lesson 1: learning to identify descriptive...

Lesson Plan Grade 3: Unit 2: Nonfiction Reading and Descriptive Writing

Writing Workshop Lesson 1: Learning to Identify Descriptive Writing

Lesson 1: Learning to Identify Descriptive Writing

Materials

• Pre-made chart, “What We Notice about Descriptive Writing” (see sample on the last page of this lesson)

• Collection of short writing pieces that include descriptions of people, places, objects, and events, such as:

o Places: Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little, “Mrs. Buell,” page 42, paragraph 1;

http://cspace.unb.ca/nbco/pigs/writing/write2.html, “My Sister’s Room,” “The Living Room,” “The Detention Room,” and Spanish translations

o People: Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little, “Mrs. Buell,” page 44, paragraph 3, and “About Old People,” page 60, paragraph 1; Rimshots: Basketball Pix, Rolls and Rhythms by Charles R. Smith, “Meek,” paragraph 1 (person’s looks) and paragraph 6 (person’s actions)

o Objects: Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little, “Pearls” page 65, and “Clothes” page 50, paragraph 1; Hairs/Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros, “My mother’s hair…”

o Events: Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little “Ever So Often,” page 34, and “Cartwheels,” page 23, first half

o Nonfiction:

http://www.coloradosightseer.com/testimonials.html, first answer to question 1 under “Testimonials” and Spanish translation

Too many different examples will overwhelm English language learners.

Intended Learning

• Students state some effective descriptive writing techniques. • Students name some distinguishing descriptive writing elements, such as

adjectives, strong verbs, similes or metaphors (other forms of comparisons), or sensory details to raise awareness of these techniques in high-quality writing.

Standard

• Write and speak for a variety of purposes.

Big Idea

• Write focused paragraphs that include descriptive, relevant, and interesting details.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Descriptive writing is an especially important writing technique and can be fun to do. Explain how it makes students’ writing more interesting to readers because they use their words to help readers “see,” or visualize, persons, places, or things students write about.

Also explain how when an author writes descriptively about a person,

Every time English language learnersneed to produce a new genre, they

der

need a different toolbox of vocabulary.

It is very important to consiacademic language levels.

In a class with a lot of English language

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, it is usually pretty short, often no more than five

h the book English language learners are using in Reading Workshop.

Teachin

little candy circles…” and “…the warm smell of

a text and highlight in different colors or point out

descriptive writing.

Active

hare some phrases and writing techniques they discovered. Add their discoveries to the class “What We Notice about Descriptive Writing” chart.

Link

iting, highlighting descriptive language and phrases, and naming writing techniques used. Students discuss their thinking during Sharing/Closure.

eed to produce the particular genre.

a place, or an objectto eight sentences.

Connect wit

g Have a typed page with three pieces of short, descriptive writing and an overhead copy for reference. Read each descriptive writing piece aloud to model fluency and phrasing. Return to one piece, such as the description of the mother’s hair in Sandra Cisneros’ Hairs. Think aloud and highlight on the overhead particularly descriptive language or phrases, such as “My mother’s hair, like little rosettes, like bread before you bake it…”

Write on the “What We Notice about Descriptive Writing” chart features students notice, such as “Uses comparisons” or “Uses some of the five senses.”

Ask students what they know about descriptive writing and write it on a chart. Read the text’s

Engagement Students work with their partners to highlight descriptive language and phrases in one of the other three pieces.

Listen in on groups of students to support the process, helping them recognize descriptive writing techniques.

Ask students to s

Students spend part of Independent and Small Group Time examining the last example of descriptive wr

learners, scaffold language they n

Independent and Small Group Time

• Remind students that they will spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items on their self-editing checklists.

• e

ith English language learners about their writing or

• Confer with students individually about their writing or bring small groups of students together who need more rt or specific instruction.

Students write independently, trying out mini-lesson strategies in their writing not books or going through the writing process from drafting to publishing.

Confer individually wbring small groups of students together who need more support or specific instruction.

If English language learners have a fe w minutes, ask them to write sentences that include some description. If their English proficiency is limited, provide language frames.

suppo

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Sharing/Closure

• Partners share their thinking about descriptive language and writing techniques they found. Add to class chart.

t We No Writing Wha tice about Descriptive

Descriptive Language or Phrase Writing Technique

“My mother’s hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles…”

“…the warm smell of bread before you bake it…”

Sensory details (or using one or more of the five senses)

Comparison (or simile)

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Writing Workshop Lesson 2: Generating Ideas for a School Visitor Guide

Lesson 2: Generating Ideas for a School Visitors Guide

Materials

• Denver Zoo Web site (http://www.denverzoo.org/visitors/index.asp) (Go to “Visitor Info,” click on “Special Exhibits,” and scroll down for a list of places to visit that are strong examples of good description, such as “Tropical Discoveries” and “Primate Panorama.” For good examples of events, click on “Education,” then “Family Programs.”)

Site also has Spanish translations of “Tropical Discoveries” and “Primate Panorama.”

• “What We Notice about Descriptive Writing” chart generated during Lesson 1 • Copies for every child of sample visitors guide from Denver Metro Chamber

of Commerce (www.denverchamber.org) or other guide of your choice

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce site also has Spanish translations have it)

• ey can

guides as a tool to begin generating ideas for their school visitors guides.

of Visitor Information page. • Writing sample describing a person from Write Source (if you

by Sebranek, Kemper, and Meyer, “Squeaky Clean,” page 64

Intended Learning

Students recognize how and why authors write descriptively so thincorporate descriptive writing into their school visitors guides.

• Students use examples of visitor

Standards

• Write short paragraphs in different genres (expository pieces) for the purpose of informing or explaining.

• Organize writing with main ideas and supporting details.

• Use appropriate words to communicate clearly.

Big Ideas


• Use mentor texts as models to share information.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Review the “What We Notice about Descriptive Writing” chart generateduring Lesson 1, pointing out what students noticed about descriptive writing. Explain how descriptive writing helps authors create pictures in readers’ minds, which allows read

d

ers to visualize people, places, events,

nt

h pecial events, places students like to go, or how

ill help them think

or objects the authors write about.

Think aloud about how nice it would be to share something they know a lot about with other people. One thing they all know a lot about is their school, and it would be helpful to describe it for visitors and new students who wato know more. A visitors guide gives valuable information. Briefly discuss three or four topics that might appear in a visitors guide to your school, sucas who the teachers are, sto find your way around.

Tell students you brought visitor guides from places they might have visited or could visit. The exploration and work they do today w

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topic ideas and write their own school visitors guide.

Teachins

ies” exhibit from the Denver

w).

le, places of

tures in pamphlets for English language learners the specific language of features.

Active

t they

n the “What We Notice about Visitor

ed

ide. If you have a small number of English language learners, work with them in small group and have most students work with partners.

Link enerate a list of topics in their writing notebooks they

might want to include in their school visitors guides. They will share these ideas durin

of

g Have at least two examples of visitor guides ready on overheads and copiefor each student. Use the “Tropical DiscoverZoo Web site or two others of your choice.

Place one example on the overhead and explore it, with students pointing out descriptive and informative language. Record this information on a “What We Notice about Visitor Guides” chart (see sample chart beloThe chart may include, but is not limited to, descriptive language, information regarding upcoming events, interesting peopinterest, special features. Point out specific examples.

