Structure and Style in Writing
By Richelle Palmer
K-12 Writing Facilitator
Certified Instructor for Institute for Excellence
in Writing
richellegaskellpalmer@hotmail.com
509-520-3440
About Me…
Currently K-12 Writing Faciilator
for Wahluke School District
• Implement the K-12 District
Road Map using Structure
and Style
• Train buildings each week
during Late Start
• Model Lessons for teachers
with teams observing
• Train/Coach Administrators
on implementation
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Prior Work Experience
BERC Group (Research
Associate)
Bethel School District – ELL
Instructional Coach/Trainer
Walla Walla School DistrictInstructional Coach/Literacy
Trainer
Prescott SD – Literacy
Specialist
Richland School District –
Title I LAP/1st, 2nd 3rd grade
Adjunct Professor EWU,
WSU
Nine Units
I. Note Making & Outlines
II. Summarizing from Notes
III. Summarizing Narrative Stories
IV Summarizing a Reference
V. Writing from Pictures
VI Library Research Reports
VII Paragraph Writing (Prompts)
VIII. Formal Essay
IX Formal Critique
Style
Dress-Ups
Sentence Openers
Who/which
“ly” adverb
Strong verb
Quality adjective
wwwasia
(because)
Subject 1
Prepositional 2
“ly” adverb 3
“ing” 4
Clausual 5
V.S.S. (2-5 words)
The Syllabus in Style
To introduce style techniques gradually
2. To give students an assortment of tools
that that will help them add variety and
interest to their writing
3. To provide grammar instruction in the
context of use.
This Syllabus is taught throughout the
Units.
1.
Your Turn
• Brainstorm 7-10 verbs that your
students overuse or that you would
like to expand their vocabulary.
• Example: said
• With a partner, brainstorm all the
words you can for ate
Let’s practice using a “Strong Verb”
• Original Sentence: The man ate the
delicious porridge.
• Dress up this sentence by adding a strong
verb
Example: The man gobbled the delicious
porridge.
Your turn
• Brainstorm 7-10 adjectives that
your students overuse in their
writing or those that you wish to
expand their vocabulary.
• Example: nice
Pattern Writing using Quality
Adjectives
Dress-Ups continued…
• “ly” adverbs
• Because clause
• www. Asia or When, While, Where,
Since, As, If, Although
• Who/which
• Teachers should have anchor charts for
each and posted in a writing center for
reference
Because clause
Let’s practice with “ly” adverb
I danced all night.
Dress-up this sentence by adding an
adverb before or after the verb.
Student examples ”ly” adverb
I danced gracefully all night.
I continually danced all night.
I foolishly danced all night.
I danced beautifully all night.
Sentence Openers
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1 Subject
2 Prepositional
3 “ly” adverb
4 “ing”
5 clausal
6 VSS
• Minimum Rule:
Each one in every
paragraph as
possible
• Indicator: Number
in margin
Unit I Key Word Outlines
• For children to develop the ability to
choose and record key words which will
help them remember a complete idea,
and to use a basic outline format.
• For children to learn to communicate the
main ideas from something they have
read by using their own Key Word
Outlines.
Unit I continued…
• For children to be able to choose
selections, read them, create key word
outlines independently and verbally
retell the basic ideas to another person
using only the outline.
Note: Public speaking reinforced…
Unit II Summarizing from Notes
For children to become independent in the
processes of
1. Choosing a source and making a key
word outline
2. Summarizing from their own notes
(avoiding plagiarism)
3. “dressing-up” their summaries and
rewriting a final draft.
Model Lesson
• Teacher activates or builds background
knowledge through the use of pictures
and/or relics.
• Teacher reads/Choral read
• Count sentences/circle periods
• Set up outline with Roman Numeral I
• Do sentence by sentence. Key words in
order found in sentence (3 words max)
• Using key words put into a sentence and
tell partner.
Vulture Bees
I. S. America, scientists, discovered ME
1. O feed, pollen, nectar
2. gobbles, flesh, creatures
WE
3. feed, spit, enzyme
4. ________,_______,_________ YOU
5. _____________,______,_______
Vulture Bees
• Using the rubric you are to write a
summary from your key words.
• This rubric assumes that we have taught,
modeled and practiced:
Quality adjectives
Strong verb
“ly” adverb
• “ing” sentence opener (4)
• ‘ly” opener (3)
Common Core State Standards
Style
• L.1,3,6
• R.4
CCSS L1.4 Explain the
function of nouns,
pronouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs
in general and their
functions in a particular
sentence
Units I, Units II
• W.2,4,7, 8,10
• R.2, 10
• SL.1,4,6
Summarizing & Notetaking
29-45 percentile gains
(Marzano, Pickering &
Pollock 2001)
Yearly Writing Plan
Stylistic Chart” for each grade level
Teachers yearly plan includes:
Month/Unit
CCSS
Dress-ups
Sentence Openers
Decoration & Other Notes
Text/Literature & Materials
Assessment
Structure & Style WSD
• Road Map for each grade level
• Section on each unit specifically designed for
each grade level on what the unit looks like
and expectations
• Section on “Style” per grade level expectation
• Writing Plan – Individual
• CCSS
• CCSS Exemplars
Other Documents to Support
Implementation
• Writing to Read
• Writing Next
• Reading Next
NAEP 2011
• Alliance for Excellent Education
Unit IV/VI
See handout and Loon Poster
CBA with fused outline
Questions???
Thank you for your time today