Literacy Lesson Plan

Deak and Piotrowicz 1

Date to Teach: Monday, November 10th

What
For this lesson, 3rd and 6th grader students will explore linking words/phrases to help expand their
writing. Each class is working on writing, and students are encouraged daily to expand their writing.
The goals of the lesson are as follows:
3rd grade students will be able to use linking words and phrases (i.e. because, since) to connect opinions
and reasons. 6th grade students will be able to use appropriate words/phrases to connect claims and
reasons. Each grade level with work in a small group, with 6 in the 3rd grade group and 4 in the 6th grade
group.
The standards addressed are as followed:
3rd grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.1.C Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for
example) to connect opinion and reasons.
6th grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.1.C Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships
among claim(s) and reasons.

How
This lesson will be taught to mixed groups, meaning there is variation in the levels of understanding of
each student in the group. Each lesson will be taught outside of the classroom, and each lesson will
consist of group discussion, following by independent student work. For the 3 rd grade lesson, the
independent work will be done collectively by students, and for the 6th grade group each student will
work individually. The product of each lesson will be a letter, which will be delivered to the other class
(3rd delivers to 6th, 6th delivers to 3rd).

Why
Both our students struggle with writing, so we wanted to help expand their positive writing experiences.
Specifically, our students tend to write short sentences and struggle with creating complex sentences.
With this lesson, we plan to give our students tools they can use to create more complex sentences. It is
our hope that in writing about a topic of interest, they will see they are able to generate ideas and
articulate arguments.
Additionally, we found that our students voiced that they wished they were in different grades the 3rd
graders talking about the benefits of being older (you can plan on the basketball court) and the 6 th
graders talking about the benefits of being younger (school is so much easier). From there, we decided it
would benefit both groups of students to connect with each other about this topic, and shed light on the
benefits of being their respective ages.
3rd grade students will create a group letter in the interest of time. Although each student is capable of
writing, each have struggles with correct spelling, punctuation, etc. Additionally, the students have a

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Literacy Lesson Plan

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desire to write perfect and will go back and correct what they have written multiple times in order to
make it look right. As this is a 45 minuet lesson, there is not enough time for students to take the care
in writing that they need and desire.

Materials and Preparation

-Space to meet
-6th grade: College-Ruled Paper
-Pencils/Pens
-3rd grade: Prepared letter with intro fill out, and spaces for arguments/conclusion (see below)
-3rd grade: Notecards with connecting words written on them (since, also, because, finally,
-3rd grade: Stack of blank notecards
-Large writing paper or whiteboard
-Markers (various colors)

Classroom arrangement and management issues

3rd grade: Students will be around a table, each with a chair. The teacher will be a one end of the table,
with students facing the teacher. The students are around a large table as many of them tend to stand
during class, and being around one large table will give them the opportunity to stand. Students will
bring their own pencil and paper with them to the space.
It is likely many of the students will want to talk with one another while someone else is talking. This will
be managed by reviewing classroom norms around when it is okay for multiple people talking at once
and when we should have one person talk at a time. In addition, it will be emphasized that when
multiple people are talking, we must still use quiet voices. Finally, when one person should be talking,
the talker will be the one holding the marker used to create the letter.
6th grade: Students will sit around a rectangular table in the hallway outside of the classroom. The
teacher will stand and walk around the table, giving the teacher the opportunity to make eye contact
with each individual. The students will bring their own writing utensil and sheets of college-ruled paper.
Rules for hallway behavior and independent work will be reviewed with the students. Students will be
permitted to share ideas and talk with one another using an appropriately quiet voice. There will be
enough space between each student for them to feel comfortable. The teacher will offer the students
the option to work on the floor or in a different seat.

Plan

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3rd grade: Begin by reviewing the classroom norms around when it is appropriate to talk and when we
need to respect one person talking.
How do we make sure everyone is heard (dont talk over people)?

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What should we do to show were listening (look at person, not talk)?

Next, talk about how I have heard people in the class talk about what things will be like when they are in
older grades, like 6th grade. Ask for some thoughts and write down each on whiteboard.
I have heard some people in the class talk about all the things kids in the older grades can do.,
especially about the kids in 6th grade. What kind of things do you think kids in 6th grade can do
that you wish you could do?
Have group vote on one reason. Write that reason on the board.

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Have group think about that one reason, and the reasons why 6th graders have that privilege (i.e. You
can play on the basketball court means you have more responsibility, you are trusted more by the
teachers, and you get to be in control of the basketballs). Write these reasons out as a mind map.
Why do 6th graders have this privilege?
How do you think you change between 3rd grade and 6th grade?
Do you think 6th graders deserve this privilege? Why?
Once we have three reasons, split in students in to groups of two and have them write one of the
reasons out, word by word, on notecards.

