Tucker, M Informational (Grade 2) 32
Interdisciplinary Writing Unit: Informational, 2nd Grade
Melissa Tucker
READ 7140
Valdosta State University
May 2007
Introductory Material
Interdisciplinary Writing Unit:
School and Student Characteristics and Individual Differences
· School System and School
§ Your name and grade level Melissa Tucker, 2nd Grade
§ Name of school system _Berrien County
§ Name of school Berrien Elementary School
· School’s Student Characteristics
o Students
§ 371 Number of boys
§ 418 Number of girls
§ 4-9 Age range
o Ethnicity (number of students)
§ 132 African American
§ 0 Asian American
§ 1 Native American
§ 41 Hispanic
§ 615 Caucasian
§ 0 Other
o Reading Achievement (Give percentages.)
§ Based on: __CRCT Scores_
§ 8 % Above-average or advanced skill level
§ 80 % Average or intermediate skill
§ 12 % Below average skill level
o Writing Achievement (Give percentages.)
§ Based on: _assessment of writing progress (portfolio) & GA ELA scores__
§ 7 % Above-average or advanced skill level
§ 72 % Average or intermediate skill
§ 21 % Below average skill level
· Classroom’s Student Characteristics
o Students
§ 6 Number of boys
§ 11 Number of girls
§ 7-9 Age range
o
o Ethnicity (number of students)
§ 3 African American
§ 0 Asian American
§ 0 Native American
§ 1 Hispanic
§ 13 Caucasian
§ 0 Other
o Reading Achievement (Give percentages.)
§ Based on: ___CRCT Scores______
§ 5 % Above-average or advanced skill level
§ 78 % Average or intermediate skill
§ 17% Below average skill level
o
o Writing Achievement (Give percentages.)
§ Based on: assessment of writing progress (portfolio) & GA ELA scores
§ 7 % Above-average or advanced skill level
§ 73 % Average or intermediate skill
§ 20 % Below average skill level
o Classroom Organization (Check as many as apply.)
§ ___ Homogeneous
§ _X Heterogeneous
§ ___ Self-Contained
§ ___ Team Teaching
§ ___ Departmentalized
§ ___ Parallel Block
§ ___ List other programs:
· Individual Differences
o Students Attending Pull-Out or Supplementary Programs (number of students)
§ 17 Title I
§ 17 Reading
§ 1 Gifted
§ 0 Early Intervention Program
§ 0 Safety Net
§ List other programs:
o Language Proficiency (number of students)
§ 17 English language
§ 0 Bilingual
§ 0 Other languages
§ List other languages:
o Students with Individual Education Plans (IEP) (number of students)
§ 1 Blind or visual impairment
§ 0 Deaf or hearing impairment
§ 2 Developmental delay
§ 0 Emotional or behavioral disorder
§ 2 Learning disability
§ 0 Mild intellectual disability
§ 0 Other health impairment
§ 1 Physical disability
§ 2 Speech
§ 0 Other
Story and Writing Interest Inventory
· I like to write stories.
Yes Sometimes No
· I think writing is …
Easy & Fun O.K. Hard
· I like to share my writing with others.
Yes Sometimes No
Modified by Tucker, M. from http://www.region15.org/curriculum/ATTITUDE%20SURVEY-Portrait.doc retrieved on May 12, 2007.
Georgia Grade 3 Writing Assessment
Description
The writing assessment for grade three consists of teacher evaluation of student writing using an analytic scoring system. The Grade 3 Assessment and Instructional Guide contains the scoring rubric; types of writing required by the GPS (narrative, informational, persuasive and response to literature); good practices for the instruction of writing; sample student papers; and ways to evaluate student writing. Using representative samples of student writing, third-grade teachers are to use the analytic scoring rubrics in the Guide to determine the performance levels in each domain for each child in the classroom. Teachers collect writing samples by providing many opportunities for students to produce the various types of writing throughout the year.
Types of Writing Covered by the Grade 3 Writing Assessment
Narrativeo Relating Personal Experience-Writing assignments should direct students to recount an event grounded in their own experiences. The assignment should elicit a story with a plot and characters rather than a list.
o Creating an Imaginative Story-Writing Assignments should direct students to produce stories that are grounded in imagination or fantasy.
