives as they write personal event sequences, and narrative techniques (dialogue,
narratives and autobiographies. Morgan (2016) description, and pacing; transitional words, phrases,
explains that this genre engages students’ imagi- and clauses for managing the sequence of events; con-
nations: When they read biographies, they step crete words and phrases and sensory details for convey-
ing experiences). To learn more about the Writing
into other lives and different worlds as they
Standards, go to http://www.corestandards.org/
learn about people, and when they write biogra- ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational stan-
phies, they present the world the person lived in dards website.
by incorporating details often overlooked.
Students’ biographical writing goes beyond writing traditional autobiographies
and biography reports: They create bio boxes, for example, by collecting objects rep-
resenting their lives or the life of another person and writing about each object. They
also write personal narratives highlighting events in their own lives, and they create
multigenre projects with collections of letters, poems, and other pieces of writing.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
9.1 Explain the biography genre.
9.2 Describe the procedures teachers use to teach biographies.
THE GENRE: BIOGRAPHY

Writers use the biography genre to tell stories about their lives or the lives of other people. This
genre includes four types of life stories:
• Personal narratives are first-person accounts of single events from the writer’s own life.
• Memoirs are stories to interpret events in a writer’s life.
• Autobiographies are sketches of the writer’s entire life.
• Biographies are stories about selected events in a person’s life or the person’s entire life.
First and foremost, writers provide true accounts of people’s lives. They present personal
information accurately so that readers can gain insight into their subjects’ personalities. Most
life stories are structured like a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, and writers often
sequence events in chronological order, but memoirs often incorporate flashbacks. When
they’re writing about themselves, writers use the first-person (I) viewpoint, but when they’re
writing about others, they use the third-person (he or she) point of view.
Biography is a treasure trove for writers. Ralph Fletcher, who’s written a memoir of his
childhood, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid (2005), describes autobiographical writing
this way: “You’re always an explorer, forever arriving on the shore of yourself ” (2007, p. 97).
Renowned picture book author and illustrator Jeanette Winter tells true stories of people as
a way to celebrate their accomplishments and let others know about them. She’s written
picture-book biographies for K–3 students about remarkable people, including The Watcher:
195
Listen as Heather McColm describes her preparation to Isabelle, one of Mrs. McColm’s sixth graders, shares
engage her sixth graders in writing biographies. Why do her her biography project with her class. Why is it important for
ideas provide sound instructional advice? students to share their writing with classmates?
Jane Goodall’s Life With Chimps (Winter, 2011); Henri’s Scissors (Winter, 2013), about Henri
Matisse; Mr. Cornell’s Dream Boxes (Winter, 2014), about New York artist Joseph Cornell;
Cowboy Charlie: The Story of Charles M. Russell (Winter, 2016); The Librarian of Basra: A True Story
from Iraq (Winter, 2005); and The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid
(Winter, 2017).
Personal Narratives
When writers invite readers to experience something that’s happened to them, they’re writing
personal narratives. A personal narrative includes these characteristics:
• Focuses on one experience
• Written in the first-person I
• Organized into the beginning, middle, and end
• Includes dialogue and rich sensory details
• Explains how the event has affected the writer
Students set a dramatic tone so readers live through the event vicariously and understand
what the experience means to them.
Personal narratives are usually the first type of sustained writing that children do: They
write about themselves, their families, and experiences in their community. Young children as
well as older students (and even adults!) become more active, engaged writers as they write
about themselves. One reason that children are so successful in writing personal narratives is
that they can draw on what they know best—themselves.
Young children’s personal narratives are often written with an illustration and a line of
text on each page. First grade Jessica, for example, writes a line of text on each page of her
“We Went to the Zoo” book:
Page 1: We went to the zoo.
Page 2: We saw a turtle.
CHAPTER 9 | Biographical Writing 197
Page 3: We saw a bunny and we saw

a snake. How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems
Page 4: We saw a monkey.
The Problem The composition lacks focus.
Jessica wrote this book after a class trip to
the zoo, and her experiences are evident in What Causes It Sometimes students begin writing too
the text and accompanying illustrations. quickly. If they don’t understand the writing
In this personal narrative, the writer assignment, or if they begin drafting without
repeats “We saw . . .” to structure the text generating enough ideas to sustain the com-
and simplify the writing task. position, their writing may lack focus.
Older students and more experienced
writers can sustain their account without How to Solve It QUICK FIX: During revising, have students
read their rough drafts and highlight those
a sentence pattern, as third grade Sean’s
sentences that pertain to the focus; they cut
account demonstrates: the other parts and elaborate the highlighted
When I was three and a half years ideas. Sometimes they’ll have to generate
old, my mother and I had a discussion more ideas and reorganize their writing.
about cleaning my room. She was a little
LONG-TERM SOLUTION: Demonstrate
on the upset side. She told me I couldn’t
how to sustain a focus through the writing
play until I cleaned my room up. She
process by doing collaborative compositions
went into the kitchen to cook and left with students. In prewriting, show them how
me to clean my room up. About ten min- to generate and organize ideas, and in revis-
utes later I walked in the kitchen and ing, have them check that all of their sen-
stood there. My mother asked, “That tences pertain to the focus. Also, explain
was fast. Did you already get your that students choose titles for their composi-
room cleaned?” I said, “God told me tions after they finish writing so that their
that I didn’t have to clean my room.” titles will reflect the focus of their writing.
With a shocked look on my mom’s face,
she asked again, “What? God will for- How to Prevent Students who use the writing process to gen-
the Problem erate ideas, draft, and refine their writing
give me this day, so get back in your
create compositions that sustain a clear
room and get it cleaned up!”
focus from beginning to end.
Sean is a more experienced and more flu-
ent writer than Jessica. He wrote several
drafts to develop his account and shared the drafts with classmates, each time revising his
writing to extend and elaborate his account in order to communicate more effectively. He also
met with the teacher to edit his writing and add conventional spelling, capitalization, and
punctuation.
Students can also write personal narratives using their family members’ stories. Dworin
(2006) tells about a class of immigrant children who wrote down their parents’ stories using
Lulu Delacre’s Salsa Stories (2000) as a model. The children asked family members to share a
story about something that really happened with them, and they wrote the stories down. They
brought their rough drafts to school and used the writing process to refine them, and finally
they published an anthology of the family stories, with both English and Spanish versions that
they shared with their families.
Picture books such as Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon (2007), an account of a child’s walk into the
woods on a snowy night to see a great horned owl, and Cynthia Rylant’s The Relatives Came
(1993), the story about a time when relatives visited, are effective examples of personal narra-
tives. A list of additional recommended books for teaching children to write personal narratives
is shown in Mentor Texts: Autobiographies.
Mentor Texts Autobiographies

Type Books
Personal Narratives Bisson, M., & Ramon, E. P. (2017). Hedy’s journey: The true story of a Hungarian
girl fleeing the Holocaust. North Mankato, MN: Capstone. MU
dePaola, T. (2003). What a year. New York: Puffin Books. (One in the series
of 26 Fairmount Avenue books) P
Herrera, J. F. (2006). The upside-down boy. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press. M
Langston-George, R. (2016). For the right to learn: Malala Yousafzai’s story. North Mankato,
MN: Capstone. M
Viorst, J. (2010). Earrings. New York: Atheneum. PM
Wong, J. S. (2000). The trip back home. Orlando: Harcourt. P
Yaccarino, D. (2007). Every Friday. New York: Henry Holt. P
Zullo, A. (2009). Escape: Children of the holocaust. New York: Scholastic. U
Memoirs and Ada, A. F. (2015). Island treasures: Growing up in Cuba. New York: Atheneum. MU
Autobiographies Aldrin, B. (2005). Reaching for the moon. New York: HarperCollins. PM
Cooper, A., & Brooks, J. (2016). Saving Alex: When I was fifteen I told my Mormon parents
I was gay and that’s when my nightmare began. New York: HarperCollins. U
Corwin, J. (2009). Jeff Corwin: A wild life. New York: Puffin Books. MU
Dahl, R. (2009). Boy: Tales of childhood. New York: Puffin Books. MU
Giff, P. R. (2005). Don’t tell the girls: A family memoir. New York: Holiday House. MU
Hernandez, L. (2017). I got this: To gold and beyond. New York: HarperCollins. U
Numeroff, L. J. (2003). If you give an author a pencil. Katonah, NY: Richard C. Owen. P
Romano, T. (2008). Zigzag: A life of reading and writing, teaching and learning. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann. U
Russo, M. (2005). Always remember me. New York: Atheneum. MU
Scieszka, J. (Ed.). (2008). Guys write for guys read: Boys’ favorite authors write about being boys.
New York: Viking. MU
Yu, C. (2005). Little green: Growing up during the Chinese cultural revolution. New York: Simon &
Schuster. M
Woodson, J. (2016). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Puffin Books. MU
Teaching Tools Fletcher, R. (2007). How to write your life story. New York: HarperCollins. MU
Memoirs
Older children move from writing personal narratives to crafting memoirs to recount and
interpret their life events. They create engaging narratives by developing powerful images,
incorporating vivid details, and linking episodes with a unifying theme. In memoirs such as On
the Bus With Joanna Cole: A Creative Autobiography (Cole, 1996), students can see how Joanna
Cole, the author of the popular Magic School Bus series, talks about her life and explains why
she writes, and in Fire on Ice: Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater (Cohen & Maciel, 2006),
how Sasha Cohen describes her years of practice, travel, and competition on the way to
becoming a superstar. Additional recommended memoirs are included in Mentor Texts: Auto-
biographies. These life stories are more intimate but less encompassing than autobiographies.
Autobiographies
The line between memoirs and autobiographies is fuzzy. Both are written in first person, but
autobiographies are more complete, usually spanning a person’s entire life, and the events
are presented in chronological order. Students describe memorable events, the ones that are
necessary to understand their personalities. A limited number of autobiographies have been
written for children, but they do provide useful models of the autobiography form. Autobiog-
raphies of authors and people from varied walks of life are also included in Mentor Texts:
Autobiographies.
Students’ greatest source of information for writing is their own experiences, and when
they write autobiographies, they draw from this wealth of experience. These life stories assume
a variety of forms, including poems, and students also share their life stories by collecting
items that represent their lives in life boxes and “Me” quilts.
“ALL ABOUT ME” BOOKS Kindergartners and first graders often compile “All
About Me” books. These first autobiographies usually contain information such as the child’s
birthday, family members, friends, and favorite activities, with drawings as well as text used to
present the information. Two pages from a first grader’s “All About Me” book are presented in
Figure 9–1. In these books, children and the teacher decide on the topic for each page, and
after brainstorming possible ideas, children draw a picture and write about it. Children may
also need to ask their parents for information about their birth and events during their pre-
school years. In the figure, for example, Jana reports that it was her father who told her she
was choosy about the clothes she wore when she was 5.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: TWO PAGES FROM A FIRST GRADER’S

Figure 9–1
“ALL ABOUT ME” BOOK
LIFE BOXES Autobiographies aren’t always written in books: Children can collect four
or five small items that represent themselves and events in their lives and place these things in
a shoebox, cereal box, or other container. Items such as a baby blanket, a stuffed animal, fam-
ily photos, vacation postcards, pictures of favorite toys or other items cut from magazines,
maps showing places the child has visited, a letter from Grandma, a mask worn on Hallow-
een, a favorite book, or an award the child has received might be included. Children write a
label to explain each item and attach the labels to the things. They also decorate the box and
add an appropriate title; they can use a favorite color of paper, drawings of life events, words
and pictures cut from magazines, or wallpaper scraps to decorate the box. Children can share
the items with classmates orally or use the items in writing an autobiography.
Children can also make a life box after reading a biography. As with autobiographical life
boxes, children collect or make three, four, or five items that represent a person’s life, add
labels to explain the objects, and place them in a decorated box. Life boxes are effective as a
first biographical project because children think more critically about the important events in
a person’s life as they read and plan the items they’ll use to symbolize those events.
BIO BAGS Another way to document a person’s life is by the books he or she has read
and loved. Children collect some of their favorite books to create bio bags (Weih, 2006). They
select three, four, or five books that are important to them, write brief comments explaining
why they value each book, insert the writing inside the book, and put the books into a deco-
rated bag. The best part of the project is the sharing—children take turns displaying the books
they’ve collected, explaining why each one is important to them.
“ME” QUILTS “Me” quilts are another autobiography project. Students provide a photo
of themselves or draw a self-portrait and then draw a series of eight pictures to symbolize spe-
cial events in their lives; they attach the pictures to a large sheet of butcher paper to look like a
quilt with the self-portrait in the middle, as shown in Figure 9–2. Students write paragraphs to
describe each picture, add these to the quilt, and then share their quilts with classmates. They
can display their quilts on the classroom wall or present them orally to the class, explaining
the pictures and what they represent.
CHAPTER BOOKS Students write chapter books about important events in their lives.
They choose three, four, or five important events to write about and use the writing process
to develop and refine their compositions. A second grader’s autobiography is presented in
Figure 9–3; in this autobiography, you learn about Rico through four chapters in which he
describes himself and his toys, his hobbies, and his “favorites.”
Biographies
A biography is an account of a person’s life written by someone else. Writers strive to make this
account as accurate and authentic as possible. In researching biographies, they consult a vari-
ety of sources of information. The best source, of course, is the person himself or herself, and
through interviews, writers can learn many things about the person. Other primary sources
include diaries and letters, photographs, mementos, historical records, and recollections of
people who know that person. Secondary sources are books, newspapers, and films about the
person written by someone else.
Biographies of well-known figures such as explorers, presidents, athletes, and movie stars,
as well as ordinary people who have endured hardship and shown exceptional courage, are
available for children to read. Authors use either an entire life (also called “cradle-to-grave”) or
a single-episode approach to structure their writing. Many biographies span the person’s entire
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A FIFTH GRADER’S “ME”

Figure 9–2
QUILT
Source: Rob Marmion/Shutterstock (center image)
life, such as Michelangelo (Stanley, 2000), Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right
to Vote (Stone, 2010), and The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau (Yaccarino, 2009), but
others have a narrower focus. In Dolley Madison Saves George Washington (Brown, 2007), the biog-
rapher recounts how the remarkable First Lady protected Gilbert Stuart’s painting of the first
president during the War of 1812, and in The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and
the Struggle for Equal Rights (2004), Russell Freedman focuses on the famed singer’s triumphant
performance at the Lincoln Memorial. Other biographies are collections of brief life stories of
people who were similar in some way, such as A Is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American
Women (Cheney, 2003), Honky-Tonk Heroes and Hillbilly Angels: The Pioneers of Country and Western
INDEPENDENT WRITING: AN EXCERPT FROM A SECOND GRADER’S

Figure 9–3
AUTOBIOGRAPHY, “A STORY ABOUT ME”
Music (George-Warren, 2006), and The Founders: The 39 Stories Behind the U.S. Constitution (Fradin,
2005). For a variety of additional recommended titles, check Mentor Texts: Biographies.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH A biographical sketch is a brief account of a person’s life

and activities, a paragraph to a page or two in length, written by someone else. The writing
is clearly focused, usually highlighting the person’s accomplishments, but some biographi-
cal sketches provide insight into the person’s character or the age in which he or she lived.
Collective biographies are a good source of biographical sketches. In Our Children Can Soar:
A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change (Cook, 2009), for instance, primary
grade children read about African American trailblazers who opened doors for others, and
Mentor Texts Biographies

Type Books
Collective Anderson, L. H. (2008). Independent dames: What you never knew about the women
Biographies and girls of the American Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster. MU
Bryan, A. (2016). Freedom over me: Eleven slaves, their lives and dreams. New York:
Atheneum. MU
Chin-Lee, C. (2008). Amelia to Zora: Twenty-six women who changed the world.
Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. PMU
Davis, G. (2009). First kids. New York: Random House. PM
Ignotofsky, R. (2016). Women in science: 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world. Berkeley, CA:
Ten Speed Press.
Marsalis, W., & Schaap, P. (2005). Jazz ABZ. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Stone, T. L. (2009). Almost astronauts: 13 women who dared to dream. Somerville, MA:
Candlewick Press. U
Who am I series. (2017). Open Universal Library. MU
Winter, J. (2014). Malala: A brave girl from Pakistan/Iqbal: A brave boy from Pakistan. New York:
Simon & Schuster. U
Episode Brighton, C. (2008). Keep your eye on the kid: The early years of Buster Keaton. New York: Roaring
Biographies Brook Press. M
Brown, D. (2007). Dolley Madison saves George Washington. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. PM
Cyr, L. (2007). The strongest man in the world. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books. M
Freedman, R. (2004). The voice that challenged a nation: Marian Anderson and the struggle for equal
rights. New York: Clarion Books. MU
Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Henry Holt. M
Walker, J. (2017). Maya Lin: Artist-architect of light and lines. New York: Henry Holt. P
Entire Life Aylesworth, J. (2009). Our Abe Lincoln. New York: Scholastic. P
Biographies Blumenthal, K. (2012). Steve Jobs: The man who thought different. New York: Bloomsbury. U
Braun, E. (2015). John Green: Star author, vlogbrother, and nerd fighter. Minneapolis: Lerner
Publishing Group. U
Brown, D. (2015). Aaron and Alexander: The most famous duel in American history. New York:
Roaring Brook Press. PM
Fritz, J. (2012). Alexander Hamilton: The outsider. New York: Putnam. U
Hicks, K. (2014). Dav Pilkey. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press. PM
Kilmo, K. (2016). Dr. Seuss: The great doodler. New York: Scholastic. PM
Labrecque, E. (2016). Who was Maya Angelou? New York: Grosset & Dunlap Penguin Young
Readers Group. M
Rappaport, D. (2009). Eleanor, quiet no more. New York: Disney/Hyperion Books. M
Romero, J., & LeBlanc, L. (2014). No summit out of sight: The true story of the youngest person to
climb the seven summits. New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. MU
Shepherd, J. (2015). Jane Goodall: Champion for chimpanzees. New York: Scholastic. MU
Stine, M. (2013). Who is Michelle Obama? New York: Grosset & Dunlap Penguin Young Readers
Group. M
Stone, T. L. (2010). Elizabeth leads the way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the right to vote. New York:
Square Fish Books. PM
Warren, S. (2012). Dolores Huerta: A hero to migrant workers. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall
Cavendish. MU
Yousafzai, M., & McCormick, P. (2014). I am Malala: How one girl stood up for education and
changed the world. New York: Hachette Book Group. U
Continued
Mentor Texts Biographies—Continued

Type Books
Multigenre Fleming, C. (2005). Our Eleanor: A scrapbook look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s remarkable life.
Biographies New York: Atheneum. MU
Fleming, C. (2008). The Lincolns: A scrapbook look at Abraham and Mary. New York:
Schwartz & Wade. U
Scieszka, J. (2008). Knucklehead: Tall tales and mostly true stories about growing up
Scieszka. New York: Viking. M
Teaching Tools Nobisso, J. (2000). Grandma’s scrapbook. Westhampton Beach, NY: Gingerbread House. PMU
in Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream (Stone, 2009), older students learn about
the personal and physical risks women took in pursuit of their dreams.
BIOGRAPHY POSTERS Children create posters to present the information they’ve

learned about the subject of their biography project. Posters include the person’s portrait and
information about his or her life and accomplishments. Eighth graders made a biography quilt
with paper squares, and each square was modeled after the illustrations in My Fellow Americans: A
Family Album, by Alice Provensen (1995). One student’s square about Martin Luther King Jr. is pre-
sented in Figure 9–4. This student drew a portrait of the civil rights leader set in Washington, DC,
on August 28, 1963, the day he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. The student also
added well-known sayings and other phrases related to Martin Luther King Jr. around the outside.
HOT SEAT ACTIVITY Students participate in a role-playing activity called hot seat to
explore the character they’re learning about and identify important themes before beginning
to write a biography. They sit in a special chair designated as the “hot seat” to be interviewed
by classmates. The activity’s called hot seat because students have to think quickly and respond
to their classmates’ questions and comments. Wilhelm (2012) explains that through the hot
seat activity, students get to explore and interpret the historical figure’s or contemporary
celebrity’s life events. Students aren’t intimidated by the oral performance; in fact, in most
classrooms, it’s very popular. Students are usually eager for their chance to sit on the hot seat
and share what they’re learning. The procedure is described in Step-by-Step: Hot Seat.
BIO-POEMS Students write bio-poems about historical figures, contemporary personal-

ities, and themselves following this formula:
Line 1 The person’s first name
Line 2 Who is . . . (describe the person)
Lines 3–9 Choose seven of these line starters:
Who is son/daughter of . . .
Who is husband/wife of . . .
Who is brother/sister of . . .
Who loves . . .
Who fears . . .
Who believes . . .
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A BIOGRAPHY POSTER

Figure 9–4
ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Source: Courtesy of Jacob Giraud.
Who wants . . .
Who needs . . .
Who would like to see . . .
Who uses . . .
Who gives . . .
Who says . . .
Line 10 Who lives . . .
Line 11 The person’s last name
The poem is usually 11 lines long, but students can adapt it to fit their needs.
Hot Seat
1 Learn about the character. Students prepare by reading a biography and making a life line to learn
about the historical figure or contemporary celebrity they’ll portray.
2 Plan a costume. Students design a costume to wear for the hot seat activity that’s appropriate for their
character. In addition, they often collect objects or create artifacts to use in their presentations.
3 Prepare opening remarks. Students think about the most important things they’d like to share about
the character and plan what they’ll say at the beginning of the hot seat activity.
4 Introduce the character. The student portraying a character sits in front of classmates in a chair desig-
nated as the “hot seat” and begins the role-play activity by telling a little about the character using a first
person viewpoint (e.g., I said, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”) and sharing artifacts.
5 Ask questions and offer comments. Classmates ask thoughtful questions that require more than yes or no
answers to learn more about the character, and the student on the hot seat remains in role to respond to them.
6 Summarize the ideas. The student portraying the character selects a classmate to summarize the import-
ant ideas that were presented. The student on the hot seat clarifies any misunderstandings and adds any
important ideas that weren’t mentioned during the role-play activity.
A sixth grader wrote this bio-poem about Oprah Winfrey after reading a biography about
her and doing additional research:
Oprah
Who is an American media entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Who was born in Mississippi on January 29, 1954.
Who overcame poverty and sexual abuse.
Who created Harpo (Oprah spelled backwards) Productions
to produce socially relevant films.
Who wants to make a positive difference in the world.
Who p ioneers social reform through legislation, her book
club, production, network, and philanthropy.
Who gives hope and money to many so they can achieve their
dreams.
Who says, “Understand that the right to choose your own
path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.”
Who has been awarded 39 Daytime Emmy Awards, Peabody
Individual Achievement Award, NAACP Hall of Fame, many
Listen as students from Ms. Ramsey’s class read their bio- Humanitarian Awards, the Kennedy Center Award, and
poems. Why is this a valuable writing activity? the Presidential Medal of Honor.
Who is the first black woman named to Forbes magazine’s billionaire list in 2003.
Who believes she is on this earth to help others live better lives.
Winfrey
This poem has 13 lines, two more than most bio-poems, but the writer had a lot of information
she wanted to include.
COLLABORATIVE BIOGRAPHIES Students share the writing, as Mrs. Jordan’s

first graders did in the vignette at the beginning of the chapter, when they write collaborative
biographies. They divide the biography into pages or chapters, and students each write one
section, using the writing process to draft and refine their writing. A second grade class inter-
viewed their principal, Mrs. Reno, and compiled a picture-book biography that became the
most popular book in the school. Before the interview, the second graders brainstormed ques-
tions, and each child selected a question to ask. Then Mrs. Reno came to the classroom and
answered the children’s questions. After the interview, the students wrote pages with their
questions and Mrs. Reno’s answers and compiled the pages into a book. A page from their
collaborative biography is presented in Figure 9–5. You’ll also notice that the children prac-
ticed using quotation marks in their report.
SHARED WRITING: A PAGE FROM A SECOND

Figure 9–5 GRADE COLLABORATIVE BIOGRAPHY OF THE
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
MULTIGENRE BIOGRAPHIES Students write and draw a variety of pieces about

a person to create a multigenre biography, which is like a multigenre report (Romano, 1995,
2000). They collect and create some of the following items for a multigenre biography:
life line poem story
quotes open-mind portrait poster
photographs report newspaper articles
collection of objects maps advertisements
simulated journal letters
Each item is a complete piece by itself and contributes to the overall impact of the biography.
Students compile their biographies on posters or in notebooks. Figure 9–6 presents excerpts
from a seventh grader’s multigenre biography of Maya Angelou.
Students at every grade level need opportunities to learn about the biography genre and to
write life stories, beginning with personal narratives and other autobiographical writing in
kindergarten and first grade. The Instructional Overview: Biographical Writing suggests an
instructional sequence for teaching students to write life stories.

