Empowering Writers through
the Interactive Notebook
By Jason Galvan & Alma Sanchez
Objectives & CPQ
Objective
• Provide teachers with fun
activities to helps students
generate ideas as they write.
• Provide various writing
activities that can be used in
an interactive notebook.
• Use various activities to
promote effective structure
in student writing.
CPQ
• How can these strategies
help in writing powerful
compositions? (Narrative
& Expository)
Narrative Writing Diamond
ENTERTAINING BEGINNING
ELABORATIVE DETAIL-Story
Critical Character, Setting, Object
SUSPENSE-or anticipation leading
to the main event
THE MAIN EVENT-Show action
in slow motion, frame by frame,
stretch it out! Include description
and main character’s thoughts and
feelings?
Action leading to SOLUTION or
problem or CONCLUSION
EXTENDED ENDING: Memory,
Decision, Feeling, Wish
Entertaining Beginning-Character,
Setting & Theme
Types of beginnings…
• AN ACTION: Put your main
character in your setting doing
something interesting and
relevant to the story.
• DIALOGUE: Have your main
character say something.
• A THOUGHT OR QUESTION:
Show the main character’s
thoughts, or raise a story
question.
• A SOUND: Grab the reader’s
attention through the use of a
sound.
Ask yourself…
• What would you do?
• What might you say or
exclaim?
• What would you wonder
or worry?
• What might you hear?
Word Referent
1. Read your topic card-person, place or thing
2. Write a main idea sentence which includes your
topic word. (Please do not write on your card.)
3. Generate a list of alternative nouns and adjectives
to create synonymous words or phrases that can be
used in place of your underlined word. (be sure to
try out your new word referents in place of your
underlined topic word.)
4. Number your word referents from the MOST
GENERAL to the MOST SPECIFIC.
Word Referent
Tiger
Adjective
Nouns
Big
Cat
Wild
Animal
Striped
Creature
Ferocious
Feline
Stealthy
Hunter (predator)
grassland
dweller
Word Referent
Tiger
1. Wild animal
2. Big creature
3. Stealthy hunter
4. Striped cat
Magic of Three
1. Provide list of “Red Flag Words and
Phrases”
2. Complete Template for “Magic of Three”
Red Flag Words & Phrases
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A moment later…
Before I knew it…
In an instant…
In the blink of an eye…
Just as I realized…
The next thing I knew…
After that…
A second later…
Suddenly…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Just then…
All of a sudden…
A moment later…
In the blink of an eye…
Without warning…
The next thing I knew…
Instantly…
To my surprise…
Magic of Three
Red Flag Words & Without warning
Phrases
1st Hint
a flock of birds flew from the forest.
No Discovery
Startled from it, I looked toward the sky and nothing else seemed out
of order.
Reaction
So, I ignored the incident and meandered on.
Red Flag Words & In an instant
Phrases
2nd Hint
I heard branches breaking under the weight of something heavy
behind me.
No Discovery
I turned around, but there was nothing there.
Reaction
With an uneasy feeling, I continued walking.
Red Flag Words & Suddenly
Phrases
3rd Hint
I heard a loud roar behind me.
Revelation or
I turned around and found myself peering into the eyes of a giant bear!
F.A.D.D.S./Main Event
Don’t Summarize! Make a Scene!
Feelings/thoughts: What were you
wondering, worrying, feeling?
Action: What did you do? (Tell it in slow
motion, S-T-R-E-T-C-H I-T O-U-T!)
Description: What did you see, hear, feel?
Dialogue/Exclamation: What did you say or
exclaim?
Sound Effect: What did you hear?
F.A.D.D.S./Main Event
I went for a ride on a roller coaster...
I went for a ride on a roller coaster. While standing
in line waiting, I heard the screams coming from the air.
I stepped up on my tippy toes and saw the cars looping
on two large curlicue rails. I felt my stomach rise to the
top of my throat because this would be my first attempt
at riding a roller coaster. I now worried if I was going to
make it through without vomiting. “Agh!”, my cousin
had just pushed me and told me to stop holding up the
line. I sat in the empty cart and heard the slam of the
roller coaster restraint as the attendant pressed the
button for lift off.
