Writing Styles and Sample Organizers

Persuasive:
Persuade someone why or why not they should . . .
3 gray whales- Should we save or not save the whalesDay One:
Steps to Understanding Organizer
Soviet Union tie to US
1. Cold War
2. Learn from
3. share resources

Titles become
the part of your
intro paragraph

Humane
1. respect
2. get along
3. learning to cooperate

Endangered
1. Loose species
2. learn from species
3. food chain

Titles also
should be
referred to in
your conclusion

Day Two:
Make a balloon model- on one topic to organize a paragraph
After you fill in general details- expand with style and elaboration to
provide the necessary information to make it an interesting paragraph.
(Style-names, dates, faces, places, colors, numbers) Then have
students write a
draft- by popping the balloons!
Soviet
Union
Tie to US

Share
Resource
s

Tech.
Knowledg
e

Crude
Oil

End of
the Cold
War

Wastin
g
billions
of $ on
defens
e

Threat of
nuclear
war
killing
millions

Day Three- Blow Up the other balloons for 2 more paragraphs

Day Four- Teach beginning/ending
Intro: should include 3 ideas/headings from the step and state your
position
Conclusion: re-write another way the key points.
Each sentence should connect to the one before.
Day Five- Put it all together- clean draft
Day Six- Transition Activity- adding good stylistic transitions into the
draft
Day Seven- have peers read/Read around group- editing- look at word
choice- find better words
Day Eight- Clean and finish- Read and Share

Narrative

A narrative tells a story- includes setting, plot, characters,

problem, climax, rising/falling action, resolution (story
ends)
Found in reading books, novels, short stories
Vocabulary usually more familiar
Holds attention by plot of description
Often contains ideas based on readers experience
Entertaining to read
Allows for fairly rapid reading
Usually easier to read
Follows the same story map pattern

Sample Writing Plan

Day One: Focus Cards (takes 15 minutes) need 3 note cards per child
or a piece of paper folding into thirds
On the first card/section- list what was great about your Christmas
vacation
(the big topics- everything that happened)
Now on the second card- pick one thing from the list and expand on it.
(getting Nintendo, stuffing the turkey, . . .) write as much as you can in
the time allotted
(whats most important-what will you want to write about)
Now on the third card- pick one single event in time and list it.
(tying the bow on the puppy to give as gift, noticing the twinkle in your
moms eye as she realizes you are grown up) very narrow idea- one
single thing.
(pick one thing that is important and write on that)
Talk with a partner about the one single event in time (your focus) and
have them be your secretary and write down your pre-writing ideas on
this third card.
Day Two: Organize ideas- on timeline, numbered cluster map, or
circle organizer
Launch activity- read three Christmas/holiday launches
Have students write their own- (only read each paragraph 2x, students
write, a few share) discuss the appearance of the following elements:

Create a launch- remember it must include- characters, setting, and

tone or mood. (feeling or reaction)
Polar Express by Chris VanAllsburg good example to use as launch
Have students write their story launch for this piece
Day 3- Write a parallel ending to the beginning- include some of the
words/ phrases from the beginning.
Comment on the significance of the storyRead and share student examples- have student tell what they like/do
not like
Day 4- Time order transitionsMight want to do Officer Gloria/Buckle activity as a mini-lesson
Fill in

the circle (kind of like a clock) with the time order transitions
Before 6 oclock dinner
One hour later
When you discovered
Later that night

Day Five- Fill in the details with each transition- each transition is a new
paragraph. Start putting in events- write the when
Day Six- Writing/Illustrating
Day Seven/Eight- Looking for the right word
Steps
1. circle 3 words that are not exactly the right words
2. Pass the paper to 3 people- NO TALKING- pencil in another word
choice
1. Erase the rest and fill in the one you like
Could do Read around Group (RAG) to help check spelling/punctuation
or have writers conferences- someone needs to be the EDITOR
Re-write- recopy draft and publish!!
Now spend the next 2 weeks- writing another narrative to practice
these skills!

Expository
Elements of an Expository piece
Provides information, presents facts in a clear manner.
(commonly found in science, social studies, newspapers and
magazines)
Contains specialized and technical vocabulary
Uses graphs, pictures, charts, tables, and maps
Requires slower reading rate
Usually more difficult to read

Not one basic pattern- depends on type and purpose of

information
Two types of expository:
2. tell about something you know about
3. tell about something you have researched about
Example: Why I like/do not like snow
You can share snow statistics from the internet or encyclopedia
Teacher model- Why I do not like the snow
Complete Balloon Organizer- make sure that the students clearly
understand- everything in the organizer must refer to the topic.
2. big balloon- I like/dislike snow
3. have students give reasons why- then have each student just
write one of the reasons in their balloon.
4. look at your balloon- did you include a fact- with interesting
information? Make sure it includes-at least one- name, number,
color, face, date, . ..
5. Paper filled with writing- this is pre-writing and getting organized
to write
6. write a paragraph- as you use words/phrases- pop the balloon!