Literacy: The Revised plan
Mr. Hickock's 6th Grade Adaptation
Goals/Objectives
Develop an ability to use writing process in constructing a narrative, focusing on plot and characters.
Standards
E06.C.1.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Materials and Preparation
Student Graphic Organizers
1. In their Social Studies lesson, students looked at curated Primary Source documents (edited excerpts from John P. Parker, William Still, and Frederick Douglass) and a secondary source from the National Park Service. There were other secondary sources available (a Harriet Tubman biography and North Star to Freedom), but the students did not refer to them during the Social Studies lesson. They filled out graphic organizers with facts from at least one Primary Source and one Secondary Source.
2. Character/Plot Charts
Graphic organizers to help students think about their characters and/or plot.
3. Notebook Paper
Classroom Arrangement and management issues
There are twelve students, working in pairs. Their desks are in pairs, and they can position themselves. I will circulate during the individual work time, answering individual questions and assessing progress.
Plan
Hook- 8 minutes
1. Discuss student's favorite TV Shows/Movies (Why do they like them?) - 5 minutes
2. Split into groups. - 2 minutes
3. Re-introduce the "assignment." (It was introduced during the Social Studies lesson) - 2 minutes
Body- 25 minutes
4. Students develop characters and plot - 10 minutes
5. Students try and write a script - 15 minutes
Closure- 7 minutes
How did the plays go? - 5 minutes
Collect materials - 2 minutes
Anticipating Student Responses
Not using an example they can put wholesale in their product.
"I can't think of anything!"
-Base it on a real person to start
-Refer to your notes
Assessment
Assessment will take three forms: monitoring progress, note folders collected at the end, and the plays.
Accommodations
If a student finishes early, they can develop more characters or a more intricate plot.
If a student is struggling, suggestions and/or questions may be given by the teacher to facilitate thinking. Though there is no specific page requirement, I will accept less work from those that are studying.
Ms. Wraith's 4th Grade Adaptation
What
Students have been learning about different genres of writing and the process of writing through reading diverse texts and picking them apart. They are currently in a poetry unit and trying their hand at the poetry writing process. In this lesson, they will learn about writing a play, a genre they have recently covered in The Baker’s Neighbor. They will develop their own skills both in generating ideas and in beginning to think about editing/ drafting. The goal is that students will increase their understanding of how writing takes place by trying to do it together in a low-pressure environment.
How
Students will be able to access the lesson through an example text they know well, The Baker’s Neighbor, and a group approach to writing their own brainstorm pieces: character sketches and a plot outline. In working in a group, I hope to allow students who might otherwise struggle with feeling empowered to generate ideas to build upon the ideas of more eager participants. I hope also that more eager participants will benefit from the editing eye of more hesitant writers. In using a group write, I hope students will find their own access point to the lesson and feel empowered in their own strengths.
Why
I have been heavily influenced in this lesson by the ideas of Carol Dweck on teaching students to invest in a “growth mindset.” I have chosen a group write of a single drafting stage so that students might see that no writer sits down and produces a final product the first time. I hope students will leave the lesson with a more solid understanding of how much work goes into writing even short and simple narratives. Additionally, I chose the genre of a play because they are familiar with a specific play, a play has distinct characters, and it might be a more novel genre than a simple story. I have chosen to use a small group and shared writing to alleviate the stress of producing a product by oneself and to encourage students to stimulate each other’s creativity.
Goals/Objectives
Develop an ability to use writing process in constructing a narrative, focusing on plot and characters.
Standards
E04.C.1.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Materials and Preparation
Sample character sketches and plot outline by Ms. Wraith from Baker’s Neighbor
Paper and pencils
Classroom Arrangement and management issues
4-5 students at a desk group during “center” time, while all desk groups are doing some project within their own groups. Students are generally used to sitting and working together, and they are also used to small group work with Ms. Wraith during center time. All class rules apply as usual.
Plan
Hook- 5-10 minutes
1. Review recently read text, The Baker’s Neighbor, a play.
What does the play tell us? Who are the characters, and how do we know character traits? What is the plot in less than 2 sentences?
2. Present teacher’s sample character sketches and plot outline.
Body- 25-30 minutes
Group write of plot outline and 3 character sketches.
3. 2 minutes for each student to come up with a broad topic to present to the other students.
4. 2-3 minutes for group to decide on one of the proposed topics.
5. 10-15 minutes group write of 3 characters. Teacher will write, but ideas will be mostly or entirely student generated.
What role do characters play in plot?
6. 5-10 minutes of group write of basic, short plot in same fashion.
What makes a plot a story? What is the problem? What might be some resolutions?
Closure- 5 minutes
Read our character sketches and plot out loud together to check for coherence and understanding. Each student will offer their favorite thing and one thing they might change.
What did we create? Does it make sense? How might you change it next time?
Anticipating Student Responses
"I can't think of anything!" and other off task behaviors
-mitigated by group’s cooperation
-desk groups are chosen to help each other
-base characters off real people
-motivation of giving product to 6th graders
Assessment
Assessment will take three forms: discussion, final product, and “closure” responses.
Accommodations
Each student will receive different support both from classmates and teacher based upon their ability to generate new ideas. Group dynamic will allow students to participate to own abilities and will give them the opportunity to self-direct their level of challenge. Can create more or fewer characters or plot elements.
