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Superkids Reading Program
How to Teach Daily Writing Time
CONTENTS:
Daily Writing Time for first grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Daily Writing Time content and organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Teaching Daily Writing Time lessons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Conferencing about writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Differentiating writing instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Assessing students’ writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Daily Writing Time for first grade
Teaching children how to express their ideas effectively in writing
is an important goal of the Superkids Reading Program. In your
Teacher’s Guides for the first-grade levels of the program, you’ll
find writing instruction integrated in two to three lessons per unit.
While this amount of instruction may be just right for you and your
students, some Superkids teachers have requested more lessons to
support daily writing instruction. In response, we are offering online
Daily Writing Time lessons as an exciting free addition to the firstgrade program. The set includes one writing lesson for each day of
Superkids instruction, starting with the Welcome Back, Superkids
review at the beginning of the school year. You can view the lessons
and supporting materials online and print them out for reference.
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
REVIEW LESSON 1
Drawing and labeling a self-portrait
Materials: Use Writing Master 1 and a poster-sized piece of colored
Welcome Back, Superkids
Daily Writing Time
Unit 1, Review Lesson 1
paper.
1
Preparation: Copy Writing Master 1 and cut apart the potrait
boxes so that you have one for each child.
Instruction and modeling
Introduce Daily Writing Time. Tell children that Daily Writing
Time will usually begin with a short writing lesson and then
they’ll practice writing their own ideas. Have them discuss why
being able to write what they’re thinking about is an important
skill, as important as reading, speaking, and listening. (It’s another
way for us to share thoughts, ideas, stories, and information with each
other.) Point out that at the beginning of a new school year, writing
and drawing can help them tell about themselves and get to know
each other better.
Model how to draw and label a self-portrait. Display one of the portrait boxes cut apart from Writing Master 1. Explain that in the box
you’ll draw a picture to show what you look like and what you like
to do. As you draw, describe what you’re doing. For example, explain
that you are drawing yourself in a garden because you love gardening.
Point out that your drawing fills up a lot of the space on the page and
is big enough for others to see it easily. When you finish, ask children
what you should write on the handwriting lines so everyone will
know the picture is about you. (your name) Say your name and then
say each letter as you write it.
LESSON 147
Making a list of
Help children generate ideas. Have children discuss what they
like to do for fun. As needed, prompt them to think about games or
sports they play, things they like to make or build, and subjects they
Materials:
Use chart paper and the List Template.
enjoy learning about.
Reproducible Page © 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation
Teacher example
things you’ve done
Focus on Mechanics: After
writing your title and name,
point out that titles, such as
Ms., Mrs., and Mr., and the
exact names of people and
pets always begin with a capital
Practice and application
letter. Remind children that
Inlabel
this lesson,
children
use the List
Template
Have children draw and
their own
self-portraits.
Give
each to make their
theirown
own first and last names
with capital letters.
lists. Important
concepts
making
liststoare taught inbegin
Review
child a portrait box cut apart
from Writing
Masterabout
1. Tell
children
Pleasant’s Pointers
Lessons
6 and
in Welcome
Back,
draw a picture in the box
to show
what7 they
look like
and Superkids
somethingDaily Writing Time.
Be sure
understand
these
they like to do. Have them
writechildren
their first
name as best
as concepts
they can before you ask them
writethe
their
own
lists inthem
this lesson.
You
can view, display, and
on the handwriting linestobelow
box.
Remind
to begin
their
print the List Template and any other writing master using the
name with a capital letter.
links in the teacher portal for the Daily Writing Time materials.
Instruction and modeling
Example of shared list
We Did It
walked in the woods
concept. Remind children that yesterday they told
UN
I Tstory
1 : Rthey
E V Ican
E W L E S S O Nbaked
1
1a cake
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation.
All about
rights reserved.
stories
things they’ve done. Point out that
any
tell, they can also write and that writers often write about things
learned to ride a bike
they’ve done. Ask children if they’ve done things they can write stoplayed in a soccer game
ries about. (Yes!) Explain that by making a list of things they’ve done,
visited my grandma
they will have lots of ideas for stories they can write.
Explain
the
key
Welcome Back, Superkids Daily
Writing
Time
Help children make a shared list. At the top of a piece of chart paper, write the title “We Did It,” saying the words aloud as you write.
Tell children you will make a list of fun or interesting things that
individuals in this class have done. Begin by listing the event you described in your story during Lesson 146. Say the words aloud as you
write them. Point out that what you’ve written is not the whole story,
but just enough words to remind you of the story you might want to
write. Have children name things they’ve done recently, including
things that they talked about yesterday or other things they think of
now. List five or six of the events they name, saying the words aloud
as you write. After listing each event, have children discuss whether
they have or would like to do what their classmate did. Read the
whole list aloud when it’s complete.
went shopping
Keep your list for Lesson 155.
Name:
Adventures of the Superkids
Daily Writing Time
List Template
Practice and application
Have children write their own lists of things they’ve done. Distribute copies of the List Template. Tell children to write the title “I Did
It” in the top box and list in the other boxes different things they’ve
done. Remind them that they don’t have to write complete sentences
on a list—they just need to get down enough words or pictures to
help them remember things they’ve done. Children can turn to their
Adventures of the Superkids Daily Writing Time
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
Reproducible Page © 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation
It’s your choice whether to teach the writing instruction that’s
integrated in the Teacher’s Guides or the new Daily Writing Time
lessons available online. Both sets of lessons provide explicit writing
instruction with teacher modeling, followed by focused assignments
that give children lots of practice writing. However, each set has
its own sequence of instruction that builds from lesson to lesson.
Because of this, it’s better to teach from one of the sets of lessons
rather than switching back and forth between the two. Choose
the instruction in the Teacher’s Guides if teaching writing two to
three times per unit is the best fit for your schedule and students’
instructional needs. This writing instruction is designed to fit into
the 90 minutes that you teach the Superkids program each day.
Choose the new online Daily Writing Time lessons if you want
to provide your students with expressive writing instruction and
practice every day. For this instruction, you need to set aside 30 to 40
minutes each day, in addition to the 90 minutes for teaching the rest
of the Superkids program.
Sample Daily Writing Time Lessons
Directions: Have children write a title in the box at the top and list items in the large boxes below.
They can write numbers, bullets, check marks, or other symbols in the small boxes on the left.
UNIT 1: LESSON 147
H O W T O T E A C H D A I LY W R I T I N G T I M E
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1
Daily Writing Time content and organization
The Daily Writing Time lessons will provide what you need to
teach your first graders important writing skills and help them
grow as writers throughout the school year. The writing instruction
is organized into units with the same number of lessons as in the
first-grade levels of the Superkids Reading Program, starting with
Welcome Back, Superkids and continuing through More Adventures
of the Superkids. Each Daily Writing Time unit focuses on one
type of writing: narrative, informative, opinion, descriptive, or
correspondence. Lessons teach skills appropriate for the type of
writing that’s the focus of the unit and children practice writing
several pieces of that type. For example—in an early unit on
narrative writing, children write stories about things they’ve done.
In a later unit on informative writing, they write a how-to book.
Sequence of Instruction for Daily Writing Time
These charts provide a big picture overview of the writing instruction for the
online Daily Writing Time lessons. Instruction for other language arts skills
(spelling, grammar, usage, mechanics, listening, and speaking) are integrated
in these writing lessons and also the core Superkids program for first grade.
Review: Welcome Back, Superkids
Unit
Narrative, informative, and opinion writing are each taught four
times in different units spread out throughout the school year.
Descriptive writing and correspondence are each taught in two
units. Each time children come back to a type of writing, they learn
a little bit more to help them develop their writing further. The
writing process is introduced at the end of the first semester and
then practiced throughout the second semester. See the “Sequence
of Instruction for Daily Writing Time” to find out the focus and key
objectives for every unit. Each unit has an overview chart that shows
the student objectives for each lesson in the unit.
Title
Writing type
Key writing objective
1
Name it
Labels
Draw pictures and write labels to tell about people and things.
2
List it
Lists
Write lists that focus on a topic.
3
Express an idea
Sentences
Write complete sentences that begin with a capital letter and end
with an end mark.
Level 3: Adventures of the Superkids
Unit
Title
Writing type
Key writing objective
1
I did it
Narrative
2
Ask and answer
Informative
What happened
next
What I like and why
Narrative
4
Opinion
Write stories (a few sentences in length) about things you’ve done
and times you’ve felt happy, mad, sad, or scared.
Write questions to show what you want to know. Write answers to
show what you’ve learned.
Write stories (a few sentences in length) about a sequence of
events.
Write opinions and give reasons for them.
5
Describe it
Descriptive
Write descriptions using observation skills and imagination.
6
Get the facts
Informative
Write recalled or researched facts about a topic.
What I think and
why
To and from
Opinion
Write opinions and give reasons and examples to explain your
thinking.
Write notes, letters, and e-mail messages to correspond with others.
Stories about me
Narrative
3
7
8
9
10
Correspondence
Use the writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish
personal narratives.
Level 4: More Adventures of the Superkids
Unit
Title
1
How to do it
2
My review
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Writing type
Informative
Opinion
Describe it vividly
Descriptive
All about it
Informative
Imagined story
Narrative
Reflections
Opinion
Key writing objective
Use the writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish
how-to instructions.
Write a review of a book or story you’ve read.
Use precise words and details to describe people, places, and things
in prose and poetry.
Use the writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish
informational texts.
Use the writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish
imagined (fictional) stories.
Write different types of texts to share your thoughts and opinions
about the school year.
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
Teaching Daily Writing Time lessons
The Daily Writing Time lessons are designed to fit into a 30 to 40
minute writing period each day. At the beginning of a unit, take
time to skim the lessons so you get a sense for how the instruction
develops day to day. As you teach the unit, you may need to adjust
the pace of your instruction to meet the needs of your students. This
may mean you don’t get through all the lessons in some units. Just be
aware that some lessons, particularly those at the beginning of a unit,
build on each other and should be taught in sequence.
A typical Daily Writing Time lesson includes these three parts:
1 Instruction and modeling (5 to 10 minutes)
A lesson usually begins by having you explain the lesson’s key
concepts to your students, using the child-friendly language provided.
Then you teach the writing skill or skills that are the focus of the
lesson, often using a think-aloud and modeling to show the process of
writing in action.
Sample lesson–page 1
LESSON 150
Adding to your picture and words
Materials: Use your model and children’s stories from Lessons 148–149.
Instruction and modeling
Explain the key concept. Remind children that in the last lesson,
they wrote stories about something they did. Ask if any of them
finished their story. (Some should answer “yes.” If not, you may want to
give children more time to write before teaching the lesson.) Point out that
when writers think they are done, they often look over their work
and decide whether they should add anything more to their picture
or words. Adding to a story can make it better.
Model how to add a little more to a story. Display your story from
Lessons 148–149 and remind children what you wrote about. Point
out that you thought you were done with the story, but now you
think there are other parts you can show and tell. Describe how
you decide what to add and model how to make the additions. For
example:
“My picture shows the ducks I fed at the park, but it doesn’t
show where I saw them. They were by the pond, under a big
tree. (Draw a pond and a tree.) Maybe I can add another
sentence. (Read aloud the sentences you wrote before.) You
know, the ducks quacked a lot when I fed them. I could add a
sentence to tell about that. (Write a sentence, saying the words
as you write.)”
Have children discuss how the additions to your picture and words
make your story better. If needed, point out that what you added
helps readers understand more about what happened.
Help children generate ideas for adding to a story. Tell children
that whenever they think they are done writing a story you’d like
them to stop and ask themselves if they can add anything to their
picture or words. Have children look over the story they wrote
and then discuss with a partner what they could draw or write
to tell more of the story. Talking through an idea with a partner
before writing sparks children’s thinking and helps them organize
their thoughts.
Adventures of the Superkids Daily Writing Time
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
Teacher example from previous lesson
I went to the park.
I fed the ducks.
Teacher example revised in this lesson
I went to the park.
I fed the ducks.
