Grammar and Writing

Please use these marks with your writing homework / editing paragraph worksheet.

Thanks!

Hello Parents,

This year in fourth grade we are using a new program for writing called:  Being a Writer - Center for the Collaborative Classroom.

I will be pulling in grammar skills between each writing unit so that when we are writing the students can refer back to their grammar notebooks to help infuse those concepts into their written pieces. 

Please take a moment to read the paragraph below which better describes the first unit in the program:

Being a Writer helps students build their writing skills.  

During the first unit of Being a Writer, The Writing Community, the students practice the social skills of listening respectfully to the thinking of others, sharing their own thinking, and showing appreciation for others’ writing. 

These skills help the students build a supportive writing community.  

This unit will last an average of 4 to 5 weeks because of the 45 minute time frame we have each day to devote to writing.  The students will dabble in writing some of the genres we are listening to each week during unit 1, and will end the unit with a published piece from the genre of their choice from this unit. 

Below you will find a brief overview of how I want the first half of the year to run.

Remember, this is a new program so some things may change.

Aug. 14 - 31:  Grammar Skills/4 Types of Sentences, Subjects and Predicates, Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences

Sept. 10 - Oct. 14:  The Writing Community - Students begin a writing notebook with several writing pieces.  They will choose one for a grade by Oct. 12.  Since this unit focuses on pre-writing techniques, their piece will be graded on ideas and sequence of a story.

Oct. 15 - Nov. 2:  Grammar Skills/Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs

Nov. 5 - Dec. 7:  The Writing Process - Students will have more opportunities to start and finish several pieces during this unit.  They will choose one of their writings to take all the way through the writing process, and this piece will be graded not only on idea and sequence, but the mechanics of writing as well.

Dec. 10 - Dec. 21:  Grammar Skills/Prepositions/Prepositional Phrases

We will pick up after Christmas break with more writing focused on the specific genres of personal narrative, fiction, expository non-fiction, functional writing, opinion writing, and poetry.  Each of those units will end with a graded published piece in that particular genre.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions concerning the writing and grammar program.  I would love to have the opportunity to sit down with you and discuss this new program that I am very excited to implement.

Mrs. Wardell