Editing Grade 1

Linda Hoyt and Linda Hoyt and Teresa Therriault Teresa Therriault
K-1 K-1
Grades Grades
Mastering the Mechanics: Grades K-1 Hoyt and Therriault, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Mastering the Mechanics

Ready-to-Use Lessons for Modeled, Guided, and Independent Editing
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Credits Rebecca Sittons High-Frequency Writing Words and High-Frequency Patterns/Rimes Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the activity and stationery pages from this book for classroom use only. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Cover design by Jay Namerow Interior design by Maria Lilja Interior photos by Linda Hoyt, Teresa Therriault, and Patrick Burke Acquiring editor: Lois Bridges Production editor: Erin K. L. Grelak Copy Editor: David Klein ISBN 13: 978-0-545-04877-4 ISBN 10: 0-545-04877-X Copyright 2008 by Linda Hoyt and Teresa Therriault All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Printed in the U. S. A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 23 12 11 10 09 08 07
e dedicate this to our husbands, Steve and Darrel. They make us smile, support us in countless ways, and love to remind us how lucky we are to have their love and support. They are right. We are wonderfully lucky to have them. Thanks, guys!
Acknowledgments
e feel fortunate to have worked together for many years as Title I teachers, staff developers, and friends. Through these years, we have had many mentors along the way who have helped us lift our practice, challenge our thinking, and find the courage to reach beyond what we knew yesterday. Those mentors include our colleagues, the children we have had the honor to serve, and those powerful professionals whose books on writing constantly challenge and inform us. Donald Graves, Donald Murray, Shelley Harwayne, Lucy Calkins, Regie Routman, Ralph Fletcher, Katie Wood Ray, and many others have carried the torch and helped us all make a bigger difference for young writers. At Kinnaman Elementary in Beaverton, Oregon, Jan McCall, principal, opened her heart and the classrooms of her wonderful learning community so that we could capture the photos that appear in this resource and on the cover. Their beautiful children, led by Marie Davis, Melissa Suesserman, Angie Thomas, Heidi Cochran, Traci Orth, and Patty Jo Foley, stretched our thinking and confirmed the validity of these cycles. The lessons in this resource were carefully tested to ensure they were classroom-ready and reflective of the challenges young editors face. Piloting educators included district administrators, teachers, principals, and consultants. Their feedback to the learning cycles put muscle behind our thinking through their insightful observations of learners and helpful suggestions. In Davidson County, North Carolina, our heartfelt thanks go to Sonja Parks, April Willard, Wendy Younts, Leigh Ann Bruff, Amber Idol, Amber Parker, Stephanie Ward, Tricia Prevette, and Emily Lipe. In Ukiah, California, we thank Kathryn McInnis, Debbee Freeman, Cathy Hessom, Gayle Kline, Janet McLeod, Caryl Mastrof, and Leslie Maricle-Barclay for opening their thinking and their classrooms to engage with the lessons. Kelly Boswell and Barbara Coleman, master teachers and independent consultants, provided valuable affirmations and encouragement. We have found it quite joyous to get to know the team at Scholastic. Lois Bridges, our amazing editor and trusted friend, is a cherished anchor, always smoothing the way with careful suggestions, time-saving support, and unflagging optimism. Eagle-eye Grammar Goddess Gloria Pipkin is our indispensable safety net. Terry Cooper, Ray Coutu, David Klein, Maria Lilja, and Erin K. L. Grelak have generously shared their thinking, expanded our vision, and helped this resource take shape in the teacher-friendly manner we so wished to achieve. It has been a pleasure, and we thank them sincerely.
tAble oF contents
I. ntroduction: Mastering I the Mechanics ........................ 7

Use Known Words to Spell Other Words ..... 66 Noticing Syllables: Each Syllable Needs a Vowel ........................................................ 68 Spelling Reference: Picture Alphabet Card ... 70 Spelling Reference: Class Word Wall............. 72 Spelling Reference: Portable Word Wall........ 74
cycles for Improving grammar Awareness.................................................. 77
II. kills Continuum ............... 30 S III. esson Cycles for L Mastering the Mechanics ................................ 39
cycles for Understanding the editing Process..................................... 39
Pronoun Order: Persons Name and Then I, Not Me ..................................... 78 Complete Sentences .................................... 80 Single vs. Double Subject (My mom vs. My mom she) ........................ 82 Using Transition Words ................................ 84 Singular and Plural Nouns ........................... 86 Singular Subject-Verb Agreement ................ 88 Plural Subject-Verb Agreement .................... 90 Past-Tense Verbs ........................................... 92 Possessive Pronouns ..................................... 94
cycles for lifting Punctuation .................... 97
Putting Your Name on the Paper ................. 40 Counting the Words in a Message ................ 42 Reread and Touch Each Word...................... 44 Focused Edit: Reread for Each Editing Point ............................................... 46 Using an Editing Checklist .......................... 48
cycles for Utilizing space on the Page........ 51
Word Boundaries: Keep Letters in a Word Close Together ............................................. 52 Using the Entire Page .................................. 54 Using Multiple Pages ................................... 56
cycles for moving Forward with spelling .............................................. 59
Periods: End of Sentence ............................. 98 Question Marks: Interrogative Sentences.... 100 Exclamation Points: Exclamatory Sentences and Interjections ........................ 102 Commas: Use in a Series ........................... 104 Quotation Marks: Dialogue ....................... 106 Apostrophes: Contractions ......................... 108 Apostrophes: Possessives ............................. 110
Stretching Words .......................................... 60 Reread to Add More Letters ........................ 62 Big Words Have More Letters Than Small Words ................................................. 64
tAble oF contents
cycles for success with capitalization ......113
IV. Tools............................................156
Teacher Resource: High-Frequency Writing Words ........................................... 157 Spelling Reference: Picture Alphabet Card . 158 Spelling Reference: Spanish Picture Alphabet Card ........................................... 159 Spelling Reference: Portable Word Wall...... 160 High-Frequency Writing Patterns/Rimes .. 161 From the Desk of _____ Notes ................. 162
Use Mostly Lowercase Letters .................... 114 Capitalize the Beginning of Sentences ....... 116 Capitalize Proper Nouns: Names and Places .................................................. 118 Capitalize Days of the Week ...................... 120 Capitalize Titles ......................................... 122
Pulling It All together Power burst lessons ................................125
Secret Sentences ........................................ 126 Scavenger Hunt ......................................... 127 Cut Up Sentences ..................................... 128 Cloze With Big Books ............................... 129 Cloze for High-Frequency Words in Writing.................................................. 130 Oh No! Oh Yes! ........................................ 131
Pulling It All together cycles ....................132
First, Next, Then, Finally............................ 163
V. ssessment and A Record Keeping ..................164

Editing Checklist I and Editing Checklist II ................................... 165 Strategies Good Editors Use ...................... 166 Spelling Strategies ...................................... 167 Interactive Assessment ................................ 168 Skills I Can Use ......................................... 169 Class Record-Keeping Grid....................... 170 Yearlong Planner ....................................... 171
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9
Signs to Label the Classroom ............. 132 From the Desk of ____ Notes ........... 134 Sticky Note Book Reviews ............... 136 Thank-You Letters ............................ 138 Danger! Signs .................................... 140 Summarize a Science Experiment ..... 142 Writing Questions to Ask Each Other ....................................... 144 Creating an About the Author Page ... 146 Writing a Persuasive Letter ................ 148
Appendix: Student Writing Samples............................................ 172 Bibliography ................................. 190 Index.................................................... 191
#10 Writing a Description ....................... 150 #11 Writing a Book Summary ................. 152 #12 Creating a Brief Animal Report ........ 154
mAsterIng the mechAnIcs: grAdes k1
PArt I
Introduction: Mastering the Mechanics

Putting Editing in Perspective
e care about the conventions of written language, and we are not alone. The parents of the children we serve, the community, and the public all care about and expect children to show growing expertise in the conventions of written language and to present written work in such a way that it is legible; spelled correctly; and demonstrates correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. As we focus young learners on mechanics and conventions, we want to be very clear about our goals:
1. To nurture writers who understand that rich, well-crafted messages are our first and most important focus. 2. To help children understand that a study of mechanics and conventions is about adding tools that enhance our messages, not just about correcting and being right.
the who Just ascakebaker scratch creates a from takes pride in adding buttercream roses atop chocolate swirls, students must learn to delight in knowing how to add the important touches of correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Shelley Harwayne
conventions (spacing, handwriting, spelling, and grammar) mechanics (periods, capital letters, and so on)
It is important to state that we are not in favor of prepackaged programs that cast editing and conventions as mistakes or exercises in correction. These programs have very little embedded instruction and consistently overwhelm students with sentences that are so laden with errors that meaning is easily lost, leaving a writer with few connections to his or her own work.
PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs
matters little if my It is perfectly edited and text spelled, if what I have to say is trivial, boring, and a waste of the readers time. Regie Routman
Above all, as we cast our attention upon mechanics and conventions, we must be sure that creative thinking flourishes during drafting and revision. If mechanics and editing are overemphasized, they can have the negative effect of reducing writing volume, causing children to limit their writing to words they are able to spell correctly or to use overly simplistic sentence structures.
Writers must understand that mechanics are not tedious obligations. They are tools that add clarity and interest to our writing. Carefully crafted modeled writing lessons improve craft, mechanics, grammar, and spelling. Our goal is to develop the understanding that writers integrate mechanics into craft rather than seeing them simply as elements of correctness. A modeled writing with a think-aloud recasting mechanics as craft might sound like this:
I I I I want to write about how quiet it was when I was walking in the woods. could say: I went walking in the woods. It was quiet. That is okay, but if think about how punctuation can help me write in more interesting ways, think I can make it even better. What do you think of: Shhh! Listen! As my feet crunch softly on the gravel path, the sound seems huge. It is so quiet in the forest that my footsteps sound loud! Look how I used exclamation points. That helped my opening and my ending to be more interesting. And do you see the comma I used? That told my reader to take a little breath so the ending of my sentence is more dramatic. Using punctuation makes my writing better!
It is our sincere hope that this resource will help educators and children alike see conventions and mechanics through new eyes. We believe conventions and mechanics are naturally woven into the writing process at two major points:
1. During drafting: Conventions and mechanics support our messages and enhance communi-
cation. Carefully chosen punctuation can clarify, control volume and flow, plus make ideas sparkle!
2. During editing: Conventions and mechanics provide readers with access to our thinking.
Correct spelling, grammar, spacing, and punctuation make our work accessible to readers.
mAsterIng the mechAnIcs: grAdes k1
Recast Mechanics and Conventions as Tools to Lift Writing Quality
Highlight Mechanics and Conventions in Mentor Texts

We have become accustomed to turning to wonderful mentor texts to enrich childrens exposure to literary language, form, and craft. Childrens literature is also one of our most powerful tools for celebrating and noting the interesting ways in which writers use spacing, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. Encouraging children to reread and look closely at a familiar text helps them attend to the fine points, noticing the frequency of end-punctuation marks, spacing, or purposes for capital letters. Using literature to present mechanics provides a tapestry of opportunity in which to explore mechanics, while helping children to understand that all writers think about spacing, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and so on.
Compare the use of question marks across favorite selections.
Reread to notice spaces between words.
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Clear acetate overlays allow children to trace conventions right in a book. Rereading familiar favorites to count question marks and periods heightens awareness of conventions in print.
Shared reading is a perfect time to highlight the ways in which authors use conventions.
10 mAsterIng the mechAnIcs: grAdes k1
Focus on Reading and Writing as Reciprocal Processes

Reading and writing are reciprocal language processes (Clay, 2005; Gentry, 2007). As writers create text, they are constantly rereading their work and applying all they know about how print works. When writers read, they take in models of language, spacing, conventional spelling, and punctuation that will inform their own work as writers. Reading and writing are powerful partners, extending and transforming the network of literacy understandings our youngest learners are constructing. The key is to make this reciprocal relationship transparent to our students.
strong Participation in clearly writing programs benefits both reading and writing development. Donald Graves
Modeling: The Heart of Our Work

We believe it is critical to do a great deal of modeled writing as the children observe and listen to us think out loud about conventions and mechanics and how they are woven into our messages. We show writers how we use letters, sounds, punctuation, and grammar to make our thinking accessible to a reader. We believe that, every day, children should have the chance to observe the creation of quality writing that has artistic punctuation, jaw-dropping phrasing, and sets a model that they can attempt to emulate.
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Explicit demonstrations of writing are central to the work we do as writing coaches. When we model interesting openings, insertion of onomatopoeia with an exclamation point, or how to write items in a list, we are clarifying our students vision of quality writing.
Think Out Loud During Modeled Writing

The think-alouds we provide during modeled writing make the inner workings of the writing process transparent to children. If we allow our thoughts to flow around the creation of text, children can listen in as we make decisions about Never ask students word choice, spelling, to do something they punctuation, and havent watched you grammar. Let children do first. ride with you on your writing journey as you construct and deconstruct your thinking. There is nothing more powerful than watching you, their teacher, think out loud about words and letters, and then pause midstream to reread and see how everything is coming together; or model how to go back and add letters, insert words, or give the spelling of a particular word a second try. Think-alouds during modeled writing open the door to the wonders that occur as we think, write, reread, and then write again. Think-alouds show learners how we massage a message to make our ideas come alive on paper.
Model Rereading and Marking Up a Text

Help students understand that after our message is complete and we begin to edit, our work may look a bit messy. We may cross out words and try a different spelling, change a lowercase letter to a capital letter, and so on. This is okay! This is what editors do, and a text marked up well means the editor is doing a good job!
Model Using Band-Aids

We generally do not ask kindergarten and first-grade children to recopy their work to create a final draft. Instead, we provide strips of correction tape when over-erasing or multiple crossouts have created an unreadable smudge. Rolls of correction tape come in many widths and are easily available at office supply stores. Many first-grade and kindergarten writers, enjoy putting these Band-Aids on their work when erasures have become a challenge during editing. Young children take great delight in watching the teacher model putting Band-Aids on a piece of modeled writing during revision and editing.
Joys of Early Writing

Writing time with kindergartners and first graders is a joyous time, filled with wonder, discovery, and learning. We all celebrate the magic of writing that first appears as drawing, then labeling. . . then the first bursts of connected words on a page. With each day, writing and the writer take on new dimensions, gaining strength, fluency, and confidence. How exciting it is to survey writing samples and see the visible evidence of growth in phonics, sentence structure, meaning, and mechanics!
The conventional writing shown on these samples is placed on a sticky note. Teachers do not write directly on the childrens papers.
The Importance of Approximation

During childrens first tentative interactions with paper and pen, we encourage experimentation and approximation. Writing strategies such as write the first letter and draw a line for the rest of the word or write the sounds you know free children to focus on ideas and support the development of both meaning and spelling. These strategies for independence free writers to keep writing, rather than becoming stuck on the spelling of an unknown word. This is critical if we are to create resourceful and independent writers who realize that waiting in line for the teacher to provide the spelling of an unknown word will cause them to lose track of their thought and create an unnecessary dependency that wastes learning time. But again, we must model.
Modeling Word Construction

While modeling word construction, we slowly and deliberately stretch out words, saying them slowly so we can hear the sounds. We model how to write the beginning sound and draw a line for the rest of the word when we arent sure of the rest.
Boys and girls, I had the most wonderful banana split on my birthday! I want to write banana, so I will say the word really slowly. It starts with /b/. I am going to use my picture alphabet card to help myself and write the letter b. I am not sure of the rest of the word, so I am going to draw a line for now and think about the rest later so I dont forget my idea.
We continue writing and thinking aloud, joyfully returning to banana when we think of more letters we can incorporate to make the word closer to the conventional spelling.
Oh! I remembered more sounds I can use in banana! I want to add /n/ and /a/. Those are at the end of banana. I am going to go back to that word and add n and a. Thats better!
ucy Calkins and Natalie Louis (2003) remind us that it is crucial to let children in on a secret, that sometimes we cant read their stories because of spelling and handwriting.
Thinking About Audience

Children need to learn that one of the reasons we write is to share our writing with others. With an audience in mind, authors must think about the message plus conventions (spacing, handwriting, spelling, and grammar) and mechanics (periods, capital letters, and so on). When there is an authentic audience, authors have strong and viable purposes for looking more closely at their work and expecting more from the print they create.
To build a sense of audience, we believe it is important to provide Students can hear all authentic reasons for students to share their writing. Activities such we have to say about as partner sharing, authors chair, end-of-workshop sharing circles, punctuation, but if there and publishing all help. But we can go further. If we make students are no real-life connections, writing public as often as possible, a sense of audience elevates in little will stick. importance. With this in mind, we invite kindergarten and first-grade Janet Angelillo students to do the following: Write notes to each other and the teacher. Write letters to the principal, the cook, or the school secretary. Write letters to their parents and ask them to write back. Create partnerships with another class so they can read their writing to a different authentic audience. Publish their work as class books and individual books. Post writing on the walls of the classroom. Make signs to label walls, doors, and paper towel dispensers, or to remind us of processes and procedures. Write notes for authentic purposes, using From the Desk of ______ pads.
Keegan writes a note to the teacher, I like my air hockey table. Andy wrote a note to his mother after he remembered he used the last of the toothpaste while getting ready for school. From the Desk of ______ examples are in the tools section on page 162.
Authentic audience and authentic purposes work hand in hand to provide the motivation and a rationale for why conventions and mechanics are important. This is the time when we reread for correctness and for lifting the visual aspects of our message to the highest possible levels.
The Classroom Environment

