teacher work sample - teal | usu · page 1 updated 8/12/16 teacher work sample ece/eled october 3,...

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TeacherWorkSample

ECE/ELEDOctober3,2017

TableofContents

LearningContext…………………………………………………………………………………….…………….……….2FocusStudents……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6Lessonplans…..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8

Pre-Assessment………………………………………………………………………………………..………..8Lessonplan1:CausesoftheAmericanRevolution—WritingHooks………………….10Lessonplan2:CausesoftheAmericanRevolution—KeyIdeas…..…………………….19Lessonplan3:CausesoftheAmericanRevolution—ConclusionParagraph………22Post-Assessment……………………………………………………………………………………………….24

ReflectionandEvaluation………………………………………………………………………………………….…31

1. LearningContext:

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Schooldistrict:LoganCityDistrict

Nameofschool:BridgerElementary

Title1school?Yes

Demographicsofschool:

BridgerElementarySchoolisanelementaryschoolthatinstructsgradesK-5.Theschoolislocatedat1261North400WestinLogan,UT.ThefamiliesthatarelocatedintheboundaryofBridgerElementarytendtohavealowerSocio-EconomicStatus(SES)thanthesurroundingareas.Parentinvolvementinthisschoolisnothigh;manyparentsworkandcan’tvolunteerduringtheschoolday.BridgerElementarycanimproveontheirattendancerate;manystudentsdonotattendschool.AccordingtotheUtahEducationPACE2015-2016,BridgerElementaryhasachronicabsenteeismat22%.AtBridger,387studentsoutof671(57.68%)areonfreelunch,with74studentsbeingonreducedlunch(11.03%).Intotal,68.70%ofstudentsareonfreeorreducedlunch.

*Resource:DataGateway,UtahStateBoardofEducation.Surveyed31,Oct.2017.

*Resourceforthefollowingdata:DataGateway,UtahStateBoardofEducation.Surveyed2016-2017.

Thetotalenrollmentofstudents:630

NumberofTeachers:31

%Endorsed:96.9%

%GradDegree:34.4%

EnrollmentbyGrade

GradeK:111

Grade1:114

Grade2:114

Grade3:111

Grade4:102

Grade5:78

EnrollmentbyEthnicity

AmericanIndian:15

Asian:14

Black:24

Caucasian:311

Hispanic:236

MultiRace:13

PacificIslander:17

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EnrollmentbyGender

Female:285

Male:345

SubgroupPercentages

EconDisadv:74.9%

ELL:24.8%

EthnicMinority:50.6%

SpecialEd:13.8%

Descriptionofschoolclimate:

BridgerElementarySchoolhastheirownschoolmissionstatement;theirmissionstatementis:toLearn,toLead,toSucceed!Bridgerisadiverseschoolthatfocusesonlearninganddevelopingleadershipqualitiesinbothstudentsandadults.BridgerElementaryisa“LeaderinMe”school;leadershipvaluesaretaughtandexpectedfromthestudentsandteachers.Theschoolfocusesonusingthe7Habits;thesehabitshelpthemtobetheirverybest.Inadditiontoaschoolwidemissionstatement,eachclasshaspreparedtheirownmissionstatement.Atthebeginningoftheschoolyear,studentsandteachersdesignedtheirownpersonalclassmissionstatement.Themissionstatements—bothschoolandclass—arerecitedeverymorning.The7habitsarealsorepeatedeachmorningtohelpstudentsremembertheirimportance.

AllstaffmembersmeetweeklyatProfessionalLearningCommunity(PLC)meetingstodiscussupcominglessonplans,questions/concerns,anddifferentassessmentsthattheyareusingintheclassroom.Throughoutthemeeting,teachersareencouragedtofollowanagendatokeepontrack,andtoensurethattheydiscusseverytopicneeded.TeachersalsomeetweeklywithaninstructionalcoachforITMmeetings.DuringITMmeetings,thegradeteamgoesoverstudentdata,andhowtofocustheirinstructiononmeetingindividualstudentneeds.Teachersdonothaveinstructionalaides;intheirdailyschedule,theyhavetimesetasidefortierIIandtierIII.FromtheinteractionsthatIhaveobserved,thestaffatthisschoolisveryfriendlyandseemtohaveagoodsupportsystem.

Gradelevel:5th

Learningenvironment:

Theattendancerateformy5thgradepracticumclassis94.7%.Mostofourclassattendsclassdaily;however,therearesomestudentswhomissclassregularly.Forexample,Sallyastudentinmypracticumclass,hasmissedmanydayssincetheschoolyearstarted.Shehasmissed13daysoutof38,with5tardies;mostoftheseabsenceshappenedduringthefirstcoupleofweeksofschool.Mrs.ThomastalkedwithSallyabouttheimportanceofcomingtoschooleachday—andbeingontime—andthatiswhenherattendancestartedrising.

Regardingclassacademics,manystudentsneedadditionalsupportonreading.Outofthe30students,20studentsfallintothethreecategories:barelyatbenchmark,belowbenchmark,wellbelowbenchmark.Manystudentsneedindividualizedandintense

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readinginstruction.Toaccomplishthis,RewardsProgram,Precision,andReadingAtoZarebeingincorporatedintotheclassroom.Inmath—withthedatathatiscurrentlyavailable—moststudentsareatgradelevel.

EachmorningMrs.Thomas—mycooperatingteacher—greetsherstudentsbythedoor.Shesayseachstudent’snameastheywalkintotheclassroomdoor.Studentshavepracticedtheirroutinesenoughthattheyknowwhattheyneedtodo.Thereisaclassroomschedulepostedtothewhiteboardthatinformsthestudentswhattimetheyaredoingcertainactivities.Mrs.Thomashasherclassroomrulespostedonthewall,alongwiththe7Habitsthattheschoolencourages.Eachmorningthestudentsrecitetheschoolmissionstatement,PledgeofAllegiance,theclassroomrules,the7Habits,andtheirclassmissionstatement.

Studentengagementseemstocomeandgowiththisclass.Somedaysthestudentsareontaskandareinvolvedwiththelessonstheentireday.Otherdays,thestudentsareofftask,andcan’tquiteseemtocomebacktothelesson—nomatterhowengagingtheitis.Overall,thereisroomforimprovementwithstudentengagement.Thestudentsaremoreengagedduringthemorningcomparedtotheafternoon.Thisschoolonlyhas1recessbreak(duringlunchtime).Severalstudentshaveexpressedwhytheyarenotengagedattheendoftheday.Moststateitisbecausetheyneedabrainbreak.Weincorporatebrainbreaksintotheafternoonschedule,buttheyareonlyaround10minuteslong.Improvingclassroommanagementskills,makingthelessonsmoreengaging,andtakingmorebrainbreaksarethestrategieswecanimplementtoseeifthestudentsaremoreengaged.

Forstudentarrangement,thestudentsdon’thavedesks.Instead,theclassisdividedinto6differentgrouptables.Eachgrouphas6students—4boysand2girls.Thestudentshaveacontainerinthemiddleoftheirtablethathastheirpencils,markers,coloredpencils,etc.Thishelpsstudentslearnaboutthewordcommunity;bothingroupsandasawhole.Studentsarealsolearninghowtotreatallmaterialskindlybecausetheymightbethenextpersontousethatcertainmaterial.

