LITERACY FOCUS LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

Adapted from Calkins (2001)

Your Name: Becca Zatkulak & Jeep Morehouse
Unit Topic: Writers Workshop (independent/shared writing and writing revision)
Focus Lesson Topic: Creative Writing Revision
Grade Level: 2nd grade

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOCUS LESSON

Learning Goals/Objectives:
Children will share their creative writing with a partner
Children will read and grade a partners writing using the rubric provided
Children will share positive feedback as well as questions they have about their
partner's story
Relevant Common Core Standards:
Pre-K and Elementary Classroom Teachers 1.1: Understand major theories and
empirical research that describe the cognitive, linguistic, motivational, and
sociocultural foundations of reading and writing development, processes, and
components, including word recognition, language comprehension, strategic
knowledge, and reading-writing connections.
Pre-K and Elementary Classroom Teachers 2.2: Use appropriate and varied
instructional approaches, including those that develop word recognition, language
comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing connections.
Pre-K and Elementary Classroom Teachers 5.1: Design the physical environment to
optimize students use of traditional print, digital, and online resources in reading and
writing instructions.
Pre-K and Elementary Classroom Teachers 5.2: Design a social environment that is low
risk and includes choice, motivation, and scaffolded support to optimize students
opportunities for learning to read and write.
Teaching Strategy:
Independent writing
Shared writing
Writing revision
Materials including literature:
Lined paper for writing
Markers, pens, and pencils
Rubric used to grade partners writing
Rationale for the Lesson:
According to Megan Sloan, teachers should obviously not be the only ones doing the
writing. Therefore, once the teacher has modeled writing for the students, it is time for
students to begin writing their creative stories independently. Sloan mentions that it is
important for teachers to build writing stamina for the students, which would include the
teacher encouraging the students creativity and use of the six writing traits introduced
by Vicki Spandel. In Revisiting the Reading Workshop, Orehovec and Alley place an
emphasis on the importance of authors revising their own work because there is always
more creativity and details to be added. Lucy Calkins also encourages the use of
partner work, which ensures that students are actively engaged through the lesson and
are able to work well with their peers, which is also encouraged by Brian Cambourne.
Therefore, we are having students read and edit their peers work and then read what
their partner noted before making revisions on their own work. This way, students are
interacting with their peers to better the revisions on their own work.
References for Materials and Instructional Ideas:
Calkins, Lucy. The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Writing. pdf from class.
Cambourne, Brian: notes from class.
Orehovec, Barbara and Marytbeth Alley. Revisiting the Reading Workshop. (2003).
Sloan, Megan. Into Writing. pdf from class.
 LITERACY FOCUS LESSON PLAN
Connection:
Today we are going to teach you how to read and edit your partners creative writing
piece and determine revisions that your partner needs to make to improve their work.
You will then read through suggestions and corrections from your partner before making
revisions to your own creative writing piece. Once revisions have been made, students
will then be asked to share their writing with the class, in an authors chair type of
setting so that peers are able to hear the different styles of stories told by their peers.
Teaching:
1. Once the students are finished writing their creative writing piece, they will be asked
to switch with a partner
2. The students will then carefully read their partners creative piece
3. Then students are asked to give suggestions and edit their partners work using the
rubric provided
4. After editing and speaking to their partners about the feedback provided, students
will make revisions to their work in order to improve their writing
5. Finally, once students have made final touches to their writing, they can share their
creative story with the rest of the class in an authors chair
Active Engagement:
Students will read their partners creative writing piece and use the rubric provided to
grade it fairly
Partners of students will discuss the revisions and edits made between themselves
Students will listen intently while the their peers are sharing their creative writing
If they are willing, students will share their creative writing with the class in the
authors chair
Link:
Now that the students have finished their creative writing piece, it is time for them to
read a peers work and provide feedback. While reading their partners writing, students
must use the rubric provided to determine if their partner followed the instructions and
they are able to suggest what their peer can do better in the future. Once reading
through revisions suggested by their peers, students are encouraged to edit and revise
their own paper. After revising their own writing, students are encouraged to share their
writing with the whole class, which allows for more student interaction and practicing
good listening as a class.

ASSESSMENT & SUPPORTS

Chart:
See rubric below
Formative Assessment:
We will be using a rubric to assess the student independent writing as he/she presents
the authors chair to their group
For the assessment students will be writing their own stories and then will present their
short stories to a group of students
Authors will read their short stories and students will actively listen while someone is in
the author's chair
After the student is finished with his/her story, students will have to respond to the short
story with either: a question, response on what they liked, and/or any suggestions.
From their the student in the authors chair will assessment their short story and then
revise.
All students in the group will present, this allows students to check their own stories and
also give students new ideas on what to write while sharing.
Formative Assessment for Student Writing:

4 3 2 1

Composing - Writing is well - Writing - Writing is not - No evidence

organized with shows some well organized of
beginning, organization and is missing organization
middle, and with a a beginning or - Does not
end beginning, ending stay on topic
- Stays on middle, and - Tends to - Does not
topic end digress and elaborate
throughout - Most stays write off topic
paper on topic - Little attempt
 - Elaboration Some at elaboration
contains elaboration,
interesting although
word choices word choices
for specific are not
examples and specific
descriptions

Craft - Words have - Words are - Words are - Words are

been carefully chosen for general and not specific
chosen and the topic not well - No variety of
specific - Some thought out sentences.
- Sentences evidence of - Little Some are
show variety sentence evidence of vague or
and fluency variety sentence awkward.
- Writing shows - Some variety - No structure
an obvious attempt at - Little attempt of writing
structure structuring the to structure
writing writing

Conventions - All sentences - Most - Some - Sentences

are complete sentences are sentences are are
- Correct use complete complete incomplete
of - Most words - Inconsistent - No attempt
capitalization capitalized use of at
- Uses proper correctly, but capitalization capitalization
punctuation some capitals Sometimes - No attempt
- All core are found in uses at
words are the middle of punctuation punctuation
spelled words (doG, Some core - Numerous
correctly rEd) words are spelling errors
 - Most of the spelled including
time uses correctly those that are
correct core words
punctuation
- Most core
words are
spelled
correctly

Summative Assessment:
We will be using an author's chair for a summative assessment
We choose this assessment as it allows the students to share their own writing and also
receive feedback from their peers
This also allows students to read and pay attention to what other students wrote and
learned from the mini-lesson
Supports and Accommodations (for children with special needs and/or language
differences):
Extra teacher assistance with coming up with the topic for writing
Maximize peer interaction so that students with special needs and/or language
differences are hearing from other peers
Translated version of the story read in class for students with language differences
Teacher should use very specific and explicitly directions to accommodate for any
students with learning disabilities