Writing: Sentence Fluency

Hi! It's Melissa again from Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late here to talk about...

I know in Virginia, our 5th grade students are working hard to prepare for their big writing assessment at the very beginning of April, and all the snow we've had is just causing more stress for the poor teachers. However, we had a ray of hope last week at our school in the form of professional development...no joke! Our school system began implementing Six Traits this year, and we had Fred Wolff of Six Traits Live come to our school and do LESSONS with actual classes for teachers to understand how to implement his ideas in the room.

I was able to sit in on the 5th grade lesson for sentence fluency, and there were two simple yet powerful tips that he taught. If you read my blog on Wednesday, you will just want to skip to step 2, but that's where the meat is anyway! Step one is pretty simple.

He began the lesson by reading an excerpt from Gary Paulsen's Harris and Me and then having a student write the first word of each sentence. We circled words that we didn't typically use to begin sentences (basically anything other than a pronoun, person's name, or "the") and talked about how most of the sentences started with a different word. This helped make it sound more interesting. He gave the students 5 "Power Starters" and encouraged them to try and use these words to make stronger sentences and add variety.

His suggestion to teachers later was to have a "When Week", etc, where students practiced making sentences with each specific starter.

But there's more to sentence fluency than just having different beginnings. You also need a variety of lengths, and I think this was my students' favorite part!

I actually implemented this part of the lesson with one of my 4th grade groups on Friday to help prepare them already. They complained at first that we weren't doing games, but by the end they were hooked!

First, I gave them a recording sheet you can download here to find the first word and number of words in the first 10 sentences. As you can see below, we crossed out the final category (part of speech) because my kids just aren't ready for that yet. I still included it because I hope to get there soon. Then I gave each of them Abe Lincoln's Dream, which we read earlier in the week. We did the first two sentences together, and I had to help them a little to make sure they didn't skip little sentences and stopped in the right place (there was a tricky sentence that had a quote with a question mark at the end and then two more words after, so they needed guidance there).

After they finished with the first ten sentences, I gave them the second sheet and helped them make a line graph using the data they collected (Math in reading? What?!).

We discussed how the line graph reminded us of a heart monitor, and it looked like a "life line". I asked them what happens if the line stays the same or barely moves ("You're dead!"), and then we talked about how it's the same with our writing. We need to have a variety of sentence lengths to keep things interesting and make our writing more lively.

After going through the process once, they were ready to try it on their own. I gave them a nonfiction book that we had been working through, and they were SO engaged!

I was so proud of them because they quickly noticed that the first 6 sentences in this book are about the same length, but that the book started to pick up the pace at sentence 7. They could point to their graph and show me exactly when it started to get interesting.

Later, we will do one of these on their own writing (which is what 5th grade is already doing), and we will discuss ways to improve the fluency by making sentences longer or shorter. However, this first step of making them aware was VERY important and well worth the time it took!

What other struggles do your students have with writing? How many of you are preparing for a big writing assessment right now?

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Helping Students Stay on Topic

Hello new friends!  I am very excited to be joining a wonderful group of teacher bloggers as we embark on this new Literacy Land adventure.  I began my journey in education as a middle school social studies teacher.  I went to a professional development about incorporating reading strategies across content areas and I started thinking that maybe I wanted to teach reading instead.  That opportunity arose in my district and I became the seventh and eighth grade reading teacher.  Did I have any idea how to teach reading?  NO!  So I went back to school and got my master's degree in reading.  After teaching reading for a few years, I was given the opportunity to become a literacy coach for grades 4-7.  While I was coaching, I achieved National Board Certification in Reading/Language Arts.  Currently, I am a Master Teacher (instructional coach/facilitator...there are so many names that mean the same thing) for grades preschool through third grade.

As part of my job as a master teacher, I have to analyze our test data to determine an area that needs to be focused on school-wide.  Once I have narrowed down the focus, I research strategies that would help our students succeed in that area.  One of the great things about my job is that I don't just tell my teachers, "Go try out this strategy because this book/article/website said it would work."  I have to field test, or try it out, first with a group of students in our school.  Once I work the kinks out of the strategy, I present it to my teachers in manageable chunks.  Looking at the data, we were struggling with creating a piece of writing that stayed on topic and was organized.  What to do?

I researched and found the four square writing method and began to try it with the first grade students my first grade teacher graciously loaned to me.  We worked on using the graphic organizer for a couple of weeks before we picked one of the graphic organizers and wrote our first piece of text.

Step One:  Model, Model, Model
It doesn't matter what grade I teach, I am always impressed by the power of modeling.  I modeled how to turn the information in the graphic organizer into sentences to write the paragraph.

