Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing for Real Audiences

Writing for Real Audiences: 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 A2.6 A3.1 A3.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can plan texts, develop ideas, research reliable sources and organize content into paragraphs.
  • I can write narratives, persuasive texts, informational texts, digital texts and poems.
  • I can use voice, consider perspectives, revise, edit and word-process my writing.
  • I can publish, present and reflect with specific next steps.

Words to know

medium
How a text reaches its audience: paper, aloud, audio, video, email or a website.
reliable
Able to be trusted to give correct information.
text structure
How information is organized, such as compare and contrast or cause and effect.
conflict
The problem or struggle a character faces.
thesis statement
The sentence that states your position in a persuasive text.
implicit
Not stated directly, but shown through choices.
ARMS
Add, Remove, Move, Substitute: a revising strategy.
design process
Plan, create, test, get feedback, improve.

Let's review!

In this unit you planned texts and explained how your choices carry meaning, developed ideas and details, researched reliable sources and gave credit, and organized multi-paragraph texts. You wrote stories built on conflict, persuasive essays, compare-and-contrast texts and news articles, digital texts and poems. You checked your perspectives, revised with ARMS and selective feedback, edited 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. Many writing answers can differ from the model; check that yours does the same job.

PlanDevelopOrganizeDraftReviseARMSEditCUPSPublishReflect: glow, grow, go
The whole writing process from this unit, ending with a reflection that leads into your next text.
Storyconflict, climaxPersuasive essaythesis, 3 reasonsCompare/contrastVenn, signal wordsNews article5 Ws, pyramidSlideshowone idea per slidePodcastintro, segments, outroBlog postheadline, linksPoemimagery, line breaks
Eight forms you wrote in this unit, each with one of its key features.

Planning: Purpose, Audience and Choices That Carry Meaning

1

Name the purpose, audience, form and medium: A podcast episode for kids your age about how to care for a new puppy.

2

Is a blog post a genre, a form or a medium?

3

Explain how adding a map helps the meaning of an invitation to a park clean-up.

Developing Ideas and Supporting Details

1

Name the kind of detail: "We all belong here," said the principal.

2

Give an example of inclusion at school.

3

Name two strategies for developing ideas.

Research: Reliable Sources and Giving Credit

1

Name the four questions for checking a source.

2

A website selling sneakers says its sneakers make you run twice as fast. Reliable fact? Why?

3

What should a credit for a photo include?

Organizing Content: Paragraphs and Text Structures

1

Which text structure fits How are wolves and coyotes alike and different?

2

What does a topic sentence do?

3

Put in order: body paragraphs, conclusion, introduction.

Narrative Writing: Conflict, Character and Showing

1

Name the conflict type: A hiker is lost in a blizzard.

2

Show, don't tell: Ella was excited.

3

What is character growth?

Persuasive Writing: A Multi-Paragraph Argument

1

Write a thesis statement for a letter about adding a water-bottle filling station at school.

2

What comes after evidence in a strong body paragraph?

3

Write a respectful rebuttal to It costs too much.

Informational Writing: Compare-and-Contrast Reports and News Articles

1

What goes in the lead of a news article?

2

Write a contrast sentence about snow and rain.

3

Make objective: The incredible students raised a fantastic $500.

Creating Digital and Media Texts: Slideshows, Podcasts and Blog Posts

1

Name two conventions of a podcast.

2

What are the five steps of the design process?

3

Name two kinds of personal information you shouldn't share online.

Voice and Style: Imagery, Sound and Poetry

1

Find the onomatopoeia: The geese honked as they flew south.

2

Write line 2 of a diamante about Ocean.

3

Add touch imagery: I held the snowball.

Point of View, Explicit and Implicit Perspectives, and My Audience

1

Explicit or implicit? The gloomy old library finally got a makeover.

2

Find the overgeneralization: Nobody likes winter.

3

How might a farmer and a child read It rained all week differently?

Revising: Content, Sentence Patterns, Features and Feedback

1

What does ARMS stand for?

2

Combine: The cat was orange. The cat slept on the radiator.

3

Should you use feedback that changes your purpose? Explain.

Editing, Proofreading and Word-Processing Skills

1

Edit: on monday me and jake walks to school

2

Which tool shows how long your text is?

3

Where do your left-hand fingers rest on the home row?

Publishing, Presenting and Reflecting: Next Steps as a Creator

1

Name the four design ideas.

2

Which digital tool would you use to add captions to a video?

3

Write a specific go (next step) for your writing.

Just for fun

Why do writers love the end of a long unit?

Because they finally get to use their favourite punctuation mark: the period. Done! ✏️

How to use this review

  • Do three or four 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 with the model: does yours do the same job? (For example, does your show, don't tell sentence avoid naming the feeling?)
  • Star any section that felt hard, and go back to that lesson.
  • Finish with the quiz.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which planning question is new and important in Grade 5?

2.

Which detail is an anecdote?

3.

Which source is most reliable for facts about Ontario's provincial parks?

4.

Which text structure answers why something happens?

5.

Theo is scared to try out for the choir. What kind of conflict is this?

6.

Where does a persuasive essay state its position?

7.

Which sentence belongs in a news article?

8.

Which is implicit perspective?

9.

Which mistake would spell check most likely miss?

10.

Which reflection includes a specific next step?

For parents and teachers

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

  • Can't explain how a form or medium helps the audience understand: revisit Planning: Purpose, Audience and Choices That Carry Meaning.
  • Topics too big, or details that don't fit the purpose: revisit Developing Ideas and Supporting Details.
  • Trusts any website, or forgets to credit pictures and music: revisit Research: Reliable Sources and Giving Credit.
  • Paragraphs that mix ideas, or the wrong text structure: revisit Organizing Content: Paragraphs and Text Structures.
  • Stories with no real conflict, or feelings named instead of shown: revisit Narrative Writing: Conflict, Character and Showing.
  • Reasons without evidence or explanation, or no thesis: revisit Persuasive Writing: A Multi-Paragraph Argument.
  • Opinions in news writing, or comparisons with no similarities: revisit Informational Writing: Compare-and-Contrast Reports and News Articles.
  • Wordy slides, missing podcast intros, or sharing personal information: revisit Creating Digital and Media Texts: Slideshows, Podcasts and Blog Posts.
  • Imagery only for sight, or diamante pattern errors: revisit Voice and Style: Imagery, Sound and Poetry.
  • Overgeneralizations, or not noticing implicit perspectives: revisit Point of View, Explicit and Implicit Perspectives, and My Audience.
  • Only fixing spelling when asked to revise, or sentences that all sound the same: revisit Revising: Content, Sentence Patterns, Features and Feedback.
  • Tense or point-of-view slips, homophones, too many fonts, or hunt-and-peck typing: revisit Editing, Proofreading and Word-Processing Skills.
  • Cluttered designs or vague reflections: revisit Publishing, Presenting and Reflecting: Next Steps as a Creator.

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