Name: Program: Course:

Carson Hope Early Childhood Special Education (K-3) ECH 460

Lesson Topic/Title:
Writing Introductions for Informational Text Pieces
Lesson Date: Lesson Length: Grade:
February 26, 2020 30 minutes 1st Grade
Learning Objective(s) Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Students will be able to write an Students are participating in a discussion,
introduction that engages their reading whole group hands-on activity, and table
using strategies such as a question or a group practice activity to develop skills in
sound. writing introductions.
Content Standard(s) Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.2 • Students are learning a strategy for
Write informative/explanatory texts in strengthening their informational
which they name a topic, supply some facts writing: starting with a strong
about the topic, and provide some sense of introduction.
closure. • Students will be able to use this in
Learning Goals #1 and #2 both their how to and all about
pieces. They may reflect on their how
to books as well as use them in the all
about books they are going to be
starting this week.
Assessment Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Formative assessment will be conducted The teacher will observe whether the
for this lesson via observation of the whole students are able to identify and write
group and table group activities. introductions and will use this
observation to plan more instruction on
writing introductions to informational
text.
Materials, Resources, and/or Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Technology • This video will be an additional
• Video: “Informational Writing for Kids reinforcement of the topic being
- Episode 4: Writing an Introduction” taught.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6 • The smart board will be used to show
BTfNQiXXI the video.
• Smart board • The colored paper will identify the
• Colored paper with topics written topics table groups will write an
across top introduction to.

• Nonfiction books that correlate with
topics on colored paper
• Pencils
• “Introduction vs. Strong Fact” sort
Source: (Tobin, 2017)
• Tape
• Whiteboard
• Dry erase marker
Teaching and Learning Sequence
Introduction:
1. Review: Ask students to remind Miss
Hope/each other what they have been
learning about in writing.
(1 minute)
2. State Objective: Explain to students that
readers keep reading books that start out
strong/excite the reader, and that they will
be learning how to do this in their own
writing.
(1 minute)
Content Instruction (Whole Group):
3. Play video: “Informational Writing for
Kids - Episode 4: Writing an Introduction”
(4 minutes)
4. Explain that an introduction is the first
sentence or few sentences of a book and is
used to excite readers and make the reader
want to continue reading the book.
(1 minute)
5. Give examples of types of introductions
including questions and sounds.
(1 minute)
6. With student input, the teacher will
model an example of writing an
introduction.
(2 minutes)
• The books will be used so table
groups can write an accurate
introduction.
• The pencils will be used at table
groups.
• The sort will be the hands-on whole
group activity.
• The introduction/strong fact cards
will be taped up during the whole
group activity.
• The whiteboard will be used to tape
the sort activity on and will be used
for Miss Hope to write examples.
• The markers will be used on the
whiteboard.
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
1. Students will reflect on what they
have been learning about during
writing as this lesson is part of the
bigger unit.
2. The teacher will inform the students
what they will be doing in this lesson.
3. The video will be shown as an
additional instructional method to
engage students differently.
4. The teacher will sum up what the
video taught as well as share her own
information regarding introductions
to informational text.
5. The teacher will explain how to write
an introduction by giving examples of
different types of introductions.
6. The teacher will model writing an
introduction by asking students to
help her define a topic and choose a
method for the introduction.
7. The students will do the sorting
activity to engage in an activity that is
hands-on and reinforces the content
being introduced.
8. Students will each have an
opportunity to participate.
Whole Group Activity:
7. Introduce the sorting activity. Explain
the difference between an introduction and
a strong fact and model an example of
each.
(1 minute)
8. Read a card and call on a student to
attempt to place it. Repeat with each card.
(5 minutes)
Small Group Practice:
9. Each table group will have a different
topic to work together to write an
introduction to. They will be able to use
books on the shelf that are about their
topic to find information. When finished,
students will be asked to show Miss Hope.
If successful, she will give them a second
(more challenging) topic to attempt. If
unsuccessful, she will scaffold support.
(10 minutes)
Conclusion:
10. Ask students to explain what they
heard about and practiced.
(2 minutes)
11. Ask students how this will be used in
their writing tomorrow/the future. If they
do not state it, explain that students will
be writing introductions to their own
informational writing in the coming days.
(2 minutes)
Meeting Students’ Needs
During the table group activity, Miss Hope
will provide scaffolded support and
multiple opportunities for practice.
Students will also have peer support at
their table groups.
9. Students will transition into small
group work to practice writing an
introduction to an assigned topic.
They will have resources to assist
them in finding information about
their topic as well as teacher support.
Support will be scaffolded so students
who need to be challenged are, and
students who are not understanding
the new content can become
successful.
10. Students will reflect on what they
learned.
11. Students will be informed of how this
will be used within their own writing
and why this was meaningful.
Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
There will be opportunities for students
to be challenged with an additional topic
to write an introduction for, as well as
scaffolded teacher support such as
reminders and verbal prompts. Students
will work together so they can support
one another.
Reflection
I believe there were pros and cons to how this lesson went. I noticed that the students
were very high energy during this lesson, but that they also were engaged. They weren’t
sitting in their seats and they were talking out, but their comments were about the
subject and their movement was excitement to participate (especially during the hands-
on activity). I noticed that the students were very engaged during the video, which is
typical for this group of students. One thing I felt challenging about the sort activity is
that students felt facts were introductions because they felt the facts were very exciting.
This was an opportunity to practice validating their thoughts and agreeing to disagree.
This is an important skill that I hadn’t really run into before. I also noticed that some
table groups were more successful in working together, while others had students who
took over or wanted to complete the activity on their own. Learning how to cooperate
and collaborate is an important skill for children to practice at this age, so I felt that
learning this type of compromise was valuable for the students.
As this was a lesson observed by my student teaching supervisor, I was able to reflect
with him on how this lesson went. Immediately after, I felt that it went poorly, but after
sitting and reflecting, I feel more confident in how it went and in my instructional
abilities. One piece of feedback I received, which I am working on, is that I didn’t have a
strong conclusion to my lesson. I have noticed that I need to work on this, because I feel
I run out of time and don’t conclude. We discussed ways to “fit a conclusion in” such as
an exit ticket to be dismissed to get changed for recess or talking about the objective
and reflecting while students get ready for recess/as they wait at the door to go outside.
I will definitely be working on implementing these strategies into my practice.
Teaching Standards and Rationale
Standard 4 addresses content knowledge. The standard states: “the teacher understands
the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she
teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline
accessible and meaningful for learners.” In other words, teachers must have a strong
background in understanding the concepts they teach to then develop lessons that teach
this content in a meaningful way for students. This lesson meets standard 4, because in
order to teach students how to write an effective introduction, as the teacher I had to be
able to lecture on and model that skill. Without knowledge of how to do this, I would
not be able to support the students in doing this. In an activity like a sorting activity, I
had to understand what an introduction looks like, and what might not constitute as a
strong introduction. When students felt that a fact was an introduction (as stated in my
reflection), I agreed to disagree with them, but did advocate for my beliefs. Without
strong content knowledge, I would not be able to do this. Indicator 4(1) states that the
educator “knows and uses the academic language of the discipline and how to guide
learners to accurate conceptual understanding.” This lesson not only involved teaching a
new concept, but also how to use a content-specific vocabulary word: introduction. After
this lesson, this language will be used with the students regularly.
Standard 7 addresses planning for instruction. The standard states: “the teacher draws
upon knowledge of content areas, cross-disciplinary skills, learners, the community, and

