SECOND GRADE BEGINNING OF YEAR EXPLICIT WRITING CURRICULUM

Are you ready to get stellar results through an explicit and systematic approach to writing instruction? This completely done-for-you Beginning-of-the-Year writing unit with structured 2nd-grade writing lessons will set your students up for success in writing for the remainder of the year.

This Standards Aligned writing curriculum is the perfect way to teach second graders all the foundational skills they need before heading into opinion, narrative, and informational writing.

The best part? It's completely done for you - just click and teach

With this curriculum, we literally take your hand and walk you through, step-by-step, teaching foundational writing skills.

So, say goodbye to teacher overwhelm and hello to your newfound confidence as an amazing teacher of writing.

Teaching writing will seriously become the easiest, and most joyful, part of your day.

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All too often at the beginning of second grade, we rush students into more structured writing forms assuming they have mastered essential foundational skills. Unfortunately, this can lead to weak, undeveloped writing and frustration for students and teachers.

This 2nd-grade writing unit is all about developing a solid foundation. By the end of this unit, your students will be writing strong sentences with elaboration AND will be writing paragraphs with a clear topic sentence, meaningful and interesting details, and a closing sentence. They will also work on editing and revising independently and be introduced to peer editing and revising.

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WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY ABOUT TEACHING WRITING?

While there is a massive amount of research on best practice in reading, that is not the case with writing.

A few books we recommend you read if you want to learn more about best practice in writing instruction using evidence-based strategies are:

• The Writing Revolution by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler
• The Writing Rope by Joan Sedita
• Best Practices in Writing Instruction by Steve Graham, Charles A MacArthur, and Michael Hebert

What we do know is that writing is an extremely complex skill that requires time and solid instruction. (Graham et al., 2012)

Additionally...

• Writing should be taught systematically and explicitly
• Writing instruction should be carefully scaffolded

Our curriculums provide teachers with DAILY scripted lessons that are explicit, systematic, and scaffolded. Students are so successful because of the gradual release of responsibility, explicit instruction, and daily writing practice where they implement the use of skills taught.

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During this fun and engaging 8 WEEKS of explicit writing lessons, your second graders will:

WEEK 1 - write complete sentences with a subject and predicate

WEEK 2 - write statements, questions, and exclamatory sentences

WEEK 3 - recall information from experiences or gather information to write answers to questions

WEEK 4 - write expanded sentences by adding a when, where, why, and/or what

WEEK 5 - write expanded sentences by adding adjectives and adverbs

WEEK 6 - identify parts of a paragraph & complete unfinished paragraphs

WEEK 7 - write paragraphs with a topic sentence, interesting details, and a closing sentence

WEEK 8 - edit and revise their own writing & be introduced to peer editing

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WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THIS RESOURCE?

40 DIGITAL LESSON PLANS – No need to search for your lesson plans or spend an enormous amount of time reading them each day. We have them right on the slides - making your teaching life stress-free.

Digital Lessons Include:

• 40 “I WILL” STATEMENTS – To keep students laser-focused on the objective of the day. We use “I will” statements instead of “I can” statements as they hold the students more accountable

• Writing Chats – To introduce topics, build background information as well as vocabulary

• Watch Me Slides – For the teacher to show the day’s objective through think aloud and modeling. This is oftentimes interactive to keep student engagement high.

• Our Turn Slides – For students to practice the new skill learned with you.

• Your Turn Slides – For students to independently practice the skill learned each day.

70 STUDENT WRITING PAGES – There are 34 “Our Turn” pages that students use during the guided writing portion of the lessons and 36 “Your Turn" pages that students complete on their own after each writing skill has been explicitly taught and practiced.

OBSERVATION CHECKLISTS – Great for formative assessment! As you walk around and observe students, record your findings. This easy-to-use checklist helps you remember who has learned the skill taught, and who needs extra help. This is great to refer to when planning for parent-teacher conferences.

PRE/POST WRITING PROMPT – Use at the beginning of the unit to gain baseline data and use again at the end of the unit to show growth.

35 BONUS POSTERS - To display in your classroom for students to refer to.

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WHY EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION FOR WRITING?

It’s simple… IT WORKS!

Explicit instruction (also called direct instruction) works for all writers…not just the stronger ones. It’s a strategy that allows teachers to scaffold learning by giving structured, sequenced lessons targeting specific skills or standards. It’s teacher-led with a gradual release of responsibility to students. This method truly allows all students to succeed.

If you are thinking, that doesn’t sound like Writer’s Workshop, you’re right. It’s not. Years ago, we implemented Writer’s Workshop in our classrooms, but it didn’t work for us… or our students.

The biggest problem was that it was very difficult to manage and keep students on track. It was also a planning nightmare trying to find mini-lessons to match our students’ diverse needs. And to make matters worse, when we gave mini-lessons students didn’t necessarily practice the targeted skill because they were at a different stage of the writing process.

We were disappointed, frustrated and knew we had to do something different.

We decided to put structure and intentionality into our teaching. We clearly state what students will be working on, give thoughtful instruction through modeling and discussion, and provide time to practice as we observe and guide. It is so simple to manage and gives students the support they need. The result? OUR STUDENTS ARE WRITING BETTER THAN WE'VE EVER SEEN! This method truly works!

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HERE'S WHAT TEACHERS LIKE YOU ARE SAYING:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

LOVE THIS RESOURCE! I feel like I am actually being productive while teaching writing this year and I can see a HUGE difference in my students' skills! Writing has been one of my struggles and this has been a game-changer! I love it so much that I convinced my team to give it a try as well as the 1st-grade team to grab a copy of the 1st-grade writing unit! CAN'T WAIT for the rest of 2nd grade to be ready! I am also excited to see how next year goes after having first grade go through their version of the writing program this year (yay vertical teaming)!!! -Erin

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is an absolutely fantastic writing curriculum! It really steps it up a notch and helps my second graders understand higher expectations of writing. I'm looking forward to your other units! -Sarah

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I can’t say enough positive things about this curriculum. I used it last year in 1st and am using it again in 2nd grade. You can imagine my delight when these lovely ladies set out making the 2nd-grade edition! I was beside myself trying to find a comparable curriculum. Perfect for beginning writers. Perfect for busy teachers who need something easy to follow with minimal prep. Thank you so much! Heads up, I’ll be requesting 3rd grade next year! -Pamela

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING THIS STRUCTURED WRITING RESOURCE?

❤️ The entry point for this unit is assessable to all learners.

❤️ Lessons are carefully and thoughtfully scaffolded, ensuring success for all learners.

❤️ I Do, We Do, You Do format sets your second-grade writers up for success.

❤️ At the completion of this unit, your students will be able to confidently tackle opinion, narrative, and informative writing with ease.

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WHO IS THE RESOURCE FOR?

• Second-grade teachers looking for a strong, yet easy-to-implement writing curriculum that is aligned to the Common Core State Standards and is fun for kids.

• Homeschool Parents/Teachers who need a comprehensive, easy-to-implement writing curriculum with virtually no planning needed.

• Special Education Teachers who need to take students at other grade levels back to the basics and build a strong writing foundation.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Are the students required to write each day?

Yes! After we discuss, model, and practice skills, students show understanding by engaging in a writing task independently.

Does this follow a Writers’ Workshop model?

No. Students are explicitly taught a writing skill each day, then they practice the skill taught.

Can this be used with Google Slides?

Yes. We've even included a Google Slides link to the teaching slides. However, the individual student pages are not compatible with Google.

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OTHER SECOND-GRADE RESOURCES YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

SECOND-GRADE INFORMATIVE WRITING CURRICULUM

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Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

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Becky & Cindy

Team Primary Bliss Teaching