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Writing Framework LibGuide Grade 6: Narrative Unit

Grade Level Expectations

  • Write with a clear focus, identifying topic, task, and audience and establishing a single point of view.
  • Develop content appropriate for the topic.  Gather, organize, and determine validity and reliability of information. Write paragraphs that have details and information specific to the topic and relevant to the focus.
  • Write with controlled organization.  Use appropriate transitions within sentences and  between paragraphs.  Establish purpose in the introduction. Include an introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • Write with an understanding of style, using a variety of sentence structures and descriptive word choices (e.g., adjectives, nouns, adverbs, verbs) that create voice.  Include features that convey tone and voice (e.g. vivid verbs, specific nouns, and modifiers).
  • Revise writing to improve organization and refine central idea, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone, and word choice.
  • Use grade appropriate conventions of language when writing and editing.  Spell common, frequently used words correctly.  Use correct grammar and sentence formation.

Features

  • Developing a five paragraph essay
  • Establish Narrative structures-beginning, middle, and end
  • Maintain a clear focus on topic
  • Supporting the content: developing character, plot, and setting
  • Developing dialogue
  • Show, Don’t Tell
  • Figurative language-similes, metaphors, etc…
  • Leads and Endings
  • Revision to improve word choice, sentence style, and endings
  • Mode specific transitional phrases 

Conventions

  • Sentence types
  • Review nouns and verbs tense shifts
  • Pronouns/antecedent agreement
  • Transitions
  • Punctuation: capitalization and end punctuation
  • Spelling consciousness

Instructional Resources

Notebook Know-How (Buckner, Aimee)                                                      

Grammar Matters (Dorfman/Cappelli)

The Reviser’s Toolbox (Lane, Barry)

Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide (Fletcher and Portalupi)

Mentor Texts (L. Dorfman and R. Cappelli)

Study Driven (Katie Wood Ray)

The No Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing (Davis and Hill)

Possible Mentor Texts

Picture Books

Halloween (Seinfeld, Jerry)

The Relatives Came (Rylant, Cynthia)

26 Fairmount Avenue (De Paolo, Tomie)

Thank you, Mr. Faulkner (Polacco, Patricia)

Grandfather’s Journey (Say, Allan)

The Junkyard Wonders (Polacco, Patricia)