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Third Grade Writers Share Work
Third grade students welcomed family members to their classrooms to take them through the process of developing a piece of writing from start to finish.
In the days leading up to their Small Moment Narrative Writer’s Celebration, 3rd grade teachers led their students in developing a final piece of writing for sharing with their family at the event. Teachers asked students to look back at their work and identify the steps they took in creating their original narrative. Students identified several elements, including:
- Making a heart map of what they loved
- Creating a list of “firsts”
- Writing sample entries/stories in their notebooks
- Reading mentor texts
- Searching for craft strategies in those texts and making charts of things that they might try, like “Set The Scene,” “Speech Talk” and “Aha Moment”
- Using craft strategies in their entries
- Selecting three entries as “Possible Seed Ideas”
- Developing two drafts of one seed idea on yellow paper with special pens
- Choosing one draft and revising it to ensure it was a small moment
- Creating illustrations using Jabari Jumps for inspiration
- Meeting with the teacher for revision conferences
- Designing cover pages
- Writing an “About the Author” page
- Proofreading a typed piece
- Practicing reading stories to each other and giving compliments
Knowing that strong writers need time, choice, purpose and—most importantly—an audience, teachers invited parents and guardians to the classroom to celebrate their writers and enjoy their work. After students shared their pieces and process with their guests, they listened to other authors share their writing in a similar way. The event concluded with a toast to these young writers and their future successes.
The 3rd grade team is happy with the outcome of this celebration, commenting, “We felt like it was a joyful event, the children felt accomplished and parents and guardians seemed impressed and noted that they could really see and understand the writing process.”
Great work to all involved; see photos from the experience here.
Francis W. Parker School educates students to think and act with empathy, courage and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a diverse democratic society and global community.