Connection We have been talking a lot about how writers write about their own lives – thinking of stories, getting ideas in their heads, putting stories on paper. Today we are beginning a new unit of study. We will learn how writers catch Small Moments from their lives and stretch out those moments, turning them into stories across several pages.

Teaching Hold up A Chair for My Mother – remind students of part where the building is on fire. Refer to the author by name – Vera could have written ‘We got home and saw the fire. Everyone was safe’ – but suggest that this would have been very dull. Instead, Vera decided to stretch the small moment out by telling us tiny little details. Reread this part of the story to students.

Active Engagement

Writers, will you think in your mind about the tiny details that Vera B Williams added? Turn and tell a friend about some of the tiny details – listen in on these convos and call on someone who understands that she wrote many details to tell about one part of the story – or repeat again that she stretched out the small moment and made it big by telling us details.

Link When you write today, think about taking a small moment and make it big by stretching it out and adding details. Hold up booklet. We’re going to be writing our Small Moments in books like this - try and stretch it out across these three pages.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 1: Understanding a Small Moment Story October 3, 2007

*Before this lesson: Clean out folders by sending home stories with post-its/choosing a piece to file and RA A Chair for My Mother so students are familiar with the story

Materials: A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams, pre-stapled booklets of 3 pages

When conferencing…Work with students to write Small Moments – Touch each page and say what you will write – get students to say stories orally and then plan how they will go on paper, help them use a storyteller’s voice – start them off if their stories sound more like lists than stories (I rode my bike. I went home.) Look for students writing in Small Moments who can share.

Sharing

Have a student who wrote in Small Moments share their story or read it myself. Compliment student on doing any of the following: writing something true that happened in their lives, telling what happened first, next, last, zooming in on something and telling details. Say: Writers do these things! Let’s keep trying to write true stories just like Vera and (name of student) have done.

Connection Yesterday we saw that Vera Williams decided to write about what happened when she saw her apartment was on fire. Recount how Vera used tiny details to tell her story. Today I’ll show you how I write about Small Moments in my life because all of you will be doing that too.

Teaching Model selecting a small moment and deciding to write about it. Tell students how I could have written about everything that happened that day, but no, I’m going to zoom in one this one small moment – that’s what writers do. (Make zooming motion with hand.) Model thought process as I am “picturing it like a movie in my head.” Decide/sketch what will go on all 3 pages. (“Hmm what happened first?”)

Active Engagement

Turn and tell a friend what you noticed me doing as a writer when I wrote my Small Moment. Create chart “Writing Small Moments” – Writers think of something that happened to them, they picture it in their minds, they sketch it on the paper, they write words.

Link Today and every day you’ll be doing all these things. Before you go from the rug, think about the story you began yesterday. Close your eyes and remember the moment you are writing about. (Pause and do this) Thumbs up if you are remembering that one time. Can you picture in your mind what happened first…and then next?

Unit 1, Mini-Lesson 2: Discovering One Small Moment October 4, 2007

Materials: Small Moment story to write, Booklet to sketch story in, Notebook to write down ideas for chart, Chart called “Writing Small Moments”

When conferencing…Continue to help students touch each page and say what they will write…Also go back to helping students start to put some words down – listening for and recording the first sound, go back to finished work and add details, say “I’ll do the best I can and keep going”. While helping students with Small Moments: “As a reader, I’d love to hear more about that.”

Sharing

Watch to see if a lot of students are questioning what counts as a “Small Moment” – find 2 examples of students’ work – one that would be a Small Moment and one that wouldn’t – ask students to be writing teachers and decide if they fit the Small Moments criteria: It is a true story? Is it about a Small Moment? Does it make sense?

Connection (Direct students to find papers with their names) Writers we’ve talked a lot about what we need to do our best work – tools, paper. But there’s one more huge thing writers need – company, a writing friend. (Point out papers with names – Partner 1 and Partner 2) From now on, you will sit with your writing partner for every minilesson and every share at these spots. Writers often plan by talking to partners – this is what we will do today.

Teaching Let me show you how writers plan with their partners – watch closely, this is what you’re going to be doing. (Demo convo with partner) I am partner 1 so I will go first and read my story. Partner asks what will you write today – decide if story from prev. day is finished. Then Partner 2 reads story – ask what will you write today, are you done or will you add to that story today? So now we both have plans to get started writing! Now let’s watch as one of our partnerships gets started. (Let 2 kids demo – have them sit eye-to-eye, knee-to-knee and talk them through partner convo just like I demonstrated)

Active Engagement

Will each of you turn to your partners now? Partner 2 ask – What did you write yesterday? Are you done or will you add on today? Get started.

