Scott Foresman Reading Street

Genre Postcard
Writer's Craft Sequence
Writing Trait Voice

Identify qualities of a postcard.
Write a postcard with events in sequence.
Focus on voice.
Use a rubric.

Writing Support See the writing support activities in the ELL and Transition Handbook.

FOCUS/IDEAS The writer selects

ideas and details to interest his or her friend.

ORGANIZATION/PARAGRAPHS

The postcard uses transition words to put experiences in order.

VOICE Writing is friendly and

lively. The writer "talks" to the recipient.

WORD CHOICE The writer uses

vivid details (shark's fin, spider web) to bring the scene to life.

SENTENCES Use of interrogative

and exclamatory sentences catch the reader's interest.

CONVENTIONS There is

excellent control and accuracy.

Teach and Model

Prepare to Write

Prewrite and Draft

Draft and Revise

Connect to Unit Writing

READING-WRITING CONNECTION

Grandfather's Journey describes how the places where the author's
grandfather lived became important to him.
The author's descriptions of places are brief and vivid, like the writing on a postcard.
Students will write their own postcard.

The events described on a
postcard may be written in
sequence, or the order in
which they happened.

Comprehension Skill

EXAMINE THE MODEL Display
Writing Transparency 3A. Explain
that it is a postcard and read it
aloud with the class. Discuss
the model in terms of the writing
traits listed to its left.

Writing Transparency 3A

with | without Answers

WRITER'S CRAFT

Sequence

Display Writing Transparency 3B.

Read aloud the information at
the top.
Ask students to tell in their own words what sequence is. (the order in which things happen)
Have students read the
paragraph and then
arrange the list of events
in sequence. Encourage students to explain what words or phrases helped them understand the sequence of events.

GUIDED WRITING Some
students may need more help
with sequence. Ask them to
describe a day in their life,
using words or phrases that
help indicate sequence.

Writing Transparency 3B

with | without Answers

READ THE WRITING PROMPT

Pretend that you are on vacation.
Write a postcard to a friend or
family member describing where
you are. The place may be real
or imaginary.

Drafting Tips

Choose carefully what you want to say. Space is limited on a postcard.
Use vivid details. Make the recipient want to be where you are.
Keep your voice friendly and lively. Remember that you are writing to someone you know well.

GETTING STARTED Students
can do any of the following.

Make a word web about the
place they are describing.
For example, they could
put the name of the place
in the center, connected to
details and ideas they
might include in their
postcard.
Think about the person
they are writing to. They
might ask, "What would
this person want to hear
about?"
Think of a catchy opening.
They might consider using
an exclamatory or
interrogative sentence to
capture their reader's
attention.

EDITING/REVISING
CHECKLIST

Is the sequence of events
easy to understand?
Do all sentences have a
subject and predicate?
Have I varied my
sentences?
Are words with long e and
o sounds spelled correctly?

Revising Tips
Voice

Think about your friend or family member. Write the same way you would talk to him or her.
Choose words that you use in everyday speech.
Express your opinion about the place you are describing.

PUBLISHING Have students
display their writing, with pictures
of the places they described, on
a bulletin board titled "Wish You
Were Here!"

ASSESSMENT Use the scoring
rubric to evaluate students' work.

Week 1

Memoir 39g–39h

Week 2

Journal Entry 65g–65h

Week 3

Postcard 87g–87h

Week 4

E-mail Invitation
111g–111h

Week 5

Narrative Writing
133g–133h

Personal Narrative

PREVIEW THE UNIT PROMPT

Write a personal narrative
about a time that you were a
newcomer to a place or
situation (a school, club,
team, or neighborhood).
Explain how you felt and
what you found challenging
or exciting.

APPLY

A personal narrative is a
story about an interesting
experience or event in the
storyteller's life.
Tell about events in
sequence to help readers
follow what happens in
your personal narrative.