Interactive Writing | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA GK:S4:C22:L113

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 CVC word and pronounce the initial phoneme (sound) in the word.
    • I can listen to a CVC word and pronounce the middle vowel (phoneme) sound in the word.
    • I can listen to a CVC 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 simple words.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during 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. Poem: Articulatory Gestures

2. Work Time (10-15 minutes)

A. 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:
    • Articulatory Gestures chart
    • Hand mirrors (optional; one per student or pair to see mouth movements)
    • Enlarged poem: "Do You Ever?" (for teacher to display; from Lesson 112)
    • Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)
  • Enlarge the picture of Chip rolling a soccer ball into pins from the Decodable Reader: "The Bowling Alley" (for teacher to display; from Lesson 111).
  • Gather materials for differentiated small group instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher section).

Vocabulary

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

  • skywriting, phonemes (sounds), interactive (T)
  • segment, blend (L)

Materials

  • Enlarged poem: "Do You Ever?" (for teacher to display; from Lesson 112)
  • Large pointer (optional)
  • Articulatory Gestures chart
  • Hand mirrors (optional; one per student or pair to see mouth movements)
  • Whiteboards (optional; one per student)
  • Whiteboard markers (optional; one per student)
  • Whiteboard erasers (optional; one per student)
  • Enlarged picture of Chip rolling soccer ball into pins from Decodable Reader: "The Bowling Alley" (for teacher to display; from Lesson 111)
  • Snapshot Assessment (optional; one per student)

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Poem: Articulatory Gestures

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"):

"Now let's say the letters that we know. Think of the sounds and go, go, go. Open up your mouth big and wide. Sometimes your breath comes from deep inside. As we say the letters we will know. Our letter sound skills will grow, grow, grow!"

  • Begin the Poem: Articulatory Gestures instructional practice, focusing on the articulatory gestures for /e/ and the sound that is made in the rimes "-ell" and "-ess" (as in "well" and "mess"):

1. Teacher reads the enlarged poem: "Do You Ever?" once or twice, pointing to each word as he or she reads it (with a finger or pointer).

2. Teacher circles the words "mess" and "chess" and invites students to listen as he or she says each word.

3. Teacher asks:

"How many syllables are in each word?" (one)

"How do you know?" (I hear one beat in each word.)

4. Teacher invites students to listen as he or she says each word again.

5. Teacher asks:

"What do you notice about these words when I said them?" (They rhyme with the sound /ess/.)

6. Teacher says: "These words rhyme because the ending chunks are the same. Listen to how I segment the first sound from the ending chunk in each word: /m/-/ess/ and /ch/-/ess/."

7. Teacher underlines the letters "ess" in the words "mess" and "chess."

8. Teacher invites students to identify the vowel letter "e" and the sound it makes (/e/), referring to the Articulatory Gestures chart as needed.

9. Teacher invites students to watch his or her mouth as he or she slowly pronounces /es/.

10. Teacher invites students to pronounce /es/, noticing how it feels in their mouths (and how it looks in hand mirrors, if using.)

11. Student volunteers share with their elbow partners or whisper into their hands what they noticed when they pronounced the word. (My mouth was open and my lips are in a small smile. My tongue is close to the roof of my mouth, and the space between my tongue and the roof of my mouth pushes the air out.)

12. If time allows, repeat steps 2-11 with the words "shell" and "well."
  • 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.
  • Consider asking students to notice how many consonants are at the end of "mess" and "chess." Explain that they have "twin power" because they protect the short vowel sound.
  • Some students may confuse the /es/ sound with the name of the letter "s" in the spoken words "mess" and "chess." Consider pointing to the "-ess" rime (ending chunk) in the actual written word while segmenting in step 6. Having students see the "-ess" rime while saying the sound /es/ can help prevent students from mistaking it for the letter "s."
  • Consider providing students with hand mirrors to watch their mouths as they make each sound.
  • Observe students as they make each articulatory gesture. If needed, provide feedback to help them shape their mouths correctly.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. 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).
  • Begin 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 pictures. Today we will make a new sentence to match the picture we see."

2. Teacher shows students enlarged picture of Chip rolling a soccer ball into bowling pins.

3. Teacher asks:

"What do you see?" (Chip rolling the soccer ball into the pins.)

4. Teacher says: "Yes! The sentence that matches the picture is 'Chip can hit one pin.'"

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." Teacher draws five lines, one for each word in the sentence.

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

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

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

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

11. Teacher invites students to tap out the sounds they hear using the thumb-tapping technique.

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

13. Teacher says: "Great job! I see 'ch,' 'i,' and 'p.'"

14. Teacher and students tap out the sounds they see using the thumb-tapping technique and pronounce the word: "Chip."

15. Teacher asks:

"What comes after Chip?" (a space)

16. Teacher says: "Yes! We need our spacer to make room for the next word."

17. Selected student makes a space with his or her index and middle fingers.

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

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

20. Teacher says: "Wow! We just did what authors do 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.
  • Individual students can act as  "spacers" by putting their index and middle fingers 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 students if their word matches the word on the list.
  • Remind students of the correct letter formation of each letter using 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 do we figure out what the beginning sound is?" (Say it and tap out 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 write the word _____, I think of _____."

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 sound of pictures using Picture Cards.
    • Students read the words aloud when they are finished writing them.
  • Alternatively, consider saying a word (without the picture) and having students write the letter for each sound.
  • 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 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 familiar 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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