The Important Book

A First Grade Writing Lesson & Assessment

Amy Cattabriga October 7, 2012 University of New England

The lesson and assessments I have chosen to highlight are based around the story, The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown (1969). The objectives of the lesson are to cover topic development while prioritizing memorable details, linking introductions to conclusions and sequencing their thoughts. Students will be assessed on their oral participation in discussions about the story, including the details Brown highlights and the pattern she follows through each page of the book. They will also be assessed on their participation in the discussion that will follow the reading of the story, where they will be asked to brainstorm ideas with a partner, using the Think, Pair Share method (Reading Rockets, 2012), for their own Important Book, chosen from a predetermined topic; in this case, candy. The students will next complete a written assessment, consisting of a rough draft and a final copy, where they will create their own page of the Important Book following the model set by Brown. The purpose of the assessments is to ascertain the students' ability to recognize and communicate patterns and details from a text and generalize them in their own writing. From there the students can receive further instruction in writing development, recognizing patterns in the text or oral communication depending on their individual needs.

The Classroom: There are twenty-one full time students in P1, a first grade classroom. There are also three students from the ASD program who join the class for morning meeting, math warm up and special occasions, such as when stories are read aloud. There is one regular classroom teacher, a part-time paraprofessional and the three students from the ASD room come in with an paraprofessional as well. The students range in age from five years of age to eight years of age. The majority of the students come from low-income families. Of the twenty-four, five students are in foster care. Four students have IEP's and one is on a 504 plan. Three students have been diagnosed with ADHD and one student has Autism but spends the majority of the academic day in P1. All of the students have relatively low skills in writing and reading. Three students are pulled out twice a day to work in the

Resource Room during math and ELA intervention blocks, another five receive instruction from Title I teachers. Three of these eight pull out students also receive speech therapy twice a week and physical therapy once a week. Two students are eligible for the schools free tutoring sessions after school while another's family has hired a tutor for him to help him develop his reading skills. While all twenty-four students will be present for the story and the accompanying discussion, the three students from the ASD room will not be participating in the written assessment.

Assessments: Assessing a student's oral language abilities has two advantages: well developed language abilities and the ability to express oneself is a desirable skill and language processes and skills are often an underlying cause of other learning disabilities, such as reading disorders (Salvia, Ysseldyke & Bolt, 2012). While reading the story aloud the students will be asked to answer a variety of questions, such as "What other things can you say about this item?" and "Do you think that is what is most important about the item?" Responses will be on a volunteer basis. Following the story, the students will be asked to identify patterns in both the text and the illustrations, again on a volunteer basis. During this time the students' attendance to both the story and the discussion will be observed. Students will not be graded on their participation in the conversation as reasons for contributing or not contributing may vary. Some students tend to dominate a conversation while others might not want to speak for fear of being wrong (Chapman & King, 2012). By facilitating discussions about the story and the patterns used by Brown the students will be prepared to discuss and create their own page for the book. After being informed that they will be writing their own Important Book, students will be asked to participate in a Think, Pair, Share discussion where they will think about their topic of choice, a type of candy and its most important detail, discussing it with a partner and finally sharing it with the class (Reading Rockets, 2012). Students will be assessed on their ability to engage in the lesson, communicate with a classmate and stick to the topic at hand.

For their written assessment, the students will be split into two groups. Sixteen students will return to their tables to work independently. The remaining five students will sit at a table with a teacher, where they will still be expected to work independently but with assistance to organize their thoughts if necessary. The worksheets, developed by the classroom teachers specifically for the needs of these students, are differentiated in such a way that some students will get a "Think About" box with helpful hints about color and smell while others will get "Sentence Starters" to help them get their ideas on to the paper. Which worksheet the student receives is dependent upon both their IEP requirements and their individual ability to properly construct a sentence. The students will be assessed on their ability to complete their work in a timely manner, to stick to the assigned topic, create a neat final copy and also on their ability to create an illustration that matches their written paragraph.

Summary: The purpose of this lesson is two-fold. The students will be assessed on their written language skills, in accordance with the standards set forth by the state, but also on their ability to orally communicate their thoughts and opinions to their peers and teachers. The beauty of this lesson is how easily it can be differentiated. Students can be given "hints" to get their creative juices flowing, sentence starters or no additional assistance past the initial discussion, depending upon their skill level. The lesson can be accommodated for students who are either blind or deaf, as it deals with details of all kinds. And given that the illustrations match Brown's words so exactly, it can be used with ELL students, adding the accommodation to pointing out each detail as it is read aloud. The lesson can be developed one step further by having the students read their page from the Important Book aloud during an Author's Tea. The pages can be shared with their classmates or with other classes in the school. Sharing their work would further develop both their written and oral language skills, giving them self-confidence and a sense of ownership over their work.