Link Writers, all you life you are going to want to have conversations like this where you share and plan writing. For now, we’ll work alone, but in about 20 min you’ll regroup with your partner.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 3: Establishing Long-Term Partnerships October 5, 2007

Materials: Writing partner for myself (student or adult), Preplanned partnerships (mixed ability), Papers with partnerships written on them arranged on carpet as a seating chart (one person is Partner 1, other is Partner 2), paper with my name and partner’s name

Mid-Workshop Teaching Point: It’s been great to hear your stories today – I bet your partners are dying to hear what you’ve written. Put Partner 2’s story between you – just like if you were sharing a book during reading time. (Instruct Partner 2 to read story, point to words while reading, then have a talk just like they had during minilesson – Will you add on or are you done? After you’ve both read to each other, go back to your writing.

When conferencing…

Meet with partners – read one partner’s story and say “I’m a little confused, aren’t you? Let’s ask the writer to tell the story again and see if we can figure out what happened first and next and next? So watch how I tell the writer I’m a little confused”…or, if story makes sense orally but not written say to partner, “Aren’t you wondering why she didn’t write any of this great story? We better ask…Watch how I do that”

Sharing Give students 2 min to talk to partners about what they wrote – tell them to use 1-inch voices and stop instantly when I say “Stop and look” – Give 2 more minutes to plan what they will write next, then practice “Stop and look”

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 4: Stretching One Small MomentOctober 9, 2007

Materials: The Kissing Hand (make sure it’s been previously read)Connection Writers I was reading your stories last night and

noticing how much you’ve grown as writers – you used to cram your stories onto one page and now you write in booklets and stretch your stories out over pages just like real authors. You write one thing that happened, then turn the page – then how the next thing happened, then turn the page, etc. Today let’s look closely at an author who writes just like you – listen to how Audrey Penn stretches out a small moment in The Kissing Hand.

Teaching As I read part of it to you – think about how Audrey streeeeeetched this moment out across several pages (make stretching hand motion). (Reread ending of story – when Chester gives his mom a kissing hand. Whisper “turn the page” before each page turn). Audrey took a tiny moment and told her moment bit-by-bit, page-by-page, just like you guys do.

Active Engagement

I am going to take a booklet and tell a story across the pages just like Audrey. Watch and listen closely to what I do. (Tell story across 3 pages, touch each page as I say what I will write on that page.) Think in your mind about what you just saw me do. Who can tell me what I did?

Link If you are going to start a new book today, before you do, practice stretching out your story by touching each page and saying aloud your story. Then say to your partner ‘Can I show you how my story will go?’ and again touch each page and say what you will

write on that page.

Mid-Workshop Teaching Point: Writers may I stop all of you? Reread “Writing Small Moments” chart and ask students to give a thumbs up if they’d done it. If you haven’t done these things be sure that you do!

When conferencing… Use conferences to see if students are following advice of minilesson – touching each page to plan writing. Find exemplars of good work to share.

Sharing Writers I want to show you a great example of zooming in on a tiny moment. __ could have written about his whole day, but instead he decided to zoom in on one tiny moment. (Have student read story.) What ___ did is what writers do all the time – zooming in on one part of the day and writing about it with lots of details. I know many of you are also zooming in on a tiny, tiny moment. Great work!

Connection Writers you’ve been doing such a great job with your small moments stories and we want other people to be able to read them. We need to write our words in such a way that people can read our stories. Writers say the word slowly, stretching the word out, and writing all the sounds we can hear. I’ll teach you how to do this.

Teaching I drew this Small Moment (hold up picture and orally tell story of that picture. Decide to label one picture with a word and stretch out the word to hear the sounds.) Watch how I do it. I’m going to listen to the sound at the beginning of the word. Now I am going to say it slowly again and write a letter that makes the sound I hear. (Figure out first letter and then continue for rest of word, rereading each sound as I go.) Wow! It really helped me to say the word slowly and write the sounds that I hear.

Active Engagement

Now I want to write another word – I need your help. Write the word on your chalkboards as we do it together. First we say the word. Watch me say it slowly. Now you say the word slowly. What sound do you hear at the beginning? Listen and tell your partner what you hear – write the letter that makes that sound. Put your finger under what you’ve written and let’s read it together. Now let’s say the next sound – write what you hear. (Then reread) Will someone tell me what you wrote so I can label my picture? (Accept incorrect spelling as long as letters represent the sounds in the word, like “bik” instead of “bike”.)

