Module 17 Discussion: Select a Writing Approach

90-minute literacy block for grade 1

• Student Engagement (10 Minutes) - Read a short non-fiction book on birds.  Pay close attention to the pictures of birds, and encourage students to describe the different types of birds and what they look like.

• Mini-lesson (20 minutes) - Teach students about adjectives, and find different examples of adjectives in the book previously read.  Go outside to observe birds, or watch a video about birds in the wild if going outside is not possible.  Instruct the students to make a list of adjectives to describe the birds seen outside or in the video.

• Check-in (10 minutes) - Circle around the class to check on progress.  Offer advice, ask questions, and clear up misconceptions when necessary.

• Independent Writing and Conferring (30 minutes) - Pull students into small groups based on the informal assessment during “Check-in”.  Review lists and draw pictures of birds described by the various student’s lists.  

• Peer Coaching (10 minutes) - Have students pair up and review lists.  Encourage students to read their lists aloud to each other.

• Publishing Celebration (10 minutes) - Instruct students to return to their seats and ask for volunteers to share their lists.
  
  

90-minute literacy block for grade 3

• Student Engagement (10 Minutes) - Play a short instructional video on the “Paragraph Hamburger Structure”

• Mini-lesson (20 minutes) - Whole group instruction on the structure of a paragraph and compare the structure to that of a hamburger.  Provide students with a graphic organizer that illustrates this concept.  Also, provide students with a well written paragraph and break it apart into the different components as a group.  Then, instruct the students to write a paragraph on a topic that they have been learning about in Social Studies using the Hamburger graphic organizer.

• Check-in (10 minutes) - Circle around the class to check on progress.  Offer advice, ask questions, and clear up misconceptions when necessary.

• Independent Writing and Conferring (30 minutes) - Pull students into small groups based on the informal assessment during “Check-in”.  Review Hamburger graphic organizer and make adjustments as necessary.

• Peer Coaching (10 minutes) - Have students pair up and review graphic organizers.  Encourage students to read their lists aloud to each other.

• Publishing Celebration (10 minutes) - instruct students to return to their seats and ask for volunteers to share their completed paragraphs.
  
  

60-minute literacy block for grade 6

• Mini-lesson (15 minutes) - Whole group instruction on theme.  Provide students with a copy of Aesop's fable titled “The Fox and the Hound”.  Also, provide students with a graphic organizer and instruct them to complete the graphic organizer after reading the fable together.

• Check-in (5 minutes) - Circle around the class to check on progress.  Offer advice, ask questions, and clear up misconceptions when necessary.

• Independent Writing and Conferring (30 minutes) - Instruct students to write their own fable based on a theme that they choose.  Students will pull from a variety of themes written on slips of paper placed in a bucket.

• Peer Coaching (10 minutes) - Have students pair up and encourage students to read their fables aloud to each other.

60-minute literacy block for grade 9

• Mini-lesson (15 minutes) - Whole group instruction on predicting, inferring, and summarizing focused on the question “Why is it important to pause during reading to make sure that we comprehend what we are reading?’..  Provide students with a copy of a class novel that has been chosen to be read together.  Also, provide students with a KWL graphic organizer and instruct them to complete the graphic organizer as we read the novel together.

• Check-in (5 minutes) - Circle around the class to check on progress.  Offer advice, ask questions, and clear up misconceptions when necessary.

• Independent Writing and Conferring (30 minutes) - Instruct students to write their own ending for the story.  Ask them to predict what will happen next, and provide an alternate ending to the novel being read in class.

• Peer Coaching (10 minutes) - Have students pair up and encourage students to read their alternate endings aloud to each other.

30-minute writing class for grade 11

• Day 1

  • Mini-lesson (10 minutes) - Whole group instruction on creative writing in response to a historical event..  Provide students with a photograph from a historical event recently learned about in Social Studies.  Instruct them to create an outline of a historical fiction story based on the photograph.

  • Check-in (5 minutes) - Circle around the class to check on progress.  Offer advice, ask questions, and clear up misconceptions when necessary.

  • Independent Writing and Conferring (15 minutes) - Pull students into small groups based on the informal assessment during “Check-in”.  Review the student’s outlines, and begin to write a rough draft of the historical fiction short story.

  • Peer Coaching (10 minutes) - Have students pair up and encourage students to read their alternate endings aloud to each other.

• Day 2

  • Mini-lesson (15 minutes) - Whole group instruction on creative writing in response to a historical event.  Review the aspects of creating suspense and engagement in a story including writing an effective lead, creating detailed characters, rising action, and a conclusion.

  • Check-in (5 minutes) - Circle around the class to check on progress.  Offer advice, ask questions, and clear up misconceptions when necessary.

  • Independent Writing and Conferring (30 minutes) - Pull students into small groups based on the informal assessment during “Check-in”.  Review the student’s rough drafts, and begin to write a rough draft of the historical fiction short story.

  • Peer Coaching (10 minutes) - Have students pair up and encourage students to read their alternate endings aloud to each other.