Amazing Authors

Each third grade author is working to publish their first personal narrative. The children have been working hard to include many qualities of effective writing in their work. Ask your child if he/she has been:

*Writing a little seed story (NOT a watermelon topic)
*Including true, exact details from the movie they have made in their mind

Third grade authors have also spent time revising their work. Revision means to look at again. I've been quite impressed at their willingness to make changes to improve their writing. They have revised by: 
*Rewriting their lead. They worked to begin with a hook - perhaps using description, action or dialogue
*Elaborating - Authors chose the most important part of the story and tried to say more. I challenged them to write exactly what the character was saying, thinking or doing. 
*Rewriting their ending - They worked to end the story close to their seed moment. They could try an ending that teaches a lesson, shows feelings that have changed, or solves a problem. 

This is hard writing work and certainly not all children are in the same place in their progress. My biggest goal for writers at this point in third grade is that their writing is (mostly) clear, it makes sense and that the writers are intentional. When I say intentional, I mean that third grade writers are working to be reflective and think about what they can do to make their writing the best it can be.

Tomorrow, we will begin the process of editing. When I refer to editing, I mean checking the mechanics of writing - capitals, punctuation, spelling. Correct writing mechanics makes the writing easier to read. 

I can't wait to share their writing at our conference! :o)Melanie