12/18/11 5:42 PM

Unit of Study:

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories

Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Elementary Language Arts Department, Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE Overview of Lessons ...............................................................................................ii MINI-LESSONS Imagining Stories from Ordinary Moments ......................................................... 1 Imagining Stories We Wish Existed in the World ............................................... 2 Developing Believable Characters ......................................................................... 3 Giving Characters Struggles and Motivations ..................................................... 4 Plotting with a Story Mountain .............................................................................. 5 Show Don't Tell: Planning and Writing Scenes.................................................... 6 Feeling and Drafting the Heart of Your Story ...................................................... 7 Studying Published Leads to Make Leads............................................................ 8 Orienting Readers with Setting .............................................................................. 9 Writing Powerful Endings .................................................................................... 10 Revision: Rereading with a Lens .......................................................................... 11 Making a Space for Writing .................................................................................. 12 Using Mentor Texts to Flesh Out Characters ..................................................... 13 Editing with Various Lenses ................................................................................. 14 Publishing Anthologies: A Celebration............................................................... 15

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

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Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

LESSONS INCLUDED IN THE UNIT OF STUDY: The following is a list of lessons that are included in the Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories unit. The lesson ideas are based upon the lessons found in Lucy Calkins’ Writing Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions (Book 4) of the Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grades 3-5 kit. Third-grade teachers have at least two copies of the kit and may use this condensed version as a supplemental resource. Each lesson has been assigned a number that correlates to a number found in the upper right corner of each lesson card, which signify a suggested sequence or progression of the lessons. Fourth grade teachers may use this resources with their fiction writing unit, and fifthgrade teachers may use it as a supplement to the historical fiction writing unit. After analyzing the grade level expectations, district curriculum, and student needs, teachers should customize the mini-lessons for their students. The mini-lessons are based upon the gradelevel expectations found in the English Language Arts and Reading TEKS objectives. Lesson Title

Purpose

1

Imagining Stories from Ordinary Moments

Good fiction writers get ideas for stories from daily life and from past writing.

2

Imagining Stories We Wish Existed in the World

Good writers get ideas for fiction by thinking of books we wished existed in the world.

3

Developing Believable Characters

Good fiction writers develop believable characters by creating their internal and external traits.

4

Giving Characters Struggles and Motivations

Good fiction writers develop characters by writing about their characters’ motivations and struggles.

5

Plotting with a Story Mountain

Good fiction writers sketch out possible plot lines on story mountains.

6

Show Don't Tell: Planning and Writing Scenes

Good fiction writers begin by using their characters’ actions or words, and then unfold the moment stepby-step.

7

Feeling and Drafting the Heart of Your Story

Good fiction writers create our best drafts when we experience the world through our character’s skin.

8

Studying Published Leads to Make Leads

Good fiction writers study the craft of various authors to learn new techniques for writing leads.

9

Orienting Readers with Setting

Good fiction writers make sure that the action and dialogue are grounded in the setting.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

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Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Lesson Title

Purpose

10

Writing Powerful Endings

Good writers of fiction craft the endings that their stories deserve by making sure that the resolutions connect to the purposes of their stories.

11

Revision: Rereading with a Lens

Good writers of fiction reread and revise a draft using varied, focused lenses according to what the writer values for her work.

12

Making a Space for Writing

Good writers create intimate workspaces for writing inside their writing notebooks and in their homes to remind us of our writing goals and hopes.

13

Using Mentor Texts to Flesh Out Characters

14

Editing with Various Lenses

15

Publishing Anthologies: A Celebration

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Good writers study how mentor authors develop characters using actions and revealing details to “show rather than tell about” the character’s motives and personal traits. Good writers not only revise with different lenses, but they also edit with them by proofreading for different kinds of errors in capitalization, punctuation, usage, and spelling.

Good writers have the opportunity to see their work published and experience the thrill of receiving reviews on their published work.

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Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson: Minilesson:

Materials:  Book covers with familiar characters and/or   

21

Imagining Stories from Ordinary Moments

stuffed animals representing memorable characters - optional 3-5 Entries from teacher’s writing notebook 2 Enlarged entries from teacher’s writing notebook copied onto chart paper Student writer’s notebooks

Notes: Prior to the lesson, select a few entries from your writer’s notebook to share as potential seeds for fiction stories and to demonstrate the thinking involved in developing fiction stories. Enlarge copies of 1 or more entries on chart paper to use as models throughout the fiction unit. Purpose: Good fiction writers get ideas for stories from daily life and from past writing.

TEKS: 2.17 A, 3.17 A, 4.15 A, 5.15 A Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Display the book covers or stuffed animals representing familiar characters from fiction. Commend students for their work in the previous unit and tell them how impressed you are with the progress they have made as writers. Explain that, together, the class will continue on their writing journey by using what they know about good writing to create compelling fiction stories with their imagination. Point to the book covers or stuffed animals of familiar fiction characters and explain that you have invited them to join us with the fiction-writing adventure. Tell students that we can learn how to create memorable characters and fiction stories by studying the characters and the way the authors make them come alive in fiction. Let students know that today they are going to gather ideas for fiction by pulling information from real moments and issues in their own lives. Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Tell students that when you were young you thought fiction writers imagined ideas and makebelieve stories right out of thin air! But when you grew up you learned how real fiction writers really get their ideas. Share with students that E.B. White got his ideas for Charlotte’s Web by laying on a bale of hay in his barn watching a real spider spin her web. Point out that he probably wrote an entry about that moment in his writer’s notebook and how later, sitting at his desk, he probably reread his notebook, remembered that moment and thought, “I could write a story about that.” Tell students that good fiction writers reread entries and see new story ideas begin to take shape as a whole new exciting story. Model the slow and careful rereading of an entry from your personal notebook in order to show students how you give it time to become a whole story. Demonstrate to students how they should not race and rush through all the pages in their notebook. Give each entry a chance to become a story!

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Ask the students to help you continue rereading your teacher’s personal notebook by observing what you have already copied from it onto chart paper. Make sure you already have at least two prepared entries on chart paper ready for class discussion. Direct students to get in their partnerships and have them turn and talk about both displayed entries in order to see if they can imagine growing one of them into a story. Listen in on conversations and provide feedback, if needed.

After two or three minutes reconvene the students and select a few students to praise what you observed them discussing. Say how excited you are about the stories they created from the charted entries. Allow those students to share with the group how they grew the entry into a possible story idea.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Say to students that today they successfully helped you gather ideas for more personal narratives by pulling information from moments in your teacher’s notebook entries (which were charted). Tell them that today and for the rest of their lives, whenever they want to write fiction, they can reread their writer’s notebook and wait and imagine how to grow their entries into new and exciting stories. Send students back to their seats to work independently on rereading their notebook entries and writing new stories that they imagine from their entries.

Possible Conference Questions:  How is it going?  What are you working on (as a writer)?  Have you found a story yet in your writer’s

notebook that gives you ideas on how to grow a new story out of it?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Wishing lamp or container - optional  Teacher’s story idea for a book you wish existed  Teacher and student writer’s notebook  Chart paper and markers Note: Throughout the fiction unit of study, students will need a class storyline and character that they will use to practice developing different aspects of a story. Prior to the lesson, prepare a basic story line idea with a realistic character portraying some of the attributes from your own notebook that you will use to develop a fiction story. The example provided in this lesson uses details from My Name Is Maria Isabella, along with other imagined details.

Purpose:

Good writers get ideas for fiction by thinking of books

we wished existed in the world.

