Students will use research to compose a written paper. The students will write descriptive, relevant, and interesting paragraphs for the purpose of describing. The writing will be organized with main ideas and supporting details. The information will be organized in a clear and easy-to-follow manner. This lesson is Part 3 in the “Writing” series.
Created by Keli Jacewitz, November 2007
Based on an original lesson by Charla Jenkins, Jane Long Middle School
Objective(s): The student will use their completed research to begin composing a rough draft that describes the life of a character present during the time of slavery. The writing will be organized from best to worst.
Writing/Purposes. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes and in a variety of forms. Write to inform including to explain, describe, report, and narrate.
TEKS §110.22. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6.(b)(15)(C)
Writing/Grammar/Usage. The student applies standard grammar and usage to communicate clearly and effectively in writing. Write in complete sentences, varying the types including compound and complex, and use of appropriately punctuated dependent clauses. Edit drafts to ensure originality and variation in sentence structures.
TEKS §110.22. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6.(b)(17)(B)
Prerequisite Skills: Basic reading and writing skills.
Journal – This journal activity will strongly support your ELL students. Students will use their five senses to contribute to the description of an object to improve their descriptive writing skills.
Show the students the picture “Lew’s Horns – Slave Collar” from the TIDES website. Ask students to create a five senses chart. In each section they need to list 3 adjectives to describe the picture. Once complete, have them work with an elbow partner to create descriptive sentences using the adjectives from the chart.
Let students know that they cannot begin their rough draft until the pre-writing section of their packet is complete. The completed research packet is part of their overall grade.Modeling: Pass out the Best, OK, and Worst graphic organizers to the students. Show them how to take the research information and organize it using the circles. Once they have completed placing the information into the graphic organizer, they can transfer it onto the outline.
Check for Understanding: Ask students if they have any questions about what they have just heard. Have one or two students summarize what you told them to make sure that everyone was listening.
Guided Practice: Read over the sample paragraph as a class. Discuss the sample with the class and let them reason out why/how the paragraph was written. Tell students that their writing should follow the same structure. Ask the students why it is important to follow this structure.
Closure: Before letting students work on their rough drafts, have them review what is expected of them as they write. Pass out the writing rubric to each student. Go over the information and required elements of the rubric. Make sure students understand what is required of them on the final draft.
Independent Practice: Students will now begin writing their rough drafts independently. They should be using their research packets (and possibly today’s journal) to guide their writing. Pass out the paper outline page to each student. Tell them that this is the last step before writing their final draft.
Enrichment: If students complete their rough draft early they may 1) Have a peer edit their work and 2) Revise for run-ons, correct punctuation, effective word choice, etc.
Remediation:
Assessment/Rubrics: Writing rubric
