Nicole Meyer

ELD 308

Lesson Plan #2: Writing Mini-Lesson

Grade: 4
Time: 25-30 Minutes
Standards: W.4.2) Introduce a topic clearly and group related inIormation in paragraphs
and sections; include Iormatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when
useIul to aiding comprehension
W.4.3) Use a variety oI transitional words and phrases to manage the
sequence oI events

Objective: Students will create a timeline that will help them with their writing by
developing a sense oI organization that has to be present in every writing piece.

Materials:
O Hernan Cortes by Trish Kline
O hart Irom reading mini lesson
O Mock up oI Hernan ortes time line
O onstruction paper
O !encil
O rayons/colored pencils

Lesson Sequence:
1. Lesson Introduction:
O oys and girls, today we`re going to continue with our lesson
on sequential order which we learned how to do in regards to
Hernan ortes. When we read the book, Hernan Cortes, and
as a class we were able to put Iive important events oI his liIe
in chronological order based oII oI the inIormation and clues
we read in the text.
O Have the chart Irom the reading mini lesson present so the
students can reIer to it.
2. Objective/Purpose:
O Well today we`re going to add dates to our chronological
sequence based on the book we read and put the events in
Hernan ortes`s liIe into a timeline. Later on, we will create
our own personal time line, but I will explain more about that
later.
O In writing, it`s important to know how to put events into a
sequence because it helps develop our writing pieces in an
organized way that helps the reader understand.
O We will be taking it a step Iurther and adding dates to our
events which will be beneIicial to us when we create a
timeline.
3. Teach and Model:
O Write down the Iive dates to coincide with the Iive events Irom
the book, Hernan Cortes, on the chart paper Irom the reading
mini lesson.
O kay boys and girls as you can see I wrote down the Iive
dates that signiIied when the events happened in the book. II
we look at the Iirst date, we see that in 1485, Hernan ortes
was born. Next, in 1504, ortes sailed to the New World, in
1518 he was sent on an expedition to present-day Mexico,
1521 the Aztecs surrendered to ortes`s army and Iinally, in
1547, Hernan ortes died at age 62.
O ased on the inIormation I got Irom the reading, I was able to
pull the important events that occurred in Hernan ortes`s liIe
and the dates in which they occurred. I used this inIormation
to make a timeline based on his liIe.
O Show the students a mock up oI the Hernan ortes timeline I
created.
O As you can see I started with the Iirst date, 1485, which is the
beginning oI my timeline since that is when ortes was born
and progressing in sequential order, I placed the date and
events along the time line until I reached 1547, when ortes
died. Also note that I put a title to my timeline so whoever is
reading it can understand that this timeline is about Hernan
ortes.
O Now I`m going to show you how I made this time line using
my own liIe as an example. First I`m going to decide on Iive
major evens that occurred in my liIe so Iar to use to create my
time line. First, I`m going to use the day I was born as an
important event since that was pretty signiIicant. There are a
lot oI events that happened in my liIe so Iar but I`m going to
pick the most important ones that caused a major transition.
Next I`m going to jump a Iew years and put my graduation
Irom elementary school. This is important to me because it
was a major transition into high school, which brings me to my
next event, my high school graduation. This is important Ior
me because it symbolized the start oI my independence and
going to college.
O Do you all see how I`m siIting through the events in my liIe
and picked the most important ones to me that caused great
changes in my liIe? I`m not putting every birthday I`ve had
since those weren`t very important events personally to me, but
they may be to you. I`m not putting when I went to the mall to
get my Iavorite top since that`s not really relevant to my liIe
and its entirety. Yes I like the top, but it doesn`t signiIy a
major change or milestone in my liIe, understand? kay, so
lets continue.
O In the same year, another important event happened. I moved
to !hiladelphia to go to college. This was important Ior me
because I moved away Irom my parents to live by myselI.
Finally, I`m going to add one more event to my timeline, I
moved back home to New Jersey, this was important because I
transIerred to Rider University to study education and was
starting Iresh at a new school which was very scary Ior me.
O These are Iive events that have occurred in my liIe so Iar that
were signiIicant. II I was older, I could put graduating Irom
college, getting married and having a baby as a major event
right? ut since those events haven`t happened yet I`m not
going to use them. I only want you to write what you`ve
experienced so Iar, not what`s going to happen.
O II I were to explain my timeline to someone, I would use
certain words like, Iirst, next, second, third, and Iinally. These
words are useIul when writing about the order oI sequences
because it gives the reader a better understanding oI the order
oI events. For example, iI I were to explain my timeline to
someone I could say, Firstly, I was born on December 23,
1989. Second, I graduated Irom Elementary school and thirdly,
I graduated Irom high school. Next, I moved to !hiladelphia to
attend college. Finally, I moved back to New Jersey to attend
Rider University.` When you use this kind oI language in your
writing, it helps give the reading a better comprehension oI the
order oI events taking place in your narratives or stories.
4. Guided Practice:
O kay, boys and girls, we`re going to start to start the process
oI creating our own time line. It is up to you to pick Iive major
events that occurred in your liIe. This may be diIIicult since
there is a lot to consider but iI you need help, I will be around
to help you decide what events to use.
O Also, aIter you have completed your timeline, I would like
you to create a paragraph explaining your timeline using the
words, Iirst`, second`, next`, third` and Iinally` to help
explain your sequence oI events. II you want to use a
thesaurus to explore some synonyms Ior these words to use in
your paragraph, you may.
O So to recap, how many events do I want you to have? Yes
Iive events, it`s okay iI you have two or three events in the
same year that happens sometimes. It`s important to remember
the year in which these events happened so whoever is looking
at your timeline, they can know what date the event occurred.
As you can see with my timeline, I put the month in which the
event occurred, iI you can`t remember the month, that`s okay,
but iI you can, add it to your timeline.
O And what would I like you to include in your paragraph
explaining your timeline? Yes, I would like you to use the
words, Iirst`, second`, then`, third` and Iinally`. Again,
you may use a thesaurus iI you desire.
O When I say, I would like you all to return to your seats and
write down the Iive events and their dates on a piece oI paper
in sequential order. II you need help deciding on events, I will
be around to help you decide, and when you are all done
deciding on your events, I want you to share your events with a
Iriend okay?
O Have the students go back to their seats and write down their
Iive events. Go around to the student`s and help them iI
needed, also, make sure they have put dates to their events.
5. Independent Practice:
O kay boys and girls, now that we`ve created our events and
dates, we`re going to put it on a time line now. I`ll be coming
around with paper and I want you to create a timeline by
putting your events and dates on the timeline in sequential
order. AIter you are done writing all your events, I would like
you to draw a picture to accompany your event just like I did
with Hernan ortes`s timeline. Also, your timeline must have
a title and underneath I would like you to write, y (Your
Name)`.
O !ut an example oI a title on the board Ior the students to reIer
to iI needed.
6. losure
O Would anyone like to come up and share their timeline with
the class?
O Have a two or three students share their timeline and reiterate
to the students the importance oI sequence and dates.
O Good job today boys and girls, you all did very well at
creating your sequential timelines and your pictures look
great!
O I will know the lesson was successIul iI the students can
properly sequence important events in their liIe in order by the
date in which they occurred on their timeline. I will also know
the lesson was successIul iI students pick events that are
signiIicant milestones in their lives and not trivial events.