TEKS:

2

Imagining Stories We Wish Existed in the World

2.19 A, 3.19 A, 4.17 A, 5.17 A

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Tell students that as you listened in yesterday on their conversations and as you conferred with them, you noticed how they all had story ideas that sounded like they could be written into real library books. Let students know that today you are going to teach them that good writers collect ideas for stories through personal life experiences that grow into whole stories, but also by paying attention to the stories we wished existed in the world.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice If desired, show students the “wishing lamp” and explain that many times when we are looking for books in the library, we are really looking to find ourselves set inside a story. We are hoping to find a story we can relate to, that has characters like us. Continue on by telling students that we will use our own Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

experiences to “wish” for fiction stories that we’d like to read. Share with students some examples of books that you would like to read by sharing them aloud and writing them in your personal notebook. Explain to the students that fiction writers do not just write a big outline of a story purely from their imagination. Rather, expert fiction writers take true details or examples from real life and blend them together to create fictionalized stories and characters that seem believable. Share with students an example of a big story outline and then model how to combine ideas into a fictionalized storyline. A sample storyline outline and combination of details are shown below. Example of big outline: girl with Mexican dad and American mom, girl afraid of the dark Example of combining items that once were separate: A girl who is half Mexican lives with both her parents, but thinks her dad works too much. She wishes her father were around more because when he’s home, she isn’t afraid of the dark. But his job keeps him far away so the girl usually sleeps with the light on to make her feel less alone at night. Explain to students that when you wrote your own story idea, you didn’t just say, “I wish there were books about a certain topic.” You specifically thought about what the character might want, and what that character might struggle with. Tell student when they collect ideas for stories in their notebook; they get ideas not only from rereading old entries, but also from thinking about books they wish existed in the world. Share with students that today they can use either of these ways to grow story ideas. To share idea as a model for students, create a chart similar to the one shown below.

Character a Mexican American girl who is afraid of the dark

Fiction Story Wish List

Who Wants (Motive)

her farther to be around the home more, especially at night

So He/She (Actions)

she sleeps with the light on to help her feel less alone at night

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed

Tell students that you want them to think about ideas from their own lives that would make great seed ideas for engaging books. Explain to students that they will use a sentence starter to help them share their ideas with a partner, “I wish there were books about kids like me who…” Allow a few moments for students to think of their own issues after you model aloud examples of the process. Next, continue on by asking students to turn and talk about the issues and struggles the character in the story might encounter and how they can turn this into a story idea. Tell students to think about the character, his traits, his issues, what he wants (motive) and what he does to achieve his goal (action/events). After two or three minutes, reconvene the students and share a few of the best discussions with the whole group. If desired, use the wishing lamp and ask students to share and elaborate upon their ideas using the sentence starter, “I wish there were books about kids like me who…” Add their ideas to the anchor chart of brainstormed characters and story ideas.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Tell students that today as they continue to collect their story ideas, they need to remember to think about the character’s issues, struggles, traits and hopes. Explain to students that today and for the rest of their lives, as fiction writers, they will invent their own characters in their stories by using personal experiences, struggles, issues, hopes, etc. that have happened to them. Send students back to their seats to work independently on continuing to collect story ideas. Explain to them that they can use any of the strategies they’ve learned today or previously.

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on?  How’s it going?  Have you thought of any experiences, struggles or issues you wished there were more books about?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Teacher’s character and story line from lesson 2 used for      

modeling Fiction Story Wish List chart from lesson 2 A simple story line of low quality Developing My Character from the Inside & Outside t-chart written on chart paper Advice for Developing a Character poster – Appendix A (1 per student) Teacher and student writer’s notebooks Chart paper and markers

Note:

Prior to the lesson, select a well-developed excerpt introducing a character that shows his or her physical and personal qualities that can be used throughout the unit as a model for teaching students about character development. This lesson uses an excerpt from My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. On chart paper, create a skeleton outline of an anchor chart that will be generated during the lesson.

Purpose: Good fiction writers develop believable characters by creating their internal and external traits. TEKS:

3

Developing Believable Characters

2.18 A, 3.18 A, 4.16 A, 5.16 A

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Let students know that you have read their notebooks and have been blown away by their progress. Tell them that you have noticed that they are beginning to really think on the page about their stories. Then post a simple one-line story line and say “You have noticed that simple stories such as this may have looked good to you at the beginning of the year, but now you have gotten so much better as writers that you know good story ideas need to include more specifics about the character like this one does:” Then post your own character story line of better quality and say, “Today, each of you will reread all your entries and select just one seed idea to develop into a publishable story, and you will call your seed idea your story idea.”

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Tell students that you are going to show them how fiction writers don’t just pick any old seed idea to write a draft. Instead, a fiction writer lives with a story idea and the characters for a time. Say, “Before you begin writing your story you need to know your character so well that you know how much change is in his or her pockets! This morning I realized I wanted to continue writing about the Mexican girl who is afraid of the dark and wants to buy a night light.”

As students discuss, you intervene to lift the level of what children are saying by reminding them to use pointers from the “Advice” chart. Allow them to talk some more. Then elicit responses from children in a share session so that as you add these details to your chart, which may begin to look like the one shown below. Developing My Character from the Inside & Outside Outside-External Features Outside-External Features  Part Mexican  Afraid of the dark  Luz  Artistic  Light-brown skin  Cares for people  Long, brown hair in  Thin-skinned ponytail  Wears casual clothes  Self-made dangly earrings

Show students how you put sticky notes on your entry in your notebook and say, “At this point I don’t start thinking about what will happen and instead try to get know my character better.” Display a t-chart entitled “Developing My Character from the Inside & Outside.” Shift from being the author to teacher by saying, “Look at this t-chart. I already know my character is Mexican American and is afraid of the dark. Now I have to add crucial details like her name. Oh, I have an idea! I will name her Luz because that means light in Spanish!” Then post the name Luz on the outside column of the anchor chart. Refer to the chart in the active engagement portion of the lesson for more details.



Developing My Character from the Inside & Outside Outside-External Features Inside-Internal Features



Next, return to the role of author and model musing to the children….”What else? I want Luz to be a bit like me. I’m sensitive like Luz so I’m going to add “sensitive” to the inside column of the chart. Demonstrate several more examples and create the anchor chart “Advice for Developing a Character.”

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Direct students’ attention back to the story line about Luz and say, “Now it’s your turn to think about the internal and the

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

external features of Luz.” Direct students to get into their partnerships and turn and talk to each other first about the internal features of Luz and then to discuss how to make sure the Luz’s external features match her internal ones. Remind them that they are helping you create the main character of your story.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Say to students that today they helped you create your main character by developing an external/internal chart. Tell them that fiction writers do this always! Direct them to go to their seats and divide a page of their writer’s notebook (like the classroom model) and begin developing their main character in it. Remind them that whenever they write fiction, instead of launching right into a draft and rushing to plot structure, they should always take the time to develop the main character.

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on as a writer?  How is your “Developing My Character” chart for your 

main character coming along? Do your character’s external features match the internal features shown on your chart?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Chart of all the different character ideas students have

Tell them, “Today, fiction writers, you must think about your characters’ desires and their struggles to fulfill those desires.”



Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice

   

4

Giving Characters Struggles and Motivations

developed Advice for Developing a Character poster – Appendix A (1 per student) Character Snapshot Showing Character’s Desire – Appendix B or alternate teacher-selected excerpt (1 copy per student) Example of a Well-written Scene – Appendix C or alternate teacher-drafted scene Class story students can use for practice Teacher and student writer’s notebooks

Note: Prior to the lesson, select a passage from a familiar text that illustrates a character’s yearning. Provide a copy for students. The example used in this lesson is from My Name Is Maria Isabel. Purpose: Good fiction writers develop characters by

writing about their characters’ motivations and struggles.

TEKS: 2.18 A, 3.18 A, 4.16 A, 5.16 A Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Tell students that you are amazed at all the characters they have brought with them into the room. Select a few of the students’ characters that you read about in their notebooks and recognize their work. Say, “María, you brought with you Gregory, who dreams of impressing Bridgette with a pet dog.” Repeat with other student examples and then show them that you jotted down a list on chart paper similar to the one below. We Can Develop Characters By Thinking About Their...  Favorite collections or clothes  Special places on Earth  Treasures  Worries  Quirks  Secrets  Relatives or best friends  Ways of walking, talking, gesturing Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Tell students that you learned to do this by studying how published authors like Alma Flor Ada write little scenes that show both what a character yearns for and what obstacles/difficulties get in the way. Tell them that fiction writers don’t just come out and say what the character wants but instead show what the character wants by putting examples of this into little small moments. Direct students to get into their partnerships and read their copy of the excerpt from My Name Is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada – Character Snapshot Showing Character’s Desire (Appendix B). Tell them “Remember how María’s teacher decided to change her name to Mary? María doesn’t feel good about this and yearns to be accepted for who she is. The author doesn’t come right out and say that María Isabel yearns for this; instead, Alma Ada shows this by putting examples of that yearning into different scenes like the one your about to read.” Allow children time to read the handouts/excerpts. After a few minutes say, “This scene shows what school is like for María Isabel. We see how she gets into trouble even though she is trying hard to do things right. She simply doesn’t recognize or hear when her teacher addresses her as Mary. We see how desperately Maria wants to fit in and how she hides her sadness.”