Point out and chart feato implant

Engagement Invite students to “Turn and Talk” about things they notice in the second visitors guide example. Ask two or three pairs of students to share whanoticed about descriptive and/or informative writing. Record any newinformation students recognize oGuides” chart. Brainstorm with students possible ideas to include in a visitors guide to their school.

If you have a large number of English language learners, you may want to do this activity as a whole group. Chart student suggestions and have students keep their own charts, so they have the language they neto create their own visitors gu

Students continue to g

g Sharing.


• Students generate a list of topics they might include in their school visitors guides.

• As time permits, they work on an entry or add a new entry in their writingnotebooks.

• add

w minutes, ask them to write sentences that incl If their English proficiency is limited, provide

Confer with individual students or with small groups of students needing itional assistance.

If English language learners have a feude some description.language frames.

Sharing/Closure

• Partners share their generated lists and descriptive writing. Ask two or three partners to share with the whole group.

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What We Notice about Visitor Guides

Information Description

• People • Places • Events • Objects

• Similes • Adjectives • Action Verbs

Chart for English language learners What We Notice about Visitor Guides

Information Description Example from the Text Description

• People • Places • Events • Objects

[Write down the literal language from the text.]

• Similes • Adjectives • Action Verbs

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Writing Workshop Lesson 3: Observing and Describing an Object

Lesson 3: Observing and Describing an Object

Materials

• Several interesting objects or artifacts for students to observe and discuss—such as professional sports equipment or a jersey; a caged live animal, such as a turtle, fish, or large spider; an interesting picture or photograph; a milkweed pod; a large sea shell; or an unforgettable food, such as cooked Brussels sprouts—as long as it captures students’ interest, stimulates conversation, and presents an opportunity to observe using the five senses

• “Sensory Words” chart to help organize the writing (see sample chart on the last page of this lesson)

• Sticky notes for students to record observations (see Link section)

Clipboard to take notes about the school • Source lesson: Compiled from several ideas in observation lessons found

in Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by Joann Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher

Intended Learning

• Students use several of the five senses to contribute to the description of an object to improve descriptive writing skills.

Standards

• Write short paragraphs in different genres for the purpose of informing or explaining.

• Organize writing with a beginning, middle, and ending or with main ideas and supporting details.


Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection When writing descriptively to inform readers, it is often necessary to research a topic. One of our favorite authors, Ralph Fletcher, says research involves more than simply copying facts out of a book; we can often research our topic by paying close attention to the world, which is called observation.

Explain how you observe objects in the world by looking at them closely, but you also use your other four senses of smell, sound, touch, and taste. Tell students these words are called sensory words. Have the “Sensory Words” chart with icons for students to refer to during the observation period (see sample chart on the last page of this lesson).

Remind students they may want to include a section about an interesting object or event at the school in their school visitors guides. What they learn and practice today will help them write descriptively about objects or events later.

English language learners will tour the school, using their five senses to collect information and ideas.

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with their five senses.

nd

cipal who retired last year. So I’m going to jot down, ‘Mrs. Smith’s Tree.’”

Teaching Put an object or artifact in the center of a circle or where all students can see it clearly, and hear it, if applicable. If possible, having several of the same object allows small groups of students to observe it more closely using several senses. Determine, based on the artifact, whether it is appropriate for students to touch, taste, and/or smell it. Allow partners or small groups of students several minutes to closely observe the object and discuss their observations using sensory words and descriptions.

Provide each student with a “Sensory Words” chart and a clipboard. Have them write down or draw, if their language is limited, what they see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

Active Engagement Students should have several opportunities to “Turn and Talk” with their partners before volunteering ideas to the whole group. Record students’ ideas on the “Sensory Words” chart.

Using a shared writing approach, solicit ideas for a class descriptive paragraph about the object. Model how to incorporate sensory details the class contributed from the chart.

Students work with partners to write down information they collected

Link Students list ideas in their writing notebooks about objects, artifacts, or events they are considering for their visitors guide during Independent aSmall Group Time. Model with two or three ideas of your own, such as “I might want to write a description of the tree we planted out front in honor of our prin


• Students add more ideas to their lists.

English language learners write their lists of places or people they saw • ents work on an entry or add a new entry in their

• students or with small groups of students needing additional assistance.

from their school tour in their notebooks.

As time permits, studwriting notebooks. Confer with individual

Sharing/Closure

• Partners share their ideas for visitors guide topics.

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Sensory Words

See

Hear

Smell

Taste

Touch

Include icons under each sensory word to assist English language learners.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 4: Observing and Describing an Object—Shared Writing

Lesson 4: Observing and Describing an Object—Shared Writing

Materials

• Several interesting objects or artifacts for students to observe and discuss, such as professional sports equipment or a jersey; a caged live animal, such as a turtle, fish, or large spider; an interesting picture or photograph; a milkweed pod; a large sea shell; or an unforgettable food, such as cooked Brussels sprouts

• Hairs/Pelitos or House on Mango Street, both by Sandra Cisneros, or another descriptive mentor text students used during Lesson 1

• Student copies of the “Sensory Words” chart created in Lesson 3 • Pre-written example of your own sensory paragraph from your writing

notebook to share with students

Intended Learning

• Students use sensory description to partner-write descriptive paragraphs of an object to improve writing skills.

Standards

• Write short paragraphs in different genres for the purpose of informing or explaining.



Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Students continue to practice writing descriptively using sensory words.

Good writers pay close attention to the world around them through the use of their five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. Briefly review how these senses were used in the previous lesson, addressing the “Sensory Words” chart and shared writing paragraph.

Remind students what they learn and practice today will help them write descriptively for the visitors guide.

Teaching Students write descriptive paragraphs about an object using strong sensory details. Caution them to write about the object in an interesting way and not make it sound like a list. Demonstrate this approach by rereading a descriptive piece such as Sandra Cisneros’ Hairs. Ask students if the description of the mother’s hair would have been as good if Sandra wrote, “My mother’s hair looks curly, it smells like bread, and at night it feels warm.”

Use a pre-written example from your writing notebook to show students how you recorded observations of an object on a “Sensory Words” chart, then used it to write a description that does not sound list-like.

Do a shared writing of the place you want to describe for English language learners. Elicit vocabulary and encourage students to use creative language necessary for descriptive writing.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 4: Observing and Describing an Object—Shared Writing

Active Engagement Have partners decide what they want to describe. You may allow partners to choose from a selection of objects (see Materials list for ideas of objects to observe). Allow students to keep out their copies of an appropriate mentor text, such as Hairs, to assist making stronger sensory observations about a new object.

English language learners write a new paragraph, similar to the shared writing paragraph.

Link Students work with their partners to write another description of an object using sensory details. These details make the writing more descriptive and interesting to readers. Remind them to use the mentor text and the class shared writing to avoid a list-like sensory description of their objects.

Students spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items on their self-editing checklists.


• Students work with their partners to write sensory descriptions. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of

students together who need more support or specific instruction.

Work with small groups of students needing extra support.

Sharing/Closure

• wo or

nt work to serve as additional “mentor texts” for student

Partners share their sensory descriptions with another partner set. Tthree partners share out with the whole group. You may copy some exemplary studewriting folders.

Homework

•e

“Sensory Words” chart and what they learned about writing descriptively.

