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Writing in the Expository Mode, Science Focus

Mrs. Heather Byington, NBCTFourth Grade Teacher, Spanish & English Curriculum

Evergreen Elementary School, Shelton School District

Evergreen Elementary School

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Evergreen Elementary Mission

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It is the mission of Evergreen Elementary School to help each and every child realize his or her full potential to become a responsible and productive citizen who has the skills to fully access every educational, social and economic opportunity our society has to offer.

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Evergreen Elementary

Focus and Motivation

Input

Guided Practice

Independent Application

Integrated Sheltered Instruction Model

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Writing StandardsEALR 2: The student writes in a variety of forms for different audiences and purposes.Component 2.3: Writes in a variety of forms/genres. WProficiency Level – Beginning GLE 2.3.1Uses more than one form/genre with a frame (e.g., comics, fairy tales, reports) using words and picturesProficiency Level – Advanced BeginningGLE 2.3.1Uses more than one form/genre (e.g., charts, procedures, summaries) using words and phrasesProficiency Level – IntermediateGLE 2.3.1Selects form to match purpose (e.g., a report to explain) using simple sentencesUses a variety of forms/genres (e.g., directions, fictional stories) using simple sentencesProficiency Level – AdvancedGLE 2.3.1Selects form to match purpose (e.g., a report to explain) using descriptive sentencesMaintains a log to track variety of forms/genres usedUses a variety of new forms/genres (e.g., scientific explanations, newspaper articles) using descriptive sentencesProficiency Level – TransitionalGLE 2.3.1Includes more than one form/genre in a single pieceMaintains a log to track variety of forms/genres usedSelects form to match purpose (e.g., a report to explain) using uses specialized vocabulary

Grade 4Checklist for Writing to Explain

My writing will be very good if I have thoughtful and specific content and organize my writing. That means I should follow the directions given in the writing prompt; narrow my topic; stay focused on my main ideas; elaborate by using reasons, well-chosen and specific details, examples, and/or anecdotes to support my ideas; include information that is interesting, thoughtful, and necessary for my audience to know; organize my writing so that there is an opening/introduction, a middle, and a conclusion; organize my writing in paragraphs; use words that help show how my ideas are connected.

A Year-Long Plan for Expository Writing Centered on Science Topics

Objective 1: Write an essay using paragraphs.Objective 2: Find facts in a book. Organize these facts in paragraphs.Objective 3: Using a relatable and emotional topic, teach opinion. Write an expository essay based on opinions and justifications, organized using paragraphs.Objective 4: Using a semi-controversial science topic, find facts in books and other resources (magazines, etc.) Organize the information in paragraphs. Include opinions.Obective 5: Write an expository report, using paragraphs, including facts, opinions, and anecdotes.

Step 1- Keyboarding skills

Typing Sentences:Left home: Animals in the Snow Dig for Food while Growling.Left above: Quick, White Elephants Run Through Town.Left below: Zoos are eXtra Careful to Vacuum up Bacteria.Right home: Hopping, Jumping Kangaroos Launch themselves.Right above: Young, Ugly Insects on PlantsRight Below: Brains Need Mental images.

Step two- Organization, paragraphing

Interview staff memberStudents record information on “bingo card”

Each bingo section represents a different paragraphModel writing an informational report using the facts from the interview

Students interview another studentRecord facts on the “bingo card”Use the “bingo card” as a scaffold to organize their writing in paragraphs

More paragraph practice

Read science-related biography as a whole class.

Write an informational report, including only facts and organizing writing in paragraphs, using “bingo card” graphic organizer to record facts.

Objective 2: Find facts in a book. Organize these facts in paragraphs.

As a child Tomas Edison made good learning decisions that affected his life Thomas Alva Edison was a curiosa boy. One time Thomas fell into a grain tower. He wanted to see how it worked. Tomas Alva Edison always was asking questions about electricity. Thomas Edison burned the barn because he was curious because he wanted to know what would happen. Thomas Edison built a laboratory on a train at home when he was a child where he conducted many experiments. When Thomas Alva Edison was working on the train, he sold candy and drinks, and when the train stopped in the city, he went to the library to read as many books as he could. As a curious boy, Thomas Edison experimented, questioned, worked, and read as much as he could. Tomas Edison invented many important invented. He invented the light bulb which made light for the city. He invented the electric vote recorder. It was for people to vote. He invented the phonograph. It records voices and then talks back. He invented the kinetoscope. It means when you take pictures they can move. These are the important inventions. Thomas Edison changed my life. He made the kinetoscope. We can see moving pictures now like on TV shows, videos, on computers, and move theaters. He invented the phonograph that could record sounds and talk back which means the radio, I pods, and cds could come later. Thomas Edison changed my life.

