🎯 Unit Focus: Small Moments Writing
Essential Question: How can the art of narratives help writers use their voice to share family traditions and memories to celebrate who we are and connect with others?
ELA Writing Prompt: Write a small moment that zooms into one event from the personal narrative from your Spanish class.
What is a Small Moment?
- A snapshot narrative that happens in a short amount of time
- A zoomed-in moment from a larger story (the "seed" from the "watermelon")
- Full of sensory details (what you see, hear, smell, taste, touch)
- Includes feelings and emotions
- Uses transition words to sequence events
🍉 The Watermelon Strategy
Watermelon = Big Topic
(A day at school)
Slice = Smaller Part
(PE class)
Seed = Small Moment
(The rainbow parachute with Mr. Escalera)
Students choose a "seed story" - one tiny moment to write about in detail!
👥 Student Tiers Overview
Tier 1: Intensive Support
- All responses through drawing/dictation
- 1:1 or small group adult support
- Maximum visual scaffolding
- Picture-based checklists
- Concrete manipulatives
Tier 2: Moderate Support
- Sentence frames provided
- Graphic organizers with visuals
- Word banks available
- Small group instruction
- Drawing + labels/words
Tier 3: Some Support
- Sentence starters available
- Graphic organizers (less scaffolded)
- Partner collaboration
- Drawing + sentences
- Self-monitoring checklists
Key Consideration: Most first graders are not yet writing fluently - instruction emphasizes oral storytelling, drawing, and dictation alongside emerging writing skills.
📊 Standards Addressed
- RL.1.1 - Ask and answer questions about key details in a text
- RL.1.5 - Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information
- RL.1.7 - Use illustrations and details in a story to describe characters, settings, events
- W.1.3 - Write narratives with sequenced events, details, temporal words, and closure
✅ Small Moment Checklist
My Small Moment Checklist 📝
- 🔍 I zoomed in on my moment
- ✋ I wrote about my actions (what I did)
- 💭 I wrote about my thoughts
- ❤️ I wrote about my feelings
- 👁️👂👃👅🖐️ I included sensory details
- 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ I used temporal words
- 🎬 I wrote a strong ending
🔗 External Resources
CAST UDL Guidelines 3.0 - Official UDL framework and guidelines
Teachers College Reading & Writing Project - Small moments writing resources
📚 Unit Texts for ELA Instruction
Click on resource links to find read-alouds, activities, and teaching materials.
We Are in a Book!
Fiction vs. nonfiction introduction; engages reluctant readers; models reading dialogue
Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees
Fiction text for comparison; story elements practice; humor
Last Stop on Market Street
Asking questions; character perspective; sensory details; community/family
Jabari Jumps
Small moment mentor text; overcoming fear; feelings; father-child bond
The Snowy Day
Classic small moment; sensory details; simple sequence; winter setting
Too Many Tamales
Small moment with problem/solution; family tradition; feelings; winter holiday
Miguel and the Grand Harmony
Illustrations and details; setting description; cultural connections (Coco)
May Your Life Be Deliciosa
Transition words; family traditions; cultural connections; sequencing
📝 Key Vocabulary with TPR Gestures
Bridge these terms from Spanish instruction.
| English | Simple Definition | TPR Gesture | Spanish Bridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Moment | A short, zoomed-in story about one thing that happened | 🔍 Make "zoom" motion with hands | Momento pequeño |
| Fiction | A made-up story | 📖 Open book + shake head | Ficción |
| Nonfiction | A true story or facts | 📷 Camera click + nod | No ficción |
| Character | The people or animals in a story | 🎭 Point to self + wave | Personaje |
| Setting | Where and when a story happens | 🏠⌚ House + tap wrist | Escenario |
| Details | Small pieces of information | 👀 Point to eyes + pinch | Detalles |
| Feelings | How a character feels inside | ❤️ Hand on heart | Sentimientos |
| Senses | See, hear, smell, taste, touch | 👁️👂👃👅🖐️ | Sentidos |
| Transition Words | Words that tell order | 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣ Count on fingers | Palabras de transición |
🔢 Transition Words Chart
| English | Spanish | Visual |
|---|---|---|
| First | Primero | 1️⃣ |
| Then / Next | Después / Luego | 2️⃣ |
| After that | Entonces | 3️⃣ |
| Finally / At last | Al final / Finalmente | 4️⃣ |
😊 Feelings Vocabulary (Beyond Happy/Sad)
Excited
Emocionado/a
Nervous
Nervioso/a
Scared
Asustado/a
Frustrated
Frustrado/a
Disappointed
Decepcionado/a
Lonely
Solo/a
Proud
Orgulloso/a
Surprised
Sorprendido/a
👁️👂👃👅🖐️ Five Senses for Descriptive Writing
I SEE...
