Post on 15-Apr-2017
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Writing WorkshopUsing mentor texts to teach
writing and grammar.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Workshop Objectives
Teachers will demonstrate an understanding of:• Mentor texts and its use in teaching
grammar and writing.• Story maps to write stories
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
How do we create tasks?• We set a purpose – what is the purpose for
writing? To inform, to clarify, to explain, to entertain?
• The purpose decides the language-• to inform will use what type of language? Formal
or informal? Why?
• To inform, clarify or explain will use what type of language?
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Checklist• What is the purpose of the task?
• Can your students write according to the purpose- to inform, to clarify or to explain, to entertain?
• Can it lend itself to a sequenced exposition of events?
• Who is the audience?
• Can it be factual, can it be formal, lend itself to a narrative?
• Does it lend itself to report? Does the child have sufficient information on the who, what, where, when, how? Can you write a story?
• Will it motivate students to write?
• Will it motivate your students to write a story?
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Story ElementsSettingCharactersPlot ConflictResolutionPoint of ViewThemeClimaxRising action
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Exposition: This is the beginning of the story. The setting, characters, and background information are introduced.
Rising Action: The author introduces the conflict or problem that the character(s) must attempt to solve. Complications are introduced and the suspense builds.
Climax: The point of greatest interest or suspense in the story. It is the turning point in the story where the action reaches its peak.
Falling Action: The characters are getting closer to solving the conflict or problem.
Resolution: The conflict comes to an end or the problem is solved.
Story Elements
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
What is a mentor text?
• Any text or piece of text that can teach a writer about an aspect of writer’s craft, from sentence structure to quotation marks to “show don’t tell”.
• Sentence Stalking• Story Elements
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Using a mentor text to teach writing
• King Log and King Stork• Purpose: Examining writer’s craft through
a story.• Interrogating the text and completing our
story map.• Examining conventions, language use
and sentence structure
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Setting
• Setting is the “where and when” of a story. It is the time and place during which the story takes place.
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Setting
Details that describe: Furniture Scenery Customs Transportation Clothing Dialects Weather Time of day Time of year
Time and place are where the action occurs
Characters
• The person, animals, and things participating in a story
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Characters• Protagonist and antagonist are used to
describe characters. • The protagonist is the main character of the
story, the one with whom the reader identifies. This person is not necessary “good”.
• The antagonist is the force in opposition of the protagonist; this person may not be “bad” or “evil”, but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Characters• Protagonist and antagonist are used to
describe characters. • The protagonist is the main character of the
story, the one with whom the reader identifies. This person is not necessary “good”.
• The antagonist is the force in opposition of the protagonist; this person may not be “bad” or “evil”, but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way
Plot (definition)• Plot is the organized
pattern or sequence of events that make up a story.
• Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows arrangement of events and actions within a story.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Parts of a Plot Exposition - introduction; characters, setting
and conflict (problem) are introduced Rising Action- events that occur as result of
central conflict Climax- highest point of interest or suspense
of a story Falling Action - tension eases; events show
the results of how the main character begins to resolve the conflict
Resolution- loose ends are tied up; the conflict is solved
1.Exposition• This usually occurs at the beginning of a short
story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story. Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (main problem).
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
2. Rising Action• This part of the story begins to develop the
conflict(s). A building of interest or suspense occurs and leads to the climax. Complications arise
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
3. Climax• This is the turning point of the story. Usually the
main character comes face to face with a conflict. The main character will change in some way. This is the most intense moment.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
4. Falling Action• Action that follows
the climax and ultimately leads to the resolution
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5. Resolution• The conclusion; all
loose ends are tied up.• Either the character
defeats the problem, learns to live with the problem, or the problem defeats the character.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Putting It All Together1. Exposition 2. Rising Action
3. Climax
4. Falling Action5. Resolution
Beginning of Story
Middle of Story
End of Story
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Diagram of Plot
Setting, characters, and conflict are introduced
Introduction/ Exposition
Deve
lopm
ent/
Risin
g Ac
tion
Climax
Falling
Action
Resolution
ConflictConflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
ConflictConflict is a problem that must be solved;
an issue between the protagonist and antagonist forces. It forms the basis of the plot.
