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Index:
COMPOSITION
LESSONS BY GRADE LEVEL
If you or your child enjoys writing and/or likes
to work without a traditional textbook, here are
the resources I would recommend, and in the order in which
I would use them.
PREK
- KINDERGARTEN:
Or
until the child can write comfortably in manuscript. See The
Three Rs for more information on this age level.
-
Read
aloud daily from a variety of literature to increase his
vocabulary.
-
Have
him dictate his compositions to you or on a tape recorder.
-
Make
booklets with pictures and have him dictate what he wants
to say.
-
Make
his dictations relate to other subjects being studied
such as history or science. (I make my granddaughter
little construction paper booklets. She cuts out pictures
and pastes them into the booklet. We sometimes make it
a theme booklet, like animals, flowers, insects, etc.
Then I let her dictate to me what she wants to say about
each picture and I write it on the page. She writes her
name on the front to practice handwriting.)
KINDERGARTEN
- 3RD GRADE:
Your
child must be able to write comfortably in manuscript for
these activities.
Otherwise have him do them orally or continue with activities
listed in PreK - Kindergarten.
-
Read
aloud from a variety of literature that is above grade
level to increase his vocabulary.
-
Start
the lesson with warm up exercises.
-
 Let
him be creative. Encourage him to make up stories.
Use one of these resources to get him started:
-Creative
Writing Ideas. This booklet
has it all. Because it is graphically oriented, it is great
for the Visual Learner. It
includes forms for shape stories, draw and write stories,
riddle crafts, sequence and write (cut out pictures, put
them in any order, then write the story based on the order
of the pictures), fill in missing words sort of like mad
libs, story starters (write a story based on the given short
sentence and picture), comics (color and cut out figures
for cartoon. Then write in speech bubbles.), and other lessons.
I like this a lot because it helps them learn to use descriptive
writing, use all the senses in their writing, and provides
some practical lessons as well (writing directions, how-tos,
letter writing, and a short section on poetry.) A great
resource you shouldn't be without. ISBN 1557996075.
- Story
Starters by
Karen Andreoloa. I have not used this book, but have heard that others enjoy it. "Each
story suspends the student in the middle of a predicament.
He is then faced with the question, “What happens next?” .
. . each story is illustrated with one or more engaging 19th
century pictures. The settings are sometimes intense, sometimes
funny, sometimes sweetly domestic, but always pose a challenge."
-Cut & Paste An Animal Story. This
is fun. Your child colors picture boxes, cuts them out,
and then pastes them in any order he desires. Then he writes
his story based on the order he has pasted his pictures.
Purchase at education stores.
-
Comic Book Creator (Interactive): http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/index.html
-
Have
him dictate the stories occasionally. You can
either write them by hand or type them for him.
-
Help
him create a picture autobiography. Collect pictures
of your child from birth to present age. Have him paste
one to a page in a composition book. Each day, have him
write short captions to the pictures.
-
Make
graphic “books” with him and let him
label the pictures. Use resources such as:
How
to Make Books with Children: Science & Math
Topics include magnets, dinosaurs, weather, seasons,
electricity, plants, matter, sound, moon, solar system,
five senses, animals, flight, animal camouflage, gravity,
earthquake, habitats, my body, and volcanoes. This
is a wonderful resource for multi-level teaching! Written
for grades 1-6.
-
Big Book of Books and Activities by Dinah
Zike.
-
Easy
File Folder Reports by
Evan-Moor. This is a brand new resource for your Visual learner and anyone
who likes cut, paste, color, and crafts. Students create
a 3-D file folder report that includes 3-D graphics and
short writing assignments (perfect for the reluctant writer).
Topics are All about Me, Explorers, Native Americans,
Women of America, Black Americans, Incredible People,
National Monuments, U.S. states (short enough you can
learn about another state besides your own), U.S. Presidents,
Inventions, National Parks, Seeds to Plants, Desert Dwellers,
Forest Dwellers, Minerals, Life in the Oceans, Save the
Earth, Endangered Animals, Holidays (New Years, Independence
Days, Thanksgiving, Arbor Day, December Holidays). There
is enough here that anyone could use this book. Recommended
for grades 3 - 6. Published 2004. ISBN 1557999635.