Link Remember the strategy we just used while you are writing. Say the word, then stretch it out by saying it slowly, write one sound, then reread what you’ve written so far and say the word again slowly, listening for the next sound. When you are writing your Small Moment today, use this strategy so that people can read your words.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 5: Stretching and Writing Words October 10, 2007

Materials: 3-page story I made with only pictures (no words), chalkboards/chalk

When conferencing… “What are you working on as a writer?” Help students to write Small Moment stories – if too broad say “What exactly did you do?” or “What exactly did she say?” “So am I right that the story goes like this..?” Help students with print work.

Sharing Point out work of student who stretched out word to hear/record sounds. Point out benefit of rereading as you go to hear all sounds. Right now, will each of you reread your work to your partner? Put one booklet between you and your partner and point to the words as you read. Check that each of you has put down all the sounds that you hear. Then talk about the story, just like you talk about books after you finish them. Then switch to the other partner’s story.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 6: Sketching Rather Than Drawing October 11, 2007

Materials: Chart paper with line down the middle, Chart: “Writing Small Moments”Connection Writers I had a great time looking over your stories

yesterday after school. But you know what? Sometimes I pulled a story out of your folders and I would see a really great picture and I was just dying to read the story but…there were be almost NO words! I realized that some of you are working so hard at making detailed pictures that you have almost no time left for writing! Today I am going to teach you about a special kind of drawing that writers use to save time for writing – we call it sketching .

Teaching Demo difference between drawing and writing – on half on a paper, draw a picture for a story, using color and detail – on the other half, sketch the story, using one color and quick outlines of shapes. Review “Writing Small Moments” chart and add “They go back and add detail” to the bottom. Say: “Writers sketch, then they write the words, THEN they go back and add detail.” Demo telling a story across pages, touching each page – then quickly sketch pictures, then write words on page 1 – say “after I write words on page 2 and 3, ill go back and add details.”

Active Engagement

Think about what you will be writing today – thumbs up when you know. Now pretend you have a booklet in front of you. Touch page 1 and whisper what you will write. Then turn to the next pretend page and whisper what you will write. Then turn to the last page and say what you will write. When you’ve said

the words, go back to page 1 and, with your finger, start sketching. Keep going on each page.

Link Dismiss children one at a time as they “write” on pretend books. Say: “Remember to do this same thing today and every day when you write.”

Mid-Workshop Teaching Point: Writers please get with your partner. Show each other how much writing you’ve gotten done today. Did you write more than yesterday? Partners, if your writing friend hasn’t gotten much writing done, be a teacher for your friend and say “You gotta write!” Then help your friend get started writing down words.

When conferencing… Possible conferences: “Sketch instead of draw,” “Try a sentence instead of labels” – Use Unit 2 Assessment Checklist – Work with students who still can’t record sounds with letters

Sharing Thumbs up if you had more time to write words today because you sketched first. Let one student share who decided to add words to a piece that had previously just been a detailed picture or to just do a quick sketch on each page and then get started on words. Make that point that that is such a great idea because that student had time to write more words than if they did a detailed picture. Suggest that students might go back and add words to old pieces that just had detailed pictures.Connection Point out details we’ve heard in students’ stories, as

well as in A Chair For My Mother and The Kissing Hand. Say: Today I hope you can help me be sure the story I write is one that has beautiful details too. And I hope you’ll learn that writers plan their stories to be sure we include detail.

Teaching Remind students of a shared class experience, include details in the retelling. Then demo planning story by touching each page, but not including details. Appear puzzled: “Huh, I wrote a Small Moment, but I’m wondering, did I add enough details to give a clear picture about what that was like?” Wait for student to suggest a forgotten detail, then decide I’ve forgotten lots of details to make a clear picture.

Active Engagement

Talk to your partner about more details I could include in my story. Ask students to share a few details. Go back and retell the story, touching each page, but now with new details in the words the students used.

Link Writers when you begin you stories, remember all the things we’ve been talking about in our study of Small

Moments. You’ll want to think of something that happened to you, picture it in your mind, and then, before you write, tell your partner the story with all the details. Plan together how the story will go. Then you can sketch and write it across pages. Thumbs up if you think you can do all of those things.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 7: Planning DetailsOctober 12, 2007

Materials: Shared class experience to write about

When conferencing…When students ask for spelling help, say “You know you how to tackle a word like that! What do writers do first when they want to spell a word?” Remind students to use high frequency words, word endings, punctuation, etc.

Sharing Have student who wrote with tiny details share their work. Say that you have a really good picture of that story in your mind because of all the details the student included. Let students read their stories with their partners and notice the details they’ve included.

Connection I can tell that you, like me, are starting to see stories everywhere. (Give example of a time when I thought “Hey, I could write about that!”) Today I’m going to show you a way writers catch story ideas. When you realize something that happens could make a story, you can catch the idea like this (act our catching story and putting it in pocket). Writers do that. We find stories everywhere in our lives and hold onto them (act out catching again) until we can write them down.

Teaching Then later, you can reach into your pocket and take out a story (demo this) and now you have a story helper to help you write your story! Watch how I tell a story across my fingers. (Demo this – holding up one finger for each part of a story – when I have 3 fingers up, say “I better start finishing my story, I only have 2 fingers left!”) Did you see how I told one part of my story on each finger?

Active Engagement

Now I want you to catch a Small Moment in your minds and in your hand. Think of what you are writing about. (Pause, then have students reach out to grab stories.) Now turn to your partner and try to tell your moment across your fingers. Remember that when you only have 2 fingers left you should start finishing your story. (Let one student model this after they have had time to talk to partners.)

Link If you are writing a new story today, try planning this story across your 5 fingers and see if this helps you make sure you have a beginning, middle and end.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 8: Internalizing Story Shapes October 15, 2007

Materials: Story that I will tell across fingers

When conferencing…Help students tell their stories across their fingers. Confer with students who are still not writing in sentences and help them to write a short sentence by sounding out words.

Sharing Demo stapling a new page onto a booklet to add more details to stories. (If there is a student who wanted to add more to a story but

did not have room, share this situation with the class and suggest adding on more pages.)

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 9: Storytelling with PartnersOctober 16, 2007

Materials: Story to tell

Connection Writers yesterday I watching you tell stories across fingers to your partners, but I realized I never taught you how to be great storytelling partners for each other. Today I’m going to teach you how to be great writing partners – how to do a good job when it is your turn to tell a story and when it is your turn to listen.

Teaching When you are telling your partner your story, this is what some of you do (demo telling about my story, not the words I will write). It’s so much more helpful if, instead, you tell the actual words you will write. (Demo this with same story) Did you see the difference? I didn’t talk about my story – I said the actual words I will write. That’s important. My second tip is for you to listen. (Ask a student to read his/her story and demo bad listening and good listening)

Active Engagement

So talk to your partner about what you’ve learned about the storyteller’s job and the listener’s job.

Link It’s time to get to your writing. I know some of you are in the middle of a story and some are starting new stories today. If you are starting a new story, please plan it out with your partner. I’ll be watching for the ways partners talk and listen with each other today.

Mid-Workshop Teaching Point: Stop students while writing to highlight a partnership that is doing a great job planning their stories together.

When conferencing…Continue to help students tell stories across their fingers – touch each page and say what you will write. Encourage more details – as a reader, I’d love to hear more about that.

Sharing Let partners share their stories with each other. “Partners, listen. Did the writers include everything? Did they leave anything out? Give each other tips on how to make these the best stories in the world.” Circulate among students, pointing out partners who are looking right at each other as they share – remind students to tell stories across fingers or by touching each page of their booklet – help students to

ask partners “How will you start your story?” “What exactly will you say?”

Connection Writers, yesterday you helped me plan a story about ____. I started writing it last night but it was starting to be such a long story and I didn’t finish it. I figured we could write some of it together today. I want to teach you a trick for how to make your writing go faster.

Teaching There are some words, as readers, that you guys just know. Well, when we write, we also need some words that we just know. This helps writing go faster. The words up on our word wall are words that you guys just know, or almost know, in a snap. If there’s a word you’re writing in your story that is on the word wall, but you can’t spell it, you can just look for it there. Then you can say the letters to remind yourself. Once it is in your brain, you can write it down. Now we need to add on to our story. (Read students what I’ve written so far, stopping at a few word wall words – tell students what the next words will be – then demo process of thinking of what the word starts with to find it on the word wall – then “fix the spelling into my brain”. Have students write the word.)

Active Engagement

Practice writing the next few words in the sentence and other words on the word wall. Remind students to fix the letters in their brains so they’ll remember them the next time.

Link Today and every day when you write, you’ll come to words you just know. Write these fast. Don’t stretch them out – just think, “I know that word!” and write it. Or if you almost know it, check the word wall, and then you can write it like a snap! As we learn more of these words in first grade, you will have more and more words you know like a snap

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 10: Writing Some Words in a SnapOctober 17, 2007

Materials: Story I told yesterday, partly written but stopped before I get to some high-frequency words, student clipboards/paper or chalkboards/chalk

When conferencing…Work with individual students to write the words they should “just know.” If students are stretching these words out, stop them and say “Oh, the. You know the!” Then encourage them to check words using the word wall.

Sharing (Have students bring back clipboards or chalkboards.)Share success story of student who used the word wall. Point out that the smartest way to use the word wall is not to copy from it, but to put the words in your mind to learn them and then try to write it without looking.

Have students work with partners to try writing several words they should know “in a snap.” Tell them if they don’t just know the word, they can use the word wall to help them.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 11: Focusing On the Most Important PartOctober 18, 2007

Materials: Unfocused and zoomed in version of the same story to tell, Have students bring writing folders to the carpet Connection Today I am going to teach you that writers are like

photographers. Photographers can look through their cameras and see that whole wall of our classroom with the whiteboard and bulletin boards and the alphabet and the clock. OR, the photographer could ZOOM IN and see just one thing, like just our job bulletin board, but now they see all the details on the board, like the names of all the jobs. Writers, like photographers, could write about the whole world, but usually writers, like photographers, want to zoom in close. Today I am going to show you how writers zoom in on the most important parts of our stories.

Teaching First I am going to think of a whole big thing in my life. (Demo telling an unfocused, list-like story) But now I am going to zoom in (bring hands close together) and write about the most important part of the memory. (Retell story, zooming in on only one small aspect in detail.)

Active Engagement

Have students take out most recent story and ask themselves is this big, like the classroom wall and my unfocused story, or zoomed-in and small like just the job chart and my zoomed in story. If your story is big, can you talk to your partner about how you will make your story small and zoomed in?

Link When you write today and every day, think about being a photographer and zooming in on the most important part of your memory!

Mid-Workshop Teaching Point: Stop students to practice strategy of stretching out words to record sounds: Say the word slowly, write down the sound we hear, reread, say the word, write down the sound, etc. Practice doing this with the whole class with a word one student is trying to write – have them record the sounds on the back of their papers.

Today and every day when you want to spell a word, stretch it out using this strategy. I can’t wait to hear the beautiful words you write!

When conferencing…Make sure students can get started without me – step back and tell students I’m just going to research and admire the work they are

doing. Then continue to help students sketch rather than draw, add details, stretch out words, tell stories across their fingers. If several children are having the same problems, pull a strategy group.

Sharing Have student who wrote a really focused, zoomed-in story share their story. Discuss how this makes such a beautiful Small Moment story.

Connection Writers we’ve been talking about small moments of our lives and how we can stretch them out and tell them long. Today I want to tell you about a strategy you can use to say more about your Small Moment. I’m going to show you that you can write what happened (on one hand) and then you can show your response to what happened, your feelings or thoughts about what happened (on the other hand).

Teaching Read students a story that contains an internal component – a thought or feeling about the actions of the story. Say: I want you to be researchers and listen to how the author wrote what happened and also what she thought or felt about what happened.

Active Engagement

Researchers, turn and talk to your partner about how the author wrote what happened and also how she felt about what happened. Hold up 2 hands and say that she wrote the outside story of what she did and the inside story of how she felt. Ask students to recall a familiar event and tell both the outside (on one hand) and the inside (on the other hand). Repeat what one student says to the class.

Link When you write today and from now on, try to remember that on one hand, you can say what happened – but then, on the other hand, you can say what you thought or felt. Today if you write not just the outside story but also the inside story, tell me so I can admire your work.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 12: Revealing Internal StoriesOctober 19, 2007

Materials: Writing that has an example of an “inside part” of the story

When conferencing…Continue to use Unit 2 Assessment Checklist

Sharing Writers it was amazing to see your writing change today when you told not just the outside story but also the inside story of what you were feeling and thinking in your stories. Share example of student who did this. Would you all reread what you wrote today and if you find a place where you wrote the inside story, put one finger on that part and give me a thumbs up.

Connection I’ve loved reading your stories, especially now that they stretch the moments out – except guys, I have to tell you one thing. Sometimes your stories are so great – and then your endings are a letdown. (Provide example of a great story with ending like “Then we went home.”) Today we’ll learn how to write endings that are as great as your stories.

