Brad Coleman

Spring 2014
Writing Informational
Lesson 1

Learning Goal
My goal is to smoothly transition from the teachers helper into the main-
teacher role as we begin a new writing unit

Rationale
I am teaching this lesson so students can see that informational writing is like
teaching a lesson on the topic
This lesson is important to the writing unit because the students are working
towards transitioning from fiction to non-fiction writing
This lesson fits into the big picture as it is a step towards beginning their
informational writing pieces

Standard
S.L.3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with
diverse partners on grade 3 topic and texts, building on others ideas and
expressing their own clearly

Source
This lesson comes from the informational writing unit guide. I have made the
lesson my own, specifically using the model of dinosaurs

Objective
SWBAT apply strategy to organize information in their writing

Materials
Poster
o Marker
Writers notebooks
o Pencil
Powerpoint

Procedure
Introduction
Students will transition into writing to the carpet
Demonstrate how teaching related to informational writing
o Good information writers are like good teachers
Teaching the information to your reader
o A good way to get ready to write an informational book is to teach
your topic to others
We will practice
Look for teaching moves that we can use in writing

Lesson Development
Watch me as I teach you about the Tyrannosaurus Rex
o Slideshow to go with
o First, Im going to plan the lesson (use hand/fingers)
Today I am going to teach you about the Tyrannosaurus Rex
(palm)
I will plan what I am going to teach using my fingers
One of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived
Was a meat eating dinosaur
Was able to hunt predators with long, sharp teeth
Had very strong legs and tail
Arms were very small
Now that I have my plan (outline?) I will go back and teach you
about each of those
Im going to begin by telling you the important
information
o T-Rex was a prehistoric dinosaur
o Lived about 65 million years ago
o In what is now Western North America
I might also want to add
o Stories
One of the dinosaur inspirations of
Godzilla
o Important vocab
Lived in Cretaceous period
Period between 65-145 million
years ago
o Picture or diagram to help make teaching clearer
Now watch as I teach you that T-Rex was one of the
largest dinosaurs that ever lived
o 40 ft long
o 20 ft tall
o Skull alone 5 ft long
Did you see how I planned out the most important
things I wanted to teach you using my fingers?
After I was done planning, I told you the main, general
facts about the T-Rex
o Introduction
Then I went back to the first topic (from the fingers)
and focused on teaching that one topic
o If the lesson continued, I wouldve done the same
for topics 2-5
So I decided on one main topic (T-Rex) then I added
details and smaller topics (subtopics)
Now you all are going to be teachers
You were to come up with some possible ideas last
night
Choose one topic
Turn to your partner and share your plan
o Use fingers
o Partner should give feedback on plan
Begin chart (if needed)
Switch after a few minutes
If theres time students will go back to tables. One person will
share using same model. Other students will give feedback

Differentiation
Students may need to be referred back to the model/poster

Conclusion
Who learned something new from your classmates expert knowledge?
You are all going to become teachers in your writing

Assessment
For homework, students will write about a nonfiction topic using the
teaching model we learned in class





















Brad Coleman
Spring 2014
Writing Informational
Lesson 2

Learning Goal
My goal continues to be to work on improving my classroom management
My academic goal is for the students to have a list of numerous possible
topics they can expertly write about

Rationale
I am teaching this lesson to reinforce the idea of informational writing is
parallel to verbally teaching to others
This lesson is important as the students will soon need to make a decision on
their informational writing topic and begin drafting their writing
This lesson fits into the big picture as it helps guide their technique in this
different form of writing

Standard
W.3.2 Introduce a topic and group related information together
W.3.8 Recall information from experiences

Source
This lesson idea comes from the informational writing unit guide. I have
made it my own through changing parts of the lesson in ways I thought
would be easier to understand. I also added an activity and assignments I
thought would be appropriate

Objective
SWBAT compose a list of personal expert topics and write on one using the
teaching voice

Materials
Writers notebook
o Pencil
Post-it note or small pad (optional)

Procedure
Introduction
Class will transition to carpet with writers notebooks and pencil
o Sitting with writing partners, they will have a few minutes to share
their first attempts of informational writing from previous nights hw
o Remind partners to give feedback
Call class to attention
o There are similarities between informational writers and fiction
writers

Lesson Development
o Something all writers do is carefully study their lives for topics on
which they are experts
A writer is always looking for more to write about
Writers will go through their day, just like we do. But they are
constantly thinking:
What do I know that I can teach others?
What am I an expert in?
What do I really care about?
If an idea pops in a writers head, they find anything they can to
write down the idea and remember it!
Ill give you an example:
I have been carrying around a little notepad/post-it
with me all morning. Im looking for informational
writing ideas
I woke up, and the first thing I did was feed my dog
o Hm, I know a good amount about dogs, let me
write that down
I made eggs for breakfast.
o I like eggs, but Im not an expert on them. Im
not going to write that down
I was on my way to school and the radio was talking
about baseball
o I know a ton about baseball! Im going to write
that down when I get to school
Writers make sure to record all of their ideas. Then, when they
have a long and varied list, they can go back and choose the
one thing theyre really interested in and know a lot about
After dinner tonight, my list might look like this
o (Much longer list)
o Im going to go through and pick the #1 topic I
am an expert in
o Then, Im going to start to write about it, using
the teaching voice we used yesterday!
o Keep class attention
Now youre going to try:
When I tell you, you will go back to your seats
I want you to think about your daily routine. Think about what
you do before school. During school. After school.
Come up with a long list
Writers dont just create lists, though
Decide which one of those topics you could write the
most information on
Begin writing using your teaching voice
Write everything that comes to mind about your topic
that you could teach to others
This is not your final topic, so dont worry if you are
writing and decide you dont like your choice
o Just keep going
You will finish the writing for homework
This is a silent activity
Transition to desks

Differentiation
Students may need encouragement coming up with topic ideas
o Guide them through their day, finding things they are expert at

Conclusion
How did our lists turn out? Did we come up with some expert topics?
For homework:
o Finish writing about this topic using the teaching method
o Keep adding to your list!

Assessment
Students will be assessed through their writing assignment
The list they are building will be used to decide on their final writing topic