Kindergarten WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Unit 3Week 1, Day 1 – Adding details to stories

Teacher Mini-Lesson:

Now that the students are such good writers, they are ready to begin adding details to their stories. Today will be an introduction to the concept of adding details to a draft, and a story should be written without details, so that they can be added throughout the week.

Model a think-aloud of your writing idea. Draw your pictures and write 4 sentences. Intentionally exclude details from your draft, including details that describe who, when, and where.

Sample:

Conferring Tips:A good goal for some students: Add details to my stories.

Kindergarten WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Unit 3 Week 1, Day 2 – Asking “where?” to add details

Teacher Mini-Lesson:

Tell students that there are some questions they can ask themselves every time they want to add details to a draft. These questions will help them think of ways to give the reader more information about their stories. Write the question “WHERE?” on the chart paper or board, and read it to the students. Re-read your story, and have the children help you locate when you need to add a detail that describes “where” something occurred in your story.

Re-read your sentence and use carets to insert “where” details.

Sample:

Conferring Tips:A good goal for some students: Add details to my stories.

Kindergarten WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Unit 3 Week 1, Day 3 – Asking “when?” to add details

Teacher Mini-Lesson:

Remind students that there are some questions they can ask themselves every time they want to add details to a draft. These questions will help them think of ways to give the reader more information about their stories. Write the question “WHEN?” on the chart paper or board, and read it to the students. Re-read your story, and have the children help you locate when you need to add a detail that describes “when” something occurred in your story.

Re-read your sentence and use carets to insert “when” details.

Sample:

Conferring Tips:A good goal for some students: Add details to my stories.

Kindergarten WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Unit 3 Week 1, Day 4 – Asking “who?” to add details

Teacher Mini-Lesson:

Remind students that there are some questions they can ask themselves every time they want to add details to a draft. These questions will help them think of ways to give the reader more information about their stories. Write the question “WHO?” on the chart paper or board, and read it to the students. Re-read your story, and have the children help you locate when you need to add a detail that describes “who” did something in your story.

Re-read your sentence and use carets to insert “who” details.

Sample:

Conferring Tips:A good goal for some students: Add details to my stories.

Kindergarten WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Unit 3 Week 1, Day 5 – Bubblegum and rubber band spelling strategies re-visited

Teacher Mini-Lesson:

Review and model the bubblegum and rubber band spelling strategies. Focus on reminding children to stretch out their words to write every single sound they hear.

Model a think-aloud of your writing idea. Draw your pictures and write 3 or 4 sentences. Sample:

Conferring Tips: Help children use the spelling strategies to write all of the sounds they hear in words.