FE2 ACTIVITY PLAN:

ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY

BACKGROUND/CONTEXT
Title of unit Becoming a Good Writer Cycle & Cycle 1 Grade 2
Grade level
Subject area Language Arts
Goal for Activity To work collaboratively in writing a sentence that has all the qualities of a good writer.
Reinforce their sentence writing skills they learned the previous week in a fun team
Rationale for Activity
activity.
ELA Competency 2 – to write self-expressive, narrative and information-based texts.

This activity touches upon each of the key features for this competency. Students will
QEP Subject Area need to follow the process of writing that we discussed in a previous lesson. They will
Competencies have the freedom to write about their interests, building their profile as a writer. Their
sentence must carry meaning, so they must draft and self-evaluate their work before
completing their production.

One student in the class is stronger in French than in English. Since we are an odd
number of students, he will be in a group of 3 while the other students will be paired
together.

By observing the students and helping them with their work the previous week, my CT
Differentiation and I were able to identify which students needed the most support and have thus been
grouped with stronger writers.

Everyone in the class is also permitted to use their “Writing Tools” folder and dictionary
to aid them with their writing.

ACTIVITY PLAN

As a result of this activity, students will have cemented their understanding of what it
Student will means to be a good writer when writing a sentence. They will know that each sentence
know/understand/do as a must take a capital letter at the beginning, punctuation at the end, and a space between
result of this activity each word. This activity will also provide them with the first opportunity they will have
in grade 2 to review and edit their work before completing a final product.

Procedures
Step 1: Begin the activity by reviewing the skills that all good writers need. Prompt
students by asking them “What makes a good writer?” I will record their responses on the
board, but I am looking for four important responses.
1. A capital letter at the beginning of the sentence.
2. Punctuation at the end of the sentence.
3. A space between each word.
4. Quality work and effort.

Step 2: Once the review has concluded, I will explain what I expect of them during their
group work. They will get together with their partner (I will have a list of pairs made up
ahead of time), take out a pencil and eraser, and begin brainstorming sentence ideas on a
sheet of paper (provided by me as I call out their groups). They will work in their teams
for 5-10 minutes. As they are working, I will circulate and assist if needed.

Give a 2-minute warning to wrap-up their ideas and draft.

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 FE2 ACTIVITY PLAN:
ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY

Step 3: Once I see that most of the class is finished, I will call attention back to the front
of the room to explain then the next phase of the activity. I will take out large sentence-
strips and model how I would like them to be filled out. This ensures that they use all of
the space on the strip, as well as ensure that their letters are fit properly on the lines
provided. I will do one or two practice sentences with them on the board so everyone
understands exactly how to fill them out.

I will then pass out the strips and give them another 5 minutes to re-write their sentence
on the strips as neatly as possible.

Step 4: When I see that everyone has completed their strip, I will call attention back to the
front of the room and explain the final phase of the activity. To add a touch of flair and
fun to the experience, the person holding the beginning of the sentence will wear a party
hat and the one holding the end will wear a Hawaiian necklace. In unison, they will say
read what they wrote out loud to the class. The party hat is a fun reminder for them to
always put a capital letter when they start a sentence, and the Hawaiian necklace is to
remind them that a sentence ends with punctuation. This concept will be reiterated with
each passing group, thus cementing the principals of a proper sentence.

For this activity, I am not assessing their abilities to spell. Using their best-guess spelling
is sufficient as it allows me and my CT to assess where they are with their phonics and
spelling.

Assessment Assessment for this activity is formative. I am observing if students can write a complete
sentence using the criteria we established at the beginning of the lesson. I am looking to
see if they were able to use capital letters appropriately; if they used punctuation; spaces
between each word and if their sentence makes sense.

Broad Areas of Learning

Health & Well Career Planning & Environmental Media Literacy Citizenship &
being Entrepreneurship Awareness & Consumer Community Life
Rights & Responsibilities
Explanation:

Students will be cooperating in the design and execution of their sentences. This activity will allow them the opportunity to use
teamwork and decision-making strategies, while also respecting the opinions of others. In doing so, students will understand that
classroom activity is a democratic process where respect and open-mindedness are required.

Cross Curricular Competencies

Uses Information Solves Problems Exercises critical Uses Creativity Adopts effective work
judgement methods
Uses information & Achieves their potential Cooperates with others Communicates
communications technologies appropriately
Explanation:
Adopts Effective Work Methods

This activity allows students to reflect on their work before committing it to their sentence strip and then begin the process of
writing. Students will need to use the appropriate resources at their disposal, such as their Writing Tools folder, as well as resources
from the Writing Center, should they find difficulty in performing the task.

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 FE2 ACTIVITY PLAN:
ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY

Cooperates with Others

As this is a team activity, students will need to contribute to the shared task and carry it out to completion. Both members of the
team will need to participate in the activity and be respectful of the others' ideas when sharing what to write.