InstructionalLessonPlan

EnglishLanguageArts
Grade:6

JulieKimballandNatashaWright
UnitTitle:FacingFear
Lesson:Writinganinformativeessay

LessonOverview
StudentshavereadTheRavineandcompletedaclosereadofthestoryfocusingonmakinginferences
aboutcharacters.StudentsalsocreatedaVenndiagramcomparingandcontrastingVinnyand
JoeBoy,thetwomaincharactersinthestory.Inthislesson,studentswillwriteaclearand
wellorganizedinformativeessaycomparingandcontrastingtwocharactersfromTheRavine.
Overarchingidea
Studentswillexploredifferentaspectsoffacingfear.
UnitStandardsApplicabletoThisLesson/IntegrationofStandards
W2

Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideas,concepts,
andinformationthroughtheselection,organization,andanalysisofrelevant
content.
A. Introduceatopicorganizeideas,concepts,andinformation,usingstrategies
suchasdefinition,classification,comparison/contrast,andcause/effect
includeformatting(e.g.,headings),graphics(e.g.,charts,tables),and
multimediawhenusefultoaidingcomprehension.
B.
Developthetopicwithrelevantfacts,definitions,concretedetails,quotations,
orotherinformationandexamples.
C.
Useappropriatetransitionstoclarifytherelationshipsamongideasand
concepts.
D.
Usepreciselanguageanddomainspecificvocabularytoinformaboutor
explainthetopic.
E.
Establishandmaintainaformalstyle.
F.
Provideaconcludingstatementorsectionthatfollowsfromtheinformationor
explanationpresented.
W9Drawevidencefromliteraryorinformationaltextstosupportanalysis,reflection,
andresearch.
StudentOutcomes(ESKspecifictolesson)
Studentswillbeabletomakeinferencesaboutcharactersandcitetextualevidencetosupporttheir
ideas.
StudentswillbeabletousestandardwrittenEnglishtowriteaninformativeessaycomparingand
contrastingtwocharactersinTheRavine.
Resources/Materials/BalanceofTextType
TheRavineshortstoryinCollections

Collectionsperformancetask(inGoogleDrive)
Introductionchecklist/sentencestarters
Informativewritingrubric
Interactivewritinglessons(my.hrw.com)
Exitticket
PreAssessment
Thisisthefirstessaythatthestudentshavewritteninsixthgrade.Theirelementarywritingwas
focusedonopinionwriting.TeacherwillusetheGoogleDrivetomonitorprogressandguideinstruction.
Procedure:
Warmup:Studentswillreadastudentgeneratedparagraph.Withapartner,studentswillidentify
strengthsandweaknessesofthestudentwritingsample.Studentswillwritetheirideason
whiteboards.

Activities:

Followingthewarmup,studentswillbeseparatedintothreegroups:studentswhoarereadytowrite
theconclusiontotheiressay,studentswhoarestillwritingthebodyparagraphsoftheiressay,and
studentswhoarestrugglingwithwritingthisessay.

StudentswhoarereadytowritetheconclusiontotheiressaywillviewtheInteractiveWriting
Lessonaboutwritingaconclusionandthendrafttheconclusiontotheiressay.
Studentswhoareworkingonthebodyparagraphsoftheiressaywillcontinuetodrafttheir
essay.Somestudentswillbedirectedtocompletetheinteractivewritinglessononformalstyle
(Interactivewritinglessons:Writinginformativetexts:formalstyle).
StudentswhoarestrugglingwithwritingthisessaywillworkwithMs.Wright.Theywillhave
sentencestartersandawordbankasaresource.

StudentswhofinishdraftingtheiressaywillcompletetheLanguageConventionsactivityonpage16of
Collections(RecognizeVariationsfromStandardEnglish).

Closure:
Studentswillcompleteanexitticketreflectingontheirownprogressandneeds.
1.Whereareyouinthewritingprocess?
draftingthe
draftingthe
draftingthe
introduction
bodyparagraphs
conclusion
peerreview revising
2.Whathaveyoulearnedduringthiswritingperformancetask?
3.Whatdoyoufeelthatyouneedhelpwith?
SpecialEducationstudentsaccommodations/modifications
Studentswillbeprovidedwithawordbankand/orsentencestartersasneeded.

Period5:
EBscribe
UDLconsiderations(http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation/examples)

3.1/3..4AllstudentscreatedaVenndiagramtoorganizetheirideasonthetopicbeforebeginningthe
writingprocess.

5.2AllstudentshaveaccesstospellingandgrammarcheckwithinGoogleDocs.

9.3Studentswillthinkabouttheirownprogress,whattheyhavelearned,andwhattheystillneedhelp
withontheirexitticket.
TechnologyIntegration:
GoogleClassroom
GoogleDrive
GoogleDocs
my.hrw.comInteractiveWritingLessons(IntroductionsandConclusionsand/orFormalStyle)
Assessment
Studentswillturninanexitpassreflectingontheirownprogressandneedsrelatedtothiswriting
performancetask.TeacherisabletomonitorprogressthroughGoogleClassroomandGoogleDrive.
Homework
Studentsshouldfinishtheroughdraftoftheiressayforhomeworkandcometoclasspreparedtopeer
edit.StudentswhocompletethehomeworkwillreceiveoneRetrieverReward.