Have you ever heard of using ARMS for revision? Today we talked about the next step in our writing process journey, revision.  We used the acronym ARMS to help guide peer feedback as we revised our first drafts.
 I started class by reading one of my daughter’s favorite books, Pout Pout Fish. At first, the class questioned why I was reading them a book that I also read to my almost 2 year old. They quickly realized that the author did an amazing job of including vivid language and colorful details. Instead of describing the main character as a blue fish with a frown, the author called the fish a kaleidoscope of mope with an ever present pout. She went on to use words like scowl, grimace, impolite, and sulking. The kids were impressed by the author’s ability to take boring ideas and words and turn them into colorful, interesting phrases and ideas.

We discussed the idea of revising- the act of adding, removing, moving or substituting words, ideas and thoughts to improve our writing or make it more interesting to readers. The kids were eager to dive into their own writing and start revising. Everyone broke out highlighters and pencils and immediately got to work! I was most impressed by the questioning I heard between partners and the empathy shown when making/receiving suggestions. Many students embraced the fact that their first draft was just that- a first attempt and they were excited to make changes and get more feed-forward.

The next step is to type their second drafts before revising again next week. I can’t wait to see and share how their writing evolves over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Dear Parents,

I am very excited to begin our work in writing workshop this year! This will be a time when students take part in writing lessons and, most importantly, write independently. I will provide explicit instruction on the various stages of the writing process. At each stage we will be looking at great models of writing by authors who will serve as mentors. Students will be encouraged to take risks as they develop their own individual writing styles and become part of a writing community that shares ideas and learns from one another.

Today we launched another exciting component of writer’s workshop–our very own writer’s notebooks! This is where we will generate our ideas, draft, edit and revise. Final work will be published with the assistance of our chrome books! We spent time in class going over class expectations and decorating our notebook covers to inspire our writing. Writer’s notebooks may travel home from time to time, but it is crucial that they come back to school each day. We will be doing a lot of peer editing throughout the entire writing process and at times, I may ask you to read through your child’s drafts.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your help with what is sure to be an exciting writing adventure!

What Is a Writer’s Notebook_ – Appendix-1k4xc41 Writing Workshop Expectations – Appendix-1dtutww