MINILESSON: How to Answer a Constructed Response Question
BOOK TITLE/AUTHOR: Mastering New York’s Grade 5 Social Studies Test By Killoran, Zimmer, and Jarrett
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Chart Paper, Markers, and Overhead Projector LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will know…
that writers use information from documents to answer questions.
Students will understand…
that the written responses to the CRQs on the New York State Social Studies Test will help them to develop a well-written document-based essay.
Students will be able to…
effectively answer a constructed-response question.
MINILESSON PROCEDURE Connection:
“Writers, yesterday we discussed what a document based essay looks like. Today, we will be learning how to answer the constructed response questions, which will help you to write your document-based essay. These questions begin with a piece of data; such as a graph, chart, map, timeline, reading passage, political cartoon or photograph. You will be required to answer two or three questions.”
Teach:
Introduce the class to the three different types of constructed-response questions.
“There are three different types of questions that you may encounter. The first one will ask you to find specific details. These comprehension questions are usually straightforward.
They ask you to identify information in the data. The second type will ask you to make connections. Here you will make comparisons, find similarities, identify patterns, or
summarize information in your own words. The third kind will ask you to infer information. In this type of question, you will need to provide an explanation or make a prediction about the data.”
At this point, it would be beneficial to give an example of each type of question based upon one primary source document. The next step will be to model how an answer should be phrased to help the students stay focused on the question and to answer it completely.
Active Engagement:
Pass out or put on overhead a new document with two or three questions. Have the students work with a neighbor to answer the question. “Writers, now it is your turn.
Link:
None
NOTES None
ASSESSMENTS None
July 2009 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – Nonfiction
Overview
In this unit students will become familiar with nonfiction writing that expands across all areas of the curriculum. The students will learn to research and synthesize their
knowledge of a subject of their choice into an interesting and informative piece. Students will learn to gather, organize, and present information in an engaging format.
Immersion
It is recommended that teachers follow the lesson sequence provided in the Writing Fundamentals Nonfiction binder.
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction books have special characteristics and features.
WF: page 4, 5, 7 MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers use their unique voice about topics they are passionate about.
WF: page 6, 8
Generating Ideas
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers often write about topics they are passionate about.
WF: page 13
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writing requires reading primary and secondary source materials.
WF: page 15, 17
Selecting An Idea
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers reread notebook entries to plan their writing.
WF: page 19
July 2009 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – Nonfiction continued
Collecting
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers often start out knowing a lot about their topics. Then they question and wonder about their topic. Questions guide research.
WF: page 21 MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers need to consider types of source materials (primary and secondary); how they will gather materials and information and begin to plan their research.
WF: page 24, 26
Drafting
MINILESSON:
Good writing has a purpose and is written with an audience in mind. There can be many purposes for writing including persuading, informing, and entertaining.
WF: page 29
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers look at other texts for structure possibilities and then determine what makes the most sense for crafting their own writing.
WF: page 31
Revising
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers use authentic details and rich imagery to inform and engage their audience.
WF: page 33, 35
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers use strong verbs to help reinforce imagesand clarify meaning.
WF: page 38
July 2009 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – Nonfiction continued
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers use strong verbs to help reinforce imagesand clarify meaning.
WF: page 38
Editing
MINILESSON:
Teacher selects special features of grammar/punctuation to help reinforce the structure of students’ pieces. Students should incorporate the structures they have learned.
WF: page 40, 42
Publishing
MINILESSON:
Nonfiction writers publish their work incorporating their layout of choice and including pictures and subtopics, if applicable.
NEW/MULTI-LITERACIES
The twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to develop proficiency with the tools of technology; build relationships with others to pose and solve problems; design and share information to meet a variety of purposes; manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information; create, critique, analyze and evaluate multi-media texts. (NCTE 2008)
This list contains some suggestions for infusing new/multi-literacies within this unit:
• PowerPoint
• Newscast
• Podcast
• iMovie
• Make graphic organizer using Inspiration
1A
FEATURE ARTICLE STUDY CHART Text Studied:
LEAD
POINT THE ARTICLE
MAKES
PERSPECTIVE OR STANCE
HOW THE AUTHOR SUPPORTS THE POINT
KINDS OF INFORMATION
INCLUDED CRAFT
1A (con’t)
FROM NOTEBOOK ENTRY TO FEATURE ARTICLE
DESCRIPTION OF NOTEBOOK
ENTRY
POSSIBLE FEATURE ARTICLE TOPIC
STANCE/ ANGLE/
PERSPECTIVE RESEARCH NEEDS (STATISTICS)
INTERVIEW NEEDS: PEOPLE TO SURVEY WHO
HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES – OTHER EXPERTS
ON THE TOPIC
2A
Name:______________________________________ Date:_______________
Criteria Chart for Feature Articles
Craft Mechanics
**Interesting Title **Interesting Title
**Bold print and italics are used for subtitles
**Capital letter for each word in title and subtitle
**Interesting lead **Appropriate ending punctuation
**Angle clearly stated **”I” is capitalized
**Included research **Quotation marks around dialogue
**Included at least one quote to support thinking
**Capitals at the beginning of sentences
**At least two photos with captions **Indented each paragraph
**Includes similes or metaphors **Written neatly
**Onomatopoeia **Exclamation marks used
appropriately
**Strong words
**At least three supporting details for each big idea
3A
Stance/Angle/Perspective
End Middle Beginning
Rubric for Feature Article
(use with criteria for feature articles sheet) Craft Rubric:
4 – I checked 10 – 12 items 3 – I checked 8 – 9 items 2 – I checked 5 – 7 items 1 – I checked 1 – 4 items
Mechanics Rubric:
4 – I checked 8 - 9 items 3 – I checked 6 - 7 items 2 – I checked 4 - 5 items 1 – I checked 1 – 3 items
Students will read, write, listen and speak for information and understanding.
• State a main idea and support it with details and examples.
_______________________________________
Fifth Grade • Half Hollow Hills • page 1
Essential Question
How can we write poetry to express our feelings or relay a message to the reader?
Standard
Overview 1
5
English Language Arts
Overview
In this unit students will formulate poetry to express feelings or relay a message to the reader. Students will experiment with topics in their notebooks before choosing a seed idea. Students will try several techniques observed in the reading unit before writing their first draft. Students will share completed poetry at the completion of the unit.
New York State Standards and Performance Indicators
Students will know, understand and be able to:
English Language Arts
Reading/Writing for FIFTH Grade Reading/Writing for FIFTH Grade
Overview
Unit Title: Poetry Time Frame: 4 Weeks/April
Overview Poetry
Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary response and expression.
• Develop original literary texts that:
-create a lead that attracts the reader's interest
-provide a title that interests the reader -establish consistent point of view (e.g., first or third person) with assistance
• Use resources, such as personal experiences and themes from other texts and performances, to plan and create literary texts
Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary critical analysis and evaluation
• Use strategies, such as note taking, semantic webbing, or mapping, to plan and organize writing
• Use supporting evidence from text to evaluate ideas, information, themes, or experiences
• Analyze the impact of an event or issue from personal and peer group perspectives
• Analyze literary elements in order to evaluate the quality of ideas and information in text
Standard 2
Students will know, understand and be able to:
Standard 3
Students will know, understand and be able to:
• Use information and ideas from other subject areas and personal experiences to form and express opinions
• Adapt an organizational format, such as
compare/contrast, appropriate for critical analysis and evaluation, with assistance
• Use precise vocabulary in writing analysis and evaluation, with assistance
• Maintain a writing portfolio that includes writing for critical analysis and evaluation
Students will read, write, listen and speak for social interaction.
• Develop a personal voice that enables the reader to get to know the writer
• Write personal reactions to experiences and events, using a form of social communication
• Maintain a portfolio that includes writing for social communication
_______________________________________
Fifth Grade • Half Hollow Hills • page 3
Standard 4
Students will know, understand and be able to:
Overview Poetry
Writing:
(Teachers will include some guidance/recommendations for the unit such as # of pieces, genre etc.)
• Pre writing strategies will include:
*Brainstorm ideas
*Use graphic organizers to organize thoughts
• Writing strategies will include:
*Editing for grammar and punctuation
Listening/Speaking:
Listening Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
• Follow instructions that provide information about a task or assignment
• Connect new information to prior knowledge or experience
Listening Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
• Form an opinion on a subject on the basis of information, ideas, and themes expressed in presentations
• Recognize and use the perspective of others to analyze presentations
• Use prior knowledge and experiences to analyze the content of presentations
• Recognize persuasive presentations and identify the techniques used to accomplish that purpose, with assistance
• Evaluate the quality of the speaker's presentation style by using criteria such as volume, tone of voice, and rate
Speaking Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
• Share information from personal experience
Overview Poetry Speaking Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for
literary response and expression.
• Present original works, such as stories, poems, and plays, to adults and peers, using audible voice and pacing appropriate to content and
audience
• Connect a personal response to literature to prior experience or knowledge
Speaking Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.
• Analyze an event or issue by using role play as a strategy
• Use information and ideas from personal experiences to form and express opinions and judgments
_______________________________________
Fifth Grade • Half Hollow Hills • page 5
Overview Poetry
Instructional Materials and Supplies:
• Samples of poetry
• writing notebooks
• chart paper
• transparancies
• graphic organizers
• colored pens/highlighters for revising and editing
• decorative paper for finished pieces of writing
Professional Resources:
• Guiding Readers and Writers, 3-6, Fountas and Pinnell
• Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School, Georgia Heard
• For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry, Georgia Heard
What fifth grade students will do to demonstrate
competencies across all of the 4 reading English language arts standards:
• Correctly spell words within own writing that have been previously studied and/or frequently used
• Correctly spell words within own writing that follow the spelling patterns of words that have been previously studied
• Spell a large body of words accurately and quickly when writing
• Use a variety of spelling resources, such as spelling dictionaries and spell-check tools, to support correct spelling
• Write on a wide range of topics
• Understand and use writing for a variety of purposes
• Use a variety of media, such as print and electronic, when writing
Overview Poetry
• Use the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and editing)
• Use a variety of prewriting strategies, such as brainstorming, freewriting, note taking, and webbing
• Review writing independently in order to revise for focus, development of ideas, and organization
• Review writing independently in order to edit for correct spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphing
• Understand and write for a variety of audiences
• Adjust style of writing, voice, and language used according to purpose and intended audience
• Incorporate aspects of the writer's craft, such as literary devices and specific voice, into own writing
• Review writing with teachers and peers
• Write voluntarily to communicate ideas and emotions to a variety of audiences, from self to unknown
• Write voluntarily for different purposes
• Write on a variety of topics
• Publish writing in a variety of presentation or display mediums, for a variety of audiencesListen attentively to a variety of texts read aloud
• Listen attentively for different purposes and for an extended period of time
• Identify own purpose(s) for listening
• Respond appropriately to what is heard
• Listen respectfully, and without interrupting, when others speak
• Speak in response to the reading of a variety of texts
• Use appropriate and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas
• Use grammatically correct sentences when speaking
• Include details that are relevant for the audience
• Communicate ideas in an organized and coherent manner
• Vary the formality of language according to the audience and purpose for speaking
• Speak with expression, volume, pace, and gestures appropriate for the topic, audience, and purpose of communication
_______________________________________
Fifth Grade • Half Hollow Hills • page 7
• Overview Poetry Respond respectfully to others
• Participate in group discussions on a variety of topics
• Offer feedback to others in a respectful and responsive manner
July 2009 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – POETRY
OVERVIEW
Writing without bounds. Students will understand poetry as a way of expressing themselves without using the usual conventions of writing. They will learn to use techniques such as similes, metaphors, personification, voice and alliteration to enhance their writing. Each student will publish his/her poem and present it orally. See suggestions at end of unit.
MINILESSON:
Similes and Metaphors
Similes and metaphors are used to make ourselves think of more than one similar image by comparing an object to something else.
MINILESSON:
Personification
Poets use personification to give life and imagery to the objects they use in their writing.
MINILESSON:
Line Breaks
We use line breaks to create a visual and rhythmic pause, or to place an emphasis on the last word in a line. We can practice breaking a line in different places or see which words are worth emphasizing as the ends of lines.
MINILESSON:
Stanzas
Stanzas are section markers, or paragraphs of a poem. They signal that some kind of change has taken place such as, a shift in an idea, a new voice speaking, time passing, or a new image.
MINILESSON:
Repetition
Poets use repetition as a way to emphasize certain words or phrases.
MINILESSON:
Vivid Verbs
Poets use strong, image-oriented verbs and adjectives as a way to move their verse forward.
July 2009 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – POETRY continued
MINILESSON:
Revisiting strategies for vivid language: Alliteration.
Poets use phrases that use the same starting sound as a way to call attention to that phrase or line.
WF: “Writing Like a Reader,” Resources: Come on Rain, pages 2, 8, 13, 15
My Mama had a Dancing Heart, pages 7, 8 Other Resources: “All These I Hear,” by Dahlov Ipcar
MINILESSON:
Perspective
Changing the “I” in previously written pieces to “You” or “He/She” to see how a change in perspective affects a piece of poetry.
MINILESSON:
Use of White Space and the affect it has on a piece.
Examine various concrete poetry pieces, as well as pieces that use white space, formatting stanzas to contrast with print.
MINILESSON:
Poetry
Have students use the mentor poet or poems that they selected during Reading Workshop and a companion poem to go along with it.
EDITING/PUBLISHING MINILESSON:
Editing
Students spend this time checking the grammar and punctuation of their companion poem.
MINILESSON:
Publication
See options below.
Writing Celebration
July 2009 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – POETRY continued
NEW/MULTI-LITERACIES
The twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to develop proficiency with the tools of technology; build relationships with others to pose and solve problems; design and share information to meet a variety of purposes; manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information; create, critique, analyze and evaluate multi-media texts. (NCTE 2008)
Since poetry is meant to be spoken and heard, it is suggested that your students select from the following options:
• Poetry readings
• Videotape students reciting their mentor poem and companion poem. Include discussion of how the two relate
• Podcast
• PowerPoint with voice-over
• Tape recording
• Musical interpretation
• Voice threads
July 2008 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – Poetry
MINILESSON: Poets look at the world around them for inspiration.
BOOK TITLE/AUTHOR:
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Chart paper
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will know…
that writers generate ideas for poems through their observations.
Students will understand…
that writers can gather ideas from observations they make every day.
Students will be able to…
list observations and use those ideas as a platform for writing.
MINILESSON PROCEDURE Connection:
“Writers, yesterday we discussed how poetry is another way for writers to express
themselves without using the usual conventions of writing. We also discussed that there are many ways writers gather ideas for their entries. Today we are going to look at using
observations as a way to collect themes or subjects to write about.
Teach:
Model an observation in the classroom, or take students outside to observe a natural setting.
“As I look out the window, there are many things that catch my attention that I could jot down and write an entry about later. I also can see that if I observe this scene longer, I could generate more ideas because I begin to focus in on the details of certain objects I wouldn’t normally pay attention to.”
Active Engagement:
Ask students to take a moment to observe the same scene you are focusing in on and have them jot down some ideas. Then have the class turn and talk to a partner about something they noticed that they can write an entry about. Ask one or two students to share their ideas.
Link:
Now, you are going to take some time and find different scenes around the school to observe with a partner. When you think you are finished with your list of ideas from your observations, you can choose one or two and start to write an entry about that topic or idea.
Share:
As you conference and walk around, keep in mind two students who can share at the end of the lesson. Students can write an idea or two on a chart set up in the classroom and then the students you chose can share a sample entry from one of the ideas on the list.
ASSESSMENTS Conferences and observation lists in the writer’s notebook.
July 2008 Grade 5 UNIT: Writing – Poetry
MINILESSON: Poets generate ideas from significant moments in their lives.
BOOK TITLE/AUTHOR:
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Chart paper
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Students will know…
that writers generate ideas for poems from their memories and significant moments in their lives.
Students will understand…
that past experiences and significant moments are a great resource for generating ideas to write about.
Students will be able to…
list small moments and memories and use those ideas as a platform for writing.
MINILESSON PROCEDURE Connection:
“Writers, yesterday we discussed how poets often find ideas to write about from their observations of the world around them. Recalling past experiences and significant moments in one’s life is another way for writers to generate ideas for poems.
Teach:
Model by charting a list of memories of your life that have significance. Take one of those ideas and begin to write an entry.
“When I think about times that were significant in my life, I think about the day I moved with my family to Long Island. I am going to put that on my list. Another moment in my life that has had a big impact on my life was when my grandma died, so I am going to add that to my list. (Add a few more moments to your chart and explain that they should have longer lists because they will be given more time.) Now, I am going to show you how I take an idea and write it as an entry in my notebook. (Demonstrate the beginning of what that entry would look like by writing the start of that moment.)