work sample first grade detective descriptives writing workshop tasha grant

Detective

Descriptive’s

Writing Workshop

Topic: Descriptive Words

Concept: Creativity and Expression

By: Tasha Grant

First Grade Writing Unit

Winter 2008

2

Table of Contents

Chapter Page

Instructional Setting………………………………………………… 1 3 Family Communication Plan……………………………………….. 2 15 Unit Rationale………………………...…………………………….. 3 18 Unit Outline…………………………...……………………………. 4 21 Assessment Plan……………………………………………………. 5 26 Learning Plan……………………………………………………….. 6 46 Lesson 1: Clicker Clues!.…………………………………………… 7 53 Lesson 2: Tools of the Trade……………………………………….. 8 62 Lesson 3: 100

th Day Collections……………………………………. 9 80

Lesson 4: Monsters, Monsters Everywhere!...................................... 10 87 Lesson 5: Science Detectives……………………………………….. 11 93 Lesson 6: The Mystery Begins……………………………………... 12 103 Lesson 7: The Usual Suspects……………………………………… 13 108 Lesson 8: Mrs. Gove‟s class, in the cafeteria, with the napkin…….. 14 111 Post Assessment Data Display……………………………………... 15 117 Assessment Analysis……………………………………………….. 16 124 Summary of Student Growth………………………………………. 17 127 Analytical Essay……………………………………………………. 18 141 Resources…………………………………………………………… 19 145 Appendix A: Pre-assessment Work Samples………………………. 20 147 Appendix B: Formative Assessment Work Samples……………….. 21 156 Appendix C: Final Performance Task Work Samples……………… 22 165

3

Instructional Setting

4

Part I: Community, School, and Classroom contexts

Community:

The school is located in a retirement community with a population of 34,237. The city is

located in the valley of the Rogue River and much of the community and its activities revolve

around this feature. The economy of the area was at one time based upon the timber industry but

has since diversified to include a mix of light manufacturing, secondary wood products, retail

trade, tourism, and recreation and service based industries. The climate in the area is mild; with

temperatures ranging from the mid 20‟s to high‟s right above 100. This mild climate and outdoor

inspired living led the community to be featured in a national magazine as one of the top ten

places to retire and since then the retirement population has boomed. This population boom

fueled the expansion of the medical and retirement facilities in the valley. Another result of the

steadily increasing retirement population was an increase in housing prices to the point where the

average family in the area cannot afford to purchase a home. The average home price in the area

is $231,700 an increase of over 200% since 2000 when the average home sold for $111,200. The

median household income is $37,400. The racial composition is as follows: White, non-

Hispanic—90.1%; Hispanic—5.4%; Two or more races—2.9%; Native American—2.5%; other

race—1.6% (total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics could be counted as other races).

Based upon the information from the City-Data website, it is easy to conclude that the

community is not that diverse.

The community is served by six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high

schools. For the past one and a half years the library has been closed due to lack of funding.

This has put a burden on the community in many ways. A makeshift library was created this past

5

summer as an effort by teachers in the valley to continue exposing the students to great literature

and the joy of reading. Thanks to the hard work of many community members, the library

recently reopened. Another resource in the valley is the vast population of retired people. Many

times these folks are looking for opportunities to help out in the community and would love to

come to the school and be involved in reading with students.

School Setting:

The mission of the school is to create “a community dedicated to academic success,

social responsibility, and the pursuit of lifelong learning.” The guiding principles are to provide

a caring environment that enhances self worth, guiding children to make responsible decisions,

that each individual has unique talents, prepare students to appreciate and contribute to our

multicultural, diverse, global society, set high standards, and that families are partners in

education.

The school has 17 classroom teachers, a P.E. teacher, a music teacher, a special ed

teacher, and a reading specialist for a total of 21 teachers. All of the teachers except the special

ed teacher are female. The school has 390 students, 74% of whom qualify for free or reduced

price lunches. The racial composition of the school is as follows: 82% white, non-Hispanic;

16% Hispanic; 2% American Indian; <1% Asian/Pacific Islander; <1% Black, not Hispanic.

There is a slight difference in the racial composition of the school as compared to the

community. This difference is mainly between the White, non-Hispanic totals and the Hispanic

totals. I believe that the cause of this discrepancy is the fact that the school is one of two

elementary schools in the district that has programs for ELL students. The school is also

recognized as a Title I school, which means that the school receives additional funding to

6

provide supplementary instruction in the areas of reading and math instruction for students. The

Title I reading specialist and trained instructional assistants work with students both in individual

classrooms and in the reading room. A speech therapist visits the school on a regular basis to

work with students who are referred for services. The child development specialist visits the

school several days a week to teach lessons on positive interactions and consult individually with

students.

The school day lasts from 8:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Students are given a 45 minute lunch,

of which 15 minutes is allotted for eating and 30 minutes for recess. There is also a 10 minute

morning recess. Students also are out of the main classroom for music and P.E. They attend one

or the other every day. In the fourth grade students are given the option to participate in string

instruments, and in fifth grade they can choose to play band instruments. These programs are in

addition to the regular music classes.

The school is a Positive Behavior School (PBS). This means that the emphasis is on

creating proactive strategies to encourage positive school environments. Strategies used at this

school include „Caught Slips‟ in which the teacher marks a box stating whether the behavior was

responsible, respectful, safe, or for helping others. The slip then gets entered into drawings for

random things, like books or lunch with the principal or teacher.

Read at Home is a school wide program to encourage students to read at home every

night throughout the year. Each student chooses a book and takes it home where they read to an

adult for at least 15 minutes each night. The adult then signs a slip that is returned with the

student stating the book that was read and whether or not the student had trouble reading.

Throughout the year students can earn classroom parties, t-shirts, and other prizes.

7

One of my favorite features at this school is the morning announcements. After the main

announcements and Pledge of Allegiance, the composer of the week is announced with a short

statement about the composer or music. Then a five minute piece of classical music is played

over the intercom. I feel that this sets the mood for the rest of the morning.

Classroom Setting:

I am currently student teaching in a first grade classroom. There are 25 students ranging

in age from six to eight years old. Three students are ELL students, and one of the ELL students

is from a home with deaf/mute parents. One student is only in the class for a short time during

the morning calendar/story time and in the afternoon for 30 minutes following lunch time,

always with a special ed teacher or assistant. There are 10 girls and 14 boys in the classroom.

The desks in the classroom are arranged in random groups around the room—four to a group.

The classroom is controlled chaos. There is organization, but it is very difficult to see. The

teacher has been in the same classroom for some time (I believe for 9 years now).

The daily schedule places a heavy emphasis on reading and math. The day begins with

seatwork in the students‟ count-to-100 journal, and then the class moves to the carpet for

calendar time. Following calendar, a story is read to limit the reading instruction missed by the

three ELL students. The students then spend 90 minutes in a reading block before recess in the

morning. After recess they spend 30 minutes writing in their journals and then the students go to

lunch. After lunch the students have their „double dose‟ of reading instruction. The most

intensive students go to the reading room for another 35 minute lesson. Students in the

classroom spend the time working on grammar and spelling. After „double dose‟ the students

then move on to math. During the middle of math, students leave for P.E. or music (it depends

8

on the day of the week) for 40 minutes. When they return to the room they spend several minutes

finishing math and then move to the carpet for sharing.

Part II: Individual Learners and Adaptations

Student One is a student who comes from a split household. Her mother is in prison and

she lives with her dad and grandmother as well as two brothers. She is slightly overweight and

does not seem to have clothes that fit her properly. The clothes that she does have do not appear

to be washed, and the CT has taken her jacket to be washed on one occasion. She is in the

intensive group of readers. At the start of the year, she could recognize few letters and letter

sounds. She attended kindergarten at the same school and would have been in the kinder-plus

(five days a week instead of just two) class if she had better attendance. She seems to make

progress as long as she makes it to class on time. She gets frustrated easily, especially when

goaded by other students.

Student Two is one of three ELL students in the classroom. He is a well adjusted student

and is in the second highest reading group. He is currently working with the speech therapist

twice a week. In some instances he needs quiet to complete work and if the room is not quiet he

gets frustrated and upset. He likes playing sports like football and soccer, which could signal that

he is a kinesthetic learner. He has recently been saddened by the fact that his dad has moved to

Texas to find work.

Student Three is a quiet student. He is in the intensive reading group and is making

steady progress. He goes to the Title 1 room for instruction every day after lunch for half an

hour. He always has a ready smile. He comes from a large family (he is one of eight children),

although I believe he has only a few siblings at home. He speaks of visiting his brothers in a city

9

two hours away. One of the subjects he was most looking forward to this year is math, even

though he sometimes struggles.

The next student is Student Four. Student Four is only in the classroom briefly during the

morning routines. The rest of his day is spent in the special ed classroom. While he is in the

classroom, he always has an assistant with him. He has a difficult time paying attention and

sitting still, and on a few occasions, trouble controlling his temper. His brain development is at

about a three year old level. The goal for Student Four is to increase his time spent in the

mainstream classroom. The rest of the students are reminded of how to model behavior for

Student Four, and it is amazing to see them acknowledge him when he is acting appropriately

and ignore him when he is causing a disturbance.

Student Five is another student in the most intensive group. She is currently undergoing

assessment for learning disabilities. She has vision problems and requires her glasses for reading.

At the beginning of the year she recognized just three letters and no letter sounds. She seems to

have difficulty with memory (per her mom, who is actively helping to diagnose what is causing

Student Five‟s difficulties). Twice a week she meets with a speech therapist. She is in the Title 1

room during writing group for one on one instruction. She is an only child.

Student Six is the son of one of the teachers at the school. He is a benchmark student and

is happy to do his work. He recently moved to the highest reading group and is continuing to do

well. Every once in awhile he can get a little chatty and cause the students around him to get a

little rowdy. He is the oldest child in his family, with a new little brother on the way, and both of

his parents are very involved in creating his success.

10

Student Seven is a student from a large family. She is generally a happy student and

rarely causes a disturbance. She is overweight and has mentioned that it is painful to sit criss-

cross on the carpet in the morning. Although she works hard, she often struggles during reading.

She is in the third highest reading group. Her family came to the open house and conferences.

Student Eight is a shy student. He comes out of his shell when given responsibility.

Lately he has been acting out at school. I believe this could be due to the fact that he recently

became a big brother. He has one older brother as well. His parents are divorced, and I believe he

lives with his father. In his journal he writes about his grandparents a lot. He is a student that is at

benchmark.

Student Nine is an outgoing student who likes to be around her friends. She is at

benchmark and completes her work quickly as long as she is not distracted by her friends. She

recently became a big sister for the second time and is enjoying it immensely. She completes her

read-at-home while reading to her new little brother. Her mom volunteers in the classroom once

a week, and both of her parents are active in her education.

Student Ten is an exceptional, hard working student. She works quietly and is rarely off

task. Her family seems like they are always on the go, and because of this she is about 25 books

behind in the read-at-home program. She is in the second highest reading group. She likes to tell

stories about her life and often talks about the horses her family races.

Student Eleven comes from an interesting background. Both of his parents are deaf-mute,

and a translator is brought in for conferences and open house nights. He learned to speak from

the TV and his older sibling. He is quiet and most of the time has a difficult time following

classroom instruction. He often seems confused by the directions and lost when writing in his

11

journal. He is one of three students pulled out in the morning for ELL instruction. He is also

pulled out of the classroom twice a week for speech instruction.

Student Twelve is one of the most interesting students in the classroom. He is an

emotional guy who often has difficulty controlling his behavior. When upset and frustrated he

will often cry and cause a disruption in the class. He is in the intensive reading group, however

he reads quite well. There are two reasons he was placed in this group—It is a boost to his

confidence and he does very poorly on the nonsense word fluency timed test that is one of the

placement indicators at this school. He does best with one on one interaction. I believe that this is

due to the fact he recently became an older brother after being the only child for six years. It was

recently discovered that he will be a big brother again soon. He is especially volatile when in

close proximity to Student Seventeen. He likes to be moving around.

Student Thirteen is in the highest reading group. She is more than willing to read to

anyone who will listen. Her parents are highly involved in her education, and her mom is in the

classroom during writing several days a week.

Student Fourteen is another student in the highest reading group. He is a happy student

who excels at all tasks placed in front of him. His parents are not involved at school, although

they do seem to support his academics at home.

Student Fifteen is a fun student who always seems to be moving in hyper-drive. She has

one speed and that speed is fast. She has a difficult time focusing if there is too much noise, so

she often uses noise blockers. Because she is distracted easily, she is often finishing worksheets

during recess. She would be a very successful student if she could focus on finishing her work.

She is currently in the third highest reading group. She is raised by her mom and I don‟t believe

12

that her dad is involved in her life at this time. She is obsessed with superheroes, especially

Batman.

Student Sixteen is one of the quietest students in the classroom. He seems wary of adults

and does not want to let people into his world. He is in the most intensive reading group and is

making progress, however he has little support at home.

Student Seventeen is an engaging student. He is one of the most disruptive students in

the classroom and is on a behavior plan. Every day he takes a notebook home with a note to his

parents detailing his day. His parents are divorced but his time is split equally between the two

(i.e. he may fall asleep at his mom‟s and wake up at his dad‟s). His attention has increased

steadily since the beginning of the year. He is a benchmark student when he focuses on

completing his work and not drawing in his notebook.

Student Eighteen is a student who is more concerned with her extracurricular activities

than her schoolwork. Her family is very busy with activities for her older sister and her. Almost

every morning she has an excuse for why she has not done her read-at-home. She is close to

student three and she helps whenever he is in the classroom. She is a benchmark student.

Student Nineteen is an excellent student. She is supported by her parents who help her to

succeed. She seems to deeply ponder ideas and sometimes these ideas cloud her emotions. All of

the girls want to be her friend and it can cause problems when all of the girls are crowded around

her desk begging her to be their partner.

Student Twenty is a sweet student who wants to increase his knowledge. He is in the top

reading group and is one of the few students who chooses to read chapter books when given the

choice. When I asked him if he wanted to read to me he answered “Yes, I want to improve my

13

reading so I can do better today.” He is close to his mom, with whom he lives. His dad is also in

his life, and they both work with him on his reading.

Student Twenty-One is a student who loves music. Whenever music is playing in the

classroom he is moving to the beat. He is in the third highest reading group and often struggles.

He talks about his mother frequently and I have only heard him mention his dad on a few

occasions.

Student Twenty-Two is a student who gets bored easily and does not like to follow the

rules. She is constantly wandering the room and needs direction to get back on task. She is one of

the more advanced students in the classroom and I believe that she needs a more challenging

environment. When she gets frustrated she will complain and throw a fit. She and her sister are

raised by their father. She rarely gets to visit her mother (a week in the summer and several days

over Christmas vacation).

Student Twenty-Three is a student who is happy to get his work done. He is in the

intensive group for reading. He is raised by his dad and his grandparents. All of them came to

the open house with him, and they all seem to be happy just like the student.

Student Twenty-Four is the third ELL student, and is the shyest student in the classroom.

He struggles with worksheets but easily succeeds with a little help. He has a large family and I

don‟t believe that either of his parents speaks English. He can get emotional at times, and if he

feels that the work is too difficult, he will complain of a stomachache.

14

Bibliography:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Grants-Pass-Oregon.html

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/or/491#from..Tab

http://www.city-data.com/city/Grants-Pass-Oregon.html

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/or/491#from..Tab

15

Family Communication Plan

16

Dear First Grade Families,

My name is Mrs. Grant and I am a student teacher in your son/daughters first

grade classroom. This opportunity is the last step I will take before receiving my

Master of Arts Degree in elementary education from Southern Oregon University and I’m

very excited to be here at Riverside. I have been in the classroom observing and working

with Mrs. Gove since the beginning of the school year and will be working with your

child until the middle of March.

The last two weeks of February I will begin teaching a unit on descriptive words.

This writing unit will help your child discover how he or she can use descriptive words to

enhance their writing. As the time nears, I will be sending home specific activities that

you can do with your child to support this skill.

Please feel free to contact me at anytime with any questions or concerns. You

can contact me by phone at 218-0099, or by email at [email protected].

I’m looking forward to getting to work with you and your child in the upcoming

weeks. We will have many wonderful experiences and opportunities to learn and grow in

the days ahead.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Grant

mailto:[email protected]

17

Dear First Grade Families,

These past two weeks I taught my work sample unit on descriptive words to

your child. The kids had a blast learning how to enhance their writing, and I had a

blast watching the connections being made in their brains!

The students participated in several projects over the past two weeks. They created

their own “Descriptive Word Dictionary” full of words to describe shapes, colors, sounds,

smells, tastes, and textures. They also got to “get their hands dirty” when we examined

rocks, sand, and gemstones. The students’ final project was to write clues about

themselves. I put these clues together into a book that we read as a class. They were

very excited to see their pictures and guess who wrote each clue.

If you would like to discuss your child’s results from this unit, please feel free to

contact me at anytime with any questions or concerns. You can contact me by phone at

218-0099, or by email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Mrs. Grant

mailto:[email protected]

18

Unit Rationale

19

Writing is a form of communication that can convey many thoughts and ideas. It is

important for a good writer to use descriptive words in their writing. This allows the reader to

form a picture in their head based on the writer‟s description. In this unit on descriptive words I

will teach the first graders the importance of using descriptive words in their writing.

Expression and creativity will be explored as students develop their understandings of

adjectives and how these types of words can enhance writing. Creativity in writing is an

important concept for students. As this concept develops, the students will begin expanding their

word choice and expressing themselves in a more fluid way.

These concepts are important for students so that they may become successful writers. As

these skills develop, their writing will become more interesting to read. This will fuel the

students‟ desire to write more stories. As this desire increases it will encourage the student to

become a better reader with a larger vocabulary so that they may continue to write more stories.

Students will expand their knowledge of diversity as they study descriptive words. Literature will

be incorporated into the unit that will show students the many ways descriptive words can be

used. Special emphasis will be put on the descriptive words that are used to describe the different

characteristics of people. Whether a person is big or small, short or tall, this unit will emphasize

how every person is special for many reasons.

The enduring understandings of this unit show students how communication can

effectively be used. At this point in the year students have been writing daily in their journal for

four days a week. The writing is developing, but there are few if any descriptive words used. If a

student is choosing to describe an object, the word choice is most often limited to describing the

20

objects color. However there are many different ways an object can be described and this idea is

what students will discover throughout the course of the unit.

My unit design reflects my personal philosophy of education. I will utilize my love of

technology for the first lesson to fully engage the students in the unit. From there I will lead

students on an adventure to discover how descriptive words can enhance our writing. I believe

that students will learn best when presented with a project that relates directly to their lives. In

this unit, students will be working together on a project that relates to the Positive Behavior

System in place at the school.

21

Unit Outline

22

Detective Descriptive’s Writing Workshop

Topic: Descriptive Words

Concept: Expression

Grade Level: 1st grade

Focus Standards

Standards: English Language Arts

Common Curricular Goal: Communicate supported ideas across the subject areas,

including relevant examples, facts, anecdotes, and details appropriate to audience and

purpose that engage reader interest; organize information in clear sequence, making

connections and transitions among ideas, sentences, and paragraphs; and use precise

words and fluent sentence structures that support meaning.

Standard: Writing

Benchmark EL.01.WR.07: Use descriptive words when writing.

Knowledge Skills

*Vocabulary: learn different adjectives and

descriptive words to use when writing

*Placement of descriptive words in

sentences

*Word choice—when to use which word to

make the most sense

*Evaluate and edit writing to include

descriptive words

*Communicate using descriptive words in

writing

*Support main ideas with descriptive

words

Implied or Stated Understandings/Big Ideas

*Descriptive words help the reader to create a picture of a person, place, or thing

*Focused descriptions support the main idea

*A variety of words is the key to making writing interesting


Common Curricular Goal: Write narrative, expository, and persuasive texts, using a

variety of written forms—including journals, essays, short stories, poems, research

reports, research papers, business and technical writing—to express ideas appropriate to

audience and purpose across the subject areas.

Standard: Writing Applications: Expository Writing (K-3)

23

Benchmark EL.01.WR.17: Write simple expository descriptions of a

real object, person, place, or event using words that help the reader to see,

feel, smell, taste, and hear what is being described.

Knowledge Skills

*Vocabulary: words that describe how

something looks, feels, smells, tastes, or

sounds

*Five senses: touch, taste, hear, smell, see

*Use the five senses to describe objects,

people, places, or events

*Express ideas

Implied or Stated Understandings /Big Ideas

*Words can appeal to our senses

*Descriptive words should be used in all of our writing

Standards: Science

Common Curricular Goal: Understand structure and properties of matter

Standard: Matter

Benchmark SC.03.PS.01: Describe objects according to their physical

properties.

Knowledge Skills

*Physical properties—weight, size, color,

texture

*Analyze objects based upon physical

properties


*Every object has physical properties

Standards: Career Related Learning

Common Curricular Goal: Develop skills to assess personal characteristics, interests,

abilities, and strengths.

Standard: Career Development

Benchmark 1: Demonstrate career development skills in planning for

post high school experiences.

Knowledge Skills

*Positive characteristics people can have *Identify positive characteristics in self.


*Self assessment (using descriptive words) can build self esteem.

24

Support Standards


Common Curricular Goal: Communicate supported ideas across the subject areas using

oral, visual, and multi-media forms in ways appropriate to topic, context, audience, and

purpose; organize oral, visual, and multi-media presentations in clear sequence, making

connections and transitions among ideas and elements; use language appropriate to topic,

context, audience, and purpose; and demonstrate control of eye contact, speaking rate,

volume, enunciation, inflection, gestures, and other non-verbal techniques.

Standard: Speaking

Benchmark EL.01.SL.05: With guidance, use descriptive words when

speaking about people, places, things, and events.

Standards: Mathematics

Common Curricular Goal: Patterns and Functions: Understand patterns, relations, and

functions.

Standard: Algebraic Relationships

Benchmark MA.01.AR.01: Sort and classify objects using one or more

attributes by observing relationships.

Standards: Arts

Common Curricular Goal: Apply the use of ideas, techniques and problem solving to

the creative process and analyze the influence that choices have on the result

Standard: Create, Present, and Perform

Benchmark AR.03.CP.02: Explore aspects of the creative process and

the effect of different choices on one‟s work.


Common Curricular Goal: Select and use appropriate communication strategies in

family, school, community, and workplace settings.

Standard: Communication

Benchmark 1: Demonstrate effective communication skills to give and

receive information in school, community, and workplace.

Enduring Understandings: Students will understand that:

Communication is enhanced through the use of descriptive words.

All objects can be described.

A good description helps readers visualize what the writer is describing.

Descriptions that include the five senses help the writer to express ideas and immerse the

reader into the story.

Descriptive words captivate and engage the audience.

Essential Questions:

How do descriptive words make our writing better?

25

Do we have to use descriptive words in our writing?

What can be considered a descriptive word?

What makes writing great?

Task Analysis:

Students will know: Words that can be used to describe the five senses (taste, look, feel, smell, and sounds)

Words that can be used to describe physical properties (weight: heavy, light; colors; size

(large, small); texture (smooth, rough)

That descriptive words come before the noun in the sentence (the blue cat; the smelly

garbage)

Students will be able to: Choose effective words to convey the description

Evaluate and edit writing to include descriptive words

Read a description and then choose the picture to match

Think critically about their writing

Describe themselves using self assessment

Students will understand the following Big Ideas: A variety of words is the key to making writing interesting

Self assessment (using descriptive words) can build self esteem.

Every object has physical properties

Descriptive words should be used in all of our writing

Words can appeal to our senses

A variety of words is the key to making writing interesting

Focused descriptions support the main idea

Descriptive words help the reader to create a picture of a person, place, or thing

26

Assessment Plan

27

Final Performance Task: GRASPS

Imagine that you are a detective. Several students around Riverside School have

been seen performing good deeds, but nobody caught a good enough glimpse of

these students to determine who will receive the caught slip. In each instance a

blurry picture was taken of the student. The teachers and staff have narrowed down

the students and think they are all from a specific classroom: room #7, Mrs. Gove‟s

class. It is your job to write a description of yourself to aid in the investigation.

After every description is finished, the class will work together to determine who

was “caught being good”.

28

GRASPS

Goal: Students will effectively use descriptive words to create a self

description.

Role:

You are a detective gathering clues to help solve the mystery. You will

attempt to discover which students were „caught being good‟ around the

school.

Audience: The teachers, staff, and your classmates at Riverside.

Situation:

Around the school, several good deeds have been performed but no one

knows who did it. Brief glimpses of these special students have led the

teachers to believe that the students are from this classroom. The

teachers want to discover who these special students are so that they can

reward the students with “caught slips” for their actions.

Product,

Performance, and

Purpose:

You need to write a description of yourself that includes at least three

clues to your identity. These clues need to include a description of your

appearance (how you look) as well as a description of your personality

(how you act). Once all of the descriptions are completed we will work

together to name the student that the clue is describing.

Standards and

Criteria for Success:

Your description should include:

At least two clues about your appearance--remember to be specific!

At least one clue about your personality. Are you always happy, serious,

quiet? Include it in your description!

A description of what and where you were “caught” around the school.

You will be expected to collaborate with your classmates and use the

clues provided to make decisions.

29

Final Performance Task Rubric

Descriptive Word

Choice

Self Description

Clues

“Caught”

Description Clues

Clues

Participation

Score

3 Description

includes obvious

details like hair and

eye color and not so

obvious details, like

personality

description.

Description

includes 3 or more

clues about the

identity of the

student.

Student clearly

described what they

were “caught”

doing, including

where it happened.

Always stays

standing if clue

applies to self

and/or sits down if

clue does not apply.

2 Description

includes only

obvious details like

hair and eye color.

Description

includes 2 clues

about the identity of

the student.

Student included

that they were

caught but did not

include details.

Sometimes stays

standing if clue

applies to self

and/or sits down if


1 Description lacks

clear identifying

details about the

student.

Description

includes 1 clue

about the identity of

the student.

Student did not say

they were caught in

the clues.

Never stays

standing if clue

applies to self

and/or sits down if


30

Prior Knowledge Inventory

Writing samples—Students will complete a writing sample about an object. The object will be

placed at the front of the class, so that every student is writing about the same object. I will tell

the students to describe this object so that somebody who couldn‟t see it would be able to draw a

picture of the object. Through this assessment, I want to know how students are using

descriptive words in their writing currently. I want to know the type of words students use,

whether or not the students are placing the words in the correct place in the sentence, and

whether or not they are choosing the best words for their description. This assessment will help

me to determine which students will need the most help in the writing groups. It will also

uncover potential misunderstandings about descriptive words (either the types of words that are

descriptive or the placement of these words in the sentence). At the end of the unit, I will have

students repeat this process and then compare their two descriptions. This will show them how

they have improved over the two weeks and help them to build their confidence in their writing

abilities.

