Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Unit Title: Writing Realistic Fiction
Duration: 4 weeks
Concepts:
1. Writers collect story ideas by imagining stories from ordinary moments and issues in their lives.
2. Writers plan and rehearse their ideas for realistic fiction stories.
3. Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
4. Writers learn strategies for revising and editing their realistic fiction stories.
5. Writers publish and share their realistic fiction stories.
Materials to be provided by the teacher:
Professional Resources:
1. On-Demand Realistic Fiction Writing
1. Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching Writing,
Pre/Post-Assessment
Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing Fiction: Big Dreams,
2. Writer’s notebooks
Tall Ambitions, Lucy Calkins and M. Colleen Cruz
3. Special paper for final drafts
2. A Curricular Plan for the Writing Workshop,
Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy Calkins
3. Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph Fletcher
and JoAnn Portalupi
4. Assessing Writers, Carl Anderson
Materials to be produced by the teacher:
Mentor Text:
1. Anchor charts:
1. Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altman
 Strategies for Generating Realistic Fiction
Stories
 Thinking About External Conflict
 Story Mountain Scenes
 Thinking About Internal Conflict
 Strong Leads
 Ways to Develop a Character
 Strong Endings
2. Enlarged copies of the following:
 Realistic Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist
3. Individual copies of the following for each student:
 (Optional) Personal-sized anchor charts for
students who would benefit from having their
own copies
 Realistic Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist
 Realistic Fiction Conferring Checklist
 Realistic Fiction Assessment Rubric
Notes:
1. Writing fiction is a complex work, and students are most apt to be successful if it is linked to their prior work
writing personal narratives. Students will benefit most from this unit if they read high-level fiction texts
alongside the writing they are doing in this unit. This reciprocity will support increased levels of achievement.
2. During this unit, you will want to continue your teaching in the narrative genre by reminding students to use all
they know about writing a good personal narrative as they write realistic fiction stories.
3. Administer the on-demand assessment prior to beginning this unit and score the students’ writing using the
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
assessment rubric at the end of this unit. At the conclusion of the unit, administer the same on-demand
assessment and look for improvements in your students’ development as writers.
Read the story Amelia’s Road, by Linda Jacobs Altman, aloud prior to the start of this unit. In many of the
sessions in this unit, you will be referring back to certain sections of the text as models of good writing.
Refer to any of your favorite texts for examples of narrative writing techniques and character development.
Use the Conferring Checklist located at the end of this unit.
Spend more than one day for a session if necessary.
A special thank you goes out to all authors of professional resources cited in this unit for their insights and ideas.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Overview of Sessions – Teaching and Learning Points Aligned with the Common Core
Concept: Writers collect story ideas by imagining stories from ordinary moments and issues in their lives.
CCSS: W.3.3
Session 1: Writers learn how to generate ideas for realistic fiction stories by paying attention to people, places, and
events in their lives.
CCSS: W.3.3
Session 2: Writers learn how to generate ideas for realistic fiction stories by rereading their writer’s notebook entries
with a fiction writer’s eyes.
CCSS: W.3.3
Concept: Writers plan and rehearse their ideas for realistic fiction stories.
CCSS: W.3.3a, W.3.3b, W.3.5
Session 3: Writers learn how to develop characters by creating their external and internal traits.
CCSS: W.3.3b, W.3.5
Session 4: Writers learn how to create several possible storylines for their realistic fiction stories.
CCSS: W.3.3a, W.3.5
Session 5: Writers learn how to choose a storyline and plot it along a story mountain, or arc.
CCSS: W.3.3a, W.3.5
Concept: Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
CCSS: W.3.3a, W.3.3b, W.3.3d
Session 6: Writers create several strong leads for their stories that include details about the setting.
CCSS: W.3.3a
Session 7: Writers learn how to develop their characters using action and description.
CCSS: W.3.3a, W.3.3b
Session 8: Writers learn how to develop their characters using dialogue and thoughts.
CCSS: W.3.3b
Session 9: Writers learn how to stretch out the heart of their story letting scenes unfold step-by-step.
CCSS: W.3.3a, W.3.3b
Session 10: Writers learn to try out different ways to create strong endings for their stories.
CCSS: W.3.3d
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept: Writers learn strategies for revising and editing their realistic fiction stories.
CCSS: W.3.5
Session 11: Writers learn how to revise their stories for clarity and meaning.
CCSS: W.3.5
Session 12: Writers learn how to revise by combining short sentences to make longer ones.
CCSS: W.3.5
Session 13: Writers learn how to revise by varying the length of some of their sentences.
CCSS: W.3.5
Session 14: Writers learn how to use revision/editing checklists to edit their writing.
CCSS: w.3.5
Concept: Writers publish and share their realistic fiction stories.
CCSS: w.3.4
Session 15 and 16: A writing community celebrates.
CCSS: w.3.4
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
On-Demand Realistic Fiction Writing Pre/Post-Assessment
Pre-Assessment Instructions:
Students should be at their regular writing seats and will need loose-leaf paper and pencils. They need to be able to add
pages if they want.
Tell students:
“You have all been reading fictional stories. Today you will write your own realistic fiction story. First, create a
character and think about where your story takes place. Next, think about one problem or goal for your character and
how that problem is solved or that goal is reached. Now, let’s each write a realistic fiction story using these story
elements – a piece that shows our best work. You will have an hour to write this realistic fiction story.”
Have students begin writing.
Note:
This on-demand assessment shows what students know about writing a realistic fiction story. Score this writing using
the Realistic Fiction Assessment Rubric located at the end of this unit. Pay close attention to what your writers can
already do and can almost do. This information will help you focus on goals for your students. Use the same rubric to
score their realistic fiction stories at the end of this unit to show what they have learned.
Post-Assessment Instructions (optional):
At the conclusion of this unit, administer the same on-demand assessment and look for improvements in your students’
development as writers.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
Note
Session 1
Writers collect story ideas by imagining stories from ordinary moments and issues in their lives.
Writers learn how to generate ideas for realistic fiction stories by paying attention to people,
places, and events in their lives.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing Workshop,
Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy Calkins
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor charts:
 Strategies for Generating Realistic Fiction Stories
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Today is an important day because we are going to begin collecting seed ideas for realistic fiction
stories in our writer’s notebooks, and I want to teach you where writers look to find those ideas.
Years ago, Robert McCloskey, a famous author, got the idea for a story while he was stopped in
traffic, and a line of ducks waddled across the street in front of him. He wrote the story, Make
Way for Ducklings, and it was so good that it won the Caldecott Award. Today I want to teach you
that we get ideas for writing fiction stories just as we get ideas for personal narratives and essays,
by paying attention to the ordinary moments and issues in our own lives.
Demonstration/
• Explain that writers get ideas for their realistic fiction stories by thinking about how
Teaching
people and places in their lives might spark a story idea.
• Begin a new page in your writer’s notebook with the heading Realistic Fiction Story Ideas.
• Use the following examples:
 Demonstrate how you might notice people in school, and think about how they could
spark a story idea. Record this idea. (Boy makes a great painting in art and wins an
award.)
 Demonstrate how you might think about places that are familiar and imagine what
could happen in those places. Record your story idea. (Two students both want the
soccer ball on the playground and find a way to share.)
• Explain that a story idea should be a complete sentence that includes a character and an
event.
• Record this strategy on the anchor chart.
Active
• Have students open their notebooks, think of people who could spark a story idea, and jot
Engagement
down their story ideas in their writer’s notebooks.
• Have students think of a familiar place, imagine what could happen there, and add their
ideas to their list.
• Have students share their story ideas with their partners.
Link
So writers, I have always known that fiction writers need imagination to write. What you have
shown me today is that fiction writers DO have imaginations. We look into everyday moments of
our lives, into moments as ordinary as watching a deer in the yard or a girl on a play structure, and
we see possibilities. Think about the people and places in your lives. Continue to record story ideas
that you can imagine from these everyday moments and issues in your lives.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Writing and
Conferring
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Teaching Share
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Conduct table conferences and listen to the story ideas that the students have imagined.
Encourage students to consider how the story ideas of others spark new possibilities.
Share one other strategy for generating story ideas with the students. Think about events
that have happened in your own life. Imagine how the story might happen in a different
way.
 Recall a time that you moved away and had a hard time making friends. Imagine how
the story might be told differently and record the story idea.
 Have students think of a time when something happened in their lives that they could
imagine happening or turning out in a different way. Have them record their story
ideas.
Record this strategy on the anchor chart.
Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Strategies for Generating Realistic Fiction Story Ideas
Notice people in that world that could a spark a story idea.
Think of a familiar place, and imagine what could happen there.
Recall an event, and imagine how it could happen in a different way.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 2
Writers collect story ideas by imagining stories from ordinary moments and issues in their lives.
Writers learn how to generate ideas for realistic fiction stories by rereading their writer’s
notebook entries with a fiction writer’s eyes.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor charts:
 Strategies for Generating Realistic Fiction Stories
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altman
•
•
•
In this session, students choose an idea to develop during the mid-workshop teaching.
Read the book Amelia’s Road as a read-aloud before this session.
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we imagined stories from the people, places, and events in our lives. Today, we
will reread our writer’s notebook entries with a fiction writer’s eyes. We will imagine story ideas
by asking, “What if?” or “What would have happened if?”
Demonstration/
• Demonstrate how you reread your own writer’s notebook, thinking about each entry.
Teaching
Then imagine how the story might happen in a different way.
• Start with a small moment, perhaps one you wrote about during the previous work on
personal narratives, and use that experience to prompt a chain of thoughts. For example,
you could say, “When Joe called me names in the art room – maybe I could write a story
about this in another way.”
 Maybe a boy gets called names and gets the courage to stand up for himself.
 Maybe a boy who is a bully discovers other students don’t want to be his friend.
• Each one of these situations presents a conflict, just like in the book we read, Amelia’s
Road. Conflict is crucial when you write fiction. In fiction, there is often a main character
who wants something badly. If everything works out fine, you’ve got a boring story!
Stories are about trouble. Something gets in the way of what the character wants. The
obstacle could be another person – Mom, Dad, brother, sister, friend, teacher – or a
situation.
• Record this strategy on the anchor chart.
Active
• Have students reread their writer’s notebooks, think about each entry, and imagine how
Engagement
each story might happen in a different way.
• Have students add one or two ideas to their Realistic Fiction Story Ideas page in their
writer’s notebooks. Remind them that their fiction stories need to have a conflict.
Link
Writers, today and for the rest of your lives, whenever you want to write fiction, reread your
writer’s notebooks with a fiction writer’s eyes. Remember to reread and then imagine the
conflict. It is easy to flip past stories because you can’t think of other story ideas. Don’t do that.
Have the imagination to say, “Wait. There might be a story here.” When you get a story idea, turn
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Writing and
Conferring
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Teaching Share
•
•
•
•
to your Realistic Fiction Story Ideas page and write the story idea it sparks onto your page.
• Conduct individual student conferences to support students’ efforts at generating story
ideas.
• Have students look over their story ideas and choose the one that they want to use to
create a realistic fiction story. Sometimes story ideas just stay with you, and you keep
thinking about them. Those are the best stories to choose.
• Have students record two or three sentences about their story idea on the top of a new
page in their writer’s notebooks. Suggest that students think about how their character
wants something, encounters trouble, and then finds a way to persevere, learn, or grow.
• Have students meet with their partners and tell their stories aloud to each other.
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Strategies for Generating Realistic Fiction Story Ideas
Notice people in that world that could a spark a story idea.
Think of a familiar place, and imagine what could happen there.
Recall an event, and imagine how it could happen in a different way.
