Interactive Writing | EL Education Curriculum

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Daily Learning Targets

  • Opening A: I can make new words using base words and the prefixes “im-” and “in-.” (RF.2.3)
    • I can make and decode a new word by adding a prefix or a suffix to a base word.
    • I can identify common spelling patterns for adding affixes to words.
  • Work Time A: I can write a sentence using two-syllable /ə/ words spelled with “e” and “o,” words with prefixes “im-” and “in-,” and high-frequency words. (L.2.2d)
    •  I can identify spelling patterns based on vowel sounds.
    • I can identify common spelling patterns for adding affixes to words.

Ongoing Assessment

  • Observe students during Opening A. Determine whether they can identify word parts correctly, make a new word by adding prefixes “im-” and “in-,” and decode the new word.
  • Observe students during Work Time A. Determine whether they can correctly spell two-syllable
    /ə/ words spelled with “e” and “o” and high-frequency words from this cycle.
  • Exit ticket (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Agenda

Agenda

1. Opening (3–5 minutes)

A. Word Parts: “im-” and “in-”

2. Work Time (10 minutes)

A. Interactive Writing: Writing a Silly Sentence with /ə/ Words Spelled with “e” and “o”

3. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

A. Reflecting on Learning

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

In Advance

  • Prepare possible silly sentence examples (students may also generate their own; optional): "If you awaken to a monkey in front of your face, you could open the door and not frighten him." "My brother from London says there is so much to discover and love in America if you happen to come here for a visit."
  • Cut apart Word Parts Cards.
  • Gather materials for differentiated small group instruction (see Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher).

Vocabulary

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

  • base word, interact, interactive, pattern, prefix, proficient, similar (L)

Materials

  • Word Parts Cards: "complete," "correct," "perfect," "polite," "possible," "visible," "im-," "in-"
  • Whiteboards (one per student)
  • Whiteboard markers (one per student)
  • Whiteboard erasers (or tissues, socks, etc.; one per student)
  • Clipboards if not sitting at a desk (one per student; optional)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

Opening

OpeningMeeting Students' Needs

A. Word Parts: "im-" and "in-"

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of "The Muffin Man"):

Teacher: "Can you build a word from scratch, a word from scratch, a word from scratch? Can you build a word from scratch, using many parts?"

Students: "Yes, we'll build a brand new word, a brand new word, a brand new word. Yes, we'll build a brand new word by using many parts."

  • Begin the Word Parts instructional practice:

1. Teacher displays the Word Parts Cards randomly on the board: "complete," "correct," "perfect," "polite," "possible," "visible," "im-," "in-."

2. Teacher says: "We have base words and prefixes displayed here."

3. Teacher asks:

"Which are the base words?" ("complete," "correct," "perfect," "polite," "possible," "visible")

"Yes, and which are the prefixes?" ("im-," "in-")

4. Teacher says: "Let's look at the prefixes 'in-' and 'im-.' I wonder how these prefixes change the meaning of base words. Let's try to figure it out by using the prefix 'in-' and the base word 'complete.' I'll pull these Word Parts Cards down and then put them together to make a new word. Read the word to yourself and think about what it means."

5. Teacher makes the word "incomplete" with Word Parts Cards.

6. Teacher invites a student to share his or her thinking about the meaning of "incomplete." (It means not finished.)

7. Teacher says: "Right! So the base word, 'complete,' means to finish something. For example, 'We need to complete the project.' When I add the prefix 'in-' to the word 'complete.' now it means the opposite. It means something is not finished. For example, 'Your work on the math problem is incomplete.' The prefix 'in-' then means 'not.' Let's learn more about how to use these prefixes to change the meaning of a base word."

8. Teacher pulls down the Word Parts Card "polite."

9. Teacher says: "The next word part we will use is 'polite.'"

10. Teacher asks:

"Is this a base word or prefix?" (base word)

"And what does 'polite' mean?" (courteous, nice, well-mannered)

11. Teacher says: "Right! Now what if I want to say that someone is not polite? Let's try to use 'in-' again and read the word."

12. Teacher pulls down the Word Parts Card "in-" to make the word "inpolite" and reads it aloud.

13. Teacher says: "Read this word with me: 'inpolite.'"

14. Teacher asks:

"Does that sound right?" (no)

15. Teacher says: "You're right. When we have a base word that starts with 'p,' it makes it difficult to say the 'in-' prefix. Read it again and notice how your mouth changes from the /n/ sound to the /p/ sound."

