Sherry Brott

Teacher Name: Melody Turner
Lesson Title: The Six Traits of Writing
Subject(s) and Grade Level: Language Arts, 4th grade

MTT Domain-Competencies

1-001 Demonstrates knowledge and application of technology-related terminology and concepts, hardware, software, data-input strategies, and ethical practices, and knows how to acquire, analyze, and evaluate digital information from the Internet and other sources.
1-003 Knows and applies basic strategies and techniques related to Web site mastering.
2-005 Demonstrates knowledge of how to use task appropriate tools to synthesize knowledge, create and modify solutions, and evaluate results to support the work of individuals and groups in problem solving situations.
2-006 Demonstrates knowledge of how to communicate in different formats for diverse audiences.
2-007 Demonstrates knowledge of instructional design, development, and assessment in a technology-enhanced environment.
2-008 Knows how to implement and assess technology-enhanced instruction to meet the diverse needs and abilities of all students.
3-009 Knows how to collaborate with colleagues to facilitate the implementation of appropriate, research-based, technology enhanced instruction.
3-010 Knows how to provide professional development and support through mentoring, modeling, coaching, and consulting.

Content TEKS - 4th grade LA TEKS: 

 (4.15)  Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes, and in a variety of forms.

(A)  write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve (4-8);
(D)  write to entertain such as to compose humorous poems or short stories (4-8);
(E)  exhibit an identifiable voice in personal narratives and in stories (4-5); and
(F)  choose the appropriate form for his/her own purpose for writing, including journals, letters, reviews, poems, narratives, and instructions (4-5).

 (4.16)  Writing/penmanship/capitalization/punctuation. The student composes original texts, applying the conventions of written language such as capitalization, punctuation, and penmanship to communicate clearly.

(B)  capitalize and punctuate correctly to clarify and enhance meaning such as capitalizing titles, using possessives, commas in a series, commas in direct address, and sentence punctuation (4-5).

(4.17)  Writing/spelling. The student spells proficiently

(D) spell accurately in final drafts (4-8).

(4.18)   Writing/writing processes. The student selects and uses writing processes for self-initiated and assigned writing.

(F)  use available technology to support aspects of creating, revising, editing, and publishing texts (4-8);
(G)  refine selected pieces frequently to "publish" for general and specific audiences (4-8);
(H)  proofread his/her own writing and that of others (4-8); 
(I)   select and use reference materials and resources as needed for writing, revising, and editing final drafts (4-8)

(4.19)   Writing/evaluation. The student evaluates his/her own writing and the writings of others.

(A)  apply criteria to evaluate writing (4-8);
(B)  respond in constructive ways to others' writings (4-8);
(C)  evaluate how well his/her own writing achieves its purposes (4-8);
(D)  analyze published examples as models for writing (4-8); and
(E)  review a collection of written works to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to set goals as a writer (4-8).

Student Learning Goals

1. Identify the Six-Traits of good writing.
   

2. Produce original works that demonstrate the six traits of good writing.
   

3. Work cooperatively to publish a brochure that demonstrates student's learning.

Teacher Learning Goals

1. Incorporate technology into a lesson or unit on writing.
   

2. Evaluate and adjust to the needs of diverse learners.
   

3. Encourage the use of higher-level thinking skills.

Mentor Learning Goals

1. Improve questioning skills.

2. Improve mentoring skills.

Students will need to be able to write increasingly complex sentences. The teacher will begin this unit with her own presentation explaining the Six Traits of Writing.  During the first two - three weeks of the unit, she will provide numerous modeling experiences using both her own writing and writing from literature.  Students will have many opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of each trait as it is explored.  They will produce their own writing and participate in peer editing of fellow students' writing. For a culminating activity the students will work in cooperative groups to produce a brochure or newsletter that will highlight each of the six traits of writing with examples from literature and from the students' own writing.

(Addressing  Bloom’s Taxonomy)

1. The teacher will introduce the students to the Six Traits of Writing giving descriptions and examples of each from literature and the teacher's own writing.   Students will observe, listen,  and ask questions when necessary. They will participate in group discussions and make contributions to the class discussion.  They will be able to list the 6 traits  and match each  to its description and examples as they recall and demonstrate understanding of the traits. (knowledge, comprehension)
2. The teacher will have the students produce their own writings, demonstrating each of the 6 traits.  During the writing sessions, the teacher will conference with each student, re-teaching if necessary.  She will also provide mini-lessons as needed.  The students will participate in peer-conferencing sessions as they edit their work. (application)
3. The teacher will place students into groups who will work together to create a brochure or newsletter from a template that will highlight each of the 6 writing traits with descriptions and examples.  The teacher will facilitate the group work as needed.  Students in each group will largely depend on each other for assistance and feedback.  They will demonstrate their understanding of the 6 traits while using correct grammar and spelling, writing with clarity and providing examples. (analysis, synthesis, evaluation)
4. The teacher will evaluate the brochures/newsletters based on a 2-part rubric that will address the group's work as well as the work of each individual student.