Word choice—This pre-assessment will see students choosing the descriptive words from a list

of grade appropriate words at my desk on a one-on-one basis. I will go through and highlight the

words the students know as descriptive words at this time. As a modification, for some students I

will be reading the list of words. This assessment will help me to determine each student‟s

current vocabulary of descriptive words. It will also help me to determine if there is a certain

type of descriptive words that I do not need to touch on (such as colors). I will use this same list

at the end of the unit to determine what the students have learned over the course of the unit.

What’s in the bag?—I will ask the students (on an individual basis) to feel an item in a bag and

then describe the item to me. I will record the words each student uses on a list. This will show

31

me the student‟s skill in easily creating a description of an item. It will also assess the vocabulary

the student possesses.

Formative Assessments

Descriptive word dictionary—Students will create a dictionary of descriptive words. It will be

organized into several sections. This dictionary will show what words students are learning and

become a tool that they can use in their everyday writing. I will be looking for a developing

knowledge of descriptive words.

100th

day collection clues—Every student will bring a collection of 100 items (all of the same

type) to school. They will then write descriptive clues about the items and have the other

students try to guess which collection is theirs. The students will be asked to write three clues

about the item. Students will assess the quality of the clues as they are trying to determine which

clues describe which collection. This will show me if the skills of each student are increasing as

they learn more about descriptive words.

Pre-write graphic organizers—Students will fill in a bubble graphic organizer about

themselves. Each bubble will have a different feature about themselves that they will write about

in their final performance task.

Summative Assessment

Final performance task—Imagine that you are a detective. Several students around Riverside

School have been seen performing good deeds, but nobody caught a good enough glimpse of

these students to determine who will receive the caught slip. In each instance a blurry picture

was taken of the student. The teachers and staff have narrowed down the students and think they

are all from a specific classroom: room #7, Mrs. Gove‟s class. It is your job to write a description

of yourself to aid in the investigation. After every description is finished, the class will work

32

together to determine who was “caught being good”. Each description will need to include at

least three physical features and one personality descriptor.

Writing samples—Students will re-write about the same object that they wrote about for the

pre-assessment. This will show me how their descriptive writing abilities have improved over the

course of the unit. It will also allow students to see how their writing has improved.

Word choice—Students will be assessed to see how many more words they can choose from the

list compared to at the beginning of the unit.

33

Stuffed cow the students‟ wrote about:

Contents of the paper bag:

Ribbon, mint tin, post-it note, spoon, rock, seed starter-dehydrated dirt, dried cranberries,

chocolate chips, magnet, plastic baggie, duct tape (sticky side out)

34

Descriptive Word Check

hard

Cat shiny pink shoe

basket

Soft book dull big

candy

Blue body sour round

fish

Sweet seed dog house

red

Fast picture sticky rough

hot

Ball purple bat pillow

35

Detective Descriptive’s

Dictionary of

descriptive words

36

Smells

37

Tastes

38

Sounds

39

Textures

40

Colors

41

Shapes

42

Emotions

43

Sizes

44

My 100 Collection

1.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

5.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

45

Details Web

Fill out this details web to help you organize your ideas.

46

Learning Plan

47

Learning Objectives

Pre-lesson: Pre-write about a stuffed cow, descriptive word choice, and „what‟s in the bag‟

activity.

Tuesday, February 17th

Lesson 1: Clicker Clues! Using Turning Point and the clicker technology, I will read several short sentences about my

dog, with the students trying to choose which dog is mine from a series of photos of different

dogs. The first sentence will be “my dog is cute.” Next sentence will be a little bit more

descriptive, and so on. After the slideshow, we will have a discussion about what descriptive

words are and why they are needed in our writing.

Objective 1: The students will identify the descriptions in the slideshow, through use of the

clicker technology, that allow them to determine the answer to the question “which dog is my

dog?”

Objective 2: Students will share with a classmate the different types of descriptive words that

they know.

Instructional Strategies:

Technology

Brainstorming and Discussion

Standards being addressed:

SC.03.PS.01: Describe objects according to their physical properties.

EL.01.WR.07: Use descriptive words when writing.

Modifications/Adaptations:

Use Turning Point chart to make sure every student is participating.

Read questions aloud so that every student has the opportunity to understand question.

Repeat directions to ES, DT, NG, and BC as they return to class

Wednesday, February 18th

Lesson 2: Tools of the Trade In this lesson students will create a “toolbox” of descriptive words that they can refer to

throughout the unit. After creating the dictionary, students will use the new words in their daily

writing journal.

Objective 1: Students will create an 8 page dictionary of descriptive words (under the headings:

smells, tastes, sounds, textures, colors, shapes, looks, sizes) with at least 3 descriptive words per

page.

Objective 2: Students will write in their journal and highlight all of the descriptive words in their

writing.

48


Brainstorming

Games: Word sorts

Storytelling

Visuals

Cooperative learning


EL.01.WR.17: Write simple expository descriptions of a real object, person, place, or event

using words that help the reader to see, feel, smell, taste, and hear what is being described.



Pair students who have difficulty reading with students who can help them out.

Repeat directions as needed.

Spend extra time with groups that are not getting it.


Thursday, February 19th

Lesson 3: 100th day Collection

Students will bring a collection of 100 items to school in a paper bag and then will write three to

five clues about their collection. The students will then share their clues with the whole class.

Objective 1: Students will be able to describe their collection using three to five different types

of descriptive words in their journal.

Objective 2: Students will listen to their classmates‟ clues and then using the clues make a guess

about what kind of item is being described.


Visuals

Writing and journals






EL.01.SL.05: With guidance, use descriptive words when speaking about people, places, things,

and events.


Have starter prompts available for writing the clues: My objects are… or My 100

collection has…

Work one on one with students as needed.

49

Special attention: EW and RG. Make sure these two are on task.

Repeat directions to ES, DT, NG, and BC as they return to class.

Friday, February 20th

Lesson 4: Monsters, Monsters Everywhere! I will read a description of a monster one sentence at a time and have students take the time to

draw what I have read. After the entire monster is done, students will walk around the room in a

conga line to look at every picture. We will have a discussion about how all the monsters looked

different.

Objective 1: Students will be able to construct a drawing using pencil and crayon on white paper

that corresponds to the description read out loud.

Objective 2: Students will compare and contrast the different drawings in a whole class

discussion.


Drawing and Artwork

Movement







and events.


Repeat the instructions for creating the monster as needed.

Have a written set of instructions posted on screen.

Repeat directions to ES, DT, NG, and BC as they return to class.

Monday, February 23rd

Lesson 5: Science Detectives Students will make observations and use student-made rules to build an understanding of solid

earth materials (rocks, sand, and gemstones).

Objective 1: Students will create rules to sort and classify the different earth materials.

Objective 2: Students will be able to describe the different earth materials on a graphic organizer.

Objective 3: Students will write two to three sentences about one of the materials from their

graphic organizer, highlighting the descriptive words that they have used.



Graphic Organizers

50

Manipulatives, experiments, labs, and models

Cooperative Learning


MA.01.AR.01: Sort and classify objects using one or more attributes by observing relationships.



Monitor RG to make sure he is completing work

Monitor frustration level of EW. Partner with helper if needed (EC or TT are good

partners for him.)

Ask questions to groups as needed: What color? How does it feel in your hand? How big

or little is it?

Provide starters for writing (My rock is… or The gem has… or The sand is…)


Tuesday, February 24th

Lesson 6: The Mystery begins… Students will be told that several kids in our classroom have been seen around school being

especially respectful, responsible and helpful. The teachers who saw these actions did not get a

clear look at the student, but they really want to find out who it was so that the student can get

the caught slip. Each student will have to write a self description to aid in the investigation. To

get started, each student will create a graphic organizer today. After the graphic organizer is

complete students will start writing about themselves.

Objective 1: Students will complete a graphic organizer listing four or more different details

about themselves.

Objective 2: Students will apply the information gathered in their graphic organizer to the first

draft of their self description.

Objective 3: Students will identify the descriptive words that I have used in the sample by raising

their arm whenever I read a descriptive word.


Graphic Organizers

Writing and Journals

Visuals

Project-based learning







51

Monitor RG‟s work to make sure he is completing the graphic organizer and writing.

Partner him with classroom helper if needed. If he finishes, he earns a couple of minutes

drawing.

Check with EW periodically to gauge frustration level. Partner him with classroom helper

if needed.


Wednesday, February 25th

Lesson 7: The Usual Suspects… Students will be learning about adjectives that can be used to describe their personalities. They

will continue writing their descriptions of self.

Objective 1: Students will identify the words in the read-a-loud story that are descriptive of the

characters during class discussion.

Objective 2: Students will edit their writing from the previous day to include at least 4

descriptive words.



Storytelling

Writing and Journals




Benchmark 1: Demonstrate career development skills in planning for post high school

experiences.





Monitor RG‟s work to make sure he is completing the writing. Partner him with

classroom helper if needed. If he finishes, he earns a couple of minutes drawing.


if needed.


Thursday, February 26th

Lesson 8: Mrs. Gove‟s class, in the cafeteria, with the napkin… Students will reveal their clues and the students will work together to decide which kids were

caught being good around school.

Objective 1: Students will read the typed version of the other students‟ descriptions in front of

the class.

52

Objective 2: Students will solve the mystery of the students „caught being good‟ by listening to

the descriptions being read.



Role plays

Visualization and guided imagery







and events.



Monitor RG and EW‟s carpet time behavior. If needed give them jobs (holding up the

pictures) or remove to desk.

I will help students who have a difficult time reading the other student‟s self descriptions.

I will walk around the room to help students fill out the self evaluation.

53

Lesson 1: Clicker Clues!

Grade Level: 1

Subject areas: Writing

Materials needed:

Turning Point Software and Clickers

Computer

Projector

Screen

PowerPoint presentation: My Dog

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: The purpose of this lesson will be to introduce descriptive words and the importance of these

words in our writing.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

Identify the descriptions in the slideshow, through use of the clicker technology, that

allowed them to determine the answer to the question “which dog is my dog?”.

Share with a classmate the different types of descriptive words that they already know

and use.

State Content Standards:







Standard: Writing


Standards: Science


Standard: Matter


properties

Assessments:

PowerPoint clicker responses

Observations of students

54

Selection of Instructional Strategies:

Technology: I will be using the clicker technology because the students get really

involved when using the clickers and it is easy for all students to participate, no matter

their level.

Brainstorming and Discussion: This strategy will help students construct their own

meaning of descriptive words in a way that makes the most sense in their own mind.

Modifications and adaptations:

Make sure to partner students who have a difficult time staying on task are partnered with

a peer who will keep them on task. Students to keep an eye on: Rylin, Ethan, Trinity,

Maizy.

Repeat directions individually as needed.

Use Turning Point chart to make sure every student is participating.

Read questions aloud so that every student has the opportunity to understand question.

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: Descriptive words are important to use in our writing.

Open 10:15

10 minutes

1. Students participate in slideshow where they are voting on which dog

is my dog. Each slide will show a sentence that is a little more descriptive

about my dog and then each student will choose which dog they think is

mine. After each guess we will look at how the class answered-more

specifically, did they all choose the same dog, or was it all random?

Body 10:25

5-8 minutes

2. Have students come sit on carpet. Write a sentence from slideshow on

the white board. Read each sentence to the kids and have them turn to a

friend and tell the friend which word in the sentence told them which dog

to pick. Regroup after each sentence and have kids share which word

they chose. Underline this word in the sentence. Continue with all of the

sentences from the slide show.

3. Tell students that each of the words that we have chosen to underline is

a type of word called “descriptive words” or “adjectives”. This means

that these words can be used to make a noun (person, place, or thing) or

event more specific.

Close 10:30

15-20

minutes

4. Students will write in their journals about a topic of their choice. They

will be encouraged to go into greater detail about their topic.

Part 3: Resources

58

I have a dog.

My dog is big.

She is fluffy.

She isn‟t spotted.

Her fur is all the

same color.

She has pointy ears.

Her fur is golden.

59

1

st Vote: 2

nd Vote: 3

rd Vote: 4

th Vote: 5

th Vote: 6

th Vote: Final Vote:

1

st Vote: 2

nd Vote: 3

rd Vote: 4

th Vote: 5

th Vote: 6


1

st Vote: 2

nd Vote: 3

rd Vote: 4

th Vote: 5

th Vote: 6


1

st Vote: 2

nd Vote: 3

rd Vote: 4

th Vote: 5

th Vote: 6


1

st Vote: 2

nd Vote: 3

rd Vote: 4

th Vote: 5

th Vote: 6


1

st Vote: 2

nd Vote: 3

rd Vote: 4

th Vote: 5

th Vote: 6


60

Part 4: Reflection

After overcoming several technical difficulties, this lesson was a success! I had planned to use the

Turning Point software and the clickers to have the students vote on which dog they thought was mine.

However, when I transferred the slide show from my computer to the classroom computer, the slideshow

was just a black screen on every slide. Luckily I had planned for this eventuality. I had created a basic

slide show with just three screens instead of the ten that I had originally planned on (see the resource

section). I had also typed up the statements that I wanted the students to vote on, as well as creating a slip

of paper for the students to record each vote. The slip of paper for voting worked even better than using

the clicker. This is because students could see how their voting changed as the description got more

specific. The students were engaged from the beginning. I believe that this is because I often tell stories

about my dog in my journal examples that I share with the students. As I monitored the classroom, I

noticed that all of the students were actively participating in the voting. After all the voting was

complete, students were able to choose which words in the statements were most helpful in making the

decision about which dog was mine. This led into a discussion about descriptive words very nicely.

