The Learning Pad

Lessons for beginning writers

Lesson 2-1	Lesson: Writers put spaces between words (Spaghetti and meatballs) ==> Writers put spaces between their letters and their words. ==> Show a piece of writing from a previous year where there are no space or write a piece on the board without any spaces. ==> Wow, it's hard to read words when there aren't any spaces. ==> When I write I think about yummy spaghetti and meatballs. Writers put small spaces between words, like spaghetti spaces. Writers put bigger spaces between words, like meatball spaces.
Lesson 2-2	Lesson: Writers write from left to right ==> Start a piece in the middle of the paper and write in every which direction. ==> What's the problem with my piece? ==> Writers need to write from left to right. Readers expect that you will start on the left, write across the page and sweep back over.
Lesson 2-3	Lesson: Giving compliments in Author's Share ==> Each day when we gather for author's share we will help each other. ==> As a writer it's helpful to know what we did well that helped the reader. We will take time to give compliments. ==> Instead of saying "I like your story" we want to be specific. We want to tell the writer exactly what they did that was good writing. ==> We begin by saying "I like how you.... started with a capital letter, stretched out your words, etc."
Lesson 2-4	Lesson: Writers write about what's near and dear to their heart ==> Read one of the books about treasures ==> Bring out a personal treasure of your own in a bag. Tell the story of your treasure. ==> We all have treasures, things that are near and dear to our hearts. Writers write about the things that are important to them. Model how you can write about your treasure. ==> Give each child a bag. Have them draw a heart on their bag. Tomorrow I want you to bring one of your own treasures to school in your bag. You will write about your treasure tomorrow.
Lesson 2-5	Lesson: Writers write about something that's important to them ==> After reading Arthur Writes a Story, discuss what happened in the story. ==> Writers can write about things that are important to them. I can write about my children because they are very important to me. I can think of lots of things that I want to tell people about my children. I like to write about teaching because teaching is important to me. It's a big part of my life. ==> I probably wouldn't write about fixing cars because fixing cars isn't important to me. ==> Writers usually write about things they know a lot about. ==> Make a class list of things they know a lot about.
Lesson 2-6	Lesson: Writers write about things in the world ==> I always seem to have children in my class who love sports. I bring in an article about something sports related or about something that is happening in the world that the children are aware of. ==> Writers write about the things that happen in the world. Sometimes they tell the events. Sometimes they tell their thoughts about the event.
Lesson 2-7	Lesson: Writers write about their lives ==> Writers write about their own lives. ==> View an interview with Tomie DePaola. ==> It's fun to tell about the things we have done or the things we have experienced. ==> We can be like Tomie DePaola. We can write about our lives. Interview with Tomie DePaola
Lesson 2-8	Lesson: Making Lists ==> Lists are lots of fun to write. ==> Let's talk about some lists you might know about (shopping list, to do list, christmas list, party guest list, phone book lists, rules, etc.) ==> I make lots of lists. Sometimes I make lists of my favorite things... like my favorite books. I put my list of favorite books on my web site to share with other teachers. What are some other kinds of lists that we could make? ==> Let's make a list together of things that first graders might write about. ==> You might want to try making a list today.
Lesson 2-9	Lesson: Writers can label ==> Show a variety of labels from cans and different products. ==> A label tells the reader what something is. ==> Sometimes writers use labels in their writing. ==> Let's look at how Lois Elhert uses labels in her stories. ==> We can label things in our pictures too. ==> You might want to try using labels today.
Lesson 2-10	Lesson: Writers stretch out words/ Use a magic line ==> Sometimes we don't know how to spell a word. ==> Today I'm going to teach you a magic writing trick ==> When you don't know how to spell a word you can use a magic line. A magic line holds a space in your writing. ==> Here's how it works: start writing a sentence and then pause and think aloud... hmm.. I want to spell the word "wondered" but I don't know how. I know it starts with a w. I will put a w and then add a magic line to hold a spot for the word (w_____). ==> Now I can just keep right on writing. I don't have to waste all my precious writing time waiting for help.
Lesson 2-11	Lesson: Writer's Stretch out words and listen for the ending sound ==> We've talked about writer's using magic lines when they don't know how to spell a word. ==> Another thing that great writers do is stretch out words slowly to listen for the sounds in the word. (model stretching words) ==> It's like stretching a rubber band in your head. You stretch and hold the sounds so that your brain can listen for the next sound.
Lesson 2-12	Lesson: Writers use a capital letter to start each sentence. ==> After reading a book about things that are big and little discuss the differences and similarities between the characters. ==> Let's look at the alphabet chart. What do you notice? ==> Let's do a little investigating. Look through a book with your talking partner and talk about what you notice about how writers use letters. ==> Writers use big and little letters. We call them uppercase and lowercase letters. ==> Which type of letters do writers use more? Most of the time we write with lowercase letters. ==> BUT at the beginning of a sentence we begin with an uppercase letter to show the reader we are starting a new sentence.
Lesson 2-13	Lesson: Writers end a sentence with a punctuation mark. ==> Read a page or two of a story to the children. However, omit all punctuation. ==> Whoah! What was wrong with that story? ==> Discuss briefly and then read Punctuation Takes a Vacation. ==> Writers use punctuation to help the reader know when they are ending a thought and ready to start a new one. It is like a stop light. It tells the reader to take a breath . Then they see the capital letter and that is like the go light to let them know to start reading again.
Lesson 2-14	Lesson: Hitting the target ==> When an archer shoots an arrow he doesn't just pull back and shoot. He has a target. The little circle in the middle is of a target is called a bullseye. ==> In this story Robin Hood is an excellent archer. He hits the middle of the target, the bullseye. ==> Why does an archer need a target? ==> Writers need a target too. A writing target is like a goal; it's what we are shooting at as we become a better writer. ==> My target one day might be to work hard to stretch out my words or maybe I might decide that I need to work on using lowercase letters. ==> When I am finished writing I can go back and see how I did. I can see if I hit the target. If I don't have a target I don't know what I am working on.
Lesson 2-15	Lesson: Writers use resources to help them write ==> What should a writer do when they don't know how to spell a word? ==> Writers use resources: word wall, mini office, books, book tubs, name charts, etc.
Lesson 2-16	Lesson: Writers paint a picture in the reader's mind ==> A writer's job isn't just to write words. A writer must write words that help to paint a picture in the reader's mind. ==> How can a writer paint a picture with words? ==> When we describe things or events we help to create a picture with our words. ==> Today when you write think about how you can paint a picture in the reader's mind.
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