Writing Overview ~ Grade 4
Miss Berndl's Fabulous Fours
Curriculum Guidelines:
By the end of Grade 4, students will:
- communicate ideas and information for a variety of purposes and to
specific audiences (e.g., write a brief research report on a class
investigation for classmates);
- begin to write for more complex purposes (e.g., to present and
discuss their opinions and viewpoints, to pose questions, to record
information);
- organize and develop ideas using paragraphs (e.g., to tell a story);
- use simple and compound sentences and vary their sentence structure;
- produce pieces of writing using a variety of specific forms (e.g.,
humorous story) and materials from other media (e.g., photo sequence)
to enhance their writing;
- produce media texts using writing and materials from other media
(e.g., a cartoon);
- revise and edit their work, using feedback from the teacher and
their peers;
- proofread and correct their final drafts, focusing on grammar,
punctuation, and spelling;
- use and spell correctly the vocabulary appropriate for this grade
level;
- use correctly the conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation,
visual presentation) specified for this grade level.
Our Grade 4 Writing Program Consists Of:
Mechanics of Writing Writing Forms
| Mechanics of Writing |
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- HANDWRITING -
putting it into print
- printing
- cursive
- lettering
- keyboarding
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Skills
- speed
- correct letter formation
- developing personal style
- reading handwriting of others
- writing with no lines
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- LAYOUT
- letter style
- notebook set up
- paragraphs
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- spacing between words
- erasures
- neatness
- use of a ruler
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- weekly spelling lists
- vocabulary development
- word
studies
- dictionary skills
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- fluency - FMTW - Five Minute Timed Writing
- Handwriting exercises
- Keyboarding Exercises - All the Right Type
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- paper folding, ripping
- cutting, gluing
- coloring, shading, mapping
- writing without lines, Magic Lines
- sketching, lettering
- 3-D sculptures, paper mache, plasticine
- sewing, tying knots
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| Writing Forms |
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- Research notes & Publications
- 3rd Person Writing - About the Author, Personal Blurb
- 1st Person Writing - Yearbook - I remember when ...
- Reflections ~ students are often
expected to write about their thoughts and feelings about things that
they have learned about or their own performance
- V&R ~ Viewing a video & Reflecting piece of writing
- PMI - Plus, Minus,
Interesting - used for self & peer evaluation
- Yearbook Articles ~ students
write about event that occur during the year for their class yearbook
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- Agenda~ students copy items
directly from the board daily to organize their time and to maintain
communication between home & school
- Cue cards for presentations
- Notebook Maintenance
- Note-taking ~ students transcribe
notes from the board, make point form notes from class discussions or
their own reading
- V&N ~ Viewing & Note-taking ~
students experience making notes while watching a video
- V&R ~ Viewing & Reflecting
- L&L ~ Listening & Learning
- Listening & Note-Taking ~ student presentations
- Reading & Note-Taking ~ research
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Home Journals
- Reader Response
Postcards
- Thank You Letters
- Pen Pal Letters
- Novels Written in Letter or Dear Diary Style
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- Talking Book Summaries ~ listening & chapter summaries
- Reading Log Novel Summaries
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- Yearbook articles on staff & students
- Interviewing an "expert"
for hands-on research for
IRP
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- GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
- IPDs - INFORMATION PRESENTATION DEVICES
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- Chart
- Compare & Contrast - Similarities /
Differences
- Comparison Organizer
- Cycle
- Collages
- Diagrams
- Idea webs / Cluster web / Word web
- Map
- Paragraph Sandwhich - topic sentence, details,
concluding sentence
- Photograph
- PMI Chart
- Posters
- SMART Ideas Concept Mapping software
- Story Map - setting, characters, problem,
plot/events, resolution
- T-Chart
- Time Line
- Title Pages
- Venn Diagram
- 5W - Who, What, Where, When, WhyWord Poles
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- Properly Identifying Resources
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