Grade 5 Story Writing

Story … Narrative … Imaginative … Creative … At the beginning of your story writing unit, have students write a story and assess using a narrative quick scale (see assessment tab above for student-friendly rubrics). Use this assessment to inform your instruction. As you explicitly teach each mini-lessons like those below, assess again, providing students with descriptive feedback regarding their progress. When students see their progress on a highlighted rubric, they are motivated to continue.
Book Title/Cover	Story Overview	Objective	Lesson Links & Black Line Masters
	Charlie is babysitting Lola and must get her to eat some not-so-favourite foods. How will he manage that?	In the first lesson link, students will examine sentence length variety. In the second lesson link, students will examine the problem and solution relationstionship in this story and others.	Writing Trait: Sentence Fluency I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato Writing Trait: Ideas I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato SWBS
	Willow wants to be heard, but her tiny voice means that she is often left out. Does Willow find her voice? Read this delightful book to find out what happens.	Read Willow’s dialogue in a whisper and have a conversation about the voice trait. Students will fill out a SWBS graphic organizer to determine this story’s problem and solution. This prepares them to write stories that have clear ideas.	Writing Trait: Ideas Willow’s Whispers
	Pete is a perfectly predictable pig. So what does a predicatble pig do when an unconventional, creative elephant enters his world? Add this book to your read aloud repertoire. It will not disappoint!	This lesson is about writing sentences that are different lengths. We want our students to know that a mixture of short, medium and long sentences sound great when read aloud. This is a perfect mentor text for that!	Writing Trait: Pete and Pickles
	Art’s supplies have a mind of their own and come to life in the studio. This book is full of word play. “2B or not 2B? That is the question.” – asked by pencils of course!	This book has a great example of a dialogue lead that not only pulls the reader in, but it also hints at the problem yet to come. In this lesson, students search for other examples of picture books that begin with a lead. They’re hard to find, but worth the effort to model this clever writing skill.	Writing Trait: Organization Art’s Supplies dialogue leads
	Kids will connect with the central message of this book and get a little history lesson as well~ were cave children asking the same question?	This book offers another great example of a dialogue lead to hook the reader. During this lesson, students search for other examples of picture books that begin with conversation. They’re hard to find, but worth the effort to model this clever writing skill. A list of books with dialogue leads is included here!	Writing Trait: Organization Why Do I Have to Make My Bed: Dialogue Leads
	Get the tissue ready! Milo doesn’t see what’s so special about moms. After all, they are nothing more than brocoli bullies! But when Milo travels to another planet, he might just figure out their worth!	In this lesson, dialogue writing is explicitly taught.	Writing Traits: Voice & Conventions Mars Needs Moms Dialogue Lesson
	Missy isn’t keen on books, but with just the right book, Miss Brooks might be able to change that attitude.	In this lesson link, character flaws are examined as a way to create a problem for a story.	Writing Trait: Ideas Miss Brooks Loves Books and I Don’t
	In this video clip, Faye demonstrates how four objects can be used to fuel the imagination.	By drawing first, students have the time to plan and talk before they write.	Writing Trait: Ideas It’s In The Bag: a video from S.D. 72
	This ‘ol cowboy needs a bath! But when he tells his dog (named Daug!) to watch his clothes while he bathes, you can guess what happens when Daug doesn’t smell or see the same cowboy he’s used to!	In this lesson, students explore the use of similes in the text and after co-creating some cowboy vocabulary of their own, they try their hand at writing some similes with a little cowboy twang! In the second lesson, students will practice adding specific details.	Writing Trait: Word Choice & Voice Dirty Cowboy Similes Lesson Writing Trait: Ideas Dirty Cowboy Adding Details
	You can guess from the title what this book is about. But don’t let the simple title fool you. This is an excellent mentor text.	As you can see, there are several lessons posted for this book. That’s because it models all sorts of great literary examples such as: lead, ending, setting description and similes. Read aloud and discuss its merits with your students.	Writing Trait: Word Choice Twister Word Choice Twister Similes Writing Trait: Organization Twister Lead Sentence lesson
	Tish Farrell’s book is filled with inspirational writing tips, entertaining graphics and interesting examples.	In this lesson, students will work in groups gathering Farrell’s writing tips, then present in a variety of forms to the class.	Be a Creative Writer
	Follow the daily events told from the perspective of a goldfish. When living conditions become too crowded, will this goldfish enjoy his new, quiet surroundings?	In this lesson, students write diary entries pretending they are a house pet, farm or zoo animal that is dealing with an environmental issue.	Writing Traits: Voice and Ideas Memoirs of a Goldfish
	Talk about voice! This book is a fabulous read aloud to inform and inspire even the most reluctant writers. In Spilling Ink, two writers share their wisdom and are not afraid to break a few rules along the way.	Read aloud to your class during a story writing unit and have conversations about the craft of writing.	All Writing Traits