Writing differentiated plans: An elementary writing example

1 Writing differentiated plans: An elementary Writing exampleHere is an example of an elementary Writing lesson plan , followed by possibleaccommodations to meet student needs. Many of the accommodations would workin any Writing s a narrative piece ( , myth/legend, fantasy, adventure) creatingrelationships among setting, characters, theme, and a variety of drafting strategies for both narrative and informationaltext ( , graphic organizers, such as story maps, webs, Venn diagrams) in order togenerate, sequence, and structure ideas ( , plot, connecting time, setting, conflicts,resolutions, definition/description, chronological sequence).AssignmentDuring a genre study of fantasy, students are asked to write a fantasy of their are provided an assignment grid to help them organize and understand therequirements of the task. To help students structure their work and self-monitorcompletion of the requirements they are provided a checklist.

2 This checklist can be usednot just for self-evaluation, but also for use in peer editing. Both of these are in additionto providing the rubric that will be used in evaluation and requiring students to REQUIREMENTSSETTINGYour fantasy must have a vivid , setting is not just where thestory takes place, but when as fantasy must have at least threecharacters. Remember, it is important tomake your characters memorable. Use lotsof vivid words to make your characterscome to life!PLOTYour fantasy must have a beginning,middle, and end. Remember that having aconflict (problem) in your story and aresolution (solution to the problem) willhelp you develop your beginning, middle,and are at least two elements of fantasyin this story. Remember, fantasy means itis something that could not possiblyhappen in the real world .happen in the real world .FANTASY CHECKLISTR emember, your assignment is not complete unless you can check yes for fantasy has a solidsetting.

3 It is clear whereand when this fantasy setting is vivid. Youcan picture where andwhen the fantasy takesplace. (It gives you a clearmental picture.)There are three characters inthis three characters arebold, vivid characters. Youcan picture them in yourmind and easily fantasy has abeginning, middle, and flows and is fantasy has a fantasy has a are at least twoelements of fantasy in following questions about the is the setting for this fantasy? Where and when does this story take place?_____Who are the three characters in this fantasy? Write the name of the character onthe first line and then a brief description of the character on the lines that describe the conflict in this describe the resolution in this are two elements of fantasy in this story?1. _____2. _____Accommodations and Modifications for At Risk studentsThe following is a list of possible accommodations and modifications to the lessonallowing for differentiation for At Risk students.

4 Teacher evaluation of student needsshould be used to inform instruction. Partner/Group Write- Allowing students to collaborate on the writingassignment. Students mutually share their thoughts and ides for the grouping is very beneficial in this instance. When doing a groupwrite it is often beneficial to assign each student a role in the group. Partner orgroup Writing is often helpful with students who experience difficulties placingthoughts on paper or organizing their ideas into Writing . Provide sentence or paragraph starters- This strategy is also helpful withstudents who struggle with the organization of their Writing . Provide a variety of graphic organizers ( character maps, plot maps,conflict/resolution charts, flow charts, etc.)- Samples of these can be found onprograms such as Kidspiration , also on the . Extensive modeling and practice shouldbe given with all graphic organizers starting at the beginning of the year so allstudents feel comfortable selecting and utilizing graphic organizers of theirchoice.

5 Allow use of a computer or provide an opportunity for student to dictatetheir assignment- This is helpful for those students who struggle with fine motorskills and become frustrated Writing . This helps their focus remain on theirthoughts and ideas and not on physically placing words on paper. Provide picture dictionaries and high frequency word dictionaries- Thisallows students who struggle with spelling or become distracted by the technicalaspects of Writing to immediately access words for their Writing . Reduce the length expectation or amount of requirements- For some studentsit may be helpful to reduce the amount of material they need to cover. In thisassignment, for example , you might ask students to focus on making sure theyhave one element of fantasy in their story and a detailed setting. Allow student to write a rebus story- A rebus story is a story written throughpictures.

6 Students draw the events in the story. Once students have completedthis step, in some cases you may want them to write the story once they have thepicture representation complete. This option often helps students better organizetheir thoughts and ideas. It is another great strategy for students who struggleputting thoughts and words on paper. Mini-lessons- Mini-lessons are very helpful for targeting specific weaknesses thatneed to be addressed. Mini-lessons are generally no more than thirty minuteslong and focus on one specific skill. These lessons may be taught whole-class orto small groups who need further work or reinforcement with a skill. Break the large assignment into a series of smaller assignments- With thisstrategy you might assign a Writing piece one paragraph at a time. They mightwrite the introduction or first paragraph for their first assignment.

7 Guided Writing - This is especially helpful to develop specific areas of a writingpiece. For example , if you wanted students to more fully develop their setting,you would do a guided Writing focusing on that area. In guided Writing , studentsare given a series of verbal prompts and compose a paragraph one or twosentences at a time. The teacher might say, Close your eyes and picture yourselfin the setting of your story. Look around you, describe what you see using vividadjectives . Peer Editing- Peer editing can be very valuable. Often, it is the students in theclassroom who are the best teachers! Students are placed in partners or groups ofthree if necessary. They use the rubric with which they will be graded as well asthe checklist provided to give support to their peers in their Writing . This is verybeneficial to those At Risk students who are social learners.

8 It is important thatrules and procedures are established so all students feel comfortable workingtogether, sharing their Writing , and reading the Writing of their peers.