Standard 8: Independent Reading and Writing

Students will read and write for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, academic and personal.

5.8.W Students will write independently over extended periods of time (e.g., time for research, reflection, and revision) and for shorter time frames (e.g., a single sitting or a day or two) to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students determine a purpose and audience for a writing task.
• Students determine the text structure needed to communicate to a specific audience and purpose.
• Students develop a topic to reflect the writing task, audience, and purpose.
• Students use the writing process independently to complete a writing task over an extended period of time.
• Students reflect on and evaluate writing.
• Peer Edit With Perfection: Effective Strategies 
• Students complete a writing task  independently for shorter time frames.

• Teachers model through Write Alouds

• selecting the purpose and audience for a writing task

• selecting a text structure (description, problem/solution, cause/effect, compare/contrast, sequence)

• using the writing process

• Implementing the Writing Process 

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to write independently over various lengths of time.

• Teachers provide feedback and allow students to reflect on their own writing in order to revise and edit

• Prompting Revision through Modeling and Written Conversations
  

Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

Teaching Elementary Students to Be Effective Writers  pgs. 16-26 (PDF)

Purpose (OSDE definition of Purpose)

Audience (OSDE Definition of Audience)

Exchanging Ideas by Sharing Journals: Interactive Response in the Classroom

Creating Classroom Community by Crafting Themed Poetry Collections
Thundering Tall Tales: Using Read-Aloud as a Springboard to Writing

Using Picture Books to Teach Setting Development in Writing Workshop

Using Picture Books to Teach Plot Development and Conflict Resolution

Make a Splash! Using Dramatic Experience to "Explode the Moment"

Using Science Texts to Teach the Organizational Features of Nonfiction

Pourquoi Stories: Creating Tales to Tell Why

Story Elements Alive!

Jazz Up Writing Workshop

Using Picture Books to Teach Characterization in Writing Workshop
What's in a Mystery? Exploring and Identifying Mystery Elements
Guided Comprehension: Making Connections Using a Double-Entry Journal

• Purpose refers to the objective a writer is trying to achieve. There are three basic purposes that writers use: persuade, inform, and entertain. Each purpose has various genres that can be used to help writers structure their writing.

• Audience refers to the reader for whom the particular piece of writing is intended.  

•  Students should not be expected to complete the entire writing process for every piece of writing.

Due to recursive nature of the standards, it is essential that teachers are aware of how all objectives within and between strands work together for optimal instruction.