Write an Informative Essay: Draft Proof Paragraph 1 | EL Education Curriculum

You are here

Home › Our Curriculum › ELA 2019 Grade 7 › ELA 2019 G7:M2 › ELA 2019 G7:M2:U2 ›

ELA 2019 G7:M2:U2:L10

Write an Informative Essay: Draft Proof Paragraph 1

In this Lesson

You are here:

Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RI.7.1, W.7.2b

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RI.7.2, W.7.4, W.7.5, W.7.10, L.7.6
Download Materials

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can write Proof Paragraph 1 of my pair informative essay using evidence from the text to support my ideas. (W.7.2b)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket, Unit 2, Lesson 10 (RI.7.1)
  • Work Time A: Annotated, color-coded model informative essay Proof Paragraphs (W.7.2a)
  • Work Time B: Proof Paragraph 1 of Pair Informative Essay (W.7.2b)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner – RI.7.1 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. The Painted Essay®: Sort and Color-Code Evidence from the Proof Paragraphs – W.7.2b (10 minutes)

B. Pairs: Draft Proof Paragraph 1 – W.7.2b (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Share Best Evidence – RI.7.1 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • RI.7.1 – Opening A: On an entrance ticket, students practice identifying the best evidence to support an idea.
  • W.7.2b – Work Time A: Students use the Painted Essay® structure to more closely analyze a model Proof Paragraph to understand how it effectively develops the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or examples.
  • W.7.2b – Work Time B: Students work in pairs to draft their first Proof Paragraph, choosing the best evidence to support their point and elaborating on or explaining how it does so.
  • RI.7.1 – Closing and Assessment A: Student pairs join with another pair to form groups of four in which they share their point and the best evidence they found to support it.
  • In this lesson, students focus on working to become effective learners, focusing on collaborating with peers and persevering to write a Proof Paragraph.
  • The Think-Pair-Share protocol is used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Release those students who are ready to read and analyze the model Proof Paragraph 1 independently and then to move on to drafting Proof Paragraph 1 of their practice essay with a partner rather than with teacher modeling.
  • An optional Mini Language Dive, intended for use after students analyze the Proof Paragraphs in Work Time A, is available in the supporting materials download. ▲

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lessons, students analyzed the structure of the model essay using the Painted Essay® template and wrote their introduction. They build on those foundations in this lesson.

Support All Students

  • Note there is a differentiated version of the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 used in Opening A in the supporting materials download. ▲
  • In Lessons 8–12, students work with the same partner on a pair informative essay. Provide differentiated mentors by purposefully preselecting student partnerships. Consider meeting with the mentors in advance to encourage them to share their thought process with their partner. ▲
  • Students may need additional support while writing their Proof Paragraphs. Consider grouping those students for a guided discussion to help them find the best evidence to support their point and to elaborate on that evidence, showing how it supports the point. ▲

Assessment Guidance

  • Consider using the Grade 7 Writing Process Checklist to assess students’ writing abilities in Work Time B (see the Tools Page).

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will write the second Proof Paragraph(s) of their essays, drawing on the planning work in this and the previous lessons.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 at each student's workspace.
  • Provide differentiated mentors by strategically pairing students for work in Work Time A with at least one strong reader per pair.
  • Cut apart the Proof Paragraph strips, and organize them using envelopes or paperclips so that each pair will have one set.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Continue to use the technology tools recommended throughout previous modules to create anchor charts to share with families; to record students as they participate in discussions and protocols to review with students later and to share with families; and for students to listen to and annotate text, record ideas on note-catchers, and word-process writing.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.A.1, 7.I.C.10, and 7.II.C.6.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson includes use of manipulatives to understand the key structures of Proof Paragraphs. Also, the collaboration of writing a peer essay supports students.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to generate language for writing their Proof Paragraph. Encourage students to use oral processing and their home language to assist them in articulating their ideas. 