Colors? Size? Shape?
I HEAR...
Loud? Quiet? Words?
I SMELL...
Good? Bad? Sweet?
I TASTE...
Sweet? Salty? Sour?
I FEEL...
Soft? Hard? Bumpy?
🎯 UDL Framework Integration
Engagement (The WHY)
- Connect to students' own family moments
- Use mentor texts students can relate to
- Incorporate movement with TPR vocabulary
- Allow choice in small moment topic
- Visual progress trackers (checklist)
- Celebrate all attempts at storytelling
Representation (The WHAT)
- Watermelon visual for zooming in
- Audio versions of mentor texts
- Pre-teach vocabulary with visuals & TPR
- Sensory word banks with pictures
- Model small moments with think-alouds
- Bridge vocabulary from Spanish
Action & Expression (The HOW)
- Draw → Label → Write progression
- Dictation accepted for all students
- Oral storytelling before writing
- Graphic organizers at every stage
- Voice recording options
- Multiple final product formats
📅 Week-by-Week Differentiated Plans
Click each week to expand detailed lesson plans with tiered activities.
Focus: What is the difference between fiction and nonfiction? What is a small moment?
Texts: We Are in a Book!, Elephants Do Not Belong in Trees, Jabari Jumps, Fireflies!, The Snowy Day
📋 Daily Lesson Plans (Click to Download)
🔴 Days 1-5 = Week 1 | 🟢 Days 6-10 = Week 2
Tier 1: Intensive Support
- Sort picture cards: fiction vs. nonfiction
- Thumbs up/down: "Is this real or pretend?"
- Watermelon visual: point to "big topic" and "small seed"
- Oral rehearsal with adult scribing
- Point to sensory/feeling pictures
Exit Ticket: Circle/point responses; adult records oral answers
Tier 2: Moderate Support
- Complete fiction vs. nonfiction sort with labels
- Draw own watermelon → slice → seed
- Sentence frames: "This is fiction because ___."
- Graphic organizers with drawings and labels
- Use word banks for writing
Exit Ticket: Draw + label; 1-2 sentences with frames
Tier 3: Some Support
- Complete Venn Diagram comparing texts
- Write sentences explaining fiction vs. nonfiction
- Find the small moment in mentor texts
- Write 2-3 sentences with sensory details
- Independent drafting across 4 pages
Exit Ticket: Written responses with details
Focus: How does asking questions help me better understand a text?
Texts: The Night Worker, Last Stop on Market Street
Tier 1: Intensive Support
- Match question words to picture answers
- Sort: "?" card vs. "." card
- Point to answer pictures (Who? What? Where?)
Tier 2: Moderate Support
- Complete question word organizer
- Write who/what questions with word bank
- Sentence frame: "I wonder ___"
Tier 3: Some Support
- Generate 3+ questions using different question words
- Answer questions with text evidence
- Write questions and answers in sentences
Focus: How can an author describe the main character?
Texts: My Mom, Uncle Jed's Barbershop, Jabari Jumps
- Match character trait pictures to characters
- Act out character traits (be brave, be kind)
- Complete: "Jabari is ___" with picture word bank
- Complete organizer: what they SAY, DO, THINK
- Sentence frame: "The character is ___ because ___."
- Draw character and label 2 traits
- Identify 2-3 traits with text evidence
- Write sentences with "because"
- Compare traits across two texts
Focus: How does an author use words to make a story come alive?
Texts: Fireflies!, Blueberries for Sal, The Snowy Day
- Sort sensory words into 5 sense categories
- Touch/explore objects, point to sense used
- Hold up sense card when you hear it in text
- Complete 5 senses graphic organizer
- Write: "I saw ___. I heard ___. I felt ___."
- Close eyes during read-aloud, draw what you "see"
- Write sensory sentences for 3+ senses
- Revise "plain" sentences to add details
- Create sensory word bank for writing topic
Focus: How do authors describe character feelings?
Texts: Today I Feel Silly, Too Many Tamales
- Match feeling words to emoji pictures
- Make faces to show different feelings
- Point to character's face: "How do they feel?"
- Complete feelings organizer (event → feeling → why)
- Sentence frame: "The character felt ___ because ___."
- Draw character's face + label feeling
- Write about a time YOU felt like the character
- Identify how feelings change in story
- Use "feeling words beyond happy/sad"
Focus: How do illustrations and transition words help tell a story?