The ducks quacked and
quacked.
Keep your model to use again in
Lesson 152.
UNIT 1: LESSON 150
H O W T O T E A C H D A I LY W R I T I N G T I M E
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2
With a think-aloud, you verbalize how a good writer thinks about
her ideas and makes decisions before putting words down on paper.
This helps children understand the kind of thinking they should do
before they write. The Daily Writing Time lessons give examples
of think-alouds to share with students. To make the think-alouds
believable, put the ideas into your own words and add your own
thoughts about how you might write something.
To model how to write something, you say what you’re going to write,
one idea or sentence at a time. Then you say each word as you write
it on chart paper, the board, or an overhead transparency. Lessons
include examples of what a teacher might write when modeling.
Sometimes you can copy the example, but most often you’ll want
to use your own words in your model so that the writing is more
authentic and sounds like it’s coming from you. For example, if you’re
teaching children how they can write stories about themselves,
you should model by writing a story that’s about you. Sharing your
writing about things that are important and meaningful to you will
encourage children to write about things that are important and
meaningful to them. In your models, try to write at or just above
the level of an average first grader’s writing (minus the errors in
mechanics and spelling) so that the writing task seems within
children’s reach.
Focus on Grammar,
Usage, or Mechanics: In
some lessons, you’ll find a text
box like this one in the sidebar.
The text explains how you can
take advantage of a teachable moment to introduce or
review a grammar, usage, or
mechanics concept related to
the writing assignment for the
day. The instruction is optional
to teach if time permits and
you feel your students will
benefit from it.
The instruction and modeling part of the lesson typically concludes
with a discussion to help children generate ideas before they begin
writing on their own. Talking and listening to others talk about a
writing topic helps children flesh out their ideas and think of new
ones. You can generate ideas with the whole group together, but
often it’s better for children to talk with a partner. With a partner,
children are able to exchange more ideas back and forth than they
can when they must wait for a turn to share an idea with the class.
Sample lesson–page 2
2 Practice and application (10 to 20 minutes)
During the second part of a Daily Writing Time lesson, children
practice and apply the skill you just modeled. Children need lots and
lots of practice to become proficient writers, so practice time should
be the longest part of your lesson each day. At the beginning of the
school year, children may not be capable of writing for much longer
than 10 minutes at a time. As their stamina increases, gradually build
up to having them write for about 20 minutes at a time.
In some lessons, children practice writing by doing an activity
together in small groups or with partners. But most often, children
write independently, producing their own version of the same kind
of product you modeled how to write. As they work, your active
involvement is essential to ensure they stay on task and do the best
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
Practice and application
Have children add to their story about something they did. Tell them
to draw something else in their picture and write a few words or another sentence to tell more of the story.
Circulate and help children as needed. Some children may have
difficulty figuring out what more to draw and write. Help them
choose a few small details to add.
Pleasant’s Pointers
Some children will “finish” their writing assignments quickly and
then not know what to do next. The goal of this lesson is to get
children into the habit of asking themselves if they are really
done or if they can add more. Most often, they will find something more to draw or write and this will keep them working. At
this point, the details they add may simply tell more rather than
clarify key ideas. That’s okay. They’ll learn how to revise their
writing to make ideas clearer in a later unit.
Focus on Grammar: Point
out to children that when they
write stories about themselves,
they will need to use the
pronoun I and sometimes my.
Remind them that I and my
are two of their new Memory
Words, so they should spell
these pronouns correctly in
their stories. Ask what else
they should remember to do
when writing the pronoun I.
(use a capital letter)
Sharing
Have a few children take their turn sharing their stories. You can also
ask children to tell about what they added to their story and why
they decided to make those additions. Have the class discuss how the
changes made the story better.
Adventures of the Superkids Daily Writing Time
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
UNIT 1: LESSON 150
H O W T O T E A C H D A I LY W R I T I N G T I M E
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3
writing that they can. Circulate the room and provide individual
instruction and encouragement as needed. Some children may need
help deciding what to write, while others may need help turning
their ideas into written sentences. See the section on differentiating
instruction for more about how to meet children’s individual needs.
As the school year progresses, children may be able to keep going
with their writing for longer periods without needing much guidance.
At that point, you may want to start having one-on-one conferences
with children rather than circulating the entire time they’re writing.
Providing a child with your undivided attention and individualized
instruction during a conference is one of the best ways to help the
child grow as a writer. See the section on conferencing for more
information about what to do in a writing conference.
3 Sharing (5 to 10 minutes)
Daily Writing Time lessons end by having a few children share their
writing with the class. Children share by showing their drawings and
reading aloud or telling about what they’ve written. You can also ask
them to tell about aspects of their writing process, such as how they
came up with an idea or figured out how to end a piece. After a child
shares, classmates should be encouraged to ask questions to help
them understand better or find out more. You should give positive
feedback, but you can also offer a suggestion for how to improve or
add to the writing, especially if this instruction may benefit the whole
class. Getting feedback on their writing and listening to what their
classmates have written helps develop and inspire children as writers.
Since only a few children will be able to share at the end of a lesson,
you should have a process for determining who will share each day.
For example—you can pull a few names randomly from a jar each
day or establish a rotation that gives children their turn in the same
order. Keep track so that each child gets a turn to share every week
or so. You can occasionally break from your normal sharing procedure
to call on a particular child to share. For instance, a child may have
made a decision or solved a problem in his writing that the rest of the
class should hear because it could help them with their own writing.
Reader’s Response for a Reader story
In Daily Writing Time lessons that coincide
with Story Lessons in your Teacher’s Guides,
you’ll find a box with a reader’s response
prompt. The prompts ask children to draw and
write on a topic related to a Reader story they
just read, helping them make connections with
the text. Children can do this writing during Daily Writing Time
or independent work time.
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
H O W T O T E A C H D A I LY W R I T I N G T I M E
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Conferencing about writing
Purpose of conferencing
Writing conferences are one of the most effective ways to provide
children with the individualized instruction they need to make
progress in their writing. A conference is a one-on-one discussion
with a child about a piece of writing he’s working on or has just
finished. The goal is not to perfect the piece of writing, but to
encourage and develop the student as a writer.
How to conference
To begin a conference, have the child tell about his picture, if there
is one, and read aloud any words he wrote. (If the child did not
write many words or used lots of temporary spelling, you may want
to transcribe what he said or wrote so that you can remember later
what he was trying to express in his writing.) Ask questions to show
your interest in the ideas and give positive feedback about the work.
Then provide explicit instruction that focuses on just one aspect of
the child’s writing. For example, you may want to work with the child
on content by helping him elaborate and put more of his ideas down
on paper. Or you might want to teach or review a strategy for writing
better, such as combining sentences with “and” or providing a sense
of closure. When children are using the steps of the writing process,
then your conferences should focus on helping them revise and edit
their work, since most first graders are not able to do these steps
without support. Select a sentence or two that the child can revise to
improve clarity. Pick a few spelling or mechanical errors for the child
to correct. Then quickly fix other mechanical errors yourself while
explaining what you are doing. This way editing won’t overshadow
the more important goal for children, which is to express their ideas.
End the conference by discussing next steps or goals with the child.
For example, if you taught the child a new strategy, let him know you
expect him to try using the strategy the next time he writes. Give the
child a chance to tell about any difficulties he had and how he might
overcome them next time.
When to conference
Each day during Daily Writing Time, you can conference with
a few children one at a time while the rest of the class works on
their writing assignment. Be aware that conferencing with children
individually will make you unavailable to circulate and help children
with problems that come up as they write. For this reason, you may
want to hold off on conferencing until a point in the school year
when most of your students can write independently for at least ten
minutes at a time. When you do start conferencing, try to meet with
each child once a week or so.
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
H O W T O T E A C H D A I LY W R I T I N G T I M E
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Keeping records
As you conference with a child or soon after, you should
jot down a few notes so you remember who you met with,
when, and what you discussed together. You can use the
Conferencing Record Forms provided or devise your own
system for keeping notes. Reviewing your conference notes
can help you monitor children’s individual strengths and
weaknesses and plan individualized instruction. You may
also spot difficulties that you can address by reteaching
certain skills to several students or the whole class. See the
section on assessment for more information about tools to
help identify your students’ instructional needs.
