Informational Writing, Text Structures and Prompts

We have been transitioning from writing opinion to writing informative paragraphs.  As we began our study of informational writing, it was a natural time to review the different types of text structures. A text structure is how the author chooses to organize the information in his/her writing. To help us better understand each text structure, we created the following chart as a class.  We filled in the first three columns together. We listed the text structure, wrote a definition and then recorded signal words which would help us identify each text structure as we found it in text. The last column was left blank for future use.

While reading informational text, we practiced identifying the text structure used by the author. Highlighting clue words and justifying our choice of structure helped solidify our learning.

I now wanted students to stretch their thinking and practice writing informative text in a specific structure.  To begin this process, we needed to identify what structure was being asked for in a prompt. The students were ready for the next step; reading a prompt and determining the text structure they would need to use in response.

We returned to our chart. As we had been exploring trappers and traders in Social Studies, I chose that as the topic of the prompts the students would sort. To focus on the text structure required, I provided the students with five separate prompts. They now titled the final column in their chart Prompts.

After reading each prompt, the students placed the prompt in the appropriate section on the chart. Students discussed their choices with partners, justifying their decision of which text structure to choose. When students reached an agreement, they glued the prompt in the appropriate row. 

The time spent on the chart proved invaluable.  We were ready for the next step – making plans and writing topic sentences!

Let's Write A Story . . . Part 3

The past two blogs have focused on working with students on narrative writing.  www.writenow-rightnow.com/blog/2017/lets-write-a-story-part-one and  www.writenow-rightnow.com/blog/2017/lets-write-a-story-part-2 Students are now ready to compose their events.  It is typical for young writers to simply list the events on their plan.  For example:  We built a fire to scare the bear, but he simply cuddles up next to it and took a nap.   Next we tried banging pots to scare him away, but he put his paws over his ears.  Instead of painting a picture for the reader, students put the events in the form of a list.

Prior to writing the events of a story, practice writing details through the use of wordless books.  A wordless book tells a story only using pictures.  The Red Sled, by Lita Judge, is a student favorite. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-sled-lita-judge/1100163318 Show students a single illustration from the book. Students will now write this portion of the story using words.  As a group brainstorm vocabulary that might be found in the book.  Only show one picture at a time, having students focus on writing 2-3 sentences which tell what is happening on that page.  Students love sharing their writings and this will encourage each other’s descriptive writing.

Returning to their own narratives, students now have practice including details when writing their events.  To help encourage detailed writing, students should write each event on a separate sheet of paper. This allows room to edit and expand the writing as needed.  Continually ask students to share their writing, listening to one another’s details and word choice.  Students will have 3 attempts to solve the story’s problem – two unsuccessful attempts and a final attempt that solves the problem.

The final solution and its success is not the end of the story.  A story does not merely end when the problem is solved.  The narrative requires a resolution – which requires two components.  The first component is a recounting of how the main character is feeling.  The second component is what the character has learned.  What did the characters take away from the bear experience? 

As they shared their writing with peers, the students were proud of their hard work and their focused, entertaining stories.  They were eager to write a second narrative.  They had accomplished what all writers desire – a story that was engaging for both the author and the reader.

We’d love to hear about your experiences writing narratives with students.  Please email us at darlene-and-terry@writenow-rightnow.com to share experiences or visit our website writenow-rightnow.com to read past blog posts and newsletters.

You can find complete lesson plans for writing narratives in the Write Now - Right Now Writing Curriculum.

Let's Write A Story . . . Part 2

In our last blog post, we planned our narratives and discovered different ways to begin a narrative. http://www.writenow-rightnow.com/blog/2017/lets-write-a-story-part-one It was now time to write the introductions to our narratives.  Returning to the original plan about a bear, I decided we would first practice writing an introduction which focused on the setting.  The setting includes items we might see, hear and feel. 

 To begin, I asked students to close their eyes and imagine elements they would see, hear and feel in the forest.  Together we listed these words or phrases on the board.  Examples were:  tall trees, leaves blowing in the wind, blue sky, puffy clouds, birds singing, a trail through the woods, crunching leaves, etc. Using these words, we first wrote a setting introduction together.  The students were then asked to write a Setting Introduction independently.

The next day, we returned to our chart listing ways to begin a narrative. This time, we decided to try beginning our narrative using a Dialogue Introduction.  (This also proved to be the perfect time to teach quotation marks.)  To help students refrain from the “Hi,” said the girl.  “Hi,” said the friend dialogue trap, students went back to their novels to find examples of engaging conversations between characters.   The students and I wrote a dialogue introduction together and then they completed their own introduction independently. 

Students had now written two compelling introductions for their fictional narrative. They were asked to choose the one they felt was the most interesting and put a star next to it.  With the introduction complete, they were now ready to continue writing their narratives.  We had moved beyond a basic introduction and had practiced adding the details necessary to hook our reader from the beginning.

Taking the time to plan their narratives and then write a compelling introduction gave students the confidence they needed to begin their writing.  They understood how to add details and were confident in their abilities to write a story.

We would love to hear about your experiences with narratives!

Happy writing,

Darlene and Terry

Please visit our website at writenow-rightnow.com to read past blog posts and newsletters.