Name: Stephanie Sawaya

Subject: English Language Arts

Grade Level: 1st/2nd

Writer’s Workshop: Narratives.

1. Standard:
 First Grade
o CCSS.ELA-WRITING.2.1: Write narratives in which they recount two or more
appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened,
use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure
 Second Grade
o CCSS.ELA-WRITING.2.1:  Write narratives in which they recount a well-
elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions,
thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a
sense of closure...
2. Instruction Resources and  Materials:
● Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, mini note pads, writing folders, paper, pens, markers, chart
paper, projector, clip art images.
3. Lesson Objective:
● The student will be able to write sequenced, detailed narratives by creating an anchor
chart.
● Academic Terms: narrative, sequence, powerful, inquiry, technique, feel.
5. Assessment
● Formative: Teacher observation
○ Listen in on partner share at the rug
○ Ask students to give thumbs up or thumbs down if they understand.
○ Conferences during independent work
● Summative: Final drafts of students’ “Real Life Stories”
5. Instructional Strategies and Learning Tasks
1. Anticipatory (5 min):
● Motivation:
○ Have students close their eyes while you retell a quick real like story.
○ My stomach was doing flips as I stood backstage with my choir. My choir
director put her hand on me and said “You’re going to be amazing
Stephanie, we’ve been practicing this song for months!”. I could hear the
audience members talk to one another, I felt so nervous as the whispers in
 the crowd grew silent. My teacher began leading my choir onto the stage, I
took a deep breath and stepped up to the front of the stage. My heart was
pounding in my chest THUMP THUMP THUMP. With shaky hands I
grabbed the microphone and waited for the music to begin. I opened my
mouth and began to sing “Somewhere over the rainbow”. When the song
was over the whole audience clapped and cheered, and I couldn’t help but
smile. I couldn’t believe it I had overcome my stage fright and sang my
first solo in front of hundreds of audience members! After the show my
parents met me outside and gave me flowers, it was truly the best day.
■ Were you able understand what Ms. Sawaya was
● Activate Prior Knowledge
○ Ask students to recall being detectives from the other day.
■ “Writers, for the past week we’ve been working on our “real life
stories”. For the past few weeks we’ve been zooming in on our
writing by talking about writing with detail on one small life story.
Think about one of your favorite moments that you zoomed in on.
Once you have that moment, think about the detective work you
did and what you added to make the story flow and make sense.
Now turn to your partner and discuss what you did to make your
story flow.”
2. Instruction and Modeling (10min):
● “Authors todays we are going to be detectives again and search for powerful
writing tools, Jane Yolen uses in her writing. Powerful means strong (do TPR).
We are going to look closely at Jane’s writing and see what parts we think are
powerful and well discover what, how, and why it’s powerful by being detectives.
● Put the picture book under the document camera. Open to page one of Owl Moon
(or play the video version of page one).
● Ask students to close their eyes while page one is read aloud. Pause the story and
talk about Jane Yolen’s powerful writing techniques (I do).
○ Be sure to discuss what you saw, heard, and felt through Jane’s writing.
■ Write them out on the document camera. Use pictures for
comprehensible input.
3. Guided Practice (20 min):
● “Authors, now as a class we are going to use inquiry. Inquiry is when we
investigate something, like scientists and detectives. Now do the hand motion
with me ‘inquiry, searching like a detective’ (use TPR). Today we will be
searching/looking for powerful parts from Owl Moon and investigate, ‘How did
the author write this?’ so that we can try this out in our own writing”
● Get out Owl Moon and begin looking at the text together as class, instead of
individually. (we do).
 ● “What powerful part should we study first? Let’s ask the questions ‘What is
powerful?’ and ‘Why is this part powerful?’.
● Lead the inquiry by prompting questions and focusing on how the author makes
their text so powerful.
● “Authors, as we reread this text think about why it is powerful”.
● Read the same portion again and then have students quietly turn to their partners
on the rug and do a partner share. “Turn and talk about what Jane Yolen does
here. What technique does she use?
● As a class create “Learning Writing Moves from Our Favorite Authors” Chart
with
○ What is powerful?
○ Why is it?
○ How is it done?
■ See
■ Hear
■ Feel
● Ask students questions and fill out the chart according to their responses.
● “Authors, if you want readers to feel like they are inside your story then you must
write about what you see, hear, and feel. Let’s do that together with our hand
motions (use TPR). Say it with me ‘See, hear, and feel.’”
● Send kids off to writer’s workshop “Real life stories”
○ Don’t forget to write about what you see, hear, and feel
○ Have a small group stay at the rug so we can conference all that we
learned and further expand on the lesson.
● Walk around and conference with students while they are working on their
writing to make sure there are “Jane-Yolen’ing” their text.
4. Closure (5 min):
● Have students share their writing and then discuss the positives.
5. Independent Practice:
● Have students recite their “real life” stories at home.
6. Inclusive Practices:
● ELL Student
○ Model all the activities myself so student will be able to watch and understand.
○ Teach using Total Physical Response.
○ Provide comprehensible input.
○ Meet in small group after lesson, for more guided practice.
● Hearing impaired student.
○ Place the book under the document camera to enlarge photos and text.
○ Use mini-mic when teaching.
○ Provide a lot of comprehensible input.