The Architecture of Effective Minilessons

We have found that the most effective minilessons tend to follow a similar structure.
That is, while the content of the minilesson changes from day to day, the architecture of
minilessons remains the same.
Connect
Our minilessons begin with a connection. Usually we, as teachers, tell students
about what well be teaching them, and we talk about how this lesson will fit into
the work theyve been doing and how it will fit into their lives as writers and
readers.
Teach
Next we teach students something we hope theyll use often as they write. We
usually do this by demonstrating a strategy or retelling a vignette or re-enacting
something weve seen others do. Sometimes a child or even the class as a whole
helps us do the teaching part of the minilesson. A child might demonstrate
something shes done, or the whole class might chip in to gather a short list of
what they notice or know.
Active Engagement
Then we give all children the opportunity to try what weve taught, or to imagine
themselves trying it. This active involvement phase often involves children
practicing the strategy on a whole-class text, and it often involves them talking
with a partner.
Link
We link the minilesson to the ongoing work of todays workshop. Sometimes the
subject of the minilesson will only be pertinent for some writers. How many of
you will do this today? we might ask. Other times, we will want to be sure every
writer incorporates the new strategy into his or her work that day. Get started
doing that right here on the rug, we might say. Once you are started, you can
get up silently and go to your writing nook. In these or other ways, we make it
likely that at least some children transfer the minilesson to todays independent
work, and that it becomes part of their ongoing repertoire.
Share
At the end of the workshop (after writing time) we gather students in a share
session in which often we follow-up on the minilesson. Sometimes the share
session functions almost as a separate and smaller minilesson.

-Plan to teach one thing

clearly
-Prepare the materials
needed (students too)
-Manage the time of the
lesson

Minilesson Teaching Point:

______________________________________________________

-Activate prior
knowledge about
previous teaching
-Motivate and prepare
students for lesson
-Put your teaching
point into the context
of the students
ongoing work
-Establish cognitive
clarity over your
teaching point.

1 minute
Connection:
Begin by recalling previous teaching. For example, Yesterday
you learned
Last night I was reading over (or thinking over) your work
Often you call the previous work in to your students minds by
retelling one representative detail (Remember how)
At this point, the teacher could name a problem students seem
to be having to address with the students. For example, But
some of you are having trouble, so
Finally, make the teaching point clear. For example, Today
Im going to teach you how writersbecause.

-Put the teaching point

into the context of a
larger reading or writing
act
-Direct, explicit
instruction through one
of several possible
methods. Usually youll
demonstrate (role-play)
the teaching point in a
way that provides a
model of a competent

4-5 minutes
Teach:
Often you will tell a tiny story of when you or another
writer/reader needed this strategy:
Often when Im trying to find an idea for writing, I or
Often when I start a book, I
Set children up to know what youll demonstrate, how they are
to watch, what theyll be asked to do later. Let me show you
howI want you to pay attention to
Demonstrate (Do so very, very briefly and in a way which
highlights the one thing you want people to notice)
Recap the demonstration, restating the teaching point named
3-4 minutes
above. Did you notice how I

-Students apply the

strategy with your
support and rehearse
for when theyll do it on
their own later
-Teachers coach a few of
the students during this
time
-Teachers expect and
accept student
approximations
-Teachers assess the
students during this
time in order to
determine future
conferences, midworkshop interruptions,

Active Engagement:
Set up the work the students will be doing, So lets try this.
At the start of the year, your active engagements will be
minimal (Think of what you might do In your mind, try
to list two things I have taught you. Eventually these will
usually involve turning to a long-term partner and doing some
quick work together. To keep this brief you may need to set
this up (Partner 1, tell Partner 2) Maybe:
o Turn and tell your partner
o Stop and jot

The teacher listens to and observes students as they work for 2

minutes.
The teacher may repeat one thing he or she said or heard.
1 minute

-Provide another
exemplar model
-Honor and compliment
students attempts and
work
-Provide feedback to
students

