Day 35: 10/26/16 - E Day: Writing Workshop Session #4 - Picking a Seed Idea & Writing a Good Lead

Good Day 6th Graders,

          Today we will continue Writing Workshop - Session #4. Please make sure you have:

• Independent Reading Book
• ELA Folder & Notebook
• Red Folder & Agenda

                        Thank you

                       Mr. Trumble
P2P: Take out your 3rd journal entry and reread it to yourself.

Part I

First:
Share your Journal Entry from session #3 (first or last time) in a small group with 2 other writing partners

• What do you notice about your entries?
• How did the writing make you feel?
• What was good about your entries?
• How has your writing improved since your 1st entry?
• What do you still ned to work on?

Part II

Writers, today is an exciting day! Today instead of generating new personal narratives, you will need to look over your collection of stories and choose just one.  

Writers often call that a...

Seed Idea

...meaning you will nourish and grow that seed idea into a published piece of writing.  

It can be daunting to wrap you mind around all you have written and choose just 1.  

This is the time when you have to really pay attention to the little voice as you reread. Find the one that whispers to you that there is just something about this story, that this story idea has the potential to become a really important piece of writing.  Try to fine one that has strong meaning to you. Remember, that does NOT mean that the personal narrative is already an incredible piece of writing.  It might just be an idea that you think you can develop into a powerful and meaningful story.  

Reread the 3 - 5 entries you have written and start to notice which stories could be your seed idea.  

Writers, please take  a paper clip and mark your seed idea.

Congratulations, writers, and welcome to your seed idea.

Part III

Today I want to teach you that writers also prepare

 to write powerful narratives by trying  out several different leads.  

Writers, you know how much the first sentences, or paragraphs of a story, matter.  We call this the lead. The 1st bit of text on a page has a BIG job of grabbing the reader's attention, making the reader want to put everything else aside so he can just  read, read, read.  

Authors try out different leads, looking for the one that will set them up to write a great story.  

LEADS

The 1st way to write a strong lead is by zooming in on those tiny details that actually caught your attention at the time. The smallest details, or precise character actions can bring your reader into the moment and make them want to read the rest of your story. 

A 2nd way of writing a strong lead is by showing inner thinking, or using exact dialogue right at the start of the story. Inner thinking and dialogue can pull a reader into the author's world and make them curious.  It makes them want to keep reading!

Why?

Inner thinking and dialogue allows the author to drop some hints about what their story might really be about. 

  

Notes:

10/26  Strategies for Writing a Strong Lead

• Use dialogue
• Show Inner thinking
• Write the smallest details of the moment
• Describe precise character actions

Writers, I want you to think about the lead to your story, and try a few different leads:

Examples of Leads

Action: Now you go try to write a few different leads to your story. Think... what is my story really about.

Share: (***If Time***) Partners read your best lead  in your best storytelling voice.  Listen for how the writer grabs you and makes you want to hear the rest of the story.  

Homework:
Choose the lead that you think would be best for setting you up to tell your story really, really well.  Does that mean you will need to write a couple more leads, to have more leads to choose from? Maybe you will.