There are several things I would change if I were to teach this lesson again. The first thing would

be to make sure that the students were voting in pen or marker. I noticed that after hearing the final clue,

students were changing their previous guesses to all match the final guess. It would be more beneficial to

the students to be able to see their first vote as compared to the final vote when discussing the statements

and the descriptive words. The second thing I would change would be to spend a little more time

discussing the different rounds of voting and comparing the different votes. This would have been easily

possible using the Turning Point system, but the low-tech version made this more difficult. It would have

been nice to have a visual representation of each round of voting (as well as incorporating math into this

lesson). My CT also made a great suggestion for the journal writing portion of the lesson. She said it

would be good for the students to go back and highlight the descriptive words in their writing. I plan on

incorporating this into the students‟ future writing in this unit.

61

I know that students met the objectives through my observations and their responses during the

classroom activity. The students were able to determine—with 100 percent accuracy—which dog was

mine. They also shared with a friend what words helped them make a choice when they were voting. I

heard responses of „fluffy‟, „golden‟ fur, and „pointy‟ ears. One student responded that the word “dog”

helped her to make the choice, and we were able to discuss why this wasn‟t the best choice (the dog is the

noun, every choice possible was a dog).

I was left with questions about the voting. If I had been able to graphically represent the votes,

would this have helped students to better understand how the descriptive words in the statements made it

easier to vote on the correct dog?

62

Lesson 2: Tools of the Trade

Grade Level: 1

Subject areas: Writing/Vocabulary

Materials needed:

24 “Detective Descriptive‟s Dictionary of Descriptive Words” booklets

1 box filled with items of different textures

1 box filled with cotton balls dipped in different smells, kept in Ziploc bags

1 box filled with items of different tastes

1 box filled with items that make different sounds

1 box filled with items of different sizes

1 box filled with items of different shapes

1 box filled with pictures of people showing different emotions

1 box filled with crayons of different colors

3x5 cards for each box with the descriptive words for students to match to the items

6 different mad-lib style stories

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: Students will expand their vocabulary of descriptive words and create a dictionary of different

words that they will be able to use in their writing.

Objectives:


Create an 8 page dictionary of descriptive words (under the headings: smells, tastes,

sounds, textures, colors, shapes, looks, sizes) with at least 3 descriptive words per page.

Write in their journal and highlight all of the descriptive words in their writing.


Standards: Science


Standard: Matter


properties.







63




Assessments:

Descriptive Word Dictionary

Highlighting in journal


Brainstorming: This strategy lets students‟ work together to build their vocabulary of

descriptive words.

Games—Word sort: This strategy will have students matching a descriptive word with an

item that visually represents the word. This will help students make the connection

between the item and the word that describes it.

Storytelling: This strategy will reinforce the idea that descriptive words are meant to be

used in our writing, while giving students examples of how this can be done.

Visuals: Students will examine the items in the boxes to make connections to the words

that describe the items.

Cooperative learning: This strategy is important because it helps students learn from the

peers and learn to work together in groups.


Pair students who have difficulty reading with students who can help them out.

Repeat directions as needed.

Spend extra time with groups are not getting it.

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: Students will build their vocabulary of descriptive words in

this lesson.

Open 10:15 5 minutes

1. Students will be sitting on the carpet and I will bring out the boxes of

items. I will demonstrate how the stations will work, with help from

student volunteers.

2. I will demonstrate with descriptive words for sounds. We will record

our findings in a larger version of their dictionary booklet. After, students

will go back to their desk and start working at the stations.

Body 10:20

20-35

minutes

3. Students will return to their desks and work as a group to explore the

contents of the box or bag at their group. Each student will be responsible

for recording the words in their dictionary. The students will have 2-4

minutes for each box before I signal to switch boxes.

4. After all the boxes have been completed, students will return to the

carpet to discuss the next part of the lesson: completing the mad lib. We

will complete one together before the students head to their writing group

64

to complete the mad lib.

Close 10:50

10 minutes

5. Students will come to the carpet and share their version of the story.

Part 3: Resources

Descriptive Word Stations: At each station, students will match the object or the picture to the

card that describes the item. Two of the stations have objects, and the rest are matching the word

card to the picture card. The two stations with objects are textures and shapes. The other six

stations are: emotions, sizes, tastes, smells, and two color stations.

Textures: Shapes:

Descriptive Word Stations:

75

A Day At The Zoo!

Today I went to the zoo. I saw a ____________(adjective)

_____________(noun) jumping up and down in its tree. He

hopped quickly through the large tunnel that led to its

__________(adjective)__________(noun). I got some peanuts

and passed them through the cage to a gigantic gray

__________(noun) towering above my head. Feeding that

animal made me hungry. I went to get a __________

(adjective) scoop of ice cream. It filled my stomach.

Afterwards I had to__________(verb) __________ (adverb) to

catch our bus. When I got home I begged my mom for a

__________(adjective) day at the zoo.

76

The Great New Toy!

There is a new toy on the market that has everyone saying

____________(Exclamation)! It is called the ____________(Sound)

____________(Adjective) ____________(Noun) box and will be in stores in

____________(A Month). The ____________(Sound) ____________(Adjective)

____________(Noun) box is a new gadget that lets you do just about anything!

It ____________(Verb)s, it ____________(Verb)s, it even serves

____________(A Drink)! It is easy to operate and requires no instructions! You

can also have it custom made to be any size you want up to

____________(Number) inches and ____________ (color) or glow in the dark

with no extra charge! The original product is pocketsized and

____________ (color). There are ____________(Number) jacks on the product

for 6V DC power and for upgrades and addons. You can add headphones,

____________(Plural Noun) , monitors, ____________(Plural Noun), and more, and

use them all at the same time!

77

I walk through the color jungle. I take out my

___________(adjective) canteen.There's a ________(adjective)

parrot with a _______________(adjective) ____________(noun)

in his mouth right in front of me in the___________ (adjective)

trees! I gaze at his _________(adjective)______________(noun).

A sudden sound awakes me from my daydream! A

panther "s" _______________(verb) in front of my head! I

_______________(verb) his _______________(adjective)

breath. I remember I have a packet of _____________(noun)

that makes go into a deep slumber! I _______________

(verb) it away in front of the _______________(noun).Yes he's

eating it! I _______________(verb) away through the

____________(adjective) jungle. I meet my parents at the tent.

Phew; Its been an exciting day in the jungle.

In The Jungle!

78

Part 4: Reflection

This lesson was a little rough for me. The students seemed to enjoy getting to move

around from station to station and playing the matching game. However I greatly underestimated

the time that this lesson would take. In my lesson I estimated that creating the dictionary would

take about 20-25 minutes and then students would have time to write in their journals. This was

not the case! As I was watching the students at the stations and the clock, I made a decision to let

the students stay at each station for longer than I had planned. This allowed the students to fully

explore the different stations and record the words in their “Detective Descriptive‟s Descriptive

Word Dictionary”. This left no time for the students to write in their journal, which was

something I was really aiming to have the students do each day. I believe that the stations would

have run more smoothly had I demonstrated step by step each station, showing the cards at each

station and how the cards matched. I spent a lot of time going from station to station showing

students how each station worked, or what card matched with what picture. Although the

students did ok moving from station to station, the transitions could have been a little smoother.

Several times groups of students ended up at the wrong station. The next time I do this type of

lesson where students are moving around the room I will have the stations numbered and

demonstrate moving from station to station.

I know that I met one of my objectives, but not the other. Every student that was

in class created the dictionary, and the next day I saw many of the students using their

dictionaries during journal time. I did not meet the second objective, mainly because we ran out

of time.

I enjoyed teaching this lesson even though there is a lot I would change. I believe that

children learn best when they explore their world creatively instead of sitting at their desk. When

79

I teach this lesson again, I will plan for two or three stations a day, instead of the eight that the

students participated in during this short time. If the students were only at two or three stations a

day they would have time to use their newly learned words in their writing on that same day. I

believe that this would put more emphasis on the words and help the students to gain a better

grasp of how the words are to be used.

After this lesson I was left wondering if students were really making the connections

between the pictures and the words or if they were simply going from station to station and

writing down all of the words on the cards.

80

Lesson 3: 100th Day Collection

Grade Level: 1


Materials needed:

Each students‟ “100” collection

Dictionary of Descriptive Words

Writing Journals

The Secret Olivia Told Me by N. Joy

100th

Day Worries by Margery Cuyler

My 100 collection

My clues: My objects are round. My objects are small. My objects are red, orange, yellow,

brown, blue, and green.

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: Students will begin using descriptive words in a structured writing

assignment.

Objectives:


Describe their collection using three to five different types of descriptive words in their

journal.

Listen to their classmates‟ clues and then use the clues to make a guess about what kind

of item is being described.


Focus Standards:







Standard: Writing





81







Standards: Science


Standard: Matter


properties.

Support Standards:








Standard: Speaking









Assessments:

Written clues

Observations


Visuals: Students will be bringing in their own visual. This is important because it will be

an object (100 of an object) that they will have chosen.

Writing and journals: Students will begin developing their ideas about using descriptive

words in their writing.


Have starter prompts available for writing the clues: My objects are… or My 100

collection has…

82

Work one on one with students as needed.

Special attention: EW and RG. Make sure these two are on task.

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: Students will be exploring the use of descriptive words in their

writing.

Open 10:15

10 minutes

1. I will remind students of the story we read in the morning called “The

Secret Olivia Told Me.” We will discuss secrets and how it is important

to keep a secret.

2. Next I will introduce the writing for the day. I will tell them that their

object needs to stay a secret. I will model with my 100 objects. Students

will be able to guess my object.

3. Students will be encouraged to use the dictionaries they created to get

ideas for describing their objects.

Body 10:25

25-30

minutes

4. The students will write in their journal, creating 3 or more clues about

their object. I will circle the room, helping students with ideas if they

need help.

5. When students are done, they will continue writing in their journal

until the rest of the students are completed.

6. Students will now get the chance to be detectives! Students will take

turns reading their clues while the rest of the class tries to guess what the

student is describing.

Close 10:50

10 minutes

7. We will have a discussion about the different clues. Questions: What

made an item easy to guess? (What kind of clues?) Would you have been

able to guess what somebody brought in if they hadn‟t used color

descriptive words? Shape descriptive words? (etc.)

Part 3: Resources

Read, Write, Think Lesson Plan: Descriptive Writing and the 100

th day of School

http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view_printer_friendly.asp.?iid=891

Cuyler, Margery (2000). 100th day worries. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Books for

Young Readers.

Joy, N. (2007). The secret olivia told me. East Orange, New Jersey: Just us Books, Inc.


83

My 100 Collection Clues:

My objects are round.

My objects are small.

My objects are red, orange, yellow, brown, blue, and green.

My collection has the letter “m” on it.

84

My 100 Collection

1.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

2.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

5.___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

85

Part 4: Reflection

Students were excited for this lesson! The 100

th day of school was a very big deal for the

first graders and this lesson was built on that excitement. In this lesson students were able to

meet all of the objectives. Every student wrote clue after clue about their 100 collection. Each

student‟s description had at least three clues about their object. There wasn‟t enough time for

every student to share, but we made it through all but 6 of the students.

Several aspects of this lesson went very well. Before the students went to their desks to

write the clues, I had a discussion with the students about secrets and how sometimes we don‟t

want to tell because then it won‟t be a secret anymore. This was to prime students to not share

what their collection was before it was time to share on the carpet. The students were so excited

about this that they wanted their privacy “offices” for when they were writing their clues. I was

happy to oblige and the students got to work very quickly. When students were done writing

their clues, I had them move to the carpet with their clues and they started sharing. Students did

very well at listening to the clues and making guesses based on the clues. I was also impressed

with the different types of descriptive words that students were using. Besides just describing the

color, students were describing the shapes, smells, and textures of their objects. This showed me

that they were meeting the objectives for this lesson.

There were only a few things I would revise to make this lesson run more smoothly. The

first thing would be to set a timer during the clue writing time. Several students were not

motivated to get started. I feel that a timer would help these students get going. This would also

help me to keep the lesson moving. The next change I would make would be to have each 100

collection placed in a paper bag. This would make it easier for students to keep their object a

86

secret. I feel that this would help students by letting them have their item at their desk without

fear of a classmate seeing it.

After this lesson I was left wondering if students would have been this excited about

writing if it hadn‟t been a secret to keep from their classmates. Did this aspect of the lesson make

the students more excited to participate? Does the back story behind a lesson make a lesson a

success or a bomb?

87

Lesson 4: Monsters, Monsters Everywhere!

Grade Level: 1

Subject areas: Art

Materials needed:

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Monster description

My drawing of the monster

White paper

Crayons

Pencils

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: Students will use their knowledge of descriptive words to draw a monster

based upon the description that is read to them. After the drawings are completed, students will

walk around the “gallery” and look at other interpretations of the monster description. Students

will then come to the carpet for a discussion about the differences observed in all of the different

drawings.

Objectives:


Construct a drawing using pencil and crayon on white paper that corresponds to the

description read out loud.

Compare and contrast the different drawings in a whole class discussion.


