How do writers develop a well-elaborated realistic fiction story? ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How can I use everything I know from reading realistic fiction stories by published mentor?
Authors to create my own realistic fiction stories drawn from my personal experiences?
INDICATORS OF UNDERSTANDING:
who face and overcome challenges.
c setting and dialogue, and transitional words /phrases.
rising action, turning point, and resolution to the story.
ng process – especially before and while drafting – rather than
waiting until the end of the writing process.
-writing connections with mentor texts, using mentors to shape their own realistic fiction writing (idea
generation, internal and external characteristics, setting, dialogue, and the arc of the story, beginnings, and endings).
ately use punctuation including quotation
marks, commas, question marks, periods, exclamation points, ellipses and apostrophes
Immersion Day 1
Immersion Day 2 INDICATOR OF UNDERSTANDING:
INDICATOR OF UNDERSTANDING:
moments in their lives.
moments in their lives.
Using Fireflies –students will have their own copies
Using Childtimes: A Play, /Fireflies, John and the Snake-students
will have their own copies
SWDAT gather ideas for realistic fiction stories by listening to
mentor text
SWDAT gather ideas for realistic fiction stories by listening to
mentor text
Connection: Realistic fiction writers often revisit their favorite
realistic fiction read aloud. This helps them to be inspired by
what is happening or has happened in their own lives.
Connection: Realistic fiction writers often revisit their favorite
realistic fiction read aloud. This helps them to be inspired by what
is happening or has happened in their own lives.
Teach
Connect: “You have been reading and listening to a number of
stories involving believable characters set in the real world.”
“Today we are going to return to some of those stories and read
them as writers, investigating how their authors put the elements
of the story together.
I’m going to show you how I investigate the story A Play, I’m
thinking about what makes a good story, the kind that keeps my
interest and involves me in caring about what happens in the story.
In Fireflies, first thing that comes to my mind is the main
character. The stories that hold my interest are those that have
characters can get to know and usually have characters that I am
rooting for.”
Teacher reads the story jotting down possible ideas that she
might use as a story from being inspired from the read aloud.
With: T&T and brainstorm as a class, jotting events that are going
on in their lives, imagining, and “What if?” asking small realistic
changers.
Student will choose one real life event to create into a shared
writing What If entry.
Teach
Connect: “You have been reading and listening to a number of
stories involving believable characters set in the real world.”
“Today we are going to return to some of those stories and read
them as writers, investigating how their authors put the elements
of the story together.
I’m going to show you how I investigate the story Fireflies. I’m
thinking about what makes a good story, the kind that keeps my
interest and involves me in caring about what happens in the
story. In Fireflies, the first thing that comes to my mind is the
main character.
Teacher reads the story jotting down possible ideas that she
might use as a story from being inspired from the read aloud.
With: T&T and brainstorm as a class, jotting events that are
going on in their lives, imagining, and “What if?” asking small
realistic changers.
Student will choose one real life event to create into a shared
writing What If entry.
By: have students choose an event and write a short entry.
What is being assessed? student ability to gather ideas
By: have students choose an event and write a short entry.
What is being assessed? student ability to gather ideas
Assessment: student WNB entries
*****************************************
SWDAT build a story mountain based on the read aloud
Connection: Yesterday we read the story, A Play, and talked about
how writers revisit their favorite realistic fiction stories and they
inspire them to write other stories.
Assessment: student WNB entries
**********************************************
SWDAT build a story mountain based on the read aloud
Connection: Yesterday we read the story, A Play, and talked
about how writers revisit their favorite realistic fiction stories
and they inspire them to write other stories.
Teach: Today I want you to help me build a story mountain, based
on the book.
To: teacher explains what a story mountain is
Teach: Today I want you to help me build a story mountain, based
on the book.
With: readers create a class story mountain from the book
through a shared writing experience
To: teacher explains what a story mountain is
BY: students will apply this to their own writing entries to
generate a story idea
With: readers create a class story mountain from the book
through a shared writing experience
BY: students will apply this to their own writing entries to
generate a story idea
Closure: Remember that you can use this idea when you are
gathering thoughts about what to write
What is being assessed? student’s understanding of how a story
mountain helps them organize their ideas
How is it being assessed? WNB and teacher conference notes
Closure: Remember that you can use this idea when you are
gathering thoughts about what to write
What is being assessed? student’s understanding of how a story
mountain helps them organize their ideas
How is it being assessed? WNB and teacher conference notes
Lesson 1
SWDAT find story ideas by going back though entries in their WNB
Connection:
Realistic fiction writers collect story ideas by thinking about current or past
events, then imagining, “What if?” and making small, realistic changes. They
then brainstorm and then choose one real life event to create into a “what
if” entry.
