Assessment Task - Web viewComputer with word processing program ... . ... With guidance and support from peers and adults,

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Writing Lesson Plan: Dr. Seuss had a lot of VOICE!

Name: Crystal Whitehill Grade: 5th

Date: October 16, 17, & 23, 2013 Content Area: Writing, Reading

Duration: 3 days, (1 hr. 15 min. each day)

Materials needed:

Biography of Dr. Seuss Handout (1 copy for each student) 15 Dr. Seuss quotes and matching definition for each quote (index cards) Structure of a Letter Handout (1 copy for each student) Tree Map Template (2 copies for each student) ELMO and Promethean Board for teacher modeling Lined Paper for students Pencils for students Anchor Chart of Editing Marks (1 copy for each student) Computer with word processing program (for publishing letters) Black Pen (If there is not enough time to type and print letters on computer) Note: Biography of Dr. Seuss Handout, Structure of a Letter Handout, and Tree Map

Template will be placed in a sheet protector (Each student will be each be given 1 packet with all of these items included.)

References: Tompkins, G. (2010). Teaching writing. Balancing process and product, 6e. Boston, MA:

Allyn & Bacon Culham, R. (2003). 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide, Grades 3 and up, 1e. New

York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. Biography of Dr. Seuss Handout: http://www.seussville.com/author/SeussBio.pdf Anchor Chart of Editing Marks: http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/editing-service.php

Guiding Questions:Who was Dr. Seuss? What do I want to share with him? What do I want to know about him? How can I use the trait of voice to bring my writing to life?

Enduring understanding:Dr. Seuss was an accomplished writer. My voice can come through any piece of writing, just like Dr. Seuss.

Purpose of lessonThe purpose of this lesson is to teach students the structure of a letter and the trait of voice. Students will learn about how voice connects the reader and writer through a piece of writing.

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What component/s will be the lesson focus? Letter writing Voice

Strategy or skill emphasis Structure of letter writing Word choices emphasizing feelings

and emotionsLanguage modalities to be used in this lesson:Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking

Critical Thinking SkillsACEI 3.3-Critical thinking, problem solving and performance skills.

Comprehending Understanding Applying

Student Engagement Techniques and GroupingACEI 3.4-Active Engagement in Learning

Small groups Side partners

DIFFERENTIATION PLANACEI 3.2 Adaptation to diverse students.

Identify type of learner(ELL, SPED, Accelerated

Learners, Striving learners, 504 students, reading)

List type of differentiation

(learning environment, content, process, product, performance

task)

Instructional approach(Write the instructional approach/accommodations that

will be used for these learners)

SPED & ELL Learning environment & content

Students will be given more time to complete their tree map and letter.

Students will also be allowed to write less content in their letter with the trait of

voice to be emphasized.GT Product These students will create the title page,

as well as, the authors’ page for the class book of the letters to Dr. Seuss.

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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.

Students will write a letter to Dr. Seuss, which will then be published as part of a class book. They will use the writing process to create a clear, organized letter with voice. A rubric will be used to assess grammar and punctuation during the revising and editing stages, as well as, the trait of voice within the letter.

1. Standards/Benchmarks/GLOsACEI 2.1-2.4 Content Area Knowledge. List CCSS, HCPS III, HELDS, GLOs

CCSS W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. (I can write a letter to express my opinions using voice.)

CCSS W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (I can write a clear, organized letter to Dr. Seuss.)

CCSS W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (I can edit and revise my writing with the help of my teacher.)

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1. Activities/Instructional StrategiesACEI 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

1. Introduction (2 minutes)a. Introduce and explain overview of entire lesson to students. (We are going to be learning

about the life of Dr. Seuss by reading a biography. We will then learn how a letter is structured and you will each write a personal letter to Dr. Seuss using the writing process. The writing process has five stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. We will go over these stages in more detail later. We will end our unit by publishing your letters into a class book.)

b. Explain benchmarks or I can statements of what students will learn.i. I can write a letter to express my opinions using voice. (CCSS W.5.1: Write opinion

pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.)ii. I can write a clear, organized letter to Dr. Seuss. (CCSS W.5.4: Produce clear and

coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.)

c. Explain today’s lesson to students. (Today we are going to be reading about the life of Dr. Seuss. Then we will learn about the trait of voice and how you can include voice when writing your letters.)

