Setting a Purpose for Writing: Understanding the Performance Task and Getting Started | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA G4:M2:U3:L2

Setting a Purpose for Writing: Understanding the Performance Task and Getting Started

In this Lesson

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These are the CCS Standards addressed in this lesson:

  • W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  • W.4.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
  • W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
  • W.4.6: With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
  • L.4.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • L.4.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  • L.4.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
  • L.4.3c: Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion).
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can collaborate with my peers to write an About Your Adventure page for my choose-your-own-adventure animal defense narrative. (W.4.2, W.4.4, W.4.5, L.4.3c)
  • I can prepare a final copy of my informative page for my choose-your-own-adventure animal defense narrative. (W.4.4, W.4.5, W.4.6, L.4.1, L.4.2, L.4.3c)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Participation in shared writing of About Your Adventure page (W.4.2, W.4.4, W.4.5, L.4.3c)
  • Students' informative pages (W.4.4, W.4.5, W.4.6, L.4.1, L.4.2, L.4.3c)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Writer: Reading Can You Survive the Wilderness? (10 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time 

A. Shared Writing: About Your Adventure Page (20 minutes)

B. Modeling: Preparing the Informative Page (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment 

A. Preparing the Informative Page (15 minutes)

4. Homework 

A. Complete the Finding and Analyzing Description note-catcher from your homework resources for this unit.

B. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt to respond to in the front of your independent reading journal.

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

  • This lesson begins with a read-aloud of the About Your Adventure page in Can You Survive the Wilderness? Students record what they notice and wonder about the structure and information shared on this page to create a shared understanding about this part of their choose-your-own-adventure books (W.4.2). The criteria generated in Opening A is referred to during the shared writing in Work Time A and will support students in writing a shared About Your Adventure page that is appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience (W.4.4, W.4.5, L.4.3c).
  • Students work together to write a class About Your Adventure page for their narratives. Because this page is not specific to their expert group animals, all students will be using this page in their final narratives.
  • In the second part of this lesson, the teacher reviews the task, audience, and purpose for the informative page of the performance task (W.4.4). In Closing and Assessment A, students copy their informative page drafts from Unit 2 into their Performance Task template, demonstrating command of standard English grammar and usage, capitalization, spelling, and punctuation (W.4.5, W.4.6, L.4.1, L.4.2, L.4.3c).
  • Students needing an extension can write their own About Your Adventure page, using Can You Survive the Wilderness? as a model.
  • The research reading students complete for homework will help to build both their vocabulary and knowledge pertaining to animals and specifically animal defense mechanisms. By participating in this volume of reading over a span of time, students will develop a wide base of knowledge about the world and the words that help to describe and make sense of it.
  • Students will have the opportunity to practice their fluency in this lesson by following along and reading silently as the teacher reads Can You Survive the Wilderness? aloud in Opening A.
  • In this unit, the habit of character focus is working to become effective learners. The characteristic they are reminded of in this lesson is: collaborate because of the shared writing of the About Your Adventure page.

How it builds on previous work:

  • In shared writing, the teacher and students compose text together, both contributing their thoughts and ideas to the process, while the teacher acts as scribe, writing the text as it is composed. Shared writing enables teachers to make the writing process concrete and visible to students. This allows students to focus exclusively on the thinking involved in writing, not the process.
  • Read and give feedback on students' informative page drafts from Unit 2.
  • Continue to use Goals 1-3 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.
  • Shared writing is also a powerful way to model and guide key skills and concepts related to the writing process (e.g., organizing, drafting, revision, mechanics, and conventions). Students gain competence and confidence in their writing skills as the teacher models and guides the thinking process writers go through. Consider modeling revising or editing the completed class About Your Adventure page for specific areas you have noticed your students struggling with.
  • Students publish their informative piece using the Performance Task template, which was introduced in Lesson 1. Before publishing, the teacher provides a model using the criteria from the Informative Writing Checklist introduced and used throughout Unit 2.

Areas where students may need additional support:

  • As in Lesson 1, much of this lesson is discussion-based, so students who struggle with oral language and/or auditory processing may need additional support. Consider providing sentence frames for students to refer to during discussions or a note-taking template for taking notes during discussion.

