Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose, Voice and Evidence

Writing with Purpose, Voice and Evidence: Unit Review

D1.1 D1.2 D1.3 D1.4 D1.5 D2.1 D2.2 D2.3 D2.4 D2.5 D2.6 D3.1 D3.2 D3.3 A1.1 A1.2 A2.1 A2.2 A2.3 A2.4 A2.5 A3.1 A3.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can plan a text by choosing purpose, audience, form and medium, and develop, research and organize ideas.
  • I can write narratives, persuasive texts, informational texts, media texts and poems.
  • I can use voice, tone, point of view and fair language, and revise and edit my writing.
  • I can publish, present and reflect on my writing.

Words to know

medium
How a text reaches its audience: paper, aloud, slideshow, audio, video or email.
evidence
Facts, examples or experiences that prove a reason.
climax
The most exciting moment of a story.
tone
The feeling or attitude in a piece of writing.
bias
Favouring one side unfairly.
revise
To improve the message: ideas, words, sentences and order.
edit
To fix mistakes in spelling, punctuation, grammar and format.

Let's review!

In this unit you planned texts for different purposes, audiences and media; found ideas and details; researched and recorded sources; and organized content. You wrote stories, persuasive letters, reports and explanations, media texts and poems. You worked on voice, tone, point of view and fairness, revised and edited (even with a word processor), and published, presented and reflected.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. Many writing answers can be different from the model, so check that yours does the same job.

The writingprocessPlanpurpose, audienceDraftget ideas downReviseimprove the messageEditfix mistakesPublishshare itReflectwhat helped me?
The writing process from this unit. It is a cycle: what you learn when you reflect helps you plan your next text.
NarrativePurpose:entertainplot mountain,characters,dialoguePersuasivePurpose:convinceopinion, reasons,evidence,call to actionInformationalPurpose:inform, explainfacts, subheadings,diagrams,glossaryMediaPurpose:many purposescomics, infographics,announcementsPoemPurpose:share a feelingfigurative language,haiku (5-7-5)
The kinds of texts you wrote in this unit, with each one's main purpose and key parts.

Planning: Topic, Purpose, Audience, Form and Medium

1

Name the topic, purpose, audience, form and medium: A recorded video thanking a hospital's nurses.

2

Is a speech a genre, a form or a medium?

3

Explain why a poster is a good choice for reminding students to wash their hands.

Developing Ideas: Finding Topics and Adding Details

1

Zoom in: My summer.

2

Use a fairness lens on our school's front door. Who might need something?

3

Expand with a detail: The market was busy.

Research: Gathering Information and Recording Sources

1

Turn into jot notes: Monarch butterflies travel thousands of kilometres to Mexico each fall.

2

Write a source line for a pretend book: Northern Lights by Ana Reyes, Aurora Books, 2022.

3

Why check that two sources agree?

Organizing Content: Selecting, Grouping and Sequencing

1

Which order fits a recount of a class trip?

2

Group into two categories: robin, maple, blue jay, oak, cardinal, birch.

3

Finish the reflection: Sticky notes helped me organize because ___.

Narrative Writing: Plot, Characters and Dialogue

1

Put in order: climax, beginning, resolution, rising action, falling action.

2

Show the trait brave through an action.

3

Fix the dialogue: Is it snowing asked Ben yes said Mom

Persuasive Writing: Building a Convincing Argument

1

What is a rebuttal?

2

Give evidence for Our class should get more books about hockey.

3

Write a call to action for a letter about adding a crosswalk near your school.

Informational Writing: Reports, Explanations and Text Features

1

Report or explanation? Why Volcanoes Erupt.

2

Name three text features.

3

Join with a cause-and-effect word: The ice melted. The pond filled up.

Creating Media and Digital Texts: Comics, Infographics and Announcements

1

Name two conventions of a comic.

2

Why should an infographic list its sources?

3

What must you do before recording a friend for a video?

Voice, Tone and Style: Figurative Language and Poems

1

Name the tool: The kettle sang its morning song.

2

Write a hyperbole about being tired.

3

Formal or informal? Dear Mayor Dube, Thank you for visiting our class.

4

Count the syllables: Ice on the window.

Point of View, Perspective and Bias in My Writing

1

Which point of view? Mix the flour, then you add the water.

2

Find the loaded words: Only a fool would skip the science fair.

3

A story about a school play is told only by the actors. Name a missing perspective.

Revising: Word Choice, Adding and Deleting, and Feedback

1

Substitute a vague word: We got a lot of snow.

2

What does TAG stand for?

3

Delete the off-topic sentence: Loons dive for fish. They have red eyes. My dad drives a van. Loons nest near the shore.

Editing and Proofreading, with a Word Processor

1

Edit: my brother and me goes skating every sunday

2

Find the homophone mistakes: Your going to love there new puppy.

3

Where do your fingers rest when touch-typing?

Publishing, Presenting and Reflecting

1

Name two presenting strategies.

2

Why use white space in a final text?

3

Make this reflection specific: I did OK.

Just for fun

What did the pencil say to the eraser at the end of the unit?

Thanks for having my back through all those revisions!

How to use this review

  • Do two or three sections at a time. You don't have to finish in one sitting.
  • Say or write your answer before you press Show answer.
  • For writing questions, compare your answer with the model: does yours do the same job (for example, a hyperbole really exaggerates)?
  • Put a star beside any section that felt hard, and go back to that lesson.
  • Finish with the quiz to see how much you've learned!
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What is the medium of a podcast?

2.

Which topic is zoomed in enough to write about well?

3.

Which is the best jot note for Wolves live and hunt in family groups called packs?

4.

What is the climax of a story?

5.

Which is evidence for a persuasive letter?

6.

Which sentence belongs in an informational report?

7.

Which sentence uses personification?

8.

Which sentence shows bias?

9.

Which mistake might spell check miss?

10.

Which is a strong reflection?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Mixes up form and medium, or can't explain why a choice fits the audience: revisit Planning: Topic, Purpose, Audience, Form and Medium.
  • Topics that are too big, or ideas with no details: revisit Developing Ideas: Finding Topics and Adding Details.
  • Copies sentences, keeps irrelevant facts, or forgets to record sources: revisit Research: Gathering Information and Recording Sources.
  • Paragraphs that mix topics, or an order that doesn't suit the form: revisit Organizing Content: Selecting, Grouping and Sequencing.
  • Stories with no climax, rushed endings, or dialogue in one big paragraph: revisit Narrative Writing: Plot, Characters and Dialogue.
  • Reasons without evidence, or ignoring the other side: revisit Persuasive Writing: Building a Convincing Argument.
  • Opinions in reports, no subheadings, or missing cause-and-effect words: revisit Informational Writing: Reports, Explanations and Text Features.
  • Media texts with too many words, or using images and recordings without permission: revisit Creating Media and Digital Texts: Comics, Infographics and Announcements.
  • Flat writing, the wrong tone for the audience, or mixing up simile and metaphor: revisit Voice, Tone and Style: Figurative Language and Poems.
  • Switching point of view, or unfair, one-sided language: revisit Point of View, Perspective and Bias in My Writing.
  • Only fixing spelling when asked to revise, or vague words like "good" and "stuff": revisit Revising: Word Choice, Adding and Deleting, and Feedback.
  • Run-ons, verb tense slips, homophones, or trusting spell check completely: revisit Editing and Proofreading, with a Word Processor.
  • Rushed, flat presentations or vague reflections: revisit Publishing, Presenting and Reflecting.

Writing grows slowly across the year. Praise ideas and voice first, and work on only one or two conventions at a time.