Teachers introduce students to biographical writing by sharing books of life stories and teach-
ing them about the characteristics of the genre. It’s important to compare and contrast
biographical writing with narrative and informational writing, because life stories involve
characteristics of both. Biographies—personal narratives, in particular—read like stories, but
they’re nonfiction so writers must stick to the facts.
Instructional Overview Biographical Writing
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten–Grade 2 • Children write personal narratives.
• Children write “All About Me” books.
Grades 3–5 • Students examine the autobiography/biography genre.
• Students write autobiographies.
• Students write simulated journal entries from a person’s viewpoint.
• Students create biography projects about a person.
Grades 6–8 • Students write memoirs.
• Students create multigenre biographies with at least three genres.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: EXCERPTS FROM A SEVENTH GRADER’S

Figure 9–6
MULTIGENRE BIOGRAPHY OF MAYA ANGELOU
Maya Angelou
In Maya’s Heart
1. The pineapple expresses Maya’s love for

pineapples.
2. Ms. Flowers is the woman who gave Maya her
first book of poetry.
3. Mother Dear is Maya’s mother and even though
she didn’t really raise her, Maya looked up
to her.
4. Bailey was Maya’s brother and they had a strong
bond being that they were only one year apart
in age.
5. Guy is her son and her entire life.
Quotes
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
“God blessed everyone with an intelligent mind. Only
we can decide how we use it.”
Writing Workshop
Teachers teach students to do biographical writing during writing workshop. They teach mini-
lessons on personal narratives or another type of biographical writing, share mentor texts,
involve students in guided practice activities, and provide independent writing time for stu-
dents to develop and refine their own life stories. Depending on students’ grade levels, teach-
ers focus on personal narratives, memoirs and autobiographies, or biographies.
WRITING PERSONAL NARRATIVES Students usually write personal narratives

during writing workshop, when they’re free to choose their own topics and write about topics
that are important to them. It’s important that students choose topics they care about and
want to write about; otherwise, writing workshop can seem like an assembly line with stu-
dents producing book after book without thoughtful work or careful bookmaking. Students
get ideas for their writing as they listen to classmates sharing their books and from mentor
texts they’re reading. The writing process itself also helps to nurture students’ interest in writ-
ing because they learn how to develop and refine their compositions.
PREPARING FOR WRITING TESTS Students are often asked to write personal
narratives on district- and state-mandated writing tests, so it’s important to teach this genre
and get students ready to address prompts that ask them to relate an event and explain how it
affected their lives. Check Preparing for Writing Tests: Personal Narratives to learn how to
ensure that students do well on tests when they’re asked to write first-person stories.
WRITING BIOGRAPHIES When students study someone else’s life to prepare for
writing a biography, they need to become personally involved in the project (Werderich,
McGinty, and Rosenstock, 2013). There are several ways to engage students in biographical
study—that is, to help them walk in the footsteps of that person. For biographies featuring
living people, meeting and interviewing the person are the best ways. For other biography
projects, students read books about the person, view films and DVDs, dramatize events from
the person’s life, and write about the personalities they’re studying.
Simulated Journals. Students assume the persona of a historical figure or contemporary
personality they’re learning about and write a series of entries from that person’s view-
point. In their entries, students reflect on important events in the person’s life, and they
add authenticity by mentioning people’s names, specific locations, and relevant dates.
Teachers usually ask students to focus on a pivotal time in the person’s life—Rev. Mar-
tin Luther King Jr. before his “I Have a Dream” speech, President Obama watching the
live feed of capturing Osama Bin Laden, or gold medalist Michael Phelps at the 2016
Olympics.
Life Lines. Students sequence the information they gather for a biography on a life line or
time line about a person’s life; this activity helps them identify the milestones and other
significant events in the person’s life. Sometimes students use the life line to identify epi-
sodes for the biography, or the life line can be the entire biography project if students
write a sentence or paragraph about each event and add illustrations.
Bio Boxes. Students make “bio” (or biography) boxes that are similar to “me” boxes. They
begin by identifying items that represent the person, then collect them and place them in
a box they’ve decorated. A fifth grader created a bio box for Paul Revere and decorated
the box with aluminum foil, explaining that because Paul Revere was a silversmith, he
created a cover that looked like silver. He placed these items in the box:
A spoon to represent Paul Revere’s career as a silversmith

A toy horse to represent his famous midnight ride
A tea bag to represent his participation in the Boston Tea Party
A copy of Longfellow’s poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”
An advertisement for Revere pans (Revere is credited with inventing the process of
layering metals)
A portrait of the patriot
Photos of Boston, Lexington, and Concord that he downloaded from the Internet
A life line marking important events in Paul Revere’s life
The student wrote a card describing each object and its significance to Paul Revere and
attached it to the item.

Personal Narratives
Writers recount personal experiences using a story structure when they write personal narratives:
They let readers live through the experience they’re retelling. These first-person stories are often
told in chronological order, but more experienced writers also use flashbacks. These writings
have a clear, identifiable story line and include sensory details and dialogue to make them inter-
esting. Prompts usually have two parts: First, they ask writers to tell about a personal experience,
and then they ask them to explain what they learned or gained through the experience—that’s the
“why” question. Personal narratives are similar to stories except that they focus on real-life expe-
riences, but stories are imaginative.
WHAT DO WRITERS DO?

• Tell about a personal experience from the first-person viewpoint
• Create a focus with a controlling idea based on the prompt
• Organize the writing like a story with a beginning, middle, and end
• Add description and details to make the account interesting
• Create dialogue that reveals the characters’ personalities
• Build suspense as they tell the story
• Answer the “why” part of the question by explaining what they learned or gained through the
experience

• Don’t tell about a single specific experience
• Provide insufficient details to develop the account
• Ignore the “why” part of the prompt
SAMPLE PROMPTS
• Think of a time you helped a friend to do something. Then write a personal narrative about
what you did, telling what happened and what you learned from it.
• All of us have had a special adventure in our lives. It could be a time you visited a relative, a
party you went to, a time you went somewhere special, a game you played, or something else.
Write a personal narrative about your special adventure, and give enough details in your writ-
ing to make it interesting. Also, be sure to tell why it was special.
INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY Students create multimedia autobiography

and biography projects by adding slide shows or video clips to their compositions, or they
dress up as historical personalities and share information in videotaped presentations. Here
are more technology applications for biographical writing:
Biography.com. The Biography.com website (http://www.biography.com) has profiles of
more than 25,000 people, many of which are appropriate for K–8 students, including
Babe Ruth, Ponce de Leon, Mother Teresa, Pocahontas, and Crazy Horse. The Bio4Kids
section on the website, designed for 8- to 12-year-olds, includes biographies developed
specifically for kids, plus games to increase students’ interest in the genre as well as their
knowledge of historical and contemporary personalities.
Life Lines. Students make time lines called life lines about their life or another person’s
using Microsoft Excel’s spreadsheet program. After sketching out the life line on paper,
students open a blank Excel worksheet, type the title at the top, and list the dates in a row.
Next, they type short descriptions above or below the dates, orienting the direction of text
to increase readability, if needed. Then they add design elements, including pictures or
clip art, font style and color, border style and color, and cell color.
readwritethink. This ILA/NCTE website (http://www.readwritethink.org) provides a
wealth of classroom resources and ideas for teachers. Type “writing biographies” in the
search window to explore teacher-tested recommendations. Links to creating an interac-
tive time line and avatars are presented and explained.
Voki. Using voki, a 2.0 Web tool (http://www.voki.com), students create an avatar that
looks like the person they’re studying. They write the biography in first person and present
the information through the avatar: They read into a microphone, which makes the ava-
tar’s mouth move as if it’s talking. Students can create more than one avatar and present
the information through different people in the person’s life.
Once students have explored these digital applications, they get more excited about biographical
writing.
How do teachers scaffold biographical writing?
Because it’s easier for English learners to write about events in their own lives than
in other people’s lives, teachers usually introduce them to biographical writing with
personal narratives; once students are familiar with autobiographical writing,
they’re better prepared to tackle reading and writing about other people’s life sto-
ries. It’s crucial that students have adequate background knowledge about the person and the
era in which he or she lived when they begin a biography project and that they acquire the
vocabulary to describe the events in that person’s life and his or her contributions to society.
These biographical writing activities are recommended for English learners:
Personal Narratives. Like other students, ELs are usually very successful in writing personal
narratives because they know about the events in their own lives. Teachers provide support by
brainstorming vocabulary words and phrases and encouraging ELs to sprinkle a few words
from their native language into their writing, something many multicultural writers are doing.
If necessary, they can add a glossary at the back of their books with English translations.
Collaborative Biographies. ELs work together to write a

biography of their teacher, the principal, or a com-
munity person they already know as a dry run before
writing biographies independently. Students usually
interview the person to gather information and take
digital photos or make a video clip of the person
during the interview, plan the biography, divvy up
writing responsibilities, and use the writing process to
draft and revise their pieces. Finally, students compile
the pieces and publish the biography as a book,
newspaper article, or online work.
Classmate Biographies. For a first independent writing
project, ELs can interview a classmate who is also an
English learner and write a biography about that per-
son. Students often focus their writing on how the
person came to America, how he or she deals with
challenges of becoming an American, or the person’s Watch Ms. Sanchez’s fourth graders write personal narra-
future plans. They use the writing process to develop tives. How do the students incorporate the stages of the
writing process?
their biographies and check the accuracy of their
information with the interviewees before making the final copies. Finally, they share their
published biographies with the class before presenting them to the classmates. This activ-
ity also helps everyone get to know each other and opens lines of communication between
native English-speaking students and their EL classmates.
In addition, students can create biography posters in small groups where they share responsi-
bilities for researching, writing, drawing, designing the layout, and producing the poster.
Assessing Biographical Writing

Personal narratives are often the first type of sustained writing that young children do, and
teachers watch for this accomplishment as a significant development in children’s growth as
writers. Teachers look for the following traits in children’s first personal narratives:
• There is a common thread through the book.
• There is one line of text and an illustration on each page.
• The illustrations and the text are coordinated.
• The writer uses the first person.
• The child willingly shares the book with classmates.
As children gain more writing experience and begin working through all five stages of the
writing process, their personal narratives become more developed and polished. Their writ-
ings should display many of these qualities:
• The account focuses on one event or experience.
• Specific people, locations, and objects are named.
• Sensory details about the people, locations, and events are included.
• Actions are described.
• Dialogue or monologue is included.
• The events are arranged in an appropriate sequence.
• There is suspense or a surprise at the end.
These qualities don’t develop simultaneously, nor does any one personal narrative necessarily
incorporate all of them. Think back to the personal narratives presented earlier in the chapter,
each of which includes some of these qualities: Jessica’s “We Went to the Zoo” piece, for
instance, focuses on a single event, and Sean’s personal narrative is sequential, uses dialogue,
and describes actions.
A second grade checklist for assessing children’s personal narratives is presented in Assess-
ment Tools: Second Grade Personal Narrative Checklist; children use this checklist as they revise
and edit their writing. Checklists can be adapted to fit the grade level for which they are used.
Before they begin work, students need to understand the requirements for their autobiog-
raphy or biography project and how they’ll be graded. Teachers often create a rubric or assess-
ment checklist with students so that they understand what’s expected of them. A seventh
grade teacher developed the rubric for a multigenre biography project shown in Assessment
Tools: A Multigenre Biography Rubric. She began by listing seven components of such a proj-
ect on the whiteboard: genres, information, vocabulary, mechanics, writing process, design/
graphics, and bibliography. She and her students discussed each component, and the teacher
explained her expectations for the assignment. For example, for the genres component, the
students knew that they had to include at least three genres—a report of information, a simu-
lated journal with five entries, and a poem. Then they developed the genres component of the
rubric. Three genres was the C expectation; if they wrote fewer genre pieces, their grade would
be a D or F. For a B, students needed to write four genre pieces, and for an A, they needed to
write five. Together as a class, the students brainstormed the genres they might use. Then they
repeated the process for each of the other six components. Through this activity, the class par-
ticipated in developing the rubric and the teacher reviewed the requirements for each grade.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Second Grade Personal Narrative Checklist
YES NO
Story Structure
I used the “I” point of view.
I wrote a beginning, middle, and end.
I described the characters.
I described the setting.
I told why it was important to me.
Ideas
I wrote about one event.
I wrote about the event in sequence.
I added vivid details.
I chose descriptive words to paint a picture.
Mechanics
I spelled most words correctly.
I capitalized the beginning of sentences and names.
I used punctuation marks correctly.
I used complete sentences.
I indented paragraphs.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Multigenre Biography Rubric
GRADE TRAITS DESCRIPTION

A __ Genres The biography includes 5 genres.
__ Information The information is presented in the voice of the
personality.
__ Writing Process Rough drafts provide evidence of the writing process.
__ Conventions There are few, if any, mechanical errors.
__ Presentation The design is eye-catching, and 4 or more graphics
extend the text.
__ Bibliography There are 5 or more references, and at least one is
an Internet reference.
B __ Genres The biography includes 4 genres.

__ Information The information is accurate, detailed, and
interesting.
__ Conventions There are a few errors, but they don’t interfere with
understanding.
__ Presentation The design is attractive and 3 graphics support the
text.
__ Bibliography There are 4 or more references, and at least one is
an Internet reference.
C __ Genres The biography includes 3 genres.

__ Information The information is accurate and interesting.
__ Conventions There are errors, but they don’t interfere with
understanding.
__ Presentation The design is attractive, and 2 graphics support the
text.
__ Bibliography There are 3 or more references.
D __ Genres The biography includes 2 genres.

__ Information A lot of the information is confusing or not accurate.
__ Writing Process The rough drafts are missing.
__ Conventions There are many mechanical errors.
__ Presentation The design is confusing, and there’s only 1 graphic.
__ Bibliography There are 1 or 2 references.
F __ Genres The biography includes 1 genre.

__ Information Very little specific information is provided, or it’s
not accurate.
__ Writing Process The rough drafts are missing.
__ Conventions There are many mechanical errors that interfere with
understanding.
__ Presentation The biography lacks a design, and there aren’t any
graphics.
__ Bibliography There are no references.
Teachers usually give students copies of checklists and rubrics to keep in their writing fold-
ers so that they can check their work against the guidelines. At the end of the project, students
self-assess their work and attach the checklist or rubric to it. Through this approach, students
assume a greater responsibility for their own learning and better understand why they receive
a particular grade.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Biographical Writing

There are several ways teachers can scaffold when teaching students to write biographies. Use
this checklist to match your individual students’ needs:
Life Boxes Students document their lives or the life of a historical figure or contempo-
rary personality by collecting items representing them or the person they’ve read about.
Life Lines Students draw life lines with information and pictures of important events
in their lives or in the life of a person they’ve researched.
Posters Students design posters using a collage of words and pictures to describe
themselves or a person they’ve studied.
Hot Seat Students dress up as a historical figure or contemporary personality, share
information about the person, and answer classmates’ questions.
Quilts Students create paper quilts about family members and events in their lives or
about the life of a person they’ve researched.
Picture Books Students create picture books similar to mentor texts they’ve examined
about themselves or a person they’ve studied.
Simulated Journals Students write a series of journal entries from the perspective of a
person they’ve read about, including historically accurate details about people, events,
and locations.
Multigenre Projects Students create projects using multiple genres and a theme or
repetend about a historical figure or contemporary personality.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of biographical writing through
your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conducting a minilesson using mentor texts to teach biographical
writing. In your response, describe the teacher and the students, identify the mentor
texts, and present your analysis of the minilesson.
2. Interview a student who has learned about biographical writing and examine a piece
of the student’s writing. Ask the student to reflect on his or her use of accurate
216
information in the piece of writing. In your response, describe the student, present
your analysis of the student’s knowledge about nonfiction text structures and fea-
tures, and include a copy of the student’s writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson about one type of biographical writing to a small group
of students. Create an anchor poster with key points to use in your lesson. Referring to
your poster in the minilesson, introduce information about the type of biographical
writing, and read and discuss a mentor text. In your response, describe the students,
list the steps in the minilesson, include a copy of the poster, and present your reflec-
tions about the lesson.

WRITING BIOGRAPHIES
At which grade levels do you think children should biography can be fuzzy, but biographies are writ-
write biographies and autobiographies? ten about people who actually lived, and the
Primary grade students can do almost all types events described in them really happened and
of writing, including biographical writing. First have been researched, not invented, by the
graders typically write personal narratives, and author.
they can also begin writing collaborative biogra- I don’t have my students write autobiographies
phies, as Mrs. Jordan’s first graders did in the because they aren’t middle class. Many of them are
vignette at the beginning of the chapter. Second homeless. Others have parents who are in jail or deal
graders (see Figure 9–3) can write chapter auto- in drugs. They don’t have anything good to write
biographies, and some experienced first grade about. What do you think?
writers might also. Most students write personal
It’s important to be sensitive to your students
narratives, but they shouldn’t have to write an
and their family life; however, all students have
autobiography or a biography in every grade.
some experiences they could share in an autobi-
Students can write a chapter autobiography
ography. But if you don’t think it’s appropriate
once or twice and several biographies in connec-
for your students, have them use other genres
tion with science and social studies themes.
instead.
Can I use a story such as Sarah, Plain and Tall I like the idea of having my fourth graders write biog-
(MacLachlan, 2005) for biographical writing? raphies or autobiographies, but do you have any ideas
The book you mentioned is a story, not a biogra- other than written books?
phy, so it shouldn’t be used as an example of Sure! Writing an autobiography or biography is
biographical writing. Like biographies, however, just one of many ways of presenting biographical
the story focuses on the main character, and the information. After your students collect infor-
main character might even be based on a real mation, they can make life boxes, draw life lines,
person. The line between historical fiction and or make biography posters.
217
CHAPTER
10 Nonfiction Writing
Seventh Graders Study the Wild West. In Mr. Vance’s seventh grade lan-
guage arts and social studies class, students are studying America’s westward expansion.
They’ve just finished reading the first chapter of Which Way to the Wild West? (Sheinkin, 2009),
about the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark’s expedition, the Battle of the Alamo, and other
events that made westward expansion possible. The events are presented in chronological order
from 1803 to 1836, and Mr. Vance’s students quickly notice the sequence structure. Brandon
explains, “The events are listed 1, 2, 3, 4, so I know that’s sequence.” “But, it’s more than that,”
Tommy counters. “Before there was no West, and now there’s a whole continent; that’s cause and
effect.” Mr. Vance agrees: “Yes, Mr. Sheinkin used sequence and cause and effect. He used one struc-
ture to emphasize his purpose, and the other to organize his presentation of the information. Which
structure did the author use to organize the information?” “Sequence,” the seventh graders respond
in unison. “And which one emphasizes his purpose?” “Cause and effect,” they answer.
After discussing the chapter, the students divide into 12 groups, and each group makes a poster
to review the big ideas about one event. Afterward, the groups present their posters to the class, and
Mr. Vance displays them in sequential order on one wall of the classroom. Then they work collabora-
tively to create an outline for the first chapter, using the information on the posters and checking
facts in the chapter, and then students copy it in their learning logs.
The teacher explains that they’ll read the remaining eight chapters in Which Way to the Wild West?
in small groups. He divides the class into eight groups, and each group is assigned one chapter to
read and discuss. He also directs them to summarize the big ideas in the chapter on a poster and
make an outline for it, and to create one other oral or written presentation to share with the class.
Anthony, Fiona, Brandon, Chloe, and Luis are assigned to read Chapter 9, “The End of the
Wild West”; it’s the final chapter in the book. As soon as the group gets together, Brandon points
out that their chapter is 25 pages long; Anthony suggests that they preview it and read the head-
ings, and everyone agrees. They locate 12 headings, and one in particular—“Exodusters Head
West”—catches their attention. They quickly read to find out that the Exodusters were former
slaves who homesteaded in Kansas.
Mr. Vance is moving from group to group, and when he reaches this group, he asks, “So, what
is Chapter 9 about?” Fiona answers, “It’s mostly about Indians, but some sections are about peo-
ple who came to make new homes out in the West.” “It sounds like this group is ready to read,”
Mr. Vance responds. The students decide to use blue self-stick notes to mark big ideas about the
Indians and green notes for information about the settlers, and they read the chapter quietly.
The group asks Anthony to serve as the leader; his job is to keep them on task so
they’ll get their poster, outline, and presentation done on time. They start by discussing the
chapter and identifying the two big ideas: Soldiers put the Indians on reservations and Settlers
filled up the West. Next, they decide on the nonfiction text structure. Luis says, “It’s cause
and effect. Putting the Indians on reservations caused the end of the Wild West because
that made space for the settlers to come and live—the effect.”
The next day, the students work on their poster. They divide it down the middle and
write one big idea on each half. Above the statement about the Indians, they write the label
“Cause,” and above the statement about the settlers, they write “Effect.” They decide to
218
use words and photos to explain the big ideas. Luis and Brandon work on the Indians half of the
poster and Chloe and Anthony on the settlers half, while Fiona is at the computer, typing words and
locating photos. They lay out the words and illustrations and stand back to take a look. “The two
sides look a lot alike,” Chloe comments, “but they should look different. The Indians are sad; they’ve
lost their homes. But the settlers are full of hope; they’ve got new homes.” Everyone agrees with
Chloe’s astute observation. They choose gray for the background on the Indians half and lay pictures
of barbed wire across the photos to create a prison feel, and they add a bright yellow background on
the settlers half to signify hope and frame the photos with green paper because this color represents
growth. Once they’re satisfied with their design, they glue the words and photos into place.
Next, the students create their outline using the two big ideas as Roman numeral I and II state-
ments. Two students review the chapter to locate the information for three or four detail statements
about Indians and two others prepare statements about the settlers, while Anthony starts word
processing the outline. A copy of their completed outline is shown in the figure, What Caused the End
of the Wild West.
Finally, the students move on to their presentation. They decide that Brandon will dress as an
Indian and Chloe as a settler, and each will read a brief statement while a video slide show is projected
on the wall. Brandon decides to read Chief Joseph’s surrender speech, and Chloe, who’s read every
Little House on the Prairie book, will write her own statement. Fiona uses Animoto software to prepare
a video using photos of Indians and settlers that she’s located online, and Luis creates the musical
accompaniment. Anthony agrees to handle the introduction and conclusion.
Anthony tells the teacher that he can’t decide how to conclude their presentation because the
chapter has made him angry. Mr. Vance listens and offers this advice: “A good conclusion makes a
lasting impression on listeners. Since the chapter makes you angry, share that feeling with us.”
Here’s how Anthony concludes his group’s presentation:
And so the Wild West ends. The Indians are replaced with settlers. The Indians fought many battles,
and they were shot and killed for protecting their families and for protecting their homes. Finally they
surrendered. Chief Joseph surrendered. Even Sitting Bull surrendered. When the soldiers moved the
Indians to the reservations, the U.S. government told them, “Now you can learn to live like civilized
people.” I have a question for you: Who is civilized in this story and who is not?
What Caused the End of the Wild West?

I. Soldiers put the Indians on reservations.
A. The Nez Perce moved to Oklahoma.
B. Sitting Bull was the last to surrender.
C. Indians did a “Ghost Dance” to get their old life back.
D. Wounded Knee was the very last battle.
II. Settlers filled up the West.

A. Exodusters move to Kansas.
B. Ranchers build barbed wire fences for their cattle.
C. More settlers come for the Oklahoma land run.
D. Cowboys are gone because railroads transport the cattle.
219
N
onfiction writing is factual; its purpose
Writing Standards: Nonfiction Writing is to convey information about the
Standard 2 in the grades K–5 and 6–12 Writing strand world (Duke & Bennett-Armistead,
focuses on writing informative/explanatory texts to 2003). The information might be an explanation
examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and infor- of the importance of recycling, the steps of how a
mation through the selection, organization, and analy- bill becomes a law, a comparison of Islam and
sis of relevant content. Students introduce a topic
Christianity, or a description of the struggles fac-
clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas,
concepts, and information into broader categories; ing pioneers traveling on the Oregon Trail. James
include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., Britton (1970a) explains that this type of writing
charts and tables), and multimedia when useful to aid- is intended “to interact with people and things
ing comprehension. They develop the topic with rele- and to make the wheels of the world, for good or
vant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, ill, go round” (p. 8). Nonfiction writing encom-
quotations, or other information and examples; use
passes informational writing, expository writing,
appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion
and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts; essays, personal narratives, autobiographies,
use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to biographies, and memoirs, and it portrays events
inform about or explain the topic; establish and main- that actually happened or people who actually
tain a formal style; and provide a concluding statement lived. The focus of this chapter is on the nonnar-
or section that follows from and supports the informa- rative type of nonfiction writing.
tion or explanation presented. To learn more about the
Too often, teachers assume that students
Writing Standards, go to http://www.corestandards
.org/ELA-Literacy, or check your state’s educational are more comfortable writing stories instead of
standards website. nonfiction, but researchers, including Tom
Newkirk (1989), have provided compelling evi-
dence that children, even kindergartners and first graders, can write nonfiction text.
Other researchers have reported that through instruction and reading and writing
experiences, children grow in their ability to differentiate among genres (Donovan,
2001; Kamberelis, 1999).
LEARNING OUTCOMES
10.1 Explain the nonfiction writing genre.
10.2 Describe the procedures teachers use to teach nonfiction writing.
THE GENRE: NONFICTION WRITING

Nonfiction writing is used to explain something, provide instruction, or present information.
Writers use this genre for a wide variety of compositions, including magazine articles, newspa-
per articles, directions, and guidebooks; students typically use it to write reports to share
information they’ve learned, and essays to describe something, compare two things, explain a
change using causes and effects, or specify how to make or do something. Nonfiction writing
exemplifies these characteristics:
• Writers focus on a single topic.
• Writers apply nonfiction text structures to organize their writing and cue words to
guide readers.
220
CHAPTER 10 | Nonfiction Writing 221
• Writers introduce the topic, state the focus, and grab readers’ attention in the first
paragraph.
• Writers present information using topic sentences, supporting facts, and specific
details in the middle paragraphs.
• Writers insert smooth transitions between paragraphs or sections.
• Writers sum up their ideas and make a final comment about the topic in the
conclusion.
• Writers use nonfiction features and reader-friendly formatting to guide readers.
When writers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their topics and organize their ideas
logically, their writing is more effective.
Nonfiction Text Structures

Writers organize nonfiction writing in different ways using patterns known as nonfiction text
structures. Five commonly used patterns are description, sequence, comparison, cause and effect, and
problem and solution (Harvey, 1998; Robb, 2003). In each pattern, information is organized in
a particular way, and words often signal the structure:
Description. Writers describe a topic by listing characteristics, features, and examples.
Phrases such as for example and characteristics are cue this structure. When students delin-
eate any topic, such as cobras, the planet Jupiter, or Brazil, they use description. Don’t
confuse this nonfiction text structure with the descriptive writing genre, where the focus
is on adding sensory words and figurative language to breathe life into a topic. Students
use this structure to provide general information about a nonfiction topic. Dorling
Kindersley’s (DK) Eyewitness book World War II (Adams, 2007) is a great example; it’s
jam-packed with information about the people, places, and events related to the war,
including bombing raids, life under German occupation, the D-Day invasion, women at
work, and the atomic bomb. Additional books exemplifying this nonfiction structure are
listed in Mentor Texts: Nonfiction Text Structures.
Sequence. Writers list items or events in numerical or chronological order. Words that
signal the sequence structure include first, second, third, next, then, and finally. Students use
this structure when they write directions for completing a math problem or other task,
steps in the life cycle of a plant or animal, or events in a biography. For example, in From
Tadpole to Frog (1994), Pfeffer introduces egg to tadpole to frog metamorphosis, and
Guiberson explains the 200-year life cycle of the saguaro cactus in Cactus Hotel (1993);
additional books are included in Mentor Texts: Nonfiction Text Structures. This pattern is
also used in alphabet and number books.
Comparison. Writers use the comparison structure to explain how two or more things are
alike or different. Different, in contrast, alike, same as, and on the other hand are words and
phrases that signal this nonfiction pattern. When students compare and contrast book
and movie versions of a story, insects with spiders, or life in colonial America with life
today, they use this organizational pattern. George vs. George: The American Revolution as Seen
From Both Sides (Schanzer, 2007) and Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
(Barretta, 2008) are two useful mentor texts. For additional books featuring this pattern,
check Mentor Texts: Nonfiction Text Structures.
Cause and Effect. Writers explain one or more causes and the resulting effects. Reasons why,
if . . . then, as a result, therefore, and because are words and phrases that signal this structure.
Mentor Texts Nonfiction Text Structures

Structure Books
Description Collard, S. B., III. (2017). Insects: The most fun bug book ever. Watertown, MA:
Charlesbridge. MU
Cooper, M. L. (2007). Jamestown, 1607. New York: Holiday House. MU
Jones, P. D. (2018). From monuments to music: Symbols representing America. Tampa:
BeaLu Books. P
Nirgiotis, N. (2009). Killer ants. New York: Holiday House. PM
Pfeffer, W. (2009). Life in a coral reef. New York: HarperCollins. PM
Sequence Brown, C. (2009). Mule train mail. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. PM
Jones, C. (2018). Marching in March. Tampa: BeaLu Books. P
Lourie, P. (2009). Whaling season: A year in the life of an Arctic whale scientist. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin. MU
Minor, W. (2006). Yankee Doodle America: The spirit of 1776 from A to Z. New York:
Putnam. MU
Royston, A. (2006). The life and times of a drop of water: The water cycle. Chicago: Raintree. PM
Comparison Bidner, J. (2007). Is my cat a tiger? How your cat compares to its wild cousins. New York:
Lark Books. M
Domer, J. (2018). Dive in! Exploring the ocean zones. Tampa: BeaLu Books. P
Jenkins, S. (2007). Dogs and cats. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. MU
Munro, R. (2001). The inside-outside book of Washington, DC. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books. MU
Schanzer, R. (2007). George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from both sides.
Washington, DC: National Geographic. M
Cause and Effect Burns, L. G. (2007). Tracking trash: Flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean movement. Boston:
Collins, A. (2006). Violent weather: Thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Washington, DC:
National Geographic. MU
Melsheimer, M. (2018). Coral reefs: Rainbows under the sea. Tampa: BeaLu Books. P
Rockwell, A. (2006). Why are the ice caps melting? The dangers of global warming. New York:
HarperCollins. PM
Turner, P. S. (2009). The frog scientist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. M
Problem and Bledsoe, L. J. (2006). How to survive in Antarctica. New York: Holiday House. MU
Solution Calmenson, S. (2007). May I pet your dog? The how-to guide for kids meeting dogs (and dogs meeting
kids). New York: Clarion Books. PM
Davies, N. (2009). Just the right size: Why big animals are big and little animals are little.
Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Hatkoff, J., Hatkoff, I., & Hatkoff, C. (2009). Winter’s tail: How one little dolphin learned to swim
again. New York: Scholastic. M
Sheinkin, S. (2009). Which way to the wild west? Everything your schoolbooks didn’t tell you about
America’s westward expansion. New York: Roaring Brook Press. MU
Thimmesh, C. (2006). Team moon: How 400,000 people landed Apollo 11 on the moon. Boston:
Students write explanations of why the dinosaurs became extinct, the effects of pollution
on the environment, or the causes of the American Revolution using the cause-and-effect
pattern. In Volcanoes! (Schreiber, 2008), the author uses this structure to explain what this
geological phenomenon is and why it occurs. Other books using this pattern are listed in
Mentor Texts: Nonfiction Text Structures.
Problem and Solution. Writers use this structure to explain a problem and suggest one
or more solutions; a variation is the question-and-answer format, in which writers
pose a question and then answer it. Cue words and phrases include the problem is, the
puzzle is, solve, and question . . . answer. When the topic is why money was invented, how
to save endangered animals, or why people build dams, writers are typically applying
this nonfiction pattern. In What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? (2001b),
Steve Jenkins explains animals’ fascinating built-in defense mechanisms, and in Slap,
Squeak, and Scatter: How Animals Communicate (Jenkins, 2001a), he explains why animals
communicate and how they use sound, scent, visual signals, dance, chemical marking,
and other techniques to send messages. Question-and-answer books, such as . . . If You
Lived With the Indians of the Northwest Coast (Kamma, 2002) and . . . If You Lived at the Time
of Martin Luther King (Levine, 1994), also use this structure. Additional books illustrat-
ing the problem-and-solution pattern are included in Mentor Texts: Nonfiction Text
Structures.
Reading researchers identified these patterns by examining nonfiction texts to devise ways
to help students comprehend those materials more easily. Most of the research on nonfiction
text structures has focused on older students’ use of these patterns to improve reading com-
prehension, but K–8 students also use the patterns in their writing.
As students learn about the nonfiction text structures, they apply their new knowledge to
write nonfiction. A class of second graders examined the five nonfiction text structures and
learned that authors use cue words as a “secret code” to signal the structures. They read men-
tor texts exemplifying each nonfiction text structure and wrote paragraphs afterward to share
what they’d learned. Working in small groups, they drew graphic organizers and added main
ideas and details from their reading. Then they wrote paragraphs modeling the organizational
patterns. These graphic organizers and paragraphs are presented in Figure 10–1. Students’
cue words are underlined.
Nonfiction Features
Nonfiction books have unique features that stories and poetry normally don’t have, such as
margin notes and glossaries; their purpose is to make the text easier to read and understand.
Authors often use these features:
• A table of contents to show how the text is organized
• Headings and subheadings to direct readers’ attention
• Photographs and realistic drawings to illustrate big ideas
• Figures, maps, tables, and charts to present detailed information visually
• Margin notes to provide supplemental information or direct readers to additional
information on a topic
• Bold print to highlight technical vocabulary
• A glossary to assist readers in pronouncing and defining key terms
• An index to assist readers in locating specific information quickly
GUIDED WRITING: SECOND GRADERS’ NONFICTION

Figure 10–1
PARAGRAPHS
Description Bats
They sleep in the

daytime. They All bats are mammals. Bats
sleep upside down in the daytime.
hang upside down.
Bats have There are These animals make sounds to know
wings. different where they are going. Bats find food
They fly. kinds of bats. by sending out soundwaves. They eat
fish, blood, insects, rodents, fruits,
and nectar. Bats are all different
sizes. Some bats have wings that are
Bats are They eat fish five feet wide.
BATS
mammals. and fruit. Some
suck blood.
They are different sizes. Bats send out sound waves

so they know where they
are going.
Sequence The Life of a Monarch Butterfly
1. male and female mate A butterfly makes a lot of changes

2. female lays eggs in its life. First the male and the
female mate. Next the female lays
3. eggs hatch eggs. The eggs stick to milkweed
4. a caterpillar eats and grows leaves for three days. Then the eggs
hatch into little caterpillars. For five
5. it sheds its skin several times weeks, the caterpillar eats and grows.
6. caterpillar forms a chrysalis After shedding its skin several times,
the caterpillar forms a chrysalis.
7. butterfly hatches After two weeks, the butterfly
8. start all over again hatches out of the chrysalis. Then it
starts all over again when a butterfly
finds a mate.
Comparison Summer and Winter

Summer and winter are alike in a
Summer and Winter lot of ways. In the winter and the
summer the sun shines. You can play
sports in both of these seasons. You
can have birthdays in the winter and
summer. In the winter you can go ice
Alike Different fishing and in the summer you can go
1. sun shines 1. size of fishing. Evergreens stay green in
2. play sports shadow both seasons.
3. evergreen 2. snow— Summer and winter are different
trees no snow in a lot of ways. In the winter it
4. fishing 3. temperature snows and in the summer it doesn’t.
5. birthdays 4. flowers— In the winter we have big shadows
no flowers and in the summer we have little
shadows. Summer is hot and winter
is cold.
(Continued)
Figure 10–1 (CONTINUED)
Cause and Effect

Volcanoes
Plates on the Rocks under the Hot rock, called
earth's surface plates push up lava, cools on Do you know what causes
move. through the earth. the earth. volcanoes? The plates on the earth’s
surface rub together and make hot
liquid rock underneath the plates. The
hot rock pushes up between the
plates. Sometimes it makes a big
explosion and the lava comes out onto
Volcanoes the earth.
Problem and Solution
make a scarecrow The Problem with Crows
The farmer was having a problem

poison the crows with crows eating the crops. One
solution the farmer tried was to put
crows
up a scarecrow. Another idea he had
eat the
up his sleeve was to poison the crows
crops chase the crows by spraying the crops with chemicals.
The farmer thought about chasing the
crows away himself. One more idea
use dogs to scare the farmer had was to let his dog out
the crows to chase the crows.
In addition, different font sizes and colors are used to highlight key points, technical vocab-
ulary, and other features in nonfiction books; researchers have found that these nonfiction
features improve readers’ comprehension (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007). This conclusion can
be applied to writing as well: When writers use these nonfiction features, their writing is
more effective.
Some excellent informational books look and sound more like stories than nonfiction.
One example is The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust
(Ruelle & DeSaix, 2009). The authors recount a little-known story of how during World War II
Muslims provided a temporary hiding place for Jews and escaped POWs and helped them
escape from Paris, and in the afterword, they explain how they learned about the Muslims’ role
in the resistance movement. A glossary, bibliography, and index follow the afterword. Another
example is The Quest for Z: The True Story of Explorer Percy Fawcett and a Lost City in the Amazon
(Pizzoli, 2017). It tells the story of Percy Fawcett, who dedicated his life to finding a lost city in the
Amazon, and includes a glossary; author’s note; bibliography of books, newspaper articles,
and websites; as well as information on other explorers who searched for the lost Fawcett.
Most informational books, however, incorporate many nonfiction features. Books in the
DK Eyewitness and Eye Wonder series are great examples; Dorling Kindersley is known for its
spectacular page layouts that integrate text with photos. In DK Eyewitness: Soccer (Hornby, 2010),
for instance, you’ll find these features: a table of contents, chapter titles, photo illustrations
Figure 10–2 NONFICTION FEATURES

BOOK DESCRIPTION NONFICTION FEATURES
Bingham, C. (2004). DK Eye A fascinating guide to rocks and minerals, with close-up table of contents
Wonder: Rocks and minerals. photos and information about igneous, sedimentary, and chapter titles and headings
New York: DK. M metamorphic rocks; crystals; precious metals; and gems. text boxes
photos and diagrams
labels and captions
glossary and index
Cole, J. (2010). The magic Ms. Frizzle takes her students around Earth to text boxes
school bus and the climate examine the greenhouse effect, alternative energy detailed drawings
challenge. New York: sources, and carbon dioxide emissions and learn ways to labels and captions
Scholastic. PM help solve the crisis. diagrams
glossary and index
Mugford, S. (2005). Sharks Double-page, close-up photos of sharks, stingrays, and headings
and other dangers of the other ocean animals with fascinating facts about them, highlighted vocabulary words
deep. New York: Priddy including a danger rating and a man–animal size photos
Books/St. Martin’s Press. PM comparison in this eye-catching book. labels
glossary
Talbott, H. (2009). River of The history of the Hudson River from before the headings
dreams: The story of the colonization of New York, the Revolutionary War, the era varied fonts
Hudson River. New York: of steamboats, its environmental degradation a century time lines
Putnam. MU ago, and its subsequent rebirth. maps
labels and captions
Turner, P. S. (2009). The frog A scientist and his “frog squad” research the effect table of contents
scientist. Boston: Houghton pesticides have on frogs and, in turn, on people. varied font sizes
Mifflin. MU text boxes
photos and diagrams
labels and captions
glossary and index
Weitzman, D. (2009). The process ancient Egyptian shipwrights used to build prologue and afterword
Pharaoh’s boat. Boston: an enormous vessel for their pharaoh more than 4,000 varied font sizes
Houghton Mifflin. MU years ago, and how an Egyptian archeologist map with legend
reconstructed the boat after it was discovered in 1954. diagrams
labels and captions
with captions and labels, text boxes, a question-and-answer section, a glossary, an index,
resources including useful websites and places to visit, and an index, plus a soccer clip art
CD and a large poster. The book’s divided into two- and four-page chapters on topics such as
soccer balls, laws of the game, the goalkeeper, and the World Cup, and each chapter includes
a succinct text supplemented with 7 to 10 photographs. Figure 10–2 describes additional
informational books and their nonfiction features.
Types of Nonfiction Writing

Contrary to the popular assumption that young children’s first writing is narrative, researchers
have found that kindergartners and first graders write many nonnarrative compositions in
which they provide information about familiar topics, such as “All About Swimming Lessons,”
or write directions for familiar activities, such as “How to Bake Cookies” (Duke & Bennett-
Armistead, 2003; Harvey, 1998; Robb, 2004). Students in the middle grades continue to use
nonfiction writing to write summaries and to search for answers to questions that interest
them. Through early, successful experiences with nonfiction writing, students not only learn
how to write reports but also gain knowledge in different content areas.
“ALL ABOUT . . .” BOOKS Young children write booklets on a nonfiction topic;

these small booklets are known as “All About . . .” books. They usually draw a picture and
write one sentence on each page. First grade David’s “All About . . .” book on the topic of
sea animals is presented in Figure 10–3. Notice that David numbered each page of his book,
Figure 10–3 INDEPENDENT WRITING: A FIRST GRADER’S “ALL ABOUT . . .” BOOK

1 through 4, in the upper right corner of the page. Next

he added a cover, and after a minute of confusion, he
wrote a zero on the cover so that each page would be
numbered. David invented the spelling for many words;
nevertheless, the information can be deciphered easily.
Also, on page 1, David was experimenting with word
boundaries so he used dots to mark the division between
words that he recognized as separate; he considered
“The dolphin” and “swim fast” as single units. When he
wrote other pages, David’s attention changed and he
focused on other writing concepts.
An “All About . . .” book can be a collaborative pro-
duction in which each child contributes one page. For
example, as part of the unit on insects, primary grade
children collected ladybugs to observe in the classroom
and read several books about these distinctive insects.
Watch Ms. McCloskey and her first graders write a collabora- Then, working in small groups, they brainstormed a list
tive report about ladybugs. Why is interactive writing an of facts they’d learned. Next, the children each chose
effective instructional procedure to use with English learners? one fact from the list for their page; they wrote the infor-
mation interactively and added an illustration. Their
teacher collected the pages, included a sheet at the end of the book called “How We Learned
About Ladybugs,” and then added a cover made of construction paper. Here’s the group’s
report:
Page 1: There are about 600 kinds of ladybugs.
Page 2: Ladybugs are supposed to bring you good luck.
Page 3: Ladybugs pretend to be dead when frightened.
Page 4: Ladybugs like the rain.
Page 5: Ladybugs spend the winter in pinecones, in cracks, under leaves, and even in houses
sleeping and waiting for spring.
Page 6: Ladybugs don’t bite!
Page 7: How We Learned About Ladybugs:
1. We watched three ladybugs we kept in a jar in our classroom.
2. We read these books:
Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries
Ladybugs and Other Insects by Gallimard Jeunesse
A Ladybug’s Life by John Himmelman
COLLABORATIVE REPORTS Classmates work together to write collaborative

reports. Each student writes a section, and then students compile their sections to form the
report. They benefit from writing a group report, first, because the group provides a support
system, and second, because group members share the laborious parts of the work. Four
fourth graders wrote a collaborative report on hermit crabs. These students sat together at a
table and watched the hermit crabs living in a terrarium on their table. They cared for these
crustaceans for 2 weeks and recorded their observations in learning logs. Afterward, the stu-
dents were bursting with questions about the hermit crabs and eager for answers: They
wanted to know what the crabs’ real habitat was, what the best habitat was for them in the
classroom, how they breathed air, why they lived in borrowed shells, why one pincer was big-
ger than the other, and so on. Their teacher gave some answers and directed them to books
that would provide additional information. As they collected information, the students cre-
ated a cluster that they taped to their table next to the terrarium. Soon the cluster wasn’t an
adequate way to report information, so they decided to share their knowledge by writing a
book they called “The Encyclopedia About Hermit Crabs,” which is presented in Figure 10–4.
The fourth graders shared the work of writing the book, and they chose four main ideas:
what hermit crabs look like, how they act, where they live, and what they eat. One student
wrote each section and then returned to the group to share the rough draft. Classmates
offered revision suggestions, and then students refined their drafts to communicate more
effectively. Next, they edited their report with the teacher and added an introduction, a con-
clusion, and a bibliography. Finally, they recopied their report into a hardback book and
added illustrations before reading it to each second and third grade class in the school and
finally placing it in the school library.
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS Laura Robb (2004) and Tony Stead (2002) recommend
that students do authentic research in which they explore topics that interest them or hunt for
answers to questions that puzzle them. As students become immersed in thematic units, ques-
tions arise that they want to explore. For example, students in a fourth grade class were study-
ing dinosaurs, and they quickly asked more questions than the teacher could answer. She
SHARED WRITING: FOURTH GRADERS’

