Teacher: Makayla Triplett Subject Area: English

Grade Level: 6th Length of Lesson: stretched out over 4 days

Desired Results
Indiana Academic Standard(s)
6.W.1 Write routinely over a variety of time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and
audiences; apply reading standards to support analysis, reflection, and research by
drawing evidence from literature.

Enduring Understandings Essential Question(s)

Students will be able to write three
paragraphs giving a summary, reflection and
review of their favorite book from this school
year with elements discussed in previous
lessons about formal and expressive writing.
What book from this year was your favorite?
What was it about, what did you like from the
book and who was your favorite character and
how do you relate to them?

Knowledge and Skill Objectives

Students will use correct grammar and paragraphing skills to effectively express their likes of
their favorite book from this school year. The first paragraph will contain a maximum of five
sentences that give a summary of their book and it’s title and author. The second paragraph
will contain an explanation of why they liked their book with at least one quote for evidence.
And lastly, students will write a third paragraph about their favorite character from the book and
how they relate by giving examples from the text and explaining their reasons.

Assessment Evidence

Students will turn in their three paragraphs that include all of above listed requirements.
Paragraphs should flow well, be grammatically correct and reflect the book and their opinions.

Learning Plan
Learning Activities
Students will begin by choosing their favorite book that they have read this year and draw a
scene from the book or a picture that represents their chosen novel. After completing their
drawing, I will give a short instruction as to the content of the three paragraphs and what I
expect from each student. Once finished with their three paragraphs, they will have at least two
other students peer edit. Editors will be expected to provide at least one thing the student did
well as well as one thing they could improve upon or add. Once students have completed all
aspects of the assignment, they will have the option to present them to the class and finally,
their work will be added to the bulletin board for other students to observe and read. Students
will be able to look at each others reviews and possibly find a novel they are interested in.

Resources and Materials

Blank paper, coloring materials, notebook paper- for students.
I utilized the white board at the front of the room to write the requirements for the assignment.

Required Accommodations/Modifications
I did have to allow for some extra time for students because they were not completed with the
assignment before I started displaying them on the bulletin board.
Name____Makayla Triplett__________________________ Date__02/28/18___ Period__7__

Lesson Plan Evaluation & Teaching Reflection

Was the content worth knowing? Support your response.

Yes, giving the students writing prompts such as these teaches them to use evidence from text
to support their claims and opinions. It also helps them get used to writing longer passages. This
week they have been taking ISTEP and Ms. Small has been telling me that because they have
been writing more in class, they find it easier to write for the ISTEP prompts. I have personally
written many essays about novels and their opinions so I think this was good practice for the
future.
Describe how the activity was developmentally appropriate.
Ms. Small and I talked about the length requirement and we both agreed that three paragraphs
was a suitable and attainable amount for the students to write. I did not ask for analysis of the
novel because they have not reached this step in literature yet. I did however, encourage them to
cite evidence from the text which is skill that they have learned but need more practice with. By
giving them the choice of the book, students have a sense of freedom for their project which helps
when they need ideas and it encourages them to be more creative.

Give an example of how you know the activity was interesting to the children.
Many of the students were very passionate about their chosen book. I loved hearing about
their books and they seemed to put a lot of thought into both their pictures and their paragraphs.
The students that wanted to share their work were very excited to do so and I heard a few
conversations about books that others read that they were interested in.

Describe how the activity included opportunities for the children to test their knowledge.
By writing these paragraphs, students had to use their previous knowledge of how to correctly
include a quote and how to effectively support their claims and opinions. The paragraphs also
tested their grammar skills by editing other’s work and pointing out any errors such as incorrect
capitalization, spelling, and punctuation.

Describe a follow up activity that would build on concepts you have presented.
Ms. Small really like this idea because it came from the idea of book tasting from Mrs.
Zabonick in the library. I think doing this same activity more often will help expose the students to
other novels as well as give them the opportunity to practice writing techniques.

What behavior(s) did you observe while presenting the activity? What do you think caused
the behavior(s)?
I am still not used to the volume dynamic of the students as they work so they managed to get
a little rowdy because I was not sure how to address that issue. They were also very excited and
because I gave them so much freedom and work time, some students did not use their time as
efficiently as I would have hoped.

How did you involve the children in the closure of the activity?
I gave the students the option to present their pictures and paragraphs to the class. I displayed
their work on the bulletin board so that they could see all of the books and possibly find a new
book that they are interested in.
Describe what changes you would make and what you would keep the same if you
presented the activity again.
I really enjoyed this activity but I think if I were to do it again, I might add other elements that
the students can include such as some element of character analysis or require more evidence
based claims.