Here are a few reasons why:

1. Writing is an art. There is not an easy answer key for the writing teacher.

2. The way writing is taught can often seem esoteric to children. It seems to them that the rules of good writing sure do seem to change a lot. “The teacher liked what I wrote yesterday, but today they say this is not good. I don’t get it.”

3. Staying on top of student writing is hard work for teachers. As such, students have more opportunities to slack off and practice writing the wrong way.

Without a doubt “Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay Writing” has gotten a hold of all of these issues. I will admit, the “Pattern Based Writing” program does not teach every aspect of what good writing is. However, what it completely and absolutely solves is what this video below talks about.

Elementary School Essay Writing vs. High School Essay Writing

What is shocking about this video is that it is from Ashworth University and is designed for high school students. (It’s an excellent video on the 5-paragraph essay. The teacher is very clear and concise.)

As you watch it, imagine an entire class of third graders sitting there watching this video and saying, “Yes, we can do all that. We learned that last month. We can organize and write one of those five-paragraph essays in less than 30-minutes.”

The third graders I am talking about are from the inner city and their teacher had become ill early in the year. This began a long string of substitute teachers. I came in at the end of their school year and took them from unorganized sentences to excellent five-paragraph essay in just 37 days.

“Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay” solves the essay problem. Whether your students are in elementary school or middle school you can revolutionize their writing quickly and easily. This should not be an issue in high school.

Enjoy the video!

P.S. Concerned parents, “Pattern Based Writing” is an easy way for you to bring control to your child’s writing.

Writing Prompts and Story Ideas – Summer

Be sure to learn more about how to use writing prompts with students here:

1. Using Writing Prompts with Kids: Tips, Tricks, Pros and Cons of Writing Prompts

2. How to Use Writing Prompts in Teaching Writing

Wishing you and your students total essay writing success! Have a great summer!

Summertime Cause and Effect Essay

• My lazy days cause my parents to…
• It gets hotter and hotter and hotter and pretty soon everyone is…
• I goofed off all school year and now I pay the price in summer.
• I worked hard all school year and my parents are really proud of my effort. Now it’s summer.
• Cause and effect of a sunburn.
• Kids have summer vacation, what is the effect for the parents?
• In the pool and at the beach all day, what’s the effect?

Summertime Persuasive Essay

• Summer should be equal in length to the school year.
• Parents must not over program kids during the summer. Summer is our time to relax.
• In this modern age, summer vacation is too long and should be reduced to something more reasonable.
• Summer vacation should be a time for self-learning as opposed to guided learning. Students must engage in learning activities over the summer.
• Summertime is fun time. No work! All fun!
• Families must take at least one family vacation during the summer.
• This is how you should spend your summer…
• Going to camp is terrible, or going to camp is great!

Summertime Process Essay / How-To Essay

• Step-by-step guide to having fun in the sun.
• How to eat a Popsicle in the summertime heat without dripping a drop.
• How to make sure your parents know how you want to spend your summer vacation.
• How to plan out your summer.
• How to have fun at the beach.
• How to stay cool on hot, hot days.
• Steps to making your parents happy during the summer.

Summertime Argumentative Essay

• The real purpose of summer vacation is…
• Summer is better than winter…

Summertime Evaluation Essay

• How summer vacation affects students’ mental attitude for the following year.
• How summer vacation has changed from when the summer was based on the agricultural growing cycle.
• Is summer vacation an outdated tradition that is not valid in these modern times?
• Who needs summer vacation more, teachers or students?

Summertime Narrative/ Personal Narrative Essay

• Remembering summers past.
• A special summer vacation family trip.
• The greatest summer ever.
• My family, my friends, and me… all summer long.
• When the air conditioner broke.
• My parents put me to work.
• Fun times.

Summertime Informational Essay

• History of summer vacation.
• Summer vacation through the ages.
• Things you can do to keep busy over summer vacation.
• Fun ways of learning over summer vacation.
• Different kinds of summer camp.
• Summer around the world
• Movies about hot summers.

Summertime Descriptive Essay

• It was a hot and humid night…
• Describe how it feels on the hottest day of summer.
• See, hear, feel, and taste all summer long.
• Describe how summer is.

Summertime Five-Paragraph Essay

• Three things you must absolutely do in the summer.
• The three stages of summer.
• Summer days – morning, afternoon, and nighttime.
• Three reasons summer is…
• Summer with friends, family, and camp.
• Working, playing, and learning… all summer long.

Summertime Compare and Contrast Essay

• Summer for kids compared to summer for adults.
• Summer before air conditioning compared to summer now.
• A working summer compared to a fun summer.
• My perfect summer compared to how my parents want me to spend my summer.
• Summertime for young kids compared to summertime for older kids.
• This summer compared to last summer.
• What makes summer good? What makes summer bad?
• Summer for teachers vs. summer for students

Summertime Story Ideas

• Back on the farm, on the hot summer days…
• The Global Warming Summer of Dry, Hot, Heat
• An amazing summer with dolphins.
• Splish, Splash, Crash!
• Warning: Record Heat!
• The Snowy Summer
• Straight A’s and Fun!

Have a great summer!

Most people don’t really understand what a thesis statement is, and even the people who do know what a thesis statement is don’t really understand why it is important.

Until a few years ago, I didn’t really get them. I didn’t think they were important.

I did get straight A’s when getting my teaching credential and I can honestly say I never thought about the term “thesis statement” while getting them. How important are thesis statements if this is possible? In college, getting good grades was just one of my many interests, but I’m quite sure I cared even less about thesis statements in college than when I got my teaching credential… and I did just fine.

To me, the word thesis statement was simply a term that English majors liked to use.

Thesis Statements in Elementary and Middle School?

The 5th grade California State Writing Standards state:

Grade 5 Writing Strategies 1.0 – Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays.

By definition, an essay has a thesis statement. Okay, so thesis statements may be important. HOWEVER, when elementary and middle school students are struggling with paragraphs and grammar, thesis statements can SEEM unimportant.

In fact, when one considers Piaget’s constructivist learning theory, thesis statements can seem like a waste of time for students still grasping “the simple concepts.” In short, you don’t want to spend a lot of valuable time teaching students concepts that may take them backwards. You don’t want students to get to the point where they think, “Okay… I admit it… I don’t understand writing and I never will.” Thesis statements can have that effect. So don’t teach them?

Wait a Minute!

What I have now come to see is that you can use thesis statements as a tool for achieving many different writing and reading comprehension results.

Thesis statements have become a coat rack on which I hang many concepts. I’ve come to the conclusion that the most important thing about thesis statements is the “THESIS THINKING” that goes along with them.

Here is Why Thesis Statements are Important

Here’s what a great screenwriting teacher said. The way he uses the term “premise” is what I have learned to teach my students about “thesis statements.”

The very first step in creating a good comedy script is to figure out a great premise. Your premise is your story stated in a single line. It’s probably the most important element in any script, because if it’s not a good premise there is very little that you can do to make the overall script work, make the overall script something that people will want to read. So it’s very important that you start with a good core idea.
John Truby (Screenwriter, screenwriting teacher, director)

Thesis is very closely related to premise. Let’s substitute thesis for premise and essay for script and see how it reads.

The very first step in creating a good essay is to figure out a great thesis. Your thesis is your essay stated in a single line. It’s probably the most important element in any essay, because if it’s not a good thesis there is very little that you can do to make the overall essay work, make the overall essay something that people will want to read. So it’s very important that you start with a good core idea.

In other words, this kind of “Thesis Thinking” is important in all kinds of writing.

NOW, thesis statements and “Thesis Thinking” help students:

• Find main ideas
• Write with a purpose
• Master different modes of writing
• Summarize
• Narrow down a topic
• Develop clear and concise thinking and writing
• Understanding the purpose behind all the different types of essays
• Write stories which have a premise

By the way, in the next few months I have a new program coming out. The working title is, “Thesis Statements, Vision, Subject and Topic.” It’s exciting and has a lot of deep, deep thinking skills. I’m not sure if I am going to offer it only to current users of PBW, or if I am going to make it a standalone program.

I’m pretty secure in my belief that all students need to understand what is inside “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” before tackling more complicated concepts. Sure, some students just naturally understand what good writing is. They understand how it is all put together. If your students don’t… check out the homepage.

Piaget, Pattern Based Writing, and Thesis Statements

I think Piaget would have liked Pattern Based Writing. With PBW you can teach your students to construct their writing knowledge correctly the first time around. If it’s too late for that and your students are getting kind of old and still don’t get it, you can use PBW to scaffold the instruction and get them up to speed quickly.

Here’s what one 7th grade teacher said about Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay:

I was describing it to a colleague a little while ago as, “the basics made clearer.”  I have taught many of these ideas but not as an organized structure. 5 paragraph essays just make sense, but I had no formal way of getting that idea to be part of their natural writing process. Thank you for this opportunity to enjoy teaching my students writing.

That’s Piaget’s model in a nutshell!

Early in my teaching career I read a book that said to call an activity, “Our Time.” Since the name “Our Time” had nothing to do with the activity, I thought it was a pretty ridiculous (and manipulative) idea.

What I came to see was that even though “Our Time” had nothing to do with the activity, it did have everything to do with students understanding exactly what was expected of them during that time.

Over time, this rather absurd “Our Time” clarified for me that when you classify something and name it, it becomes a shortcut for understanding and communication. In teaching, it becomes a shortcut for students and a shortcut with students.

Explorations: A Shortcut for Exploring Writing and Exploring Learning

Explorations focuses on:

1. Real writing for a real purpose
2. Reflecting on what is being learned
3. The prewriting process 

“Explorations” clearly defines six types of writing. It gives a name to each and clear guidelines for each. In one sense it “compartmentalizes” these six types of writing inside of a single journal.

 These six types of writing have a lot in common.  The way I use “Explorations,” all six types of writing could be considered “prewriting.” They are not a finished product that gets “turned in for a grade.” However, they are all very important types of writing. In fact, they are the types of writing that most people are most likely to do EVERY DAY.

The Explorations Journal, or Explorations, is a shortcut for much that I want to achieve both in teaching the writing process and in teaching the learning process.

Finding Maximum Writing Opportunities Every Day

The research says to give students LOTS of writing opportunities every day.  “Explorations” is a journal that fits A LOT into a tiny package.

