LinguisticLessonSeries

Name:RichardPhillips
Date:July29,2015
Instructor:Dr.Witte
Demographic:25students12thgrade

Title:
GrammarinEssays,howtoimproveyourwritingabilities.

Purpose/Rationale
:Thissetofminilessonswillbecompletedoverfivedays.Theywillfocus
onimprovingstudentgrammar,punctuation,andessaywritingability.Atthispointintheir
writingcareers,studentsshouldbeabletocreateawellroundedessaythatisstructurallyand
grammaticallysoundinthecorrecttone.Knowinghowtostructureanessaywillhelpstudents
furtherintotheireducationalcareer,aswellasimprovetheirwritingnow.Theselessonswill
takeplaceina12thgradeclass.Theselessonsareappropriateforstudentsastheyshouldalready
havebeenintroducedtotheelementsbeingtaught,sofullclassperiodsshouldnotbenecessary
inorderforstudentstorefamiliarizethemselveswiththeideasbeingtaught.Basedontheessays
reviewedhowever,itappearsthatitisnecessarytoreviewtheelementsofessaywriting,as
studentsseemtobehavingtroublewithsomeofthebasicelementsofessaywriting.

FloridaStandards

LAFS.1112.L.1.1
DemonstratecommandoftheconventionsofstandardEnglishgrammarandusagewhenwriting
orspeaking.
a. Applytheunderstandingthatusageisamatterofconvention,canchangeovertime,and
issometimescontested.
b. Resolveissuesofcomplexorcontestedusage,consultingreferences(e.g.,
MerriamWebstersDictionaryofEnglishUsage,GarnersModernAmericanUsage)
as
needed.

LAFS.1112.W.2.4
Produceclearandcoherentwritinginwhichthedevelopment,organization,andstyleare
appropriatetotask,purposeandaudience.

LAFS.1112.W.2.5
Developandstrengthenwritingasneededbyplanning,revising,editing,rewriting,ortryinga
newapproach,focusingonaddressingwhatismostsignificantforaspecificpurposeand
audience.

Objectives:

Aftercompletingtheminilessons,SWBAT:

createathesisstatement

demonstratebasiccontrolofEnglishwriting

correctlyutilizedifferenttonesinessays

identifygrammarmistakesinwriting

createawellstructuredfiveparagraphessay

utilizecorrectsubjectverbagreement

differentiatebetweenthepassiveandactivevoice

Day1:VloggingwithJohnGreen
AdaptedfromRebeccaHarwoodsLessonPlan.

Materials:
ComputerandprojectortopullupJohnGreens
38CommonSpellingandGrammarErrors
for
classroomviewing.
Penandnotebookforwritingnotes

AnticipatorySet:
Theteacherwillwriteontheboard:Whydoyouthinkgrammarisimportant?Doyouthink
communicatingwithgrammariseasierorharderthancommunicatingwithoutit?Whyorwhy
not?Canyouthinkofanyexampleswheregrammarmayhavebeenhelpful?

TeachingStrategy/Procedure/Activity:

Time

Studentisdoing

Teacherisdoing

71/2minutes

WatchingtheJohnGreen

Tellingstudentstotakenotes

video.Writingdownanything onanythingtheyfind
theyfindinterestingfromthe

interestinginthevideo.

videointheirnotebooks.

Playingthevideoand
monitoringstudentstomake
suretheyarepayingattention.

3minutes

Studentsaresharingtheir

Theteacheriscallingon

opinionsaboutthevideo.

studentstoshareanythoughts

Sharinganythingtheyfound

theymayhaveonthevideo

interestingorfunnyand

andaskingthemiftheyhave

sharinganyofthegrammar

adifferentviewofgrammar

mistakesthattheyhavebeen

fromwatchingthevideo.The

pronetocommit.

teacheriscallingonstudents
toshareiftheyhaveever

madeanyofthesegrammar
mistakeswithoutrealizingit.
41/2minutes

Thestudentswillsharetheir

Theteacherisfacilitating

answersaboutthepromptin

discussionaroundthe

theanticipatorysetnowthat

promptsoftheanticipatory

theyhavewatchedthevideo.

set.

Summary/Closure:

Studentswilldiscussinsmallgroupshowgrammaticalerrorssuchastheonestheysawtoday
canimpacttheirwriting,specificallytheiressaywritings.

Assessment:

FormalAssessment:
N/A
InformalAssessment:
Theteacherwillmonitorstudentstomakesuretheyareparticipatingin
discussionandwatchingthevideo.

