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We’ve always known the power of teaching students the modes of writing (i.e., narrative, informational, and opinion) and the traits of writing (i.e., the skills to craft their work). But in recent years, we’ve found that linking modes and traits results in stronger writing overall. After all, the modes are WHAT we write and the traits are HOW we write. Our students need both! This guide contains grade-specific unit plans for combining Modes in Focus and Trait Crate Plus and sequencing their 42 lessons. It shows you how to pace the lessons across the school year. For each grade, K–5, we’ve organized the lessons into six four-week, mode-specific units: two narrative, two informational, and two opinion. The units are flexible. You can teach them in any order you wish, but keep these two points in mind: • Keep each unit intact so that your students get the full benefit of writing in the mode, applying all six traits, and using conventions. • Avoid teaching two units on the same mode back-to-back, and instead stagger the modes across the year (e.g., narrative > informational > opinion > narrative > informational > opinion). By doing that, you prevent mode-fatigue—and you are more likely to see your students progress in all three modes across the year and not just in one mode over an eight-week period. Mentor Texts Picture books are powerful teaching tools for every mode and every trait. That’s why we include 12 of them between the two crates, six for teaching modes and six for teaching traits. Each book in Trait Crate Plus represents each trait well. You and your students will notice how the author applied all the traits expertly, but particularly the target trait. Some of the books in Modes in Focus , however, may diverge a bit from the mode for which they were chosen. For example, a book we chose as an informational mentor text may contain an opinion. An opinion mentor text may contain a story. And a narrative text may contain factual information. We call these books “hybrid texts” and believe they represent well what skilled writers do: mix modes. For more information on mode mixing, see pages 66–67 in Teach Writing Well , the professional book in your Modes in Focus crate. For more information on using mentor texts to teach writing, see Chapter 7.
2 • Modes & Traits: Writing Lessons Across the Year
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