My

Writing

Handbook 4th Grade

4th

Gra

de:

My N

arr

ati

ve

Ru

bri

c C

hec

kp

oin

t S

hee

t

SAU

SD R

evis

ed, 1

0/1

1

Com

pon

ents

W

hat

does

it

mea

n?

\

#1

15

Sen

ten

ces

Do

I h

ave

15

co

mp

lete

sen

ten

ces

wit

h a

sub

ject

and

pre

dic

ate?

Are

my s

ente

nce

s in

a

sequ

enti

al o

rder

th

at m

akes

sen

se?

/

3 p

ts.

#2

O

pen

ing

D

o I

hav

e an

op

enin

g p

arag

rap

h t

hat

tel

ls t

he

read

er w

hat

the

sto

ry i

s ab

ou

t –

usi

ng

wh

en,

wh

o, w

hat

ab

out,

wher

e an

d w

hy?

BO

NU

S P

OIN

T!

Did

I a

dd

a l

ead

bef

ore

th

e op

enin

g

that

use

s a

qu

esti

on

, d

escr

ipti

on

, d

ialo

gu

e o

r so

und

eff

ect?

/2

pts

.

#3

C

losi

ng

D

o I

hav

e a

closi

ng

par

agra

ph

th

at h

as a

“ta

ke

away

” w

hic

h e

xpla

ins

wh

at t

his

sto

ry m

ean

t

to m

e o

r a

refl

ecti

on/t

hin

kin

g, o

r w

hat

I r

emem

ber

?

/1

pt.

#4

T

ran

siti

on

s D

o I

hav

e tr

ansi

tion

al p

hra

ses

at t

he

beg

innin

g o

f a

new

ev

ent

and

so

me

tran

siti

ons

wit

hin

the

par

agra

ph

s?

/3 p

ts.

#5

S

up

po

rtin

g

D

eta

ils

Do

I h

ave

sup

po

rtin

g d

etai

ls f

or

one

or

som

e ev

ents

th

at g

ive

a st

ep b

y s

tep

acc

ou

nt

abo

ut

som

ethin

g t

hat

hap

pen

ed?

Do

I u

se s

pec

ific

ex

amp

les

in m

y d

etai

ls?

/3 p

ts.

#6

E

mo

tio

ns

an

d

Ref

lect

ion

s

Do

I t

ell

abo

ut

ho

w a

ch

arac

ter

thin

ks

or

feel

s? D

id I

use

so

me

med

ia q

ues

tio

ns

to m

ake

sure

I “

sho

w –

not

tell

” th

e ch

arac

ter

though

ts, fe

elin

gs

or

acti

ons?

/2 p

ts.

#7

D

escr

ipti

ve

wo

rds

& p

hra

ses

Do

I h

ave

adje

ctiv

es o

r ad

ject

ive

ph

rase

s to

des

crib

e peo

ple

, pla

ces

and

ev

ents

? D

id I

add

figu

rati

ve

lan

gu

age:

sim

ile,

met

apho

r, h

yp

erbo

le, p

erso

nif

icat

ion

?

/2

pts

.

#8

P

un

ctu

ati

on

C

ap

ita

liza

tio

n

Sp

elli

ng

Did

I c

apit

aliz

e al

l p

rop

er n

ou

ns

and

beg

inn

ing

of

sen

ten

ces?

Is

my

sp

elli

ng

corr

ect,

esp

ecia

lly h

igh

fre

qu

ency

wo

rds.

D

id I

use

th

e co

rrec

t pu

nct

uat

ion

wit

h m

y d

ialo

gu

e, s

ente

nce

en

din

gs,

use

of

com

mas

, et

c.

/2 p

ts.

#9

G

ram

ma

r

Co

rrec

t ve

rb t

ense

Do

I u

se t

he

corr

ect

ver

b t

ense

(li

ke

all

pas

t te

nse

ver

bs)

in

my

sto

ry, un

less

I

am w

riti

ng

dia

log

ue?

D

oes

my

su

bje

ct a

nd

ver

b a

gre

e in

eac

h s

ente

nce

?

/2 p

ts.

H

ow

am

I d

oin

g?

