UNIT 4
The Literary Essay: Writing About Fiction

Bend I ♦ Writing about Reading: Literary Essays

Session 1 – Close Reading To Generate Ideas about a Text
Chart: Questions Writers Ask of Texts
Chart: Questions Writers Ask of Earlier Entries
Homework: Reading with Passionate Attentiveness

Session 2 – Gathering Writing by Studying Characters
FIG. 2–2 Ali envisions herself as the character Lupe and writes off
from "The Marble Champ"
Homework: Studying How a Mentor Author Portrays a Character

Session 3 – Elaborating on Written Ideas Using Prompts
Transcript of a Book Club Conversation
List of Prompts: Ways to Push Our Thinking
Chart: Ways to Push Our Thinking, Version 1
Homework: Bring More of the Text to Reading Response

Session 4 – Finding and Testing a Thesis
Homework: Crafting Theses Quickly Using a Template

Session 5 – Using Stories as Evidence
Chart: How to Angle a Story to Make a Point
Homework: Studying a Literary Essay

Session 6 – Citing Textual Evidence
Chart: Ways to Bring Quotes into an Essay
Homework: Using Quotations as Evidence

Session 7 – Using Lists as Evidence
Homework: Saying Essays Aloud

Session 8 – Putting It All Together: Constructing Literary Essays
Opinion Writing Checklist, Grades 4 and 5
Chart: How to Write a Literary Essay
Homework: Revising for Strength and Clarity

Bend II ♦ Raising the Quality of Literary Essays

Session 9 – Writing to Discover What a Story Is Really About
List of Prompts: Questions
Chart: Writing to Think about a Message or a Theme
Homework: Finding Elusive Meaning in Texts

Session 10 – Adding Complexity to Our Ideas
Chart: Tips for Developing More Complex Ideas
Chart: Possible Templates that Can Support Thesis Statements for Literary Essays
Homework: Learning to Make Complex Claims

Session 11 – Flash-Drafting Literary Essays
Chart: How to Write a Literary Essay
Chart: Ways to Push Our Thinking, Version 1
Homework: Mapping a Revision Plan

Session 12 – Beginnings and Endings
Examples of Leads Written for Essays
Opinion Writing Checklist, Grades 4 and 5
Additional Essay Leads
Homework: Crafting Conclusions

Session 13 – Using Descriptions of an Author's Craft as Evidence
Chart: Literary Devices
Chart: How to Write a Literary Essay
Homework: From Thought to Revision

Session 14 – Editing
Opinion Writing Checklist, Grades 4 and 5
Homework: Prioritizing Goals

Bend III ♦ Writing Compare-and-Contrast Essays

Session 15 – Building the Muscles to Compare and Contrast
Chart: Tips for Comparing and Contrasting
Homework: Revising Entries

Session 16 – Comparing and Contrasting Familiar Texts
Chart: Finding Texts to Compare in Deep Ways
Chart: Possible Leads for Compare-and-Contrast Essays
List of Literary Terms
Homework: Opening Up Possibilities

Session 17 – Using Yesterday's Learning, Today and Always
Chart: Literary Devices
Sample: Student's Compare-and-Contrast Essay (FIG. 17–1)
Opinion Writing Learning Progression
Homework: Revising Drafts Based on Partner Suggestions

Session 18 – Developing Distinct Lines of Thought
Sample: Student Draft that Demonstrates a Tangle of Thoughts and Ideas
(FIG. 18–1, 18–2)
Chart: Ways to Push Our Thinking, Version 2
Homework: Revising to Lift the Level of Your Essay

Session 19 – Exploring Commas
Opinion Writing Checklist, Grades 4 and 5
Editing Checklist
Homework: Being Wide-Awake Readers of Our Own Writing

Session 20 – A Celebration
FIG. 20–1 Max's final draft
FIG. 20–2 Adam's final draft
FIG. 20–3 Judah's final draft
FIG. 20–4 Ali's final draft
FIG. 20–5 Jessica's final draft
FIG. 20–6 Parker's final draft
FIG. 20–7 Kenneth's final draft