"Writing A Lot About A Little"

Mrs. Alaniz loves to read all kinds of books----This is a proven, well-known indisputable fact. She especially loves books that help her become a better teacher. One such book is a book called Trait-Based Mini-Lessons for Teaching Writing. In this book, author Megan S. Sloan discusses how writers can be most effective when they take a simple topic and describe it in great detail.

To do this, we read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. This is a tried-but-true classic that Mrs. Alaniz reads every year. In this book, Margaret Wise Brown takes a simple item like a spoon or a shoe, and writes about it with such clear, simple language that it inspires fourth-graders to write!

Here's an example written by Mrs. Alaniz:

The important thing about a school is that children grow there.

A school is a place for learning and sharing.

A school is more than a cafeteria or a gym.

A school is a place for laughter, discussion, and memories

A school is a home for ideas, and the birthplace of the future.

But the important thing about a school is that children grow there.

We are writing our versions of The Important Book. We'll share them soon.

Here are the topics we are writing about:

chocolate

books

video games

water

friends

fire

Try this type of writing on your own. And remember what Mrs. Alaniz says: WRITERS WRITE! So remember to write every day!