Ashley Reardon

October 20, 2016

Susan Jill Cord
E339
Lesson Plan #4 Expository Writing
Title of the Lesson: Its Your Birthday!
Academic Objectives: Students will be able to interview, use resources, write about the
information he or she found, and present his or her findings to the class.
Key Concepts and Academic Standards:
Standard 4 (Writing: Process)
4.4.1 Find ideas for writing in conversations with others and in books, magazines,
newspapers, school textbooks, or on the Internet. Keep a list or notebook of ideas.
4.4.5 Quote or paraphrase information sources, citing them appropriately.
4.4.7 Use multiple reference materials and online information (the Internet) as aids to
writing.
Standard 5 (Writing: Applications)
4.5.3 Write information reports that: ask a central question about an issue or situation;
including facts and details for focus; use more than one source of information,
including

speakers, books, newspapers, media sources, and online information.

Standard 7 (Listening and Speaking: Skills, Strategies, and Applications)

4.7.5 Present effective introductions and conclusions that guide and inform the listeners
understanding of important ideas and details
Approximate Duration of the Lesson: This lesson should take about an hour
Materials Needed for Implementation of the Lesson:

Computer or tablet
http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/

Key Vocabulary:
Expository writing writing that describes, explains, and informs readers about a specific topic
Interview where someone questions another person to gain information
Instructional Steps Utilized:
1. I will start by asking the students for different ways to find out information.
2. Next, I will explain that the students will be conducting an interview with his or her
parents or someone else that was there the day he or she was born (in the case of an
adoption; the student can either ask his or her guardian/family if they were involved in
the process from the start, contact the birth family (if legal guardians are comfortable
with it,) or talk about the day that he or she was adopted into the family.)
3. I will the show them the website http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/ and show them how
to use it, by using my birthday as an example.
4. Then, I will inform the students that they will be writing a paper about the day they were
born by using information collected from their interview and from
http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/.
5. I will do a short run through and example of what I will be looking for.
a. The students will have to interview someone about their birthday

b. List (level 1 depth of knowledge) facts found on

http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/
c. They will then create (level 4 depth of knowledge) a paper with an introduction,
two bodies, and a conclusion
d. In the students bodies they will summarize (level 2 depth of knowledge) the
information he or she gathered.
e. The students will also have to cite the evidence (level 3 depth of knowledge) they
are writing about.
i. Cite by saying blank said this or according to
ii. The student must be able to say where he or she got the information
6. Finally, the students will have time to research fun facts about their birthday in class.
Culminating Activity/Activities:
I will start this lesson at the end of the school week and will expect the students to conduct their
interview over the weekend. The students will then have time in class throughout the week to
work on the assignment, and finish researching if needed. On the following week the students
will present their findings to the class by reading their paper.
Assessment Methods:
The students will be graded based on the rubric provided.

Rubric for Ms. Reardons Birthday Paper

10 Points

5 Points

0 Points

There is an introduction
present

The introduction has

an attention getting
device and explains
what the paper will
be about

The introduction is
present, but does not
have an attention
getting device or it
does not explain
what the paper will
be about

There is a paragraph
There is a paragraph
dedicated to the
that is mostly
information gathered
dedicated to the
from an interview
information gathered
and is used
from an interview
appropriately
There is a paragraph
There is a paragraph
that is mostly
There is a body paragraph
dedicated to the
dedicated to the
about the information
information gathered information gathered
gathered form
from
from
www.mybirthdayfacts.com
mybirthdayfacts.co
mybirthdayfacts.co
m
m
There is a body paragraph
about the information
gathered from the
interview

There is no
introduction

There is no
paragraph dedicated
to information
gathered from an
interview
There is now
paragraph dedicated
to information
gathered from
mybirthdayfacts.co
m

The resources are cited in

the paper

The whole paper

was properly cited
throughout the paper

Citations were used

most of the time

Citations were not

used at all

There is a conclusion
present

The conclusion
restates what the
paper was about

The conclusion did

not do a good job
restating what the
paper was about

There is no
conclusion

The paper had some

mistakes and/or was
confusing

There were a lot of

mistakes and the
paper did not make
sense

An interview took
place

No interview was
conducted

The student found

some facts from
mybirthdayfacts.co

No research was
conducted using
mybirthdayfacts.co

The paper had few

mistakes and makes sense

A copy of the interview is

turned in
A copy of a list of facts
gathered from
www.mybirthdayfacts.com

There were few, if

any, mistakes and
the paper made
sense
A good interview
was conducted and
recorded in a neat
fashion
The student
conducted research
on

mybirthdayfacts.co
m and there are
interesting facts

A sloppy copy is turned in

The student tried

hard on their first
draft of this paper

The student wrote

the sloppy copy in a
hurried manner and
did not put forth
much effort

No sloppy copy was

turned in

Edited versions are turned

in

The student revised

his or her own paper
and also had a friend
edit the paper

The student revised

his or her own paper

No edited version
was turned in

is turned in

(100 possible points)

Birthday Paper (Tier One)

Name_________________________

Conduct at least two interviews with someone that was present on the day you were born and
find facts form http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/. In your paper include an introduction, a body
paragraph for the interviews, a body paragraph for the facts, and a conclusion.

Birthday Paper (Tier Two)

Name_________________________

Conduct at least two interviews with someone that was present on the day you were born and
find some fun facts from http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/ about your birthday. In your
interview make sure you ask questions like where?, when?, what was happening?, and a unique
fact. In your paper include an introduction that states what the paper will be about, a different
body for each interview conducted, a body paragraph for the fun facts that were found, and a
conclusion that restates your introduction.

Birthday Paper (Tier Three)

Name_________________________

Conduct an interview with someone that was present on the day you were born
(mom, dad, grandparent, godparent, ect.) and find some fun facts from
http://www.mybirthdayfacts.com/ about your birthday (top song, top movies, if
anyone died, ect.). In your paper include an introduction that states what the paper
will be about, a body paragraph for the interviews conducted, a body paragraph for
the fun facts that were found, and a conclusion that restates your introduction.
Below are some examples to ask about your birthday:

What was the day like (sunny, stormy, ect.)?

What time was I born?
Where was I born (state, city, hospital)?
Was there anything big going on at the time (world event)?
Was there any unique thing that happened?