Daily Writing Time
Class Conferencing Form
Each time you conference with a child about his or her writing, list a date next to the
child’s name. You can summarize the discussion in the Student Conferencing Form.
Students’ names
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Date
Daily Writing Time
Student Conferencing Form
After conferencing with a child about his or her writing, summarize the discussion in the
space below and list any goals describing things the child will work on improving. See “How
to Teach Daily Writing Time” for more information about conferencing with children.
Student’s Name
Reproducible Page © 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation
Differentiating writing instruction
Keep in mind that children’s writing skills can develop at very
different paces. You may have some students who struggle to write a
few words and others who are capable of producing chapter books.
To accommodate these differences, provide individualized instruction
as children work on their writing assignments and in one-on-one
conferences with them. Your goal is to help each of your students
make steady progress in their growth as a writer. Here are suggestions
for how to give students the instructional support they may need,
based on their writing abilities:
Date: ____________
Date: ____________
Notes:
Notes:
Goals:
Goals:
Date: ____________
Date: ____________
Notes:
Notes:
Goals:
C L A S S C O N F E R E N C I N G F OGoals:
RM
Date: ____________
Date: ____________
Notes:
Notes:
Goals:
Goals:
Reproducible Page © 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation
STUDENT CONFERENCING FORM
Below-level writers
First graders who have below-level writing skills may not understand
basic mechanics, such as using complete sentences. They may have
trouble putting their ideas together in a way that makes sense. Or
they may leave out important details so it’s not clear what they’re
trying to say. These students will need lots of individual support as
they work on writing assignments. Talk with each struggling writer
about what she wants to write and help her state her first few ideas
as sentences. Have the child write the sentences with you or on
her own while you work with other students. Check back with the
child a little while later to discuss her work. Help her recognize an
incomplete sentence by asking if the sentence sounds right. Ask
if a word is missing and have the child add it. If the ideas are in a
confusing order, talk with the child about what should come first,
next, and last. If the writing is confusing because important details
are left out, ask questions that encourage the child to describe the
missing details. Help her add the details to her writing.
You can also provide additional instruction for struggling writers in
small groups. Use modeling and think-alouds to demonstrate writing
mechanics and how to turn ideas into written words. Then have the
group work on a shared writing product in which they all contribute
© 2011 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
H O W T O T E A C H D A I LY W R I T I N G T I M E
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ideas and dictate sentences for you to write on chart paper. See the
expressive writing section of the Superkids Skill-Building Book for more
techniques and activities to help struggling writers.
On-level writers
First graders with on-level writing skills will be able to express
ideas in simple, complete sentences. Still, as you get to know each
students’ writing, you’ll find that your on-level writers each have
individual strengths and weaknesses. Some may be able to write
many good sentences, but are sloppy with mechanics. Others may
have good mechanics, but need to work on organizing and thinking
through their ideas better. Provide the specific instructional support
each of your students needs to gradually improve their writing.
Keep in mind that a child may have no problems writing one product
independently, but then struggle and need more help writing another
type of product. A child might also get stuck and not know how to
start an assignment or what to write next. Help the child by first
making sure he understands the assignment. You may want to review
the model you created. Then ask the child questions to help him
think about what he’d like to write. When he has a few ideas, have
him state them as sentences that he then writes. Check back with
the child later and offer more help and encouragement as needed.
Above-level writers
First graders with above-level writing skills will have a good handle
on mechanics and be able to organize and convey their ideas clearly
in writing. They should be able to complete most writing assignments
without much help from you. Many advanced writers enjoy writing
and will naturally write more than is expected. Encourage them to do
this, since the more they practice writing, the better they’ll get at it.
However, make sure they know that their goal is not to write lots and
lots, but to write well. This means they need to spend time forming
their ideas and then concentrate on writing those ideas clearly.