2. Building background (20 minutes)a. Ask 2-3 students to answer the following questions:

i. Who was Dr. Seuss?ii. What is your favorite book written by Dr. Seuss?iii. Why is that your favorite book by Dr. Seuss?

b. Pass out packet of handouts (1 packet to each student).c. Ask students to take out the biography of Dr. Seuss handout. Display a double-spaced

copy of biography on the Promethean Board using the ELMO projector.d. Explain to students that you will ask them (if they want to read) to read one paragraph of

the biography each. Explain that after reading through the biography, students will review what they have read by answering questions at the bottom of the handout using the method of color-coding (underlining sentence(s) where the answer to the question is found using corresponding colors).

e. Read the first paragraph of the biography to the class.f. Call on students who volunteer to each read a paragraph.g. Call on students to answer questions on the bottom of the handout after reading the

entire biography. Each student who volunteers will share his or her answer. They will then underline the sentence(s) using different colors on the Promethean Board to show the class where in the biography they found their answer.

Part 1 (Voice)

3. Focus/Mini lesson (I do): (8 minutes)a. Inform students that they will be focusing on the trait of voice during this instructional

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time.b. Define voice for students using the definition from 6+1 Traits (Grades 3 and Up) text.c. Share with class, “Dr. Seuss’ voice is present throughout his stories and his voice captures

the reader’s attention.”d. Explain to students, “I will be handing out 7 quotes by Dr. Seuss with 7 corresponding

meanings to each group. Every group will have to match each quote to the correct meaning. When reading each quote, notice the voice used by Dr. Seuss in his writing.”

e. Demonstrate the activity by showing a couple of examples to the class.

4. Guided practice (We do): (5 min)a. Continue to demonstrate the activity by doing a couple of examples as a class.

5. Work Time (35 minutes)

6. Collaborative Group work (You do it together): (25 minutes)a. Distribute quotes to each table and allow students to arrange quotes and meanings.b. Circulate around the room and answer any questions students may have.c. Gather students’ attention. Select 4-5 students to share their answers.d. Discuss the quotes and the correct corresponding meanings as a class.e. Ask students to take out a sheet of paper and individually reflect on the activity by writing

down their answer to the question, “After doing this activity, what do you think voice is?”f. Ask students if they have any questions about what they will be working on during their

independent work time.

7. Independent work (You do it alone): (10 minutes)a. Monitor students’ progress by making sure that they are staying on task. If students are

off-topic or the noise level becomes too loud, remind students that they only have a limited time to complete the task at hand. If students continue to be distracted, stop the activity and give students time to calm themselves.

b. Answer any questions students may have.c. Collect quotes and meanings.

8. Closure: (5 minutes)a. Gather students’ attention. Explain that they will share with a partner or in groups of three

what they wrote.b. Gather students’ attention once again. Call on 1-2 students to share their answers with

the class.c. Define voice for students using the definition from 6+1 Traits (Grades 3 and Up) text.d. Inform students that they will learn the structure of a letter next and will be starting the

prewriting and drafting stages.e. Collect student work.

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Part 2 (Prewriting and Drafting): (1 hr. 15 min)

9. Introduction (1 minute)a. Explain today’s lesson to students (Today we are going to be learning about the

structure of a letter. We will also be brainstorming and writing a draft of your letters to Dr. Seuss.)

b. Ask students, “Has anyone ever received or written a letter before?”c. Show students an example of what their letters will look like when finished

(Today we are writing a letter and it will look similar to this when it is finished.)

10. Building background (2 minutes)a. Review the trait of voice with students.b. Ask 1-2 students the following questions:

i. What is voice?ii. Why is voice important when writing?

c. Explain benchmarks or I can statements of what students will do today.i. I can write a letter to express my opinions using voice. (CCSS W.5.1: Write

opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.)

ii. I can write a clear, organized letter to Dr. Seuss. (CCSS W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.)

