Grade Level and Unit
of Study:
Focus Standards:
Third Grade Unit 1: Launching Unit for Writing (approximately 4 weeks)
Essential
Questions

Suggested
Resources
Professional Resources:
 Ruzzo, K. Significant studies for second grade: Reading and writing investigations for children. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
 Wood Ray, K. (1999). Wondrous words: Writers and writing in the elementary classroom. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
 Fletcher, R. (1996). A writer's notebook: Unlocking the writer within. New York: Harper Collins.

What strategies do successful writers
use?
How do writers convey ideas?
Learning
Targets


I can write and share personal stories from my life.
I can publish a personal narrative through the writing process.
Literature:
Books by Patricia Polacco, Kevin Henkes, Cynthia Rylant, Eve Bunting, Byrd Baylor, Lois Lowry, Jane Yolen, Eileen Spinelli
Key
Terminology
Writing Process, Personal Narrative, Stamina
Culminating
Activity
Writing Celebration: Writers will share
their first published piece of writing—
personal narrative
End
Goals




Students will have learned the routines and expectations of
the writing workshop.
Students will have developed stamina in writing.
Students will set personal goals as writers.
Students will begin to build a writing life as a third grader.
Interdisciplinary Opportunities
Science
Social Studies
North Kansas City Schools – Revised 08/17/2012
Math
Encore
Page 1 of 4
Teaching Points/Student Experiences
Writing
Lesson 1 (2-3 days)
Teaching Point
Getting Started as a
Writer/Building a writing
community
 Expectations
 Procedures
 Writers’ tools
Instructional Ideas:
 Create chart: writing time
looks like / sounds like
 Teach/explain/ model
procedures (meeting area,
writing spots, conferring
time, sharing)
 Teach/explain/ model tools
writers use (tour writing
center with available tools)
 Assess student writing
 Discuss writing surveys on
individual basis
 Provide purpose for writing;
heart map (things that
matter), generating topics
(family, vacations, pets)
Student Experiences:
 Quick write
 Practice procedures
 Survey/interview on student
as a writer
 Personalize writer’s
notebooks
 Write independently in
notebooks
 Generate broad topics
 Building writing stamina
North Kansas City Schools – Revised 08/17/2012
Lesson 2 (1 day)
Teaching Point:
Reflecting on Writing
Lives
Lesson 3 (1 day)
Teaching Point
Collecting/generating seed
ideas (Heart Map)
Instructional Ideas:
 Share personal writing
experiences (both good
and bad)
Instructional Ideas:
 Create and share personal
Heart Map (people, places
and things that matter)
 Read Aloud The Best Story
by Eileen Spinelli
 Demonstrate how ideas are
like seeds and we can find
them growing in a variety
of places (could use
Georgia Heard’s seed ideas
from Awakening the
Heart)
Student Experiences:
 Record and share best
and worst writing
experiences
Student Experiences:
 Create a heart map
 Share Heart Map with
partner or in small group
 Using writer’s notebook,
create list of “seeds” that
could be possible writing
ideas in the future
Lesson 4 (1-3 days)
Teaching Point:
Collecting/generating ideas
(Heart Map-people, places
and things) Sample Lesson
Plan provided
Instructional Ideas:
 Using heart map, review
list of important people,
places and things and
choose one from the list
 Generate through think
aloud, small moments with
selected person, place or
thing
 Model how to zoom in on
specific moment in order
to focus writing
Lesson 5 (1day)
Teaching Point:
Writing Conventions
Instructional Ideas:
 Model strategies for
using quick resources
(word wall, as a quick
reference,
underline/circle
misspelled words and
move on)
Student Experiences:
 Apply strategies in
independent writing
 Explain how strategies
helped in writing
Student Experiences:
 Generate list of
important people, places
and things from
Heart Map
 Make selection and
write ideas of small
moments about that
person, place or thing
 Zoom in on one aspect
of the idea
 Write story from small
moment
Page 2 of 4
Writing
Teaching Points/Student Experiences
Lesson 6 (1 day)
Lesson 7 (3 days)
Lesson 8 (2 days)
Lesson 9 (1 day)
Lesson 10 (2-3 days)
Teaching Point:
Conferencing (focus on the
writer)
Teaching Point:
Rehearsing and drafting
Teaching Point:
Revision
Teaching Point:
Editing
Teaching Point:
Publishing
Instructional Ideas:
 Read a scene from a
mentor text and illustrate
how authors “Show and
not tell”
 Chart how good writers
zoom in to help “show not
tell” what they are writing
 Model drafting a seed idea
Instructional Ideas:
 Using personal draft,
demonstrate techniques for
revising text:
--stretch out small moment
--change a boring lead or
ending into a spark
--use dialogue, thought,
or action
-- describe the setting
Instructional Ideas:
 Using personal draft,
demonstrate editing
techniques:
--capitalization
--punctuation (end
marks, quotation
marks)
--spelling
 Model making
editing changes one
technique at a time
 Work with students
to edit writing
samples
Instructional Ideas:
 Review guidelines and
expectations for:
--writing final copy
--using illustrations
--incorporating
dedication and/or “about
the author” page
 Support students in
developing final copy of
personal narrative
Instructional ideas:
 Create a T-chart showing
teacher/student roles
during conferencing
 Model with student how a
typical conference will go
(What are you working
on as a writer? What are
you doing to make this
piece work? What do you
think of what you have
written so far? What will
you do next?)
Student Experiences:
 Continue writing
independently
 Conference with teacher
Student Experiences:
 Look through mentor texts
and find examples of
“showing not telling”
 Share examples and
discuss how authors
created this effect
 Apply strategy to
independent writing
 Begin draft of personal
narrative using an idea
from the seed list. This
should take 1-2 days
 Conference with teacher
North Kansas City Schools – Revised 08/17/2012
Student Experiences:
 Using writing from
writer’s notebook, apply
revision techniques
 Discuss revision
techniques with teacher
during conference
 Share revision techniques
used in writing during
whole group share-out
Student Experiences:
 Work on writing final
copy of personal
narrative
Student Experiences:
 Apply editing
techniques to
personal writing
 Conference with
teacher
Page 3 of 4
Teaching Points/Student Experiences
Lesson 11 (1 day)
Writing
Teaching Point:
Writer’s Celebration
Instructional Ideas:
 Congratulate and
compliment writers on
their first personal
narrative journey (a
“toast” is fun for
students)
Options for additional
writing instruction for
those students who finish
publishing
 Peer feedback
 Self reflection
 Dear reader letter
 Create a back of the
book teaser
 Write another
personal narrative
Student Experiences:
 Share published
narratives (options- with
each other, fellow
classes, older and/or
younger grades)
North Kansas City Schools – Revised 08/17/2012
Page 4 of 4