WRITER'S WORKSHOP

Writers Workshop Lessons:
Writing Sentences/Writing Conventions/Writing Process

"The Friendly Letter"/Persuasive - Classroom Mailbox Open
Sequencing and Story Writing - Narrative

Informative Writing - Create an Expository BooK
How-To Writing - Ice Cream Sundae, S'mores, Pizza

Book Reports - Cereal Box Book Reports

Poetry - Create a Classroom Book of Poetry

Teaching Writing 1st Grade:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-to-Teach-Writing-in-First-Grade-18608

Anchor charts:
http://mrsterhune.blogspot.com/2012/01/anchor-charts.html
CREATE!

Where am I in the writing process?
Classroom Tracking Chart (use clips with names on them with this chart)
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Process-Posters-Freebie-285254


September/October
Writing Sentences
The Writing Process
I don't know what to write about.......

Writing Sentences

This week I am going to focus on What makes a Sentence with my Firsties.  I like to do this with  Who What Where When (and later we can add Why). 

To begin we make a chart like this. (be sure to color code)

The students and I come up with the Who and the What together.  This is a process of talking about Who as anything my story is about.  It does not have to be a person to be a who. When you do the What portion of the chart try to use a variety of tenses for your verb so that your students don't get stuck on just past tense only etc. 

 On Monday  after making the chart pictured above, my students will get a strip of blank paper (or two or three if they are quick workers) and they will go back to their tables and write a Who What sentence.  I will set my timer for just a few minutes.  Students return to the rug with their paper and sit on the perimeter.  Each student shares their Who What sentence.  We all clap and celebrate that we can write a Who What sentence!
  
On Tuesday we pull out our chart and review and then add a Where column. 
After coming up with the where column we go back to our tables to write aWho What Where sentence.  Students will want to give you when statements for where so this is a great way to explain the difference.  Picture it in your mind.  Where is the Who doing their action?

 On Wednesday we review and repeat the same lesson if necessary.  If we are ready we can go on to the Who What Where and When sentence!  The students think this is just AMAZING.

http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.com/2012/09/teaching-writing-idea-and-plans.html

Sentence Activities:

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/sentences.html

Writing Sentence Activities:
Winter Writing Activities:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Sentences-with-Sentence-Frames-460203

Writing Sentences Can be FUN:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Sentences-Free-Lesson-833450

Writing Sentences and Paragraph Graphic Organizers:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Sentences-and-Paragraph-Graphic-Organizers-735143

ASSESSMENT:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Sentences-Quiz-50250

WRITING CONVENTIONS:
Writing Conventions Rubric:
(Conventions Trait Rubric - saved on computer)

CRAZY FOR CONVENTIONS:
(Crazyforconventions - saved on computer)

Writing Conventions Checklist and MiniLessons:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Conventions-Checklist-Mini-Lesson-Ideas-1063532

Capital Letters and Punctuation Practice:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Conventions-594695
(Saved under Conventions-Writing Rally)

Fix it UP!
Writing Conventions and Handwriting Practice:
(Saved on Computer)

The Writing Process:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs0J33i7xdg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY4O-8IKxqc

Create a Writing Process Bookmark:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Process-Bookmark-cut-and-paste-373196

I don't know what to write about.......
Put this in WRITING FOLDER:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-Can-I-Write-About-Organizer-for-Writers-Workshop-861265


LOOK BELOW FOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

January
PERSUASIVE/OPINION
The Classroom Mail Box Delivery System Opens!

Understanding the difference between Opinion and Fact Lesson Plans:
http://www.readworks.org/lessons/grade1/fact-and-opinion

Persuasive Letter Writing Lesson Plans with Oreo Graphic Organizer:

http://blog.wsd.net/ebonnemort/files/2012/04/Persuasive-Writing-Oreo-and-4square-.pdf


Oreo Graphic Organizer:
http://www.d11.org/Instruction/Literacy.LanguageArts/Documents/K-5%20Writing%20Resources/1st%20Grade%20Units%20of%20Study/Unit%206%20Persuasive/OREOopiniongraphicorganizer%5B2%5D.pdf



Friendly Letter Songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdwHvtOmic



ROUGH DRAFT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83uFQyjms50
http://trcabcwww.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/FriendlyLetterTemplate.pdf

FINAL DRAFT:
http://www.printablepaper.net/preview/friendly_letter-no_prompts

LETTER GENERATOR:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/letter_generator/

LESSONS:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/general_content/free_resources/teachers_corner/lesson_plans/firstLastLetter.jsp



A FRIENDLY LETTER FLIP BOOK

Here's a close up of one of the foldables completed.  I absolutely love this project and it becomes a super handy resource that students keep in their writing folders.

