9. Kindergarten early in March The following samples were written by Kindergarten children in early March

10. Kindergarten early in March

12. Kindergarten, toward end of March

13. The following examples were written in November by students in second grade. These examples were students first attempt at using the think-sheets. The teacher and class co-constructed the think-sheets (We Do It), and students then independently wrote their essays.

16. A ssign order P review words to use L ist ideas N ote ideas in complete sentences S tate conclusion P urpose A udience T OPIC H ook Tell a story Write about something

17. Assign orderPreview words to use List ideasNote ideas in complete sentences 1 State conclusion PurposeAudienceTOPICHook x Granny Birthday party Ever been really surprised? Pizza trick Pizza, ice cream, cake This was the best birthday ever. Lots of presents Birthday cake ice cream basketball Daddy-clown orange hair Pizza Palace Video tape video games Clown video 1 2 3 4 Best friends came 5 Last week, Mom stopped at the Pizza Palace and sent me in to pick up an order. It was a trick to surprise me with a birthday party. My best friends were there. When I walked in, they yelled “SURPRISE!” I was really shocked. I could even speak. I got lots of cool presents, but the best one was the basketball you sent me. I’ve wanted one for a long time. I also got some cool video games. First we ate pizza. Then I opened presents. Dad came out with my birthday cake. We had chocolate ice cream with it. Mom video taped the whole thing. It is really funny. I hope you get to watch it. Dad had orange hair and a weird clown suit on. Dear Granny, Have your ever been really surprised? Last week, Mom stopped at the Pizza Palace and sent me in to pick up an order. It was a trick to surprise me with a birthday party. My best friends were there. When I walked in, they yelled “SURPRISE!” I was really shocked. I couldn’t even speak. I got lots of cool presents, but the best one was the basketball you sent me. I’ve wanted one for a long time. I also got some cool video games. First we ate pizza. Then I opened presents. Dad came out with my birthday cake. We had chocolate ice cream with it. Mom video taped the whole thing. It is really funny. I hope you get to watch it. Dad had orange hair and a weird clown suit on. This was the best birthday ever. Love, Jamil

22. 2Da P urpose A udience T opic H ook Describe Explain Tell a story Persuade A ssign order P review words to use L ist ideas N ote ideas in complete sentences SEE HEAR SMELL TOUCH TASTE S tate conclusion TRANSITION WORDS: first, second, third, etc., next, throughout, beside, between, among, when, where, as well as, after, before, after, finally, later, suddenly, immediately, as soon as, until, This is about ___ Some one who … ___ Something that… ___Someplace where ……

23. 2Da P urpose A udience T opic H ook Describe Explain Tell a story Persuade A ssign order P review words to use L ist ideas N ote ideas in complete sentences SEE HEAR SMELL TOUCH TASTE S tate conclusion TRANSITION WORDS: first, second, third, etc., next, throughout, beside, between, among, when, where, as well as, after, before, after, finally, later, suddenly, immediately, as soon as, until, This is about ___ Some one who … ___ Something that… ___Someplace where …… 2 3 1 5 4 x Teacher Backyard BBQ World’s best food is in backyard … is one of my favorite things to do on a holiday Slab of ribsSmoke coming out of BBQ Potato chips Cooler White bread Paper plates charcoal Black grill Hickory chips Sizzling of ribs as grease drips on fire ribs smoking on the grill Sticky BBQ sauce Delicious BBQ ribs The jet-black grill has smoking pouring out of all the cracks around the lid and from the little smokestack. I love the sound of the ribs sizzling as drops of grease drop onto the hot fiery coals. You’ll probably smell the ribs smoking on the grill long before you see the grill. After you’ve eaten all you can, your hands and face will be covered with sticky sauce. Just the thought of chowing down on those delicious ribs makes my mouth water. I'm ready for some BBQ right now! x

24. 2Da Someplace where… PurposeAudienceTopicHook Assign orderPreview words to use List ideasNote ideas in complete sentences State conclusion 2 3 x Backyard BBQ World’s best food is in backyard Teacher … is one of my favorite things to do on a holiday Smoke coming out of BBQ Sizzling of ribs as grease drips on fire ribs smoking on the grill Sticky BBQ sauce Delicious BBQ ribs I love the sound of the ribs sizzling as drops of grease drop onto the hot fiery coals. You’ll probably smell the ribs smoking on the grill long before you see the grill. After you’ve eaten all you can, your hands and face will be covered with sticky sauce. Just the thought of chowing down on those delicious ribs makes my mouth water. I’m ready for some BBQ right now! Slab of ribs charcoal Black grill Hickory chips Potato chips Cooler Paper plates White bread The jet-black grill has smoking pouring out of all the cracks around the lid and from the little smokestack. The world’s best food is not in an expensive restaurant. It’s the BBQ ribs sitting next to the potato chips, pickles, paper plates and stack of white bread on the picnic table in my backyard. You’ll probably smell the ribs smoking on the grill long before you see smoke pouring out of the cracks around the lid and from the little smokestack of the jet-black grill. I love the sound of the ribs sizzling as drops of grease drop onto the hot fiery coals. Just the thought of gobbling up those delicious ribs makes my mouth water. After you’ve eaten just one, your hands and face will be covered with sticky sauce that feels like glue. Just thinking about this makes me ready for some ribs right now! 1 5 4

25. 2Na Background information P urpose A udience T opic H ook Describe Explain Tell a story Persuade A ssign order P review words to use L ist ideas N ote ideas in complete sentences WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE HOW S tate conclusion TRANSITION WORDS: first, second, third, etc., next, throughout, beside, between, among, when, where, as well as, after, before, after, finally, later, suddenly, immediately, as soon as, until,

26. 2Na Background information P urpose A udience T opic H ook Describe Explain Tell a story Persuade A ssign order P review words to use L ist ideas N ote ideas in complete sentences WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE HOW S tate conclusion TRANSITION WORDS: first, second, third, etc., next, throughout, beside, between, among, when, where, as well as, after, before, after, finally, later, suddenly, immediately, as soon as, until, Camping Trip Do you like camping? My friends Uncle Scott lives in Colorado. We planned to visit him. Dad, Mom, David & I Went hiking & fly fishing Summer vacation Colorado mountains Stayed in a camping trailer Last summer, Dad, Mom, my brother David, and I went on a camping trip. Dad took us hiking and fly fishing. Mom took us for a ride on an old train. We left home the day after summer vacation started. It took three days of driving to get there. We stayed in several campgrounds in the Colorado Mountains. Dad borrowed a camping trailer that we towed behind the car. We cooked breakfast and dinner on a campfire. Camping in Colorado was the best trip ever. camping Colorado mountains hiking fishing camping trailer train vacation 1 5 2 4 3

27. Do you like camping? Last summer, I went on a great camping trip. We went to Colorado to visit my Uncle Scott. Dad, Mom, my brother, David, and I went camping with him. We left home the day after summer vacation started. It took three days of driving to get there. When we got there, Dad borrowed a camping trailer that we towed behind the car. Next we drove up into the mountains a found a camping spot. That night we cooked on a campfire. During the next several days, we stayed in several campgrounds in the Colorado Mountains. Dad took us hiking the first few days. Later he took us fly fishing. On our last day in Colorado, Mom took us for a ride on an old train. Camping in Colorado was the best trip ever! Background information PurposeAudienceTopicHook Assign orderPreview words to use List ideasNote ideas in complete sentences State conclusion Camping Trip Do you like camping? My friends Uncle Scott lives in Colorado. We planned to visit him. Dad, Mom, David & I Went hiking & fly fishing Summer vacation Colorado mountains Stayed in a camping trailer Last summer, Dad, Mom, my brother David, and I went on a camping trip. Dad took us hiking and fly fishing. Mom took us for a ride on an old train. We left home the day after summer vacation started. It took three days of driving to get there. We stayed in several campgrounds in the Colorado Mountains. Dad borrowed a camping trailer that we towed behind the car. We cooked breakfast and dinner on a campfire. Camping in Colorado was the best trip ever. camping Colorado mountains hiking fishing camping trailer train vacation 1 5 2 4 3 The Colorado Camping Trip

31. P review words to use L ist ideas A ssign order N ote ideas in complete sentences people who like scary stuff Perdido CemeteryLike haunted houses? P urpose A udience T opic H ook Describe Explain Tell a story Persuade This is about: Someone who … Something that … Somewhere that … Is a spooky cemetery we like to visit at night for a thrill tombstones seem to move indentions in the ground are old caved-in graves smells musty – rotting stuff night sounds - owls, leaves rustling 2 What it’s like at night old crumbly tombstones, falling over, stained huge oak trees with Spanish moss rusty metal fence with a broken gate grass and bushes have gone wild 1 How it looks S tate conclusion If you think you are brave enough, I’ll take you there one night. We’ll see how brave you really are old tombstones rusty fence wild bushes huge oak trees caved-in graves smells like death creepy noises scariest at night 3D x

32. The Perdido Cemetery If you like visiting haunted houses at Halloween, you’ll love visiting what’s in the woods behind my house. It’s an old, abandoned cemetery! As I describe this place, you’ll agree that it’s better than any fake haunted house you’ve been to. Its name is the Perdido Cemetery. “Perdido” is a Spanish word that means, “lost.” It is a perfect name for this place. You have to walk through the woods to get there. The first thing you’ll notice is the old, rusty gate and fence. Naturally, the gate is broken and hanging at a crooked angle. Inside the fence are huge oak trees that have Spanish moss sleepily hanging from every limb. The graveyard has been abandoned, so the grass and bushes have gone wild and grown tall and scraggly. They hide most of the tombstones. The old crumbly tombstones are stained. Some lean over like they are trying to look down, and others have fallen over completely. The scariest time to go is at night. The tombstones seem to move as you scan the cemetery with your flashlight. Nearly everywhere you can see are indentions in the ground that show where graves are, but whose tombstones are long gone. The indentions come from the caskets rotting away and causing a cave-in in the earth as the dirt slowly fills the cavity around the skeleton. The place smells really musty. Although what you smell is probably rotting leaves, it’s hard not to think that it’s from rotting bodies! Chances are that your visit will be complete when you hear a screech owl. Most can’t stand it any longer and want to get out of there as fast as possible when the hear that horrible sound. If you think you are brave enough, come spend the night with me. We will wait until it is late and dark before we visit the cemetery. We’ll see just how brave you really are when we take a little walk in the woods behind my house. Is about a place that Old tombstones Rusty fence Wild bushes Caved-in graves Smells like death Creepy noises Scariest at night A spooky cemetery we like to visit at night for a thrill Preview words to use List ideas Assign order Note ideas in complete sentence People who like scary stuff Perdido cemetryLike haunted houses? PurposeAudienceTopicHook So this happened … What it’s like at night If you think you are brave enough, I’ll take you there one night. We’ll see how brave you really are.” tombstones seem to move indentions in the ground are old caved-in graves smells musty – rotting stuff night sounds - owls, leaves rustling old crumbly tombstones, falling over, stained huge oak trees with Spanish moss rusty metal fence with a broken gate grass and bushes have gone wild This happened … How it looks Huge oak trees 3D State conclusion 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4