Lucy Calkins writes,“Success in writing, like success in reading or tennis or swimming, directly relates to the amount of time a person spends doing that thing. This means that day after day, children need to write. They need to write for long stretches or time–for something like thirty or forty minutes of each day’s writing workshop. And it means that volume and stamina matter.” In schools today writing instruction is a lot of times overshadowed by reading instruction, when realistically, they should be taught hand in hand because they are a complimentary unit. Reading is a great place to start when implementing writing instruction as well, especially books that students have been introduced to multiple times and are comfortable with. Some of these can turn into “mentor texts”. Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Capelli define mentor texts as, “pieces of literature that we can return to again and again as we help our young writers learn how to do what they may not yet be able to do on their own…is a book that offers myriad possibilities for our students and for ourselves as writers.” One other crucial aspect of this statement is when they discuss ourselves, being the teachers, as continuous learners of writing. When we choose to write and share alongside our students, we will create a writing community that revolves around mutual respect and communication.

Dorfman and Capelli also point out that mentor texts are such a powerful tool for teachers and students that they help us prioritize writing as a joyful experience where we can express the stories and thoughts inside our minds. We can use the literary strategies and devices found in mentor texts to enhance our own writing and model this to our students. Using the gradual release of responsibility model, such as those implemented in the “Your Turn” lessons, we slowly allow more independence in the writing process through stages. The “Your Turn” lessons modeled in this instructional plan were adapted from the lessons found in Dorfman and Capelli’s textbook Mentor Texts. In the initial stage, the teacher hooks the students by capturing their attention and introducing a theme or idea. Next, the explanation for the strategy comes in the purpose section that allows the teacher to help the students understand why they are learning certain writing strategies. The brainstorming stage is where students and teachers work together to come up with ideas for writing topics through individual and shared work. Students can have peer conferences and do gallery walks to find inspiration. After ideas have been collected, the teacher will model the specific strategy that they outlined from the mentor text presented in the hook and purpose. The teacher will use a think-aloud strategy where they orally present every decision that they make so that students understand the writing process. Next, the shared/guided writing stage allows students to complete more shared work with partners or in small groups to practice the modeled strategy before they try it independently in the next stage. Finally, the teacher will have reflection questions prepared for students to express how they felt while completing the writing strategy. This gradual release of responsibility model allows the teacher to scaffold students appropriately until they have the ability to work independently. Even then, students will be able to continue practicing a variety of strategies learned from mentor texts and authors.

Students need a personal place to keep all writing samples and the inspirations that are collected. This is where the idea of a writer’s notebook comes in. “A writer’s notebook creates a place for students (and writers) to save their words-in the form of a memory, a reflection, a list, a rambling of thoughts, a sketch, or even a scrap of print taped on the page. A notebook can become whatever the writer makes it to be. As teachers, we can guide its use, present strategies, and even mandate entries if we wish. If the notebook is to be a useful tool, it must be useful to the writer first, and the reader (teacher) second. Because in the long run, the creation of each notebook, each time, is in the hands of the writer,” according to the article Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer’s Notebook written by A. Buckner. The writer’s notebook is such an imperative part of the writing instructional process because this is where all of the students will keep their work to continue to refer back to as well as continue revising in the future. Teachers should also keep a writer’s notebook in order to model the process for students and be a part of the writing community in the classroom. This notebook will hopefully turn into a personal artifact that students will continue to use outside of the classroom and look forward to writing down ideas and thoughts. It should contain images, drawings, maps, written words, poetry, family trees, etc. This notebook will allow students to explore writing outside of the typical “paragraph writing” format.

 

2.     Features of the Unit [bullet points; lists]

• _____ Names of group members (if applicable)

  • Jessica Krpejs
  • Callie Long
  • Kaitlin Woodworth

• _____ Identify the population with whom you will be working: grade level and any additional information.

  • 4th/5th Grade Inclusion Class

• _____ Identify the participation structure: whole group; small groups; individual; inclusion, self-contained, etc.

  • Whole group, Inclusion

• • Identify:

    • _____ Specific goals/objectives for the unit [“Students will…”]

    • Students will be able to see themselves as writers
    • Students will be able to use their own experiences to develop narrative writing
    • Students will be able to understand and utilize the writing process

    • _____ NC ELA Standards

    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
    • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
    • With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
    • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.10
    • Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
    • Common Core Standards for Writing are the same for grades 4 and 5

  • _____ Identify texts/literary models/mentor texts you will be using (10+ texts required; not all will be cited as part of a specific lesson; this is a resource list for teachers).

    • Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

    • Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts

 

• Hope by Isabell Monk

• I Hear a Pickle: And Smell, See, Touch, and Taste It, Too! By Rachel Isadora

 

• • • Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena

 

• My Name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammad

• My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

 

• • • The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

 

• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

 

• • Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

  • Shortcut by Donald Crews

  • Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

  • The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli

  • The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

 

3.     Your Writer’s Notebook Invitation and Plan for Introducing Notebook

Hook:

Start by reading Hope by Isabell Monk and discuss how the main character learns about her name’s heritage from her great-aunt. Then, have students complete a gallery walk around the classroom to look at other mentor texts about names such as: Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, My Name is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammad, My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits, The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi. Have students share about other characters names from the books they read during the gallery walk.

 

Shared Writing:

 

After students return to their individual writing spaces, ask students to discuss in pairs their own names and the stories attached to them. Once students have done this, then the teacher will model their own “think-aloud” about their name. As they are sharing, they will model the ability to recognize that their personal experience could make a good written story. The teacher will then model the writing process in front of the class as they create a flash draft.

 

Independent Writing:

 

Have students create their own flash drafts about their names based off the conversations they had with partners. Students may refer back to mentor texts during this time.

 

Share:

 

Students should turn and share their story with a partner or small group.

 

Reflection:

 

Are there any other stories about your name that you would like to share?

 

Did listening to your peers’ stories spark any new ideas for you to write about?

 

Is there anything else about yourself that you think could turn into a good written story?

 

• _____ B. Create hypothetical script where you explain clearly and simply (in child-friendly language) what a writer’s notebook is, how it’s different from other notebooks, why you want students to engage in this type of writing, etc. [no more than one page single spaced]

 

Do you guys ever feel like you have so many things and ideas going around in your head that you that you feel like you need a place to keep them? Well I feel that way too! Whenever my head gets too full, I empty my thoughts into this notebook (Hold up personal writer’s notebook). This is my writer’s notebook. Has anyone ever seen a writer’s notebook before?

 

A writer’s notebook is different from any other kind of notebook. I don’t use this to take notes to study for a test. I don’t use this to turn in for a grade. What do you think I might use this for?

 

In my writer’s notebook I keep ideas, dreams, drawings, and quotes that all inspire stories I might want to tell. This is the place where I can make mistakes while writing. In my writer’s notebook not everything is perfect. I can try new things like using strategies to improve my writing. This is where single ideas can develop into whole stories. This is where I can work on my stories until I am ready to share them.

 

This year you are invited to use a writer’s notebook to grow as a writer and to help each other grow as a community of writers together. We will write stories about ourselves, our families, our friends, things that we enjoy, and things that we don’t. We will try new strategies to revise and improve our writing. We will share our writing with one another throughout its stages. We will learn from other writers and use it in our own writing. Our writer’s notebooks will help us explore the stories we want to tell.

 

4.    Creating “Your Turn” Narrative Lessons [use structure of “My Turn” lessons from Mentor Texts]
5. Your Turn Lesson: Heart Map
   

Hook:

Read The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli or any book that focuses on telling stories unique to ourselves and our own experiences. Students can identify many different emotions to discuss, as well as writing ideas throughout the story such as family, friends, school, and more.

 

Purpose:

Sometimes it can be really hard to decide what to write about. All writers struggle with this. It’s important to remember that writing comes from what is in our minds and, more importantly, what is in our hearts. Today we are going to learn how to make a heart map. Heart Maps are a great way for us to remember what is in our minds and what is in our hearts. This will help us decide what to write about. It will also help remind us that we always have something to write about.

 

Brainstorm:

Think aloud about things that are constantly in your mind and in your heart. Make sure to demonstrate that these are big ideas and not small moments that represent a single event. Allow students to share some things they might add to their heart maps.

 

Model:

Share your own heart map. Show students how you started with a template and added things one by one. Discuss with students how they can add words and pictures to their heart map to represent their ideas. Choose one idea from your heart map and share a story that might come from it. Write a flash draft on the board.

 

Shared/Guided Writing:

Ask a couple students to share their ideas. If students mention single moment stories, try to guide them to look at the bigger picture. These questions can help guide student thinking:

 

What are some things you really like to do?