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Introduce the letter to the 6th grade. Tell them that the 6th grade students have told their teacher they
want to be in 3rd grade and we want to convince them why 6th grade is great.
There is another teacher from my school who is in the 6th grade class. She told me the 6th graders
think it is better to be in 3rd grade! So, we are going to write them a letter to convince them that it is
better to be in 6th grade. What does it mean to convince them?
Introduce the connecting word cards. Find out what students know about connecting words. Talk
about how we use these words to link up sentences so they make sense.
We came up with these great ideas and reasons why 6th graders should be happy to be in 6th
grade. Now, we need to start work on our letters. Lets look at our reasons (have students take out
notecards) how can we put these together to make a letter?. Is there anything we are missing to make
this a good letter? Are these any words we might need to put these sentences together well? (Intro
connecting words here use this phrase to refer to words)
Use the notecards to structure four sentences giving our reasons why 6th grade is great. Have students
work collaboratively to achieve this.
Now that we have our connecting words, lets work together to make this in to a letter. Which
sentence should we start with? If you have an idea, let us know and the person who has that sentence
can put in down. We will work as a team to make this letter happen.

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Comment [TB1]: Your LP is reading more
summative. Flesh out what you intend to say to the
students. What is the explicit language you intend
to use (e.g. scaffolding questions, defining terms,
examples, non-examples, modeling think alouds,
etc.)?
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Comment [TB2]: What will you tell students in
order for them to work collaboratively?

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Once completed, have one two students read what we constructed. Write these sentences in to our
collective letter to the 6th grade. Have each student copy the letter in to their homework/classwork
folder.
As students write, After reading, check in with students each on which words are connecting words. See
if they can identify and say why we used those words. Looking for students to respond that connecting
words are used to show the progression of ideas in a paragraph.
If more than one student is unable to identify, have one of their classmates articulate their
thinking/reasoning around which words are connecting words and how they are used. Have students
missing understanding repeat the classmates thinking.

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Comment [TB3]: Is there an exemplar response

you are expecting from students as to why we use
connecting words? How will you guide students if
they do not respond accordingly?

Tell students we willWrite our sentences in to our letter to the 6th grade. G get letter to 6th grade class,
and hope to get one in return from them. .
6th Grade: Begin the lesson by reviewing rules for hallway behavior and independent work.
Next, discuss the premise of the lesson with the students. Inform the students that there has been
clamor about the desire to be younger or revisit a prior classroom and that they will be writing a letter
to the 3rd graders. Allow the students to discuss their reasoning the group.

Comment [TB4]: Im not sure what is meant

here.

Direct the students to use one sheet of their loose-leaf to write their individual reasons for wanting to
be in the 3rd grade.
Ask the students to share their main reason with the group (i.e. You get to go on field trips) and
brainstorm relationships between their feelings and the reasons why they have them. Direct the
students to write the words, phrases and clauses on a whiteboard.
Introduce the connecting words into the discussion. The discussion will reveal students knowledge of
connecting words. Talk about why these words are important in their writing.
Students will write their letters according to the persuasive letter-writing rubric. They will be given the
prompt:

Comment [TB5]: This needs to be clarified.

Students may benefit from a modeled example. As
mentioned above, this is reading more summative.
Script out what you intend to say to studentsnot
because you intend to read it as a script to them,
but fleshing out this language will better ensure that
you are being explicit and intentional with your
words.
Comment [TB6]: Be explicit.

The 3rd grade students have told their teacher that they want to be in 6th grade.

Comment [TB7]: Is this something that has

already been introduced to students? If not, how
will you introduce (or review) expectations with
them?

Write a letter to the 3rd graders in which you explain why you would want to be in their class again.
Give examples and convince the 3rd graders that they should appreciate their time in the 3rd grade.

Comment [TB8]: Have you written an exemplar

of this letter?

In your letter, be sure to include:

An explanation of why you want to be in 3rd grade again

Examples of these reasons
An explanation of why 3rd graders should appreciate their time in the class
Details to make your writing interesting

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Students will give their letters to the 3rd graders.

Assessment of the goals/objectives listed above

Both classes will produce a letter, written to the other class articulating their argument. The 3rd grade
class will compose a letter collectively and each of the 6th grade students will compose an individual
letter.
For the 3rd graders, group discussion will also serve as formative assessment. Each student will be spot
checked for understanding of connecting words using a rubric (below).
For the 6th graders, group discussion will serve as a formative assessment. Each student will receive a
rubric that will be formally graded as a benchmark assessment (below).

Anticipating students responses and teachers possible responses

Students may disrupt lesson repeatedly and not engage in activity. In this case, the student will be asked
if there is something that is preventing them from joining in the lesson or why they are speaking over
their classmates. If the student persists, they will be asked to sit out until they are ready to participate
well. If the student persists beyond this intervention, they t would be asked to return to the main class.
Students may not come away with the understandings desired. In this case, a follow up lesson would be
planned to approach the subject in a differentstudents will be given reading material that uses
connecting words/phrases to move along a story. In reading conferences, student attention will be
brought to the use of connecting words/phrases in the text. manner.
Students may not be able to come up with reasons why the other grade is desirable. In this case, the
teacher will have pre-prepared reasons to help illicit ideas.

Comment [TB9]: This will work for this lesson as

it will allow you to move forward with your lesson
uninterrupted, however, this will not be an option in
your class next year. How will you address
inappropriate behavior in the moment? Are there
ways for you to practice this now?
Comment [TB10]: Time is limited in the
academic year. What are some formative
assessment checkpoints that you can imbed in the
lesson? What are some examples of exemplar
responses and potential points of confusion. How
will you coach and correct if/when confusion arises?

Accommodations
3rd grade: For those who may find the work too challenging, I will work with them individually when we
break to write the reasons on notecards. For those who find the work too easy, I would encourage them
to write their own letter using examples they thought about. I do not see a danger of students finishing
early/not completing since we will be working as a group.
6th grade: A whiteboard with the brainstormed ideas will be provided to the group as a visual reminder.

3rd Grade Letter:

Dear 6th Graders,

We are in 3rd grade, and we sometimes wish we were in 6th grade.

Comment [TB11]: Is there a reason why you

have chosen to have students write a group letter
rather than individual letters?

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We think 6th grade is great ________________________________________

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________.
We hope you think 6th grade is great, too. Think about these reasons and you will see why you are lucky
to be in 6th grade!

Comment [TB12]: Have you thought through

how you will get students to add their individual
ideas to the group letter? This should be written
explicitly in the LP.

Your Friends,
(NAMES)

3rd Grade Rubric

Student Name

Identified Connecting
Words? How many?

Articulated reasons for

using connecting words?

Areas of
misunderstanding?

Comment [TB13]: Have you thought about how

you will collect this information given that they are
co-constructing this letter?

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6th Grade Rubric:

Opening
Statement

Supporting
Details

Tone/
Language

Format/
Organization

Concluding
Statement

Mechanics
and
Grammar

A
Strongly and clearly
states a personal
opinion. Clearly
identifies the issue.

B
Clearly states a
personal opinion.
Some references to
the issue.

C
Personal opinion is
not clearly stated.
Little or no
references to the
issue.
Provides at least 1
detail, reason
and/or example in
support of the
opinion.

D
Personal opinion is
not easily
understood with any
reference to the
issue.
Provides little or
no support of the
opinion.

Provides 3 or more
strong details,
reasons and/or
examples in
support of the
opinion
Chooses words
that are clear,
descriptive and
accurate.
Maintains
consistent
persuasive tone
throughout letter.
Sentences and
paragraphs are
complete, well
written and varied.
Summarizes
personal opinion in
a strong concluding
statement.
Contains few, if any
punctuation,
spelling or
grammatical

Provides 2 details,
reasons and/or
examples in support
of the opinion.

Adequately chooses
words that are clear
and descriptive.
Demonstrates a
persuasive tone in
parts of the letter.

Chooses some
words that are
clear and
descriptive. Lacks
consistent
persuasive tone.

Language and tone

of letter is unclear
and lacks description.

Sentence and
paragraph structure
is generally correct.

Sentence and
paragraph
structure is
inconsistent
Concluding
statement is a
weak summary of
personal opinion.
Contains many
punctuation,
spelling and/or
grammatical errors

Little or no evidence
of sentence or
paragraph structure.

Summarizes
personal opinion in
a concluding
statement.
Contains several
errors in
punctuation,
spelling or grammar

Concluding
statement makes no
reference to personal
opinion.
Contains many
punctuation, spelling
and/or grammatical
errors that make the

Literacy Lesson Plan

errors.

that do not interfere

with meaning.
* (Adapted from the NC State Assessment Rubric)

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that interfere with
meaning

piece illegible.