- English Language Arts and Reading
- Grade 4
- Composition
plan a first draft by selecting a genre for a particular topic, purpose, and audience using a range of strategies such as brainstorming, freewriting, and mapping;
The following is one example of how to assess proficiency of this student expectation (SE) or a portion of the SE. More examples coming soon.
A teacher may wish to pair SE 4.12.D and SE 4.11.A and teach them together. With SE 4.12.D, students compose correspondence that requests information. Task students with writing a letter to an inventor about an invention they are interested in learning about. As students begin the writing activity, instruct them to select a topic and purpose for their inquiry. They should use brainstorming, freewriting, or mapping to organize their thoughts.
Student drafts should include the following:
This SE requires students to demonstrate their knowledge of the writing process as they plan their work. Students will determine the topic, the reason to discuss that topic, and the audience for whom their message is intended. Once students have made these determinations, they must organize their thoughts using any number of strategies such as brainstorming, freewriting, and mapping to organize their thoughts.
1. Miller, M., Berg, H., & Cox, D. (2016). "Basically, you have to teach them to love what they are writing about": Perceptions of fourth grade writing teachers. National Teacher Education Journal, 9(1). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Donna_Cox3/publication/309600692_Basically_You_Have_to_Teach_Them_to_Love_What_They_Are_Writing_About_Perceptions_of_Fourth_Grade_Writing_Teachers/links/5819311808ae50812f5de66a.pdf
Summary: This paper is based upon focus groups held with fourth grade Texas teachers from classrooms identified as exemplary by the Texas Education Agency. The purpose was to determine the methods of writing instruction that teachers felt were successful with their students, and process writing strategies were identified as central. These strategies were developed in the classroom through the teacher serving as the guide in the writing process, students as authors, and mini-lessons.
2. Cruickshank, B. (2011). Supporting children during the prewriting stage: Developing an author's understanding of purpose and audience using interviews. Practically Primary, 16(3), 25+. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A269690189/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=96dbbf1b
Summary: Students were challenged to create their own children's literature. As part of the writing process, the students conducted an audience interview for their written stories. That audience was composed of peers. The process enabled students to develop a real sense of what their audience wanted. Students saw that their books had a real purpose and better understood the importance of audience.
3. Grünke, M. (2018). The effects of a peer-delivered writing planning intervention for struggling fifth graders. World Journal of Education, 8(6), 157–164. doi:10.5430/wje.v8n6p157.
Summary: The article is focused on mapping strategies to help students plan their writing. Peer tutors were used to help students brainstorm and organize their thoughts before writing.