Unit Plan

Writer's Workshop Unit Plan- Bats - Lesson Details

In this section are explanations and descriptions of some of the strategies and lessons from the writing unit.

Much of the GLAD strategy description is from Santa Ana Unified School District website.

See the Artifacts section for pictures of some of the strategies as well as student work.

Click on a link to jump to the week you wish to see, or scroll down to view them all.

Week 1: Lesson Plans - 2 Day Lessons

  • T-Chart for Social Skills
    Purpose:
    • Students identify good behavior
    • They verbalize and internalize appropriate behavior
    • More meaningful to the students than teacher-imposed rules
    • Sets standards for cooperative groups and develops social skills
    • All statements are in positive terms
    Process:
    • Focus on social skill: cooperation.
    • Brainstorm the meaning of the word with children and record on the web
    • Brainstorm what behaviors you would see, and what specific words you would hear if a person were behaving in that way
    • Revisit the t-graph often with students to add behaviors that have been observed
  • Introduce and Implement 10:2 or CHUNK & CHEW throughout lessons.
    Purpose:
    • 1. Backed by brain research
    • Presented by Art Costa
    • Reinforced by Long, Swain, and Cummins, who state that it is important to allow at least 2 minutes of student processing for every 10 minutes of teacher input
    • Negotiating for meaning
    • Low-risk environment to try new vocabulary and concepts
    Process:
    • Teach students turn and face a partner whenever you indicate it is time for a 10:2.
    • Teach students to take turns answering the question you provide.
    • Teach students the quiet signal, such as hand in the air, you will use to indicate when it is time to face you again.
    • Use 10:2s whenever you are providing input (big books, pictorials, narratives) for or soliciting information from (sentence patterning children, process grid, editing co-op).
  • Introduce and Implement Super Scientist Awards
    Purpose:
    • Behavioral management tool
    • Connected to the standards
    • Individual personal standards
    • Make good decisions
    • Show respect
    • Solve your own problems
    Process:
    • Use real pictures/photos related to the unit.
    • Label the pictures with unit vocabulary.
    • Teacher and students specify what the student did to earn the award.
    • Enlist the help of students to give awards and verbalize positive behaviors.
  • Read Big Book of Bats
    Purpose
    • Directly focus on content standards of the unit
    • Imbed important concepts and vocabulary
    • Expose students to comprehensible expository text
    • Patterned text gives access to all students
    Process
    • Choose key concepts and vocabulary.
    • Choose a frame or pattern .
    1. The Important Book
    2. I Just Thought You Would Like to Know
    3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear
    • Use real pictures and photos.
    • Keep it simple or let your creative juices flow.
  • Bat Inquiry Chart
    Purpose
    • From the inquiry method approach to science
    • Think, predict, hypothesize
    • Assess and activate background knowledge
    • Address misconceptions
    • Teach revision and learning as a continuous process
    • Model reading and writing skills
    Process
    • Record students' comments using their words.
    • Record students' names after their comments.
    • Revisit the inquiry chart often.
    • Use a different color marker each time you revisit.
    • When revisiting, ask students to site the source of their new information.
  • Add what has been learned to inquiry chart at end of each session.
  • Pictorial Input chart - Share rubber bat; let students pass it around, feel texture, discuss
    Purpose
    • Make vocabulary and concepts comprehensible
    • Drawn in front of the students for brain imprinting
    • Organize information
    Process
    • Find a bat pictorial to illustrate unit vocabulary and concepts.
    • Resources for pictorials include: textbooks, other teacher resource books, websites ( www.enchantedlearning.com), expository children's books (Eyewitness Explorers series).
    • Use overhead projector to enlarge the picture and trace on butcher paper in light pencil, including vocabulary words.
    • With students present, trace over the pictorial with markers, providing verbal input as you go.
    • Revisit the pictorial to add word cards and review information.
    • Pictorials become part of the LANGUAGE FUNCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
    • Allow students to color pictorials.
    • At the end of the unit, make a master to use next year, and then raffle the pictorials off to students.
  • Students draw and color a bat diagram; they can use Input Chart and Super Scientist Awards to see what parts need to be included (5 toes on each foot, brown and furry, eyes, mouth, ears, finger bones, wings)
  • Do chant: "Is This a Bat? Yes Ma'am"
Week 2: Lesson Plans - 2 Day Lessons

  • Implement Super Scientist Awards; revisit T-Chart and expectations, Use 10:2 throughout.
  • Revisit Inquiry chart, students add to "What we have learned about bats" column.
  • Read and discuss Stella Luna by Janell Cannon, talk about fiction versus non-fiction, real and unreal elements of story.
  • Introduce and sing Bat Boogaloo
    >> Click here to see the words of the Bat Boogaloo.
  • Work with students on Sentence Patterning Chart, sing several times.
    Purpose:
    • Skill building
    • Patterning
    • Parts of speech
    • Resource for writing
    Process:
    • Choose a key noun from the unit (a noun that is capable of producing action is best)
    • Color code the headings (Adjectives-orange, Nouns-blue, Verbs-green, Adverbs-red, Prepositional phrases-purple)
    • You can create and label the grid in front of the students
    • Give students 10:2s to brainstorm words for each section
    • Refer students to resources in the room, such as pictorials, when necessary
    • After brainstorming words, choose 2 adjectives for (upper) or 3 adjectives (primary) and one word from each of the other categories, by placing a small post-it note by each
    • Have students help you chant to the tune of "The Farmer-in-the Dell"
    • Allow students to choose words by placing post-it notes on the charts for subsequent chantings.
  • Students write and draw what they have learned in writing journal.
Week 3: Lesson Plans - 2 Day Lessons

  • Implement Super Scientist Awards; revisit T-Chart and expectations, Use 10:2 throughout.
  • Revisit Sentence Patterning Chart, sing song.
  • Introduce and share Big Chart with "Bats Here, There, Everywhere".
  • Pair Students, they work together writing their own Bats "Here, There, Everywhere" chant.
  • Add to Inquiry Chart, review what has been learned.
Week 4: Lesson Plans - 2 Day Lessons

  • Implement Super Scientist Awards; revisit T-Chart and expectations, Use 10:2 throughout.
  • Show Pod A Bat Website
    Using laptop, overhead projector, and teacher made bat website, share sounds, video, and poetry by other students. Discuss and explore materials as group.
  • Add to Inquiry Chart, review what has been learned.
  • Write Acrostic Poetry.
    Have all charts, chants, big book, and pictures hanging in view
    In 10:2 and pair share, review what we have learned about bats, refer to all visuals.
    Teach and model writing an acrostic poem, show other student work on website; distribute journals so students can use them to see that they have been brainstorming what they know as we have been researching and learning more about bats.
    Remind that we start with brainstorming or pre-writing, organize our thoughts into a rough draft or sloppy copy, then revise, edit, and write final draft.
    After students complete the final copy, they color and cut out a bat picture, glue it all together with their diagrams, share their work, and it is published by hanging it in the class entry overhead in the form of a class “Bat Mobile”
  • As students finish their work, give them a round bat book to color, read, and look at.
  • Share Poetry and Make Bat Mobile
    In rug area, students share their poems and their artwork. Later, the teacher hangs bats on ceiling from string, making a "Batmobile".