Informational
o Writing Assignments may be related to all content areas specified in the Grade 3 GPS and may be produced during content area instruction.
o Writing assignments may be related to any type of non-fiction writing whose purpose is to inform or explain a topic to a reader.
o Students should incorporate information from resources (books, on-line sources, etc.) without copying the information verbatim.
o Paraphrasing information and using technical vocabulary from source material is appropriate for the informational assessment sample.
§ For example, the informational samples collected for this guide on the topic of minerals may use technical vocabulary such as igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks.
Persuasive
o The writing assignment should direct students to take a position on an issue or topic that they are familiar with.
o The assignment may occur after the class has researched the issue or read related texts.
o The assignment may be part of a lesson on the issue in a particular content area
Response to Literature
o The assignment should direct students to form and support a position in response to a text they have read.
o The assignment should be linked to a specific piece of literature (short stories, biographies, fables, plays, poetry, and chapter books).
o Plot summaries or the retelling of an entire story are not appropriate responses to literature.
Time Line
Because writing assessment at grade three is an outgrowth of the writing instruction program, each elementary school or system should develop a plan at the beginning of the school year for teaching the four genres of writing and collecting assessment samples.
· There is no “correct” order for teaching the writing genres in a school year.
· Teachers may choose to teach all four genres of writing throughout the school year or teachers may choose to teach each genre at a particular time in the school year.
· Some school systems integrate Response to Literature into the Reading Workshop curriculum and teach it throughout the school year simultaneously with the other three genres.
· The writing process should be taught throughout the third grade year, regardless of the order in which the genres are taught. The steps of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) should be taught throughout the year, because third graders may not have fully learned this process and will need help applying each stage of the process to each genre of writing. For each genre, teachers should model the steps of the writing process, providing assistance and conferencing at each step.
· Writing samples produced with the teacher’s assistance are appropriate for instruction, but should not be used as assessment samples.
· The assessment sample is the piece of writing that the teacher selects for the Grade 3 Writing Assessment. Teachers must select one assessment sample per genre for each student. After each genre unit - in which students practice the steps in the writing process - is completed, the teacher gives a writing assignment for the purpose of collecting the assessment sample.
· Assessment samples should demonstrate what the student has learned to apply, independently, about the writing process.
· During the course of effective instruction, the teacher may provide guidance and feedback that the students copy into their writing as they are learning to edit and revise. This type of assistance, while appropriate for instruction in the writing process, is not appropriate for collecting assessment samples as it would not demonstrate writing the student is capable of producing independently.
· Because the writing performance levels for each grade 3 student will be passed on to the grade 4 teachers for instructional planning, it is essential that the assessment samples reflect what students can do independently.
· Using writing prompt is an option for collecting assessment samples, but any classroom assignment that allows each student to demonstrate understanding of the writing process in that genre is appropriate.
During the last two weeks of March, teachers review the Student Writing Record and complete the Teacher Summary Report. Writing samples may be included in the student’s permanent record.
Scoring Procedures and Types of Scores
For each student in the class, teachers should assemble multiple samples of writing that have been collected from a variety of classroom writing activities. At least one representative writing sample for each of the four types of writing should be collected. The scoring rubrics are to be applied with the same latitude and the same rigor to all four types. Teachers should rate the samples individually to determine the performance level which best represents a student’s usual performance across a variety of writing tasks and types of writing. There are three performance levels represented: Does Not Meet, Meets, and Exceeds. Rubrics may be found at the following link to the Georgia Department of Education web site: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Grade%203%20Writing%20Rubrics.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6632746ACF6605E2F667E6DAC9E9A7BCEDDF88267E5E8B8D3&Type=D.
Reporting
Student Writing Record forms identifying each student's performance level in each genre and domain are completed by the classroom teacher. Individual student reports--one copy to be given to parent(s)/guardian(s) and one copy to be retained in the student's permanent record—are also included in reporting. The teacher also completes a summary report for the class. This report should be sent to the DOE-designated test scoring and reporting contractor. School and system summary reports will be furnished to systems. The scoring rubrics and writing samples may be retained and forwarded to the grade four teachers.
Georgia Department of Education. (2007). Grade 3 writing assessment. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?PageReq=CITestingWA3 .
Georgia Department of Education. (2007). Grade 3 resources. Retrieved May 17, 2007 from: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?folderID=3337&m=links&ft=Grade%203%20Resources .
Lesson Plan Guidelines for the Interdisciplinary Writing Unit
Grade level: 2nd
Content area: Science
Topic and/or concept: Life Cycle of a Frog
Previous content area lessons: Prior to this lesson, students will have completed a unit on animal life cycles. By directly observing the metamorphosis of a tadpole to a frog, students will understand that a sequence of events must occur within each cycle. The entire metamorphosis process was documented in a weekly chart. The chart allowed students the opportunity to record, sketch, and journal changes on a weekly basis.
Genre of writing
Genre of Writing: Informational Writing
Form of Writing: Individual Informational Report
Stage of writing
Prewriting
English Language Arts GPS:
ELA2W1 The student demonstrates competency in the writing process. The student
d. Begins to create graphic features (charts, tables, graphs).
h. Prewrites to generate ideas orally.
Content Area GPS:
S2L1. Students will investigate the life cycles of different living organisms.
a. Determine the sequence of the life cycle of common animals in your area: a
mammal such as a cat or dog or classroom pet, a bird such as a chicken, an amphibian such as a frog, and an insect such as a butterfly.
Student Materials
Pencil
Paper
Prewriting folder
Weekly documentation chart (produced by teacher/completed by student)
Tucker, M. (2007). The Rules of Brainstorming Handout. Unpublished
manuscript, Valdosta State University, GA.
Tucker, M. (2007). A Frog’s Life graphic organizer. Unpublished manuscript,
Valdosta State University, GA.
Tucker, M. (2007). Checklist for Prewriting Process. Unpublished manuscript. Valdosta State University, GA.
Teacher Materials
A copy of all student materials
Overhead projector
Markers
Tucker, M. (2007). A Frog’s Life graphic organizer. Unpublished manuscript,
Valdosta State University, GA. (transparency)
Tucker, M. (2007). Scoring Guide for Prewriting Process. Unpublished
manuscript. Valdosta State University, GA.
Grouping Arrangements (required):
During the initial introduction of the informational writing genre and prewriting process, students will be instructed in a whole group setting. Whole group instruction will allow the teacher the opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, discuss prior content knowledge, and model the same information to all students at once. During whole group instruction, the class can discuss, analyze, and question the content being presented. This will provide students the ability to learn from questions that others may have. In addition, the teacher will accomplish the task of reaching students across a range of performance levels. During the prewriting practice activity, students will be grouped together based on individual developmental, cultural, and linguistic needs. Appropriate student grouping will allow greater attention to individual needs and increase student participation.
Explanation of Grouping Options Relating to Students’ Diverse Learning Needs:
Developmental Needs: Students of varying developmental levels will be grouped together. The purpose is to tap into the students’ Zone of Proximal Development.Group work and student collaboration will allow students to take on the role of instructor with their peers as they master the skills at hand.
Linguistic Needs: ESOL students will be placed with Standard English speaking students as a means of scaffolding their linguistic needs. In addition, it is possible that the class may include bi-lingual students. If so, the bi-lingual student(s) could assist by translating the information to the ESOL student(s) as needed.
Cultural Needs: Research has shown that many Hispanic children come from homes where parents have a minimal science or mathematics background. A dislike for science and mathematics is often visible. Many Hispanic students have very limited experiences in these content areas. Grouping Hispanic students with peer role models will enhance student confidence, motivation, and science content knowledge.
Pre-Assessment Prompt for Instructional Writing:
Pre-Assessment
Language Arts Focus: Informational Writing
Students will be provided a set of statements detailing the basic steps of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The instructions are to cut out and place the details in correct sequence. Once completed, the arranged details will be used to write a short informational paragraph. This activity will give the teacher an idea of the student’s ability to recall and write information in a logical manner.
Lesson Time: 30-45 minutes
Prerequisite Skills
Students will have a basic understanding of 1, 2, 3 order.