Just like the Caramilk secret...
The Secret of Writing
Do you know the secret of students enjoying writing? If you want to know, we can tell you and you can share our secret!
Writing for a PURPOSE!
Text Form: Procedural Writing
Our newest focus! We have been busy publishing our own class books....wait until you see it!
We began the unit by creating an Expert List in our Writer's Notebooks....listing all the activities we are good at. What would be on your expert list?
Exemplar Writing from the NB StandardsMrs. Duff did a lot of modeling for us. |
As a class, we brainstormed a list of places we find procedural writing.
Mrs. Duff showed us a procedural exemplar, which is an appropriate piece of writing from the Grade 4 New Brunswick Writing Standards on how to draw Sponge Bob. We all followed it to see how important each step was and here are our results above.
We brainstormed a list of items that must be included in a grade 3 piece of procedural writing. This was a great checklist to ensure we had everything in our own.
We also did some shared writing, creating this recipe for mini-pizzas.
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Homework Projects!
Then Mrs. Duff put us to work at home and assigned a project of completing a board game. The focus was on the ensuring the instructions were clear and written in procedural format. Here are the amazing results! We had a lot of fun playing them with our peers and invited the grade one students to play too! If you would like a copy, simply click on the photo of the instructions below. Also, there is a second page that will provide ideas for game pieces.
We then wrote our own piece of writing and Mrs. Duff is busy publishing our work into a class book, which we revealed at an Author's Celebration!
Text Form: Non-Fiction Books
The grade three students of Saint Rose School enjoy writing and are becoming amazing authors! Our recent project is researching and writing non-fiction books. They are incredible....wait until you see their work! Below are the steps we have followed as we learned about text features, researching and writing our books.
We learned about text features in non-fiction books by not only learning about each feature and its purpose, but also we explored books to see the real thing.
Teachers: If you would like a copy of these posters, click on this link; http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2012/03/teaching-text-features-help-students-navigate-nonfiction-texts
The photos of the chart paper are not that neatly printed, but they are the charts Mrs. Duff modeled the steps of our project and how you read and write facts in your own words.
Step 1: Brainstorming topics to research in our Writer's Notebooks.Step 3: Once you have completed recording the facts in your own words, then you are going to write your facts in sentences on the pages in your book.Step 5: Write, Write, Write!Before the unit, I asked the students, "What do you think you know about text features?" There were many question marks and "I don't know' comments." After the unit, there was evident of learning based on their sticky note comments. Way to go Grade 3!
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Step 2: Using KidRex, a search engine, powered by google, research your topic. A book on the topic is also a great way to research. We use this search engine in our classroom for safety and to find sites that are 'kid-friendly.' Mrs. Duff choose Roller Derby from her list. Mrs. Duff read aloud a portion of the information, then using a piece of looseleaf, folded in quarters, recorded the information in sections.Step 4: Using the chart below, complete the pages in your book. Mrs. Duff modeled each page in her book as an example.Students kept their research, books, photos, diagrams and notes in their folders during the unit.
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