| Although the writing program at Woodruff Primary School is based upon the
work of several researchers and authors, the writing program in first and
second grades is primarily based upon Dr. Linda Dorn's work in Arkansas. Dr.
Dorn and Carla Soffos are the co-authors of "Scaffolding Young Writers"
and "Shaping Literate Minds". Kindergarten teachers utilize an approach
outlined in "Kid Writing" by Eileen Feldgus and Isabella Cardonick.
WRITING WORKSHOP:
1. Mini-lesson
2. Writing/Conferences
3. Sharing
Our teachers include Writing Workshop in their daily schedules. Within this
Writing Workshop, teachers provide a writing mini-lesson based upon the
strategies or skills in the standards or the previously assessed needs of the
students. Following the mini-lesson, the students spend time writing. They
usually write on their topic of choice during this time. In addition to
writing on different topics, children are also at various stages of the
writing process. During this writing time, the teacher conferences with
individual students or small groups of students if they have similar writing
needs. The teacher takes notes during these conferences to guide her decision-
making regarding future lessons and to assess the students' progress.
Following this writing and conferring time, several students share the
writing that they have been working on in Writing Workshop. During this
sharing, other students may provide feedback or questions to help the writer
develop the writing.
During writing conferences and assessments, teachers determine where
students are on the writing continuum. They identify first and second grade
writers as emergent, beginning early, late early, or transitional. The
teacher scaffolds (supports) the writer to the next level through the
introduction of specific skills or strategies.
FIRST GRADE WRITING CURRICULUM
First Nine Weeks:
Writing to a prompt
Narrative writing
Prewriting stage
Drafting stage
Re-reading what has been written
Writing complete sentences
Using beginning capitalization
Using correct closing punctuation
Proper letter formation
Correct spacing
Topics list
Second Nine Weeks:
Friendly letter
Revision stage (adding/deleting words)
Editing stage (correcting some punctuation and capitalization)
Beginning, middle, end
Transitional and time flow words
Writing high frequency words correctly
Introducing the writing portfolio
Introducing the writing checklist by reference
Third Nine Weeks:
Descriptive words
Using the writing checklist
Editing (using resources to check spelling)
Writing an opening sentence that states the focus of the writing
Sustaining the idea throughout the piece
Providing a sense of closure
Using phonetic spelling
Using the writing checklist
8-pocket notebook (January)
Fourth Nine Weeks:
Poetry
Publishing
Recording ideas with fluency (first draft)
Incorporating revisions into the final copy
Increasing the accuracy of the final draft
Strong vocabulary and word choice
Variety of sentence structures and length
Forms for 8-pocket notebook
SECOND GRADE WRITING CURRICULUM
First Nine Weeks: (Review from first grade)
Writing to a prompt
Narrative writing
Friendly letter, poetry, and descriptive writing (by reference)
Prewriting
Drafting
Revision (adding/deleting words, using the checklist)
Editing (circling words, using resources to check spelling)
Final drafts
Beginning, middle, end
Sustaining the idea
Transitional and time flow words
Strong nouns and muscular verbs
Providing a sense of closure
Variety of sentence structures and length
Accurate spelling of most high frequency words
Punctuation at the end of sentences
Capitalization at the beginning of sentences
Proper letter formation
Spacing
8-pocket folder and forms
Writing portfolio
Second Nine Weeks:
Friendly letter
Descriptive writing
Revision - substituting richer vocabulary
Editing - Correcting misspelled words
Editing - Correcting punctuation and capitalization
Writing correct sentences most of the time
Correct capitalization when using proper nouns
Third Nine Weeks:
Thank you letters
Expository writing
Individual voice
Transitional or conventional spelling
Using pronouns correctly
Subject/verb agreement
Fourth Nine Weeks:
Poetry
Using descriptive words to create mind pictures
Showing evidence of book language, specialized vocabulary, or structures from
other texts
WRITING COMPONENTS IN A BALANCED LITERACY CLASSROOM:
Shared Writing (Students dictate the information while the teacher writes on
a chart.)
Interactive Writing (Students and teacher "share the pen" and both contribute
to the writing chart.)
Guided Writing/Writing Conferences (Teacher confers with student on
his/her writing and provides explicit instruction.)
Independent Writing (Students write independently for variety of purposes.)
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