developing stanzas for an original poem inspired by well-worded what if statements
This lesson was built for WritingFix after being proposed by Northern Nevada Writing Project Teacher Consultant Amanda Bodenstein.
The intended "mentor text" to be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the picture book What If... by Regina J. Williams. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author.
Washoe County teachers, click here to search for this book at the county library.
Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources :
Step one (sharing the published model): Before reading and enjoying this wonderful picture book, talk to your students about word choices. Tell them, "Some words (nouns and verbs and adjectives) are pebbles, but some words are rocks." Talk about what that might mean. Ask them to listen for rocks and pebbles as they listen to the story. Don't be afraid to read this wonderful book multiple times.
Regina Williams is able to paint quite a picture in your mind with rock-like verbs (fly, ride, play, pick, sing, and planted) and rock-like nouns (marshmallow, butterflies, window, and puppy). Adds Amanda, "The illustrations by Doug Keith bring the writing to fruition in the minds of all. Your imagination starts to run absolutely wild with words." Pointing out the use of strong verbs, interesting adjectives, and precise nouns in this bedtime story is a formula for success for this poetry assignment.
Step two (introducing models of writing): In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups should certainly talk about the word choice and the ideadevelopment, because they are the focus of this lesson.
We're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! Help us get some, and we'll send you free books for your classroom! Contact us at publish@writingfix.com for details.
Step three (thinking and pre-writing): Step one of this writing assignment is to get students to write a list of interesting What If statements. The interactive button game on the Student Instructions Page might get your students brains primed to create original ones.
On the overhead or on the whiteboard, you might model the thinking involved to start a what if based on precise nouns and then craft the entire what if by choosing interesting adjectives and verbs that go along with the chosen noun.
When students have created a list of what ifs..., ask them to share with neighbors. Ultimately, they'll need to choose three (or more, if you want longer poems) favorite what ifs to expand on.
To help them expand their single what ifs into a longer stanza, show them these three expansion ideas on the overhead. Encourage them to continue using adjectives, verbs, and nouns that will be memorable to their readers.
Once students have three (or more) expanded what ifs, ask, "What order should they go in in your poem?" and "What title--besides What If--might be good for this poem?"
Step four (revising with specific trait language): One tool for revision is provided below. To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach WritingFix's Revision and Response Post-Its to your students' drafts. Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5." Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings. For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.
Step five (editing for conventions): After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write neatly, require them to find an editor. If you've established a "Community of Editors" among your students, have each student exchange his/her paper with multiple peers. With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post-it. The "Community of Editors" idea is just one of dozens and dozens of inspiring ideas that is talked about in detail in the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Going Deep with 6 Trait Language Workbook for Teachers.
Step six (publishing for the portfolio): When they are finished revising and have second drafts, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block. Their poems might become a longer story, a more detailed piece, or the beginning of a series of pieces about the story they started here. Students will probably enjoy creating an illustration for this poem as they get ready to publish it for their portfolios.
Interested in publishing student work on-line? We invite student writers to post final drafts of their original at WritingFix's Community of Student Writers. This is a safe-to-use blog for students and teachers. No writing is posted until it is approved by the moderator. Contact us at publish@writingfix.com if you have questions about getting your students published.
