In The Units of Study in Writing, Grade 1, students learn how to make their opinion writing even more convincing by using a variety of reasons to support their opinions. They’ll practice noticing tiny details to come up with a list of reasons to support their opinions. In Unit 1, Small Moments, children learn to write stories, and to write bit by bit, including details. But the unit also teaches youngsters to participate in a first-grade writing workshop as they learn the habits, conventions, and mindsets of a workshop classroom. Unit 2, Topic Books, gets students writing informational or “topic” books, laying the foundation for all of the information writing that students will do in the future. First-graders will learn to appreciate the power and purposes of opinion writing in Unit 3, Writing Reviews, as they explore how people sort, rank, categorize, explain, convince, persuade, argue, give in, change, and ultimately are changed. The focus of Unit 4, From Scenes to Series: Writing Fiction, is realistic fiction. This unit has been carefully designed to make sure students draw on everything they have learned about narrative writing while simultaneously learning essentials about writing fictional narratives.