SWBAT Distinguish Between Big Topics and Focused Stories

SWBAT distinguish between big topics and focused stories.

Directions: Write the correct present tense form of the verb in parenthesis.

1. Leah ______for her science test. (study)

2. She ______a question. (ask)

3. She ______the answer will help her understand. (hope)

4. Leah ______a complicated experiment. (plan)

5. She ______chemicals together. (mix)

Guided Notes: Seed Stories

Is this an exercise they’re going to be following along with on paper while you post it on an overhead? Are they filling in these blanks on a handout or writing the whole thing down? Are the terms they fill in common vocabulary or have you done explicit instruction of them previously? How will they use these notes in the future? Is this lesson in preparation for a bigger writing project?

Last week, you began to write stories about people and places that matter to you. You have learned some great ______that writers use to ______important writing.

In addition to those strategies, writers also keep in mind ______of______to help shape their ideas.

The first quality that writers keep in mind is the ______of their writing. Good personal narratives are about a little ______, not all about giant ______topic.

Remember: Seed stories are small moments—no more than 30 minutes!

Writing about a small seed story allows writers to focus on true, ______

Just before you begin to write a personal narrative, pause to ask yourself: “Is this a little seed story, or a giant watermelon topic?

Seed or Watermelon?

This is a great activity for manipulatives (which are hard to come by in literacy!) Could you have students do a sentence sort where you have them take a bunch of sentence strips and sort them into two piles according to the seed or watermelon categorization?

Also – in terms of building in reflection on their own learning – how could you build in an opportunity for them to explain some of their categorizations? Aside from circling around and asking “why” whenever possible, is there some additional step you could add in so students are asking this of themselves or one another?

Before we jump into writing some new seed stories, let’s practice distinguishing between small seed stories and watermelon topics. Beside each idea, write seed story or watermelon topic.

Example: My summer at beach ___watermelon topic____

The time I made a sandcastle ____seed story______

1. Fun times I had with my dog ______

2. When I first brought my dog home ______

3. My first day of APA ______

4. Arriving at the first Preppie and Proud ______

5. Opening a Christmas present ______

6. What I did over Christmas break ______

7. My best friend ______

8. When I broke my friend’s ruler and got in trouble ______

Now it’s time to look at your own seed and watermelon ideas. With your writing partner, look over what you wrote last week. Write “watermelon topic” or “seed story” at the beginning of each entry. Then, list your topics below:

Did they brainstorm a list of writing topics? Will it be harder for them to make this distinction with their own topics? If so, why? Where does the confusion usually come from in a lesson on this topic?

Seed StoriesWatermelon Topics

1. ______1. ______

2. ______2. ______

3. ______2. ______

Independent Writing

Now it’s your turn to generate more writing. Turn to the next page in your writer’s notebook, and get right to writing. Remember to use following strategies if you need help getting started:

Are these strategies they’ve used before? Have they seen these strategies modeled? Have they ever seen YOU go through the process of thinking out a watermelon topic into a seed story? If they’re still struggling with this topic it might be good for them to see you do this and when you do make your thinking process clear to the students so they can see how you consider your ideas and how you choose a good moment to turn into a story.

Think of a person who matters to you, then list clear, small moments you remember with him or her. Choose one to sketch, and then write the accompanying story.

Think of a place that matters to you, then draw a quick map of your place. List clear, small moments in that place. Choose one to sketch, and then write the accompanying story.

Choose one of your giant watermelon topics. List clear, small moments (seed stories) that happened in that watermelon topic. Choose one to sketch, and then write the accompanying story.

If you do not have your writer’s notebook, use the space below:

Topic: ______

Small Moments:

1. ______

2.______

3.______

What I did first… What I did next…

Rehearse Your Story!

Write Your Story!

Now you are ready to begin your next seed story. Tell it like you are describing what is happening in a movie and use many details. If you finish your story, select another seed story and begin writing.Do not stop writing!!

______

Remember that the reason that writers focus on seed stories is so that they can zoom in and write with true, important details.

Do you have examples of this to share with students? It might be interesting for them to dissect a good example of a seed story and identify what the author is doing to make that story so vivid. How are they using details? How are they setting the stage? How many characters are involved? How does the narrative move along?

Get with your writing partner and read over what you wrote today.Once you have finished reading each other’s entries, discuss the following questions:

1. Where is a place where your partner wrote specific, important details?

Again, how do they know what these are? Where have they seen them before? Have they had practice finding these in the writing of “experts” before trying to find them in their own writing?

Write the example of their details below.

Example:My partner wrote, “I was so nervous that my face was beet red.” I like how she described the color of her face!