Figure 10–4
COLLABORATIVE REPORT ON HERMIT CRABS
The Encyclopedia About Hermit Crabs

How They Look
Hermit crabs are very much like regular crabs but hermit crabs transfer shells. They have gills.
Why? Because they are born in water and when they mature they come to land and kill snails so they
can have a shell. They have two beady eyes that look like they are on stilts. Their body is a sight!
Their shell looks like a rock. Really it is an exoskeleton which means the skeleton is on the outside.
They have two pincers. The left one is bigger so it is used for defense. The right one is for feeding.
They also have ten legs.
Where They Live

Hermit crabs live mostly on beaches in Florida where the weather is 65°–90°. They live in fresh
water. They like humid weather and places that have sand, wood, and rocks (for climbing on). The
best time to catch hermit crabs is a low tide.
What They Eat

Hermit crabs are omnivorous scavengers which means they eat just about anything. They even
eat leftovers.
How They Act

Hermit crabs are very unusual. They go back into their shell if they think there is danger. They
are funny because they walk sideways, forwards, and backwards. They can go in circles. They can
also get up when they get upside down. And that’s how they act.
encouraged them to search for answers in

How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems books from the school library and in online
articles. As they located answers to their
The Problem The composition is plagiarized. questions, the students were eager to share
their new knowledge and decided to write
What Causes It When students don’t know how to write a reports and publish them as books.
report or other composition or if they run
out of time, they may resort to copying ALPHABET BOOKS Students use
directly from reference books or websites. the letters of the alphabet to organize
information they want to share in alpha-
How to Solve It QUICK FIX: Work with students to create a bet (or ABC) books. These books incorpo-
graphic organizer with information for the rate the sequence pattern because the
composition, and next write a rough draft
pages are arranged in alphabetical order.
together using information from the orga-
nizer. Then have students continue through Books such as A Is for America (Scillian,
the revising, editing, and publishing stages of 2001), The Living Rain Forest: An Animal
the writing process. Also, have them turn in Alphabet (Kratter, 2004), and Alpha Bravo
graphic organizers and rough drafts with Charlie: The Military Alphabet (Demarest,
revisions and editing corrections marked on 2005) can be used as models. Students
them along with their final compositions to brainstorm information about a topic or
provide evidence that they developed their check a word wall to identify a word or
compositions themselves. fact for each letter; then they work individ-
LONG-TERM SOLUTION: Teach students ually, in pairs, or in small groups to com-
in a series of minilessons how to make pose pages for the book. The page format
graphic organizers, take notes, and develop is similar to the one used in alphabet
original compositions using the notes. In books: Students write the letter in one cor-
addition, write a class collaboration compo- ner of the page, draw an illustration, and
sition to demonstrate how to use graphic write a sentence or paragraph to describe
organizers and note cards before students the word or fact. The text usually begins
write individual compositions. “_____ is for _____,” and then a sentence
or paragraph description follows. The H
How to Prevent Students who write at school are less likely
the Problem to plagiarize than those who complete page from a sixth grade class’s alphabet
assigned writing projects at home because book is presented in Figure 10–5.
teachers provide support and assistance,
and students are less likely to run out of E S S AY S Students write essays to
time.
explain and analyze information; some-
times their topics are personal, such as
dealing with bullying, but at other times,
they address national and international issues, such as gun control, hunger, and climate
change. These compositions are short, usually no longer than two pages. They’re classi-
fied as nonfiction but often include some story elements, especially in personal essays.
Students write essays from their own viewpoints, and their voices should come clearly
through the writing (Pryle, 2007). They learn to write personal essays, in which they
recount an experience, shaping it to illustrate a theme or generalization; and comparison
essays, in which they compare and contrast two or more things to emphasize important
differences.

GUIDED WRITING: A PAGE FROM A SIXTH GRADE

Figure 10–5
ABC BOOK ON ANCIENT EGYPT
Teachers teach students about the nonfiction genre and how to write reports and other nonfiction
forms. Duke and Bennett-Armistead (2003) offer these guidelines for teaching about this genre:
Teach the Nonfiction Writing Genre. Teachers teach students how nonfiction differs from
other genres. As they examine nonfiction books, students identify some of the character-
istics, and teachers point out others.
Link Reading and Writing. Students read nonfiction books to learn about the characteris-
tics of the genre and use the format of the books they’ve read to create their own books.
Address Plagiarism. Teachers explain what plagiarism is and why it’s wrong. Students learn
how to take notes and paraphrase the information they’ve read so they won’t copy word for
word from books when they write summaries, reports, and other types of nonfiction writing.
When teachers use writing workshop, they apply these guidelines. Students learn about
the genre through minilessons and mentor texts and apply what they’re learning through a
combination of collaborative and independent writing projects. The Instructional Overview:
Nonfiction Writing lists the goals for nonfiction writing in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Teachers introduce the nonfiction writing genre through a series of minilessons involving both
reading and writing activities (Robb, 2004). They share a collection of nonfiction books,
including informational books, almanacs, guidebooks, photo essays, alphabet books, and
biographies, and guide students as they examine the books to identify the characteristics of
the genre. Mentor Texts: Nonfiction lists books and other texts illustrating the genre.
Once students are familiar with the genre, teachers focus on the contrasts between fiction
and nonfiction. Young children examine several books on a topic that they’re familiar with,
such as these books about ducks: Duckling: Watch Me Grow (DK Publishing, 2006), Ducks Don’t
Get Wet (Goldin, 1999), Have You Seen My Duckling? (Tafuri, 1991), and Make Way for Ducklings
(McCloskey, 2004). The first two are informational books or nonfiction; the last two are sto-
ries or fiction. Some teachers use the terms story and informational book; others prefer fiction and
nonfiction, the terms that older students use.
Middle graders compare Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House novels with their
accompanying research guides; for example, Midnight on the Moon (Osborne, 1996) with Space
(Osborne & Osborne, 2002), its nonfiction guide, or Monday With a Mad Genius (Osborne,
2009) with Leonardo da Vinci (Osborne & Boyce, 2009), its companion book. As they read and
compare these books written by the same author on the same topic, students notice that
Instructional Overview Nonfiction Writing
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten–Grade 2 • Children use the description, sequence, and comparison structures to organize
their writing.
• Children insert cue words to signal the organizational pattern they’re using.
• Children share information they’ve learned in “All About . . .” books and other
types of nonfiction writing.
Grades 3–5 • Students apply all five nonfiction text structures to organize their writing of
paragraphs and longer compositions.
• Students add cue words to signal the organizational pattern they’re using.
• Students work collaboratively to write reports and other types of nonfiction
writing.
• Students write individual reports and other types of nonfiction writing.
Grades 6–8 • Students write essays, reports, and other types of nonfiction writing that are
structured using the nonfiction text structures.
• Students incorporate nonfiction features to highlight important ideas in their
writing.
Mentor Texts Nonfiction

Type Books
Almanacs Jansen, S. (Ed.). (2016). The world almanac and book of facts 2017. New York:
Infobase. MU
National Geographic kids almanac 2017. (2016). Washington, DC: National
Geographic. MU
Time for kids almanac 2017. (2016). New York: Time for Kids. MU
Alphabet Books Bauer, P. (2009). B is for battle cry: A Civil War alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. MU
Herzog, B. (2005). S is for save the planet: A how-to-be-green alphabet. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear
Press. MU
McMahon, H., & McMahon, J. (2017). A is for atom: ABCs for aspiring chemists. www.
pawlingpress.com.
Autobiographies Cohen, S., & Maciel, A. (2006). Fire on ice: Autobiography of a champion figure skater. New York:
HarperCollins. U
Hernandez, L. (2017). I got this: To gold and beyond. New York: HarperCollins. MU
Paterson, K. (2015). Stories of my life. New York: Speak. MU
Biographies Adler, D. A. (2005). America’s champion swimmer: Gertrude Ederle. New York: Sandpiper. PM
Fleischman, S. (2006). Escape: The story of the great Houdini. New York: Greenwillow. U
Kerley, B. (2009). The dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. New York: Scholastic. M
Directions and Hammer, M. (2016). Kid chef: The foodie kids cookbook: Healthy recipes and culinary skills for the new
How-to Manuals cook in the kitchen. Berkeley, CA: Sonoma Press.
Homer, H., Miller, R., & Harrington, J. (2016). The 101 coolest simple science experiments: Awesome
things to do with your parents, babysitters, and other adults. Salem, MA: Page Street Publishing.
Woo! Jr. Kids Activities. (2017). The drawing book for kids: 365 daily things to draw: Step by step.
Woodstock, IL: Wendybird Press.
Essays Adoff, A., & Cook, K. (Eds.). (2010). Virginia Hamilton: Speeches, essays, and conversations. New
York: Blue Sky Press. U
Allison, J., & Gediman, D. (Eds.). (2006). This I believe. New York: Henry Holt. U
Kids write through it: Essays from kids who’ve triumphed over trouble. (1999). Minneapolis: Fairview
Press. MU
Guidebooks Espeland, P., & Verdick, E. (2007). See you later, procrastinator! Minneapolis: Free Spirit. MU
Miller, E. (2009). The tooth book: A guide to healthy teeth and gums. New York: Holiday House. P
Petrillo, V. (2009). A kid’s guide to Latino history. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. M
Informational Caputo, P. (2005). 10,000 days of thunder: A history of the Vietnam War. New York: Atheneum. U
Books Guiberson, B. Z. (2004). The emperor lays an egg. New York: Henry Holt. P
Hicks, K. (2010). Zip lines. Vero Beach, FL: Rourke. MU
Magazines SPIDER P
Cobblestone MU
Sports Illustrated Kids MU
Time for Kids MU
Memoirs dePaola, T. (2001). 26 Fairmount Avenue. New York: Putnam. P
Lowry, L. (2016). Looking back: A book of memories. New York: Houghton Mifflin. U
Woodson, J. (2016). Brown girl dreaming. New York: Puffin Books. U
(Continued)
Mentor Texts Nonfiction (Continued)

Type Books
Newspapers Powell, A., & Steele, P. (2009). The Greek news. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Steedman, S. (2009). The Egyptian news. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Steele, P. (2009). The Aztec news. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. MU
Photo Essays Moeller, J., & Moeller, B. (2003). The pony express: A photographic history. Sevierville,
TN: Mountain Press. MU
Souza, P. (2017). Dream big dreams: Photographs from Barack Obama’s inspiring and historic
presidency. New York: Little, Brown. MU
Steckel, R., & Steckel, M. (2007). The milestones project: Celebrating childhood around the world.
Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press. M
Visual Reference DK Eyewitness books: Planets. (2017). New York: DK Publishing. MU
Books The art book: Big ideas visually explained. (2017). New York: DK Publishing. MU
The elements book: A visual encyclopedia of the periodic table. (2017). New York: DK Publishing. MU
pages in a nonfiction book often look very different than pages in a novel because authors use
nonfiction features to highlight and summarize important information.
Upper grade students compare books in a text set on a social studies or science topic,
such as these books about the American Revolution:
• American Revolution (S. Murray, 2005) (nonfiction)
• The American Revolution for Kids (Herbert, 2002) (nonfiction—multiple genres)
• The Fighting Ground (Avi, 1994) (fiction)
• . . . If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution (Moore, 1998) (nonfiction—
question-and-answer book)
• Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American
Revolution (Anderson, 2008) (nonfiction—biography)
• Liberty or Death: The American Revolution, 1763–1783 (Maestro, 2005) (nonfiction)
• My Brother Sam Is Dead (Collier, 2005) (fiction—novel)
• The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson (McGovern, 1990) (nonfiction—
biography)
• Toliver’s Secret (Brady, 1993) (fiction—novel)
• Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy (Murphy, 1998)
(nonfiction—biography)
Looking at this list, you’ll notice that titles can be misleading. For example, the word story is
used in the title of Ann McGovern’s biography of Deborah Sampson, the woman who dressed
as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War, even though the book is nonfiction.
As students examine these books, they recognize that nonfiction is factual: It’s about real
people and things, historical events, geographic locations in this world and across the uni-
verse. They also notice some of these differences:
The Author’s Purpose. Authors write fiction to entertain their readers, but they write non-
fiction to inform as well as to entertain.
GUIDED WRITING: FOURTH GRADERS’ VENN

Figure 10–6
DIAGRAM COMPARING FICTION AND NONFICTION
Fiction Nonfiction
tell a story about half words and

half illustrations
mainly words glossary
eye-catching,
colorful covers have a skeleton
have a beginning, middle,
and end
they’re both books boxes with special information
characters have to solve fun to read table of contents

a problem
maps, charts, and other
interesting titles diagrams
there’s a theme
author’s name on the cover there are headings
novels have chapters but
picture books don’t author information lots of information
page numbers honest and factual

imaginative
vocabulary words stand out
just a few illustrations
index
Accuracy. Authors use their imaginations to invent stories even if they’re based on factual
events, but they normally stick to the facts when they’re writing nonfiction.
Text Structures. Authors use plot, characters, and other elements of story structure to
organize fiction, but they use the nonfiction text structures, including sequence and prob-
lem and solution, to structure nonfiction.
Presentation. Pages in fiction books are plain compared to those in nonfiction texts.
Some stories have illustrations, often fanciful drawings, and novels are often broken up
into chapters, but nonfiction authors use a variety of features, including headings, bold
font, photographs, diagrams, tables of contents, and indexes, to highlight important
ideas and make the book easier to understand.
Figure 10–6 shows a Venn diagram comparing fiction and nonfiction that fourth graders cre-
ated. The word skeleton mentioned in the nonfiction circle is this teacher’s term for nonfiction
text structures.
Nonfiction Writing Techniques

Many students find it challenging to organize information they’re gathering in preparation
for writing nonfiction. As they gather information from the Internet and books, they take
notes on sheets of paper or index cards. The amount of information they collect can be over-
whelming, or students discover that their notes are redundant. They can spend several days
gathering information without realizing that they’ve addressed only one part of their topic.
To correct this problem, teachers teach students to use clusters and these organizing
techniques.
DATA CHARTS Data charts are grids that students make to organize the information
they’re gathering about a topic (McKenzie, 1979; McMackin & Siegel, 2002). They make a
data chart by drawing a grid and labeling the column headings with characteristics and the
rows with examples, then they fill in the boxes with information to complete the chart. This
organizing technique is useful whenever the topic can be divided into four or more subtopics,
such as the solar system or Native American tribes. The procedure is described in Step-by-
Step: Data Charts. An excerpt from a fourth grader’s data chart on the regions of California is
shown in Figure 10–7. Students created the data charts at the beginning of a thematic unit on
California, and then they added the information for each section after studying that region.
Because the teacher guided the students as they completed each section, this figure is an
example of guided writing.
POCKET CHARTS Before beginning to take notes, students identify subtopics, and
they label an envelope for each subtopic and attach the envelopes to the inside of a file
folder. Then students take notes on a sheet of paper that’s been divided into small boxes,
being careful to record only one piece of information in each box. Afterward, students cut
the boxes apart, sort their notes according to subtopic, and file them in the envelopes. If the
topic is climate change, for instance, students might prepare envelopes for each of these
Data Charts
1 Design the chart. Teachers choose a topic and decide how to organize it, perhaps using big ideas. They
count the number of big ideas to determine how many columns to include in their charts, and then they
identify and count the details, characteristics, or examples to figure out how many rows to draw. To allow
for the headings, teachers add one to the number of columns and one to the number of rows.
2 Draw the grid. Teachers make a grid that’s the appropriate size on butcher paper, write the big-idea
headings across the top row and the detail, characteristic, or example headings in the left column. They also
make individual copies of the data chart for each student.
3 Complete the chart. Students work together as a class or in small groups to record information about
the topic to complete the chart, adding words, pictures, or sentences in each cell. Students also draw and
write the information on their individual data charts.
4 Review the chart. Teachers review the chart with students and add any missing facts and correct any
errors or incomplete information.
5 Use the information. Students use the information they’ve collected and organized in a writing project.
GUIDED WRITING: EXCERPT FROM A FIFTH-GRADE DATA CHART

Figure 10–7
ON CALIFORNIA
four subtopics: what’s happening, why it’s happening, how it will change the planet, and
what people can do.
VENN DIAGRAMS Students use Venn diagrams to compare and contrast topics
(Tovani, 2000). These diagrams, invented by English logician John Venn (1843–1923) to show
relationships between and among things, have two or more overlapping circles (Edwards,
2004). Students write and draw the differences in the parts of the circles that don’t intersect
and the similarities in the overlapping section. What matters most is the thinking that stu-
dents do while they compare and contrast topics. The steps in this procedure are explained in
Step-by-Step: Venn Diagrams, and Figure 10–6 shows a Venn diagram comparing fiction and
nonfiction.
Venn diagrams are used to compare and contrast two topics; when students want only to
contrast two topics, such as reptiles and amphibians, plant-eating and meat-eating dino-
saurs, or the Arctic and the Antarctic, T-charts are more effective. To make a T-chart, students
draw a large capital letter T and write the topics above the horizontal stroke of the letter, then
they list the contrasts on either side of the vertical stroke. An example of a T-chart contrasting
amphibians and reptiles is shown in Figure 10–8.
Venn Diagrams
1 Compare and contrast the topics. Students brainstorm a list of the similarities and differences between
two topics. Teachers pose questions, when necessary, to help students analyze the topics.
2 Draw a Venn diagram. Students make a Venn diagram by drawing two large overlapping circles and
labeling the circles with their topics.
3 Complete the diagram. In the outer parts of the circles, students write words and phrases about the
differences between their topics, and they write the similarities in the intersecting part in the middle.
4 Highlight the most important ideas. Students use a highlighter pen to emphasize the most important
similarities and differences.
5 Draw conclusions. Students examine the highlighted information to draw conclusions about the similar-
ities and differences between the topics.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A T-CHART CONTRASTING

Figure 10–8
AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
Writing Workshop
During writing workshop, teachers teach minilessons on nonfiction writing, and students
work together on collaborative compositions before moving on to independent writing proj-
ects. Teachers often tie what they’re teaching about nonfiction writing to thematic units
they’re teaching.
TEACHING MINILESSONS Teachers teach minilessons on nonfiction text struc-

tures, nonfiction features, and types of nonfiction writing. A part of those activities involves
asking students to assess what they’ve written to ensure that it’s accurate and clear. Minilesson:
Assessing Written Instructions shows how an eighth grade teacher taught his students to use a
rubric to assess sandwich-making instructions written using the sequence structure. Asking stu-
dents to carefully review what was written points out how to improve their nonfiction writing.
WRITING COLLABORATIVE COMPOSITIONS Students practice what

they’re learning as they work with partners or in small groups to write collaborative reports and
other nonfiction compositions. They use the writing process as they search for answers to ques-
tions about a topic and then compose a report to share what they’ve learned. Through these
experiences, students gain both the expertise and the confidence to write individual reports.
Students work with partners or in small groups to write collaborative reports in connec-
tion with thematic units. Class collaboration reports are a good way for students to learn the
steps involved in writing a report and to gain experience working through the writing process
without the complexities of writing individual reports.
WRITING INDIVIDUAL REPORTS Writing an individual report is similar to

writing a collaborative report, because students also identify questions, gather information to
answer the questions, and then report what they’ve learned. However, writing individually
makes two significant changes necessary: Students must narrow their topics and then assume
the entire responsibility for writing the report.
INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY There are so many ways for teachers to use

technology to support their students’ nonfiction writing. Most people are familiar with Power-
Point, but K–8 students can learn to use many other tools, including Etherpad, Wordle,
PicLits, Animoto, and Glogster. Teachers introduce these tools and demonstrate how to use
them when students can apply what they’ve learned in the projects they’re developing; it’s
better to integrate technology into the curriculum than to teach it as a stand-alone subject
(Hamilton, 2007). These digital tools are recommended for nonfiction writing:
PowerPoint Slide Shows. Students create PowerPoint slide shows to accompany oral pre-
sentations about nonfiction topics, laying out the big ideas as bulleted points on slides
and using cue words to emphasize the nonfiction text structure. Teachers teach students
to use toolbars to develop their slides, including the spell check function, and add anima-
tion and transitions. In addition to the slide show, students include their speaker’s notes
and any handouts in the file. Once they gain experience preparing slide shows, students
can turn them into photo albums, complete with narration, video clips, and sound.
Collaborative Writing. Students can use Etherpad (http://etherpad.org) for collaborative
writing: Instead of one student writing while classmates suggest sentences, students at
individual computers can view the same text and type on it simultaneously to draft, revise,
and edit their writing, and their contributions are color-coded to show authorship.
TOPIC: Assessing Written Instructions
Minilesson GRADE: Eighth Grade

Mr. LeBeau’s eighth graders are learning to write instructions in preparation for his dis-
trict’s quarterly writing assessment. The students began by examining instructions on food
packages, games, and household appliances and identifying the characteristics of clear,
well-sequenced instructions. Next, they wrote instructions for making a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich, and their classmates tried to follow the instructions to actually make a
sandwich. Afterward, they revised their instructions to make them clearer. Now, the pur-
pose of today’s minilesson is for the students to use the district’s rubric for technical writ-
ing to assess the sandwich-making instructions students wrote in another of Mr. LeBeau’s
classes.

