kate lord: teaching portfolio part 1 of 3

8/14/2019 Kate Lord: Teaching Portfolio Part 1 of 3

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Katherine E. Lord

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Student Teaching PortfolioWinchester Thurston School: Grade 5

September November 2008

Kate Lord


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INTRODUCTION

Toward the end of my student teaching, I wasinvited to compose a Language Arts lesson andwas given the freedom to select a topic of mychoice. Throughout my experience atWinchester, I was exposed many times to theschools motto:

Think also of the comforts and rights of others .

Inspired by this phrase, I created a lesson thatintroduced the procedures of the five paragraph

persuasive essay and implemented a mock scholarship contest.

Going beyond the objectives listed in the lesson plan, a main goal was to bring the studentsattention to the actions of their peers and also

bring awareness to their own actions as theywere consciously being observed by others.

Language ArtsThe Persuasive Essay


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PERSUASIVE ESSAY WRITINGThe Caught Being Good Scholarship Contest Taught by Kate Lord

November 10 th through 14 th, 2008

RATIONALE:The purpose of this unit is to introduce the all attributes of 5

paragraph persuasive essay including, terms, writing process, and purpose. OBJECTIVES:Knowledge- Recall terms associated with the persuasive essay

Comprehension- Classify a statement to be fact or opinion anddetermines under which supporting topic the statement should go. Application- Constructs a 5 paragraph essay using all writingtools, as explained in class.

Create- Expresses fact successfully within the 5 paragraph essayusing detailed examples and transitional phrases. MATERIALS :The Persuasive Essay handout, Bridging the Gap handout,Tree Diagram worksheet, Graphic Organizer worksheet,Caught Being Good assignment slip, Essay Rubric, Scholarshipand Youve been Spotted certificates.

Language ArtsLESSON PLAN


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PROCEDURE

Motivational Activity:

To begin, introduce the new unit to the class by defining the word persuasive. Explain that we will be talking about how to write a 5 paragraph persuasive essay. Sequence of instruction (will span 3 days):Begin day one, by reading aloud the persuasive writing handout(see attached). Students should highlight important terms and

points for later reference. Briefly go over the Bridging the Gaphand out (see attached) and transitional phrases when appropriate. Once the students are familiar with the concept, introduce theassignment (see attached). Inspired by the schools motto,students will choose a classmate whom the feel thinks also of thecomforts and right of others. Students will compose a persuasiveessay about this outstanding peer. A scholarship of chancecoupons will be awarded at the close of the unit. As a class, discuss the procedure of the tree-diagram (seeattached). Students will use this to organize their thoughts in the

early stages of writing. Once students understand, allow them towork individually with the tree diagram, brainstorming ideas abouttheir candidate. Instructor should observe and field any questionsat this time.

On day 2, introduce how to use the graphic organizer (seeattached) with the class. The purpose of this diagram is to

prepare the students to write in paragraphs as they expand their thoughts into sentences. Once students understand, allow them towork individually with the graphic organizer, building upon their initial ideas from the tree diagram. Instructor should observe andfield any questions at this time. Packets should be collected atthe end of the period and checked for understanding. On day 3, Students who are clear about the process thus far, mayhandwrite a rough draft in their writing journal and then type afinal draft. No proof reading is necessary. Those who needclarification can be conferenced with before they proceed withdrafting their essay.

As essays are graded, keep a tally for those who were writtenabout. (Scholarships are awarded for the student(s) with the

highest grade and for the student(s) most written about).


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CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:Take advantage of opportunities to review terms and ask questions. What should we include in a closing paragraph?,Who can give an example of a fact?, etc.

Observe independent work and intervene as necessary- encourageother students to answer the questions of their peers. Before students begin to draft their essay, collect packets to readover each students progress and comment or conference asnecessary. ASSESSMENT:Essays will be graded using the attached rubric. Scoring is basedupon the brainstorming process and inclusion of specific attributesof a 5 paragraph essay as discussed in class. CLOSING:Once the essays are graded, take time to award students in front of their classmates using the attached certificates. To encouragediscussion and boost self-esteem, the youve bee spottedcertificate can also be used for those who were written about atleast once.

OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENTIATION:

Extra Help: Encourage students to ask questions. Students can be assisted individually as necessary.

Advancement: Students in need of more of a challenge can edittheir composition with a goal to utilize more advanced or creativevocabulary. Physical challenge : In the future, if motor skills are affected,this particular students brainstorming can be dictated to theinstructor or another student to be written down in the graphicorganizer. This student may also compose their final draft usinga method that is more favorable to the student. NATIONAL STANDARDS: NL-ENG.K-12.12 APPLYING LANGUAGE SKILLSStudents use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplishtheir own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, andthe exchange of information).

NL-ENG.K-12.4 COMMUNICATION SKILLSStudents adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language

(e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectivelywith a variety of audiences and for different purposes

PA STATE STANDARDS 1.6.5. GRADE 5 D.


