Name: Program: Course:

Carson Hope Early Childhood Special Education (K-3) ECH 460

Lesson Topic/Title:
Writers Write to Answer Their Readers’ Questions
Adapted from: Nonfiction Chapter Books (Calkins, Mraz & Golub, 2013)
Lesson Date: Lesson Length:
January 28, 2020 30 minutes
Learning Objectives
• Students will give peers positive and
constructive feedback after reading their
how to book.
• Students will use their peer’s feedback
to edit their writing by including
information that answers the question
their peer asked.
Content Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2
Write informative/explanatory texts in
which they name a topic, supply some facts
about the topic, and provide some sense of
closure.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.3
Ask and answer questions about what a
speaker says in order to gather additional
information or clarify something that is not
understood.
Learning Goal #2: The students will be able
to write “how to” informational text pieces
by writing the steps required to complete a
chosen or assigned process.
Assessment
This is a formative assessment. Students
will be assessed on whether they answered
their peer’s question in their completed how pieces formally, so this will be used to
to book. A slip of paper for recording notes
will be used for assessment. (See
Grade:
1st Grade
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
• Students will learn this collaboration
skill to continue to use a tool during
writing workshop time for the
informational writing unit and beyond.
• Students will practice using feedback
that they receive from others to
improve their writing.
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
• Students will be showing their peer
their how to book, a type of
informational text.
• Students will ask their peer a
question(s) about their topic, and the
writer will seek out the answer if
necessary (using resources such as
books or teachers) and include it in
their writing.
• Students will be learning a strategy for
strengthening their writing and using
the feedback they receive to edit their
how to book.
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Students have not previously used peer
feedback to edit their informational text
assess progress and understanding.
assessment questions following lesson
plan.)
Materials, Resources, and/or Technology
• How to books
• Pencils
• Peer feedback sheets
Teaching and Learning Sequence
Introduction
1. Miss Hope will ask students to remind
her what kind of books they are working on
writing (how to). She will ask them to
explain what a how to book is/includes.
(3 minutes)
2. Miss Hope will explain to students that
today they will be learning one way to make
their writing stronger.
(1 minute)
Mini Lesson
3. Miss Hope will ask students why people
may read a how to book. If they do not
share this answer, she will explain that
readers read how to books to learn how to
do or make something.
(2 minutes)
4. Miss Hope will share that having
someone read your book before it is done
can help the writer make sure they’ve
included all the information they need to
teach their reader how to do what their
book is teaching. She will ask who might be
one reader that they can ask to read their
how to book before finishing it.
(2 minutes)
5. Miss Hope will explain that having a
classmate read their book is a great way to
see if they have included all of the
important information they need.
(1 minute)
6. Miss Hope will introduce the peer
feedback form. She will explain that after
the writer reads their book with their
partner, the reader will write what they
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Students will take out their how to books
to read to their partner and will complete
the peer feedback sheets using pencil.
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
1. Students recently began the unit on
informational text, so this acts as a
reminder for what they have been
working on and what writing how to
books contains.
2. Miss Hope will state the objective.
3. Miss Hope will lead into the strategy
being taught and explain why it is
important.
4. Miss Hope will assess whether students
know they can make their writing
stronger by working with a classmate.
5. Miss Hope will share the peer feedback
strategy for making writing stronger.
6. Miss Hope will explain the feedback
form.
7. Miss Hope will partner students
together based on academic level and
behavior patterns.
8. Students will have time to complete the
activity. Students will hold each role
once: reader and writer.
9. Miss Hope will explain why students
completed this activity and how they
will use it in writing workshop.
learned from the book and what question
they still have about the topic.
(2 minutes)
Partner Work
7. Miss Hope will intentionally create pairs
of students to work together.
(2 minutes)
8. One student will read their book to their
partner. The partner will fill out the peer
feedback form and give it to the writer.
Readers will be encouraged by Miss Hope to
discuss why they asked the question they
did. Then, partner roles will switch.
(15 minutes)
Conclusion
9. Miss Hope will explain that during the
next writing workshop, students will use
the feedback form that they partner
completed to answer their reader’s question
in their writing.
(2 minutes)
Meeting Students’ Needs Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
• Peer models can be utilized during this • Students who are strong in writing may
activity. A student who strong in writing be able to provide an example of
may be put with a student who is writing to other students who may
struggling with writing. need some support.

Reflection
I really enjoyed watching peers engage during writing time. I loved that through this
activity I was able to incorporate reading and comprehension skills with strengthening
writing. However, when it came to students using the feedback from their peers, this
activity fell short. I feel that this is for a couple of reasons. I wish that our writing block
was long enough to do this activity and then have time for writing workshop directly after
so students could use their feedback in their writing while it is fresh. To expand on that,
because this lesson got shifted a day later than originally planned, students had workshop
time to write using their feedback two days after the activity instead of just one. I also
recognize that it was difficult for some writers to use their reader’s feedback, as the
questions they asked were unclear or do not reflect truly informational writing. I think if I
were to do a lesson like this in the future, I would teach a mini lesson that involves me
asking model questions, so that I could teach students the types of questions that make
sense and truly help the writer. However, I do believe the lesson I developed was stronger
than the original lesson from the Calkins et. al (2013) curriculum which asked students to
 only discuss. There was no tangible form of feedback in that lesson which prompted me to
develop the peer feedback form. I do believe there would be less use of peer feedback if
there was not some form of documentation like the worksheet provided. The worksheet
also helped me support the students, because if I missed a conversation between partners,
I had this feedback form to use to try to answer the writer’s questions. As this was one of
the beginning lessons for the unit, I am using it as an opportunity to grow and I am
learning what to incorporate in similar lessons in the future.
Teaching Standards and Rationale
Standard 3 addresses learning environments. The standard states: “the teacher works with
learners to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning,
encouraging positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self
motivation” (CCTS). In other words, teachers understand parts of the classroom set up
and routine that support individual learning as well as small group and large group
instruction. This activity attempted to establish a routine among students during writing
workshop to use each other as a resources. Indicator 3(j) builds on this when it states that
the educator “knows how to help learners work productively and cooperatively with each
other to achieve learning goals” (CCTS). In the teaching and learning sequence I stated
that I would “share that having someone read your book before it is done can help the
writer make sure they’ve included all the information they need to teach their reader how
to do what their book is teaching” and that I would explain that classmates are a great
person to be their reader. This set students up to work together to achieve the goal of
writing a strong how to book.

Assessment Questions

1. What was the reader’s question?

2. Did the writer answer the reader’s question? Yes / No

3. How?