“Because of Winn Dixie” was a wonderful story to supplement our personal narrative unit. We often referred back to specific examples that we could incorporate into our own writing. The children were encouraged to:
- close their eyes to make a movie in their minds of a small moment
- focus in on exact details and specific moments rather than general sentences
- zoom in on the most important part of the story
- leave out the parts that don’t matter
- story tell the events in their story step-by-step across their fingers
- tell the internal story by including their thoughts feelings and responses
- begin with a strong lead (action, setting, description, dialogue, or thoughts)
- close with a strong ending (action, dialogue, thoughts, images, and whole story reminders that leave a lasting impression)
- reread the story with a partner, look for confusing parts and revise for meaning