Reread your writer’s notebook with a fiction writer’s eyes.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
Notes
Session 3
Writers plan and rehearse their ideas for realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to develop characters by creating their external and internal traits.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we reread our writer’s notebook entries with a fiction writer’s eyes. Today we
will begin to develop believable characters that will be in our stories.
Demonstration/
• Think aloud how you imagine that your story idea will unfold. Explain that once you have
Teaching
your story idea in mind, it is time to begin to develop your main character.
• Demonstrate how you think about and develop your main character by listing several
external and internal traits on Character T-Chart in your writer’s notebook and explain
why each one fits with your story idea:
 External traits: gender, age, looks, name, habits (biting lip, pushing hair behind ears,
talking fast, interrupting others, giggling, bending back in chair) etc.
 Internal traits: brave, fearful, kind, thoughtful, funny, shy, helpful, creative, sensitive,
etc.
• Explain how you did not just come up with any random traits for your character. You tried
to create a believable character with traits that really matter to your story. The traits
have to make sense for your character and work together to make a realistic person. You
might want your character to be a bit like you or someone else you know. If so, make
sure that these traits fit with your story idea.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks, create a T-chart on the same page as their
Engagement
story idea, and list one or two external and internal traits.
• Have partners share their story ideas and character traits. Have partners tell each other if
they think the character traits fit with their story idea.
Link
Writers, whenever you want to write fiction, take time to develop a character’s external and
internal traits so that you create a realistic character that fits with your story idea. Continue to
develop your character using the T-chart. Think carefully about your character on the inside and
on the outside and make sure that your character’s traits fit with your story idea.
Writing and
• Conduct individual student conferences to support students’ efforts at generating story
Conferring
ideas.
Mid-Workshop
• Explain that fiction writers also consider how characters feel about themselves and others.
Teaching Point
How we feel about ourselves and others is important. It only makes sense that our
characters would think something about themselves and others, too.
• Have students add information about how their characters feel about themselves or
others to the bottom of their page.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Teaching Share
•
•
Have students meet with their partners and describe their characters to each other.
Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 4
Writers plan and rehearse their ideas for realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to create several possible storylines for their realistic fiction stories.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Blank paper – about three pages for each student
Anchor chart:
 Thinking about External Conflict
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
• Today, students will create mini-books using folded paper. These mini-books should be
made quickly as they are disposable tools, like a quick, jotted outline.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we created the characters that will be in our stories. Today, we will create
several possible storylines for our realistic fiction stories.
Demonstration/
• Explain that you will want to imagine various ways that your story might go before you get
Teaching
locked into any one plan.
• Think aloud one way that your story might unfold and tell it as you point to each of four
fingers across your hand. Use the anchor chart, Thinking about External Conflict, to guide
your demonstration.
• Take a blank sheet of paper and fold it in half and then in half again, so you will have a
mini-book with four pages.
• Quickly make a sketch of how your story starts on the first page of the mini-book. Jot a
few words (not full sentences) beside the sketch. Then move from page to page,
sketching and jotting what happens second, third, and last.
• Touch each page in the mini-book and tell the story of each scene as a storyteller.
• Demonstrate one way that you might change your mind about how your story will unfold.
Maybe you want it to start somewhere else. Or maybe you want to change the problem
or the ending. Explain that students will create a separate mini-book for each version of
their story. The expectation is that students will create at least three versions of their
stories in three different mini-books.
• Remind students that it is important for the writer to try out lots of different ways a story
could go, revising the plan several times, before ever putting pen to paper.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks, plan one way that their stories might go
Engagement
across four fingers using the anchor chart to guide them, and share their story plans with
their partners.
Link
Writers, today and every day, whenever you want to write fiction, take time to plan your story
across your fingers first. Today, you will sketch and jot your first story ideas into mini-books. Then
you will rehearse in your mind by touching each page and thinking how your stories will unfold.
This is how many writers plan and practice different ways their stories might go. This helps them
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Writing and
Conferring
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Teaching Share
figure out how different plans for a story might actually sound, even before writing anything.
When you finish one version of your story, make another mini-book and write another version of
your story.
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at using mini-books to plan
and rehearse their stories.
• Explain that in students’ stories, characters often magically receive their fondest dream,
win the award, find the missing item, and otherwise solve their problem. But life doesn’t
always work that way. Encourage students to rethink the easy ending, and they will learn
that people grow in times of difficulty, and that when someone closes a door, often a
window somewhere remains open. For example, instead of Janelle’s dad surprising her
with the puppy she always wanted, she realizes that helping her neighbor take care of her
dog gave her not just one friend, but two.
• Have students create one more version of their story in a mini-book that doesn’t have a
perfect ending, but where the characters learn something about themselves or grow from
the experience.
• Have partners share each of their mini-books by pointing to each page and telling the
story.
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Thinking about External Conflict
•
•
•
•
What is my character’s main goal or problem?
What happens to get in the way of achieving that goal?
What events occur that create a struggle?
How will this conflict get resolved?
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 5
Writers plan and rehearse their ideas for realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to choose a storyline and plot it along a story mountain, or arc.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor charts:
 Story Mountain Scenes
 Thinking About Internal Conflict
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altman
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we created several possible storylines for our realistic fiction stories. Today we
will choose one version of our story and plan sequential scenes using a story mountain/arc.
Demonstration/
• Demonstrate how you choose a version of your own story idea that you like the best and
Teaching
want to use for your realistic fiction story.
• Demonstrate how you plan sequential scenes for your story using greater detail than in
your mini-book. Plot the scenes along a story mountain in your writer’s notebook. Use
the anchor chart, Story Mountain Scenes, to guide your decisions about what to record on
your story mountain. Use sticky notes to record the scenes so they can easily be moved
along the story mountain.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks and do the following:
Engagement
 Choose a version of their story idea from their mini-books that they want to use for
their realistic fiction stories.