Homework/followupassignment:

N/A

Accommodations/adaptations:

GiftedStudent:Thegiftedstudentwillbechallengedtocreatealongerresponsetothe
anticipatorypromptinanessayformatinordertokeepthestudentmotivatedandimprovetheir
essaywritingskills.

StudentwithADHD:Studentwillbeallowedtomovearoundthebackoftheclassiffeeling
distracted.

StudentwithADHD/Anxiety/OCD:Teacherwillputstructureofclassonboardinorderto
facilitatestudentsanxiety.

ELLstudents:Studentswillbeallowedtoworkwithstudentstheyarecomfortablewithifthey
cannotunderstandthevideo.


Attachments/Appendices:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRMRCeQBAKI
38CommonSpellingandGrammar
Errors.

Citations:
Harwood,R.(n.d.).GPCMiniLesson.RetrievedJuly25,2015,from
http://flippedclassroomfsu.weebly.com/gpcminilesson.html


Day2:FromSplicetoNiceFANBOYStotheRescue.

Adaptedfrom
MechanicallyInclined
byJeffAnderson.

Materials:
Excerptsoftextfrom
TheHouseoftheScorpion
Projector
ProjectorTransparency
Transparencymarkers
Notebook
Pen

TheHouseoftheScorpion

AnticipatorySet:
Ontheprojectorwillbeafewsentencesfrom
TheHouseoftheScorpion
withoutcoordinating
conjunctions.Theclasswilllookatthesentences,andasagroup,identifyeachsentencestwo
subjectsandverbs.

Teaching

Strategy/Procedure/Activity:
Time

Studentisdoing

Teacherisdoing

Studentiscompleting
anticipatoryset.

Teacherisfacilitating
studentstotherealizationthat
thesentencesaremissing
theirconjunctions.

8minutes

Studentischoosingbest
FANBOYSforeach
sentence,insertingthenew
coordinatingconjunctions,
anddiscussingwhytheywere
chosen.

Teacherisaskingstudentsto
helpchoosethebest
FANBOYSforeach
sentence.Teacherisasking
studentsWhichonesounds
better?Why?

5minutes

Studentisaddingcompound
sentencestotheirnotebooks.
Studentislookingforcomma
splicesin
TheHouseofthe

Teacherfacilitating
discussionofcommasplices.
Teacherisaskingquestions
suchasWhymightan

2minutes

Scorpion
.Studentis
discussingwhyacomma
spliceisused.

authorbreaktherules
regardingcommasplices?
Doesitwork?

Summary/Closure:
Teacherandstudentswilldiscussthat,whenwritingforunknownorformalaudiences,itisbest
toavoidcommasplicesaltogether.Studentswillbegintocorrectsentencesbyreplacing
commaswithasemicolonoracoordinatingconjunction.

Assessment:
FormalAssessment:Notebookswillbecollectedfortencompletionpoints
InformalAssessment:Studentswillbemonitoredbasedonparticipationindiscussion.

Homework:
N/A

Accommodations/Adaptations:

GiftedStudent:Studentwillbeaskedtofindexamplesofcommasplicesinherfavoritebooks.

StudentwithADHD:Studentwillbeallowedtomovearoundthebackoftheclassroomif
feelingdistracted.

StudentwithADHD/Anxiety/OCD:Studentwillbeplacednearfrontoftheclassroomnear
teachersdesk.Thedaysagendawillbewrittenontheboardtoeaseanxiety.

ELLstudents:StudentswillbegivenaSpanish/Englishdictionarysotheycanlookupanywords
theyareunfamiliarwith.Teacherwillgiveextraattentiontomakesurestudentsare
understandingthematerial.

Citations:

Anderson,J.(2005).Mechanicallyinclinedbuildinggrammar,usage,andstyleintowriter's
workshop.Portland,Me.:Stenhouse.
Farmer,Nancy.
TheHouseoftheScorpion
.NewYork:AtheneumforYoungReaders,2002.
Print.

Day3:ChoosingtheBestVerb:AnActiveandPassiveVoiceMiniLesson
AdaptedfromReadThinkWrite

Materials:
Computers
ActiveandPassiveVoiceDefinitionHandout
Pen
Paper

AnticipatorySet:
Teacherwillhandoutthebasicdefinitionsofactiveandpassivevoice.Studentswillthenbe
taskedtoexplorewebsiteslookingforexamplesoftheactiveandpassivevoice.

Teaching

Strategy/Procedure/Activity:
Time

Studentisdoing

Teacherisdoing

2minutes

StudentisreadingtheActive
andPassiveVoiceDefinition
Handout,askingany
questionstheymayhave
aboutit.

Teacherishandingout
definitionsheet,answering
anyquestionsstudentsmay
haveaboutthedefinitions.

10minutes

Studentisgoingtowebsites
lookingforexamplesofthe
passiveandactivevoice.
Studentiswritingexamples
downtoshareingroupslater.

Teacherisexplainingthat
studentbegoingtowebsites
lookingforexamplesofboth
thepassiveandactivevoice.
Theymaygotoanyschool
safewebsite.

3Minutes

Studentisgatheringintoa
smallgrouptodraw
conclusionsaboutwhenand
howtheverbsareused.

Teacherismonitoringgroup
discussiontomakesure
studentsareontaskand
discussingthetopicathand.

Summary/Closure:
Studentswillbetaskedtolookatessaystheyhavewritteninthepast,checkingforactiveand
passivevoice.

Accommodations/Adaptations:
GiftedStudent:Studentwillbeaskedtochangetheexamplesofthepassiveandactivevoiceshe
foundintotheoppositevoice.

StudentwithADHD:Studentwillbeallowedtotakeperiodicbreaksthroughoutassignmentin
ordertomovearoundcomputerlabifnecessary.

StudentwithADHD/Anxiety/OCD:Studentwillbeallowedtotakeperiodicbreaksthroughout
theclass.Studentwillalsobebriefedonwhatwillhappenduringclasssotheyknowwhatto
expect.

ELLstudents:Studentswillbeallowedtouseatranslatorwebsiteifnecessary.Teacherwillpay
extraattentiontomakesurestudentsunderstandthelesson.

Attachments:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson280/grammatically_definitio
ns.html

Citations:

Fishburn,Haley."ChoosingtheBestVerb:AnActiveandPassiveVoiceMinilesson."
ReadThinkWrite
.NCTE,n.d.Web.25July2015.

Day4:ThesisStatements
ideaadaptedfrom
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/highschoolenglishlessons/20762thesisstatementlesson
plan/
Materials:
Pen
Paper
Thesisexampleshandout

AnticipatorySet:
Ontheboardwillbethedefinitionofagoodthesisstatement:
Presentsyouropinionsorthoughtsonasubjectoranissue.
Containsasubject+anopinion
Answersthetopicquestion
Doesnotcontainstatementssuchas
inmyopinion,Ibelieve,Ithink

Teaching

Strategy/Procedure/Activity:
Time

Studentisdoing

Teacherisdoing

2minutes

Studentisdiscussingthe
definitionofagoodthesis
statementwiththeclass.

Teacherishandingoutthesis
examples.Teacheris
facilitatingdiscussionabout
thesisstatements.

5minutes

Studentisgoingoverthe
handout,discussingwhat
makeseachexamplebador
goodwiththeirgroup

Teacherismakingsure
studentsgetintogroupsof
45.Teacherismakingsure
studentsarediscussingthe
examplesonthehandout.

10Minutes

Studentiswritingexamples
ofgoodthesisstatements.

Teacherisdirectingstudents
towritefivegoodthesis
statementsontheirown.

Summary/Closure:
Studentswillsharetheirbestexamplesofathesisstatement.Otherstudentswillcommenton
whatisgoodaboutthestatements,orhowtheywouldimprovethestatements.


Assessment:
FormalAssessment:Studentthesisstatementswillbecollectedfortencompletionpoints.
InformalAssessment:Studentswillbemonitoredfordiscussioningroupactivities.

Homework:
Studentswillbeaskedtocreateastrongthesisstatementfortheirupcomingessayson
The
HouseoftheScorpion.

Accommodations/Adaptations:

GiftedStudent:Studentwillbeaskedtocreatetenthesisstatementsinsteadoffive.

StudentwithADHD:Studentwillbeallowedtotakeperiodicbreaksandwalkaroundthe
classroomifneeded.

StudentwithADHD/Anxiety/OCD:Thedaysagendawillbewrittenontheboardforthe
studenttosee.Studentwillbeallowedtotakeperiodicbreaksduringtheassignmentas
necessary.

ELLstudents:StudentswillbegivenaccesstoaSpanish/Englishdictionarytobeusedattheir
discretion.Studentswillbeallowedtocompleteclassassignmentforhomeworkifnecessary.