Other advanced writers may write very well, but they don’t love to
write. They may finish writing assignments quickly, writing only as
much as is required. To encourage these children as writers, let them
work on writing projects of their own choice after they finish the
assigned writing. Help them come up with projects that build on their
interests. For example, one child might want to write a chapter book
about the Superkids. Another child might like to research a topic,
such as airplanes or horses, and write an informational book with
labeled pictures and descriptions. See the expressive writing section
of the Superkids Skill-Building Book for more activities to inspire
independent writing and challenge advanced writers.
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Assessing students’ writing
Informal assessment
You’ll have the opportunity to observe and informally assess children’s writing skills every day as you circulate and help them write
during Daily Writing Time. Talking with children about their writing
during one-on-one conferences is another excellent way for you to
see what children do and don’t understand about writing. At the end
of a unit, take time to review the pieces each child wrote. The Daily
Writing Time rubric for the unit can help you evaluate children’s
work. Each rubric lists different aspects of writing and describes what
they would look like in writing that exceeds, meets, or isn’t meeting
expectations for the unit.
Your evaluations should help inform your discussions with children
about their writing. For example, you can give children positive feedback about things they are doing well in their writing and help them
set goals for some things to do better. Your evaluations can also help
you determine if individual children or small groups need additional
instruction and practice to improve aspects of their writing. You can
reteach Daily Writing Time lessons that focus on the skills children
need to develop further. In the Superkids Skill-Building Book, you can
find teaching tips and activities to help struggling writers, strengthen
proficient writers, and challenge advanced writers.
Record keeping for informal assessment
You can record your assessments of children’s writing in any of
these forms:
Type of form
What to do with it
Student Record Form
Record achievement levels* and in-depth comments
about an individual student’s work for a specific unit.
List plans for additional instruction and practice.
Class Record Form
Record achievement levels* for the class for a specific
unit. Can compare children’s achievements and form
small groups for additional instruction and practice.
Writing Progress Form Record achievement levels* and brief comments about
an individual student’s work across multiple units.
Student Conferencing Summarize discussions you have with individual
Form
students about their writing and identify goals for their
continuing progress.
Class Conferencing
Form
Keep track of the dates of conferences you have had
with students in your class.
Achievement levels:
+ work exceeds expectations (Advanced writers)
 work meets expectations (Proficient writers)
− work isn’t meeting expectations yet (Emergent writers)
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Formal assessment
For periodic formal assessment of children’s writing, see the Daily
Writing Time assessment prompts in the teacher portal. These
prompts align with the scope and sequence of the Daily Writing
Time instruction, so you’ll want to use them instead of the ones on
the tests in your Assessment Books. Expectations for proficiency are
provided for each prompt. You can record children’s achievement
levels on the record forms from the Assessment Books. Just cross out
the writing prompts on the forms and replace them with the Daily
Writing Time assessment prompts that you use.
Grade-level expectations
The chart below describes what proficient writing typically looks like
in the primary grades. This information can help you gauge your students’ current writing abilities and give you an idea of how their skills
might develop during the school year. Children will develop writing
skills at their own pace. The goal is to support them at whatever level
they are at and help them make individual progress over time.
Beginning of kindergarten
• I deas expressed orally and through drawings
•S
cribble writing, possibly with some letters
• Basic print awareness
End of kindergarten, beginning of first grade
• 2 –4 simple sentences with drawings
•S
ome correct, some temporary, phonetic spelling
•C
orrect beginning capitalization and end punctuation most of the time
•C
orrect printing and mostly good spacing between words
End of first grade, beginning of second grade
• 4 –6 complete sentences
•S
entences mostly stay on topic
• I deas mostly in a logical order
•S
ome details
•C
orrect beginning capitalization and end punctuation
•C
orrect printing and spacing
•M
ostly correct spelling of Memory Words taught and grade-level words
that are encodable
•U
se the writing process with guidance
End of second grade
• 8 –12 complete sentences
•S
entences stay on topic, organized in paragraphs
• Ideas in a logical order
•M
any details and more vivid language
•C
orrect beginning capitalization and end punctuation
•M
ostly correct spelling of Memory Words taught and grade-level words
that are encodable (Use a dictionary to correct spelling)
•C
orrect grammar most of the time
•U
se the writing process more independently
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