 Draw a story mountain across two pages in their writer’s notebooks.
 Refer to the anchor chart, Story Mountain Scenes.
 Record the starting scene on their story mountain that tells where the character is and
what he or she is doing.
 Record a second scene that tells what the character wants or what the problem is.
• Have partners share their story mountains.
Link
Writers, whenever you want to write fiction, take time to plan sequential scenes and plot your
story along a story mountain/arc. Today, plan the rest of the scenes in your story and record them
along your story mountain. Keep telling the story from the start as you record each scene.
Writing and
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at recording scenes on their
Conferring
story mountains. Your goal is to make sure that everyone completes their story mountain
today.
• If some if your students struggled with this process in the personal narrative unit, you
might want to guide them step-by-step through this process.
• Have partners share their story mountains as they complete them.
Mid-Workshop Writers, now that you have created your story mountains, I want you to realize that fictional
Teaching Point
characters also have internal conflicts – and they have to wrestle with themselves about how they
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Teaching Share
will resolve them. In the story, Amelia’s Road, Amelia is sad because she never feels like she
belongs. She tries to find a way to belong, even though her family keeps moving. When you are
thinking about your own characters, ask yourself the following questions (refer to the anchor
chart, Thinking About Internal Conflicts).
Now, decide what internal conflict your character will have. This is one of the best ways to build
tension in a story. Where or when in your story might the character be experiencing an internal
conflict? You will want to include this in one or more scenes in your story mountain.
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Scenes for Story Mountain
•
•
•
•
•
•
Where is the character? What is he or she doing?
What does the character want?
What are the struggles/roadblocks?
What happens to make things worse?
What choices does the character make?
How does the story end?
Thinking about Internal Conflict
•
•
•
•
•
What is motivating your character?
What is your main character thinking?
What is your main character feeling?
What decision does your main character have to make?
How will your character resolve this internal conflict in a way that’s believable?
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 6
Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
Writers create several strong leads for their stories that include details about the setting.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor chart:
 Strong Leads
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altmann
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
• Refer to any of your favorite texts for examples of strong leads.
• You might need an additional day for this session if students are taking their time writing
thoughtful leads with details about the setting.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we chose a story and plotted it along a story mountain. Today we are going to
begin drafting our realistic fiction stories.
Demonstration/
• Refer to the anchor chart, Strong Leads. Review the various types of strong leads.
Teaching
• Read aloud the first page of Amelia’s Road. Explain that this is a thought lead.
• Demonstrate how you imagine the beginning of your story unfolding using one of the
types of strong leads.
• Explain that you will be writing about the characters – not about yourself. You will use
character names and words like he, she, or they as you tell the story. Tell students that
this is called writing in third person.
• Explain that instead of just telling what happens at the beginning of your story, good
writers begin by showing what happens. They write scenes, not summaries. Use the
following example to illustrate the difference:
 Summarizing (telling): A girl named Jessica wants a cell phone for her birthday.
 Storytelling a scene (showing): Jessica bent low over the paper and whispered, “Cell
phone,” as she wrote. She got up from her desk and walked over to the refrigerator.
She stuck the list under a magnet. “Mom,” she called. “My birthday wish list only has
one thing on it.”
• Think aloud a few different ways to start your own story using action, setting, description,
dialogue, or thoughts. Make sure that you create a scene, not a summary.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks, imagine the beginning of their stories, and
Engagement
use one or two of the strong lead suggestions to begin their stories. Remind them to
create scenes rather than summaries to show rather than tell what is happening in their
stories.
• Have partners share their leads with each other.
Link
Writers, when we begin a story, we try out a few different kinds of leads. Make sure that you are
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Writing and
Conferring
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Teaching Share
creating scenes, not summaries. Then see which one you like best. Once you choose your favorite,
turn the page and begin your story using the lead you chose. Continue drafting so that you create
more scenes, not summaries, as your story unfolds.
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at creating leads that are
scenes, not summaries.
Once you begin your story, be sure that you “turn on the lights” in order to show your reader the
place and time. Sometimes writers tell what is happening, but not where. Characters don’t seem
to be anywhere in particular, leaving readers confused. On the second page of Amelia’s Road, the
author shows the reader details about the setting. (Read this page.) This helps the reader to
understand where the story is happening. If you haven’t already included details about the setting,
add a few relevant details to make sure your reader doesn’t feel lost. (Add this tip to the anchor
chart, Strong Leads.)
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Strong Leads
•
•
Use action, setting, description, dialogue, or thoughts.
Include details about the setting so your reader doesn’t feel lost.
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Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 7
Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to develop their characters using action and description.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor Chart:
 Ways to Develop a Character
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altmann
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
• Refer to any of your favorite texts for examples of character development.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we began drafting our realistic fiction stories. Today we are going to think
carefully about ways to develop our characters.
Demonstration/
• Explain that by the end of a well-written story, a reader will know the character or
Teaching
characters well. Today we’re going to talk about some of the techniques a writer uses to
bring a character to life.
• Introduce the anchor chart, Ways to Develop a Character.
• Refer to the book, Amelia’s Road for examples of each technique, as follows:
 Action: Amelia danced for joy, her black hair flying as she twirled around and around
the silent meadow.
 Description: By the time she had finished her morning’s work, Amelia’s hands stung,
and her shoulders ached.
• Refer back to the page in your writer’s notebook with the Character T-Chart.
• Demonstrate how you develop your own character using information from your chart and
each of these techniques.
• Decide which technique you are going to use in your writing today. Explain that you will
start with one technique, but you might choose another as you continue to create your
story.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks to their Character T-Charts, decide which
Engagement
technique they are going to use in their writing today, and develop their character using
this technique.
• Have partners share their ideas with each other.
Link
Writers, whenever you write realistic fiction stories, you will want to experiment with techniques to
develop your characters. You might describe an action or create a description of your character.
Each technique can help you do the work of bringing a character to life.
Writing and
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at developing characters.
Conferring
Mid-Workshop Writers, when you develop characters using action or description, it helps to bring your characters
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
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Teaching Point
Teaching Share
to life. Now, get together with your writing partners and read aloud the section where you used
either action or description to develop your character. Partners who are listening should try to
create a picture in their minds of the characters being described.
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Ways to Develop a Character
•
•
Action
Description
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 8
Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to develop their characters using dialogue and thoughts.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor Chart:
 Ways to Develop a Character
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altmann
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
• Refer to any of your favorite texts for examples of character development.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we learned how to develop our characters using action and description. Today
we are going to think carefully about ways to develop our characters using dialogue and thoughts.
Demonstration/
• Refer to the anchor chart, Ways to Develop a Character.
Teaching
• Refer to the book, Amelia’s Road for examples of each technique, as follows:
 Dialogue: “Is this the same cabin we had last year?” Amelia asked, but nobody
remembered. It didn’t seem to matter to the rest of the family.
(Remind students to use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.)
 Thoughts: Amelia couldn’t wait to tell her mother about this wonderful day. Feeling
as bright as the sky, she decided to look for a shortcut back to camp.
• Refer back to the page in your writer’s notebook with the Character T-Chart.
• Demonstrate how you develop your own character using information from your chart and
each of these techniques.
• Decide which technique you are going to use in your writing today. Explain that you will
start with one technique, but you might choose others as you continue to create your
story.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks to their Character T-Charts, decide which
Engagement
technique they are going to use in their writing today, and develop their character using
this technique.
• Have partners share their ideas with each other.
Link
Writers, whenever you write realistic fiction stories, you will want to experiment with techniques to
develop your characters. Each technique can help you do the work of bringing a character to life.
Today try out at least one of these techniques to develop your characters in your stories.
Writing and
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at developing characters.
Conferring
Mid-Workshop Writers, when you develop characters using their thoughts, you will also want to consider their
Teaching Point
feelings. In the story, Amelia’s Road, after Amelia discovered a place that she could come back to,
she “skipped through the meadow, laughed at the sky, even turned cartwheels right in the middle
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
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Teaching Share
of the accidental road.” The author shows us that Amelia is happy without just saying it. You can
use your own life experiences to help you. Let’s remember a time when you felt embarrassed. Ask
yourself these questions:
• What were you feeling in your whole body?
• What words or thoughts did you have in your head?
• What did you say or do?
Now, think of your character. What feeling does your character experience in your story? Try
using this strategy – thinking about your own experiences – to help you describe this feeling.
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Ways to Develop a Character
•
•
•
•
Action
Description
Dialogue
Thoughts
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 9
Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to stretch out the heart of their story letting scenes unfold step-by-step.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altmann
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we used a variety of techniques to develop our characters. Today we will
remind ourselves how important it is to stretch out the heart of the story whenever we write
fiction.
Demonstration/
• Demonstrate how you reread your story from the beginning. You are doing this to check
Teaching
on yourself to make sure that your story makes sense and is interesting.
• Refer to your story mountain for the next scene in your story. You always have the option
of making changes in your story mountain if you find your story heading in a new
direction.
• Determine the important part, the heart, of your own story. Explain that good writers
stretch out the heart of their stories. They write in slow motion. Readers are eager to
know what happens, but writers don’t tell them right away. Instead, they slow down by
writing tiny details about everything that is happening.
• In Amelia’s Road, Amelia had a wonderful day at school and finally felt like she had found
a place where she wanted to stay. The author stretched out this part, the heart, of the
story. She used tiny details about her day at school and the walk that led her down the
accidental road to the tree that she called home. Read aloud beginning with the scene at
school and ending with the scene where Amelia is sitting by the tree. Step into the book
as you read it so that you truly become the Amelia. Let Amelia into your heart.
Emphasize the tiny details.
• Demonstrate how you become the character in your own story, so that it seems as if the
story is happening to you. Imagine the story through your character’s eyes.
• Take a minute, close your eyes, and make a movie in your mind. Imagine exactly what
your character is doing, thinking, saying, feeling. Stretch out the scenes with tiny details.
If you do this, it will help your stories be truly believable.
• Demonstrate how you draft the heart of your story by stretching it out with tiny details
and letting the scene unfold step-by-step.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks, determine the heart of their story, make a
Engagement
movie in their minds, and imagine the story unfolding step-by-step.
• Have partners turn and storytell the heart of their story.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Link
Writing and
Conferring
Mid-Workshop
Teaching Point
Teaching Share
Writers, when you want to write really good fiction, remember to stretch out the heart of your
story using tiny details and letting the scene unfold step-by-step. Try to become the character in
your story so that it seems like it is happening to you. Imagine the story through your character’s
eyes and then continue drafting your story creating scenes, not summaries.
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at stretching out the heart
of their stories by imagining themselves as the characters and letting the scenes unfold
step-by-step.
Writers, a good way to signal the sequence of events in your stories is to include temporal words
and phrases that signal when things happen. The author of Amelia’s Road used the words: “Last
year,” “Later,” “By the end of the day,” and “The next day” to help us follow along. Reread your
stories to make sure that you have been including temporal words and phrases in your writing.
Add these words to clarify your writing if they are missing.
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers or have partners share their writing.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Notes
Session 10
Writers learn strategies for drafting their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn to try out different ways to create strong endings for their stories
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Anchor chart:
 Strong Endings
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altmann
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask students to bring their writer’s notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Writers, yesterday we stretched out the heart of our stories. Today we will try out several strong
endings to find one that fits best with our stories.
Demonstration/
• Refer to the anchor chart, Strong Endings, to review various endings from Units 1 and 2.
Teaching
• Explain that writers take their time with endings, trying them out until they find one that
fits and provides a sense of closure. Many endings tie up loose ends, answer questions, or
bring the story’s meaning to a close. Story endings should be powerful.
• Read aloud the ending of the story, Amelia’s Road. It says, “For the first time in her life,
she didn’t cry when her father took out the road map.” Explain that this is a circular
ending because it repeats a similar line from the first page of the story.
• Explain that using a strong line like this one, even if it isn’t a circular ending, is powerful,
too.
• Add these two new techniques to the anchor chart, Strong Endings.
• Demonstrate one or both techniques using your own story.
Active
• Have students open their writer’s notebooks, refer to the anchor chart, and think about
Engagement
one powerful way to end their stories.
• Have partners turn and share their ideas for an ending to their stories.
Link
Writers, you are all in different places in your writing right now. Some of you may experiment with
writing various powerful endings for your stories today. For others, it will be tomorrow. No matter
where you are in your work, remember that writers always consider whether their ending matches
their story. We need to remember that endings matter. When you are ready, write a few
different strong endings, and decide which one you like best.
Writing and
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at writing effective endings.
Conferring
Teaching Share
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Strong Endings
•
•
•
Use action, dialogue, thoughts, images, and whole-story reminders that make a lasting
impression.
Resolve a problem, reach a goal, or learn a lesson.
Use a circular ending or a strong line.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Note
Session 11
Writers learn strategies for revising and editing their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to revise their stories for clarity and meaning.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
•
Post on the daily schedule or verbally ask student to bring their writing notebooks and a
pencil to the meeting area.
Connection
Yesterday, many of you finished writing your stories. Others will finish soon. Either way, today, we
will begin making revisions on what we have written so far. “Revision” means just what the word
says – re-vision – to see again. Today we will put on special lenses that allow us to reread our
writing through the lenses of clarity and meaning.
Demonstration/
• Demonstrate how you reread your story to a partner – once to revise for clarity and once
Teaching
to revise for meaning. Explain that when students read their stories aloud, they should
read them as if they are reading aloud like a teacher reads aloud to the class.
 Revising for clarity – Read it once to make sure that your story is clear to your
partner. Ask your partner to stop you if it sounds confusing and tell why it is
confusing. Make a note to rewrite that part of your story.
 Revising for meaning – Read it again to make sure that your partner understands who
and what the story is really about. Ask your partner to describe the character and
explain the heart of the story. Make a note to rewrite parts of your story that are
weak.
Active
• Divide the partners into writers and listeners. Have writers read their stories aloud to the
Engagement
listeners who will listen for clarity and stop them when something is confusing. Have the
writers mark the spots that are confusing so they can go back later and add details to
make those parts clear.
• You might want to give partners a five-minute time limit to share their writing. They will
continue this revision work during writing and conferring.
Link
Writers, you will continue to work with your partners today as you revise your stories. Take turns
rereading your stories aloud. Listeners, make sure that you know what the story is about. Writers,
mark the spots that are weak so you can go back later and rewrite them. Then, return to your
seats and rewrite all the parts that need revision.
Writing and
• Conduct partner conferences to support students’ efforts at revision.
Conferring
Teaching Share
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Session 12
Writers learn strategies for revising and editing their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to revise by combining short sentences to make longer ones.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Paragraphs 1 and 2 about Grandpa, Ralph Fletcher
Writers, yesterday we revised our stories for clarity and meaning. Today we will revise the
structure of our stories by combining short sentences into longer ones.
Demonstration/
• Explain that students sometimes use many short, choppy sentences in their writing. This
Teaching
creates a halting rhythm that interrupts the flow of the writing. One way to solve this
problem is to combine short sentences to make longer ones.
• Have students listen to two different versions of the same paragraph about Grandpa.
 Read the first paragraph about Grandpa aloud and ask students, “How did the
sentences sound when I read them aloud? Was there a nice flow to them? Or did
they sound choppy?” These sentences do sound choppy, and it’s because they’re all
so short. There’s nothing wrong with a short sentence, but when they’re all short, the
writing sounds choppy because you’re stopping every few words. We could fix this
problem by combining some of the short sentences to make longer ones.
 Read aloud the second paragraph and notice how the second one sounds smoother
and has a better flow.
• Explain that in order to combine two short sentences (to create compound and complex
sentences), you sometimes need to add a word (a coordinator or subordinator) to
combine the sentences, such as and, but, since, because, while, etc.
 I have had lots of dogs. My dog Rascal was the wildest.
I have had lots of dogs, but Rascal was the wildest.
• At other times, you combine short sentences by taking words away:
 I love Hershey’s chocolate miniatures. I especially love the semisweet ones.
I love Hershey’s chocolates, especially the semisweet ones.
Active
• Have students try combining sentences with their partners. Write the following short
Engagement
sentences on the board. See if partners can combine them to make one longer sentence.
 I went to Yankee Stadium. I hoped I would catch a foul ball.
 My dad gets in a bad mood on Sunday night. He has to get up early for work on
Monday morning.
• Have students look for a place in their stories where they have used two short sentences
that could be combined into one longer one and share their idea with their partners.
Link
Writers, today and every day, make sure to read stories aloud and listen for short, choppy
sentences. Ask yourselves, “How can I combine some short sentences to make longer ones?” As
Connection
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Writing and
Conferring
Teaching Share
you reread your drafts, make revisions so that your writing is smoother and has a better flow.
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at combining sentences.
•
Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Paragraph 1
Last Saturday I biked to my Grandpa’s house. He was going to
take me fishing. Grandpa is an expert at trout fishing. He even
makes his own flies. I was really excited. But he wasn’t home
when I got there. I waited for him. I played with his dog, Rex.
Grandpa finally showed up. He’s 80 years old. I had to help carry
the canoe to the river.
