Mrs. Cowan's Parent Web Page

· Good writers are expected to generate topics and content for writing. To do this you can have your child read a book to get some ideas. Reading and writing go hand in hand. Since the child are required to read everyday, why not have them write about something based on what they have read. You will be surprised at the ideas or topics your child can generate.

· Good writers are expected to reread their work often with the expectation that others will be able to read it. Have your child read what he or she has written. In the classroom, our author’s chair is the rocking chair. Have your child read or share his/her writing from a special chair at home. Children who otherwise are not likely to share their writing are often more apt to share what they have done if there is somewhere special they may share from. Students in the class who initially did not want to share their writing now thrive on sharing because they want the chance to sit in the author’s chair.

· Good writers are expected to solicit and provide responses to writing. After reading a book, discuss the writing style of the author with your child. See if your child notices any patterns. Have them look for word families, rhyming, or rhythm.

· Good writers apply a sense of what constitutes good writing. When your child is sharing his/her writing, ask them about it. Here are some questions you may wish to ask:

1. Ask if your child feels they have written a good piece of work.

2. Ask what they would change in their writing.

3. Ask what they like/dislike about their piece of writing.

4. Ask where they got the topic from.

5. Ask why they wrote about that specific topic.

Types of Writing

Narrative Writing or Writing a Story

· Good writers are expected to be able to write a fictional and autobiographical story. The students are expected to be able to write a story about themselves. The story may be a retelling of an actual event or it can be something made up. A good activity that you can do to get your children writing about themselves is to have your child write about what they have done on a weekend every Sunday afternoon. Have them write a story about what they did that weekend. You may also have them write a story about how the school week went on Friday or Saturday. Children love the opportunity to share their experiences. Have them share their experiences through writing. To have children write a made up story about themselves, have them write about what they wished they could have done.

· Good writers evidence a plan in their writing, including making decisions about where in a sequence of events they should enter. This is where your child plans the events in his/her own story. To do this, have your child plan what will happen first, next, and last. Tie this to your reading. After reading a story, discuss the specific sequence of events in the story. Have your child tell you what happened first, next, and last in the story. They should be able to do this since we have been doing this all year. Then have your child write his/her own story, keeping in mind to follow a sequence of events.

· Good writers develop a narrative or retelling containing two or more appropriately sequenced events that readers can reconstruct easily, which the author then often reacts to, comments on, evaluates, sums up or ties together. Again, this ties into the statement above regarding first, next, and last. Your child’s writing needs to contain a first event, followed by a second event that is tied to the first event, and then a last event that sums the story up. Use books that you have read with your child to model this.

· Good writers frequently incorporate drawings, diagrams or other suitable graphics with written text, as well as gestures, intonation and role-played voices with oral renditions. Quite simply, have your child draw a picture that relates to their written story. Use picture books to model this aspect of writing. The students often pick the books that contain colorful pictures. Use that to help your child write. Have them create their own colorful picture to make his/her own story more fun. As for gestures, intonation, and role played voices, model that when you read to your children. Make up funny voices for different characters. You will find the more you do that, the more your child will imitate that and begin to do that with his/her own writing.

· Good writers demonstrate a growing awareness of author’s craft by employing some writing strategies, such as using dialogue, transitions or time cue words; giving concrete details; and providing some sense of closure (for example, “The End,” “And I will never forget that day,” “I was glad to have my dog back. I will never forget to love him again”). Have your child use dialogue (or “talking marks”) in his/her writing. If you happen to read a book to your child that contains “talking marks”, see if your child can spot them. Ask your child to explain what they are and then use them in his/her own writing.

· Good writers imitate narrative elements and derive stories from books they have read or had read to them. There is nothing wrong with having your child imitate a writing style he/she has observed in a story read to them. The children are beginning writers. This allows them the opportunity to grow and develop their writing skills. They will eventually develop their own writing style but in the meantime, allow them to attempt to imitate what they see. Bill Martin’s Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you See? was an excellent book that provided the students an opportunity to imitate a very easy writing style. The students each wrote over a dozen sentences based upon this book alone. Granted, they imitated the book but they also added their own touches to the story. Imitating a writing style allows your child to experiment with his/her own writing as well as feel successful.