Vocabulary

  • evidence, Proof Paragraphs (A)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 4, Opening A)
  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Criteria of an Effective Informative Essay anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 7, Work Time B)
  • Domain-specific word wall (one for display; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Paint an Essay lesson plan (for teacher reference) (from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 7, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Vocabulary log (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • Painted Essay® template (one per student and one to display; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 7, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Model Informative Essay: “Computer Programs and Animal Behavior” (one per student and one for display; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 8, Work Time A)
  • Informative Writing checklist (one per student; from Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 9, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Informative Writing Plan graphic organizer (one per student; from Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 8, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Informative Writing Plan graphic organizer ▲
  • Model Pair Informative Essay (one per pair of students; begun in Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 8, Closing and Assessment A)
  • Patient Zero by Marilee Peters (text; one per student; from Module 2, Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)
  • Independent reading journal (one per student; begun in Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, Work Time B)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 (answers for teacher reference)
  • Organize the Model: Proof Paragraph strips (example for teacher reference)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 (one per student)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 ▲
  • Organize the Model: Proof Paragraphs evidence strips (one set per pair)
  • Construction paper (blue, yellow; one of each color per pair)
  • Scissors (one per pair of students)
  • Lined paper (one piece per student)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner – RI.7.1 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: Students respond to questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 and the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 ▲ as necessary. The differentiated entrance ticket supports students’ comprehension with a gist. ▲
  • Once students have completed their entrance tickets, use a total participation technique to review their responses.
  • Repeated routine: follow the same routine as with the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as in previous lessons.
  • As necessary, use the vocabulary strategies on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart to review the words evidence (facts and details from sources that support people’s points) and Proof Paragraphs (middle paragraphs of an essay that state a main point and provide evidence to explain or support that point). Record on the academic word wall with translations in home languages, where appropriate, and invite students to record the words in their vocabulary logs.

For Lighter Support

  • On Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10, challenge students to work in pairs to first reread the paragraph and identify the gist. Then they can work together to find and explain the evidence. Collaboration ensures comprehension and increases opportunities for oral language.

For Heavier Support

  • Invite students to use the Entrance Ticket: Unit 2, Lesson 10 ▲. The gist supports students in comprehending and determining central idea. 

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. The Painted Essay®: Sort and Color-Code the Evidence from the Proof Paragraphs – W.7.2b (10 minutes)

  • Move students into predetermined pairs, and have them label themselves A and B.
  • Distribute Organize the Model: Proof Paragraph strips, yellow and blue construction paper, and scissors.
  • Invite students to refer to their Painted Essay® template to remember where Proof Paragraphs 1 and 2 fit in the structure of an informative essay. Review the focus from the introduction of the Model Informative Essay: “It’s fair to say that the study of animal behavior has been informed by ideas from computer programming.” Then review Point 1: “Researchers have started using computer programs to understand how animals move.” and Point 2: “They use what they know about how computer models work to understand both the movement and choices of animals.”
  • Post and review the following directions:
    1. Cut apart the evidence strips.
    2. Read and organize the strips, putting the strips of evidence that support Point 1: “Researchers have started using computer programs to understand how animals move.” on the yellow construction paper, and the strips of evidence that support Point 2: “They use what they know about how computer models work to understand both the movement and choices of animals.” on the blue construction paper.
    3. Check your work against the displayed Model Informative Essay.
  • Answer clarifying questions.
  • Invite students to begin working, and circulate to support them in reading and sorting the strips, encouraging students to explain their placement to their partners. Support students with the Organize the Model: Proof Paragraph strips (for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Refocus whole group.
  • Have students choral read the Proof Paragraphs and explain the main idea of each paragraph as well as the function of the sentences in the paragraphs. Invite students to help record the parts of the Proof Paragraphs on the Criteria of an Effective Informative Essay anchor chart. Refer to Criteria of an Effective Informative Essay anchor chart (example for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Point out that within each Proof Paragraph, the author chose the best evidence to support the points and then elaborated on the evidence presented. This elaboration explains how the evidence chosen supports the focus of the piece.
  • If productive, cue students with a challenge:

“What if the writer had not included the information on the strips that begins with ‘This means that even if a few fish out of a thousand see a predator coming, that is enough.’ and ‘The principles of computer modelling helped Radakov prove his theory about how fish move.’? I’ll give you time to think and discuss with a partner.” (These explain how the evidence supports the points. Without them, we might have to guess how the evidence relates to the points.)

For Lighter Support

  • During Work Time A, students may note the author's use of the word that to join clauses throughout the Proof Paragraphs. For further practice with that from the Language Dive in Lessons 6-7 and 9, ask students to work with their classmates who need heavier support. Their classmates can reread each sentence, and students who need lighter support can determine whether the word that is joining clauses or serving another purpose. Or, if students are already working confidently with the word that to combine clauses, ask them to review and explain the "empty subject it" and find examples of it in the model essay. Reviewing the language structure from the Language Dive helps ensure students' acquisition of it.
  • After Work Time A, invite students to participate in a Mini Language Dive in small groups to explore how a sentence within a Proof Paragraph develops the topic of a model essay with an example. The sentence also helps students to address L.7.1a by providing an opportunity for students consider the function of a that clause in a sentence, which builds upon work within the Language Dive in Lessons 6-7. 