Step Two:  Guided Practice
In the next lesson, the students and I worked together to start our paragraph.  We used a graphic organizer that we had previously completed together.  We only focused on the topic box and the first detail box.  The next lesson took the remaining boxes and turned them into sentences.  I wanted to take a piece at a time, so I had the opportunity to assess them before we wrote the whole paragraph.

Step Three:  Group Practice
Before taking the plunge and having the students write their own paragraphs, I wanted to give them more practice by working together in groups.  Each group was given a different completed graphic organizer (each one had been completed during guided practice earlier in the unit).  They were also given a half-sheet of chart paper and a marker.  The groups had to write the beginning of the paragraph that would match their graphic organizer.  After they completed the beginning of the paragraph, I assess by reading and writing down next steps.  I used the next steps to plan my small group writing time.

Are these the best sentences ever?  No.  Could they use some style?  Yes.  Am I happy with the product?  Yes!  Our goal has been to make sure that the details they use in their writing match the topic.  The next steps are to finish this draft, revise, edit, and write a final published copy.  The published pieces are going to be displayed in the hallway.  All we are working on is content and I am pleased with our beginnings.

The students were excited about working together to create a piece of text.  One group finished quickly and asked for another graphic organizer.  They wanted to keep writing!  I left school with a smile on my face thinking about how excited they were to write.

What's next?
Now that students have experienced success creating a piece of text with a group, it is time to move them into independently going through this process.

I would love to hear how you help your students organize their writing and stay on topic.  Let me know in the comments.

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Mentor Texts with Lively Leads

Introduction

Hi! My name is Wendy D., and I am joining this highly talented group of teachers and reading specialists from Ms. D's Literacy Lab.  Before moving to the Boston area, I resided in Texas. I taught Head Start, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, First Grade and Reading Recovery over a time period of seven to eight years. I loved ( and still love) reading aloud a new picture book to students or seeing if they are amused with the same funny parts of a chapter book as I am. After moving to Massachusetts, I went to Lesley University and worked as a Graduate Assistant for Dr. Irene Fountas while she was writing her Guiding Readers and Writers book for intermediate readers and writers. After graduating with my Master's Degree in Reading (K-12), I have worked as a Literacy Coach for eight years and a Reading Specialist for thirteen years in a diverse, suburban, Title I elementary school near Boston. I love it!

 Leads 

Leads can be one of the most challenging parts of writing for students. Over the years, I have noticed that those students who read notable books have an easier time writing a lead because they have been exposed to so many different types of writing styles and authors.  In order to introduce leads to students in any grade level, I like to read a variety of exemplar texts during read-aloud time and revisit them during Writer's Workshop time.

Lucy Calkins states, "When upper-elementary students draft and revise leads, they are doing so not only with an eye toward a good lead but also because they recognize that each lead represents a different way the text could go: "If I start it this way, it'll take too long to get to the main part."        Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade series, 2013

When teaching writing, one way to expose students to different types of leads is to categorize them. I like to categorize leads into three different categories for students.

Mentor Texts with Lively Leads

Character Leads or Topic Leads (Nonfiction)

A character or topic lead is introduced in the first few lines of text with descriptive language that makes a reader want to keep reading and learn more.

"Have you ever wondered about turkeys? Where are the wild turkeys found and how do they live? What do turkeys eat? ... This book answers these questions about turkeys and more."
--All About Turkeys by Jim Arnosky

"From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother. She was born red and wrinkled, an ugly little thing. And she was not a boy."
--Eleanor by Barbara Cooney

"Out in the hottest, dustiest part of town is an orphanage run by a female person nasty enough to scare night into day."
--Saving Sweetness by Diane Stanley

Time and Setting Leads

A time or setting lead is introduced at the beginning of the story and gives the reader background knowledge on where the story takes place.

"The Barefoot didn't see the eyes watching him as he ran onto the overgrown pathway.  His breath came in great gasps.  In the house since he had run from the plantation, he had traveled faster and farther than ever in his life."
--Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad by Pamela D. Edwards

"One day, my dad looked out at the endless desert and decided then and there to build a baseball field."
--Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

Challenge Leads

A challenge lead is a short sentence with exact words that implores the reader to read on. It is such an interesting start that a reader can't wait to read more.

" Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs.Or at least they think they do."
--The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

"It should have been a perfect summer."
--Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

 Mini-Lesson Idea for Writer's Workshop:

Choose a few favorite read-alouds from your class and revisit them. After reading the lead and a bit of the text, discuss with your students what makes this lead grab your attention. Begin to classify them on chart paper and post them in your writing center.

As a follow-up, students can begin adding leads from their own independent texts. In addition, they need to be prepared to explain why they thought it was a character/topic lead, setting/time lead, or challenge lead, as well as why it grabbed their attention and caused them to read on.

What is one of your favorite books to teach leads?

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EVERYONE'S A WINNER WEEK {Day 5}

This blog launch week has truly been a collaborative effort between 20 people, plus 1 artist and 1 blog designer who came together to create this beautiful blog design.  Welcome to our Castle!

This week, Jan. 6th - 10th EVERY follower is a WINNER!

EVERY follower who leaves their e-mail in the rafflecopter below, 

will be e-mailed our Blog Launch Exclusive Freebie Prize Pack!

Each day this week the blog authors have shown you strategies to use with different aspects of literacy.

Today, four blog authors will share information about

Hello and welcome to our new collaborative literacy blog! I am Amy from Eclectic Educating. I am currently a reading specialist in New Jersey.

As a teacher, I try to make my instruction meaningful and have a clear purpose. During reading, I try to choose high-interest stories and books that are relevant to my students' lives. For this reason, I often choose articles and short stories from popular magazines. When learning is interesting to students, it becomes much more meaningful. Students need to feel that their work serves a purpose.

This is particularly true for writing. Sometimes the purpose may simply be to enjoy the experience of writing through short stories and fiction. With the Common Core coming down the pike, however, it is becoming more and more important for students to be able to read a text and respond critically through writing. This will often be in the form of informational texts.

To practice this skill, I think it is important to choose articles that will mimic the style of the assessments students will be taking for the Common Core. This is where I think articles play an important role. Popular magazines such as Ranger Rick, Highlights, and National Geographic aim to capture students' attention through high-interest articles, which are perfect for your classroom instruction! If you do not have a subscription to any such magazines, have no fear!  EBSCOhost is a fantastic database for finding great articles. Here is a video tutorial that will explain how to use the database.

After reading these articles, have students analyze and critique the author's viewpoint. Let students support their opinions with facts from the text. Remember, choose topics that are interesting!  To get you started, my freebie for the giveaway includes a nonfiction text about chocolate milk. It explains the pros and cons of this delicious treat. When finished, students must choose whether they are for or against chocolate milk in schools. Then, they must support their opinion with facts from the article. In my experience, students get pretty passionate about chocolate milk! I hope you enjoy the resource! Happy writing!

Hi, everyone!  Andrea here from Reading Toward the Stars!  A few months ago, I had a vision of starting a collaborative blog with a group of reading and literacy interventionists who share my passion for helping struggling readers!  I am so excited to be here with all of this talent!  I spend 14 years working in third and fourth grade classrooms but always wanted to do so much more to help my struggling readers.  Three years ago I got that chance in the very school where I started working!  Now I can't turn back!  It is my dream job!

I work with many grade levels and have spent some time in third grade where they worked on subjects and predicates.  To scaffold for my students, we used puzzles to create sentences and decide if they made sense or not.  I created my exclusive freebie as part of our summer school curriculum.  It is a set of subject and predicate puzzles that students can use to create sentences and then decide if they are serious or silly.  The students had fun with it and asked to do it again and again!

Hi! I'm Melissa from Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late. I've had the pleasure of teaching in the same school all eight years that I've taught, spending the majority of time in fourth grade before I was given the opportunity to work as the reading specialist for grades 3-5.  Today I am sharing a writing freebie to use for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day later this month.

Even older kids love the hype surrounding holidays, and they get excited about doing any kind of craft. When I do this activity, we take some time to read about Martin Luther King, Jr. and discuss civil rights so students understand a little more about his speech. Then we spend some time talking about dreams that we have for our country/world. I try to encourage them to really think about what's important so the writing is stronger and more meaningful.

I'm so glad you have decided to join us in our new collaborative blog, and I hope you will continue to follow us as we share our literacy knowledge with you. Enjoy all of your new freebies, and have a Happy New Year!

Reading and writing go hand in hand, and so often struggling readers are struggling writers.  Luckily, there are ways we can help our students build skills in both areas.  We can do this by analyzing mentor texts by reading comprehension skill and writing trait. As we teach students to think as writers, we teach them to think about their reading too.

Recent studies have shown that studying the Six Traits of Writing has helped students improve writing scores and skills.  The Six Traits include Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, and Writing Conventions plus Publishing.  Each trait can be addressed with a writing piece through the use of mentor texts for modeling, shared writing, mini lessons during writing workshop, and with writing rubrics and anchor papers to model what proficient writing looks like.

The unit I am sharing with our blog launch is using the book, Oops! by Colin McNaughton.  This unit includes reading comprehension skills and writing materials for students to write their own fractured fairy tale. Here's a sneak peak at what you'll receive by becoming our follower.

I hope you and your students enjoy using it, and I welcome you to our blog.  I hope you return often to hear all of the great ideas our team has to offer.

Thank you for taking time to visit our blog throughout the week.

It's the last day to get the Exclusive Launch Week Freebie Prize Pack, 

follow our blog and leave your email in the rafflecopter below!

Good Luck!  We hope you win one of the 4 Grand Prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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