They draw themselves and label the parts of the letter and on the inside they write their address, various headings, closings, practice their signature, and write prompts to help them when writing the body of the letter.

Celebration

Our big culminating project for this unit is our Flat Stanley Project.  After reading the book Flat Stanley, students find a friend/relative in a different country, state, or city to send a flat friend to - we discuss how it would be too expensive to travel to visit them, so they create flat replicas of themselves and travel in an envelope just like Stanley!  Students write a letter to this person, address the envelope, and take him/her home to mail!  Then, the friend sends him back with a letter about his/her adventures!  Students get so super excited about waiting on their very own mail to return to school!  You can find these resources here if you're interested.

OREO PARTY WILL CONCLUDE THIS UNIT!


November/ December
Story Writing and Sequencing - Narrative 

Sequencing Lessons:
http://www.readworks.org/lessons/grade1/sequence

Sequencing Activities:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sequencing-1147867

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly Sequencing Activity:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sequencing-Fun-with-The-Old-Lady-Who-Swallowed-Some-Books-330663

Sequencing Game - The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sequencing-with-Pumpkin-Life-Cycle-War-card-game-center-843842

SEQUENCING BOOK REPORT:
Sequencing Book Report
o Read a fairy tale.
o Complete the story sequence project.
Steps:
1. On one index card, write 
the title and author.
2. Choose four important 
events from the story.
3. On each of the four
remaining index cards, write 
one sentence about the 
event and draw and color a 
picture to go with it 
4. Arrange the cards in the 
order the events happened. 
Glue or tape the index cards 
on a strip of paper, ribbon, 
etc. 

http://fun-in-first.blogspot.com/2012/09/narrative-writing.html

http://books.heinemann.com/Shared/onlineresources/E00604/SmallMomentsSession1.pdf

Another memorable mini-lesson was teaching children to s-t-r-e-t-c-h their story while staying in the small moment. As the student told her story during the mini-lesson Mrs. Daniels stretched a piece of yarn until she and the student were on opposite sides of the room. Every student wanted a chance to s-t-r-e-t-c-h their story when they went into the work session of the Writers' Workshop!

Do mini-lessons make a difference? Not every mini-lesson makes a difference to every single student, but our thoughtful lessons do make a difference in the way that students write, how they think about their writing and how they reread and edit their work.

Anchor Charts for Narrative Writing:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-is-Narrative-Writing-327013

Narrative Writing Folders/ Graphic Organizers:
(saved on computer)
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sequencing-with-Pumpkin-Life-Cycle-War-card-game-center-843842

Narrative Writing - Problem/Solution Graphic Organizer:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Narrative-Writing-Graphic-Organizer-ProblemSolution-643834

Narrative Writing Rubric:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Narrative-Writing-Graphic-Organizer-ProblemSolution-643834

Personal Narrative "My Best Friend" and "All About Me" - use in center
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Personal-Narrative-Writing-Papers-901778

Narrative Writing Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNs8wWZCY40


FEBRUARY
Informative Writing - Expository

Anchor Charts for Informative Writing:
(saved under Informative writing posters)

Informative Writing Checklist:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Informative-Writing-Checklist-FREEBIE-1106184

Fact and Opinion Graphic Organizer - REVIEW:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fact-and-Opinion-Graphic-Organizer-Freebie-for-Informational-Writing-491860

INFORMATIVE WRITING PROJECT

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Informational-Writing-Organizer-Interview-1203879

Animal Informative Writing:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Informative-Writing-Animal-Research-Note-Taking-Page-Common-Core-Aligned-540411



Topic Sentence Lesson:
http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/g/topicmainl.cfm

March
How-To Writing

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-to-Writing-4-Prompt-Packet-480923

How to make a S'more
How to make a Pizza
How to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
How to make a Ice Cream Sundae
We will use our "How-to-make a S'more" book to make s'more's in our classroom!  YUMMY!

http://mrskincaid.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-to-writing.html
USING ORDER WORDS:


Using Order Words in the Classroom:


April
Book Reports

We will create a whole class CEREAL BOX BOOK REPORT as an example of what should be done at home.


Cereal Box book report templates:
http://hil.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/cereal_box_book_report.htm

Cereal Box book report instructions:
http://www.ggca.org/pdf/summer-reading/Cereal-Box-Book-Report.pdf



In the month of April the students will be asked to pick a "just right book" to read from home.  This would be a book that is at their reading reading level. 



May
Writing Poetry
This month Guided Reading will consist of reading poetry.  Poems will be sent home in place of Guided Reading Books.
Below is a link to the Homework Sheet 
your student will come home with nightly which will
accompany the poems:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Menu-for-Elementary-Students-289183

FUNNY POETRY:
Ken Nesbitt's FUNNY Poetry:
http://www.poetry4kids.com/poem-575.html#.U2o8CPldWgw

OUR CLASSROOM POETRY PROMISE:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREE-My-Poetry-Promise-Introducing-Poetry-as-Magic-632036

Poetry has NO RULES!
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Lesson-for-Various-Grades-293569

Poems have no rules. They are a lot of fun to write because there are no rules. The author
makes the rules. For example, the author chooses to use capital letters or punctuation.
Poems do not need to rhyme, although sometimes they do.
Here are several examples of poems.

Seasons
There are four different seasons.
Winter is cold.
Spring means flowers.
Summer is hot and no school!
Autumn is beautiful with leaves falling!

October
Fall time
Halloween
Dress-up in costumes
Go trick or treating!
October is a fun month!

Flowers
Tulips
Roses
Pansies
Sunflowers
These are just some beautiful flowers in the world!

As you can see, each of these poems is different. While none of these poems rhyme, they
are each unique in their own way. That’s one thing to know about poems – each and
every poem is unique and different and special in its own way. It’s the author’s job to
make the poem unique and special.
Seasons is a poem that consists of sentences on each line. October does not use sentences
but has several words on each line. Flowers does not use any sentences, and has only one
word on each line until the last line. There is no punctuation until the end of the poem.
Now it is your turn. Try writing a poem about something. Here are some suggestions you
can write your poem about:
 Nature
 A month of the year
 Season
 A favorite color
 Space



WRITING ACROSTIC POETRY:



MY ACROSTIC POETRY BOOK - NAME TEMPLATE:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Acrostic-Poetry-Book-698622

SPRING ACROSTIC POEM TEMPLATE:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Acrostic-Poetry-596610

EARTH DAY ACROSTIC POEM TEMPLATE:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Day-Acrostic-Poetry-232201

BUTTERFLY ACROSTIC POEM TEMPLATE:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Monarch-Butterfly-Acrostic-Poetry-395628

SEASONS ACROSTIC POEM TEMPLATE:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seasons-Acrostic-Poetry-225863

MOTHERS DAY ACROSTIC POEM TEMPLATE:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mothers-Day-Acrostic-Poetry-1234777



DIAMANTE POETRY


Line 1: Noun or Subject-one word
Line 2: Two adjectives that describe the noun on line 1.
Line 3: Three “ing” words that describe the noun on line 1.
Line 4: Four nouns: 1st two go with line one. 2nd two go with line 7.
Line 5: Three “ing” words that describe the noun on line 7.
Line 6: Two adjectives that describe the noun on line 7.
Line 7: Noun or subject-Antonym for the line 1.

WRITING DIAMANTE POETRY:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Writing-Freebie--237080

DIAMANTE POETRY TEMPLATES:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Poetry-Writing-FREEBIE-Diamante-Poetry-981449

DIAMANTE POETRY PACKET:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Diamante-Poetry-Packet-636501