Teach:
To: Teacher will model, gathering ideas from students as well.
My Life
What if?
-I got a new
puppy
-Volunteered at an animal shelter
-I was picked last
on the team
-I practiced and got better and won
Lesson 3 Indicator: Writers develop characters with wants,
realistic and consistent external and internal features,
who face and overcome challenges.
SWDAT reread entries and choose the one seed idea (in this unit,
it is called a story idea) to develop into a publishable story.
Connection:: Boys and girls, I am inspired by your enthusiasm for
writing realistic fiction. Your story ideas are amazing! I can tell
by reading your entries that you have learned a lot about what
goes into a good story idea. Today, each of you will reread all
your entries with a writer’s eye and select one story idea to
develop into a published story. The truth is that one idea usually
chooses us…it is the idea that stays with us…haunts us until we
write about it.
Teach: Today, I want to teach you that writers reread their
entries to select a seed idea. Because they want to be sure that
their idea is really strong, that readers will be able to relate to
it, and that they are passionate about their choice.
With: They will go back through their entries and saying to a partner, “This
entry is giving me an idea of a story.Maybe I can write a story
about…marking ideas with a sticky note.
Next, they will orally story tell their idea to a partner before going off to
write.
By: students will write a new entry based on their WNB entry
Closure: Remind students to add this to their toolbox as a strategy
What is being assessed? student’s ability to generate ideas based on
previous entries
How is it being assessed? teacher anecdotal notes/conference
Homework: write another entry
To: Teacher will model using her Writers Notebook
Steps to choosing a seed idea:
1)
2)
Reread all your entries. Mark 2-3 possibilities.
Answer reflective questions in your notebook about the
one that feels best. (see chart below)
3) Get feedback from your partner.
They ask themselves,
Once writers select an entry for their realistic fiction story,
they discuss their choice with a partner to share their reasoning
for selecting that idea.
With: Are you ready to decide which story you will publish? Look
through your writing notebook and mark three stories that are
possibilities. Turn and tell your partner why you chose these
three and which one you is leaning towards. (Have partners
share)
By: Student refers back to seed idea and notes why he/she chose
the seed idea on a note card.
Closure: Today we learned that writers reread their entries and
reflect by answering questions before making a decision about
which story to take through publication. When you go off, you
will continue answering the guiding questions. Then, you will meet
and discuss with your partner.
What are you assessing: ability to choose seed idea that can be
developed into a realistic fiction story
How are you assessing: teacher conferences/anecdotal notes
Homework
Writers fold the next page of paper in their notebook in half
(after the last entries during the Collecting phase) and write
their justification for their choice on the folded page.
Lesson 2
Indicator: Writers develop characters with wants, realistic and
consistent external and internal features, which face and
overcome challenges.
SWDAT create ideas for stories in which the character faces
issues that are important to the writer
Connection: So writers, we have been working hard identifying
what makes a story realistic fiction.
Teach
To: Today I will teach you a strategy you can use to generate a
realistic fiction story listing problems/issues you face in your life,
friendship family, school, other activities. Explain that we face
many problems in our life such as friendship, sports, siblings, etc.
To: On chart paper, teacher lists issues:
Ex: Important Issues to Me




Making a select sports team
Maintaining friendships with a group of friends
Dealing with siblings
Wanting to earn money to buy own things
Models thinking:
I think I am old enough to do things to make money so that I can
buy things that I would like to have. My parents don’t think I’m
responsible enough yet. In my story the character proves she is
ready and is responsible.
Story:
It will sound like this. Alexandra made a list of responsibilities
she already had around her house: emptying the dishwasher,
getting ready in the morning without being asked, helping her
brothers with their homework, and taking care of her dog.
With: students work with literacy partners to create a list of five
issues that might relate to children their age. On chart paper,
teacher lists first problem ______________ followed by
descriptions of the problem.
