Independent Writing Projects

Dear 4-324 Families,

Our Independent Writing Projects officially kicked off today! As part of this yearlong study, students will be responsible for pursuing their own independent writing projects. These projects can be in ANY genre students are interested in.

In past years, students have published a diversity of projects including:

c An anthology of poetry inspired by Tim Burton characters

c A new book in a favorite series and a new ending to a favorite book

c A read-aloud newspaper that included news relevant to characters in our read-aloud book

c A nonfiction book about submarines in World War II

c A graphic novel set in outer space

c A historical fiction piece set in a favorite time period

The possibilities really are endless! Students are welcome to create any type of text that already exists in the world (or to invent their own new genre they wish existed).

Your child’s first independent writing project will be due in class on Friday, December 7. Their piece should be published (either handwritten or typed).

For our first independent writing cycle, your child will have time in class to work on their independent writing piece, but they will be expected to do a large part of the work at home.

If you have any questions, please email me or send a note in to school with your child.

Best,

Katie

Special Reader's Notebook Work

Yesterday, we got special new notebooks we'll be using to track our thinking about our fiction books. Today, we shared the work we had already done in our notebooks and studied the kind of work readers could do at the beginning of a book. Here are some examples. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them:

Write about traits and the evidence you have for the traits for your main character and secondary characters.

Track character relationships with a relationship map and record traits you're noticing.

Create a web of pressures your main character is facing.

Write long about a big idea you're developing and the evidence you have for it

Tell about your character's actions and what might be motivating them to act that way.

Here's a link to the kind of thinking work that could be done at the beginning, middle and end of a book.  I'm excited for Fiction Fridays!

Realistic Fiction Publishing Expectations

Dear 4-324 Students and Families,

         We’ve been hard at work on our realistic fiction pieces for the past several weeks. We’ve created characters that struggle with major and minor problems. We’ve added tension to our pieces using a variety of strategies. We’ve re-imagined easy endings so our stories are reflective of real life. We’ve edited our pieces with different lenses in mind.

         Published realistic fiction pieces are due on Thursday, November 15. A copy of our realistic fiction writing rubric is on our class blog at www.fourthgradeadventurers.blogspot.com. Click on the “Writing” tab to see the rubric.

Publishing Expectations:

c Publish a copy of your piece with the revisions and edits that you made in class. You can publish your piece in script, or you can type the piece. If you type your piece, an adult can help you.

c Create a cover for your piece.

c Turn in your published piece AND your rough draft by Thursday, November 15. You can turn it in early if you finish early.

Optional:

c Create a back cover for your piece with a catchy blurb and publishers’ reviews.

c Create an “About the Author” page to teach your readers more about you.

c Try out other work that will make your realistic fiction piece even stronger.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or send a note in to school.

Best,

Katie