Week



WeekMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday1Week or Two PriorImmersionImmerse children in Opinion Read Alouds to hear the sound and structure of the genre. Have children respond to Daily Focus Statements. Introduce Mentor Texts and/or ExemplarsHave children begin writing opinion entries in their Writer’s NotebookWeek or Two PriorTeach the difference between a claim, reasons and evidence and explore the language of opinion. Anchor Chart – The language of persuasionHave children begin writing opinion entries in their Writer’s Notebook. Week or Two PriorText Based DebatesTeach students that when they begin research they investigate and collect information about both sides of argument. Make a Class Noticings Chart and Whole Class Definition of Opinion WritingWeek or Two PriorText Based DebatesTeach students how to support their argument with evidence. Teach that the strongest evidence is quotes and research.Anchor Chart – Strong vs Weak Argument Week or Two PriorText Based DebatesTeach students how to build an argument, weighing evidence to determine how best to support their argument. Teach students how to flash draft after a debate. 2Bend One – Claims, Reasons and EvidenceDay 1 – Making ClaimsTeach students how to make a bold claim without “I think or because.” Day 2Reasons and EvidenceTeach the difference between reasons and evidence (Reasons are general and Evidence is specific). Teach writers how to state a reason together with the claim (because statements)Day 3OrganizationTeach writers how to organize and plan their writing using boxes and bullets. The box is the reason and the bullets are the evidence.Be sure students have reasons that can be supported by distinct and different evidence. Day 4Types of EvidenceTeach students how to use facts, research, statistics and expert quotes to build evidence. Teach transitional phrases to use and the difference between explaining and analyzing. Day 5DraftingTeach how to draft long, strong and fast. Children should be completing a single draft in 45 minutes to an hour. They should produce at least 3-4 drafts that are revised and edited throughout the unit. 3Day 6Bend Two - CraftTeach students how to carefully consider and make decisions about the variety of formats and text structures available to them when writing their argument. Day 7Word WorkTeach students how to use strong verbs and descriptive adverbs to make their writing strong. Day 8Sentence VarietyTeach students how to use sentence variety for effect, alternating between long and short sentences to make a stronger argument. Day 9VocabularyTeach students how to use Tier 2 and Tier 3 words to inform their reader about their topic and make their argument more compelling. Day 10 Lead WritingTeach students how to write effective leads that grab the reader’s attention and strengthen their argument.4Day 11Strong ConclusionsTeach students how to write effective conclusions that are memorable and strengthen the argument.Day 12Weight of EvidenceTeach students how to evaluate their evidence to ensure that their argument is solid, bringing in more compelling evidence if necessary. Day 13PerspectiveTeach students how to think carefully about their audience and tailor their arguments to particularly appeal to that audience. Teach students how to vary their style to match their audience. Day 14Real World ApplicationsTeach students how to share their argument in real-life situations in order to sway audience opinion and enact positive change (letters, panel presentations, debates ) Day 15 CounterclaimTeach students to strengthen their claims by introducing evidence supporting the opposing viewpoint and then offering a rebuttal.5Day 16Weighing an PositionTeach students how to give more weight to the strongest and most compelling part of their argument supporting that part with powerful quotes and research. Day 17Bend 3 Writing Across the CurriculumTeach students how to build and write arguments across the curriculum. Teach students that writers conduct short research projects drawing on multiple sources, Day 18Cultural IssuesTeach students how to create arguments that address a variety of cultural issue and value different perspectives.Day 19Making it Real - Teach students how to write for real-life purposes and audiences. Teach children that argument writers stand up for what they believe in drawing on all they have learned to build a strong case.Day 20Using ExperiencesTeach students how writers find some of the most persuasive evidence in everyday life and how writers strengthen their arguments when they use all they have learned about other types of writing.6Day 21Goal SettingTeach students to stop, take stock of their progress and use a variety of tools to help them set goals and move forward (using past checklists to inform writing directions) Day 22Strength of EvidenceTeach students that argument writers strengthen their claims be making sure their evidence doesn’t depend on flawed reasoning. Day 23Publishing and CelebrationDay 24OptionalTeach students how to use technology to produce and publish writing and collaborate and communicate with others. Day 25Revise Class DefinitionEnd of Unit AssessmentContinue the work of opinion writing throughout content area work. The Language of Persuasion and ArgumentWords and Phrases to Teach Students to Usehowever, on the other hand, as you can see, in conclusion, finally, thus, furthermore, rather, yet, consequently, specifically, opinion, viewpoint, for instance, in order to, in addition, One example is…, One reason is …, An even more important reason is …, Some people think.. but I think, While some people argue that …, _____, an expert in the field says “, research says …Reader’s Workshop Connection: One option is to teach students to research topics during Reader’s Workshop and give them time to gather notes so that they will be ready to write content specific informational pieces as the unit progresses. On Demand Assessments: One “On Demand Assessment” should be done at the beginning of the unit without instruction and one at the end after instruction. Have children create their own topics and allow them to think about their topic the day before the assessment. Follow the prompt in the Writing Pathways book and give the same prompt for beginning and ending assessment. Drafting: Children should be planning and drafting new writing at least once a week. Use a class set of drafts weekly to get a pulse on the writing across the whole class. Make decisions regarding whole class, small group and individual instruction based on what you see in the drafts. This will inform your decisions regarding small group and individual writing conferences. Conferencing: There are several different types of conferences.Accountability Conferences: Use this type of conference when children are not following the rules and procedures of Writer’s Workshop or not producing writing at acceptable levels.Work the Room Conferences: Use this type of conference for quick 30 second – minute interventions to keep children on task or to clarify strategies or purpose.Strategic Conferences: These are small group or individual conferences based on your observations from assessing a class set of drafts. Doing this weekly will set up your conferences for the following week. Most conferences should be about Focus or Elaboration as opposed to Spelling and Conventions. Certainly editing needs to be taught and monitored, however moving children toward self-editing with direct teaching of skills and the use of checklists is the goal. One on One Conferences: These are conferences with individual students based on your observations from assessing a class set of drafts. In this case, a particular child is having a difficulty that no one else is having or you make a decision to work with this particular writer individually for a variety of reasons. Writer’s Notebooks – A Writer’s Notebook is like an Artist’s Sketchbook. It is a place of planning and rehearsal. It may contain drafts, but can also contain lists, thoughts and opinions, noticings and wonderings about content studied in Social Studies or Science, research notes etc. Children should be writing at least a page or page and a half daily in their Writer’s Notebook. The notebook should be going back and forth between home and school daily. Publishing and Celebration: It is suggested that children publish 1 piece per unit. Writers pick what they feel is their best writing and improve it based on your revision and editing lessons. Sharing should be done as often as possible (partner, small group, whole group) culminating with an Author’s Celebration at the end of the unit. Publishing should be done in a “real world” manner and for an audience (letters that are actually sent out, petitions, articles that are sent in to the newspaper etc)Editing: Get it Right – Teach writers how to re-read their writing for each type of error separately (Sentence Sense, Capitalization and Punctuation and Spelling). Children should do at least 3 readings for effective editing focusing on one type of error at a time. Conventions and editing can be taught outside of Writer’s Workshop during Word Study. Children should edit as much of their writing as possible, not just published pieces of writing. ................
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