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Say, “Ok, now let’s try this with Luz from our story line.” Rename the longings and difficulties experienced by Luz

by saying, “Let’s see, Luz is afraid of the dark, but she doesn’t want anyone to know. She wants to have a slumber party so that could be a problem. And she really wants her friends to think she’s cool. She feels different because her dad is Mexican, but she wants to be accepted by her friends.” Direct the students to turn and talk about suggestions for making any of these ideas into a scene. Allow 2-3 minutes then reconvene the class and ask 2-3 students to share suggestions. Help volunteers to turn an explanation into a scene on chart paper in front of the whole class. Say, for example, “Ramon had a great idea!” Then proceed to elicit and chart the student’s thoughts and words onto the chart. Refer to the Example of a Wellwritten Scene handout.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Remind students about the importance of knowing their character’s motivations (longings) and struggles. Say, “Today you helped me develop a character’s desires and struggles by showing how the character tried to fulfill her desire and get what she yearned for. Deciding what your character wants is NOT an option but it is essential.” It helps make them more believable. In addition, remind them also, “Writers, whenever you write fiction, remember there are oodles of things we can think about when you want to develop a character, but there are just one or two that you must think and write about in your story for your character.” Direct students to go to work at their seats in their writer’s notebook to develop a scene about their character’s struggles.

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on as a writer?  What does your character yearn for?  How do you show this?  What ideas did you have for a little scene you could write that might show your character struggling or yearning?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Story Mountain for Peter’s Chair – Appendix E or   

5

Plotting with a Story Mountain

enlarged copy of story mountain of a familiar text Sample Story Mountain for Luz’s Storyline – Appendix D Teacher and student writer’s notebooks Chart paper and markers.

Note: Prior to the lesson, create an enlarged copy

of a story mountain from a familiar book similar to the found on Appendix E – Story Mountain for Peter’s Chair. This lesson continues with the storyline about the character, Luz, who is afraid of the dark. Teachers may use their own class-created storyline to model and practice the process of creating story mountains.

Purpose: Good fiction writers sketch out possible plot lines on story mountains. TEKS: 2.17 A, 2.18 A, 3.17 A, 3.18 A, 4.15 A, 4.16 A, 5.15 A, 5.16 A

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Remind students that from the previous lesson they learned that fiction writers first bring their characters to life by thinking about their internal and external characteristics. Then tell them, “Today, you are going to use your knowledge of a character’s wants, motivations, and struggles to develop plot lines on story mountains!”

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Tell students that great writers use story mountains to help plan a plot and that authors are not always Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

sure what might happen in the story when they first start drafting (sketching) out a story mountain. Remind students of the different ways that you have used story mountains to analyze stories and/or draft personal narratives. Then display a prepared story mountain on chart paper similar to the one on Appendix E - Story Mountain for Peter’s Chair. Review with class the struggles Peter goes through and how the problem seems to be growing and getting worse. Continue on by saying, “Authors always know that trouble will grow, and that characters will make choices, some of which will not work out well, thereby forcing the character to try something else like the character does in our class storyline!”

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Tell students, “Now, you are going to get into your partnerships and help me try to plan our story!” Direct students to turn and talk with their partner(s) and decide what the first few boxes on the story mountain should be. You must be prepared to chart this out with the class from scratch on a large new piece of paper. You might already have the mountain drawn with a few empty boxes at first—but no words yet. Be ready for students’ fresh, new responses in a few minutes. Meanwhile, as students discuss plot events, move among the partners and redirect discussions, if needed, or praise them for their good ideas. After 34 minutes, convene the group and say, “Wow! I heard some great ideas, writers! Some of you suggested we change the start of the story.” Share the student’s ideas and then write the beginning story event in the first box. Refer to Appendix D for details about the sample story about Luz.

again and figure out what might come next. Then reconvene the children and add their elicited ideas to the class story mountain about the class story. Paraphrase what children tell you so as to streamline the process of getting essential events into the story mountain boxes.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Say to students that today they successfully helped you build a possible story mountain concerning the class story. Remind writers that when fiction authors plot story mountains they do so by knowing that the problems will get worse and worse before they get better. Continue on by telling students that whenever fiction writers decide to write a story, they may not be sure exactly how the storyline will change or end when they begin to write a story mountain. End the workshop time by sending students back to their seats to work independently. Say, “So let’s go—draft your story mountain in your writer’s notebook, and do it by making the problem worse and worse for your character before it gets better!”

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on as a writer?  Did you find the starting point for your first box 

(or event) that you wanted on your story mountain? Are the events on your story mountain making the problem worse and worse for your character?

Direct students to turn and talk with their partners Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Drafting tablets with enough sheets for 1 page per plot     

(event box) A snippet of conversation between children about their writing illustrating that it’s time to write The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Scene Style (Appendix J) & The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Summary Style (Appendix K) or another text for modeling Caleb’s Scene about Spencer – Appendix I Teacher & student writer’s notebooks with story mountains & events Chart paper & markers

Note: This lesson uses the example from The Three Billy Goats

Gruff to show students the difference between setting a scene for reader’s to visualize versus a summary of the scene. Teachers may opt use a text that is familiar to their students.

Purpose: Good fiction writers begin by using their characters’ actions or words, and then unfold the moment step-by-step. TEKS:

6

Show Don’t Tell: Planning and Writing Scenes

2.17 B, 3.17 B, 4.15 B, 5.15 B

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Greet students and tell them, “I overheard Andrea telling Juan that she can’t figure out exactly what her character will do all along the way in her story. There is a time to stop planning and start writing!” Then display a drafting tablet and continue with an explanation of narratives. “You all know that narratives are made up of scenes, or small moment stories. Fiction writers get themselves ready to write a draft of their story by using a drafting tablet and thinking through plans for what he or she will probably write on each page of a booklet. I usually give myself a different page of paper for every story mountain point (or box).” Point to an example of a story mountain. Then continue on by saying, “Fiction is made up of scenes, or drama, and sometimes, a line of dialogue or a small action ignites a dramatic scene. Today, I am going to show you the difference between summary Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

and scene by telling you a familiar tale in two contrasting ways.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Say, “Today I am teaching you the difference between what a small moment in your story sounds like and reads like when it is written as a summary and when it is written as an exciting scene! Now, I want you to listen as I tell the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff in a summary way… like a stream of rushing words. Read aloud The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and read that version to the class in a monotonous, robotic way. Then say, “Now I’m going to read the same story in an exciting scene sort of way. The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and retell it using exciting multi-character voices! Immediately afterward ask the students, “Can you hear the difference between just telling what happened like the first time I told it to you….and the second time when my characters talked in their character voices?”

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Direct the children to get into their partnerships and turn and talk one at a time each about their current story. Say, “Writers, each one of you is going to think of a moment from your story mountain and take turns saying their little moment just like a summary of what’s happening.” Tell them they must take turns and listen to each other summarize. Allow 3-5 minutes for all partners to speak. Then, after you have overheard a particular child’s summary, convene the group and say, “Okay, great! Let’s listen to Caleb’s summary and see if we can help him reimagine this as a story.” Post the following on chart paper.

Story Excerpt This guy named Spencer really wants to do great in school `cause he wants to go to the same college as his Big brother, but his friends think he’s a geek for reading. Then say, “Whew! That story really flew by! I need your help to be able to hear what Spencer sounds like and what the other guys say about him and what books he’s reading, don’t you?” Say, “Okay, now let’s all write in the air and help Caleb turn his summary into an interesting scene!” Then you rewrite on another piece of chart paper something like the following (after first eliciting help from students). Share the information from Caleb’s Scene about Spenser (Appendix I).

