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Writing and Representing

Writing and Representing strategies and skills provide opportunities for learners to communicate with their peers and other meaningful audiences within and beyond their community using paper and digital formats. The process of writing includes planning, organizing, revising, refining, and sharing feedback. Throughout this process, ongoing problem solving and critical thinking strategies, applicable to subject areas and to life develop.

Essential Learning Outcome 5

Learners will generate, gather and organize thoughts to explore, clarify and reflect on ideas, feelings and experiences as they create a written or representative draft, independently and collaboratively, for a range of audiences and purposes.

Grade One Expectations

Specific Curriculum Outcomes

  • 5.1-5.4 Generate and gather thoughts to explore ideas, feelings and experiences.
  • 5.5-5.7 Use organisational strategies to arrange thoughts to explore, clarify and reflect on ideas, feelings and experiences.
  • 5.8-5.16 Create a written or representative draft.

Key Learning Strategies

  • Pre-writing strategies: Provide each learner with a writer's notebook to track brainstorming, drafting, revising and editing.
  • Starting with a Prompt and a Picture Poster: Discuss writing prompts and have learners create posters with drawings about their topic.
  • Brainstorming: Participate in teacher-directed brainstorming to generate ideas for writing.
  • Organising the Brainstorm: Demonstrate how to use graphic organizers to place ideas in logical order.
  • Interactive Writing of a Draft: Use Interactive Writing to provide differentiated opportunities for learners to contribute to a class or group story.

Assessment Approaches

  • The Writing Journal: Provides ongoing evidence of progress.
  • Formative Writing Rubric: The Northwestern Illustrated Rubric provides insight into writing development stages.
  • Purpose of Writing Treasure Hunt: Learners gather writing samples and explain their purpose.
  • Observation during prewriting: Teacher observes and guides learners as they gather ideas.
  • Peer Assessment: Learners work in small groups to create sentences about a picture and provide feedback.

Additional Resources and Materials

For Teachers

  • Interactive Writing resources and examples
  • Northwestern Illustrated Writing Rubric
  • Graphic organizers for brainstorming
  • Videos about learning to spell
  • Dolch word lists for grade-appropriate spelling
  • Writing process activities (CUPS: Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, Spelling)

For Students

  • Writer's notebooks
  • Sensory words usage worksheets
  • Home writing activities (list making, family stories, bookmaking)
  • Field notes templates
  • Message board activities
  • "I can" book templates

Writing Process Overview

The writing process in Grade 1 focuses on developing an understanding of the purpose and use of the Traits of Writing:

ELO 5: Drafting

Brainstorming and Writing the First Draft - Think ideas out loud or draw them before writing.

ELO 6: Revising

After completing the first draft, reread and perhaps share it before revising.

ELO 7: Editing

Writing the final version using best efforts at spelling and visual presentation.