Small moment stories take place over What makes a small moment? short times. How do we write small moments? Writers write the beginnings, middles and How do authors bring characters to life? ends of small moment stories. Writers bring characters to life by including thoughts, feelings, actions and dialogue. Nonfiction Chapter Books (Information) Overview: Students write “teaching books” about familiar topics, using pictures, charts, and topic-specific vocabulary. Key Understandings: Essential Questions: Information writers use a teaching tone. How do writers teach readers? Writers answer readers’ questions. Information can be taught in different ways. Information writers use pictures, charts and text features to help teach readers. Writing Reviews (Opinion) Overview: Students create persuasive reviews of all sorts – reviews of items in their own collections, restaurant reviews, TV show reviews, ice cream flavor reviews, and finally book reviews that hook the reader, clearly express the writers’ opinions, and support their arguments in convincing ways. Key Understandings: Essential Questions: People have opinions about the world: Why do people write reviews? they sort, rank, categorize, explain, How can writers persuade others to convince, persuade, argue, give in, change, share their opinions? and are changed. Writing is way to make and defend important decisions. From Scenes to Series: Writing Fiction (Narrative) Overview: students learn to “show, not tell” and use action, dialogue, and feelings to create a whole series of fiction books modeled after the book, Henry and Mudge. Key Understandings: Essential Questions: Fiction writers use their pretending skills How do writers begin to write realistic to invent characters and small moment fiction? adventures. How do writers make their realistic Fictional characters can continue their fiction more powerful? adventures in series of books. Realistic fiction writers study other writers to make their writing more powerful.
Small moment stories take place over short times. Writers write the beginnings, middles and ends of small moment stories. Writers bring characters to life by including thoughts, feelings, actions and dialogue. What makes a small moment? How do we write small moments? How do authors bring characters to life? Nonfiction Chapter Books (Information) Overview: Students write “teaching books” about familiar topics, using pictures, charts, and topic-specific vocabulary. Key Understandings: Essential Questions: Information writers use a teaching tone. Writers answer readers’ questions. Information can be taught in different ways. Information writers use pictures, charts and text features to help teach readers. How do writers teach readers? Writing Reviews (Opinion) Overview: Students create persuasive reviews of all sorts – reviews of items in their own collections, restaurant reviews, TV show reviews, ice cream flavor reviews, and finally book reviews that hook the reader, clearly express the writers’ opinions, and support their arguments in convincing ways. Key Understandings: Essential Questions: People have opinions about the world: they sort, rank, categorize, explain, convince, persuade, argue, give in, change, and are changed. Writing is way to make and defend important decisions. Why do people write reviews? How can writers persuade others to share their opinions? From Scenes to Series: Writing Fiction (Narrative) Overview: students learn to “show, not tell” and use action, dialogue, and feelings to create a whole series of fiction books modeled after the book, Henry and Mudge. Key Understandings: Essential Questions: Fiction writers use their pretending skills to invent characters and small moment adventures. Fictional characters can continue their adventures in series of books. Realistic fiction writers study other writers to make their writing more powerful. How do writers begin to write realistic fiction? How do writers make their realistic fiction more powerful?