Writing Highlights Week-by-Week
Weeks 1-4: Introduction to Basic Concepts in Writing
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24
Week 25
Week 26
Week 27
Week 28
Week 29
Week 30
Week 31
Week 32
- Oral Sentence Construction
- Vocabulary Development (Usage & Meaning): me, do, and, go, at, on, a, it, is, can, run, in, so, no, man, ten, tan, tin, ton, bed, top, he, will, we, an, my, up, last, not, us, am, dog, dog, sad, sag, bid, bud, bad, bog, beg, had, hog, hid, bug, hug, led, log, mud, bag, big
- Review lower case and upper case alphabet letter names
Week 5
- The names of people are capitalized (rule 26).
- Declarative sentence (statement): Tells one thought about what a person, place, or thing does.
- Compose oral declarative sentences using: red, all, old, but
- Noun: A person, place, or thing
Week 6
- Declarative sentences begin with a capital letter to show where the thought begins. They also end with a period to show where the thought ends.
- Compose oral declarative sentences using: six, by, land, must
- Noun: Also names a concept (something you can't see or touch). For example: time, chance, today
- Identify nouns as either a person, place, thing, or concept: can, man, bed, time, chance, today, boy, book, street, hand, ring, land
- Action Verb: Shows motion
Week 7
- Identify the attributes of declarative sentences: 1) Tells one thought about what a person, place, or thing does 2) Begins with a capital letter to show where the thought begins 3) Ends with a period to show where the thought ends.
- Compose oral declarative sentences using: lot, tell, sit, stand
- Say each lower case letter name
- Identify nouns as either a person, place, thing, or concept: lot, hat, box, sit, sits, stand, stands, tell
- These words signal that a noun is coming: a, an, the
- A: Used before a noun that begins with a consonant
- An: Used before a noun that begins with a vowel
- The: Used before a noun to show there is only one
Week 8
- Identify the attributes of a simple declarative sentences: 1) Tells one thought about what a person, place, or thing does 2) Begins with a capital letter to show where the thought begins 3) Ends with a period to show where the thought ends.
- Compose oral declarative sentences using: she, call, get, now
- Say each upper case letter name
- Subject Pronoun: Takes the place of a noun used as the subject of the sentence. For example: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they.
- Substitute subject pronouns for subject nouns in oral sentences
- Adjective: Tells which one
- Add adjectives to oral sentences
Week 9
- Interrogative Sentence (question): 1) Asks for information about the subject 2) Begins with a capital letter to show where the thought begins 3) Ends with a question mark to show where the thought ends.
- Compose oral interrogative sentences using: your, child, street, three, who, what, where
- Say each upper/lower case letter name
- An adjective may: 1) Signal a noun (an, an, the) 2) Tell which one (red, big) 3) Tell how many (ten, six)
- Use adjectives in oral sentences
Week 10
- Compose oral declarative and interrogative sentences using: may, say, today, green
- Compose oral interrogative sentences using question words: when, why, how
- Identify nouns, action verbs, pronouns, and adjectives: today, boy, she, say, he play, feed, green, oil, red, good
- Adding the suffix (ending) s to nouns means more than one person, place, or thing
- Add s to: bed, boy, top, street, hand
- Adverb: Adds to a verb by describing when the action happened. For example: today, now
- Identify adverbs in oral sentences
Week 11
- Exclamatory Sentence: 1) Shows strong feeling 2) Begins with a capital letter to show where the thought begins 3) Ends with an exclamation point to show where the thought ends
- Compose oral exclamatory sentences using: tooth, over, pool, day
- Identify nouns that name people, places, things, and concepts: mother, earth, pool, bird, fur, tooth, teeth, worm, day
- The suffix (ending) s is added to most nouns to form plurals
- Add s to: ring, bag, hat, bird, worm
- The suffix (ending) s is added to a verb when talking about one person, place, or thing; compose oral sentences that use: ring, play, paint
Week 12
- Compose oral declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory sentences using: way, low, send, much
- Compose oral interrogative sentences using question words: when, why, how
- Add the suffix s to the following nouns to make them plural: bug, hat, door
Week 13
- Compose oral declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory sentences using: me, do, at, on, she, time
- Linking Verb: Shows a relationship between the subject noun and the noun following the linking verb
- Say sentence patterns using subject nouns with the linking verbs: am, is, are
Week 14
- Imperative Sentence: 1) Gives a command 2) Begins with a capital letter 3) Ends with a period to show where the thought ends
- Compose oral imperative sentences using: can (noun), see, run
- A linking verb shows a relationship between the subject pronoun and the adjective following the verb
- Identify the following linking verbs in written sentences: am, is, are
- The word "and" (conjunction) connects two nouns
- Say the names of upper/lower case alphabet letters
Week 15
- Compose oral declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, or imperative sentences using unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words
- An adjective may: 1) Signal that a noun is coming (an, an, the) 2) Tell which one (tan, good) 3) Tell how many (ten)