Assistive and Diverse Learners

1. Early in the year, the teacher will meet with the Special Education teachers to review the modifications for all students with IEPs.
2. Discuss and decide upon specific techniques and assistive technologies which will support the students.  In particular, for those students who have difficulty producing hand-written documents, the teacher will provide access to classroom and library computers for those students to word process their writings.
3. Implement techniques and technologies if required for any students in the class.

This lesson will necessitate the students working in groups to produce a newsletter or brochure (their choice) that will demonstrate their understanding of concepts explored over the previous 2-3  weeks.  All students in the group will be involved in a number of cooperative activities from peer editing to actual creating of the document, thus the learning process.  Supported by the Cognitive apprenticeship model prior to this lesson in which the teacher will model important writing skills, the students will have gained valuable experience in recognizing literature representative of each of the 6 traits as well as producing their own examples.  The Cooperative Group model will all facilitate the actual use of the technology when the students are producing the newsletter/brochure.  

The learner can expect guidance and encouragement from the teacher as she facilitates the building of their new learning.  She will provide numerous modeling experiences and opportunities to produce good writing.  She will give basic instruction through mini-lessons and literature studies as needed.  The classroom environment will foster each child's ability to learn in his/her own way.

The learners will need to learn how to peer edit each others’ work constructively, share ideas, work with different personalities and skill levels.  The will need to learn to monitor their own progress and be responsible for their share of the work. Working cooperatively in their groups, students will have the opportunity to learn from their group members as well as teach others.

Student brochures, Word documents

The teacher will use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the unit.  She will use this presentation to check for understanding as well as deliver information.  Students will interact with the presentation in a whole-group setting as well as access it for viewing if they were absent or reviewing for clarification.   During the next 2-3 weeks, the teacher will model and analyze writing examples using a presentation station  before the students produce their own writing. Classroom and lab computers will be available for word processing.   Following "how-to" instruction by the teacher,  the students will use the Internet website www.mybrochuremaker.com to create their brochures. The first time the students save their brochures, the teacher will receive a url address for each.  Students will be shown how to access their saved brochures for editing.  (In the even that the Internet becomes unreliable, the teacher has created a Publisher template for the students to use instead.)

Whole-class instruction will be delivered from an XP machine attached to a SmartBoard.  The teacher also will use this to provide for student interaction with the literature and her own writings that she will use as examples. She does not anticipate any problems reserving this setup when she needs it.  Standard classroom management expectations will be in place during these sessions.  

Individual rough drafts will be written  in student journals with final drafts being completed on lab computers scheduled periodically. A folder on the server will be created in which students will save their work to be included in their brochure.   The teacher will provide a signaling system for students to use in the lab to request help. (Classroom computers will be available for students with Assistive technology needs - see AT. section)

For the brochures, each cooperative group will produce its brochure at one lab computer.  However, students can work at other computers to complete their  individual contributions to the brochure and save to the network for later copying/pasting into the brochure.

Informal
Teacher observation, teacher conferences with individual students
Formal
Final drafts of students' writings, brochure rubric

Please rate the following indicators using a scale of 1-5.
(1=Poor, 5= Excellent, NA if not applicable)

Note:  This lesson has not been taught yet.

____ Technology instruction was effective and students/educators achieved curricular goals.
____ Technology instruction was effective and students/educators or I achieved targeted goals.
____ Technology instruction was effective and I achieved my professional goals.
____ Students/educators were motivated by the use of technology.
____ Technology was critical to the success of this lesson.
____ Varying abilities of students/educators was supported through the use of the technology.
____ Equipment was sufficient for the number of students/educators completing the activity.
____ Equipment and software functioned properly.
____ Overall rating of lesson.

Use the following questions to reflect on your lesson.
Was this lesson worth doing? In what ways was the lesson effective? What evidence do you have for your conclusion?



How would you change this lesson for teaching it again?



Did your students/educator find the lesson meaningful? Did the lesson motivate your students/educator to “go beyond” what was required?



Did you achieve your goals met/in progress in the required criteria?

_____________________________________ Date: July 13, 2004
Participant Signature

_____________________________________ Date: July 13, 2004
Coach Signature