Teaching What you do now is usually write endings that jump away from the Small Moment – going to a whole different time, like “then we went to lunch” or “Then we went home.” But it doesn’t have to go that way. You can write endings that stay close-in to the Small Moment. (Reread story from the beginning of the lesson.) One way to end a story is to think of the very next thing that happened (provide example of this). Another way is to say what you thought or felt – the inside story – during that moment.

Active Engagement

(Put up chart paper of class story from previous session) Read the story, then have students work with their partner to develop a more close-in ending. Retell the story with suggested ending.

Link So when you write today and every day, if its time to end your story, pause and ask “How can I write a good, close-in ending?” From now on, we’re going to say that its not allowed to end your story “Then we went home” or “Then we went to sleep.”

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 13: Writing Close-In Story Endings October 22, 2007

Materials: Story of shared experience with weak ending, Story rewritten without ending on chart paper, Class story from previous session on chart paper

When conferencing…Work with students on endings. Read students’ stories out loud as if it’s the greatest piece of literature in the world, then pause when its time for the ending to see if they suggest one. Teach students that to come up with an ending, you reread the whole story to get a running start on the end, then try out one ending to see if it fits. If not, reread the story again and try out a different possible ending.

Sharing Share close-in ending student wrote. Ask students to reread endings and decide if they think their ending is great or so-so or sort of

terrible. Ask students who decided their ending is sort of terrible to raise their hands. Say: Good for you to see that! I’m exactly the same as you. When I reread my writing a lot of times I think “Oh, no! I could do much better!” Smart work! Will you revise your endings tomorrow? Give students a sticky note if they need to revise their endings tomorrow.

Connection Writers today is an important day. You need to choose the piece that you will publish. I know you remember that we need to fix up stories just like people fix themselves up for graduations or weddings. Today what I want to teach you is that it’s really great to have your partner’s help when its time to fix up your writing.

Teaching We’ve already talked about ways to fix up our writing – but we haven’t talked too much about ways to fix up another person’s writing. This is important! All writers in the world have partners to help them with their writing, people called editors. The job of the editor is go through our piece before its published and find ways to help us fix it up. (Display revising/editing chart from previous unit.) Read a short story I have written – read it and ask students if it makes sense, then read it again and ask what I could add, then ask students if it looks right/if every word looks like its spelled right. Give students the idea that their input is very helpful and not something you had thought of yourself.

Active Engagement

Read students the second piece of short writing. Give each partner pair a copy of the writing and a marker. Ask them to fix any spelling mistakes, mark a D anywhere they think needs detail, and think about whether or not the story makes sense. After a few minutes stop them and tell them they’re ready for the real thing.

Link It’s time to start editing the piece you want to publish with your partner. You and your partner will have to decide whose piece you want to work on first. Then you will both get to work fixing up that person’s piece.

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 14: Revising and Editing with PartnersOctober 23, 2007

Materials: 2 pieces of writing that needs revising/editing, Copies of one of the pieces of writing for each partner pair

When conferencing…Work with students at rereading their pieces, pointing under each word as they read to see if what they want to say matches what’s on the page. This will help them to notice missing words or word endings.

Sharing Writers you and your partner have done some nice work fixing up your writing. Before it’s time to publish, you are also going to want to fancy up your writing. You will add a cover and add some color to your drawings. Decide what you will do to fancy up your writing. You will have time to do this tomorrow.

*Give students time the next day or 2 to fancy up their writing – there is no set minilesson for this day

Unit 2, Mini-Lesson 15: Reading Aloud for Visitors – An Author’s CelebrationOctober 26, 2007

Materials: Students finished books, Sheet for each writer for comment

*Invite another class to come in to serve as buddies that students can read their stories to – rehearse with buddies what their job will be – to listen to stories and provide comments about what they liked about the story

(Have buddies sit beside the students at their spots on the carpet.)

Writers, welcome to Room 411’s writing celebration! We learned to catch Small Moments from our lives and to write about them. We took these Small Moments and stretched them long in our writing. You wrote these moments with so many details that any reader can get a really clear picture of the story. Give yourselves a pat on the back!

Writers and friends, we are going to celebrate this wonderful writing by having each writer read his or her piece to your buddy. Buddy, your job is to be a good listener and then tell the writer what you liked about his or her writing. You may also ask a question. Once you tell the writer what you liked, you may write your comment on the sheet for each writer.

(Let students read their stories to their buddies and give the buddies time to give a verbal and written comment to the writers. When they are finished, give all the writers a round of applause. Call all students back to the rug.)

Thank you, buddies, for celebrating our hard work with us. Congratulations, writers, for writing the stories from your lives in such magical ways.