Escritura de verano para estudiantes de 5.º y 6.º grado

New this year: "Summer Writing Badge Challenge!" 
When kids complete their weekly writing assignment, they receive a badge. The challenge runs from June 2 through August 18. Kids can join on any given week to earn badges. They do not need to be in the class for all the weeks of the challenge. They will still earn badges for any weeks they are in the class and turn in a writing assignment.

How the Summer Writing Badge Challenge Works:
Each week, I will give kids all the materials and instructions they need to complete a writing assignment. They will have 7 days to complete and post it on Outschool. I will send feedback within one week of the due date for the assignment. When I send their feedback, I'll also send them a badge to add to their "Summer Writing Badge Challenge Sheet" which I will provide.
 
Students should be able to read and write English at a 4th grade level or higher to succeed in this class. 

All homework instructions and worksheets will be posted weekly in the Outshcool Classroom after each class.

Here are the weekly topics by category:

Week of May 12: Writing an Epic Poem
This week kids will learn what an epic poem is, read examples, and write their own.

Week of May 19: Narrative Essay
Students will learn about narrative essays and write one. They will have a graphic organizer to work on in class that will help them plan their essay.


Week of May 26: No class - Memorial Day


***Summer Badge Challenge begins on June 2***

SYNTHESIZING AND SUMMARIZING 

Week of June 2: Synthesizing
This week kids will learn that synthesizing is combining information from different sources to make something new.

Week of June 9: Summarizing a Story
This week, kids will learn 3 different methods for summarizing a story. We will summarize a short story together in class. Their homework will be to choose one of the 3 methods to summarize a story of their choice. It can be any story (short or long) they have read from beginning to end. 


Week of June 16: Summarizing an Academic Text
Students will learn to highlight key details in an academic text and write a summary. We do one in class together where kids help identify the main ideas and key details. Then they help me write a summary. Their homework is to write a summary of an essay that I will provide them with.  


WRITING STORIES

Week of June 23: Creating a Character for a Story
Kids will use a worksheet to create their own character for a story. They will also write a description of their character. 


Week of June 30: Writing a Short Story
Students will plot their story on a graphic organizer that helps them learn about exposition, rising actions, climax, falling actions, and resolution. Then they will write a 300-800 word short story for homework. 
 

Week of July 7: Writing Good Story Beginnings 
In this class, kids will learn about different ways to begin stories to engage the reader (putting a question in the reader's mind, starting with a character in conflict, and describing an intriguing character or scene). Kids will write a story with an interesting beginning. 


Week of July 14: Writing Different Kinds of Story or Chapter Endings
Kids will learn about resolved endings, unresolved endings, and twist endings. They will practice writing each kind. Then they will write a short story with one of these types of endings. 


POETRY

Week of July 21:  Writing a limerick poem and a concrete poem
Kids will learn how to write limericks and concrete poems. They will also read popular examples and learn the history of each type of poem. 

Week of July 28: Cinquain and Haiku
Students will learn about haiku and cinquain poetry, read examples, and write some poetry of their own.


Week of August 4: Writing a Sonnet
Students will learn about the characteristics of sonnets. They will read some examples from famous poets and a bit about the history of sonnets. Then they will write an Italian Sonnet and a Shakespearean Sonnet.


THE WRITING PROCESS

Week of August 11: The Writing Process Part 1: Prewriting and Drafting
This week, kids will learn about the steps in the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). We will then focus on some different strategies for prewriting and drafting. Then they will have a writing assignment to put prewriting and drafting into practice. 


Week of August 18: The Writing Process Part 2: Revising, Editing, and Publishing
This week, kids will learn some strategies for revising, editing and publishing what they write. Then they will have a writing assignment to put these steps into practice. 

***End of Summer Badge Challenge***

Week of August 25: Writing an Outline
Students will learn how to identify the key details in a text and write an outline to remember the main points.


Week of September 8: Essay Describing a Fictional Story
Kids will write an essay describing a fictional story they have read. They will use a 5-paragraph essay format.


Week of September 15: Writing a Short Story Using Figures of Speech
Kids will write a short story (400-700 words) and incorporate at least 5 figures of speech from a list of 9 options. We'll also review several figures of speech and read examples.

Week of September 22: Journal Writing
Students will learn some of the benefits and tips for journal writing. They will have a list of prompts and will write 5 entries in their journal over the course of a week. They will pick one entry to edit, finalize, and post in Outschool for my review and feedback.

Week of September 29: Understanding Story Plots/Writing a Story Plotted on an 8 Point Arc
Kids will learn about different kinds of story plots. We will talk about Aristotle's Story Triangle and Gustav Freytag's Story Pyramid. Then they will use Nigel Watts' 8 Point Arc to plot their own story. They'll write a 4+ word story.

Week of October 6: Using Figurative Language Part 1 - Shows a relationship or resemblance (simile, metaphor, personification euphemism, metonymy, synecdoche)
Kids will read examples and then write paragraphs using different kinds of figurative language.  

Week of October 13: Using Figurative Language Parts 2 and 3 - Shows phonetic resemblances or represents sounds (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia) Shows emphasis or unimportance (hyperbole, antithesis, oxymoron, irony)


Week of October 20: Writing a Speech
Students will plan and write a speech. They'll read an example and use a graphic organizer to plan theirs. For this lesson, kids will need to find one source (website, book, or other) to support their claims.

Week of October 27:  Writing a Play
Students will learn the format of a play, read an example, and write a short play.

Week of November 3: Writing a Ballad
Kids will learn how to write a ballad poem. They will also read a famous ballad and learn about the history of ballads.


Please note that more classes will be added. This ongoing course will continue through December 18 without repeating a lesson. After that, we'll start back at the top of the list. Check back for new lessons to be added soon!