Extended Ending: Memory,
Decision, Feeling, Wish
End with…
• Learning a lesson
• Making a decision
• Forming an opinion
• Hope for something similar or different to
happen to you in the future.
Expository Writing: Pillar of
Writing
Summarizing Frameworks
• Narrative Summarizing Framework
– This is a story about ________________.
– The problem/adventure/experience was
_________________________.
– The problem/adventure/experience concluded when
__________________.
• Expository Summarizing Framework
–
–
–
–
Topic: _________________________.
Main Idea #1: ____________________.
Main Idea #2: ____________________.
Main Idea #3: ____________________.
• Informative Verbs:
– Explains, shows, discover, reveal, study, examine, observe, explore
• Example: Come explore the desert and discover the unique
landscape, observe the extreme climate, and examine the
fascinating wildlife.
Sentence Starters
• Sentence Starters for Compare and Contrast
–
–
–
–
–
Similar…
However…
On the other hand…
In the same way…
The traits they share…
• Sentence Starters for “how to”
– The next step involves…
– Be sure to…
– In my experience…
Cut and Paste: Identifying Main
Idea and Details
• Let’s play cut and paste.
• The introduction and conclusion will be
provided. Cut out the main ideas & details,
then organize them.
Pick, List & Choose (Expository
Writing)
1. Pick a subject.
2. Write down words that are related to your
subject.
3. Classify the words into main ideas by
circling them using different colored
markers.
4. Have students choose 2 to 3 main ideas
and 3 to 4 details for their Expository
composition.
Pick, List & Choose
Step 1 & Step 2
Dogs
German Sheppard
pit-bull
boarding
Cancer sniffing dog
chew
collar
comfort dog
dance
drool
drug dog
fetch
fleas
Step 3
Dogs
food
guard dog
hunting dog
kenel
play dead
rescue dog
roll over
shake hand
shed
sit
smell
tics
toys
vet
working dog
pit bull
German Sheppard
food
toys
collar
vet
boarding
kennel
shed
accidents
chew
smell
drool
fleas
tics
sit
fetch
roll over
play dead
shake hand
dance
drug dog
rescue dog
comfort dog
working dog
hunting dog
guard dog
Cancer sniffing dog
Pick, List & Choose
Expenses
Negatives
Food
Toys
Shed
Accidents
Collar
Vet
Chew
Smell
Tricks
Sit
Fetch
Roll Over
Play Dead
The Missing Main Idea
How do we create broad, yet distinct, main ideas?
1. Read the paragraphs in your handout. You will
notice there are details, but each paragraph is
missing a main idea.
2. Generate a main idea sentence for each incomplete
paragraph
This requires you to use inductive reasoning: in this
case, going from particular to general, or related specific details to a
broad main idea.
Main Idea Blurbs
• Take you first main
idea and turn it into a
sentence.
– Example: Food to
pack-Packing the right
picnic foods takes a lot
of thought and
planning
Main Idea Sentence Starters
“…provide some interesting
‘sentence starters’ to build
sentence variety and encourage
author’s voice in the writing!
Students need alternatives to
what they’re comfortable with!”
Detail Generating Question Game
1. Just the facts!
2. What does it look like?
3. Why is it important?
Detail Generating Question Game
1. Just the facts!
– Ex. I have a wrench.
2. What does it look like?
– Ex. I have an orange gray and green colored
wrench with a made in China inscription on the
side.
3. Why is it important?
– Ex. I have a wrench. I have an orange gray and
green colored wrench with a made in China
inscription on the side. I have a wrench that
tightens bolts and pipes.
Detail Generative Questions for
Persuasive Writing
• What does that look like?
• Why is that important to your argument?
(What does the reader have to gain by
agreeing or lose by disagreeing?
• Can you give a specific example?
• Did you acknowledge the opposing view
and counter it with a “yes…but” statement?
• Did you ask a rhetorical question?
Introductions and Conclusions
Golden Bricks
• More powerful ways of showing rather than
telling! Page 243
– Quote
• Words of an authority/expert on the topic
– Statistic
• Information presented as a number, ratio, or percentage
– Amazing fact
• Unusual, amazing, little-known fact that will surprise
your reader
– Anecdote
• SHORT explicit story used to illustrate a main idea
– Descriptive Statement
• Vivid 2-3 sentence description using the 5 senses
Golden Bricks - Examples
• Historian Elizabeth Carrera says, “The golden age of
exploration was dominated by the Portuguese and the
Spaniards.”