Paragraph 2
Last Saturday I biked to my Grandpa’s house so he could take
me fishing. Grandpa is an expert at trout fishing – he even makes
his own flies. I was really excited, but he wasn’t home when I got
there. While I waited for him I played with his dog, Rex. Grandpa
finally showed up. He’s 80 years old, so I had to help him carry the
canoe to the river.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
•
Session 13
Writers learn strategies for revising and editing their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to revise by varying the length of some of their sentences.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Ralph
Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi
•
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Amelia’s Road, Linda Jacobs Altmann
Examples of sentence variety from Amelia’s Road.
Writers, yesterday we revised our stories by combining short sentences to make longer ones.
Today, we will revise our stories by varying the length of some of our sentences.
Demonstration/
• Explain that when sentences are always about the same length, the writing may sound
Teaching
boring to the reader. It creates a kind of sameness to the writing. Writing like this sounds
flat and voiceless.
• Explain that a short sentence can have a lot of power when it follows two or three longer
sentences. It’s like the longer sentences get the reader into a rhythm and then – wham –
the short sentence really gets your attention.
• Share examples of the use of short sentences to create sentence variety from Amelia’s
Road.
• Demonstrate how to vary the length of the sentences from your own story. Reread a
section of your own story aloud and listen to how the sentences sound together. Are the
sentences all the same length? Could you mix in an occasional short, punchy sentence
among the longer ones? Demonstrate how you change a sentence to make it shorter or
longer or add a short sentence to your writing to give it power.
Active
• Read aloud another section of your own story. Identify a place where all the sentences
Engagement
are the same length. Have students discuss with a partner how to vary the length of one
of the sentences by changing it to make it shorter or longer or by adding a short sentence
to give their writing power.
• Have two or three partnerships share their revisions.
Link
Writers, today and every day, make sure to read stories aloud and listen for sentences that are all
the same length. Ask yourselves, “How can I change a sentence to make it shorter or add a short
sentence to give my writing power?” As you reread your drafts, make revisions so that the length
of your sentences varies to give your writing more power.
Writing and
• Conduct small group conferences to support students’ efforts at varying the length of
Conferring
their sentences.
Teaching Share
• Bring closure to today’s workshop by summarizing and reinforcing the focus of the day’s
teaching point. You might share what one or two writers have done in ways that apply to
other writers.
Connection
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Examples of sentence variety from Amelia’s Road
It mattered a lot to Amelia. From one year
to the next, there was nothing to show
Amelia had lived here, gone to school in this
town, and worked in these fields. Amelia
wanted to settle down, to belong.
Amelia sighed. Other fathers remembered
days and dates. Hers remembered crops.
Mr. Martinez marked all the important
occasions of life by the never-ending
rhythms of harvest.
Amelia couldn’t wait to tell her mother
about this wonderful day. Feeling as bright
as the sky, she decided to look for a shortcut
back to camp. That’s when she found it.
The accidental road.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
•
•
Session 14
Writers learn strategies for revising and editing their realistic fiction stories.
Writers learn how to use revision/editing checklists to edit their writing.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
•
•
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Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Realistic Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist for each
student
Chart-sized Realistic Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist
Note
Connection
• Put a Realistic Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist inside each student’s writing folder.
Writers, yesterday we varied the length of some of our sentences. Today, we will use a
revision/editing checklist to continue revising and editing our stories.
Demonstration/
• Demonstrate how to use an item on the Revision/Editing Checklist as a lens by rereading
Teaching
your own story through that lens.
 Read the first item on the checklist (Will this make sense to a stranger?)
 Pretend you know nothing about the topic or the writer. Read and mark places that
are confusing.
 Go back and rewrite those parts so they are clearer.
Active
• Continue reading through the lens of each item on the checklist and then edit your story
Engagement
with the students’ input.
Link
So writers, always remember that whenever you are going to publish your writing, you need to edit
it very carefully so that the people reading it will understand your meaning. Find the Realistic
Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist in your writing folders and use each item as a lens when you
revise or edit your work. This is the time to get your writing as polished as you can get it.
Writing and
• Conduct individual student conferences to support students’ efforts using the checklist to
Conferring
make revisions and edit their work.
Share
• Have students share examples of their successful use of the checklist to revise or edit.
Note
Say, Tonight I’m going to look over the drafts that you’ve edited today and be your copy editor.
Tomorrow, you will be making final copies of your stories.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Realistic Fiction Revision/Editing Checklist
Name_______________________________________________Date______________
Title_________________________________________________________________
Reread your writing carefully.
Put a check in each box under Author as you complete each item.
Once all the boxes are checked, give this checklist to the teacher for the final edit.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Revise and edit for the following:
Clarity and meaning. Ask yourself,
“Will this make sense to a stranger?”
“Is the character realistic and well-developed?”
“Did I develop the heart of the story?”
Rewrite parts that need revision.
Effective use of words and phrases. Ask yourself,
“Did I use words that create scenes instead of summaries?”
“Did I create an effective lead and ending?”
“Did I use temporal words and phrases to signal when?”
Rewrite parts that need revision.
Sentences and paragraphs.
“Did I vary the length of my sentences?”
“Did I use simple, compound, and complex sentences correctly?”
“Do my sentences sound good together?”
“Did I indent each paragraph?”
Capitalization.
Use capitals at the beginning of each sentence, for every name,
and for titles.
Make corrections if necessary.
Punctuation.
Use periods, exclamation points, and question marks.
Use commas and quotation marks in dialogue.
Make corrections if necessary.
Spelling.
Check a chart or Word Wall for high-frequency words.
Use patterns and generalizations to spell unfamiliar words.
Use a resource to locate the spelling of unfamiliar words.
Make corrections if necessary.
Author
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
Teacher
Page 32
Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Concept
Teaching Point
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•
•
Sessions 15 and 16
Writers publish and share their realistic fiction stories.
A writing community celebrates.
