Curriculum Overview

Curriculum Title:

Grade Level: 4

My Personal Narrative Writing Project

Subject Area
Writing
Topic Area
Narrative Writing

Key Words
CCSS, writing, narrative, personal experiences, organize sequential events, descriptive
writing words, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, conclusions, grade level
spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, clarity.

Curricular Context Summary

The curriculum provides the students with strategies to develop their use of the writing
process through digital means. Students are given the opportunity to reflect on and then
write about personal experiences. Students will be given a critical writing partner to
collaborate with during the writing process, which will give each student the chance to be
a critical listener and provider of constructive feedback as well as the opportunity to
receive the same one-on-one attention and response from their own partner on their own
writing projects.

California State Standards Addressed

4.W.3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
a.) Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or
b.) Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
c.) Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events, and/or show
the responses of characters to situations.
d.) Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of
events.
e.) Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and
events precisely.
f.) Provide a conclusion that follows the narrated experiences or events.
4.W.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing (including multiple-paragraph texts) in which
the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
4.W.5 - With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing
as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

4.W.6 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the
Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in
a single setting.

Big Idea/Concept
Combining a personal experience into writing a narrative will be rewarding! The writing
will also come more naturally as the subject matter and content come from personal
experience, which is most accessible to the student writer.

Appropriate Technologies and Tools/Programs

Teacher Computer with Projector/Screen that is accessible to all students

Student Computers with Internet access
Google Docs
Learnzillion Videos
Ted Talks

Student Goals

All students will:

write a personal narrative to the best of their ability.
collaborate with their critical writing partner.
come up with and share positive feedback and soft suggestions. These
suggestions will be academically based and very detailed. The class will
learn how to give detailed feedback in a lesson previous to working with
their critical partner. There will also be an anchor chart for students to
refer to in case they forget the correct steps to use while helping their
critical friend.
share their personal narrative with one person, a group or the whole class.
create a classroom culture that all students will enjoy participating in this
writing activity.

Assessments Summative

Personal Narrative Writing, 4th Grade District assessment Rubric written in a kid
friendly way.
A goal would be that most students will earn a 2 and above when turning in
their final narratives.
It is my hope that most students will make one level growth from the beginning to
the end of the school year on their writing summative.

Formative

All students will:

be actively participating either writing, brainstorming, or giving and
receiving feedback.

receive teacher observations, informal questions, anecdotal notes, and

views of graphics used.
check for quality over quantity of writing, quick check on the computer
screen, notice fellow student motivation and excitement, be encouraged to
question and share the experience of writing process.

Student Considerations
1.) As a teacher, I believe that promoting positive self-esteem to all students is
paramount in working to create a healthy and safe environment for students to
learn.
2.) I will use Carol Dwecks model of creating a growth mindset in the classroom.
Students are familiar with this model of learning, as it trains students that they
have the ability to learn any thing they put their mind to if they preserver and give
their best effort. This theory is built on the premises that the brain is compared to
a muscle, it must be challenged in order to become smarter.
3.) I will be aware of all of the eight multiple intelligences so that I can monitor and
adjust assignments as necessary. There is no one-size-fits-all in learning. These
eight multiple intelligences were introduced by Howard Gardner in 1983, and
they are the following; Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Verbal Linguistic,
Logical-Mathematical, Naturalistic, Intrapersonal, Visual-Spatial, and Musical.
4.) I will pay close attention to the CCSS, ELD standards for fourth grade that
correspond to the writing unit we are focusing on.
5.) I will create a caring classroom and keep a high level of expected and possible
learning present while at the same time differentiating all lessons. Some students
will be expected to write more with a higher level of vocabulary, while other
students need only write a shorter version with less elaborate vocabulary.
6.) I will welcome and respect all types of diversity in the classroom and make sure
that no students feel left out. I will encourage students to seek me out during
recess or lunch to make me aware of feeling all alone, and I will make sure that
student will have a friends and feel accepted.
7.) I will have an existing positive behavior modification plan in place. By using
Class Dojo, all students are striving to earn 10 points each week, which will
reward them with lunch with the teacher and other appealing activities.
8.) I will plan for mindful pauses throughout the lesson to give students time to
process information and to provide space for their thinking.
9.) I will follow the model for introverted students, as put fourth by Susan Cain, so as
to avoid creating anxiety and instead offering and encouraging various modes of
meaningful of communication. Susan Cain proposes that we accept the Quiet
Revolution that is characterized by the recognition for individual potential to
learn and lead in authentic ways. By using creativity and kindness she will
enhance engagement in the classroom and foster the ability to for introverts to
communicate comfortably.