Writing
I can write a paragraph about a memory of school.
In this unit you will read true stories written by the people who experienced them.
These authors use writing to share their most interesting, important, exciting, or fun memories.
BRAINSTORM MEMORIES (5 MIN.) - TM 21
You will also write true stories about things you’ve experienced.
Today you’ll begin by writing a paragraph about a memory you have about school.
As a teacher I am always very interested in my students’ experiences, so you can think of me as your audience for this writing, although it may be shared with the class.
page
1
page 1
page 1
PARTS OF A PARAGRAPH (10 MIN.) - TM 22
Name the three sections of a good paragraph. (L)
A. Topic Sentence
B. Supporting Sentences
C. Concluding Sentence
Let’s work as a class to compose a paragraph about the first day of fourth grade, using the first-person plural (“we”).
We will return to this model of writing throughout the unit.
I’ll model how to include an introductory sentence, two or three supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence.
Can you identify the three parts of the paragraph.
topic sentence?
supporting
sentences?
concluding
sentence?
pages 2-4
WRITING A MEMORY PARAGRAPH (20 MIN.) - TM 23
pages 3-4
The craziest thing that ever happened to me at school was _________ when ___________.
First,
Then,
Finally,
I felt _________ when this happened.
NARRATIVE TRANSITION WORDS
Remember, all of these paragraphs are examples of personal narratives.
Let’s have a few students read their paragraphs aloud.
What do these paragraphs have in common and how do they differ? (E)
TM 23 for ideas
Underline the paragraph parts in different colors. (CfU)
A. Topic Sentence
B. Supporting Sentences
C. Concluding Sentence
Speaking and Listening
I can define personal narrative.
personal
narratives
What do you think of when you hear the word personal? (E)
What do you think of when you hear the word narrative? (E)
How might you combine these ideas to define personal narrative? (E)
n., a piece of nonfiction writing told in the first person
by someone who was involved in the events being described
personal narrative
adj.
a made-up story
adj.
a true story
fiction
nonfiction
adj., told from the narrator’s perspective; “I” is the narrator
first
person
page 5
WRITING A MEMORY PARAGRAPH (20 MIN.) - TM 23
A personal narrative is a piece of nonfiction writing told in the first person by someone who was involved in the events being described.
page 5
WRITING A MEMORY PARAGRAPH (20 MIN.) - TM 23
It must be true/nonfiction.
It must be in first person.
It must be about an event that involved the narrator.
Let’s think about other genres of writing. Do they meet the definition of personal narratives? (CfU)
A personal narrative is a ________ story told in ____________________.
A personal narrative is a piece of nonfiction writing told in the first person by someone who was involved in the events being described.
Reading
I can infer information from six-word memories.
pages 7-8
READ AND DISCUSS SIX-WORD MEMORIES (20 MIN.) - TM 25
page 7
Is the narrator a child or an adult? (I)
What pictures do you have in your mind when you read this memory? (E)
What is the same about these memories? (I)
The narrator is having fun on a winter day.
The narrator is very cold and is not having fun on a winter day.
How do you know? (I)
Do you think the narrators have the same feeling about the winter? (I)
When you are writing, you can show or tell.
Telling is saying something directly.
Telling example:
“It was winter.”
Showing provides examples, or recreates a scene or setting that provides clues to draw conclusions.
Showing example: “The icicles hung like crystals
from the tree branch.”
Telling may be more direct, but showing is often more interesting and gives more information.
We will work on showing and telling in this lesson and following lessons.
page 7
Do you think the narrator is showing or telling? (E)
What is the narrator’s memory? If she wanted to “tell” the memory, how would she do that? (E)
If you choose your words well, you don’t have to use a lot of words to create a vivid image in your writing.
The narrator lost a baby tooth and swallowed it, but still got money from the tooth fairy.
What else can you figure out about the narrator from her story? (I)
Why do you think the narrator chose to tell that story? (I)
pages 7-8
What happens in both of these stories? (L)
How do you know? (I)
What is the difference between choosing “bloodied knees” and “hello gravel” to tell us that the narrator fell down? (E)
The narrator fell off the swings.
The narrator fell off a bike.
page 8
Retell this six-word memory in your own words using complete sentences. (CfU)
The narrator likes pie. Pie is an important part of the narrator’s holiday tradition.
page 8
Retell this six-word memory in your own words using complete sentences. (CfU)
At night, at camp, the narrator sat by the lake and talked with friends.
page 8
Retell this six-word memory in your own words using complete sentences. (CfU)
The narrator was very embarrassed by their winter boots in front of the school. The narrator says shame twice (in only six-words) so it felt really bad.
page 8
Retell this six-word memory in your own words using complete sentences. (CfU)
Either the dog is short, or there was a lot of snow or both. The dog likes snow and plays in it.
Does each six-word memory meet the criteria for a personal narrative? Why? (Challenge)
{assume that they are true memories}
page 5
A personal narrative is a piece of nonfiction writing told in the first person by someone who was involved in the events being described.
Writing
I can write six-word memories based on my paragraph.
MEMORY PARAGRAPH: SIX-WORD MEMORY (20 MIN.) - TM 28
page 9
pages 3-4
page 9
I included…
I included them because…
I left out ________ because…
A reader will infer…
pages 9-10
Let’s have students share their six-word memories!
What can you infer from the six-word memory?
Now read the sentence(s) from your paragraph that the memory was based on.
Teacher Tip From Me:
For future writing, when students need to consult various prior pages in the workbook for the current writing focus (Lesson 7, for example), tearing pages out and housing them in a writing folder is SO helpful! My students then keep writing supports in there as well (transition list, “alternatives to said”, “Storyteller’s Voice” anchor chart, etc). Directly instruct on how to tear out pages. 😉