Forexternalrewards,Mrs.Thomashasthreedifferentsystemstomotivateherstudents.First,studentshavetheopportunityto“buttonup”eachday.Eachstudentstartsatnumber3(ona1-6scale).Throughouttheday,iftheyarebeingagoodexample,thentheycanbuttonuptothenextnumber.Attheendoftheday,theycancolorinachartaccordingtowhatnumbertheylandedon.Thesesquareseventuallyleaduptoanicecreamparty.Anothersystemthatsheusesisclassmoney;studentsarerewardedmoneyforbeingontaskandfollowingdirection.Thismoneycanbespentataclassroomstorethattheyhaveevery2months.Thelastrewardsystemsheusesisadailytracker.Onthewhiteboard,shehasasmileyfaceandafrownyface.Everytimethestudentsarebeinggoodshegivesthemsometallypointsunderneaththesmileyface.Whentheyareofftask,notfollowingdirections,ortalkingatinappropriatetimes,sheputstallymarksunderneaththefrownyface.Thisseemstobethemosteffectivethroughouttheday;thestudentsalwayswanttowin,andtheysometimesusesocialpressuretogettheoff-taskstudentstostartworkingagain.

Subjectmatteroflessons:SocialStudiesandInformativeWriting

Totalnumberofstudents:30

Studentswithspecialneedsandshortexplanationoftheneeds:

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WithIEPs:4

MostIEPplansinthisclassfocusonreadingskills.Onestudentreceivesspeech/languageservices(discussedbelow).Anotherstudentisata4thgradereadinglevel.Hergoalistoread4thgradeleveltextat80wordsperminutewith95%accuracy;sheiscompletingthesegoalsandwillmostlikelytestoutofherIEPintheupcomingmonth.Anotherstudentneedsadditionalsupportwithdecodingandphonicsskills.Hisgoalistomasterbasicphonicskillsinordertodecodewordsandtoaccessgradelevelcurriculum.ThelaststudentonanIEPneedsadditionalsupportwithmathandsocial/emotionalskills.Tohelphimachievehisgoals,groupsareadjusted,thereareminimizeddistractions,specialseating,andanyadditionalacademicsupport.Thisstudenttendstohaveautistictendencies,andcan’tstayontaskforthemajorityoftheschoolday.

Studentswhoreceivespeech/languageservices:1

Katherinereceivesadditionalinstructiononreadingcomprehension;hergoalistoscore80%orhigherwithreadingcomprehensionassessment.Tohelpherachievethisgoal,weadjustgroupingandreadtestaloudtoher(whenneeded).

Englishlanguagelearners:4

Outofthe4ELLstudents,only1isbeingpulledoutoftheclassroomtoreceiveadditionalinstruction.Alltheotherstudentsunderstandenoughofthelanguage/vocabularytermstocomprehendthecontent.

Giftedandtalented:0

Other(e.g.,504plans--pleasespecify):0

Students’priorknowledgefortheselessons:

StudentswhohaveattendedBridgerpriorto5thgradewillrecognizetheinformativeessayformat.Tohelpteachinformativewriting,teachersdivideasinglepieceofpaperintofourdifferentareas.Thebeginningsquarecontainstheopeningparagraph,thenextsquarecontainskeyideasaboutthesubject,thethirdsquarecontainskeyideadetails,andthelastsquareistheconcludingparagraph.Togetherasawholeclass,theyhavediscussedcompareandcontrastinformativewritingusingthesameinformativewritingroughdraft.

Students’backgroundandinterestfortheselessons:

SomestudentshavenoknowledgeabouttheRevolutionaryWar.However,somestudentsdohavesomeknowledgeaboutthewar.AcoupleofstudentshavetoldmeaboutbooksandfactsthattheyhavereadabouttheRevolutionaryWar.SomeotherstudentshaveshownmeAmericanRevolutionbooksthattheyhavebeenassignedtoread.

Howdidyourknowledgeofthesestudentsandassessmentoftheirpriorknowledgeinformyourlessonplanning?

Basedoffstudents’priorknowledge,Ishouldn’thavetogointodetailabouttheinformativeessaywritingdraft.StudentswhohaveattendedBridgerElementarybeforehaveusedthisinformativewritingformat.OtherstudentswhoarenewtoBridgermightnotbeasfamiliarwiththeformat,butwehavegonethroughittogetherasaclassprior

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totheselessons.RegardingtheAmericanRevolution,thereareafewstudentswhohassomepriorknowledge.However,mostoftheclassdoesnotknowaboutthedifferenttaxacts.IplanongoingintodetailabouttheAmericanRevolution,andafewcausesofthewar.Afterassessingthestudents,Iplanongoingataratethatthestudentsarecomfortablewith.

2. FocusStudents:

Descriptionofstudent1Priorlearning:

Taylorhashadsomeexposuretoinformativeessays.Hehasseenacompareandcontrastessayinclass.Tayloralsohaspriorknowledgeofopeningparagraphs;hewasabletotellmethatthereneededtobeatleast2sentencesinaparagraph.TaylorhasnobackgroundontheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.WhenIaskedhimifheknewanyfactsaboutit,heshookhishead.

Academicability:Inreading,Tayloriswellbelowbenchmark.Heneedsimprovementonhisaccuracy,fluency,retelling,andreadingcomprehension.Taylorhasbeenreceivingintensivereadinginstruction.Regardingmath,heisbelowbenchmark.Whensubtracting,itisdifficultforhimtoregroupthenumberscorrectly.Withdivision,heisstartingtounderstandhowtodividetwo-digitdivisors.However,hehasnotmasteredtheskillyettobeongradelevel.Inscience,thestudentshavebeenlearningaboutchemicalandphysicalchanges.Regardingthissciencestandard,Tayloriswellbelowbenchmark.

Personalbackground:HeisverynewtoBridgerElementary.Hemovedinabouttwoweeksafterschoolhadstarted.TaylormovedfromHawaii,andhashadtoadjusttolivinginanew/differentenvironment.Taylorisasocialstudent—hehasmadefriendsveryquicklyhere.Helovesmath,andworkshardeveryday.Hedoesn’tevergiveup,andheisalwayspayingattentioninclass.Taylorparticipatesinclassdiscussion,anddoeswellwithpartnerandgroupwork.

Otherrelevantcharacteristics:TaylorisanEnglishLanguageLearner.Hecanunderstandmostofthevocabularythatwearediscussinginclass.BecauseheisanEnglishLanguageLearner,hehastoreadatslowerratetoensurethatheisunderstandingthetext/questions.Taylordoeswellwithclasswork—healwayscompletestheassignmentsandturnsthemin.

Influenceofallofthesecharacteristicsonyourteaching:IamgoingtoreadaloudallthearticlesandtextsthatIhandouttotheclass.Thiswillhelpensurethatallstudentshaveacompleteunderstandingofwhatthearticlessay,whatisexpectedofthem,andwhattheirassignmentis.ThiswillbenefitTaylorbecausehewillhaveabetterunderstandingofvocabularyterms,andassignmentinformation.Iamalsogoingtohavestudentsworkwithpartnersand/orgroups.Taylorworkswellwithotherstudents,sohewouldenjoyworkingwithanotherstudentwhenapplicable.Hewillalsobenefitfrom

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thecollaborativelearning;ifheisn’tsurewhattodo,astudent(orteacher)willbeabletohelphim.

Descriptionofstudent2

Priorlearning:Lillyhasexperienceworkingwithinformativeessays.Sheremembersworkingwiththesetypesofessaysinthirdandfourthgrade.Sheknowsthattheyneedanopeningparagraph,twoorthreeparagraphsaboutthetopic,andaconclusionparagraph.LillyhasheardoftheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.Shementionedtomethatshehadheardaboutitbeforeinbooks.

Academicability:Regardingreading,Lillyisbelowbenchmarkacrosstheboard(accuracy,fluency,retelling,andreadingcomprehension).Sheisreceivingdifferentiatedinstructionduringtier2.Inmath,Lillyisatgradelevel;sheunderstandsaddition,subtraction,wholenumbers,anddecimals.Inscience,thestudentshavebeenlearningaboutchemicalandphysicalchanges.Lillyisatgradelevelwiththissciencestandard.

Personalbackground:LillyisnewtoBridgerElementary;shecamefromThomasEdisonSouth.Inherfamilyhousehold,sheliveswithherfather,step-mother,step-sister,andheryoungerbrother.Lilly’smompassedawaywithinthelastfewyears,andLillyhasstruggledwithacceptingherdeath.Shehasbeeninangermanagementclasses,andrecentlystatedthatshewouldliketobeenrolledinthemagain.

Otherrelevantcharacteristics:Lillylikesworkingwithpartnersandgroups.Shelovesbeinginvolvedinclass;sheisconstantlyraisingherhandtoansweraquestion,askaquestion,orshareapersonalexampleregardingthetopic.Sheturnsinherhomeworkmostofthetime,andalwaysturnsinherclassworkcompleted.Sheisveryrespectful,andworkswellwithothers.

Influenceofallofthesecharacteristicsonyourteaching:Lillylovestoparticipateduringclass.Iamgoingtoincorporatestudentparticipationasmuchaspossibleintomylessons;thisincludesaskingquestions,workingwithpartnersorgroups,andindependentparticipation.ThiswillgiveLillytheopportunitytosharehercommentswithothers,andwillhelpstudentengagementthroughoutthelessons.

3. LessonPlans:

AmericanRevolutionaryWarPre-Assessment

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ApproximateTime40minutes

Requiredmaterials,resources,andtechnologyà ClasssetofCausesoftheAmericanRevolutionà ClasssetofBritishTaxActschartà ClasssetofWritingHooksà Blankwhitepaperà ClasssetofWhiteboardsandDryEraseMarkersà WritingFolders:insidetheyhavealistoftransitionwords

à VocabularyPowerPoint(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ao1BPKVNUYZ7DYkijYtdVHfjAxvpBnPsJRE6YF2uiX4/edit?usp=sharing)

Toassessthestudents’beginninglevelofunderstanding,Iwillhavethemanalyzethementortexts,“CausesoftheAmericanRevolution”and“BritishTaxActs”chart.Theywillalsowritetheirowninformativeessay.Beforetheybeginwritingtheirpaper,togetherasaclasswewillgooverthePowerPointlistedabove.Studentswillthendotheirbesttoanswerthewritingprompt.Iwanttoseetheirlevelofunderstanding,soIwon’tgivethemanyhintsaboutwhattowrite.Intheupcominglessons,wewillgooverthesamearticles,andwriteaninformativeessay.Studentswillbeworkingindividually,withpartners,withgroups,andwiththewholeclass.Iwillbasemyinstructionontheresultsoftheiressaysthattheywroteduringthepre-assessment.Throughoutthelessons,Iwillmonitorhowthestudentsarewriting,answerquestionsthatstudentshave,andwillhavethemturninsampleworkformetoassesstheirlevelofunderstanding.ResultsBasedofftheirpre-assessmentwritingsamples,Idecidedthatwewouldwriteaninformativeessayasaclass.Theunitwillhavethemworkindividually,withpartners,groups,andasawholeclass.Manystudentscameuptomeduringthepre-assessmentandtoldme,“Idon’tknowhowtostart.”Manystudentsdidn’tknowhowtowriteopeningparagraphs,sothatisgoingtobethemajorfocusofmyinstruction.Wewillspendtwodaysonwritinghooks.Basedoffoftheresults,forthepost-assessment,Iwillrequirestudentstowriteoneopeningparagraph.Wewillstilllearnhowtowriteaninformativeessay,butIwillnotbeassessingthemonanentireinformativeessay.StudentWritingSamplesBelowareexamplesofdifferentstudent’spre-assessments.Focusstudents’pre-assessmentscanbefoundinthereflectionandevaluationpartofthisworksample.

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Lesson1LessonTitleCausesoftheAmericanRevolution—WritingHooksSubjectandgradeLevelThisunitisgearedtowards5thgradeSocialStudiesandWriting.Approximatetime40minutes,twowritingperiodsRationaleformethodsCurrently,theentirefifthgradeisfocusingonteachinginformativewritingtotheirstudents.Iamfollowingtheleadofthefifth-gradeteamandconcentratingmyunitoninformativewritingandSocialStudies.Whilestudentsarewriting,theywillbefocusingmostlyoncontent—thelearningoutcomeisforthestudentstounderstandwhatcausedtheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.Anotherlearningoutcomeisforstudentstoknowhowtosetupaninformativeessay.Studentswillwritewhattheyknowinanorganizedmanner;showingthattheyunderstandtheconceptsfoundinthetext.MyrationaleforthismethodcomesfromthebookWritingEssentials.ThistextwasfrequentlyusedthroughoutLevelIIIWritingMethodsCourse.Theauthorstates,“Writersneedtofocusontheirmessage(content)beforeform(editingandgrammar)toachievequalityandcoherence”(Romano2004;Graves1994;Krashen2003).ContentstandardsThislessonalignswithNCSSSocialStudies5.2.2:Studentswillunderstandthechronologyandsignificanceofkeyeventsleadingtoself-government.StudentswillevaluatetheRevolutionaryWar’simpactonself-rule.Thislessonalsointegratesinformativewriting;refertostandardCCSSW.5.2b:Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.Developthetopicwithfacts,definitions,concretedetails,quotations,orotherinformationandexamplesrelatedtothetopic.Academiclanguage/vocabularyobjectives

§ LanguageSkill:Studentswillneedtoknowwhatitmeanstoproduceawritinghook.Studentswilllearnhowtocreateanopeningparagraphthatgrabstheirreader’sattention.

§ Discipline-specificVocabulary:colony(acountryorareathatisincontrolbyanothercountry),colonist(someonewholivesinacolony),boycott(refusetobuyorhandleobjects),committee(agroupofpeoplewhoworkonaspecificjobtogether),massacre(whenmanypeopledie),intolerable(toohardtolivewith),parliament(atypeofgovernment).

Requiredmaterials,resources,andtechnologyà ClasssetofCausesoftheAmericanRevolutionà ClasssetofBritishTaxActschart


à ClasssetofWritingHooksà Blankwhitepaperà ClasssetofWhiteboardsandDryEraseMarkersà WritingFolders:insidetheyhavealistoftransitionwordsà Blanklinedpaperà FinishedInformativeEssayWritingDraft(teachercopy)à MovieTrailer:“CharlieandtheChocolateFactory”(2005)

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFVGCUIXJls)à SmartBoardorProjectorà VocabularyPowerPoint

(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Ao1BPKVNUYZ7DYkijYtdVHfjAxvpBnPsJRE6YF2uiX4/edit?usp=sharing)

à WritingHookPowerPointo TechnologyJustification:ThisPowerPointwillhelpstudentswiththeirabilitytostay

ontask.ThePowerPointisfast-pacedandinteractive;thisallowsstudentstonotgeteasilyoff-task.ThePowerPointcanalsobepresentedasagame;manystudentslovegames,andthenumberofstudentsparticipatingwillincrease.Itwillalsoincreasestudents’comprehensionofwritinghooks.Studentsaregoingtobeexposedtomanydifferentsentencesusingthethreetypesofwritinghooks.TheywillhaveabetterunderstandingofwhatawritinghookisbythetimetheyfinishthePowerPoint.Thisisalsoagreatwaytogetstudentfeedback;byposingaquestionandhavingstudentsrespondontheirwhiteboards,youcangetaquickassessmentofwhois/isn’tunderstandingthematerial.

