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Megan Crossett
Writing Unit

Grade Level: 5th Grade

Overall Theme of Unit: Writers Voice

CCSS:
W.5.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events
using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
o b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing,
to develop experiences and events or show the responses of
characters to situations.

CCL (found on page 115):
Write in a way that speaks directly to the reader.
Use punctuation to support voice or tell the reader how to read the text
(commas, ellipses, dashes, colons)
Use dialogue (internal or external) to add voice to writing.
Write with unique perspective.
Produce narratives that are engaging, honest, and reveal the person behind
the writing.

Objectives:
Students will be able to understand what voice is in text and why voice in
text is important to the reader. Students will be able to, with support from
mentor texts, write a narrative that speaks to the reader/is engaging, uses
punctuation correctly to have their written voice perceived as intended, and
that utilizes either internal or external dialogue to add a unique perspective
to their writing.

Mentor Texts:
1. Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter (Scholastic, 1991.)
2. Holes by Louis Sachar (Dell Yearling, 2000.)
3. Eats, Shoots Leaves by Lynne Truss (G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young
Readers, 2006.)
4. Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin (HarperCollins, 2003.)

Day One:

Topic: What is Voice in Writing?
Resources:
Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter
ELMO
Whiteboard
Paper for anchor chart

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Writing Unit

Classroom library and/or access to the school library
Writing Utensils
Analyzing Voice in Writing graphic organizer
Writers Notebooks

Teacher Actions:
Introduces topic by using open-ended questioning to gauge for background
knowledge example: What do you think voice means in a story? How do
authors have voice in their writing?
o Record student response on the board throughout discussion to
reference later
Transfer whiteboard writing to chart paper to create Voice
anchor chart to display during the unit.
Reads aloud from the mentor text (pages 1-6 in the e-book format from the
beginning of the story until Mrs. Friedman and Baby Joshua enter the story)
o If time allows, consider reading the entire book aloud. It tells the story
of a student who is assigned to write a narrative, but who is struggling
to find anything to write about. Her neighbors offer her advice to help
her along in the writing process. Students would be able to relate to
the main character while also being exposed to a wonderful authors
voice.
Helps students to define voice appropriately, as they have experienced it in
the mentor text
o Example - Writers Voice: the unique style of writing that conveys an
authors attitudes and personality (referenced from the article found
on http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/voice.htm)
o Compare the definition with the ideas recorded on the board
previously
Models how to find and analyze voice by filling out the graphic organizer
(Word Choice, Detail, Imagery, Sentence Structure) using mentor text (allow
students to help you fill out the organizer by offering input after you have
shown them how to do so once or twice follow GRR model during
instruction). This will highlight how writing style may be consistent though it
varies from author to author teacher should remind students that writing is
expressive and should reflect the individual/writing in narratives does not
have to be cookie cutter)

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Clearly gives direction and expectations for student independent work
o Students will be selecting a favorite book to choose 1-2 pages from to
use to fill out their own Analyzing Voice organizer
o If applicable, students may then choose a piece of their own writing to
analyze in their Writers Notebooks using another Analyzing Voice
organizer if desired. Students should write a short reflections on what
they found in the analysis of their own writing in their notebooks
If not applicable, students should reflect on their analysis of
their favored text What was surprising? What wasnt
surprising? How did this analysis compare to the in-class
analysis of the mentor text?
o Students should staple their completed organizers into their Writers
Notebooks to be collected
Assesses for student understanding by collecting Writers Notebooks and
reviewing organizers for completeness and reflections for thoughtfulness
you may wish to use the following checklist to assess:
o Analyzing Voice Checklist:
Students chose a text other than the mentor text to complete their
independently completed Analyzing Voice graphic organizer
Analyzing Voice graphic organizer is completely filled out with
applicable information in each category
Analyzing Voice graphic organizer is attached to the Writers
Notebook
A brief reflection about the analysis is in the Writers Notebook
The reflection is thoughtful, and may include: surprises, questions,
comparisons, correctly made predictions, etc.

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Writing Unit

Student Actions:
Listens attentively to the mentor text
Participates in discussion
Actively engages in independent work
o Analyzing Voice graphic organizer is completed for a text the student
has chosen
Self-assesses understanding through thoughtful written reflection of
Analyzing Voice findings (see Teacher Actions for checklist for this
reflection)
Turns in Writers Notebook for teacher review

Differentiation:
Extension - Have students analyze a selection of their own writing to see if
they can find key characteristics (those highlighted in the Analyzing Voice
organizer) of their own writing style.
Support Have students focus only on completing the Analyzing Voice
organizer and save the reflection for another time. If needed, print out the
pages of the students chosen text and have them highlight each key feature
in a different color instead of writing their findings out in the organizer

Day Two:

Topic: Dialogue in Narrative Text

Resources:
Holes by Louis Sachar
ELMO
Whiteboard
Chart paper for anchor charts
Classroom library and/or access to the school library
Writing Utensils
Writers Notebooks
Writing Prompt
Dialogue Planner/Comic Strip Template
o Have teacher example of completed writing prompt and template
prior to delivering todays lesson

Teacher Actions:
Introduce the mentor text and the days focus example: The book I am
holding is one you may be familiar with. Similar to Nothing Ever Happens on
90th Street, this book shows us an excellent example of voice in text. In
addition to being another great example of voice, Holes is also a great
example of how to use dialogue to more fully tell a story.

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Megan Crossett
Writing Unit

o Students may make connections back to the dialogue in Nothing Ever
Happens on 90th Street, at this point in time, as well.
Page 10 of 90th Street in the e-book format (the page after
Sondra makes her appearance) has wonderful dialogue and
should be shown on the ELMO
Using open-ended questions, assess for student understanding of Dialogue
as it pertains to writing example: What is dialogue? How do you think
dialogue might add to a story? How is dialogue an extension of the authors
voice?
o Record student responses on the board as the discussion builds
Transfer whiteboard notes to chart paper to create Dialogue
anchor chart to display
Lead the group to come to the conclusion that dialogue adds to the story by
adding information and making the story more compelling than having a
narrator tell the entire thing by using the aforementioned open-ended
questioning
Read aloud from the mentor text while showing the text on the ELMO.
o Students should be exposed to the way dialogue is punctuated and
formatted in print.
o Read Chapter 12 in Holes (pages 55-58).
Ask students what they were able to gain from the dialogue. What did it tell
them about the characters in the story? How did it help move the story
along? How did it help them make predictions or think about the text as it
was being read?
Introduce the days activity
o Tell students that today they are going to be working on expanding
their authors voice by adding dialogue to their writing.
Display the writing prompt: example - Write about a time you and a friend
found something to be really funny.
o Display and read aloud completed teacher example of this prompt
o Tell students that this is the prompt that they will be writing about in
their notebooks today. Also let them know that you are going to
practice writing dialogue that goes with this prompt together, first.
o Display the Dialogue Planner template
Tell students that sometimes it is hard to plan out dialogue and
that this will help organize their thoughts
Work with the class to fill out a dialogue planner about
something funny that happened in the classroom or a good
classroom memory

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Give directions and expectations for independent work
o Tell students that now they are going to work on their own memory
using the writing prompt
o Let them know that they need to begin by using the Dialogue Planner
to sort out the conversation they are going to adding to their writing
in this prompt
o Remind students that both the completed Dialogue Planner and
writing prompt need to be in their Writers Notebooks and submitted
for teacher review
Assess for understanding by reviewing Writers Notebooks.
o Checklist for Assessing Dialogue Activity
Dialogue Planner and original writing are included in the days
Writers Notebook entry
Dialogue Planner is completed and coherently follows a
conversation that pertains to the given prompt
Original writing is based on the given prompt and includes the
dialogue planned in the Dialogue Planner

Student Actions:
Listens attentively to the mentor text
Participates in discussion
Actively engages in independent work
o Dialogue Planner and original writing based on the given prompt are
completed and included in the students Writers Notebook (see
checklist above for details)
Self-assesses understanding through asking questions and/or requesting
teacher feedback during independent work time

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Turns in Writers Notebook for teacher review

Differentiation:
Extension Have students include dialogue with more than two characters
present in their writing
Support Have students draw out their prompt response using a comic strip
template. This way the dialogue is still planned, written, and included, but the
rest of the story writing is offset by illustration and less overwhelming.
o Example Template:


Day Three:

Topic:
How
does

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Writing Unit

Punctuation affect a Writers Voice?

Resources:
Eats, Shoots Leaves by Lynne Truss
ELMO
Whiteboard
Chart paper for anchor chart
Classroom library and/or access to the school library
Writing Utensils
Writers Notebooks
Writing Prompts featuring Punctuation Challenges


Teacher Actions:
Introduce the mentor text and the days focus
o Example: Last time we discussed how dialogue enhances a writers
voice in a story. You all noticed that dialogue had different
punctuation that made it stand out on the page. Today, we are going to
take that one step further and discuss how punctuation affects a
writers voice not just in dialogue, but also throughout their whole
story. The book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves I think youll enjoy. It will
help us to understand just how important punctuation is in your
writing.
Read aloud from the mentor text
o This time you are going to read the entire book, as it is very short.
o Take time to hear student remarks and/or questions
Refer back to Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street, page 9 in the e-book
format where Sondra makes her first appearance. This page in particular has
a lot of interesting punctuation that directly impacts how the story is read
and understood by the reader.
Begin large group discussion of how punctuation changed the way the stories
were read and how they were understood.
o Record discussion points on chart paper to create Punctuation
anchor chart to display
Introduce the days activity and work through an example as a class
o Today we are each going to get a slip of paper with a task on it. Mine
says Use punctuation to show that you are confused in your writing.
What could I write to show confusion? What punctuation should I
use?
As a class, work on completing this task together.
Give directions and expectations for independent work

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o Tell students that in their Writers Notebooks, they will be completing
their own Punctuation Challenges, like the one they just worked on as
a class.
o Give each student a slip with a punctuation challenge on it examples:
Use punctuation to show that you are happy, mad, sad, confused,
excited, frustrated, with several people, etc.
o Let students know that once they have completed their challenge, they
should trade challenges with tablemates until class time is up
Students should be encouraged to check their challenge
responses with a partner for correctness
o Remind students to turn their notebooks in for review
Checklist for Punctuation Challenge:
Sentence punctuation matches content
Students traded challenges with at least one other
person
Student Actions:
Listens attentively to the mentor text(s)
Participates in discussion
Participates in trading Challenges with classmates
Participates in peer review
Actively engages in independent work
o Punctuation Challenges are completed and included in the students
Writers Notebook (see checklist above for details)
Self-assesses understanding through receiving feedback from peer review
and seeking teacher feedback during work time
Turns in Writers Notebook for teacher review

Differentiation:
Extension Have students use a word processor to complete their
challenges. Have students use tools such as italics, bolding, underlining,
spacing, etc. to convey meaning
Support Have students focus on only one challenge instead of many or
have students work in partners to co-write and complete 2-4 challenges


Day Four:

Topic: Perspective, Voice, and Narrative Text

Resources:
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin
ELMO
Whiteboard
Chart paper for anchor charts

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Writing Unit

Classroom library and/or access to the school library

Writing Utensils
Writers Notebooks
Diary Template

Teacher Actions:
Introduce the days topic example: We have been talking about how a
writers style or their voice is impacted by how they write. The dialogue they
include and the punctuation they use all affect how the reader understands
their work. Today, we are going to talk about how perspective or the point of
view from which the author writes also affects writers voice.
Read aloud from the mentor text, Diary of a Worm, from March 20 April 20
o If time allows, the entire text may be read
Refer back to all previous mentor texts when dialogue bubbles and unique
punctuation (ex: They all SCREAMED!!!) are encountered
Facilitate large group discussion about how reading a book that is written
like a diary changes the writers voice. How is this book different from the
other mentor texts? How do readers interact with it differently?
o Record discussion points on chart paper to create Perspective
anchor chart to be displayed
Introduce the days activity and give directions and expectations for
independent work
o Tell students that today, they are to write their own diary entry Diary
of a 5th Grader
Remind students that like in the mentor text, they will need to
date their entry
o Let them know that they are to write about something that has
happened this week at school
o Tell students to self-assess as they are writing by looking around the
room at all of the anchor charts their entry should have components
of each in it (overall engaging voice, dialogue, punctuation, and
perspective)
o Remind students to put their diary entries into their Writers
Notebooks and to submit their notebooks in for teacher review
Let students know that you will be checking for the qualities
talked about on the anchor chart and not on the content of
their diary entry.
Checklist for Diary of a 5th Grader Entry:
Entry is dated
Entry is school-related
Entry has elements of each of the anchor charts:
engaging voice, dialogue, punctuation, and perspective
Student Actions:
Listens attentively to the mentor text