The environment we create for writing is important. A rich environment for writing should have areas for:
Editing conferences and coaching for individuals
Modeled writing and sharing
Shared thinking and partner editing
The walls should make strong statements about the learning in the classroom. Modeled writing, word walls, editing checklists, and posters showing studies of conventions should be clearly visible.
Modeled writing should be available for children to revisit over time. It can become a source of familiar words and strategies as well as a resource to model continued editing and expansion of language.
Word walls and lists of frequently used words should be positioned so that children can reach the words and touch individual letters.
Interactive posters, built collaboratively with children, make strong statements about the importance of conventions and mechanics in published literature and in our own work as writers.
Editing checklists should emphasize childrens current phase of development and change over time to reflect new learning.
Model the Use of Classroom Tools

When classroom walls reflect a rich tapestry of writing forms, tools, and Visuals are only supports, a strong message is sent to children, parents, and our colleagues helpful if students that this is a classroom where writing and mechanics are celebrated and actively use them. savored. It is important to remember, however, that rich visuals provide invitations, but real use will occur only with explicit and careful modeling of the tools in action. We believe that we must model the use of word walls, charts, and environmental print so children understand that we minimize the use of these tools during drafting and emphasize their use when we edit for an audience. We must also demonstrate that the role of our personal tools is different. We use personal tools continuously during all phases of writing.
Picture Alphabet Cards and Personal Alphabet Strips

Writers need personal tools such as a well-organized writing folder in which they store their work, and their personal alphabet strips or picture alphabet cards as support for constructing words. These tools need to be right in front of writers as they draft. Alphabet strips at the 10-foot level are of little use to a kindergarten or first-grade writer. Personal alphabet strips and personal picture alphabet cards are as essential as pencils and paper.
Aa Dd Hh Ll Rr Vv
Bb Ee Ii Ll ll Oo
Cc Ff Jj Mm Pp Tt
Ch ch Gg Kl Nn Qq
As you plan your modeled writing sessions, please do integrate the use of picture alphabet cards or sentence strips into your writing demonstrations and thinkalouds. If children see you using the tool effectively, they will soon be moving toward independence with these important tools.
Personal Editing Checklists

As writers begin shifting from an editing checklist in a poster format to using personal editing checklists, it will be important to ensure that the checklist matches writer levels of development. You will find examples in the assessment and record-keeping section, pages 165 and 166. While these examples may offer needed matches to the levels of some of your students, please Editors Use creating your own consider Strategies Good editing checklists made sense Reread to be sure I that match up with the skills Reread to check for spaces betweenand the cycles students are learning words Reread to add letters you have selected for instruction. Reread to add words
I checked my work carefully. ____________________________________________________ (author) (date)
Aa Ss Bb Ff
Ww
Cc
Yy
Dd Uu Ii
Zz
Ee
Gg
Xx
Hh
Jj
Kl
Ll
Mm
Nn
Oo
Strategies Good Editors Use
Pp
Qq
Rr
Ss
Tt
Reread for every editing point Check capital letters Notice punctuation: Periods Exclamation points Question marks
Uu
Vv
Ww Xx
Yy
Zz
Commas Apostrophe Use resources to check my spelling ____________________________________________________ (author) (editing partner) (date)
English and Spanish personal picture alphabet cards are resources that empower writers. See Tools, pages 158 and 159.
2008 Hoyt & Therriault Mastering the Mechanics: Grades K1
Writing Folders and Skills I Can Use Lists

In designing folders, we believe it is very helpful to include a sheet of paper titled Skills I Can Use attached to one side of the folder. This sheet becomes a record of the skills each individual learner can control as a writer. Each time we have an editing conference and work on a convention, or a mechanic or a spelling strategy, we add the skill to the Skills I Can Use list. This list is an ongoing personal reminder to the learner and the teacher that the skill has been mastered. Children learn that once a skill has been added to their list, we expect them to apply that skill in every piece of writing written for an audience.
Skills I Can Use
____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
When writers have a well-organized writing folder, writing and personal tools are easily accessible.
____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________

2008 Hoyt & Therriault Mastering the Mechanics: Grades K1
Writing folders should have a place where learners can record skills or conventions they can use as writers. Once items are on their personal list, writers know that they are accountable to work on these skills every time they edit. See page 168 for a template.
When Do We Start Focusing on Mechanics and Conventions?

