4th Grade

Writing

April 20-24

• School websites also have links to great websites for practicing grade-level skills.

4th Grade Writing Week2 April 20-24

A Poem A Week.

Write a Weather Poem: focus on images (capture how something looks,

tastes, smells, feels, and sounds).

Poetry uses the sound and rhythm of words to suggest images and

express feelings.

Stanza a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter, or

rhyming scheme.

Read the weather poems and then write your own poem. Include a title

and try to separate your sections into stanzas with a set number of lines in

each.

Weather Poem Word Bank: weather, rain, clouds, wind, snow, typhoons, Hurricanes, tornados, blustery, breeze, umbrella, fog, blizzard, chill, air

Grammar pages 295, 296, 297

Use The 4th Grade Summary Writing Instruction and Practice packet as a guide to write a summary for the article; "Monarch Butterflies: Beautiful but

Poisonous".

8l'Ai11 Wor/(.(1t1f: Inventing a Fun Park

WEATHER

It is a windy day. The water's white with spray. And pretty soon, if this keeps up, The world will blow away.

r• I . Marchelle Chute

CLOUDS

White sheep, white sheep On a blue hill, When the wind stops You all stand still. When the wind blows You walk away slow. White sheep, white sheep, RAIN

Where do you go?

Christina G. Rossetti The rain is raining all around, It falls on field and tree, It rains on the umbrellas here, And on the ships at sea.

Robert Louis Stevenson

(17)

$16.95

I I

I WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND?

Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.

But when the leaves hang trembling, The wind is passing through.

,... Who·has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I.

But when the trees bow down their heads, The wind is passing by.

Christina G. Rossetti

' I ~ : I. I I I I-•

I I I . ., . .. .... .... ;.

' -------~ WIND SONG ' ~ ,,._ . . :, . . :t»-Y,~··:;-~ ...

When the wind blows the quiet things speak. Some whisper, some clang, Some creak.

Grasses swish. Treetops sigh. Flags slap and snap at the sky. Wires on poles whistle and hum. Ashcans roll. OU Windows drum. 9'0 ·1

fox; When the wind goes -suddenly then, the quiet things are quiet again.

Lilian Moore

( 3 0)

· -=---=',·c-:--

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SL

an va fu I

I p.r 11 So wil glo inl

sec wh

s~~I \ wid

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day. Little Johnny wants to play.

Unknown

GALOSHES

Susie's galoshes Make splishes and splashes And slooshes and sloshes As Susie steps slowly Along in the slush.

They stamp and they tramp On the ice and concrete, They get stuck in the muck and the mud; But Susie likes much best to hear

The slippery slush As it slooshes and sloshes, And splishes and splashes, All around her galoshes!

Rhoda Bacmeister

S<I'\ J tJ-.. S,,0-'.J o+ PofQ>O>"n CV{)\) VN' u.~ 's l?::io,~k., ot- Poevv)~

S. 'niriJ11 n Rain . IE"'_, .'I ~ ' . . . , ..

In the rains of spring, An umbrella and raincoat Pass by, conversing. nd

by Busan f ofm a

ring

and whishes and sprinkles

sings and splishes . <il rustles and bangs d pings and mumbles d pounds and grumbles

and rumbles and flashes and CRASHES.

by Aileen Fisher

Umbrella Out there - wet Inhere-dry Cozy little roof Between me and the sky

by Rob Hale

45)

___ _

\\JOJ-Name ___________ _ Date ____ _

Contractions with not A negative is a word that makes a s~ntence mean no; A negative contraction is made with a verb and the negative word not. An apostrophe takes the place of the. letter o in each contraction with not.

contraction with not Esther isn't at home, but she may be at the hat s1iop. -- .

Thinking Question What -word is a contraction made with a verb and the negative word not?

) I • I _n,

: I . \

1-8. Write the contraction for the undefl\~ed wor~1or word~ ieach sentence.

Lesson 22 READER'S NOTEBOOK

I Could Do That! Grammar: Negatives

1. There are not any blue hats in the ~ind ow today. t

2. This hat does not have a ribbon.

. 3. That small cowboy hat will notfit ·Mr. Fox'.s_he~d. '.. :. >. i: ;_1 1,,·

. .

5. The seamstress cannot fin_d_ her sewing needle. , . (1_f

f - • , ( • • ~

6. Please do not sit on my hat. ___ _ . .- :,. ' : ' \ - . ;; :;

7. Ms. Kelly did not buy the hat with _red stripes. ·

8. Esther had not. made a hat this large before. ___ _

. .

Grammar 295 Grade 4, Unit 5 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved.

Name ___________ _ Date ____ _

Using Negatives The words no, no one, nobody, none, nothing, nowhere, and never are negatives. A contraction with a verb and the word not is also a negative. When making a negative statement, make sure to use just one negative.

positive I understand the candidates' opin,ions. negative I don't understand the candidates' opinions: I uriderstand n~ne of the candidates' opinions.

Lesson 22 READER'S NOTEBOOK

I Could Do That!

Grammar: Negatives

Thinking Questions What word will change the sentence to have a negative meaning? Does the sentence still make sense?

1..:.S. Use a negative to change the meaning of thefsentence from positive to negative. Write the negative sentence on the line below.

j )( 1. ~nyb.ody in the·fifth grade can run· for class president.

2. Roger is running for class. president. 'I

3. Tom has asked Roger if he can be his vice president.

4. Myung-Yun always likes tq help make campaign posters.

5. Everyone is excited about the school elections this year.

6. The class president can do something about all of the

issues that bother students.

· Grammar 296 Grade 4, Unit 5 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thinking Question What two negatives are used together in the sentence?

:.

Lesson 22 READER'S NOTEBOOK Name ___________ _ Date ____ _

I Could Do That! Avoiding Double Negatives Grammar: Negatives

Words such as not, no, and never are negatives. Using two negatives together is called a double negative. Never use twq negatives together in a sentence.

double negative My mother won't tell nobody how she voted.

corrected sentences My mother won't tell anybody how she vote9-. My mother will tell nobody how she voted. . '

1-8. Write the c.orre~t word shown. in parentheses to complete the sentence.

1. There (is, isn't) no presidential .candidate that my parent_s . ' I

completely support. ·

2. That candidate hasn't said .-(anything, nothing) about the

important issues. ___ __ : . t: . , , , 1

, •. i !; i, , ,; 1

3. He doesn't support (any, none) of the laws to help the · environment. ____ _

4. Don't vote for (anyone, no one) ·without learning his or

her political views.------='----

5. Doesn't (anybody, nobody) agree with that candidate~s-views? ____ _

6. Isn't there (anywhere, nowhere) I can get better

information about the candidates? ____ _

7. The voters (have, haven't) no choice but to support the new law. ____ _

8. This candidate (has, hasn't) never been honest with the voters. ____ _

Grammar 297 Grade 4, Unit 5 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Fourth Grade Summary Writing Instruction and Practice

Summary Writing Instruction and Practice

Directions: • Read through the writing instruction pages, "Steps to Writing a

Summary Paragraph". • Practice writing a summary paragraph using the example selection,

"Snow". • Then use the practice selections, or choose about a five paragraph

selection from your science or history book and practice writing a summary paragraph.

• When you feel comfortable with the summary writing process, complete your yearly school-wide writing sample assignment.

Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 1 oflO Steps to Writing a Sump.rnry Paragraph

Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph 1. Read the entire selection. Plan your topic sentence using the three part topic

sentence graphic organizer called: "NAME IT - VERB IT - FINISH IT". Memorize and draw this topic sentence organizer when planning the topic sentence for your writing assignment. Refer to the verb chart when selecting the verb.

a. Topic Sentence: Blank graphic organizer.

b. Topic Sentence: Graphic organizer explained.

NAME IT. VERB IT. FINISH IT.

Identify the text (genre/ title/ author) Genre: usually an article Titles of articles: are always in quotes Titles of books: are underlined

Select a verb. explains

(See verb chart for more verb

Finish your thought. Finish the sentence with the main idea of the text.