· Good writers in some cases, begin to recount not just events but also reactions, signaled by phrases like “I wondered,” “I noticed,” “I thought” or “I said to myself.” Ask your child if they noticed anything about his/her own writing. This will promote higher level thinking in your child and ultimately improve his/her own story writing skills.

Informing Others: Report or Informational Writing

· Good writers gather information pertinent to a topic, sort it into major categories – possibly using headings or chapters – and report it to others. Report writing is taught at the end of second grade. You can, however, start now by doing a few things. First of all, have your child research what they are learning about in science. For example, we are studying plants in science. Have your child look up the term in a dictionary. If you have an encyclopedia, have your child look up plants in the encyclopedia. They may not be able to read what they find but it gets them in the habit of looking for information. Allow them to use the internet if possible. An excellent search engine for children is http://www.yahooligans.com . This site is child friendly and easy to navigate. Visit the public library and research topics there. You may also have your child research things he/she may be interested in. You may also have your child research holidays or current events.

· Good writers can independently recognize and exclude or delete extraneous information according to appropriate standards governing what “fits”. After your child shares his/her writing, ask them if all of the information they wrote fit in with the report. Model this by researching something in the encyclopedia or off the internet. As you read something to your child, insert a silly sentence that does not belong with what you are reading. Chances are your child will question the statement. Have them explain why the statement does not fit. If they do not question you regarding the statement, ask them if the statement belongs. Again, this promotes higher order thinking as well as gets your child in the habit of sticking to the topic in his/her writing.

· Good writers demonstrate a growing desire and ability to communicate with readers by using details to develop their points; sometimes including pictures, diagrams, maps and other graphics that enhance the reader’s understanding of the text. Allow your child to research various topics and focus on the pictures, diagrams, etc. the author uses in his or her book. When your child writes a report, allow them to include their own illustrations to support their writing.

Getting Things Done: Functional Writing

· Good writers are able to write clear instructions. When having the students write instructions, I have them use 4 specific words to start each of their sentences. They must use First, Then, Next, and Last. By using these words, the students are forced to keep their instructions in order and focused. To get your children in the habit of using instructions, allow them to look at instructions for a game or a recipe book. Let them write how to do things such as ride a bike or bake a cake.

· Good writers describe, in appropriate sequence and with a few details, the steps one must take to make or do a particular thing. By getting the students in the habit of using First, Then, Next, and Last, it is keeping the students writing in sequence.

· First of all, in establishing the context, the students will think about the audience they are writing the piece for. Your audience makes a difference in how you present a set of instructions. To establish a context, the students will also need to give a "because" or a reason for writing the piece. Finally, to establish the context, students will need to write engaging beginnings as they did in narratives. They can do this by asking questions, using alliteration, using similes, using metaphors, and other literary techniques.

· Next, the students will need to establish a topic for the functional writing. To do this, we will focus on selecting a topic of interest. We will also focus on making sure the title matches the topic. One of the biggest reasons a student does not do well on the FCAT Writes is because they go off-topic. We will be focused on remaining on topic.

· Students will also be expected to show the steps in an action in enough detail to follow them. We will accomplish this by sequencing the steps. We will also chart descriptive words and vivid verbs. The students have also practiced this aspect of the standard with our ice cream activity. Transitional words and writing appropriate endings will also be addresses.

· Including relevant information will be taught by discussing what is relevant versus irrelevant. Examples will be provided as an example for the students. The students will also be reminded to stay on the topic. As I said earlier, students going off-topic on the FCAT Writes result in a much lower score.

· In functional writing, the language must be straightforward and clear in order to meet the standard. Examples of clear language will be demonstrated through whole class writings. Concrete language as well as specific language will also be shown to the students to help them to meet this standard.

· Finally, the students must use pictures to illustrate steps in the procedure. Teaching this point will include lessons on show and tell, using charts, using graphs, using arrows, using bullets and labeling. As with all writing, examples of pieces that meet and/or exceed the standard will be shown to the students.

