Writing for Understanding Instruction
Teacher Plan
Teacher Kirsten Evans_ Class 2nd grade Date __April_ Writing genre __Report___
Topic / Subject / Text
CENTRAL IDEAS
Content: Chickens, development of egg, life as a chick, life for an adult
Reading: Informational text: picture books, posters
Writing: Report about a life cycle of chickens
Focusing Question
Focus (answer to focusing question)
What is a chicken’s life cycle?
The chicken’s life cycle begins _____ hatches into ___________ and ends _______________.
Building Content Knowledge, Understanding of Writer’s Craft
• vocabulary
• guided reading
• text mapping
• paraphrasing
• summarizing
• visualizing/
• imaging
• dramatizing
• oral processing / guided
conversation / think-pair-
share
• experience
• debating
• taking notes (graphic
organizers, T-charts, 2 column
notes, etc.)
• craft lessons (intro, transitions, conclusions, etc)
Vocabulary:
- fertilized - egg tooth - life cycle - breed
- embryo - mate - shell - perch
- clutch - incubator - incubation - albumen
- nest - yolk - membrane - hatch(ing)
- down - brooder box - heat lamp - molt - pullet - cockerel - transparent - opaque
Understandings I want them to know:
- foods they eat
- rooster is a male
- hen is a female
- parent protection skills
- survival of chicken (predator/environment factors) t-chart to show
- takes 21 days for egg to hatch
- egg needs to be turned twice a day
- incubator temperature
- survival as egg (environmental factors/development factors) t-chart to show
Chicks and Chickens by, Gail Gibbons
Model of embryo, chick, adult
Journal for recording the development of the embryo and continue a few days after hatching
Poster of day by day growth; photocopy of eggs with day by day growth
Class discussions- during reading, candling eggs, writing daily observation of poster for journals
A Chicken’s Life Cycle poster- class discussion, drawing the life cycle and writing captions for each stage
Public notes
Structures
How will students know how to organize their ideas
and construct the piece of writing?
• graphic organizers
• teacher-written models
• teacher-and-student
written models
• various types of templates
or frames
(ex: Painted Essay)
Personal notes taken on a given template for each stage of the life cycle. Notes will be taken from the public notes, posters, books from around the room.
Painted Essay-
Template with focus given. Students will fill in the stages of the life cycle.
The chicken’s life cycle begins _______ hatches into ___________ and ends _______________.
The chicken’s life cycle begins (as an egg) hatches into (a chick) and ends (as an adult).
5 finger paragraph as a group for egg stage.
5 finger paragraph in a small group for chick stage. (class discussion/make revisions).
Try a 5 finger paragraph independently (partner share, class share/make revisions).
For the conclusion we will brainstorm possible ideas and students can choose which one they would like to use.
Writing / Revising
How will students draft / revise so that their final writing is clearly focused,
organized, and developed to show understanding of the central ideas?
• group write, fully or in
part
• write section at a time
• write full piece
independently
• revise /share full group
• revise /share partners
• proofreading in partners
• proofread w/tubaloos
This will be a group project so there will be a class model to work from. As students conference for the last two proof paragraphs they will peer revise their work and revise their work when we have a class discussion. The conclusion will be pulled from public notes.
Lesson Sequence
What steps will I follow so that students are able to effectively
show their understanding in writing?
Day 1
1. Introduce that we will write report about the life cycle of a chicken. We will revisit the parts (structure) of a report. (I will take notes according to the colors of the painted essay.)
2. Ask the focus question. Have students brainstorm ideas about the life cycle of
a chicken. As students are sharing ideas I will write them down for class notes.
3. Provide students will a template with the focus provided with blank spaces.
4. Have students fill in the blanks. We will then share out what students wrote. We will have a class discussion and come to an agreement as to how the blanks need to be filled in. Students will revise/edit their template.
Day 2 (During each day students can use the notes they took to help them join in on the discussion.)
1. Revisit the focus statement. Discuss what comes next in a report. (Proof paragraphs that support the focus)
2. Revisit what a 5 finger paragraph is. Begin the first proof paragraph about the egg stage. Have students share what they think the focus is for this paragraph. Jot down thoughts. As a class choose one of the thoughts and write it down. As a class use information from their notes to write 3 sentences about the egg stage. Brainstorm thoughts for the wrap up sentence about the egg stage.
