Mrs. Payne

Hi, I am Mrs. Payne, and I teach at both Judson and Polk schools.  I have a bachelor of arts degree in english and a masters of science degree in reading and language arts.  I have been teaching for thirteen years.

I teach narrative writing to third grade students, reinforce narrative writing skills to fourth grade students, and teach expository writing to students in fifth grade.  This year, third grade students will learn how to write a story that is organized, detailed, and fluent.  Fourth graders will continue to work on narrative writing.  Students in fifth grade will learn how to organize an essay, elaborate ideas, and write fluent responses. 

Additionally, I work with small writing groups and focus on strategies to improve writing.

To prepare for the 45 minute writing prompt on the Connecticut Mastery Test (to be administered in March), students in all grades will practice scoring prompts.

Grade 3 students will learn how to write a narrative story.  In addition, they will learn how a writing prompt is scored.  This will be modeled, tried as a class, and attempted individually.

We will focus on capturing and engaging a reader using catch phrases. These leads can be used anywhere in a story. They will also learn how to leave the reader fulfilled by creating a phenomenal ending.

Beginning        Mnemonic
Thought             The
Feeling              Furry
Dialogue            Dog
Action                Ate
Sound Effect      Six
Question           Quilts

In grade 4, students will review and learn new writing strategies.  Additionally, they will learn how to add figurative writing to their stories.  Why?  Figurative language allows the reader to visualize the story. To prepare for 5th grade, students will learn the key components to an expository essay.