Writing for a Purpose

A few weeks ago we were pleased to host renowned children's author Julie Lawson to our school.  Julie has written a number of popular children's books, including her most recent effort, "The Dragon's Pearl".  Our students were able to listen to Julie describe the writing process and the amount of effort and research needed to make a compelling story.  This was a great way to extend our students' understanding of the writing process and the need to have a purpose for writing.

This week we will be hosting the dramatic duo called Sun Ergos.  They will be performing a theatrical version of Julie Lawson's book, which will create a great opportunity to compare the two.    After the performance students will be asked to write a letter to another school persuading them to invite either Julie Lawson or Sun Ergos.  This will provide the students with an authentic reason to write and will allow them to develop their persuasive skills.  Teachers will then mark the students work collaboratively and make decisions about areas that are strengths and areas in need of additional support.  Over the next several months, classroom teachers will work with their classes, teaching them the finer points of persuasive writing, which will then be followed up by another assessment in the spring to see how well the students have progressed.