• While at NASA, space exploration advocate and
administrator Goldin increased productivity by 40%.
• Last summer my family was vacationing in Missouri
where we visited the Lewis and Clark Boat House and
Nature Center. We sow realistic displays of the Missouri
River habitat and dioramas that tell the story of the
Lewis and Clark expedition and the Native American
tribes they met.
• Look at the basic eight stud LEGO brick. If you have six
of these, you can combine them in 102,981,500 different
ways. In other words, LEGO collectors have millions of
choices.
Golden Bricks - Posters
• Great Assignment!
• Find published examples of GOLDEN
BRICKS and/or transitional phrases.
• Make Posters with examples that you cut
out from magazines, newspapers, or other
sources!
Golden Bricks - Posters
What your expository introduction
paragraph needs:
• A Lead
– Catch the reader’s attention!
• A Topic Sentence
– Briefly, clearly tell the reader what the piece will
be about!
– (Sometimes known as “thesis statement”)
Types of Leads
•
•
•
•
•
•
Amazing or unusual fact
Descriptive segment
Quote
Question (kids gravitate to this one!)
Statistic
Anecdote
Types of Persuasive Leads
•
•
•
•
•
•
Descriptive segment
Quote or Testimonial
Statistic
Anecdote
Rhetorical Question
Bandwagon Statement
How to Write an Introduction
• (Easy to teach once they’ve learned the
Golden Bricks)
• Leads and topic sentences
• Write an attention grabbing lead
• Effective topic sentences
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• “Sums Up” the Main Idea
• Should NOT be totally redundant, restating
the main idea.
• Example:
– So now you know what frogs look like, where
they live and how they grow and change. THE
END.
• Let’s look at: (specific alternatives to “I hope
you enjoyed reading my report”)
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• Restate each main idea as a question
– Would you enjoy a nature walk by the marsh or
pond? Are you entertained by the flopping
about of tadpoles and the leaping of longlegged green frogs? If so, you should get to
know the common, yet fascinating frog!
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• Hypothetical Anecdote
– If you ever stroll along the banks of a pond, or
take a kayak or canoe out on a small lake, be on
the lookout for these interesting creatures.
From egg to tadpole, from tadpole to frog, these
long-legged, green hopping amphibians will
definitely catch your eye. Without a doubt,
these comical croakers are fascinating!
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• Word Referent
– Would you enjoy a nature walk by the marsh or
pond? Are you entertained by the flopping
about of tadpoles and the leaping of longlegged green amphibians? If so, you should get
to know the common, yet fascinating frog!
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• Use a definitive word or phrase
– Would you enjoy a nature walk by the marsh or
pond? Are you entertained by the flopping
about of tadpoles and the leaping of longlegged green frogs? If so, you should certainly
get to know the common, yet fascinating frog!
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• Informative verbs
– If you ever stroll along the banks of a pond, or
take a kayak or canoe out on a small lake, be on
the lookout for these interesting creatures. You
can explore their habitat and observe them
from egg to tadpole, tadpole to frog. These
long-legged, green hopping amphibians will
certainly catch your eye. Without a doubt,
these comical croakers are fascinating!
Expository Conclusion Paragraph
• Restate the general topic sentence
– Would you enjoy a nature walk by the marsh or
pond? Are you entertained by the flopping
about of tadpoles and the leaping of longlegged green frogs? If so, you should certainly
get to know the amazing, fascinating frog!
Persuasive Conclusion Paragraphs
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•
•
•
•
Use vivid language
“Now or Never” statement
Highlight the most important argument
Use a definitive word or phrase
Call to action
Flip the Sentence
Students recognize redundant sentence
variety (the “broken record”) and learn how to
“flip the sentence subject.”
Flip the Sentence
1. She had long black curly hair.
– Long black curly hair fell over her shoulders.
2. She had sparkling green eyes.
– Sparkling green eyes twinkled at me.
3. She had a white fur coat.
– A white fur coat draped over her small frame.
4. She had black shiny boots.
– Black shiny boots covered her feet.
5. She had a big black poodle on a leash.
– A big black poodle on a leash led the way.