(https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AZosMws0wY001AgPTPA3h8VaT2oAoKHDHPe2FtFcKr4/edit?usp=sharing)

LessonobjectivesGivenmentortexts,thewholeclasswillbeabletowriteanopeningparagraph(usingoneofthewritinghooksdiscussedinclass)abouttheAmericanRevolutionfortheirinformativeessay.InstructionalProceduresInquiry:20minutesIntroduceinformativeessaysandconnectpriorknowledge.Class,youhavebeenworkingwithinformativeessays.WerecentlycomparedandcontrastedBenandMrs.Tibbetsfrom“NightoftheSpadefootToads.”Yesterdaywhenwewerewriting,wewroteabouttheRevolutionaryWar.Today,wearegoingtolearnmoreaboutinformativeessays.Specifically,wearegoingtolearnhowtowriteanopeningparagraphforaninformativeessay.Summarizethetwoarticlesthattheclassreadthedaybeforeduringthepre-assessment(“CausesoftheAmericanRevolution”and“BritishTaxActs”chart).GooverthevocabularyPowerPointwithstudents;havestudentsreadtheirdefinitionsoutloud.Movietrailersarelikeopeningparagraphs.Theymustgettheaudience’sattention,explainthetopic,andtheycan’tgiveawaytoomuchinformation.Iftheydid,noonewouldwanttogotothetheaterandwatchthemovie.Let’swatchthismovietrailer.Watch“Charlieandthe


ChocolateFactory”movietrailer.Doesthismakeyouwanttoknowmoreaboutthemovie?Why?Callonafewstudentsandhavethemexplainwhytheywantedtowatchamovie.Relatethemovietrailerbacktoopeningparagraphsbasedoffstudentinput.Wewanttodothesamethingwithouropeningparagraph—wewantthereadertokeepreadingouressay.But,wedonotwanttogivethemalltheinformation.Otherwise,theywon’twanttokeepreadingtherestofouressay.Class,whenwearewritinganopeningparagraph,wewanttogetthereader’sattention.Therearemanywaysthatwecangetareader’sattention.Thesedifferentwaysarecalledwritinghooks—theygrabthereader’sattention.Writinghooksarefoundatthebeginningofanopeningparagraph.Therearethreetypesofwritinghooks:questions,interestingfacts,andsoundeffects.GothroughtheexamplesontheWritingHookworksheet.Wearenowgoingtopracticeidentifyingandcreatingwritinghooks.Model:30minutesGothroughwritinghookPowerPoint.Studentsshouldidentifyontheirwhiteboardwhattypeofwritinghookisbeingdisplayed.Ifstudentsarecorrectlyidentifyingtheirhooks,havethempracticewritingtheirownhooksusingthekeyideasfromthePowerPoint(lastfewslides).Iftheclassissuccessful,havethemmoveontocreatingawritinghookfortheirowninformativeessay.Class,nowwearegoingtopracticewritinganopeningparagraph.Wewanttouseahooktograbthereader’sattention.Let’spractice.Lookatmyopeningparagraph.Itsays,“TheRevolutionaryWarhelpedbuildournation.TheBritishgovernmentmadethecolonistsmad,andtheyfoughtback.Therearemanyreasonswhythewarstarted.HerearetwocausesoftheAmericanRevolution.”Class,howcanImakemyopeningsentencebetter?Classcouldrespondwithaquestion,interestingfact,orsoundeffect.Re-writeyourownopeningsentence(usingahook)dependingonstudentinput.SharedCollaboration/IndependentWriting:25minutesNow,wearegoingtocreateourownopeningparagraph.Everyonegrabyourwritingjournalwithourarticlesfromyesterday.Youareusingyourdraftfromyesterday.Remember,wearetryingtohookourreaders,somakesureyouuseoneofthewritinghooks.Allowstudentssufficienttimetoworkonopeningparagraph.Duringthistime,theteachershouldberotatingthroughdifferentstudentstoensurethateveryoneisunderstandingtheexpectation/objective.Afterthestudentshavecompletedtheiropeningparagraph,havethemsharewithapartnerorcheckwiththeteacher.

Adaptations/accommodationsForEnglishLanguageLearners,IwillincorporateaPowerPointthathasdefinitionsofvocabularywordsthattheymightnotbefamiliarwith.Ialsoprovidedimagesofthethirteencoloniesandaworldmap.ThishelpsthestudentsvisuallyseewhattheUnitedStateslookedlikeatthattime.Studentsthatwillbenefitfromthisare:Chris,Walter,Taylor,andKevin.LookingatpicturesoftheRevolutionaryWar,anddifferentpicturesofthetimeperiod,willhelpstudentsgrasptheconceptbetter.ThiswillalsoimprovecomprehensionforELLs(andanyvisuallearners).ThiswillbenefitTaylor—oneofmyfocusstudents—becauseheisalwaysengagedthroughoutthelesson;however,hestruggleswithvocabularywords.Thiswillgivehimexposuretothenewwords,andhewillbeabletorefertothevocabularydefinitionwhenheseesitinthetext.Knowingvocabularytermswillalsohelphimwithreadingcomprehension.MichaelhasanIEPandstruggleswithbeingabletofocusonatask.Forthisstudent,hewillberequiredtolistenabouttheRevolutionaryWar,andhaveateacherwriteafewsentencesabout


it.Hecan’tstayontaskforverylong,andhedoesn’tlikewriting.Katherineneedsadditionalsupportwithcomprehensionofatext;shewillhavetheoptionofhavingthetextreadaloudtoher.TherestofthestudentsonIEP’swillhavethetextreadaloudtothem.Thiswillhelpgivethemachancetoaskquestionsaboutvocabulary,andwillhelpthemtobetterunderstandthetexts/assignments.Lillyisoneofmyfocusstudents;tohelpherwiththislesson,Iwillgiveheradditionalsupportifsheneedsit.Lillyisastudentwhoisatgradelevel,andoccasionallyasksclarifyingquestions.AssessmentIwillknowthatstudentshavemettheobjectivewhentheycanaccuratelywriteanopeningparagraphusingawritinghook.Toassessiftheymetthelessonobjective,Iwilllookattheirwritingsamplesanddetermineiftheycorrectlyusedawritinghook.Iwilluseformativeassessmentthroughoutthislessontoseeifstudentsunderstandwhatthethreedifferenttypesofwritinghooksare.Studentswillberequiredtoparticipateduringthewritinghookactivity.Duringindependentwriting,IwillbecheckingforunderstandingasIreadstudent’sopeningparagraphs.Iwillalsobeconferencingwithstudentswhoneedadditionalhelpduringthistime.MentorTextsBritishTaxActschartCausesoftheAmericanRevolution

WritingHooks FinishedInformativeEssayWritingDraft

WorksCitedUCBerkely


WritingHooks

Start With…

« A question: Ask the reader a question

about the topic. o Example: Have you ever been to Disneyland? Let

me tell you about some interesting facts.

« Sound effect: Use onomatopoeias


o Example: Boom! Crash! The wind was howling

outside my home.

« An interesting fact: Surprise the reader

with a fact from the text. o Example: Did you know that the first man to

walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong? Thisisthefinishedinformativewritingdraft—teacher’sexample.AsIteachthelesson,Iwillcompletethisonablankinformativedraft.Thiscompleteddraftisprovidedtoshowanexampleofwhatotherinformativedraftsmightlooklike.


Lesson2

LessonTitle


CausesoftheAmericanRevolution—KeyIdeasSubjectandgradeLevelThisunitisgearedtowards5thgradeSocialStudiesandWriting.Approximatetime40minutesRationaleformethodsCurrently,theentirefifthgradeisfocusingonteachinginformativewritingtotheirstudents.Iamfollowingtheleadofthefifth-gradeteamandconcentratingmyunitoninformativewritingandSocialStudies.Whilestudentsarewriting,theywillbefocusingmostlyoncontent—thelearningoutcomeisforthestudentstounderstandwhatcausedtheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.Anotherlearningoutcomeisforstudentstoknowhowtosetupaninformativeessay.Studentswillwritewhattheyknowinanorganizedmanner;showingthattheyunderstandtheconceptsfoundinthetext.MyrationaleforthismethodcomesfromthebookWritingEssentials.ThistextwasfrequentlyusedthroughoutLevelIIIWritingMethodsCourse.Theauthorstates,“Writersneedtofocusontheirmessage(content)beforeform(editingandgrammar)toachievequalityandcoherence”(Romano2004;Graves1994;Krashen2003).ContentstandardsThislessonalignswithNCSSSocialStudies5.2.2:Studentswillunderstandthechronologyandsignificanceofkeyeventsleadingtoself-government.StudentswillevaluatetheRevolutionaryWar’simpactonself-rule.Thislessonalsointegratesinformativewriting;refertostandardCCSSW.5.2b:Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.Developthetopicwithfacts,definitions,concretedetails,quotations,orotherinformationandexamplesrelatedtothetopic.Academiclanguage/vocabularyobjectives

§ LanguageSkill:Studentswillneedtoknowwhatitmeanstosummarizekeyideasaboutthetopic.

§ Discipline-specificVocabulary:Studentswilllearnaboutkeyideas,andhowtobrieflysummarizethem.Lookingatatopic,studentswillbeabletounderlinerelevantinformationandwritekeyideasaboutthetopic.

Requiredmaterials,resources,andtechnologyà ClasssetofCausesoftheAmericanRevolutionà ClasssetofBritishTaxActschartà ClasssetofWritingHooksà RevolutionaryWarWritingDraftà FinishedInformativeEssayWritingDraft(teachercopy)à WritingFolders:insidetheyhavealistoftransitionwordsà SmartBoardorProjectorà ColoredPencils—2differentcolors


LessonobjectivesGivenmentortexts,thewholeclasswillbeabletosummarizekeyideas,underlinerelevantinformationabouttheirkeytopics,andcreateakeyidealistregardingtheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.InstructionalProceduresInquiry:2minutesConnectpriorknowledgefromthepreviouslesson.Writers,yesterdaywelearnedaboutwritinghooks,andwroteouropeningparagraph.Today,wearegoingtoworkonchoosingourtwomainkeyideas,andunderliningimportantdetailsaboutthemfromthetext.Model:20minutesExplainwhatkeyideasare.Whenwritingourinformativeessay,wewanttofocusonkeyideasthatwillhelpusanswerourwritingprompt(orquestion).Wehavealotofinformationinourtext.Weonlywanttofocusonkeyideasthatwehavedecidedareimportanttothequestion.Refertotheteacher’sinformativeessayexample.Let’slookatmyinformativeessay.Ichosetwoacts—theteaactandthestampact.ThesearetheactsthatIthinkareimportantthathelpanswerthequestion.Gothroughtheprocessofhowtounderlinerelevantkeyideasinthetext.Remindtheclassthattheyarejustwatchingyou—theywillhavetheopportunitytodoitlaterwithapartner.Rememberclass,youarejustwatching,youwillhavetheopportunitytodothislaterwithapartner.Let’stalkabouttheteaact.Insidethisbox,Iwanttoputkeyideasaboutthetopichere.I’mgoingtousethetexttohelpmefillinthebox.Let’slookatthetext.Refertothetwodifferentmentortexts.Weareonlylookingforinformationabouttheteaact.Onthe“BritishTaxActs”chart,I’mgoingtounderlineallthefactsthatareimportant.Ionlywanttounderlineinformationthatisrelevanttotheteaact.Idon’treallylikeanyoftheinformationfoundinthefirstboxinthechart,soIamnotgoingtounderlineit.But,Idoliketheinformationinthesecondbox.So,Iamgoingtotakemybluecoloredpencilandunderlinetheinformationinthesecondboxonthechartarticle.Ialsoreallylikealltheinformationinthethirdbox,soIamgoingtounderlineallofthesentences.Let’slookatthesecondarticle,“CausesoftheAmericanRevolution.”IamgoingtounderlinealltheimportantinformationthatIfindinthisarticle.Ionlywanttounderlinetheinformationabouttheteaact.I’mgoingtounderlinethesentencethatsays,‘GreatBritainletjustafewshopsinthecoloniesselltea.’Ialsoreallylikethesentence,‘Hetoldpeopletofightback.’Thishelpsusknowthatthecolonistswerenothappywiththeteaact.TheywantedtofightbackagainsttheBritishgovernment.I’malsogoingtounderlinethesentence,‘theythrewtheteaintothewater.ThepeoplecalledthistheBostonTeaParty.TheBostonTeaPartymadeKingGeorgeIIImad.Hemadestrongnewlaws.’Lookingattherestoftheparagraph,Isawthatitmentionedanewact.Wearen’tgoingtounderlinetherestofthisparagraphbecauseitstartstalkingaboutanewact.Weonlywantinformationabouttheteaact.Nowthatwehaveunderlinedalltheimportantinformationabouttheteaact,wearegoingtowritethekeyideasintoourfirstboxonourwritingdraft.Idon’twanttowritetheentiresentence;weonlywanttowritejustafewwordsaboutwhatthesentenceisabout.Insidetheboxwearegoingtocreateabulletlistthatbrieflysummarizesthesentencesthatweunderlined.Goingbacktothefirstarticleweunderlined,wearegoingtowriteinsidethebox,


‘Colonistsboycotted,Britainsentmoretroops,Colonistsunhappy,Ledtomanyfights.’Thatwasjustasummaryofthesentencesweunderlinedinourarticle.Now,let’sgotoournextarticle.Insidethebox,thefollowinglistshouldbeinbulletformat.Wearegoingtoput‘Fewshopsselltea,colonistsfightback,threwteaintowater,madeKingGeorgeIIImad.’Now,wearegoingtopracticeunderliningimportantandrelevantinformationwithyourowntexts.Havestudentsgetouttheirmentortextsandinformativeessaydraft.

SharedCollaboration/Independent:18minutesEveryoneneedstochoosetwodifferentcoloredpencils.Wearegoingtobeworkingaspartners.Ihavechoseneveryone’spartnertoday.Ipre-assignedstudentsintoboy-girlpartners.Beforehavingstudentsbreakintopartners,explainwhattheywillbedoing.Whenyougetwithyourpartner,eachofyouwillchooseoneact.Theactthatyouchooseneedstobedifferentfromyourpartner’s.Eachofyouisgoingtounderlineimportantsentencesaboutyouractinbotharticles.Thenyouwillwritedownthekeyideasfromthesentencesinyourbox.Onceyouhavedonethat,youwilldiscusswithyourpartneryouract,andwhatsentencesyouunderlined.Whileyourpartneristellingyouabouttheiract,youwillbewritingdowntheinformationtheyfound,andunderliningthesentencestheyfoundintheirarticles.Askforanyclarifyingquestions.Assignthestudentstheirpartners,andhavethemworktogether.Duringthistime,Iwillbewalkingaroundtheclassroomandmonitoringpartners,andaddressinganyquestionsthatarebroughtup.

