Performance Task: My Magnificent Thing: Drafting a Conclusion and Revising | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G1:M1:U3:L10

Performance Task: My Magnificent Thing: Drafting a Conclusion and Revising

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • W.1.2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.
  • W.1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • L.1.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can write a conclusion for my magnificent thing description. (W.1.2, W.1.8, L.1.2)
  • I can revise My Magnificent Thing Description using the Revising and Editing Checklist. (W.1.2, L.1.2

Ongoing Assessment

  • Collect students' Magnificent Things Writing booklets to gather evidence on their progress toward W.1.2 to inform instruction.
  • Circulate and observe how students are using the Revising and Editing Checklist to revise their writing in Work Times B and C. (W.1.2, L.1.2)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Shared Writing: Writing an Invitation to Guests (10 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Drafting a Conclusion: My Magnificent Thing Description (15 minutes)

B. Revising and Editing a Conclusion: My Magnificent Thing Description (10 minutes)

C. Revising: My Magnificent Thing Description (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Pinky Partners: Sharing Our Writing (5 minutes) 

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: 

  • In the Opening, students participate in a shared writing experience to help their teacher write a letter to the guests attending their celebration. This is an opportunity to expose students to the structure of letter writing, but students are not expected to write these letters independently.
  • In this lesson, students finish writing their description of their magnificent thing for Part II of the performance task (W.1.2, L.1.2). Today, students focus on the concluding sentence in their description. During Work Time, students work with their writing partners to draft, revise, and edit their descriptions.
  • Students focus more heavily on revising the content of their descriptions in this lesson. In the following lesson, they will have the opportunity to edit their writing.

How this lesson builds on previous work:

  • This lesson follows a similar pattern to Lessons 8 and 9. Students will meet with their partners to draft and revise another part of their descriptions. In Lesson 8, students wrote their focus statements. In Lesson 9, they wrote two detail sentences. In this lesson, they finish their descriptions by writing a concluding sentence.
  • Continue to use Goal 1 and 2 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas in which students may need additional support:

  • Circulate and support students during Work Time. As in Lessons 8 and 9, students may need more oral practice before writing their conclusions, or may need reminders to use the word wall or anchor charts around the room.
  • Consider meeting with a small group of students during Work Time C to support their use of the revising portion of the checklist.

Down the road:

  • In Lesson 12, students will be formally assessed on W.1.2. Lessons 8-11 provide time for students to practice this standard through intentional teaching of each substandard.
  • Informational writing is taught, practiced, and assessed in future modules. Students' writing for the performance task is their initial work toward mastering this standard. Use the informationgathered from students' Magnificent Thing Writing booklets to provide instruction in Lesson 11, and in future modules.

In Advance

  • Select one student's magnificent thing description (it should have a focus statement and two detail sentences) from Lesson 9 to use in Work Time A. Ensure the student is comfortable with you reading his/her draft in front of the class and understands that the class will work together to revise the draft.
  • Set up a document camera to display the My Magnificent Thing Description: Student Draft (optional).
  • Prepare the Revising and Editing Checklist (see supporting materials).
  • Set up student writing materials in the same areas as those used in Lesson 8.
  • Review the Think-Pair-Share and Pinky Partners protocols. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Post: Learning targets, Steps to Write My Magnificent Thing Description anchor chart, and "Learning Target" song. 

Tech and Multimedia

Consider using an interactive whiteboard or document camera to display lesson materials. 

  • Work Time A: If you recorded students singing the "Learning Target" song in Unit 2, play this recording for them to join in with.

Supporting English Language Learners

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

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs through the use of modeling, graphic organizers, and celebration of student work.
  • ELLs may find it challenging to understand the concept of writing a conclusion by rewriting their focus statements in a different way. Intermediate and advanced proficiency students may benefit from further scaffolding and support with paraphrasing. Beginning proficiency students may benefit from using the teacher-modeled conclusion in their work.
  • ELLs may find the writing process challenging. Encourage students to try their best, and not to worry about spelling words correctly. Emphasize that they are doing an excellent job writing in English, and that any mistakes can be corrected during the revision process.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Before providing sentence frames or additional modeling during Work Time A, observe student interaction and allow students to grapple. Provide supportive frames and demonstrations only after students have grappled with the task. Observe the areas in which they struggle to target appropriate support.
  • Encourage students to use Conversation Cues with other students to promote productive and equitable conversation and to enhance language development.

For heavier support:

  • During Work Time A, work closely with students who have trouble writing to complete their conclusions. Discuss with students what they intend to write, and scribe some or all of their thoughts with a highlighter so students can trace it afterward. If a group of students need heavier support, work with them to complete the task as a shared experience.
  • Review paragraph structure by playing a scramble game such as the one described in Lesson 8.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): This lesson includes a Revising and Editing Checklist to support students with the steps of independent writing. Embed support for decoding by including illustrations or images to go with each step on the checklist.
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): As students plan what they will write for their conclusion with partners, scaffold the planning process by circulating and listening in to what partners are sharing. Some students may benefit from explicit prompting or a sentence starter to plan their writing.
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): As you introduce the letter to families, be aware that not all students may live with their families. If this is known to be the case, opt for "Dear Visitors."

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T); Vocabulary Used in Writing (W)

  • conclusion (L)

Materials

  • Chart paper (one piece; for students to create the invitation to visitors in the Opening)
  • Invitation to Guests sample letter (for teacher reference)
  • Document camera (optional)
  • My Magnificent Thing Description: Student Draft (one student's draft from Lesson 9 to display; see Teaching Notes)
  • Steps to Write My Magnificent Thing Description anchor chart (begun in Lesson 8)
  • "Learning Target" song (from Unit 2, Lesson 2; one to display)
  • My Magnificent Thing Description: Teacher Model (from Lesson 8; one to display)
  • Magnificent Thing Writing booklet (from Lesson 8; one per student and one to display)
    • Write a Conclusion (page 5 of Magnificent Thing Writing booklet)
    • Write Detail 1 (page 3 of the booklet)
    • Write Detail 2 (page 4 of the booklet)
  • Think-Pair-Share anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Revision example (for teacher reference)
  • Revising and Editing Checklist (one to display)
  • Ways to Work with My Writing Partner anchor chart (begun in Lesson 9)
  • Pinky Partners anchor chart (begun in Unit 2, Lesson 2) 

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Assessment

Each unit in the K-2 Language Arts Curriculum has one standards-based assessment built in. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Shared Writing: Writing an Invitation to Guests (10 minutes) 

  • Gather students together whole group.
  • Tell them visitors will be coming to the classroom soon for the Magnificent Thing Celebration. Invite students to show silent applause with you by putting their hands next to their ears with their palms spread out and moving them back and forth near their ears.
  • Tell students it could be a good idea to send guests a reminder about the celebration.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What is it called when you write to someone?" (a letter)

"If we are going to write a letter for our guests, how should we start it?" (Dear Families or Dear Visitors)

  • Using the chart paper, write one of the chosen salutations at the top. Refer to the Invitation to Guests sample letter (for teacher reference) as a guide.
  • Invite students to turn and talk:

"Now that we know to whom we are writing our letter, what do we want to say to them about our celebration? What kind of information should a letter about an event include?" (The letter should tell guests what the celebration is about, when the celebration is, and perhaps how they are feeling about it.)

  • If productive, cue students to listen carefully:

"Who can repeat what your classmate said?" (Responses will vary.)

  • As students share out, capture their ideas on the chart paper to continue writing the letter.
  • Tell students you will now read the letter aloud. As you do, they should listen to make sure it makes sense and includes the important information the visitors need to know about the celebration.
  • Read the letter aloud.
  • Model revising the letter in front of students, as needed, to reinforce their learning about revision from Lessons 8 and 9. 
  • For ELLs: Be aware that not all students may live with their families. If this is known to be the case, opt for "Dear Visitors." (MME)
  • For ELLs: After writing the letter, reinforce its key components by annotating it with words and illustrations. (Example: Next to the sentence telling the time of the event, write "when" and draw a thumbnail illustration of a clock. Make similar annotations for "what," "where," and "why.") (MMR)

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Drafting a Conclusion: My Magnificent Thing Description (15 minutes) 

  • Using a document camera, display the My Magnificent Thing Description: Student Draft. Tell students that a student from their class has agreed to share his/her work so we can learn fromit. We are going to read this student's draft and use the Steps to Write My Magnificent Thing Description anchor chart to see what else this student needs to make sure this is a high-quality description.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted Steps to Write My Magnificent Thing Description anchor chart and read it aloud.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"What steps on our chart has this student completed?" (focus statement; write detail 1; write detail 2)

