Writer’s Craft Lesson Plan for Just Fine the Way They Are

Essential Question

  • What is writer’s craft?
  • How do writers use their craft to develop a story?

Big Ideas

  • The author’s voice projects a personal tone and flavor to a piece of writing.
  • Figurative language creates visual images
  • Purposeful, precise words move and enlighten a reader
  • A refrain creates interest and reinforces a message

Materials and Resources

Vocabulary

craft                              refrain                            image

voice                             figurative language      sensory

word choice                tone                                message

Writer’s Craft Lesson Plans

  1. Voice
  2. Figurative Language
  3. Word Choice
  4. Refrains/Repeated Ideas

Explicit Teaching

  • Define vocabulary words above.
  • Teach the essence of author’s craft: the process of putting words together meaningfully, making decisions about what to leave in, leave out, or say differently, and choosing words that express precisely what an author wants to communicate.
  • Model your decision-making process through “think alouds” as you share your own personal writing — “crafting” a story for the class.
  • Build background by using mentor text by examples of writer’s craft.  Select high quality literature that is representative of craft techniques.