Sample Lessons by Genre

 

“Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.” -Mark Twain

Writing workshop is taught through units of study throughout the year. Teachers will want to plan units that teach students how to write the various genres of writing including narrative, informational, and opinion/argument. There are many kinds of writing which fall under these genres that make great units of study for students.

Possible Units of Study for Various Genres:

• Informational Writing: Procedural texts (How-to books), All About books (about known topics), All About books (with research topics), scientific texts.
• Opinion Writing: Reviews (books, video games, apps, movies, restaurants, etc.), letters, persuasive posters, digital book reviews.
• Narrative Writing: Personal narratives (small moments), realistic fiction, fairy tales, graphic novels.

When planning an upcoming unit of study, one of the things teachers should keep in mind is the writing process. Though writing is a unique undertaking, researchers have identified stages or steps that most writers go through. These stages are fluid and overlap, but most agree they include some version of the following: rehearsal/prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, and celebrating (Calkins 1994; Graves 1983).

When planning a unit of study, teachers should include lessons that help students work through the writing process (planning, drafting, revising) as well as lessons on how to help students make their writing more interesting or lessons on craft (focus, organization, elaboration).
We are happy to provide video clips of minilessons from South Carolina teachers teaching various units of study. In these clips, they demonstrate how to teach both the process and craft of writing. You can search for lessons by grade level within each genre of writing.

 

Informational Writing	Narrative Writing	Opinion Writing