"What does this student still need to write?" (concluding sentence)

  • Give the student sharing the draft specific positive praise on his or her willingness to share the draft with the class, and invite students to do a cheer.
  • Invite students to sing the "Learning Target" song.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud:
    • "I can write a conclusion for my magnificent thing description."
  • Tell students that the conclusion is the last sentence in our magnificent thing description, and it helps the reader remember what you wrote about and why it is important.
  • Explain to students that you are going to show them what you thought you would write for your conclusion, and then they will get a chance to draft their own conclusions.
    • Think aloud: "The job of a focus statement is to tell the reader what the piece is about.One way that writers think about what to write for the conclusion is to read the focus statement again and think of a different way to write it."
    • Using the document camera, display the My Magnificent Thing Description: Teacher Model.
    • Continue thinking aloud: "For my focus statement I wrote, 'I used tools to make the classwork display sign.' So, another way I could say this is, 'Tools helped me make our classwork display sign' or 'Tools help you make things' or 'Tools are important!'"
    • Say:  

"I think I will choose ' Tools are important!'"

  • Using a document camera, display page 5 of the Magnificent Thing Writing booklet, titled Write a Conclusion and read Steps 1-3 with students. Tell them that they will now draft their own conclusions.
  • Distribute students' Magnificent Thing Writing booklets.
  • Invite students to move to sit with their writing partners and turn to page 2 of their booklet and read their focus statements.
  • Tell students they are going to Think-Pair-Share to prepare themselves to write their conclusions. Remind students that they used this protocol in Lesson 8. Review as necessary, using the Think-Pair-Share anchor chart. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Invite students to Think-Pair-Share with their writing partner:

"What is my focus statement?"

"What is a different way I could say this same idea?"

  • Tell students that they are ready to write the conclusion on page 5 of their Magnificent Thing Writing booklet.
  • Transition students to their seats.
  • Invite students to write their conclusion on page 5 of their booklets.
  • Circulate and support students by directing them to the classroom supports such as the anchor charts, Tools and Work Word Wall, etc.
  • After 5 minutes, tell students to return to the whole group area with their Magnificent Thing Writing booklets. 
  • For ELLs: Boost confidence by choosing a successful piece of work by an ELL to share with the class. Compliment the student's hard work and the student's writing abilities in the English language.
  • For ELLs: Rephrase and unpack "writing the focus statement in a different way." Explain that writing the same thing in a different way means to use different words to say the same idea. Practice this by asking students to use different words to rephrase a series of statements. Example: "How can say, 'I like pizza' using different words?" (I love pizza. I like to eat pizza. Pizza is yummy). "How can I say, 'The weather is cold' in a different way?" (It is cold. I'm freezing. It is cold outside.) (MMR)
  • During the Think-Pair-Share, scaffold the planning process by circulating and listening in to what partners are sharing. Some students may benefit from explicit prompting to plan their writing. (Example: "Tools helped me _____.") (MMAE) 

B. Revising and Editing a Conclusion: My Magnificent Thing Description (10 minutes) 

  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and reread the first one aloud:
    • "I can write a conclusion for my magnificent thing description."
  • Underline the phrase write a conclusion. Remind students that part of writing includes revising and editing.
  • Using the document camera, display the My Magnificent Thing Description: Teacher Model.
  • Model for students how to revise their writing by first rereading your conclusion.
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Does what I wrote make sense? Would someone else understand this?"

  • If something doesn't make sense, show students how to cross out words and write new words that make sense. (See the revision example as a guide.)
  • Invite students to reread their conclusions and revise as necessary.
  • After 5 minutes, ask students to place their writing booklets to the side.
  • Remind students that another thing writers do as they write is edit their writing. When writers edit their writing, they do their best to make sure their writing is correct and fix any mistakes they notice.
  • Invite students to stay in the meeting space to edit their conclusion on page 5 of their booklets.
  • For ELLs: Students who struggle with writing may not finish their concluding statements before Work Time B. If necessary, allow students to continue writing the first drafts of their concluding statements during revising and editing time. Reduce stigma by saying to the class that it is okay if some students are still working on writing their first drafts.
  • For ELLs: Point out that make sense are words we hear a lot together. (Example: "When something makes sense we are not talking about making anything. When something makes sense it means others can understand it when they read it." Prompt students to practice using the phrase make sense. Example:

"When I teach lessons, I want my lessons to make sense. So I am going to stop sometimes and ask you, 'Does that make sense? Do you understand?' And you can answer, 'Yes, it makes sense' or 'No, it does not make sense.' Let's practice!"

Before students revise their writing, offer options of tools for this process and model how to use each. (Examples: eraser, white-out tape, crossing out words and re-writing on a new line) (MMAE)

C. Revising: My Magnificent Thing Description (20 minutes) 

  • Ask students to return their writing booklets to their tables and gather in the whole group meeting area.
  • Tell students they have worked hard to write their magnificent thing descriptions, and they are almost ready to publish them! Invite students to do an imaginary high-five in the air with you.
  • Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the second one aloud:
    • "I can revise my magnificent thing description using the Revising and Editing Checklist."
  • Explain to students that they have been revising their descriptions to make sure they make sense, but today they are going to use a special tool to help them revise their descriptions.
  • Display the Revising and Editing Checklist, and remind students that writers use writing tools and resources to help them do their best job as writers.
  • Tell students that they will focus on two things today to revise their writing that are on this checklist. Read the first two sentences aloud: "I used the names of tools in my writing and explained how I used the tools" and "I reread my sentences, and they make sense."
  • Say: "As I was looking through your Magnificent Thing Writing booklets, I noticed that many of you remembered to write the names of the tool that you used, but many of you forgot to write how you used them to make your magnificent things. So we are going to focus especially on the first sentence of your checklist: 'I used the names of tools in my writing and explained how I used the tools.'"
  • Display the My Magnificent Thing Description: Teacher Model and read detail 1 aloud: "I used scissors to cut the paper."
  • Using a total participation technique, invite responses from the group:

"Which part of the sentence explains how the tool was used?" (to cut the paper)

  • Tell students that they will now work with their writing partner to revise their description by taking turns rereading pages 3 (Write Detail 1) and 4 (Write Detail 2) of their Magnificent Thing Writing booklets with their partner, and making sure they included the name of the tool and how they used it to make their magnificent thing.
  • Point to the Ways to Work with My Writing Partner anchor chart. Ask students to point to one thing they will need to make sure they do with their writing partners to help them be the best writers they can be. Look for students to point to "listen and "take turns with my writing partner."
  • Distribute a Revising and Editing Checklist to each student.
  • Transition students to their seats to revise their writing with their partners.
  • Ask students to begin working.
  • Circulate and support students as necessary. You may want to support students by stopping them after 5 minutes and telling them that the next partner should be reading and revising pages 3 and 4 of their booklets.
  • After 10 minutes, refocus whole group.
  • Explain to students that they now have a chance to work on the second sentence of the checklist: "I reread my sentences, and they make sense." Tell students they will read their entire magnificent thing description one more time and make sure ALL the sentences make sense one more time.
  • For ELLs: Pair students with a writing partner who has more advanced or native language proficiency. The partner with greater language proficiency can serve as a model in the pair, helping students reread their work and providing ideas for revision. Alternatively, or in addition, work with a small group of students who are still working on their first drafts.
  • As you prepare the Revising and Editing Checklist, embed support for decoding by including illustrations or images to go with each step. For example, include a picture of scissors with the word scissors to illustrate naming the tools. (MMR)

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Pinky Partners: Sharing Our Writing (5 minutes) 

  • Tell students they are now going to use the Pinky Partners protocol to share one page from their Magnificent Thing Writing booklet that they revised today with a classmate other than their writing partner. Remind students that they used this protocol in Lesson 9 and review as necessary, using the Pinky Partners anchor chart. (Refer to the Classroom Protocols document for the full version of the protocol.)
  • Invite students to begin the protocol.
  • Once all students have made a tent with their arms, ask them to return to their seats.
  • Give students specific positive praise on using the Revising and Editing Checklist today to revise their writing. Tell students that tomorrow they will edit and publish their writing. 
  • For ELLs: Beginning students may have trouble verbalizing their work. Help them identify key elements of their descriptions and allow them to repeat words and phrases. (Example: "It looks like you wrote, 'Tools are important.' Good job. Let's point to the words and read that together. Now let's hear you say it all by yourself!") 

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