A Plan for Planning (and a freebie)

We all know that sick to your stomach feeling that comes when you realize that none of your students really did any planning when they completed their writing prompt... don't we!? Particularly in the primary grades planning can be hard for kids and teachers alike. How should my students plan you wonder... drawing... graphic organizer... list??? The choices seem endless. As I struggled with this question the little wheels in my brain started to turn, what if I could create a quick, simple way for my primary students to plan that they wouldn't forget, and could be reproduced quickly. After much thought I came up with this simple format that my students could fill out anytime they are asked to produce a piece of writing.
T- Topic
D-Detail
D-Detail
D-Detail
D-Detail
C-Closure
Now the question was how to get them to remember and implement it??? The answer my friends is ..

The Planning Song

(Sing to the tune C is for cookie)

 T is for topic tells readers what they’ll see

      T is for topic tells readers what they’ll see

      T is for topic tells readers what they’ll see

     Oh topic tells the reader what they’ll see

 D is for details you must have four or more

 D is for details you must have four or more

 D is for details you must have four or more

Oh Details details details four or more

    C is for closure let’s wrap it up my friends

    C is for closure let’s wrap it up my friends

    C is for closure let’s wrap it up my friends

    Oh closure closure closure at the end

© Copyright Amy Clink 2013

*May be reproduced by teachers for classroom use

My kiddos love to sing this song every time we need to plan a new piece of writing, we even made up our own hand motions to go along with it. I have never seen such successful planers in a primary classroom before, and as a bonus this plan is supper easy to differentiate with. My higher writers often add more details, or make each letter into two sentences instead on one when drafting. Every one of my students has been successful using this form of planning. Please follow this link The Planning Song to get your  freebie and comment about how it works in your classroom!
Happy Teaching!