Narrow a Big Topic Into a Small One

Talk through the topic first and let your child say ideas out loud before writing them. Keep the notes short, then use the finished planner to write the draft on lined paper. Check off each box as it shows up in the draft.

Narrow a big topic into a smaller one using funnels, then choose one idea and tell why. A big topic is too much for one story. Narrow it to one small part. The directions on the page read: Read the Model funnel and the topic. Then, fill in each funnel: write a smaller topic, then one small moment or question. Then, choose one and tell why. Then, use your plan to write your draft on lined paper.

Yes, both. We made it for 3rd Grade writing process, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with prewriting. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Prewriting is everything a writer does before the first draft: choosing a topic, narrowing it and putting ideas in order. A plan makes drafting faster, because the child already knows what goes in each part.

The story mountain and the fantasy story planner fit stories, the for and against chart and the principal letter fit opinion writing, and the fact boxes, the how to planner and the paragraph outline fit informative writing (W.3.1 to W.3.3).

Words and short phrases are enough. A planner holds the ideas, and the full sentences come in the draft. If a box is empty, talk about it before your child starts writing.

The note cards page has a key with sample notes from the article, and the main idea web has a key with a model web. The nine planners have no key, since every child plans their own piece. Check that each box is filled and fits the topic.

It is the set of steps writers use: plan, draft, revise, edit and share. CCSS W.3.5 asks 3rd graders to strengthen their writing with guidance from adults and peers by planning, revising and editing. These sheets give each step its own page, so a child can practice one step at a time.

Revising changes what the writing says: adding details, putting events in order or cutting a sentence that does not belong. Editing fixes the rules: capital letters, commas, end marks and spelling. Revise first, since there is no point fixing commas in a sentence that may be cut.

Talk the topic through first, then have your child fill the organizer with words and short phrases, not full sentences. The plan becomes the draft on lined paper. Keep the planner beside the draft so your child can check that every part made it in.

18 of the 28 sheets have an answer key, including every revising and editing page. The 10 planners and open writing pages have no key, since each child writes about their own ideas. For those, check that every box is filled and the plan fits the topic.