Real-Life Writing Activities for Grades 4-9

This ready-to-use resource provides 40 complete model and writing lessons that capture students' attention, build their writing skills, and teach them a writing process (motivation, brainstorming, composing, revising, and publishing) that will serve them throughout their lives.
The lessons/activities are designed for young authors in grades 4 through 9 who are just learning the composing process, as well as for advanced writers who are ready to experiment with a variety of writing and speaking genres. They feature a wide range of practical writing tasks students can easily relate to their own lives.

For easy use, all materials are printed in a big 8 1/4 x 11 lay-flat binding that folds flat for photocopying of the writing formats and evaluative checklists that accompany many of the lessons, and are arranged developmentally into five sections. Here's just a sample of what each section offers:

1. Descriptive Compositions for Young Authors: People/Fact Hunt...Consumer Survey...Captions...Letter of Introduction to My Next Teacher...: Restaurant Review Checklist...Horoscope

2. Directional Compositions for Young Authors: Advice to Next Year's Class...Treasure Map Directions...Friendship Recipe...Cheer-Up Checklist...Medical Guide...Advice Column Solution Letter

3. Persuasive Compositions for Young Authors: Apology/ApologyNote...Travel Brochure...Movie.VideoReview...Sympathy Message...Bill of Rights...Letter of Complaint...Eulogy

4. Marrative Compositions for Young Authors: Good News/Bad News Tale...Mystery/Whodunit

5. Poems & Songs for Young Authors: Simple Chant...Five-Line Poem...Comparison Poem...Auto/Bio Poem...Modern Nursery Rhymes

All lessons provide step-by-step instructions, including alternative motivators, examples of what to say to elicit students' response and what to write on the chalkboard, and suggestions for responding to students' writing in a way that will encourage them.

You'll also find the lessons are ideally flexible. You may follow the steps in each Real-Life Writing lesson just as described or add, omit, and/or change parts to fit your students' knowledge, skills, or interests and/or your curriculum needs.

Author: Cherlyn Sunflower
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Published: 02/08/2002
Pages: 496
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.97lbs
Size: 10.82h x 8.26w x 1.33d
ISBN: 9780130449795

About the Author
Cherlyn Sunflower is Associate Professor of Education at Moorhead State University in Minnesota where she teaches elementary language arts courses. She previously taught grades K-6 and resource room in Austin, Texas, Public Schools. Dr. Sunflower is also the author of 75 Creative Ways to Publish Students' Writings and Really Writing! Ready-to-Use Writing Process Activities for the Elementary Grades.

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