Focus Standards:







Standard: Writing


Support Standards:

Standards: Arts

88

Common Curricular Goal: Apply the use of ideas, techniques and problem solving to

the creative process and analyze the influence that choices have on the result

Standard: Create, Present, and Perform

Benchmark AR.03.CP.02: Explore aspects of the creative process and

the effect of different choices on one‟s work.







Assessments:

Observations

Completed drawings


Drawing and Artwork: This strategy will allow students to see how descriptive words can

be useful in creating a picture to the reader or listener.

Movement: I want students to have the experience of walking around an art gallery to

compare and contrast the different interpretations of the monster description.


Repeat the instructions for creating the monster as needed

Have a written set of instructions posted on screen

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: Written or oral descriptions can be used to create a picture in

our heads or on a piece of paper. Each interpretation, though, will be a little different.

Open 10:15 5 minutes

1. Have students meet me on the carpet after recess. Prepare students for

our art project. Tell students that they will be listening to my description

of a monster, and as I am reading the “clues” the students will be

recreating the monster on their own paper. Discuss the descriptive words

that I will be using: colors, shapes, textures, etc.

Body 10:20 20-25

minutes

2. Students will migrate back to their desks. Instruct students to take out

crayons and a pencil. Make sure to tell students we will only be using

crayons because the texture this will create in our drawing (makes the

monster look more life-like). Have students leave pencil on name tag

until after each clue is read.

3. Start reading the clues, waiting between each one before going on.

Walk around classroom to make sure that each student is with me before

continuing onto the next clue.

89

4. Have each student write their name on the back of the drawing and

place the drawing on top of their desk and have students line up at door.

5. Once students are lined up, lead them on a walk around the classroom

to look at each students drawing, ending with students on carpet.

Close 10:40

20 minutes

6. Show students my monster. Ask students to think about all of the

different drawings. Questions: What types of differences did you see in

the drawings? Is it possible for everyone to draw the exact same picture?

Or will there always be small differences?

(If there is time, have students that did not get to share their 100

collection clues go today)

Part 3: Resources

Sendak, Maurice (1963). Where the wild things are. New York, New York: Harper Collins.

My monster drawing:

90

How to Draw a Monster: 1. Draw a large circle for the head.

2. Add two floppy antennae to the top of the head. There is a tiny

square at the end of each antenna.

3. The body of my monster is shaped like a sideways oval.

4. Now add two skinny legs with bouncy ball feet.

5. My monster has 4 arms, but 3 are on one side of the body and only

one arm is on the left hand side.

6. Each hand has just three fingers.

7. Then add the face. The monster has three square shaped eyes. One

is in the center of his head, and the other two are on either side of

his face. If his head was built like ours, the two eyes would be in

the same place as our ears.

8. The monster‟s nose is like two triangles turned sideways, with only

the points of the triangles touching.

9. The monster has a silly grin on his face.

10. Now it is time to add some color. He has really long, green and

orange striped hair on his head. The hair is about the length of a

pinky, and it covers his whole face.

The fur on his body looks like a tie-dye shirt. This fur is shorter

and spirals all around the body. The fur is red, yellow, and blue.

11. The fur on his legs and arms are each a different color—the arms

are purple, silver, brown, and pink. One leg is black, and one leg

is gold.

12. Make the fur look really fuzzy on the monsters arm and legs.

91

Part 4: Reflection

I was worried about this art lesson. I wanted a lesson that incorporated the descriptive

word, „detective‟ theme. I finally found something that I could modify to fit for this lesson on

the Monster Exchange website. I knew I wouldn‟t have enough time to do the full Monster

Exchange project (this involves having the kids draw their own monster, then writing a

description, posting it online, waiting for another class to read your description, draw a monster

and post their drawing online), but I liked the idea of creating a drawing based on a description. I

decided to draw my own monster, write a description and then have the students recreate my

monster.

For the most part this lesson went well. Students were able to recreate the monster based

upon my description, which shows me that they were able to meet my first objective. However

there were some differences that helped lead to a discussion that showed me students were able

to meet my second planned objective. The discussion was cut short because of a fire drill, but I

could tell that students were on their way to fully comprehending that a description helps to

create a picture for the listener/reader.

I struggled with classroom management during this lesson. I should have set up a specific

signal at the beginning of the lesson so that I would be able to move through the description

more quickly. When I do this lesson again, I will be sure to post the description of the monster

on the overhead so that students who take longer drawing will be able to keep up without having

to interrupt me for the next step.

The gallery-walk “conga line” worked very well. Students walked around the room in a

conga line until they had seen every drawing. I talked with students about looking at each and

92

every drawing as we walked around. Students were a little wild and loud while walking around,

but they quickly calmed down when they got to the carpet.

Although we were able to have a short discussion about the differences, I am left

wondering what other connections students would have made if we would have had more time to

talk about this lesson.

93

Lesson 5: Science Detectives

Grade Level: 1

Subject areas: Science, Writing

Materials needed:

Boxes

Sand

Gems

Rocks

Newspaper

Scoops

Pencils

Paper

Magnifying lenses

Trays

Graphic Organizers

Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop by Stuart J. Murphy

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: Students will make observations and use student-made rules to build an

understanding of solid earth materials using descriptive words.

Objectives:


Create rules to sort and classify the different earth materials.

Describe the different earth materials on a graphic organizer.

Write two to three sentences about one of the materials from their graphic organizer,

highlighting the descriptive words that they have used.


Standards: Science


Standard: Matter


properties.

Standards: Mathematics

Common Curricular Goal: Patterns and Functions: Understand patterns, relations, and

functions.

Standard: Algebraic Relationships

94

Benchmark MA.01.AR.01: Sort and classify objects using one or more

attributes by observing relationships.

Assessments:

Graphic organizer

Writing that has descriptive words highlighted


Brainstorming and Discussion: This strategy will show me how students are exploring the

ideas of descriptive words as they apply to objects we find in our world.

Graphic Organizers: These organizers help students to keep their thoughts about what

they are learning organized in a way that is easy to access at a later time.

Manipulatives, experiments, labs, and models: By letting the students “get their hands

dirty”, I am letting them construct their own meanings for the descriptive words that they

are learning.

Cooperative Learning: I feel that it is important for students to learn how to work in a

group setting from the earliest time as possible. This teaches students cooperation and

communication skills that will be needed throughout life to be a productive citizen.

Writing and journals: Students will start refining their use of descriptive words in their

writing.


Monitor RG to make sure he is completing work

Monitor frustration level of EW. Partner with helper if needed (EC or TT are good

partners for him.)

Provide starters for writing (My rock is… or The gem has… or The sand is…)

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: Students will discover that objects can be sorted and classified

based upon their physical properties.

Open 10:15

5 minutes

1. Engage: Remind students of Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop by

Stuart J. Murphy.

2. Ask students “How can these items be sorted and described using

descriptive words?” Hold a gemstone, a rock, and a baggie of sand so the

students can see them. Write answers on board.

3. Review with students the different ways we can describe things: size,

shape, texture, and color.

4. Go over safety items: use all senses except taste, keep rocks, sand and

gems on desk. Tell students that they will use their eyes, ears, and hands

to explore the rocks and sand.

Body 10:20

20-25

5. Explore: Students get 2-3 minutes to explore the rocks and sand for

each sense. Post slides for each sense with descriptive words that students

95

minutes might use.

6. Explain: Model describing the materials. Hand out graphic organizers

and walk around to make sure students understand and to ask questions

about what students are doing.

7. Elaborate: Have students come to the carpet and share one or two of

the adjectives they used for rocks, then sand, then gemstones. Discuss

how the qualities of the objects apply to other types of materials.

Close 10:45

10-15

minutes

8. Evaluate: Students will take one material and write two to three

sentences about it with the adjectives from their chart.

Part 3: Resources

Murphy, Stuart J. (2000). Dave's down-to-earth rock shop. New York, New York: Harper

Collins.

Pictures of rocks, sand, and gemstones:

101

Part 4: Reflection

This was, by far, my most favorite lesson to teach! I enjoyed getting to see how the kids

explored the different materials. I felt that this lesson was most aligned with my chosen standards

for the unit. Students were clearly able to meet the objectives for this lesson. I know this from the

observations I made as the students were exploring, the content of their graphic organizers, and

the descriptive sentences that each student wrote at the end of the activity.

There are several aspects of this lesson that I felt could have gone better. Class

management was okay during this lesson, but I felt that this lesson could have run more

smoothly. I also had to replace several of the plastic baggies that were holding the sand (almost

every table had a sand leak). In the future, I would look for stronger, thicker plastic baggies

instead of using plain Ziploc bags, or even using plastic science dishes with lids. It would have

been nice to have more time for this lesson. I wonder if students would have benefitted from

more time spent on this activity so that they could have better described each object.

There were a lot of neat features in this lesson that I will be sure to use again when

planning other lessons. The story that I read really prepared the students for exploring the

materials. It also helped the students to think of ways that our items could be described (color,

size, textures). The students also benefitted from the several minutes getting to just explore the

materials before they had to focus on describing the items. It would have been interesting to see

if the classroom management would have been better if I had only handed out one item at a time

(first rocks, then sand, last the gemstones) instead of giving these materials all at once. I would

also make sure that I had enough materials for every student, as some of the students were

hoarders and kept all the materials on their own desk instead of sharing. I had planned for

students to explore and complete the graphic organizer on their own, but I quickly saw that this

102

wasn‟t working. I switched the lesson so that the students were examining the materials and then

filling in the graphic organizer at my cue. I then had the students share the details for that item

right then instead of waiting until the end of the lesson. I basically combined steps 6 and 7 from

the lesson plan. It was a huge help for the students to post the descriptive words for each section.

Finally, the evaluation went well too. I made the sentences the “ticket” to get to leave for lunch,

and students quickly wrote a description of one of the items.

This is the type of lesson that I am most comfortable teaching. I feel that it aligns most

clearly with my philosophy of education. I was clearly the “guide” in this lesson, but the students

were definitely the “explorers”.

103

Lesson 6: The Mystery Begins…

Grade Level: 1


Materials needed:

Student writing journals

Pencils

Grammar book, pg 159

Highlighters

Clues about students

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: In this lesson, students will learn how to use a detail web to organize their

thoughts for writing about themselves.

Objectives:


Complete a graphic organizer listing four or more different details about themselves.

Apply the information gathered in their graphic organizer to the first draft of their self

description.

Identify the descriptive words that I have used in the sample by raising their arm

whenever I read a descriptive word.


Focus Standards:







Standard: Writing








104




Standards: Science


Standard: Matter


Assessments:

Graphic Organizer: Details Web

Journal Writing


Graphic Organizers: The graphic organizer will help the students to keep their thoughts

about themselves organized.

Writing and Journals: This strategy will allow students to gain more practice in writing

descriptively.

Visuals: The blurry pictures will help the final performance task seem more lifelike.

Project-based learning: This strategy helps the student to look at the final project as

something that really affects them. This should raise their interest in writing an especially

good description about themselves.


Monitor RG‟s work to make sure he is completing the graphic organizer and writing.

Partner him with classroom helper if needed. If he finishes, he earns a couple of minutes

drawing.


if needed.


Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: Students will discover how organization can help our writing.

Open 10:15

5 minutes

1. Students will be told that several kids in our classroom have been seen

around school being especially respectful, responsible and helpful. The

teachers who saw these actions did not get a clear look at the student, but

they really want to find out who it was so that the student can get the

caught slip. Each student will have to write a self description to aid in

the investigation.

Body 10:20

20-25

minutes

2. Explain and model filling in a details web graphic organizer about

myself. (The topic of my writing—me—will go in the center of the web.

Around the center are details about me. These details show how I look,

feel, sound. I will then use these details to create a picture of myself for

105

readers)

3. Give directions for students to work on pg 159 in the grammar

workbook and complete details web. Instruct students that if they finish

the graphic organizer they shall begin writing about themselves,

highlighting the descriptive words in their writing.

4. Have Frogs at front table, and Ladybugs at the back table (if there is a

helper)

5. Five minutes before coming back to the carpet, have students grab a

highlighter and highlight each descriptive word in their graphic organizer

and writing.

Close 10:45

5 minutes

6. I will share a clue or two about what the students were seen doing, and

some details that I believe describe the students who were “caught.”

Part 3: Resources

106

Details Web

Fill out this details web to help you organize your ideas.

107

Part 4: Reflection

I was not as comfortable teaching this lesson as I was teaching the previous lessons.

There were several aspects of this lesson that went well, and just as many that didn‟t. The story

at the beginning of the lesson was one thing that went well. The students sat on the carpet

enthralled with my story about students getting caught doing the right thing around campus.

Transferring this excitement to the writing was difficult though. About half of the students were

groaning as I explained that they would be writing a description about themselves.

I know that I met the objectives set for this lesson because I approved each graphic

organizer before students could begin writing. The self description was completed by almost all

of the students, but the details used were not the greatest. Every student chose to use similar

details: hair color, eye color, hair length. The students did not choose a great variety of details. It

would have been helpful to model the graphic organizer and descriptive writing in greater detail.

If I were to teach this lesson again, I would make sure to discuss more about what each student

needs to include in their description. I would also make sure that students need to make sure that

their description will fit only them and could not describe someone else in the class. At this point

I think it would help if I chose several descriptions from stories we had read in class that

described the characters in creative ways and share these with students again.

I believe that my insecurities with this type of lesson arise from my fear and/or mild

hatred of direct instruction from my days as a student. I remember sitting in class and being

bored out of my mind, and I don‟t want my students to have this type of experience. I am left

wondering how I can avoid this insecurity and make a direct instruction lesson more memorable

for my students.

108

Lesson 7: The Usual Suspects

Grade Level: 1


Materials needed:

Student writing journals

Pencils

Highlighters

Camera

The Faithful Friend by Robert San Souci

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: Students will be learning about adjectives that can be used to describe their

personalities. They will continue writing their descriptions of self.

Objectives:


Identify the words in the read-a-loud story that are descriptive of the characters during

class discussion.

Compile a list of 5-10 personality and action descriptive words in a whole class

discussion and record these words in their descriptive word dictionary.

Modify their description of self in their journal to include specific personality and action

details about themselves.


Focus Standards:







Standard: Writing






109



Assessments:

Writing journals

Observations


Brainstorming and Discussion: Students will work together to think of different types of

personality and action descriptive words.

Storytelling: This strategy will allow students to see how descriptive writing is used to

enhance the final draft of a story.

Writing and Journals: Students will continue writing in their journal to develop their use

of descriptive words.


Monitor RG‟s work to make sure he is completing the writing. Partner him with

classroom helper if needed. If he finishes, he earns a couple of minutes drawing.


if needed.


Talk with Frogs and Ladybugs about what they would like to write and make notes to

help them keep track of their thoughts. As they tell me the sentence they would like to

write, I will make dashes on the lines of their journal for them.

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: People can be described by their actions and personalities, not

just their appearances.

Open 10:15

15 minutes

1. Read the story The Faithful Friend by Robert San Souci.

2. Discuss how the author used words to describe each of the characters

and the actions that they took throughout the story.

Body 10:20

20-25

minutes

3. Brainstorm different kinds of words that can be used to describe

personalities (hardworking, lazy, grumpy—think of the 7 dwarves from

Snow White—happy)

4. Create a list of “strong action verbs” to use instead of go or went (run,

walk, skip, ride, march, hurry).

5. Have students get out their journals and instruct them to continue

writing their description about themselves. (Frogs at the front table and

Ladybugs at the back table)

Close 10:45

10 minutes

6. Have students come to the carpet and share one or two more clues

about what the students were seen doing and their supposed personalities.

Take pictures of each student to put with their description.

110

Part 3: Resources

San Souci, Robert D. (1995). The faithful friend. New York, New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Part 4: Reflection

This lesson was another one that could have gone better. Although it was better than

yesterday‟s lesson, I failed to meet any of the objectives that I had set. I ended up changing the

lesson so that students were describing what they were “caught” doing around the school. The

students were able to complete the self descriptions and what they were caught doing, which was

a positive of this lesson. However I obviously wasn‟t clear enough in my directions. Students

needed a lot of clarification during this lesson. My classroom management is another area that

could have been better. One student did not complete any of the assignment and ended up having

to be moved to another room because of the distraction that he was causing to the other students.

I am glad that I had this kind of experience with this lesson. It showed me the importance

of planning out all of the details when planning a lesson. I also learned that it is not a good idea

to change a lesson on the fly like I did. In the future, I will work harder to stick to the lesson that

I have planned instead of changing at the last minute.

I would benefit from attending workshops on writing that would boost my writing skills

and knowledge of these skills. I feel that it would also be beneficial to attend a workshop on how

to increase students‟ readiness and willingness to write.

111

Lesson 8: Mrs. Gove‟s Class, in the cafeteria, with a

napkin…

Grade Level: 1


Materials needed:

Typed descriptions of each student with their picture attached

All the clues about the students “caught being good”

Grammar book pg 162: Self Evaluation

Stuffed cow

Lined paper

Timer

Pencils

Part 1: Rationale

Focus and purpose: Students will share their descriptions of self and act as detectives to solve

the case.

Objectives:


Write a description of the stuffed cow on the lined paper in 10 minutes.

Solve the mystery of the students „caught being good‟ by listening to the descriptions

being read.

Complete a self evaluation of their writing on a yes/no chart.


Focus Standards:







Standard: Writing


Standards: Science


Standard: Matter

112


properties
















Support Standards:








Standard: Speaking









Assessments:

Writing

Self evaluation


113

Project-based learning: Students will get to use their writing to solve the mystery we have

been working on this week.

Role plays: Students will be playing the role of detective when listening to their

classmate‟s descriptions.

Visualization and guided imagery: This is an important strategy because the students will

be listening to descriptions and creating the images of the student in their head.



Monitor RG and EW‟s carpet time behavior. If needed give them jobs (holding up the

pictures) or remove to desk.

I will help students who have a difficult time reading the other student‟s self descriptions.

I will walk around the room to help students fill out the self evaluation.

Part 2: Procedure

Concept or rule to be discovered: The descriptions we use in our writing help to create a picture

in the reader‟s mind.

Open 10:15

15 minutes

1. Tell students that we will be doing several different things today. First,

they will write for 10 minutes about the stuffed cow.

2. After this is done, remind students of the mystery we are trying to

solve. Retell the story and review the different clues that have been

revealed so far.

Body 10:30

20-25

minutes

3. Sit at front of class and instruct students to stand up at the start of each

description. Have students stay standing as long as the description could

be describing them. Model once or twice with simple clues (I am a boy,

all boys stay standing).

4. Start reading the descriptions. Before turning the page, have students

make guess (if more than one student is left standing) at the end of the

description. Show the picture of who wrote the clue.

5. After the story have students go to the carpet. Have a discussion about

how we solved the mystery. What kinds of descriptions were the most

helpful? Were you able to make a picture in your head as I read the

descriptions?

Close 10:45

5 minutes

6. Have students return to their desk and take out their grammar

workbook and turn to page 162. Read the questions and wait for each

student to show me thumbs up once they have completed the question.

Part 3: Resources

114

Part 4: Reflection

This lesson went much better than the previous two days‟ lesson. The students were

engaged throughout the entire lesson. I was worried that today would be a bust like the previous

two days. The students proved me wrong though. They stayed on task throughout the whole

lesson and were actively participating during the main portion of the lesson.

The only thing that I would change about this lesson was my classroom management.

Students were so excited during the clue reading portion of the lesson that they were getting a

little too loud and time was wasted waiting for the students to get quiet for the next clue. The rest

of the lesson went very well. The students were excited when they saw the book full of clues

about themselves, complete with their picture. I had every student stand up while I stood next to

the Elmo. As I read the clues, students sat down if the clue DID NOT apply to them. This was a

very good assessment to see how well students understood the power of descriptive words.

Several times throughout this lesson there were clues that could have applied to more than one

student. When this happened, we discussed as a class what would need to change in the

description to make it better and more descriptive of the person who actually wrote the clue.

There was also a clue in which we had to clarify what long and short were in regards to hair. One

student had very long hair that had recently been cut off to her shoulders. In her opinion, her hair

was short. But to other students in the class, her hair was long. I had to then create a rule in

regards to hair length (if you can pull it back into a ponytail, then it is long). By the end of the

class, it was apparent that the students understood which words were the descriptive words and

which words didn‟t help. Students were anxious to discover which students had been “caught”

too.

115

I met all of my objectives except the final one, that students would complete a self

evaluation. I would have met the last objective, but time ran out and the students needed to get to

lunch. I know that students met the other objectives through their participation in class.

116

Post Assessment Data Display

118

Figure 1

This chart represents the results of the descriptive word check. I decided that there were

two ways I wanted to look at the data from this assessment. First, I wanted to see the percentage

of words chosen by the student that were actually descriptive words. This would show me if their

discernment between descriptive and non-descriptive words became more refined over the

course of this unit. Second, I wanted to examine the number of descriptive words the students

were able to choose at the beginning of the unit as compared to the end. This showed me whether

their adjective vocabulary had increased over the two week unit.

Overall the students did very well. In total, there were seven students who showed a

decrease in their performance over the two weeks. Three of these students (students 1, 9, and 11)

had percentages that decreased in regards to the percentage of words chosen that were

descriptive, however their number of descriptive words chosen overall increased. Two of the

students (students 5 and 13) who decreased in the percentage of descriptive words chosen out of

the total number of descriptive words, but they stayed the same or increased in their discernment

between descriptive and non-descriptive words. The final two students (students 15 and 22)

decreased in both areas. Six students were able to find every descriptive word (students 2, 6, 12,

17, 19, and 23) and four students were able to choose descriptive words with 100 per cent

accuracy (students 12, 14, 19 and 20). The biggest gains were made by student 12, who increased

a total of 81 percent in both categories.

120

Figure 2

This chart represents the scores of the first graders on the pre-assessment writing

assignment as compared to the scores on the final write about the stuffed cow. I scored the

writing using a rubric from the Scott Foresman reading text that the school employs for grading

writing (see Resources). The groups used to breakdown the data were the leveled groups that the

students are placed in for reading. The placement in these groups is based on the observations of

the teacher and the student‟s scores on the nonsense word fluency and DIBELS testing. The

frogs are the group who scored the lowest, and the bees are the group that scored the highest. I

thought it would be interesting to see how the writing of these students compared to their

placement for reading.

My first conclusion after looking at these scores was that the Frogs did worse on the final

write than they did on the pre-write. I believe that the reason for this is that the final write was a

shorter time period (only 10 minutes) as compared to the pre-assessment writing time of about

30 minutes. The rest of the students increased their scores by an average of 3 points.

122

Figure 3

The final performance task went very well for the students. There were only two

students who did not succeed in meeting the final performance task goals. Both of these students

return to class about half way through the writing time, and this could be affecting their

performance. The rest of the students achieved the learning goals for this unit.

123

Assessment Analysis

124

The pre-assessments were somewhat helpful in evaluating the students‟ readiness for this

unit. I was able to discover what kinds of words students thought were descriptive words, their

current vocabulary of descriptive words, and whether they were using these words in their

writing. Through the descriptive word check I was also able to reveal the students‟

misconceptions about descriptive words. The descriptive word check had a mix of adjectives and

nouns, and all but one student chose some nouns as descriptive words during the pre-assessment.

There were several things that I would change about my pre-assessments to make them

more appropriate and helpful. The first thing I would change is the writing pre-assessment where

the students are writing about the cow. I did this pre-assessment during the students‟ time at my

writing table during journal time. About 6 students a day focused the entire writing time (about

30 minutes) on writing about the cow, with prompting from me about describing it as if someone

couldn‟t see the cow. I would change this so students are all writing simultaneously for a set

amount of time, like I did during the final assessment. I believe that this kind of writing would

give me a better view of how students were using descriptive words on their own, without my

input. The next thing I would change would be the descriptive word check. Instead of having

students tell me whether or not a word is a descriptive word, I would put the descriptive words in

some sentences (probably 5 or 10 sentences). I would read the sentences to the students, and

have them underline the descriptive word in the sentence. This would ensure that students could

see the context of the word. Several words were confusing to students and I had to explain the

meaning before they could make a decision. I also had students who thought every word could

be a descriptive word on the word check. I feel that using sentences would help with this as well.

The final pre-assessment was a favorite of the students. In this pre-assessment, students reached

into a paper bag and described the items inside. There was only one thing that I would change

125

about this pre-assessment: I did this activity after the descriptive word check this time, but the

next time around I would have the students do this activity after the writing and before the

descriptive word check. The descriptive word check gave many students ideas for words to use

when describing the items in the bag.

The final performance task was an opportunity for the students to apply what they had

learned about descriptive words in an activity that specifically applied to them. Overall the

performance of the students was great. The majority of the students were able to meet the

objectives for this task, with only two students who were not able to meet all of the goals.

126

Summary of Student Growth

127

Student One is a student who comes from a split household. Her mother is in prison and she lives with her

dad and grandmother as well as two brothers. She is slightly overweight and does not seem to have clothes that fit

her properly. The clothes that she does have do not appear to be washed, and the CT has taken her jacket to be

washed on one occasion. She is in the intensive group of readers (frogs). At the start of the year, she could recognize

few letters and letter sounds. She attended kindergarten at the same school and would have been in the kinder-plus

(five days a week instead of just two) class if she had better attendance. She seems to make progress as long as she

makes it to class on time. She gets frustrated easily, especially when goaded by other students.

Student One was able to meet half of the objectives for this unit. She scored a 10 on the

final performance task, which was an average, passing score. Her strengths in this assignment

were the self description and describing what she was caught doing. Her weakness in this

assignment was choosing a variety of descriptive words and then following directions during the

clue phase of the assignment. The cow writing assignment was difficult for this student. She

scored better on the pre-assessment than she did on the final. I believe that this is due to several

factors. During the pre-assessment students were sitting in a small group and had more time to

write, but for the final write students had to complete their description in 10 minutes with no

help. The descriptive word check was another area in which she did okay: she met in one area,

but did not meet in the other. Her percentage of words chosen that were descriptive words

decreased by 5% over the course of two weeks. However the percentage of descriptive words

chosen out of total number of descriptive words increased by 19%. What this tells me is that she

was able to discern more readily between the descriptive and non-descriptive words at the end of

the unit. I believe that this student would benefit from being in class more often. She missed two

days of instruction in an eight day unit. I believe that this affects her in two ways: she misses

instruction and she is not used to classroom routines like the other students, due to the high

number of days that she misses.

Student Two is one of three ELL students in the classroom. He is a well adjusted student and is in the

ladybug reading group, the third highest. He is currently working with the speech therapist twice a week. In some

instances he needs quiet to complete work and if the room is not quiet he gets frustrated and upset. He likes playing

sports like football and soccer, which could signal that he is a kinesthetic learner. He has recently been saddened

by the fact that his dad has moved to Texas to find work.