3. Students copy 5 finger paragraph onto their template.
Day 3
1. Review what has been written so far.
2. Brainstorm ideas for focus sentence for the chick stage. Choose one with the class to use.
3. Work with a partner to write 3 sentences about the chick stage and a wrap up sentence (using their notes).
4. Share out proof paragraphs.
5 Make revisions if needed.
Day 4
1. Review what has been written so far.
2. Discuss the adult stage.
3. Have students write this paragraph independently using their notes.
4. Share out proof paragraph.
5. Make revisions if needed. (Make sure students used the 5 finger paragraph structure.)
Day 5
1. Review what has been written so far.
2. Discuss what a conclusion is.
3. Brainstorm possible conclusions that restate the focus. I will write their thoughts down for all to see.
4. Have students choose one from the list and write it on their template.
Day 6
1. Partner students to read their reports. Have students peer edit for conventions and to make sure what they have written makes sense. Make revisions if needed.
Assessment: How are students doing? What are my next steps as a teacher?
Collect reports and score them according to the state’s benchmarks.
Next Steps: Gradual Release of Responsibility
Repeat with other animal life cycles. Have students write a report independently choosing their own animal.
About VWC
The Vermont Writing Collaborative is a group of teachers in Vermont (and elsewhere!) whose mission is to help all students, K - 12, write thoughtfully and effectively.
The five founding members are: Jane Miller of Burlington, Karen Kurzman of Derby Line, Eloise Ginty of Thetford, Joey Hawkins of Strafford, and Diana Leddy of Strafford. Among us, we have over 130 years of public school teaching experience at all grade levels.
In the fall of 2008, we published a book through Authentic Education (with a foreword by Grant Wiggins) called Writing for Understanding:Using Backward Design to Help All Students Write Effectively.
Since then, we have offered courses and workshops in the principles of Writing for Understanding around Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and elsewhere.
The five founding members are: Jane Miller of Burlington, Karen Kurzman of Derby Line, Eloise Ginty of Thetford, Joey Hawkins of Strafford, and Diana Leddy of Strafford. Among us, we have over 130 years of public school teaching experience at all grade levels.
In the fall of 2008, we published a book through Authentic Education (with a foreword by Grant Wiggins) called Writing for Understanding:Using Backward Design to Help All Students Write Effectively.
Since then, we have offered courses and workshops in the principles of Writing for Understanding around Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and elsewhere.
Welcome, VWC members!
June, 2011 - what a grand Summer Institute! We held four different strands, and had the honor of working with both old friends and new ones. It was a joy!
Teachers are working on a whole new batch of Writing for Understanding sequences, and those will begin appearing here. If you're a course participant, thanks for posting and giving your thoughtful feedback.
If you're a VWC follower, your feedback is most welcome as well!
Teachers are working on a whole new batch of Writing for Understanding sequences, and those will begin appearing here. If you're a course participant, thanks for posting and giving your thoughtful feedback.
If you're a VWC follower, your feedback is most welcome as well!
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Hi Kirsten, I realize the challenge involved in the integration of science/content areas and writing in a second grade classroom. Seeing my level of instruction involves 4th and 5th graders, my comments may be coming from an abstract point of view. The first piece of your study that struck me, was the fact you are clearly integrating writing in the content area. We need more of that. Secondly, the template provided to insure success for all student is carefully planned; in that, your student will be guided to respond to the information that is the intent of the lesson. It seems that you have provided them with structure, information and check-in point along the way to ensure success, and to give you the information you need on each child's performance/understand of the information you need them to master.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirstin,
ReplyDeleteI always love reading lesson plans and getting ideas from early elementary because my (high school) students are learning a new language and share many characteristics and learning challenges with little kiddos. Your lesson plan seems very clear and concrete and designed in such a way to help all students succeed. I really like how the 3 life stages fit into 3 body paragraphs and the three-step release of responsibility (write as a group, in small groups, individually). I wonder if having an acutal template to write on (complete with boxes for illustrations?) would be helpful for some of the less confidente writers? I also thought maybe having visual notes (images)would be helpful. (Maybe your second graders don't need that??? - I wouldn't know!)