(See titles chart for quote/underline) suggestions)

2. Re-write your writing assignment topic sentence from your graphic organizer ontc the lines below to look like a real sentence. Fix spelling and capitalization errors. Remember to indent.

3. Now for your paragraphs, use a different graphic organizer (shown below). Draw c graphic organizer for each paragraph in the selection you are to summarize. (If yo have five paragraphs, you would draw five lines that are divided, down your planni page). Re-read the selection. As you read, circle one main idea word in each paragraph, and underline 5 key words in each paragraph. The main idea word will often be in first sentence of each paragraph. It is also often the word that is repeated most in the paragraph.

Main Paragraph V:Jord Five Key Words (separated by commas)

Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 2 of 10 Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph ·

4. Make paragraph key word outlines. When you have finished identifying one main word and five key words in each paragraph, write the words from paragraph one o graphic organizer one, the words from paragraph two on graphic organizer two, et and do this for all the paragraphs. DO copy the main and key words from the selection onto your organizers. Check them for spelling. DO NOT copy long phrm or whole sentences.

(Paragraph 1)

(Paragraph 2)

(Paragraph 3)

(Paragraph 4)

(Paragraph 5)

5. Once you have completed the planning phase (topic sentence and paragraph organizers), you are ready to write your summary paragraph.

• Begin your summary paragraph with your topic sentence. Remember to indent this sentence. • Use the main and key words from paragraph one to write the next 1-3 sentences. • Use the main and key words from paragraph two to write the next 1-3 sentences. Do • this for all paragraphs. If there are a lot of short paragraphs or the paragraphs have a • lot of dialogue, you may want to simply divide the selection into your own arbitrary paragraphs • for planning purposes. • When you are done you should have one summary paragraph that begins with an indent and • that is only about 1/3 to¼ as long as the original selection. • Use the Summary Writing Checklist to make sure you have met the requirements of a • good summary paragraph.

6. Scoring • Refer to the school's Summary Writing Scoring Rubric and "score" your paper. • Give your summary to someone else to score and see how your scores compare.

Discuss differences in scoring to determine why the scores were different. This will help you to learn and understand the scoring rubric.

Summary Writing Topic Sentence Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 3 of 10 Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph

Verbs for "Verb It"

List A: A good place to start! The word "explains" works as a verb for most topic sentences, but it is not very specific. Once you get' used to writing topic sentences for summaries, try using some of the other words that are more vivid and precise .

. . explai_ns

describes

lists

List B: Now tr~ these!

acknowledges

adds

advises

asserts

blames

confirms

confronts

considers

contrasts

critiques

demonstrates

denounces

discourages

endorses

teaches

tells

gives

shows

evaluates

explores

expresses

features

furnishes

names

offends

offers

predicts

proposes

provides

traces

answers

asks

clarifies

Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph

compares

presents

defines

-b{_J;\ 0h t .{

supports

confuses

defends

depicts

encourages

illustrates

invites

judges

misjudges

praises

recommends

simplifies

solves

suggests

captures

Page 4 of 10

Titles When Do I Underline (or Italicize)? When Do I Use Quotation Marks?

All titles must either be put in quotation marks, or underlined (use italics when keyboarding). Most of the time, the selection you will be asked to summarize will be an article of some kind, and titles of articles are always put in quotes.

Use Quotation Marks for: Use Underline (or Italics) for: newspaper article titles title of books magazine article titles name of magazines poem titles name of newspapers short story titles title of plays song titles title of films episodes of radio shows name of encyclopedias episodes of television shows title of long poems subdivisions of books title of radio programs

title of comic strips title of software title of pieces of art

To help you remember whether to use quotes or underline a title, ask yourself, "Would I carry this text under my arm, or put it in a file folder?"

FILE FOLDER= Quotes UNDER THE ARM= Underline (or Italics)

Under the Arm: You could carry a book, a newspaper, a magazine, or one volume to a set of encyclopedias under your arm. The titles of a book, newspaper, magazine, or encyclopedia are underlined. When you think of a play, the script of a movie, and the script of a television program typed and bound, it would be big enough to carry under your arm.

