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02 One Writer's Process

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009
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All Write

One Writer's Process Opening Page

Start-Up Activity

This page compares writing to building a home. Ask students if they have ever watched a house being built. What is done first? What is done last? And what steps come in between? List these steps in a logical order for your students to see. Now ask students to imagine a builder trying to do all the steps at once or in a different order. For example, what if someone tried to put up a home's walls before the foundation was in place? Then point out that writers, like builders, must do their work in the proper steps for the best results.

Think About It

“The best advice on writing that I’ve ever received was “Rewrite it!” A lot of editors said that. They were right. Writing is really rewriting—making the story better, clearer, truer.”

—Robert Lipsyte

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.5

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.5

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

LAFS.6.W.2.5

LAFS.7.W.2.5

LAFS.8.W.2.5

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

110.22.b.10.A

110.22.b.10.C

110.22.b.10.D

110.23.b.10.A

110.23.b.10.C

110.23.b.10.D

110.24.b.10.A

110.24.b.10.C

110.24.b.10.D

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 010 from All Write

Prewriting

Inform your students that this page covers two key prewriting strategies: choosing a topic and gathering details. The writer, Maria, first identified her topic—important family members. Then she gathered details about each one and recorded what she learned on a collection sheet. Point out that Maria’s prewriting work provided a strong foundation for the writing and revising that followed.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.6.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.C, 110.22.b.10.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 6.2.1, LA 6.2.1.a, LA 6.2.1.e, LA 6.2.1.f, LA 6.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

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Level:
Grade 6Grade 7Grade 8
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessPrewriting

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Writing

Students need to be assured that it is okay (understandable, unavoidable, etc.) to make mistakes in their first drafts. They will have plenty of time during revising and editing to improve their writing. As you review the part of Maria’s first draft shown on page 11, point out that she wrote freely, incorporating details from her collection sheet. She didn’t worry about making mistakes at this point in the process.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.6.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.C, 110.22.b.10.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 6.2.1, LA 6.2.1.a, LA 6.2.1.e, LA 6.2.1.f, LA 6.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 7Grade 8
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing Process

Page 012 from All Write

Revising

This page shows the revisions that Maria made to this part of her first draft. She did things like add words, cross out unnecessary details, and combine ideas. Each of her changes helped make her writing clearer and more complete. Recommend that your students revise on a double-spaced printout of their first draft. And inform them that their writing may need to go through two or three sets of revisions before it says what they want it to say.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.6.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.C, 110.22.b.10.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 6.2.1, LA 6.2.1.a, LA 6.2.1.e, LA 6.2.1.f, LA 6.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 6Grade 7Grade 8
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessRevising

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Editing

Explain to students that editing becomes important once all of the changes to the content are made. Editing can be compared to the finishing touches a builder makes on an almost-completed house. On page 13, some of Maria’s finishing touches include correcting a verb-tense error, adding punctuation, and correcting a spelling error. Note that Maria was smart to have another person help her with her editing.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.6.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.C, 110.22.b.10.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 6.2.1, LA 6.2.1.a, LA 6.2.1.e, LA 6.2.1.f, LA 6.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 6Grade 7Grade 8
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessEditing

Page 014 from All Write

Publishing

Page 14 shows the first part of Maria’s final copy—after making all of the necessary revisions and edits. Point your students to pages 56-57 for more information about designing and formatting final copies. Be sure to carefully review “Points to Remember . . .” at the bottom of this page. These points consider Maria’s mindset as she developed her writing using the writing process.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.6.W.2.5
TEKS Standard:
110.22.b.10.A, 110.22.b.10.C, 110.22.b.10.D
NE ELA Standard:
LA 6.2.1, LA 6.2.1.a, LA 6.2.1.e, LA 6.2.1.f, LA 6.2.1.h

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Level:
Grade 6Grade 7Grade 8
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessPublishing