Concept Unit

Lesson Plan Template

Unit Working Title: Why Do I Care?
Unit Big Idea (Concept/Theme): Value Systems
Unit Primary Skill focus: Reflection
Week 3 of 3; Plan # 8 of 9; [90 mins.]
Plan type: Summary
Content Requirement Satisfied:
Unit Learning Objectives (numbered) [from my Backwards Design Unit Document],
followed by Specific lesson objectives (lettered) being taught in this lesson:
SWBAT:
Cognitive (know/understand):
Affective (feel/value) and/or Non-Cognitive:
Performance (do):
4. Students will be able to write a memoir that reflects their own value systems.
b. Students will know that memoirs use description to show what is happening.
j. Students will be able to create vivid detail in their writing
SOLs: [List with numbers portrayed in the SOL document]
CCSs: [List with numbers portrayed in the CCS document]
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.5
With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.10
Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences
Methods of Assessment:
[How will you know if the intended learning occurred?] List all methods of assessment used in
this lesson or which are related to this lesson and come in a future lesson. After each
assessment, indicate in brackets the number(s) and letter(s) of the unit objective and the related
lesson objectives that the assessment is evaluating.
Diagnostic
Mini-lesson sentences- 4b, 4j

Formative

Summative

Detail workshop- 4b, 4j

Question Flood- 4b, 4j

Procedures/Instructional Strategies
[Note: Any words that represent what I would say directly to students appear in italics.]
Beginning Room Arrangement: The class will be arranged into tables of desks, with four
desks pushed together to create a table group. There will be five different desk groupings/tables
in the classroom.
1.

[10 mins.] Bridge/Hook/Opening to lesson: SSR

I will welcome students to class and say that like yesterday, we are going to be working a lot on
our memoirs in class today. I will remind them that they are due in the next class period, so in
order to prevent having to work at home they should do as much as they can in class when
given the time. I will say that there is no do-now for the day but since we are going to be doing a
lot of writing for the rest of class, they will be able to have 10 minutes of SSR to start.
While students are reading, I will monitor the class and do some observation on what texts
students have chosen for SSR. This will be helpful in seeing what texts interest them in order to
help them pick books in the future.
2.

[5 mins.] Class Check-Ups

I will ask students if anyone remembers the process we learned yesterday at the beginning of
class before we started writing our papers. If no only remembers, I will hint to them that it had
something to do with checking. I will then ask a student to explain the process of Class CheckUps, and I will fill in the gaps where they missed. Students will be reminded that it is a process
we use to see where each student is in their writing process. I will remind them that they should
say they are either brainstorming, drafting, or editing. I will emphasize that ideally they are all
finishing up drafting and are editing now, but that they need to be honest with their stage so that
I can provide them with the most support. We will then run through the check-ups, and I will pay
attention to students who are brainstorming or drafting to make sure and go to them during
workshop time.
3.

[10 mins.] Mini-lesson on details

I will tell students they did a great job with the check-ups, and that since a lot of them are in the
final drafting or editing stage we are going to learn about a way they can make their writing even
better in this stage. I will remind them that detail is one of the important elements of memoir, and
that we should learn about how to create great details in our writing so that our memoirs are as
good as they can be.
I will explain to students that when they are writing, they should develop a show, don't tell
mentality. This means that their words should create vivid pictures for the readers, rather than
plainly telling them what it is. I will tell students that one way we can do this is by using good
adjectives.
I will project a few simple short sentences on the board. I will go through the first one on my
own, changing the sentence into something better by adding more detail and more adjectives. I
will then have students volunteer to help me with ideas for the next few sentences.
4.

[20 mins.] Workshop

I will tell students that they are now going to work on their writing by adding detail where they
can. I will tell them to focus on finding dull, short, boring sentences and thinking about what they
can add to the sentence to give it more detail. I will explain that this will help create vivid
pictures in their memoirs so the reader can visualize what is happening in the story.
While students are workshopping, I will make my way to any students identified as
brainstorming or drafting in the check-up. Hopefully there will be no one brainstorming

anymore, but if so we will have a discussion about how they plan to finish before Friday. If they
have a reasonable excuse for being behind, we will talk about a new due date and create a
timeline for them to finish each part of the memoir. For students who are drafting, I will
encourage them to get all of their thoughts down without worrying about editing as they go. I will
tell these students they should try to complete the draft first, then work on making it better.
5.

[7 mins.] Mini-lesson on Question Flood

I will explain to students that now that they have added more detail to their writing, we are going
to learn about a revising tool that they can use to add even more detail. I will explain that this
strategy is called Question Flood, and as the title implies we are going to wash questions all
over their drafts. I will tell students that by going through our writing with a mindset of asking
questions, it can help us to understand where we are leaving things out. It may be clear in our
minds, but if we think about it like a reader we can discover areas that could use development. I
will remind them that detail should give as clear a scene as possible, and that if there is any
place where it seems even a little unclear they should be adding more detail. I will tell them that
our question flood strategy helps us identify these moments and what is missing.
I will pull out a draft of my memoir that Ive been working on and project it under the Elmo for
students. I will then begin to go through the first page, reading it aloud and stopping when I can
ask myself a question. I will demonstrate throughout the first page the types of questions that
should be asked when students are doing a question flood. This will give students an idea as to
how they should go about asking questions when they perform this activity.
6.

[3 mins.] Peer feedback instructions

I will explain to students that this can help us when looking at our own writing, but to try it out the
first time we are going to do question floods on a partners paper. Looking at something we
didnt write ourselves can help find moments of needed clarity that we can look for in our own
writing. I will remind students that we have all worked hard on these drafts, and that they should
be respectful when giving feedback to one another. They should be asking questions that will
truly benefit to the story, and focus on helping each other improve our writing.
I will ask students to trade computers with the person next to them in order to give each other
feedback. I will tell them that in order to insert comments on the computer, we will use the add
comment function. I will pull my draft up on my computer, project it to the board and
demonstrate to students how to use this function while editing.
7.

[10 mins.] Question Flood and Peer Feedback

I will then tell students they can begin reading and flooding each others papers. During this time
I will walk around the room to monitor students work. I will make sure all students are on task
and writing appropriate comments into their partners draft. I will help any students who are
struggling to come up with questions and notice who is picking out the need for details, and
conversely who is not. I will give students a 1 minute warning when they should start wrapping
up.
8.
[20 mins.] Workshop
I will then ask students to return the computers to their partners. I will tell everyone to look over
the questions their partner asked, and see what detail they could add to that part of their

memoir. I will tell students that for the next 20 minutes we will workshop by working on these
questions and the detail presented in our memoirs. If they finish with their question before the
workshop time is up, they should go through the Do I Have It? checklist and make sure their
memoir is meeting all requirements.
During this workshop time, I will again make my way to any students who are not close to
finishing their first drafts. I will again work with brainstorming or drafting students to support
them in moving on to the next phase of their writing.
9.

[5 mins] Closure:

I will tell students that they did a lot of great writing today and are making great progress
towards finishing their memoirs. I will say that I want them to take a few minutes on their own
sheet of paper to jot down some notes about what they accomplished today, and what they
need to do before turning it in on Friday. I will tell them they should make notes next to each
thing they need to do saying when they will do it or have it done by.
I will tell students to keep these and work hard on finishing up their final drafts. I will tell students
that I look forward to seeing what they bring on Friday, and that they can look forward to a fun
class with much less writing than we have had!
Differentiated Instruction to accommodate one or more of my profiled students
(This is where you identify specific aspects of this lesson which have been differentiated in
order to address the needs of one or more of your profiled studentsidentify them by name)
For today I would match Will up for the Question Flood with someone I know can be a good
partner. This partner would have to provide a good enough story for Will to be interested in, as
well as be ok will all the questions he is bound to put on their sheet.
I would also make sure that Andrea is caught up in her memoir on this day. I would ask her how
well she is able to work on it from home, and provide some supports and ideas as to ways she
can work on it without her computer if she plans to work on it at home.
Materials Needed (list):
Draft of own memoir
Projector
Elmo
Computers

Resources: https://www.teachercreated.com/lessons/88, Less is More memoir chapter