Writing

 This unit is designed to encourage children to write about small moments.  Students will write with detail, including showing a character’s small actions, dialogue, and internal thinking.  Students will move with independence through the writing process, choosing an idea, planning their writing by sketching stories across the pages of a booklet, storytelling repeatedly until the story feels just right, and revising to bring more detail and life to their stories.  Ideally, students will write three to four booklets per week, each with the goal of several sentences per page.

Skills we will work on during this unit:

Use events from life to write a small moment story.
Plan writing before starting.
Use pictures to help add words to tell stories.
Spell by stretching out each word and recording the sounds they hear.
Zoom in on a small moment to write with a focus.
Storytell ideas out loud to other writers.
Reread writing to make sure it is clear and makes sense for readers.
Make characters move, speak, think, and feel.
Record action bit-by-bit.
Add details by acting out what happened in their story.
Use known words to spell new words.
Add punctuation marks to help readers read stories.
Study other authors’ craft to learn and try new things in writing.
Fix up and publish favorite pieces.
Reread and use an editing checklist.
Publish including a cover with a title and detailed picture.
Share writing with an audience.