Mary Beth Lynn EPS 541 Winter 2013 Planning Paper

I.

Content Knowledge The focus for my Winter 2013 planning paper was the Extended Response

essay, because it was an area my eighth grade students struggled with on ISAT in the previous years, so I thought it would be beneficial to map out what they needed instructionally in order to be successful on this portion of the state test. Additionally, with writing being an area I thoroughly enjoy teaching, I also thought it would be useful to perfect my skills as an educator in relation to something I appreciate and want to improve upon.

Planning Paper 2 Standard 1.8.19 required students to draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations and support with textual evidence and prior knowledge. The focus question for the unit was, What do my students need to be able to do well in order to write an extended response essay? In terms of the standard as it related to the test, it specifically required students to read a passage and answer a question in essay form by drawing out explicit evidence from the text, as well as activating background knowledge on the topic, in order to support their reasoning. An example ISAT extended response question asked students to read a passage about Chick Evans, a golfer from Chicago who established the Evans Scholarship, and then write an extended response essay based on the following prompt: Why was Chick Evans life interesting and noteworthy? In order to do this, students clearly needed a foundational skill level in regards to writing, which has not typically been tested on ISAT, and therefore not focused on in the eighth grade curriculum. Therefore, in planning this unit, I started with the big ideas and then mapped out the curriculum to make sure I focused on all of the critical aspects of extended response essays, which also transferred well to formal essay writing. As displayed on the concept-map, extended response essays are heavily dependent on comprehensive writing skills, such as the components of an essay, including the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, as well as transitions between thoughts and proper grammatical structure. In addition, the standard relied on the students ability to support answers with text evidence and background knowledge, which was typically a very challenging skill for my students. Therefore, in order to make sure the students grasped the content, I knew it would all need to be explicitly taught.

Planning Paper 3 II. Student Knowledge Writing skills had never been tested and thus were not specifically focused on in the annual eighth grade curriculum. Needless to say, my students were not proficient writers. They knew nothing about the components of an essays, punctuation, or grammar, and hence were unable to form a cohesive thought process, more less a paper using text evidence. They also struggled immensely with supporting their reasoning while utilizing their own background knowledge and evidence from the text, which was what the standard required, so they essentially had to start from the basics and work their way through the writing process. When prompted to explain the process of formal essay writing, my students did not know which point-of-view the paper was to be written in or when to use a comma versus a semi-colon. Overall, their metacognitive awareness in regards to writing was virtually unknown. They werent tested on it, so they didnt learn it To me, this was a deficiency on the part of the education system, because todays students must know how to write. Therefore, in planning the unit, I felt it was important to define various learning objectives for my students, including the following: Students will be able to write a well-developed and cohesive formal essay. Students will be able to identify the components of a formal essay. Students will be able to utilize text evidence and background knowledge to support reasoning. Students will be able to write complete sentences with subject and verb agreement.

Planning Paper 4 Students will be able to utilize punctuation and capitalization rules when composing sentences. III. Instructional Knowledge Research states that 40+ minutes of instruction per day should be devoted to planning, revising, and writing. Based on the fact that writing isnt tested on state tests, it is evident that 40+ minutes of instruction is not occurring, even in schools where writing is a core subject. Additionally, because best practices state that written expression should not be taught in isolation, I chose to teach the unit inclusively, focusing on writing instruction, grammar, and writing mechanics at the same time. In order to do this, I did a lot of modeling while teaching, because my students tend to learn best when they actually see how a thought-process should look. For example, I worked through the entire planning, drafting, and writing process of an extended response essay on the Elmo, so my students could visually see how and why I made the choices I did when composing a paper. It was beneficial for them to hear my thought-process and see how I brought in various elements, such as text evidence and connections. I also showed my students how I revised my paper, making sure I capitalized and punctuated everything appropriately. In order to assess my students, I gave them a timed extended response essay prompt to complete after reading a passage. I wanted to emulate the exact scenario they would experience on the day of ISAT testing and see how they would do given the expectations and pressure. Overall, they did well. It is clear that writing takes practice and patience, and given the opportunity and time, I think my students will succeed. Based on the pre and post writing assessments, their skills improved, and so did mine.

Planning Paper 5 I was able to think through the entire planning process for a unit and actually map it out in order to conceptualize and plan all aspects of the content. It helped me to be a more involved in the overall unit, as well as the specific lesson focuses.