Writing 6th

*This week, continue to read aloud fantasy stories to the S's so that they can hear lots of examples of fantasy before/as they write it. If you don't have time during the reading block to do this, begin your writing workshop lesson with a fantasy book read aloud.
Recommended read-aloud for today: "Where the Wild Things Are"
Shared Writing lesson:
"Boys and Girls, I'm so happy that you are enjoying reading and writing fantasy stories. Fantasy can be really fun because you get to use your imagination. I think what I like the most about reading fantasy books is when the author puts a lot of detail in their writing so that I can really visualize it in my mind! Think about the book we read today. Did you know that MILLIONS of people have read this book and LOVE it?! In fact one person loved it SO MUCH, that he wrote a movie about it! I started wondering, 'What makes this book so great that millions of people want to read it over and over?' What if the author had just said, 'The boy went on a boat and saw some monsters then he went home.' and that was the end? Would that be a book you would LOVE to read? Turn and talk to your partner about what makes this book one that millions of people love to read."
"I heard some of you say the pictures are cool. I heard someone else say he used good words in his book that make you picture the wild things in your mind. What were some of the great 'sparkle' words that the author used that helped us visualize the story better?" Add these words to your "sparkle words" chart.
"Now we're going to practice a piece of fantasy writing. Let's try to make a story that millions of people would love to read!" Pull 3 sticks and begin a shared writing, being sure to put in some "sparkle words" that will help add detail. I wouldn't make this too long. Just write as long as you have their attention. You can finish tomorrow.
Have S's go back to their seats and write a fantasy story based on these 3 sticks.

*Suggested read-aloud: A fantasy book that you have never read to them before. You will not show the pictures, so it needs to have strong "sparkle words" that will help them visualize the story without the pictures.
"Today, I'm going to read aloud a book to you that you have probably never heard before. But I'm NOT going to show you the pictures. We're going to give this author a little test to see if he/she used any good "sparkle words" in their book that will help us visualize the story and make it more exciting to read. Ready?! It may help you to close your eyes so that you can really concentrate. Sometimes I also like to stare at the carpet when I'm trying to picture something in my mind, so you can do that, as well, if you'd rather not close your eyes. I will not be showing any of the pictures. So, don't feel like you're missing the pictures."
When you come to a good "sparkle word", point it out and say something like "Oooo...when I read the word '____', it really made a picture come into my mind! I can visualize that perfectly! Can you? Should we add that word to our chart?"
If you feel you have time and the kids are attentive enough, you can continue your shared writing from yesterday. If not, go on to the activity below...
After reading and writing some words on the chart, have S's use one of the words from the chart in an oral sentence before going off to write their story today.

*Suggested read-aloud: "The Salamander Room" or another fantasy book with strong describing words.
"Boys and Girls, when you are writing your fantasy stories, you not only need to use good adjectives to help the reader visualize your thinking, you also have to be sure your reader can read your writing. Remember the posters we put up over there called 'Do you have a writer's eye?' Let's review the posters and remind ourselves what readers need us to do in order to be able to read our books."
Go over the posters in your classroom and perhaps show examples in your read-aloud book of those things. Discuss how much easier it was for you to read and visualize because the author left spaces, periods, capital letters, etc...in his/her book. These are signals to the reader about how the author wants his/her book read.
"As you are continuing to write your marvelous fantasy books today, remember the readers who are going to want to read your book! Make sure you give them the right signals to show them where you want the sentence to end!"

*Suggested read-aloud: "Diary of a Worm" or any of the other books from that series.
"Remember the book we read earlier, 'Diary of a Worm'? That was such a fun book to read because it made us think about what it would be like to be a worm. It was so fun to think about the problems a worm might have to solve during their lives. It was also fun to think about what a worm would say if he/she could write in a journal like we can."
"While we were reading this book, it made me start thinking about other types of animals...like my dog Brownie. What if I wrote my own fantasy book called 'Diary of a Dog' or 'Brownie's Diary'! I could pretend to be Brownie and write a journal all about the things that Brownie does during the day (and night) when I'm not there watching her! I could even choose a different animal, like a mosquito or a squirrel. I've seen those 2 things around my house a lot lately. I could call my book 'Diary of a Squirrel' or 'Diary of a Mosquito'."
"Let's look at our book 'Diary of a Worm' and see what we can learn from the author about how to write a diary." Notice the dates, illustrations matching the writing, etc... Get S's pumped up and excited about the possiblities that come from this kind of fantasy writing.
Have partners share their ideas for what kind of animal they may want to write a journal/diary for. If you have time, model a couple pages for them by beginning your own "Diary of a ___" book.
S's may choose to do this type of fantasy book or they may choose to continue the book they were writing from yesterday.