Writing

 

 

Strand 1: Writing Process

 

Research has established the major steps of the writing process. These steps are identified in the five concepts of this strand, each supported with specific performance objectives. While all steps are needed and used by effective writers as they compose text, different skills may be emphasized in individual assignments. These steps may be used recursively as a piece moves toward completion. Throughout the process, students should reflect on their own writing skills, set goals, and evaluate their own progress.

 

Concept 1: Prewriting

Prewriting includes using strategies to generate, plan, and organize ideas for specific purposes.

 

• Generate ideas through class discussion.

• Draw a picture about ideas generated through class discussion.

Concept 2: Drafting

Drafting incorporates prewriting activities to create a first draft containing necessary elements for a specific purpose.

 

• Communicate by drawing, telling, or writing for a purpose. 

• Create a group draft, scripted by the teacher.

  

Concept 3: Revising

Revising includes evaluating and refining the rough draft for clarity and effectiveness. (Ask: Does this draft say what you want it to say?)

 

• Reread original draft scripted by teacher or individual.

• Add additional details with prompting.

 

Concept 4: Editing

Editing includes proofreading and correcting the draft for conventions.

 

• Review the draft for errors in conventions, with prompting. (See Strand 2)

 

Concept 5: Publishing

Publishing includes formatting and presenting a final product for the intended audience.

 

• Share a finished piece of writing.

 

Strand 2: Writing Elements

Strand 2 focuses on the elements of effective writing. Good writing instruction  incorporates multiple performance objectives into an integrated experience of learning for the student. The order of the concepts and performance objectives is not intended to indicate a progression or hierarchy for writing instruction. Instructional activities may focus on just one concept or many.

 

 

Concept 1: Ideas and Content

Writing is clear and focused, holding the reader’s attention throughout. Main ideas stand out and are developed by strong support and rich details. Purpose is accomplished.

 

• Use pictures that convey meaning.

• Use pictures with imitative text, letters, or recognizable words to convey meaning.

• Use labels, captions, or picture descriptors to expand meaning.

  

Concept 2: Organization

Organization addresses the structure of the writing and integrates the central meaning and patterns that hold the piece together.

 

• Show a clear sense of coordination between text and pictures (e.g., a reader can readily see that they go together).

• Consistently write left to right and top to bottom.

• Space appropriately between words with some degree of accuracy.

 

Concept 3: Voice

Voice will vary according to the type of writing, but should be appropriately formal or casual, distant or personal, depending on the audience and purpose.

 

• Create pictures or text with distinctive personal style and originality. 

 

Concept 4: Word Choice

Word choice reflects the writer’s use of specific words and phrases to convey the intended message and employs a variety of words that are functional and appropriate to the audience and purpose.

 

• Select labels, captions, or descriptors to enhance pictures.

 

• Use words, labels, or short phrases that clearly go with picture text.

 

Concept 5: Fluency

Fluency addresses the rhythm and flow of language.  Sentences are strong and varied in structure and length.

 

• Attempt simple sentences (some may be fragments).

 

Concept 6: Conventions

Conventions address the mechanics of writing, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar and usage, and paragraph breaks.

 

• Write the 26 letters of the alphabet in:

a. Lower case

 

b. Upper case

 

• Distinguish between upper and lower case letters.

• Use capital letters to begin “important” words, although may be inconsistent or experimental.

• Use spaces between words.

• Write left to right and top to bottom.

• Use punctuation in writing, although may be inconsistent or experimental.

• Use knowledge of letter sound relationship to spell simple words with some consonants and few vowels (e.g., I lik t d nts. – I like to draw knights.)

• Use resources (e.g., environmental print, word walls) to spell correctly.

• Write own name on personal work.

 

Strand 3: Writing Applications

Writing skills particular to the applications listed here may be taught across the curriculum, although some applications may lend themselves more readily to specific content areas. It is imperative that students write in all content areas in order to increase their communication skills, and ultimately to improve their understanding of content area concepts.  When appropriate, other content standards are referenced to show interdisciplinary connections.

 

Concept 1: Expressive

Expressive writing includes personal narratives, stories, poetry, songs, and dramatic pieces. Writing may be based on real or imagined events.

 

• Create narratives by drawing, dictating, and/or emergent writing.

 

• Participate in writing simple poetry, rhymes, songs, or chants.

 

 

 

Concept 2: Expository

Expository writing includes nonfiction writing that describes, explains, informs, or summarizes ideas and content. The writing supports a thesis based on research, observation, and/or experience.

 

• Participate in creating expository texts (e.g., labels, lists, observations, journals, summaries) through drawing or writing. 

 

Concept 3: Functional

Functional writing provides specific directions or information related to real-world tasks. This includes letters, memos, schedules, directories, signs, manuals, forms, recipes, and technical pieces for specific content areas.

 

• Participate in writing a variety of functional text (e.g., classroom rules, letters, experiments, recipes, notes/messages, labels, directions, posters, graphs/tables).

• Participate in writing communications, with teacher as scribe, including:

a.       Friendly letters

 

b.      Thank-you notes

 

 

Concept 4: Persuasive

Persuasive writing is used for the purpose of influencing the reader. The author presents an issue and expresses an opinion in order to convince an audience to agree with the opinion or to take a particular action.

 

  

 

Concept 5: Literary Response

Literary response is the writer’s reaction to a literary selection. The response includes the writer’s interpretation, analysis, opinion, and/or feelings about the piece of literature and selected elements within it.

 

• Participate in a group discussion, based on a literature selection, that identifies the:

a. Character(s)

 

b. Setting

 

c. Sequence of events

 

·        Participate in a group discussion in response to a given piece of literature that connects:

 

a. Text to self (personal connection)

 

b. Text to world (social connection)

 

c. Text to text (compare within multiple texts)

 

 

Concept 6: Research

Research writing is a process in which the writer identifies a topic or question to be answered. The writer locates and evaluates information about the topic or question, and then organizes, summarizes, and synthesizes the information into a finished product.

 

Participate in a creating a simple class report where the teacher is the scribe