Your “Do Now”

Make a list of all the kinds of writing you

do in a week.

Learning to Write,Writing to Learn

A Parent Academy Presentation:

Sharon Suskin, Supervisor K-5

Jan Gleim, Supervisor 6-8

April Gonzalez, Supervisor 9-12

Thinking About Writing•Share your lists.•What kinds of writing do our children do in a typical week?

•What does the future of writing look like for our children?

We Are All Writers at Heart

Heart Map

WATERMELON TOPIC TO SEED

IDEA

CaseyMeeting Casey

Toilet PaperPool Incident

Parents as Writers

Your task:On your heart map, fill in the things

you care about -- things that are in your heart.

Choose one topic, and list three events related to that topic.

Turn to your neighbor and share one of the three events.

Write about it!

DebriefDescribe your experience in choosing a topic, sharing it, and writing about it.How did you feel as you experienced this writing task?

“All students have stories to tell; they just don’t

always know they do.”Lucy Calkins

Becoming a Writer

The Writing ProcessBegin with this belief: “I am a WRITER!”•Choose topics•Build stamina for writing•Learn the author’s craft for

revision•Edit for an audience or for

publication to make good writing better

Our Budding Writers

South Brunswick School District

Grades K-5

K – 5 Writing Process

• Choosing a topic• Planning stories through oral

rehearsal (telling stories to each other), sketching, using graphic organizers

• Using mini-lessons to “lift the quality” of writing

• Learning from mentor authors• Making good writing better through

editing

Kinds of Writing, grades K-2

• Narrative– Small moments– Personal narrative– Realistic Fiction

• Non-Narrative– How-To and All-About books– Poetry– Response to literature

Kinds of Writing, grades 3-5

•Narrative–Personal narrative–Fiction–Memoir

•Non-Narrative–Essay–Response to literature –Research projects

Our Developing Writers

CROSSROADS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Grades 6 - 8

Writing Process, grades 6 - 8

• Topics generated through curriculum: audience, mode, and purpose

• Build skills in organization and use of literary devices

• Explore voice and style• Apply peer- and self-revision

strategies• Edit for an audience or for

publication

Kinds of Writing, grades 6 - 8• INFORMATIONAL

– Response to literature – Writing in content areas– Research

• EXPRESSIVE– Narrative– Poetry– Short Stories

• PERSUASIVE– Letters– Essays

Our Accomplished

Writers

Writing to Learn Process, grades 9 - 12

• Integrated / Interwoven with Literature: – Quick writes– Double-entry journals– Graphic organizers– Open-ended questions– Short analyses

• Writing in Response to Literature

Learning to Write Process, grades 9 - 12

• Prewriting– Brainstorming– Outlining– Using graphic organizers– “Unpacking” rubric

• Multiple Drafts – Expository / quotations with citations

• Peer review via writer’s workshop– small group– teacher-student conferencing– whole group

• Final draft

Kinds of Writing, grades 9-12• CREATIVE

Short storiesPoemsScreen playsNovel chapters

• EXPOSITORYLiterary analysisEssays (SAT, HSPA)Memoirs/autobiographical (college essays)Research

Supporting Your Children as Writers

Text-Rendering Activity:

“An Open Letter to an Assessor” – Assign paragraphs to small groups– Capture the essence of your

paragraph in a phrase– Share with group

Tips for Parents• Tell your children the stories of your life;

remind them about the stories of their lives (storytelling as the inspiration for writing)

• Model and share “parents as writers” pieces

• Communicate in writing to share important events, feelings, and moments

• Read together to discover the writer’s craft

• Value your child’s compositional risks

Resources:• 6-12 Writing Guide (online)• Nine Rights of Every Writer (V. Spandel)

Thank You ~Go Forth and WRITE!