16. Students read the word "inpolite" aloud, noticing the difficulty when moving from the /n/ sound to the /p/ sound.

17. Teacher says: "When we want to add the prefix 'in-' to a word that begins with 'p,' we change the prefix to 'im-' because it is easier to say. Let's try that now."

18. Teacher changes prefix to "im-," making the word "impolite," and reads it aloud.

19. Teacher asks:

"Does that sound right?" (yes)

20. Teacher says: "Right. The word that means 'not polite' is 'impolite' because the base word begins with a 'p.'"

21. Teacher distributes whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and whiteboard erasers.

22. Teacher says: "The next base word we will use is 'correct.'"

23. Teacher asks:

"Who can define 'correct' for us?" (true, accurate)

24. Students write "correct" on their whiteboards.

25. Teacher says: "And now, add a prefix to write the word that means not true or not accurate."

26. Teacher asks:

"What word did you write?" ("incorrect")

"What prefix did you add?" ("in-")

"How did you know to use 'in-'?" (because it means "not"; base word does not begin with "p")

27. Repeat steps 22-26 with remaining base words and prefixes.

28. Teacher leads students in reading all words together.

  • For students who need additional help, including ELLs, provide picture cards of base words. This supports students' comprehension of the base word before determining how the meaning changes when the prefix is added.
  • Consider using different colored papers for Word Parts Cards. Example:
    • Prefixes on yellow, base words on green.
  • Consider supporting students if they spell a word incorrectly by reminding them to check their word with the Word Parts Card displayed.

Work Time

Work TimeMeeting Students' Needs

A. Interactive Writing: Writing a Silly Sentence with Two-Syllable /ə/ Words Spelled with “e” and “o”

  • (Suggested transition song, sung to the tune of “The Muffin Man”):

Teacher: “Do you know the words we’ll write, the words we’ll write, the words we’ll write? Do you know the words we’ll write on our boards today?”

Students: “Yes, we know the words we’ll write, the words we’ll write, the words we’ll write. Yes, we know the words we’ll write on our boards today!”

  • Begin the Interactive Writing instructional practice:

1. Teacher says: “Today we will use the words we know to make a silly sentence. We will use the words that have the schwa sound spelled with ‘e’ and ‘o’. Let’s think of words we can use!”

2. Teacher asks:

“Who can remind us what the schwa sound is?” (a vowel sound that is very close to /u/ or /i/ and can be spelled with any vowel)

3. Teacher says: “Great! And I remember that we learned many words that have the schwa sound spelled with ‘e’ and ‘o.’”

4. Teacher asks:

“Who can share a word that has the schwa sound spelled with ‘e’ or ‘o’?”

5. Teacher invites students to offer a few /ə/ words spelled with “e” and “o,” records them on the board, and repeats them.

6. Teacher says: “Great! Now it’s time to use your whiteboards to record the words. After we make our list, we will be writing a silly sentence together. The sentence has to have as many words with the schwa sound as we can add. If we want our sentence to be really silly, we want to have lots of words to choose from. So we are going to work together to think of as many words as we can. You can now think of as many of these words as you can and write them on your whiteboard.”

7. Students write words individually or in pairs for 1–2 minutes.

8. Volunteers share out words from their list. If a student spells a word incorrectly, teacher guides the student to correct the mistake.

9. Teacher adds the students’ words to the word list.

10. Teacher says: “Wow! Look at all the words we’ve listed! Now we are ready to write a silly sentence. I think we should use a word or two from our work with Word Parts and a few high-frequency words, too. I will use the Interactive Word Wall to find some more words for our sentence.”

11. Teacher says: “A silly sentence makes us laugh because we use words that don’t usually go together, it gives us a funny picture in our head, or it sounds really silly.”

12. Teacher says a silly sentence. Example (use student-generated words or offer students a choice from the suggested sentences): “If you awaken to a monkey in front of your face, you could open the door and not frighten him.”

