Grades 3 to 4 - Developing Ideas

Third and fourth grade students learn to focus on a single topic long enough to develop their ideas. Using strong verbs, sensory detail, and dialogue to show (rather than tell) they provide evidence to support those ideas. Students pay careful attention to the impact of their choice of words in their own writing and when they read and respond to texts. As they improve their expressive abilities, they practice the technical skills necessary to communicate their ideas clearly and correctly. These include writing complete sentences, using correct punctuation, and learning the first steps in formatting dialogue.

Introductory Module

• Getting Started

Core Skill Modules:

• Focus (topic development)
• Showing
• Sentence Mechanics
• Dialogue and Evidence I
• Logical Structure

 

Core Genre Modules:

• Personal Essay
• Short Story
• Response to Literature

 

Additional Skill Modules:

• Strong Verbs
• Sensory Detail
• Character Development
• Subject Verb Agreement
• Setting and Context I
• Punctuating and Formatting Quotations