Assessment Guidance:

  • Analyzing the About Your Adventure page in Can You Survive the Wilderness?  helps students understand the format of their writing. When students have a good understanding of the expected format, they will be able to ensure that their writing is appropriate to the task and purpose. As they analyze Can You Survive the Wilderness? and create the list about the About Your Adventure page, guide discussion toward this understanding.
  • Be sure to have read through students' drafts and given feedback on the revision and editing mini lessons from Unit 2, Lessons 10 and 11 before this lesson. If your students are using Version 1 of the Performance Task template (for typed publication), be sure they have a digital copy of the template and access to a computer during Closing and Assessment A.
  • Refer to the Grade 4 Informative Writing Rubric when assessing students' publishing of their informative pieces (see the Tools page).

Down the road:

  • In Lesson 3, students will celebrate their hard work writing informative texts by sharing and reflecting in small groups on their informative page for the performance task.
  • Set up a system for keeping track of students' Performance Task templates; they will add to these templates throughout Unit 3 as they prepare the elements of the performance task.

In Advance

  • Display the Performance Task anchor chart.

Tech and Multimedia

  • Opening A: digital anchor chart: Instead of using chart paper, record students' thinking on a class Google Doc for them to refer to when working on their writing outside of class.
  • Closing and Assessment A: Students complete their informative pages in a word processing document, for example a Google Doc using Speech to Text facilities activated on devices, or using an app or software like Dragon.io.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.A.1, 4.I.A.2, 4.I.A.3, 4.I.A.4, 4.I.B.5, 4.I.B.6, 4.I.B.8, 4.I.C.10, 4.I.C.11, 4.II.A.1

Important points in the lesson itself

  • The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs with the opportunity to group write an About Your Adventure page. This creates a setting for them to negotiate language, confirming what they believe is clear and correct language and adjusting language when others don't understand.
  • ELLs may find mechanics errors challenging. Students are asked to attend to errors in capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in this lesson. ELLs may make numerous mistakes, so help them narrow their focus to the most critical errors, such as those that impede understanding or that native speakers quickly notice. In addition, ELLs may not know what the correct conventions are. The Additional Language and Literacy block offers specific support.
  • As you give feedback on student informative page drafts from Unit 2, track two or three important language errors (pervasive, stigmatizing, critical) for each ELL. Give feedback on how to correct those errors and allow students an opportunity to revise. Provide them with additional remediation tasks to practice the correct usage.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

  • Students may need support understanding the difference between formal and informal writing. Consider inviting students to create a T-chart and collect examples of each before asking students to think about whether the About Your Adventure page is formal or informal--and why. For instance, categorize some of the characteristics of formal and informal writing. Example:
    • Formal (About Your Adventure page) - "The prey has to be ready to defend itself in a moment's notice."
        • usually complete sentences
        • precise, academic vocabulary
        • very polite
    • Informal (dialogue in the adventure) - "Dangerous," whispered Arnie. "The desert is always dangerous. Crazy dangerous."
        • some fragments
        • slang
        • friendly

For heavier support:

  • In preparation for the unit assessments, provide students with additional mechanics tasks focused on: (1) using commas, quotation marks, and initial capital letters for direct speech, and (2) question marks for questions.

Universal Design for Learning

  • Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): In this lesson, support students with auditory processing by preparing word cards with words that will be a part of the discussion. Students can manipulate these words at their desks to compose "notes" that will help them stay attentive to the discussion and make meaning at the same time. Students can draw or write on the cards where they would like to expand on ideas from the discussion. 
  • Multiple Means of Action & Expression (MMAE): In this lesson, support students who need help organizing their ideas in writing by writing sentence frames in advance on their sticky notes. For example: "One thing I notice about the About Your Adventure page is ..." and "I am wondering why the author says...." 
  • Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Throughout this unit, sustained engagement and effort is essential for student achievement. Some students may need support to remember the goal for the work they are doing during the unit. Recall that students who may struggle with sustained effort and concentration are supported when these reminders are built into the learning environment.

