The document summarizes the structure and content of a 12-day nonfiction writing workshop. Each day covers a different topic like chapter structures, what nonfiction writers do, and wrapping up a chapter. Students are guided through exercises on writing techniques and given assignments to practice their skills in preparing to write their own nonfiction work.

1. Day Four

4. Day Five

8. Day Six

10. Parts of...
How it works:
Our examples

11. Parts of...
How it works:
Our examples

12. Kinds of...
How it works:
Our examples

13. How to...
How it works:
Our examples

15. But they don't ALL fit in those
categories... there must be more!

20. Day Seven

21. DISTRIBUTE:
Kinds of:
-Ferocious Fish
-Small But Deadly
How-to:
-How did people get the news? (p.
62)
-TFK sample paper
Parts of:
-Trunks, Tusks, Ears
-The Final Hours

23. What Nonfiction
Writers Do

24. What Nonfiction
Writers Do
-titles of chapters give clues about the
writing
-how-to writers put things into steps
-ask good questions in their writing, and
then they answer those questions
-if an author uses confusing new words,
they need to explain what those words
mean
-nonfiction writers sometimes give their own
opinions about things-- they say how THEY
feel about it
-give labels, especially when they show
photographs or pictures
-give INTERESTING facts

25. What Nonfiction
Writers Do
-use commas, especially when things are in a list
-use photographs to match what the text is talking
about, and captions to explain the photographs/
illustrations
-use headings and subheadings
-tell you stuff that will make you want to KEEP
READING
-give SPECIAL facts in little boxes away from the main
text
-they try to blow your mind with things you didn't
already know
-make sure the writing matches the title/heading
-pick INTERESTING topics
-put little pictures by the captions to help you
understand even better

26. Day Eight

28. Preparing the Ingredients
Do you have to be an expert chef to make the
perfect pasta? No, but you do need to spend some
time preparing the ingredients before your sauce
can come to life! The perfect pasta takes a lot of
work. By making sure to follow some important
steps, you'll be find great success!
What kind of knife will I need?
Preparing the onions might just be the most
important part of making the perfect pasta, so
you'll need a knife that is just right for slivering
them. Slivering means slicing them into very thin,
half-circle pieces. Any large knife will do for this
job, but I recommend a long-handled Wusthof
chopping knife. It's always worked great for me!

29. My chapter should...
-be about the same subtopic
all the way through
-include lots of teaching points
about my subtopic
-use a chapter structure
> kinds of
> parts of
> how to

31. Discussion Starters
1. Today I thought I did a
really good job...
2. My favorite part that I
wrote today was...
3. I'm still working on...

32. Day Nine

37. Day Ten

46. Preparing the Ingredients
Do you have to be an expert chef to make the
perfect pasta? No, but you do need to spend some
time preparing the ingredients before your sauce
can come to life! The perfect pasta takes a lot of
work. By making sure to follow some important
steps, you'll be find great success!
What kind of knife will I need?
Preparing the onions might just be the most
important part of making the perfect pasta, so
you'll need a knife that is just right for slivering
them. Slivering means slicing them into very thin,
half-circle pieces. Any large knife will do for this
job, but I recommend a long-handled Wusthof
chopping knife. It's always worked great for me!

47. Interesting fact:
Question:
Short burst:

48. Day Eleven

50. What Nonfiction
Writers Do
-use commas, especially when things are in a list
-use photographs to match what the text is talking
about, and captions to explain the photographs/
illustrations
-use headings and subheadings
-tell you stuff that will make you want to KEEP
READING
-give SPECIAL facts in little boxes away from the main
text
-they try to blow your mind with things you didn't
already know
-make sure the writing matches the title/heading
-pick INTERESTING topics
-put little pictures by the captions to help you
understand even better

51. What Nonfiction
Writers Do
-titles of chapters give clues about the
writing
-how-to writers put things into steps
-ask good questions in their writing, and
then they answer those questions
-if an author uses confusing new words,
they need to explain what those words
mean
-nonfiction writers sometimes give their own
opinions about things-- they say how THEY
feel about it
-give labels, especially when they show
photographs or pictures
-give INTERESTING facts

55. USING BOLDFACE PRINT

56. USING A WORD BOX

57. USING A WORD BOX

58. USING CONTEXT CLUES

61. SO WHAT MAKES THIS TRICKY?

64. Day Twelve

66. Preparing the Ingredients
Do you have to be an expert chef to make the
perfect pasta? No, but you do need to spend some
time preparing the ingredients before your sauce
can come to life! The perfect pasta takes a lot of
work. By making sure to follow some important
steps, you'll be able to find great success!
What kind of knife will I need?
Preparing the onions might just be the most
important part of making the perfect pasta, so
you'll need a knife that is just right for slivering
them. Slivering means slicing them into very thin,
half-circle pieces. Any large knife will do for this
job, but I recommend a long-handled Wusthof
chopping knife. It's always worked great for me!

69. Day Thirteen

71. Day Fourteen

72. Day in the Life
How it works:
Our examples

74. Life Cycle
How it works:
Our examples

76. Comparison
How it works:
Our examples

78. Chapter Four Contract
By signing my name, I hereby promise to write a fourth chapter at home, the very
best I can. As a result, I will have no other homework on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday of next week. A parent email will be sent home, so my family will
know I have this responsibility. If your teacher determines that I did not give my
best effort, I will have to complete all the homework that I missed.

79. Day Fifteen

83. • short burst
• interesting fact
• action sequence
Start with...

84. • preview
statement
Next...

85. • question #1
• question #2
• question #3
Then...

86. Preparing the Ingredients
Do you have to be an expert chef to make the
perfect pasta? No, but you do need to spend some
time preparing the ingredients before your sauce
can come to life! The perfect pasta takes a lot of
work. By making sure to follow some important
steps, you'll be find great success!
What kind of knife will I need?
Preparing the onions might just be the most
important part of making the perfect pasta, so
you'll need a knife that is just right for slivering
them. Slivering means slicing them into very thin,
half-circle pieces. Any large knife will do for this
job, but I recommend a long-handled Wusthof
chopping knife. It's always worked great for me!

87. • smooth

88. transition
Lastly...

89. Smooth

90. Transition
Collection

91. Putting it all
together

92. 1. short burst/interesting fact/
action sequence
2. preview statement
3. question #1
4. question #2
5. question #3
6. smooth transition
In review...

93. Day Sixteen

99. It should FEEL like
the end without SAYING
THE END

100. drew conclusions?
• help remind your reader what they
should have learned by the end of
your text
focus only on the meat and
potatoes
take them on the journey one last
time, chapter by chapter

101. suggested ways readers
might respond?
• suggest to your reader what he/she
should do now that he/she has
learned all this new information
So the next time...
Now that you...

102. Putting it all
together

103. Day Seventeen

107. Which is best?

108. What should a good
table of contents do?
• It should
• It should
• It should

109. Untaught
Rubrics