Explorations: The Six Types of Writing to Explore

1. Quick Writes – Quick reflections on what students have learned or are going to learn. They are directly connected to what is being studied and the curriculum. They last anywhere from 2 minutes to 7 minutes. I may pose a prompt or I may leave it completely open ended. This is one way to check for understanding and to make sure students are following along. It should provide great insights for students about what they have learned. The teacher needs to “help make students aware of their own insights” and promote them.

2. Journal Entry – More thoughtful/reflective than a Quick Write. The word “journal” comes from the word “journey,” so in one sense it’s about each student exploring their own unique journey and their unique learning experiences. Journal entries take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. If we have the time I may have students do a quick brainstorm. (After “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” students are experts at brainstorms, both brainstorming for details and focusing on the bigger picture with the Main Idea List (MIL.)

Here are a few times I may choose journaling as the best strategy: completing a chapter or unit, exploring a sticking point in math, reflecting on a field trip or an assembly, progress reports, vacations, the weekend. Quick Writes are more about the information and journals are more about the experience. 

3. Brainstorms – As mentioned, my students are experts at brainstorming both at the detail level and at the main idea/big picture level.

Here are some times we might brainstorm: Before a discussion, making a class decision, getting a few ideas flowing before reading, before discussing what is expected.

4. Note Taking – Note taking is a lot like brainstorming, or I should say that it’s easy for students to make the jump from brainstorming to note taking. The way brainstorming is taught in “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” has students easily able to brainstorm for details, as well as brainstorm for main ideas. We take these skill and transfer them to what the students are reading. For this kind of “note taking” I do not have children write in complete sentences. (All this is covered in, “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay.”)

Here are some times we might do note-taking: If we watch a video, a student is giving a presentation, before discussing what was important in a chapter. Note taking largely focuses on vocabulary words, shocking facts, main ideas, and “ohh, that will be on the test.”

5. Free writes – I use free writing as a gateway to creativity and language play. Sounds, rhythm poetry. Unconscious stream of thought, with a little “intent” thrown in. The intent is, “sounds, rhythm, and poetry.”

Doing one of these from time to time is better than the traditional ways to prevent “writer’s block.” The free writes seem a little bit like preventative medicine.

Here is an example of a 3 minute free write: (Remember, it’s unconscious stream of thought writing…)

String, strung. How the thin little thread creates a web of tricky little treats. String for kites and boats, but not for thread. I use it in my teeth, and in the sheets on the bed, but when I tie a string around my finger it reminds me of… string, the string reminds me that I need even more string. String is strung around the flagpole at dawn. It is also strung from the spiders two front claws. Sting, strung, string, strung. Guess what? It’s spring!

I see many amazing free writes. Often strange, but it’s writing people can’t do when they try, especially when they do try. However, the goal here is not the results. (I personally find them to be amazing, but I don’t know that everyone would see eye-to-eye with me on that.)

The point is, and the goal is, that they open up the door for so much risk-taking and creativity in student writing. If you teach the kids how to do it without complete silliness, it’s fun for both teachers and students. (It’s not something I am going to spend hours on, but 3 minutes every once in a while… good use of time.)

6. Lists – Sometimes lists are the best ways to get great ideas fast. Ex. We are going to an assembly. “Your ticket is showing me five behaviors I will see, and five behaviors I won’t see. Use complete sentences with correct spelling and punctuation.” 

Lists are also a nice way to get great ideas without seeing a lot of grammar and spelling “rule breaking.” If I’m teaching important new concepts, I don’t want to see a bunch of rules being broken that will take the teaching and the learning in the wrong direction. A list keeps it simple!

General Guidelines for Explorations:

I refer to the journal as “Explorations.” I don’t emphasize that Explorations is a “journal.” The word journal has a specific meaning to many people.

Three Definitions of Journal:

• A notebook for reflecting on, exploring, and examining one topic in order to progress and breakthrough.
• A diary to reflect on life.
• A diary to record life.

Explorations purpose is different than these three journal descriptions. Explorations is strongly connected to prewriting. Prewriting to me is about exploring… and then getting organized. Explorations (obviously) deals with the exploring part of prewriting. We can then use Explorations to create “brainstorms and Main Idea Lists (MIL)” as taught in the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” writing program.

This leads to fantastic essays that students write quickly and easily!  Click here “Teaching Essay Writing Strategies” to discover how!

More General Guidelines:

• I give students a short amount of time (2-12 minutes) for most of the writing in Explorations.  Although I do not give a lot of time, I do expect neat, thoughtful work. This is not “sloppy copy.” (I do not teach students to purposely try to do poor work.) Explorations (and prewriting) is more about writing without judging than about writing fast. If you don’t judge your thoughts as you write, it flows more easily.

• I make sure students know which of the six types of writing they will be doing. Purpose and intention guide their writing. (I use printed descriptions and checklists to both teach and review the six types of writing and my expectations.)

• I never skip a day. Skipping even one day is the beginning of “abandoned journal syndrome.” As busy as we are, I can always find 2 minutes EVERY SINGLE DAY to reflect or brainstorm. Usually I can find several opportunities each day. We keep Explorations close at hand!

• No skipped lines or empty spaces. If the previous entry covers more than half the page, skip to the next page. If there is more than half a page empty, draw a line under the ending of the previous entry and start on the next line.

Sharing and Grading

Be sure to read “How to Use Journals in the Elementary and Middle School Classroom.” There are many great ways to handle the sharing and grading of journals.

I have a lot of different systems for sharing writing. I try to have most everything students write read by at least one other person. That’s the goal. (I will need to do another post on all the ways I have students share their writing!)

I also have a lot of different systems for grading, including rubrics and checklists.

I do collect Explorations every week and read/scan them over. I write a few comments at the very end, and possibly along the way. (Studies have shown that students pay most attention to the comments at the end.)

I pay attention to:

• Neatness
• Completeness
• Ideas and thoughtfulness
• Spelling and grammar
• Appropriate style and format
• Used time wisely

Structure in Journals

There came a point in my career where I was frustrated with journals. I worked hard to teach students to write correctly, and journals seemed to send a mixed message. In journals students would write “sloppy copy.” I don’t have that problem anymore. I spend 1-2 months getting students to write fantastic essays, and then everything in Explorations just makes sense to them.

There is no such thing as “sloppy copy” when you understand the writing process and take pride in your work! Click here to check out the essay writing program for kids.

Should you help your child with writing? YES. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) suggests that you help your child with writing. OERI believes you, a parent, can make a big difference. You can use helping strategies that are simple and fun. You can use them to help your child learn to write well–and to enjoy doing it!

Helping your child with writing will help your child to:
• Do well in school
• Enjoy self-expression
• Become more self-reliant

You know how important writing will be to your child’s life. It will be important from first-grade through college and throughout adulthood.

Unfortunately, “many schools are unable to give children sufficient instruction in writing.” There are various reasons: teachers aren’t trained to teach writing skills, writing classes may be too large, it’s often difficult to measure writing skills, etc.

Study after study shows that students’ writing lacks clarity, coherence, and organization. Only a few students can write persuasive essays or competent business letters. As many as one out of four have serious writing difficulties. And students say they like writing less and less as they go through school.

Things to Know about Student Writing

Writing is more than putting words on paper. It’s a final stage in the complex process of communicating that begins with “thinking.” Writing is an especially important stage in communication, the intent being to leave no room for doubt. Has any country ratified a verbal treaty?

One of the first means of communication for your child is through drawing. Do encourage the child to draw and to discuss his/her drawings. Ask questions: What is the boy doing? Does the house look like ours? Can you tell a story about this picture?

Most children’s basic speech patterns are formed by the time they enter school. By that time children speak clearly, recognize most letters of the alphabet, and may try to write. Show an interest in, and ask questions about, the things your child says, draws, and may try to write.

Writing well requires:
• Clear thinking. Sometimes the child needs to have his/her memory refreshed about a past event in order to write about it.
• Sufficient time. Children may have `stories in their heads’ but need time to think them through and write them down. School class periods are often not long enough.
• Reading. Reading can stimulate a child to write about his/her own family or school life. If your child reads good books, (s)he will be a better writer.
• A Meaningful Task. A child needs meaningful, not artificial writing tasks. You’ll find suggestions for such tasks in the section, “Things To Do.”
• Interest. All the time in the world won’t help if there is nothing to write, nothing to say. Some of the reasons for writing include: sending messages, keeping records, expressing feelings, or relaying information.
• Practice. And more practice.
• Revising. Students need experience in revising their work– i.e, seeing what they can do to make it clearer, more descriptive, more concise, etc.

Pointers for Parents in Helping Their Child Write Better

In helping your child to learn to write well, remember that your goal is to make writing easier and more enjoyable.

Provide a place. It’s important for a child to have a good place to write–a desk or table with a smooth, flat surface and good lighting.

Have the materials. Provide plenty of paper–lined and unlined–and things to write with, including pencils, pens, and crayons.

Allow time. Help your child spend time thinking about a writing project or exercise. Good writers do a great deal of thinking. Your child may dawdle, sharpen a pencil, get papers ready, or look up the spelling of a word. Be patient–your child may be thinking.

Respond. Do respond to the ideas your child expresses verbally or in writing. Make it clear that you are interested in the true function of writing which is to convey ideas. This means focusing on “what” the child has written, not “how” it was written. It’s usually wise to ignore minor errors, particularly at the stage when your child is just getting ideas together.

Don’t you write it! Don’t write a paper for your child that will be turned in as his/her work. Never rewrite a child’s work. Meeting a writing deadline, taking responsibility for the finished product, and feeling ownership of it are important parts of writing well.

Praise. Take a positive approach and say something good about your child’s writing. Is it accurate? Descriptive? Thoughtful? Interesting? Does it say something?

Things to Do to Help Your Child Write Better

Make it real. Your child needs to do real writing. It’s more important for the child to write a letter to a relative than it is to write a one-line note on a greeting card. Encourage the child to write to relatives and friends. Perhaps your child would enjoy corresponding with a pen pal.

Suggest note-taking. Encourage your child to take notes on trips or outings and to describe what (s)he saw. This could include a description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend themselves to note-taking.