Tota

l =

20

pts

. /2

0p

ts

SAUSD Student Handbook Openings L.4-5

SAUSD Student Handbook Transitions L.4-5

SAUSD Student Handbook Embedded Transitions L.4-5

SAUSD Student Handbook Closings L.4-5

shou

ted

yelle

d

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scre

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andbook I

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Dia

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Tag

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Strong Verbs for… All the Ways to MOVE!

went

visited

drove

flew

traveled

chauffeured

took a trip

walked hiked

backpacked

backtracked

pitter-pattered

tip-toed

meandered

sauntered

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strode

like an animal flipped

lumbered

wormed

slimed

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crawled

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musically... rocked

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danced

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waltzed

tap-danced

moved quickly

ran

skipped

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galloped

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bolted

bounded

sprinted

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moved (more!) frolicked

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jumped / leaped

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stretched

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stamped

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ransacked

wrangled

more! arranged

rearranged

conducted

plucked

ripped

scratched

stitched

stuffed

tickled

tucked

twisted

4th—5th Grade Writing Handbook

STRONGER VERBS for…What someone/something did!

helped

assisted

aided

taught

rescued

bandaged

consoled

volunteered

encouraged

high-fived

reassured

embrace/enfolded

ate

devoured

gulped

gobbled

inhaled

splurged

licked

slurped

made/created papered

pasted

clipped

cut

constructed

decorated

sanded

scribbled

cleaned

washed

wiped

dusted

vacuumed

scrubbed

wiped

scraped

scoured

do to others flirted

flattered

bamboozled

fooled

wormed

snooped

outwitted

not very nice... chastised

manipulated

raged

hated/despised

humiliated

teased

slimed

sabotaged

sassed

bothered

bugged

irritated

frustrated

annoyed

humiliated

bullied

jabbed

karate-chopped

monopolized

got rid of fired

erased

blasted

ejected

electrocuted

bulldozed

evaporated

demolished

shaved

saw

looked

watched

observed

noticed

viewed

glanced

peeked

peered

spied

double-checked

aimed

more...not less grew

cultivated

harvested

magnified

luxuriated

enveloped/encircle/

enclose

ballooned

guaranteed

vindicated

liked

enjoyed

loved

appreciated

adored

cherished

relished

praised

in the kitchen

cooked baked

toasted frosted

fried measured

boiled greased

roasted melted

broiled grated

poached iced

grilled thawed

plucked

3rd—5th Grade Writing Handbook

STRONG VIVID VERBS for… Blah! Blah! Blah! (& more)

3rd—5th Grade Writing Handbook

said/talked spoke

replied

answered

announced

stated

uttered

whispered

muttered

gabbed

joked/

wise-cracked

asked

suggested

requested

questioned

inquired

cried

sobbed

wept

wailed

sniffled

Like an animal..

cackled

chattered

screeched

yelped

howled

squealed

barked

chirped

clucked

shouted

hollered

yelled

scolded

exclaimed

screamed

declared

yelled

shrieked

disciplined

happily… laughed

guffawed

giggled

hee-hawed

rejoiced

chuckled

snickered

sang/crooned

other sounds gurgled

groaned

moaned

sneezed

burped

gestures shrugged

twitched

shivered

trembled

wrinkled

shuddered

strained

scratched

patted

expressions

smiled

grinned

smirked

glowed

frowned

pouted

felt relieved

dreaded

cheapened

drained

steamed

mystified

anticipated

oops! botched

goofed

hiccupped

ruined

jack-knifed

withered

wrenched

oozed

Ways to think...

read

studied

imagined

worshipped

wrote

composed

recorded

Stu

den

t H

andbook 3

rd, 4th

, 5

th

John

ny

Ap

ple

seed

was

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Inte

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In

term

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Ea

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Ad

van

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to A

dva

nce

d

1a

. N

ut

shel

l S

tate

men

t

So

meb

od

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_____

___

___

___

Wan

ted/N

eed

ed _

____

___

___

____

B

ut

___

___

___

____

___

___

__

(S

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____

___

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1b

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y O

pin

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ab

ou

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e ch

ara

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(m

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gm

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Sta

tem

ent

____

__

is

___

___

_

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elie

ve/

thin

k _

__

__ i

s _

__

___

___

A

fter

rea

din

g _

__

__

, I

hav

e co

ncl

ud

ed _

___

__

In

my o

pin

ion

, ___

___

__is

____

___

_

In t

he

sto

ry, _

__

__

, (t

he

char

acte

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s __

___

2. T

ran

siti

on

s to

su

mm

ari

ze:

