Writing

Overview
In grades 3-5 we use a writing curriculum designed by Lucy Calkins called Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing.  During the first trimester 3rd graders will learn how to write personal narratives (stories from their lives).  The second trimester focuses on informational writing.  The third trimester focuses on opinion writing.  This curriculum is aligned with the Common Core curriculum and helps to prepare students for the types of writing they will be expected to do throughout their high school and college years.

Personal Narrative
This unit asks students to write about memories from their lives.  We try to move students away from just listing things in order (I went to the park.  I went down the slide.  I went home.) and move them toward describing events in great detail to make the story exciting to their readers.  We learn how to write a good beginning and ending, how to include dialogue, and how to use transition words.  At this level, students should be able to write a piece that is two pages or more.

Personal Narrative Checklist (Rubric used by students and teachers to assess narrative writing)

Informational Writing
During this unit, students are asked to choose a topic that they know a lot about.  They are expected to "teach" this topic to their readers.  Students plan out a table of contents so that they know what each chapter will be about.  They then begin drafting their chapters.  We focus a lot on adding detail and really explaining the topic to the readers.  Again, we discuss how to write effective chapter beginnings and endings, as well as using transition words to link chapters together.

Informational Checklist (Rubric used by students and teachers to assess informational writing)

Opinion Writing
Students have a lot of opinions!  We ask them to think about something they feel strongly about and to persuade their readers to think the same way.  This unit asks students to think a lot about their audience.  What will it take to convince these people to agree with you?  Students learn how to write a strong and bold thesis statement and to come up with at least 3 reasons to support their statement.  They are then asked to explain each of their reasons in detail.  Like the other units, we also focus on beginnings, endings, and transitions.

Opinion Checklist (Rubric used by students and teachers to assess opinion writing)