THIS LESSON NEEDS GRADED

Writing Lesson Plan

Reading, Writing, and Oral Language
2007 ACEI Standards
READINESS
I.
Goals/Objectives/Standards
A. Goal- Students will practice classification in writing by learning to determine rich
word choice
B. Objectives- Students will be able to use rich word choice in their writing, and
determine which words could be richer in a peers writing.
C. Standards
State Standards:
5.W.4 Apply the writing process to
- Generate a draft by developing, selecting and organizing ideas relevant to topic,
purpose, and genre; revise to improve writing, using appropriate reference
materials (e.g., quality of ideas, organization, -5.RL.4.2 Compare and contrast
stories in the same genre on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
5.RV.2.2 Identify relationships among words, including multiple meanings, synonyms
and antonyms, homographs, metaphors, similes, and analogies. Sentence fluency,
word choice); and edit writing for format and standard English conventions.
II.

Materials
- Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle & Glenn Murray
- Prompt sheet
- Writers notebook
- Whiteboard

III.

Management
a. Time
- Anticipatory Set/Introduction/Mini-lesson: 10-12 minutes
- Writing: 25 minutes
- Partner Reading: 10 minutes
- Closure/Conclusion: 5-7 minutes
b. Space
- Students will be seated at their desks to write
- Students may move anywhere around the room with the partner of their choice
during partner reading
- Students will move back to their desks during sharing and closure
c. Students
- Student behavior will be managed during writing by me
- I will monitor behavior as they work independently and redirecting when
necessary
- There is a positive reinforcement system that I implemented for positive
behavior; students receive Jolly Ranchers at the end of the lesson if they have
good behavior (which I defined on a poster)

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

IV.
Adaptation to Diverse Students- I have given students choice in this writing activity so
that they can choose to write the type of piece they feel the most comfortable with.
They will be able to show their knowledge much better with this element of choice.
Writing is very individualized, so students are expected to only write to their ability. I
will also be circulating, questioning, and conferencing with students during the entire
writing block. I will be able to assist, correct, and encourage struggling learners.
V.
Lesson Presentation

Included variety of teaching strategies that encourage elementary students

development of critical thinking and problem solving
o Anticipatory Set
- Have the following words/phrases already on the whiteboard. Have students
help you decide at least two richer words that mean the same thing.
a. Sad (depressed, gloomy, down)
b. Mad (angry, exasperated, frustrated)
c. He/she/I said(he explained, she blurted, I insisted)
d. I like(I enjoy, Im a fan of, _____ makes me smile)
e. Happy (cheerful, joyful, ecstatic)
- (In an exasperated, hurried voice) I need your help. The 5 words or phrases
that are written on the board need changed. These words make writing
boring and unoriginal. Can you please help me think of words or phrases that
I could use instead?
- Students will raise their hands. Try to get 3-4 replacement words
o

Purpose statement: Using rich words makes your writing interesting and makes it
stand out from other writing. Learning to use a varied word choice in your writing
is important because you will be writing for the rest of your life, and you do not
want your writing to be boring, do you? (playfully)

Mini-Lesson
- Share the first 5 pages of Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle &
Glenn Murray
- Pay attention to the words the authors chose to use in this book. How do they
make the story better?
- Student response is a quick, informal assessment of their learning.
- Today, you are going to draft some writing. You will choose one of the three
prompts. I want you to make sure that you use rich word choice in your
writing. You are going to spend 25 minutes writing, so I want you to really
think about it, and take some time to pre-write before you start drafting. You
can even use figurative language, like similes and metaphors, to improve
your word choice!
- Pass out prompts
- So, go ahead and pick up one of the papers that I just passed out. I want you
to choose just one prompt to write. After our 25 minutes is up, you are going
to get with a partner and read each others writing. You are going to help
your partner find words or phrases that could be better.
- You can now begin choosing a prompt and writing.
Writing
- Students will choose from 1 of three provided prompts (attached)
- They will record their writing in their writing journal
- Students will be writing for 25 minutes
- While students write, I will circulate the room to assist, correct, and
encourage students. I will try to conference students if I notice that they are
having difficulty writing. I will guide them and help them brainstorm
- I will give a 5 minute warning and a 1 minute warning
Sharing (whole group)
- At the end of the writing block, I will choose one table to share. In my
classroom, there would be a rotation for sharing. One table would share each
day
- Students will first take about 10 minutes to read each others work, and help
each other find better word choices.
- The green table is sharing today.

Since they have been reading each others work, the green table will share
with the whole class one really great word/phrase choice that they read in
their partners writing
This serves as the closure for the writing block as well

VI.

Check for understanding

My primary time of checking for understanding is during my circulation time and
student writing time. During my observation, conversations, and conferences with
individuals, I can gage their understanding of word choice. I will also assess them when
a few of them share aloud their partners outstanding word choices. As a formal
assessment, I will read their writing journal and communicate with them by writing
them a short note about what was done well and what could be worked on.

VII.

Review learning outcomes/Closure

- Your writing time is up! Now, like I said earlier, I want you to find a partner.
You will be reading each others writing. I want each of you to find
outstanding word choices and highlight or underline them. I also want you to
make some suggestions for improving word choice.
- So, take 10 minutes to do this. Start now!
- Let students collaborate. Manage the noise level. Make sure students are
staying on task by circulating and guiding when necessary. Make sure to give
a 5 minute and 1 minute warning.
- Okay, wrap it up, people! Now, I want everyone to return to their seats.
- Wait for everyone to get seated
- Now, I would like everyone at the green table to share one outstanding word
choice your partner made.
- Each student will share a brief example of word choice.
- Thanks for sharing, guys. Those were great examples! I love hearing all of
your rich words.
- As you can see, using rich word choice makes writing so much more
interesting to read. Thinking about word choice also helps you put some
creativity and individuality into your writing. Now I want you to put all of your
notebooks on the back table, like always, so that I can read your writing. Im
very excited! Then take your seat again, and we will transition into our next
activity.

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

I plan to assess knowledge primarily during writing time. I will circulate around the room and
observe and conference with students to gage their understanding of word choice. I anticipate
most students to take this idea and run with it because it allows them to be creative, and I have
many creative students. As a formal assessment, I will read each students writing and write a
brief note to highlight word choice and also to make some suggestions. This feedback will be
given to the student when they get their journals back tomorrow.
REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS
1.
How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why
not?
2.
What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3.
How should I alter this lesson?
4.
How would I pace it differently?
5.
Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6.
What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
a.
Blooms Taxonomy
b.
Gardners Multiple Intelligences
7. Did students enjoy the lesson?
8. Did they give each other good feedback?

9. What can improve?