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Say to students that today they helped distinguish the difference between writing a simple summary (telling) and writing an exciting scene (or showing) about a moment (event box). Then direct them by saying, “So writers, your job today is first to transfer your story mountain onto a story drafting tablet and then use that tablet as a support for storytelling your story. Each page of your drafting tablet should contain one of your small moments stories. When you are ready, start working on your lead. When you start writing a scene make sure it sounds like a story, not a summary! Create a kind of word-movie with dialogue and action like we did with the Billy Goats! Get to work writers!

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on (as a writer)?  Do you understand the difference between a summary and a 

scene? Which type are you writing in your drafting tablet?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Drafting tablets from previous lesson  The Lead from Fireflies! (Appendix N) or example of a    

familiar text in which students can experience “becoming” a character Class Revised Story Lead about Luz (Appendix L) or current lead for the class story Scene Add-on for the Class Story (Appendix M) Idea for a scene for the class story you can use to demonstrate writing by pretending to be the character Teacher and student writer’s notebooks with story mountains

Purpose: Good fiction writers create our best drafts when we experience the world through our character’s skin. TEKS:

7

Feeling and Drafting the Heart of Your Story

2.17 B, 2.17 C, 3.17 B, 3.17 C, 4.15 B, 4.15 C, 5.15 B, 5.15 C

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Praise children by greeting them and saying “Your characters and story mountains have really come to life on the page! It’s a rather amazing process, isn’t it? Last time we met you connected your story mountain boxes each to a separate page in your drafting tablet. Once writers are actually drafting, they worry less about writing and focus instead on reliving the drama!” Then tell them, “Today what I want to teach you is this: before writers actually get going on a draft, we think a lot about ways to make a draft into a really good story. We try to become the characters, and the writing is a bit like a drama happening to us.”

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Say: “I want to teach you that just as in reading we lose Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

ourselves in the story, becoming the character; this is true for writing also! You know how when we read Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe we felt like we became Gilly or Opal or the narrator. We hardly need the words of the story to tell us that the boy pushes away his plate and asks, `Can I be done?’ and then rushes away to get a jar for fireflies. You can feel the character’s excitement so well that you feel like you’re the one who is going to go catch them!” Direct students back to the current lead (on chart paper) of the class story. And say, “Now you’ll notice I made some revisions to it since the last time.” Then read aloud the charted story lead (See Appendix L for ideas). Then say, “I’m going to keep in mind that the next dot (event box) on the story mountain says `Her friends arrive and don’t like her games and I’m going to remember that Luz desperately wants to feel popular! So here I go, I ‘m going to write and let something come to me.” Share information on Appendix M, Scene Add-on for the Class Story.

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Tell the students, “Writers, when any fiction writer writes, he or she keeps in mind the big plan for how a story will probably go, but we let the details emerge from the specific actions we take. Usually a scene involves two characters, and one does or says something and then the next one reacts.” Say, “ Now we are going to continue writing our Luz story, but you need to be Luz. Picture her. The games are out on the table. The one friend has just looked in disgust at Twister. What does Luz do next? I will reread the last part of what we have created.” (See Appendix L.) Luz Story TWISTER?” Tish said, her voice incredulous. My mom played that when she was a kid. That’s such a stupid game.” I felt the blood rise to my cheeks. “I know,” I said. “I don’t know why we even have it.”

Then ask again, “What does Luz do next?” Direct children to turn and talk in partnerships 2-3 minutes and then call on a group to share something like the following and add to the charted story about Luz. Luz Story (continued) I jumped up to put the entire stack of games into the closet. The other kids, however, surrounded me, and Joy and Marta were shaking dice to see who’d go first in a game of Mousetrap.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Say, “Writers, I want to remind you that writing is a lot like drama. Once we’ve written our lead, we need to reread it and become the main character. We need to stand in the character’s shoes, to see through her eyes, to blush with her, and to hope with her. This way our readers will also be able to experience the story we put onto the page.” Then add, “You’ll probably do ass I did today, and reread your lead, then turn to page 2 of your drafting tablet of your story mountain, and act out—write out—that story.” Send students back to their seats to work independently writing the next scene in their story in their drafting tablet.

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on (as a writer)?  Are you feeling yourself to be in the shoes of your  

character? Are you envisioning what your character is going through? Are you turning your 2nd page of your tablet into a dramatic story?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Student writer’s notebooks  Leads of two short stories kids are familiar with  A lead that invites further revision  Two examples of dialogue, one empty and other one   

revealing (both written on chart paper) Francesca’s Revisions – Appendix O Francesca’s Lead – Appendix P Excerpt from Ruby the Copy Cat – Appendix Q

Note: This lesson uses a student example known as Francesca. It is recommended that teachers use a volunteer students’ writing in their lesson. The lead to Ruby the Copy Cat is used as the mentor text. Teachers may opt to use a different lead as an example.

Purpose:

Good fiction writers study the craft of various authors to learn new techniques for writing leads.

TEKS:

8

Studying Published Texts to Write Leads

2.17 C, 2.17 E, 3.17 C, 3.17 C, 4.15 C, 4.15 E, 5.15 C, 5.15 E

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Tell students, “Today you’ll notice that the read aloud we’ve scheduled for later will be a special one in which some of you will read aloud the leads to your stories! I can tell from reading your stories that they are literally coming to life! So I can’t wait for you to share and know each other’s stories! Today you are going to listen to other people’s leads, tell some leads of your own, and then revise your lead for the story you have been working on.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Tell children that in order to write leads that draw readers into their story it helps to study leads published authors have written. Tell the class that you and one student studied the leads from Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

familiar stories. Read one aloud, listing what the student noticed about it and then showing the resulting revisions in her own lead.



Say, ”Francesca and I decided to study leads. We first reread the lead to Ruby the Copy Cat, which you’ll remember is a picture book by Peggy Rathmann. The story starts like this.” Share the information found on Appendix Q or share an excerpt from a mentor text. Post the mentor author’s lead. After reading it then say, “Looking at this story reminded Francesca of things she’d learned earlier. In a short story it’s important to start close to the main event. Notice that the lead of the story hints at what will come later.” Now, direct students to pay attention as you chart how Francesca thought about her story. Refer to Appendix P, Francesca’s Lead. Say, “Look how well Francesca uses dialogue to lead her story!”



Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Have students turn and talk in their partnerships to discuss what else they like about Francesca’s lead. Steer the discussion toward thinking about what could happen next in her story. Allow volunteers to share their ideas with the rest of the class. Then say, “Now we are going to share a second lead. This time after I read this lead to you, I want you to list with your partner in your notebooks what you notice with your partner that you could try in your own writings later!” Post and read the following mentor author lead from Julie Brinckloe’s Fireflies! (Refer to Appendix N from Lesson 8 about Fireflies!) Allow 2-3 minutes for them to turn and talk with each other. Overhear what they are saying. Convene the class to share with the group about what they noticed in the lead. Do this to lift the level of partner talk, which will resume again soon. Ask, “Who can get us started on a conversation about the techniques Brinckloe has used in her lead?” You then involve as many children as possible in sharing so that you can gather the following points from them. Reconvene the group say “You’ve noticed a lot of techniques that you might use in your writing such as: (use your fingers to count of the following ideas)”



Sometimes stories begin not with a big action but with a small action, and this can be in the setting, as when the firefly flickers on and off. Some stories begin by creating a mood and a place, and only afterward does the sequence of actions begin. Sometimes the time and the place are revealed slowly, bit by bit, as the character see moves into the setting

Finally say, “Let’s all listen again to Francesca’s first lead and think whether the techniques we’ve learned from Brinkloe could help Francesca as she gets ready to again revise this lead. Listen again as I reread, then tell your partner if you have suggestions for Francesca: (reread aloud 2nd Attachment Francesca’s lead). Overhear the students. After children turn and talk with partners, say “You had some great ideas, and writers, I want to tell you a surprise---Francesca and I came up with the same conclusions you did when we studied her lead earlier.”