-
Teach
him what a sentence is and how to write a good one.
Use resources such as:
-
 How
to Write a Sentence by TCM. This is an easy-to-use
resource for specific instruction on writing sentences.
It includes sentence structure, capitals and punctuation,
subjects, verbs, and adjectives. A review game and an
award certificate is included. 36 lessons. I recommend
doing two per week for an 18-week course, finishing the
year with How To Write a Paragraph (see below).
ISBN 1576904989.
-
Write
A Super Sentence Grades 1-3 by
Evan-Moor. This is an excellent resource for helping
your children learn to use Who, What, Where, When and
How to add interest to their writing. 15+ lessons. Includes
reproducible forms and Sentence Wheel, Pull-Through
Sentence, and Flip Book activities. ISBN 1557996067.
- Teach
him what a paragraph is and how to put one together.
Use resources such as:
-
How to Write a Paragraph by TCM.
36 lessons. Covers how to come up with ideas for writing,
how to develop a main idea, how to stick to the main point
by using topic sentences, using explanations or what next
to write the body of the paragraph, paragraph endings,
how to describe using VENN diagrams, persuasive writing,
ISBN 1576904946.
-
Teach
him the beginnings of outlining.
-
Four Square Writing, Grades 1-3 by
Teaching & Learning Company.
-
Teach him some writing tricks. I love this resource: Writing Tricks Plus by David S. Dye. This book contains short lessons on how to incorporate writing tricks that will make your writing much more interesting: simile, metaphor, idioms, personification, vaunting verbs, hyperbole, and much more. 
As
they are ready, begin to prepare them for report writing.
See 4th-6th below.
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4TH
- 6TH GRADE
 Or
as soon as your child writes comfortably in both manuscript
and cursive.
-
Continue
to read aloud to him to improve vocabulary and give him
good writing models.
-
Teach
your child to type (Use resources such
as Mavis
Beacon Teaches Typing Deluxe 17 Win/Mac and Typing
Tutor.
-
Allow
him to type composition assignment, if preferred.
A composition lesson does NOT have to be a handwriting
lesson.
-
Start
the lesson with warm
up exercises.
-
 A new favorite (2016): Writers in Residence by Debra Bell. Here's what I like about it: (1) It's not graded and doesn't use "dumbed-down" vocabulary, so any student will benefit from the lessons. I plan on using it in my foundational comp class for Jr./Sr high. (2) It covers all the important grammar rules needed at a foundational level, and the rules are reviewed throughout the year to help the students master them. (3) For the composition lessons, Dr. Bell uses interviews and sample writings of famous authors for inspiration and modeling good writing. Her step-by-step instructions are easy to follow, thorough, and effective. I am very pleased and highly recommend this for anyone looking for an effective, foundational writing course.
- Use Writing
Strands, beginning with Book 3, if you only
want to purchase one resource. Use these other resources
for specific skill improvement:
-
If
he hasn’t learned yet, teach him what a sentence
is and how to write a good one. 
-
How to Write a Sentence, Grades 2-5 by
TCM.
-
Write
a Super Sentence by Evan-Moor.
-
Writing Fabulous Sentences & Paragraphs - Grades
4-6 by Evan-Moor.
-
If
he hasn’t learned yet, teach him what a paragraph
is and how to put one together.
-
How to Write a Paragraph by Teacher
Created Materials.
-
If
he hasn’t learned yet, teach him how to outline.
Use resources such as:
-
Four Square Writing, Grades 4-6 by
Teaching & Learning Company
-
Descriptive Writing by The Mailbox. Purchase at local
educational bookstores.
-
Have
him outline short magazine articles.
-
Begin
to work on report writing once he has mastered
the basic sentence, paragraph, and outlining. Report writing
is easier for most kids than creative writing. Use resources
such as: 
-
How to Write a Simple Report by Teacher
Created Materials.
-
How to Write
Simple Science Reports by Evan-Moor.
Thirty dinosaur and wild animal topics. (Excellent to
use along with science units on each topic.) ISBN 1557993793.
-
 Complete
Writing Lessons For the Primary Grades by
Marjorie Frank. I use the exercises in these books for kids of all ages! ISBN 0865301638.