A common question is, When does a focus on mechanics and conventions begin? We prefer a question such as How do mechanics and conventions evolve with our youngest writers? If we see a sense of audience and mechanics as something that develops over time, it is easier to see how we might keep the focus on meaning while steeping learners in modeled writing and gently guiding them toward conventions and audience. With this emphasis, it would be perfectly natural to have a modeled writing lesson that sounds something like:
I love popcorn. I love the crackly crunch and poppety pop as kernels start to explode. One of the things I love is that the pop sometimes surprises me. I am going to use exclamation points to show that in my writing. Watch to see how I use exclamation points to make my writing more interesting. My first word is pop (p-o-p). First, I write the letters, and then I add the exclamation point (!). Pop! Pop! Poppety! I can hardly wait for those salty, crunchy bits to land on my tongue.
By recasting punctuation as a tool that can make our writing sparkle, we have maintained a clear focus on meaning. This kind of work on mechanics and conventions is developmentally appropriate right from the start.
Tiptoe Lightly With Correctness

We must avoid a situation in which a fear of being incorrect freezes writers and forces them into a narrow zone of correctness. In this kind of setting, children can sometimes place too much emphasis on spelling, for example, and begin to limit their writing to words they know they can spell correctly. This is dangerous, as then the writing is guided by spelling rather than the writers sense of language and imagination. While empowering writers with conventions, we must also take seriously our mission to keep meaning Conventions and mechanics as the primary objective. Our goal: for language to be lifted and should support meaning, elaborated, with mechanics as a subset of the message. not limit it. We do believe, however, that it is appropriate to set expectations and to make it clear to children that after completing a cycle, they have new tools that they can use and that they are expected to use. The last thing you want is After a lesson on putting your name on your paper, it is perfectly for your children to settle for reasonable to expect writers to do so. After a lesson on rereading to The dog bit at me, instead add more letters, it is reasonable to expect writers to reread and think of writing the dog snarled about the letters they have used. As we tiptoe, we can still have high at me, because of a concern expectations for our students development and growth.
for correctness. ucy Calkins and L Natalie Louis
Rereading: Strategic Tool for Meaning, Mechanics, and Conventions

Rereading during drafting helps our ideas flow and helps us regain momentum with the message we are crafting. Rereading during revision helps us wonder about craft elements such as word choice, interesting leads, voice, volume, and focus of information. It is also a time when we can wonder if our punctuation is used in ways that help the reader, add clarity to our thinking, or make the writing more interesting. Rereading when we edit for an audience takes on an entirely different dimension. This is the time when we slow down and really look at the visual characteristics of what we have created.
Rereading Power
What do I see? Is the writing neat enough for someone else to read? Are there spaces between words so a reader can tell where words start and stop? Do my picture and my words make good use of space on the page? Does my punctuation add to the message? Did I use a capital letter to start my sentence? How is the spelling? What words should I revisit?
Rereading: Focused Edits

When young children reread to edit and check for conventions and mechanics, we believe it is most effective if you have them engage in focused edits. In a focused edit, the writer reads with a focus on a single purpose. For example, the writer might reread once to check for end punctuation. Then, the writer rereads again to check for capital letters. Each editing point gets its own rereading. Focused edits with a single purpose for each rereading help writers keep a clear focus on their purpose. This keeps them from becoming distracted or overwhelmed by simultaneous purposes.
glue that conRereading is the writing. Writers nects the stages of continually reread what theyve written, and this rereading changes at each stage of the craft cycle. alph Fletcher R and JoAnn Portalupi
First focused edit: Reread for spacing. Reread again through a new lens to try to add more letters to words.
You can bring an element of fun into the focused edits by providing an array of inexpensive reading glasses. Putting on the glasses and seeing the writing through a new lens helps young writers understand how closely we read when we are editing.
The Teaching/Assessing Loop

Assessment is our essential guide to quality instruction. As we observe writers during drafting, meeting with them in small groups or conferring with individuals, we are constantly assessing to determine what they do and do not know. Our assessments are the best possible guides to instruction. The data we gather through thoughtful, sensitive assessment help us choose the next skills our students need and also help us determine whether our students are fully grasping the material were teaching.
Selecting Skills for Instruction

To determine which conventions and mechanics are expected at a particular grade level, look first at your state standards. We suggest that you consider highlighting these standards on a photocopy of the Skills Continuum located on page 30. If you are working with a mandated language arts resource, you might identify the skills for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and so on, in the program and then highlight those on the grid as well. (We like to add program-driven goals in a second color so we can see where they deviate from state standards.) Now, as you look at the grid, you have a unified picture that shows state standards and program requirements in a single, easy-to-follow format that will round out your editing work with kindergarten and first-grade students. Secondly, assess the skills your students are already implementing in their writing.
Assess the Skills Your Students Can Use

We find it immensely helpful to collect unedited writing samples and use the Class RecordKeeping Grid provided in assessment, page 170. It takes only minutes to list students names in the first column and jot down target conventions and mechanics across the top of the other columns. With a stack of writing samples in hand, you are ready to start placing check marks for writers who show evidence of adequate space between words, as well as periods, capitals, and so on. Make several copies of the grid with students names recorded. As you expand your assessment of additional skills and strategies, your grid is ready. Once you have a profile of your students and their needs, you are ready to select a cycle and begin Mastering the Mechanics! In the I Love My Mom example on page 25, our assessment review shows that this writer uses spaces between words and stretches writing across the entire line. While there are some capital letters in place, we would want to see additional samples to be sure that capitalization is being used consciously. There are no periods in place, so on the grid, we check off spaces between words and uses entire line. Then, we place a dot for period at the end of a sentence, to indicate that this would be a helpful learning target for this writer.
List skills across the top.
Notice that Teresa uses the clipboard and grid during this writing conference.
List students names in first column.
2008 Hoyt & Therriault Scholastic Mastering the Mechanics: Grades K1
List date you observed the learner applying the skill independently.
With the use of the grid, a quick review of unedited writing exposes patterns of need. The grid also allows us to quickly identify groups of writers who share similar needs as editors. Because of this assessment, we can quickly and easily gather small groups for explicit instruction targeted directly to their needs. We find this assessment so helpful that we keep it on a clipboard while circulating during writers workshop, and as a reference during writing conferences.
Notice Oral Language Patterns

The grammar usage that appears in young childrens writing is tightly linked to oral language. With this in mind, we challenge ourselves to listen carefully to notice which children are still struggling with subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, or the use of pronouns in oral speech. In addition to consciously listening to oral language patterns, we take dictation. This provides a concrete record of oral language patterns and quickly shows which children might benefit from some explicit support for oral language development.
A Note About Editing Checklists

Editing checklists in kindergarten and first grade begin as a poster on the wall that may be as simple as this one:
Is your name on your paper? Use the date stamp. Reread your work. See if you can add more letters or words.
As proficiency grows and students get used to editing as the last step in writing, you might want to transition to an editing checklist that writers actually fill out.You will find examples in the assessment section of this resource, pages 165 and 166.
It is important to remember that editing checklists do not teach; they simply remind students to use the processes that you have modeled.
Editing checklists grow and change in response to writer development.
Editing Conferences: Adding the Chocolate Swirls

We teach writers that if they are going to have an audience for their writing, they need to follow these last steps as editors: Assuming that you have already held a revision conference with the writer, an editing conference provides a second opportunity for you and the writer to think together about a particular piece of writing. The first time, the emphasis is on craft, including the use of interesting punctuation to lift the writing. This time, the focus of the conference is editing. During this conference, you will want to select one or two skills to address with the child. Never teach more than one or two things; children usually cannot retain that much information. We like to keep sticky notes on hand during editing conferences, in accordance with our belief that when writers make their own corrections and retain control of the pencil, they are more likely to remember and reuse what they have learned.
Steps for Editors

If you have revised your work and are sure the message is just the way you want it, you are ready to:
1. Use the editing checklist.

Do a focused edit for each item on the list.
2. Find an editing partner.

