Teacher Resource: Ook F Fifth Rade: Name
Teacher Resource: Ook F Fifth Rade: Name
Teacher Resource: Ook F Fifth Rade: Name
Name:
T he Vasa warship
sank on its
maiden voyage.
T he Viking longship’s
symmetrical design
is amazing.
My ancestors
lived in a
floating village.
TALE OF CONTENTS
Our Philosophy........................................................................................................................................... 2
Information Checklists................................................................................................................................ 11
Opinion/Argument Checklists.................................................................................................................... 12
Writing Templates................................................................................................................................13–15
et to Know
Building Writers activities provide age-appropriate and learn. Without proper practice and training, we wouldn’t
engaging writing practice for core writing skills. Each expect our students to run a marathon. The same is true
activity can be easily incorporated into a writing block as for achieving the rigorous, long-term writing standards
independent writing or as whole group practice to meet expected of students. Children require repeated practice
your students’ varying needs. with small chunks of essential writing skills and strategies
as they learn to compose strong sentences, paragraphs,
Building Writers provides carefully scaffolded and eventually more. Building Writers activities equip
opportunities for students to grow as independent writers. students with the crucial building blocks necessary for
Our activities have easily accessible and child friendly proficiency with your grade level writing standards.
resources to ensure writers at all stages are supported.
The activities are intuitive and engaging with exercises Each workbook’s developmentally designed content
specifically designed to provide students with a framework gradually prepares students for independent writing with
to develop core writing skills. focus on narrative, information, and opinion/argument
writing types. In each section, students are introduced to
Our books were created with classroom teachers who the key elements of each writing type in a purposefully
understand the need for easily accessible and effective organized sequence. At the end of each section, writing
classroom resources. Our workbooks provide an templates, familiar from previous activities, are available
abundance of high quality writing activities all in one for further practice. These templates can be adapted in
place, saving teachers time and energy searching order to apply the learned writing skills in each section to
for supplemental materials. curriculum-specific content, student-chosen topics, or other
individualized subjects.
With many years of experience developing successful
and effective curricula, we understand how children
T he Vasa warship
sank on its T he Viking longship’s
maiden voyage. symmetrical design
is amazing.
My ancestors
lived in a
floating village.
Writing is the most frequently used mode through which Building Writers structured practice centers around
students are expected to communicate and demonstrate grade-level specific commonly used words and phrases,
their understanding of learned concepts1. Building Writers key vocabulary, and core strategies and skills. Children
is an easily accessible resource for practicing and refining practice these skills through a variety of cross-curricular
core writing skills to support students as they become content within each main writing genre: narrative,
effective communicators. information, and opinion/argument. Our step-by-step
models and carefully structured pages gradually release
An early writing foundation begins with forming good independence to students while boosting their confidence
habits. We teach strong writing habits through modeling, as writers.
repetition, and exposure to robust examples. Building
Writers provides the framework for learning essential Building Writers reinforces practice of previously taught
writing habits through repeated practice and mastery of writing skills, and is not intended as a replacement for
core skills employed by strong writers. writing instruction, but rather as a tool to support your
writing block. Familiar writing templates are provided
in every Building Writers book and as reproducibles for
continued practice. By supporting students with additional
practice of essential writing skills, we are building the next
generation of confident and competent communicators.
Our goal is to
build the next
generation of confident
communicators!
1
“Drawing to support writing development in English language learners.” Language and Education 27, no. 3 (2012): 261–77.
doi:10.1080/09500782.2012.704047.
An introduction page indicates which writing type will follow: narrative, information,
or opinion. This is a great place to encourage students to color the large, line-drawn
illustrations, or jot down their own ideas for writing topics.
My ancestors
lived in a
floating village.
NARRATVE WRTN
Narrative writing tells a story that can be real or imagined. A story has characters, a setting,
WRIT ING SAMP LE & CHECKLIST
NARRATVE WRTN and a plot. Many stories also have dialogue, or conversations between characters. Strong
narrative writing includes a lot of details that make the story come to life.
Characters:
Narrative writing tells a story that can beSettings: real or imagined. A story has characters, a setting,
Next in the section introductions are a grade-level appropriate writing sample and a
Sydney, Keisha, and Carlos The bus and the planetarium
and a plot. Many stories also have dialogue, or conversations between characters. Strong
Field Trip to Outer Space
narrative writingMs.includes
Jackson’s fiftha lotclass
grade of was
details thatfilled
going music make
the air.the story
As they peered come to life.
into the dark
to the planetarium, and everyone was excited, theater, Sydney gasped. The planetarium wasn’t
Characters: Settings:
writing checklist.
except Sydney. “This is going to be the worst,” what she had expected. There were small lights
Sydney said dramatically, as the class got on that looked like stars, but there were also
the bus. “Why would anyone want to sit around bright, colorful pictures of every planet. Sydney
Sydney, Keisha, and Carlos in the dark and look at fake stars?” The bus and the planetarium
almost ducked as an asteroid flew past their
heads with a whooshing sound.
The other students rolled their eyes. “It's
Field Trip soundtrack
going to be more fun than sitting in class and
doing math,” Carlos said. Sydney made a sour
to “Wow!
Outer Space
This music sounds like the
for a movie in space,” Keisha
1. Ask students to follow along while you read the writing sample, or
big, heavy doors to the planetarium. Suddenly,
before they forgot about her mistake.
the bus. “Why would anyone want to sit around bright, colorful pictures of every planet. Sydney
in the dark and lookNarrative
at fake stars?”Writing Checklist almost ducked as an asteroid flew past their
I used a strong start to my story. heads with a whooshing sound.
the text.
that bad!” really was fun. As she looked around again,
T he end of my story provides a sense of closure.
Sydney saw that the other kids were giggling
The two girls were first to reach the
© 2018 Learning Without Tears 5 Building Writers F: Narrative Writing
I described the events in a logical order. item has been met. As the checklists become more detailed, some items will have
Details and descriptions made my characters come to life.
I used words and phrases to connect events.
subsections. In this example, the first item on the checklist has two subsections: writing
I wrote a conclusion.
T he end of my story provides a sense of closure. a hook to catch the reader, and introducing characters and setting. Both of these
© 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Narrative Writing 5
subsections must be checked before a student can check off “I used a strong start to
5thGrade-12.8.17-CJ.indd 5 12/8/17 3:57 PM
my story.”
4. Ask students to help determine if the example should get a check mark for each item
on the list. Encourage students to support their answers with specific examples from
the text such as “The author hooked my attention when I read that everyone was
excited to go to the planetarium except for Sydney.”
5. Engage students by having them draw a check mark inside the boxes in their own
books as the class identifies each item.
ILLUST RAT IONS - more humans die from the flu than by
shark attack
Invite students to color and
draw and provide visual
cues for activity-related Sharks are humans’ friends, not foes.
content and vocabulary.
WORD BANKS
Give young writers easily
located vocabulary and
spelling support.
MODELS
66 Building Writers F: Opinion Writing © 2018 Learning Without Tears
spelling support.
DOUBLE LINES
Control children’s letter size, spacing, and
placement, and promote legible writing.
10_15 MINUT ES
of writing each
day helps build skills
and confidence!
I DEAS VOIC E
Cross-curricular topics and engaging themes serve as a In each section of Building Writers, students practice
starting point and inspiration for students’ own ideas. matching their voice to the purpose of the piece they
Use the reproducible writing templates for practice with are writing.
more topics to fit your class’s interests and needs.
Check out how students write about preventing bullying Pp. 12-13 show an example of how students incorporate
See p. 30 for an example of how fifth graders See p. 73 for an example of the resources provided
their opinions.
Check out p. 40 for an example of how students Book-wide modeling across the three main writing types.
Print our templates to give each student their own writing checklist!
© 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce © 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce
Name: Name:
Narrative Writing Checklist Narrative Writing Checklist
I used a strong start to my story. I used a strong start to my story.
___ I wrote a “ hook” to catch the reader. ___ I wrote a “ hook” to catch the reader.
___ I introduced my characters and setting. ___ I introduced my characters and setting.
I developed the story in an organized way. I developed the story in an organized way.
___ I described the events in a logical order. ___ I described the events in a logical order.
___ Details and descriptions made my characters come to life. ___ Details and descriptions made my characters come to life.
___ I used words and phrases to connect events. ___ I used words and phrases to connect events.
I wrote a conclusion. I wrote a conclusion.
___ T he end of my story provides a sense of closure. ___ T he end of my story provides a sense of closure.
© 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce © 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce
Name: Name:
nformation Writing Checklist nformation Writing Checklist
I introduced my topic. I introduced my topic.
I presented information in an organized way. I presented information in an organized way.
___ I wrote important facts, definitions, and details. ___ I wrote important facts, definitions, and details.
___ I developed my topic in a logical order. ___ I developed my topic in a logical order.
___ I used linking words to connect my ideas. ___ I used linking words to connect my ideas.
I wrote a conclusion. I wrote a conclusion.
© 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce © 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce
Name: Name:
nformation Writing Checklist nformation Writing Checklist
I introduced my topic. I introduced my topic.
I presented information in an organized way. I presented information in an organized way.
___ I wrote important facts, definitions, and details. ___ I wrote important facts, definitions, and details.
___ I developed my topic in a logical order. ___ I developed my topic in a logical order.
___ I used linking words to connect my ideas. ___ I used linking words to connect my ideas.
I wrote a conclusion. I wrote a conclusion.
© 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce © 2018 Learning Without Tears Building Writers F: Teacher Resorce
Name: Name:
Opinion/Argument Writing Checklist Opinion/Argument Writing Checklist
I stated my opinion in a clear introduction. I stated my opinion in a clear introduction.
I wrote supporting reasons for my opinion. I wrote supporting reasons for my opinion.
___ I put my ideas and reasons in a logical order. ___ I put my ideas and reasons in a logical order.
___ I supported my reasons with facts and details. ___ I supported my reasons with facts and details.
___ I used linking words to connect facts and reasons. ___ I used linking words to connect facts and reasons.
Name: Name:
Opinion/Argument Writing Checklist Opinion/Argument Writing Checklist
I stated my opinion in a clear introduction. I stated my opinion in a clear introduction.
I wrote supporting reasons for my opinion. I wrote supporting reasons for my opinion.
___ I put my ideas and reasons in a logical order. ___ I put my ideas and reasons in a logical order.
___ I supported my reasons with facts and details. ___ I supported my reasons with facts and details.
___ I used linking words to connect facts and reasons. ___ I used linking words to connect facts and reasons.
Title:
Beginning (Hook):
Middle:
End:
Title:
Introduction:
Topic one:
Detail:
Topic two:
Detail:
Topic three:
Detail:
Conclusion:
Opinion:
Reason one:
Reason two:
Reason three:
Conclusion: