Second Grade at OTES

Writing Instruction for Second Grade:

First Quarter (Writing for Personal Expression)
Second Quarter (Writing to Inform)
Third Quarter (Writing to Persuade)
Fourth Quarter ( Writing for Personal Expression and Writing to Inform

Writing- First Quarter (Writing for Personal Expression)

During the first quarter the purpose for writing is writing for personal expression with an emphasis on narrative writing. The students will be immersed in hearing personal narratives through read alouds. To learn about writing a personal narrative, students need to hear many personal narratives after which the characterists of the writing are discussed to include the following:

May be told in the first person (use of the pronoun "I") or in the third person using the narrator's name.
Has a clear beginning, middle and end.
Is told in a logical order, sequence of events.
Has a focused writing topic.

During Writer's Workshop, the students are introduced to what writers do, how writers organize their work, and craft techniques. Lessons address writing indicators and specific needs demonstrated in student writing, as well as connect to and compliment indicators to be taught in reading.

Writing - Quarter 2 (Writing to Inform)

The writing lessons in quarter two for second grade focus on describing, explaining and instructing as the students write to inform their audience. Connections need to be made between using text features and structures while both reading and writing. After establishing the purpose and audience for writing, students need models, demonstrations of techniques, and support through all stages of the writing process from prewriting to publishing. As students gain more proficiency, they are expected to revise and proofread to clarify and refine their writing.

Some of the purposes for writing to inform include:

To describe: the process of clarifying or describing things in cultural or scientific terms
To explain: a sequenced account of how or why something works or occurs; cause and effect relationship may be included
To instruct: the process of logically ordering a sequence of actions or steps to tell how to accomplish something
To retell: the process of sequencing people and events in time and place

Writing- Quarter 3 (Writing to Persuade)

During the third quarter the students will focus on writing to persuade. The goal of persuasive writing is to convince someone to think the way you do. Persuasive texts are written for a variety of reasons such as:

To put forth a point of view
To achieve a goal (own a pet, change a rule)
To encourage people to buy a product
To encourage people to partake in an activity (exercise, recycle)

Students need multiple opportunities to read and write in a variety of persuasive forms such as advertisements, letters, book reviews, posters, signs, pamphlets and speeches. Writing a friendly letter is introduced during this quarter in the context of persuasive writing. Keep in mind that students may write friendly letters for the purpose of writing for literary experience and to inform, too.

A persuasive piece is divided into three sections. The first section includes a statement of the position or proposition. In the middle section the author provides reasons and evidence to support his/her stance. A persuasive text usually ends with a conclusion that summarizes the reasons or tells the reader what he/she should do or think.

Writing- Quarter 4 (Writing for Personal Expression and Writing to Inform)

During the fourth quarter the students write for personal expression and to inform as they are instructed to write in three different forms: poetry, reports and folktales. During Writer's Workshop, students will read and write a variety of poems. They will understand the elements of poetry such as structure, shape and sound elements. In addition, in quarter four the students will apply their knowledge of the AGOPP research model as they focus on report writing in the form of a brochure. Finally, the students will write an original folktale as they study this genre.

*All writing is scored using the Six Traits of Writing Rubic:

Ideas and Development
Organization
Voice
Word Choice
Sentence Fluency
Conventions