File Folder: Think of a file folder when you want to remember what gets quotation marks. If you could carry the item in a file folder, the title of the . item wilrneed quotation marks when you write it out. A poem, the lyrics to a song, and an article from the daily paper could all fit into your file folder, so the titles of these items all need quotation marks.

Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 5 oflO Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph

Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph - Example

Snow A blanket of fresh snow can brighten a winter landscape. But snow is more than

just beautiful. It is helpful, too. Snow benefits plants, animals. and people in many ways. ----

Snow heles plants that stay in the ground all winter. It does not kill plants. It acts as a shield. Snow~~ air beneath it. This air is warmer than the air above the snow. The warm air surrounds and grotects plants. Biting winter winds cannot reach them. Ice storms and bitter cold cannot harm them. Plants stay alive. through the worst weather.

Snow hele,s animals, too. Some animals nest below ground. They spend the whole winter there. A 'blanket of snow serves to keep the nests warm. Other animals do not nest below]round. They tunnel into the snow itself. They make nests there. Compared with the cold air above, snow nests are cozy. . =----

Snow also benefits people. It helps many people·· earn a living. Some communities are c·enters for}Ninter sp_q(!?. Many visitors go there to ski. People who live and~ in these communities need snow. Without it, they would have no business. -- ·

Snow is useful even when it melts. Melting snow runs into wells. It flows into rivers and streams. These supply water to towns and cities. Farms benefit from melting snow as well. Some areas are dry in summer. They get little rain. Nearly all their water comes from melted snow. The water is stored in dammed-up lakes and ponds. It is used during the growing season to water fields and orchards. Without this water supply, there could be no crops. In this way, the summer harvest depends on winter snow.

NOTE: The selections chosen for summarization practice should be at or below the child's reading level. If you find the selection is too difficult for your child, simply find a selection from a lower reading level. The intent is to allow your child to practice summarizing information, while hopefully discovering that writing can be a pleasurable experience. Difficult words are often chosen as one of the key outline words and will be copied from the source text onto the outline, and from the outline to the final paragraph. So don't be afraid to use paragraphs with words that your child cannot spell. Copying the spelling of the key words (but not long phrases or sentences) from the source paragraph onto the key word outline and then to the final paragraph is a good skill for your child to develop and should be encouraged.

1·

' I

Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 6 of 10 Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph ·

Now let's practice writing a summary paragraph!

1. Read through the entire selection entitled, "Snow". On your planning paper, draw the graphic organizer for the topic sentence and compete it with the required information. Yours should look something like this (only the words on the bottom):

( NAME IT ~ gentify the item (genre/ title/ author)

VERB IT Select a verb.

FINISH IT Finish your thought.

The article, "Sndw", explains ·- ~ (now snow is helpful to people, \ \ plants, and animals. . :

·,

2. Write the complete topic sentence onto your planning paper from the graphic organizer to look like a real sentence. Fix spelling and capitalization errors. Remember to indent.

The article, "Snow", explains how snow is helpful to people, plants, and

animals.

3. On your planning paper, draw one paragraph graphic organizer for each paragraph in the selection.

4. Re-read the selection. As you read, circle one main word and underline five key words in each paragraph. When done reading/marking, complete your paragraph graphic organizers as shown below (yours will have the words you chose).

(Paragraph 1) beautiful / helpful people, plants, animals, man

(Paragraph 2) plants shield, traps air, wind, ice -~-----------------------

(Paragraph 3) animals nest, below, ground, blanket, tunnel ----------+------------------

(Paragraph 4) people community center, earn living, sports ----''-----'---- --+------ ----=-------- --=-----=----

(Paragraph 5) melt water supply, farm, orchard

Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 7 of 10 Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph

1

NOTE: As you can see by looking at the example paragraph graphic organizers, occasionally a "key word" might be two words, and sometimes not all five key words are needed to get the main idea and details from a paragraph. These deviations are OK. However, avoid copying long phrases of words, or whole sentences. Remember that copying and checking the spelling of the main idea and key words is a good skill and is encouraged.

5. Now, using your topic sentence and paragraph graphic organizers, write your final paragraph. Remember to indent and double space.

Here is how this student's final paragraph looked. The main idea paragraph words are italicized (not circled as your paper will be), and the five key words are underlined to show you how the words from the graphic organizer were incorporated into the final paragraph. You will not make the circle and underline markings on your final paragraph. The marks will only be on your selection when you read and marked it during the planning

. phase.

Snow

The article, "Snow", explains how snow is beautiful, but

more importantly ,helpful to plants, animals, and people. It is

helpful to plants by providing them a shield that traps warm

air to protect them from the wind and ice. Snow helps

animals that nest below the ground by providing them with ·a

protective blanket. Some animals even tunnel into the snow

because it is warmer inside a snow cave than outside it.

Many people who live in snowy areas earn their living from

people who come to their community centers for winter

sports. Melted snow is also good because it provides water

for the water supply and for farms and orchards.

6. Now, check your work using the Summary Writing Checklist. Fourth Grade, Summary Writing, Instruction and Practice Page 8 oflO Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph

Name: ____ ________ _

Monarch Butterflies: Beautiful But Poisonous

by Kelly Hashway

If you've ever seen a monarch butterfly, then

you've probably noticed their bright orange and black

colors. It makes them easy to see in the sky. You may

think this would put the Monarch in harm from

predators, but these bright colors are actually what

protect the butterfly. Monarchs eat a plant called

milkweed, which is why they are sometimes called

"milkwe_ed butterflies." Milkweed contains toxins that are not poisonous to Monarchs but are

poisonous to other living things. These toxins that are a regular part of the Monarch butterfly's

diet make them poisonous to predators. A bird flying through the sky will leave the flashy

colored Monarch alone because it knows those bright colors mean the Monarch is poisonous.

Monarch butterflies actually begin eating milkweed as larvae. As you probably know,

butterflies begin as caterpillars. Monarch butterflies lay eggs on milkweed plants, and when an

eggs hatches, the young caterpillar, or

larva, begins to eat the milkweed. The

caterpillar will eat the plant for about two

weeks and grow to approximately two

inches long. The caterpillar will then spin a

silk pad and attach itself upside-down to

a twig or Leaf. Next it sheds its yellow.

black, and white striped skin. This is the

first step in the caterpillar's transformation

to a butterfly.

.. \

\

Underneath the old skin of the caterpillar is a hard

layer of skin called a chrysalis. The caterpillar will keep this

chrysalis, or pupa, around its body and stay inside it for

two weeks while it changes into a Monarch butterfly. The

chrysalis will become transparent when the butterfly is

ready to emerge. The Monarch uses the blood in its body

to inflat~ its wings. Then it will hang in that same spot for

hours until its wings dry and it can fly.

Monarch butterflies can live for very different

lengths of time depending on what time of year they

emerge from their chrysalis and become adult butterflies.

If a Monarch reaches adulthood in early summer, it will

most likely live for only two to five weeks. But if the

Monarch becomes an adult at the end of the summer

months, it will migrate south and live for about eight to nine months.

Monarchs can be found all over the world in tropic and sub-tropic areas. And if you'd

like to observe them in your own yard, plant milkweed and wait for the Monarchs to come for

a feast.

Moy the w· I lsest Dog 111

About the Author Kelly Hashway's latest book, May the Best Dog Win, is now available!

Dash has the perfect life until the Super Sweeper 5000 shows up. Sweeper ·

runs all over the house sucking up the leftover food scraps, and he even

his own room! But Dash won't give up his place as the favorite dog without a

fight.

Hashw ay, Kelly . May the Bes t Dog Win . ISBN : 9780984589081

Super Teacher Worksheets - w w w.superte a c herworks heefs .com

Brain Workouts Creative Thinking

My tun Park Design and name your own fun park. Write the rules and regulations you feel are important for running the park, and explain why these are necessary. What rides would you have? How would your fun park be different from parks that already exist? What improvements could you make to the existing parks?

© Teacher Created Materials, Inc. 169 #3354 Brain Puzzlers

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Brain Workouts Creative Thinking

My 'tun Park rcont.J

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