Writing Projects

This is a writing intensive classroom.  By using the writing process, which includes prewriting, rough draft, revising, and editing, children learn to write in a variety of styles.  In the fourth grade our primary focus is writing personal narratives with small moments, but the children also engage in other writing projects which include letter writing to pen pals, essay style answers to open response reading questions, interviews, research reports, journal entries, restaurant reviews, and poetry.  Our culminating project is a 10-week unit in the spring where each child researches, writes, and designs their own magazine on a topic of their choice.  Our major writing projects are listed below.  As the year progresses, we spend much time on figurative language, use of quotations, and how to vary sentences.

Author Blurbs

Toys Past and Present

Observing the World Around You

Small Moments

Creating Personal Historical Timelines
This writing unit integrates our social studies and writing program. By using personal recollections and by interviewing family members, students gather information about their own past and create a personal timeline of small moments with stories, photos, and drawings-one from each year of their life.

Artifacts: Stories from our Past

Animal Research Reports
Using the strategies taught in Project Read Report Form, children learn to read nonfiction material, take notes, outline, and write a research report. The final project is a report about an animal from New England or from China.

Drop Yourself Into a Photo and Wander Around In It

Personal Narratives
After writing numerous small moments throughout the year, the students learn how to combine them into personal narratives on a variety of topics.   The students will explore a variety of ways to write catchy openings and memorable closings.

Magazine Project
The magazine project is a comprehensive and highly individualized eight-week project combining research, creative writing, and graphic design. Each student chooses their own topic to study and creates a magazine to showcase all they have learned. The final product is a magazine which includes a feature article, letter to an expert, an imaginary or real interview based on factual information, poetry, game pages, trading cards, and picture pages.

Restaurant Reviews
After studying the writing style of restaurant reviewers such as the Phantom Gourmet, each child chooses their favorite restaurant to review. Each review includes a detailed description of the atmosphere, food, and service. They are a lot of fun to read!

Journeys: An Immigrant’s Story