-Restate the teaching

point, integrating it into
students ongoing work
-Contextualize the
teaching point into the
larger picture of what
students will be doing
-Transfer the teaching
point to independent
work
-Perhaps set up some
system of accountability
(If you do this or
Once youve done

-Reinforce and/or clarify

the teaching point from
the minilesson that began
the workshop

Option: Teacher shares 1 or 2 examples of student work

o Writers, I want you to hear what Sarah was just
thinking
o Readers, stop for a moment and listen to what James
just said

1 minute
Link:
Put teaching in context. So when you are writing and you
remember that you can
Restate teaching
OR
Assignment: So today all of you are going tothen you will
move onto your own writing work, but whenever you are
writing you can

Share:
One option is to recap the work students did as follow up on
the minilesson. Today some of you were working onI want
to show you the way Tony
Highlight a new or especially significant aspect of that work,
Did you notice how
Link to future, So, today and everyday, when you are
reading/writing you can or So tonight when you go
home
A second option is to set up partnership share in which students
search for, share, assess, and plan their work. Would partner 1
show partner 2 a place in your book where you begin to form a
theory about your character? Would you talk about whether
that theory holds true in other sections of your text?

Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

Minilesson Teaching Point: ________________________________________________

assignment

add to repertoire

Connection:
Begin by recalling the previous teaching. For example, Yesterday we were
working on
Next, bring the class together to focus on their ongoing work. For example, Last
night I was reading over your work or, Remember how
At this point, the teacher could create a problem to address with the students. For
example, But some of you are having trouble, so
Finally, make the teaching point clear, Today, I am going to teach you how
writers because
Teach:
Put teaching in context. Sometimes when Im reading /writing
Set up the demonstration. Let me show you howI want you to pay attention to
how I
Demonstrate
Recap the demonstration. Did you notice how I
Active Involvement:
Set up the work the students will be doing. Now you are going to try itWe are
going to look at (Often students need clarification of their roles in
partnerships at this time.)
Students engage in work and teacher listens to students. Some possible
structures:
o Listen, turn, and talk
o Read, turn, and talk
o Think, turn, and talk
o Listen, stop, and jot
o Read, stop, and jot
o Think, stop, and jot
Option: Teacher shares one or 2 successful examples of student work.
Link:
Put teaching in context. So when you are writing and you , remember that
you can
Restate teaching
Or
Assignment: So today all of you are going to then you will move onto
your own writing work.
Share:
Recap the work of the students. Today some of you were working onI
want to show you the way Kathleen
Share an example of student work

Recap the example, asking Did you notice how

Put the teaching in context. So, today and everyday, when you are
reading/writing you can

Minilesson Teaching Point:

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Connection:
Yesterday we were working on
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Today I want to teach you
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Teaching:
When I read
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Watch me as I show you how I (set up demonstration)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Demonstration
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Did you notice how I

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Active Involvement:
Now it is your turn to try it. You (and your partner) are going to
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Students try it.
I noticed
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Link:
Today and everyday I want you to
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Unit of Study: _________________________________________________________

Teaching Point:
Materials Needed:
Connection:

Teach:

Active Involvement:

Link:
Teaching Share:

Suggestions for Particular Sections of Minilessons:

Teaching
1. We demonstrate the tiniest steps for how we use (or might use) a strategy.
Usually this involves either writing or writing-in-the-air and always it
involves thinking aloud as we proceed.
Variations:
we re-tell and re-enact how someone else (a child, an author) used or
probably used this strategy
the text can vary; it can be our own writing, a childs writing, or
published work.
2. We show a brief not-very-good version and a brief very-strong version. These
should be the same save for the one feature youre highlighting, which should
be different. We talk about the differences.
3. We reduce the idea to its simplest form, and teach it in that context. Then we
show how the idea translates into more complex situations.
4. We show good work. We point out what makes it good or ask our students to
point this out. We see if they can find other instances of this same good
quality.
Active Involvement
1. Ask students to try whatever youve taught them with a text you give to them.
It may be a hypothetical text, ready-made for the occasion (an exercise text)
or you may ask them, Can you help so-and-so to do this with his (her)
writing. Children generally provide this help by writing-in-the-air to a
partner.
2. Ask students to find the place in their own texts where they might do this
work and perhaps also to say aloud what they might do.
3. Ask students to talk about what they just learned.
Tell your partner what you saw me doing.
List across your fingers four things youve learned.
4. Ask students to imagine doing whatever it is. Help them to envision
themselves getting starteddoing the next stepthen the next step.

Tips on Minilessons:
The first phase of a minilesson, the connection is the place to reiterate the key point from yesterday in
a way that contextualizes todays work. But you need to avoid restating the obvious. You dont need
to say, Weve been studying poetry. If, so far, youve learned five ways to revise poems. You
certainly dont need to repeat all five of these ways. Get tot eh point, Yesterday we added one final
revision strategy to our list we said poets do such and such. Today I want to warn you that these
revisions dont always improve a poem
Often your minilesson will lead you to create charts which become a permanent reminder of your
instruction. Be careful to not fool yourself into thinking, however, that writing something on a chart
suffices as a way to make your teaching memorable. Writing on the chart can be a way to record your
teaching but it cant substitute for teaching. A rule of thumb is to be sure your minilesson would be
rich without writing on the chart, and be sure you spend no more than 5% of your minilesson time
doing this writing. A chart that lists five strategies will usually record more than a week (not one day)
of minilessons.
Sometimes we use too many examples when one or two would suffice.
Be careful not to let your examples overwhelm your point. If you want to show the value of adding
dialogue and you are going to read aloud two drafts, one which has dialogue and one which doesnt,
the drafts shouldnt be full of a million other commendable qualities that distract from your point.
If you call on a child in a minilesson, that childs contribution needs to be as important to the class as
your words are. Make sure children turn and look at the speaker. Eyes on Carl, youll say.
Whenever possible, it helps to make your minilesson concrete. If you are going to mention three
familiar books, its great to hold each as you say the books title. If you are going to talk about tiny
details, use hand gestures to show just how tiny those details are.
There are predictable places where minilessons get derailed. One of these is at the end of the active
involvement, after children have talked to or worked with their partners. Often teachers get seduced
into hearing a huge number of children report back what they said to partners. Often teachers get
seduced into hearing a huge number of children report back what they said to partners. If you need any
children to report back (which shouldnt be a foregone conclusion), youd usually benefit from calling
on only one or two children and then responding to their comments so that this becomes an extension
of your teaching time. The reporting back needs to serve the good of the class, not function only as a
private conversation between you and the child you called upon.
It would be rare to read aloud a brand new text as part of a minilesson. There are a number of reasons
why we instead, are apt to reread familiar texts in a minilesson. First, children deserve the chance to
encounter a text first as simply an appreciative reader, without being told, Listen for the action words
in this story. Then, too, once a child knows a text as a reader of it, it makes sense to look at the text
and ask, How did the author make this? Finally the minilesson is usually about one aspect of a text
only and so it makes sense to zero in on a section of the text only, and this works better if the entire
text is on children know very well.
There are two places in a minilesson where the teacher is launching the kids to do some work. One is
at the start of active engagement; the other is in the link. In both these places, the teacher must give
directions. This needs to be crystal clear. It helps if the vocabulary of these sections is consistent. In
hundreds of minilessons teachers will say, turn and talk to your partner about and soon children do
this effortlessly. Dont vary the wording on this or other directions.
Remember that the qualities of good writing are often the qualities of good teaching. The injunction to
show not tell applies to teachers as well as writers. Whenever a teacher has the choice between
demonstrating or explaining, the former is preferable. And if you want children to remember an
injunction, make it detailed not general.
It often helps to role-play exaggerated versions of what not to do. For example, I might tell children,
Sometimes my writing friend makes me feel awful. Let me show you, and I proceed to reenact a
listener who yawns, look past the writer to see out the window, acts bored and does every other bad
thing imaginable. Children will laugh with delightbut the message hits home.