Brainstorm. Talk with your child as much as possible about his/her impressions and encourage the child to describe people and events to you. If the child’s description is especially accurate and colorful, say so.

Encourage keeping a journal. This is excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings. Encourage your child to write about things that happen at home and school, about people (s)he likes or dislikes and why, things to remember or things the child wants to do. Especially encourage your child to write about personal feelings–pleasures as well as disappointments. If the child wants to share the journal with you, read the entries and discuss them–especially the child’s ideas and perceptions.

Write together. Have your child help you with letters, even such routine ones as ordering items from an advertisment or writing to a business firm. This helps the child to see firsthand that writing is important to adults and truly useful.

Use games. There are numerous games and puzzles that help a child to increase vocabulary and make the child more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms de- signed especially for children. Flash cards are good, too, and they’re easy to make at home.

Suggest making lists. Most children like to make lists just as they like to count. Encourage this. Making lists is good practice and helps a child to become more organized. Boys and girls might make lists of their records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture in a room, etc. They could include items they want. It’s also good practice to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social events, and other reminders.

Encourage copying. If a child likes a particular song, suggest learning the words by writing them down–replaying the song on your stereo/tape player or jotting down the words whenever the song is played on a radio program. Also encourage copying favorite poems or quotations from books and plays.

In order to transform your child into a confident author, be sure to check out the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” school and home study program.

Looking at the “English–Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools” one can see why it can be a challenge to figure out exactly what you want your students to accomplish this year.

Notice the writing content standard “Writing Strategies 1.0” is word for word the same in Grade 1 as in Grade 4. In grade 5 there is a subtle switch to using the word “essays”

Grade 1 Writing Strategies 1.0
Students write clear and coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).

Grade 4 Writing Strategies 1.0
Students write clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).

Grade 5 Writing Strategies 1.0
Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays. The writing exhibits the students’ awareness of the audience and purpose. Essays contain formal introductions, supporting evidence, and conclusions. Students progress through the stages of the writing process as needed.

Elementary School Writing Standards Grady by Grade

When you read most state writing standards it’s often hard to tell exactly what the differences are from one year to the next. True, that when you compare 1st grade to 5th grade you can easily see the differences, but from one year to the next… you have to read carefully.

Each year a few words are changed, a few concepts are made more complex, and a few concepts are added.

The reason the changes are so subtle is that our brains don’t handle “brand new information” very well. The majority of a school year is review, along with integrating the new information with the old. (The above example illustrates this point.)

Summary of Elementary School Writing Expectations Grade by Grade

These summaries should provide a good overview of how students progress in their writing year by year.

GRADE 1 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students write main ideas with supporting details. Students may not have the skills needed to write a closing sentence for their paragraphs. Students experiment with prewriting organizers but there is not a great connection between their prewriting and their writing. Students are able to focus their writing to a prompt and their stories do have a beginning middle, and end. Students use correct simple sentence structure and from time to time you may see new and interesting words in their word choice. Many of their sentences will have the same basic structure. Day by day spelling and punctuation improves. Students need help with editing. They are not very successful at self-editing.

GRADE 2 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students have added a concluding sentence to the main idea and supporting details creating proper paragraph structure with a beginning, middle, and ending. Students understand prewriting and are able to connect their prewriting to their writing. Their narratives (stories) have a clear beginning, middle, and ending. There is some variety to their sentences, not all sentences start the same. Students are developing skill in applying verbs and adjectives. Spelling and punctuation are of growing importance. Students are using many of the verb tenses correctly. They are capitalizing most proper nouns correctly and using a variety of punctuation. Students can do basic editing. They understand the concept of “trying to make it better.” They also understand the stages of the writing process. Students know how to use a dictionary, but it’s going to take them a while to check all those words they are not sure about.

GRADE 3 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students’ paragraphs contain more effective details. Details are more specific and provide reasons and facts. Students are getting better at “proving their main idea.” Students use declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences correctly. A lot of their writing is based on personal experience or creative stories. They are not adept at researching. Their narratives (stories) contain some skill in applying story elements including character and conflict/resolution. However, the stories are simple and may not address all the story elements. Students use varied sentence structure and interesting vocabulary. This means a unique voice is starting to develop. Spelling and grammar are now “mistakes” because they have heard the rules before. (Consciously incompetent) Students are skilled at the writing process. They understand that it takes using a dictionary and a thesaurus to make their writing its best. Students also learn cursive this year.

GRADE 4 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
Students paragraphs are now becoming purpose specific. Inform, persuade etc. Students are writing multi-paragraph compositions. These are not called essays as there is no requirement for a proper introduction, conclusion, or thesis statement. Students are learning to gather data through research and organize their research before writing. Their narratives (stories) incorporate all the story elements. Students are not writing just for themselves anymore. They write for their audience. Friendly letters sound friendly and reports sound like reports. Students continue to grow in their writing and they now get most of the verb tenses correct. Students use quotation marks… in fact they may use them too often. Students are skilled at using resources to edit their work. Students not only correct spelling but get rid of ideas that don’t work. Students polish up paragraphs and structure.

GRADE 5 WRITING EXPECTATIONS
All of their prior knowledge is now being put to use in complete essays. Both the term essay and thesis statement are part of their vocabulary and their writing is expected to have effective introductions and conclusions. Last year students learned how to gather information and now it is expected to have an “academic” appearance to it. Students will use transitions that effectively link paragraphs together in a clear line of thought. Their narratives (stories) contain an attention getting narrative hook, conflict along with those pesky complications, yet all is resolved in the end. Fifth graders use complex sentences and write with a purpose. Can you convince someone at the North Pole to buy snow? Well… let’s give it a try! Students are skilled at using a lot of the punctuation that their own parents may have forgotten. When students edit, along with grammar and punctuation, they are interested in editing the quality of ideas and the flow of ideas.

What the Standards Get Right

The fifth grade writing requirement is right on target. 5th graders are expected to write about as well as their parents. Obviously, not as well as all parents, but note the TV show, “Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?” There is a reason that 5th grade was chosen.

The standards also seem to say, “Don’t let children write grammar the wrong way. We don’t want them to practice bad habits. The standards add a little complexity in grammar and mechanics each year, and it is expected to be done correctly.”

What the Standards Get Wrong

The standards are lacking in how they address proper multi-paragraph writing. 1st graders are expected to write stories with a beginning, middle, and ending, yet the word multi-paragraph is not used until 4th grade.

If students can fill a good part of a page, you have to teach them proper paragraph form with a simple introduction, and a simple conclusion. From what I have seen, year after year of practicing the wrong way makes it more difficult to break the habits in the upper grades.

Many teachers teach “simple introductions, simple conclusions and proper paragraph form” long before the state standards explicitly require it. Why? Because the children are ready for it.

The “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” Guarantee

From the homepage: “I guarantee that this program will bring about better results, faster than any writing program available for all grades 2-6, as well as when used remedially in grades 7 and above. I guarantee that all teachers, homeschooling parents, and even concerned parents will be able to implement this program and get the same results that I have gotten.”

Please take a look at the homepage and see if the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” program is right for you and your students.

“A paragraph is a group of sentences about one main idea or topic. A paragraph usually contains between 5-8 sentences about that one main idea or topic. All of your sentences in the paragraph must be about that one main idea or topic. These supporting detail sentences are supporting the author’s main idea. The main idea is what is most important in that paragraph. It is what the author truly wants you to understand.”

Explain, demonstrate, and practice… It would take me a long time to get the kinds of results I wanted for my students, and the longer the writing assignment, the more the rules would fly out the window…

“Listen kids, when you want to write about a new main idea, you must start a new paragraph. Does this make sense?” They would all gleefully cheer, “Yes!”

They would try to show me how well they understood by writing an entire page and a half about ONE MAIN IDEA. That’s how well they understood…

“Okay kids, let me explain a paragraph one more time. You see… a paragraph can give information about one main idea, it can explain one topic or you can give your opinion about the main idea or topic. Be sure to put the sentences in an order that will make sense to your reader. You want it to be a logical and natural sounding order. Does this make sense?”

I would be quite enthusiastic when the class would greet me with a resounding, “Yes, Mr. Barger! We get it! Can we start writing now?! Can we show you how well we understand?”

Now the students were able to produce TWO PAGES that contained TWO PARAGRAPHS!

“Listen kids… I want you to choose a topic sentence and I want you to think about that topic sentence… and choose JUST three details that support that main idea. These are supporting details and they support the main idea or topic sentence. Your topic sentence is a kind of general statement about the topic and the supporting details are more specific. Does this make sense?”

I think you know the answer… Luckily I am very patient.

“Listen kids… a topic sentence can be anywhere in the paragraph, but most often the topic sentence is the FIRST SENTENCE in a paragraph. It’s true that sometimes the topic sentence is in the middle of a paragraph and sometimes it is at the end of a paragraph, but USUALLY it is the first sentence in a paragraph. Let’s keep it simple.”

The children would be very excited that I wanted to keep things simple.

“Children, I want you to put your topic sentence first and I want you to follow that topic sentence with 3- 5 supporting details and then I want you to write a conclusion sentence. For now, your conclusion sentence can either sum up what the entire paragraph was about, or it can repeat the topic sentence in a new and creative way. How does this sound? Does all this make sense? Oh… and we have state testing coming up, and I want you all to really concentrate on great paragraphs, because they are really important on this state testing that we are going to be doing. Okay…?…? Okay??”

Students would assure me they understood. In fact, they could repeat back every single word I had said! It was almost impressive…

However, students would continue to struggle with paragraphs. Basically, a run on sentence is the easiest way to see that children don’t understand what a paragraph is. If a sentence goes on and on, they don’t understand what a paragraph is…

Often the source of the difficulty is something like, “What’s a topic?”

“Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” takes children from simple sentences to complete essays FAST and with AMAZING comprehension! It just makes sense to them…

I once taught a 5th grade G.A.T.E. class at a very affluent school for the final two months of the school year.  It was my off-track vacation time and their teacher could not finish the year. I had never seen students like these before. These kids openly, in fact brazenly did the math when receiving an assignment. They cared about the writing assignment exactly as much as the math told them to care about it.

These are the two “MATH QUESTIONS” that came out of their mouths NON-STOP:
1. Is this graded?
2. How much of our grade is it?