Read the writing together and think about making it the best it can be.
3. Sign up for an editing

conference with the teacher.
With this in mind, an editing conference might sound something like the following:
Anna, you must be so pleased that you have decided to publish your piece on giving your dog a bath. As a reader, I could totally visualize the soapy mess that you AND the dog made during this particular bath. What a great job you did in explaining the bubbles and the water. As we begin editing, please tell me what you and your editing partner have already discovered and worked on in your writing. Be sure to point out any changes or additions you and your editing partner were able to make. I see that you have underlined six words that you want to look at for spelling. Please show me the two you most want to work on today. Great! Lets look closely at soapy and fur. We can use your Portable Word Wall (see Tools, page 160) so you can save these words that are special to you. I will use these sticky notes to write the correct spelling for some other words and place them Remember Focused Edits on your paper so you can finish editing the spelling Simultaneous rereading for every after our conference. element on a checklist can be
too great of a challenge and result in less effective editing. Each item on an editing checklist should get its own focused edit. If there are four items on the checklist, writers will reread at least four times.
The Yearlong Planner

The Yearlong Planner featured on the gatefold (the inside front cover) of this book is a tool to help you map out your curriculum for mechanics and conventions for the year. As you can see, this planner provides week-by-week suggestions for three content cycles, followed by a Pulling It All Together cycle to solidify the learning with authentic, interactive purpose. During a Pulling It All Together cycle, no new skills are added. This is a time for learners to apply their learning of the previous cycles in authentic contexts. With this plan as your guide, students will have four weeks of instruction and plentiful opportunities to transfer the skills learned to long-term memory. Please note that a blank version of the Yearlong Planner is provided on page 171. With this planner, you can use your assessments of learners, along with your own state standards, to build a personalized curriculum map. Important Note: This planner does not contain all of the lessons in this resource. We built a wide range of lessons to support your responses to the needs of your students. There are many paths through this resource. You may elect to use all of the planner or portions of it, or you can select lessons entirely based upon the needs of your learners. The choices and the path you take are up to you.
On Your Way!
The instructional cycles that are the centerpiece of this resource are meant to celebrate writers and their ever-growing control over craft and form. As you enter these cycles, we challenge you to recast conventions and mechanics as tools for enhancing meaning and to have a joyous journey as you and your students begin Mastering the Mechanics!

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What is the purpose of the Yearlong Planner?

What is the purpose of the Yearlong Planner?

What are some of the mentors mentioned in the Acknowledgments section?

What are some of the mentors mentioned in the Acknowledgments section?

Linda Hoyt and Linda Hoyt and Teresa Therriault Teresa Therriault

Mastering the Mechanics

I. ntroduction: Mastering I the Mechanics ........................ 7

cycles for success with capitalization ......113

First, Next, Then, Finally............................ 163

V. ssessment and A Record Keeping ..................164

 mAsterIng the mechAnIcs: grAdes k1

Introduction: Mastering the Mechanics

PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs 

 mAsterIng the mechAnIcs: grAdes k1

Recast Mechanics and Conventions as Tools to Lift Writing Quality

Highlight Mechanics and Conventions in Mentor Texts

Compare the use of question marks across favorite selections.

Reread to notice spaces between words.

PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs 

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Focus on Reading and Writing as Reciprocal Processes

Modeling: The Heart of Our Work

PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs 11

Think Out Loud During Modeled Writing

Model Rereading and Marking Up a Text

Model Using Band-Aids

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Joys of Early Writing

PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs 13

The Importance of Approximation

Modeling Word Construction

Thinking About Audience

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The Classroom Environment

Editing conferences and coaching for individuals

Modeled writing and sharing

Shared thinking and partner editing

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Model the Use of Classroom Tools

Picture Alphabet Cards and Personal Alphabet Strips

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Personal Editing Checklists

Strategies Good Editors Use

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2008 Hoyt & Therriault Mastering the Mechanics: Grades K1

Writing Folders and Skills I Can Use Lists

Skills I Can Use

PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs 21

When Do We Start Focusing on Mechanics and Conventions?

Tiptoe Lightly With Correctness

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Rereading: Strategic Tool for Meaning, Mechanics, and Conventions

Rereading: Focused Edits

PArt I: IntrodUctIon: mAsterIng the mechAnIcs 23

The Teaching/Assessing Loop

Selecting Skills for Instruction

Assess the Skills Your Students Can Use

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