-
How to Make a Book Report by Teacher
Created Materials. Includes character reports, plot reports,
story detail reports, author/illustrator reports, book
recommendations, and book presentations. ISBN 1576905039.
-Newspaper
Reporters, An Introduction to Newspaper Writing
by Teacher Created Material. Purchase at education stores.
ISBN 1557341370.
-
Newspaper blanks available from Teacher Created Material
or use a word processor to create their own. Purchase
at education stores.
-
Guided Report Writing by Evan-Moor.
Specific areas covered are choosing a topic, formulating
subtopics, locating information, taking notes, converting
notes to paragraphs; responding, revising, and editing;
producing final copy; and including graphs, illustrations,
maps, and charts. ISBN 1557997322.
-
Online Resources:
6+1 Trait Writing Lesson Plans: http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/lessonplans.php
-
Begin
teaching him descriptive, explanatory and persuasive writing.
Use resources such as:
-
HOW
TEACH NONFICTION WRITING/3-6 by Evan Moor.
ISBN 1557998000.
-
Explanatory Writing by The Mailbox. Purchase at education
stores.
-
Persuasive Writing by The Mailbox. Purchase at
education stores.
-
Descriptive Writing by The Mailbox. Purchase at education
stores.
-
Descriptive Mysteries by Critical Thinking Books.
Purchase at education stores.
-
Introduce
creative writing using resources such as:
-
Cut & Paste An Animal Story by EduPress. Purchase
at education stores.
-
Creative
Writing Ideas. Forms for
shape stories, draw and write stories, riddle crafts,
sequence and write (cut out pictures, put them in any
order, then write the story based on the order of the
pictures), fill in missing words sort of like mad libs,
story starters (write a story based on the given short
sentence and picture), comics (color and cut out figures
for cartoon. Then write in speech bubbles.), and other
lessons. ISBN 1557996075.
-
HOW
TO WRITE STORY/GR 1-3 by Evan-Moor. ISBN
1557998019.
-
How
to Write a Story, Grades 2-5 by Teacher Created
Materials
-
Story Ideas: http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/writers/story_ideas.html
-
Story Builder: http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/writers/story_builder.html
-
 Teach
him to write poetry using Poetry
Patterns by Evan-Moor. This
is a wonderful resource that covers all forms of poetry
writing. ISBN 1557997330. Also check out 30
Days of Poetry, a 30-day lesson plan covering all
forms of poetry writing.
-
For
additional work in composition, use:
-
Expanding the Writing Process With Elaboration, Challenging
by Teacher Created Materials.
-
Writing
Strands by National Writing Institute.
This is an excellent series. If you have a budding author,
this is the best composition curriculum out there. I
recommend starting this in 2nd grade and work through
12th grade. See Composition
Textbooks Recommendations for recommendations by grade
level for more information.
- Teaching
the Elements of Powerful Writing Using Great Fiction and
Nonfiction Models by Jane Sullivan. Scholastic.
This resource is a diamond in the rough! It took a lot
of effort on my part, as the teacher, to understand the
concept, BUT it was well worth the effort. This is not
a quick-fix, easy-to-do worksheet approach so if you're
looking for something quick and easy, you will need to
look elsewhere. Instead, this is a resource that can be
used throughout the year to teach specific techniques
in writing by reading good literature, breaking it down
into lessons on writing strong leads, using your senses,
creating characters, and more. I found this resource extremely
valuable and helpful in training children to write both
fiction and nonfiction. I recommend it to those who are
willing to take the time to teach children to write interesting
and effective compositions. The technique can be applied
to any literature of the same type, so you could substitute
your own books instead of the ones suggested. ISB 0439517818.
Gr 3-6+
-
When
ready, prepare him for research report writing
using resources such as:
-
How to Write a Research Report by
Teacher Created Materials.
-
Teach
him how to write letters, business letters, thank you
notes, resumes, etc.
-
Use
Writing Project Ideas
for ideas to integrate composition with other
subjects.
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7th
- 12th grade
-
Require
him to read a variety of books and/or continue to
read to him for vocabulary development.
-
Have
him read 100
Ways to Improve Your Writing
by Gary Provost. I make this required reading in my high school comp classes.
-
Start
the lesson with warm
up exercises and writing prompts.
-
Continue
working on research papers 
-My current favorite book for teaching the research paper is: How to Write a Great Research Paper by Beverly Chin.
-
Continue
working on creative writing.These
resources will help your child develop “professional”
writing techniques such as using vivid verbs, descriptive
adjectives, concrete nouns, using similes, and more.
-
Writing
Strands - Creating Fiction . This is my
favorite for serious writers.
-
Wordsmith, New Edition . Includes
both grammar and composition for 7th - 9th graders.
-
Wordsmith Craftsman . Includes both
grammar and composition for 10th - 12th graders.
-
Expanding the Writing Process With Elaboration,
Challenging
by Teacher Created Materials. Purchase at local educational
bookstores.
- Work on persuasive writing and critical thinking for college.These
resources will help your student develop skills needed in college:
- Persuasion Points by Brian Backman. An excellent resource for teaching persuasive writing. I use thi s as one of my resources for my classroom. If I were buying only one resource, this would be the one I would use.
- Writing With a Purpose: Persuasive Writing by Barbara Doherty. I like this resource because it teaches the students how to recognize facts from opinions, how to understand point of view, and how to recognize and use a variety of persuasive techniques to persuade. I use some exercises out of here at the beginning of our lessons in persuasive writing.
- Persuasive Writing by Saddleback Educational Publishing. Another resource I use in the classroom when introducing persuasive writing. This one helps your students to learn to use the best words for persuasion and provides practice in writing persuasively in a variety of projects such as a movie review, an advertisement, a letter of complaint, etc.
-Inferences & Drawing Conclusions by Linda Ward Beech. This is a skill that can be taught and is extremely useful in college. Grab this while you can - currently out of print.
-Writing to Inform and Persuade by Carolyn Kane (Carson-Dellosa). Unfortunately, this is also out of print, but if you can find a copy, it has tons of information on how to teach the logic needed for persuasion essays. Students are introduced to induction, fallacies, hasty generalization, post hoc fallacy, syllogism, premises, false dilemma and the slippery slope, etc. There are other books that do this, but this one has been created for younger students and is easier to understand for those of us who need a bit of help!
-
If
you have a student who is serious about becoming
an author, try some of these reso urces:
-
Seize the Story by Victoria Hanley. A fun book that your teen will enjoy reading and that will help him write a fiction story.
- Anatomy of Nonfiction by Margery Facklam and Peggy Thomas. This book is one of my favorite resources for teaching students to write true stories, stories for magazines or nonfiction books. The techniques used here are also perfect for teaching your student to write reports that gets A's!
-
Writer’s Market Guide (for current year)
by
Writer’s
Digest (http://www.writersdigest.com/).
-
any books published by Writer’s
Digest - check the library.
-
Join a writer's group: Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators is a national group with regional chapters. The authors who attend write anything from board books to chapter books to young adult novels. If you want to get published, you MUST network and what better way to network than through a local writing club. Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America for mystery writers. American Christian Fiction Writers, and Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America are some additional ones to check out.
- Online courses such as
1.
Writer's
Digest Online Workshops. I took a course from
Writer's Digest and was delighted to find that I was
able to work with a Christian writer. You can read
the instructor's bio for this information.
2. How to Think Sideways - I purchased the Create-A-Character, Create-A-Plot, and How to Write Page-Turning Scenes and found them very information for not a lot of money. I haven't tried any of her onlne classes, but they look interesting!
If
your student is going to college:
-
Essential Writing Skills for College and Beyond by C.M. Gill. Get your teen to read through this for information on how to write an essay for college.
- Essay Writing Step-by-Step - Newsweek. This is an excellent resource for learning college writing skills.
 Assessment
Resources for Teachers:
For more information
on teaching composition, download my free Composition
Mini Workshop for Parents (pdf document)
Looking for a composition tutor or an online class? Send your student to a local co-op (Cornerstone Tutorial Center in Tulsa, OK) or enroll him in an online class. Check out my classes at Cornerstone (Cindy Downes' Tutoring) or through distance learning if you live outside the Tulsa area.
Don't
forget to keep track of what you did for composition in The Checklist!
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