Stephanie De Haan CI 476 Fairy Tales Writing Unit Unit Overview Enduring Understandings (Big Idea): During this

unit students will go through the five stages of writing to create an original fairy tale. Essential Questions: What features make up a fairy tale? Do all fairy tales have or need the same features? How do you edit and revise a writing draft to create a final product? What are important things to look for when peer-reviewing someone elses writing? Probable Objectives: Students will write first drafts of an original fairy tale after several brainstorming sessions. Students will work in small groups to share and critique each others stories using questions, comments, and constructive suggestions. Students will conference with the teacher to review their stories and make revisions for content and conventions. Students will publish and share their stories with other students to show off their final product. Differentiation of Instruction: Students have word packets that have lists of words they might struggle with. Students will have opportunities to work at their own pace throughout the unit. Since students are working independently to create their own story they can write as much as they want or are able to. I will be conferencing with the students to give them feedback and support as needed. Culturally Responsive Instruction (if applicable): I am including examples of fairy tales from around the world so that the students can see their own culture or heritage in the stories we read. Students can include experiences from their own cultures in their writing. I have one student who receives support for ESL, he is fluent in English now but he is able to bring his work to the support teacher if he chooses. Curriculum that your classroom teacher uses: Lucy Caulkins

Lesson Plans Lesson Plan 1 Grade Level: 3 Number of Students: 18 Instructional Location: Classroom (carpet) Length of Instruction: 40 minutes Standard(s) Addressed (Common Core)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.A Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

Content Objectives
Students will work independently to brainstorm ideas for the stories they will write later in the unit.

Language Objectives
Students will meet with partners to discuss their ideas and ask questions.

Mentor Texts: Title: 50 Scary Fairy Tales Genre: Fiction Title: Perraults Fairy Tales Genre: Fiction Materials: Music, pencils, paper, Fairy Tales folders

Strategy Focus: Brainstorming and gathering ideas in a focused and independent setting.

Vocabulary: Writing colony

Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your lesson: A writing colony is a place where people go to have privacy and write. They get their own cabins and get to work at their own pace to get whatever they need accomplished. Prerequisite Skills: Basic writing skills, awareness of some of the classic fairy tales and the elements that make up a fairy tale Enduring Understandings (Big Idea): Students will practice brainstorming and gathering ideas for a story they will write later in the unit. Essential Questions:

What kinds of characters are typically in a fairy tale? What kinds of events usually happen in a fairy tale? Where do fairy tales usually take place?

MINILESSON Setting the Purpose: By the end of the unit the students will be writing an original fairy tale so during this lesson they will be coming up with ideas they might want to write about. Connect to prior learning: Review the anchor chart created at the beginning of the unit where we brainstormed elements commonly in fairy tales Introduce and explain: Explain that we will be writing original fairy tales and the first step to writing a story is brainstorming ideas. Explain that they will be going to a writing colony in the classroom where they will get time to work independently and come up with ideas they might want to write a story about. Strategy Teaching: Explain to students what a writing colony is and tell them that we will be turning the classroom into a writing colony. Writers in a writing colony get their own private cabin to work in where they are away from everybody else, the students will have their own cabins in the room. They are free to sit wherever they want in the room (except the beanbags) as long as they are not sitting close to somebody else (if they both stretch out their arms they shouldnt be able to touch). They can sit, stand, lay, etc as long as they are writing. The room will be quiet except for the light music I will be playing in the background (nature sounds set to music, as if they are in a cabin in the woods). They have to write for 20 minutes, I will be going around the room checking that they are being productive. At the beginning of the unit we spent a lot of time reading different fairy tales and discussing the features that make up the genre. Active Engagement (Guided Practice) Review as a class the various ways they can organize their ideas: list, graphic organizer, web, etc. Link to Independent Writing If the students have a writing assignment they have to do at home or if they want to write as a hobby they can use the idea of going to a cabin. They can go into their rooms, close the door and have their own private time to work and devote to writing. INDEPENDENT WRITING Students will be dismissed to find their spot in the room (1 or 2 students may be

allowed to sit in the hall but I will only choose students who are trustworthy and can be productive on their own). Once I start the timer and turn on the music the students have to be writing. They can make a list, graphic organizer, concept map, draw pictures, write paragraphs, etc, anything that helps them organize their ideas. This time is for brainstorming so their ideas dont have to be related or coherent, they just have to be putting ideas on paper. If I see students who arent writing I will talk to them individually and try to help them develop some ideas. Questions: - What story was your favorite? What did you like about it? - What kind of characters do you like to read about? - What actions/events were the most exciting for you to read about or hear about? - If you could live anywhere in the world (real or magical) where would you live? - If you were a story character who would you be? SHARING TIME Students will share their work with me informally. I will check on the students as they are working to see their ideas and help them brainstorm if they are stuck. TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES At this time conferences will be very informal, I will just meet with the students to discuss their ideas but this is just their time to write whatever they think of.

Assessment(s): Assessment is very informal, I will read what theyve written in their journals and have them clarify some of their ideas to see if they know how they can turn them into a story. How might you extend this lesson? Students could fill out simple worksheets to help elaborate on their ideas or they could draw pictures in their journals to illustrate what they are thinking. Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners during this lesson? Students are getting time to work independently and at their own pace. I was available if they had questions or needed help but because the students were working on their own they could write as much or as little as they wanted or were able.

Brief Reflection Notes: The students got really excited about the idea of getting their own cabins in the classroom where they could go to work. It is very difficult to get them to stay quiet and focus on their work for a long period of time so I was happy to see that they were all so engaged in the task. Im excited to see if using the cabins continues to be a productive activity for them.

Lesson Plan 2 Grade Level: 3 Number of Students: 18 Instructional Location: Classroom (carpet) Length of Instruction: 40 minutes Standard(s) Addressed (Common Core)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in

the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.3.C Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.

Content Objectives
Students will listen to a fairy tale and identify the sequence of events in the story. Students will work in small groups to illustrate one event from the story.

Language Objectives
Students will work as a class to organize their illustrations in the proper sequence and label the beginning, middle, end, problem, and solution.

Mentor Texts: Title: Little Red Riding Hood Genre: Fiction Title: Favorite Fairy Tales Genre: Fiction Materials: Poster paper, colored pencils

Strategy Focus: Working in small groups to depict a scene from a story. Working as a class to identify and label each section of the story. Vocabulary: Beginning, Middle, End, Problem, Solution

Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your lesson: The students arent actually writing during this lesson but I want them to understand what makes up the plot of a story so that they can practice finding the beginning, middle, problem, solution, and ending of a story. This will help them when writing because they will have to include each section in their own stories. Prerequisite Skills: Basic writing skills, awareness of some of the classic fairy tales and the elements that make up a fairy tale Enduring Understandings (Big Idea):

Identifying the beginning, middle, problem, solution, and ending of a story. Essential Questions: What is the beginning of a story? What is the middle? What is the problem in a story? What is a solution? What is the ending?

MINILESSON Setting the Purpose: The plot of a fairy tale (and most fiction works) generally is as follows: Beginning, Middle, Problem, Solution, Ending. When the students are writing their own fairy tales they will need to have each of these elements in their stories. Connect to prior learning: Review the anchor chart created at the beginning of the unit where we brainstormed elements commonly in fairy tales. Discuss what they already know about Little Red Riding Hood and explain that knowing the story will help them with the lessons activity. Introduce and explain: Review the anchor chart about fairy tales to remind students of the elements they will need in their stories. Tell the students that we will be playing a game at the end of the story so they have to pay close attention to the plot. Review what a plot is (the sequence of events in the story beginning, middle, problem, solution, ending). Strategy Teaching: Students will have to pay attention to the story and be able to organize and identify different events that they will illustrate. Active Engagement (Guided Practice) Read Little Red Riding Hood and have students pay attention to the events in the story. After the story I will use number sticks to assign groups of 3-4 students. Each group will be assigned an event in the story and they will be given a piece of poster paper. The groups will have 10 minutes to illustrate their event on their poster. Events: 1. (Beginning) LRRH is asked to bring a basket of food to Grandma. 2. (Middle) LRRH is walking through the forest and meets the hungry wolf. 3. (Problem) LRRH gets to grandmas house, the wolf is disguised as grandma and eats LRRH 4. (Solution) The lumberjack shakes the wolf and Grandma and LRRH come out. 5. (Ending) Grandma, LRRH and the lumberjack chase the wolf. LRRH learns her lesson (Never speak to strangers). After the posters are done the students will come back to the carpet and they will have to put their posters in the correct order (beginning, middle, problem, solution,

ending). When they think they have the correct order we will check in the book to see if they were right. Link to Independent Writing When students are writing their own stories they need to make sure they have a beginning, middle, and end, as well as some problem and a solution. INDEPENDENT WRITING The students will be illustrating events in the story and they will have to work together to put the events in the correct order and label them. At the end they will have a worksheet to fill out that allows them to describe each section of the story. They wont be doing much writing during this lesson but I want them to have practice with identifying the plot of a story so that they can make sure to apply it to their own works. SHARING TIME Students will share their posters with the whole class and the class will have to decide which section of the book the illustration belongs in. TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES I will be meeting with each group to see what they are drawing and ask them to identify which section of the story they think they have.

Assessment(s): Assessment is very informal, I will review their posters and observe during the whole group discussion and at the end I will collect their plot worksheets to check that they understood the different sections of the story. How might you extend this lesson? Students could act out their section of the story or they could independently apply the plot worksheet to a story of their choosing. Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners during this lesson? Students are working in groups to accomplish a task so they have their peers for support. They are also working as a whole class to complete the activity and I will have their posters on display with the labels for them to refer to when they are filling out their worksheets.

Brief Reflection Notes: Some of the students seemed to struggle to work together effectively at first, most of them got it together by the end and were able to accomplish the task. The students will be working together in peer conferences during this unit so I wanted them to experience group work beforehand. During the conferences I will really need to stress that they need

to be respectful and encouraging towards one another so that the conferences will be most productive and nobody gets their feelings hurt.

Lesson Plan 3 Grade Level: 3 Number of Students: 18 Instructional Location: Classroom Length of Instruction: 40 minutes Standard(s) Addressed (Common Core)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.B Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.3 Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

Content Objectives
Students will practice revising a sample piece of writing to understand what they should be looking for during peer conferences.

Language Objectives
Students will work in small groups (peer conference) to read and listen to each others stories. Students will provide feedback (comments, critiques, and questions) for each story they listen to using a Peer Review worksheet.

Mentor Texts: Title: Zaner-Bloser Strategies for Writers Genre: Resource text Title: Sample of my personal writing Genre: Fiction Materials: Students story drafts, conference worksheet

Strategy Focus: Working in small groups to read and listen to each others stories and provide positive, constructive feedback. Vocabulary: Positive, constructive, critique, suggestion

Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your

lesson: This lesson continues with the premise of being in a writing colony where the students will get to meet with other writers to get feedback for their work. Prerequisite Skills: Basic writing skills, awareness of some of the classic fairy tales and the elements that make up a fairy tale, practice giving feedback on someones work. Enduring Understandings (Big Idea): Giving and receiving positive and constructive feedback to and from their peers about their own original fairy tales. Essential Questions: What is a positive way to provide suggestions? How can you make sure your comments are constructive? What is necessary when giving feedback and what is inappropriate?

MINILESSON Setting the Purpose: Writers often work together to share their ideas and get feedback and improve their writing. Since the students will be sharing their stories with other kids they want their stories to be the best they can be and make sense to their peers. Connect to prior learning: Review the anchor chart created at the beginning of the unit where we brainstormed elements commonly in fairy tales. Review plot elements and remind the students of what to look for when they are listening to each others pieces. Introduce and explain: Explain that writing conferences are when people get together to share their writing and get feedback. They will be reading their stories for their group and listening to each others stories. They will have to provide feedback to each other using a Peer Review worksheet. Strategy Teaching: The students will be providing feedback to their peers using a Peer Review worksheet. They will have to give one comment, one question and one suggestion/critique. Active Engagement (Guided Practice) Students will be put into groups using number sticks. Before they are dismissed to their groups we will review the proper conference etiquette. - Students are not to talk when someone is reading their story. They are to listen respectfully and be prepared to give feedback. - Feedback should be positive and constructive, no negative or mean comments. Students should think about what they have to say and if it is