Vocabulary

Key: (L): Lesson-Specific Vocabulary; (T): Text-Specific Vocabulary; (W): Vocabulary used in writing

  • purpose (L)

Materials

  • Can You Survive the Wilderness? (book; one to display; use for read-aloud)
  • Sticky notes (two per student)
  • Equity sticks
  • Performance Task anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 1)
  • Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (from Module 1)
  • Class About Your Adventure page (new; co-written in Work Time B; see sample in supporting materials)
  • Performance Task template (from Lesson 1; Version 1 for Typed Publication or Version 2 for Handwritten Publication; one per student and one to display)
  • Informative Writing Checklist (see Assessment Overview; from Unit 2, Lesson 7; one per student and one to display)
  • Millipede informative page draft (from Unit 2)
  • Informative page drafts (from Unit 2; one per student, with teacher feedback)

Assessment

Each unit in the 3-5 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 their understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Writer: Reading Can You Survive the Wilderness? (10 minutes)

  • Display the cover of Can You Survive the Wilderness? Tell the class that you will reread page 5, "About Your Adventure," aloud.
  • Distribute sticky notes. Explain that you will read this page twice. The first time, students should record what they notice about the text on one of the sticky notes. The second time, they should record what they wonder on the other sticky note. 
  • Explain that students should listen while you read page 5 aloud and record what they notice about the structure of the text and the kind of information the author shares. Display and read page 5 aloud.
  • Display and read page 5 aloud a second time. Remind students that this time, they should record what they wonder on their other sticky note. 
  • On the board, write: "The About Your Adventure page of a choose-your-own-adventure text ..." Ask:

"What did you notice about this page in Can You Survive the Wilderness?"

  • Give students a moment to think and review their notes. Then use equity sticks to select students to share their thinking. If necessary, prompt them to think about the intended purpose and audience of this page. Record students' responses in a list on the board and add your own as necessary.
  • The list should contain points such as: 
    • Gives a general overview of the problem in the book
    • Asks questions
    • Explains how the book is set up
    • Explains how to use the book
    • The first paragraph sets up the situation of the book.
    • The second paragraph explains how to use the book.
  • For ELLs: Provide a model or example of the text structure before you begin reading so that students understand what to listen for. For example, point out that the writer is speaking directly to the reader by using you and your repeatedly.

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

  • Invite students to read the learning targets to themselves:
    • "I can collaborate with my peers to write an About Your Adventure page for my choose-your-own-adventure animal defense narrative."
    • "I can prepare a final copy of my informative page about my expert group animal for my choose-your-own adventure animal defense narrative."
  • Display the Performance Task anchor chart.
  • Use equity sticks to call on a student to read the third bullet point of the prompt aloud: "An About Your Adventure page explaining how to read the book and the possible challenges your animal could encounter"
  • Explain that because students' narratives will be written in the choose-your-own-adventure format, they will need to include an About Your Adventure page. Tell them they will create one as a class later in the lesson.
  • Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, specifically collaboration. Remind students that as they will be writing this part of their books as a class, they will need to collaborate.
  • Tell students that after they write that page as a class, they will learn how to prepare their informative page about their expert group animal from Unit 2. This will become a part of their narrative.
  • For students who may need additional support with motivation: Invite students working on fluency to practice reading the bullet points on the Performance Task anchor chart in advance and then call on them to read aloud to the class during this lesson. (MME) 
  • For ELLs: To clarify the language of the learning targets, ask: "Why are you going to write an About Your Adventure page? Why will you collaborate with your peers? How is a final copy different from a first copy or first draft?"