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Participates in discussion
Actively engages in independent work
Self-assesses understanding through checking anchor charts around the
room and accounting for characteristics of each in their entry (see checklist
above)
Turns in Writers Notebook for teacher review

Differentiation:
Extension - Have students complete a diary entry with elements of each of
the anchor charts as if they were a well-known historical figure
Support Have students use a template to organize their writing. The
template may have space for students to expand on their writing with
illustration.

Day Five:
Topic: Pre-Writing Narrative Text
Resources:
Mentor Texts
ELMO

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Writing Unit

Classroom library and/or access to the school library

Writing Utensils
Writers Notebooks
Personal Narrative Writing Prompt
Narrative Features Checklist/Anchor Charts (1. Clear, unique, expressive,
honest, engaging voice that obviously belongs to the writer 2. Dialogue that
adds to the story and expands the writers voice 3. Punctuation that clarifies
writers intended meaning 4. Clear perspective)
Personal Narrative Graphic Organizer
o Completed teacher model

Teacher Actions:
Introduce final portion of the unit original personal narrative
Review all mentor texts and highlighted features
Remind students of the anchor charts and how helpful they will be
Give students their final writing prompt
o Write about a time you felt that you had really helped someone else
Show students Personal Narrative Graphic Organizer and the teacher model
of said organizer
Discuss each section of the organizer with the class
Connect each section to the anchor charts and remind students that their
writing needs to include elements of every narrative feature the class has
discussed (see checklist in Resources for today)
Give directions and expectations for independent work
o Tell students that today they are to think about the writing prompt
and what instance they want to write about (may need to brain storm
in their Writers Notebooks)
o Once they have decided, students are to complete the Personal
Narrative Graphic Organizer and write a rough draft of their narrative
both in their Writers Notebooks
o Once their rough drafts have been completed, students need to have a
peer look over their draft and check for all of the narrative elements,
correct spelling, and punctuation
Assess informally through observation and conversation

Student Actions:
Students are attentive during large group instruction and discussion
Students use mentor texts and anchor charts to help them in the completion
of their assignment
Students complete Personal Narrative graphic organizer with appropriate
information (based on the writing prompt, following the format of a
narrative, and including all of the discussed narrative features)
Students write a rough draft of their personal narrative

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Students participate in peer review of rough drafts

Differentiation:
Extension Have students focus more on expressive writing instead of the
personal narrative format. Encourage students to add lots of detail,
description, and dialogue or challenge them to write about a time the felt
helpful and then consider that instance from the perspective of the party the
helped and write a piece from that point of view.
Support Have students focus on finding a topic and completing the graphic
organizer. Allow students to begin their rough drafts at a subsequent time.

Day Six:
Topic: Final Drafting of Narrative Text
Resources:
Mentor Texts
ELMO
Writing Utensils
Writers Notebooks
Personal Narrative Writing Prompt
Narrative Features Checklist/Anchor Charts (1. Clear, unique, expressive,
honest, engaging voice that obviously belongs to the writer 2. Dialogue that
adds to the story and expands the writers voice 3. Punctuation that clarifies
writers intended meaning 4. Clear perspective)
Personal Narrative Graphic Organizer
Computer lab with printers

Teacher Actions:
Again, review all mentor texts and highlighted features and remind students
of the anchor charts and how helpful they will be
Allow students time to finish their rough drafts and/or peer reviews if they
have not done so
Discuss class progress
Once students have finished drafting, explain that they will be working on a
final draft today that will be turned in for a grade (see below in
Assessments for rubric)
Show class the rubric and leave it up for reference on the ELMO
Explain that final drafts are to be typed and printed.

Let students know that they are to use word processing features such as caps
lock, bolding, underlining, italicizing, font size, font style, spacing, etc. to add
to their narrative and compliment their own unique writers voice.

Ask students to print their final drafts and submit them for review

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Writing Unit

Student Actions:
Students are attentive during large group instruction
Students complete rough draft and peer review if they have not done so
Students use word processors to type up and add features to their writing
that are cohesive with their story and writing style
o Students self-assess this with anchor charts and rubric
Students print their final drafts and submit to the teacher for review

Differentiation:
Extension Have students use publishing software to create a book page
instead of a word processing page. Encourage students to add illustrations to
their narrative in the publishing software.
Support Have students meet with the teacher one on one after they have
completed their rough draft and peer review to go over which word
processing features to use where in their narrative. If time allows, students
may begin to type up their final drafts after they have conferenced with the
teacher.

Teacher Model:

It seemed just like any other day. I followed my same routines. The alarm on my phone
buzzed exactly one hour before I was due at work, a reminder that the interstate and its
traffic were waiting for me. I got to work 30 minutes before the last bell was to ring, a
reminder that 40 children would soon be rushing into my room to begin after school
activities. From all accounts, it was going to be another average day. The little girl with
glassy eyes and pink barrettes changed that when she asked me, Will you read with me?
Of course! I responded. My average day was unusually uneventful and we had all the
time in the world to read. We sat next to the small reading corner, backs against the
rickety hand me down bookshelf. She glanced at the books thoughtfully, Hmmm she
sighed before delicately sliding out a book about butterflies. I read her the story about
butterflies, pausing to ask her questions and to hear what she was thinking, but before too
long we had reached the end. Now, I want to try to read all by myself. Can I try? she
asked. Okay! I think thats a great idea! I replied. A crease of worry began to form
between her eyebrows. Dont worry, I smiled, Ill be here to help you sound out the
words, if you need me to. She grinned and began to choose the book she wanted to read
from the shelf, a book about bicycles. She started reading hesitantly at first, gaining more
confidence with each page turned. Before long, her small fingers had grazed the final page.
I DID IT!!! she cheered. I READ IT ALL BY MYSELF! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!
YAAAAYYYYY! I cheered back as we both high fived. It was then that I realized that I
had just witnessed a life-changing event. By agreeing to read with her, she felt safe enough
to try reading on her own and for the first time in her entire life, she finished a book by
herself. Something that is seemingly so insignificant is actually so impactful from that
moment on, she had an entire world of books available to her, all because we decided to sit
down and read!

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Writing Unit

Reflection of Teacher Model:

Getting started on the writing prompt was more challenging than anticipated.
I actually really liked using the Personal Narrative graphic organizer to help me get
what I wanted to say out. The graphic organizer made writing my narrative much
easier. I found that I could focus less on the structure of the narrative, because I
knew I had each part accounted for on the organizer, and more on adding detail and
dialogue. Brainstorming took longer than I had expected, but once I decided on the
instance to write about and got my thoughts organized, the writing was very
enjoyable to complete. I would be sure to give students plenty of time to think about
what they want to write and plot it out and perhaps stretch the unit out for 7 days
so that they may have a day to brain storm, a day to draft and review, and a day to
create their final product.





Assessments:

Formative:
Informal teacher observation, class discussion, one-on-one discussion with
students
Student Self-Assessment:
See under Student Actions each day
Summative:
Rubric for the Final Draft of the Personal Narrative:

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Writing Unit

Other Resources:

Analyzing Voice Graphic Organizer: https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/67/62/fe/6762fe6ce8a5bba479503f5905ef7ea8.jpg
Dialogue Planner:
https://mcdn1.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Dialogue-Planner-
Graphic-Organizer/original-600306-1.jpg
Comic Strip Template:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/thedcdl/10964829936/
Diary Template:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/30629_template.pdf
Personal Narrative Graphic Organizer:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2014/03/graphic-
organizers-personal-narratives