FCAT Writes... Here We Come!

February 26th will be here before we know it! Those students who have been writing at home will soon see the payoff! Yesterday, we were paid a visit from last year's SIX. She was one of 15 students in our district who scored a SIX! After she gave us her advice for how to score a SIX, we waved goodbye as she rode away in her limo with Mrs. Phillips and her friends and family to celebrate. When we returned to class, everyone thought, "WOW! I want to make a SIX!". Next year, Mrs. Nash and I think there will be SO many SIXES from our classes that Mrs. Phillips won't be able to find enough limos! But, we all know as writiers that scoring a SIX isn't easy. It takes practice, just like any hobby or sport.











First, here are some things we learned from Malena:

·      She wrote nightly so that she could get better at writing.

·      She READS lots of books- That’s where she learns writer’s craft. Reading also helped her know how to spell, because she has seen those words over and over again!

·      Malena PLANNED on her planning sheet. It only took her about five minutes, but she had a plan. We know that, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”

·      She focused on the HEART of her story. She didn’t start when she woke up and end when she went to bed. She went straight to the HEART of what happened.

·      Malena worked hard all year to be a better writer by LISTENING to the minilessons during Writer’s Workshop and APPLYING what she was learning in those lessons to her own writing.

Now that she has inspired us, here are some ways to practice!

1.     You could free write nightly. For Mrs. Koster’s friends, you can use the gold sheet I provided with TONS of ideas to write about. Make sure you pay attention to forming paragraphs, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

2.     You can use your sheet of practice prompts. If you do not have one, find it on this blog under “Kitchen Documents”. Be sure to read the instructions.

3.     Any piece of writing you complete, even in class, you should refer to your “My FCAT Writing Rubric” so that you can “pretend score” your paper. Be honest! Then, show your teacher which score point you think your writing would get. Be ready to explain why!

4.     READ!!!!!!! The best writers are READERS and the best readers are WRITERS! The more you read, the more your writing will improve. You have Mrs. Nash and Mrs. Koster’s guarantee! Reading improves your use of creative author’s craft and spelling.

Finally, get ready to show that test who’s boss on February 26^th! SIXES… here we come!!!


Limo Day on PhotoPeach