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Jim Cunningham

Writing Rules 

  1. Editing – a way to teach it not practice it
  2. Checklist w/o fall back into the mentioning mode. Provide focus for Teacher and Students. Leads to teach TEACHING explicitly what editing writing is, what the writing rules are instead of mentioning briefly on the fly (in passing).
  3. Purpose is to teach them how to independently proof read and correct their own paper for those rules
  4. No study in 100 years proves that teaching grammar [as its own subject] improves writing correction.
  5. Purpose is to teach student writing rules
  6. Teach them to purposefully independently proof read. To correct their own paper for those rules.
  7. Teacher will have minilessons connected to checklist
 
 

Gradual Release of Responsibility until students reach independence 

You model.

You teach / show / practice.

They practice with guidance.

They try, you double check.

They try and DO so. 
 

During Conferencing use the PAM acronym:

P – praise  
A – ask  
M – make suggestions 

NO EDITING COMMENTS. There should be no discussions at all of handwriting, spelling, mechanics, word usage during the sharing time, only meaning and statement should be discussed.

 
Phases of the Simplest Writing Process

By James W. Cunningham 

Doesn’t include drafting 

  1. Choose a first draft [if writing on notebook paper, skip every other line; no skipping lines = no revision]
  2. Edit your first draft with a partner. Use the word wall. Use the writing rules on the wall [do not re-copy the piece over]
  3. Have your corrections approved by the teacher or another adult. Re-edit if necessary. Jim says this is not a conference.
  4. Copy your edited draft [leave room for picture if you want one.]
  5. Have your final draft approved.
  6. Draw and Color a picture if you left room for one.
  7. Your final draft is now published.
  8. Author’s Chair.
 
 

Phases of the Book-Writing Process

  1. Choose a 1st draft to make into a book.
  2. Share your first draft with another student. The student must PAM it.

P – praise  
A – ask  
M – make suggestions

NO EDITING COMMENTS. There should be no discussions at all of handwriting, spelling, mechanics, word usage during the sharing time, only meaning and statement should be discussed.

  1. Conference with the teacher about your first draft. There should be not discussion at all of handwriting, spelling, mechanics, word usage during this time.
  2. Revise our first draft [cut and tape] DO NOT COPY OVER
  3. Have your revisions approved by a teacher or another adult. Revise if necessary.
  4. Edit your revised draft [independently, use word wall, use a list of spelling rules, use the editing rules on the wall] DO NOT COPY OVER
  5. Have your corrections approved by teacher or another adult. Re-edit if necessary.
  6. Copy your final draft into book pages. Make a title page and a dedication page.
  7. Have your book pages approved.
  8. Complete your illustrations [they can use photographs, pictures from magazines, and / or colored drawings.
  9. Bind you book
  10. Share your book in the Author’s Chair.
  11. Your book is published.

 
Editing – Writing Rules by Jim Cunningham 

Level A – no draft standards

Level B – January 1st of First Grade

    1. Every sentence should make sense. FM
    2. Every sentence should begin with a capital letter. MU
    3. Every sentence should keep to the topic. FM
    4. Capitalize the proper names of a person or animal. S
    5. Make most words plural by adding s. S
    6. Every question should end with a question mark. MU
    7. Sentences that are not questions should end with a period or an exclamation point. MU

Level C

    1. Capitalize the proper name of a place. S
    2. There should be no lost capitals. S
    3. Every sentence should be a complete sentence. MU

THE STUDENT CAN NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WRITING IN COMPLETE SENTENCES UNTIL LEARNING RULE #10.

    1. Indent the beginning of every paragraph. MU
    2. Use commas after the first words in a series. MU
    3. Punctuate and format friendly letters correctly. MU
    4. Capitalize the names of months, special days. S
    5. Add ‘s to words not ending in s to make them possessive. S

Level D

    1. Combine short, choppy sentences together. MU
    2. Do not use run-on sentences. MU
    3. Punctuate quotations correctly. MU
    4. Use these words correctly: MU

      I and me

      we and us

      he and him

      she and her

      they and them

    1. Capitalize a person’s title. S
    2. Do not use double negatives. MU
    3. Use the correct form of every regular verb in simple past, simple future, and past perfect tenses. MU
    4. Use the correct form of every irregular verb in simple past, simple future, and past perfect tenses. MU
    5. Both a pronoun and the noun. It stands for should be singular or both should be plural. MU
    6. Every pronoun should have a clear referent. FM
 

FM = form and meaning

MU = mechanics and usage

S = spelling rules