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Say, “Here’s the surprise: let me read to you two other leads that Francesca tried. Refer to Appendix O or share the students’ revisions. Say, “Do you see what she learned from other authors in her own lead? Today, each one of you needs to decide what you need to do. Some of you are probably realizing that you need to rethink your story plan and zoom in more on just two Small Moment stories. Some of you may need to use similar revisions to those Francesca has done; some of you will want to study more published leads for yourself, learning more techniques. All of you will be drafting and revising your leads today, but you’ll decide how to go about doing that. You’re the boss of your own story! Go to your seats and get writing!”

Possible Conference Questions:  What technique(s) did you learn from other authors that you  

might try? How is it going? Are you going to be able to use any ideas from any other mentor authors? How are you revising your lead?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  Anecdote or metaphor you can tell to describe the         

disorientation caused by lack of setting Scene containing almost nothing but dialogue copied onto chart paper Revised scene showing more story details Passage from the class story, on chart paper, for wholeclass practice with setting Passage from a favorite read-aloud story that communicates setting really well Example of a Partnership’s Air-Writing – Appendix R Generic Excerpt with Setting – Appendix S Generic Excerpt with No Setting – Appendix T Continuation of Luz’s Story with Revisions – Appendix U Luz’s Story Revised with Setting Details – Appendix V

Purpose: Good fiction writers make sure that the action and dialogue are grounded in the setting. TEKS:

9

Orienting Readers With Setting

2.17 C, 2.17 E, 3.17 C, 3.17 C, 4.15 C, 4.15 E, 5.15 C, 5.15 E

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Say, “Last night I was sleeping, and the phone rang. When the phone woke me up, my whole room was dark and I didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or awake. Has that ever happened to you? You wake up and for a minute, you can’t remember where you are? That’s disorientation! And if you don’t want to leave your readers lost in the dark, you have to write so that you orient them! Today I want to teach you that we need to be sure that we ‘turn on the lights’ in our stories, to show the place and the time so that your readers don’t have that same disoriented, lost feeling like when you wake up in the middle of the dark night.”

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Tell children, “When writing scenes, it’s easy to rely only on dialogue, but that results in the reader not knowing where the action is happening. Here’s a bad example of writing with no setting and all dialogue.” See Attachment for Lesson 9 “Short Generic excerpt” and post on chart paper for class to study as you read it aloud to them in a monotone manner. Then say, “This was ok for a start, but what do you notice is missing?” Allow children to turn and talk. Then say, “You’re right! Setting! Look how this same student then went on to revise his story by adding more action and completely new details about setting!” (See 2nd Attachment for Lesson 9 Generic excerpt with Setting) and post it for class to view on chart paper. Read it aloud then debrief by asking students to turn and talk. Say, “Take turns telling your partners what you notice is different about the revision that makes characters not be in the dark anymore.

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed “Now, we are going to reread the Luz story on our chart! I’ve made some changes!” Post prepared chart paper (See 3rd Attachment for Lesson 9 Luz’s Story Revised for Lesson 9). After reading it aloud, ask, “Could you picture what was going on? Did you see the place?” If children raise thumbs up, then say “So let’s read on (See 4th Attachment for Lesson 9 Continuation of Luz’s Story (revisions). Post the underdeveloped dialogue for all to see on chart paper. Read aloud and then have children turn and talk and say, “Writers, don’t just talk about how you’d rewrite this last part; instead I want you to write your new text in the air!” Overhear what the partnerships are saying and air-writing. Then reconvene the group by asking one partnership to share their new version, and set up the other children to act out the new version.

Say, “While this partnership acting out and telling their part of the revised story, I will record it on chart paper.” (See 5th Attachment for Lesson 9 Example of a Partnership’s airwriting). After displaying what you copy down onto chart paper, have the group reread silently what you wrote and then ask, “How can we end this scene in a way that is informed by the acting? What might Luz watch that group of girls doing?” Repeat the process of having one partnership air-writing. Copy what that partnership shares for their ending. It should look something like this; display this ending below on chart paper for class to see. Story Ending I watched as the group of girls figured out how to arrange their sleeping bags so they could all be close to each other. I heard Eliza say, “This way we can whisper together all night.” I turned my back away from them, toward the closet where the light shone. Link:

 

restate the teaching point explain how the learning can be used in the future

Say, “Writer’s today you have done some amazing revision. You made sure that the action and the dialogue are grounded in the setting! I want to remind you that as you shift today from drafting to revising, you’ll want to reread your drafts with a careful lens (eye) to examine if your stories have no setting, too much dialogue, and/or not enough setting. Now, go revise your drafts with lots of good setting for your readers!”

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on (as a writer)?  Does your draft have any setting already?  Does your draft leave the reader in the dark as to where  

the character is? Can you envision where your character is? Is the action and dialogue firmly grounded in the setting?

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

101

Writing Powerful Endings

Materials:  Examples of anecdote to illustrate what a good

we need to imagine our endings, which can make it a little trickier.

 restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future

 List entitled Key Questions Fiction Writers

Choose a previous story that you have already shared with the class from your writer’s notebook that they are familiar with. With the students, brainstorm different possible endings that would make that particular story better. Explain to them that in order to write an ending, it will take lots of drafts and that the solution to the ending is often in the details of the problem.

Tell students that today they have learned how to craft the endings of their stories to make sure it matches the story they are writing.

ending can do for a story

   

Consider In Revising Endings, prepared on chart paper Display all the read aloud books used during the year Anecdote you can tell about working with titles Your own writer’s notebook Student writer’s notebooks

Purpose: Good writers of fiction craft the endings

that their stories deserve by making sure that the resolutions connect to the purposes of their stories.

TEKS: 2.17 C, 3.17 C, 4.17 C, 5.17 C Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point

Introduce the charted list of key questions that fiction writers consider when revising their endings. Tell students they are to refer back to this list every time they write an ending to their story.

 Can the reader see evidence of the main  

character’s evolution? Does my ending make sense or come out of nowhere? Are the loose ends tied up? Have I answered the reader’s key questions? Have I revealed everything I need to for the story’s purposes?

Tell students that before long some of them will write their way towards the ending of their first draft and that they have been rehearsing possible endings already when writing their stories. Let the them know that today you will be teaching them that writers search for endings that tie up loose ends, answers questions and bring the story’s meaning home.



Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice

Ask students to work together and see if we can imagine some possible endings to our class story. Remind them that the ending will always relate to the story’s real message, so we need to remember what the story is really about.

Explain to students that short stories have surprising, but inevitable endings. Even though readers may not be able to predict how the story is going to end, the ending shouldn’t be unbelievable. Point out to students that they know a lot about endings from all the work they have done with personal narratives. Those stories really happened, so while you had to decide where to end the story, you didn’t have to make anything up. With fiction,

Give students about two minutes to turn and talk with their partners or in their partnerships two possible endings and then ask one or two to share their ideas with the group.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Tell students that today and every day, they must remember that endings matter. They may be at different stages in their writing from their peers, but when they are ready, they can move into revising their endings. Send students back to their seats to work independently at writing a few endings to one story and select the one they like best.

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on?  How’s it going?  Show me where you have worked on a few endings to a story.

 Which ending do you like best and why?

