Grade by Grade
D. Composition · Writing Our Ideas

Planning: Gathering and Ordering Ideas

D1.3 D1.4About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can find information about a topic from one book, video or person.
  • I can sort my ideas into groups that go together.
  • I can put my ideas in order before I write.
  • I can use a simple plan, like boxes for first, next, then, last.

Words to know

plan
What you do before writing to get your ideas ready.
source
Where you get information, like a book, a video or an expert.
sort
To put things that go together in a group.
sequence
The order things happen in.
graphic organizer
A drawing with boxes or circles that helps you plan your writing.

Builders plan first!

Before building a snow fort, you think: Where will it go? What will I build first? Writers plan too!

When you plan, you:

  1. Gather ideas and information.
  2. Sort the ideas that go together.
  3. Put them in order.

Gathering information from a source

Sometimes you write about something you need to learn first. You can use one source:

  • 📖 a fact book from the library
  • 🎬 a video you watch with a grown-up
  • 🧑‍🚒 a person who knows a lot (an expert), like a firefighter, a farmer or Grandma

Listen or read, then draw or write a few key words to remember.

Worked example

Let's gather facts from one source

Kai wants to write about snowy owls. His grown-up reads him this from a fact book: "Snowy owls have white feathers. They live in the Arctic. They eat small animals called lemmings. Their thick feathers keep them warm."

  1. Listen to the whole part first.
  2. Pick out the important facts and write key words: white feathers, Arctic, eat lemmings, thick feathers keep warm.
  3. Write where the facts came from: my snowy owl book.

Kai's notes: white feathers, live in the Arctic, eat lemmings, thick feathers keep them warm. Source: his snowy owl book.

Sorting ideas

When you have lots of ideas, put the ones that go together in a group. For a fact text about snowy owls, you might sort into What they look like, Where they live and What they eat.

What they look likeWhere they liveWhat they eat
white feathersthe Arcticlemmings
thick feathers
Kai sorted his notes into groups.
Funny but true

Snowy owls have thick feathers all the way down to their toes. 🦉 It's like they wear fuzzy slippers all winter long!

Putting ideas in order

For a story about something that happened, or for steps, the order matters a lot! Use a plan with boxes:

First → Next → Then → Last

You can draw in the boxes. Pictures are a great way to plan.

First⛄roll a ballNextroll anotherThenstack themLastadd a face
A first-next-then-last plan for building a snowman.
Worked example

Let's put a plan in order

Lina's ideas for her story about a trip to the apple orchard are mixed up: ate an apple pie at home, drove to the orchard, picked red apples, rode on the wagon to the trees. Put them in order.

  1. Ask: What happened first? We had to get there: drove to the orchard.
  2. Next: rode on the wagon to the trees.
  3. Then: picked red apples.
  4. Last: ate an apple pie at home.

First drove to the orchard, next rode the wagon, then picked apples, last ate apple pie at home.

Firstdrove to the orchardNextrode the wagonThenpicked red applesLastate apple pie at home
Lina's plan in order. Quick drawings in each box are enough to remember what happened first, next, then and last.

Plans are quick

Your plan does not have to be neat or have full sentences. Quick drawings and a word or two are enough. The plan is just for you.

Hands-on activity

Ask an expert

You need: paper folded into 4 boxes, a pencil, and a grown-up "expert".

  1. Choose a family member who knows how to do something: bake bannock or bread, fix a bike tire, knit, shovel snow, plant tomatoes.
  2. Ask them to tell you how they do it. Listen carefully. That person is your source.
  3. In the 4 boxes, draw or write the steps: First, Next, Then, Last.
  4. Read your plan back to your expert. Did you get the order right?

Save your plan. You can write it as a how-to text in a later lesson!

Your turn

1

Name two kinds of sources where you can find information.

2

What do we call the important words we write down to remember facts?

3

Put in order: put on boots, go outside, put on snow pants.

4

Sort these into animals and foods: bear, apple, fox, bread, moose, cheese.

5

What are the four boxes in a first-next-then-last plan?

6

Why do writers make a plan before they write?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a source?

2

What does sort mean?

3

Can you draw pictures in your plan?

4

Which comes first when you make toast: butter the toast or put bread in the toaster?

5

Where do snowy owls live?

More practice: on your own

1

Sort these snowy owl facts into looks and eats: white feathers, eats lemmings, yellow eyes, catches mice.

2

Lina's plan says: Last: we drove to the orchard. What is wrong?

3

You want to write about how firefighters help. Who would be a great expert to ask?

4

Make a 3-step plan for washing your hands.

5

Kai found one more fact: Snowy owls have yellow eyes. Which group in his table does it belong in?

Challenge

1

Why is it important to write down where your facts came from?

2

Kai's friend says snowy owls live in the rainforest. Kai's book says the Arctic. What should Kai do?

3

Plan a story about a snow day using four boxes. Tell what goes in each box.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a source of information?

2.

Why do writers plan?

3.

Which word comes after "First" in a plan?

4.

Which ideas go together in a group?

5.

What do snowy owls eat, according to Kai's book?

6.

Your plan for a snowman says: add a face, roll a ball, stack them. What is wrong?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 1 writers gather information from a single source (a book, video or person) and sort and sequence ideas in a way that fits the kind of text they will write (for example, steps in order for a how-to, or groups of facts for an information text).

How to help at home:

  • When your child wants to write about something they don't know well, read one short fact book or watch one short video together, and help them jot key words.
  • Fold paper into four boxes for quick "first, next, then, last" plans.
  • Sorting games (laundry, groceries, toys) build the same skill.

Common difficulties:

  • Copying sentences from a book. Encourage key words or drawings, then telling the fact in their own words.
  • Skipping planning. Keep it short and fun: a 2-minute drawing plan is plenty.
  • Mixed-up order. Act out the steps or the events to check the order.