Guiding Questions:
How do writers use details to support their opinions?
Enduring understanding:
Students learn to take a stand on a given topic.
Purpose of lesson
The purpose of this lesson is for students to demonstrate their ability to form an opinion by
writing a Halloween book report using the writing process.
What component/s will be the lesson focus?
Standard 4: Opinion Writing: CONVENTIONS AND
SKILLS: Use the writing process and conventions of
language and research to construct meaning and
communicate effectively for a variety of purposes
and audiences using a range of forms: writing
process and opinion writing.
Language modalities to be used in this lesson:
Receptive languages: reading, listening
Productive languages: writing, speaking
Saito, p. 2
Saito, p. 3
DIFFERENTIATION PLAN
ACEI 3.2 Adaptation to diverse students.
Instructional approach
Student A:
Student is an English
Language Learner. Through
observations, student
understands directions and
procedures. Student
sometimes asks for
clarifications after the lesson.
Clarifications such as defining
a word or sentence.
As for my instructional
approach, I do not need to
create any type of major
differentiation for student A.
Through observations,
student is a good listener and
understands task fluently.
Though, I will accommodate
student by asking questions
throughout my lesson to
assure that the understand
instruction so there will be
less clarifications after the
lesson.
As for my instructional
approach, I do not need to
create any type of major
differentiation for student B .
Through observations;
student understands and
follows rules of a self-directed
learner during teacher
instruction. Student will be
my leader in the class when
he is done with his work.
Usually during math, student
B is the teachers leader who
helps other students with
their work, giving him the role
of leadership and community
contributor.
Student B:
Student is an Accelerated
Learner in all areas of
academic. Through
observations, student
understands directions and
procedures with no
supervision from teachers or
peers. Student always
completes classwork before
others.
Saito, p. 4
1. Standards/Benchmarks/GLOs
ACEI 2.1-2.4 Content Area Knowledge. List CCSS, HCPS III, HELDS, GLOs
I can write informative texts that introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop
points, and provide a concluding statement or section.
2.W.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and
definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section
Saito, p. 5
2. Assessment Task
(ACEI 4-Informal and formal assessment. Candidate plans appropriate formative and summative assessments to guide and
assess student learning, including criteria). Write the teacher assessment tool for each stage of the writing process. Include
copies at the end of the document.
Purpose: Student will demonstrate their ability to form an opinion by writing a Halloween book
report using the writing process.
Students will write an opinion book report about a book using part of writing process
(prewriting, drafting, editing).
Saito, p. 6
3. Activities/Instructional Strategies
ACEI 3.1: Knowledge of students and community; integration of knowledge for instruction; ACEI 3.3: Critical thinking, problem
solving and performance skills; ACEI 3.4: Active engagement in learning; ACEI 3.5: Communication to foster learning
(List how you plan to build background knowledge and the sequence of teaching students how to
apply the writing process.)
1. Introduction (10 minutes)
2. Explain student learning expectations, benchmarks, and purpose of learning these concepts,
verbally.
Do you like pizza or pasta better
Do you like to walk or run?
3. Describe student expectations:
Active participation
Introduce the 2.W.1 benchmark in a simpler version so students are able to understand
their focus: I can write opinion pieces introducing the book by stating an opinion,
supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words, and a provide a concluding
sentence.
o You will be writing opinion pieces today. What does an opinion mean?
An opinion is what someone believes or thinks. You will write about
your one favorite part of the book we read together as a class today. We
will be using the writing process steps you learned about in the
beginning of second grade.
Ask questions:
o Do you remember the steps of the writing process? What are they?
o Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing
o Provide a poster board of the writing process so students have a visual
idea of the order.
o Remind students that we will be going through the prewriting and
drafting stage today. Our goal is to complete the drafting stage.
4. Explain to students how we will look at the illustrations of the book and practice answering
opinion questions.
5. Building background (10 minutes)
6. Introduce the book, Halloween by Jerry Seinfeld
7. Allow students look at the book cover and ask the students to answer the following question
(have students turn and talk):
o Do you like or do not like Halloween? Explain your answer. For
example, I like Halloween because I get to see all of you as different
people.
o Provide students with my own example: I like Halloween because I get
to see all of you dress up!
o I like Halloween because ___________. I dislike Halloween because
___________.
8. Choose 3-5 students to share their opinion sentences to get students into the Halloween spirit
before we read the Halloween story.
ITE 314-406, Fall 2013
Saito, p. 7
Saito, p. 8
Saito, p. 9
o Why did you enjoy/did not enjoy this part? Then, fill out why you
would/would not recommend this book because it was ____________
(this is #3 word you circled on your vocabulary list).
o Lastly, rate the book by drawing stars on your outline. 5 stars if you
think this book was the best, all the way to 1 star if you think this book is
a thumbs down.
o Ask how many stars would you rate this book?
23. Complete the Halloween book report outline.
23. Guided practice (we do): 20 minutes
24. Look back at steps 10 22 and do the same steps together as a class. Wait for students who
need help and answer any questions.
24. Review circle map, making sure students circled their favorite part of the story (steps 14 17)
25. Review how to fill out the planning sheet (steps 18 22)
25. Work Time: 10 minutes
26. Allow students to work independently through short break periods while everyone catches up
to write.
o Expected to work quietly while filling out their planning sheet.
26. Collaborative Group work: 10 minutes
27. Direct students to actively participate and follow classroom rules when the class and I fill out
the circle map and outline
Self-directed learners, being positive and respectful
Monitoring students progress, see #2 assessment tool.
27. Closure: 30 seconds
28. Announce that students we will do the next part of the writing process called drafting.
29. Rough Drafting (I do): (25 minutes)
30. Building background (5 minutes)
31. Explain to students what the next part of the writing process is.
What is the next part of the writing process? Drafting is when you take your
information from your outline that you made this morning and form sentences and
paragraphs onto dotted line paper. You are learning to use the writing process so that
your writing has been through a series of work, meaning, putting a lot of time and
effort into your work so that at the end you can publish your work for others to read.
This means that your end product will have no errors.
32. Direct students to the next part of the lesson, which is writing their first rough draft, but using
the book report outline as a guide.
33. Focus/Mini lesson (I do): (20 minutes)
34. Explain topic sentence, big idea, detail, and conclusion.
Topic sentence: Subject of the paper/first sentence in the paragraph.
Big idea: Main idea/focus of the paper.
Detail: Examples of your main idea.
Conclusion: Closing.
35. Model how to highlight each transition on outline.
What is my topic sentence in this outline? Green. When you get your paper, you will
ITE 314-406, Fall 2013
Saito, p. 10
highlight the topic sentence green. Now, what color is the big idea? What is the big
idea in this outline? You will highlight the big idea yellow. Last but not least, what is the
detail in this outline? What color are details? You will highlight the details pink. For
your conclusion, lets make it green like the topic sentence. You will highlight your
conclusion green.
Everything that is on your outline will go onto your rough drafting. You can match the
colors to determine what sentences from your outline will go onto your rough draft.
Any questions? Lets begin. (STRESS INDENTATION)
36. Continue to complete the rough draft paper using the book report outline. Monitor student
progress by walking around the classroom, verbally coach and answer questions.
37. Complete the rough draft paper.
38. Guided practice (We do):
39. During the rough drafting stage, I am still modeling to students what to do from transitioning
words from their book report outline to dotted line paper because this is the first time students
are exposed to rough drafting.
40. Work Time: (overlapped with the 45 to 50 minutes during rough drafting)
41. During the rough drafting stage, I will model to the students what to do to prepare them for
their individual work to complete the book report outline and dotted like paper. Therefore, there
is no individual work for this stage of the writing process because second grade level stresses lots
of modeling before doing individual work.
42. Collaborative Group work (You do it together):
43. Encourage students to actively participate and follow classroom rules when the class and I
highlight the book report outline and transition into rough drafting on dotted paper because they
have to fill out their own after I model what to do. I chose to model to the students and not have
them work independently (yet) or to work in small groups because the writing process is new to
these students. When students have been modeled what to do over and over again, I will
eventually have them work in small groups and then do the whole writing process independently.
To ensure they are learning, I will know students are ready to move on to the next step of the
writing process when students have all participated in some way by shouting out answers,
answering questions, and showing their full attention on the speaker without getting sidetracked.
I will also ask them questions to keep track of their progress.
44. Independent work (you do it alone):
45. Modeling to students on transitioning their book report outline onto a rough draft dotted line
paper. I will monitor students active participation by having everyone shout out answers, or call
on students to answer. I have a rubric to assess students on their individual work (see #2
assessment tool) when they do their own individual rough drafting and publishing.
46. Closure: (How many minutes?): 5 minutes
47. Describe what I modeled with them and answer any questions they have. I will announce that
students will down do their own Halloween book report paper, but we will do it together incase
they need help.
48. Individual Rough Drafting (I do): 30 minutes
49. Introduction: 2 minutes
50. Announce to students that it is their turn to do write their book report outline based on their
opinions of the book we read.
ITE 314-406, Fall 2013
Saito, p. 11
Saito, p. 12
Students will write what they wrote on their rough draft paper onto the new publishing
paper.
73. Pass out clean dotted line paper.
74. Complete publishing stage.
75. Announce students can draw behind their paper if they are finished with their published pice
of writing.
Saito, p. 13
6+1 trait=
Word choice
6+1 trait=
Presentation
Writing process:
Rough Draft
Writing process:
Rough Draft
Benchmark
3
(meets expectation)
I have all of the following
requirements in my book
report. My sentences have
structure to determine
each requirement.
4
(exceeds expectation)
I stated my opinion.
I have all the following
requirements in my book
report with sentence
structure. I added extra
sentences that make
sense in the correct
category to my book
report.
2.W.1
6+1 trait=
Organization #2
Writing process:
Rough Draft
Saito, p. 14
I can fill in the blanks
to answer the
questions.
2.W.8
Saito, p. 15
Writing process
stage
Drafting
6+1 Trait
Organizati Word
on #1
Choice
2.W.1
2.W.1
Grade level
benchmark
Student Names
Drafting
Drafting
Organizati
on #2
2.W.1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
ITE 314-406, Fall 2013
Saito, p. 16
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Saito, p. 17
Reflection Questions
1. Pedagogy-What happened during my lesson (what did the students and I say and do)? How effective was your lesson design
and teaching for each stage of the writing process. Describe your accommodations and the implementation for diverse
learners. Make connections to results from your student writing survey. [If you did not teach/complete each stage, then
explain your rationale and write what you would have done.
During my writing lesson on Halloween, students were actively engaged because they were able to create their own opinions
about the story. I began my lesson by reading a book to the class and brainstorming their ideas about their favorite part of the story.
Students said many things throughout the brainstorming process such inputting their own feelings about the story. I had a lot of
vocabulary words students were able to choose from on the white board such as surprising, interesting, exciting, etc as a way of
self expression. Many students thought this book was surprising because of the unexpected parts that happened in the story that
they did not think would occur.
The design of my writing lesson plan was easy to understand because of the clear organization step by step process I prepared
prior to teaching the lesson. Before the day of my formal observation, I prepared four lessons with the classroom introduce the first
three stages of the writing process. I focused on brainstorming, prewriting, and rough drafting. These were the three stages my
mentor teacher wanted me to focus on because she has not introduced editing, revising, or publishing stages of the writing process
with her students. It was important that I understood the writing process and the extent second graders should know. With that
knowledge, it was easier to teach the first three stages of the writing process. Also, at the school I am at, students are familiar with
ITE 314-406, Fall 2013
Saito, p. 18
brainstorming using different types of thinking maps that help branch ideas from a main topic. For the prewriting stage, I created a
planning sheet that students filled out with guidance and modeling from me. In order to distinguish the different parts of rough
drafting (topic sentence, main idea, detail, conclusion), I highlighted the planning sheet in the different parts of a rough draft. Green
represented topic sentence and conclusion, yellow represented the main idea, and pink represented detail. Being able to distinguish
through different colors, students were able to copy what was on their planning sheet onto dotted line paper as their rough draft
paper. Copying from the planning sheet onto rough drafting is a great start for second grade, as we introduce them to the writing
process.
