MCLT_Template

Description:

Florida Writes! is an important writing test. This lesson focuses on prewriting/brainstorming ideas. The student then uses this prewriting web to write a five paragraph essay.

Objectives:

The student will write to communicate ideas and information effectively. Using a prewriting graphic organizer, the student will plan ideas meeting the Florida Writes! rubrics.

Materials:

Computers
Software with graphic organizers-Inspirations or Kidspirations
Television hooked up to the computer for lesson demonstrations and discussions

Activities/Tasks:

Preparation:

Television hooked up to the computer for lesson demonstrations and discussions
Computers with Inspirations and a word processor preloaded
A class set of the web in Task 1 below.
Printer

Procedure:

Benchmarks/GLE

NETS Standards

Task 1

Using Inspirations, make a creative web that shows the four main sections (Setting, Problem, Solution, and Lesson), events, and the characters in the story. Enlarge the web bubbles so that the students can hand write in the bubbles when printed out for them. Lead a class discussion on the prewriting strategies for each section.

L/V/S:

S.1:A,B,C,D,E

WRITING:

S.1:A,B

S.2:A,B,C,D,F

1

Task 2

Connect a television to the computer so that the whole class can view the television. Display the template in Task 1 above. Pick one student's prewriting ideas and enter them onto the template. Instruct the students on how to use Inspirations as you are entering the information. Have the students add their handwritten web into the computer. The yellow stars are movable so that when a character have entered the story, then the name can be typed into the star and then moved to the position in the story. The student would also write the event next to the word in the template.

L/V/S:

S.1:A,B,C,D,E

WRITING:

S.1:A,B

S.2:A,B,C,D,F

1, 2, 3, 4

Task 3

Using the completed Inspirations web from Task 2, begin to demonstrate how each bubble idea, event, and character ideas could be turned into a sentence. Write the sentence on a word processor. Work through this whole process together as a class.

L/V/S:

S.1:A,B,C,D,E

WRITING: S.1:A,B

S.2:A,B,C,D,F

1, 2, 3

Task 4

Have the students work individually on their own essay. Have them type it into a word processor and correct grammar and spelling.

WRITING:

S.1:B,C

S.2:A,B,C,D,F

1, 2, 3, 4

Task 5

Print out both the completed web and word processor essay.

WRITING:

S.2:D

1, 2

Assessment:

Students will assessed on their essays by using Florida Writes! rubrics, and the completion of their prewriting web.

Additional Resources:

Computers with Inspirations and a word processor
Television connected to a demonstration computer
Preselected prompts: website with suggested prompts
Resources: SEIT^TEC- Florida's DOE

Project Example:

Look in Task 1 above for template used.

Credits:

Susan Bischoff, Ballard Elementary School, Manatee County, FL

Nancy Bacon, Instructional Technology Specialist, Instructional Technology Manatee County, FL

This lesson was designed on June 24, 2002

Comments:

Tasks 1-3 were set each day with the students focused on their daily tasks. Task 4 was done on the students' individual abilities in the time it took to finish. Students really enjoyed using Inspirations in making their preplanning. We spent a good deal of time on the prewriting webs, but the students were in awe of how their webs turned so easily into an essay.

Five laptops and four classroom desktops were used in this project.

Narrative Writing

Language Arts

Fourth Grade

Timeframe-One Week