ELA G4:M2:U2:L10

Writing Informative Texts: Revising for Supporting Details and Word Choice

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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.4.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
W.4.2d: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
L.4.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
L.4.3a: Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
L.4.6: Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).

Daily Learning Targets

I can revise my writing for accurate facts with related evidence using my planning graphic organizer. (W.4.2b, W.4.2d, W.4.5)
I can use vocabulary from my research on animal defense mechanisms to write accurate descriptions in my informative piece. (W.4.2b, W.4.2d, W.4.5, L.4.3a, L.4.6)

Ongoing Assessment

Revisions of informative piece (W.4.2b, W.4.2d, W.4.5, L.4.3a, L.4.6)

Agenda

Agenda	Teaching Notes
1. Opening A. Engaging the Writer: Act It Out! (5 minutes) B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) 2. Work Time A. Analyzing a Model for Supporting Details (15 minutes) B. Analyzing a Model for Word Choice (10 minutes) C. Independent Practice: Revising for Supporting Details and Word Choice (20 minutes) 3. Closing and Assessment A. Finishing Sketches (5 minutes) 4. Homework A. Choose and respond to an informative QuickWrite prompt from your homework resources for this unit. B. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading journal.	Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards: In the Opening, students act out how their expert group animal uses its defense mechanisms. This exercise is designed to help them think about how they might add details to their writing about their animal's defense mechanism, the same way they may have added small gestures when acting out their animal's defense mechanism (W.4.2b, W.4.5). Similar to Lessons 8 and 9, in this lesson students analyze the model informational essay for supporting details and vocabulary before working on their informative pieces (W.4.2b, W.4.2d, W.4.5, L.4.3a, L.4.6). The millipede informative piece draft with revisions (for teacher reference) is in the supporting materials. When modeling how to revise for word choice, include examples of ways to define words in context using parentheses or commas. This is part of the standard that is often missed. The research reading that students complete for homework will help 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 describe and make sense of it. Students who finish quickly can consider other ways to present the information they have been researching from Lesson 8. In this lesson, the habit of character focus is working to become effective learners. The characteristic they are reminded of in this lesson is take responsibility because of the self-assessing and correcting they do when revising their writing. How it builds on previous work: In this lesson, students revise their informative piece drafts completed in Lesson 9 or for homework. Continue to use Goals 1-3 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation. Areas where students may need additional support: There may be a tendency for students to add too many supporting details and examples of precise and accurate vocabulary. Assessment guidance: Refer to the characteristics related to W.4.2b and W.4.2d on the Informative Writing Checklist when assessing students' work in this lesson. Consider using the Writing Informal Assessment: Writing and Language Skills Checklist (Grade 4) during students' writing in Work Time C. See the Tools page. Down the road: Students will continue working on their informative pieces by editing for conventions in Lesson 11 and publishing their pieces in Unit 3.

Teaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engaging the Writer: Act It Out! (5 minutes)

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Analyzing a Model for Supporting Details (15 minutes)

B. Analyzing a Model for Word Choice (10 minutes)

C. Independent Practice: Revising for Supporting Details and Word Choice (20 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Finishing Sketches (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Choose and respond to an informative QuickWrite prompt from your homework resources for this unit.

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

Purpose of lesson and alignment to standards:

In the Opening, students act out how their expert group animal uses its defense mechanisms. This exercise is designed to help them think about how they might add details to their writing about their animal's defense mechanism, the same way they may have added small gestures when acting out their animal's defense mechanism (W.4.2b, W.4.5).
Similar to Lessons 8 and 9, in this lesson students analyze the model informational essay for supporting details and vocabulary before working on their informative pieces (W.4.2b, W.4.2d, W.4.5, L.4.3a, L.4.6). The millipede informative piece draft with revisions (for teacher reference) is in the supporting materials. When modeling how to revise for word choice, include examples of ways to define words in context using parentheses or commas. This is part of the standard that is often missed.
The research reading that students complete for homework will help 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 describe and make sense of it.
Students who finish quickly can consider other ways to present the information they have been researching from Lesson 8.
In this lesson, the habit of character focus is working to become effective learners. The characteristic they are reminded of in this lesson is take responsibility because of the self-assessing and correcting they do when revising their writing.

How it builds on previous work:

In this lesson, students revise their informative piece drafts completed in Lesson 9 or for homework.
Continue to use Goals 1-3 Conversation Cues to promote productive and equitable conversation.

Areas where students may need additional support:

There may be a tendency for students to add too many supporting details and examples of precise and accurate vocabulary.

Assessment guidance:

Refer to the characteristics related to W.4.2b and W.4.2d on the Informative Writing Checklist when assessing students' work in this lesson.
Consider using the Writing Informal Assessment: Writing and Language Skills Checklist (Grade 4) during students' writing in Work Time C. See the Tools page.

Down the road:

Students will continue working on their informative pieces by editing for conventions in Lesson 11 and publishing their pieces in Unit 3.

In Advance

Create and post the Steps for Revising My Writing anchor chart (see supporting materials).
Review the millipede informative piece draft with revisions and make changes as necessary.
Gather colored pencils.
Post: Informational Texts anchor chart; learning targets.

Tech and Multimedia

Work Time C: If students are creating their writing on a shared doc such as a Google Doc, ask them to color code the revisions they make in red text for elaboration/supporting details and green text for vocabulary, or to highlight revisions in green and red.
Work Time C: Students revise their drafts 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 Dictation.io.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 4.I.A.1, 4.I.A.3, 4.I.B.5, 4.I.B.6, 4.I.B.8, 4.I.C.10, 4.I.C.11, 4.I.C.12, 4.II.A.1, 4.II.B.3

Important points in the lesson itself

The basic design of this lesson supports ELLs by building on the language demands introduced in Lessons 1-9. Students work to understand the language of classroom directions, learning targets, classroom handouts and charts, complex texts, and their own informative piece drafts.
ELLs may find word choice challenging. Finding the best English word can be especially difficult because students don't have the background knowledge to know when to use which word in which context. They may use cognates (English words that sound similar to words in the home language). This can be a helpful strategy, but it can also sometimes lead to awkward diction. Allow students to share their choice of words with a proficient or native English speaker. Give them access to English learner dictionaries; the Longman Language Activator is particularly helpful for word choice for students who need lighter support.
Mini Language Dives. Continue to focus on discussing the language structures that are critical to understanding the language in these lessons. See suggestions in the lesson, specifically for addressing the language of steps in the writing process, the Informative Writing Checklist, supporting details from complex texts as students have transcribed them in their graphic organizers, and informative piece drafts.

Levels of support

For lighter support:

Invite students to highlight and label the language structures that are critical to understanding the criteria of the Informative Writing Checklist in this lesson. Example: "I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples to explain my thinking." They can discuss the meaning of these structures in home language groups or heterogeneous English-speaking groups.

For heavier support:

Remind ELLs of the steps in the writing process: plan, draft, revise, edit, publish. Ask: "Which of these steps did we do yesterday?" Tell them: "In this lesson, you will work only on the revising step. You will revise supporting details in the proof paragraphs. You will also revise for word choice (using the best words)."
Create a two-column table of millipede supporting details for Work Time A. Each section should represent a different paragraph of the millipede text. Write the main idea of each paragraph above the different sections. In one column, write some additional millipede facts, quotations, definitions, and details. Include one or two that are not relevant or that represent common errors in supporting details. Leave the second column blank.
As students prepare for the End of Unit 2 Assessment, give them additional practice completing an Informational Writing Planning graphic organizer. Assign a completely new animal and have pairs identify a defense mechanism that the animal uses. Have them discuss and then jot details about the defense mechanism in the organizer.

Universal Design for Learning

Multiple Means of Representation (MMR): This lesson offers a variety of visual anchors to cue students' thinking. Continue to support students by creating additional or individual anchor charts for reference and charting student responses during whole class discussions to aid with comprehension.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression (MMAE): This lesson offers several opportunities for students to engage in discussion with partners. Support those who may need it with expressive language by providing sentence frames to help them organize their thoughts.
Multiple Means of Engagement (MME): Help students feel successful with writing by allowing them to create feasible goals and celebrate when these goals are met. Celebrate students who meet their writing goals, whether it be length of text or sustained writing time.