Depending on the answers to those two questions they would quickly determine how much they were going to invest in the assignment.

They would decide:
• I better get started on it now and I better do a great job. Also, I had better check my work for careless mistakes.
Or
• I can goof off for 7 minutes and then quickly dash off the assignment. I’ll probably get an A, but if I get a B, it’s not that important because this one grade shouldn’t affect my overall grade.
Or
• This isn’t graded? Hey, Joe, what are you doing after school?

If it wasn’t graded… they didn’t care about the assignment. (It is different when a class has experienced multiple teachers but still… I had never done so much grading in my life. I learned a lot from that high-achieving G.A.T.E. class.)

Struggling Students ALSO Do the MATH before they do the WRITING

A lot of inner-city students, remedial students, ESL students, and students with learning disabilities also do the math before they start their writing assignment… and for them, they don’t like how it all adds up.

For them… it adds up to failure… so why get started?

I teach lots of kids in this latter category and I learned early in my teaching career that I have got to get them writing and I have got to get them writing fast. Quite simply, teaching students how to get an assignment, break it down, and then start and finish the assignment changes “the math” for them.

After they are “writing fast” I can layer all kinds of fantastic writing instruction on top of these core writing skills. With these core writing skills firmly in place, students seem to respond about 50% better to all the other writing instruction I layer on top.

With these core skills in place “THE MATH” has changed so students invest more. They are just like the G.AT.E. kids!

THEN ADD LAYERS OF DEPTH

Acting with an Accent… in Writing?

In acting, an actor creates the character and then layers on the accent.  The accent is just like a hat or a costume that the actor will layer on over his character. The character is supposed to be a real person, not an accent. What makes up a person who he is? It is all the things the person says, does, thinks, feels, and believes. In other words, the accent is not the character. The accent is simply a layer put on top of a person.

Poor actors think the accent is the character. With these actors it is very easy to see the accent. In fact, that is often all you can see. This makes it very difficult to see a real person underneath that accent.

Most of the writing tips, writing tricks, and writing tools that are taught in school, really should be layered on top of a solid foundation.

The heart of teaching elementary students (and remedial writers in upper grades) how to be successful writers has to do with four aspects of writing:

1. How to organize and structure writing
2. How good writing is about good communication
3. How to break down an assignment and get started
4. How to get the job done in the time allowed

Once students are comfortable with these skills, layering on more tips and tricks is easy!

Good writers and successful students have mastered how to receive an assignment, break it down, organize their thoughts and then quickly start and finish the assignment. In short, they can write fast!

Be sure to read the next blog post on “Teaching Children to Write FAST Using the Timed Writing System.”

The State of Affairs for “Beginning, Middle, and Endings” in Student Writing

The sad truth is students aren’t interested in beginning, middle, and ending. No. I’m not sure that they ever were… but in this modern age… it’s passé. It’s boring. It doesn’t pique their interest… and they don’t see what it is so important about it. “What’s so important about… blah… blah… blah…. beginnings, middles… introductions… bodies… I don’t get it…” 

I’ll tell you what students are interested in… playing with time.

Beginning, Middle and Ending? Okay… But In What Order?

Kids love the idea of flashbacks, flash-forwards, foreshadowing and creating suspense or curiosity by holding back information. All that’s interesting to them…

However, it’s pretty hard to teach them those concepts, and it’s pretty hard for students to learn them… that is, unless they have a solid understanding of beginning, middle, and ending.

Beginning, Middle and Ending… the Basics

On a basic level we want students to be thinking about and planning for their beginning, middle and ending in their writing.

Before beginning, prepare carefully.
Marcus Tullius Cicero 

Then we want students to continue to think about these concepts and self-monitor as they write. Even more important though is we want them to “feel the rhythm” of beginning, middle, ending… beginning, middle, ending… both within their paragraphs and within their entire essay, report or story.

Why? 

As an adult… you have likely learned about the need for…“closure.” Haven’t you ever felt the need for a little “closure?” Was it your imagination… or did you really “need closure?” Well, it turns out there is actually a scientific reason that people simply need closure.

The Scientific Need for Beginning, Middle, and Endings

This scientific reason is called the “Zeigarnik Effect.” The Zeigarnik Effect describes how people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.

Here is one example of the “Zeigarnik Effect” at work. I once began reading a book, but I didn’t really like it. I got busy and never finished the last 30 pages. Ten years later I was still aware that I had not finished that book. I finally went to the library and checked it out so I could finish it. This was for a book I did not really like! It was easier to simply finish the book instead of thinking about it for another 10 years!

What the “Zeigarnik Effect” Means for Student Writers

Do your students jump around in their writing? Do they write whatever pops into their head? Do they not know how to start or end their writing? All this and much, much more is solved with just a little understanding of the “Zeigarnik Effect.”

The “Zeigarnik Effect” teaches students “Don’t start an idea if you are not going to finish it. Your reader does not want to be thinking about an idea that you did not finish 10 years later!” 

The “Zeigarnik Effect” also teaches students “Get rid of ideas that are started and go nowhere. This is called editing.”

