The Ginkgo tree,
Lovely Maidenhair tree:
Unique, beautiful, deep-rooted, patient.
Withstanding drought,
winter salt,
air pollution.
Resisting snow and wind damage.
Fan-shaped leaves that flutter in the slightest breeze.
In autumn, a brilliant, saturated yellow.
Female Ginkgo’s fruit: a yellow orange, plum-like.
Living more than one thousand years,
Here with the dinosaurs.
A conversation starter for your backyard.
Haiku
Leaves as delicate
as silk fans, the ginkgo tree,
shades me – an old friend.
Consider building smart charts through writerly discussions to help your students understand their choices and possible strategies to engage them throughout the writing process. These smart charts are really anchor charts that are created with the whole class. The teacher records the thinking of the students. When it is posted, students can continue to add to the chart as they think of new ideas. Here are some examples.
Planning Organization
Draw a picture introductions
Label a picture satisfying endings
Draw a comic strip story map
Lists—expert list outline
Reading books sequence of events
Photographs graphic organizers
Reading newspaper or articles transition words & phrases
Story stars (oral rehearsal) text structure (c/e, prob/solution, etc.)
Mystery of Harris Burdick paragraph structure (topic sentence,
Revisiting writers’ notebook transitions, etc.)
Justonemorebook.com establish meaningful order
Author/illustrator podcasts flashbacks, anecdotes
Brainstorming bridge paragraph to the middle of Observing a story
Vocab lists – word bank
Revision/Editing Publishing
Minilesson on revision make a book
Color dots/highlight artwork
Praise/ponder/polish poetry
Rainbow writing (colored pencils) class newspaper
Express lane editing (checkout) cereal box
Read aloud (ear/eye conference) writing a letter, sending it to an
Conference Clocks audience
Peer revision creating a game with directions
Spell check/technology writing a book talk
Franklin spellers PowerPoint/technology
Proofreading party Online books
List of Language Conventions for grade Letters and postcards
Editing Checklist with 4-5 appropriate skills Collection of family history stories
Motivating Kids to Write BARE books
CHOICE! Paperbag books
Picture books podcasts
photographs
Read alouds
Modeling
Shared experience
Make special books
Special markers
Crayons, pencils
Giving specific roles
Mind maps/heartmaps/handmaps
Writing territories
When Old Man Winter comes
In the middle of a snowy night,
December’s magic unfolds.
He sends playful snowflakes
that chase one another
through dark and stormy skies,
piling up on rooftops and branches,
covering pastures and fields,
silencing the world in whirling whiteness.
And the children awake with cheery cries,
Delighting in the changed landscape.
With open arms, they welcome him
Like a dear, old friend
Who has been away too long.
All Around Farm, Gwynedd Valley., PA 1998 