Vocabulary

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

elaborate (L)
decaying, emit (W)

Materials

Informative piece drafts (begun in Lesson 8; one per student)
Informational Writing Planning graphic organizer (from Lesson 7; one per student and one to display)
Index cards (one per student)
Informative Writing Checklist (from Lesson 7; one per student and one to display)
Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart (from Module 1)
Informational Texts anchor chart (begun in Lesson 7)
Model informational essay (from Lesson 7; one per student and one to display)
Expert Group Animal research notebooks (distributed in Lesson 2; one per student and one to display)

Sketch page (page 20)

Animal Defenses research notebooks (from Unit 1, Lesson 1; one per student)

Purple colored pencils (one per student)
Orange colored pencils (one per student)
Steps for Revising My Writing anchor chart (new; teacher-created)

Materials from Previous Lessons

New Materials

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

Opening	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Engaging the Writer: Act It Out! (5 minutes) Ask students to take out their informative piece drafts and Informational Writing Planning graphic organizers. Explain that they will start the lesson by pretending to be their expert group animal and acting out what it does when it has to use its defense mechanisms. Invite students to skim their drafts and planning pages to review what their expert group animal does when it sees a predator and has to use its defense mechanisms. Distribute index cards. As you are doing this, ask students to find a partner with a different expert group animal. Explain that one partner will act out his or her expert group animal's defense mechanism. While this is happening, the second partner will jot down words or phrases that describe what the first partner is doing. Give students 1 minute for the first partner to go and then invite them to switch roles. Refocus students whole group. Ask them to trade index cards with their partner and return to their seats.	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with language: Encourage students to process language by allowing them to tell a partner what their expert group animal does when it sees a predator and has to use defense mechanisms. (MMAR, MMAE) For ELLs: Provide sentence frames. Examples: For students who need heavier support: "The armadillo _____ when it sees a predator." For students who need lighter support: "When the armadillo encounters a _____, it __________."
B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes) Review the steps of the writing process by asking: "Where are we in the writing process for our informative pieces?" (We have finished planning and drafting our pieces and are now ready to revise our writing.) Display the Informative Writing Checklist and ask students to take out their own copies. Remind them that this checklist will be used to assess their writing. Invite students to read the following characteristics of an effective informative piece to themselves: "W.4.2b: I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples to explain my thinking." "W.4.2d, L.4.6: The words I use show that I am knowledgeable about this topic." Explain that in effective informative pieces, authors use facts and details to elaborate on their ideas. Ask: "What does it mean to elaborate on your ideas?" (It means to expand on our thinking or include more details about our ideas.) Ask: "Based on this checklist and what you know about informative writing, what kinds of facts and details can you include in your writing to elaborate on your ideas?" (We can use accurate and relevant facts from our research, explain what words mean, use specific details or examples from our research, and use quotes from our research.) Tell students that authors of effective informative pieces also carefully choose words to show that they know a lot about their topic. Ask: "What resources can you use when selecting words to use in your writing?" (We can use the words in our vocabulary logs or on the Word Walls.) Direct students' attention to the learning targets and ask them to follow along as you read them aloud: "I can revise my writing for accurate facts with related evidence using my planning graphic organizer." "I can use vocabulary from my research on animal defense mechanisms to write accurate descriptions in my informative piece." Explain that today students will have a chance to revise their informative pieces to elaborate on their ideas and to add precise vocabulary. Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, specifically take responsibility. Remind students that as they revise, they will need to take responsibility for their writing by self-assessing their work and correcting any errors they find.	For ELLs: Allow students to explore spelling and pronouncing aloud, synonyms, definitions, translations, and collocations (words frequently used together) to increase understanding of the new (or recycled) terms: accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, other information and examples, and accurate descriptions. For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of the chunks in a characteristic in the Informative Writing Checklist. "I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information to explain my thinking." Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples: "Place your finger on the sentence: I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information to explain my thinking" "To is a special word. It tells you that the writer will give you a reason or a purpose." (Point at to in the sentence.) "Why do you use accurate and relevant facts?" (to explain my thinking) "What does explain mean?" (tell the reader more details about my thinking and make it clearer) "What's another word for thinking?" (ideas) "So, what is the reason to use accurate and relevant facts?" (to give the reader more details about my ideas and make them clearer; to explain my thinking) For ELLs: Repeat and rephrase your questions. Example: "What can you use to help you choose the right words for your writing?"

Meeting Students' Needs

A. Engaging the Writer: Act It Out! (5 minutes)

Ask students to take out their informative piece drafts and Informational Writing Planning graphic organizers. Explain that they will start the lesson by pretending to be their expert group animal and acting out what it does when it has to use its defense mechanisms.
Invite students to skim their drafts and planning pages to review what their expert group animal does when it sees a predator and has to use its defense mechanisms.
Distribute index cards. As you are doing this, ask students to find a partner with a different expert group animal.
Explain that one partner will act out his or her expert group animal's defense mechanism. While this is happening, the second partner will jot down words or phrases that describe what the first partner is doing.
Give students 1 minute for the first partner to go and then invite them to switch roles.
Refocus students whole group. Ask them to trade index cards with their partner and return to their seats.

For ELLs and students who may need additional support with language: Encourage students to process language by allowing them to tell a partner what their expert group animal does when it sees a predator and has to use defense mechanisms. (MMAR, MMAE)
For ELLs: Provide sentence frames. Examples:

For students who need heavier support: "The armadillo _____ when it sees a predator."

For students who need lighter support: "When the armadillo encounters a _____, it __________."

B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)

Review the steps of the writing process by asking:

"Where are we in the writing process for our informative pieces?" (We have finished planning and drafting our pieces and are now ready to revise our writing.)

Display the Informative Writing Checklist and ask students to take out their own copies. Remind them that this checklist will be used to assess their writing.
Invite students to read the following characteristics of an effective informative piece to themselves:

"W.4.2b: I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples to explain my thinking."
"W.4.2d, L.4.6: The words I use show that I am knowledgeable about this topic."

Explain that in effective informative pieces, authors use facts and details to elaborate on their ideas. Ask:

"What does it mean to elaborate on your ideas?" (It means to expand on our thinking or include more details about our ideas.)

Ask:

"Based on this checklist and what you know about informative writing, what kinds of facts and details can you include in your writing to elaborate on your ideas?" (We can use accurate and relevant facts from our research, explain what words mean, use specific details or examples from our research, and use quotes from our research.)

Tell students that authors of effective informative pieces also carefully choose words to show that they know a lot about their topic. Ask:

"What resources can you use when selecting words to use in your writing?" (We can use the words in our vocabulary logs or on the Word Walls.)

Direct students' attention to the learning targets and ask them to follow along as you read them aloud:

"I can revise my writing for accurate facts with related evidence using my planning graphic organizer."
"I can use vocabulary from my research on animal defense mechanisms to write accurate descriptions in my informative piece."

Explain that today students will have a chance to revise their informative pieces to elaborate on their ideas and to add precise vocabulary.
Focus students on the Working to Become Effective Learners anchor chart, specifically take responsibility. Remind students that as they revise, they will need to take responsibility for their writing by self-assessing their work and correcting any errors they find.

For ELLs: Allow students to explore spelling and pronouncing aloud, synonyms, definitions, translations, and collocations (words frequently used together) to increase understanding of the new (or recycled) terms: accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, other information and examples, and accurate descriptions.
For ELLs: Mini Language Dive. Ask students about the meaning of the chunks in a characteristic in the Informative Writing Checklist. "I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information to explain my thinking." Write and display student responses next to the chunks. Examples:

"Place your finger on the sentence: I use accurate and relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information to explain my thinking"
"To is a special word. It tells you that the writer will give you a reason or a purpose." (Point at to in the sentence.)
"Why do you use accurate and relevant facts?" (to explain my thinking)
"What does explain mean?" (tell the reader more details about my thinking and make it clearer)
"What's another word for thinking?" (ideas)
"So, what is the reason to use accurate and relevant facts?" (to give the reader more details about my ideas and make them clearer; to explain my thinking)

For ELLs: Repeat and rephrase your questions. Example: "What can you use to help you choose the right words for your writing?"

Work Time

Work Time	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Analyzing a Model for Supporting Details (15 minutes) Ask students to turn and talk with a partner, then cold call students to share out: "What are some key features of informational writing?" (Answers may vary and should include details from the Informational Texts anchor chart.) Remind students that they spent a lot of time identifying supporting details in informational texts when determining the main idea and summarizing in Unit 1. Explain that now their job, as authors, is to ensure they provide accurate details that support and elaborate on their topic. This means that their topic should be developed with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and examples. Display and invite students to retrieve their model informational essay. Think-aloud, noticing the elaboration of ideas using these steps: Reread the model and identify the main idea of each paragraph. Ask yourself: "What facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples did the writer use to elaborate on the main idea of this paragraph?" Underline them. Ask yourself: "What does this help the reader to understand about the main idea of this paragraph?"	For ELLs: Repeat the question "What are some key features of informational writing?" Rephrase the question: "What are informational pieces? What do they do? What do they have?" Point to the Informational Texts anchor chart. For ELLs: Scaffold students who need heavier support in the guided practice and in readiness for the End of Unit 2 Assessment by distributing a table of millipede supporting details. Tell students: "Read each supporting detail. Decide whether or not it helps the main idea. Put an X in the box in the second column if the supporting detail is good. Leave it blank if it is not a good supporting detail." For ELLs: Ask students to explain their discussion responses with their partner and you first, and then invite them to share with the class.
B. Analyzing a Model for Word Choice (10 minutes) Direct students' attention to the posted learning targets and read the first one aloud: "I can revise my writing for accurate facts with related evidence using my planning graphic organizer." Use a checking for understanding protocol for students to reflect on their comfort level with or show how close they are to meeting the target. Make note of students who may need additional support moving forward. Direct students' attention to the Informational Texts anchor chart and point to the fifth bullet: "Informational texts have precise vocabulary." Emphasize that authors of informative texts strive to use accurate words and descriptions in their writing. Remind students that they have been collecting vocabulary words in their vocabulary logs and there are words highlighted in their Expert Group Animal research notebook and their Animal Defenses research notebook, and on the Academic Word Wall and Domain-Specific Word Wall. Encourage them to return to these resources as they revise their writing. Refocus students on the model informational essay and think-aloud, identifying the precise vocabulary the writer used using these steps: Reread the model, identifying precise, domain-specific vocabulary. Ask yourself: "How do these words help make the writing more accurate or precise?" Point out the identified words on the Word Walls. As you think aloud, if productive, cue students with a challenge: "What if we replace emit with use? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Emit is more precise because it means to release or give off, which is exactly what the millipede does, but use can mean many things.)	For ELLs: Allow students to explore spelling and pronouncing aloud, synonyms, definitions, and translations of the collocations accurate vocabulary and precise vocabulary. For ELLs: Support students by providing a few synonyms of words appropriate to the millipede draft, along with access to dictionaries. For heavier support: Provide a clearly better choice of words and some clearly poor choices. Have them discuss the differences in meaning. For lighter support: Provide choices that are closer in meaning and have students discuss the best choice.
C. Independent Practice: Revising for Supporting Details and Word Choice (20 minutes) Distribute a purple and an orange colored pencil to each student. Tell students that they will now have the opportunity to revise their writing to add details and develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and examples using the purple colored pencil. Tell students they will use the orange colored pencil to add accurate and precise words that also help to elaborate on their expert group animal and its defense mechanism. Remind students that they skipped lines when they wrote their drafts to leave room for these revisions. Post the Steps for Revising My Writing anchor chart. Encourage students to refer to the index cards from the Opening to see the words and phrases their partner wrote down based on their demonstration. Give students 20 minutes to add supporting details to their drafts using the steps above. Circulate to confer with and support them as needed. Consider letting students know when 10 minutes remain, to ensure they have time to use both of their colored pencils. Remind students that as they revise their writing that the supporting details they include in their proof paragraphs should elaborate on the focus of their essay, or explain how the evidence they have chosen shows how their animal's defense mechanisms help it to survive. Invite students to record 'Y' for 'Yes' and the date in the final column of their Informative Writing Checklist if they feel the criteria marked on their checklists have been achieved in their writing in this lesson. 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 took responsibility in this lesson.	For students who may need additional support with writing strategy development: Consider having students work with a partner or small group when revising. (MMAE)

Closing & Assessments

Closing
A. Finishing Sketches (5 minutes) Invite students to finish up their sketches of their expert animal on the sketch page of their Expert Group Animal research notebook. If productive, cue students to think about their thinking: "How has our sketching and sketch page added to your understanding of your expert animal and defense mechanisms? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary.)

Closing

A. Finishing Sketches (5 minutes)

Invite students to finish up their sketches of their expert animal on the sketch page of their Expert Group Animal research notebook.
If productive, cue students to think about their thinking:

"How has our sketching and sketch page added to your understanding of your expert animal and defense mechanisms? I'll give you time to think and discuss with a partner." (Responses will vary.)

Homework

Homework	Meeting Students' Needs
A. Choose and respond to an informative QuickWrite prompt from your homework resources for this unit. B. Accountable Research Reading. Select a prompt and respond in the front of your independent reading notebook.	For ELLs and students who may need additional support with reading and writing: Refer to the suggested homework support in Lesson 1. (MMAE, MMR)

EL Education Curriculum