Language Arts Lesson Plan

Lesson Title: "WOW" words- adjectives Unit Title: Expanding Sentences

Curriculum Area (s): Language Arts Grade Level: 4 Time Required: 60 min-

Author: Author Contact: Instructional Groupings: whole group, individual work, pair n' share

Standards: Students will be expected to use a range of strategies to develop effective writing and other ways of representing and to enhance their clarity, precision, and effectiveness. Outcomes: By the end of grade 4, students will be expected to develop a range of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, and presentation strategies demonstrate an understanding of many conventions of written language in final products. correctly spell many familiar and commonly used words

demonstrate an increasing understanding of punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing use references while editing (e.g., dictionaries, classroom charts, electronic spell checkers, checklists)

demonstrate a commitment to shaping pieces of writing and other representations through stages of development.

Materials: pre-written paragraphs (basic and expanded), hamburger pieces (organizer) word wall words (synonyms) peer evaluations form

Overview: The purpose is to show students how to take a basic sentence and add adjectives and details to it to create a better descriptive sentence, improve clarity and interest. As a result of this lesson/unit students will Understand: students will use descriptive words to expand a sentence. Know: word exchange (synonyms) Do (Skills): expand their imagination so they can visualize their sentence.

Pre-Assessment: Paragraph writing and enhancement is an ongoing process. I will know where they are in their writing by previous pieces they have written. Steps in the Lesson: Warm up activity- "Picture my experience" (This will be a pre-written paragraph that is just basic facts of my trip to the circus. I will have the students close their eyes and picture what I am reading. They will open their eyes and we will discuss what they saw. They will then close their eyes again and I will read another paragraph about the same experience but I will have added many adjectiveswow words. then discuss the difference in what they saw in their mind.) Steps: 1) Talk about the adjectives used in my second paragraph. Come up with synonyms for those words that could also be used. 2) pass out the hamburger organization pieces. 3) individually they will write a sentence for each layer. 4) Go back and see if they can add any adjectives or if they can change any basic adjectives into "wow" words by using synonyms of those words.

Closure Activity/Wrap up: This may be in the form of independent practice, a chance to share, or explicit restatement of the goals of the lesson. Pair up students that are finished, they will each read their story to one another and their partner will tell if it is a WOW story or if there could be a few more adjectives added for more detail. I will give them a peer assessment sheet so their partner can look for certain criteria while listening. Collect both evaluation and paragraph written. Post-Assessment: Peer evaluations will give opinions of readers and their reactions to the piece of writing. I will collect the stories written and this will give me an idea of students who are needing more help with forming their paragraphs and those who may need help adding those WOW words. It will also tell me if I have any students who are really good at these tasks that I could pair up with a friend that may need inspiration. Additional Resources: Any websites or materials that you used?

Warm up activity:
Basic paragraph: I went to the circus. I saw a lion. The clown made me a balloon animal. I ate popcorn. My family had a good day. Expanded paragraph: On Saturday, I went to the incredible circus with my funny family. I saw a big yellow lion laying in his cage. The clown with the big fluffy red hair made me a parrot balloon animal. I ate yummy buttery popcorn. My family had an awesome day at the zoo.

Smartboard lesson example