The trifold story planner is a graphic organizer that takes students through the process of writing a story. The process requires a 30-45 minute daily dedicated writing block for approximately 8-10 days. To get started, you need a doc cam or overhead and a blank transparency or sheet of white copy paper. By folding or drawing, make three equal columns on the page. Each column represents either the beginning, middle or end of the story. On the first day, I demonstrate how to make the organizer and model planning the beginning of a story. On the top of the first column, I draw a picture of what I was visualizing in the beginning of my story. I talk about the setting, characters, title and big ideas. Under the picture, I make a list of details that I want to include in my beginning paragraph. I make sure to express that this is a list and that I’m not writing sentences or a paragraph. Following my modeling the students are given a piece of white copy paper and directions for making the trifold. This document is important and will represent six or more days of writing work. It is essential that it doesn’t get lost. I would advise checking for names on each planning sheet and collecting them daily to avoid lost planning time. Once the planning sheet is created, I ask the students to think about the beginning of their story. After a few minutes of think time, I ask the them to turn and talk to a neighbor about the beginning of their story. When the idea exchange is complete, I ask the students to draw their visualization and make their list. If time permits, I ask several students to share their work.
On days two and three, I follow the same procedure. I start by reviewing the work from the previous day and continue my drawing and detail list for the middle or ending. A complete planner will have illustrations and lists of details for all three parts of the story. The illustrations become a story map. Moving forward, students will need a blank piece of paper and the trifold planner to draft their paragraphs. At this point, it is wise to decide if you want students to skip lines to allow for editing opportunities later.
On the fourth day, I reread my list and model thinking aloud about the content for the first paragraph. This is when I talk about indenting, sentence sense, word choice, organization and transitions. Once I have completed the writing, I go back to the planner list and check off each detail to be sure that it was included in the paragraph. Following the demonstration, I ask the students to look at their planner and think about their story. Again, they turn and talk to a neighbor about what they are planning to write. Voicing their thoughts before writing helps them to plan and organize their ideas more fluently. On a blank sheet of paper, I ask the students to write their beginning paragraph and check the details from their planner. If students miss a detail they need to decide where it belongs so that it will make sense in the piece, instead of just adding it to the end. Leaving the extra spaces between the lines is very beneficial for this reason. In addition, it provides space for students to add details that may not have been on the list originally, but are relevant to the paragraph. On the fifth and sixth day, the process is repeated until all three paragraphs are complete.
Now students are ready to edit and revise their work. You can use an established editing and revision checklist or rubric if you have one or make your own. I make a “Did it” dot chart with a list of what I have taught and what I expect to see in their writing. I assign each item a color by sticking a different colored dot next to each item on the chart. Using colored pencils, crayons or markers, students circle, or underline the information requested in the appropriate color to show evidence of editing and revision. The checklist can be modified to individualize learning for each student. On days seven and eight, students check conventions and content and make the necessary changes. Feedback for students can be accomplished through inside / outside circles, peer editing, teacher conference and fluency phones.
Once the piece is determined to be the best it can be, the students will prepare the final copy. I always attach the draft to the trifold planner and give the students a tool to slide down the page as they complete the final copy. Students have a tendency to ignore the changes they made and write from memory, making the same mistakes again and again. The slide can be a ruler, or a strip of colored transparency to highlight were they’re working and draw their eye to the corrections they made. I monitor this process closely, to redirect students that are not self-correcting. Once the piece is complete, students can trace over the words with a black fine line marker to make the words pop.
Lastly, days nine and ten are spent presenting and scoring papers. Each student reads their story to the class. All students have a five point rubric with the elements needed for the story. As the student reads their work, the rest of the class listens for each point. At the end, each point is discussed and students are asked if the piece matched the criteria.
An example of the rubric might be:
1. The story has a title.
2. The story has a beginning, middle and end.
3. The author used transitions words to organize the story.
4. The story stayed on topic.
5. The author read the story fluently.
As a class, a ratio score like (4/5) is determined for each piece. Students are given the opportunity to provide feedback to the author. The repetition of the rubric points and the authentic feedback encourages all students to think like writers, and requires them to stay engaged. When I first started this scoring process, I had given the papers out to all students at the beginning of the class. I began to notice that many students were making changes to their papers based on the feedback that was being given to others before it was their turn to read. In fairness, I changed my practice to holding the papers and giving them to each student as they read. This change resulted in some students sharing their observation before they read by saying things like, ” I just need to tell you that I already know, I need a title for my story.” The feedback the students gave to each other was very teacher like. Not only did they provide meaningful feedback to one another, they applied the feedback to their own writing.
