South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Write Right! (Grades 3-4)

Master Teacher

Rachel Willis

Time Allotment

Two 45-minute periods

Overview

This lesson will introduce students to the editing portion of the writing process. They will listen to the story Amber on the Mountain. This story is about a little girl who teaches herself to write because her friend has moved away. The letter she writes contains many errors.

The students will watch a portion of a Club Write Kids video to learn about the editing process. Using what they learned from the video, students will help edit Amber’s letter. Students will then practice editing skills by playing an interactive proofreading game on the computer.

The final activity will include a discussion about authors and how they use the editing process. Students will work in small groups to choose a favorite author and write the author or his/her editor. They will ask for a copy of a page of manuscript that has gone through the editing process.

The students will revise and edit their letters. They will create a final draft on school stationery. Their requests will be mailed to the selected authors.

Subject Matter

Editing and letter writing

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Identify the components of editing;
Edit written passages;
Write a friendly letter to a specific audience and for a specific purpose;
Revise and edit a letter.

South Carolina Standards

(These Standards can be found at http://www.sde.state.sc.us/offices/cso/Standards_Page.htm.)

Grade 4

4-W1.1

Demonstrate the ability to choose a topic, generate ideas, and use oral and written prewriting strategies.

4-W1.2

Demonstrate the ability to plan for audience and purpose and to generate drafts that use a logical progression of ideas to develop a specific topic.

4-W1.4

Demonstrate the ability to revise writing for clarity, sentence variety, precise vocabulary, and effective phrasing through collaboration, conferencing, and self-evaluation.

4-W1.5

Demonstrate the ability to edit for language conventions such as spelling, capitalization, punctuation, agreement, sentence structure (syntax), and word usage.

4-W1.6.1

Demonstrate the ability to write multiple-paragraph compositions, friendly letters, and expressive and informational pieces.

Media Components

Video

Club Write Kids, Lesson 1: “Writing about Family.” This video features Rena and her friend. They are members of Club Write. These girls are given the challenge of writing about their families.

Web Site

Power Proofreading
Students become proofreading technicians as they correct errors in scripts, memos, and other writings at the HME-TV station.

Materials

Shared Reading Book—Amber on the Mountain by Tony Johnston (Puffin, 1998)
chart tablet
markers
school stationery
collection of favorite books
names and addresses of authors

Equipment

computers with Internet connections
television
VCR
Averkey

Prep for Teachers

Bookmark Web site.

Read Amber on the Mountain.
Copy Amber’s letter on chart paper.
Cue the tape until editing appears on the screen.
Prepare a sample letter to an author.
Find the addresses for 4 or 5 favorite authors. (Note to Teacher: Your local library can help you with this or you can go to the publishers’ Web sites.)
Write the addresses on chart paper and display on wall.
Create and duplicate a rough draft of a letter.
When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Read the story Amber on the Mountain.

Step 2: Invite the students to discuss the story. Facilitate the activity by asking questions.

Step 3: Show the students Amber’s letter that has been copied on the chart tablet. Have the students read the letter with you. Ask them what they notice about the letter.

Step 4: Explain the terms editing, revision, and proofreading.

Step 5: Tell the students that they will be viewing a portion of the video Club Write Kids. Provide a Focus for Media Interaction by asking students to look for the revision strategies used by Rena and her friend.

Step 6: PLAY the editing and proofreading portions of the video. Provide the students with an opportunity to discuss how Rena and her friend edited their writing.

Step 7: Now, have the students help you edit Amber’s letter.

Learning Activities

Step 1: Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling your students that they will have an opportunity to practice being editors by playing the game Power Proofreading.

Step 2: Send students to the bookmarked site Power Proofreading at http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/proofread/proof.htm.

Step 3: Demonstrate how to play the game using the AverKey, your computer and the TV.

Step 4: Allow students to practice the editing skills by playing the game for 15 minutes.

Culminating Activity

Day 2

Step 1: Show the collection of favorite books to the students.

Step 2: Ask the students to look at the authors’ names and addresses on the chart.

Step 3: Tell the students that today they will begin to write a letter to an author. They will ask the author about how the editing process works when writing children’s literature. Suggest that they ask the author for a copy of a manuscript page that has been edited. Discuss ways that the content of the letters should match their audience of authors. Guide the students as they brainstorm interesting questions to ask the authors. Remind them that this is the prewriting step of the writing process.

Step 4: Review the parts of a letter by calling their attention to your sample letter.

Step 5: Review the steps of the writing process. Instruct students to work together to edit their letter.

Step 6: Ask students to write a rough draft of the letter.

Step 7: Conduct writing conferences with each small group to discuss ideas for revision.

Step 8: After the revisions are completed, have students edit their letters for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, agreement, syntax and word usage errors.

Step 9: Ask students to copy the edited letter on school stationery and address the envelope.

Step 10: Collect the letters and have them mailed.

Step 11: Explain to the students that they will revisit the editing step of the writing process when replies are received from the authors.

Assessment

Students will edit a rough draft of a letter created by the teacher.

Cross-Curricular Extensions

Social Studies: Visit the local post office to mail the letters, tour the facility and conduct an inquiry study of the postal system.

Reading: Have students read other books that contain characters who write. Suggested books:

The Long, Long Letter by Elizabeth Spurr (Disney Press, 1997)
Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James (Aladdin Library, 1996)
Dear Mrs. La Rue by Mark Teague (Scholastic, 2002)
Dear Willie Rudd by Libba Moore Gray (Aladdin Library, 2002)

Community Connections

Invite local business personalities to visit the classroom to share how they use the writing process in the business world.

Student Materials

school stationery
stamps
pens
pencils
highlighters