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A, provide students with already color-coded parts of each paragraph, so that they can focus on arranging the sentences in the order that makes the most sense.
  • During Work Time A, students may note the author's use of the word that to join clauses throughout the Proof Paragraphs. For further practice with that from the Language Dive in Lessons 6-7, ask students to work with their classmates who need lighter support. Students who need heavier support can reread each sentence, and their classmates can determine whether the word that is joining clauses or serving another purpose. Reviewing the language structure from the Language Dive helps ensure students' acquisition of it.

B. Pairs: Draft Proof Paragraph 1 - W.7.2b (25 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can write Proof Paragraph 1 of my essay using evidence from the text to support my ideas."

  • Tell students they are now ready to draft Proof Paragraph 1. Explain that in this lesson, they are only drafting Proof Paragraph 1, and they will draft Proof Paragraph 2 in the next lesson. Remind students that as they draft this Proof Paragraph, they should elaborate on the focus of their essay by explaining how the evidence they have chosen supports their thinking.
  • Distribute lined paper. Invite students to retrieve the following Materials:
    • Informative Writing checklist
    • Informative Writing Plan graphic organizer
    • Model Pair Informative Essay
    • Texts: Patient Zero and "Crime-Solving Strategies"
  • As necessary, guide students through writing their Proof Paragraph 1:

1. Discuss the following characteristics on the Informative Writing checklist, adding to the Characteristics of My Informative Essay column as needed:

      • "W.7.2b: I use relevant facts, definitions, details, quotations, and examples to explain my thinking."

2. Invite students to read their Informative Writing Plan graphic organizer and the introduction started in the previous lesson to remind them of their focus and their ideas.

3. Invite students to refer to the Model Informative Essay, the Criteria of an Effective Informative Essay anchor chart, the Informative Writing checklist, as well as the domain-specific word wall and academic word wall, to write Proof Paragraph 1.

4. Remind students that they need to verbally rehearse the words they will use to explain the point and supporting evidence before writing. Invite students to begin rehearsing and composing Proof Paragraph 1 with their partner. Circulate to support students as they write and to identify common issues to use as whole group teaching points.

  • Invite students to record "Y" for Yes and the date in the final column of their Informative Writing checklist if they feel the criteria marked on their checklists have been achieved in their writing in this lesson.
  • Repeated routine: invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target.
  • N/A

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Share Best Evidence - RI.7.1 (5 minutes)

  • Ask student pairs to join with another writing pair to form groups of four. Invite all students to Think-Pair-Share with their small group:

"What is one piece of best evidence you found and included in your Proof Paragraph 1? Why is it strong evidence? How did you elaborate on or explain the connection between the evidence and your main point?" (Responses will vary.)

  • As time allows, ask volunteers to share their responses with the class.
  • Invite students to reflect on the habits of character focus in this lesson, discussing what went well and what could be improved next time.

For Lighter Support

  • Challenge students to rephrase the W.7.2b criteria on the Informative Writing Checklist into simpler language that their peers who need heavier support can understand. Rephrasing the criteria gives students comprehension and confidence with the writing expectations.
  • Encourage students to model orally rehearsing their Proof Paragraph for classmates who need heavier support. Also, challenge students to use the word that to combine two clauses at least once. Oral rehearsal will strengthen their writing, as will using new language structures learned in the Language Dive from Lessons 6-7.

For Heavier Support

  • If students are literate in their home language, they can translate the W.7.2b criteria on the Informative Writing Checklist that their peers who need lighter support rephrased. Translating or rephrasing the criteria gives students comprehension and confidence with the writing expectations.

Homework

Homework

A. Independent Research Reading

  • Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Copyright © 2013-2024 by EL Education, New York, NY.

Get updates about our new K-5 curriculum as new materials and tools debut.

Sign Up

Help us improve our curriculum.

Tell us what’s going well, share your concerns and feedback.

Terms of use. To learn more about EL Education, visit eleducation.org

Leave feedback