Texts: Miguel and the Grand Harmony, May Your Life Be Deliciosa
- Picture walk: point to things you notice
- Put 3-4 picture sequence cards in order
- Match transition word to number (First = 1)
- Draw 3 details from illustrations
- 4-box sequence with transition words
- Fill in cloze sentences with word bank
- Explain how illustrations help understand story
- Write 4+ sentences with transition words
- Revise writing to add transitions
Focus: How can I write a small moment story?
Process: Brainstorm → Plan → Draft → Revise → Edit → Publish
Writing Booklet Structure
- Cover: Title + picture
- Page 1: FIRST... + picture
- Page 2: THEN... + picture
- Page 3: NEXT... + picture
- Page 4: FINALLY... + feeling + picture
Final Product Options:
- Draw pictures on each page
- Dictate story to adult
- Record voice telling story
- Label pictures with single words
Final Product Options:
- 4-page booklet with pictures and sentence frames
- Write 1-2 sentences per page with word bank
- Include transition words from card bank
- Add 2-3 sensory details
Final Product Options:
- 4-5 page booklet with drawings and sentences
- Write 2-3 sentences per page
- Include 4 different transition words
- Add 3+ sensory details
- Include multiple feeling words
♿ Disability-Specific Accommodations
🧩 Autism Spectrum
- Provide visual schedule for writing
- Allow special interests as topics
- Reduce sensory distractions
- Give advance notice of transitions
⚡ ADHD
- Break writing into 5-10 min chunks
- Use movement breaks
- Provide checklist for each step
- Use timers for writing sprints
📖 Dyslexia
- Allow dictation for all responses
- Accept invented spelling
- Provide word banks with pictures
- Read prompts aloud
✍️ Dysgraphia
- Allow ALL alternative formats
- Provide large-grip pencils
- Accept dictated responses
- Focus on content over neatness
👁️ Visual Processing
- Enlarge all materials (150-200%)
- Use high-contrast colors
- Reduce visual clutter
- Seat near anchor charts
🌱 Developmental Delays
- Pre-teach vocabulary extensively
- Use concrete materials
- Focus on fewer objectives
- Celebrate ALL attempts
📊 Assessment Rubric (All Tiers)
| Element | 3 - Got It! 🌟 | 2 - Almost! ⭐ | 1 - Keep Trying 💫 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoomed In | One specific moment | Somewhat focused | Too big/general |
| Sequence | Events in order with 3+ transitions | Events in order with 1-2 transitions | Out of order |
| Sensory Details | 2-3 senses included | 1 sense included | No sensory details |
| Feelings | Shows feelings (beyond happy/sad) | Basic feeling word | Missing feelings |
| Ending | Strong ending with closure | Has ending but abrupt | Missing |
📦 Materials Checklist
Visual Supports to Create
- Watermelon/Slice/Seed anchor chart
- Small Moment Checklist poster
- Fiction vs. Nonfiction anchor chart
- 5 Senses chart with symbols
- Feelings chart with faces
- Transition words strip
Graphic Organizers
- Watermelon brainstorm page (3 tiers)
- Small Moment planning organizer
- 5 Senses graphic organizer
- 4-box sequence strip
- Fiction vs. Nonfiction Venn Diagram
Writing Materials
- Small Moment booklets (4-5 pages)
- Wide-lined paper with picture boxes
- Transition word cards/stamps
- Feeling word bank cards
- Sensory word bank cards
👨👩👧 Family Communication
Dear Families,
We are learning to write "Small Moments" - personal stories that zoom in on ONE specific moment with lots of details!
How you can help:
- Help your child choose ONE small moment from a family memory
- Ask: "What did you see? Hear? Smell? Feel?"
- Ask: "How did you feel? Excited? Nervous?"
Example: Instead of "my birthday party" (too big!), write about "the moment I blew out my candles" with details about what you saw, heard, and felt.
🌟 Key Differentiation Principles
- Oral rehearsal BEFORE writing - Tell the story first
- Drawing is writing - Pictures carry meaning
- Dictation is valid - Accept adult-scribed stories
- Zoom in, zoom in, zoom in - Help students narrow topics
- Senses make stories alive - Teach sensory details explicitly
- Bridge from Spanish - Connect vocabulary and concepts
- Celebrate all storytelling - Every child shares their moment
🔗 Bilingual Connection
Spanish → English Bridge
In Spanish: Students write a personal narrative about a family experience.
In English: Students take ONE event from that narrative and write a small moment with sensory details.
Example Spanish Narrative: "Un día, mi familia y yo fuimos a una tienda de mascotas..."
English Small Moment: "My family and I walked into the pet store and I heard a dog barking. I saw a brown hamster running on a squeaky wheel. It felt so soft and fluffy, like cotton candy. I felt so excited!"