Producing Literature

· Good writers are able to write stories, memoirs, poems, songs and other literary forms. By the end of the year, the students should be able to write in a variety of styles. This is why we ask that they read many genres besides simple fiction. I strongly urge you to allow your children to read non-fiction, fables (stories with a lesson), poetry, action/adventure, mystery, fantasy, and fairy tales to name just a few. For an assortment of stories, visit http://www.readingatoz.com. I would also suggest using http://www.yahooligans.com. to research other sites as well.

· Good writers demonstrate not only an awareness of but also an ability to reproduce some of the literary language and styles they hear and read in the classroom (these may include alliteration, metaphor, simile, rhythm, complex syntax, descriptive detail, sound effects, dialogue, gestures, familiar story grammars or plot lines and rhyme schemes). As I stated before, allow the children to try to imitate the writing styles of author’s they have read. This will help them to develop their own style in the long run.

· Good writers imitate a text or write in a genre when they respond to it.

Responding to Literature

· Good writers can re-enact and retell stories, songs, poems, plays and other literary works they encounter. After reading a story to your children or even after they read a story, have them respond to the story. Ask them to tell you a little bit about the story in writing. Allow them to also draw a picture. This will not only improve their writing but will also improve their reading comprehension.

· Good writers produce simple evaluative expressions about the text such as “I like the story because…” or “I like the part where…”. After reading a story, you can even start their written response for them with some of the following statements:

1. I like it when..

2. My favorite part was when…

3. I like the part when…

· Good writer can make simple comparisons of the story to events or people in their own lives. After reading a story, you can even start their written response for them with some of the following statements:

1. This story reminds me of…

2. The main character reminds me of…

3. This story made me think of...

· Good writers can compare two books on the same theme. To do this, I suggest looking for fairy tales such as The Three Little Pigs or Cinderella. Most of these types of stories have multiple versions written in a different style. They may even have a different title but they are an excellent starting point for comparing books on the same theme.

· Good writers can discuss several books on the same theme.

· Good writers can make explicit reference to parts of the text when presenting or defending a claim and present a plausible interpretation of the book. A simple way to get your child to do this is to ask him/her why they wrote something. For example, if after reading Cinderella , your child responds that Cinderella’s sisters were mean, ask him/her why. Your child should be able to site specific examples from the story to support that statement.

Language Use and Conventions

· Good writers can vary sentence openers instead of relying on the same sentence stem (for example, “I like books,” “I like dogs,” “I like my mom,”). When your child writes, if you notice the word “I” used frequently at the beginning, have them see if they can re-write the sentence in a different way.

· Good writers use a wide range of the syntactic patterns typical of spoken language. Again, all of the sentences should vary in your child’s writing.

· Good writers use newly learned words they like from their reading, the books they hear read, words on the classroom walls and talk.

· Good writers produce writing that contains a large proportion of correctly spelled, high frequency words. This is why the students are expected to know almost 200 sight words by the end of the first grade. The more they practice the words, the better their spelling will become. This is also why students are asked to read at least 15 minutes a day. The more words a child is exposed to, the better they become at reading and writing.

· Good writers write text that usually can be read by the child and others- regardless of the scarcity of correctly spelled words – because most of the perceived sounds in unfamiliar words are phonetically represented. You will notice in your child’s writing that he/she will spell words the way they sound. This is not incorrect initially. This is how writing begins. The words will eventually be spelled correctly as your child’s vocabulary increases.

· Good writers draw on a range of resources for deciding how to spell unfamiliar words, including strategies like segmenting, sounding out, and matching to familiar words and word parts. This is why it is very important not to spell out every word for your child. Make them look up the word on their sight word list. Allow them to sound the word out in an attempt to spell it. They will make mistakes but as their vocabulary grows, the writing will become better.

· Good writers automatically spell some familiar words and word endings correctly. This is why it is so important for the children to know their sight words. These words must be automatic by the end of the year. If they practice a few of the sight words each week, they will master them by the end of the year.

· Good writers demonstrate interest and awareness by approximating the use of some punctuation, including exclamation points, quotation marks, periods, question marks, ellipses, colons, and capitalization of proper names and sentence beginnings. As your child writes, make sure they are writing in complete sentences. Use books that they have read to model how they are supposed to write. Children learn by observing so allow them to observe punctuation in actual texts. Ask them how a sentence ends in a story they have read. Point to specific punctuation marks and ask your child to explain them to you.

