📝 Writing Real Pieces

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Grades K-5About 90 minutes a week

A game can check a comma, but only a reader can tell whether a story works or an argument holds. Writing grows when a real person reads it and answers. You are that reader: respond to what he said first, then to how he said it.

What to do, grade by grade

• K: he says the sentence out loud, then writes or dictates it; a picture and a line; one thing that happened, in order; read it to someone.
• Grades 1-2: reread aloud and fix one thing; plan with a list or drawing; a story that says how it felt.
• Grade 3: several paragraphs with an opening and ending that do a job; a letter with greeting and closing; write the source next to each fact; check spelling in the dictionary himself.
• Grade 4: notes in short phrases, book closed, then write from the notes; a multi-paragraph report or opinion; fix run-ons and fragments.
• Grade 5: argument with an honest counterpoint; research from 2+ sources with a source list; stretch the key moment; cut dead words; neutral summary of a nonfiction text; a clean published copy.

How to teach it

1. Plan, draft, revise, edit, publish. Name the stage you are in so he knows what kind of work it is.
2. Revise is about ideas: what is missing, what is extra, what is out of order. Edit is about spelling and punctuation. Do them on different days.
3. When you read his piece, first say back what it made you think or feel. Then ask one real question; the answer is usually the detail to add.
4. For argument, have him write the best reason someone would disagree, then answer it fairly.
5. For research, close the book before writing. If he cannot say it without looking, he does not know it yet.
6. For a summary, cover the text and ask: what is this mostly about, and what are the three biggest points? Keep "I think" out of it.
7. Give it a real reader: a grandparent, a letter to a business, a family newsletter. Do not grade it with a number.

Curriculum goals this sheet covers (23)

In the words of the grade-by-grade guide.

• Dictates or composes a short informational text and a short story, usually a picture plus a line of writing (Texas asks for both kinds).
• Says a sentence out loud before writing it, so the words are ready before the pencil moves.
• Tells about one thing that happened, in the order it happened.
• Adds a detail to his own writing when a listener asks a question about it.
• Shares a finished piece with a real reader instead of leaving it in the pile.
• Rereads his own writing aloud and finds at least one thing to fix.
• Plans before writing, with a list or a drawing, rather than starting cold.
• Writes a narrative that tells what happened and how it felt, not only what happened.
• Writes a multi-paragraph composition with an introduction and a conclusion that are actually doing a job.
• Writes correspondence with a greeting and a closing.
• Uses a dictionary or glossary to check a spelling instead of asking you.
• Names where a fact came from at the moment he writes the fact down.
• Takes notes from a source and writes from the notes with the source closed. This is the year's real skill.
• Writes a multi-paragraph informational or argumentative piece with a clear main idea and supporting evidence.
• Edits his own draft for run-on sentences and fragments, and uses a dictionary and thesaurus to do it.
• Takes notes in short phrases and in his own words instead of copying sentences.
• Writes a multi-paragraph argument with a claim, evidence, and an honest counterpoint rather than a straw man.
• Writes a short research piece from more than one source, with attribution, and does not paraphrase one source the whole way through.
• Paces a narrative by stretching out the important moment and summarizing the rest.
• Revises by cutting the words and sentences that are not carrying the piece.
• Lists the sources used at the end of a piece, with enough detail for a reader to find them.
• Publishes a clean final copy, formatted so a reader other than the writer can read it.
• Writes an objective summary of a nonfiction text, keeping his own opinion out of it

Goals covered: Dictates or composes a short informational text and a short story, usually a picture plus a line of writing (Texas asks for both kinds).Says a sentence out loud before writing it, so the words are ready before the pencil moves.Tells about one thing that happened, in the order it happened.Adds a detail to his own writing when a listener asks a question about it.Shares a finished piece with a real reader instead of leaving it in the pile.Rereads his own writing aloud and finds at least one thing to fix.Plans before writing, with a list or a drawing, rather than starting cold.Writes a narrative that tells what happened and how it felt, not only what happened.Writes a multi-paragraph composition with an introduction and a conclusion that are actually doing a job.Writes correspondence with a greeting and a closing.Uses a dictionary or glossary to check a spelling instead of asking you.Names where a fact came from at the moment he writes the fact down.Takes notes from a source and writes from the notes with the source closed. This is the year's real skill.Writes a multi-paragraph informational or argumentative piece with a clear main idea and supporting evidence.Edits his own draft for run-on sentences and fragments, and uses a dictionary and thesaurus to do it.Takes notes in short phrases and in his own words instead of copying sentences.Writes a multi-paragraph argument with a claim, evidence, and an honest counterpoint rather than a straw man.Writes a short research piece from more than one source, with attribution, and does not paraphrase one source the whole way through.Paces a narrative by stretching out the important moment and summarizing the rest.Revises by cutting the words and sentences that are not carrying the piece.Lists the sources used at the end of a piece, with enough detail for a reader to find them.Publishes a clean final copy, formatted so a reader other than the writer can read it.Writes an objective summary of a nonfiction text, keeping his own opinion out of it

All real-world sheets