Attachements:

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/highschoolenglishlessons/20762thesisstatementlesson
plan/

ThesisStatementExamples

Agoodthesisstatementisshortandsimple:itshouldbenolongerthanonesentence,regardlessof
essaylength.

GoodExample:
Successisaresultofdoingtherightthingsconsistently.

BadExample:
Inaworldfullofsuccessgurusandbooksaboutsuccess,itbecomesever
somoreimportanttodelineatetheonetraitthatultimatelydeterminessuccess:doingthe
rightthingsconsistently.

Agoodthesisstatementislimitedtoonemainidea.

Goodexample:
Thekeytosuccessfuldietingisfocusingonaspecificgoal.

Badexample:T
hekeytosuccessfuldietingisfocusingonaspecificgoal,whichisalso
thekeytosuccessfullyrunningabusinessandcoachingafootballteam.

Agoodthesisstatementis
adeclarativesentencewithnoqualifiers

(might,maybe,perhaps
,etc.):

Goodexample:
LebronJames'abilitytoscore,pass,andreboundmakehimtheleague's
mostvaluableplayer.

Badexample:
DoesLebronJames'abilitytoscore,pass,andreboundmakehimthe
league'smostvaluableplayer?

BadExample:
LebronJames'abilitytoscore,pass,andreboundjustmightmakehimthe
league'smostvaluableplayer.

Day5:TheFiveParagraphEssay

Materials:
Pen
Paper
Essayoutlinehandout
Essaypromptshandout
Projector
AnticipatorySet:
Theteacherwillintroducethesubjectofthe5paragraphessayandwhyitisvaluabletostudents.
TheteacherwillwriteontheboardexamplessuchastheGEDwrittenexam,letters,business
reports,anEnglishpapers.Theteacherwillthenwritethedefinitionoftone,mood,andaudience
ontheboardforreferences:
Tone:generallyanemotionofthewritingironic,comic,satire
Mood:Thefeelingthereaderissupposedtofeel
Audience:Whomisthispiecedirectedat?

Teaching

Strategy/Procedure/Activity:
Time

Studentisdoing

Teacherisdoing

2minutes

Studentisdiscussingthe
Teacherishandingoutessay
outlineofa5paragraphessay outlinehandout.Teacheris
withtheclass.
handingoutessayprompt
ideas.

7minutes

Studentisgoingoverthe
outlinehandout.Intheir
groups,studentsarefillingin
theoutlinehandoutbasedon
thepromptgiven.

Teacherismakingsure
studentsgetintogroupsof
45.Teacheriswriting
promptontheboard:
Is
listeningmoreimportantthan
speakingwhenyouaretryingto
persuadeothers?Planandwritean
essayinwhichyoudevelopyour
pointofviewonthisissue.Support
yourpositionwithreasoningand
examplestakenfromyourreading,
studies,experience,or

observations.
Teacherismaking

surestudentsareontask,
fillingouttheoutlinehandout
accordingtotheabove
prompt.
6Minutes

Studentsaresharingand
discussingtheiroutlineswith
theclass.

Teacherismakingsure
studentsarebeingconsiderate
ofclassmatesandthatthey
aregivingconstructive
feedback.Teacherisputting
eachgroupsoutlinesonthe
projectorsotheentireclass
canreadthem.

Summary/Closure:
Studentswillbegintowritetheirfiveparagraphessayon
TheHouseoftheScorpion
usingtheir
thesisstatementcreatedforhomeworkandtheoutlinetheyreceivedinclasstoday.

Assessment:
FormalAssessment:Eachgroupsoutlinewillbecollectedfor10completionpoints.
InformalAssessment:Studentswillbemonitoredfordiscussioningroupactivities.

Homework:
Studentswillwritetheirfirstroughdraftoftheirfiveparagraphessayon
TheHouseofthe
Scorpion
whichwillbeduethefollowingweek.

Accommodations/Adaptations:

GiftedStudent:Studentwillbeaskedtocreatethesisstatementsfortheirgroupsoutline.

StudentwithADHD:Studentwillbeallowedtotakeperiodicbreaksandwalkaroundthe
classroomifneeded.

StudentwithADHD/Anxiety/OCD:Thedaysagendawillbewrittenontheboardforthe
studenttosee.Studentwillbeallowedtotakeperiodicbreaksduringtheassignmentas
necessary.

ELLstudents:StudentswillbegivenaccesstoaSpanish/Englishdictionarytobeusedattheir
discretion.

Attachements:

SATEssayPrompts:
https://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/satreasoning/prep/essayprompts

FiveParagraphEssayOutline: