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Grade 3 Informational Writing
What Tools Do You Need When You Travel
Feedback for Improvement
Topic: Tools for Travel
Main Idea #1: GPS
Main Idea #2: Camera
Main Idea #3: Journal
Main Idea #4: Map
What worked:
- Organization: The student does have a clear organizational prewriting plan for their informational piece.
- Main Idea/Reasons: The student stated the main ideas in the main idea sentences using transitions, however the language is somewhat simplistic.
- Elaboration: The student has some background knowledge of the detail generating questions but is not fully applying them to the details..
- Introduction: A question was used for the lead-What tools do you need when you travel? This is an effective way to hook the reader in.
Feedback with Prescriptive Lesson:
CHOOSE a Focus Skill: What skill will make the biggest impact for this writer?
Main Ideas Sentences: The student needs to understand the value of rich language and varied sentence structure and with teacher direction, start to bring both to their main idea/reason sentences.
- Section 2 Lesson 10: Alternatives to Boring, Redundant Main Idea/Reason Sentences
- Section 2 Lesson 11: Revising Boring, Redundant Main Idea Sentences
Elaboration: Learning to use the productive questions to elaborate details: What does it look like? Why is it important? Will greatly improve the overall quality of this piece.
- Section 3 Lesson 1: Just Okay...or Much Better? (recognition and awareness)
- Section 3 Lesson 2: General vs Specific
- Section 3 Lesson 5 What Does It Look Like Why Is It Important (Grab Bag)
Introductions: This piece needs a strong lead and an effective topic sentence that names the specific main ideas in the author’s prewriting plan.
- Section 5 Lesson 1: Identifying Different Types of Leads and Recognizing Topic Sentences
- Section 5 Lesson 2: Recognizing Main Ideas/Main Reasons in Topic Sentences
- Section 5 Lesson 3: Writing an Effective Lead Using a Question
- Section 5 Lesson 4: Writing an Effective Lead Using Three Techniques
Conclusions: This student needs to write a strong conclusion paragraph that includes a restatement of the topic and main ideas using word variety to remind the reader what they learned in this informative piece.
- Section 5 Lesson 8: Recognizing Definitive Language for Strong Conclusions
- Section 5 Lesson 9: Writing Conclusions
This student obviously understands the structure of informational writing but needs direct instruction on techniques to build strong main idea sentences, how to use the detail generating questions to elaborate fully on the details and then once these lessons are applied independently, then instruction on introductions and conclusions.
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“Tools When You Travel" - Informational Writing - Grade 3