Introducing Interactive Writing | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA GK:S4:C19:L98

Introducing Interactive Writing

In this Lesson

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can say the beginning, middle, and end phonemes (sounds) in a CVC word. (RF.K.2)
    • I can listen to a single-syllable word and pronounce the initial phoneme (sound) in the word.
    • I can listen to a single-syllable word and pronounce the middle vowel (phoneme) sound in the word.
    • I can listen to a single-syllable word and pronounce the final phoneme (sound) in the word.
  • Work Time A: I can use what I know about letters and their sounds to spell simple words. (L.K.2)
    • I can use what I know about letters and their sounds to spell single-syllable words.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during the Opening and Work Time. Determine whether they can recall the correct letter based on its sound.
  • Observe students during Work Time A. Determine whether they can spell words correctly using knowledge of high-frequency words or letter-sound correspondence.
  • Record students' progress on the Snapshot Assessment.

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (5 minutes)

A. Introducing Writing the Letter to Match the Sound: "c," "h," "i," "o," "a," "p"

2. Work Time (10-15 minutes)

A. Introducing Interactive Writing

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning

4. Differentiated Small Group Instruction and Rotations (40-45 minutes)

In Advance

  • Prepare the Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student).
  • Enlarge picture of Chip napping in a hat from Decodable Reader: "Chip Can't Nap!" (one for teacher use; from Lesson 96).
  • Gather materials for differentiated small group instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Vocabulary

Key: Lesson-Specific Vocabulary (L); Text-Specific Vocabulary (T)

  • skywriting, phonemes (sounds), interactive (T)

Materials

  • Letter Formation Chart (see supporting materials)
  • Whiteboards (optional; one per student)
  • Whiteboard markers (optional; one per student)
  • Whiteboard erasers (optional; one per student)
  • Enlarged picture of Chip napping in hat from Decodable Reader: "Chip Can't Nap!" (one for teacher use, see lesson 96)
  • Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

 A. Introducing Writing the Letter to Match the Sound: "c," "h," "i," "o," "a," "p"

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together"):

"Now it's time to match these sounds to their letters and write them. Now it's time to match these sounds to their letters, let's go!"

  • Introduce the Writing the Letter to Match the Sound instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: "We will write the letters that match each sound you hear. These letters will help us write words!"

2. Teacher says: "Chip."

3. Teacher pronounces the phonemes (sounds): /ch/ /i/ /p/.

4. Students repeat: /ch/ /i/ /p/.

5. Teacher repeats the phonemes, writing the grapheme (letter) for each phoneme as he or she says it and inviting students to repeat by "skywriting." Refer to the Letter Formation chart in the supporting materials for the suggested formation of each letter:

      • Teacher says: /ch/ and writes the grapheme "ch" on the board, explaining the motions of letter formation as it is written.
      • Students skywrite "ch."
      • Teacher says: /i/ and writes the grapheme "i," explaining the motions of letter formation as it is written.
      • Students skywrite "i."
      • Teacher says: /p/ and writes the grapheme "p," explaining the motions of letter formation as it is written.
      • Students skywrite "p."
      • Teacher and students pronounce the phonemes once more as they use their thumbs to tap out each sound in /ch/ /i/ /p/, then blend them together to say the word: "Chip."

6. Repeat steps 2-5 for the remaining words: "chap," "chop."

7. Teacher asks:

"What changed in all these words?" (The vowel sounds changed from /i/ to /a/ to /o/ for letters "i," "a," and "o.")

8. Teacher says: "Great job making these words! Next, we will be authors and write words in sentences."
  • Remind students of the thumb-tapping technique each time they "tap out" sounds of words. The mouth and fingers change together as each sound is said aloud.
  • Remind students of the sounds for each letter and refer to the Articulatory Gestures chart as needed, particularly when distinguishing between the sounds of the vowels.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Introducing Interactive Writing

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The More We Get Together"):

"Now let's all be writers, be writers, be writers. Now let's all be writers like the authors we love. Listen to the sentence, the sentence, the sentence. Listen to the sentence, we will write as a group."

  • Optional: Teacher distributes whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers (or has students follow along by skywriting).
  • Introduce the Interactive Writing instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: "Today we will write a sentence like the sentences in our books! In our books, the sentences match the picture. Today, we will make a new sentence to match the picture we see."

2. Teacher shows students enlarged picture of Chip napping in a hat.

3. Teacher asks:

"What do you see?" (Chip is sleeping in the hat.)

