Spivey Writing

Harold W. Smith Elementary School

Agenda• Characteristics of Effective Writing• Main Sentence Trunk• Precise Nouns and Vivid Verbs• Action Expander

Characteristics of Effective Writing

• Word Choice• Conventions• Grammatically Correct• Sentence Fluency• Ideas• Varied Sentence Length• Voice

Main Sentence

Trunk whowhat

action

The dog ran .

The 5 Criteria of Main Sentence Trunk

1. Capital letter2. Subject (noun)3. Predicate (verb)4. Ending mark5. Complete thought

Your Turn!

1. Write a Main Sentence Trunk.2. Code it to reflect the five

criteria.

Precise Nouns

The animal moved.

What kind of animal?

Vivid Verbs

The kangaroo moved.

How did the kangaroo move?How can you make it more vivid without adding an adverb? What verb relates to a kangaroo?

Human Sentences

The old man slept.

Action Expanders

The kangaroo hopped.

Where?Why? How?

When?

Action ExpandersWhere?

across the fieldover the grassby the riverbetween the rocksamong the mountainsbeside the fenceunder the trees

Prepositional Phrases

anchor chart

the kangaroo hopped.By the river,

by the river.The kangaroo hopped

Action Expanders(with where)

Action ExpandersWhen?

at nightearly in the morninglate in the eveningat sunriseyesterdayfive days agobefore sunset

anchor chart

by the river.

the kangaroo hoppedAt sunrise

the kangaroo hoppedBy the river,

at sunrise.

Action Expanders(with when)

Action ExpandersHow?

Adverbs

slowlysilentlyquicklyclumsilytimidlysadlyhappily

anchor chart

-lywithwithoutbylikeasunlikedifferent than

the kangaroo hoppedBy the river,

at sunrise.

silently

by the river.

the kangaroo hoppedAt sunrise silently

Action Expanders(with how)

Action ExpandersWhy?

because*so thatsinceto + action

Conjunctions*

anchor chart

the kangaroo hoppedBy the river,

at sunrise

silently

because she was looking for food.

by the river

the kangaroo hoppedAt sunrise silently

because she was looking for food.

Action Expanders(with why)

Action Expanders

Text Structure Noun Expanders

Noun Expanders

1. Describers2. With and That Phrases3. Renamers and Repeaters4. -ing and -ed

Noun ExpandersDescribers

color wordssize wordsshape words

Adjectives

anchor chart

Watch out for boring adjectives!nice pretty

the kangaroo hopped

by the river

At sunrise silently

because she was looking for food.

large

Noun Expanders(with describer)

Noun ExpandersWith & That

Phrases with a shaggy coatwith a bow in her hairwith blue eyesthat walked with a limpthat laughed at everythingthat sang like a bird

anchor chart

Watch out for boring adjectives!nice pretty

the

by the river

At sunrise

silently because she was

large

Noun Expanders(with “with” phrase)

kangaroo with the brown fur

hopped

looking for food.

the

by the river

At sunrise

silently because she was

large

Noun Expanders

kangaroo with the brown fur

hopped

looking for food.

“Surround the Noun”

What do Students Need to Know to Transfer the MST to the Paragraph Level?

• Types of Text Structures• Definitions• Reformatting maps/organizers• Questions

STRUCTURE DEFINITION SIGNAL WORDS GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS QUESTIONS

Definition Description

The author explains a topic, idea, person, place, or thing by listing characteristics, features, and examples.Focus is on one thing and its components.

For exampleCharacteristics areSuch asLooks likeConsists ofFor instanceMost important*Look for topic word (or synonym) to be repeated throughout the text.

What specific person, place, thing, event, or concept is being described?How is the topic described? (How does it work? What does it do? What does it look like? Etc.)What are the most important attributes or characteristics?How can the topic be classified? (For example, a robin can be classified as a type of bird.)

Sequence

The author lists items or events in numerical or chronological order.Describes the order of events or how to do or make something.

First, second, thirdNextThen, afterBefore, prior toNot long afterWhile, meanwhileSimultaneouslyAt the same timeFollowingFinallyAt lastIn the endOn (date)At (time)Directions

What sequence of events is being described?What are the major events or incidents that occur?What are the steps, directions, or procedures to follow? (What must be done first, second, etc.?)What is the beginning event?What other events or steps are included?What is the final outcome, event, or step?

Compare and Contrast

The author explains how two or more things are alike and/or how they are different.

Differs fromSimilar toIn contrastAlikeSame asAs well asOn the other handBothEither, orNot only, but alsoYet, although, butHowever*Also look for “-est” words: best, fewest, tallest, etc.

What items are being compared?What is it about them that is being compared?What characteristics of items form the basis of the comparison?What characteristics do they have in common; how are these items alike?In what ways are these items different?

Transfer MST with Action Expander to Narrative Genre

The girl swam. to entertain+

While on vacation in Hawaii, the little girl swam in the ocean beside her big brother.

Transfer MST with Action Expander to Expository Genre

The girl swam. to explain+

Upon receiving scuba certification, the girl swam along the coastline of California to catalog the types of indigenous water plants.

The child cried hysterically because she couldn’t find her dog. Sniffle. When she settled down she began to look for Skeeter. Her eyes scanned the area. She looked all around the yard hoping that Skeeter was there. She got up from the swing. Walking to the front of the house she looked down the street quickly. Wait! Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small shape zip into the street. It was Skeeter.

Taking the Action Expander to the Paragraph Level