Annaliese

Objective 3: Using a relatable and emotional topic, teach opinion. Write an expository essay based on opinions and justifications, organized using paragraphs.

What Annoys Me by Mario, a fourth grader

The pillow pet song is so irritating because every time I’m watching TV the commercial of pillow pets all ways comes on TV. Second of all when my sister is changing channels and she see the commercial of pillow pets and she makes me watch it and she puts it on. Third of all it always gets in my head and sometimes I want to sing the music of pillow pets.

My other annoying thing is the commercial of the Barbie toys because it always shows all about how their hair changes colors or how they could go swimming in the pool. This annoys me because the toys seem so pretty, and my sister wants them. My sister always asks my dad if she could have one. This pesters me because my dad doesn’t have that kind of money to buy so many toys.

Another thing that bothers me is that when my sister sees something, she turns up the volume on the TV when I’m trying to sleep. The TV always bothers me is because my sister always goofs off when she watches TV. She starts to jump on the floor. She plays with her friends that’s she is the queen of all the Barbies. I feel like I want to explode because when she plays she jumps on top of my bed. She even gets me in trouble by messing up my bed.

This is why my sister is so hyperactive and annoying.

Objective 4: Using a semi-controversial science topic, find facts in books and other resources (magazines, etc.) Organize the information in paragraphs. Include opinions.

Pienso que la mejor fuente de energía es la energía hidroeléctrica porque puedes usar lo muchas veces. El Proceso es la fuerza del agua hace girar la turbina. La turbina es una rueda gigante que tiene hoyos y cuando el agua viene la turbina gira y luego da vueltas al generador. El generador es un imán gigante que tiene cables alrededor y luego los electrones saltan y eso es la electricidad. Hay algunas desventajas. Los salmones no pueden poner sus huevos porque la turbina los puede empujar a los huevos. No es práctico porque no hay agua en todas partes como en Texas y Arizona. Algunas ventajas de hidroelectricidad son emplea a personas que no tienen trabajo y saben de hidroelectricidad. Es renovable. Renovable significa que lo puedes usar muchas veces. El agua es gratis porque está naturalmente en el mundo.

Mi historia pequeña es que fui con mi clase a una excursión. Yo vi a una turbina. Era hecho de metal y estaba grande y redondo. La mejor fuente de energía es la energía hidroeléctrica. Joél

La información de la bacteriaLas clases

La bacteria es un germen. La bacteria es unicelular. Las clases de las bacterias son esféricos son como esferas, bastón es como un palo, y espiral es como un helicoidal.

Las características de las bacterias son que la bacteria es pequeña, unicelular eso se significa que no más tiene una célula, vive en carne cruda. Yo pienso que deberíamos lavar la carne cruda para que los gérmenes puedan morirse. Viven en todas partes como en los desiertos, los mares, México, y Australia.

Las ventajas de la bacteria es que la bacteria produce yogurt. Yo pienso que el yogurt es excelente porque tiene un rico sabor. La bacteria produce vinagre. Yo pienso es fabuloso que la bacteria produzca vinagre porque unas personas necesitan vinagre y si las bacterias no producieran vinagre las personas no tuvieran vinagre y no podíamos usar el vinagre para comida. Las personas necesitan vinagre porque unas personas asen comida con vinagre y si no tuviéramos vinagre las personas no pudieran hacer la comida con vinagre. La bacteria produce energía. Yo pienso que es maravilloso que las bacterias produzcan energía porque toda la gente necesita la energía. La bacteria limpia petróleos. Yo pienso que es fantástico que la bacteria limpie los petróleos para que los animales no se vayan a morir y estén vivos.

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Las desventajas de las bacterias son fiebre, neumonía, tosferina, difteria, y tétanus esas desventajas te pueden enfermar. Yo pienso que las enfermedades son malas porque te puedes morir o te puedes enfermar más pero gracias a dios tenemos medicinas para que nos recuperemos y podamos ir a la escuela. Es terrible que no vayamos a la escuela.

Unas bacterias son dañinas para los humanos. A las bacterias les gusta mucho el interior de los humanos porque es cálido y húmedo. Casi siempre los glóbulos blancos son capaces de matar las bacterias dañinas en el cuerpo. Los antibióticos son medicinas que matan o debilitan bacterias que causan enfermedades. Las bacterias pueden volverse resistentes a un antibiótico. Eso se significa que el antibiótico ya no puede matarla las bacterias. Si te duele la garganta es porque tu cuerpo estaba invadido por la bacteria.

La conclusión de la bacteria es que la bacteria es un germen unicelulares muy pequeñas. Las bacterias pueden ser pequeñas o diminutas. Las ventajas de la bacteria son fabulosas. Las desventajas de las bacterias son terribles. Unas bacterias son útiles y unas bacterias son dañosas.

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Germs Process Grid of Facts

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Germs Facts and Opinions Anchor Chart

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Obective 5: Write an expository report, using paragraphs, including facts, opinions, and anecdotes.

Mi hermano cuando se torció el codoCuando mi hermano se torció el codo, mi mamá

estaba preocupada. Mi papa se asustó porque pensó que mi hermano no iba a poder escribir. Me enojaba porque tenía que hacer cosas para mi hermano. Me enojaba porque mi hermano se burlaba de que tenía que hacer todas las cosas para mi hermano. Le decía a mi mamá. Mi hermano mentía cuando paré de hacer cosas. Cuando mi hermano se dormía, tenía que dormir con los brazos abiertos en la cama y yo tenía que dormir en la cuna. No me gustaba dormir. Odiaba mi hermano cuando se torció el codo. Soñaba que yo quería ser él que se quebró el codo. Me sentía que no me querían. Cuando agarrábamos nieve, quería muchos tipos de chocolate y mi mamá me decía si quería nieve. Dije sí. Sentía que me querían. Cuando fuimos de compras, me escondía porque sentía que no me querían. Cuando vieron que no estaba, me buscaron y estaba sentado en un sillón.

La bisagra es parte del codo. Si se le torció, no va a poder a escribir. No va a poder jugar futbol o baseball o su favorito deporte basquetbol. Mi hermano se enoja si no puede jugar un deporte o su favorito deporte o si no, me pega. Yo lloro. Me regañan por no ayudarlo. Si no ayudo a mi hermano, no me iban a apuntar para el futbol. Yo me enojaba sino me apuntaran. Tiro las cosas. Me gusta mi deporte favorito porque es lo que hago siempre en mi casa con mis primos, en la escuela también con mis amigos y primos. Mi conclusión es que mi hermano no podía mover su codo como lo tenía antes y no va a poder jugar futbol americano con mi tío y conmigo y mi papa. Él se sentía triste de no poder jugar. Las articulaciones son importantes para moverte.

When my dad broke his spinal cord

Did you ever break your spinal cord or any other bone? Well, let me tell you this. If you have broken a bone, then I bet you know that bones are important for our bodies.

My dad broke his spinal cord when he was 11 months old. His sister took him outside in a wagon. She left him outside on the rocky road behind the family’s truck. The older brother wanted to take the truck for a ride. He ran over the wagon. I bet it really hurt like someone got a match on fire and put it on his spinal cord. He got rushed to the hospital. I bet it was pretty scary for his parents, since he was a baby. When he got older and went to school, he was sort of popular because kids wanted to try out his wheelchair. I bet that would be awesome! But…he couldn’t play things like kickball or soccer very well with the other kids. There are other things he can’t do, too, like running races with us. He never could ride a bike, and he can’t jump on the trampoline very well. There is a long list of things he can’t do or can’t do very well or he does in a different way. My dads experience helped me to learn that you need bones to do a lot of things like, movement, and a lot of

other things that I will tell you in a little bit.

Bones have four functions. Bones give bodies structure. He would have looked like pudding when he got hit by the car if he didn’t have bones.

Bones help bodies move at the joints. Dad can’t walk because of the accident. His knees were always bent. But… since he can’t do anything with his legs, he does most of the work with his arms. He can’t run, skip, jump, and all those activities, but he swims different. He uses only his arms and glides in the water like a fish. He uses his joints in his arms very often.

Bones protect our organs in our bodies. If my dad didn’t have his ribs in his body, his lungs would have popped like a balloon. If he didn’t have his skull, his brain would have collapsed like a bowl spilling Jell-O. That would be a heap of pain.

Bones produce blood cells for our body, like red blood cells. They send oxygen to our body. White blood cells fight off the germs in your body. Platelets’ job is to rush to a cut that is bleeding and form a scab! I think that those are very important jobs that bones have to protect our bodies! Now you know why bones are very, VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR BODIES!

By MICA BYINGTON

Applying this to my teaching context

What are the science topics that you teach?

How can you connect these topics to students’ personal experiences?

Share your ideas with an elbow partner.

Questions

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Heather ByingtonHByington@sheltonschools.org