Real-Life Writing Activities for Grades 4-9 - Cherlyn Sunflower

This ready-to-use resource provides 40 complete model and writinglessons that capture students' attention, build their writingskills, and teach them a writing process (motivation,brainstorming, composing, revising, and publishing) that will servethem throughout their lives.
The lessons/activities are designed for young authors in grades 4through 9 who are just learning the composing process, as well asfor advanced writers who are ready to experiment with a variety ofwriting and speaking genres. They feature a wide range of practicalwriting tasks students can easily relate to their own lives.

For easy use, all materials are printed in a big 8 1/4" x 11"lay-flat binding that folds flat for photocopying of the writingformats and evaluative checklists that accompany many of thelessons, and are arranged developmentally into five sections.Here's just a sample of what each section offers:

1. Descriptive Compositions for Young Authors: "People/FactHunt"..."Consumer Survey"..."Captions"..."Letter of Introduction toMy Next Teacher"...:Restaurant ReviewChecklist"..."Horoscope"

2. Directional Compositions for Young Authors: "Advice to NextYear's Class"..."Treasure Map Directions"..."FriendshipRecipe"..."Cheer-Up Checklist"..."Medical Guide"..."Advice ColumnSolution Letter"

3. Persuasive Compositions for Young Authors:"Apology/ApologyNote"..."TravelBrochure"..."Movie.VideoReview"..."Sympathy Message"..."Bill ofRights"..."Letter of Complaint"..."Eulogy"

4. Marrative Compositions for Young Authors: "Good News/Bad NewsTale"..."Mystery/Whodunit"

5. Poems & Songs for Young Authors: "Simple Chant"..."Five-LinePoem"..."Comparison Poem"..."Auto/Bio Poem"..."Modern NurseryRhymes"

All lessons provide step-by-step instructions, includingalternative motivators, examples of what to say to elicit students'response and what to write on the chalkboard, and suggestions forresponding to students' writing in a way that will encouragethem.

You'll also find the lessons are ideally flexible. You may followthe steps in each Real-Life Writing lesson just as described oradd, omit, and/or change parts to fit your students' knowledge,skills, or interests and/or your curriculum needs.