References
Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching
Writing, Grades 3-5, Book 4: Writing
Fiction: Big Dreams, Tall Ambitions, Lucy
Calkins and M Colleen Cruz
A Curricular Plan for the Writing
Workshop, Grade 3, 2011-2012, Lucy
Calkins
Assessing Writers, Carl Anderson
Day 15
Publishing
Day 16
Celebration
•
•
Materials
Writer’s notebooks
Special paper for final drafts
•
Have students rewrite their revised and edited stories using special paper.
•
Explain that when a novelist or short story writer’s book is released, it is common practice
to have a book party. You might want to give young authors a taste of what it feels like to
be a famous author at a book party. Plan to have refreshments and decorations.
You might decide to copy the stories and bind them into an anthology or make bookmarks
advertising the new releases.
Have authors read their stories aloud in small groups, leave a little bit of time for silence to
let the story sink in, and then have the authors answer just one writing question.
You might want to further celebrate your students’ writing by including their stories in
your classroom library, by posting them in the hallway, or by displaying their stories in the
media center. You might also send a copy of each student’s story home with a letter to the
parents asking them to include very specific, detailed responses.
Assess students’ realistic fiction stories using the Realistic Fiction Assessment Rubric.
Consider assessing the students’ writer’s notebooks.
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This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Realistic Fiction Conferring Checklist
Student Name:
Generating Ideas:
Generates ideas by paying
attention to people, places,
and events.
Writing Strategy:
Generates ideas by
rereading notebook entries.
Writing Strategy:
Develops the internal and
external traits of characters.
Writing Strategy:
Creates several possible
story lines.
Writing Strategy:
Chooses a story and plots it
along a story mountain/arc.
Writing Strategy:
Creates several strong leads.
Writing Strategy:
Develops characters using
action, description, dialogue,
and thoughts.
Writing strategy:
Stretches out the heart of
the story and uses temporal
words and phrases.
Writing Strategy:
Creates several strong
endings.
Revision Strategy:
Revises for clarity and
meaning.
Revision Strategy:
Revises the length of
sentences.
Editing Strategy:
Uses a Revision/Editing
Checklist.
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Personal Narrative Assessment Rubric
Score
Establishment of Narrative Focus
and Organization
Narrative Focus
Organization
Development: Elaboration
and Language
Elaboration of
Language and
Narrative
Vocabulary
Conventions
4
The fictional
narrative is clearly
focused and
maintained
throughout:
• effectively
establishes a
setting and
narrator
and/or
characters.
The fictional
narrative has an
effective plot helping
create unity and
completeness:
• effective,
consistent use of
a variety of
transitional
strategies
• logical sequence
of events from
beginning to end
• effective opening
and closure for
audience and
purpose
The fictional
narrative provides
thorough and
effective
elaboration using
details, dialogue,
and description:
• effective use of
a variety of
narrative
techniques that
advance the
story or
illustrate the
experience
The fictional
narrative clearly
and effectively
expresses
experiences or
events:
• effective use
of sensory and
concrete
language
clearly
advance the
purpose
The fictional
narrative
demonstrates a
strong command
of conventions:
• few, if any,
errors in
usage and
sentence
formation
• effective and
consistent use
of
punctuation,
capitalization,
and spelling
3
The fictional
narrative is
adequately focused
and generally
maintained
throughout:
• Adequately
establishes a
setting and
narrator
and/or
characters.
The fictional
narrative has an
evident plot helping
a sense of unity and
completeness,
though there may be
minor flaws and
some ideas may be
loosely connected:
• adequate use of
a variety of
transitional
strategies
• adequate
sequence of
events from
beginning to end
• adequate
opening and
closure for
audience and
purpose
The fictional
narrative provides
adequate
elaboration using
details, dialogue,
and description:
• adequate use
of a variety of
narrative
techniques that
generally
advance the
story or
illustrate the
experience
The fictional
narrative
adequately
expresses
experiences or
events:
• adequate use
of sensory and
concrete
language
generally
advance the
purpose
The fictional
narrative
demonstrates an
adequate
command of
conventions:
• some errors in
usage and
sentence
formation
may be
present, but
no systematic
pattern of
errors is
displayed
• adequate use
of
punctuation,
capitalization,
and spelling
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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Writing Realistic Fiction: Grade 3
Writing Unit 3
Score
Narrative Focus
Organization
Elaboration of
Narrative
Language and
Vocabulary
Conventions
2
The fictional
narrative is
somewhat
maintained and
may have a minor
drift in focus:
• inconsistently
establishes a
setting and
narrator
and/or
characters.
The fictional
narrative has an
inconsistent plot,
and flaws are
evident:
• inconsistent use
of basic
transitional
strategies with
little variety
• uneven
sequence of
events from
beginning to end
• opening and
closure, if
present, are
weak
• weak connection
among ideas
The fictional
narrative provides
uneven, cursory
elaboration using
partial and uneven
details, dialogue,
and description:
• narrative
techniques, if
present, are
uneven and
inconsistent
The fictional
narrative
unevenly
expresses
experiences or
events:
• partial or
weak use of
sensory and
concrete
language that
may not
advance the
purpose
The fictional
narrative
demonstrates a
partial command
of conventions:
• frequent
errors in
usage may
obscure
meaning
• inconsistent
use of
punctuation,
capitalization,
and spelling
1
The fictional
narrative may be
maintained but
may provide little
or no focus:
• may be very
brief
• may have a
major drift
• focus may be
confusing or
ambiguous
The fictional
narrative has little or
no discernible plot:
• few or no
transitional
strategies are
evident
• frequent
extraneous ideas
may intrude
The fictional
narrative provides
minimal
elaboration using
few or no details,
dialogue, and
description:
• use of narrative
techniques is
minimal,
absent, in
error, or
irrelevant
The fictional
narrative
expression of
ideas is vague,
lacks clarity, or is
confusing:
• use of limited
language
• may have
little sense of
purpose
The fictional
narrative
demonstrates a
lack of command
of conventions:
• errors are
frequent and
severe, and
meaning is
often
obscured
This document is the property of the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA). Revised 8/16/2012.
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