______

This is a great example of a place where students are reflecting on learning – interesting to see if they can do this with their own writing in addition to a peer’s. Maybe they look at their peer’s writing, pull out a detail and comment on it, then they go back to their own and do the same. Or, they go back to their own and find another place where they could add more… oh… I see they do that next! Good!

2. Where is a place where your partner could add more specific details to his or her story?

Write questions that could help your partner add more details below.

Example: What did the park look like? How did the grass feel under your feet?

______

Now, use your partner’s questions and suggestions to add details to your writing.

**Remember, during partner work, your PT will be listening and looking for an accountable pair of partners to share their insights with the class!!**

I do not know what a PT is, but this sounds like a good way for students to be motivated to do the work. Interesting though that an outside person will be identifying who is ready to share their work. What if the task was given to everyone to come up with something to share with the class – would they stay on task with that goal. Do you see how asking them to prepare to model and share is a little different from asking them to be “caught doing good work” so they can be selected to share?

Checkpoint 1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information

•Display information in a flexible format so that the following perceptual features can be varied:

•The size of text, images, graphs, tables, or other visual content

•The contrast between background and text or image

•The color used for information or emphasis

•The volume or rate of speech or sound

•The speed or timing of video, animation, sound, simulations, etc.

•The layout of visual or other elements

•The font used for print materials

Your materials are largely worksheet driven so there’s not a lot of room for the modifications suggested above, but I might try to find ways to introduce some different mediums into this learning process. Could you pull excerpts from TED talks to show examples of vivid storytelling? Do you know “The Moth” podcast? A lot of the stories aren’t appropriate for young audiences but a lot are and they provide a PERFECT example of what you’re looking for in this lesson.

Checkpoint 3.3 Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation

•Give explicit prompts for each step in a sequential process

•Provide options for organizational methods and approaches (tables and algorithms for processing mathematical operations)

•Provide interactive models that guide exploration and new understandings

•Introduce graduated scaffolds that support information processing strategies

•Provide multiple entry points to a lesson and optional pathways through content (e.g., exploring big ideas through dramatic works, arts and literature, film and media)

•“Chunk” information into smaller elements

•Progressively release information (e.g., sequential highlighting)

•Remove unnecessary distractions unless they are essential to the instructional goal

The steps of this lesson are very clear and orderly and I can see how students can get successfully from one to the other. I like that they are doing most of the work, not you. As suggested above I might just consider the introduction of more models of what good storytelling looks like – I suspect they experience this all the time but it doesn’t hurt to give even more examples here in close proximity to the process of their own writing.

Checkpoint 6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress

•Ask questions to guide self-monitoring and reflection

•Show representations of progress (e.g., before and after photos, graphs and charts showing progress over time, process portfolios)

•Prompt learners to identify the type of feedback or advice that they are seeking

•Use templates that guide self-reflection on quality and completeness

•Provide differentiated models of self-assessment strategies (e.g., role-playing, video reviews, peer feedback)

•Use of assessment checklists, scoring rubrics, and multiple examples of annotated student work/performance examples

It might be interesting to create a checklist of sorts to go along with this lesson. You might even have students contribute to creating it. What would a list of “seed story” criteria look like? Could the students create this themselves? If so, we know they get the idea well. Would be good for them to use this rubric on an “exemplar” story before working on their own so they can practice looking for the elements. Might even have them do this BEFORE they write their own stories so they have in mind what they’re trying to accomplish when their own stories are put to the checklist.

Checkpoint 9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation

•Provide prompts, reminders, guides, rubrics, checklists that focus on:

oSelf-regulatory goals like reducing the frequency of aggressive outbursts in response to frustration

oIncreasing the length of on-task orientation in the face of distractions

oElevating the frequency of self-reflection and self-reinforcements

•Provide coaches, mentors, or agents that model the process of setting personally appropriate goals that take into account both strengths and weaknesses

•Support activities that encourage self-reflection and identification of personal goals

I think the fact that they’re writing stories about their own lives, in partnership with peers, will be plenty motivating for this lesson. What might be a struggle is writing for students who really have a hard time putting ideas to paper. Is there space for them to tell the stories verbally to one another first? Imagine that they tell the story verbally and a partner is listening closely, then they go through the checklist and try to give examples from what they heard of places where the storyteller met the criteria for a good seed story. Then, the speaker takes that feedback and sets to work writing. Speaking and listening are part of the writing process! This might be an important step to motivate reluctant writers – if they can prove to themselves they have the story in them it may be easier to get it on paper.

Also, for students who can tell it but still can’t write it – having them record the telling on some sort of digital device and then play it back while they write might not be a bad idea.