Mr. LeBeau explains that he has made copies of five students’ sandwich-making instruc-
tions that he wants them to read and assess. (The students’ names were covered before
the copies were made.)
2 Share Examples
Mr. LeBeau passes out copies of two papers and asks the students to read and compare
them. The students discuss the papers and agree that the second one is stronger because
the instructions are more concise and easier to follow. Then he passes out a third paper
for the students to read and compare to the other two. This paper, the students con-
clude, is even better than the other two because the student has used spatial detail
words, such as underneath and top.
The teacher passes out copies of the district’s 4-point technical writing rubric, which the
students use to score the three papers; one paper is ranked a 2, the second a 3, and the
third a 4. The students provide reasons for ranking each paper as they did.
4 Guide Practice
Students share their writing in small groups. They score each paper and provide com-
mentary on what the writer did well and how he or she could improve.
5 Assess Learning
Students use the rubric to self-assess their own compositions and then make revisions if
they don’t score at least a 3, because a score of 3 is considered “on grade level.” Later,
Mr. LeBeau conferences with students to discuss their rankings.
Multimedia Projects. Students can use a variety of

software programs to create multimedia projects
about nonfiction topics. They integrate text, images,
video clips, and sound to make slide shows, museum
boxes, scrapbooks, mind maps, and other projects.
For more information, check Digital Toolkit: Multime-
dia Projects.
These technology tools make writing nonfiction much
more engaging than traditional paper-and-pencil tasks.
PREPARING FOR WRITING TESTS Stu-

dents are often asked to do nonfiction writing on district
and state writing tests. Preparing for Writing Tests: Infor-
mative Writing provides details about writing informational
essays. For this writing task, students need to read the Fourth grade teacher Ms. Balsamo has students use thinking
prompt carefully, think about the characteristics of the map software to plan for and initiate their writing. How does
genre, and plan for a few minutes before they begin to write. the use of computers help young writers to be successful?
DIGITAL TOOLKIT Multimedia Projects
Students can use Internet software to create multimedia students’ boxes about the Roman baths, great white sharks,
projects. When they incorporate images, video, and sound the Dust Bowl, and other topics at the site.
to enhance their presentations of information, students’
writing is transformed. Here are eight recommended soft- ▶ Padlet
ware programs: (http://www.padlet.com)
Students use Padlet as a collaboration tool. Collaborators can be
▶ Animoto in the same classroom or around the globe. It’s versatile in what
(http://www.animoto.com) can be uploaded, including files, images, documents, and music.
Students turn digital photos and video clips into video slide
shows. They can spotlight a specific image, include text and ▶ PicLits
statistics, or remix the slide show. (http://www.piclits.com)
Students choose a photograph and add words or sentences to
▶ Glogster label it. They either drag and drop words onto the photo or
(http://www.edu.glogster.com) choose the freestyle option and write the text.
Students make interactive posters called glogs by mixing
images, text, music, and video at this website. Glogs about ▶ Voki
Civil Rights, weather, the Titanic, the Revolutionary War, (http://www.voki.com)
and other topics can be viewed at the site. Students create customized avatars to look like historical or
contemporary figures that can talk. They write dialogue and
▶ MindMeister then speak into a microphone.
(http://www.mindmeister.com)
Students use this Web-based tool to create mind maps, ▶ Wordle
graphic organizers that are similar to clusters, to take notes (http://www.wordle.net)
and develop visual presentations. Students use this tool to generate “word clouds” from a text.
The clouds give greater prominence to high-frequency words,
▶ Museum Boxes and students can tweak the clouds using different fonts,
(http://www.museumbox.e2bn.org) colors, and layouts.
Students create virtual museum boxes using text, images,
Many of these websites offer useful advice for teachers
video clips, and sound. They can get ideas by viewing other
and display collections of student samples.

Informative Writing
Informative writing communicates facts to readers; writers report on events, explain ideas, ana-
lyze concepts, and develop generalizations. They use their background knowledge and experi-
ences for informative writing, and sometimes they’re asked to read a text or analyze the
information presented visually and use that information to supplement their own knowledge as
they write. Prompts often ask writers to write reports, instructions, reviews, and letters. The most
effective informative writing is lively and engaging, showing the writer’s commitment to the topic.
Sometimes informative writing is confused with persuasive writing: Informative writing dissemi-
nates information; writers present facts but they don’t try to persuade readers to agree with them
as they do in persuasive writing.
WHAT DO WRITERS DO?

• Present a thesis statement (older students only) and main ideas clearly
• Include facts, examples, illustrations, incidents, and explanations to elaborate main ideas
• Convey a feeling of knowledge and authority
• Craft an effective introduction and conclusion
• Use technical vocabulary related to the topic
• Adopt a more formal, academic writing style

• Don’t organize their presentation of ideas
• Include few details
• Ignore the “why” or “how” part of the prompt
SAMPLE PROMPTS
• Everyone has a favorite movie. What’s yours? Write a review about this movie that could be
published in your school’s newspaper. Be sure to explain why you like this movie.
• Think about a time of year that you really like. It could be a season, a special day, or a holi-
day. Write a letter to your teacher about this time of year and explain why it is special to you.
• Hunger is a problem in the world today that needs to be solved. Read the information about
hunger on the next page. Then write a report explaining the problem and how people could
work to solve it.
How do teachers scaffold the teaching of nonfiction
writing?
Teachers provide additional scaffolding so that English learners can write nonfic-
tion successfully (Ranker, 2009). In particular, ELs often need more help to build
knowledge about nonfiction topics and learn the related technical vocabulary.
Teachers use photos, picture books, videos, and artifacts to build students’ knowledge about
a topic and introduce important vocabulary, modeling the correct pronunciation, explaining
the meaning, providing examples, and using the words in sentences. Once students are famil-
iar with the topic and the vocabulary, they brainstorm what they’ve learned and teachers write
the information in complete sentences on a chart for them to refer to when they’re writing. In
addition, teachers support EL writers’ nonfiction writing through these activities:
Graphic Organizers. Teachers talk with ELs about a topic to gather ideas and review tech-
nical words, and then they create a graphic organizer—cluster, Venn diagram, T-chart, or
another diagram that’s appropriate for the topic and fits the nonfiction pattern—to struc-
ture the ideas. It’s often more useful to complete the organizer with phrases and sen-
tences instead of single words so students have more language available to use in their
drafts. Through this activity, ELs are equipped with the facts and technical vocabulary to
be successful.
Interactive Writing. Teachers use interactive writing to demonstrate how to develop a non-
fiction composition from a graphic organizer (Rothenberg & Fisher, 2007). ELs work
together to craft the sentences and take turns writing them on chart paper. After com-
pleting the first draft, students revise and edit their writing together, checking that they’ve
applied the nonfiction text structure and cue words and included all the information from
the graphic organizer. They add nonfiction features, such as diagrams or illustrations, and
then they make a final copy.
Collaborative Compositions. ELs work in small groups and with partners to write nonfiction
compositions before doing independent writing. As they work with classmates, students
practice gathering information, developing graphic organizers, and using the writing pro-
cess to draft and refine their writing. They use a nonfiction text structure to organize their
writing and add nonfiction features to provide additional information.
In addition, many English learners benefit from more opportunities to examine a variety of
nonfiction texts that they might not be familiar with, such as newspapers, maps, almanacs,
recipes, instructions for playing games, magazine articles, travel guides, advertisements, bro-
chures, and nutrition boxes on food packages.
Assessing Nonfiction Writing

Students need to know what the requirements are for the writing project and how they’ll be
assessed. Many teachers develop a checklist or rubric specifying the requirements and distrib-
ute it to students before they begin writing; in this way, students understand what’s expected
of them and assume responsibility for completing each step of the assignment. For an individ-
ual report, for example, checklists might include these observable behaviors and products:
• Choose a narrow topic.
• Identify four or five questions.
• Gather and organize information to answer the questions.
• Write a rough draft with a section (or chapter) to answer each question.
• Meet in revising groups to share your report.
• Make at least three changes in your rough draft.
• Complete an editing checklist with a partner.
• Add a bibliography.
• Write the final copy.
This checklist can be made simpler or more complex depending on students’ age and experi-
ences. Assessment Tools: Two Assessment Checklists shows a checklist for a second grader’s
report poster on an insect and another for the sixth grade ABC book project mentioned earlier
in the chapter. Students were involved in developing both checklists, and they received copies
of them at the beginning of the writing projects. They checked off the items as they worked
and then turned in the checklists with their completed projects.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Two Assessment Checklists
Insect Poster Checklist
Name __________________________ Insect ___________________________
u 1. Draw and color an insect.
u 2. Label the drawing.
u 3. Write 3 facts in sentences.
u 4. Add a title and your name.
u 5. Make the poster attractive.
The ABC Book Project
Name ___________________________________ Your Letter _____________

As you create your page for our class ABC book on ancient Egypt,
check off each item on this assessment checklist. Keep the
checklist in your project folder and turn it in with your project.
____ 1.
Brainstorm a list of at least three things beginning with
your letter, and then choose the word for your page.
____ 2.
Research your word and gather information in a cluster.
____ 3.
Write a rough draft paragraph explaining the word for your
page at the computer station. Begin with ________ is for
________.
____ 4.
Design your page and sketch an illustration.
____ 5.
Share your paragraph in a revising group and revise based
on feedback that you receive.
____ 6.
Edit your paragraph and proofread for spelling errors.
____ 7.
Print out your paragraph at the computer station.
____ 8.
Add illustrations.
Students staple the checklist to the inside cover of the folder in which they keep all the
work for the project; as each requirement is completed, they check it off. In this way, students
monitor their own work and learn that writing is a process, not just a final product.
When the project is completed, students submit their entire folder to the teacher to be
assessed. All the requirements on the checklist are considered in determining the grade. If the
checklist has 10 requirements, each requirement might be worth 10 points, and the grading
can be done objectively on a 100-point scale. Thus, if the student’s project is complete with all
required materials, he or she scores 100, or a grade of A. Points can be subtracted for work
that’s sloppy or incomplete. If additional grades are necessary, each item on the checklist can
be graded separately. If a quality assessment is needed, teachers use a rubric that focuses on
genre characteristics or the writer’s craft.
THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Nonfiction Writing

There are several techniques and factors to consider when teaching students to write nonfic-
tion. They need to understand the differences between fiction and nonfiction, and they benefit
from studying mentor texts, learning about the genre and how to assess their writing in mini-
lessons, and participating in a variety of guided practice activities. Use this checklist to guide
your classroom instruction:
Fiction vs. Nonfiction Teachers introduce the genre by explaining the differences
between fiction and nonfiction and having students compare the ways stories and
informational books are organized.
Nonfiction Text Structures Teachers teach the five nonfiction text structures and how
they’re used to organize nonfiction texts.
Nonfiction Features Teachers teach the nonfiction features and how authors use them
to emphasize their message; then students use them in their own writing projects.
Nonfiction Writing Techniques Teachers teach students how to use data charts,
pocket charts, and Venn diagrams to gather and organize information before writing.
Mentor Texts Teachers have students analyze nonfiction mentor texts to learn about
the genre, and they use these books as models for their nonfiction writing projects.
Minilessons Teachers teach students about the genre in minilessons and provide
opportunities for them to apply what they’re learning during writing workshop.
Collaborative Compositions Teachers write class compositions with students as a
guided practice activity before students pursue independent writing projects.
Thematic Units Teachers connect what they’re teaching about the genre to nonfiction
writing projects students are doing in thematic units.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of nonfiction writing through these
245
your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conducting a minilesson using mentor texts to teach nonfiction
2. Interview a student who has learned about nonfiction writing using nonfiction text
structures and/or features and examine a piece of the student’s writing. Ask the stu-
dent to reflect on his or her use of nonfiction text structures and/or features in the
piece of writing. In your response, describe the student, present your analysis of the
student’s knowledge about nonfiction text structures and features, and include a copy
of the student’s writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson about one nonfiction text structure or feature to a small
group of students. Create an anchor poster with key points to use in your lesson. Refer-
ring to your poster in the minilesson, introduce information about the nonfiction text
structure or feature and read and discuss a mentor text. In your response, describe the
students, list the steps in the minilesson, include a copy of the poster, and present your
reflections about the lesson.

NONFICTION WRITING
You must be kidding! My second graders can’t write When do I teach outlining?
reports. They still need to learn basic reading and Outlining is a sticking point for many writers.
writing skills. Because the format of an outline seems so formi-
The writing samples in this chapter show that sec- dable, students often resort to writing it after
ond graders can write reports. The question you completing the report, which defeats its pur-
seem to be asking is why second graders should pose. Generally speaking, outlining isn’t taught
write reports. Writing collaborative and individ- until seventh or eighth grade. Instead, students
ual reports isn’t a waste of time! Children learn should use graphic organizers to organize their
basic reading and writing skills as they develop writing; these forms are more effective and flexi-
research questions, read to find answers, and ble than outlining. If you do teach outlining,
then write a report to share what they’ve learned. have students make a cluster first and then trans-
What’s more basic than having children read to fer the information from it to the outline. Each
find answers to research questions? They apply main idea from the cluster becomes a main idea
decoding and comprehension strategies as they in the outline and is marked with a roman
read, searching for answers to their questions. numeral; the details are listed under the main
What’s more basic than having children share ideas and are marked with uppercase letters. If
their findings through writing? They use the writ- additional details have been added, they’re
ing process to write their reports. Report writing marked with numerals and written under the
is authentic and meaningful, the kind of activity particular detail.
that promotes basic reading and writing skills.
246
Why do you insist that students, even first graders, students reach eighth grade, they should provide
should add a bibliography to their reports? author, title, city of publication, publisher, and
Students should give credit to the sources they copyright date for the books they reference.
used in their reports. Adding a bibliography I teach fifth grade, and I want my students to do non-
lends credibility to nonfiction writing and helps fiction writing as part of our unit on colonial life.
assure readers that the information’s accurate. Which type should I use?
Adding a bibliography isn’t a complicated mat-
The choice is up to you. Teachers consider their
ter, even though high school students who have
students’ prior experiences with nonfiction writ-
never written a report before are overwhelmed
ing, the amount of time available for the project,
when they’re asked to write one. In contrast, stu-
and their goals for the writing project when they
dents accept the responsibility easily when it’s
make a choice. If students haven’t had many
been a natural part of nonfiction writing since
report-writing experiences, a collaborative
kindergarten. Young children simply add a page
report or ABC book might be a good choice.
at the end of their informational books to
When time is limited, you might choose riddles
explain how they became experts about the sub-
or ABC books. Or, when you want students to
ject and found answers to their research ques-
learn to write a conventional report, individual
tions. Primary grade students need only to list
reports are a good choice.
the book’s title and author; then older students
gradually add more information. By the time
247
CHAPTER
11 Writing Arguments
Second Graders Write Mother’s Day Cards. Mrs. Carson’s second
graders participate in writing workshop for 65 minutes each morning. The workshop
begins with a 25-minute class meeting where Mrs. Carson reads aloud a mentor text and
teaches a minilesson using the book as a model. Next is a 30-minute writing period, and the
second graders write in small groups, moving through the stages of the writing process and
conferencing with the teacher. During the last 10 minutes of the workshop, the children take
turns sitting in the author’s chair to share their published compositions.
It’s a week before Mother’s Day, and at the class meeting Mrs. Carson encourages children
to make cards for their mothers. She’s been teaching the second graders about the persuasive
genre, and they’ve developed this chart about persuasive writing, entitled “How We Do Persuasive
Writing”:
BEGINNING: Write a sentence saying what you believe. State your belief clearly.
MIDDLE: Give 3 reasons why you believe it. Use first, second, next, finally, and other
sequence words.
END: Repeat what you believe. Use “powerful” words so people will agree with you.
Mrs. Carson has read Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Cronin, 2011), Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters
From Obedience School (Teague, 2002), and other persuasive books, and the children have
located powerful words, including responsible and ultimatum, in them.
Next, the children begin to write. Mrs. Carson joins a small group and asks what ideas
they have for Mother’s Day cards. John explains, “I want to make a card to tell my mom that
she’s the best mom in the world. I know she is, and I want to tell her.” Mrs. Carson follows his
lead. “John, what does she do that makes you think she’s the best?” After a moment’s
thought, John begins to list her attributes: “My mom cooks me the best meals . . . she taught
me to read when I was a little kid . . . you know, she takes care of me.” The group decides to
make cards telling their moms why they’re the best in the world. Mrs. Carson says, “You’ll
need to have plenty of reasons to convince us that your mom is the best. John told us sev-
eral reasons why his mom is the best.” She asks them to brainstorm lists of three or more
reasons why their moms are the best, and then she moves off to assist other groups.
Over the next 2 days, the second graders create rough drafts of their cards. They begin
by writing that their moms are the best and then incorporate some of the reasons they
brainstormed, and they add sequence words to highlight their reasons. Next, the children
in the group share their drafts with each other and receive compliments and suggestions
for making their writing more powerful. Teri writes “I love you 100 times” in her rough
draft, and immediately others want to write “I love you 1,000,000 times.” Because they
aren’t sure how to write such a big number, they ask Mrs. Carson for assistance.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Carson meets with the group as they revise their messages.
The children take turns reading their messages aloud and receiving compliments and
suggestions for improvement. Mrs. Carson notices that John is the only person to have
written a conclusion so she takes a moment to remind the group that many writing
genres, including persuasive messages in Mother’s Day cards, have a beginning, middle,
248
and end. The children easily pick out their beginnings and middles. She asks, “Do your cards
have an end?” John announces that his does and reads it aloud: “See I told you that you are the
best mom on the Earth.” No one else had an end, so Mrs. Carson and John help the children
write ends, such as “And that’s why you are the best” and “Thank you for loving me so much.”
After the children make their revisions, Mrs. Carson meets with the group again to help
them edit their writing; she focuses on spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. This is an
important writing project, and the children want their cards to be as correct as possible.
The second graders proofread their cards, correcting as many errors as they can before Mrs.
Carson reads them and points out any remaining errors.
After editing, the children think about the format for their Mother’s Day cards: Where
will they put their text? Where will the illustration go? They examine sample cards from Mrs.
Carson’s collection of Mother’s Day cards that her own children have given her. The children
decide how to format their cards, copy their messages on “good” paper, and glue the paper to
the construction paper cards they’ve decorated.
On Thursday and Friday afternoons, the class meets to share their cards before they take
them home. The second graders take turns sitting in the author’s chair to show their cards and
read them aloud; the children praise their classmates about their formatting and their mes-
sages. Mrs. Carson always makes time for the children to share their writing to help them
develop a sense of authorship and feel that they are members of a community of writers.
John’s card is presented in the figure A Second Grader’s Mother’s Day Message. It includes
the same three parts that children use when they write persuasive essays and letters: the
beginning, in which they state their position; the middle, in which they provide at least three
supporting reasons; and the end, in which they restate their position.
A Second Grader’s Mother’s Day Message
249
A
rgument is a part of everyday life. Par-
Writing Standards: Writing Arguments ents have little doubt that children are
Standard 1 in the grades K–5 Writing strand focuses on effective as they argue to stay up
writing opinion pieces, whereas Standard 1 in the beyond their bedtimes or plead to keep as a pet
grades 6–12 Writing strand focuses on writing argu- the stray puppy they’ve found. John’s letter to
ments. Students are expected to learn to write argu- his mother shows that young children can write
mentatively by first writing opinion pieces, citing
persuasively. Young children are able to write
reasons and information, using evidence, paraphrasing,
and summarizing information. Beginning in grade 6, arguments that include taking a position, citing
students address argumentative writing, citing clear evidence, and providing opposing views, but it
reasons and using accurate, credible sources and rele- is important for them to be interested and
vant evidence. invested in the topic (Ghiso, 2015).
Standard 8 in grades K–5 and 6–8 Reading Stan- When argumentative writing is effective,
dards: Informational Text addresses examining reasons
writers sway readers to their viewpoint or to
and evidence to support particular points in a text. Stu-
dents in grades K–5 identify reasons and evidence that take action (DiPrince, 2005). This genre exem-
support points in a text, whereas students in grades 6–8 plifies these characteristics:
are expected to evaluate the argument and recognize
when evidence in the text is irrelevant. To learn more
• Writers use a “hook” to grab readers’
about the Reading and Writing Standards, go to http:// attention.
www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy, or check your • Writers state a clear position.
state’s educational standards website.
• Writers support their viewpoint with
facts, examples, and other evidence.
• Writers address alternative positions and refute counterarguments.
• Writers conclude with a summary of their argument and an appeal to readers.
Writers’ ability to tailor writing to fit their audience is even more important in argu-
mentative writing than in other genres because writers can judge how effective their
writing is by readers’ reactions. Although an audience’s enjoyment of a story or poem
or the information learned from a report can be difficult to gauge, the effect of per-
suasion isn’t. Ghiso (2015) explains that first graders can address their audience’s
counterargument when they have a real interest in the topic and want to persuade
their audience to take action.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
11.1 Explain the argumentative writing genre.
11.2 Describe the procedures teachers use to teach argumentative writing.
THE GENRE: ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

Writers share their opinions and influence others through their newspaper editorials and
letters to the editor, blogs, commercials, political pamphlets, billboard advertisements, and
persuasive letters. They argue for or against an issue, persuade readers to do or believe some-
thing, and challenge people to take action (Simon, 2005). As students write persuasive letters
and argumentative essays, they learn to think critically, differentiate between persuasion and
propaganda, analyze arguments, and use language effectively in their appeals.
250
CHAPTER 11 | Writing Arguments 251
Three Ways to Argue