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Due to the students unfamiliarity in persuasivewriting, preparation was extensive. I knew thatin order for their final essays to be a success, wewould need to spend ample time covering thematerial as a class.

The information you are about to see, wasorganized into packets for each student . I wascareful not to reveal too much at the beginningas I did not want the size of the project tooverwhelm them.

As we read over the research, I instructed thestudents to highlight noteworthy information. Inaddition, the pace of the unit was based on thestudents comprehension of the material duringwhich, I answered questions throughout andmade myself available for individualconferencing.

Language ArtsLESSON MATERIALS


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THE PERSUASIVE ESSAY

Persuasive writing attempts to convince the reader that the point of view or course of action recommended by the writer is valid. Toaccomplish this, the writer must determine their position and

support their stance with strong facts and examples. The persuasive essay is five paragraphs in length and is organized in a particular way; as I will explain.

First, think through your position. Clearly define it. Compose astrong topic sentence that will begin your essay and declare your

position. This sentence should be fact based and should not be based on opinions or emotions.

On a separate sheet of paper, brainstorm ideas that support your feelings about the topic. Highlight the three that you feel are thestrongest. These will become your supporting topics . Each of these will be the focus of a paragraph in your essay.

Just as you did before, make a new brainstorming list for each of your supporting topics. Again, highlight the three that are thestrongest. These are your supporting ideas and will be used todefend your stance.

Think about how you are going to end the essay. What effectiveway can you clarify your stated position? How can you clearlysummarize the supporting ideas? Write down these ideas to formyour closing paragraph . Do not introduce any new points atthis time.

TIPS TO SUCCESS:

Take time to formulate the sentences and organize ideas. If thereader loses the logic of you position, you have lost the advantagein a persuasive essay.

Be sure to vary sentence structures so that the essay is not onelong list of reasons.

Be sure that the supporting paragraphs explain your ideas.Giving examples is a good technique of support.

Do not resort to name-calling. This is never effective.

To promote understanding, be sure that there are transitions between paragraphs. Look to your Bridging the Gap handoutfor ways to use transitional phrases.

Go back and reread the essay when you are finished. Try to think of it through the eyes of someone who takes the opposite

position. Make any changes necessary.

Be sure that there are no spelling, punctuation, capitalization,tense, or other errors that could distract the reader away from the

strength of your position.


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ASSIGNMENT

The Caught being good Chance Coupon Scholarship*

Winchesters school motto is:

Think also of the comforts and rights of others .

Among your 5 th grade classmates, who best represents the lower school in this way and why?

*The chance coupon scholarship will be awarded to the highest graded essay based on the rubric provided.

Rough Draft Due: Friday, November 7 th

Final Draft Due: Monday November 10 th

The following diagram was used in the early brainstorming stages. Its purpose was to organize the students thoughts and visually demonstrate how each point was connected.

TREE DIAGRAM

Organize Your Thoughts and Plot Key Essay Points


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TERMS:

Topic Sentence/ Opening Paragraph:Your topic sentence will reveal your position in a fact basedstatement. The remainder of this paragraph will include your three

supporting topics, thus, supporting your stance.Supporting Topics:Together, three supporting topics create the body of your opening

paragraph. Individually, each one becomes the topic sentence for its own paragraph.

Supporting Ideas:Each supporting topic paragraph should be defended by threesupporting ideas. Supporting ideas are your soldiers within your argument therefore, before you begin writing, make a list of allideas and choose your strongest points. They are spreadthroughout your essay to defend your stance.

Closing paragraph:Your closing paragraph is a time to summarize and restate your thoughts, putting an emphasis on important points. Your closing

paragraph is not a place to introduce new ideas.

After completing the Tree Diagram, students were encouraged totransfer their ideas onto this graphic organizer. The purpose wasto prepare them for writing paragraphs and help them visualizethe role of the transitional phrase.

Graphic Organizer: page 1


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I felt that it was important to recognize students who were writtenabout. As I was grading their finished work, I recorded eachstudent who became the subject of their peers essay.

It was interesting that during the process, the students became very private about who they had chosen to write about. To saveanyone the embarrassment of sharing what they felt was private, Idecided to spark conversation amongst them. I made sure thateach student ,who was written about at least once, received thefollowing certificate:

Naturally, each was curious about who had written about them andI encouraged them to ask around and find out. It was my hope thatthey would share with each other what they wanted to and on their own terms.

During a short 20 minute period on the last day of my placement,I revealed the winners of the scholarship. Four students receivedcertificates for their high scores and two students wererecognized for thinking also of the comforts and rights of

others.

The certificates were signed by my self and my two cooperatingteachers, Kay Simon and Brian Swauger. I called the students upone by one to receive a certificate and 25 chance coupons as their classmates and teachers applauded their efforts.


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COPYRIGHT 2008 Katherine E. LordALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Thank you for your kind attention, this concludes Part One .

Please continue with parts one continued,two, and three which are attached

separately .

kate lord: teaching portfolio part 1 of 3

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