128

Student Two did very well in this unit. He increased his performance in every area. His

score on the final performance task was 10. His scores on the cow writing assignment increased

by 3 points over the course of the unit. His scores also increased on the descriptive word check.

He was one of the few students to choose all of the descriptive words. I believe that he benefitted

from the two lessons in which students were moving around the classroom. In the future I would

suggest lessons that utilize the kinesthetic learning abilities of this student.

Student Three is a quiet student. He is in the intensive reading group (frogs)and is making steady progress.

He goes to the Title 1 room for instruction every day after lunch for half an hour. He always has a ready smile. He

comes from a large family (he is one of eight children), although I believe he has only a few siblings at home. He

speaks of visiting his brothers in a city two hours away. One of the subjects he was most looking forward to this year

is math, even though he sometimes struggles.

Student Three struggles in writing. He had the lowest score on the final performance task

(7) due to the fact that he did not follow directions and did not write a self description. The

descriptive word check was difficult for him as well. He did not get to do this during the pre-

assessments because he was absent. He chose 5 descriptive words out of the 30 total words on

the word check, of which 16 total words were descriptive words. His percentage of descriptive

words chosen out of the total number of descriptive words was 31%. Of the words he chose (he

chose 13 total words as being “descriptive”), 38% were descriptive words. His scores on the cow

pre-write and final write were the same. He wrote almost the exact same words on the final as he

did on the pre-write. I believe that this student‟s writing will increase in quality and quantity as

he becomes a better reader. I feel that this is the only thing holding him back from becoming a

better writer. I would recommend more reading for him (both on his own and listening to read-a-

loud) to build his confidence with words and sentence structure, and to increase his vocabulary.

His writing is more productive when he has a structured assignment, including writing frames.

The next student is Student Four. Student Four is only in the classroom briefly during the morning routines.

The rest of his day is spent in the special ed classroom. While he is in the classroom, he always has an assistant with

him. He has a difficult time paying attention and sitting still, and on a few occasions, trouble controlling his temper.

129

His brain development is at about a three year old level. The goal for Student Four is to increase his time spent in

the mainstream classroom. The rest of the students are reminded of how to model behavior for Student Four, and it

is amazing to see them acknowledge him when he is acting appropriately and ignore him when he is causing a

disturbance.

Student Four is not present in the classroom during writing.

Student Five is another student in the most intensive group (frogs). She is currently undergoing assessment

for learning disabilities. She has vision problems and requires her glasses for reading. At the beginning of the year

she recognized just three letters and no letter sounds. She seems to have difficulty with memory (per her mom, who

is actively helping to diagnose what is causing Student Five’s difficulties). Twice a week she meets with a speech

therapist. She is in the Title 1 room during writing group for one on one instruction. She is an only child.

Student Five is another student who struggled during this unit. She was absent for the

first week of the unit which contributed to this outcome. Her scores decreased on both the

descriptive word check (from 81% to 69% descriptive words chosen) and on the cow writing

assignment (from a score of 12 to 6). Her final performance task score was an 8, the second

lowest in the class. She is able to tell me a descriptive word with a lot of prompting, but she is

unable to do this on her own. Her strength is her creativity in her story writing; however her

weakness is that she needs one-on-one help to write anything. She can often verbalize the

sentence she wants to write, but she has difficulty forming the words and writing them on the

paper. In the future I would make sure that she is supported with peer helpers or teacher help.

Student Six is the son of one of the teachers at the school. He is a benchmark student and is happy to do his

work. He recently moved to the highest reading group (bees) and is continuing to do well. Every once in awhile he

can get a little chatty and cause the students around him to get a little rowdy. He is the oldest child in his family,

with a new little brother on the way, and both of his parents are very involved in creating his success.

Student Six excelled in this unit. He was excited for all of the assignments and stayed

engaged at all times. At the end of the unit he was able to find all of the descriptive words on the

descriptive word check, and he chose 8 fewer non descriptive words than on the pre-assessment.

On the cow pre-write he scored higher than the rest of the students did on the final write (22). I

was not able to see if his writing improved on this assignment though, because he did not turn in

the final write before taking it home. The final performance task was a task he excelled at as

well. He scored 11 out of 12 on this assignment. He would have scored a perfect 12 if he had

130

elaborated on what he was “caught” doing. His strengths during this unit were the quickness with

which he picked up the descriptive words. He came into the unit with large vocabulary of

descriptive words. In the future I would make sure that this student continues to enjoy writing by

using interesting prompts.

Student Seven is a student from a large family. She is generally a happy student and rarely causes a

disturbance. She is overweight and has mentioned that it is painful to sit criss-cross on the carpet in the morning.

Although she works hard, she often struggles during reading. She is in the third highest reading group (ladybugs).

Her family came to the open house and conferences.

Student Seven performed at level in this unit. She scored a 10 on the final performance

task. This score tells me that she was able to describe herself, what she was caught doing, and

that she participated in the clues portion of the assignment. The cow writing assignment was a

success for her as well. She increased her score by 4 points over the two week unit, which was

above the class average. Her scores on the descriptive word check did not change by an extreme

amount—she chose one more descriptive word and one more non-descriptive word at the end of

the unit as compared to the beginning of the unit. She is not typically a hard worker, but from my

observations during this unit she worked hard throughout the entire unit. In the future, I would

recommend more hands on activities to keep her connected to the unit goals.

Student Eight is a shy student. He comes out of his shell when given responsibility. Lately he has been

acting out at school. I believe this could be due to the fact that he recently became a big brother again. He has one

older brother as well. His parents are divorced, and I believe he lives with his father. In his journal he writes about

his grandparents a lot. He is a student that is at benchmark.

Student Eight did an awesome job during this unit! His description on the final

performance task was one of the best in the classroom. He scored a 12, which was the highest

score possible. His scores on the descriptive word check both showed positive gains. In the pre-

assessment, he chose 4 out of 4 descriptive words for 100% accuracy. During the final

assessment he increased these numbers to 13 out of 14 words. These scores tell me that his

descriptive word vocabulary increased over the course of the unit. The scores on the cow-writing

131

increased by 4 points over the course of the unit. His performance, especially in the writing

assessments, was above average. Throughout the entire course of the unit he was paying

attention and following along with the class, which has not been the case recently. His strengths

in regards to this unit, is his skill at writing. His challenge was his limited vocabulary that he was

working with. This tells me that his writing quality will increase as his vocabulary grows larger.

In the future I would focus on giving this student more challenging reading material, either for

reading on his own or with a parent.

Student Nine is an outgoing student who likes to be around her friends. She is at benchmark and completes

her work quickly as long as she is not distracted by her friends. She recently became a big sister for the second time

and is enjoying it immensely. She completes her read-at-home while reading to her new little brother. Her mom

volunteers in the classroom once a week, and both of her parents are active in her education.

This student struggled with the concepts of this unit. I believe this is because she was not

getting to write about what she wanted to for the two weeks of the unit. She complained on

several different occasions about not getting to write in her journal. Her score on the final

performance task was 9, which was at the lower end of the spectrum in comparison to the rest of

the class. Her written self description did not really fit her looks. She described herself as having

short, brown hair but in reality her hair is blonde and longer than her shoulders. Her score on the

cow writing did increase by 4 points. Her description on this assignment showed me that her

vocabulary increased over the course of the unit. Her descriptive word check scores went in

opposite directions. Her percentage of words chosen that were descriptive words decreased by

8%. She was only able to choose one more descriptive word during the final assessment

compared to at the beginning. Her strength is her ability to work well with others. I paired her

with Student 12, who was having difficulty staying on task during a lesson, and she was able to

help him succeed and complete his work without the usual whining and complaining that he is

known for. It was a challenge for her to not get her way in regards to choosing the topic for her

132

writing. It would be beneficial for her to have to write on specific topics more frequently so that

she will be prepared for the writing that will be required in the coming years.

Student Ten is an exceptional, hard working student. She works quietly and is rarely off task. Her family

seems like they are always on the go, and because of this she is about 25 books behind in the read-at-home program.

She is in the second highest reading group. She likes to tell stories about her life and often talks about the horses

her family races.

Student Ten met or exceeded the goals for this unit. She scored an 11 on the final

performance task. Her score on the cow writing assessment increased by 2 points during the unit.

Her scores on the descriptive word check increased by about 15% in each area. Throughout the

unit she worked hard and made small gains. Her strength was her ability to choose from a large

vocabulary of words for her writing. Her challenges in this unit were relying on her own ideas

for her writing. She has a tendency to talk ideas over with her table group, and you can see these

ideas throughout all of their writing. I would recommend that she be placed at a table by herself

when writing so that she can work on developing her own ideas instead of relying on her

classmates.

Student Eleven comes from an interesting background. Both of his parents are deaf-mute, and a translator

is brought in for conferences and open house nights. He learned to speak from the TV and his older sibling. He is

quiet and most of the time has a difficult time following classroom instruction. He often seems confused by the

directions and lost when writing in his journal. He is one of three students pulled out in the morning for ELL

instruction. He is also pulled out of the classroom twice a week for speech instruction.

Student Eleven struggles everyday with writing. His background has made it difficult for

him to form complete sentences on his own. This unit was no different. His scores on the cow

writing remained the same. The descriptive word check had results going in both directions. His

percentage of the words chosen that were descriptive words decreased by 9% over the two

weeks. His percentage of descriptive words chosen out of the total number of descriptive words

increased from 25% to 56%. These scores reflect the fact that he chose 14 more words during the

133

final word check compared to the beginning. He scored a 9 on the final performance task, which

was at the lower end of the passing scores.

Student Twelve is one of the most interesting students in the classroom. He is an emotional guy who often

has difficulty controlling his behavior. When upset and frustrated he will often cry and cause a disruption in the

class. He is in the intensive reading group, however he reads quite well. There are two reasons he was placed in

this group—It is a boost to his confidence and he does very poorly on the nonsense word fluency timed test that is

one of the placement indicators at this school. He does best with one on one interaction. I believe that this is due to

the fact he recently became an older brother after being the only child for six years. It was recently discovered that

he will be a big brother again soon. He is especially volatile when in close proximity to Student Seventeen. He likes

to be moving around.

Student 12 did well in this unit, especially on the descriptive word check. His scores on

this activity increased by 81% in both areas for which I calculated the percentages. He was one

of only two students to choose all of the descriptive words and only the descriptive words in the

final assessment of this activity. These scores tell me that he has built his vocabulary of

descriptive words throughout this unit. He scored 9 on the final performance task. He would

have scored higher except he did not go into detail beyond his hair and eye color, and he did not

describe where and when he was “caught”. His score on the cow writing increased by 9 points

over the two weeks. This was the greatest gain made by any student. Even though he made great

gains, he struggled with several aspects of the unit. He became extremely frustrated during the

second lesson. I believe this was because it was a new type of learning in the classroom. The

students had never worked in stations all at once like in this lesson. I purposely paired him with a

student that I thought would help, but this was not the case. During another lesson he became

frustrated and I paired him with a different student. This time, the peer was a good helper, and he

was able to work through this frustration and complete the assignment. In the future I would

make sure to have one-on-one time to discuss what to expect during a “new” lesson. I would also

pair him with a peer that can help him to succeed.

134

Student Thirteen is in the highest reading group. She is more than willing to read to anyone who will

listen. Her parents are highly involved in her education, and her mom is in the classroom during writing several

days a week.

Student Thirteen performed well during the writing portions of this unit. Her score on the

cow writing assignment increased by 4 points, which was more than the class average. Her final

write was focused on just the cow; while her pre-write was a rambling 4 page long play-by-play

of what was happening in the classroom that day. On the descriptive word check, she chose

fewer descriptive words at the end of the unit than she did at the beginning. She excelled at the

final performance task though. She had the most descriptive writing in the class. She included 7

sentences describing herself, and three things she was “caught” doing, and one of those three

activities had 3 details. She received a score of 12 on this task. A challenge for this student is to

take her time and focus on the specific activity that is going on. She tends to rush through the

assignment to be the first one done. This leads to carelessness in her spelling and conventions.

In the future I would give her a timer and have her focus on a specific task for the length of the

timer, without changing to any other topic for that period of time. I think this would help her to

correct many of her own mistakes and focus more readily.

Student Fourteen is another student in the highest reading group (bees). He is a happy student who excels

at all tasks placed in front of him. His parents are not involved at school, although they do seem to support his

academics at home.

Student 14 came into the unit with a strong grasp of what a descriptive word was, and he

was already using descriptive words frequently in his writing. He had 100% accuracy on the

descriptive word check, and he chose two more words the second time around. His score on the

cow writing assignment increased by 3 points, which was the average amount of increase for the

class. He received a 10 on the final performance task, which was the average score. I think that

his vocabulary increased during the unit, but he already had a firm grasp on what a descriptive

135

word was and how to use it in a sentence. In the future I would challenge this student by giving

him extensions to do on top of the regular assignment.

Student Fifteen is a fun student who always seems to be moving in hyper-drive. She has one speed and that

speed is fast. She has a difficult time focusing if there is too much noise, so she often uses noise blockers. Because

she is distracted easily, she is often finishing worksheets during recess. She would be a very successful student if she

could focus on finishing her work. She is currently in the third highest reading group. She is raised by her mom and

I don’t believe that her dad is involved in her life at this time. She is obsessed with superheroes, especially Batman.

Student 15 performed at level during this unit. She started the unit choosing 50% of the

descriptive words on the word check. Over the course of the two weeks, her score decreased by

6% (she chose one less word on the final check). Her first score on the cow writing assignment

was a 12, which was average for the class. She did not turn in the final write. Her score on the

final assessment was a 10. She used enough clues about herself, but did not vary the choice of

words to describe herself. Her strength in this unit was her ability to stay focused. Normally this

is difficult for her. I believe that she was able to do this because I incorporated activities that let

her move around instead of just staying still in her seat. Her favorite lesson was lesson #5 using

the gemstones and rocks. I believe that she will benefit from more lessons that incorporate

movement to help her stay on task.

Student Sixteen is one of the quietest students in the classroom. He seems wary of adults and does not want

to let people into his world. He is in the most intensive reading group and is making progress, however he has little

support at home.

Student 16 seemed to really enjoy this unit. He struggled with the cow writing

assignment, with his score only increasing by one point from a 6 to a 7 over the course of the two

weeks. His scores on the descriptive word check increased over the unit as well. At the end of

the unit he chose 4 more descriptive words than at the beginning of the unit. His percentage of

words chosen that were descriptive words was 42% at the beginning and 50% at the end. His

score on the self description final assessment was a 10, which was right with the rest of the class.

I feel that he made gains during this unit, especially considering his reading level. He did

136

struggle with staying on task during the writing portion of the unit, but he is always quick to get

back to work when I catch him. I believe that by improving his reading his writing can only get

better!

Student Seventeen is an engaging student. He is one of the most disruptive students in the classroom and is

on a behavior plan. Every day he takes a notebook home with a note to his parents detailing his day. His parents are

divorced but his time is split equally between the two (i.e. he may fall asleep at his mom’s and wake up at his dad’s).

His attention has increased steadily since the beginning of the year. He is a benchmark student when he focuses on

completing his work and not drawing in his notebook.

Student Seventeen did ok in this unit when he was able to focus on the tasks. His score on

the final assessment self-description was a 9. He was removed from the classroom during this

writing assignment because of the disruption he was causing. His description included many

details about himself, but he omitted any mention of getting “caught” doing something good

around school. If he had included this in his description, it would have been a higher score. His

score increased by 4 points on the cow description writing assignment, from a 13 to a 17. He did

well on the descriptive word check. At the beginning of the unit he chose 6 descriptive words out

of 12 total chosen (he chose 38% of the descriptive words on the word check). By the end of the

unit he was able to choose 16 descriptive words out of a total 17 words chosen. This means that

he identified every descriptive word on the check, and chose one word that was not descriptive. I

believe that this student would benefit from more challenging assignments. I believe that he acts

out when he does not feel challenged.

Student Eighteen is a student who is more concerned with her extracurricular activities than her

schoolwork. Her family is very busy with activities for her older sister and her. Almost every morning she has an

excuse for why she has not done her read-at-home. She is close to student three and she helps whenever he is in the

classroom. She is a benchmark student.

Student Eighteen was only present for the first 4 days of the unit. At the beginning of the

unit she was able to identify descriptive words on the word check with 60% accuracy; however

she only identified 19% of the total number of descriptive words. She scored a 13 on her cow

137

writing assignment, which was one of the slightly above average scores at the beginning of the

unit. I believe that if she had been in class for the final 4 days that she would have excelled at the

final performance task.

Student Nineteen is an excellent student. She is supported by her parents who help her to succeed. She

seems to deeply ponder ideas and sometimes these ideas cloud her emotions. All of the girls want to be her friend

and it can cause problems when all of the girls are crowded around her desk begging her to be their partner.

Student Nineteen was an expert on descriptive words when we started the unit! She was

able to identify 100% of the descriptive words on the word check with 100% accuracy, both at

the beginning and end of the unit. Her writing on the cow at the beginning was a score of 14, and

at the end she scored a 19. Her score increased by a total of 5 points, which was about the

average class increase of 3 points. She scored a 10 on the final performance assessment. I had

expected her to score higher, but she did not elaborate on what she was “caught” doing. In the

future I would support her knowledge and skills by incorporating more literature that used many

descriptive words. I would then have her choose words from these books to include in her own

writing.

Student Twenty is a sweet student who wants to increase his knowledge. He is in the top reading group and

is one of the few students who chooses to read chapter books when given the choice. When I asked him if he wanted

to read to me he answered “Yes, I want to improve my reading so I can do better today.” He is close to his mom,

with whom he lives. His dad is also in his life, and they both work with him on his reading.

Student Twenty started this unit as one of the strongest writers in the class. He frequently

writes several page long stories and was already including color descriptions into his writing. His

score on the cow writing assignment increased by 4 points, from a 15 to a 19, over the course of

the unit. His score on the descriptive word check was lower than I expected at the beginning. He

had an accuracy of 60%, but he only chose 38% of the descriptive words on the word check. By

the end of the unit he had an accuracy of 100% and he chose 81% of the descriptive words.

These scores tell me that his vocabulary of descriptive words grew during the unit. His score on

138

the final performance task was 11, which exceeded the class average. During this unit his

knowledge of how to use descriptive words and his vocabulary of what words to use has

increased. In the future I would support his continued use of descriptive words by actively

encouraging him to re-read and edit his writing to make it exciting by using descriptive words.

Student Twenty-One is a student who loves music. Whenever music is playing in the classroom he is moving

to the beat. He is in the third highest reading group and often struggles. He talks about his mother frequently and I

have only heard him mention his dad on a few occasions.

Student Twenty-One stayed at about the same level after the unit as he was before the

unit. His accuracy on the descriptive word check increased by less than 10%, from an accuracy

of 47% to 56%. The number of descriptive words that he was able to identify increased from 8

words to 15 words over the course of the unit though. He stayed about the same on the cow

writing assignment. His score only changed by 1 point, from a 12 to a 13. His score on the final

performance task was a 10, which was right in with the class average. I believe that this student

was excited to learn during this unit, especially for lesson #5, but he would have benefitted from

more one on one time together to support this skill.

Student Twenty-Two is a student who gets bored easily and does not like to follow the rules. She is

constantly wandering the room and needs direction to get back on task. She is one of the more advanced students in

the classroom and I believe that she needs a more challenging environment. When she gets frustrated she will

complain and throw a fit. She and her sister are raised by their father. She rarely gets to visit her mother (a week in

the summer and several days over Christmas vacation).

Student Twenty-Two was absent for three days during the middle of the unit. She missed

the day in which we were writing the clues for the final performance task, however she was

present on the day that the clues were presented. She was able to participate in the guessing game

with the clues. Her score on the cow writing increased by 4 points over the course of the unit,

from a 9 to a 13. She did not do that well on the descriptive word check. At the beginning of the

unit she was able to choose half of the descriptive words with 53% accuracy. However at the end

139

of the unit she chose 44% of the descriptive words with 50% accuracy. She would have

benefitted from being present in class for the three days that she missed.

Student Twenty-Three is a student who is happy to get his work done. He is in the intensive group for

reading. He is raised by his dad and his grandparents. All of them came to the open house with him, and they all

seem to be happy just like the student.

I was surprised with Student Twenty-Three‟s knowledge of descriptive words at the

beginning of the unit. Although he is in the lowest reading group, he was able to identify all of

the descriptive words with 80% accuracy at the beginning of the unit, and all of the descriptive

words at the end of the unit with 94% accuracy. His scores on the cow writing did not change

during the unit. He started with a score of 9 and that is what he got on the final write too. His

self description for the final performance task was excellent though. He included details that

were definitely original to him, but he did leave out a description of what he was “caught” doing

around school. If he would have included this description, he would have received a score that

exceeded the class average. He does well with a lot of support from the adults in the room. In the

future I would make sure that he is able to work close to an adult so that he can ask questions as

needed.

Student Twenty-Four is the third ELL student, and is the shyest student in the classroom. He struggles with

worksheets but easily succeeds with a little help. He has a large family and I don’t believe that either of his parents

speaks English. He can get emotional at times, and if he feels that the work is too difficult, he will complain of a

stomachache.

This student moved the day before the unit began.

140

Analytical Essay

141

I began the process of writing this unit with a fear of getting the standards and lessons

aligned in a way that would make sense to the first graders. I chose the standards based on the

outcomes I wanted from the students. This unit was an introduction to descriptive words to

enhance the writing. My main focus was on building the students‟ vocabulary and knowledge of

what a descriptive word is, as well as how to use these words in a sentence. I feel that this unit

was somewhat aligned but it could have better. The standards were well chosen and aligned,

except for the career related learning goal. I should have switched the focus standard (career

development) and support standard (communication) for my career related learning goals. The

communication standard was clearly met at multiple times throughout the unit while the career

development standard was skipped when I changed lesson 7. The enduring understandings were

aligned with the standards and the lessons. Each of the questions and understandings were met at

different times during the unit. The lessons were well planned and aligned to a point. When I

made it to lesson 6, the alignment fell apart. At this point, I strayed from the standards and the

students lost interest. The assessments were aligned with the learning goals of this unit. Through

the assessments I was able to determine the students‟ vocabulary and how they were using

descriptive words.

I chose a variety of instructional strategies to engage the wide range of learning styles in

the classroom. There were 14 different instructional strategies used throughout this 8 lesson unit.

The strategies that I used most often were brainstorming and discussion, cooperative learning,

project based learning, and writing/journals. These strategies were important for me to use

because I feel that these strategies are the most effective way for students to construct knowledge

for themselves. Most of the lessons were engaging for the students; however two were

particularly difficult for the students to become excited about. These lessons were lesson 6 and

142

lesson 7. The strategies that I chose to use for these lessons could have been engaging and

exciting, but I did not develop the back story for the project as well as I should have. In the

future I will monitor the student engagement more closely to better realize when I need to shift

the direction of the lesson. I believe that my instructional strategies reflect “best practices” by

allowing students to learn by discovery instead of direct instruction.

Students were enthralled during lesson 5! I began the lesson by reading Dave‟s Down-to-

Earth Rock Shop. This book had a lot of information about rocks and gemstones. Students

learned about rocks in addition to the different ways that the rocks can be described in this

lesson. Students learned about different types of rocks and different ways that these rocks can be

classified.

There are many ways that I feel this unit could be strengthened. Because the primary

focus of this unit is to improve the students writing, I would increase the amount of free writing

that students are doing during each lesson. This would be impossible, though, with the amount of

time that I was working with. I ran out of time in 4 of the 8 lessons. I could teach the lesson one

day, and then have the students write on the next day. Another option would be to increase each

lesson by 15-20 minutes to give students the time to process and then write in their journals. The

next way that I would improve the unit would be to introduce more content to the students. I

taught students vocabulary, but they would benefit from more instruction on ways to place the

words in their writing. I think it would be more effective to teach this unit after teaching the

students about nouns and verbs. Students had some knowledge of nouns and verbs, but not

enough to be clear in identifying these types of words. The final two things I would change

would be lessons 6 & 7. Students did alright on these lessons, but I felt like the unit would have

been strengthened if I changed these lessons. In lesson six I would have the students complete

143

the graphic organizer along with me on the Elmo. I feel this would give students a better idea of

what kinds of details were expected. Lesson seven could have been combined with lesson 6 and

done over two days instead of one.

Transitions are everything! This was the number one thing that I have taken away from

teaching my work sample unit. I found that the more creative I was with the transitions, the

better they went. One of the amazing words during the first week of my work sample was

“migrate” so I used this word throughout the day when students needed to move from the carpet

to their desks. I also added how the students were to migrate by choosing animals that migrate in

the wild (butterflies, caribou, geese, etc.). The students did amazing with this strategy.

Another thing that I learned during this unit is to write down my observations. This

would have aided me greatly when I was assessing the students. Taking notes would have cut my

grading time in half and helped me to make more comments about the students‟ progress during

this unit.

I also learned that it is not important to change a lesson in the five minutes before you are

going to teach the lesson, unless you have properly planned for this eventuality. I did this on

lesson seven without proper planning and I felt like it was a huge failure, for me and the students.

In the future, if I wasn‟t comfortable with the lesson for the day, I would postpone the lesson

until the next day and continue with what the students had been doing the previous day.

The final observation I made about myself, as a teacher and student, is that I am not a fan

of direct instruction. There were lessons during this unit in which students would have benefitted

from direct instruction, but because of my fear/hatred of direct instruction it didn‟t happen. This

is an area of my teaching that I will be focused on improving in my upcoming units.

144

Resources

145

Websites:

Read, Write, Think Lesson Plan: Descriptive Writing and the 100th

day of School


Books:

Cuyler, Margery (2000). 100th day worries. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Books for

Young Readers.

Joy, N. (2007). The secret olivia told me. East Orange, New Jersey: Just us Books, Inc.

Sendak, Maurice (1963). Where the wild things are. New York, New York: Harper Collins.

Murphy, Stuart J. (2000). Dave's down-to-earth rock shop. New York, New York: Harper

Collins.

San Souci, Robert D. (1995). The faithful friend. New York, New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.

Scott Foresman Reading Text, Teachers Edition, Unit 3

Scott Foresman First Grade Grammar Workbook, page 162

Software:

Turning Point

PowerPoint


146

Appendix A:

Pre-assessment work samples

155

Appendix B:

Formative Assessments

164

Appendix C:

Final Performance Task

work sample first grade detective descriptives writing workshop tasha grant

Documents