References: Brown, M.W. (1969). The Important Book. HarperCollins Publishers. http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780064432276 Chapman, C., King, R. (2012). Differentiated assessment strategies: one tool doesn't fit all. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. Salvia, J., Ysseldyke, J., & Bolt, S. 2012. Assessment: in special and inclusive education, twelfth Edition. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Reading Rockets, 2012. Classroom Strategies: Think-Pair-Share. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think-pair-share/

The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown A first grade writing lesson Objective: To develop an idea, prioritizing memorable details and linking introductions to conclusions and sequencing while following the model developed by Margaret Wise Brown Key Concepts and Skills: 1. Idea Development - the writer's goal is to compose and prioritize memorable details as they write about their chosen or assigned topic 2. Organization - students create paragraphs about topics while writing to this prompt, and both linking introductions to conclusions and sequencing can be discussed to build better organizational skills Materials: The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown Worksheet 1, with and without modifications Drawing paper Colored pencils or crayons Small pieces of lined writing paper Scissors Glue The Lesson: Step 1 1. Introduce the story to the children, including the names of the author and illustrator. Ask the students what they think the book will be about. What does important mean? Also talk with the students about describing words (adjectives). 2. Before beginning the story tell the students that Brown uses a specific pattern in her writing, as does the illustrator. Tell them to pay attention so they can discuss it after you finish reading. 3. Read the story aloud to the children. Point to each specific detail Brown points out so that the students will recognize the vocabulary. For example: The important thing about a daisy is that it is white. (Point to the white petals) It is yellow in the middle, (Point to the yellow middle) it has long white petals, (Point to the white petals) and bees sit on it, (Point to the bee) it has a ticklish smell, it grows in green fields, (Point to the green leaves around the daisies) and there are always lots of daisies. (Point to several of the daisies) But the most important thing about a daisy is that it is white. (Point to the white petals) (Brown, 1969) Occasionally ask the students what other details they would include for the given topic or if they

agree with the author's choice for the most important detail of an object. 4. After reading the story ask the students what patterns they noticed. They should recognize that each descriptive paragraph began and ended with the same idea, the most important thing about the object. The details in the middle also describe the object but they are not what makes a daisy a daisy (or a spoon a spoon, etc.). The students should also notice the pattern in the illustrations where the pages go from full color to black and white. 5. Also discuss the adjectives Brown used to describe each object. Talk about how each one relates back to the object and isn't some random descriptive word. 6. As a group determine the pattern of the text. The most important thing about ______ is that it is ____. It is ____, and it is _____, and _____, and it is ______ ________and it _______________. But the most important thing about ______ is that it is ____. 7. As a group, pick an object from around the classroom (or a student) and describe it, writing a new verse for the story. For example: The most important thing about Mollie is that she is kind. She is tall, and she is funny, and smart, and she is always helpful and she listens to what we say. But the most important thing about Mollie is that she is kind. 8. Tell the students that they will be making their own Important Book. Each student will choose a type of candy and will describe it using the pattern on the worksheet. They will then illustrate their candy on the drawing paper and copy their paragraph on the lined paper, gluing it onto the illustration to mimic a page from the book. 9. Before the students begin their rough drafts have them do a Think-Pair-Share. Tell them to think about their favorite candy. After a few moments ask them to share their favorite candy with a classmate and discuss its most important detail. Finally, go around the room and ask each student to share their candy choice and what they think is most important about it. Remind the students not to "yuck someone's yum". 10. Break the students up into groups and pass out the appropriate worksheet to each student. Remind the students that these are rough drafts and will go in the recycling bin when they are finished so it does not have to be perfect. Collect the worksheets when the students are finished. If there is time, they should begin working on their illustration. 11. After reading through the rough drafts and correcting any major errors, discussing it with the student when necessary, return them to the students along with lined paper and have them create their final copy. Trim the final copy to size and have the students glue it to their illustration to mimic a page from the book.

Name:______________________________________________________

The Important Book

Think about: Color Smell Touch/Feel Shape Taste

What can you do with it? Where do you find it?

The most important thing about ________________________ is that it is ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. Detail #1: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. Detail #2: _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. Detail #3: _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. But the most important thing about ________________________ is that it is ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________.

Name:______________________________________________________

The Important Book

Sentence starters: It is (color) It feels like It tastes like

It smells like

It is shaped like

You can ____________ with it.

The most important thing about ________________________ is that it is ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. Detail #1: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. Detail #2: _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. Detail #3: _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________. But the most important thing about ________________________ is that it is ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________.

Name:________________________________________________ Discussion Rubric: The student Makes relevant and accurate contributions Discusses the information fluently Communicates appropriately with peers Is able to remain on topic Is able to communicate the most important detail about the topic Scores 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1

Writing Rubric

The student Completes their work in the assigned time frame Sticks to the assigned topic Creates a neat final copy Creates an illustration that matches their words.

Scores 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1

4 Exceeds (student goes above and beyond expectations) 3 Meets (student meets expectations) 2 Below (student does not meet expectations) 1 Fail (no attempt) Comments: _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________