1

Lesson
Grade 4/5 Course English
Title/Focus
PROGRAM OF STUDY OUTCOMES
English Language Arts
GLO 2: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to comprehend and respond
personally and critically to oral, print and other media texts.
SLO’s:
1.1.1 Express ideas and develop understanding
1.1.4 Set goals
2.1.1 Use prior knowledge
2.1.2 Use comprehension strategies
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson students will be able to:
1. Students will know how to use strategies for essay writing.
2. Students will have a vision for what they are working to create by the end of the unit.
3. Students will understand the initial process of writing an essay.
4. Students will use prior and new knowledge to write a thesis statement and supporting evidence.
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT
 Picture of a beautiful cake.
 Loose leaf paper.
 Example of someone important to you and evidence. Ie.Brother
 Example of a place and/or object that are important to you to demonstrate generating ideas for
entries.
 Example of a scene from memory that stand out in your mind about which you could model
having thoughts.
 White board
 Pencils
 Strategies for generating essay entries – See share section
PREPARATION AND LOGISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
 Have worksheets printed in advance.
 Ensure students have loose leaf and pencils.

PROCEDURE
Introduction Time

 “Writers, I want to tell you a story about a TV show that I like. It’s a
show where people compete to see who can make the best cake. Thumbs
up if you’ve seen a show like that before?” The bakers get judged in 2
ways – how the cake looks and how the cake tastes. Last night this man
on the show made a beautiful cake, five tiers tall. When the judges
tasted it they made faces. Even though his cake was definitely the best in
form, in the outward design, the man lost because the contents of the cake
didn’t work.

 Seems strange I’m talking about cakes in a writing workshop, but I

started thinking about essay writing while I was watching the show.
2
Essay writing is like baking a big, beautiful, cake. When you’re making
a cake, the form – the shape – matters a lot, but so does the actual batter,
the contents of the cake. In the same way, when you are writing an essay;
the form or shape matter, but so do the contents.

 “The entries essayists collect are not usually miniature essays. The goal
in these entries is to grow new, insightful ideas, and often the entries are
lists or freewriting.”

Collecting entries for essays is different than collecting ideas for

narratives. Narrative entries are little stories, essay entries are for one
reason only; to collect ideas. Those entries can be lists or a jumble of
ideas or chains of thought or fast-draft essays. Today we will learn how
to collect entries that can grow new and insightful ideas.
Body Time
Show Figure  One strategy that works is to think of a person who matters to
2-1 you and then list specific ideas about that person. Then take one
of those ideas and write an entry in which you think about that
idea. Show figure 2-1 Brother.

 “Let’s try the strategy together. I’m going to think of a person

who is important to me – my dad. Writers do you see that
person in your mind’s eye? Make sure you’re thinking of
someone that matters to you. Thumbs up if you have someone
in mind. “

 I write My Dad at the top of the white board. One time my dad
came to a basketball game and he was wearing this crazy hat ad
he embarrassed me in front of all my friends. No wait. That’s
not an idea…that’s a story. I need a list of ideas. What do I
think about my dad? What are my opinions and thoughts of
him? My dad doesn’t let what other people think bother him.
Write on board. Doesn’t let what other people think bother
him. Now let me think of another idea. I need at least 3. He
has taught me so much. Write taught me so much on board.
See pg 18

 Debrief recalling the strategy and point out that you thought of
ideas and not stories.

 Ask students to use fingers to count and list some ideas you have
about that person. Push yourself by saying, A thought I have
about ___________ is…and jot it down in your notebook and
then push for another until you have at least 3.

 Demonstrate again. “The next step is to choose an ideas and

start writing an entry. Ie.”My dad doesn’t let what other people
think bother him.” Jot those words down in my notebook. Read
as I write: My dad doesn’t let what other people think bother
3
him. He doesn’t worry about making sure he does what people
expect. This means that sometimes he does things that are odd,
like using frozen peas as an ice pack, or wearing a red plaid
hunting cap to school events.” This is an entry about an idea not
a story!

Conclusion Time


Assessment
 Walk around and take note on how students are doing with developing their opinions.
 Using thumbs up during classroom discussions.
 Classroom discussions.
 Writing journal.
 Writing in the air.