Who are the important people in your life?

Where are your favorite places?

How do you spend your free time?

Do you have any pets?

 

Have students share some potential ideas with a partner or group, and encourage students to ask questions to help their partner or group come up with ideas.

 

Independent Writing:

Give students time to create their own heart maps. Provide students with a template, as well as other needed materials (colored pencils, markers, crayons, etc.). After students complete their heart maps ask them to think of a story that can go with one thing on their heart map. Have them share their story idea with a partner or group. Then have students write a flash draft in their notebooks.

 

Reflection:

After sharing, ask students how their heart map can help them think of something to write about. These questions can help guide student thinking:

 

Did listening to others share stories help give your ideas for yours?

 

What will you write about next?

 

How can heart maps help you find something to write about?

 

2. Your Turn Lesson: Good Luck Message

 

Hook:

Read the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein or any book you deem appropriate to demonstrate giving to others or about encouragement. Engage in a conversation with students about how encouraging others makes a positive impact on their lives as well as yours. Students can talk about sacrifices that you might make for friends and family.

 

Purpose:

Writers, sometimes we have trouble figuring out what to write about. Shel Silverstein’s book shows us a true friendship with bittersweet emotions. Think about the friendships and other relationships in your life with other people like family and friends. You could probably write a lot about them, right? Well sometimes when we have close friendships, we rely on other people for advice and support just like they rely on us. This can be a place for us to brainstorm writing topics.

 

Brainstorm:

Read and display Amy Krause Rosenthals piece in her book, Textbook about good luck messages:

“My favorite Craigslist experience started with a single posting: I’ll wish you luck in exchange for you wishing me luck. The offer was sincere, not one bit silly or coy, but I wasn’t sure how it would come across, how people would interpret it. But they totally got it. People emailed back asking for me to wish them luck on their divorce, luck with their new boss, luck finding a new job, luck finding an apartment. I asked them to please wish me luck with my children, and with my latest book. I had several meaningful and sweet email exchanges. Some time later – and you’d really have to be digging backward to have found my initial posting – I received what turned out to be the final email. I don’t know if you still need it, but I wanted to wish you the best of luck. You can do it. He asked for nothing in return.

 

Text a short good luck message for yourself or someone else. Every January 1st, all messages will be gathered, placed inside a bottle, and tossed out to sea. First, text Bottle.”

 

Talk about how you can write good luck messages to yourself, a family member, a friend, or just give advice. Have students think about times where they were given advice or someone supported them when they needed it.

 

Model:

Model how you would write down pieces of advice that you have been given or advice that you have given others as well as when you have given yourself or someone else good luck. You can also ask yourself questions such as:

When have I needed someone to give me good luck or advice?

Did I use this advice? How did it work out for me?

When have I ever given someone advice or wished them luck?

What made me say those words to them?

Give an example about one situation to model to students how you would begin to think of a story related to the topic.

 

Shared/Guided Writing:

Have students write down their own experiences and ideas on pieces of paper. They will be anonymous incidents where they have given advice or words of good luck. Or when they were given advice or given luck by someone else. They can also choose to write down something that they are currently struggling with since it is anonymous. All artifacts will be collected and mixed up and then laid out on desks around the room. Students will take a gallery walk and collect ideas and inspiration from other people’s words. They can write them down in their writer’s notebooks. Once they have had the opportunity to explore, they will go back to their writer’s space and talk with a partner about some of the ideas of topics they have.

 

Independent Writing:

Students will ask themselves questions and choose a topic based on their conferences with peers and with themselves. They will then write a flash draft of three separate ideas they might be able to write about in depth at a later point.

 

Reflection:

Did you gather ideas from other people’s advice or wishes of good luck?

Did you give someone else advice one time that you are able to connect to a story?

Were you able to feel the emotions that you felt when you were writing?

How can giving advice or support help us become better writers?

How can accepting other people’s advice or good luck help us tell our stories?

 

3. Your Turn Lesson: Using Dialogue to Build Content

 

Hook:

Read Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts aloud for students. Following the read aloud, return to the text, highlight several examples where dialogue is used effectively to build the story’s content. You might choose to point out the way that Boelts uses minimal dialogue in certain places to emphasize important events that move the plot along. You could also choose to rewrite sections of the book without dialogue so that students can compare the versions and begin to develop an understanding of the ways in which writers use dialogue to build content. Point out to students the way that dialogue can be used to recount events, reveal a character’s thoughts and feelings, ask a question, and more! Most importantly, you want students to realize that dialogue is almost never used as a filler; instead, writers use it to serve a specific purpose.

 

Purpose:

Writers, when you are writing a story and considering elements to include, you might choose to consider dialogue and where it could help to make your story more interesting for readers. Today, I am going to show you how to do that and challenge you to give this strategy a try in your own writing.

 

Brainstorm:

Begin your brainstorming session by working with your students to think about scenes and events that you all know of where dialogue would naturally occur. If students need additional support with this task, you can put them in small groups with some mentor texts, that use dialogue effectively, and ask them to use these resources to brainstorm possible events. Here are some possible examples that you all might think of together: cooking with mom, saying hello to a friend, sitting in the lunchroom, or playing in a ballgame.

 

Model:

Choose one of the examples from the brainstormed list and compose a written piece in front of the class. During your first draft of writing, don’t include any dialogue. Following this draft, go back and revise the piece, making sure to add dialogue in several places to show students the difference between the two pieces of writing. Here are my examples:

 

Example #1:

I step up to the plate and put the bat on my shoulder. The pitcher narrows his eyes under his ball cap. I take a deep breath as he starts his wind-up. The ball cuts through the air. I close my eyes and swing. Ting! I open my eyes to see the ball flying through the air. I take off running for first base as fast as my legs will carry me.

 

Example #2:

I step up to the plate and put the bat on my shoulder.

“Keep your eye on the ball,” calls my coach from his position on the box on the third base line.

“I’m not really so sure about that…” I think to myself. The pitcher narrows his eyes under his ball cap. I take a deep breath as he starts his wind-up. The ball cuts through the air. I close my eyes and swing.Ting!

“RUN! RUN!” come the cheers from my parents in the stands. I open my eyes to see the ball flying through the air. I take off running for first base as fast as my legs will carry me.

“I did it!” I tell myself as I tap the bag with my cleat and turn the corner for second. “I really did it.”

 

Shared/Guided Writing:

Return to the list that you all brainstormed together, choose a different scene, and compose a shared experience as a whole group. If you find that students need more practice, allow them to work with a writing partner to create another scene that uses dialogue effectively.

 

Independent Writing:

Ask students to return to a piece of writing in their writer’s notebooks and try to add dialogue in one or several places throughout their writing where dialogue would seem to naturally fit. An alternative to this revision strategy would be for students to use a photograph, a book illustration, or a found image to imagine a conversation between two characters.

 

Reflection:

Ask students to think about how they might use dialogue, or how they tried using dialogue, in their narratives with the following questions:

Why would an author choose to use dialogue?

 

How did adding dialogue to your writing change your piece?

 

Could you use dialogue in a piece of information writing? In a poem? In an opinion piece?

 

4. Your Turn Lesson: Developing A Narrative through Sensory Details

 

Hook:

Read aloud Rachel Isadora’s book I Hear a Pickle: (and Smell, See, Touch, and Taste It, Too!) which shares all sorts of sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and feelings. Next I would take students on a walk around the school and ask them to write down all of the details they notice for their five senses on our walk in their writer’s notebook. When we get back to the classroom I would have students work in small groups to come up with lists for each sense and some details that they wrote down.

 

Purpose:

Writing with our senses allows us to portray the moment as if the reader were there in the moment with the author. Today I will show you how to add details through our senses as we write. By recording all descriptions of the moment, we can transport ourselves and the readers back in time.

 

Brainstorm:

Ask students to refer back to their notebooks and find three ideas that they might want to develop into personal narrative stories. Once they have put sticky notes on their three possibilities, tell students to partner up within the writing community and share their three with the other writer. Students can help each other figure out which story they would like to expand upon.

 

Model:

Share your three ideas that you chose as possible narrative ideas and model your thought process and why you chose the topic that you did.

 

Writers, today I would like to share how I developed an idea into more details in order to describe to my readers the exact experience that I had. I picked out three possible stories to expand upon which were: (a) When I went to my younger brother’s play, (b) the soccer game when I got a bad concussion, and (c) when my friend got really hurt and had to get staples in his head. After conferencing with a peer, she wanted to know more about how my friend got hurt and she wondered if he was alright. I also felt as though I could thoroughly describe the situation because it was the most recent and I remembered it vividly.

