Lesson Plan : Build What I Write
Teacher Name: | Kelty Howard |
Grade: | Grade 4 |
Subject: | Language Arts |
Topic: | Writing sequential directions. |
Content: | Cooperative Learning Structure: Relational Thinking Skills/Build-What-I-Write. Rationale: The students are learning how to write stories in class and have been working with sequencing activities in order to connect that skill to their writing. This activity will further enhance their understanding of sequencing as they write directions for another classmate to follow. The success experienced by their classmates will prove to them the importance of explicit sequencing. They will learn from one another when they read each other's directions and will thus peer tutor one another. They will gain critical experience with effective communication through written format. Vocabulary: Sequencing, directions, clear, communication |
Goals: | .8 Reading/variety of texts. The student reads widely for different purposes in varied sources. The student is expected to: (C) read for varied purposes such as to be informed, to be entertained, to appreciate the writer's craft, and to discover models for his/her own writing. 4.10 Reading/comprehension. The student comprehends selections using a variety of strategies. The student is expected to: (B) establish and adjust purposes for reading such as reading to find out, to understand, to interpret, to enjoy, and to solve problems. 4.15 Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes, and in a variety of forms. The student is expected to: (C) write to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate. |
Objectives: | The students will be able to write sequential directions for the process the used to build their original designs. The students will be able to read directions to recreate a design in the correct sequence suggested by the directions. |
Materials: | Pattern Blocks, privacy folders, ruled paper |
Introduction: | A Daily Oral Langague worksheet with an exercise related to sequencing. The students will edit a mistake-ridden recipe, adding capitals, punctuation, and spelling to the recipe. This will re-introduce the concept of sequencing, which they have been working with for the past few days. |
Development: | The teacher has already written directions to making a pattern block design that she created previous to the lesson. The students are given a set of pattern blocks each at their desks. Before beginning the lesson the teacher now invites the children to explore their manipulative, allowing them a few moments of free play time with the pattern blocks in order to satisfy their curiosity and prevent playing during the lesson. |
Practice: | The teacher directs the students� attention to the board on which the teacher had written the directions to creating the design she created. The teacher explains to the students that she wrote directions (just like they did two days ago) to creating a pattern with the pattern blocks. The teacher emphasizes that she had to be very clear and not skip any steps when she wrote the directions so that they could recreate the design easily. At this point the children should attempt to recreate the design explained on the board. This portion of the lesson can be interactive among the students as well as the teacher. Once the students have had sufficient time to rebuild the design, the teacher calls them back to attention and asks one student to share what he built using the directions. |
Accommodations: | The teacher will carefully partner students in pairs that take advantage of beneficial peer tutoring. The students with lower writing abilities should be paired with stronger students in order to gain exposure to higher level writing skills. The students will also be unhindered by difficult patterns to write about because they can make their pattern as simple or complex as they like, thus adjusting the difficulty of writing the directions. Each child can self-modify their own learning in this very student directed activity. |
Checking For Understanding: | As the students are creating their designs, writing their directions, and attempting to recreate their partner's design, the teacher should be mingling with her students, asking them prompting questions to check for understanding, and keeping anecdotal notes of the learning observed. |
Closure: | After the students have had sufficient time to rebuild the designs, they are told to return to their desk to see if the classmate that sat there rebuilt their design correctly. The teacher instructs those students who find their designs improperly recreated to read the directions they wrote and try to find how it was confusing or unclear and to correct it. |
Evaluation: | As the students are building their designs, writing their directions, and following others� directions, the teacher is observing and interacting with the students. The teacher uses the rubric below to assess the children on the originality of their design, the clarity of the directions they wrote, the precision of the directions they wrote, and if the student who sat at their seat could recreate their design. Thus, the students are evaluated on their ability to write effective directions. Rubric: Exceeds Meets Needs Did not follow Expectations Expectation Improvement Instructions Original 4 3 2 1 Design Clarity of 4 3 2 1 Directions Precision of 4 3 2 1 Directions Effective 4 3 2 1 Recreation of Design |
Teacher Reflections: | This lesson was a great success. They students appreciated the open-ended, creative nature of it. A key to the behavioral success during the lesson was allotting time for the students to play with the pattern blocks prior to beginning the lesson. This allowed them to become familiar with the material and realize that I would allow them to play, but also expected them to work in return. They students needed my guidance while creating their designs, as they made them so intricate and complex, to make them consider whether or not they could write clear directions for their unusual designs. Once they were reminded of this, they reevaluated their design and self-monitored their creations. I will reenact this lesson each year in my own classroom, as it can be used for many age groups and ability levels. |
| Create New Lesson Plan | Lesson Plan Center |