· Good writers use punctuation accurately and sometimes use conventions that are borrowed from a favorite author to add emphasis, suggest mood, be clear and direct readers to use particular intonations. Again, use books to model this. Have your child observe the conventions in a book.

Stages of Writing

1. Pre-Writer – Level 1: communicates using pictures, random letters or symbols do not convey the meaning

2. Emerging - Level 2: Writing may show little or no development of topic, but may contain meaningful vocabulary. There is an attempt to get words on paper. Written vocabulary is limited. Writing shows no use of writing conventions.

3. Beginning – Level 3: Writing conveys meaning, child can read but others may not, begins to use space to separate words, uses some beginning, middle, and ending letters

4. Developing – Level 4: Writing is generally on topic. There is an attempt to get sentences on paper. Sentences may be simple or incomplete with limited vocabulary. Surface feature errors may make understanding difficult.

5. Capable – Level 5: Writing is on topic. There is an attempt to sequence or development of thought. The writing holds the reader's attention. May have surface errors but does not interfere with understanding.

6. Experienced - Level 6: Writing is on topic and interesting. There is a beginning, middle, and end. Writing creates emotion in the reader. Writing generally shows accuracy in punctuation and capitalization. It also demonstrates knowledge of sound-letter correspondence; errors do not interfere with understanding.

Suggested Prompts

What is...

· What is something you like about yourself?

· What is something you do well?

· What is your favorite room in your home and why?

· What is a good neighbor?

· What is your favorite time of day?

· What is your idea of a dull evening?

· What is your most indispensable possession and why?

· What is your favorite song and why?

· What is the best birthday present you ever received?

· What is the best birthday present you could receive?

· What is something that makes you feel sad?

· What is your favorite book and why?

· What is something that really bugs you?

· What is something that really makes you angry?

· What is your favorite holiday? What makes this holiday special?

· What is your favorite day of the week?

· What is your favorite month? Why?

What if...

· What would happen if you could fly whenever you wanted? When would you use this ability?

· What would happen if there were no television? Why would this be good? bad?

· What would happen if everyone lived in space? What type of houses would they live in? What type of clothing would they wear? What type of food would they eat? How would they travel?

· What if cows gave root beer instead of milk?

· What if all the streets were rivers? What would be different?

· What would happen if people never co-operated? Why do you think it is important to co-operate?

· What would happen if animals could talk? What are some of the questions you would like to ask animals?

· What would happen if you could become invisible whenever you wanted to? What are some of the things you could do that you cannot do now?

· What would happen if everyone wore the same clothes?

· What would happen if you threw a piece of trash on the ground? What if everyone did?

· What if you could walk up walls and across ceilings?

· What would happen if you grew taller than trees? How would this change your life?

· What would happen if children ruled the world?

· What would happen if there were no cars, buses, trains, boats, or planes? How would this change your life?

· What if everyone lived under water? Where would people live? What games would children play? What would school be like?

· What would happen if you found gold in your backyard?

· What would you do if You were the teacher and everyone forgot his homework?

· What would you do if Your friend had a broken leg? How would you cheer him up?

· What would you do if your jelly sandwich fell upside down on the floor?

· What would you do if you were at home and your homework was at school?

· What would you do if you dropped the cookie jar and it broke?

· What would you do if you were invited to two parties on the same day?

· What would you do if someone said you did something wrong and you didn't?

· What would you do if your new shoes felt fine in the store but now they are hurting?

· What would you do if you found in the street?

· What would you do if you found a magic wand?

· What would you do if you wanted to be friends with someone who spoke no English?

· If you could have been someone in history, who would you have been?

· If you could only take 3 people with you on a trip around the world, who would you take and why?

· If you could give any gift in the world, what would you give and to whom?

· If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

· If you received as a gift, what would you do with it?

· If you could do whatever you wanted to right now, what would you do?

· If you were principal of this school, what would you do?

· If you were a mouse in your house in the evening, what would you see your family doing?

· If you were five years older you would...