pedagogy to plan instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning
goals.” In other words, the educator must plan lessons for each content area that meet
both the standards required by their curriculum and state standards as well as
individuals’ goals. The teacher must use their background of content knowledge to
create meaningful lessons that cross subject areas and teach important content and
skills. As mentioned above, I had to have a strong understanding of the content I was
teaching to plan this lesson. But furthermore, I had to look at my students’ progress to
plan effective lessons, which was one of the reasons for teaching this lesson on writing
introductions. I noticed in my students’ writing that they did not introduce their topic
but instead jumped right in. The curriculum developed by Calkins, Mraz, & Golub
(2013) recommends teaching students about introductions, and introducing the text is
part of the rubric for the informational writing prompt. So, I planned my instruction
based on my content knowledge, my students’ needs, and the curricular requirements.
Indicator 7(l) states that the educator “individually and collaborative selects and creates
learning experiences that are appropriate for the curriculum goals and content
standards, and are relevant to learners.” As mentioned above, this lesson was planned
based on the curriculum used as well as the students’ needs. If every student already
wrote strong introductions, this lesson would not be relevant. But because students
were not writing strong introductions, I believed this was new information to them
making it relevant.
ISTE standard 11.4 addresses promoting and modeling digital citizenship and
responsibility. The standard states: “teachers understand local and global societal issues
and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior
in their professional practices” In other words, educators understand the responsibilities
that come with using technology and the importance of following both legal and ethical
codes. Furthermore, indicator 11.4(a) states educators will “advocate, model, and teach
safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for
copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.” By
using a video in this lesson, I modeled the legal and ethical use of technology in a couple
of ways. I gave credit where credit was due by sharing with students that by showing
this video I was sharing someone else’s work instead of my own. I also appropriately
used technology with students by watching the video for effectiveness and
appropriateness prior to showing the students the video.