13. Teacher asks:

“How many words are in the sentence?” (20)

14. Teacher says: “Yes! We will write this sentence with 20 words together.”

15. Teacher and students share the pen to take turns interactively writing the sentence (see Interactive Writing lessons in Grade 1, Modules 1–2 for more details). Teacher stops to review punctuation rules as needed.

16. When sentence is finished, teacher says: “Let’s read our silly sentence we wrote from the words we know.”

17. Students and teacher read sentence together.

  • The schwa sound is noted as “/ə/." It approximates the short “u” sound (/u/) when spelled with “o” and approximates the short “i” sound (/i/) when spelled with “e.” Although the sound of schwa is not exactly the same as /u/ or /i/, providing this connection will help students identify the schwa sound in words.
  • Observe students as they write. Encourage them to correct the spellings of words as they review what the teacher has written.
  • Consider reminding students of the meaning of plural (meaning more than one) and singular (one) words.
  • Consider providing student predetermined partners for management concerns, if needed.
  • If time is a consideration, shorten the lesson by calling on students to suggest words instead of writing on their individual whiteboards.
  • If students need, allow them to air-write words instead of writing on whiteboards
  • For students who need support: Consider providing a sentence frame to help them generate a silly sentence.
  • Consider creating a structure for celebrating the silly sentences. As the classroom generates more silly sentences, consider making them into a silly poem.

Closing & Assessments

ClosingMeeting Students' Needs

A. Reflecting on Learning

  • In the Closing, students reflect on what it means to be an independent reader and how they can become increasingly more independent during whole group instruction and differentiated small group instruction. Consider asking one or more of the following questions to support students' understanding of independence (encourage specificity in responses):

"What does it mean to be independent?" (examples: be able to do something on your own, be able to help myself with something)

"What does it mean to be an independent reader?" (examples: have knowledge and skills to problem solve words, have "stamina" or the ability to stick with reading for an extended period of time, know your strengths and weaknesses)

  • Consider reviewing reflections from Modules 1-3 to remind students that throughout the year they have learned many skills needed to be an independent reader. They took responsibility for their learning, set goals for themselves, and collaborated with their peers throughout the year. Consider asking one or more of the following questions (encourage specificity in responses):

"What knowledge and skills do you have now that you did not have earlier in the year?"

"How did you acquire that knowledge/skill?"

  • For students who need additional support organizing their ideas: Provide sentence frames. Examples:
    • "One thing an independent reader has to be able to do is _____."
    • "As an independent reader, I can _____."
    • "I can show independence by _____."

Differentiated Small Groups: Work with Teacher

Suggested Plan: Teacher works with students in the Partial Alphabetic and Full Alphabetic groups. If possible, teacher should also meet with the Consolidated Alphabetic group at least once per week.

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 for more details (see K–2 Skills Resource Manual).

All Groups

The Reader’s Toolbox routine should be used with every group today or another day this week. Teacher may also choose to use a flex day to teach the routine in whole group. See Lesson 28 or Independent and Small Group Work guidance document for full routine and see supporting materials for the Reader’s Toolbox Planning and Recording Template.

Partial Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students work with teacher to interactively create a new silly (or normal) sentence, possibly using CVC, CCVC, and CVCC words OR /ə/ words spelled with “e” and “o.”
  • Use the Assessment Conversion chart to determine appropriate Grade 1 lessons and Activity Bank ideas to use in daily small group instruction.

Full Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students work with teacher or with partners to interactively create new silly (or normal) sentences with /ə/ words spelled with “e” and “o.” Teacher provides immediate feedback and support.
    • Consider using a Writing Checklist (see Lesson 107 supporting materials) modified for the needs of this group. Encourage students to peer or self-edit their sentences based on the checklist criteria.

Consolidated Alphabetic:

  • Students complete exit ticket:
    • Students write their own silly (or normal) sentences with /ə/ words spelled with “e” and “o.”
    • Students use the Writing Checklist (see Lesson 107) to peer or self-edit their writing.
    • Consider keeping these sentences to be used for fluency practice with the Full and Partial Alphabetic students during differentiated small group instruction for the Fluency lesson (Lesson 109).
  • Use leveled readers for fluency practice. (Refer to Independent and Small Group Work guidance document; see K–2 Skills Resource Manual.)
  • Additional Supporting Materials:
    • If silly sentences are being used for fluency practice in Lesson 109, have students write the sentences on chart paper or sentence strips.

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