Resources

Fifth-grader Ethan moves the reader smoothly through his personal narrative with transition words like first, then, also, so far, and when.

Dylan, a second-grade writer, shares his very personal feelings in an honest, direct way. His first and last sentences tell the whole story; and the middle sentences give the reader important, heartfelt details about Dylan’s experience.

Many details are included in this writing, and a personal tone emerges. The piece has a clear beginning, middle, and ending.

This writing shows the feelings of the writer and is well organized.

Adam, the first-grade writer of this model, uses his senses to describe his cat—fluffy, soft, fat. Readers can “see” and “feel” Buzz.

Ryan tells what he learned on a visit to a space center.

This writing has delightful details and a clear voice.

First-grader Traci begins and ends her report with a main idea about parrots: they are pretty, colorful birds.

This model is based on a story submitted by first-grader Ashley. Her story has a main character with a problem. The problem is solved in an interesting way.

In Bowen’s story, he imagines himself as a leaf. He gives lots of details about being blown around by the wind.

This is a fun story with lots of details.

This report was submitted by Brittany, a second grader. The ending of Brittany’s report shares exactly how she feels about her subject.

Second-grade writer Kirsten shares many interesting facts in her report. Notice how she ties everything together by mentioning the horse’s good eyesight in both the first and last paragraphs.

Second-grader Pheba wrote a small poem that tells in just a few words what her subject does and how she feels about it.

Austin, the second-grade writer of this expository paragraph, introduces his subject—how to be a good president—in an interesting way.

This writing shows that the writer has a real grasp of the meaning of a fable. It has some delightful details.

Jess uses his senses to describe winter in this poem.

This story is well organized, and the sentences flow smoothly. There are lots of details and excellent word choices.

This author brings excitement to her story when she paints a picture of her friend sprawled like a spider.

The writer’s descriptions in this narrative make it a vivid and memorable story.

The author’s personal voice comes through loud and clear in this friendly letter submitted by third-grader Andrea.

This short persuasive paragraph is based on a model that third-grader Rachel submitted. She begins her writing in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading. The reader wants to find out what decision she is talking about.

This model of “How-To” writing is based on a model submitted by Dagmary. She has decided to list the steps in her recipe instead of putting them in paragraph form.

The beginning paragraph of this writer's report invites the reader to keep going. The details show that she knows a lot about cheetahs.