As students share these ideas, they are coming to a deeper understanding of the writer's craft and are learning to apply this understanding to their own writing. Next, Wells has them return to their drafts to find places where they can add specific details. Students work, utilizing writing partners as needed, and finish a rewrite for homework. Others speak of weighing it and trying to compare it to other items of about the same size. Some remember the gray, lifelessness of this object.
Students begin to see the importance of using all their senses to capture specific details.
They also see the connection between the strategies used to refine science observations and the strategies they can apply to their writing. Students again return to their character sketches to see if they can look as closely at their character as they did at the chrysalis. For example, she asks students to write a short skit that will create a scene to follow the end of a short story they've read during the year. Students select the story and generate a scene based upon what they know about the characters. They contribute to an assessment guide that describes the expectations for this activity, and as homework, they write their individual versions.