In my second grade classroom, I have 4 English Language Learners. For these students, I would walk around and assist them. By
assisting, I would point to a specific part that they are answering on the planning sheet and read the sentence to them. Then, I
would reword the sentence as a question. For example, I liked/did not like the book Halloween by Jerry Seinfeld because it was
__________. I reworded the sentence by asking a question, Did you like or dislike the book? Why did you like or dislike it? Was
there a part you really liked? Then, students would answer my question. This helps students expand on their answer without giving
them the answer, plus, its opinion writing.
Accelerated learners were given leadership roles when they completed their assignment earlier than their peers. I had these
three accelerated learners walk around to make sure their peers were highlighting the correct part of their planning paper and pass
Saito, p. 19
out papers. Academically, I had the three accelerated learners draw on the back of their paper if they completed their rough draft
paper.
2. Assessment- How effective was my assessment plan (e.g., rubric, formative assessment, monitoring, summative) for obtaining
information about my students learning? What would you have done differently?
My assessment focused on two standards: 2.W.1 and 2.W.8. The first standard is about writing an opinion book report that
introduces the topic sentence, big idea, details, and concluding statement. The second standard is about students being able to fill in
the blanks to answer the questions. I was able to look over student work and determine what standard they did or did not complete.
During the lesson, I was able to observe students their learning as a formative assessment without taking notes. I was observing
their behaviors and writing capabilities. It students were independent/dependent on classmates or teachers. Since this was my first
writing lesson plan, it was great to be able to get to know each students writing strengths and weaknesses for opininon writing
whether it be the brainstorming, prewriting, or rough drafting stage. I was suprisied that students whom I thought would need
assistance, did not need any at all.
Regarding assessment, I would not have done anything differently because I feel that focusing on standard 2.W.1 and 2.W.8
were the most important for my writing lesson. With guidance and modeling, students should be able to write an opinion book
report with all required elements, linking words, and legible printing. If anything, I would have allowed more time for students to get
accustom to the specific writing process stages. Due to my formal observation requirements, I had to rush some parts of the lesson
ITE 314-406, Fall 2013
Saito, p. 20
without spending quality time on each part of the lesson. Therefore, I feel that if I gave students more time, I would receive quality
work.
3. Data Collection- How did I do in meeting the desired results (e.g., purpose, broad understanding, benchmarks) for this lesson?
What are my next steps to improve students learning? Describe results for each benchmark that was used to assess students
work. You may add a graph to explain benchmark results. Complete your assessment data table as part of the submission.
Looking over student work, I noticed that majority of the students met the desired results for the lesson. If not, students were
completing assignment with limited amount of time. I made sure before and during the assignment, students were reminded of the
benchmarks they were required to have. The next steps to improve students learning would be to determine students results and
figure out what specific part students need daily practice on as a class and depicting specific students who are behind in a certain
category and work with them intensely to improve their learning.
Students needed to write an opinion paper that stated their opinion, uses linking words, focuses on main idea, details, and
concluding sentence. Students had enough guided practice to understand the concept of the order of concepts. Students had a hard
time elaborating on their details. Writing had to be legible with spaced letters, words, and sentences. Most students handwriting is
legible except for a couple of students. Lastly, students had to fill in the blanks to complete the sentences. Students exceeded
requirements if they added in their own words along with required vocabulary.
Saito, p. 21
4. Content knowledge-Explain your understanding of teaching the function (e.g., compare and contrast, personal narrative,
argumentative, opinion) and form (e.g., poem, letter, essay) of this lesson. What areas for development in teaching writing to
early childhood/elementary students that you would like to work on and/or explore more information? Use student evidence
and professional references to support your answers.
Understanding how to teach a variety of functions and forms is important as a teacher because it gives students options when
they start opinion writing. For my writing lesson, I focused on opinion writing through a book report paper. I had to educate myself
on opinion writing. There were many parts to an opinion paper for second grade. Being able to decompose the second grade opinion
writing standard was my first step in understanding what to teach and how to teach it. The standard focuses on stating a topic,
supply reasons, use of linking words, and provided concluding sentence. I had to figure out a way to show examples of separating
each concept, by color coordinating each section.
Areas of development in teaching writing to early childhood/elementary students I would like to work on and/or explore more
information on is classroom management because of I noticed after watching my videos that I am not doing well on wait time. I
would like to develop a skill to control my classroom without getting frustrated.
Saito, p. 22
References
Borich, Gary D. Observation Skills for Effective Teaching. Columbus, OH: Merrill Pub., 1990. Print.
Saito, p. 23
Writing process
stage
Drafting
6+1 Trait
Organizati
on #1
2.W.1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Grade level
benchmark
Student Names
Saito, p. 24
Student Sample A
Saito, p. 25
Saito, p. 26
Saito, p. 27
Writing process:
Rough Draft
Writing process:
Rough Draft
2
(developing
proficiency)
I have 2 of the
following
requirements in
my book report
with some
structure: topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
concluding
sentence.
3
(meets
expectation)
I have all of the
following
requirements in
my book report.
My sentences
have structure to
determine each
requirement.
I have 1 - 2
linking words in
my book report.
I have many
linking words in
my book report.
I can print
neatly and
space letters,
words, and
sentences
correctly.
I do not have
neat handwriting
or neatly spaced
letters, words,
and sentences.
I wrote some
letters neatly
with some
spacing between
letters, words,
and sentences.
I can write an
opinion book
report that
introduces the
topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
and
concluding
statement.
2.W.1
I use linking
words (e.g.,
because, and,
also) to
connect
opinion and
reasons.
1
(well below)
I did not state
my opinion.
I have 0 - 1 of
the following
requirements in
my book report
with no
structure: topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
concluding
sentence.
2.W.1
4
(exceeds
expectation)
I stated my
opinion.
I have all the
following
requirements in
my book report
with sentence
structure. I
added extra
sentences that
make sense in
the correct
category to my
book report.
I have many
linking words in
my book report
that I came up
with by myself
such as: this is
why, for this
reason, as a
result.
I can write neatly
with spaced
letters, words,
and sentences
correctly. My
writing is
straight, and
stays in the
paper margins.
I filled out all of
the blanks and
added my own
words.
2.W.8
Saito, p. 28
Commentary
Student A has some structure in her writing. Student does not elaborate why after she stated her
opinion on the story. She elaborates her favorite part of the story by reusing her main idea vocabulary
word as her explanation. Due to lack of elaboration, student did not use linking words in her book report
to connect her opinion to her reasons. Handwriting is somewhat neat, with some spacing between
letters, words, and sentences. On the planning sheet, student was able to fill out all the blanks with a
vocabulary word, without further elaboration.
The ongoing goals for this student are:
Ongoing goals for this student would be to further practice writing with details. Student understandings
how to describe her opinion on a topic through one word vocabulary is clearly understood. When asked
to write in detail why she liked or disliked that part of the story, she does not understand how to
generate higher thinking skills through details.
Saito, p. 29
Student Sample B
Saito, p. 30
Saito, p. 31
Saito, p. 32
Writing process:
Rough Draft
Writing process:
Rough Draft
2
(developing
proficiency)
I have 2 of the
following
requirements in
my book report
with some
structure: topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
concluding
sentence.
3
(meets
expectation)
I have all of the
following
requirements in
my book report.
My sentences
have structure to
determine each
requirement.
I have 1 - 2
linking words in
my book report.
I have many
linking words in
my book report.
I can print
neatly and
space letters,
words, and
sentences
correctly.
I do not have
neat handwriting
or neatly spaced
letters, words,
and sentences.
I wrote some
letters neatly
with some
spacing between
letters, words,
and sentences.
I can write an
opinion book
report that
introduces the
topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
and
concluding
statement.
2.W.1
I use linking
words (e.g.,
because, and,
also) to
connect
opinion and
reasons.
1
(well below)
I did not state
my opinion.
I have 0 - 1 of
the following
requirements in
my book report
with no
structure: topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
concluding
sentence.
2.W.1
4
(exceeds
expectation)
I stated my
opinion.
I have all the
following
requirements in
my book report
with sentence
structure. I
added extra
sentences that
make sense in
the correct
category to my
book report.
I have many
linking words in
my book report
that I came up
with by myself
such as: this is
why, for this
reason, as a
result.
I can write neatly
with spaced
letters, words,
and sentences
correctly. My
writing is
straight, and
stays in the
paper margins.
I filled out all of
the blanks and
added my own
words.
2.W.8
Saito, p. 33
Commentary
Student B had structure in his writing. I was able to distinguish each requirement that needed to be met
(topic sentence, big idea, details, concluding sentence). There were linking words in his rough draft,
where he was able to elaborate on his worst part of the story. Students handwriting is somewhat neat
with the spacing and letter formation. Letters seem rushed, yet legible. On the rough drafting paper,
student filled out the blanks and added his own words to elaborate to the details.
The ongoing goals for this student are:
Ongoing goals for this student would be to further practice using linking words in writing pieces. Use of
linking works allows students to further elaborate ideas. Student needs to practice writing legibly so that
letters and words do not seem rushed.
Saito, p. 34
Student Sample C
Saito, p. 35
Saito, p. 36
Saito, p. 37
Writing process:
Rough Draft
Writing process:
Rough Draft
2
(developing
proficiency)
I have 2 of the
following
requirements in
my book report
with some
structure: topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
concluding
sentence.
3
(meets
expectation)
I have all of the
following
requirements in
my book report.
My sentences
have structure to
determine each
requirement.
I have 1 - 2
linking words in
my book report.
I have many
linking words in
my book report.
I can print
neatly and
space letters,
words, and
sentences
correctly.
I do not have
neat handwriting
or neatly spaced
letters, words,
and sentences.
I wrote some
letters neatly
with some
spacing between
letters, words,
and sentences.
I can write an
opinion book
report that
introduces the
topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
and
concluding
statement.
2.W.1
I use linking
words (e.g.,
because, and,
also) to
connect
opinion and
reasons.
1
(well below)
I did not state
my opinion.
I have 0 - 1 of
the following
requirements in
my book report
with no
structure: topic
sentence, big
idea, details,
concluding
sentence.
2.W.1
4
(exceeds
expectation)
I stated my
opinion.
I have all the
following
requirements in
my book report
with sentence
structure. I
added extra
sentences that
make sense in
the correct
category to my
book report.
I have many
linking words in
my book report
that I came up
with by myself
such as: this is
why, for this
reason, as a
result.
I can write neatly
with spaced
letters, words,
and sentences
correctly. My
writing is
straight, and
stays in the
paper margins.
I filled out all of
the blanks and
added my own
words.
2.W.8
Saito, p. 38
Commentary
Student C had structure in his writing. I was able to distinguish each requirement that needed to be met
(topic sentence, big idea, details, concluding sentence). Student added in a saying by a character
(without adding dialogue because student did not learn this yet). Student was able to distinguish quotes
from the book that characters said and write it down on her paper. There were linking words in his
rough draft, where she was able to elaborate on his worst part of the story. Students handwriting is
written neatly with spaced letters, words, and sentences correctly. Her writing is straight and stays in
the paper margins. On the rough drafting paper, student filled out all of the blanks with a vocabulary
word.
The ongoing goals for this student are:
Ongoing goals for this student would be to practice using linking words in her detail sentences to further
elaborate in detail. Student needs to practice adding her own words to her rough drafting paper to add
to the required vocabulary to exceed expectation.