Open any week to view its slide deck, teacher script, or tracking sheet. Each week studies one author's craft move across the five thinking levels: Notice, Choose, Show, Own, and Defend.
Each deck is a PDF with one slide per page. Adobe Acrobat Reader: View > Full Screen Mode (Ctrl+L on Windows, Cmd+L on Mac). Mac Preview: View > Slideshow (Shift+Cmd+F). Chrome or Edge: open the PDF, set it to fit the page, then go full screen (F11 on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+F on Mac). Advance with the arrow keys, Page Down, or a clicker; press Esc to exit. On a SMART Board or Promethean panel, open the PDF in Acrobat Reader full screen on the board's computer. On an iPad, open it in Files or Books and swipe.
Week 1: Repetition as a Storytelling Engine3 files
from “How the Camel Got His Hump” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) · Prepare Cluster · Module 1
Week 2: Flexibility Beats Stubbornness3 files
from “The Oak and the Reeds” (Aesop, 1867) · Prepare Cluster · Module 2
Week 3: Mystery in a Poem3 files
from “Windy Nights” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Prepare Cluster · Module 3
Week 4: A Comeback That Teaches the Lesson3 files
from “The Fir-Tree and the Bramble” (Aesop, 1867) · Prepare Cluster · Module 4
Week 5: Two Questions That Build Worry3 files
from “The Wind Has Such a Rainy Sound” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 1 · Module 1
Week 6: Escalation Through Repetition3 files
from “The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) · Cluster 1 · Module 2
Week 7: A Refrain That Anchors the Adventure3 files
from “The Jumblies” by Edward Lear (1871) · Cluster 1 · Module 3
Week 8: Ordinary Objects Who Want Something More3 files
from “The Nutcrackers and the Sugar-Tongs” by Edward Lear (1871) · Cluster 1 · Module 4
Week 9: Direct Advice Wrapped in Rhyme3 files
from “Good and Bad Children” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Cluster 2 · Module 1
Week 10: Dialogue That Reveals the Theme (central idea)3 files
from “The Rose and the Amaranth” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 2 · Module 2
Week 11: A Character Defined by One Exaggerated Detail3 files
from “The Quangle Wangle’s Hat” by Edward Lear (1877) · Cluster 2 · Module 3
Week 12: A Punchline That Delivers the Lesson3 files
from “The Eagle and the Jackdaw” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 2 · Module 4
Week 13: Contrast Between Two Worlds in a Poem3 files
from “The Land of Nod” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Cluster 3 · Module 1
Week 14: A Short Fable Where Every Word Counts3 files
from “The Boy and the Nettles” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 3 · Module 2
Week 15: A Narrator Who Speaks Directly to the Reader3 files
from “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) · Cluster 3 · Module 3
Week 16: A Pattern That Breaks at the End3 files
from “What is pink?” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 3 · Module 4
Week 17: A Character Who Speaks the Lesson Directly3 files
from “The Horse and Groom” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 4 · Module 1
Week 18: Scale Shift: Big Words for Small Things3 files
from “The Hayloft” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Cluster 4 · Module 2
Week 19: Sound Words That Build an Atmosphere3 files
from “Keepsake Mill” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Cluster 4 · Module 3
Week 20: A Concrete Image That Explains an Abstract Idea3 files
from “The Two Bags” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 4 · Module 4
Week 21: A List That Builds Rhythm and Joy3 files
from “How the Whale Got His Throat” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) · Cluster 5 · Module 1
Week 22: Repetition That Mimics the Action3 files
from “A pocket handkerchief to hem” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 5 · Module 2
Week 23: A Character Who Defends Itself3 files
from “The Shipwrecked Man and the Sea” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 5 · Module 3
Week 24: Color Words Stacked for Comic Effect3 files
from “How the Leopard Got His Spots” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) · Cluster 5 · Module 4
Week 25: Four Lines That Teach a Lifetime Lesson3 files
from “A toadstool comes up in a night” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 6 · Module 1
Week 26: Over-the-Top Description for Comedy3 files
from “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin” by Rudyard Kipling (1902) · Cluster 6 · Module 2
Week 27: A Chain of Trades That Reveals Character3 files
from “Hans in Luck” by Brothers Grimm (trans. Lucy Crane) (1886) · Cluster 6 · Module 3
Week 28: An Imaginary Scene That Tests an Ideal3 files
from “The Kingdom of the Lion” by Aesop (trans. George Fyler Townsend) (1867) · Cluster 6 · Module 4
Week 29: One Honest Voice Changes Everything3 files
from “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen (1837) · Cluster 7 · Module 1
Week 30: Simple Language That Captures a Big Moment3 files
from “At the Sea-Side” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Cluster 7 · Module 2
Week 31: Objects With Human Problems3 files
from “The Table and the Chair” by Edward Lear (1871) · Cluster 7 · Module 3
Week 32: Wordplay That Teaches Courtesy3 files
from “If a pig wore a wig” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 7 · Module 4
Week 33: Sensory Details That Build a World3 files
from “Minnie and Mattie” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 8 · Module 1
Week 34: A Scene Built in Layers3 files
from “Rushes in a watery place” by Christina Rossetti (1872) · Cluster 8 · Module 2
Week 35: Gratitude in Four Lines3 files
from “A Thought” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1885) · Cluster 8 · Module 3
Week 36: A Review of Craft Moves Across the Year3 files
from “The Pobble Who Has No Toes” by Edward Lear (1877) · Cluster 8 · Module 4
Real published informational and argumentative texts from before 1929, all in the public domain: historical letters, speeches, and nature and science essays. Each has a slide deck, a teacher script, and a tracking sheet in the same five thinking levels, so students study the craft of informational and argumentative writing they compose in the clusters.
Mentor Text 1: Past, Present, and a Claim3 files
Argumentative · from “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln (1863) · public domain
Mentor Text 2: A Comparison Makes a Claim Clear3 files
Argumentative · from “Sharp Eyes” by John Burroughs (1886) · public domain
Mentor Text 3: Cause and Effect3 files
Informational · from “Rain, from The Story-Book of Science” by Jean-Henri Fabre (1917) · public domain
Mentor Text 4: Disagreeing with Evidence3 files
Argumentative · from “The Cicada and the Ant” by Jean-Henri Fabre (1921) · public domain