People can be persuaded in three ways. The first appeal a writer can make is based on reason.
People seek to make logical generalizations and draw cause-and-effect conclusions, whether
from facts or from strong possibilities. For example, people can be persuaded to practice
more healthful living if told about the results of medical research. It’s necessary, of course, to
distinguish between reasonable and unreasonable appeals: For example, urging people to
stand on their head every day for 30 minutes based on the claim that it will increase their intel-
ligence is an unreasonable appeal.
A second way to persuade is through an appeal to character. Other people are important
to us, and we can be persuaded by what another person recommends if we trust that person.
Trust comes from personal knowledge of the person or the reputation of the person who is
trying to persuade. Does the persuader have the expertise or personal experience necessary to
endorse a product or a cause? For example, can we believe what scientists say about the dan-
gers of climate change? Can we believe what a sports personality says about the effectiveness
of a particular athletic shoe?
The third way people can be persuaded is by an emotional appeal. Emotional appeals can
be as strong as intellectual appeals because people have a deep concern for their well-being
and for the rights of others. We support or reject arguments according to our feelings about
what is ethical and socially responsible. At the same time, fear and the need for peer accep-
tance also influence our opinions and beliefs.
Any of the three appeals can be used to persuade people. For example, when a child tries
to persuade her parents that her bedtime should be delayed by 30 minutes, she might argue
that neighbors allow their children to stay up later; this is an appeal to character. If the argu-
ment focuses on the amount of sleep that a 10-year-old needs, it’s an appeal to reason. When
the child finally announces that she has the earliest bedtime of anyone in her fourth grade
class and it makes her feel like a baby, the appeal is emotional.
These same three types of appeals are used for in-school persuasion. When trying to per-
suade classmates to read a particular book in a “book-selling” poster project, for example,
students might argue that the book should be read because it’s short and interesting (reason),
because it’s hilarious and you’ll laugh (emotion), or because it’s the most popular book in the
second grade and everyone else is reading it (character).
Propaganda
Propaganda isn’t the same as persuasion; the word propaganda suggests something shady or
underhanded. Like persuasion, propaganda is designed to influence people’s beliefs and
actions, but propagandists often use underhanded techniques to distort, conceal, and exag-
gerate the facts. People seeking to influence us often use words that evoke a variety of
responses. For example, they claim something is “improved,” “more natural,” or “50% better.”
Such loaded words are deceptive because they have positive connotations but may have no
basis in fact. For example, when a product is advertised as 50% better, consumers need to ask,
“50% better than what?” That question is rarely answered in advertisements.
Doublespeak is another type of deceptive language; it’s language that is evasive, euphemis-
tic, confusing, and self-contradictory. For example, janitors may be called “maintenance engi-
neers,” and reruns of television shows may be termed “encore telecasts.” William Lutz (2016)
cites a number of kinds of doublespeak, including euphemisms and inflated language, that
students can easily understand. Euphemisms are words or phrases, such as “passed away,” used
to avoid a harsh reality; they’re often used out of concern for people’s feelings rather than to
deceive. Inflated language includes words designed to make the ordinary seem extraordinary.
For example, car mechanics become “automotive internists,” and used cars are sold as “pre-
owned.” Students need to learn that sometimes people use words that only pretend to com-
municate; at other times, they intentionally use words to misrepresent. For instance, a wallet
advertised as genuine imitation leather is a vinyl wallet, and a faux diamond ring is made of
glass (the word faux is French for “false”). Students need to be able to interpret this deceptive
language and to avoid using it themselves.
Organization of an Argument
Much like a story, an argument has a beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning, writers
hook the reader and state their position clearly. In the middle, they present three or more
pieces of evidence to support their view; evidence includes common sense, facts, personal
experiences, expert opinions, and quotes. Students use cue words such as first, another, finally,
however, and therefore to alert readers to the organization and to smooth the transition between
sentences and paragraphs. In the end, writers lead readers to agree with their belief or to take
action with a personal appeal, a prediction, or a summary of their arguments. The organiza-
tion for writing an argument is illustrated in Figure 11–1.
Younger children focus on developing arguments in support of their position in persuasive
writing; however, older students need to consider both sides of an issue, and by doing so, they
show readers how deeply they understand the topic. They name one, two, or three opposing
viewpoints or counterarguments and refute them by spelling out why the argument is wrong,
identifying factual errors, pointing out drawbacks, or suggesting alternative explanations. It’s
essential that students make logical rather than emotional responses to opposing viewpoints.
Deciding where to place the opposing viewpoints in a persuasive letter or an argumentative
essay often depends on the topic, the arguments, and the counterarguments; it’s often easiest
for students to address the counterarguments in a paragraph right before the conclusion, but
they can also lay them out in the introduction or link the objections to each of their arguments.
Marion Crowhurst (1991) identified several problems in students’ argumentative writing that
this organizational scheme can help to ameliorate. First, students’ argumentative compositions
Figure 11–1 GRAPHIC ORGANIZER FOR WRITING ARGUMENTS

BEGINNING
Position
MIDDLE
Reason Reason Reason Counterarguments*

#1 #2 #3
END
Conclusion
*Older students only

are typically shorter than the stories and

reports that they write; in these shorter How to Solve Struggling Writers’ Problems
compositions, students neither develop their
arguments nor provide reasons to support The Problem Students do the bare minimum.
their claims. Second, students’ argumenta-
tive essays show poor organization because What Causes It Students are often uninterested in a writing
students are unfamiliar with how an argu- project when the topic doesn’t appeal to them,
ment should be structured. Third, students’ when they don’t know much about it, or when
writing style is often inappropriate; the lan- they lack confidence in themselves as writers.
guage is informal, and students use words
such as also to tie arguments together rather How to Solve It QUICK FIX: Have students write collaborative
compositions. Students often become more
than the more sophisticated stylistic devices,
interested in a topic when they’re working with
such as if . . . then statements, typically used classmates, and they gain confidence through
in argumentative writing. When students the experience.
talk their way through the graphic organizer
as a prewriting activity and listen to class- LONG-TERM SOLUTION: Find ways to build
mates discuss their plans, they develop students’ knowledge about topics and nurture
their interest in writing projects during the pre-
more sophisticated writing styles and tighter
writing stage. One way to get students off to a
arguments. successful start is to have them choose their
Although the organization of an argu- own topics. Another way is to connect the writ-
ment typically involves a statement, the ing assignment to books they’re reading or to
development of three (or more) reasons, thematic units. It’s also important to offer stu-
and a conclusion, this organization isn’t dents more opportunities to work together
equivalent to a traditional five-paragraph with classmates.
theme; argumentative writing requires a
more elaborate organization than this How to Prevent Students who choose their own topics for
simplistic, formulaic theme. In argumen- the Problem writing are usually more engaged in the writing
tative writing, students devise ways to experience, and they write longer, more inter-
esting compositions.
introduce an argument, present support-
ing reasons, draw conclusions, and per-
suade the reader to accept the writer’s viewpoint.
Types of Argumentative Writing

Argument is a part of everyday life. Children and adults
frequently try to persuade others to do or believe a certain
thing. Andrew Wilkinson and his colleagues (1980) inves-
tigated the ability of children (ages 7–13) to write persua-
sively: They found that children at all ages could state an
opinion, and, not surprisingly, that as children grew older,
they were better able to provide a logical justification for
their opinions. Younger children were very egocentric in
their reasoning and often failed to consider others’ view-
points. Furthermore, they found that children ages 10 and
older often wrote self-contradictory essays; in these
essays, children started with a definite position, but after Eighth grade language arts teacher Ms. Smith uses a picture
writing a justification for that position, they concluded book to introduce argumentative writing. How did this strat-
with a position that was opposite of the one made in the egy help students identify a position statement? Why did she
beginning. However, it should be noted that these children use a graphic organizer to initiate this discussion?
wrote single-draft compositions and didn’t participate in revising groups to critique and revise
their writing. In another study, Moore and MacArthur (2012) reported that fifth grade
students who read and discussed three persuasive pieces were able to write more convincing
arguments than students who only observed their discussion or just wrote without feedback.
Topics for persuasive writing come from at-home and in-school activities as well as from
literature focus units and thematic units. At home, children try to persuade their parents to let
them go to bed later, play on a sports team, go to a slumber party, have a cell phone, join the
Boy or Girl Scouts, play video games, have a larger allowance, or get a pet. At school, students
try to persuade their teachers to let them have less homework, read comic books, go outside
for recess in cold weather, change lunchroom rules, or sponsor a student council election.
Students also persuade others to stop cyberbullying, eat nutritious food, avoid drugs, ban
nuclear weapons, stop polluting the environment, endorse particular political candidates,
read a certain book, see a certain movie, or support community, state, or national issues.
PERSUASIVE POSTERS A combination of drawing and writing is used to state a

position on persuasive posters. Children are surrounded by persuasive posters, ranging from
“Keep America Beautiful” billboard signs and “Don’t text and drive” bumper stickers to the
motivational posters typically displayed in school hallways and cafeterias. As projects during
literature focus units and thematic units, students make similar posters.
After reading Mercer Mayer’s Liverwurst Is Missing (1990), fourth grade Kyle designed the
poster illustrated in Figure 11–2 to help locate Liverwurst, the baby rhinosterwurst that is
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A FOURTH GRADER’S

Figure 11–2
LOST-AND-FOUND POSTER
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A SIXTH GRADER’S POSTER ABOUT

Figure 11–3
DRUGS
missing from the circus. In the story, Liverwurst is finally found and saved from a terrible fate:
becoming the world’s first rhino-burger. Kyle’s poster provides the important logical-appeal
information and picture typically found on lost-and-found posters. In addition, a reward is
promised. Liverwurst’s tears add a tug-at-your-heart emotional appeal, too.
As part of a unit on drugs, a class of sixth graders designed posters to display in their com-
munity to warn people about the dangers of drugs. In the poster presented in Figure 11–3, the
student used a logical cause-and-effect appeal to warn of the dangers of driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs. The poster is particularly powerful because he used gamble, a
loaded word, in his caption.
PERSUASIVE LETTERS Students write letters to persuade family members and

friends. As with other types of letters, these letters are written and mailed to real audiences.
During a unit on drugs, students in a fifth grade class each chose a family member or a friend to
write a persuasive letter to. Some students wrote to parents or grandparents, arguing that they
should stop smoking; others wrote to siblings or friends, urging them not to take drugs or not to
mix drinking and driving. Sixth grade Tom wrote this letter to his brother’s teenage friend Mike:
Dear Mike,
I think drugs are very bad. They hurt people a lot and they can cost money. Mike, I know
you’re 15 and you don’t think drugs can hurt you, but you can get addicted to drugs just the
same as everybody else.
You can get hurt taking drugs, Mike. Some of the possible consequences are that you may
get hurt dealing drugs, you may get a disease by sharing infected needles, or you may get a
bad drug like fentanyl and die. You might hurt others, too. You could rob a bank, hurt people in
an auto accident, or just get violent and hurt someone. Mike, you might lose a friend and get
into fights, or just be sad.
Drugs are really bad and that’s the truth. More people are saying no to taking drugs. It
isn’t worth it, so be smart, not stupid, and don’t get into trouble. Don’t waste your time, and it
costs lots of money to do drugs and you will be depressed a lot.
Many people say drugs are only as bad as cigarettes. That is not so. You could go from
trying to get $7 a day to buy cigarettes to $100 a day on heroin. Money and health problems
arise from drugs. Nearly one in ten Americans is addicted to drugs and 22,000 people die from
using illegal drugs. Half a million people are arrested for drugs each year.
So, doing drugs is wrong. This evidence is that you should not take any kind of drugs,
Mike. I am worried about you. I hope you make the right decision.
Your friend,
Tom
In his letter, Tom uses appeals to reason, character, and emotion. He cites statistics and cause-
and-effect arguments in his rational appeal to Mike. He says in his appeal to character that
people who take drugs are stupid, and he evokes the fear of contracting AIDS in his emotional
appeal. Tom tells Mike that he might die or hurt other people if he takes drugs.
Persuasive letters meant to sway public opinion can be sent to newspapers who typi-
cally print them in editorials. Letters can also be sent to people of authority as presented in
Figure 11–4. In this letter, eighth grader, Alexa Morgan, argues that the school system in which
she lives does not fairly recognize the educational achievements of students who take high
school courses in middle school.
Students also write persuasive letters as they respond to books they’re reading. For exam-
ple, students often assume the role of a character and write simulated letters to another char-
acter. Even though these letters aren’t mailed, students can exchange letters and write back
from the viewpoint of another character. As part of a literature focus unit on The Giver (Lowry,
2006), seventh graders wrote persuasive letters from one character to another, offering advice
about how to make the community better. Josh writes from Jonas’s viewpoint:
Dear Giver,
Gabe and I are here in Elsewhere. It is a loving community. We are safe and happy. Now it
is up to you to help the community. I think you should let them deal with the memories them-
selves and let them make choices. You have to teach them how to make choices and try to
make them use them wisely.
Let them use the memories for good. The memories of war would teach them that war is
bad. The memories of color would let them enjoy life more, if they could see color. The feelings
of love would make them very happy. They could learn from these memories. They could learn
of the past, good or bad, sad or happy. If they have memories, they could have feelings. They
could have wisdom. They could have happiness. They could be free.
I know what you think. You think there would be chaos if the community had the memo-
ries. Bad and evil things could happen, but Giver, life is like that. You have the memories and you
know what could happen. That’s why you are there to help them.
Your son,
Jonas
Josh’s letter is persuasive. He argues that when people have memories, they can become wise,
happy, and free. In the final paragraph, Josh refutes the counterargument that giving the people
INDEPENDENT WRITING: AN EIGHTH GRADER’S

Figure 11–4
LETTER TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
Dear Superintendent Kinsler:

I am an eighth grader at Blendon Middle School. I am writing because even
though I have straight A’s and a GPA of 3.96 I am not on the High Honor Roll. I
think my hard work, straight A’s, and higher level courses should place me on the
High Honor Roll. I am now only listed on the Honor Roll.
Other students who make A’s and B’s are on the Honor Roll. I am taking all AP
classes except for two, Spanish and Algebra, which are high school courses. My
guidance counselor says these two courses are graded ‘heavier’ than my AP
courses so my 94% in Algebra lowers my GPA. However, I have a 101% in Spanish,
a 200% in English, a 143% in Spanish, and a 100% in History. It seems that does
not matter.
No one shared with me that taking high school courses in eighth grade
would affect my grade point average differently. There is no information about
this on the school website. In fact, there is no information on the requirements
for making the High Honor Roll or the Honor Roll. There is a note that says these
distinctions are left up to individual schools.
I do not think my work is being recognized fairly. Other schools in this city
and in other cities have different expectations and recognize the hard work of
their students more fairly. I would like school administrators to reexamine the
requirements for making High Honor Roll and the Honor Roll and reconsider the
difficulty and expectations for students who are taking higher level classes. We
deserve to be recognized differently than students who are not taking AP
courses or getting As and Bs.
Sincerely,
Alexa Morgan
Source: Courtesy of Avery McLaughlin.
memories will lead to chaos by suggesting that the Giver can help the community through the
difficult adjustment.
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS Students write argumentative essays in which they

argue on topics they have strong beliefs and opinions about. For example, sixth grade Michael
wrote the following essay about drinking soft drinks during class:
I think we, the students of Deer Creek School, should be allowed to drink refreshments
during class. One reason is that it seems to speed the passing of the day. Second, I feel it is
unfair and rude for teachers to drink coffee and soft drinks in front of the students. Finally,
I think if the students were not worried about making trips to the water fountain, they would
concentrate more on school work. Being allowed to drink refreshments would be a wonderful
addition to the school day.
Michael’s essay is organized with a well-articulated beginning, middle, and end. He clearly
states his position in the first sentence. Next, he lists three reasons and cues readers to them
using the words one reason, second, and finally. In the last sentence, Michael concludes by mak-
ing a prediction.
On the topic of girls’ right to play any sport, sixth grade Amy writes:
I think there should be more sports for girls. Girls are capable of playing sports such as
soccer and football. Some girls dislike basketball, but they want to participate in other
sports. If girls could participate in other sports, they could learn to coordinate as a team.
Everyone needs exercise and alternative activities would keep all females physically fit. Girls
should have the chance to participate and excel in other sports.
Amy’s essay also follows the three-part organizational structure, but she doesn’t direct atten-
tion to her reasons using cue words as Michael did. She begins with a clear statement of her
position, and at the end, she uses a summary to conclude her appeal.
As part of a thematic unit on the American Revolution, a class of fifth graders wrote argu-
mentative essays. The teacher asked the students to think about whether the American Revolution
was a necessary thing. Did they favor the patriot or the loyalist position? Students brainstormed a
list of reasons in support of the revolution and a list in opposition, then they picked one side and
wrote an essay articulating their position. They began by stating their position, provided at least
three reasons to support their view, and then concluded the essay. Marshall wrote:
I am in favor of the American Revolution and here are three of my reasons. First, after the
colonists won the war, they could believe in God how they wanted. Next, if we didn’t win the
war, we would probably be British and not American. Third, after the war, the colonists could
speak their mind without being tortured or killed. That is why I am for the American Revolution.
Tim took the opposing point of view and wrote:
I’m against the American Revolution. I think it was a bad war and unnecessary for several
reasons. The first reason is that the colonists were already pretty much free, and they didn’t
need to have a war. The second reason is that there was way too much suffering, fighting,
and loss of life. The last reason was that it was a tremendous loss of lots of money. These
are three reasons why I’m against the Revolutionary War.
Both students offered compelling reasons in support of their positions.
Teachers teach students about argumentative writing much like they teach the other writing
genres. They introduce students to writing arguments and explain what persuasion and pro-
paganda are, share examples of argumentative writing in books students are reading, and
provide opportunities for them to write persuasively. The Instructional Overview: Argumenta-
tive Writing lists the instructional goals for teaching students in kindergarten through eighth
grade to write arguments.

Teachers introduce argumentative writing by showing how persuasion is used in everyday life.
They talk with students about the points of view and positions that people take on various
Instructional Overview Argumentative Writing
Grade Levels Goals

Kindergarten–Grade 2 • Children create posters and state their opinion about favorite books and other
topics (e.g., patriotism, ecology).
• Children write persuasive letters and books that state a position and provide some
reasons.
Grades 3–5 • Students write persuasive letters that express opinions and arguments.
• Students write argumentative essays that present an argument logically and with
conviction.
Grades 6–8 • Students write convincing arguments, including counterarguments and a call for
action, in letters and essays.
issues. Students often brainstorm a list of examples of persuasion/argument they notice in

their family, school, and community, collect advertisements from magazines and newspapers,
or make a display of photos of billboards and posters with arguments that they notice in the
community. Through a series of minilessons, teachers explain what persuasion is and com-
pare it with propaganda.
Kindergarten and first grade teachers often introduce persuasive writing using Margaret
Wise Brown’s classic book, The Important Book (1997), or her more recent book, Another
Important Book (2006). On each page of the classic book, the author describes something,
and the most important attribute is identified; and in her newer book, she focuses on the
attributes of each age. The same format is used on each page, which young children can use
as a pattern for their persuasive writing. A first grade class followed Brown’s pattern to write
about firefighters:
The important thing about firefighters is that they are brave. They fight fires with hoses
and axes. They save people and pets from getting burned. They wear hats, coats, gloves, and
boots to stay safe. But, the important thing about firefighters is that they are brave.
Through this patterned writing activity, children learn about brainstorming ideas, identifying
the most important idea, and trying to convince others of their viewpoint.
Teachers share mentor texts with examples of persuasive writing in which authors try to
persuade readers to adopt their viewpoint. In Molly’s Pilgrim (1999), for example, Barbara
Cohen argues that there are modern-day pilgrims like Molly’s mother who came to America
for religious freedom. Mentor Texts: Persuasive/Argumentative Writing presents a list of books
with persuasive appeals.
Writing Workshop
Students draw arguments on posters and write persuasive letters and essays during writing
workshop. They write essays arguing against cyberbullying or driverless cars or make posters
to recommend a book they’ve read. Students also write letters to legislators or to the editor of
the local newspaper to express their opinions about community, state, or national issues and
to try to persuade others to support their viewpoint.
Mentor Texts Persuasive/Argumentative Writing

Grade Levels Books
Kindergarten– Averbeck, J. (2015). One word from Sophia. New York: Atheneum.
Grade 2 Cronin, D. (2011). Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Kelley, T. (2005). School lunch. New York: Holiday House.
Layne, S. L. (2003). My brother Dan’s delicious. Gretna, LA: Pelican.
Palatini, M. (2009). The perfect pet. New York: Katherine Tegen Books.
Teague, M. (2002). Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from obedience school. New York: Scholastic.
Willems, M. (2003). Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus! New York: Hyperion Books.
Grades 3–5 Cherry, L. (2000). The great kapok tree: A tale of the Amazon rain forest. New York: Sandpiper.
Hoose, P. M., & Hoose, H. (1998). Hey, little ant. Berkeley, CA: Tricycle Press.
Orloff, K. K. (2010). I wanna new room. New York: Penguin.
Scieszka, J. (1996). The true story of the 3 little pigs! New York: Puffin Books.
Viorst, J. (2010). Earrings! New York: Atheneum.
Wagstaff, J. (2015). Stella writes an opinion. Peterborough, NH: SDE Professional Development
Resources.
Yolen, J. (1996). Encounter. New York: Sandpiper.
Grades 6–8 Cowcher, H. (2009). Antarctica. New York: Square Fish Books.
Hesse, K. (2003). Witness. New York: Scholastic.
Loewen, N. (2015). Writing powerful persuasive pieces. Minneapolis: Lerner Group.
Siebert, D. (1996). Sierra. New York: HarperCollins.
Teague, M. (2008). Letters from the campaign trail: LaRue for mayor. New York: Blue Sky Press.
Turner, A. (1995). Nettie’s trip south. New York: Aladdin Books.
Teaching Tools Lollis, S., & Hogan, J. W. (2002). Should we have pets? A persuasive text. New York: Mondo.
TEACHING MINILESSONS Teachers teach persuasive or argumentative writing

through a series of minilessons in which students investigate persuasive techniques and then
apply what they’ve learned to write letters and essays designed to present an argument with
supportive statements. The minilessons are important because research has shown that stu-
dents benefit from direct instruction on persuasive writing (Crowhurst, 1991). Suggested top-
ics for minilessons include three ways to persuade people, how to organize an argument, how
to develop a graphic organizer, and how to refute counterarguments. Through these lessons,
students increase their awareness of the power of persuasion and its pervasiveness today. They
also learn how arguments are organized so that they’ll be prepared to design persuasive post-
ers and write persuasive letters and essays. Minilesson: Persuasive Essays shows how
Ms. Ohashi works with her fourth graders on writing arguments.
WRITING PERSUASIVE LETTERS AND ESSAYS Students use a process

approach to develop and refine their persuasive letters and essays. Teachers often write a class
collaboration composition to model the process before students begin writing their own let-
ters or essays. Figure 11–5 shows the graphic organizer and final draft of a fourth grade class’s
essay about pilgrims written after reading Molly’s Pilgrim (Cohen, 1999), and Figure 11–6
shows the letter that fifth grade Lance wrote to his uncle Bobby to try to persuade him to stop
smoking. Lance’s graphic organizer is also shown in the figure.
TOPIC: Persuasive Essays

Ms. Ohashi’s fourth graders have studied persuasion, collected examples of persuasion in
their community, and examined television commercials to determine the advertisers’ purpose.
Today, the teacher is going to reread The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! (Scieszka, 1996) and ask
students to decide if they believe the wolf ’s version.

