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01 All About Writing

Page
003
from
Write Ahead

Write Ahead Page 3

Start-Up Activity

Read the chapter opener aloud to your class. Then take a poll:

  1. How many of you love a specific sport and play it well?
  2. How many of you know how to play an instrument?
  3. How many of you have another hobby that has taken a lot of your time and energy?

Then lead a discussion about how becoming good at any activity just requires practice and patience. Writing is just the same. Even if writing feels like a real challenge sometimes, students can learn specific strategies that will make writing much easier—and more effective. This chapter gives students an overview of the process that makes writing work well.

Think About It

"Practice puts brains in your muscles."

—Sam Snead

State Standards Covered in This Chapter

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.10

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5

LAFS Covered in This Chapter

LAFS.910.RL.4.10

LAFS.910.W.2.4

LAFS.910.W.2.5

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

110.36.c.3

110.36.c.4

110.36.c.6

110.36.c.7.A

110.36.c.7.B

110.36.c.7.C

110.37.c.3

110.37.c.4

110.37.c.6

110.37.c.7.A

110.37.c.7.B

110.37.c.7.C

110.36.c.9

110.36.c.10

110.37.c.9

110.37.c.10

110.36.c.9.A

110.36.c.9.B.i

110.36.c.9.B.ii

110.37.c.9.A

110.37.c.9.B.i

110.37.c.9.B.ii

110.36.c.9.C

110.36.c.9.D

110.37.c.9.C

110.37.c.9.D

TEKS Covered in This Chapter

Page 004 from Write Ahead

Building Good Writing Habits

Turn this page into a survey using a Likert scale. Have students rate their writing habits from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Then review their answers aloud and discuss ways to improve writing habits.

Downloads:
State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.RL.4.10
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.3, 110.36.c.4, 110.36.c.6, 110.36.c.7.A, 110.36.c.7.B, 110.36.c.7.C, 110.37.c.3, 110.37.c.4, 110.37.c.6, 110.37.c.7.A, 110.37.c.7.B, 110.37.c.7.C
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.1.6

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
ReadingWriting

Page 005 from Write Ahead

The Steps in the Writing Process

Provide your students an overview of the writing process. Show how each step helps the writer to progress from not knowing what to write to having a polished, final piece.

Instead of trying to do everything at once, writers should start by selecting a topic and gathering and organizing details (prewriting). At this stage, writers can quickly draft their work, not worrying over every word, but just getting the ideas down in an initial form (writing). Revising then allows the writer to make big changes and improvements, and editing gives the piece a final polish. In the next few pages, students will get a closer look at each stage.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.W.2.4
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.9.A, 110.36.c.9.B.i, 110.36.c.9.B.ii, 110.37.c.9.A, 110.37.c.9.B.i, 110.37.c.9.B.ii
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.2.2

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing Process

Page 006 from Write Ahead

The Writing Process in Action

Use these two pages to allow your students to dabble with the writing process. Say they will each write a one-page document about a topic of their own interest. Then use each numbered item on the page as a 5-minute assignment: explore possible topics, choose a topic, learn about your topic, gather details, think of a focus, and organize details. Let students follow cross-references to other parts of the book, if they wish to explore a bit.

On the next page, students will work through quick drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.W.2.4
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.9.A, 110.36.c.9.B.i, 110.36.c.9.B.ii, 110.37.c.9.A, 110.37.c.9.B.i, 110.37.c.9.B.ii
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.2.2

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessPrewriting

Page 007 from Write Ahead

Writing, Revising, Editing, and Publishing

Use the numbered items on this page as 5-minute mini-assignments to guide students through their work. Emphasize that students should write quickly, without worrying about mistakes, knowing that they can fix problems when they revise and edit.

You may want to reserve the publishing activities for a separate class period, allowing students to share their papers with classmates and discuss the experience.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.W.2.4
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.9.A, 110.36.c.9.B.i, 110.36.c.9.B.ii, 110.37.c.9.A, 110.37.c.9.B.i, 110.37.c.9.B.ii
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.2.2

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessWritingRevisingEditingPublishing

Page 008 from Write Ahead

A Basic Writing Guide

The next few pages answer some of the basic questions that may have come up while students worked on their quick writing assignments (pages 6 and 7). Lead a discussion of each question and answer. Prompt students to contribute their experiences from writing. Discuss how different writers use different strategies on different assignments.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.W.2.4
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.9.A, 110.36.c.9.B.i, 110.36.c.9.B.ii, 110.37.c.9.A, 110.37.c.9.B.i, 110.37.c.9.B.ii
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.2.2

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessPrewriting

Page 009 from Write Ahead

Should I use all of the information I have gathered?

The three questions on this page deal with the final part of prewriting (focusing your thoughts), drafting (creating a first draft), and revising (making big improvements in writing). As you discuss these questions with your students, make sure to point out the cross-references in the colored bars. Each listed set of pages goes into greater depth about that stage of the process.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.W.2.4
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.9.A, 110.36.c.9.B.i, 110.36.c.9.B.ii, 110.37.c.9.A, 110.37.c.9.B.i, 110.37.c.9.B.ii
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.2.2

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessPrewritingWritingRevising

Page 010 from Write Ahead

Do I have to find all of the spelling and grammar errors in my writing?

The final two questions in the Basic Writing Guide focus on editing (correcting the conventions of writing) as well as assessment. Write Ahead uses the traits of effective writing to help with both tasks. The trait of conventions addresses punctuation, capitalization, spelling, usage, and grammar—important features of writing, but not the end-all-be-all. The ideas in writing need the most attention in prewriting, drafting, and revising. Only at editing do these surface errors become critical.

Also, by using the traits of effective writing, students will learn how to assess their work.

State Standard Reference:
LAFS Standard:
LAFS.910.W.2.4
TEKS Standard:
110.36.c.9.A, 110.36.c.9.B.i, 110.36.c.9.B.ii, 110.37.c.9.A, 110.37.c.9.B.i, 110.37.c.9.B.ii
NE ELA Standard:
LA 10.2.2

Related Resource Tags

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

Level:
Grade 9Grade 10
Mode:
Writing Basics
English Language Arts:
Writing ProcessEditing