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed

Link: Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson: Minilesson:

Materials:  Latest example of a class story on chart paper, to    

22 11

Writing Powerful Understanding theEndings Expository Writing Rubric (4s and 3s)

demonstrate revising through a lens (with a focus) Former student draft prepared on a transparency, for whole class practice Highlighters to use to point out parts to be revised Your own writer’s notebook Student writer’s notebooks

Purpose: Good writers of fiction reread and revise a draft using varied, focused lenses according to what the writer values for her work. TEKS: 2.17 C, 3.17 C, 4.15 C, 5.15 C Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Celebrate how proud you are that some of the students have finished their drafts, and remind them that reaching the end allows writers to reread and revise with new perspectives. Tell the students that revision means to “re-vise” to “see again.” Explain to the students that today you will teach them that when we revise it really helps to reread with glasses. We don’t really wear glasses, but we do need to put on special lenses, lenses that will allow us to reread our writing with one particular question or concern in mind.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Turn the students attention to the class story that is charted already onto paper. Have the students notice that the story is not finished yet and that they should not wait until they are finished before they revise their stories. Start out by reading just a bit of the class story with Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

an eye toward one issue that you choose. You could use any issue that matters to your class needs. Remind the students that it is important to think as they read, “What am I trying to show?” or “What is this story really about?” Reread the story once more out loud, underlining places that illustrated the deeper meaning. Stop and brainstorm with the students, “Did you see how I reread the draft, looking at it simply through the lens of whether I had shown what the story was really about?” Tell the students that as writers they can choose any lens they want, and that they will reread and revise several times, just as real authors do. This is also the point where you will re-teach a quality of writing that was emphasized early in this unit – Cardboard Character Alert. Point out to the students that writers reread to ensure the characters have some good traits and some that are not so good. If not, the characters will seem fake – they are only as real as cardboard. Remind students that their characters should be as real life as possible – like them. This rereading often prompts revisions – even before the first draft is written. Stress to students that the bottom line is when we revise we must put on one lens, then another, then another to ensure that our stories are our best work.

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Tell students that today they are going to try reading a text through the lens of a Cardboard Character Alert. You need to make sure you have enough examples of student writing that will help you illustrate your teaching point.

cardboard. Ask students, “What did you see or notice?” After about two to three minutes, reconvene the class and share with them some of the wonderful comments you heard as you monitored the group. Allow some students to share what they noticed or saw with the group.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Tell students that today they have learned how good writers reread, looking at their drafts through a chosen lens. Also share with them that today and every day, in order to be fantastic writer, they must reread their own writing through a specially-chosen lens so that their characters seem less like cardboard characters. Send students back to their seats to work independently by rereading their writing with lenses, just like professional writers do. Instruct them to think about the following questions, “Have I brought out the real thing this story is mostly about?” “Can I make my character seem less like cardboard cutouts?”

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on?  How’s it going?  What lens did you use to reread and revise your work?

 If a student has only tried on way to reread and 

revise, talk about ways they might try to reread and revise in the future. Do you have any “cardboard characters” that can be enhanced with specific details?

Instruct students to get with their partner/s and they will work together to find places in the texts where the character feels only as real as a Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

12

Making a Space for Writing

Materials:  Anecdote you can tell about a writer’s special workspace

 Something special from your own writing life  Charts of writing tips and strategies created during earlier units for reference

 Copy of a student’s published personal narrative from earlier in the year

 Your own writer’s notebook  Student writer’s notebooks

Purpose: Good writers create intimate workspaces for writing inside their writing notebooks and in their homes to remind us of our writing goals and hopes. TEKS: 2.19 A, 3.19 A, 4.17 A, 5.17 A

could have a “writing shed” but in the classroom, we can only set up our writing spaces and our notebooks. Still it’s important that we choose the items that we put near us as we write, items that can carry bits of advice to us (ex. passages, notebooks, calendar, quotes, folder, etc)

well. Also state that today and for the rest of their lives, they can prepare themselves for writing not only by sketching timelines, boxes and bullets, and not only by trying alternative leads. They can also look back over lessons that they learned earlier and the texts that have taught them a lot.

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed

Send students back to their seats to work independently by reflecting on what worked or didn’t work well from previous stories from lessons learned.

Help students leaf through and revisit old charts and mentor texts, thinking, “Does any of this belong in my writing space?”

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on?  How’s it going?  What lessons did you learn earlier this year that

Tools for My Writing Workspace

Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point

 Strategies for generating personal narrative

Praise students for all their hard work in revising their fiction story. Discuss with them how each of them are different and their needs are different from yours when it comes to writing, but many, many writers take the time to set up spaces in which we can do our best work. They set up workspaces, putting items nearby that remind them of their resolutions.

   

Tell students that today they will be looking back on ideas learned from previous writing as they continue drafting their story so that they can make their new draft as spectacular as possible. Point out that in order to do this, they can put items and words into their writing spaces that remind them of all they want to do and be as writers.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Share with students that it would be great if we all Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

writing

 Qualities for good personal narrative

writing Monitoring my writing process Lessons for mentor personal narratives Turing points When to use paragraphs

really paid off for you?

 What worked really well in your earlier stories 

that you want to remember as you revise this new story? What didn’t work well for you in your earlier stories that you could address this time in your piece?

Ask students to turn and talk with their partner/s (as you listen in) about items they might put in their notebooks or writing spaces that can help them recall previous lessons on good writing. After about two to three minutes, reconvene the class and share with them some of the wonderful comments you heard as you monitored the group. Allow some students to share what they recalled or what will help them produce good writing in their writing spaces and notebooks.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Tell students that they have learned that there are many ways they can prepare themselves for writing Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

Materials:  A text important to you that shows character    

13

Using Mentor Texts to Flesh Out Characters

through actions, copied on chart paper or transparency Excerpt from your own writing or the class story you can use to demonstrate applying a mentor text Excerpt from Fireflies or other familiar mentor text, copied on transparency or chart paper Your own writer’s notebook Student writer’s notebooks

Purpose: Good writers study how mentor authors develop characters using actions and revealing details to “show rather than tell about” the character’s motives and personal traits. TEKS: 2.17 B, 3.17 B, 4.15 B, 5.15 B Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Remind students of previous lessons and connect them with today’s work. Also, remind them that revision starts with rereading through a lens (with a focus). Tell students that today they will looking through texts they love to figure out what authors have done and then apply that to their own writing. Have them ask themselves, “What did this author do that seems to work so well?” Then tell students they will reread their own drafts trying to determine where they can use the same technique in their own writing, like they noticed the authors use.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Explain that writers read, first to be open to the power of the story, and later to learn how writing is Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

made. Tell students that authors, like Cynthia Rylant, learned to write from observing and examining other writers. Have students ask themselves the following questions after reading a story: “Why am I crying” “Why is my heart ready to burst?” “What did the author do to create such an effect?” Share the text you selected that shows character through actions that is copied on chart paper or on a transparency. Ask students, “What did the author do in this story that makes it so powerful?” Make students aware that the author did not just tell what the character did, she also showed. Make students aware that after they notice something that an author they admire has done, they should think to themselves, “Are there places in my draft where I could use the same technique?” Reread the class story and see if the class can pinpoint an area where they can show how the character does something instead of just telling the audience.

 restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Tell students that they have learned how to turn to mentor texts to discover ways to revise today and anytime they revise. Let them know that for the next few days, they will be shifting between writing scenes of their story and revising scenes. Send students back to their seats to work independently on writing scenes of their story while also revising those scenes by using mentor texts. Tell students to ask themselves, “What did this author do that I could try?”

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on?  How’s it going?  What did you like about the mentor text?  Did you find anything the author did that you could try in your own writing

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Tell students you are going to do this whole process together by using Fireflies or another mentor text, studying an excerpt for what they might try. After giving the students an excerpt from the text you chose, have them get with their partners. Listen as the students talk to each other and after about two minutes, reconvene the class. Call on a few students to share what they noticed. Reflect back to the class story as the students continue to be with their partners and have them think together how the excerpt from Fireflies or other mentor text gives them ideas for how they could revise a section of the class story.

Link: Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

14

Editing with Various Lenses

Materials:  Passage from the class story you can use to demonstrate rethinking word choice  Your own writer’s notebook  Student writer’s notebooks

Purpose: Good writers not only revise with

different lenses, but they also edit with them by proofreading for different kinds of errors in capitalization, punctuation, usage, and spelling.

TEKS: 2.17 D, 3.17 D, 4.15 D, 5.15 D Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point Tell students how proud you are of their hard work and how proud they should be of themselves. Let them know that before they can share their stories, they need to edit their ideas, and edit for spelling, punctuation and grammar to reflect their best work. Tell students that today they will be rereading their draft, checking one convention and usage area at a time to make it ready for their audience.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Select a student who has completed drafting and revising his/her story and tell the class what you noticed that student doing – rereading his/her draft, looking for specific things/ideas to revise, and proofreading for errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar/usage. Praise this student for the awesome job they had done.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Tell the class that writers reread their drafts many times, checking for one sort of editing error and then another and another until their story is fully edited.

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed Tell students now they are going to assume the role of the editor. Have them get with their partners and give them one copy of the class story they can help edit. Tell them you want them checking for and fixing punctuation. After they have done that, tell them to reread it again checking for and fixing tenses, and then again to check for spelling. If students notice misspelled words that can’t be fixed immediately, instruct them to try spelling it correctly on the side of the page, spelling the word several possible ways.

past/present tense, ideas, etc.

Possible Conference Questions:  What are you working on?  How’s it going?  Did you find any punctuation or capitalization editing?

 Did you find any places where you changed your ideas?

 Did you find any words misspelled? If so, what strategy did you use to correct the words?  Did you find any past/present tense editing?

Bring the class back together and share with them some of the great things you overheard as they were editing the work. Be specific in your response to them.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Tell students that today they have learned how to edit their drafts by rereading several times, checking for correct punctuation, capitalization, spelling, past/present tense, ideas, etc. Send students back to their seats to work independently on editing their own work for correct punctuation, capitalization, spelling, Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Minilesson:

15

Publishing Anthologies: A Celebration

Materials:  Refreshments  Invitations to Visitors (Parents, Administrators, Teachers, etc.)

 Microphone, if needed (Karaoke machine, school P.A.)

 Step or some form of risers to “raise the student” up

 Index cards, sticky notes, etc. for audience

members to compliment the student stories with notes they write.  Pencils on tables  Basket in a central location for notes to students  Students published work bound in some way, including “about the author” paragraphs for each child.

Purpose: Good writers have the opportunity to see their work published and experience the thrill of receiving reviews on their published work. TEKS: 2.17 E, 3.17 E, 4.15 E, 5.15 E Connection:  connect today’s work with our ongoing work  explicitly state my teaching point It is incredibly important to create a sense of occasion around this celebration, and to give the students the extraordinary gift of knowing that their stories are reaching readers. You will give students an opportunity to share their writing with an audience as writers strive to do. Students will share their pieces with audience members. This should be a time of celebration of the students as authors as they improve their writing skills and learn daily from published authors, teachers and each other. Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Explain to the students and audience that when we read stories, authors bring us into their worlds. The writers in the class will read aloud their stories, bringing all of us into their worlds.

Teach:  restate my teaching point  tell a personal or class story linked to teaching point  think aloud & point out things for students to notice Students will have their published piece with them ready to read when it’s their turn at the place in the room designed for this.

Active Engagement:  involve students by asking them to turn and talk  listen, observe, and coach active involvement  share an example of what you heard or observed

the basket provided for students to access and read. After each student has shared their story with the audience, celebrate by allowing the students to have the refreshments you provided.

Possible Conference Questions:  What important ideas have you learned

about fiction writing that you can use to write in other genres?  What are the strengths of your fiction story?  What areas of the fiction story do you think can be improved?

Every student will have the opportunity to be spotlighted and celebrated for his or her uniqueness and creativity. Each student will read their published piece aloud (in microphone, if needed). Other students and audience members are listening attentively.

Link:  restate the teaching point  explain how the learning can be used in the future Tell students and audience members, “So, today I want you to listen deeply to each other’s words and hear and appreciate other authors’ work. Explain to students and audience members that there are some index cards or sticky notes and pencils on the tables for them to provide the writer with a written response card detailing positive points of their published piece. At the end, they can place the notes in Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories TABLE OF CONTENTS APPENDIX Advice for Developing a Character (Lessons 3 & 4)..................................... A Character’s Snapshot Showing Character’s Desire (Lesson 4).................... D Example of a Well-written Scene (Lesson 4)...................................................E Sample Story Mountain for Luz’s Storyline (Lesson 5) ............................... G Sample Story Mountain for Peter’s Chair (Lesson 5) ...................................H Caleb’s Scene about Spencer (Lesson 6) ...........................................................I The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Scene Style (Lesson 6) ....................................J The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Summary Style (Lesson 6) ........................... K Class Revised Story Lead about Luz (Lesson 7).............................................L Scene Add-on for the Class Story (Lesson 7)................................................ M The Lead from Fireflies! (Lesson 7)..................................................................N Francesca’s Revisions (Lesson 8) ..................................................................... O Francesca’s Lead (Lesson 8) ..............................................................................P Excerpt from Ruby, the Copy Cat (Lesson 8) ................................................... Q Example of a Partnership’s Air-Writing (Lesson 9)...................................... R Generic Excerpt with Setting (Lesson 9) ......................................................... S Generic Excerpt with No Setting (Lesson 9) ...................................................T Continuation of Luz’s Story with Revisions (Lesson 9)............................... U Luz’s Story Revised with Setting Details (Lesson 9) .................................... V

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

i

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Advice for Developing a Character

Start with whatever you’ve decided matters to you about your character.  Is the character like you or like someone you know?  What is important to the character? Reread everything you have written about that character often and ask yourselves questions.  Do these different things make sense within one person?  Do they fit together in a believable way? Think about the precise meaning of broad words that describe his or her character traits such as sensitive.  What exactly does this word or trait mean for this particular character?  What does the character look and sound like when he or she is showing this trait? Make the character believable and more complex by showing the strengths and weaknesses of his or her character  What are the character’s personal strengths?  What are the character’s flaws?  What do the flaws look and sound like in action? Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix A

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Character Snapshot Showing Character’s Desire Excerpt from My Name is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada

Once she was at school, María Isabel kept thinking about the snow all during math…Suddenly she remembered that she hadn’t finished her multiplication exercises, and hurried to complete her work. María Isabel was so busy trying to finish the page that she didn’t hear the teacher call out, in an irritated tone of voice, “Mary Lopez!” When at last she realized that the teacher was waiting for an answer from her, Maria Isabel had no idea what the question had been. “Well it looks like Mary doesn’t want to take part in our Winter Pageant,” the teacher said. “That’s all right. You can help Tony and Jonathon greet the parents at the door and show them where they can put the food and hang up their coats.” The Winter Pageant…Maria Isabel couldn’t think about anything else on the ride home from school….”I would have loved to be a shepherd. I could have used Mama’s straw basket, and it would have been so wonderful…” María Isabel turned toward the window of the school bus so that no one would see her wiping a tear.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix B

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Example of a Well-written Scene Note to Teacher: This is a sample story written about the character Luz, who is described throughout the lessons. Create and share your own fiction story on chart paper.

I stared through the darkness to where my lamp usually shone brightly. “I’ve got to practice,” I said to myself. I turned over onto my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut. But even through my closed eyes, I could tell that the comforting glow from my bedside lamp was gone. Climbing out of bed, I opened the door to my closet and pulled the light string on. Slowly, I closed the door part way, careful to leave a crack of light shining into the bedroom!

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix C

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Sample Story Mountain for Luz’s Storyline

Luz worries about her fear of the dark coming out in public.

Luz’s friends don’t like her games.

Luz looks at a calendar and starts writing lots of birthday invitations.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Luz’s plan to leave the closet light on fails.

Luz has to choose to face her fear of the dark OR her fear of being embarrassed.

Resolution

Appendix D

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Story Mountain for Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

Peter wants his family to stay the way it is.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

New baby sister arrives.

Peter doesn’t get attention for his building.

Peter’s parents repaint his cradle!

Appendix E

Peter runs away with his chair before it also gets repainted!

Peter doesn’t fit in the chair.

Peter’s mom invites him for lunch. Peter and his dad paint the chair pink together.

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Caleb’s Scene about Spencer Use with Lesson 6

Spencer peeked out from behind the science portable and looked both ways. Good. No one in sight. He sat back against the wall of the portable and pulled his football jersey out of his backpack. He opened the jersey and there, hidden safely and soundly, was a piece of heaven: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Note to Teacher: Praise the children as you “elicit” these responses from them to write the above scene on chart paper. Say things like “You’ve got it!” or “I can picture what you are saying to me like this was a movie in my mind!” or “Can’t you just see Spencer peeking around to see if any of those tough guys are spying on him?”

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix F

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Scene Style Use with Lesson 6

(Teacher uses emotion and air writes this story)

That’s the greenest green grass I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Third Goat. “Can we go over to that hill to eat some, pleeeeese?” “Yeah, we’re hungry!” said Second Goat. So First Goat placed one foot gingerly onto the little wooden bridge that would carry them over the rushing river to a delightful afternoon snack. The bridge felt good and sturdy. “Nothing’s stopping us! Follow me!” And First Goat stepped out onto the bridge toward the grassy hillside. “No No NO!” boomed a voice. “Who dares to cross my bridge?” Suddenly, First Goat felt the hot breath of a troll on his muzzle!

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix G

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Summary Style Use with Lesson 6

(Teacher simply rushes to tell it in a boring manner)

It’s a story about three goats who are trying to cross a bridge to go eat some grass on the other side, and there’s this troll who wants to eat them. So as he goes across, each goat tricks him by promising he can eat the next goat that is even bigger. The troll is greedy so he waits for the next one, but the biggest goat knocks him into the water, so they all get across safely. The end.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix H

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Class Revised Story Lead about Luz Use with Lesson 7

(You must read this aloud after saying, “I’m going to pretend to be Luz”) On the day of my slumber party I put everything I would need into a corner of our family room. I propped my sleeping bag up against the corner, and my pillow on top of it. Above the pillow, I laid out my cute new pajamas. Then I added my secret night-light to the pile. I was afraid of the dark and nobody knew it. I checked all my stuff at least three times. I made sure my secret night-light was pushed all the way to the bottom of my pillow case where no one would see it. Then I walked over to the table and rearranged the napkins. Everything on the table was yellow. Yellow wasn’t my favorite color, but a lot of the girls coming to the party wore yellow all the time, so I thought they’d like it. And like me. First Marta came in. Then Joy and Tish walked in together, helping each other carry all their sleeping stuff. I helped carry things to the corner of the room where my mom and I decided we would keep the stuff until it was time to go to sleep. “So what are we going to do first?” Joy asked. I looked around at all my friends. I was so excited that my party was finally happening that I almost forgot the games I had planned.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix I

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Scene Add-on for the Class Story Use with Lesson 7

(As you write this out onto the chart, voice it out so students hear you) “What do you wanna do?” I asked, waving with feigned carelessness to the stack of games on the table. They’re all old,” I said, hoping I’d taken the price tags and cellophane off each of them. “TWISTER?” Tish said, her voice incredulous. “My mom played that when she was a kid. That’s such a stupid game.” I felt the blood rise to my cheeks. “I know,” I said. “I don’t know why we even have it.”

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix J

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

The Lead from Fireflies! by Julie Brinckloe

Use with Lesson 8 On a summer evening I looked up from dinner, through the open window to the backyard. It was growing dark. My treehouse was a black shape in the tree and I wouldn’t go up there now. But something flickered there, a moment— I looked, and it was gone. It flickered again, over near the fence. Fireflies! “Don’t let your dinner get cold,” said Momma. I forked the meat and corn and potatoes into my mouth. “Please may I go out? The fireflies—“ Momma smiled and Daddy nodded. “Go ahead,” they said.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix K

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Francesca’s Revisions Use with Lesson 8

First Revision As Griffen Tomson was walking down the aisle of pets at Sam’s Pet Shop, he was looking at a cage of baby squirming hamsters. Then he remembered the time he got his pet mice and how they got squashed by the chair. “Come on” said his dad. “Can I get a pet?” Griffen said. “No” said Griffen’s dad. “If you show me that you are responsible,” said his dad.

Second Revision The smell in the air of the pets’ fur rubbing against the cage. The smell of the dogs breath panting. Griffen could hear the hamsters squeaking as they ran. He could hear the running water in the fish tank. It felt like all of the animals were his pets. He could hear the cat’s purring and he could hear the turtles walk. It smelled like dog and cat fur. He could hear the birds squawking and making loud noises. He could see the little turtles rest under their mom. He saw one little turtle all alone under its shell. He saw it go under a big rock like a cave. He wanted to take the little turtle home!

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix L

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Francesca’s Lead Use with Lesson 8

“Dad,” Griffen said. “Can I get a pet?” “Well, a pet is a lot of responsibility,” Dad said. “Please,” Griffen said. “If I see that you are responsible enough you can get a pet,” said Griffen’s dad. The next day, Griffen told Timmy. He was amazed. “I bet we can show that we are responsible enough,” Timmy said.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix M

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Excerpt from Ruby, the Copy Cat Use with Lesson 8

(You read aloud to class.)

Monday was Ruby’s first day in Miss Hart’s class. “Class, this is Ruby,” announced Miss Hart. “Ruby, you may use the empty desk behind Angela. Angela is the girl with the pretty red bow in her hair.” Angela smiled at Ruby. seat.

Ruby smiled at Angela’s bow and tiptoed to her

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix N

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Example of a Partnership’s Air-Writing Use with Lesson 9

(Copied by teacher onto chart paper.) Beccah got her sleeping bag and found an empty spot of rug behind the sofa. She unrolled her sleeping bag. Then Beccah said, “Here’s my place.” I grabbed my stuff, and sat on the floor beside Beccah. “I’ll be right here,” I said. “We can talk.” But as I said that I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep there. I couldn’t see the closet where the light was on, so I knew I had to move. I tried to talk Beccah into it. I said, “Let’s move closer to the closet.” Lying down, Beccah said, “No, this is nice.” I wasn’t sure. I looked over to a nice spot right beside the closet, and was about to try again to get Beccah to move closer to the closet. Then three other girls came. “Can we fit?” they asked. “I’ll move over,” I said. Then I picked up my stuff and went over to the empty place.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix O

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Generic Excerpt with Setting Use with Lesson 9

(Teacher reads aloud with emphasis on the revisions.) “Are you mad at me?” I asked as we walked down the sidewalk together. “No. Are you mad at me?” Zoe responded. A car whizzed passed us, kicking up water from the rain-filled gutters as it went. I thought about what Zoe was asking, and shifted the umbrella so that it protected her as well as me. With my other hand, I tugged on my back pack straps. My bag was heavy from all the homework our teacher had given us. I took a deep breath. “No. I don’t think so,” I said. She smiled at me from beneath her yellow rain hood. “Good. Then let’s race!” She took off ahead of me, splashing through every puddle on the sidewalk. The rain streamed down on her. I pulled in my umbrella, and took off after her. I caught up with her, and then loped easily in her wake.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix P

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Generic Excerpt with No Setting Use with Lesson 9

(Read aloud in a monotone manner.) I didn’t know what to do. I looked at her. “Hey, are you mad at me?” I asked. “No. Are you mad at me?” she asked. I took a deep breath. “No. I don’t think so,” I said. “Great, then let’s race,” she said.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix Q

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Continuation of Luz’s Story with Revisions Use with Lesson 18

(This is purposefully written poorly so kids can revise it.) “Here’s my place,” said Beccah. “I’ll be near,” I said. “We can talk. But let’s move closer to the closet.” “No, this is nice.” “Well…” “Can we fit in,” three others said. “I’ll move over,” I answered.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix R

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study

Luz’s Story Revised with Setting Details Use with Lesson 9

(Read aloud with emotion.) “Cake!” my mom called from the kitchen. All of us raced to the table which my mom had decorated entirely in yellow. “Everything looks so cool,” Marta said as she reached for a thick slice of the yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I couldn’t help grinning. I had been right to choose yellow. It was a cool color. Since I didn’t really have a favorite color it didn’t really matter anyway. I had barely swallowed the last bit of my cake when the other girls started to jump out of their sets to toss their party plates in the trash. “Let’s go, first one there gets dibs on spots,” Trish called out as she ran.

Cy-Fair ISD Curriculum Department DRAFT – June 2011

Appendix S

Spinning Spellbinding Fiction Stories Writing Workshop Unit of Study