Usi

ng

Ev

iden

ce f

rom

th

e S

tory

Fir

st,

At

the

beg

inn

ing

of

the

sto

ry _

___

_

Ear

ly o

n i

n t

he

sto

ry,

____

__

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en, N

ext,

In

th

e m

iddle

of

the

sto

ry, _

____

_

Lat

er, w

hen

__

___

__

Las

t, F

inal

ly

At

the

end

, ___

_

Fin

ally

, at

th

e en

d o

f th

e st

ory

/art

icle

, _

____

__

W

hen

__

_ (

did

/was

) _

___

___

, __

__

O

ne

exam

ple

of

___

_ i

s w

hen

____

R

ight

bef

ore

/aft

er _

__

3. S

um

ma

rizi

ng

Part

s o

f th

e S

tory

(ch

oosi

ng

par

ts o

f th

e st

ory

th

at p

erta

in t

o t

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jud

gm

ent

stat

emen

t)

W

ho

/Wh

at,

W

hat

ab

out_

___

_?.

.. W

hat

did

__

___

do

/say

/th

ink

)?

4. R

esp

on

din

g/

Ref

lect

ion

/Co

nn

ecti

on

s

___

sho

uld

(not)

__

__

_

Ho

w _

__ i

s ___

in

this

par

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exp

lain

) A

t th

is p

art

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S, _

___

_ w

as _

__

_ b

ecau

se_

__

____

_ i

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___

(tra

it/f

eeli

ng

) Y

ou

can

tel

l th

at _

_ i

s ____(t

rait

/

feel

ing

) b

ecau

se _

___

__

Wh

enev

er _

___

(d

oes

/say

s) _

____

_, yo

u c

an t

ell

she/

he

is _

_ (

trai

t)

Th

is i

s li

ke

____ (

connec

tion)

____

_ i

s ac

ting

__

(tra

it)

W

hen

ever

th

is h

app

ens

to m

e, _

______(c

on

nec

tion)

Th

is i

s an

ex

amp

le o

f _

__

_

____

_ i

s ac

ting

__

(tra

it)

bec

ause

___

_

____

_ i

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ting

__

(tra

it),

just

lik

e ____(c

onnec

tion)

kind

caring

loving

friendly

unselfish

warm

considerate

compassionate

generous

agreeable

happy

joyful

cheerful,

cheery

pleasant

fun-loving

satisfied

lucky

funny

out-going

carefree

brave

courageous

heroic

fearless

bold

valiant

bear

endure

confront/face

adventurous

proud

pleased

self-respect

successful

Confident

secure

Self -assured

self-confident

sure

assertive

assured

poised

positive

big-headed

arrogant

pompous

cocky conceited

egotistical

self-important

over-confident

hard-working

responsible

dependable

busy

energetic

reliable

diligent

smart

intelligent

bright

witty

creative

brainy

clever

keen

tricky

calm

peaceful

quiet

relaxed

gentle funny

comical

hilarious

amusing

witty

silly

ridiculous

foolish

careful

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watchful

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precautious

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wary

tricky

sly

crafty

cunning

wily

artful

scheming

slippery

busy

active

energetic

hyperactive

wired

mischievous

© HTross, 2012

sad

unhappy

gloomy

miserable

down-hearted

depressed

serious

regrettable

cheerless

heartbreaking

distressed

bitter

dejected

angry

mad

stubborn

furious

annoyed

stormy

inflamed

irritated

livid

fuming

Lazy

bored

irresponsible

slow

tired

idle

lethargic

sluggish

mean

rude

vicious

selfish

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uncaring

unkind

unpleasant

whiny

selfish

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hard to pleas

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demanding

Picky

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upset

nervous

anxious

worrisome

nervous

stressed

strange

weird

odd

peculiar

different

creepy

unusual

loony

nutty

silly

embarrassed

humiliated

mortified

uncomfortable

self-conscious

scared

frightened

terrified

fearful

petrified

shy

timid

bashful

quiet

cautious

reluctant

excluded

rejected

barred

disqualified

HTross, 2011 © HTross, 2012

Ea

rly

Inte

rmed

iate

In

term

edia

te

Ea

rly

Ad

van

ced

to A

dva

nce

d

1a

. N

ut

shel

l S

tate

men

t

So

meb

od

y _

_____

___

___

___

Wan

ted/N

eed

ed _

____

___

___

____

B

ut

___

___

___

____

___

___

__

(S

o)

____

___

___

___

___

1b

. M

essa

ge

of

Sto

ry (

my

ju

dgm

ent)

