Drafts are done...now what?
Once drafts were complete we started focusing of the beginnings, endings, and everything in between. After each edit session we went back to our drafts and made them better. Our drafts are always “under construction”. One of the hardest concepts for students to embrace is that idea that writing is never "done". When I have a student proudly proclaim after the first draft, "I'm done!", I kindly retort, "When you're done, you've just begun."
BEGINNINGS/ENDINGS
Just like with every step of the writing process - model...model...model. As teachers we too often take for granted that our students know exactly what we expect of them.
We created another anchor chart that had 4-5 different ways to begin a narrative. I passed out index cards to each table group. The cards were numbered to correspond with the numbers on the anchor chart. For example, the first way to start a story might be using a sound that catches the reader’s attention. The topic on the card was the first day of school. Each group worked together collaboratively to come up with a beginning using a sound and that topic. We did this until we had gone through each way to creatively begin a story. The students loved hearing how the other groups came up with ways to begin their topic story.
In the past we have also searched through familiar texts to show different ways authors begin the novels they read every day. Once we had practiced each type of beginning, I modeled how I update my seed story’s beginning. Then, they went back to their journals to update their seed story as well.
When it came time to practice endings we did a similar activity with the ways to creatively end a story. Their stories were then updated to end with a memorable note. Both of the anchor charts are posted for the students to use at anytime. This step was helpful in reminding students that "The End" and "That's my story. Bye!" are not the best use of an ending.
TRANSITION WORDS
Transition words are definitely the way that stories flow in an organized fashion. Many students that are aware of what transition words are tend to use the same favorites - first, then, and next.
We started by brainstorming as a whole group. I asked students to write down transitional words and phrases on sticky notes. We placed them all on an anchor chart. It was satisfying to see students walk up to the chart during their drafting to seek out transitions!
To help organize the words and phrases, I created a visual for them to see which words could be used at the correct points in their story.
This visual was a traffic light that had transitional words that went with the green, yellow, and red parts of the light. Green beginning story words and phrases were: "first" and "in the beginning". Examples of middle words (yellow) were: then and next. Finally, the red words are the words that can finish up a story.
I wrote a sequence story about making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The paragraph was written so each sentence was written on different sentence strips. But to make things interesting, I left out all of the transition words. Each group had a set of sentences they needed to put together in the correct sequence. Each group also got 5 post it notes to write down different transition words. The students placed the transition post-its into the story at the correct places. Each group enjoyed sharing their choice of transition words they used to make their stories flow.
Each student received a traffic light transition word chart for their binders. The students then went back to their drafts to see if they could add or change up any transition words to make their stories more organized. They love to highlight them in the corresponding color to signal if they are green, yellow, or red transition words.
CHARACTERS
In the past we have tried to brainstorm characteristics about the characters they are creating, but that doesn't always correlate to a well developed character in their writing. It seems like we get one sentence that just has a list of the character traits that they brainstormed. Developmentally it is very difficult for them to be this stylistic as writers. But we can show them what good writers do with characters to give them a starting point.
For this topic of instruction I decided to pull different text examples from the novel we were using at the time. In the novel, Eagle Song, the author describes the characters indirectly. So I pulled various quotes from the text for the students to dig deeper into the character and the traits they were demonstrating.
Each quote described how a character was thinking or acting. Each quote had to be thought about in order to describe each characters’ traits. This was one way to show how authors describe characters without coming right out and saying it. Modeling what good writers do helps make new writers better.
I also created a poster to remind students about choosing better adjectives. I explained that when they are drafting they can write down the first words that come to mind. But, during the editing and revision process, they should go through and note which words should be improved upon. The poster helps students identify some of the words that need revision.
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| Seasonal Poster Fun! |
EDITING/REVISION
Checklists are great. But, too often, we will hand a checklist to a student and expect them to move through each line to improve their writing. The reality is students usually check off the item just to move forward in the process without actually doing the steps.
Although I still have a checklist available, I also have students chart their writing.
This may be my absolute favorite strategy to teach while working through writer’s workshop. This is a Ruth Culham strategy that I learned years ago when I was first introduced to the 6 + 1 Traits writing program.
Each child uses a chart labeled with 3 key columns:
- first 2 words in the sentence
- number of words in the sentence
- ending punctuation mark
I prepared a mock paragraph that has some obvious grammar infractions and a run-on sentence that I new would demonstrate the strength of this chart. As I entered all of the information into the chart, my mistakes and repetitions become clear to the students. This activity demonstrated that sentences shouldn’t start with the same words and they definitely shouldn’t have too many words. I showed them very explicitly what I would do if I realized I have a sentence with 25+ words in it. They quickly saw that this humongous sentence should be broken into 2 (or even 3) smaller sentences.
When they started charting their own paragraph, I reminded them, "If you see a sentence in the upper teens for word count, go back and split it up into multiple sentences." They found out very quickly that they are putting too many words in a sentence. Splitting up a run-on sentence can be a challenge for a lot of students. I encouraged them to think about where one idea stops and the next idea begins. Oftentimes, that is where a period can be inserted. Another great thing about the editing chart is it becomes immediately obvious that they are starting sentences with the same words repeatedly. This strategy is one of the most powerful ones that I teach all year!
I have had students asking to chart because it helps them keep so many areas in check while they are writing. Just recently, we were doing a writing sample and a student re-create a chart on a whiteboard so she could chart her paragraph. Teaching strategies that will grow with them and be applicable in other aspects of their education is so valuable.
In a nutshell, the importance of explicitly teaching in any subject area is well worth the time! Slowing down, giving explicit step-by-step instruction, and modeling the expectations is some of the most powerful teaching we can do.