Writing Videos

Here are some videos and teaching ideas about writing.

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749217

Unit of Study: Fiction Writing

This is a link to a great write up about one of Lucy’s units of study:  fiction.  I am always searching for references to Lucy’s units since many of the teachers I work with use the units as a resource. 

http://bestbookihavenotread.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/unit-of-study-fiction-writing-grades-3-5/

Choosing Five Books…

Sarah at amick’s articles is suggesting we choose five books for teaching in our classrooms. If you choose five books and only five what would they be? Why?

link to amicksarticles/

Here is a link to Sarah’s article:
Sarah’s favorite 5 books link

My 5 books…

1. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon link to amazon.Stellaluna

It is a wonderful book about tolerance of friends and accepting each others differences. The baby birds learn to tolerate Stellaluna’s bat behaviors. More importantly, Stellaluna learns to be accepted by the Mama Bird by eating bird food, sleeping at night, and hanging like birds. Friends learn to tolerate behaviors. This book is perfect for teaching accepting each other’s differences. It is perfect for teaching many writing lessons including: lead, dialogue, thoughtshot, snapshot, etc…. I use this book as a mentor text or an anchor text in classrooms. my lesson about Stellaluna Many children love learning about bats and birds. This is a touching story that captures the hearts of teachers and children at many levels. To see the set up of the document see this link. writing specific teaching points craft link for Stellaluna

2. The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant link to amazon The Relatives Came

This is another wonderful anchor book that I use as a mentor text. Students make lots of connections to this book. I use this text to teach lots of writing lessons including: dialogue, Barry Lane strategies, grammar strategies, and more. Sometimes when I am conferring with a student, I will pull out this book, and remind a student of a lesson that we did during a mini-lesson. Sometimes I will help the student connect to how Cynthia Rylant wrote the lead or used a repeating line. I carry around 3-4 mentor texts with me when I teach writing lessons. They are included in this document: anchor text lesson link about The Relatives Came

3. Gooney Bird Greene (series) by Lois Lowry link to amazon Gooney Bird Greene

This book is one of my favorites for teaching personal narrative. Gooney Bird tells stories in each chapter. She keeps reinforcing the concept of beginning, middle, end concept of stories. link my lesson about Gooney Bird Greene

4. Miss Fannie’s Hats by Jan Karon link to amazon Miss Fannie’s Hats

The character, Miss Fannie, wears hats. Each hat holds a wonderful memory.

Miss Fannie’s Hats lesson about writing about memories

5. Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts amazon link to Those Shoes

This book is a new favorite. The other books have been favorites for awhile. I can tell that this book is going to a new long lasting favorite! I wrote up this book as a mentor text and an anchor text for my teachers for this next year.

Mentor Text Suggestions

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present by John Burningham
Smoky Night by Eve Bunting
Something Beautiful by Sharon Wyeth
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox
The Day Gogo Went to Vote by Elaine Sisilu
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills

Mentor Texts Units of Study 3-5 Lucy Calkins

Mentor Texts Units of Study K-2 Lucy Calkins

3-5 MUST HAVE Mentor Texts Units of Study Lucy Calkins Kit

K-2 Lucy Calkins Units of Study MUST HAVE mentor texts

Qualities of Good Narrative Writing

1.Write a little seed story, not a giant watermelon.
2.Zoom in so you can tell the most important part of the story.
3.Include clear, exact details from the movie you have in your mind.
4.Tell the story step-by-step.
5.Use snapshots and thoughtshots.
6.Begin with a strong lead: character, action, setting, dialogue
7.Make a strong ending: important actions, dialogue, images, lessons
8.Relive the event and invent or stretch the truth when necessary.
9.Use vivid verbs and repetition
10.Include lines of dialogue with tags.
11.Elaborate by adding what is missing.
12.Develop the heart of the story.