To give students additional opportunities to write descriptively, instruct them to write short descriptions of objects at home using their copies of th

Sensory Words

See

Hear

S T Tmell

aste

ouch

Include icons under each sensory word to assist English language learners.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 5: Describing Your Subject

Lesson 5: Describing Your Subject

Materials

• Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Describing Your Subject,” page 61 (Read through it to prepare and ignore the first paragraph under “How to Teach It,” as your students will not be involved in a lot of formal research for this project.)

• Large picture of Abraham Lincoln and overhead of the paragraph about Abraham Lincoln from Nonfiction Craft Lessons, page 61

• Prepared entry of a description of a person from your writing notebook • Descriptive paragraph of a school custodian from Write Source 2006 (if you

have), page 64, or your own mentor text with a strong character description

Intended Learning

• Students use descriptive writing techniques to write paragraphs about a person that creates pictures in readers’ minds.

Standards




Big Ideas


• Organize information in a clear, easy-to-follow way.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Students write about at least one person from your school in their visitors guide. Today, students describe someone they know well, such as a family member or close friend. This practice will help them write descriptively for their visitor guides.

Teaching Using Craft Lessons, “Describing Your Subject,” begin in the second para-graph of the lesson (“Let’s take a look at two writers…”). Place the descrip-tion of Abraham Lincoln on the overhead and read it aloud to students.

In the section beginning “As another example…,” use the Write Source description of the school custodian or another example of your choice.

Think aloud about your process when you chose a person to describe in your notebook. In your think aloud, include ideas, such as choosing someone you know well, someone you care about a lot, or someone interesting to you. Share your descriptive paragraph from your writing notebook before students “Turn and Talk” about the person they will describe in their notebooks today.

Eliciting ideas, vocabulary, and grammar structures from the group, write a paragraph about a person. With students, list descriptive words you used to create a picture in readers’ minds.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 5: Describing Your Subject

Active

t, ling, or cl

se language is very limited, such as

“The principal is ______.” [“She likes to talk with us when we eat lunch. She has a beautiful smile.”]

Link

ud the final

t a picture…”

Students spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items

Engagement Students “Turn and Talk” with their partners about a person they will describe, who should be someone they know well, a parent, grandparensib ose friend. Later, they will use what they learn about observation to describe a person in the school for their visitors guides.

Students write a paragraph similar to a shared writing. Offer a paragraph frame for students who

Students write a descriptive piece about the person they discussed with their partners. As you link to students’ work today, read aloparagraph in Fletcher’s lesson, “Describing Your Subject.” Begin with the words, “I want you to use your words to pain

on their self-editing checklists.


• Students begin writing a description of the person they discussed with their partners.

• Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of students together who need more support or specific instruction.

Sharing/Closure

•

n creating up.

• You may copy some exemplary student work for the class to use as additional mentor texts when writing descriptively about a person.

As students share descriptive pieces they wrote about their subjects, their partners should give them feedback about their use of descriptive techniques, such as use of the five senses and what they did well ia “mind picture.” Have two or three students share with the whole gro

Homework

• y learned today to write short descriptions of

a subject at home. They may want to take home a copy of a mentor text for additional support.

To give students additional opportunities to write descriptively, instruct students to use what the

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Writing Workshop Lesson 6: Describing a Place

Lesson 6: Describing a Place

Materials

• Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Beginning with the Setting,” page 42, or “Attending to Setting,” page 71 (Read each lesson to determine which one best meets your students’ needs.)

• Copies for every student and enlargement or overhead of sample paragraph, “Where turtles might live,” page 42, or Brenda Z. Guiberson’s paragraph on sea turtles, page 71, depending on which lesson best fits your students’ needs

• Pre-made list of words from mentor text you selected to model to write descriptively about a setting (see Teaching below)

Intended Learning

• Students use descriptive writing techniques to write about places so readers can create pictures in their minds.

Standards




Big Ideas



Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Remind students they worked on writing descriptively to create pictures in readers’ minds. Describing places or settings will be important and informa-tive for students’ visitors guides. Writing to describe a setting is an impor-tant technique they will want and need to use many times in their lives.

Teaching Put the sample from Fletcher and Portalupi’s lesson, “Beginning with the Setting,” on the overhead and read aloud, highlighting descriptive words. Point out the author’s use of sensory words and strong action words (verbs) such as thrashing, scampers, pokes, and so forth. You may even write some of these words on a class chart for emphasis.

Write vocabulary on a class chart. Use a web or other graphic organizer to list describing words that create images of places and/or people.

vocabulary to describe it.

Follow the lesson, making any necessary modifications for your class needs. Use your pre-made word list from the mentor text and the last paragraph of page 42 for the Active Engagement part of the lesson.

Write a paragraph describing a place known to students. English language learners need to be familiar with the place to use their senses and their most creative

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Writing Workshop Lesson 6: Describing a Place

Active

heir cars, or their sisters’ messy rooms. Later in the unit,

rom the group, write a paragraph about a place. List descriptive words you used to create a picture in readers’ minds with students.

Link h their

eir readers’ minds.

Students spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items

Engagement Using the last paragraph of the lesson on page 42, have students “Turn andTalk” with their partners about places they may want to describe. They should know the places they describe well, such as their bedrooms, back-yards, inside of tthey use what they learn today to describe places at the school for their visitors guides.

Students use their writing notebooks to list possible describing words for their settings. Show students how you tried this in your own notebook.

Eliciting ideas, vocabulary, and grammar structures f

Students write descriptive pieces about places they discussed witpartners. Remind them to use strong action words, or verbs, as well as sensory words to create better pictures in th

on their self-editing checklists.


• partners. • roups of


Provide a paragraph ith limited language.

Students write descriptive pieces about places they discussed with theirConfer individually with students about their writing or bring small g

frame for students w

Sharing/Closure

•

o or

• You may copy some exemplary student work for the class to use as additional mentor texts when writing descriptively about places.

As partner A shares his or her descriptive piece, partner B gives feedback about the use of descriptive techniques, such as the five senses, action words, and what they did well in creating a “mind picture.” Have twthree students share with the whole group.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 7: Choosing a Seed Idea

Lesson 7: Choosing a Seed Idea

Materials

• Teacher and student writing notebooks • “Topics for Visitors Guide” chart

Intended Learning

• Students state important reasons for selecting topics to take to publication.

Standard

• Write in a variety of modes, such as short personal narrative, friendly letters, and brief expository pieces (informational or how-to paragraphs) for the purpose of informing or explain-ing to a variety of audiences.

Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Choosing visitors guide topics to take to publication is an important decision. Students need to choose topics that are important and interesting enough to spend the next three weeks revising, editing, and publishing. They also need to know a lot about the topic or collect more information.

Teaching Each student make his or her own decisions about which topics to include in the visitors guide, but every student’s visitors guide must have between three and four topics of interest to visitors, and there must be a variety of topics, such as people, places, objects, and events.

Model the process of selecting topics by going through your “generated ideas” lists from the early lessons in this unit and think aloud about why each is important or interesting enough, or not, to include in your visitors guide.

Model highlighting possibilities and finally circling the three you intend to include in your guide.

Topic for Visitors Guide Why I Chose This Topic

To be specific about reasons why English language learners want those topics for their visitors guide, you may have ELLs use a graphic organizer to help them generate ideas.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 7: Choosing a Seed Idea

Active Engagement Students “Turn and Talk” to their partners about things you considered before finally selecting seed ideas to take to publication. List key ideas you want students to remember on the class chart, “Topics for Visitors Guide.”

Students can work on graphic organizers with partners. Work with very limited English language learners in a small group.