4. Teacher says: "Yes! The sentence that matches the picture is 'Chip naps in the hat.'"

5. Teacher asks:

"How many words are in this sentence?"

6. Teacher and students repeat the sentence together and use their fingers to count each time a new word is said.

7. Teacher says: "That's right! There are five words in this sentence."

8. Teacher draws five lines for each word in the sentence.

9. Teacher and students repeat the sentence and point to the lines on the board, moving from left to right as they say each word.

10. Teacher chooses a "spacer" (a student volunteer) to sit below the board.

11. Teacher points to the first line on the board and asks:

"Who can write our first word, 'Chip'?"

12. Teacher invites a student volunteer to the board to write the word. Remaining students follow along with whiteboards or skywriting.

13. Student writes first word with a capital letter.

14. Teacher says: "Great job! I see /Ch/ /i/ /p/ for letters 'c,' 'h,' 'i,' and 'p.'"

15. Students tap out the sounds they see, using the thumb-tapping technique.

16. Teacher asks:

"What comes after Chip?" (a space)

17. Teacher says: "Yes! We need our spacer to make room for the next word." Selected student makes a space with his or her index and middle finger.

18. Teacher continues to choose students to write words to complete the sentence.

19. When sentence is completed, teacher and students read the sentence aloud, pointing to each word as they read.

20. Teacher says: "Wow! We just acted like authors and wrote a sentence to match the picture. When you read your writing or another author's writing, remember to point to each word as you read."
  • Consider using a sentence about a topic or text from the Integrated Literacy Block.
  • An individual student can act as a "spacer" by putting his or her index finger and middle finger together to show the "space" between words.
  • Consider providing students with a list of words they know next to the interactive sentence lines and asking them if their word matches the word on the list.
  • If students need help recalling letter sounds, remind them of the keyword and sound of the letter. Example:
    • The keyword for letters "ch" is "ah-choo!" and "ch" makes the /ch/ sound.
  • Remind students of the correct letter formation of each letter using the Letter Formation chart.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

  • Emphasize that successful learners think about what they've learned and why it's important. Consider using a metaphor, such as a baseball player learning to keep his or her eye on the ball to know exactly when to hit it.
  • Ask:

"When we write words, how can we figure out what letters to write?" (Say the word slowly and write the letter for each sound we hear, tap the word to segment each sound, and write the letter for each sound.)

"How might that help us with reading or writing?" (Responses will vary.)
  • For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Example:
    • "When I wrote _____, I thought of the sounds _____."

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Suggested Plan: Teacher works with the Pre-Alphabetic and Partial Alphabetic groups. At this point in the year, the teacher may be ready to meet with three rather than just two groups per day. If so, the teacher should work with students in the Full and Consolidated Alphabetic phases at least once per week. The teacher may choose to guide students through the suggested independent activity or refer to the possible practice activities.

Note: Groups not working with the teacher at a given time should be engaged in purposeful independent rotation work. Refer to the Independent and Small Group Work guidance document (see K-2 Skills Resource Manual) for more details.

Pre-Alphabetic:

  • Practice activity: Teacher guides students in writing the initial, middle, and final sounds of pictures.
    • Teacher guides students in writing the initial and final letters that match the initial, middle, and final sounds in Picture Cards.
    • Students read the words aloud when they are finished writing them.
  • Alternatively, consider saying each individual sound in a word (in sequence) while students write the letters. Then have them read the word.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Picture Cards (in the same word family; one set per student)
    • Letter writing paper

Partial Alphabetic:

  • Practice activity: Students write the initial, middle, and final sounds of pictures.
    • Students write the initial, middle, and final letters that match the sounds they hear when naming a picture, using the Picture Cards: "bat," /b/, /a/, /t/.
    • Students read words aloud when they are finished writing them.
  • Alternatively, consider saying each individual sound in a word (in sequence) while students write the letters. Then have them read the word.
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Picture Cards (one set per student)
    • Letter writing paper

Full and Consolidated Alphabetic:

  • Independent Practice activity: Students write sentences using the characters Chip and Josh from their decodable books.
    • Students read their decodable books.
    • Students write their own sentences by either finishing a decodable book or writing a new story with the same characters in them.
  • Conference with students about Accountable Independent Reading.
  • Choose a lesson from the K-2 Differentiation Packets to extend the students' learning. (Refer to the students' assessment data and the Assessment Conversion chart to determine an appropriate lesson or group of lessons.)
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • Past decodable books
    • Letter writing paper

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