Writers Craft
4^th grade
Daralyn Lee 

Standard:  Language Arts:  Use rhetorical devices to craft writing appropriate to audience and purpose.

Benchmark:  I can produce writing that uses languages that is clear, colorful, and natural.

Instructional Goal:  To demonstrate how students can develop their writing with specific information that shows, rather than tells, the reader what is happening.

Rationale:  It is important for students to improve on their writing techniques.

Objectives:  SWBAT brainstorm ideas to create a descriptive paragraph that shows rather than tells.

Instructional Procedures:

·        Focusing event:  Teacher demonstrating the technique of “show not tell”

1.      Put up the overhead with the sentence “Miss Lee was angry.”

2.      Tell the students that I am going to do some actions and I would like them to pay close attention to what I do.

3.      Begin by rapping the desk with a ruler and shouting, “One more sound and everyone is staying in for recess!”  Stomp to the chalkboard, scowl, and cross my arms.  “I heard someone laughing!  All right, 50 math problems for homework.”

4.      Turn around and as myself ask them to describe the previous scenario.

·        Management strategies:  If class is too rowdy, raise my hand to get everyone’s attention.

5.      Write down their responses on the overhead.

6.      Read their descriptions out loud.  Ask students to compare their descriptions to the original sentence, “Miss Lee was angry.”

7.      Explain that the sentence “Miss Lee was angry” is writing that tells, but their descriptions of my actions show a reader what a character is like or what is happening.

8.      Point out that a good writer shows the reader rather than just tells the reader.

9.      Have the students practice the technique together with the sentence:  “The stray dog was dirty.”

10.  Tell them to imagine seeing a dirty dog at the park and describe what he looks like or what he is doing.

11.  Write down the students’ responses on the overhead.

12.  Put up the slide with the sample sentences.

13.  The students are going to create a paragraph describing the actions to the sentences that tell.

14.  Criteria for activity:  Students will have 30 minutes to write a minimum of 3 sentences describing a sentence.  They can either choose one of the sample sentences or they can make up one of their own.

Formative Checks:  Make sure the students are not talking and are paying attention.

Closure:  Students will share their paragraphs with the class.

Evaluation:  Did the students get the general idea of the lesson?

Student Assessment:  The written paragraphs describing the sentence that tells.

Management Strategies:

·        Wait until all students are listening before starting.

·        Describe expectations for the lesson at the beginning of the lesson.

Teacher Assessment:  What worked?  What didn’t?  Next time I might try…