Link Students use the same process to go through their own idea lists to thought-fully select seed ideas for their published visitors guides. During Sharing, students need to give several important reasons from the class chart, “Topics for Visitors Guide,” to explain to their partners why they decided on each topic idea.


• Students decide and circle which topics on their lists they want to include. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


After working on graphic oown visitors guide ideas.

rganizers, students may start working on their

Sharing/Closure

•artners. Two or three students share their thinking with

the whole group.

Students share their thinking about selecting seed ideas for their visitor guides with their p

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Writing Workshop Lesson 8: Writing an Introduction

Lesson 8: Writing an Introduction

Materials

• Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by Joann Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Writing an Introduction,” page 57

• Overhead and copies for each student of sample visitors guide from Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce (www.denverchamber.org) or other guide of your choice

Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce site also has Spanish translations of Visitor Information page.

• “Visitor Guide Introductions” chart (see sample on last page of this lesson)

Intended Learning

• Student recognize that introductions are stated in a simple, concise form that lets readers know what information will be found in their guides.

• Students use mentor texts as models to write informative and descriptive introductory paragraphs.

Standards




Big Ideas



• Use mentor texts as models to share information.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Students examined several visitor guides earlier. Remind them how we noticed that the guides provided information and descriptions about people, events, places, and objects of interest. But, every visitors guide also had an introductory paragraph as an overview of what you would find in the guide.

Students look closely at the introduction of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce visitors guide or another guide you selected, which will help them write introductions for their visitor guides to your school.

Teaching Have an overhead and copies for each student of the introduction to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce entitled “Visitor Information.” Ask students to notice the kinds of information and descriptive language used to capture readers’ interests in hopes of getting them to visit our city. Read the introductory paragraphs aloud from the overhead as students follow on their own copies.

Chart information so students may refer to it during their own “try-it” (see sample on next page).

Show students how you tried writing an introduction, based on your seed

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Writing Workshop Lesson 8: Writing an Introduction

idea selections and mentor text ideas, in your own notebook.

Active Engagement Students discuss with their partners the information they will include in their visitors guides. Partners brainstorm lists of descriptive language they might use in their introductions to add interest for their readers.

After the mini-lesson, write an introduction together about a place students have in common. Students elicit the language with your help and write it with you at the same time in their writing notebooks.

Link Students use the mentor text and notes they made with their partners to write an introduction to their visitors guides. Let them know they will share these introductory paragraphs during Sharing.

Students spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items on their self-editing checklists.


• Students work with their partners to write introductions to their visitors guides. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


English language learners might want to use the paragraph they wrottogether to write similar ones. Students with very limited language

e

could use a paragraph with blanks.

Sharing/Closure

• oductions

Partners share their introductions. Ask two or three partners to share with the whole group. You may type up several exemplary student intrfor students to use as mentors later when they revise their own.

Visitors Guide Introductions

Information Included Descriptive Language

• places

• location

• top-ranked

• vibrant

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Writing Workshop Lesson 9: Gathering More Information about a Topic

Lesson 9: Gathering More Information about a Topic

Materials

• Teacher and student writing notebooks • “Gathering Informative and Descriptive Information” outline for student

interviews (see sample at the end of this lesson) • “My Question/My Observations” graphic organizer for student interviews

(see sample at the end of this lesson) • “Appointment Request” form (see sample at the end of this lesson)

Intended Learning

• Students gather background information about topics to write with more authority about their topics.

Standard


Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Remind students of how close observation, using sensory details, and comparisons are wonderful ways to write descriptively about a person (e.g. our school custodian), an object (e.g., the memorial tree planted in front of our school), or a place (e.g., the school cafeteria). However, a visitors guide needs to be both descriptive and informative.

For students to write informatively, they often need to talk to someone who can provide them with background information about the topic.

Teaching Arrange to invite someone in (perhaps custodian, principal, or another teacher) during Writing Workshop so you can model the process of interviewing. Tell students you invited this person because you know they have background information about your topic.

Explain to the guest interviewee that you are writing a short paragraph about [select a topic] to include in a visitors guide to your school. Model asking questions, such as “What is the most important or interesting fact you can tell me about the background or history of [your selected topic]?” Write the guest’s responses on an outline or graphic organizer like the samples on the last page of this lesson.

Active Engagement Students will not have time to interview a person for each visitors guide topic, so they will choose one who has the most information or interesting facts about their topics. For all other topics in the visitor guides, they will

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write descriptive pieces.

For example, explain how you could describe the school nurse, custodian, or favorite playground equipment, just by observation and past experience. But to be completely thorough, you would interview someone who knows the background or history of one of these topics at your school.

Have students review their seed ideas and discuss with their partners which topic most needs a personal interview and have them circle it.

Students with very limited language need to work with other students to conduct the interview. If you have students who speak the other students’ native language, pair them. It is important that they understand the task. If you do not have anybody who could work with them, provide simple questions they can read and understand.

Link Students fill out a form (see “Appointment Request” form at the end of this lesson) to make an appointment with a person who can provide them with the needed background information. Put a blank template on the overhead or make a model on chart paper to demonstrate, by thinking aloud, how to fill out the form. Instruct students to turn in their forms so you can deliver them to the appropriate school personnel.


• Students complete the “Appointment Request” form. If time permits, students continue working on their entries for their visitors guides.

• Remind students they will spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items on their self-editing checklist.

Sharing/Closure

• Students discuss with their partners some questions they might ask during their interviews. Ask two or three students to share with the whole class.

Gathering Informative and Descriptive Information

Introduce yourself.

Explain that you are writing a short paragraph about _______________________ to include in a visitors guide to our school.

Let the person the child is interviewing know that the child is not proficient

ask them a question that will add

in English and to help them on their task.

Tell the person that you would like toimportant information to your topic.

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My Question

What is the most important or interesting fact that you can tell me about the background or history of ______________________ at our school?

My Observations

What senses can I use to help me describe this topic?

What details or examples can I include?

Which strong verbs can I use to make my writing more descriptive?

Appointment Request

Dear _________________,

I would like to have a few minutes of your time to interview you about _____________. Please let me know if any of the times listed below would work for you. Thank you.

_____________________ (your name)

Day: _____________ Time: __________

Day: _____________ Time: __________

Day: _____________ Time: __________

Other: ________________________

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Writing Workshop Lesson 10: Using Subheadings to Organize Information

Lesson 10: Using Subheadings to Organize Information

Materials

• Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Use Subheadings to Organize Information,” page 60

• Copies of several sections from the Denver Chamber of Commerce Web site (www.denverchamber.org), such as “Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza” under “Special Events; Author Events,” or “Princess Martha Louise of Norway…” under “Events and Programs,” or similar pages from another sample visitors guide of your choice

See translations of “Plein Air Artists Paint Out” and “Getting It Down on Paper”"

Intended Learning

• Students use subheadings to present information in a clear and organized manner.

Standard


Big Ideas


• Include text features, such as labels, bold print headings, pictures, white spaces, and page breaks.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Students looked at nonfiction texts before and noticed text features such as subheadings. Briefly review what they learned about the purpose of subheadings. Use the final paragraph in Fletcher’s lesson about subheadings to summarize why we use subheadings and connect to their work today in Writing Workshop.