Adaptations/accommodationsForEnglishLanguageLearners,workinginpartnerswillbenefitthem.Theywillbepairedwithastudentwhoisanon-ELLstudent.Theywillworktogethertounderstandthementortext,howtounderlinerelevantinformation,andwhatthekeyideasare.CollaborativelearningisagreatwaytogetELLstudentsinvolvedinclasswork.Studentsthatwillbenefitfromthisare:Chris,Walter,Taylor,Kevin,andKatherine.Taylorisoneofmyfocusstudents;heispairedwithastudentwhoisslightlyhigherthanhim.Bypairinghimwiththisstudent,hewillbeabletotutorTaylorandhelphimunderstandtheconceptifherequiresadditionalsupport.MichaelhasanIEPandstruggleswithbeingabletofocusonatask.Forthisstudent,hewillberequiredtolistenaboutkeyideas,andhowtounderlineimportantinformationinatext.Hecan’tstayontaskforverylong,sohewilljustlistentotheinformationinthelesson.TherestofthestudentsonIEP’swillhavethetextreadaloudtothem.Thiswillhelpgivethemachancetoaskquestionsaboutvocabulary,andwillhelpthemtobetterunderstandthetexts/assignments.Lillyisoneofmyfocusstudents;tohelpherwiththislesson,Iwillgiveheradditionalsupportifsheneedsit.Lillyisastudentwhoisatgradelevel,andoccasionallyasksclarifyingquestions.TohelpLilly,Iwillpairherwithastudentwhoisatasimilargradelevel.Bythesetwoworkingtogether,theywillbeabletolearnfromeachotherbysharingideas.AssessmentIwillknowthatstudentshavemettheobjectivewhentheycanunderlinerelevantinformationabouttheirkeytopics.Toassessiftheymetthelessonobjective,Iwilllookattheirmentortextstoseeiftheyunderlinedimportantinformation.Iwillalsorefertotheirinformativeessaydraftandreadtheirlistofkeyideas.Iwilluseformativeassessmentthroughoutthislessontoseeifstudentsunderstandhowtowritekeyideas,andiftheyunderlinedrelevantinformation.Duringindependentwriting,IwillbecheckingforunderstandingasIreadstudent’skeyideas.Iwillalsobeconferencingwithstudentswhoneedadditionalhelpduringthistime.


WorksCitedUCBerkley

Lesson3LessonTitleCausesoftheAmericanRevolution—ConclusionParagraphsSubjectandgradeLevelThisunitisgearedtowards5thgradeSocialStudiesandWriting.Approximatetime40minutesRationaleformethodsCurrently,theentirefifthgradeisfocusingonteachinginformativewritingtotheirstudents.Iamfollowingtheleadofthefifth-gradeteamandconcentratingmyunitoninformativewritingandSocialStudies.Whilestudentsarewriting,theywillbefocusingmostlyoncontent—thelearningoutcomeisforthestudentstounderstandwhatcausedtheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.Anotherlearningoutcomeisforstudentstoknowhowtosetupaninformativeessay.Studentswillwritewhattheyknowinanorganizedmanner;showingthattheyunderstandtheconceptsfoundinthetext.MyrationaleforthismethodcomesfromthebookWritingEssentials.ThistextwasfrequentlyusedthroughoutLevelIIIWritingMethodsCourse.Theauthorstates,“Writersneedtofocusontheirmessage(content)beforeform(editingandgrammar)toachievequalityandcoherence”(Romano2004;Graves1994;Krashen2003).ContentstandardsThislessonalignswithNCSSSocialStudies5.2.2:Studentswillunderstandthechronologyandsignificanceofkeyeventsleadingtoself-government.StudentswillevaluatetheRevolutionaryWar’simpactonself-rule.Thislessonalsointegratesinformativewriting;refertostandardCCSSW.5.2b:Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideasandinformationclearly.Developthetopicwithfacts,definitions,concretedetails,quotations,orotherinformationandexamplesrelatedtothetopic.Academiclanguage/vocabularyobjectives

§ LanguageSkill:Studentswillneedtoknowwhatitmeanstoproduceaconclusionparagraph.

§ Discipline-specificVocabulary:Studentswilllearnthataconclusionparagraphneedstostartwithatransitionword.Conclusionparagraphsmentionthetopicthattheytalkedabout,anditwrapsuptheiressay.

Requiredmaterials,resources,andtechnologyà ClasssetofCausesoftheAmericanRevolution


à ClasssetofBritishTaxActschartà ClasssetofWritingHooksà RevolutionaryWarWritingDraftà FinishedInformativeEssayWritingDraft(teachercopy)à WritingFolders:insidetheyhavealistoftransitionwordsà SmartBoardorProjector

LessonobjectivesGivenmentortextsandexamples,thewholeclasswillbeabletowriteaconclusionparagraphtotheirinformativeessayregardingtheAmericanRevolutionaryWar.InstructionalProceduresInquiry:5minutesConnectpriorknowledgebydiscussingwhatwehavelearnedsofarabouttheRevolutionaryWar(somepossibleexamples:sugaract,teaact,stampact,colonists,boycott,GreatBritain,etc.).Writers,yesterdaywelearnedabouttakingourkeyideasfromourlistandre-writingthemincompletesentences.Today,wearegoingtoworkonwritingourconclusionparagraph.Model:20minutesExplainwhatshouldbeinaconclusionparagraph.Aconclusionparagraphisfoundattheendofanessay.Thisparagraphshouldwrapupyouressay.Thefirstwordinyourconclusionparagraphshouldbeatransitionword.Thishelpssignaltoyourreaderthatyouaregoingtoconcludeyouressay.Inyourwritingfolders,youhavealistoftransitionwords.Youcanuseanyofthetransitionwordsfromtheconclusionsection.Thetransitionwordshouldmakesensewiththewordsaroundit.Let’slookatmyconclusionparagraph.Whatshouldbethefirstfewwordsofmyconclusionparagraph?Havestudentsrespond.Answer—atransitionword.Lookingatthelistoftransitionwords,Iamgoingtouse“Inconclusion.”Thistransitionwordmakessensewithmyessay.Writedown“Inconclusion,”onyourinformativeessaydraft.Next,IwanttowrapupwhatItalkedaboutinmyessay.I’mgoingtowrite,“TheRevolutionaryWarwascausedbymanythings.Twothingsthatcausedthewarare:thestampactandtheteaact.Thecolonistsboycottedthesethingsandthisledtoafight.”Writesimilarsentencesonyourinformativeessaydraft.Yourconclusionparagraphmightbelikemine,oritmightbecompletelydifferent.Theexpectationforyourconclusionparagraphisforyoutouseatransitionwordatthebeginningoftheparagraph,todiscusswhatyouressayisabout,andtowrapupyouressay.Now,it’syourturntowriteyourownconclusionparagraphonyourdraft.Ifyouneedextrahelp,youmayworkwithapartner,orworkwithme.SharedCollaboration/IndependentWriting:15minutesDuringthistime,studentsareworkingonwritingtheirconclusionparagraph.Studentshavetheopportunitytoworkwithapartnerorteacherduringthistime.Ifstudentsfinishearly,theymaystarttorevisetheirparagraphs.Adaptations/accommodations


ForEnglishLanguageLearners,workinginpartnersorwithateacherwillbenefitthem.Theycanaskforhelpwithcertainpartsofconclusionparagraphthattheydon’tunderstand.WorkingwithpartnersisagreatwayforELLstudentstostayontaskwithclasswork.Studentsthatwillbenefitfromthisare:Chris,Walter,Taylor,Kevin,andKatherine.Taylorisoneofmyfocusstudents;hesitsnexttostudentswhocanhelphimifhehasanyquestions.Ialsoplanonmonitoringhiswritingthroughoutthelesson.Lillyisanotherfocusstudents;tohelpherwiththislesson,Iwillgiveheradditionalsupportifsheneedsit.Lillyisastudentwhoisatgradelevel,andoccasionallyasksclarifyingquestions.Iwillmonitorherduringindependentwritingtoensurethatsheisunderstandingkeyconcepts.TherestofthestudentsonIEP’swillhavethetextreadaloudtothem.Thiswillhelpgivethemachancetoaskquestionsaboutvocabulary,andwillhelpthemtobetterunderstandthetexts/assignments.AssessmentIwillknowthatstudentshavemettheobjectivewhentheycanaccuratelywriteaconclusionparagraph.Thestudentsneedtobeabletostartwithatransitionword,mentiontopicsintheiressay,andwrapuptheiressay.Toassessiftheymetthelessonobjective,Iwilllookattheirwritingtoseeiftheymetthecriteria.Iwilluseformativeassessmentthroughoutthislessontoseeifstudentsunderstandhowtowriteaconclusionparagraph.Duringindependentwriting,IwillbecheckingforunderstandingasIreadtheirwriting.Iwillalsobeconferencingwithstudentswhoneedadditionalhelpduringthistime.WorksCitedUCBerkley

AmericanRevolutionaryWarPost-AssessmentApproximateTime40minutesRequiredmaterials,resources,andtechnologyà ClasssetofSonsofLibertyà ClasssetofWritingHooksà ClasssetoftheWritingPromptà ClasssetofOpeningParagraphRubricà ClasssetofAmericanRevolutionaryWarPostTestà WritingFolders:insidetheyhavealistoftransitionwords

Toassessthestudents’levelofunderstanding,Iwillhavethemcreateanopeningparagraph.Afterevaluatingtheirpre-assessment,manystudentsstruggledknowingwhattowrite,andhowtobeginwritinganinformativeessay.Basedofftheseresults,Idecidedthatwewouldwriteaninformativeessayasaclass.However,Iwouldnotexpectthemtobeabletowriteanentireinformativeessayontheirown.Theyaregoingtoneedadditionalwritingunitsoninformativeessays.Ifocusedmostofmyinstructiononwritinghooks.Theirpost-assessmentfocusesonstudentswritingonlyanopeningparagraph.Togetherasaclass,wewillreadthearticle,“SonsofLiberty.”Afterreading,studentswillindependentlywriteanopeningparagraphbasedoffthe


writingpromptthattheyreceived.Ihaveprovidedthemwithanopeningparagraphrubric—thiswillhelpremindstudentswhatshouldbeinanopeningparagraph.ResultsManystudentswereabletouseawritinghookfortheiropeningparagraph.Moststudentschoseaquestionwritinghook.Manystudentsusedthewrongpunctuationfortheirwritinghook;mostusedaperiodinsteadofaquestionmark.Somestudentswereabletostatewhattheirinformativeessaywasgoingtobeabout.Otherstudentswroteaboutsomethingdifferent.Somestudentsusedawritinghook,andsimplyansweredthequestionthewritingpromptasked.Moststudentswereabletomeettheobjective—towriteanopeningparagraphusingawritinghook.Studentscanstillusepracticeusingwritinghooks,andshouldbecontinuallyrefreshedduringwritingtime.

MentorTextsAmericanRevolutionaryWarOpeningParagraphRubricWritingPromptTheRevolutionaryWar:SonsofLiberty

American Revolutionary War 1. Who (hint: country) did the colonists fight? 2. Name two items that the colonists boycotted (refused to

buy?) a. _______________________ b. _______________________

3. List two tax acts. a. _______________________ b. _______________________

4. Write one fact that you learned about the American Revolutionary War. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Opening Paragraph Rubric � Start with a writing hook


� Mention the writing prompt question (what is your essay going to be about?)

� Have at least 2 sentences in your opening paragraph.

� Use neat handwriting (I need to be able to read your paragraph)

� Edit (capital letters, spelling, complete sentences)

Writing Prompt: How did the Sons of Liberty help with the Revolutionary War?

*Use the Opening Paragraph Rubric to help you write your opening paragraph! * __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Revolutionary War: Sons of

Liberty


Who were the Sons of Liberty? The Sons of Liberty was a secret organization in the American Colonies that protested

against British taxes and laws before the American Revolutionary War. By the time the revolution (war) began, there were chapters—or small groups—of the Sons of Liberty in all thirteen colonies.

How were they first formed?

The Sons of Liberty formed out of a number of smaller protest groups in 1765 in response to the Stamp Act. The first group was formed out of nine people who wanted to get rid of the Stamp Act. They became the "Loyal Nine.” After more people joined their group, they changed their name to the “Sons of Liberty.”

Protesting the Stamp Act

The first big action of the Sons of Liberty was to protest the Stamp Act. They took direct action by irritating the stamp tax suppliers who worked for the British government. The suppliers became so scared of the Sons of Liberty that many of them quit their jobs. They also gathered in large groups and protested—or disagreed—in the streets. Their protests worked, and the tax was soon repealed—or removed—by the British government.

Who joined the Sons of Liberty?

The Sons of Liberty had many members in their group. Some groups included: lawyers, dockworkers, farmers, doctors, tavern owners, traders, and publishers. Some of the more famous members include Samuel Adams (who is often considered the founding member of the Sons of Liberty), John Adams, Benedict Arnold, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Joseph Warren, and Paul Revere. How did they help the War?


The Sons of Liberty helped others resist against the British. They did not like how the British made unfair taxes without representation. They played a major role in colonies battling the Stamp Act in 1765. They used mobs, fear, force, intimidation, violence to help make the British government weak. The Sons of Liberty successfully made the British government weak, and helped pave the way to America’s independence from the British. Without them, the Revolutionary war would not have happened. They helped colonists boycott (stop buying or using certain items), and fight the British. The Sons of Liberty separated after the Revolutionary War was over.

StudentWritingSamplesBelowareexamplesofdifferentstudent’spost-assessments.Focusstudents’post-assessmentscanbefoundinthereflectionandevaluationpartofthisworksample.