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Shared Writing: About Your Adventure Page (20 minutes)

  • Begin a shared writing experience by gathering students so they can all see a piece of posted chart paper or displayed paper for the class About Your Adventure page. Be sure that the class can see the list on the board about the About Your Adventure page.
  • Ask and cold call students to share their responses:

"Who is the audience of the performance task?" (other students, teachers, and parents)

  • Review the purpose of each part of the performance task. Ask and cold call students to share their responses:

"What is the purpose of the informative page?" (to teach readers about the expert group animal's defense mechanisms)

"What is the purpose of the About Your Adventure page?" (to explain how to read the choose-your-own-adventure narrative)

"What is the purpose of the narrative?" (to entertain the reader)

  • Say something like: "We will now begin writing the class About Your Adventure page for our narratives." Ask students to discuss and select volunteers to share their answers with the whole group:

"What kind of information will be on our About Your Adventure page?" (general information about animal defense mechanisms and directions to the reader about how to use the book)

"Knowing the task, purpose, and audience for our narratives, should the About Your Adventure page sound formal or informal?"(It should sound formal.)

  • If productive, cue students to provide reasoning:

"Why do you think that?" (because it will explain how to read the narrative.)

  • Say something like: "Since the information on this page is about general animal defense mechanisms and directions for the reader, and that information is the same regardless of the expert group animal you have been researching, we will all use the same page in our narratives."
  • Ask students to help you begin the class About Your Adventure page by choosing a student to come up to the paper and write "About Your Adventure" in the center of the first line on the page (see example in the supporting materials).
  • Remind students that they are using Can You Survive the Wilderness? as a mentor text to write their choose-your-own-adventure narratives.
  • If productive, cue students with a challenge. Ask and cold call students to share their responses:

"Can you figure out what our first paragraph should be about and what it should include? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary; follow the steps below to elicit specifics.)

  • Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask and use equity sticks to select students to share their responses:

"If the first paragraph of an About Your Adventure page sets up the situation in the book, what should our first paragraph be about? What situation are we setting up?" (The first paragraph should be about animals using their defense mechanisms.)

  • Reread the first paragraph on page 5 of Can You Survive the Wilderness? aloud. Invite students to turn and talk to a partner about what the first sentence of the class About Your Adventure page should be. Ask a student to share what he or she discussed with a partner and to come write it on the next line.
  • Listen for the students to share something like: "Animals are out searching for food."
  • Drawing from the ideas shared, craft and write a sentence that introduces the situation and uses Can You Survive the Wilderness? as a model. (See the example in the supporting materials.) Continue this process to write the rest of the first paragraph, being sure to model it after the first paragraph on page 5 of Can You Survive the Wilderness?
  • If productive, cue students with a challenge. Ask and cold call students to share their responses:

"Can you figure out what our second paragraph should be about and what it should include? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary; follow the steps below to elicit specifics.)

  • Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask and use equity sticks to call on students to share what they talked about:

"If we're modeling our page after our mentor text, how should the first sentence of the second paragraph begin?" (The second paragraph should start with a question.)

  • Drawing from the ideas shared, craft and write a question that hooks the reader and uses Can You Survive the Wilderness? as a model (see the example in supporting materials). Continue this process to write the rest of the second paragraph, being sure to model it after the second paragraph on page 5.
  • Invite students to chorally read the finished class About Your Adventure page.
  • Ask and cold call students to share their responses:

"Is our class About Your Adventure page appropriate for the task and purpose? How do you know?" (Yes, because it explains how to read the choose-your-own-adventure narrative.)

  • Ask and cold call students to share their responses:

"Is our class About Your Adventure page appropriate for the audience? How do you know?" (Yes, because it is written clearly so that both a child and an adult can understand what to do and how to read the narrative.)

  • Based on which Performance Task template your class is using, do the following:
    • If using Performance Task template (Version 1 for Typed Publication), type and save the class About Your Adventure Page into the template so that all students have this page completed in their templates. 
    • If students are handwriting the performance task, distribute Performance Task template (Version 2 for Handwritten Publication) and ask them to turn to the About Your Adventure page. 
  • Explain that students should now copy the class About Your Adventure page onto their page in the Performance Task template.
  • Give students 10 minutes to copy the class About Your Adventure page. Then invite them to put their materials to the side.
  • For ELLs: In preparation for the Mid-Unit 3 Assessment and to support this phase of the lesson, use sentence frames and multiple choice questions to prompt students: 

Choose the best first sentence to set up the situation in our book.