something they would want somebody to say to them about their story. Students should meet with their groups. I will have desks set up in stations around the room for the students to sit at. One student will read their story aloud to the rest of the group and the other students should listen. After the reader finishes each listener will have to fill out a Peer Review worksheet, listing one comment (something they liked about the story), one question (something they didnt understand or needed clarified), and one critique (one positive suggestion to help improve the story). Each student will read their positive comment to the reader and then the next person will read and the process will repeat. Link to Independent Writing It is important to share their writing with somebody else who might notice mistakes they didnt see or be able to see the story from a new perspective that the writer didnt think of. Having someone else review their work can help them improve their stories in ways they wouldnt have come up with on their own. INDEPENDENT WRITING The students should have a first draft completed before conferencing with their peers, they will have been given independent writing time prior to this lesson. SHARING TIME Students will share their stories in small groups who will provide positive feedback. Each student in the group will get a chance to share their story and practice critiquing others. TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES After this lesson I will review the Peer Review worksheets and bring them to conferences with the student. I will share the comments and then I will discuss their story with them. I will also help them go through their story to find corrections for content or conventions.

Assessment(s): I will collect the Peer Review worksheets to make sure the students were following instructions and paying attention during the conferences, as well as providing positive and appropriate feedback. I will also be checking with each group and sitting in on their conferences to hear what they are talking about. How might you extend this lesson? Students could meet in partners to get more in depth feedback about their stories if they have extra time. Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners during this lesson? Students will be put in groups with people from a variety of skill levels so that they can all get feedback from someone who is at their skill level but also someone who is above or below and might have different perspectives or questions.

Brief Reflection Notes: I havent taught this lesson yet but I hope that the students can get a little bit of confidence from sharing in a small group and that they can get constructive feedback to help improve their stories. I know I will have to be careful about which students can work together to create the most productive environment for all the kids but I hope that they can each be respectful enough to get through a conference even if they are with someone they arent exactly friends with. Lesson Plan 3 Grade Level: 3 Number of Students: 18 Instructional Location: Classroom Length of Instruction: 40 minutes Standard(s) Addressed (Common Core)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.4 Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

Content Objectives
Students will publish their final draft of their original fairy tales by reading them aloud to a group of their peers.

Language Objectives
Students will read or listen to the stories written by their peers and post a comment to each authors Comment Board

Mentor Texts: Title: Zaner-Bloser Strategies for Writers Genre: Resource text Title: Sample of my personal writing Genre: Fiction Materials: Students final stories, Comment Board

Strategy Focus: Sharing their original fairy tales and reading aloud to a small group using a loud and direct voice and proper voice inflection.

Vocabulary: Positive, constructive, supportive, encouraging Add any relevant information that is essential to understanding the context of your lesson: The students will be going to another class (possible two different classes) to share their stories to a group of their peers and younger students. Prerequisite Skills: Practice giving feedback on someones work, knowledge of the expectations when listening to another persons story. Enduring Understandings (Big Idea): Sharing a final product with others and providing supportive and encouraging comments.

Essential Questions: What was your favorite part of the story? Why did you like the story?

MINILESSON Setting the Purpose: The students will be sharing their stories in small groups to younger students to show them everything theyve learned during this unit. Connect to prior learning: Review appropriate ways to comment on someone elses work. Review expectations for listening when someone else is sharing. Introduce and explain: Explain that when writers publish their works they are read by a lot of people, they also go to book readings where they will read their piece or a section of it to a crowd. The students will get to share their own stories with others to celebrate all their hard work. Strategy Teaching: The students will have to practice using an expressive voice and reading with clarity and confidence so that the listeners can be excited about the story and engaged in what the reader is saying. Active Engagement (Guided Practice) We will meet with the other class and the students will be assigned to small sharing groups. Each author will have a turn to read their fairy tale for the group and after each story the audience should applaud (quietly so as not to disturb the other sharing groups). After all authors in the group have read the students can go up to their Comment Board and write one comment about something they really liked about the story (each student should sign their name after their comment). Once all groups are finished the final drafts will be put on display in the classroom for each student to read independently. After reading someones story the reader should post a comment on the authors Comment Board. Link to Independent Writing The students have been working throughout this entire unit to create this final product and this is their chance to celebrate it. When they accomplish a writing task at home, whether its for school or for fun, they should share it with others and celebrate their hard work. INDEPENDENT WRITING The students will have their final draft completed by this point, they will have been given independent work time throughout the unit to complete their stories.

SHARING TIME Students will share their stories in small groups. They will get to listen to each others stories and provide positive and encouraging comments to celebrate what they have accomplished. TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES I will be checking in with each of the groups and listening to the stories while they are sharing. I will post my own comments on each students Comment board either after hearing their stories or after reading their final draft if I dont get to hear them read it.

Assessment(s): I will have checked their final draft before this lesson so the only assessment will be my own informal observations as well as reading what they write on the Comment Boards. How might you extend this lesson? The students stories could be combined in a collection and put on display at the library or in the classroom for other students at the school to read. Discuss how you differentiated instruction for your learners during this lesson? Students will have time to practice reading their stories aloud (to themselves or with a partner) if they are nervous. I will also have recorders so that if they want they can hear or see themselves while they practice and they can see what they need to improve on.

Brief Reflection Notes: I havent taught this lesson yet but I hope that it will be a good way for the students to share their hard work and inspire the second graders (who will soon be third graders). I want them to feel proud of their work and I want them to encourage each other on the comment boards. I hope this lesson succeeds in making all the students excited about their writing and confident about their writing abilities.

Student Assessment Analysis During this unit I collected samples from two very different students who both surprised me at some point. The first student, LD, is a high achieving student who struggles to build the confidence to accomplish tasks on his own. He often starts assignments by immediately asking for help before even attempting the activity but as soon as he has even the briefest moment of success he is able to complete the task with very little support. The second student, GT, is a student who usually needs a lot of support but has shown a lot of growth during this unit. GT is very quiet and gets very shy when she is asked to contribute to class discussions or put on the spot. She often gets very distracted during her independent work and doesnt always ask for help when she needs it. I have been very impressed with both of these students and I am excited to see what else they can produce as we reach the end of the unit. When I began this unit I gave the students a lot of time to free-write based on a prompt just to get them used to thinking creatively and writing their ideas down. Many of them resisted at first and were hesitant to try some of the prompts I provided for them. LD in particular was very resistant to this writing time and often complained about what I was asking them to do. My requirements were always that their story had to be relevant to whatever prompt I gave and it had to be at least one full page and on multiple occasions LD would approach me saying, Thats not fair! or Im not doing this, to which I would always reply, You have to at least try. LD often struggled to come up with ideas to write about but once he had a little bit of prompting and encouragement he could crack down and write more than any other

kid in the class. There were many times that he would write a full page and bring it to me excitedly, eager to share his work, and when I would have to tell him to stop hed have a hard time putting his pencil down. As can be seen from appendix item LD1 he showed a lot of promise in his writing. His writing was consistent and focused and he showed a clear beginning, middle and ending. I was really proud that he was able to bring his story full circle because he has a tendency to get a little distracted in his writing. In this piece he started by talking about a ring he found in the woods and how it gave him superpowers and what he did with those superpowers and then in the end he talks about how he didnt want the powers anymore so he took off the ring and went back to his old self. The only issue I had with his story was his conventions, which is why he lost a point, but I didnt want them to be concerned with spelling or grammar because I didnt want that to inhibit their creativity while they wrote. Conventions is something that we will discuss during student-teacher conferences later in the unit. LDs next assignment, the character worksheet (appendix LD2), was part of a brainstorming activity we did where the students were in writing colonies and got to have their own personal space to work independently and develop their ideas. I wanted this time to be just about gathering their ideas and having a chance to come up with some characters they might want to write about. The rubric was not very extensive because I didnt want to stifle their creativity, I was basically checking for completion. LD got very excited about this activity and even after we completed it he was asking me for more character worksheets to work on during his free time. I can

tell he has a lot of ideas in his head that he needs a creative outlet for and its been great to see him be so enthusiastic about the activities. The last assignment was the story organizer. During this activity I read a story, Little Red Riding Hood, and the students had to pay attention to the events in the story. They then got into groups and each group got a part of the story to illustrate and as a whole class we organized and labeled the events as Beginning, Middle, Problem, Solution, and End. After they lesson they each filled out a story organizer using what they remembered and what we discussed during the activity to complete the worksheet. LD actually struggled with this assignment because he got very frustrated with the task (appendix LD3). He thought that I wanted him to write what each section was so he defined each of the terms. When I checked his work and told him that wasnt what I actually asked he got mad that he had to start over and refused to do the assignment. I finally got him to write the most basic of information but he wouldnt do anymore work than that. LD gets very frustrated during assignments when he doesnt understand something or when he finds out he was wrong. He needs a lot of encouragement just to get the confidence to try a task and any small discouragement can be enough to damage his self-esteem. When working with him I need to remember to give him a lot of positive encouragement so that the feels confident that he can be successful, when he is confident he creates some really great work. On the other hand, GT has surprised me during this unit. She is very quiet and I often feel like I dont know what shes thinking but I can tell she has a lot of ideas. During the free-writing activities she never complained about the task and

often got right to work. She was always very excited to show me her work and she also had a hard time putting her pencil down when it was time to stop. A couple times I would catch her writing about something totally unrelated to the prompt and I would have to remind her and have her start over but in this example (GT1) she managed to stay on task. Again, as with LD, conventions needed a little work but that is something that will be improved upon as the unit progresses. The next assignment, the character worksheet (GT2), she completed during the writing colony. She was also very engaged during this writing time and wanted to do more worksheets and create more characters. I wish she would have drawn a little more but she may have run out of time, at least she had it completed and the students will be developing these characters further in their upcoming story drafts. GTs final assignment, the story organizer (GT3) is where she surprised me. She doesnt often include so many details in her assignments and will tend to write just the bare minimum to get by so to see how much she wrote in each section was unexpected. I could tell she was really paying attention during the story and in the activity because she included extra details, such as that Little Red Riding Hood was picking flowers in the beginning or when she called the world the mean, greedy wolf. She used a lot of descriptive language and I could tell she really understood the story and the task. I think I have been underestimating GT because she doesnt talk much but its becoming clear to me that she has a lot of potential as a writer, I just need to give her the chance to express that.

Reflection and Goals At this time I am only about halfway through my lesson so it is hard for me to really reflect on how it went. From what Ive already seen Im very excited to finish the unit and I know my students are going to produce some great pieces. When I first started this unit I was worried that the students would just not be interested and wouldnt ever be engaged with the material. I have a class that is 75% boys and I chose to do a unit on fairy tales, I assumed that the boys would have no interest in fairy tales and that I would struggle to get them excited about it. Before I even started my unit I collected a wide variety of fairy tales, looking for anything and everything that might capture my boys attentions. I found a lot of stories that were new takes on classic fairy tales that would appeal to different audiences, for example, I found a book of 50 Scary Fairy Tales and all my boys love it, they are constantly borrowing it and asking to read it during their independent reading time. I was also surprised at how many of them actually started picking out the more girly stories and were really getting into them. I think having this period of immersion before the unit was helpful to really expose the kids to fairy tales and show them that theyre not all about princesses, love and happily ever after. When I started my unit the kids were somewhat reluctant to do so much writing. I hadnt observed my coop doing much writing earlier in the semester and what I did see was disappointing. The students had no interest in writing and often refused to attempt the tasks she was asking them to do. They also didnt understand that writing was a process, they wanted to just write what they had to and be done with it. My goal for this unit was to show them that writing happens in stages and it