By: students will make a list of their own “issues” and write off of
the list
Closure: remind students to use the strategy in their writing
What is being assessed? ability to generate ideas for realistic
fiction stories through issues they face
How is it being assessed? anecdotal notes/ checklist per Olivia
Lesson 4
Indicator: Writers develop characters with wants, realistic and
consistent external and internal features, which face and
overcome challenges.
SWDAT develop their story idea by creating a t-chart and listing
external and internal features of their main character.
Connection: We ideas by imagining stories we wished existed in
the world and chose our seed idea. Today, we’re going to look at
other seed ideas and begin to develop characters that might
exist in those stories.
Teach:
To: We need to reread all of our story ideas and choose one to
develop into a publishable story. Honestly, I don’t think that we
choose an idea; instead I think that it chooses us. I usually find
that one idea stays with me and almost haunts me enough that it
feels I must write about it. As I was driving to work this
morning, I realized that I had already decided to write about a
girl who wants to learn how to ride a two wheeler bike. So, I put
sticky notes on the page in my notebook related to that entry,
and now I am going to begin developing that seed idea, that story
idea. Notice that I don’t start by thinking about what will happen.
Instead, I want to really get to know my character first
Demonstrate how you develop your story idea by listing external
and internal features of your main character on a
T-Chart.
Let me show you what I mean… I know I want my story to be
about a girl who finally gets a two wheeler bike. She doesn’t stand
out much and feels as if he just blends in everywhere-even at
home. She thinks if she learns to ride the bike, she’ll be able to
win the trophy at the annual parade.
When I start thinking about the kind of person my main
character is, I want to list some things about her to help me
“see” her in my mind, so I would make a chart like this:
I already know that she’s has red hair and is average looking. She is shy and not
popular. So I can add that on the internal side of my chart. I ’m thinking about what I
know about my character already and I definitely know that she is afraid of riding the
bike and falling off I can add that to the internal side of my chart. I know, I’ll name
her Valera because that means brave.
Do you notice how I’m really thinking about who my character is, I’m not just adding
any random characteristics that come to mind. I want to try and put together a real
person, so she can come to life. What else can I add? Let me think…I want Valera
to be a little like me and I’m sensitive, so I want her be sensitive too and artistic.
Add those characteristics to the chart. Reread what you have written so far. Think
aloud how the internal and external features need to fit together and make sense.
Show the children the chart for developing character and model how to use it.
I’m going to do one last thing that I want you to notice. I’m going to think about the
word sensitive and think about what that means for Luz. Lots of people can be
sensitive, but I think for her it means she really cares about people. I think she is
thin skinned-she lets things get to her really easily. She is afraid to try new things.
Teacher Note:
One idea generates others. Put one of your favorite story ideas in
the center of the page. Change the characters, the situation, or
the problem to turn that idea into a new one. For example, a writer
might have an idea for a story about a new girl in
School who is struggling to hide the fact that she has a sprained
ankle and cannot play jump rope. With a change of situation, this
could become a story about a new
girl in school who lies, telling everyone she has a sprained ankle so
that she can Cover up the fact that she doesn’t know the jumprope games the other girls do.With a change of main character,
this could become a story about a girl who
teases and pushes a new girl into jumping rope, only to discover
that she may Have caused harm to the new girl because she has a
sprained ankle.
see below also
Teach: When writers incorporate these details into their
writing, they make sure to order adjectives within sentences
according to conventional patterns
With: With your partner, read the entries and choose one to talk
about. Remember to reread them slowly, like writers always do
when they’re looking for story ideas. Try to read this with a
writer’s imagination, seeing the possibilities from something that
may seem ordinary.” Turn and talk with your partner. See if you
can imagine growing one of these entries into a story.
By: Now, it’s time to practice using this strategy on your own… a
chart like mine, think about what the person looks like or does on
the outside and think about why they might be doing that. See if
you can connect those things.
Closure: We learned that when we create a main character, it is a
good idea to think about what they look like and do that people
can see to maybe explain how they feel on the inside.
Assessment: checklist; teacher observation; student reflection
(e.g., She wore small black glasses rather than She wore black
small glasses)
They ask themselves:
appearance)?
. Guiding Questions:
What do you want the reader to know up front about your
character?
What are you really trying to say about him or her (remember to
show, not tell)?
What is the problem in your story?
How is the problem in your story resolved?
What life lesson can be learned from the story
Lesson 2: SWDAT create stories in which the main character faces issues
that important to the writer
Connection: Have been reading examples of realistic fiction and
generating ideas to write about.
Teach: Today, I want to teach you that one way that writers find
meaningful story topics is by thinking about moments in which we
felt successful by thinking about times when we really wanted to
accomplish something and then got it because overcoming
obstacles and reaching our dreams are both ingredients for a
great story
To: Let me show you what I mean and how I generate a list of
successful moments to come up with meaningful story topics.
Right now I am thinking about times when I really wanted to
accomplish something, did it, and felt successful.
Watch me as I think…Hmm. I love my parents and always wanted
them to be proud of me. I knew my mom was proud of me, but I
sometimes, I just didn’t feel it. I do remember one time when I
was in middle school. I had to give a speech in front of the entire
school. My mom didn’t drive so she had to walk to the schoolabout two miles. I got up on the stage and gave my speech (even
though my knees were shaking). I remember afterwards going up
to my mom and she was standing there, talking with some other
people. She just stopped talking and looked at me… Her smile
couldn’t get any bigger and then she said to everyone…”This is MY
daughter. Wasn’t her speech just perfect?” When she said that, I
felt so successful! So, I am going to write, seeing my mom after
my speech on my list of topics. . (Write on list.)
Hmm. I can also think about times when I was nervous or afraid to
do something but did it anyway. I know that sometimes when I
take risks, I often feel good about myself. I was afraid of
sledding. The first time that I went by myself, I fell off the sled,
rolled all the way down, and felt so embarrassed (I cried!). After
that, any time we went sledding, I would just stand there and
watch everyone. I can remember that ONE time that I got my
courage and went sledding down the HUGE hill all by myself. I felt
like I was accomplishing something really huge because I didn’t
give into my fear. I’m adding, sledding down the HUGE hill all by
myself to my list. (Write on list.)
Do you see how, by remembering moments of success, I am coming
up with stories that matter to me! They are moments that were
really important to me, and they carry a lot of emotion. Do you
see that my moments of success don’t have to be huge events in
the world? They can be moments like that, but don’t have to be.
They could be smaller moments like seeing the look in my mom’s
eyes or getting off the sled after sledding down a HUGE hill.
With: teacher and students will brainstorm a list of possible ideas
By: I want you to try this now, Find some story ideas that truly
matter to you by thinking of moments of success and make a list in
your Writers Notebook. Once you have some ideas written (3-5),
choose one and write it as a story.
Closure: Remind students that this is a strategy they can use as
they generate ideas
What is being assessed? students’ ability to generate ideas and understand
what realistic fiction is/isn’t
How is it being assessed? anecdotal notes/ shared writing , RNB
Lesson 5
Indicator: Writers develop characters with wants, realistic and
consistent external and internal features, which face and
overcome challenges.
SWDAT develop their characters by thinking about what
their characters want and what gets in the way for them because
they know challenges are what make the story
More interesting and the character more realistic.
You your story character by thinking about who they are on the
inside and the outside. By now, you should be feeling pretty
familiar with this character you have created. You should be able
to close your eyes and really visualize what your character looks
like. Would you do that for a moment? Close your eyes and
picture your character just as you have created him\her. Now,
just for a moment, turn and talk to your partner about the image
you have of your character.
: Today, I want to teach you that in addition to giving a
character a face and personality traits, as writers we must also
think about what is it that my character wants and what is
getting in their way. Then we have to find a way to show(not
tell) this to our readers.
To:
Strategy (by): We can do this by first considering the problem
our character is facing and asking ourselves: “What is it that my
character really wants?” Then we can ask: “What is keeping my
character from getting what he\she wants?”
Teacher will model
With: Let’s see if we can give this a try using my story.
I’ll get us started by thinking for a moment about what it is that
she wants; we know that her problem is that she wants to ride
her two wheeler and just can’t do it. So it seems that what she
wants is to prove to her family and herself that she isn’t a klutz
but….what’s getting in his way is the fact that she always gives up
and no one believes that she will stick to it.
So here is what I’d like you to do now: with your partner, imagine
and describe a small moment scene that shows what she
struggling with. Pretend the scene was on your TV screen.. .what
would you see? What would you hear?
After a few minutes, stop students and have partnerships share
the scene ideas they described.
By: After listing their character’s wants and challenges, writers
create a scene in their notebooks, putting their character into a
situation that shows his/her wants and challenges.
Closure: Writers put characters into situations-scenes- that
show readers what they really want and what is getting in their
way. As writers of fiction, it is important for us to know what it
is our character wants and struggles with just as we must know
how old they are or what color hair they have.
Assessment: Teacher will take notes on students’ organizers
Use colored paper for the story
Lesson 6
SWDAT develop a character’s external and internal features to move
the characters further
Connection: We’ve been working on finding a story that relates
to and can be enjoyed by people like us.
Teach: Today I want to teach you how writers develop their
main character before they even start writing the story by
thinking about what kind of person the character is, both
inside and outside to have an idea of what motivates him or
Lesson 7
SWDAT sketch out a possible plotline for their story on a story mountain
Connection: Yesterday we worked on internal and external features to
develop our characters
Today, I am going to teach you that good writers continue to
develop their realistic fiction pieces by planning to draft by
creating a story mountain of the events in the story to help
organize the big ideas in our stories so that getting all of the
her to do things.
major points down in the draft is easier.
Let me show you what I mean… I know I want my story to be
Teach:
about a boy who finally gets to fit in. He does everything right
all the time but doesn’t really have any friends. He wants to
have a best friend and thinks that a cat would be the answer.
Jon doesn’t stand out much. He feels as if he just blends in
everywhere-even at home.
To:Let me show you what this looks like... First walk students
through the parts of story mountain and what should be
included in each. Urge them to use the guiding questions when
thinking about the breakdown of their stories.
Do you see what I did, Writers? Just using the most
When I start thinking about the kind of person my main
character is, I want to list some things about her to help me
“see” her in my mind, so I would make a chart like this:
Active engagement:
To:
Developing My Character
Outside (external)
Inside (internal)
average size
feels as if no one notices him
has regular cut hair but long hair
in front that falls over his eyes
hides his feelings
Looks down when he walks in the
halls at school
Speaks in a quiet voice,
sometimes mumbles
important points, I broke down the story from beginning to
end so I can clearly see how the story develops. I not only
kept in mind the events of the story, but also the characters
and the message.
With: T&T with partner and talk about your stories
By: Now it’s your turn to try it with your story. Take a moment
right now to being filling in the events of your opening.
Remember to use the questions inside the mountain to help
guide you.
Closure: So remember, in order to organize ourselves before
we begin to draft, it is important to develop our writing by
using a story mountain or another preferred method to plan
our stories.
Assessment: student’s story mountains show the plot Participation
checklist; conferences; published pieces
With: Help me fill in the rest of the chart…why do you think
she looks down when he walks down the hall? Why do you
think she might speak so quietly?
Now you see how sometimes, the way a person looks on the
outside might indicate something about them on the inside and
why they might behave in a certain way
By: Now, it’s time to practice using this strategy on your own…
(Give the students about 5 minutes to think about their story
and their main character.) It’s your turn to create a whole new
person. In a chart like mine, think about what the person
looks like or does on the outside and think about why they
might be doing that. See if you can connect those things.
.
Closure: So, today we learned that when we are creating a
main character, it is a good idea to think about what they look
like and does that people can see to maybe explain how they
feel on the inside.
Assessment:
checklist; teacher observation; student reflection
Guiding Questions:
What do you want the reader to know up front about your
character?
What are you really trying to say about him or her (remember
to show, not tell)?
What is the problem in your story?
How is the problem in your story resolved?
What life lesson can be learned from the story?
Lesson 8
SWDAT draft using story booklets.
connection: We’ve been working on sketching out possible plot
lines using story mountains.
Teach: Today I want to teach you that your story mountains
become your guide to help you create a story booklet. By
putting characters into action and laying out the character’s
exact words and then unfolding the moment step – by- step
and we use actions to bring our characters to life. Writers
combine the sequence of their story (scenes) with the
development of their main character by re-visiting both
the scenes they outlined on the story mountain and our
character’s wants and obstacles that we identified.
Then we will combine those to sketch and summarize
pictures of each scene in our story.
Teach:
Let me show you what I mean by sharing with you what I
Lesson 9 **
SWDAT create scenes, not summaries, on each page
of their story-booklet.
Connection: We did a great job sketching, and summarizing our
stories in the last lesson. Now we are going to take our
sketches and expand on our summaries in order to draft
scenes for our stories. We are going to do this by orally
storytelling a scene based on a summary that is on your story
mountain, paying attention to dialogue
Teach Today, I want to teach you that after good writers plan
their stories, they begin to draft scenes by referring back to
their Story Mountain or Story Board because writers use
these resources to help keep them focused when writing their
stories…
To: You may want to display your story board…(use colored
paper)
The first thing I am going to do in order to prepare for
today’s lesson is make sure I have plenty of paper to write my
came up with for my story of______________ (Walk
draft. After turning to a fresh page, I am going to label the
students through the model . Be sure to point out how
top of 5 pieces to match my Story Mountain / Story Board.
the summaries and pictures not only include the events
First page…Introduction; Second…Problem, then Climax,
of the story but also include the main character’s wants
and the things that get in the way of those wants.)
Writers, do you see how my sketches and summaries
include _______________wants and the obstacles he
faces that get in the way of those wants
Resolution, and End. Alright boys and girls, I would love for
you to follow the same steps I took…Allow the students a
moment to label 5 pieces of paper, just like you…Thumbs up
when you have your 5 pieces of paper labeled.
To: Show the children that before you go off and begin
drafting, good writers take a moment to bring their story and
character to life by storytelling to their writing partner.
To: Fill in story board as needed using your own original story
With: students will work with the teacher on a shared writing
By: student Now, it’s time to practice using this strategy on
your own… (Give the students about 5 minutes to think about
their story and identify how the parts of the story mountain
Select a volunteer to act as your writing partner… Remind the
students that you are not “retelling” the summary of the
scene, but you are telling the story.
Introduction… tell beginning
transfer to the story board. Have students complete the
first box of the story board.
Closure: Today, we learned that good realistic fiction
With: students work with partner. Story tell with your partner
remember that good writers bring their stories to life by
showing action, dialogue, or even a sound.
writers combine the events in their stories with the
By: Now it’s your turn… Will each of you think of a moment
details of their main character to plan before they
from your story board (preferably the Introduction) – And will
draft. This is an extremely important step because it
allows us as writer to visualize the story in our minds
from beginning to end. When we do this, we can see
whether or not our story makes sense and will be
something other people want to read.
What are you assessing? Students’ ability to transfer story
details to a storyboard
How are you assessing? ; teacher observation; student
reflection, story mountain, story board
Guiding Questions:
How are you using dialogue to develop your characters and
move the plot forward?
Does your story have a rising action?
What is the turning point in your story?
How will your characters change in your story?
*************************************************
They transfer each labeled dot from
Their story mountains, using a separate page for each point. There will
be one or two pages for the opening scenes of the story, several pages
for the heart of the story, and a page or two for the ending scene.
you turn to your partner and take turns saying your little
moment first like a summary of what’s happening? Allow the
students a moment to select a scene and summarize it with
their partner.
Closure: Now I would like you to expand on your summary and
retell your moment as a story, not a summary… Remember, you
can choose to make the first sentence a line of dialogue or a
small action to pull your readers in right away. Allow students
a couple of minutes to interact with one another. (Listen in on
their interactions…)
So today while you’re writing your Realistic Fiction drafts, I
want you to remember that while you are writing, you should
always be referring back to your Story Mountain / Story
Board for a reference.
What are you assessing? Students’ ability to draft story
details to a storyboard
How are you assessing? ; teacher observation; student
reflection, story mountain, story board
***
Realistic fiction writers draft using story-booklets, transferring each labeled dot
from their story mountains to separate sheets of loose-leaf paper, creating the
booklet. (There will be one or two pages for the opening scenes of the story,
several pages for the heart of the story, and a page or two for the ending scene).
They orally story tell/share their booklets with a partner, ensuring that the story
scenes flow. They change pages around and/or add as needed.
Lesson 10
Ob jective:
Lesson 11
Connection: Writers, you are all doing such a great job on your
Realistic fiction writers use
mentor texts to see how authors do not rely only on
dialogue, they describe the action and the setting.
As writers describe their characters’ actions, they
experiment with forming and using the progressive
verb tenses (e.g., I was at the park, I am at the park,
I will be at the park).
E.g.
See the chart How Julie Brinckloe Establishes
Setting in Fireflies! below. Then they work on
revising their story by adding transitional
fiction stories. This week you have started drafting scenes
from your story boards and than elaborated these scenes to
include a beginning, middle ,end and setting.
Today, I want to give you another tool that good writers use
to make their stories come alive by including the thoughts,
words, actions and feelings of their characters becaue
fiction stories are composed of small scenes and sometimes
by adding a line of dialogue or a small action a writer can
ignite a dramatic scene~ bring it to life.
Teach:
words/phrases to carry their readers from scene to
scene.
To: Realistic fiction writers use their story-booklets to help
them remember what to write (E.g. the scenes) and how
to write (E.g. use paragraphs and correct dialogue
punctuation). They remember that as they move from
page one to page two, the character’s troubles get worse
and worse (called the rising action) until they reach the
turning point in the story. They refer to the chart Things
Writers Include in Scenesas they draft, working to write a
complete draft of the story.
Realistic fiction writers remember to chunk their writing
into paragraphs by writing a small moment paragraph for
each part of the story mountain, connecting them with a
variety of transitional words and phrases.
With: Now it’s your turn to do some magic… Will each of you
take a scene from your story draft and think about how you
can bring it to life by adding a line of dialogue and some action.
Now I would like you to retell your moment as a story to your
partner. Allow students a couple of minutes to interact with
one another. (Listen in on their interactions…)
How many feel you made your scene so much better by using
some dialogue and action.
By: Students will write their drafts:So today while you’re
writing your Realistic Fiction drafts, I want you to remember
that you should always include the thoughts, feeling, words
and actions of your characters.
Clsoure: remind students of struagegy
What areyou assessing:ability to add dialogue/paragasrosh
How are you assessing? participation checklist; conference
notes
Lesson 12 Realistic fiction writers write powerful endings
by
connecting the ending to the challenge the
Lesson 1 Realistic fiction writers remember everything that
they know about spelling, punctuation, and
grammar, to edit their work. They do this by rereading and
character faced in the story. They do this by
analyzing the endings of mentor texts, naming how
the endings circle back to the beginnings. (See the
How Mentor Authors Begin and End Stories chart
below)
Then they work on revising the ending of their own
stories, using the Key Questions Fiction Writers
Ask When Revising Endings chart below. Writers
can use prepositional phrases as they ensure they
answered any lingering questions for their readers.
E.g. a prepositional phrase will function as an
adjective (to answer Which one? - ) or adverb (to
answer How? When? Where?).
W.4.3e (M), W.4.5 (M), L.4.1e (
editing their stories alone and then work
with an editing partner.
correcting inappropriate fragments and
run-ons
capital letters.
apostrophes
quotations from a text
Lesson 14 Realistic fiction writers give their stories a
powerful title by making a list of five
possibilities and then choosing the title that
connects to the big ideas in their story, the
one that really catches the reader’s interest.
Realistic fiction writers create an “About the
Author” paragraph with a photograph of the
writer.
***“About the Author” paragraphs usually:
- are written in 1st or 3rd person
-include where the author lives
-include hobbies
-include inspirations
-include family members and pets
-include awards or honors
-upcoming books
RL.4.2 (E), W.4.4 (M)
Homework
Writers finish their “About the Author”
paragraph and reread their final draft to
ensure it is ready to be celebrated within a
class anthology of short stories.
started as a sunny day, but the clouds
rolled in and everything changed. ) in a compound
sentence.
W.4.5 (M), L.4.2a (E), L.4.2b (E), L.4.2c (E), L.4.2d (E),
SL.4.1b (E), SL.4.1d3
Lesson 15 Discuss with students how short story
anthologies are often grouped together by
theme or some common similarity. For
example, you might have “Summer Stories”
anthology, or “Friendships,” or “Stories of
Courage, Bravery, and Other
Accomplishments.” Have students
brainstorm ways the short stories could be
grouped, and encourage them to come up
with anthology titles.
RL.4.2 (E)
Collect final, edited drafts and compile them
into a class anthology of short stories.
On the day of the celebration (which can
happen once you have their pieces copied into
anthologies – one for each writer in the class),
have students set up the classroom with drinks
and cookies. Distribute anthologies to students,
breaking them into small sharing circles. Each
student will read aloud her or his story to the
sharing circle. Have special pens available so
that the writer can autograph her or his story in
classmates’ anthologies.
What do you want the reader to know up front about your character?
What are you really trying to say about him or her (remember to show, not tell)?
What is the problem in your story?
How is the problem in your story resolved?
What life lesson can be learned from the story?