A. Elephants only eat plants.
B. Animals are out searching for food.
C. Then you choose which path to read.
D. Read the other choice for a new adventure.

Provide ELLs with the language to explain why A, C, and D are weak first sentences and why Animals are out searching for food is better. Examples:

"A, C, and D are weak because _____." (They don't set up the situation directly, and They talk about the ending.)

"B is effective because _____." (It sets up the situation.)

  • For students who may need additional support with comprehension: Throughout the shared writing, return to the mentor text and highlight the specific aspect of the text that your questions are about. For instance, when asking how the first sentence of the second paragraph should start, highlight the first sentence of the second paragraph in the mentor text and circle the question mark to guide students' thinking. (MMR)

B. Modeling: Preparing the Informative Page (10 minutes)

  • Explain that for the remainder of the lesson, students will prepare their writing from Unit 2 to become the informative page in their narratives.
  • Review the task, purpose, and audience; remind students that they will include this informative piece in their performance task as a way to introduce the animal that their narrative is about and that other teachers, parents, and students will read their pieces.
  • Invite students to take out their copies of the Informative Writing Checklist from Unit 2 and display a copy. Remind them that this checklist will be used to assess their informative pieces. Invite students to read the characteristics of an effective informative piece to themselves:
  • W.4.2a
  • W.4.8
  • Ask and cold call students to share their responses: 

"Looking at the Performance Task template, what kind of formatting will we follow in our informative pieces?" (a heading to show this is the page that teaches about the expert group animal)

  • Remind students that they have been keeping track of the sources they have used in their research. Invite them to turn to the Sources page of the Performance Task template and explain that they should record the names of the sources and the author of each source here. 
  • Tell them that in order to prepare their informative page, they need to be sure that all of the information is complete and correct and reflects changes made based on teacher feedback. Remind them that they now have an edited draft complete with their revisions for supporting details and word choice.
  • Using the revised and edited Millipede informative page draft, demonstrate how to copy over a draft onto the All About _____ page of the Performance Task template. Model using correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling and incorporating any revisions or edits noted on the draft.
  • Answer any clarifying questions.
  • For ELLs: Focus students on any pervasive, stigmatizing, or critical errors in their usage of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Examples: commas used without coordinating conjunctions, spaces between a word and punctuation, important common nouns capitalized.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Preparing the Informative Page (15 minutes)

  • Distribute students' informative page drafts with teacher feedback and invite them to take out their Performance Task templates and begin copying over their draft onto the All About _____ page of the Performance Task template. Circulate to support as needed.
  • As students work, remind them to be sure to incorporate any corrections or revisions from their edited draft into their final copies. Remind them to make any capitalization, punctuation, and spelling corrections that they noted on their edited draft or in the teacher's feedback and to record their sources in the appropriate spot on their Performance Task templates.
  • Focus students on the learning targets. Read each one aloud, pausing after each to use a checking for understanding protocol for students to reflect on their comfort level with or show how close they are to meeting each target. Make note of students who may need additional support with each of the learning targets moving forward.
  • Repeat, inviting students to self-assess against how well they collaborated in this lesson.
  • For students who may need additional support with fine motor skills: Offer options for written expression. (Examples:  Access to a word processor, speech-to-text software, a scribe, or a slant board for writing.) (MMAE)
  • For ELLs: Focus students on one or two frequent errors that are most important while simultaneously praising any writing that follows conventions.

Homework

HomeworkMeeting Students' Needs

A. Complete the Finding and Analyzing Description note-catcher from your homework resources for this unit.

B. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt to respond to in the front of your independent reading journal.
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support: Invite students to find and analyze one or two descriptions instead of five. You might also provide them with the descriptions and allow them to highlight the precise language. (MMAE, ME)
  • For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading and writing: For all homework assignments in this unit, read the prompts aloud. Students can discuss and respond to prompts orally, either with you, a partner, family member, or student from Grades 1 or 2, or record an audio response. If students have trouble writing sentences, they can begin by writing words. Consider providing a sentence starter or inviting students who need lighter support to provide sentence starters. (MMAE)

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