Think and Write!

Day 1

Name: Date:

Title of story:“Ruby the Copycat”

Ruby moves to a new school and wants to fit in. How does Ruby adjust to her new school? Use details from the text to support your answer.

  1. What will you be writing about? Underline the Focusing Question in the assignment above.
  1. Now, turn and talk to a partner about the question: How does Ruby adjust to her new school?
  1. The answer to a Focusing Question is called a Focus Statement. Your teacher uses some of the things you discussed to help you to write a focus statement for this piece. Copy the Focus Statement onto your Writing Draft Sheet.
  1. When the class is ready, your teacher will reread the story aloud. Your job is to listencarefully for information that will help you to complete the graphic organizer. During the read aloud, every time you hear some evidence from the text that you think belongs on the chart, raise your hand. The class will stop to discuss what you have noticed and decide whether to add that evidence to the chart.
  1. When all the notes have been taken, it's time for a challenge! Can you show that you understand the evidence without using any words? This is called pantomime. As your teacher reads each piece of evidence on the chart, act it out, in place, without any sound at all! Use your actions and expressions to show us what the words are saying.

Think and Write!

Day 2

Name: Date:

Title of story:“Ruby the Copycat”

How does Ruby adjust to her new school?

  1. Let's start by remembering what you are going to write about. Look at your Writing Draft Sheet from yesterday. When your teacher asks the Focusing Question for this piece, read the Focus Statement you have written. Do this a couple of times.
  1. Make your own Evidence Chart (use the chart on the next page). Choose a piece of evidence from the class chart. Copy the words onto your own Evidence Chart. Do this for two more pieces of evidence.
  1. Listen carefully as your teacher gives an example of how to write about the first piece of evidence. Where are these sentences coming from? Copy your teacher's example on your Writing Draft sheet.
  1. Now comes the fun part! Talk the piece! Use your own Evidence Chart. Point to each row of the chart and tell a partner what you will write. Say the sentences out loud as if you were writing them. Then, listen as your partner tells you what he/she will write.
  1. Write about two more pieces of evidence. Use your Evidence Chart.
  1. A Concluding Statement restates the focus of the piece. Look at your Focus Statement. How could you restate it? Use the same idea, but different words. Write your Concluding Statement at the end of your piece.
  1. Now, think about this question: “ At the end of the story, why is Ruby finally able to fit in?” Your teacher will lead a discussion to help you improve and expand your conclusion.
  1. With a pencil in your hand, read your whole piece aloud to a partner. Revise and edit as you read.

Name: Date:

Title of story:“Ruby the Copycat”

How does Ruby adjust to her new school?

Evidence
What did Ruby do to try to fit in? / Elaboration
Why did she think it would help her? / Page / Check here if you used this
evidence in your
piece.
  • dressed like Angela
  • wore a red bow
  • wore a sweater with daisies on it
  • wore a hand painted tee shirt and sneakers
  • wore a red and lavender striped dress
/ She would look just like Angela

Name: Date:

Title of story:“Ruby the Copycat”

Writing Draft

How does Ruby adjust to her new school?

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Teacher Pages

Sample Graphic Organizer (Students may add additional evidence.)

FOCUSING QUESTION:How does Ruby adjust to her new school?

POSSIBLE FOCUS STATEMENT:Ruby wanted to fit in at her new school.

Evidence
What did Ruby do? / Elaboration
Why did she think it would help her? / Page
  • dressed like Angela
  • wore a red bow
  • wore a sweater with daisies on it
  • wore a hand painted tee shirt and sneakers
  • wore a red and lavender striped dress
/ She would look just like Angela / 24, 25, 27, 28, 30
Recited a poem similar to Angela’s / She would write like Angela / 32
Copied Miss Hart’s fingernails and weekend trip to opera / She would be like her teacher / 35
She hopped around the classroom / Everyone copied what she could do
The class wanted to be like Ruby / 37,
38

Additional notes to the teacher about this piece:

  • Detailed directions on using pantomime in the classroom are available in the Writing Resource Folder.

Writing Sample

NOTE: This is for the teacher’s use only, not for students. The purpose is to show the teacher what the final piece might look like when students have completed their work.

How does Ruby adjust to her new school?

Ruby wanted to fit in at her new school. In the beginning, Ruby copied Angela’s clothes. For example, she wore a bow, a sweater, a hand painted T-shirt and sneakers so she would look just like Angela. After that, Ruby recited a poem in class that was similar to Angela’s. This shows she wanted to write just like Angela to fit in. After Miss Hart talked to her, Ruby copied her teacher’s fingernails and weekend plans at share time, so she would be just like her teacher. At the end of the story, with Miss Hart’s help, Ruby showed the class that she had hopped over the weekend. The class cheered and copied her! Ruby really wanted to fit in at her new school. She did it by being herself!