- Compose oral sentences using: a, an, the, tan, good, ten
- The word "and" (conjunction) connects two verbs
- Say the names of upper/lower case alphabet letters
Week 16
- Compose oral declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, or imperative sentences using unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words
- An adjective may: 1) Signal that a noun is coming (an, an, the) 2) Tell which one (little, old, bad) 3) Tell how many (ten)
- Compose oral sentences using: a, an, the, little, old, bad, ten
- Adverb: Adds to a verb by describing where the action happened. For example: up
- Compound Word: Made by the joining of two whole words; each word has a meaning of its own, but when joined the meaning is changed
- The following words are two syllables (and compound words): into, today
Week 17
- Compose oral declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, or imperative sentences using compound words (into, today) and unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words
- Helping Verb: Helps form other verbs. For example: am, is, are
- Use helping verbs (am, is, are) with doing, going, willing, looking
- The suffix (ending) ing means the action is happening now
- How to add the suffix ing to verbs that end in a silent final e (make, come): The words are written without the e before adding the suffix ing that begins with a vowel
- Compose oral sentences using: making, coming
- Add the suffix ing to the base words: do, go, look
- Compose oral sentences using: doing, going, looking
Week 18
- Compose oral declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, or imperative sentences using unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words
- Read sentence patterns that use helping verbs (am, is, are) with the words: looking, saying
- How to add the suffix ing to verbs that end in a silent final e (make, come): The words are written without the e before adding the suffix ing that begins with a vowel
- Add the suffix ing to the base words: making, coming
Week 19
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of (live/live) and using other unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Categorize the following words by parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs): hand, ring, hill, bag, bog, bug, mother, land, live, let, beg, late, big, three
- Add the suffix ing to: hand, ring, land
- Compose oral sentences that use helping verbs (am, is, are) with main verbs: handing, ringing, landing
- Say the names of upper/lower case alphabet letters
- Related Sentences: Are about one topic
- Compose two related sentences (in whole group) about a pet; illustrate them.
Week 20
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of (sea/see) and using other unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Categorize the following words by parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs): cold, hot, hat, child, ice, play, sea, see, bird, cool, earth, feed, fur, green, oil
- The suffix s is added to most nouns to form plurals, but es is added when a new syllable is formed
- Add the suffix es to: box
- Compose oral sentences that use: boxes
- The suffix ed means the action happened in the past (regular past tense verbs)
- Add ed to: look, land, play, cool, oil
- Compose oral sentences using the past tense of: look, land, play, cool, oil
- Say the names of upper/lower case alphabet letters
- Related Sentences: About one topic
- Read related sentences and explain why they are related
- Compose related sentences about an animal, illustrate them, and explain why they are related
Week 21
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Noun plurals may be formed by: 1) Adding s 2) Adding es 3) Changing the phonogram
- Add s to: pool, worm, day
- Add es to: box
- Change the phonogram in: tooth
- Compose oral sentences using the plurals of the following nouns: worm, box, tooth
- Verbs show the action happened in the past by: 1) Adding the ending ed 2) Changing the phonogram 3) Changing the word
- Compose oral sentences using the past tense of: paint, do, see, run, make, belong
- Opinion: Tells what a person believes or thinks about a subject or topic
- Listen to the teacher compose an opinion and give a reason of a favorite part in The Kissing Hand
Week 22
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Verbs show the action happened in the past by: 1) Adding the ending ed 2) Changing the phonogram 3) Changing the word
- Compose oral sentences using the past tense of: stand, bring, tell, ask, get
- Orally compose in whole group an opinion and give a reason for a favorite part in the book Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type
Week 23
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- To form the plural of a word that ends with a consonant and y, use i instead of y and add the suffix (ending) (rule 24). For example: In the word baby, use i instead of y and add es (babies)
- Categorize the following words as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs: home, much, call, long, love, then, house, year, as, send, alone, lone, one
Week 24
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Form plurals of: call, baby, man
- Compose oral sentences using plurals of: call, baby, man
- Say oral sentence patterns that include subject pronouns, helping verbs (am, is, are), and the ing form of "run"
- Informative-narrative writing: The author's purpose is to inform in an interesting way. The informative-narrative writing is a combination of informative and narrative elements (characters, setting, topic, facts).
- Paragraph: Contains three or more sentences about a topic
- Identify attributes in an informative-narrative paragraph (characters, setting, topic, facts
Week 25
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Compose oral/written sentences using the following regular and irregular past tense verbs: lead/led, lay/laid, eat/ate (irregular past tense), jump/jumped (regular past tense)
- Adverb: It adds to a verb by describing how the action happened. For example: quickly, well
- Identify attributes of an informative-narrative paragraph
- Orally compose a first-person informative-narrative paragraph about a topic of class interest as the teacher writes the paragraph on the board
Week 26
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Compose oral/written sentences using the regular and irregular past tense of: sleep, wash, miss, ride, get, spend
- The phonogram ed has three sounds and is used to form the past tense of verbs. If the verb ends in the sound /d/ or /t/, adding ed makes another syllable that says /ed/. For example: landed, planted. If the verb ends in an unvoiced consonant, the ed says /t/. For example: looked, jumped. In all other verbs, the ending ed says /d/. For example: played, belonged. (rule 28)
- Phrase: A group of words
- Preposition: Placed before a noun or pronoun to show it relates to some other words in the sentence. For example: at, on, in, up, of, out, into, by, over, to
- Informative writing: The author's purpose is to provide information. The informative elements are topic (what the paragraph is about) and information (facts about a person, place, or thing).
- Identify attributes in an informative (expository) paragraph
Week 27
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Say the names of upper/lower case alphabet letters
- Compose oral/written sentences using the regular and irregular past tense verbs: blew, planted, cut, sang
- Words that are the names or titles of people, places, books, days, or months are capitalized (rule 26)
- Compose oral/written sentences using: Mary, Sunday, May
- Phrase: A group of words
- Preposition: Placed before a noun or pronoun to show it relates to some other words in the sentence. For example: at, on, in, up, of, out, into, by, over, to
- Identify the prepositions in: "The men ride in the car." & "I live in a free land."
- Identify attributes in an informative (expository) paragraph
Week 28
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Say the names of upper/lower case alphabet letters
- Say sentence patterns that include subject pronouns, helping verbs (am, is, are), and main verbs (falling, putting)
- Names or titles of people, places, books, days, or months are capitalized (rule 26). For example: Monday, Mr.
- Categorize the following words as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs: lake, lace, page, nice, end, fall, went, back, away, paper, put, each, soon, came, Sunday
- Identify the attributes of an informative paragraph. In whole group, orally compose a four/five sentence informative (expository) paragraph about a topic of class interest as the teacher writes the paragraph on the board.
Week 29
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Four ways to form noun plurals: 1) Adding s 2) Adding es 3) Changing the phonogram 4) Change the y to an i and add es
- Categorize the plurals of: foot, river, song, letter, moon, baby, box
- Compose oral sentences using the plural of "letter"
- Compose sentences that identify a similarity (alike) in and difference between cows and horses using Learning About Cows and Learning About Horses (Spalding Readers)
- Narrative writing: The author's purpose is to entertain and develop understanding about people and the world. A narrative has characters (people or animals that take on the actions of a person), a setting (the time and place where the story happened), and an event (the action that happens in the story).
- Identify attributes in a four/five sentence first-person narrative paragraph
Week 30
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Apostrophe: Used to show that two words are combined. For example: it's
- Compose sentences that identify a similarity (alike) in and difference between bears and deer using Learning About Bears and Learning About Deer (Spalding Readers)
- Identify attributes of a narrative paragraph
- In whole group, orally compose a four/five sentence first-person narrative paragraph about a topic of class interest as the teacher writes the paragraph on the board.
Week 31
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Object Pronoun: Takes the place of a noun used as the object of a preposition or verb
- Substitute object pronouns for object nouns in written sentences. For example: "Give the book to me. Give the book to him. Give the book to her. Give the book to us. Give the book to them."
- Categorize the following words as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs: west, sold, told, best, form, far, gave, alike, add, brave, corn
Week 32
- Compose oral & written sentences that demonstrate meaning and usage of unfamiliar spelling/vocabulary words using a variety of the four types of simple sentences
- Categorize the following words as nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs: dance, dinner, doll, egg, fruit, looks, pick, rich, zoo, zip, zero