takes a lot of work to create a final product but that all that work would be worth it when they created something they could be really proud of. During my first couple attempts to get the kids to write I tried to make it very low-stress and didnt put a lot of pressure on them to write something amazing, I just wanted them to write. They were hesitant at first but eventually they started getting really into it and were always asking me if they could work on their stories during their free time. Then we started going deeper into the unit and really focusing on what goes into writing a narrative. Weve been doing a lot of activities that allow them to brainstorm ideas as well as activities that help them understand the elements that make up a story (characters, setting, plot, etc). After seeing how their writing had developed just from the free-writing stage and seeing how engaged they got whenever they got to go to their writing cabins makes me excited to see what their final stories will be like. By the end of this unit I hope that the students can all see writing as a process instead of a chore that they have to get done as quickly as possible. I want them to experience what its like to break down the act of writing into different activities and really explore how they can improve as writers so that when they do their own writing at home or later in life they will be prepared and willing to do multiple drafts and have other people review it for them so that they can create a really great final product. I want them to be proud of the work they do and celebrate their writing, I want to build their confidence as writers so that it becomes something enjoyable for them. The students are writing the drafts of their stories now and will soon be starting peer and student-teacher conferences. During these stages they will be

getting and giving a lot of feedback on each others writings and they will be using that feedback to revise their work. Im hoping that they can be respectful of each other and that they can take the comments and suggestions they get to heart, I want them to really focus on what they can improve. This is going to take a lot of humility, which is something my students dont always have very much of, in order for them to really look critically at their own work and be able to admit what they havent done well. I also want this to be a confidence building stage, I want them to get positive feedback from me and their peers so that at the end of the unit they can be excited about sharing their work. When we finish the unit we will be having a writing celebration. The students will be sharing their work with their classmates and students from 2nd grade classes to show off everything theyve accomplished. I want them to feel proud of what theyve done and I want to give them the encouragement they need to continue writing even after the unit ends. I also want them to show that they understand the stages of writing and the features that make up a fairy tale. Of course I want them to learn from this experience, I want them to walk away with new knowledge about writing they didnt have before but even if they forget everything I taught them as soon as we finish I will be happy if they show a new excitement for writing. If the only thing these kids get out of this unit is a new confidence as writers and can get excited about writing then I feel that Ill have done my job. Their skills as writers will always grow and improve with time and experience but they wont get that experience if they dont enjoy writing.

Appendix LD1.

Grade: Conventions 2, Length 3, Topic 3, Total 8/9

LD2.

Grade: Completion 1, Creativity 1, Total 2/2

LD3.

Grade: Completion 2, Detail 0, Total 2/4

GT1.

Grade: Conventions 2, Length 2, Topic 3, Total 7/9

GT2.

Grade: Completion 1, Creativity 1, Total 2/2

GT3.

Grade: Completion 2, Detail 2, Total 4/4

Rubric 1. Free-write Points Conventions 3 Student used appropriate punctuation, capitalization, spelling and grammar with little to no mistakes Student wrote a full page or more going all the way to the margins. Student had a focused story that stayed on topic and was relevant to the writing prompt. 2 Student used appropriate punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar some of the time. Student wrote at least half a page going all the way to the margins. Student stayed mostly on topic and story was relevant to the writing prompt. 1 Student had no punctuation or capitalization, many spelling mistakes and poor use of grammar. Student wrote less than half a page or didnt go all the way to the margins. Student got very off topic or story was completely irrelevant to the writing prompt.

Length

Topic

Rubric 2. Character worksheet Points Completion 1 Student filled out all sections and included the picture Student created an original character 0 Student skipped the section or didnt include the picture Student copied a character weve already read about

Creativity

Rubric 3. Story Organizer Points Completion Detail 2 Student had all 5 sections filled in Student included important details in each section. 1 Student had at least 3 sections filled in. Student included important details in some sections or only had 1 0 Student had no sections filled in. Student only had very basic information in each section and

important detail in each section.

included no important details.