Teaching Evidence-Based Writing: Fiction

Leslie Blauman has been teaching reading and literacy in the Colorado public schools for over 30 years. Leslie's classroom is a working model for child/staff development in reading, writing, and critical thinking. Partnering with the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition (PEBC), her classroom is frequently the subject of professional workshops, classroom reading enhancement films, and education journals. While she works with teachers and students in a majority of the states and internationally as a consultant, her heart is in the classroom and she brings this to both her writing and her consulting. She speaks regularly at teacher/literacy conferences and workshops.

VIDEO CLIPS WRITE-ABOUT-READING TEMPLATES EXCERPTS TO WRITE ABOUT DYNAMIC DUOS: ADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR TEACHING WITH THE TEXTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION Section 1. Evidence Lesson 1. Ask and Answer Questions Write-About-Reading Template: Ask Questions Excerpt to Write About: "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros Lesson 2. Ask and Answer Questions Using Details Write-About-Reading Template: Ask and Answer Questions Excerpts to Write About: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Lesson 3. Use Details and Examples* Write-About-Reading Template: Back Up Your Thinking Excerpt to Write About: "Saturday at the Canal" by Gary Soto Lesson 4. Quote From the Text* Write-About-Reading Template: Question, Quote, Write! Excerpt to Write About: The Giver by Lois Lowry Lesson 5. Summarize in Literature Write-About-Reading Template: Summary Planner Excerpt to Write About: "The Mythical Story of Arachne" by Emma M. Firth Lesson 6. Cite Evidence That Provides an Analysis* Write-About-Reading Template: Cite Evidence Choice Board Excerpts to Write About: "The Circuit" From The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jimenez Section 2. Relationships Lesson 7. Describe Characters, Setting, and Sequence Write-About-Reading Template: Look @ Literary Elements Excerpt to Write About: "The Shepherd's Mistake" posted by Brishti Bandyopadhyay in Folktales for Kids Lesson 8. Follow Characters, Setting, and Sequence Over Time* Write-About-Reading Template: Literary Elements Wheel Excerpts to Write About: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt Lesson 9. Notice Plot via Character Conflict/Change Write-About-Reading Template: Think About Character Excerpts to Write About: "The Julian Chapter" From Auggie and Me: Three Wonder Stories by R. J. Palacio Lesson 10. Notice How Character Drives Plot* Write-About-Reading Templates: Story Map; Write About Character and Plot Lesson 11. Develop Theories About Characters Write-About-Reading Templates: Create a Theory About Character; Compare/Contrast Characters Lesson 12. Analyze Character* Write-About-Reading Template: Character Essay: Task/Assessment Options Excerpts to Write About: Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green by Helen Phillips Section 3. Themes Lesson 13. Determine Theme in Story Write-About-Reading Template: What's the Theme? Excerpt to Write About: "The Mighty" posted by Brishti Bandyopadhyay in Folktales for Kids Lesson 14. Analyze Development of Theme in Story* Write-About-Reading Template: Pick a Question Excerpts to Write About: The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo Lesson 15. Determine Theme in Poetry Write-About-Reading Template: Find the Evidence Excerpt to Write About: "Mr. Nobody" by Anonymous Lesson 16. Compare and Contrast Theme in Poetry* Write-About-Reading Template: Elements of Poetry Excerpts to Write About: "Dreams" and "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes Section 4. Point of View Lesson 17. Whose Point of View Is It? Write-About-Reading Templates: Point of View; Point of View: Advanced Excerpts to Write About: I Am the Dog I Am the Cat by Donald Hall Lesson 18. How Point of View Colors the Way a Story Is Told* Write-About-Reading Template: Who Is Telling the Story? Excerpts to Write About: "My First Step to the White House" by Chris Van Allsburg Lesson 19. Compare and Contrast Narration in Different Texts Write-About-Reading Template: Compare POV Excerpts to Write About: "Medusa, Pegasus, and the Chimera" retold by Steven Zorn; Medusa Tells All: Beauty Missing, Hair Hissing by Rebecca Fjelland Davis Lesson 20. Analyze Contrasting Points of View* Write-About-Reading Template: Two Views Excerpts to Write About: Wonder by R. J. Palacio Section 5. Visuals Lesson 21. How Illustrations Add to Meaning/Mood Write-About-Reading Template: Imagine the Story With Pictures Excerpt to Write About: One Day, The End by Rebecca Kai Dotlich Lesson 22. How Illustrations Contribute to Meaning Write-About-Reading Template: How Visual Elements Add to Meaning Excerpts to Write About: The Promise by Nicola Davies Lesson 23. Compare Text to Staged Performance* Write-About-Reading Template: Compare/Contrast Text to Movie or Play Lesson 24. Analyze Text to Drama* Write-About-Reading Template: Analyze Text to Drama: Compare/Contrast Text to Movie or Play Section 6. Words and Structure Lesson 25. Determine the Meaning of Words and Phrases Write-About-Reading Template: Look at Language: Words and Phrases Excerpts to Write About: The Real Boy by Anne Ursu Lesson 26. Understand Figurative Language* Write-About-Reading Template: Figurative Language Collection Excerpts to Write About: Figurative Language: In November by Cynthia Rylant; Like Butter on Pancakes by Jonathan London; Canoe Days by Gary Paulsen Lesson 27. Analyze Overall Structure Write-About-Reading Template: Text Structure Analyzer Excerpts to Write About: No Two Snowflakes by Sheree Fitch Lesson 28. Compare, Contrast, and Analyze Structure Between Texts* Write-About-Reading Template: Compare/Contrast Chart for Organization Excerpts to Write About: Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen REFERENCES