Teaching Strategies for First Grade Writing: Stretch the Sentence

Do you struggle with teaching your first graders to revise their writing? It is such a hard skill to teach in first grade. My students always struggled with understanding the difference between editing and revising. As an early elementary teacher, you CAN begin to lay the foundation for teaching children about revising their writing. Today I wanted to share one of my favorite revising strategies for primary aged children- Stretch the Sentence.

The strategy is just as it sounds. We start with a simple sentence and make it more descriptive and complex one word or phrase at a time. It is a great way for students to begin using adjectives in their writing!

Begin the lesson by modeling a think aloud. You'll want to start with a simple sentence on your projector, chart paper, etc. Let's use the sentence- Mom made cookies- as an example. Underneath the sentence you will rewrite the sentence adding more detail to it. 

You could write:

Mom made sugar cookies.

I like to underline the newly added words.

Then you would repeat the process:

Mom made sugar cookies with frosting.

Keep adding even more! It is great to repeat the process 3-4 times.

Mom made sugar cookies with pink frosting.

Mom made sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles.

Repeat this process over several days using a gradual release of responsibility. You'll want to use a new sentence each day.

Day 1- Model the Strategy/Think Aloud

Day 2- Shared Writing- Teacher writes, but students share ideas for words to add

Day 3- Work with a Partner

Day 4- Independent Practice

Remember to build in some time for sharing along the way. Students can share just the final sentence. It is fun for them to see the different sentences that everyone developed!

Once students are familiar with the strategy, it is important for students to continue to practice it, so that the skill becomes more internalized. 

You really don't need anything special to teach this strategy. If you want a quick and simple resource to practice this skill, I have created a series of worksheets to simplify your planning. You can click the picture to learn more about this resource.

Ultimately, we want our students to be able to apply this skill to their personal writing. Have students choose a sentence from one of their writing pieces and use the strategy to revise their writing project!

Want to try a free sample? Click the picture!

View the full resource here:

Need more writing ideas? Check out this post about teaching opinion writing to first graders!

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February Writing Freebie

I wanted to share a fun February writing freebie I have in my TPT store.  It is a February set of my "Let's Write!" series.

You can head here to download this set.

These writing pages can be used in SO many ways in your classroom.  

They work great for morning work because the consistent format lets students get started right away without needing instructions.  

They also work great at a writing center.  I focus on students starting their sentences with capital letters and ending their sentences with punctuation.

The Abe Lincoln and George Washington sheets could be used as part of a Social Studies lesson.

Seven sheets are included: three Valentine's sheets, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Groundhog's Day, and We Love Mail.

I hope you enjoy this freebie!  

You can head here to download this set.  

Happy February!

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Opinion Writing

Teaching opinion writing can be a lot of fun in First Grade. First graders have LOTS of opinions, and they love to share them!

Here are a few ideas that have helped me to teach opinion writing to first graders.

Start by teaching students how to write a topic sentence. I have found that having an anchor chart with sentence starters for students to refer to is super helpful. I like to create the chart in front of the students. It might look something like this:

Once the chart is completed, hang it in the room for students to be able to refer to throughout the year.  

Don't rush it! At the beginning of the year, I like for students to be able to write a topic sentence and two reason sentences. I like to do modeled writing in front of the kids before I ask them to do it on their own. If three sentences are too much for your students, then start with a topic sentence with one reason sentence. You can also teach students to write one opinion sentence with "because" as a linking word.

As the year progresses, we will add a third reason.  

By the middle to end of the year, we will be able to write a five-sentence paragraph with a topic sentence, three reasons, and a closing sentence.

Usually, the hardest part for first graders is thinking of good reasons for their opinions.  I love using a “Discussion Web” to help develop this skill.

This is a simple strategy to use.  I like to gather students around me by the easel.  Start by having a question in the middle of your chart, and two columns on the sides.  It should be a question that can have strong opinions on both sides.  The chart above has More/Less as headings but you could also have Yes/No, or other headings as needed. Then lead the class in a discussion of both view points. List student responses on the chart.  Then, students are ready to complete an opinion writing piece on the question.

Last, have fun with opinion writing!  There are so many great topics students can write about.  

These digital prompts are perfect for displaying on your interactive whiteboard. You can also print them in black and white to use them as worksheets.

I have created a free chart to get your started. You can download it here.

Looking for more great writing ideas? Check out my Writing Interactive Notebook for First Grade.

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6 Tips for Teaching First Grade Writing

#1- Write in front of the kids daily- I know for many of us the thought of writing in front of the kids is terrifying!  Most of us weren’t English majors, and I think it brings back memories  of red ink when we were kids.  I, for one, am the queen of run-on sentences.  Also, I LOVE commas and exclamation marks!!! I am sure all my “Grammar” friends are cringing right now as they read this! But here is the truth, they are 6 and 7 years old!  We have tons of writing knowledge to share with them.  When we write in front of them it provides the perfect opportunity for us to “think-aloud” and show how writers work.  I promise, they will think you are a FANTASTIC writer.  They will probably ask you how you became such a good writer. #2- Write on chart paper-(I like the smaller size)

It is tempting to write on a dry erase board, document camera, etc.  Don’t do it!  Chart paper is perfect!  I like to gather students around my easel. There are many advantages to using chart paper.  First, it has lines so we can model correct letter formation.  Next, it is large enough for all students to see easily.  Most importantly, it preserves your work.  I have had numerous times where I wrote something on the board and erased it, only to wish I had been able to access it again later in the year.  #3– Make copies of students work Start keeping copies of students work (it can be a digital copy).  When a student does something really great or their writing provides an opportunity for a teaching point, ask them if you can make a copy of it to use to help you teach writing.  Keep a wide variety, and be sure to ask each student for at least one piece during the year (they will feel so proud!). The kids can learn SO much from other first graders work.  It can be a great way to show students what “voice” sounds like, it is also great for revising and editing lessons. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Remove student names, especially if you are using it for a revising or editing lesson.  Don’t use work from students of the current year, unless it is to show something really wonderful, and you have their permission to share it THIS year.

#4– Allow plenty of writing time

First graders....sometimes they are like turtles!!!  For some students it takes a while to get started and to come up with ideas.  Don’t try to “cram-in” a lesson.  Make sure you have plenty of time for them to write and accomplish something.  I like to have about 5-10 minutes for me to do the modeled writing.  Then I like at least 20 uninterrupted minutes for them to write.  Also, the students have to work the WHOLE time!  If they finish writing they can: add to the words, add to the pictures, start a new piece.  For students who don’t finish in that time, I usually have them continue to work during centers/intervention time at the end of the day.

Students try the word in the left column, I write it correctly in the right hand column.

#5-Keep detailed notes

Keep an anecdotal note sheet on a clipboard.  I like to circulate around the room while students are writing.  It allows me to check in with students who need help with ideas, help them correctly spell a word, have “mini-conferences” with students, etc.  As I rotate around, I like to take some short notes about what students are doing well, what they are struggling with, who is off-task, etc.  These notes give me powerful information I can use to assess student growth and plan for future mini-lessons.  They are SUPER helpful when completing quarterly report cards, and planning for Parent-Teacher Conferences.

I like to keep a simple form like this.  List student names along the left-hand column, then make lots of copies.  Keep notes in the right hand column about each student.  Start a new sheet each week. (Keep the old ones in a notebook to be able to reference.

#6-Provide time for students to share

First graders LOVE to share their work!  It is very time consuming, but also very motivating to students.  You do not have to have every student share in front of the entire class, or do you need to share every project.  You can have students share in small groups of three to four (I usually use their table group), partner share, or have a rotation schedule for students to share in front of the class.  One fun strategy is “Inside/Outside Circle”-Divide the class into two groups, one group makes a circle with everyone facing out, the second group forms a circle around that group, facing in.  Now you have students paired up facing each other.  Give students 3 minutes to share, then have the outside circle rotate to the left, and students have a new partner to share with.  Students can rotate 3-4 times.   

I hope this gives you some helpful tips for teaching first grade writing! I have also included a free download for you: 30 Writing Lessons for the Beginning of First Grade.  Click here to download the list and the writing notes form. 

Are you looking for more first grade writing ideas?  

Check out my Interactive Writing Notebook for First Grade.

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Interactive Writing Notebook for First Grade

Today I wanted to share my Interactive Writing Notebook for First Grade.   It is jam-packed with writing projects for first grade.  The activities are Common Core aligned, rigorous, and FUN for students.

The notebook covers numerous writing and grammar skills that are taught in first grade: beginning sentence writing, labeling, brainstorming ideas, writing narratives, informative writing, opinion writing, using transition words, how-to writing projects, letter writing, publishing, punctuation, questions, common and proper nouns, editing, adjectives, and poetry.

The notebook starts with ideas for the beginning of the year.  Who? Doing What? is a great place to start the year in first grade.  It helps students to learn to write telling sentences that contain both a naming and telling part.

Students write a naming part for the sentence under the first flap, and a telling part under the second flap.

 Once students have mastered telling sentences with naming and telling parts, we move on to Who? Doing What? Where? which helps them to add a bit more detail to the sentences

Labeling is a great non-fiction project for the beginning of first grade.

Writing about their own lives is a great place for students to start for narrative writing. 

 First Graders often struggle with ideas to get them started.

First graders also love to do opinion writing!  I love that this project has three levels.  I start the year with students writing a topic sentence, and two reason sentences.

Then we progress to a topic sentence with three reasons.

By the middle to end of the year, we can also add a closing sentence!  The great part- we have taught the students to write a five sentence paragraph!

The notebook contains 12 different opinion topics that appeal to first graders, plus a blank template for creating additional opinion topics.

I'll be back soon to share more ideas from the notebook. If you would like to learn more about it, I have created a sampler pack of the notebook that you can download free from my TPT store.

          

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