This Lesson's Title:

Top Secret Rule Reasons!

creating a unique idea that is filled with voice

This lesson idea was proposed to WritingFix by NNWP Teacher Consultant Denise Boswell at an SBC-sponsored inservice class.

The intended "mentor text" to be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the picture book The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups by David Wisniewski. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author.

Check out The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups at Amazon.com.

Washoe County teachers, click here to search for this book at the county library.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

In The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups, David Wisniewski uses a pattern throughout his book.  A grown-up rule is shared, the grown-up reason for the reason is shared, and the "real" reason for the rule is revealed in a fantastic tale.  This writing assignment allows students to be creative--perhaps a little defiant--while borrowing Wisniewski's pattern. Teachers: Click here to see the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait for this assignment is idea development; writers will focus on creating a completely unique idea while borrowing a structure from a published author.  The support trait for this assignment is voice; with an assignment this enjoyable, students should have no problem adding emotion and passion to their "real reasons for rules."

Recipient of the NNWP's
Excellent Writing Lesson Award:

Because of the quality of its resources and ideas, this WritingFix lesson was selected by the Northern Nevada Writing Project as April 2007's Writing Lesson of the Month. It was e-mailed to thousands of teachers who are members of the NNWP's Writing Lesson of the Month Teacher Network.

To quickly access all the WritingFix lessons that have been chosen as "Lesson of the Month," click here to visit the NNWP's archive. You can have a link to a high-quality writing lesson sent to you every month.