Improving Word Choice in Writing

This is an activity I created to help my students focus on improving Word Choice in their writing.  I tried to look for words that students use often in their writing like good, little, fun, and so on.  This activity focuses on  helping students find dazzling words to replace them.  Click here to download this sample activity.  Be sure to check out the full version as well which also includes verbs and adverbs.  

Happy Writing!!

Writing Wednesdays! Adding details to sentences

I was teaching my students yesterday about adding details to their sentences.  I introduced to them triangle sentences.  Start with a noun.  Then add a strong verb.  Then add an adjective, an adverb, and a prepositional phrase.  My students asked me if I would make a foldable for them to help them remember what to add to their sentences.  One of my students suggested that I come up with pictures to help them remember.  So.....I decided to use colored stars of different sizes to remind them to use adjectives.  I then used a heart with muscles to remind them to use strong verbs.  To remind them to use adverbs I used a turtle and a rabbit.  I explained that turtles run the race slowly and rabbits run the race quickly.  Last but not least, I used a table to remind them to use prepositional phrases.  You can be on the table, off the table, go around the table, etc.  I hope you enjoy this freebie.  Let me know what you think.  Click here.

Writing Wednesdays: Main Idea and Supporting Details

So as I am trying to prepare my students for the WV Writing assessment, I keep taking them back to organization.  It is my personal opinion that organization is the most important part of the process for elementary students.  (Again, my opinion.)  I created an organizer for my students to use as they practice that helps them keep their ideas organized and focused.  I made the organizer from years and years of trial and error.  It is a mix of several different writing methods I've used over the years.  For descriptive and expository writing, I believe students must have 3 strong main ideas and strong supporting details. Below you'll find a freebie of my organizer as well as a link to my writing trait checklist freebie.  Now when I say writing traits I am not referring to the 6 + 1 traits for writing.  My state has a rubric that is based off of the 6 + 1 traits for writing but they name them a bit differently. My checklist is based on my state's rubric.

Organizer freebie

Checklist freebie

I expect my students to include a beginning, middle, and an end to their stories.  The beginning should include a hook (a sentence to grab the reader's attention), the topic sentence, and then answer the 5 w's (who, what, when, where, and why).  The beginning should then end with a feeling sentence about the topic.

The middle is for supporting the topic sentence with main ideas and supporting details.  Each main idea should be written into a main idea sentence beginning with a transition word.  Then students need three good supporting details for each main idea.  If students are having trouble with their supporting details, encourage them to think about the 5 w's again.  They make great supporting details.  I then teach the students to give examples of each supporting details.  (I learned this from Four Square Writing.)  After students give an example of the detail, they can then elaborate on the example.  Judy Gould does a great job of explaining this and giving examples of how this works in her book Writing Workouts that Work.

Since students are writing three main ideas, the middle of their stories becomes three distinct paragraphs.

The final paragraph of course begins with a transition word and then restating the topic sentence.  I then have my students either state the main ideas again or give an interesting idea about the topic.  The ending should then leave the reader thinking.  In my Super Writing Pack I put together, I made a poster of different types of endings students could use in their writing.  Visit my TpT store or my Teacher's Notebook store to see more of my Super Writing Pack.  

Writing Assessment Checklist Freebie

When school gets back into session, I will be kicking it into high gear to prepare my students for the WV Writing Assessment as part of the Westest 2.  I prepared this checklist for my students to use as they write.  This checklist will help my students get used to the rubric that will be available to them as they take the assessment.  I am in the process of compiling all of my writing resources into one giant writing mega pack.  This will also include the narrative resources I am currently working on as well as some writing bellringers.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the checklists.  I love hearing from you!
Click here or on the picture to grab your freebie!

Halloween Descriptive Writing Monster Activity

Every year I start teaching descriptive writing with the describe a monster project.  I've seen it around in other venues but I first heard about this idea from a co-worker.  We instruct the children to draw a monster, any monster they want.  I encourage them to add details and use colors.  Other than that, I do not give them any other instructions.  I do tell them to keep their drawings top secret.  I then have the students describe their monsters.  No matter how much I want to instruct them on being descriptive, I hold my tongue.  I just tell them to describe it using complete sentences.  I then collect the monster pictures and then the descriptions.  In the next lesson, I pass out the descriptions randomly just making sure that no one gets their own.  The students then have to draw the monster using only the description.  I tell them that if the description doesn't say it, don't draw it or make it up.  On the third lesson, we begin comparing the original drawing to the second one.  It is such an eye opener to the students.  We discuss ideas that would have made a better picture in the mind of the reader.  I use words like vertical and horizontal when describing stripes and color and shape words.  This year I added a twist to this project.  I let the students get together with the person who read their description.  I had the drawer explain to the writer what he/she would have liked to know in order to draw the picture better.  I then had the writer revise their writing based on the recommendations.  My plan was to then have another class read the descriptions and see if the new pictures were closer to the original.  It didn't work out this time.  I will repeat this lesson though every month.  Hopefully I can add the last piece in eventually.  Here are some pictures of my students' work: The original is on the left followed by the original writing then the second drawing and the revision.

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Writing Anchor Charts

I added a new product to my Teacher's Notebook Store and my TpT store.  Let me know what you think of it.  I truly value your opinions!  Thanks in advance!

Writing Process

A great book to use in your writing curriculum is Razzle, Dazzle Writing by Melissa Forney.  Her book has great process lessons as well as lessons that complement the 6+1 traits of writing.  My school bought one for each teacher last year.  We used the lessons and reproducible pages throughout our curriculum.  It is definitely a book worth checking out.  Here is a link to the book.

Razzle Dazzle is more for 2nd and above.  She also has a Primary Book. 

We also made posters to go with our writing assessment rubric that really helped the kids when assessing their own writing.  My posters are not very beautiful but they served the purpose.  Here is a picture of what mine looked like.  

 These also hang in my room below a sign I bought at the dollar store that says the Writing Process. You can download these from Teachers Notebook. Click here: 

Writing Process

One of my favorite subjects to teach is writing! Am I crazy? Maybe.  I can't help it though.  It is just so much fun to watch kids blossom from the first day of school to the last day.  This past year was an especially fun year teaching writing.  The third and fourth grade teachers that I had the pleasure of working with this year pulled all of our resources, ideas, and creativity together to create an exciting writing environment.  I truly believe our students enjoyed the process and worked to become authors.  I have no doubt they will become life-long lovers of writing.  One of the tools I use in my classroom is a child-friendly description of the writing process.  Below are pictures of what I have up in my room right now.  Since I am going with a western theme this year, I created a new set which also has a picture below.  I really like the new set!  Click on the pictures of the new set to go to Teachers Notebook.