Remind students they read books with headings and subheadings during Reading Workshop to help them find information. Tell them they will the same thing in their visitor guides. They will provide readers with headings and subhe

do

adings so readers can find information and skim and scan their writing.

to emphasize the points about

zed and readers informed about the content of the

ore “catchy” (e.g., “Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza”). Tell them they will try

Teaching Read through Nonfiction Craft Lesson, “Using Subheadings to Organize Information,” page 60. Use the lesson’s ideas the purpose and importance of subheadings.

With your class, examine subheadings in sections of the visitors guide mentor text you selected. Continue to connect to how it helps keep the visitors guide organidifferent sections.

Point out, if students don’t notice it on their own, how some subheadings are simple and straightforward (i.e., “Entertainment”), and others are m

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Writing Workshop Lesson 10: Using Subheadings to Organize Information

dents with very limited language benefit from small group

instruction.

th their partners.

g Workshop

several styles of subheadings to see what works best for their visitors guides.

Provide examples students are familiar with. You may give them examples from your school, such as “Computer Games” or “Incredible Library”.

Active Engagement Have students discuss with their partners different subheadings they might use in their visitors guides to both inform their readers and capture their attention. Students should write one or two possible subheadings for their visitors guide topics in their writing notebooks.

Pair English language learners with partners who speak their same language. Stu

Link Students write two or three possible subheadings for each visitors guidesection and circle the one they like best to share wiShow them how you tried it in your own notebook.

Remind students they will spend the last few minutes of Writinediting for one or more items on their self-editing checklists.


• gs for each visitors guide

groups of

dents with very limited language benefit from small group

instruction.

Students write two or three possible subheadinsection and continue working on their drafts.

• Confer individually with students about their writing or bring smallstudents together who need more support or specific instruction.

Again pair English language learners with students who speak their same language. Stu

Sharing/Closure

• are

subheadings for students to use as mentor texts when they revise their own.

Partners share their selected subheadings and explain why they chose a particular subheading for each section. Ask two or three partners to shtheir subheadings with the whole group. You may write on chart paper several exemplary models of

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Writing Workshop Lesson 11: Writing a Caption for a Photograph or Drawing

Lesson 11: Writing a Caption for a Photograph or Drawing

Materials

• Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Writing a Caption for a Photograph or Drawing,” page 75

• The Great Fire by Jim Murphy or another mentor text that supports the intended learning

• Copies of several sections from the Denver Chamber of Commerce Web site (www.denverchamber.org), such as “Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza” under “Special Events; Author Events,” or “Princess Martha Louise of Norway…” under “Events and Programs,” or similar pages from another sample visitors guide of your choice

See translations of “Plein Air Artists Paint Out” and “Getting It Down on Paper”"

Intended Learning

• Student use pictures or photographs with captions to present information in a clear and organized manner.

Standard


Big Ideas



Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Remind students how as they noticed characteristics and features of visitor guides. One feature that makes different guides interesting was pictures or photographs with captions. As students work on different topics for their visitor guides, they will want to include this important text feature. There-fore, today you teach them how to add pictures with captions meaningful to readers.

Teaching Read through “Writing a Caption for a Photograph or Drawing” on page 75 of Nonfiction Craft Lessons.

This lesson does not need much modification, just a word change in a couple of places, to support adding pictures with captions to a visitors guide.

Remind students of different features in books they read during ReadWorkshop. You may show the “Nonfiction Text Features” chart from Reading Lesson 2 to help them understand. Tell them they will do the same thing in their visitors guide: they will provide pictures to interest

ing

readers to their topics.

use

and attract

Active Engagement Students discuss with their partners pictures or photographs they might

Version 1.0 25


Writing Workshop Lesson 11: Writing a Caption for a Photograph or Drawing

s and how their captions give important information to their readers.

Link

share with their partners. Show them how you tried it in your own notebook.

in their visitors guide. They talk about possible caption

Students write two or three possible captions for photographs or drawings they plan to use in their visitors guides and circle the one they like best to


• to include

• groups of

Have a variety of school pictu ts to use in their visitors guides.

Students write captions for photographs or pictures they planin their visitors guides and continue working on their drafts. Confer individually with students about their writing or bring smallstudents together who need more support or specific instruction.

res for studen

Sharing/Closure

• rs.

models for students to use as mentors later when they revise their own.

Partners share their selected pictures and caption ideas with their partneAsk two or three partners to share theirs with the whole group. You may display several exemplary student

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Writing Workshop Lesson 12: Using Strong Verbs

Lesson 12: Using Strong Verbs

Materials

• Copies of the sample sentences from Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Using Strong Verbs,” page 72

• Copies of mentor text from Denver Zoo Web site (http://www.denverzoo.org/visitors/index.asp) or other source used in Lessons 1–2

Translations of: “Tropical Discoveries” and “Primate Panorama” from the Denver Zoo Web site (

http://www.denverzoo.org/visitors/index.asp)

“Visitor Information” page from Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Web site (www.denverchamber.org) “My Sister’s Room,” “The Living Room,” “The Detention Room” (http://cspace.unb.ca/nbco/ igs/writing/write2.htmlp )

Intended Learning

• Students revise using strong verbs to increase the quality of their writing.

Standards



Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Use ideas from the “Discussion” section of “Using Strong Verbs,” on page 72, “It’s easy for students to fall into the trap of describing…” and “Students writing becomes more vivid and lively…” to help students understand why this lesson is important.

Teaching This lesson does not need modification. Have copies of sample sentences about the wrench, so students can highlight verbs in each sentence as you model.

Due to their limited language and the language manipulation studenneed to do for this lesson, this skill is difficult for English language learners to acquire. If you have a large number of English language learners in your class, provide no more than 10 verbs to replace with strong verbs in their writing. Collect some verbs students have writtin their introduction

ts

en s or captions, so they can replace them during

me.

to highlight strong verbs in the descriptive paragraph. Several partners share

s the

upport English language learners.

Independent Ti

Active Engagement Pass out copies of the second mentor text. Students work with partners

The less language English languagelearners have, the more support they need to elicit language. Work in small groups as necessary.

Small group instruction providetime and the non-threatening environment necessary to s

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Writing Workshop Lesson 12: Using Strong Verbs

verbs they identified.

Ask students to take a few minutes to look at descriptive pieces they wrote earlier in the unit about a place, an object, or a person. Ask students to locate and circle several places where they used passive verbs, such as is or are.

Model finding a passive verb in your own notebook and revising it using a strong verb.

Students talk with their partners about stronger verbs they could use in one place in their notebook. Students write strong verbs above, beside, or under passive verbs.

English language learners might need a great level of support on this task. Small group instruction is highly encouraged. Provide replacement verbs students need and help them understand the reason strong verbs help their writing.

Link Tell students to choose another is or are verb they circled with their partners to start revising. When they finish the first one, they should revise others they identified.

Remind students they will spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or more items on their self-editing checklists.


• Students revise their work by replacing passive verbs with strong verbs. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


Again, English language learners might need a great level of supporon this task. Small group instruction is highly encouraged. Provide replacement verbs students need

t

and help them understand the reason strong verbs help their writing.

Sharing/Closure

• g

rong verbs. You may post some of the strongest examples of student work.

Partners share places where they made their writing better by revising usinstrong verbs. Have several students share sentences showing the “before” with passive verbs and the “after” with st

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Writing Workshop Lesson 13: Visitors Guide Layout

Lesson 13: Visitors Guide Layout

Materials

• Overhead and student copies of several visitors guide mentor texts • Layout paper and/or blank booklets to support student choice in organizing

their visitor guides • Pre-made “Visitors Guide Layout Design Features” chart to remind students

of their visitors guide organization and content (see sample on the last page of this lesson)

Visitor guides from different attractions

Intended Learning

• Students use mentor texts to help them organize their writing topics into appropriate layout designs, including introduction, use of text features, pictures with captions, and so forth.

Standard


Big Ideas

• Include text features, such as headings and subheadings, captions, diagrams, pictures, photographs, and white space.


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Students organize their writing into a visitors guide format today. Remind them how good writers use mentor texts as models to give their work a high-quality sound and professional look.

Teaching Display an overhead of a visitors guide and have student copies available. Talk about organization, layout, and text features they notice. Ask them to pay attention to white space, so the guide is easy to read and does not feel crowded.

Show an alternate, but equally professional, visitors guide and have a similar discussion. Depending on time and resources, you may want to show another or just have others available for students to peruse for ideas.

Active Engagement Students talk with their partners about which format would work best (or they prefer) for their visitors guides. Have them explain why they prefer one over another.

Link Students decide on their layout design based on a mentor text today. They will use this mentor text to organize their visitors guide into the appropriate format and sections, including title placement, layout of the introduction

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Writing Workshop Lesson 13: Visitors Guide Layout

and topic sections, subheadings, and pictures with captions. Refer to the pre-made “Visitors Guide Layout Design Features” chart to remind students of these considerations (see sample on the last page of this lesson).


• Students work individually or with their partners on the layout of their school visitors guides.

• Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of students together who need more support or specific instruction.

Sharing/Closure

• Students pair up at desks or tables to review their layout designs and organization with their partners. Partners refer to the “Visitors Guide Layout Design Features” chart to ensure they consider and include key features of a visitors guide layout.

• You may call students to gather to point out particular students’ techniques or layouts that might help other students improve their designs.

Visitors Guide Layout Design Features

• Placement of Title

• Placement of Introductory Paragraph

• Placement of Topic Sections

• Subheadings—Are they engaging and interesting?

• Pictures or Photos—Do they include informative captions?

• Do I have enough White Space?

Version 1.0 30


Writing Workshop Lesson 14: Studying Stronger and Weaker Examples of Descriptive Writing

Lesson 14: Studying Stronger and Weaker Examples of Descriptive Writing

Materials

• A strong example and a weak example of descriptive writing similar to the ones students will write for their visitor guides

• Notebook paper for drafting seed ideas

Intended Learning

• Students use the class rubric to examine and discuss characteristics of stronger and weaker descriptive writing so they can include attributes of strong writing and avoid weaker attributes in their own descriptive pieces.

Standards


• Organize writing with a beginning, middle and ending or with main ideas and supporting details.


Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Using the rubric to score some stronger and weaker examples of descriptive writing helps students use what they learned about good writing to write drafts of their topics for visitor guides.

Teaching Put a strong description of a person, place, or object on the overhead. Use the class rubric to promote discussion with students as they identify and justify their thinking, based on the rubric, about qualities of good descriptive writing in the piece.

Give students plenty of opportunities to “Turn and Talk” with their partners to ensure that all students are actively engaged in the process.

Next, show an example of a weaker descriptive piece and follow the same procedure as students discuss the work, identifying and justifying their thinking using attributes identified on the class rubric.

Compare and contrast an example of good writing with a weak descriptive piece. Ask students to write characteristics of the good descriptive writing.

Version 1.0 31


Writing Workshop Lesson 14: Studying Stronger and Weaker Examples of Descriptive Writing

Active Engagement Students are actively involved during the entire process.

Link Students write a draft of at least one of the seeds ideas they selected for their visitors guides. Remind them to use the class rubric for support as they write strong descriptive pieces for their visitor guides.

Tell students they will have a lesson to help them write the section requiring an interview in a couple days, after all students complete their interviews.



• Students begin to write a draft of one of their seed ideas. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


Sharing/Closure

• Students share their descriptive pieces with their partners. Together they use the class rubric to identify strengths of their pieces and areas they might revise to improve the quality. Listen in and ask one or two students who were reflective and insightful if they would share with the whole group what they talked about with their partners.

Version 1.0 32


Writing Workshop Lesson 15: Studying Strong Student Examples of Descriptive Writing

Lesson 15: Studying Strong Student Examples of Descriptive Writing

Materials

• Strong student example of descriptive writing for visitors guide • Notebook paper for drafting seed ideas

Intended Learning

• Students use a strong student example from previous lessons, Independent Time, and the class rubric to review characteristics of good descriptive writing, so they can include those attributes in their own descriptive pieces.

Standards




Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Students continue to use the class rubric and what they know about qualities of good writing to write drafts of their topics for visitor guides.

Teaching Before students review what they wrote previously and write additional sections for their visitor guides, share a draft one of their classmates wrote.

Make sure the chosen sample exemplifies strong qualities of descriptive writing.

Using the rubric, point out to students each place where the student used characteristics of strong descriptive writing.

Active Engagement Put up another strong example of a student’s writing. Direct students to use the class rubric and talk about the strengths they see in the writing.

Link Students review work from the last lesson to see if they can use the rubric to make it stronger and write additional sections for their visitors guides.

Students need to complete their interviews today, as the next mini-lesson

Version 1.0 33


Writing Workshop Lesson 15: Studying Strong Student Examples of Descriptive Writing

will help them write the section where they incorporate their interviews into their visitors guides.



• Students continue to work on their drafts. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


Sharing/Closure

• Students share with their descriptive pieces with partners. Together they use the class rubric to identify strengths of their pieces and areas they might revise to improve quality. Listen in and ask one or two students who were reflective and insightful if they would share with the whole group what they talked about with their partners.

Version 1.0 34


Writing Workshop Lesson 16: Writing Informatively and Descriptively

Lesson 16: Writing Informatively and Descriptively

Materials

• Overhead of a mentor informative/descriptive section from a visitors guide • Overhead and student copies of your informative and descriptive piece for

a school visitors guide • Notebook paper for drafting seed ideas

Intended Learning

• Students write an informative and descriptive piece for their visitors guides, demonstrating their ability to combine description and information.

Standards




Big Ideas



Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Remind students visitor guides are informative as well as descriptive. They will use the information from their interviews to write a section informing visitors about the background or history of a topic.

Teaching Ask students to remember the interview you conducted earlier in Lesson 9. Refer to your graphic organizer from that day to review background information you gathered (e.g., “Mrs. Smith told us interesting information about how we raised money to build the new playground at our school.”).

Show students how you wrote the piece to combine description and information.

Explain how you first looked at a visitors guide section that incorporated both description and information. Put a sample on the overhead and point out to students how the writer captured our attention by providing a rich description of the topic first, then moved into the background or history to inform readers.

Version 1.0 35


Writing Workshop Lesson 16: Writing Informatively and Descriptively

and informative in the books.

g Workshop editing for one or more items on their self-editing checklists.

Show students how you tried to do the same thing by beginning with some sensory details and strong verbs to describe the topic, then added background information.

Active Engagement Ask students to use mentor texts (yours and the visitors guide example) to review their graphic organizers with their partners to determine if they have enough descriptive details and information to write the section for their visitors guides. Listen in on conversations to give additional feedback to support the process.

At this point, students need a draft of their visitors guides to identify descriptive writing that needs more information. You might have different examples from the class with students’ permission to share good descriptive language.

Connect Reading Workshop information with writing information. Be specific with examples from their reading about what is descriptive

Link Students write the section for their visitors guides, combining both back-ground information and description of the topic. Remind students to use mentor texts to support their efforts.

Remind students they will spend the last few minutes of Writin


• bining both

• groups of

Students write the section for their visitors guides, combackground information and description of the topic.

Confer individually with students about their writing or bring smallstudents together who need more support or specific instruction.

Sharing/Closure

• ide

the class to use as additional mentor texts to revise their own pieces.

Students share their writing with partners. One or two students, who provstrong models of the process, share with the whole group. You may type exemplary student work for

Version 1.0 36


Writing Workshop Lesson 17: Creating a Class Rubric for Descriptive Writing

Lesson 17: Creating a Class Rubric for Descriptive Writing

Materials

• Class-created attribute charts from this unit • Prepared three- or four-point blank rubric with no more than four (or five, if

including conventions) criteria rows (see example at the end of this lesson)

Provide specific examples for each point and consider different language levels. Be clear about your learning desire for each student, according to his or her language level (see s mple at the end of this lesson).

a

Intended Learning

• Students create a class rubric that reflects a clear understanding of descriptive writing qualities to set clear targets for writing and revising that meet high standards.

Standards




Big Idea

• Construct a class rubric that provides a clear target, with examples, for meeting standards and big ideas of the unit.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Tell students the attribute charts we created helped us notice good descriptive writing characteristics. Students develop a class rubric to help see how well we use writing techniques we learned, and as a resource to help revise our writing and make it better.

Teaching Narrow the qualities of good descriptive writing to no more than four categories for your rubric. Your attribute charts should help with this process. Some ideas for categories might include:

o Descriptive Writing…contains comparisons such as similes and metaphors or sensory words

o Descriptive Writing…contains strong verbs

You will add the categories below in Lesson 18.

o Relevant Details o Text Features

Choose one category and have students determine what writing looks like at the highest level (score point four or three). Use student language wherever possible. Have students determine what writing looks like at the lowest level (score point one). Other levels are easier to fill in after you’ve determined

Version 1.0 37


Writing Workshop Lesson 17: Creating a Class Rubric for Descriptive Writing

the highest and lowest measures.

Wherever possible, provide mentor texts and/or student samples as examples to set the standard for the highest score point.

No categories should appear on the rubric unless mini-lessons or exemplars from attribute charts were provided.

Active Engagement Students are actively involved during the entire phase of the rubric-construction process.

Link Constructing a good rubric takes a lot of time, so there will not be enough time for independent writing. Encourage students to think about how they might improve their writing after creating the rubric.


• Developing the rubric takes up most of Independent and Small Group Time.

Sharing/Closure

• Students “Turn and Tell” their partners how the rubric helps them think about making their writing better. Listen in and ask one or two students to share with the whole group based on insightful comments during the “Turn and Talk.”

Criteria 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point

Descriptive Writing…



Chart including examples for English language learners Criteria 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point

Descriptive Writing… Example Example Example



Version 1.0 38


Writing Workshop Lesson 18: Adding to the Class Rubric for Descriptive Writing

Lesson 18: Adding to the Class Rubric for Descriptive Writing

Materials

• Class rubric created in Lesson 17 with two additional rows added for “Text Features” and “Relevant Details” (see sample at the end of this lesson)

Provide specific examples for each point and consider different language levels. Be clear about your learning desire for each student, according to his or her language level.

Intended Learning

• Students add the categories “Text Features” and “Relevant Details” to the class rubric to set clear targets and high standards for writing and revising.

Standards




Big Ideas

• Construct a class rubric that provides a clear target, with examples, for meeting standards and big ideas of the unit.

• Include text features, such as headings and subheadings, captions, diagrams, pictures, photographs, and white space.

Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Remind students how text features such as subheadings and captions add interest and additional information to even short pieces of writing. Gathering background information adds authority to a piece of writing and is more interesting to readers. Because students have learned how important text features and background information are to our visitors guides, we need to add them as criteria to our rubric.

Teaching Past lessons about text features, such as Lessons 11 and 16, guide you as you list some strong and weak criteria. And Lesson 9 should guide criteria for the “Relevant Details” category.

o Text Features o Relevant Details

Choose one category and have students determine what writing looks like at the highest level (score point four or three). Use student language wherever possible. Have students determine what writing looks like at the lowest level

Version 1.0 39



uage learners, divide students according to language and writing skills.

ink about how they might improve their writing after creating the rubric.

(score point one). Other levels are easier to fill in after you’ve determined the highest and lowest measures.

Wherever possible, provide mentor texts and/or student samples as examples to set the standard for the highest score point.

No categories should appear on the rubric unless mini-lessons or exemplars from attribute charts were provided.

If you have a large number of English language learners, divide them according to language and writing skills. Work in small groups to address different students’ needs. When English language learners need to correct or edit written papers, they do it according to language levels. Therefore, this task is hard to do just by listening to you. They need you to work with them in small groups to see what is expected.

Active Engagement Students are actively involved during the entire phase of the rubric-construction process.

If you have a large number of English lang

Link Constructing a good rubric takes a lot of time, so there will not be enough time for independent writing. Encourage students to th


• Developing the rubric takes up most of Independent and Small Group Time.

Sharing/Closure

• Students “Turn and Tell” their partners how the rubric helps them think about making their writing better. Listen in and ask one or two studentsto share with the w

hole group based on insightful comments during the

“Turn and Talk.”

Version 1.0 40



Criteria 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point




Text Features

Relevant Details

Chart including examples for English language learners Criteria 3 Points 2 Points 1 Point




Text Features

Relevant Details

Version 1.0 41


Writing Workshop Lesson 19: Using Supporting Details and Examples

Lesson 19: Using Supporting Details and Examples

Materials

• Copies of the sample sentences from Nonfiction Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8 by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher, “Using Supporting Details and Examples,” page 62

• Lifetimes by David Rice or another nonfiction book

Intended Learning

• Students add details and examples to their writing to support their claims and develop their writing.

Standards




Big Ideas



Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Use some ideas from the lesson, “Using Supporting Details and Examples,” page 62, in Nonfiction Craft Lessons. The “Discussion” section, “Students often make unsupported claims…” will help students understand why this lesson is important.

Teaching Use the paragraph provided about World War II for the first half of the lesson.

For the second sample, you may make up examples similar to what your students are writing instead of using “Animal Dads.” Remind students that many of them wrote about people, places, or objects and said they were beautiful, but did not provide examples or details describing their beauty. Or they said people were nice, but again did not give adequate examples or details to prove they were nice.

Explain the importance of supporting their claims in any writing they do now and the rest of their lives. Today they practice adding details and examples to descriptive pieces they have already written to develop them more.

Quickly model the revision process of adding details, examples, or facts, using one of your own descriptive entries.

Version 1.0 42


Writing Workshop Lesson 19: Using Supporting Details and Examples

t,

d supporting details to their drafts of their visitors guides.

Active

r r did not provide enough) details or examples

At this point, have students add supporting details to their drafts of their visitors guides.

Link

the opposite side of their notebook pages

Remind students they will spend the last few minutes of Writing Workshop editing for one or m ts.

Connect with Reading Workshop Lesson 17 about supporting details. Bring the book, Flashy Fantastic Rain Forest Frogs by Dorothy Hinshaw Patento the mini-lesson. Remind students how supporting details work. Ask them to ad

Engagement Ask students to take a few minutes to look at the descriptive pieces in their notebooks they wrote earlier about places, objects, or people. Have students locate and circle a couple of places where they made statements oclaims, but did not provide (oto develop their ideas well.

Tell students to choose one statement they circled and share the place they chose to start revising with their partners.

When they finish the first revision, they revise a second statement they circled and so forth.

If students use sticky notes or to develop their ideas, it is easy for everyone to see how they revised to make their writing better.

ore items on their self-editing checklis


• Students revise their visitors guides. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


Sharing/Closure

• y adding details or examples. You may copy some exemplar student work for the class to use as additional mentor texts when developing their ideas.

Partners share places where they developed their ideas b

Version 1.0 43


Writing Workshop Lesson 20: Revising Using the Class Rubric

Lesson 20: Revising Using the Class Rubric

Materials

• Class rubric chart and individual student copies of the rubric created in Lessons 17–18

• Overhead copies of your own descriptive pieces • Blank overhead to jot revision needs

Intended Learning

• Students use the class rubric to improve their writing.

Standards



Big Idea


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Tell students even though they have written drafts of descriptive pieces for their visitor guides, they still need revise to make them the best they can be. Students tried crafts and techniques of real writers and published visitor guides. The class rubric will help them ensure their writing reflects the highest score possible.

Teaching Use the overhead of one of your own descriptive pieces. Think aloud as you go through each category on the rubric, pointing out how the rubric shows you exactly how to make parts of your writing better. Make sure your piece has room for improvement in at least one or two categories. Make those changes in the margin of your piece or on the blank overhead.

If you have a large number of English language learners, divide them according to language and writing skills. Work in small groups to address different students’ needs. When English language learners need to correct or edit written papers, they do it according to language levels. Therefore, this task is hard to do just by listening to you. They need you to work with them in small groups to see what is expected.

Active Engagement Ask students to look at one of their descriptive pieces and direct them to one category on the rubric. You probably already have a sense of which category would be best to examine with your class. Students talk to their partners about how they would score themselves and why, and what they will do to improve their writing in this category.

Version 1.0 44


Writing Workshop Lesson 20: Revising Using the Class Rubric

Link Students go through at least two more categories on the rubric to self-evaluate their drafts, then make revisions so their pieces move to the next score point on the rubric.



• Students revise their drafts using suggestions from the rubric. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


Sharing/Closure

• Students share how they used the rubric to improve the quality of their descriptive pieces. Two or three students who can provide a good model share with the whole group.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 21: Editing the Final Draft for Publishing

Lesson 21: Editing the Final Draft for Publishing

Materials

• Overhead of your own descriptive writing

Intended Learning

• Students complete final edit of their descriptive writing and begin writing final drafts.

Standards

• Write in complete sentences. • Use capitalization at beginning

of sentences, for proper nouns, and for the pronoun “I.”

• Use correct punctuation to end sentences (period, question mark, exclamation mark).

• Use correct spelling of age-appropriate high-frequency words, regular plurals, and phonetic spelling for difficult words.

Big Ideas

• Write focused paragraphs that include supporting details.


Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Every day, students have reread their writing and used classroom tools, such as personal word walls, to make sure they spelled high-frequency words correctly. They also used strategies to make sure they used correct punctuation and capitalization. Tell them these daily checks are habits of good writers.

Teaching Put your own descriptive writing on the overhead to model checking for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Model making any necessary changes by noticing a skipped period when your voice paused or checking a suspicious-looking high-frequency word using a personal word wall.

It is difficult for English language learners to edit their papers due to their English language levels. Collect different mistakes you have seen in students’ writing and list them on a chart. In your mini-lesson, address the need to look at this list. Be specific which mistakes are non-negotiable. Language structures are also very difficult; therefore, meet with ELLs in small groups or individually to address these issues.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 21: Editing the Final Draft for Publishing

Active Engagement Have students edit one of their short descriptive pieces with partners. Check with partners to monitor the process and give extra support.

Link Students use the rest of Writing Workshop to edit their final two descriptive pieces. Explain that they are to be nearly perfect by the end of the period. Remind students that all authors use a final proofreader and for their papers, this reader will be you, the teacher. If they have clearly done their very best to edit their drafts, explain how you will make any small changes they may miss in the process.


• Students edit their writing individually or with their partners. • Confer individually with students about their writing or bring small groups of


Language mistakes are usually similar and according to students’ English language proficiencies. You may group them according to those mistakes to meet all your students’ needs.

Sharing/Closure

• Students share their edited descriptive pieces with partners to show how they used strategies and tools to identify and correct their work. Have one or two students who can model the process share with the whole class.

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Writing Workshop Lesson 22: Celebrating and Reflecting on Learning

Lesson 22: Celebrating and Reflecting on Learning

Materials

• Published visitor guides • The No Nonsense Guide to Writing by Judy Davis and Sharon Hill, pages 93–95 • “Descriptive Writing Assessment” reflection template (see sample at the end

of this lesson)

Intended Learning

• Students celebrate their published work and reflect on their learning from this unit.

* A form of celebrating that is generally least effective and enjoyable is for every student to have to sit through a presentation on every other student’s published work.

Standard

• Write in complete sentences. • Use capitalization at beginning

of sentences, for proper nouns, and for the pronoun “I.”

• Use correct punctuation to end sentences (period, question mark, exclamation mark).

• Use correct spelling of age-appropriate high-frequency words, regular plurals, and phonetic spelling for difficult words.

Big Ideas

• Write focused paragraphs that include supporting details.



Mini-Lesson Notes

Connection Remind students of procedures and expectations for your chosen form of celebrating published visitor guides. Find excellent ideas for celebrating in The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing, pages 93–95. Your school office may also display visitor guides, so they serve the purpose for which they were written.

Teaching Model for the class how they will share or respond to their peer’s work.

Active Engagement Students share and/or respond to published visitor guides.

Link At the end of the celebration, reflect on all the important things we learned

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Writing Workshop Lesson 22: Celebrating and Reflecting on Learning

about writing to describe and inform. Remind students they used the craft and techniques of good writers to publish visitor guides, but they need to apply this learning to their writing many times throughout the year and for the rest of their lives.

Hand students a copy of the “Descriptive Writing Assessment” reflection template and read the questions aloud. Allow students adequate time to write their reflections.

For English language learners whose English language is limited, you may want to have a checklist (see example at the end of this lesson).


• Students spend Independent and Small Group Time sharing their visitor guides. Set aside some time for students to write their reflections of the unit.

Invite parents and ask students to talk about their visitors guides at home, which helps parents who are not English-proficient understand.

Sharing/Closure

• Students share reflections on what they learned about descriptive and informative writing during the unit of study. Ask two or three students to share with the whole group. You may wish to display these reflections (and class rubric) with the students’ published work.

Descriptive Writing Assessment

Thinking about my visitors guide, I can say it shows these elements of good descriptive writing.

It ___________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________ .

It also _______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________ .

The descriptive writing mentor text or visitors guide that helped me most was ___________________________________

____________________________________________________ .

It helped me in the following ways _______________________

_____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________ .

“Descriptive Writing Assessment” reflecti ish language learners

say it shows these

Strong Verbs

on checklist template for Engl

Descriptive Writing Assessment

Thinking about my visitors guide, I canelements of good descriptive writing.

Simile

Sensory Details

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lesson 1: learning to identify descriptive...

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