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Overview of Unit I. Describe your setting in detail: Who are your students? Demographics? Grade level? This writing unit will take place in a kindergarten classroom at Barkstall Elementary in Champaign. The school is located in a small urban setting. The student population is diverse in terms of race and socioeconomic background. This kindergarten class in particular is has very diverse learning needs, including students with the following labels: developmental delays, autism, Asperger’s, down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and anxiety disorders. Two students in the classroom are receiving services from the literary specialist and three students are receiving services from the speech pathologist. Two students are in and out of the classroom all day, as they receive services from the special education resource room. Several students receive services from the social worker, as well. One student has noticeable limited vocabulary development. This is a diverse group of students that will need learning needs and backgrounds to be taken into account when planning and implementing a unit. II. What genre will you be teaching? Why did you select this genre? How do these lessons fit into curriculum? I will be teaching a unit on writing “small moment” pieces, or pieces that focus in on a specific moment in time, and then leading into a couple of introductory lessons on revision. In small moment writing, students are advised to add detail and elaborate on a single event, such as a birthday party. I did not select this genre; this genre was scheduled in the writing curriculum during my time of full takeover. These lessons fit into the curriculum as part of a unit that is to be implemented chronologically as part of a writer’s workshop by Lucy Calkins. Students have already had experience with writing small moment pieces in the past; however, students had a three-week spring intercession and

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Overview of Unit

I. Describe your setting in detail: Who are your students? Demographics? Grade level?

This writing unit will take place in a kindergarten classroom at Barkstall Elementary in Champaign. The school is located in a small urban setting. The student population is diverse in terms of race and socioeconomic background. This kindergarten class in particular is has very diverse learning needs, including students with the following labels: developmental delays, autism, Asperger’s, down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, and anxiety disorders. Two students in the classroom are receiving services from the literary specialist and three students are receiving services from the speech pathologist. Two students are in and out of the classroom all day, as they receive services from the special education resource room. Several students receive services from the social worker, as well. One student has noticeable limited vocabulary development. This is a diverse group of students that will need learning needs and backgrounds to be taken into account when planning and implementing a unit.

II. What genre will you be teaching? Why did you select this genre? How do these lessons fit into curriculum?

I will be teaching a unit on writing “small moment” pieces, or pieces that focus in on a specific moment in time, and then leading into a couple of introductory lessons on revision. In small moment writing, students are advised to add detail and elaborate on a single event, such as a birthday party. I did not select this genre; this genre was scheduled in the writing curriculum during my time of full takeover. These lessons fit into the curriculum as part of a unit that is to be implemented chronologically as part of a writer’s workshop by Lucy Calkins. Students have already had experience with writing small moment pieces in the past; however, students had a three-week spring intercession and spent a month studying non-fiction prior to that break. This time around, students will be focusing on the following points: remembering what small moments are and the use of punctuation. After this unit, the teacher will be using the small moment pieces to teach the craft of revision. A couple of my lessons for this project will introduce revision, but the entire unit of revision lasts several weeks.

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Intro/Review of Small Moment Pieces

Grade Level: Kindergarten Number of Students: 23 (22 in room at time of lesson)

Students’ Linguistic Backgrounds: 2 ESL students (Spanish, Arabic); several AAVE speakers

Instructional Location: Barkstall Elementary in Champaign Length of Instruction: 30 minutes

Standard(s) Addressed

3.B.1b Demonstrate focus, organization, elaboration and integration in written compositions (e.g., short stories, letters, essays, reports).

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narration

Content ObjectivesSWBAT write small moment pieces on the topic of their choice, with events over the spring intercession as a prompt, as needed.SWBAT write focused pieces on a single event, as opposed to a list of events.

Language Objectives SWBAT write to communicate ideas in their small moment pieces.SWBAT talk about their writing during mini-conferences in a meta-cognitive way.

Text To UseNone used in this lesson

Strategy FocusComposing a detailed, focused piece on a single event as opposed to a list of multiple events (the definition of a small moment piece)

Materials Needed:Class set of copies of black line master for small moment writing

Assessment(s):Informal:Did students write/brainstorm a small moment piece?

Day 1 (Repeat for each day)

MINILESSON

Connect to Prior Learning–Hook students to prior learning that has occurred throughout the workshop and other parts of the day.

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“Welcome back to writers’ workshop! We haven’t met and written together in a long time. Before the break, we were writing non-fiction pieces—how to, all about, lists, letters, and cards. Now that we are back from the break, we are going to return to our small moment writing: writing about a focused point in time in detail.”

Strategy Teaching–Direct Explanation of Strategy- What, Why, When

“To help you remember small moment writing: that was when we had three pieces of paper in a booklet that looked like this. To help you remember what went on those pages, it was a short story that focused on a single event in detail.

–Modeling- How

“I am going to tell you about my spring break in two different ways. Here is the first way: I went to St. Louis, I went to Decatur, I went to the doctor, I visited my old school, I did homework, I baked cupcakes for my Dad’s birthday…” Now pick one of those things I just listed off…When I went and visited my old school, I was nervous and excited. I went to observe my old math teacher because I might be a math teacher someday. The school looked small to me because I hadn’t been there since I was thirteen. The most exciting part of being there was that I got to see my little brother while he was in class.Which way was more interesting to you? Raise your hand if it was the first way…the second way. The first way definitely gave you more information about the different things that I did over spring break. The second way gives you more details about a single event, which can sometimes be more interesting.”

Active Engagement–Engage students in a quick 1-2 minute practice of the new strategy

Participant Structures: Whole group, small group, partnersWhole group: “Raise your hand if you have a small moment”Call on student, give them 20 seconds or less to share. Afterwards, have student evaluate if it was a small moment retelling (thumbs up) or not (thumbs down) and talk about what made it a small moment (i.e. specific details, a single event, etc)

Link to Independent Writing–Reiterate to students how the strategies demonstrated and practices can be utilized in their own writing.

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“Today as you are writing, I want you to write about small moments. Think about the things we discussed: is it one time (a single event)? Do you have details? If you aren’t sure, ask a neighbor to check your story for if it’s a small moment or not like we did here on the carpet”

INDEPENDENT WRITINGExplicitly describe what the students and teacher will be doing during this time.

“When I dismiss you, you are going to go back to your table spot and begin small moment writing. Try the strategies we discussed. If you need to brainstorm, that’s ok too. If you can’t think of a small moment you want to write about, I would suggest writing about something you did over the break. We have been gone for three weeks! A lot has happened since we have been at school. Today is your unlucky day—no excuses for nothing to write about” “While you are writing, I will be coming around to help you with your writing, helping you determine whether or not something is a small moment, and to help you with ideas and any other questions you may have.”

TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCESWho will you hold conferences with? What will you ask during your conference? How will you record the information you gather?

Hold conferences with S.B. and J.C. for focus, A.T. for confidenceAnd with other students as the need arisesAsk the following questions: -How is your writing coming along? Would you like to share what you have with me so far?-How can I help you?-Do you think your story is a small moment piece? Why or why not?-What comes next in your story?-How could you add more detail?

SHARING TIME What will be the focus of your sharing time? How will you structure the sharing? (Author’s chair, partners, etc…)Sharing of these pieces will occur at the end of the unit, as students will select a piece for publication. Informal sharing will also occur as students discuss and freely share with one another during writing time.

Peek-a-boo Patty: Hatching Small Moment

Grade Level: kindergarten Number of Students: 23 (22 in room at time of lesson)

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Students’ Linguistic Backgrounds: 2 ESL students (Spanish, Arabic); several AAVE speakers

Instructional Location: Barkstall Elementary (Champaign) Length of Instruction: 30 minutes

Standard(s) Addressed

3.A.1 Construct complete sentences which demonstrate subject/verb agreement; appropriate capitalization and punctuation; correct spelling of appropriate, highfrequency words; and appropriate use of the eight parts of speech.

3.B.1b Demonstrate focus, organization, elaboration and integration in written compositions (e.g., short stories, letters, essays, reports).

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narration

Content ObjectivesSWBAT write a small moment piece about the moment a dinosaur hatches using their Peek-a-boo Patty (Apatosaurus egg) as a tool for brainstorming.SWBAT write using correct punctuation in their small moment pieces (namely, a period at the end of a sentence).SWBAT to use punctuation as a form of creative expression in their story (namely, exclamation point to emphasize key moments).

Language Objectives SWBAT write to communicate ideas in their small moment pieces.SWBAT talk about their writing during mini-conferences in a meta-cognitive way.

Text To UsePeek-a-boo Patty dinosaur egg (not a text), but student-created manipulative to aid in the writing process)T.C.’s writing piece about his trip to Texas

Strategy FocusContinue the practice of small moment writing, building up volume for the upcoming revision unitUse of exclamation point to indicate key moments, exciting moments, in the piece

Materials Needed:Peek-a-boo Patty dinosaur eggClass set copy of black line master for small moment writing

Assessment(s):Informal:Did students write a small moment piece about hatching?Did students try using exclamation points as an indicator of key and exciting moments in their piece?

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Day 1 (Repeat for each day)

MINILESSON

Connect to Prior Learning–Hook students to prior learning that has occurred throughout the workshop and other parts of the day.“We have been working on small moment writing lately about your experiences and times that have happened to you. Today, I want you to try something different. Today, we are all going to write small moments today about a dinosaur hatching. “

Strategy Teaching–Direct Explanation of Strategy- What, Why, When

1)“To help you in your writing process, you will have your Peek-a-boo Patty with you at your table spot to help you think about what hatching might be like.”2)”T.C. wrote a piece about his trip to Texas and he has agreed to share it with us”

–Modeling- How

1)“Let’s talk about it. Today on our field trip, we talked about the 5 senses. What might a dinosaur sense when it is hatching? See? Feel? Smell? Taste? Hear?”2)”Notice how in the first sentence, T.C. ends his sentence in an exclamation point: ‘This happened in Texas!’ He is letting us know as readers that this is out of the ordinary for him and an exciting event”

Active Engagement–Engage students in a quick 1-2 minute practice of the new strategy1) Whole group discussion of what a dinosaur might sense when it is hatching. Call on student volunteers for discussion2) Whole group discussion of how students might use exclamation marks in their own writing (i.e. at the moment a dinosaur emerges, etc)

Link to Independent Writing–Reiterate to students how the strategies demonstrated and practices can be utilized in their own writing.

1)“Think about what we talked about when you are writing at your table spot. Remember, you can use your Peek-a-boo Patty to help yourself brainstorm about the experience of hatching.” 2) “If you get the chance, think about how you might use an exclamation point in your own writing like T.C. did.”

INDEPENDENT WRITINGExplicitly describe what the students and teacher will be doing during this time.

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“However, if I see you playing with your dinosaur egg, it will be taken away and you will be sent to time out. You need to spend this time writing and thinking. I will be walking around the room to help you brainstorm ideas for writing.”

TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCESWho will you hold conferences with? What will you ask during your conference? How will you record the information you gather?

Hold conferences with: M.A. (for confidence-building), M.D. and J.F. (for focus)Other students that may have questions or need assistance. I will be asking these questions: -How is your writing coming along? Would you like to share what you have with me so far?-What comes next in your story?-How could you add more detail? -What other senses could you include at this moment?-Have you used an exclamation point? If so, how?

SHARING TIME What will be the focus of your sharing time? How will you structure the sharing? (Author’s chair, partners, etc…)

Sharing time will occur during the next session when students finish their pieces. Students will spend 1-2 writers’ workshop sessions finishing their hatching pieces. Informal sharing will also occur as students discuss and freely share with one another during writing time.

Small Moments: Using Students’ Ideas and Techniques

Grade Level: Kindergarten Number of Students: 23 (22 in classroom at time of lesson)

Students’ Linguistic Backgrounds: 2 ESL students (Spanish, Arabic); several AAVE speakers

Instructional Location: Barkstall Elementary in Champaign Length of Instruction: 30 minutes

Standard(s) Addressed

3.A.1 Construct complete sentences which demonstrate subject/verb agreement; appropriate capitalization and punctuation; correct spelling of appropriate, highfrequency words; and appropriate use of the eight parts of speech.

3.B.1b Demonstrate focus, organization, elaboration and integration in written

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compositions (e.g., short stories, letters, essays, reports).

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narration

Content ObjectivesSWBAT write small moment pieces using techniques demonstrated by other published authors or students.Possible examples include, but are not limited to…SWBAT write using correct punctuation in their small moment pieces (namely, a period at the end of a sentence).SWBAT use punctuation as a form of creative expression in their story (namely, exclamation point to emphasize key moments).SWBAT use effective openers at the beginning of their small moment pieces (i.e. “Once upon a time…”)SWBAT emphasize points using repetition.SWBAT demonstrate sequence in their story using sequence words (i.e. first, then, last)

Language Objectives SWBAT write to communicate ideas in their small moment pieces.SWBAT talk about their writing during mini-conferences in a meta-cognitive way.SWBAT listen/read others’ writing to draw ideas for their own writing.

Text To UseT.C., A.W., O.T., and M.L. sticker story compositions

Strategy FocusContinue the practice of small moment writing, building up volume for the upcoming revision unitUsing other writers’ techniques in our own writing

Materials Needed:T.C., A.W., O.T., and M.L. sticker story compositionsClass set copy of black line master for small moment writing

Assessment(s):Informal: Did students continue to work on small moment pieces?Did students try strategies demonstrated by the students’ examples, or other writers?

Day 1 (Repeat for each day)

MINILESSON

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Connect to Prior Learning–Hook students to prior learning that has occurred throughout the workshop and other parts of the day.“We have been working on small moment writing. What did we write about on Friday? It was a special kind of small moment writing. (Writing about dinosaur hatching). Today we will continue small moment writing, but today, I want to challenge you to use the type of writing strategies that other students used in their writing.”

Strategy Teaching–Direct Explanation of Strategy- What, Why, When“Sometimes, when we read something, we can admire the way an author wrote something. I know I have read my favorite book, Harry Potter, and thought that I might like to try using some of the dialogue, or speaking in writing, that J.K. Rowling uses. I have seen awesome techniques used by some of you in your writing that I would like to share right now.”

–Modeling- How“Read T.C.’s piece Notice how T.C. sequenced in his story. He said, ‘First, I did this. Then, I did this.’ It helps me as a reader keep track of the order of events in his story. Give me a thumbs up if you think you could use this in your own writing. Turn to your partner (TTYP) and tell them a way you might use this strategy 30 secondsRead M.L.’s piece What I noticed about M.L.’s writing is that he used what we talked about Friday—he used an exclamation point in his writing to show how exciting it was that the space station was building a new space ship. Give me a thumbs up if you think you could use this in your own writing. TTYP and tell them a way you might use this strategy 30 secondsRead O.T.’s piece What I noticed about O.T.’s writing is that she used an opener for the beginning of the story that caught my attention…’Once upon a time…’ I know when this story happened, and I know it might be a fairy tale. Look! She has a princess as a character, it is a fairy tale. Give me a thumbs up if you think you could use this in your own writing. TTYP and tell them a way you might use this strategy 30 secondsRead A.W.’s piece What I noticed about A.W.’s writing is that she repeated herself in her story for emphasis—I know how much the girl in her story loved the owl and the lion—‘She loved her owl and her lion. She just loved them.’ Give me a thumbs up if you think you could use this in your own writing. TTYP and tell them a way you might use this strategy 30 seconds

Active Engagement

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–Engage students in a quick 1-2 minute practice of the new strategy * Participant Structures: Whole group, small group, partnersWhole group…embedded in modeling. See above.

Link to Independent Writing–Reiterate to students how the strategies demonstrated and practices can be utilized in their own writing.

Share a couple of student responses for ways they might try to use the strategies in their own writing in a whole group wrap-up discussion.

INDEPENDENT WRITINGExplicitly describe what the students and teacher will be doing during this time.

“When I dismiss you, you will go back to your seat and continue to work on your own small moment pieces. Remember, if you need to finish up your dinosaur hatching writing, you can. If you want to go back to something you wrote before, you can. If you want to start something new today, you can. What I would challenge you to do today is to try at least one of the things we mentioned today in your own writing, or maybe use something from another author that you have read before and really liked.”

TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCESWho will you hold conferences with? What will you ask during your conference? How will you record the information you gather?

Hold conferences with B.J., C.P., A.S.F., and O.T. for general writing discussion. Ask the following questions:

-How is your writing coming along? Would you like to share what you have with me so far?-What comes next in your story?-How could you add more detail? -Did you use any of the writing strategies we talked about today? Which one? How?-How could you use one of the strategies we talked about today?

SHARING TIME What will be the focus of your sharing time? How will you structure the sharing? (Author’s chair, partners, etc…)

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Sharing of these pieces will occur at the end of the unit, as students will select a piece for publication. Informal sharing will also occur as students discuss and freely share with one another during writing time.

Intro to Revision

Grade Level: Kindergarten Number of Students: 23 (22 in classroom at time of lesson)

Students’ Linguistic Backgrounds: 2 ESL students (Spanish, Arabic); several AAVE speakers

Instructional Location: Barkstall Elementary in Champaign Length of Instruction: 30 minutes

Standard(s) Addressed3.A.1 Construct complete sentences which demonstrate subject/verb agreement; appropriate capitalization and punctuation; correct spelling of appropriate, highfrequency words; and appropriate use of the eight parts of speech.

3.B.1b Demonstrate focus, organization, elaboration and integration in written compositions (e.g., short stories, letters, essays, reports).

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narration

Content ObjectivesSWBAT revise their small moment pieces to add more detail and elaboration.

Language Objectives SWBAT write to communicate ideas in their small moment pieces.SWBAT talk about their writing during mini-conferences in a meta-cognitive way.SWBAT listen/read others’ writing to draw ideas for their own writing.

Text To UseTeacher written story about Brown Bear (classroom teddy bear)

Strategy FocusRevising small moment pieces to add more detail and elaborationCreating a need for and making students feel comfortable with revision

Materials Needed:Teacher written story about Brown Bear (classroom teddy bear)Classroom set of green revision felt tip markers

Assessment(s):Informal: Did students revise their small moment pieces (i.e. add more detail, elaborate on events and or points, etc)?

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Day 1 (Repeat for each day)

MINILESSON

Connect to Prior Learning–Hook students to prior learning that has occurred throughout the workshop and other parts of the day.

“We have been working on small moment writing the past week and a half, and I am so proud of all of your writing. Give specific examples i.e. S.B. wrote about being a flower girl in a wedding…I have enjoyed reading your writing. You should be proud of yourselves, pat yourselves on the back. Give me a thumbs up if you feel good about the writing you have done the past few days.

Over the next few weeks we are going to make our good writing even better. Give me a thumbs up if you are interested in making your good writing even better. The way we will make our good writing even better is through revising, which is what all writers do. To help you better understand what I mean, I am going to show you what revision looks like.”

Strategy Teaching–Direct Explanation of Strategy- What, Why, When

“I want to share a story with you that I wrote about when we had a special visitor in our classroom before spring break—Brown Bear. Read aloud piece

Give me a thumbs up if you enjoyed my story and thought it was good. Great to see that you thought it was good—but I want to make it better! I am sure that there are details that I forgot to include that you can remember, and help me make my story even better for readers—especially readers who aren’t a part of our classroom and didn’t experience Brown Bear being in our classroom.

Are there any details that you can remember that I didn’t add to the story that would make my story better?”

–Modeling- How

As students provide details, model the following:-Think-aloud of placement of added details (i.e. where would they logically and chronologically fit?)-Explanation and use of karat as symbolizing insertion-Explanation and elaboration on how green marker differentiates the original writing from the added details

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Active Engagement–Engage students in a quick 1-2 minute practice of the new strategy * Participant Structures: Whole group, small group, partnersSee above: practice as students provide new details for teacher to add into her piece.

Link to Independent Writing–Reiterate to students how the strategies demonstrated and practices can be utilized in their own writing.

“Thanks so much for helping me make my good story even better! Give me a thumbs up if you are feeling better about revision now.

You are going to try this today in your own writing—revising and adding more detail to what you already have. How can you elaborate? How can you add more explanation?”

INDEPENDENT WRITINGExplicitly describe what the students and teacher will be doing during this time.

“During writing time, you will not be getting new writing paper. We are focusing on writing that we have already done, and adding more to it. For this, you will get to use special green revision markers that are ONLY for revision writing time. I will pass them out at the beginning of writing time, and collect them after writing time. You will not be illustrating or drawing with these markers—you are adding to your writing only. If I see you misusing the revision markers, then I will take it away for the day and you will have a chance to try again the next day.

While you are writing, I will be walking around, helping you with your revision and helping you brainstorm what you might add to your writing.”

TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCESWho will you hold conferences with? What will you ask during your conference? How will you record the information you gather?

Hold conferences with J.F., M.D. for focus; hold conferences with M.H., M.L., and A.W. for general writing discussions. Ask the following questions:

How is your writing going? How can I help you? How have you revised your writing so far? What have you added? How else do you think you could revise or elaborate? Provide suggestions for the student for revision

SHARING TIME

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What will be the focus of your sharing time? How will you structure the sharing? (Author’s chair, partners, etc…)Sharing time will occur at the end of this unit through publication of the students revised work.

Revision & Questioning

Grade Level: Kindergarten Number of Students: 23 (22 in classroom at time of lesson)

Students’ Linguistic Backgrounds: 2 ESL students (Spanish, Arabic); several AAVE speakers

Instructional Location: Barkstall Elementary in Champaign Length of Instruction: 30 minutes

Standard(s) Addressed3.A.1 Construct complete sentences which demonstrate subject/verb agreement; appropriate capitalization and punctuation; correct spelling of appropriate, highfrequency words; and appropriate use of the eight parts of speech.

3.B.1b Demonstrate focus, organization, elaboration and integration in written compositions (e.g., short stories, letters, essays, reports).

3.C.1a Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narration

Content ObjectivesSWBAT revise their small moment pieces to add more detail and elaboration using questioning techniques with a partner.

Language Objectives SWBAT listen/read others’ writing to draw ideas for their own writing.SWBAT ask questions to their partner about the details of their partner’s story (i.e. the 5 W’s Who, What, When, Where, Why?)SWBAT write to communicate ideas in their small moment pieces.SWBAT talk about their writing during mini-conferences in a meta-cognitive way.

Text To UseTeacher-written story about Brown Bear (classroom teddy bear)

Strategy FocusRevising small moment pieces to add more detail and elaborationCreating a need for and making students

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feel comfortable with revisionBuilding on students’ need for revision by using questioning techniques with a partner for revision purposes

Materials Needed:Teacher-written story about Brown Bear (classroom teddy bear)Brown Bear (classroom teddy bear)Green revision pen (classroom set)

Assessment(s):Informal: Did students revise their small moment pieces (i.e. add more detail, elaborate on events and or points, etc)?Did students use questioning techniques with a partner to revise their small moment pieces?

Day 1 (Repeat for each day)

MINILESSON

Connect to Prior Learning–Hook students to prior learning that has occurred throughout the workshop and other parts of the day.“Yesterday we started revising our small moment writing. Remember? We used the special green pens to make our good writing even better! I noticed yesterday that a lot of you said that you were done after a couple of minutes. Remember the rules of writer’s workshop? We are never done writing! However, I’ve been there before: I know what its like to revise and to think that you are done writing, or to want to be done with your writing. Today I am going to teach you a way that you can continue your writing—even when you think you are done.”

Strategy Teaching–Direct Explanation of Strategy- What, Why, When“This strategy to help you continue your writing is called ‘questioning’, and all of you already know how to do it. As your teacher, I know that all of you are great at asking questions! Good writers ask themselves questions, or question others’ writing, to help them revise.”

–Modeling- How“To help me show you how to question today, I have a special guest for writers’ workshop. Brown Bear is going to help me remember details that I might have forgotten from when he came to visit our classroom.Read aloud story to refresh students’ memoryNow, Brown Bear, I feel like I’m done writing, but I know the first rule of writer’s workshop: You are never done writing. What details am I missing from my story? What questions do you have for me?”Hold bear up to ear

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“You asked if you ate any other snacks? You were the one that ate them, you should remember! But thanks for helping me Brown Bear, you are right—you didn’t only eat the whale crackers! Students, what else did Brown Bear eat?call on students, add detail to story“Anything else I can add, Brown Bear?”Hold bear up to ear“How did we know the letters were from you? You were there! But you are right Brown Bear—if someone else read our story, they might be confused! How did we know these strange letters were from you? How did Brown Bear sign his letters?call on students, add detail

Active Engagement–Engage students in a quick 1-2 minute practice of the new strategy * Participant Structures: Whole group, small group, partners“even though Brown Bear was there, he still had questions to ask me to help me make my good writing even better. I want you to think of a question someone might have about Brown Bear’s visit. Turn to your partner, share your question”take volunteers for questions

Link to Independent Writing–Reiterate to students how the strategies demonstrated and practices can be utilized in their own writing.

“I was so excited to teach you this strategy today because I knew it would help you in your own writing—if you asked yourself questions, or if a partner asked you questions—and I knew that you were already great at asking questions! You ask them all the time!”

INDEPENDENT WRITINGExplicitly describe what the students and teacher will be doing during this time.

“When I dismiss you to go back to your seats, you are going to continue revising your small moment pieces, and if you get stuck and think ‘I’m done writing!’ try the questioning strategy. Either read over your own writing and think of what questions someone might have about your writing, or pair up with a partner and read them your writing, and let them ask you any questions they might have about detail. When they ask those questions, answer them in your writing!”

dismiss students, pass out green pens, remind students of green pen expectations—no drawing, no new writing

TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCESWho will you hold conferences with? What will you ask during your conference? How will you record the information you gather?

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Hold conferences with M.A., G.D. for focus; hold conferences with A.S.F., E.C. for general writing discussions. Ask the following questions:

How is your writing going? How can I help you? How have you revised your writing so far? What have you added? How else do you think you could revise or elaborate? Have you tried the questioning technique yet? Tell me about it. OR Would you like

me to read over your piece and help you revise?

SHARING TIME What will be the focus of your sharing time? How will you structure the sharing? (Author’s chair, partners, etc…)

Sharing time will occur at the end of this unit when students select one of their small moment pieces to publish. The published pieces will be shared with the class via author’s chair, and shared with the school as the students’ work is hung up in the hallway.