STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Teacher: Mandi Marcantonio

2014

Date:

School:
Lesher IB Middle School Grade Level : 7
Communicating

Content Area: Reading, Writing, and

Title: Planning for Expository Writing

Content Standard(s) addressed by this lesson:

standard)

4 Dec.

Lesson #:__ of __

(Write Content Standards directly from the

o Standard: 3. Writing and Composition

o Standard: 4. Research and Reasoning
Understandings: (Big Ideas)
o Use graphical organizers and other online tools to organize and
analyze data.
o Components of a comparative analysis
o Components of an introduction, body paragraphs, transitions and conclusions
Inquiry Questions: (Essential questions relating knowledge at end of the unit of instruction,
select applicable questions from standard)
o

How does creating a coherent plan affect the outcome of the final piece of writing?

Evidence Outcomes: (Learning Targets)

Every student will be able to:
o Produce a formal outline for an expository piece of writing
o Form a working argument for a comparative analysis
I can:
o Write a thesis statement
o I can write a hook
o I can write transitions
o I can use textual evidence to support my opinions
This means: I will be able to affectively use this style of writing in future academic settings
List of Assessments: (Write the number of the learning target associated with each
assessment)
The assessment includes Standard 3 Writing and Composition (2)

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Planned Lesson Activities

Name and Purpose of Lesson
Should be a creative title for you and the
students to associate with the activity. Think of
the purpose as the mini-rationale for what you
are trying to accomplish through this lesson.

Planning for Expository Writing

Approx. Time and Materials

How long do you expect the activity to last and
what materials will you need?

65 minutes
Materials:
o Roll of Thunder text
o Students companion novel
o Expository pillar outline class copies
o Lesson PPT
Hook: Show some funny pictures related to planning; who plans and who
doesnt plan???

Anticipatory Set
The hook to grab students attention. These
are actions and statements by the teacher to
relate the experiences of the students to the
objectives of the lesson, To put students into a
receptive frame of mind.
To focus student attention on the lesson.
To create an organizing framework for
the ideas, principles, or information that
is to follow (advanced organizers)
An anticipatory set is used any time a different
activity or new concept is to be introduced.

The purpose of this lesson is to revisit expository writing and take it a step further
by introducing the sophisticated form of writing a Comparative Analysis. Students
will learn how to construct a well-organized outline that will help them gather
textual evidence and help them support their arguments.

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Procedures
(Include a play-by-play account of what students
and teacher will do from the minute they arrive
to the minute they leave your classroom.
Indicate the length of each segment of the
lesson. List actual minutes.)
Indicate whether each is:
-teacher input
-modeling
-questioning strategies
-guided/unguided:
-whole-class practice
-group practice
-individual practice
-check for understanding
-other

1. Opening/ Housekeeping: Agenda, attendance and the background

information chart for the two books they read.
2. Hook: Show a video clip or humorous picture that shows why it is important
to make a plan before you do something.
3. Hook: Who likes to make plans when writing, and who just likes to go
without. (And why)
4. Hook: With what types of writing outlines are you familiar? After they
discuss, tell them that we will be using the expository pillar this year for all of
their expository writing.
5. Teacher Input: Encourage them to use a plan--- especially in expository
writing-- so that they have a direction. They can deviate as they go!
6. Teacher Input/Modeling: Show the writing task: Which novel, Roll of Thunder,
Hear my Cry or your companion novel, proves to be more important to our
society? Use clear paragraphs, comparative examples from the texts, and direct
quote citations to prove your point. Discuss how this is considered to be a very
sophisticated form of expository writing called a "comparative analysis." Discuss
why they foresee this type of writing to be challenging.
7. Teacher Input/Individual Practice: Begin the outlining process on the
expository pillar. (attachment) I recommend first teaching the thesis, giving
them a certain amount of time to fill in the introduction box, then taking a brain
break. Then teaching the body and how there needs to be direct examples with
page numbers in the body. They will already have brainstormed ideas with me,

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

so they should already be on track. Then another brain break... Finishing off class
with the conclusion.
8. Check for Understanding: By the end of class, they should have an ENTIRE
outline completed. :)

Closure
Those actions or statements by a teacher that
o Informal check in
are designed to bring a lesson presentation to an
o Sharing of their outlines/ideas
appropriate conclusion. Used to help students
o Sharing the comparative textual evidence
bring things together in their own minds, to
make sense out of what has just been taught.
Any Questions? No. OK, lets move on is not
closure. Closure is used:
To cue students to the fact that they
have arrived at an important point in the
lesson or the end of a lesson.
To help organize student learning
To help form a coherent picture and to
consolidate.
Differentiation
The choice of novel they are discussing, the fact that they could go with strict
To modify: If the activity is too advanced for a
structure of the pillars but they could deviate from that if they felt comfortable,
child, how will you modify it so that they can be
they could also compare multiple texts instead of just the assigned two.
successful?
To extend: If the activity is too easy for a child,
how will you extend it to develop their emerging
skills?

Colorado State University College of Applied Human Sciences

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Assessment
How will you know if students met the learning
targets? Write a description of what you were
looking for in each assessment.

I will know if students met the learning targets based on frequent informal checkins, and eventually the accuracy of their completed outline before we begin
drafting the comparative analyses.

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STEPP Lesson Plan Form

Post Lesson Reflection

1. To what extent were lesson objectives achieved? (Utilize assessment data to justify
your level of achievement)
I feel like my lesson objectives we achieved because students had enough of an
understanding of the components of a comparative analyses by the end of class to take
their outlines home and finish them. They were given in class time to complete a couple
parts of their outlines so they would have something to reference when they finished
them at home. I walked around several times and conferenced with students about any
areas they were struggling with or had issues forming, and I based their progress off of
their completion of their outlines.
2. What changes, omissions, or additions to the lesson would you make if you were to
teach again?
The only change I would make to the lesson would be to be well read about the
texts the students were reading because it was difficult for me to help them compare
two books I have only a basic understanding of myself. The other thing I would change
would be I would maybe have the students do a Venn Diagram to help them better
compare the two books, which would help them decide the specific things they want to
compare before even getting the outline.
3. What do you envision for the next lesson? (Continued practice, reteach content, etc.)
For the next lesson I envision checking in with students on their outlining progress, and
moving forward in the drafting process. While we draft, I want to continue to develop and
enhance areas such as their hooks, thesis statements, transitions, and textual evidence that
accurately supports their opinions. Since this is such a sophisticated type of writing, and
they will be composing comparative analyses for the entirety of their academic career,
those are the components I feel that are necessary to focus on and really understand.

Colorado State University College of Applied Human Sciences

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