Patterns of Practice: Reading and Writing Workshop Assignment

(2nd Grade)

Standards:

2.10 The student will write in a variety of forms to include narrative, descriptive, opinion, and expository.

Specifically….

b) Identify audience and purpose.

d) Use strategies for organization according to the type of writing.

g) Write to express an opinion and provide a reason for support.

Mini Lessons:

1) Teacher should provide mini lesson on the organization/structure of a letter. Review the five parts – heading, greeting, body, closing, and signature. Write a letter on the board as a class; the teacher should pause and ask students what they would insert into each of the five parts.

2) Teacher should provide minilesson on how to state and support an opinion. Read a short book about a social issue as a class, then discuss how the book made students feel. Write a few of the feelings on the bored like, “this book made me feel sad because...” or “this book made me feel angry because…”. Give students each two sticky notes and ask them to write a reason why the book made them feel sad/angry/etc. on each sticky note and place them on the board under the label which best describes how the book made them feel.

Ex: If class read The Water Princess by Susan Verde – a book about a little girl in Africa who has to walk very far to get water that is not even clean – then students might write reasons like “because some kids are always thirsty” or “because people get sick from dirty water”, etc.

Sharing: Students will each read their letters to the class in the author’s chair.

If students desire an authentic application of their work, and if it is possible, then they may choose to actually mail a copy of their letters to the parent or governor, etc.

Writing:

After writing process and workshop procedures have been reviewed as a class, the teacher will explain what is expected of students during the 30-minute writing period.

· Provide students with a set of topics to ponder and a text set of children’s books that touch on appropriate social issues for students look through if they are not already aware of a topic (such as bullying, world hunger/thirst, victims of natural disasters, etc.)

· Next, have students decide how this issue makes them feel and two reasons why the topic makes them feel that way.

· Next, students will choose someone whom they think could do something to change the issue/topic.

· Students will write a letter addressed to that authority figure asking for their help (whether it be parents, the president, God, etc). The letter must state how they feel about the topic, then give two reasons why they feel that way.

Students will go through the whole writing process with their letters. Students will have their own writing process checklist to use as they go through the process.

Assessment:

Teacher will hold short conferences with students about their chosen topic at the start of the writing process, during the revision period students will have a peer-review checklist with the same requirements that are on teacher’s rubric (five parts of a letter included, statement of opinion included, 2 reasons why included, etc.), then a final conference will be held at the teacher’s desk before publishing takes place. Teacher will use rubric to check that all expectations are fulfilled.