The “Zeigarnik Effect” is a Fun Tool that Gives Students a…

First off, the “Zeigarnik Effect” is a fun concept. For students it’s right up there with flashbacks and foreshadowing. 

Second, it’s a tool. Students learn to appreciate “beginning, middle, and ending” and they understand how they can use it to control their writing… and eventually control their reader’s emotional involvement.

Third, once “beginning, middle, and endings” are mastered, the “Zeigarnik Effect” leads to very effective and controlled advanced writing techniques. Students easily learn how to create suspense, curiosity, and interest in their writing… and it’s fun!

No Playing With Time… Until You Master Beginning, Middle, Ending… Beginning, Middle…

We teach students that paragraphs and stories have a beginning, middle, and ending. We teach students that essays and reports have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Students learn that good writing almost always has a very clear beginning, middle, and ending.

This must be mastered.

If you want your students to develop a natural rhythm and flow to their writing be sure to get your free guide to writing at the homepage and while you’re at it, check out the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” writing program! You won’t know what you’re missing till you see it!

Every end is a new beginning.
Proverb

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
Seneca

A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end but not necessarily in that order.
Jean-Luc Godard (French Filmmaker)

Can you find the abandoned journal?

Elementary and middles school classrooms is where this habit begins, and with each new year, with each new journal, a commitment is made that this time will be different.

“Okay kids, the word journal comes from the word journey. We are going to take a journey into the world of writing and discovery. This new journal is where you will explore and discover the vast depths of knowledge found within the universe and within your mind… in fact, within the universe within your mind.

This journal will be a safe place where you will feel free to explore your thoughts and insights, as well as develop new thoughts, new ways of thinking, and new insights into your new thoughts.”

Two weeks later… tick-tock, tick-tock tick-tock. “Excuse me, teacher… I thought we were going to write in our journal.” “Billy, not now. We simply must… we have too much to do… we will get to that… someday…”

The lingering journal, abandoned, but not forgotten, a sad reminder to all that the teacher… may not know what they are doing.

Discovering the True Power of Journals

Worse yet, the teacher who has recently attended an in-service on writing instruction has come to see that journals are the solution to all the ills of her classroom.

• Students don’t like to write = Journals inspire children. They love to write in journals.
• Students need to reflect on their learning = Journals are a safe place to explore their understanding.
• Students are not engaged in their learning = Journals connect students to their own learning and learning style.
• Students are noisy and distracted = Get them writing in a journal. They like to do this. They will focus and engage in exploring their thoughts in writing.
• Students are troubled = Get them to connect with their thoughts and feelings in a journal.
• The reading writing connection = Read and then write in a journal. Sounds simple.
• ESL learners = Are you having luck with any other type of writing? Use a journal.
• Creative writing = Journals are made for inspired creative writing. They are a gateways and a safe haven for student creativity.
• Students need lots of daily opportunities to write = Have students write in lots of journals, daily.

Extreme Abandonment

The most extreme case of journal abandonment I have personally witnessed is four abandoned journals in a single desk.

“Oh, that’s not a journal. That’s a reading log. We reflect on our innermost thoughts about how we connect with our reading. Reading is so true to life, and we connect the written word with what we experience in the world and in life.”

Oh, I see. Hmm… well, it seems this “reading log” has been abandoned. Am I correct in saying that? “Oh yes, we wrote in it once… the first day… and then again two months later. A couple weeks later Billy asked the teacher if we were ever going to use it again and he ended up on the bench. No one has mentioned it since.”

Do you have any more of these “reading log” types of journals? “Oh yes. We have the Science Exploration Experiment, we have the Deep Thoughts journal, and we have the Deep Connections Connector journal.” “Have all of these been as successful as the “reading log?” “Some have been as successful, some less successful.”

Are all of them abandoned? “No. No. We’re going to get to them. They are going to take us on a journey… at least that’s what our teacher says…”

Abandoned journals in students’ desks are a sad reminder of something started and not finished. This sad reminder is something students interact with daily as they sort through their desks looking for that very important misplaced worksheet. “If only I didn’t have this collection of abandoned journals in my desk, I would have been able to keep track of that important worksheet!”

The Journal, Quick Writes, and Note Taking Connection

Tune in to the next few posts where we explore how to give students MASSIVE opportunities to write using journals, quick writes, and note taking.

I’ve found connecting and combining all three strategies into one journal:

1. Solves a lot of problems.
2. Greatly reduces the likelihood of abandonment. 
3. Improving usability and effectiveness.

Stay tuned in order to learn how! Also, be sure to check out the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” writing program on the homepage!

P.S. Kids, okay, it’s summer vacation. I want you to take this collection of abandoned journals and continue the journey without me. We began it… but I’m afraid I can’t continue it with you. I’m too… old and too tired to go on. Please, go on your journey… and remember me from time to time. Write a little passage remembering your former teacher… and traveler. Promise me… promise me you will continue the journey… all summer long.

“We promise! We promise!”

This is how these journals begin round two in the life of the abandoned journal. “The Abandoned Journal Part 2 – The Abandonment Continues: Abandoned in the Heat of the Summer, on a Hot, Hot Day for a Cool, Cool Popsicle and a Pool.”

The sequel to the sequel (Part 3,) to be continued… next year.