· If you were lost in the woods and it got dark, what would you do?

· If it were your job to decide what shows can be on TV, how would you choose?

· If there were no rules, what do you think would happen?

· If you could participate in an Olympic event, which one would you choose and why?

· If you could break the Guinness Book of Records it would be for?

· If you had to describe yourself as a color, which would you choose?

What do you think...

· What do you think of 3D movies?

· What do you think the world needs now?

· What do you think your friends say to each other when you're not around?

· What do you think about the amount of violence on T.V.?

· What do you think about having set rules for people to follow?

· What do you think the world will be like when you are a grown up?

· What do you think makes a good friend?

· What do you think makes a happy family?

· What things do you think are beautiful?

What...misc.

· What do you like most about yourself?

· What do you like to do in your free time?

· What kind of animal would you like to be and why?

· What kind of trophy would you like to win?

· What TV or movie star would you like to invite to your birthday party?

· What are you afraid of? Why?

· What are junk foods?

· What are some nutritious foods that you like?

· What are some rules you have to follow at home?

· What makes your best friend your best friend?

· What makes you laugh?

· What would you invent to make life better?

· What would you do to entertain your family without spending any money?

· What effects does watching violence have on people?

· What effects do cigarette and alcohol advertising have on young people?

· What kind of TV. commercial would you like to make? Describe it.

· What kind of pet would you most like to have--monkey, snake, goat--why?

· What kind of program do you enjoy most on TV--detective shows, comedies, game shows--and why?

· What advice would you give a new student?

· What advice would you give to someone who stole something but now feels guilty?

· What things are better than going to school? Why?

· What talents do you have?

· What three words would describe you right now?

· What four things are most important in your life?

· What color makes you think of happiness?

· What has been the most fun activity at school so far?

· What quality do you like about yourself--creativity, personality, appearance--why?

· What do you do for exercise?

How...

· How do you feel when it's your birthday? Why?

· How do you feel on the first day of winter? Why?

· How do you feel when you do something wrong?

· How do you feel when you do something that is very good?

· How would you feel if a new child moved into your neighborhood?

· How do you think the new child would feel?

· How do you feel when you have had a fight with your best friend?

· How do you think your friend felt?

· How do you feel when you are in bed with the lights out?

· How do you feel when you want something very badly and you cannot have it? Why is this so important to have?

· How do you feel on a warm sunny day?

· How do you feel when you stay with a babysitter?

· How do you feel when you're leaving home on vacation?

· How do you feel when you sleep at someone's house?

· How do you feel during a thunderstorm?

· How do you feel on the first day of school?

· How do you feel when your parents are upset with you? Why do they become upset with you?

· How do you feel on Thanksgiving? What are you thankful for?

· How do feel on (any holiday)?

· How do you feel when something scares you? What do you do when this happens?

· How would you feel if someone told you that you were his or her best friend?

· How would you change the world to make it better?

· How do you have the most fun--alone, with a large group, with a few friends--and why?

· Explain how to play your favorite game.

I wish...

· I wish I had a million... Then I would...

· I wish I had one... because

· I wish I could be like.... This person is special because....

· I wish to be a ________ when I grow up. Then I will....

· I wish trees could..... because....

· I wish I could see...... because.....

· I wish I could learn..... because.....

· I wish I didn't have to eat...... I don't like this food because.....

· I wish everyone would learn to ..... Then everyone would.....

· I wish I never......

· I wish I had one more chance to..... Then I would.....

· I wish I had enough money to......

· I wish everyone loved......

· I wish all children would......

· I wish everyone had.....

· I wish animals could...... If they could, then.....

· I wish I looked like.... because......

· I wish there were no more.....

· I wish I didn't have to.....

· I wish I could go to.....

· I wish there really was..... If there really was, then.....

· I wish I could hear......

· I wish I could give......

· If all my wishes came true, I would......

Describe...

· Describe your favorite toy. Why do you like it best?

· Describe the most ludicrous outfit you can think of.

· Describe the best teacher you ever had.

· Describe your best day.

· Describe your favorite place to visit.

When...

· When you are angry, how do you look?

· When are you happiest?

· When have you felt lonely?