____

__

is

a st

ory

ab

ou

t _

___

_

____

is

a st

ory

/gen

re)

about

__

___

I le

arn

ed _

____

aft

er r

eadin

g _

__

Aft

er r

ead

ing

___

__

, I

thin

k/b

elie

ve

the

them

e o

f

this

sto

ry i

s ___

__

Th

is s

tory

is

about

___

__

T

he

mes

sag

e o

f th

is s

tory

is

____

_

In t

he

sto

ry, _

__

__

, th

e au

tho

r is

___

__

2. T

ran

siti

on

s to

su

mm

ari

ze:

Usi

ng

Ev

iden

ce f

rom

th

e S

tory

Fir

st,

At

the

beg

inn

ing

of

the

sto

ry _

___

_

Ear

ly o

n i

n t

he

sto

ry,

____

__

Th

en, N

ext,

In

th

e m

iddle

of

the

sto

ry, _

____

L

ater

, w

hen

__

___

__

Las

t, F

inal

ly

At

the

end

, ___

_

Fin

ally

, at

th

e en

d o

f th

e st

ory

/art

icle

, _

____

__

W

hen

__

_ (

did

/was

) _

___

___

, __

__

O

ne

exam

ple

of

___

_ i

s w

hen

____

R

ight

bef

ore

/aft

er _

__

3. S

um

ma

rizi

ng

Part

s o

f th

e S

tory

(ch

oosi

ng

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ts o

f th

e st

ory

th

at p

erta

in t

o t

he

jud

gm

ent

stat

emen

t)

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ho

/Wh

at,

W

hat

ab

out_

___

_?.

.. W

hat

did

__

___

do

/say

/th

ink

)?

4. R

efle

ctio

n/C

on

nec

tio

n t

o T

hem

e/m

essa

ge

In t

his

par

t, _

___

_

Th

is i

s an

ex

amp

le o

f ____

(th

eme)

bec

ause

Wh

enev

er _

___

, yo

u c

an t

ell

the

auth

or

is t

each

-

ing

th

e re

ader

__

___

_ (

them

e/m

essa

ge)

Th

is i

s li

ke

____ (

connec

tion)

Wh

enev

er t

his

hap

pen

s to

me,

___

(connec

tion)

Aft

er r

ead

ing

___

_, i

n m

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I __

___

___

Th

is i

s an

ex

amp

le o

f _

__

_

In t

his

par

t o

f th

e st

ory

, _

___

I

can

mak

e a

per

son

al c

on

nec

tion

to

this

bec

ause

Use

som

e of

thes

e th

eme

word

s bel

ow

to h

elp i

n d

evel

opin

g y

our

gen

eral

izat

ion

s.

Po

siti

ve

Posi

tive

Neu

tra

l N

eutr

al

Neg

ati

ve

Neg

ati

ve

frie

nd

ship

h

eroes

ch

oic

es

chal

len

ges

d

iscr

imin

atio

n

ho

mel

essn

ess

lov

e co

ura

ge

risk

-tak

ing

su

rviv

al

pre

jud

ice

po

ver

ty

cari

ng

p

atri

oti

sm

val

ues

raci

sm

loyal

ty

pea

ce

re

lati

on

ship

s

lon

elin

ess

ho

nes

ty

free

do

m

lead

ersh

ip

self

-est

eem

ju

dg

men

ts

trag

edy

trust

com

mu

nit

y

pri

de

go

ssip

acce

pta

nce

re

spo

nsi

bil

ity

d

iver

sity

b

elo

ng

ing

com

mit

men

t co

nv

icti

on

s

pee

r p

ress

ure

h

atre

d

gre

ed

ch

arac

ter

nat

ure

war

ho

pe

team

wo

rk

env

iro

nm

ent

mo

ney

v

iole

nce

dre

ams

reso

urc

efu

lnes

s ch

ang

e

ang

er

re

spec

t d

isco

ver

y

go

od

an

d e

vil

b

ull

ies

Ta

kin

g A

ctio

n t

o C

are

for

Oth

ers

It i

s so

met

imes

har

d w

ork

to

car

e fo

r o

ther

s, s

o

yo

u m

ust

be

per

sist

ent,

confi

den

t, p

atie

nt

and

det

erm

ined

.

No

mat

ter

what

yo

ur

age,

you c

an s

till

tak

e

acti

on

if

yo

u b

elie

ve

in y

ou

rsel

f.

Yo

u m

ay h

ave

to g

ive

som

ethin

g u

p e

ven

if

yo

u

do

n't

wan

t to

, an

d p

eop

le m

ight

no

t ag

ree

wit

h

yo

u.

Fin

din

g a

Pla

ce t

o B

elo

ng

Ch

alle

ng

es s

hap

e p

eople

, an

d m

ake

them

str

on

ger

.

Hav

ing

a p

lace

to

liv

e is

n't

the

sam

e as

hav

ing

a l

ov

ing

ho

me.

Man

y p

rob

lem

s o

ccur

as a

res

ult

of

not

hav

ing a

pla

ce t

o

bel

on

g.

Th

ing

s w

e ta

ke

for

gra

nte

d o

ther

s m

ay n

eed

.

Peo

ple

nee

d t

o b

e re

sourc

eful

in o

rder

to s

urv

ive

when

they f

ace

chal

len

ges

. D

raw

ing o

n I

nn

er S

tren

gth

Peo

ple

dra

w o

n i

nn

er s

tren

gth

to h

elp

th

em

per

sev

ere

thro

ugh t

oug

h t

imes

.

Wh

en w

e dra

w o

n o

ur

ow

n i

nner

str

eng

th w

e

mak

e a

consc

ious

dec

isio

n t

o a

ct o

ut

of

cou

rag

e

rath

er t

han

fea

r.

Fo

ster

ing i

nner

str

ength

is

a li

fe-l

ong p

roces

s.

So

met

imes

it

is d

iffi

cult

to f

ind i

nn

er s

tren

gth

.

Bu

ild

ing N

ew F

rien

dsh

ips

Wh

en w

e ar

e i

n a

new

sit

uat

ion,

we

can m

ake

new

frie

nd

s.

Fri

end

s en

rich

ou

r li

ves

and c

an h

elp u

s in

tim

es o

f nee

d.

Fri

end

s sh

are

wit

h o

ne

anoth

er t

o e

xpre

ss t

hei

r

app

reci

atio

n o

f th

e fr

ien

dsh

ip.

Wh

at

Ca

rri

es U

s T

hrou

gh

Hard

ship

?

Fa

cin

g C

ha

ng

e w

ith

Co

ura

ge

E

ver

yo

ne

has

inte

rnal

coura

ge

to h

elp

th

em f

ace

chan

ge.

O

ther

s ca

n h

elp

us

gai

n c

ou

rag

e to

fac

e ch

ang

e.

B

ein

g c

ou

rag

eous

mea

ns

over

com

ing

ch

ang

e in

sp

ite

of

the

od

ds.

D

iffe

ren

t p

eople

hav

e d

iffe

rent

reas

on

s fo

r n

eed

ing

to

be

cou

rag

eous.

H

ard

ship

s co

me

in m

any f

orm

s an

d c

an h

app

en t

o a

nyb

od

y.

T

o g

et t

hro

ug

h h

ard

tim

es, w

e nee

d t

o h

ave

fait

h i

n o

ur

ow

n

wo

rth

an

d o

ur

ow

n p

ow

er t

o a

ct.

T

o g

et t

hro

ug

h h

ard

tim

es,

we

nee

d t

o b

e w

illi

ng

to

try

new

thin

gs.

O

ne

thin

g t

hat

can

car

ry p

eop

le t

hro

ug

h h

ard

ship

is

con

cern

for

som

eon

e o

r so

met

hin

g o

uts

ide

of

them

selv

es.

S

om

etim

es f

amil

y,

com

munit

y a

nd t

he

stre

ngth

of

cult

ura

l

trad

itio

ns

can

car

ry p

eople

thro

ugh

har

dsh

ip.

Tak

ing a

Sta

nd

THE THEMES OF OUR LIVES

Believe in yourself./Be proud of who you are.

Celebrate creativity and independent thinking.

Strong girls rule!

Perseverance (determination) helps us achieve our goals./Follow your dreams.

Accept others’ differences.

Honesty (with compassion) is the best policy.

Never underestimate the importance of kindness to others/thinking of others before

yourself.

True friends (and family) are a gift.

We love our siblings (brothers/sisters) —in spite of ourselves.

Be kind to others—and they’ll be kind to you.

Explore your feelings.

It’s the “small beauties” in our life that are the most meaningful.

Resisting peer pressure is difficult at times—but worth it.

Role models are important.

Education is a privilege.

Reading is a precious gift.

Discrimination hurts.

Slavery, Civil Rights Era ,Japanese-American Experience (internment camps)

The Holocaust, Contemporary (various cultures)

Home is where the heart is.

It’s hard to learn a new language (and a new culture).

We can find inspiration in special places.

Hold on to special memories: the special “things” in our life.

Hold on to special memories: the special people in our life.

Take responsibility for your actions./Make good decisions.

Poverty impacts our life in many different ways.

Honor your country.

It’s important to care for our environment and the natural world.