11. Focus/Mini lesson (I do): (5 minutes)a. Inform students that they will learn about the two types of letters and the 5

parts of a letter. Students will then brainstorm ideas for their letter using a tree map and create a draft of their letter to Dr. Seuss. (When writing your draft, you will need to have 3 paragraphs, at least 5 sentences for each paragraph, and include the trait of voice.)

b. Ask students to take out the structure of a letter handout. Display a copy of this handout on the Promethean Board using the ELMO projector.

c. Explain to students that there are two types of letters: friendly letters and formal letters. (Friendly letters are informal and are those written to a friend or family member. Formal letters are usually written to a business or a politician. Formal letters also include an address.)

d. Explain to students that they will be writing a friendly letter and that there are generally 5 parts in a friendly letter:i. Dateii. Greetingiii. Bodyiv. Closingv. Signature

e. Describe the five parts of a letter to students and show students where these elements are placed. “The date that the letter is being written goes on the top

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right corner of the page. The greeting goes on the top left a couple of spaces below the date. Words, such as, hello, dear, or to are greetings. The body of the letter usually consists of two to three paragraphs and contains the main idea or key information of the letter. The closing goes on the bottom right of the letter. Closing words that are common are: sincerely, from, thanks, and your friend. Lastly, your name or signature goes right below the closing.”

12. Guided practice (We do): (10 minutes)a. Inform students that they will be now be using a tree map to brainstorm their

ideas for their letter.b. Ask students to take out the tree map template. Display a copy of this

template on the Promethean Board using the ELMO projector.c. Ask 3-4 students about things they could talk about in their letter.

i. What do they want to know about Dr. Seuss and what do they admire about him?

ii. What do they want Dr. Seuss to know about them?iii. If you could write a book, what would it be about? Why would you want to

write about this event or subject?d. Illustrate to the students how to use the tree map template to brainstorm

using the students’ answers to the questions above. Explain to students that each branch of the tree corresponds to one paragraph. Depending on the students’ answers to the questions, label each heading for the branches of the tree (e.g. Myself, Dr. Seuss, My Opinion).

e. Allow students time to brainstorm after doing a couple of examples with the class.

f. Explain directions during work time.i. You must stay on task.ii. Produce as many detailed ideas as possible. (Differentiation: For ELLs, work

on having a few ideas but with many details and allow extra time if needed).

13. Work Time 1 (15 minutes)

14. Independent work (You do it alone): (15 minutes)a. Provide time for students to brainstorm ideas for their letter.b. Circulate around room and answer any questions students may have.c. Monitor students by walking around and providing feedback on their tree

maps.

15. Focus/Mini Lesson (I do): (5 minutes)a. Gather students’ attention.b. Model how to create information from the tree map and create sentences.

16. Guided Practice (We do): (5 minutes)

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a. Allow students to create sentences from the sample tree map.b. Ask 1-2 students to write a greeting and those sentences on the Promethean

Board.c. Provide guidance when necessary.d. Explain directions during work time.

i. You must stay on task.ii. Using your tree map as a guide, create a draft of your letter to Dr. Seuss.iii. Remind students to include voice in their letter while they are drafting.iv. Inform students that they need 3 paragraphs in the body of their letter, at

least 5 sentences in each of their three paragraphs, and write and support an opinion in the last paragraph.

17. Work Time 2 (30 minutes)

18. Independent Work (30 minutes):a. Provide time for students to draft their letter.b. Circulate around the room and answer any questions students may have.c. Monitor students by walking around and providing feedback on their drafts.

(Differentiation: For ELLs, try to provide feedback more often and allow extra time if needed).

19. Closure: (2 minutes)a. Gather students’ attention.b. Inform students that their teacher and I will be revising and editing their

letters. They will then have a chance to publish their work by constructing a class book.

c. Collect student work.

20. Revising and Editing (Independent Teacher Time)a. Review each students’ writing and ask questions to develop ideas. Use editing

marks to notate where students need to correct convention mistakes.