Conflicts can be external or internalExternal conflict- outside force may be
person, group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle
Internal conflict- takes place in a character’s mind
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Types of External Conflict
Character vs Nature
Character vs Society
Character vs Character
Character vs Fate QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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Special Techniques used in a Story
Suspense- excitement, tension, curiosity Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen
in story Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events
to tell about something that happened in the past• Symbolism – use of specific objects or images to
represent ideas• Personification – when you make a thing,• idea or animal do something only humans do• Surprise Ending - conclusion that reader • does not expect
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Point of View• First Person Point of View- a
character from the story is telling the story; uses the pronouns “I” and “me”
• Third Person Point of View- an outside narrator is telling the story; uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, “they”
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Types of Third-Person Point of View
• Third-Person Limited• The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings
on only ONE character in a story.
• Third-Person Omniscient• The narrator knows
the thoughts and feeling of ALL the characters in a story.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
ThemeThe theme is the central, general
message, the main idea, the controlling topic about life or people the author wants to get across through a literary work
To discover the theme of a story, think big. What big message is the author trying to say about the world in which we live?
What is this story telling me about how life works, or how people behave?
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
The Theme is also • the practical lesson ( moral) that we
learn from a story after we read it. The lesson that teaches us what to do or how to behave after you have learned something from a story or something that has happened to you.
Example: The lesson or teaching of the story is be careful when you’re offered something for nothing.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Grammar vs. Mechanics
• Grammar includes principles that guide the structure of sentences and paragraphs.
He likes to eat pizza, but I like spaghetti.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Grammar vs. Mechanics
• Mechanics is how we punctuate to achieve meaning (punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, formatting).
“Let’s eat Grandma.”
“Let’s eat, Grandma.”
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Syntax• Examples of Syntactical Complexity
• Multiple subject: The deer and the beaver are walking toward the stream. • Multiple object: The boy is carrying the fishing net and pail.• Infinitive used as an object: The girl wanted to play her guitar.• Gerund used as an object: He enjoys catching frogs.• Compound Sentences: The man is trying to light a fire, but he doesn’t have enough
matches.• Complex sentence: The girl e-mailed her family while sitting in the tent.• Prepositional phrase: The frog jumped out of the stream.
• The girls sat on the log.• The eagle soars over the trees.
• Relative clause: The camp leader is the man who started the fire.• The younger sister is the girl that plays the guitar.• The deer drinks from the stream, which flows through the
forest.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Principles We Know• Construction of a Simple Sentence Subject + Verb + stands on its own
• Construction of a Compound SentenceSentence, + Conjunction +
sentence.
Moving on… Complex Sentences
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The duck flew.
An Independent Clause
•Is a sentence•Stands on its own•Is perfectly fine as it is
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
The duck flew.But sometimes we want
more Pictures or images Information Specifics Description
So how do we add information to our sentences without making run-on or incorrect sentences?
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The duck flew.
What you add to the sentence• Can’t be a whole new sentence• Can’t stand on its own— it must be…
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
IndependentThe duck flew.
flapping its wingsThis has a noun and a verbDoes it stand on its own?Does it express a complete thought?
It’s Dependent
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independent clause (sentence)
must lean on an
The duck flew, flapping its wings.
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
There are three basic complex sentence patterns
• Add information at the beginning of a sentence
• Add information in the middle of a sentence
• Add information at the end of a sentence
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
, closing .
Beginning ,, interrupting ,
Complex SentencesThe three basic patterns…
Amia Kimoy Conrad- Christopher
Planning for writing
• What do students know?• What do they need to know?• What is the end result• How are you measuring they are reaching
there?• What about the process approach and a
portfolio to track student’s work?