4. Reflectionandevaluationoflessons,includinganalysisofassessmentdata.Analyzestudentlearning: PerformanceofStudent1:TaylorAfterlookingatTaylor’spre-assessment,Iknewthatheneededtohaveanexplicitlessononhowtowriteanopeningparagraph(andaninformativeessay).Manystudentsintheclassroomaren’tsurehowtowriteanopeningparagraph/informativeessay,sotheywouldbenefitfromthisaswell.Afterthefirstlessononwritinghooks,Taylorwasstillconfusedabouthowtowriteone.Theseconddaywedidwritinghooks,IhadaPowerPointwherestudentspracticedwritingdifferenttypesofhooks.Afterthislesson,Taylorsuccessfullycreatedawritinghookforhisinformativeessay.Therestoftheopeningparagraphdidn’tmakesensegrammatically,butthecontentmadesense.Hetriedtomakeasentencethathookedwiththenextparagraphaftertheopeningparagraph.Taylordidwellwiththerestoftheinformativeessay.Hissentencesdon’talwaysmakesense,butIamassessingcontentnotgrammar.Overall,Taylorimprovedhiswritingskills.Helearnedhowtowriteanopeningparagraph,andhasbeginningknowledgeofthestructureofaninformativeessay.Hecouldstillusemorereinforcementandpracticewithwritingskills,andhopefullybytheendoftheyearwillhaveamajorgrowthinwriting.Student1WritingSamples:Taylor


PerformanceofStudent2:LilyLillydidwellduringthiswritingunit;shelearnedabouttheAmericanRevolutionaryWar,andshewasabletodemonstrateherlearningofwritinghooks.Lillyhadahardtimeunderstandinghowtowriteahookthatwouldworkwellwithheropeningparagraph.Duringourlessonwithwritinghooks,Iassessedheranswers.Shewasansweringthequestionscorrectly;however,whenitcametimetoapplythewritinghooktoherinformativeessay,shewasconfused.Iconferencedwithher,andhelpedherchoosewhichtypeofwritinghookshewantedtostartwith.Afterthisconversation,Lillysuccessfullywroteherwritinghook.Throughouttheotherlessons,Lillydidn’tgettooconfused.Sheunderstoodtheassignment,andwouldonlyoccasionallyaskclarifyingquestions.ToassessifLillyhadlearnednewwritingtechniquesduringtheunit,shewroteanopeningparagraphforthepost-assessment.Lillystartedheropeningparagraphwithawritinghook.Shedidputalittletoomuchcontentanddetailfortheopeningparagraph,butoveralltherewasalargeimprovementfromthebeginningoftheunittotheendoftheunit.Atthebeginning,Lillyhadnoideawhatshewasgoingtowriteinheropeningparagraph.Bytheendoftheunit,Lillyknewhowtowriteanopeningparagraph,andhowsheshouldstartit.Student2WritingSamples:Lilly


Analyzeteachingeffectiveness:• Whatdidyoudodifferentlythanwhatyouoriginallyplanned?Why?

AfterIdidmypre-assessment,IrealizedthatIwouldneedtoadjustmylessonplansandexpectedtimeline.Becausethestudentshaddoneacompareandcontrastpaperthepreviousweek,Ithoughtthattheywouldbeabletodoaninformativeessay.However,aftermypre-assessment,Irealizedthatmanystudentsdidn’tknowwhattowrite.Manystudentscameuptomeandsaid,“Idon’tknowwhattowrite.”Butafterconferencingwiththem,Ifoundthatmanystudentscouldanswerthewritingprompt.Studentshadahardtimebeginningtheirinformativeessay.Myoriginalfinalassessmentwasgoingtohavethestudentswriteanentireinformativeessay.Afterseeingtheresultsfrommypre-assessment,Irealizedthatmyoriginalassessmentwouldbetoochallengingformoststudents.Iadjustedmyassessmentandlessonplans,andfocusedonhowtowriteanopeningparagraph.Mytimelinechangedbecauseaftergivingthestudents30minutestowritethepre-assessment,manystudentshadonlywrittenoneortwosentences.Irealizedthatmytimelinewouldhavetochangebecausemanystudentsneededmoretimetoprocessandstrategizeonwhattowrite.

• Whatworked?Manystudentslovedthe‘WritingHookPowerPoint’;thewholeclasswasengagedthroughouttheentirelesson.IcreatedthePowerPointintoagame,andmanystudentslovedthataspectofit.AnotherpartthatworkedwasshowingtheCharlieandtheChocolateFactorytrailer.Studentsreallyunderstoodwhatanopeningparagraphwas;anopeningparagraphneededtogivealittleinformationtohooktheirreader,butnottellthe‘entiremovie’intheiropeningparagraphor‘trailer.’Ialsothoughtthatmywritinghookexamples(paper)wasagoodresourceforstudents.Manyreferredtotheirwritinghookexamplepaperwhenwritingtheiropeningparagraph(informativeessaydraftandpost-assessment).

• Whatdidn’twork?Whydoyouthinkitdidn’twork?Myfirstlessondidn’tgoaswellasIoriginallyhopeditwould.Atfirst,Iplannedtoonlytakeonedayexplainingwritinghooks.Iplayedthemovietrailer,discusseddifferentwritinghooks,andwentthroughthethreetypes/examplesonthepaper.Ishowedmyopeningparagraphtothestudents,hadthemchooseawritinghookformetouse,andexplainedtothemhowIrevisedmyopeningparagraphtoincludeawritinghook.Afterthis,Ithenhadstudentscreatetheirownopeningparagraph.Thisdidn’tworkaswellasIthoughtitwasgoingto.Manystudentswereconfusedabouthowtowriteawritinghook.Idecidedtotakeonemoredayonwritinghooks.Ihadstudentspracticewritinghooksontheirwhiteboards(basedofftopicsthatIhadchosen),andthenhadstudentsindependentlywritetheirownwritinghook/openingparagraph.Manystudentssucceededafterpracticingwritingthethreedifferenttypesofwritinghooks.Ithinkthatthisdidn’tworkaswellasIoriginallyplannedbecauseIdidn’tgivestudentstheopportunitytopracticewritingthethreedifferenttypesofhooksbeforemovingtoindependentwriting.


• Howwouldyoumodifytheunitbasedonthefocusstudents’performance?Iwouldensurethatstudentsareunderstandingwhatinformationtoputintotheirparagraphs.Throughouttheunit,bothofmyfocusstudentsneededadditionalhelponwhattowriteintheirparagraphs.TheyusuallyhadanideaofwhattodoafterIconferencedwiththem.Afewotherstudentsfacedsimilarproblems.Tohelpprovideadditionalsupportwiththis,Imightbreakdownwhatgoesinsideaparagraphevenmore.Iwouldexplainthedifferentpartsofaparagraph(inaninformativeessay),andwhatthepurposeofaparagraphis.AnotherwaythatIcanchangeitisbywritingaboutatopicthatstudentsarepassionateabout.IamnotsurethatTaylorwasreallyinterestedintheRevolutionaryWar.Whilehedidpayattentioninclass,hedidn’tseemveryexcitedaboutitwhenIconferencedwithhim.Icouldhavestudentschoosetheirowntopicandwriteaninformativeessayabouttheirchosentopic.Thiscouldworkwellafterstudentshavepriorknowledgeaboutwritinghooks,openingparagraphs,andinformativeessays.

• Inwhatotherwayswouldyoumodifytheunitinthefuture?Why?Whatwouldyoudodifferentlyinthefuture?OnethingthatIcoulddodifferentlyinthefutureishavestudentschooseonearticle(outoftwoorthreeotherarticles)thattheywanttowriteaboutduringtheirpost-assessment.Studentsthathaveasenseofautonomywillbemorelikelytoputmoreeffortintotheirwritingiftheyhaveachoice.Thearticlescouldstillbeaboutonetopic,butthedifferentarticlescouldfocusonvariouspartsaboutthetopic.Thiswouldhelpwithstudentengagementduringtheindependentwritingportionofthelessons.Inthefuture,Icouldaddonelessontowardtheendoftheunitthatfocusesonstudentseditingtheirpaper.Ididn’tputanyemphasisonrevisingtheirinformativeessaysthroughoutthisunitbecausemyrationalewasfocusingontheircontentratherthantheirgrammar.However,Idowantmystudentstoknowhowtoeffectivelyreviseandeditanessay.Inoticedthatmanystudentshadpunctuationerrorsandgrammarerrorsthroughouttheiressays.Byincorporatingabrieflessononhowtoedit/reviseapaper,studentscanbegintostrengthentheirgrammarskills.

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