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Part 3 (Publishing): (1 hour, 15 minutes)

20. Introduction (2 minutes)a. Share with students, “We are ending our unit about Dr. Seuss by publishing our

work.”b. Explain today’s lesson with students. (Today we will be publishing our letters

to Dr. Seuss using the word processor program on the computers in the computer lab.)

21. Building background (8 minutes)a. Pass back students’ revised and edited drafts and an anchor chart of editing

marks.b. Review editing marks with students using the anchor chart that was passed

out.c. Explain benchmarks or I can statements of what students will do today.

i. I can edit and revise my writing with the help of my teacher. (CCSS W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.)

22. Focus/Mini lesson (I do): (5 minutes)a. Explain how to open and use word processor program. Explain icons to

students, such as, bold, italics, underline, align text left, align text right, and align text middle.

b. Explain that students will use 12 pt. font using one of the following font types:i. Arialii. Comic Sans

23. Guided practice (We do): (5 minutes)a. Demonstrate how to align and type the date. Have students observe and

follow along. Walk around and confirm that the date has been typed.b. Model how to align and type the greeting. Have students observe and follow

along. Walk around and confirm that the greeting has been typed.c. Demonstrate how to indent the first paragraph of the body. Students will

observe and follow along.d. Explain directions during work time.

i. Students must stay on task. Students should be typing their letter and not talking to their neighbors.

ii. Students will type their revised letters using the structure of a letter handout as their guide.

24. Work Time (45 minutes)

25. Independent work (You do it alone): (45 minutes)

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a. Provide time for students to type their letter.b. Circulate around the room and answer any questions students may have.c. Monitor students by walking around and providing assistance with the word

processing program when needed. (Differentiation: For ELLs, try to provide assistance often and allow extra time if needed).

d. (Differentiation: For GT students, allow time to work on cover page and authors’ page for book.)

e. Create alternative work options for students who finish early:i. Help GT students with the cover or authors’ page for bookii. Read quietlyiii. Start on homework

26. Closure: (10 minutes)a. Gather students’ attention.b. Ask them to turn to their side partner and share a couple of things that they

wrote in their letter.c. Select 1-2 students to share what they said with the class.d. Review the importance of voice and explain how voice can come through any

piece of writing.

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Personal Letter RubricBenchmark 1

(well below)2

(developing proficiency)3

(meets expectation)4

(exceeds expectation)

Writi

ng p

roce

ss:

Draft

ing

& P

ublis

hing

6+1

trai

t= V

oice

, Wor

d Ch

oice

, Ide

asI can write a letter to express my opinions using voice.(CCSS W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.)

Letter does not express any opinions.

Voice is not present anywhere in letter.

Letter expresses some opinions with reasons.

Voice is present in half of the letter.

Letter expresses many opinions with reasons.

Voice is present throughout most of the letter.

Opinions are present throughout letter and are supported by detailed reasons and information.

Voice is present throughout entire letter.

Writi

ng p

roce

ss:

Draft

ing

& P

ublis

hing

6+1

trai

t= O

rgan

izatio

n, C

onve

ntion

s,

Voic

e, W

ord

Choi

ce, I

deas

I can write a clear, organized letter to Dr. Seuss.(CCSS W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.)

Letter is disorganized.

Letter is not published or published letter does not include 2 or more of the 5 parts.

Letter is not written for Dr. Seuss.

All 3 paragraphs in the body of the letter have less than 5 sentences.

Letter is somewhat organized.

Letter is published and is missing 1 of the 5 parts.

Letter is written for Dr. Seuss.

2 paragraphs in the body of the letter have less than 5 sentences.

Letter is organized. Letter is published

and includes all 5 parts.


0-1 paragraph in the body of the letter has less than 5 sentences.

Letter is well organized.

Letter is published and includes all 5 parts.


All paragraphs in the body of the letter have 5 or more sentences each.

Writi

ng p

roce

ss: R

evisi

ng, E

ditin

g,

Publ

ishin

g

6+1

trai

t= O

rgan

izatio

n,

Conv

entio

ns, W

ord

Choi

ce, V

oice I can edit and revise my writing

with the help of my teacher. (CCSS W.5.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.)

Does not make changes to content, grammar, and spelling with support from teacher.

There are 5 or more spelling errors.

There are 5 or more punctuation marks not used or used incorrectly.

Few changes made to content, grammar, and spelling with support from teacher.

There are 3-4 spelling errors.

There are 3-4 punctuation marks not used or used incorrectly.

Many changes made to content, grammar, and spelling with support from teacher.



Made changes to content, grammar, and spelling with support from teacher.

There are no spelling errors.

All punctuation marks are used correctly.

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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.]

Creating my writing lesson plan was extremely time consuming and difficult for me. All the directions needed to be written step by step. During my lesson, I quickly found out that the directions I had written in my lesson plan were not explicit enough. My lesson was effective in teaching the trait of voice, but my students did not revise and edit their letters to the extent that I wanted them to.

In the prewriting stage, I modeled for the students how to brainstorm ideas using a tree map. From my writing survey that was conducted at the beginning of the semester, most of my students write without brainstorming first. I had to be extremely clear when explaining that each branch corresponded to one paragraph in the body of their letters. When modeling my tree map template for the students, many of them just copied what I had written. When I noticed this happening, I tried to emphasize to my students to come up with their own ideas for their letters.

During the drafting stage, many students became confused on what I wanted in their letters. I had mentioned what I wanted to see in their letters in the beginning of my lesson, but probably should have reiterated my criteria right before they started drafting. My students mentioned in the student writing survey that they like to write most about themselves and their experiences, so I decided to have them write about themselves to Dr. Seuss. They also had to support multiple opinions in their letters. While drafting, most of the students had met the criteria I had presented. I also walked around during this period, answering any questions that the students had about the assignment and correcting students’ errors. To accommodate the students who had a hard time coming up with ideas for their letters, I gave them more time to write their drafts. I think that giving the students more time to write, benefitted everyone in the class.

I didn’t have enough time for my students to revise and edit their letters in class. Instead, I revised and edited for them and wrote comments on how they could improve their letters. The students were to use these editing marks and comments to produce a revised, final draft. If I did have time for my students to revise and edit, I would have had them read their letters to their side partners, switched letters, and revised one another’s work.

I had originally wanted to have the students publish their letters by typing and printing their letters in the school computer lab. However, there was no time to do this and I improvised by asking the students to write their final drafts neatly in black pen on a clean sheet of lined folder paper. When I got the students’ final drafts, some of them were written in pencil. I also found the same punctuation and spelling errors in some of my students’ final letters. I realized that I should have reviewed editing marks with my students so that they

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would have had polished final drafts. Most of my students did have the trait of voice in their letters to Dr. Seuss.

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?

I think that my assessment plan was effective overall. I monitored my students’ during the prewriting and drafting stages. I tried to correct their errors and answer any questions that they may have had. However, I really had to revise my summative assessment, which was my rubric. My original rubric was too vague and I had to change some of the criteria. When I was in the process of scoring my students’ work, I realized that I needed to add multiple criteria to the three benchmarks I was assessing. For example, I specified the number of paragraphs that I wanted to see in the letters during my lesson. I forgot to write that as a criteria in my original rubric. I think I would have given my students a simplified copy of my rubric so that they would have known what I was looking for in their letters. This might have made it less confusing for the students when they were writing their drafts.

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.

I think that I achieved the purpose and enduring understanding specified in my writing lesson. I really wanted my students to learn what the trait of voice was and be able to use in their writing. My students understood and incorporated voice in their letters to Dr. Seuss. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they showed me their understanding of voice. Voice is a hard trait to teach, as well as learn, but most of my students used voice throughout their organized and structured letters.

For benchmark W.5.1 – I can write a letter to express my opinions using voice, my students improved from the drafting stage to the publishing stage. My students supported their opinions with more details and added voice to their writing in their final drafts. 18 out of 22 students met or exceeded expectations in the publishing stage as compared to 13 out of 22 students in the drafting stage. The graphs are shown below.

For benchmark W.5.4 – I can write a clear, organized letter to Dr. Seuss, my students’ scores decreased from the drafting stage to the publishing stage. My students forgot little things like the date on the top right corner of their letters or they had less than 5 sentences per paragraph. However, most of my students’ letters were still organized. 16 out of 22 students met or exceeded expectations in the publishing stage compared to 17 out of 22 students in the drafting stage. There were also less students that exceeded expectations in the publishing stage than the drafting stage. The corresponding graphs are shown below.

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For benchmark W.5.5 – I can edit and revise my writing with the help of my teacher, 14 out of 22 students were either well below or developing proficiency in the publishing stage. I think that this was due to the lack of review on revising and editing. If I had a day just to go over revising and editing with my students and have them revise and edit their own work, I think that they would have scored much higher. The corresponding graph is shown below.

To improve my students’ learning for the next time, I would definitely review revising and editing. I would re-teach common editing or proofreading marks. I would also set up revising centers or groups so that my students would have experience with revising and could ask me for guidance when needed. I want to show my students the importance of rereading their drafts and proofreading.

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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.

Before teaching this writing lesson, I think that I was prepared and had adequate knowledge of opinion writing and the structure of a letter. My students seemed to understand the five parts of a friendly letter and the purpose of writing a letter. I taught my students the difference between the types of letters, such as friendly and formal letters. I also understood the difference between writing an email and writing a formal letter. However, I did not go into this much detail when teaching my students letter writing. My students already had previous knowledge of supporting their ideas with evidence and valid reasons from doing other opinion writing assignments in class. I would like to improve my teaching in the areas of elaborating and evaluating writing pieces. “Writers evaluate or reflect on their writing and make judgments about it. During each stage of the writing process, they review the text they’re producing to see if it matches their intended meaning and to regulate their use of other writing strategies” (Tompkins, 2012, p. 36). Most of my students don’t reread their writing and I am not sure if they evaluated their letters before they turned it in. I would also like to work on teaching students to revise and edit their own and their peers’ work. “Because revising is the most difficult part, teachers often postpone teaching their children how to revise…” (Tompkins, 2012, p. 9). I would love to learn more about revising centers and revising groups in order to teach my students how to refine their skills in this writing stage.

References

Tompkins, G. (2012). Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

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Student Assessment Data Table

Writing process stage

Drafting Drafting Publishing Publishing Publishing

6+1 Trait Voice, Word

Choice, Ideas

Organization, Conventions,

Word Choice,

Ideas, Voice

Voice, Word

Choice, Ideas

Organization, Conventions, Word Choice, Ideas, Voice

Conventions, Organization, Word Choice,

Voice

Grade level benchmark

W.5.1 W.5.4 W.5.1 W.5.4 W.5.5 Final Overall

Student Names

1. 3 4 2 3.5 2 2.52. 2 2 3 3 2.5 2.83. 3 4 3.5 4 2.5 3.34. 3 4 4 3 4 3.75. 3 4 3 4 2 36. 2 3 4 2.5 2.5 37. 3 3 3 3 2.5 2.88. 3 3 4 3.5 3.5 3.79. 3 3.5 4 4 3.5 3.810. 3 4 3.5 4 2.5 3.311. 2.5 2.5 3.5 2.5 2 2.712. 3 4 3 3 2.5 2.813. 3 2.5 4 2 2.5 2.814. 3 3.5 3.5 4 2.5 3.315. 3 4 4 4 3.5 3.816. 3.5 4 4 4 3.5 3.817. 2 3 3.5 3 3 3.218. 2.5 3 3.5 2.5 3 319. 2.5 4 4 3 3 3.320. 2 1.5 2 1.5 1.5 1.721. 2 4 2 3 2 2.322. 2 2.5 2.5 2.5 1.5 2.2

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Student Sample A

Date: October 17, 2013 (draft) & November 27, 2013 (final)

Rating: Developing Proficiency

*Note: Prewriting is included, but was not graded.

Commentary

This student received a developing proficiency grade for this assignment. This student is an English Language Learner (ELL). She had some expressed some opinions with reasons. For example, she stated that she liked Dr. Seuss’ book, “The Cat in the Hat” because she likes the made-up words and the rhymes. However, this student kept repeating herself throughout the letter and supported every opinion with these two reasons. Her letter was organized into three clearly indented paragraphs and included all five parts of a letter: the date, greeting, body, closing, and signature. This letter was written in black pen (published) and all paragraphs had five or more sentences, even though the sentences were short. There are parts in this students’ letter where she uses periods in the middle of her sentences and doesn’t uses quotation marks for the titles of Dr. Seuss’ books. She made many of the suggested changes that I notated on her draft, but still has many grammatical errors throughout her final letter.

The ongoing goals for this student are to: Improve students’ grammar and use of punctuation Practice writing opinions and supporting those opinions with many different reasons Increase students’ vocabulary Work on writing longer sentences

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 18

Dr. Seuss Opinion Letter RubricBenchmark 1

(well below)2




Writi

ng p

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ss:

Draft

ing

& P

ublis

hing

6+1

trai

t= V

oice

, Wor

d Ch

oice

, Ide










Writi

ng p

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ss:

Draft

ing

& P

ublis

hing

6+1

trai

t= O

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izatio

n, C

onve

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s,

Voic

e, W

ord

Choi

ce, I

deas


















Writi

ng p

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evisi

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ditin

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Publ

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6+1

trai

t= O

rgan

izatio

n,

Conv

entio

ns, W

ord

Choi

ce, V















ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 19

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Prewriting Stage

Whitehill, p. 20

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Drafting Stage

Whitehill, p. 21

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Draft with Teacher Corrections

Whitehill, p. 22

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Publishing Stage

Whitehill, p. 23

Student Sample B


Rating: Meets Expectations


Commentary

This student received a meets expectations grade for this assignment. His voice was present throughout the entire letter and was interesting to read. This students’ voice was accentuated when he connected Dr. Seuss’ story about a fish to his own experience with his pet fish in the last paragraph of his letter. However, I think that he could have supported some of his opinions with more details. The body of his letter was organized into three clear paragraphs, but was missing the date on the top right hand corner. I did not consider the letter to be published because it was written in pencil and not black pen, as I had specified. The letter is written for Dr. Seuss and two out of the three paragraphs had at least five sentences each. This student made many changes that I had suggested from his draft to his final letter. This student misspelled “elementary” and “too”. He also didn’t use quotation marks for the title of Dr. Seuss’ book, “Green Eggs and Ham.” Overall, his letter expressed many opinions with supporting details with a few spelling and punctuation errors.

The ongoing goals for this student are to: Improve students’ use of punctuation Review five parts of a letter Practice adding more supporting details and information

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 24


(well below)2




Writi

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Draft

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& P

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6+1

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Writi

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Conv

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ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 25

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Prewriting Stage

Whitehill, p. 26

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 27

Student Sample C

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Draft with Teacher Corrections

Publishing Stage

Whitehill, p. 28


Rating: Exceeds Expectations


Commentary

This student received an exceeds expectations grade for this assignment. This students’ voice was present throughout her entire letter to Dr. Seuss. She stated many opinions that were supported by detailed reasons. She explained why she enjoys Dr. Seuss’ stories and lists specific books that she adores. Her letter is well organized, has all five parts, is published in black pen, and all paragraphs in the body of her letter have 5 sentences or more each. This student made all of the suggested changes in her letter when writing her final draft. Aside from one or two spelling and punctuation errors, she wrote a very organized, neat letter to Dr. Seuss. Her voice was present from the beginning of her letter to the end and was very interesting to read.

The ongoing goals for this student are to: Continue to increase students’ vocabulary to add to word choices Introduce student to various forms of writing Practice voice in other forms and functions of writing

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 29


(well below)2




Writi

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Draft

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ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 30

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Prewriting Stage

Whitehill, p. 31

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Drafting Stage

Draft With Teacher Corrections

Publishing StagePublishing StagePublishing Stage

Whitehill, p. 32

Structure of a Letter Structure of a Letter

_____________________ (Date)

____________________ (Greeting)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 33

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________(Closing)

_____________________________________(Signature/Name)

Biography of Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss was born as Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as “Ted” to his family and friends. Did you know that Dr. Seuss’ name is actually pronounced as Zoice? So, how did Ted Geisel become Dr. Seuss? When Ted attended college, he was caught drinking alcohol in his room. This was illegal at the time. Ted lost his position as the editor of his college’s magazine after he broke the law. Ted wanted to continue to have his cartoons published in the school magazine, so he began signing his cartoons using fake names. The one he used the most was “Dr. Theophrastus Seuss”, which he then shortened to “Dr. Seuss”.

Instead of listening in class, Dr. Seuss loved drawing in his notebook. One day, his classmate told him, “You’re crazy to be a professor. What you really want to do is draw. That’s a very fine flying cow!” Dr. Seuss really did want to draw. He dropped out of college and decided to become a cartoonist. By pursuing his love of drawing, Dr. Seuss became one of the few people to earn a doctorate degree by dropping out of graduate school. So, Dr. Seuss actually did become a doctor!

And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street was Dr. Seuss’ first children’s book, which was published in 1937. Over 20 publishers rejected his book. As Dr. Seuss was about to throw his

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

(Body)

Whitehill, p. 34

book away, he ran into his friend who worked for a publishing company. His friend then decided to publish his book. Dr. Seuss ended up writing and illustrating 44 books. Only 4 of these books are not written in rhyme.

Most of his books have important messages hidden within them. For example, in Horton Hears a Who!, Who citizens begin to protest, but not until the tiniest Who speaks up do they finally make themselves heard. As Horton says, “They’ve proved they ARE persons, no matter how small. And their whole world was saved by the Smallest of All!” Dr. Seuss uses this story to prove that no matter how small you may be, you can still make a difference in the world.

Dr. Seuss’ two best-selling books, The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham, were both written as a result of bets. Dr. Seuss was worried that children were not learning to read. He chose to write a book that would solve this problem. His friend challenged him to write him a story that first-graders wouldn’t put down and it needed to contain no more than 225 different words. The Cat in the Hat has 236 different words. Even though he didn’t win the bet, this became one of his best-selling books. When another publisher bet him that he couldn’t make a book using 50 or fewer different words, Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham. This book became his all-time best-seller.

Dr. Seuss also hoped to teach children how to think. He wrote books that made people think and imagine. Through his books, he encourages us to think creatively, participate in society, and do what we can to make it better. Why was Dr. Seuss so successful? He said it was because he treated children with respect. Dr. Seuss said, “I don’t write for children. I write for people. I treat the child as an equal.” Dr. Seuss did not start writing children’s books with the goal of helping children learn how to read, but he became America’s best-known reading teacher.

Comprehension Questions

1. What was Dr. Seuss’ real name?

2. What was the title of Dr. Seuss’ first published children’s book?

3. What was the important message in the book, Horton Hears a Who!?

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 35

4. Why did Dr. Seuss write The Cat in the Hat?

5. What was the title of Dr. Seuss’ best-selling book?

6. What did Dr. Seuss say when he was asked why he was so successful?

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 36

Tree Map Template

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 37

Dr. Seuss Quotes With Simplified Meanings

Quotes Meaning“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” (Happy Birthday to You! 1959)

You are unique.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” (Dr. Seuss)

Cherish your great experiences.

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” (Dr. Seuss)

It’s okay to be different.

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.” (Oh the Places You’ll Go! 1990)

Accomplish great things.

“THINK! You can think any THINK that you wish…” (Oh, the Thinks you can Think! 1975)

Dream.

“If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.” (One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish 1960)

Trying new things can be fun.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” (Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 1990)

Don’t let others control you.

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” (Dr. Seuss)

Think simple. Don’t over think the question.

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” (Horton Hears a Who! 1954)

Size doesn’t matter.

“Teeth are always in style.” (Dr. Seuss) Smiling is good.“Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered” (Happy Birthday to You! 1959)

Be remembered for your good achievements rather than your bad ones.

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Whitehill, p. 38

ITE 314-406, Fall 2013

Documents

Assessment Task - Web viewComputer with word processing program ... . ... With guidance and support from peers and adults,