25 Prewriting Graphic Organizers & Planning Sheets

Book Preface

I magine your students during a writing lesson. Some are working in pairs, earnestly discussing their topic and using an acrostic-type planning sheet to list strong Vocabulary words for their story. In one corner a student rifles through file folders filled with various graphic organizers, chooses one, and starts mapping out her story. In another part of the classroom, a small group of students is role-playing, acting out their story and jotting down notes about their characters. Writing can be such an exciting adventure for students when they have a firm idea of what to write about and how to get started. The prewriting stage of the writing process (which also includes drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) is the place to build students’ confidence and enthusiasm. Prewriting is like a rehearsal, a sketch, a conversation, a fleeting notion, or an earnest endeavor to produce a written outline.

Inside this book, you’ll find 25 reproducible prewriting frameworks—planning sheets and graphic organizers—to help your students get started, along with sample lesson plans to help you become more comfortable teaching this aspect of writing. Once you’ve familiarized students with the variety of prewriting frameworks in this book, you can stand back and watch their motivation and enthusiasm soar. Students who use prewriting frameworks are more than eager to write, knowing that they can use them to generate and organize their ideas. This book is sure to make prewriting a positive experience for you and your students.