Goals/Objectives
Develop an ability to use writing process in constructing a narrative, focusing on plot and characters.
Standards
E06.C.1.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Materials and Preparation
Student Graphic Organizers
1. In their Social Studies lesson, students looked at curated Primary Source documents (edited excerpts from John P. Parker, William Still, and Frederick Douglass) and a secondary source from the National Park Service. There were other secondary sources available (a Harriet Tubman biography and North Star to Freedom), but the students did not refer to them during the Social Studies lesson. They filled out graphic organizers with facts from at least one Primary Source and one Secondary Source.
2. Character/Plot Charts
Graphic organizers to help students think about their characters and/or plot.
3. Notebook Paper
Classroom Arrangement and management issues
There are twelve students, working in pairs. Their desks are in pairs, and they can position themselves. I will circulate during the individual work time, answering individual questions and assessing progress.
Plan
Hook- 8 minutes
1. Discuss student's favorite TV Shows/Movies (Why do they like them?) - 5 minutes
2. Split into groups. - 2 minutes
3. Re-introduce the "assignment." (It was introduced during the Social Studies lesson) - 2 minutes
Body- 25 minutes
4. Students develop characters and plot - 10 minutes
5. Students try and write a script - 15 minutes
Closure- 7 minutes
How did the plays go? - 5 minutes
Collect materials - 2 minutes
Anticipating Student Responses
Not using an example they can put wholesale in their product.
"I can't think of anything!"
-Base it on a real person to start
-Refer to your notes
Assessment
Assessment will take three forms: monitoring progress, note folders collected at the end, and the plays.
Accommodations
If a student finishes early, they can develop more characters or a more intricate plot.
If a student is struggling, suggestions and/or questions may be given by the teacher to facilitate thinking. Though there is no specific page requirement, I will accept less work from those that are studying.
Ms. Wraith's 4th Grade Adaptation
What
Students have been learning about different genres of writing and the process of writing through reading diverse texts and picking them apart. They are currently in a poetry unit and trying their hand at the poetry writing process. In this lesson, they will learn about writing a play, a genre they have recently covered in The Baker’s Neighbor. They will develop their own skills both in generating ideas and in beginning to think about editing/ drafting. The goal is that students will increase their understanding of how writing takes place by trying to do it together in a low-pressure environment.
How
Students will be able to access the lesson through an example text they know well, The Baker’s Neighbor, and a group approach to writing their own brainstorm pieces: character sketches and a plot outline. In working in a group, I hope to allow students who might otherwise struggle with feeling empowered to generate ideas to build upon the ideas of more eager participants. I hope also that more eager participants will benefit from the editing eye of more hesitant writers. In using a group write, I hope students will find their own access point to the lesson and feel empowered in their own strengths.
Why
I have been heavily influenced in this lesson by the ideas of Carol Dweck on teaching students to invest in a “growth mindset.” I have chosen a group write of a single drafting stage so that students might see that no writer sits down and produces a final product the first time. I hope students will leave the lesson with a more solid understanding of how much work goes into writing even short and simple narratives. Additionally, I chose the genre of a play because they are familiar with a specific play, a play has distinct characters, and it might be a more novel genre than a simple story. I have chosen to use a small group and shared writing to alleviate the stress of producing a product by oneself and to encourage students to stimulate each other’s creativity.
Goals/Objectives
Develop an ability to use writing process in constructing a narrative, focusing on plot and characters.
Standards
E04.C.1.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Materials and Preparation
Sample character sketches and plot outline by Ms. Wraith from Baker’s Neighbor
Paper and pencils
Classroom Arrangement and management issues
4-5 students at a desk group during “center” time, while all desk groups are doing some project within their own groups. Students are generally used to sitting and working together, and they are also used to small group work with Ms. Wraith during center time. All class rules apply as usual.
Plan
Hook- 5-10 minutes
1. Review recently read text, The Baker’s Neighbor, a play.
What does the play tell us? Who are the characters, and how do we know character traits? What is the plot in less than 2 sentences?
2. Present teacher’s sample character sketches and plot outline.
Body- 25-30 minutes
Group write of plot outline and 3 character sketches.
3. 2 minutes for each student to come up with a broad topic to present to the other students.
4. 2-3 minutes for group to decide on one of the proposed topics.
5. 10-15 minutes group write of 3 characters. Teacher will write, but ideas will be mostly or entirely student generated.
What role do characters play in plot?
6. 5-10 minutes of group write of basic, short plot in same fashion.
What makes a plot a story? What is the problem? What might be some resolutions?
Closure- 5 minutes
Read our character sketches and plot out loud together to check for coherence and understanding. Each student will offer their favorite thing and one thing they might change.
What did we create? Does it make sense? How might you change it next time?
Anticipating Student Responses
"I can't think of anything!" and other off task behaviors
-mitigated by group’s cooperation
-desk groups are chosen to help each other
-base characters off real people
-motivation of giving product to 6th graders
Assessment
Assessment will take three forms: discussion, final product, and “closure” responses.
Accommodations
Each student will receive different support both from classmates and teacher based upon their ability to generate new ideas. Group dynamic will allow students to participate to own abilities and will give them the opportunity to self-direct their level of challenge. Can create more or fewer characters or plot elements.