Ms. Ohashi quickly retells “The Three Little Pigs” to familiarize the students with the tra-
ditional folktale and then introduces Scieszka’s version of the story, told from the wolf ’s
viewpoint.
2 Share Examples
Ms. Ohashi reads The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! aloud to the students and asks them to
think about the wolf ’s use of persuasion in the story.
The students talk about the wolf ’s version, noting his persuasive techniques, including
his friendly attitude and the repeated use of the word true. Next, they make a chart with
three columns. In the left column, students list the wolf ’s bad deeds as described in the
folktale; in the middle column, they say the wolf ’s arguments and excuses; and in the
right column, they say whether they believe the wolf. For example, the pigs said that the
wolf huffed and puffed and blew two houses down, and the wolf argued that he went to
the pigs’ houses to borrow a cup of sugar and sneezed; the students decide that they
don’t believe the wolf. After they finish the chart, it becomes clear that although they
enjoyed the wolf ’s story, they believe the traditional version.
4 Guide Practice
“You don’t believe the wolf ’s story, and you can explain your thinking in a persuasive
essay,” Ms. Ohashi says. She reviews how to complete a graphic organizer and write a
persuasive essay. The students begin by identifying lines of reasoning for their arguments
from the chart they developed in the previous step. They complete graphic organizers by
listing three reasons for their decisions and their conclusions. Ms. Ohashi circulates
around the classroom, providing assistance as needed and checking their completed
graphic organizers. Then students write their essays independently.
5 Assess Learning
Ms. Ohashi checks the students’ graphic organizers as they complete them, and she’ll
read their completed essays to assess their learning.
SHARED WRITING: FOURTH GRADERS’ GRAPHIC

Figure 11–5
ORGANIZER AND ESSAY ABOUT MOLLY’S PILGRIM
POSITION
Molly's mother is a
modern-day Pilgrim.
Reason #1 Reason #2 Reason #3

Molly's mother She came to get The Pilgrims
came to America religious freedom got the idea
on a boat from like the Pilgrims did. for Thanksgiving
Russia. The from a Jewish
Pilgrims came on a holiday and
boat, too. Molly's mother
was Jewish.
CONCLUSION
There's more than one
kind of Pilgrim.
Molly’s mother is a Pilgrim, but she’s not a Pilgrim from the first Thanksgiving in 1621.
She’s a modern-day Pilgrim. Here are three reasons why we believe this. First, Molly’s
mother came to America on a boat from Russia and the first Pilgrims came on a boat,
too. It was named the Mayflower. Second, Molly’s mother came to America for religious
freedom. She was Jewish and in Russia, people weren’t nice to Jews. The first Pilgrims
came to America for religious freedom, too, because they couldn’t worship God like
they wanted in England. Third, the Pilgrims got the idea for Thanksgiving from a Jewish
holiday called Feast of the Tabernacles and Molly’s mother was Jewish so it was her
holiday, too. There’s more than one kind of Pilgrim and even though Molly’s mother
wasn’t a Pilgrim in 1621, she is one now.
Students use the writing process to develop persuasive letters and argumentative essays.
During prewriting, they identify a position and plan their arguments using a graphic organizer.
They include at least three reasons or pieces of evidence for their position; older students also
identify counterarguments that they need to refute, and then they call for action.
INDEPENDENT WRITING: A FIFTH GRADER’S

Figure 11–6
GRAPHIC ORGANIZER AND PERSUASIVE LETTER
I wish you would stop

smoking, Uncle Bobby.
Reason #1 Reason #2 Reason #3

You might You could You might
get sick. get heart die.
damage.
I love you, Uncle

Bobby, and I hope
you will stop smoking.
Dear Uncle Bobby,

Please listen to me. I wish you would stop smoking. If you don't stop smoking, you will
get sick and you might die. You could get heart damage and that means you might die. I
don't want you to die.
There is a disease called emphysema. If you smoke long enough, you will get it. Then if
you try to walk a mile, it would seem like you walked fifty miles. Emphysema is a deadly
disease.
When I hang around you and you smoke it is hurting my health as well as yours. You're
polluting the air in your own house. That means you are hurting your own family.
I think smoking can kill you. If I get to be president, I will take them cigarettes and
burn them.
I think smoking is down right ridiculous.
If you stop smoking now, your heart will probably slow down and your lungs will be
healthy again. Your whole body will shape up.
I love you Uncle Bobby and I hope you will think about what I said and stop smoking.
Love,
Lance
Next, students write the rough draft, incorporating the information listed on the graphic
organizer. They revise and edit their rough drafts using feedback from classmates and the
teacher. They often revise their drafts using a checklist, such as Assessment Tools: A Writer’s
Revision Checklist. After completing the checklist, they make needed changes before sharing
their compositions in revising groups. Students can also ask their classmates to analyze their
writing with a checklist, such as Assessment Tools: A Reader’s Revision Checklist. After
classmates complete this form, writers compare their own responses with their classmates’.
If readers’ comments differ significantly from the writer’s, then students should conclude
that they aren’t communicating effectively and make additional revisions. Then they proof-
read their essays, hunting for mechanical errors, and correct these errors. Finally, students
make their final copies and share their writing with a real audience.
INCORPORATING TECHNOLOGY Instructional materials and lesson plans are

available online that teachers can use during minilessons and as guided practice activities.
These four sites are recommended:
Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing. Teachers go to the ILA/NCTE web-
site readwritethink (http://www.readwritethink.org), click on the Classroom Resources
tab, and then search by title for this classroom game that introduces students in grades
3–5 to lobbying for something they want and making arguments.
Current Texts and Text Sets. Teachers have access to current texts and text sets when they
log in at http://www.newsela.com. They’ll find texts that will engage students in thinking
broadly and deeply about topics such as “The Phenomenon of Fake News,” “Banned
Books Week,” “Our Planet Earth: How Does Climate Change Affect Me?” and “Brown Girl
Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson.” Multiple texts on different topics make this a good
source for teaching students to cite evidence. Text sets of articles are available for stu-
dents in grades 2–12 on the topics of Science, Literature, Social Studies, State Text sets,
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Writer’s Revision Checklist
Yes No
1. At the beginning, did you state your position clearly? u u
Write your position here:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
2.
In the middle, did you present three pieces of evidence u u
to support your position?
Write your pieces of evidence here:
1. _____________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________
3. At the end, did you lead your readers to the conclusion? u u
How did you lead them?
u Gave a personal statement
u Summarized the three main points
u Called readers to action
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A Reader’s Revision Checklist
Yes No
1.
At the beginning, did the writer state his/her position u u
clearly?
Write the position here:
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2.
In the middle, did the writer present three pieces of u u
evidence to support the position?
Write the pieces of evidence here:
1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
3. At the end, did the writer lead you to the conclusion? u u
How did he/she lead you?
u Gave a personal statement
u Summarized the three main points
u Called readers to action
Cultivating Close Reading, A Mile in Our Shoes, Native American Month, and Bullying
Prevention Month.
News Articles. Teachers go to the New York Times website (http://www.nytimes.com) and
search Learning Network, where the student opinion pages are found. Lesson plans using
articles from the New York Times are plentiful. They no longer put grade levels on their les-
son plans because teachers were able to adapt the lessons to meet their students’ needs.
Scholastic. Teachers go to the Scholastic website (http://www.scholastic.com), click on
the Teachers button, and explore the resources of Lessons and Ideas, Books and Authors,
Top Teaching Blog, Teacher’s Tool Kit, and Timely Themes that are listed by grade level
(preK through grade 8) and subject.
Additional materials are available at these websites, including reproducible resources students
can use to map out their persuasive essays and topics for persuasive writing.
PREPARING FOR WRITING TESTS Students in grades 6–8 are often asked to
do argumentative writing on district and state writing assessments, so it’s essential that they
learn to recognize when prompts call for this genre and how to present arguments effectively.
To score well, they need to be able to introduce the topic and identify their viewpoint, present
arguments in support of their position, rebut opposing arguments, and conclude their argu-
ment convincingly by calling the reader to action. For more information, read Preparing for
Writing Tests: Argumentative Writing.

Argumentative Writing
Argumentative writing is winning people to a particular viewpoint or persuading them to take a
specific action. Writers present a position and then try to persuade readers to agree with it. They
provide meaningful facts, examples, evidence, and anecdotes in support of their position. Some-
times writers confuse argumentative writing with expository writing, but it does more than pres-
ent information: Writers must take a stand and argue in support of it. The topics chosen for
argumentative prompts are debatable, offering writers more than one point of view. Older writ-
ers also refute contrasting positions and call the readers to action.
WHAT DO WRITERS DO?

• Clearly state a position
• Make at least three points in support of their position
• Provide examples, evidence, information, or anecdotes to explain each point
• Present an opposing point of view and argue against it
• Organize their writing with an introduction that presents a position, several reasons in sup-
port of that position (often set off in separate paragraphs), refutation of other viewpoints,
and a conclusion
• Use Standard English conventions effectively
• Adopt a style to appeal to the audience specified in the prompt
• Usually format the writing as an essay or a letter
WHAT MISTAKES DO WRITERS OFTEN MAKE?

• Present information instead of articulating an argument
• Don’t present convincing evidence for their arguments
• Present only one viewpoint (older writers only)
SAMPLE PROMPTS
• Your principal is thinking about putting in vending machines for students and teachers to
access. Do you think that’s a good idea? What do you think should be in the vending
machines? Write a persuasive letter to your principal to express your viewpoint and urge him
to agree.
• Some people believe that laws requiring bicyclists to wear helmets are good, but others dis-
agree. What is your viewpoint? Write an argumentative essay presenting the issues on both
sides and urging people to agree with your viewpoint.
How do teachers scaffold argumentative writing?
Even though argumentative writing is often considered the most difficult genre,
don’t assume that English learners don’t know how to argue a point and can’t be
successful with this genre. What’s important is that ELs are knowledgeable and
passionate about their topics and that they know how to use transition words to strengthen
their arguments. Try these suggestions to differentiate instruction:
Topics. ELs need topics for argumentative writing projects that are both familiar and
meaningful. They’re often more successful with familiar school-related issues, such as
more recess time, cafeteria menus, less homework, or school uniforms than with wind
energy, NBA salaries, censorship, UFOs, cloning, the death penalty, offshore drilling, or
other less familiar topics. When students have to do a great deal of research to develop
background knowledge about a topic before they begin to write, the project can seem
overwhelming, but when they’re familiar with the topic, students quickly begin brain-
storming lists of pros and cons and making plans for their rough drafts.
Persuasive Posters. Instead of writing essays, ELs work with partners to create artistic
posters about an issue. They use a combination of drawing and writing to express their
viewpoint and present their arguments. Designing a poster is a good alternative project;
it’s just as challenging as writing an essay, but students’ limited English proficiency doesn’t
thwart their efforts.
Transition Words. Words such as therefore, besides, and consequently are transition words
that show how ideas are connected. Other transition words that are important for argu-
mentative writing are and, but, or, because, although, however, furthermore, likewise, in contrast,
in particular, and unless. These words help to show both sides of an argument, but ELs may
not be familiar with all of them. Teachers begin by listing some of the unfamiliar words on
a word wall, introducing them, and involving students in activities to practice using them
orally and then in writing. As students begin writing arguments, teachers help them
choose the most appropriate transition words, and later, students highlight the transition
words they use in their compositions.
These suggestions provide the scaffolding that English learners need to be successful with
argumentative writing.
Assessing Argumentative Writing

Teachers assess both the process that students use and the quality of their persuasive letters
and argumentative essays. The assessment instrument should include the steps that students
move through as they develop their compositions, such as the following:
• Students create a plan using a graphic organizer.
• Students write a rough draft.
• Students complete a “Writer’s Revision Checklist.”
• Students meet in revising groups to share their rough drafts, and classmates complete
a “Reader’s Revision Checklist.” They compare the checklists and make revisions based
on them and other suggestions offered in revising groups.
• Students proofread their compositions and correct as many mechanical errors as possible.
• Students make a final copy of their compositions.
• Students share their compositions with an appropriate audience.
Teachers use these steps to develop rubrics to assess students’ compositions. This rubric should be
distributed to students before beginning the project so they can keep track of their progress. Teach-
ers and students also make rubrics using the characteristics of argumentative writing. It’s import-
ant to develop the rubric before students begin to write so they’ll know how they’ll be assessed.

THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Writing Arguments
Teachers help students learn to craft arguments in which they state their position, support it
with evidence, refute counterarguments, and offer a call to action. Students benefit from
minilessons covering topics such as how to structure an argument, transition words, and
mentor texts. Use this checklist to guide your instruction:
Minilessons Teachers teach minilessons about persuasion and propaganda, the orga-
nization of argumentative writing, how to map out arguments, and ways to use transi-
tion words.
Mentor Texts Students analyze arguments in mentor texts as well as in print and
online advertisements.
Types of Argumentative Writing Students use the writing process to draft and refine
persuasive letters, essays, and posters.
Persuasion Students examine the concept of persuasion by looking at the ways people
persuade others in our society, exploring a topic from different perspectives, and
considering the influence of persuasion in their lives.
Organization Students identify their position in the beginning, lay out specific argu-
ments that support their viewpoint in the middle, and draw conclusions and call read-
ers to action in the end.
Counterarguments Students in grades 6–8 reveal the depth of their knowledge by
identifying and refuting counterarguments.
Transition Words Students use transition words to highlight the structure of their
arguments, point out counterarguments, and smooth the flow between sentences and
paragraphs.

Click on the assessment icon to apply your understanding of argumentative writing through
your achievement.
1. Observe a teacher conducting a minilesson using mentor texts to teach argumentative
2. Interview a student who has learned to cite evidence when writing arguments, and
examine a piece of his or her writing. Ask the student to reflect on the strength of his or
her argument when citing evidence. In your response, describe the student, present
your analysis of his or her knowledge about argumentative writing, and include a copy
of the student’s writing.
3. Prepare to teach a minilesson about writing arguments to a small group of students.
in the minilesson, introduce information about writing arguments, and read and
discuss a mentor text. In your response, describe the students, list the steps in the mini-
lesson, include a copy of the poster, and present your reflections about the lesson.
268
ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
You must be kidding! My primary graders can’t write always a differing position as well as arguments
an argument. supporting that other viewpoint; these objec-
Even first and second graders argue effectively in tions are the counterarguments, and yes, sixth
their everyday talk. With guidance and encour- graders do need to identify and refute them in
agement, they can use the same kinds of argu- their compositions. They answer them objec-
ment in their writing. The Mother’s Day letters tively, by presenting evidence and pointing out
that Mrs. Carson’s second graders wrote are inconsistencies in logic. Students usually devote a
good examples of the kind of persuasive writing paragraph to each argument and rebut each one
young children can do. with an opposing viewpoint in the same para-
graph, but they can also deal with the counterar-
I’m confused. What’s the difference between persua- guments in the introduction or just before the
sion and propaganda? conclusion. It’s important that students include
That’s a good question. People use both persua- counterarguments because it strengthens their
sion and propaganda to influence someone to writing and provides evidence of deep thinking.
do or believe something. In both, people use
Can I tie argumentative writing to content areas?
appeals to reason, character, and feelings. The
difference is that propagandists may use decep- Yes, students can write arguments about topics
tive language to distort, conceal, or exaggerate. they’re learning about in thematic units. For
The line between persuasion and propaganda is example, they can argue about historical events
thin. Because it is so easy to cross back and forth and even about contributions of various histori-
between the two, students must learn to detect cal figures. They can investigate current issues
propaganda in order not to be swayed by it. about immigration quotas, English as the offi-
cial language of the United States, or the rights
I keep hearing about counterarguments. Do I need to of Native Americans. They can clarify positions
teach my sixth graders about them? on scientific concepts and consider topical issues
When students write arguments, they present a such as nuclear energy, climate change, pollu-
position and lay out their evidence, but there’s tion, and conservation efforts.
269
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INDEX
Acrostic poems, 154 poetry writing, 166
“All About . . .” books, 128–129, 227–228 portfolios, 109–111
“All About Me” books, 199 preparing for writing tests, 112–114
“All About the Author” page, 16 procedures, 100–109
Alliteration, 159 process assessment, 98–105
Alphabet books product assessment, 105–107
nonfiction writing, 230, 231 purpose, 98
word knowledge, 86 reflecting, 100, 108
writing to demonstrate learning, 130 self-assessment (See Self-assessment)
Anecdotal notes, 101–102 six traits, 92–94
Annotations, 60–61 skills monitoring, 99
Apology poems, 158 writer’s craft, 92–94
Argumentative writing writing across the curriculum, 142
assessment, 267 writing process, 20–21, 99
EL writers, 266–267 writing samples, 105–106
essays, 257–258, 260–264 writing strategies, 64–66
instructional overview, 259 Audience
instructional procedures, 258–267 argumentative writing, 250
introduction of genre, 258–259 capable and less capable writers, 58
mentor texts, 260 consideration, 6–7
minilessons, 260, 261 defined, 137
organization, 252–253 Authors
persuasion methods, 251 online information, 77
persuasive letters, 255–257, 260–264 voice, 75
persuasive posters, 254 Author’s chair, 17
preparing for writing tests, 265–266 Autobiographies
propaganda, 251–252 “All About Me” books, 199
purpose, 250 “A Story About Me,” 202
scaffolding, 266–267 mentor texts, 198
technology, 264–265 “Me” quilts, 200, 201
types of, 253–258 types of, 199–200
Writing Standards, 250
writing workshop, 248–249, 259–266 Bilingual poems, 155
Assessment. See also Rubrics; Scoring Bio bags, 200
anecdotal notes, 101–102 Bio boxes, 210–211
argumentative writing, 267 Biographical sketches, 202–204
benefits, 114 Biographical writing. See also Autobiographies;
biographical writing, 213–216 Personal narratives
checklists, 104–105 assessment, 213–216
classroom assessment, 98–109 bio bags, 200
conferences, 102–103 bio boxes, 210–211
EL writers, 107–109 biographical sketches, 202–204
evaluating, 100 biographies, 51–52, 200–208
informal monitoring, 100–105 bio-poems, 204–207
instruction–assessment cycle, 99–100 chapter books, 200
large-scale writing tests, 111–114 collaborative biographies, 193–194, 207
monitoring writing skills, 99 EL writers, 212–213
NAEP standards, 112 hot seat, 204, 206
narrative writing, 188–190, 213–214 instructional overview, 208
nonfiction writing, 240, 243–245 instructional procedures, 208–216
observation, 100–101 life boxes, 200
online tools, 107, 108 life lines, 210, 212
personal narratives, 213–214 memoirs, 198
planning, 99 mentor texts, 198, 203–204
281
282 Index
Biographical writing (continued) stories, 169–170, 182, 188

multigenre biographies, 208, 209, 215 writer’s craft, 92
posters, 204 writing process, 32–33
scaffolding, 212–213 writing strategies, 60
simulated journals, 210 writing to demonstrate learning, 141
technology, 212 writing to learn, 141
Writing Standards, 195 Collaborative websites, 139
writing workshop, 210–212 Color poems, 149
Biographies Common Core State Standards, 17–20
bio boxes, 210–211 See also Writing Standards
biographical sketches, 202–204 Community of writers, 35
bio-poems, 204–207 Comparisons
classmate biographies, 213 narrative device, 181
collaborative, 193–194, 207 nonfiction text structure, 221
defined, 200 poetry, 159–160
hot seat, 204, 206 Concrete poems, 155
life lines, 210 Conferences, 92, 102–103
mentor texts, 203–204 Conflict, 172
multigenre, 208, 209, 215 Conventions
narrowing, 51–52 editing, 13
posters, 204 writer’s craft, 80–81, 88–89
recommended titles, 200–202 writing process and, 71
simulated journals, 210 Corrections, 15
types of, 195 Cubes, 130
writing workshop, 210–211
Bio-poems, 204–207 Data charts, 236, 237
Book boxes, 126 Description, 221
Brainstorming, 49 Differentiated instruction, 33–34
Digital storytelling, 186
Capable and less capable writers, 57–58 Digital Toolkits. See also Technology
Capitalization, 80, 88–89 assessment tools, 108
Cause and effect, 221–223 digital storytelling, 186
Chapter books, 27, 200 graphics software, 52
Characters, 175–177 laptops for writing, 38
Checklists multimedia projects, 241
argumentative writing, 264–265 online author information, 77
assessment, 104–105, 244 online evaluation, 108
editing, 13, 15 online poetry generators, 165
narrative writing, 214 WebQuests, 140
nonfiction writing, 244 Double-entry journals, 120–121
personal narratives, 214 Doublespeak, 251
revision, 264–265 Drafting
strategy instruction, 65 conferences, 102
writer’s craft, 93 technology and, 37
writing process, 41 writing process, 5, 7–8
Cinquains, 157 Drawing
Classroom arrangement, 33 generating ideas, 49
Classroom assessment, 98–109 open-mind portraits, 126–127
Clustering retelling stories, 182–183
generating ideas, 49 story boards, 128, 129
writing to demonstrate learning, 130, 131
writing to learn, 120 Editing
Cognitive strategies, 46 capable and less capable writers, 58
Collaborative projects checklist, 13, 15
biographical writing, 213 conferences, 103
biographies, 193–194, 207, 213 corrections, 15
The Oregon Trail, 117–118, 142 editing centers, 14–15
poetry writing, 166 proofreading, 13–14
reports, 228–229, 239, 243 technology and, 37
Index 283
Education Northwest, 70 Generating

Elaborating, 47, 48 mentor texts, 48
EL writers writing strategies, 47, 49–50
argumentative writing, 266–267 Genres
assessment, 107–109 argumentative writing, 250–258
biographical writing, 212–213 biography, 195–208
narrative writing, 188 consideration, 7
nonfiction writing, 242–243 large-scale writing tests, 111–112
poetry writing, 166 multigenre projects, 134–136
writer’s craft, 90–92 narrative, 171–181
writing across the curriculum, nonfiction, 218–231
140–141 poetry, 145–161
writing process, 38–39 Global learning projects, 139
writing to learn, 140–141 Goal setting
Essays capable and less capable writers, 58
argumentative writing, 257–258 portfolios as tool, 110
nonfiction, 230 self-regulation, 57
persuasive essays, 260–264 writing strategies, 47, 56
revisions, 257–258 Gradual release of responsibility model, 61
Euphemisms, 251 Grammar and usage, 80
Evaluating Graphic organizers
assessment of writing skills, 100 EL writers, 243
metacognitive strategy, 57 essays and, 262
narrative genre knowledge, 188–189 persuasive letters and, 263
writing strategy, 47, 49 software, 52
Expository writing. See Nonfiction writing Venn diagrams, 235, 237–238
Graphics software, 52
Guided writing
Fiction. See also Narrative writing; Stories alphabet books, 231
and nonfiction, 234–235 data charts, 237
First-person viewpoint, 179 narrative writing, 182–184
Fluency. See Sentence fluency nonfiction text structures, 224–225
Folktales poetry, 162
comparing versions, 184 process, 62–63
ideas, 84 semantic feature analysis, 125
rewriting, 1 story boards, 129
Formatting Venn diagrams, 235
mentor texts, 48
writing strategy, 47, 49 Haiku, 157–158
Formula poems Handwriting, 81, 89–90
color poems, 149 Holistic scoring, 108, 113
defined, 148 Hot seat, 204, 206
“I am . . .” poems, 149–150 Hyperbole, 179, 181
“If I were . . .” poems, 150
“____is . . .” poems, 151 “I Am . . .” poems, 149–150
“I used to . . . but now . . .” poems, 150–151 Ideas
preposition poems, 151–152 gathering, 7
use of, 147 generating, 47, 49–50
wish poems, 152 organizing, 7
Found poems, 155 writer’s craft and, 70–73, 84
Free verse “If I Were . . .” poems, 150
acrostic poems, 154 Illustrations, 81, 165
bilingual poems, 155 Imagery, 181
concrete poems, 155 Independent writing
defined, 152–153 “All About . . .” books, 227
found poems, 155 “All About Me” books, 199
list poems, 155 autobiographies, 202
odes, 156 clustering, 120, 131
poems for two voices, 156 double-entry journals, 121
284 Index
Independent writing (continued) Limericks, 148, 165

graphic organizers and persuasive Limited omniscient viewpoint, 179
letters, 263 List poems, 155
learning logs, 123
“Me” quilts, 201 Mechanics, 13
multigenre biographies, 209 Memoirs, 198
open-mind portraits, 127 Mentor texts
persuasive letters, 257 argumentative writing, 260
persuasive posters, 254–255 autobiographies, 198
response to literature, 139 biographies, 203–204
retelling stories, 183 characters, 177
scaffolding, 63 EL writers, 92
stories, 170 ideas, 72
T-charts, 238 memoirs, 198
writer’s craft, 90 multigenre projects, 136
Individual reports, 229–230, 239 nonfiction, 233–234
Inflated language, 251–252 nonfiction text structures, 222
Informational books, 225–226 organization, 74
Informational writing. See Nonfiction personal narratives, 198
writing plot, 173
Informative writing, 242 poetry writing, 148, 163
Inspiration software, 52 point of view, 180
Instructional overviews presentation, 82
argumentative writing, 259 sentence fluency, 80
biographical writing, 208 setting, 176
narrative writing, 181 theme, 178
nonfiction writing, 232 verse novels, 154
poetry writing, 161 voice, 76
writer’s craft, 83 word choice, 78
writing strategies, 59 writing process, 28
Interactive read-alouds, 84 writing strategies, 48
Interactive writing, 61–63, 243 “Me” quilts, 200, 201
Invitations, 158–159 Metacognitive strategies, 46,
“____ Is . . .” poems, 151 56–57
“I Used to . . ./But Now” poems, 150–151 Metaphors, 159
Minilessons
Journals argumentative writing, 260, 261
double-entry journals, 120–121 narrative writing, 184, 185
learning logs, 123–124, 140–141 nonfiction writing, 239, 240
The Oregon Trail, 117–118 poetry, 162, 164
simulated, 132–134, 210 questioning, 54
teaching voice trait, 85 response to literature, 139
step by step, 29
Keyboarding, 90 types of revisions, 10
Kidspiration software, 52 writer’s craft, 90, 91
KWL charts, 122 writing strategies, 63–64
writing summaries, 30
Language functions, 6 writing workshop, 24, 28–31
Large-scale tests. See Writing tests Modeled writing, 59, 61
Leads Model poems, 158–159
drafting process, 8 Monitoring
mentor texts, 74 assessment, 99
organization and, 73, 85 metacognitive strategy, 57
struggling writers, 174 narrative writing, 189
Learning logs, 123–124, 140–141 skills checklist, 93
Letters, 255–257, 260–264 writing process, 4
Life boxes, 200 writing strategy, 47, 50
Life lines, 210, 212 writing workshop, 40–42
Index 285
Multigenre biographies persuasive writing (See Argumentative writing)

defined, 208, 209 plagiarism, 230
rubric, 215 pocket charts, 236–237
Multigenre books, 136 PowerPoint slide shows, 239
Multigenre projects preparing for writing tests, 242
narrative writing, 185 problem and solution, 223
writing to demonstrate learning, 134–136, 139 scaffolding, 242–243
Multimedia projects, 241 sequence, 221
T-charts, 237, 238
NAEP (National Assessment of techniques, 235–238
Educational Progress), 112 technology, 239–241
Narrative devices, 179–181 text structures, 221–225
Narrative writing. See also Stories types of, 226–231
assessment, 188–190 uses, 220
EL writers, 188 Venn diagrams, 237–238
guided practice, 182–184 Writing Standards, 220
instructional overview, 181 writing workshop, 239–242
instructional procedures, 181–190
introduction to students, 182 Objective viewpoint, 179
mentor texts, 173, 176–178, 180 Observation, 100–101
minilessons, 184, 185 Odes, 156
personal narratives (See Personal narratives) Omniscient viewpoint, 179
preparation for writing tests, 187, 211 Online tools. See also Digital Toolkits
retelling stories, 182–184 assessment, 107, 108
scaffolding, 188 writing across the curriculum, 139–140
struggling writers, 174 Onomatopoeia, 160
technology, 184–186 Open-mind portraits, 126–127
writer’s craft, 189–190 The Oregon Trail, 117–118, 142
writing process, 170–171, 189 Organization. See also Graphic organizers
Writing Standards, 171 argumentative writing, 252–253
writing workshop, 184–187 mentor texts, 48
Narrowing nonfiction text structures, 221–223
mentor texts, 48 teaching of trait, 84–85
writing strategy, 47, 51–52 writer’s craft, 71, 73–75
National Assessment of Educational Progress writing strategy, 47, 52–53
(NAEP), 112
Nonfiction writing Paragraphs, 80, 85
“All About . . .” books, 227–228 Performance assessment tasks, 107
alphabet books, 230, 231 Personal narratives
argumentative writing (See Argumentative writing) assessment, 213–214
assessment, 243–245 defined, 196–198
biographical (See Biographical writing) EL writers, 212
cause and effect, 221–223 preparing for writing tests, 211
collaborative reports, 228–229, 239 writing workshop, 210
comparison, 221 Personal writing. See also Essays; Journals
data charts, 236, 237 letters, 255–257, 260–264
description, 221 Personification
EL writers, 242–243 narrative device, 181
essays, 230 poetic device, 160
features, 223–226 Persuasive essays
individual reports, 229–230, 239 purpose, 257–258
informative writing, 242 revisions, 10
instructional overview, 232 writing process, 260–264
instructional procedures, 231–245 Persuasive letters
introduction, 232–235 purpose, 255–257
mentor texts, 222, 233–234 writing process, 260–264
minilessons, 239, 240 Persuasive posters, 254, 267
multimedia projects, 241 Persuasive writing. See Argumentative writing
286 Index
Plagiarism, 230 illustration tools, 165

Plot, 172–174 instructional overview, 161
Pocket charts, 236–237 instructional procedures, 161–166
Podcasts, 186 invitations, 158–159
Poems “____ is . . .” poems, 151
acrostic poems, 154 “I used to . . . but now . . .” poems, 150–151
apology poems, 158 list poems, 155
bilingual poems, 155 mentor texts, 163
bio-poems, 204–207 minilessons, 162, 164
cinquains, 157 model poems, 158–159
color poems, 149 odes, 156
concrete poems, 155 onomatopoeia, 160
formula poems, 147, 148–154 personification, 160
found poems, 155 poems for two voices, 156
free verse, 152–156 poetic devices, 159–161
haiku, 157–158 preposition poems, 151–152
“I am . . .” poems, 149–150 repetition, 160–161
“If I were . . .” poems, 150 rhyme, 161
invitations, 158–159 syllable- and word-count poems, 157–158
“____ is . . .” poems, 151 technology, 163–165
“I used to . . . but now . . .” poems, 150–151 wish poems, 152
list poems, 155 Writing Standards, 147
model poems, 158–159 writing workshop, 145–146, 162–165
odes, 156 Poets, 163
preposition poems, 151–152 Point of view
syllable- and word-count poems, 157–158 changing, 184
two voice poems, 156 mentor texts, 180
wish poems, 152 narrative writing, 179
writing to demonstrate learning, 126–127 Portfolios
Poetic devices book choices for, 96–97
alliteration, 159 defined, 109
comparison, 159–160 self-assessment, 110
defined, 159 showcasing, 110–111
minilessons, 162, 164 writing samples, 109–110
onomatopoeia, 160 Posters
repetition, 160–161 biographical writing, 204
rhyme, 161 EL writers, 254–255
Poetic forms, 147–148, 165 persuasive posters, 267
Poetry writing story boards, 128, 129
acrostic poems, 154 writing to demonstrate learning, 131, 132
alliteration, 159 PowerPoint, 239
apology poems, 158 Preparing for writing tests
assessment, 166 argumentative writing, 265–266
bilingual poems, 155 biographical writing, 210, 211
bio-poems, 204–207 informative writing, 242
cinquains, 157 large-scale assessments, 112–114
color poems, 149 nonfiction writing, 241
comparison, 159–160 personal narratives, 211
concrete poems, 155 stories, 187
connecting with poets, 163–165 summary, 140, 141
EL writers, 166 Preposition poems, 151–152
forms, 165 Presentation
formula poems, 147, 148–154 fiction vs. nonfiction, 235
found poems, 155 teaching of trait, 89–90
free verse, 152–156 writer’s craft, 71, 81–82
haiku, 157–158 Prewriting
“I am . . .” poems, 149–150 conferences, 102
“If I were . . .” poems, 150 organizing, 52–53
Index 287
technology and, 37 rereading, 9

writing process, 5–7, 56 revising, 11
Primary trait scoring, 113 writing, 8
Problem and solution, 223 Rubrics
Proofreaders’ marks, 14 assessment tool, 107
Proofreading EL writers, 92
editing stage, 13–14 multigenre biography project, 215
writing strategy, 47, 53 The Oregon Trail, 142
Propaganda, 251–252 six traits, 92–93
Publishing step by step, 107
poetry, 165 writer’s craft, 92–93
presentation, 82
technology and, 37 Scaffolding
writing process, 5, 15–17 argumentative writing, 266–267
Punctuation, 80, 89 biographical writing, 212–213
Purpose for writing, 6, 58 developing strategic writers, 61–63
narrative writing, 188
Questioning nonfiction writing, 242–243
conferences, 103 writing to demonstrate learning, 140–141
metacognitive strategy, 57 writing to learn, 140–141
minilesson, 54 writing workshop, 64
self-assessment, 101 Scoring. See also Rubrics
writing strategy, 47, 55 holistic, 108, 113
Quickwriting, 50 large-scale writing tests, 113
Quilts, 200, 201 online assessment tools, 107, 108
practice, 93
RAFT, 137, 138 primary trait, 113
Read-alouds Search engines, 139
interactive, 24, 27–28 Self-assessment
step by step, 29 capable and less capable writers, 58
teaching six traits, 84 narrative writing, 189
Repetition, 160–161 portfolios as tool, 110
Rereading, 47, 55 questionnaire, 101
Response to literature projects rubrics, 108
book boxes, 126 writer’s craft, 94
instructional procedures, 139 Semantic feature analysis, 124–125
open-mind portraits, 126–127 Sentence building, 87, 88
poems, 126–127 Sentence fluency
simulated letters, 127–128 teaching of trait, 86–88
story boards, 128, 129 writing strategy, 71, 79–80
writing to demonstrate learning, 125–128 Sequence
Retelling stories, 182–184 mentor texts, 222
Revising narrative writing, 171, 172
argumentative writing, 263–265 nonfiction writing, 218, 221
checklists, 264–265 organizing, 52–53
conferences, 103 Setting
minilesson, 10 mentor texts, 176
revising groups, 9–11 minilesson, 185
technology and, 37 narrative writing, 174–175
types of revisions, 10, 12 Shared writing
in writing process, 5 collaborative biographies, 207
writing strategy, 47, 55–56 collaborative reports, 229
as writing strategy, 55–56 graphic organizers and essays, 262
Revising centers, 12 KWL charts, 122
Revising groups, 9–11 response to literature, 139
Rhyme, 161 scaffolding, 61–62
Riddles, 131–132 writing workshop, 34
Rough drafts Sharing, 24, 27
288 Index
Similes, 159–160 revisions, 9

Simulated journals, 132–134, 210 unfocused writing, 197
Simulated letters, 127–128 weak sentence structure, 79
Six traits Student-teacher conferences, 92, 102–103
conventions, 71, 80–81, 88–89 Summary, 140, 141
description of, 70–82 Syllable- and word-count poems,
ideas, 70–73, 84 157–158
organization, 71, 73–75, 84–85 Symbolism, 181
presentation, 71 Synonyms, 86
sentence fluency, 71, 79–80, 86–88
teaching, 84–90 T-charts, 237, 238
voice, 71, 75–76, 85 Technology. See also Digital Toolkits
word choice, 71, 76–78, 85–86 argumentative writing, 264–265
writing process and, 70, 71 assessment, 107, 108
Skills, 58 author information, 77
Software. See also Digital Toolkits; Technology biographical writing, 212
spell checkers, 88 keyboarding, 90
Spell checkers, 88 narrative writing, 184–186
Spelling, 80 nonfiction writing, 239–241
Stages in writing The Oregon Trail, 117–118, 142
assessment and, 99 poetry writing, 163–165
early research, 4–5 writing across the curriculum, 139–140
strategies and process, 56 writing process, 37–38
Status of the class. See Assessment writing strategies, 52
Step-by-step procedures Tests. See Writing tests
data charts, 236 Text structures
hot seat, 206 cause and effect, 221–223
interactive writing, 62 comparison, 221
KWL charts, 122 description, 221
minilessons, 29 fiction vs. nonfiction, 235
open-mind portraits, 126 nonfiction, 221–225
RAFT, 138 problem and solution, 223
read-alouds, 29 sequence, 221
revising groups, 11 Thematic unit projects
rubrics, 107 “All About . . .” books, 128–129
semantic feature analysis, 124 alphabet books, 130
think-alouds, 61 clusters, 130, 131
Venn diagrams, 238 cubes, 130
word walls, 87 posters, 131, 132
Stories. See also Narrative writing riddles, 131–132
characters, 175–177 simulated journals, 132–134
collaborative, 169–170 writing workshops, 139
concept of, 171 Theme, 178–179
narrative devices, 179–181 Thesaurus, 86
plot, 172–174 Think-alouds, 60, 61
point of view, 179, 180, 184 Tone, 181
preparation for writing tests, 187 Topics, writing
retelling, 182–184 ideas and, 70–73
setting, 174–176, 185 narrowing, 51–52
structure, 171, 182 selection, 5–6
theme, 178–179 writing workshop, 25–26
Story boards, 128, 129 Traits of writer’s craft. See Six traits
Story mapping, 188 Transition words, 87
Strategic writers. See Writing strategies Two voice poems, 156
Struggling writers
disorganized ideas, 53 Unwriting, 153–154
leads, 174
minimal effort, 253 Venn diagrams, 235, 237–238
plagiarism, 230 Voice, 71, 75–76, 85
Index 289
WebQuests, 139, 140 six traits, 70, 71

Wish poems, 152 stages, 4–5, 56, 99
Word choice standards (See Writing Standards)
minilesson, 91 technology and, 37–38
teaching of trait, 85–86 unfocused writing, 197
writer’s craft, 71, 76–78 writing strategies, 46–58
Word-count poems, 157–158 writing to learn, 119–125
Wordless picture books, 84, 188 Writing Standards
Word processing, 81, 165 argumentative writing, 250, 260, 261
Word walls, 86, 87 assessment, 98
Writer’s craft biographical writing, 195
assessment, 92–94 Common Core State Standards, 17–20
EL writers, 90–92 developing strategic writers, 46
handwriting, 81, 89–90 narrative writing, 171, 184, 185
instructional overview, 83 nonfiction, 220, 239, 240
instructional procedures, 82–94 poetry writing, 147, 162, 164
introduction to, 82–84 questioning, 54
minilessons, 90, 91 response to literature, 139
narrative genre, 189–190 step by step, 29
six traits (See Six traits) types of revisions, 10
struggling writers, 79 writer’s craft, 70, 90, 91
writing process, 90 writing strand, 3
Writing Standards and, 70 writing strategies, 63–64
writing workshop, 90, 91 writing summaries, 30
Writing across the curriculum writing to learn, 119
assessment, 142 writing workshop, 24, 28–31
designing writing projects, 137 Writing strategies
EL writers, 140–141 assessment, 64–66
instructional procedures, 137–142 cognitive strategies, 46
nonfiction, 218–219 elaborating, 47, 48
preparing for writing tests, 140, 141 evaluating, 47, 49, 57
process, 119–125 formatting, 47–49
product, 125–136 generating, 47–50
RAFT, 137, 138 goal setting, 56
rationale, 119 instructional overview, 59
technology, 139–140 instructional procedures, 59–66
WebQuests, 139, 140 mentor texts, 48
Writing Standards, 119 metacognitive strategies, 46, 56–57
writing to demonstrate learning, 125–136 minilessons, 63–64
writing to learn, 119–125 monitoring, 47, 50, 57
writing workshop, 36–37, 137–140 narrowing, 47, 48, 51–52
Writing process organizing, 47, 48, 52–53
assessment, 99 overview, 46–47
charts, 31–32 proofreading, 47, 53
checklists, 13, 41 questioning, 47, 54–55, 57
drafting, 5, 7–8 rereading, 47, 55
early research, 4 revising, 47, 55–56
editing, 5, 13–15 scaffolding, 61–63
EL writers, 38–39 self-regulation of, 56–57
introduction to, 31–33 setting goals, 47, 57, 58
mentor texts, 28 teaching a strategy, 59–61
narrative genre, 189 writing workshop, 63–64
personalizing, 33 Writing tests
persuasive letters, 260–264 benefits, 114
persuasive letters and essays, biographical writing, 210
260–264 informative writing, 241, 242
prewriting, 5–7 large-scale tests, 111–114
publishing, 5, 15–17 NAEP, 112
revising, 5, 8–12 personal narratives, 211
290 Index
Writing tests (continued) process, 119–125

preparation for (See Preparing for writing tests) scaffolding, 140–141
summaries, 140, 141 semantic feature analysis, 124–125
Writing to demonstrate learning Writing workshop
“All About . . .” books, 128–129 argumentative writing, 248–249, 259–266
alphabet books, 130 assessment tools, 40–42
book boxes, 126 biographical writing, 210–212
clusters, 130, 131 classroom arrangement, 33
cubes, 130 community of writers, 35
EL writers, 140–141 components, 24–31
instructional procedures, 137–142 differentiated instruction, 33–34
multigenre projects, 134–136 implementing, 31–42
open-mind portraits, 126–127 independent writing, 25–27
poems, 126–127 introducing the writing process, 31–33
posters, 131, 132 minilessons, 24, 28–31
products, 125–136 monitoring progress, 40–42
response to literature projects, 125–128 nonfiction writing, 239–242
riddles, 131–132 poetry, 162–165
scaffolding, 140–141 poetry writing, 145–146
simulated journals, 132–134 reading aloud, 24, 27
simulated letters, 127–128 scaffolding, 64
story boards, 128, 129 schedules, 25
thematic unit projects, 128–129, 139 sharing, 24, 27, 34
Writing to learn status of the class, 40–41
clustering, 120 strategies, 63–66
double-entry journals, 120–121 technology and, 37–38
EL writers, 140–141 tiered projects, 36–37
instructional procedures, 137–142 writer’s craft, 90, 91
KWL charts, 122 writing across the curriculum, 36–37,
learning logs, 123–124 137–139
The Oregon Trail, 117–118, 142 Writing Standards, 24

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Teaching Writing Balancing Process and Product Seventh Edition

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Teaching Writing

Balancing Process and Product

330 Hudson Street, NY NY 10013

Pat Daniel Jones

NEW TO THIS EDITION!

PROCESS AND PRODUCT

Part One: The Process

Part Two: The Product

Capable and Less Capable Writers 57

Accommodating EL Writers 90 THE PROCESS: WRITING TO LEARN 119

Response to Literature Projects 125 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 167

PART TWO INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES 181

Biographies 200 ASSESSMENT: From Textbook to Classroom 245

Assessing Nonfiction Writing 243

THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: Nonfiction

Mentor Texts Preparing for Writing Tests

THE WRITING PROCESS

Figure 1–1 KEY FEATURES OF THE WRITING PROCESS

CONSIDERING AUDIENCE Sometimes students write primarily for themselves,

GATHERING AND ORGANIZING IDEAS Students gather and organize ideas

• Sharing the rough draft

TOPIC: Four Types of Revisions

Minilesson GRADE: Seventh Grade

1 Introduce the Topic

In some classrooms, revising groups form sponta-

REVISING CENTERS Teachers also set up revising centers to differentiate instruc-

MAKING REVISIONS Students add words, substitute sentences, delete para-

PROOFREADING Students proofread their compositions to locate and mark possible

Figure 1–2 PROOFREADERS’ MARKS

Delete There were cots to sleep on and

Insert Mrs. Kim’s cat is the color carrots.

Capitalize Daniel and his mom didn’t like mrs. Kim

Change to People were Rioting because they were

Add period I think Daniel’s mom and Mrs. Kim

Add comma People hurt other people they steal

Add apostrophe Daniels cat was named Jasmine.

1. I have circled the words that might

2. I have checked that all sentences

3. I have checked that all sentences

4. I have checked that all proper nouns

INDEPENDENT WRITING: A STUDENT’S “ALL ABOUT THE AUTHOR”

Source: Courtesy of Emerson McLaughlin.

Check Your Understanding 1.1

The Writing Strand

Figure 1-4 THE FIFTH GRADE WRITING STRAND

Check Your Understanding 1.2

THE TAKEAWAY CHECKLIST: The Writing Process

ASSESSMENT: FROM TEXTBOOK TO CLASSROOM

ANSWERING TEACHERS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT . . .

Mr. B’s Project List for Plant Cells

Draw and label a picture of a plant cell.

Create a table of contents.

Create a glossary of key terms about the parts of plant cells.

Explain one part of a plant cell, such as vacuole or chloroplast.

Describe a cellular process, such as photosynthesis.

Draw conclusions about the usefulness of plant cells for people.

COMPONENTS OF WRITING WORKSHOP

Figure 2–1 SCHEDULES FOR WRITING WORKSHOP

Ms.Yang’s First Grade Schedule

choose their own writing projects related to a particular

Mentor Texts The Writing Process

TOPIC: Writing Summaries of Informational Articles

Minilesson GRADE: Fourth Grade

Name _______________ Date