 

Ask students what questions they have about the incident and record your answers and details on a chart that separates the senses into their own categories.

 

Shared/Guided Writing:

Ask students to make their own senses chart and list some details under each for their small moment. Have a pair of students model a conference where one student writes their chart on the board and explains the moment. The partner will listen respectfully and then have the chance to respond and ask more expanding questions that they have. The other students in the class might have questions as well. Then the student will add more details to their chart on the board and have more to help describe the moment in depth. Then the rest of the class will partner up and have their own writing conferences. An alternative would be to have students lay out their writer’s notebooks to the page with their senses chart and have a gallery walk where students can use sticky notes to ask questions or add possible details to their peers journals.

 

Independent Writing:

Students can return to their desks and writer’s notebooks and look over their peers questions or comments. They can then take the time to ask themselves questions and answer them by adding onto the senses chart. This is a time where students are able to put together more writing based on their own personal observations as well as their peers.

 

Reflection:

How does describing all five senses help you develop your writing?

 

Were you able to ask deepening questions to yourself and your peers once you began thinking with all of your senses?

 

How did this strategy work for your writing when creating a detailed small moment narrative?

 

5. Your Turn Lesson: Using Rich Descriptions to Enhance Writing and Engage Readers

Hook:

The teacher should select a mentor text that engages readers through the use of rich, descriptive language. I recommend Matt de la Pena’s Last Stop on Market Street which tells the story of CJ and his nana’s Sunday journeys across town to the last stop on Market Street. First, read the book with children without showing the illustrations. After reading the story, revisit the text and chart places throughout the book where the author uses rich, descriptive language that helps the reader to engage in the story. The teacher might choose to explain that instances when readers feel that they can “see” the story happening may be instances when rich, descriptive language is being used.

Purpose:

Good writers tell us stories in a way that sometimes makes it feel as if we are watching a movie. They accomplish this by using rich, descriptive language to tell us about the events that are occurring. Today we are going to be on the lookout for ways that Matt de la Pena does this effectively in his own writing and search for ways that we can mimic this technique in our own work.

Brainstorm:

Have students brainstorm a list of nouns that they might need to describe in a story from their own writer’s notebook. Then, have them determine a potential verb and adjective that they could use when describing the given noun using the template provided. Some examples inspired by Matt de la Pena’s work have been provided for them as a starting point.

 

Model:

Share an idea from your own writing that you want to expand on by adding rich details. Model using the chart to create a rich description for your students.

 

Writers, today I want to tell you about the time that I learned how to dive into the pool. I was really nervous, so my heart was beating pretty quickly in my chest. In order to make this description more engaging and richer for my readers, I am going to organize my ideas in the “Using Rich Descriptions” chart before writing it as part of my story.

Include students in your thinking “out loud” process by asking them to brainstorm a verb (beat or thump) and an adjective (hard, fast, strong, etc.) to add to your chart. Then, combine the words together to effectively create a rich, descriptive phrase.

Writers, you helped me decide that my heart was thumping in my chest in a way that was both hard and fast. When I combined all of those details, I came up with the following rich description for my story: My heart thumped hard and fast, in my chest, as I looked down at the water.

Shared/Guided Writing:

Together with your students, brainstorm a list of nouns that you all might use as a class to describe a food fight that breaks out in the school cafeteria. A potential list could include: spaghetti, pizza, milk, students, teachers, tables, floor, etc. Then, have students help you to complete the rest of the “Using Rich Descriptions” chart (verbs, adjectives, and potential phrases). When finished, the chart could look something like this:

 

Model organizing and ordering these thoughts for students to produce the following piece of writing:

Yesterday, a food fight broke out in the school cafeteria at lunch. I don’t know exactly how it began. Students hurled fresh food from their trays through the air. Warm spaghetti splattered against the wall. Chocolate milk spilled across the lunch room floor. Teachers ran around waving their hands like crazy and motioning for the food fight to stop. It was insane!

Independent Writing: Ask students to return to a previous story in their writer’s notebook and revise the content to create more rich descriptions using specific verbs and adjectives. They might also choose to start a new piece of writing where they try out the “Using Rich Descriptions” strategy to build content.

Reflection:

Ask students to reflect on their use of rich descriptions in their writing with the following questions:

 

How did adding rich details to your story make your writing better?

What kinds of words did you find to be most helpful in adding rich descriptions to your writing? (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)

When do you think is the best time to use this strategy? Do you think this strategy is always appropriate and useful for every part of your story when writing?

 

6. Your Turn Lesson: Interesting Leads

 

Hook:

Read the opening line from one of the following books aloud: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket, Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, or Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. All three of these are excellent examples of a beginning that hooks the reader.

 

“If you are interested in stories with happy ending, you would be better off reading some other book.” – The Bad Beginning

 

“Way out at the end of a tiny little town was an old overgrown garden, and in the garden was an old house, and in the house lived Pippi Longstocking.” – Pippi Longstocking

 

“When I left my office that beautiful spring day, I had no idea what was in store for me.” – Where the Red Fern Grows

 

Purpose:

Some of our best ideas we have while writing are inspired by the writing of others. Today we’re going to practice writing the opening of a story by using another author’s sentence structure. We’re going to practice writing openings that will hook our readers from the very first line.

 

Brainstorm:

Write the first line of your choosing on the board. For this example I’m going to use the first line of Where the Red Fern Grows. Underline three important phrases.

 

When I left my office that beautiful spring day, I had no idea what was in store for me.

 

Ask students to brainstorm phrases that could replace left my office. These could be any actions. Ask students to brainstorm phrases that could replace beautiful spring day. These could describe any day or season. Ask students to brainstorm phrases that could replace what was in store for me. These could be any unexpected events. These lists might include:

 

Got home from school	Grey and rainy day	Who was waiting for me
Went swimming	Bright cheerful day	The excitement waiting around the corner
Rolled out of bed	Dreadful winter morning	The shocking thing that would happen next
Opened the door	Dark and chilly evening	What would happen next
Hid under the bushes	Melancholy afternoon	What was hiding from me

 

Model:

Use some of the phrases from the list to create two new sentences. Revise the sentences as needed. Here are two examples:

 

When I rolled out of bed that dreadful winter morning, I had no idea what would happen next.

 

When I opened the door that bright cheerful day, I had no idea the excitement waiting around the corner.

 

Shared/Guided Writing:

Allow students time to try creating some new sentences. It may be best to start by writing a sentence together and then having students break into partners. Ask a few students to share their new sentences.

 

Independent Writing:

Have students pick an entry in their notebooks that is already developed. Have students try revising the opening sentence using the structure from Where the Red Fern Grows. They can insert this structure anywhere in the beginning. It does not necessarily have to be the first sentence. Students could also use a new sentence they created to create a flash draft.

 

Reflection:

After students share revisions have them reflect on this strategy.

 

How did using this structure help you start your story?

 

How did your writing improve by using this strategy?

 

How did your new sentence help hook the reader?

 

When could you use this strategy again?

 

5.     References (bibliography of professional readings and mentor texts in APA style/format).

 

Boelts, M. (2012). Happy like soccer. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

 

Buckner, A. (2005). Notebook know-how: Strategies for the writer’s notebook. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

 

Calkins, L. (2016). A guide to the Common Core writing workshop: Intermediate grades. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

 

Choi, Y. (2001). The name jar. New York, NY: Penguin Random House Company.

 

Crew, D. (1992). Shortcut. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

 

De le Pena, M. (2015). Last stop on Market Street. New York, NY: Penguin Random House Company.

 

Dorfman, L.R. and Cappelli, R. (2017). Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children’s literature, K-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

 

Henkes, K. (1991). Chrysanthemum. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

 

Isadora, R. (2016). I hear a pickle: And smell, see, touch, and taste it, too!. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.

 

Lindgren, A. (1944). Pippi Longstocking. New York, NY: Penguin Random House Company.

 

Monk, I. (1999). Hope. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group.

 

Rawls, W. (1961). Where the red fern grows. Doubleday. New York, NY.

 

Recorvits, H. (2003). My name is Yoon. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. New York, NY.

 

Silverstein, S. (1964). The giving tree. HarperCollins. New York, NY.

 

Snicket, L. (1999). The bad beginning. HarperCollins. New York, NY.

 

Spinelli, E. (2008). The best story. Penguin Random House. New York, NY.

 

Williams, K.L. & Mohammad, K. (2009). My name is Sangoel. Eerdmans Books. Grand Rapids, MI.