"SLICE OF LIFE" NARRATIVE

Writing Workshop
“Slice of Life” Narrative

Author(s):


Brittney Diggs
Kim McMahan
Courtney Blanchard

Grade Level:


5th Grade

Timeframe:

10 days (2 weeks)
1 hour a day

Lesson Description or Explanation

Students will be able to participate in a 2 week writing workshop. They will create a “slice of life” narrative. They will go through the immerging, revising, and editing process. At the end of the writing workshop they will publish their finished work with the use of technology of their choice. They will learn both the advantages and disadvantages of they type of technology that they choose to use to publish.


Indiana Curricular Standards


5th Grade Reading and Writing Standards:

-5.5.1 Write narratives (stories) that:
· Establish a plot, point of view, setting, and conflict.
· Show, rather than tell, the events of the story.

-5.5.2 Write responses to literature that:
· Demonstrate an understanding of a literary work.
· Support judgments through references to the text and to prior knowledge.
· Develop interpretations that exhibit careful reading and understanding.


ISTE Standards

-Technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, Web tools, digital cameras, scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)

-Di -Discuss common uses of technology in daily life and the advantages and disadvantages those uses provide. (1, 2)
Assessments
Formative/Summative

Formative Assessment:
Though out the writing workshop we will assess the students during conferencing, observations through out the two weeks, and by peer and self assessments. During the conferencing we will use an assessment grid which will include:
Is child writing for meaning? Observation of the child understands of the writing process. Goals we have for the students. Evidence of the child’s progress in learning. We will also observe students throughout the workshop. We will see if they participate in discussion, immerge appropriately, and stay on course during the two weeks. The self and peer assessment will help us to create a learning community within a classroom. The students will be able to reflect while engaged in their thinking process during their learning. Students will give themselves self-evaluations and their classmates peer evaluations. This will let students see each other as a resource for understanding and checking for quality work, against previous criteria.

Summative Assessment:
We will give them a final grade based on their published piece of writing. We will make sure that they have the criteria of a “slice of life” in their writing. We will assess them in making sure that they are writing for meaning, descriptive writing, focus point, correct grammar, voice, and a narrative based in a moments time. We will see how organized their power point is. We will evaluate their ability to contrast the pros and cons of the software program.

Prior Knowledge

Curricular Knowledge or Skills:
To activate the students prior knowledge we are going to post a “KN” chart. The “K” means what they already KNOW. On day one we are going to allow students to scaffold on what they already know about “slice of life” narratives and also what they know about what good writers do. They will each choose one thing they already know and write it under the “K” section of the classroom chart.

Technology Knowledge:
We will have the students add to a classroom forum about what they know about publishing work by using technology. They will also discuss disadvantages and advantages when using technology. They will also go back to the forum at the end of the workshop to explain what positive and negative aspects they had while using the technology.

Technology


Internet Resources:
-CNN Interactive Learning Resources:
http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/.com

-Clip Art:
http://School.discovery.com/clipart.com
8
www.sliceoflifenarrative5th.blogspot.com/

Software:
Microsoft office (power point, clip art, and Microsoft word)

Materials:
-Sticky notes
-“KN” chart
-20 “slice of life” Immerging books
-Writing journals
-Computer with Microsoft office and internet
-Anchor writers:
Come on Rain Karen Hesse
Puddles Jonathon London


Procedure

*Day 1:

On the first day of the writing workshop we will give them an expectation handout which will explain the writing workshop. It will have expectations, immerging questions, editing strategies, and a daily calendar that will explain what we will do each day in the workshop. We will do a “K” chart with the students. The students will explain what they know about what good writers do. They then explain what they know about slice of life narratives. We will do this with the entire class. We will have the students come to the front of the board to write down they think they know. We will then go to immersion. During immersion we will let the students immerge themselves in picture books. We will allow the students to sit wherever they want to in the classroom. All of the picture books will be narratives. While they are immerging they will use sticky notes to write down what the notice throughout the text. Once they finish a book they will read another one. They will then stick their sticky notes under the “N” part of the chart. We will let the students immerge through the text for fifth-teen minutes. We will then get back together as a class and talk about everything we noticed throughout the text. The students will then take there time in computer class using a “class forum.” They will write in the forum about different types of publishing features that they know of that deals with technology. This will also write advantages and disadvantages when using technology.

*Day 2:

On the second day we will let the students immerge for fifth-teen minutes. We the come back together as a class to allow them to talk about what they noticed in their text. We will add onto the “N” part of the chart. We will then do a mini lesson over how to choose an appropriate “slice of life” topic. During the mini lesson we will read the students an anchor writing, Puddles by Jonathon London. After we do the mini lesson the students will use their writing journals to reflect on topic ideas for their narratives.

*Day 3:

We will start the day off reading the second anchor writer, Come on Rain by Karin Hesse. We will then discuss how the book was a good slice of life narrative. The students will then be able to immerge in the stack of text and write down on sticky notes what they notice. We will then come back together as a whole class and discuss what the whole class noticed. The students will then reflect on topic ideas for their “slice of life” narratives.

*Day 4:

We will begin the hour by doing immersion. We will then go over their noticing’s as a whole class. We will then let them choose an appropriate topic to start their slice of life narrative. We will then conference with the students on the topics to make sure they are on the right track. We will give them feedback on how to make their topic more of a “slice of life.”

*Day 5:

We will do a mini lesson with the students on how to do the writing process. We will give ideas on how to make concept maps to develop their topic. We will show them what to expect during conferencing with the teacher and questions that will be asked. We will show them examples of drafts, revisions, editing processes, and the publishing stage. After the mini lesson the students will be able to start revision for their paper. They should all have topics already.

*Day 6:

The students will work on the revision process. I will be going around and conferencing with each student. The conferencing will include questions that I will ask the students such as; What makes you a good writer, what do you want me to understand after I read your draft? I will then read their draft with the student. I will then give the student feedback over their drafts. I will then teach the student something that they can do to make their writing better. I will then have the student give it a try and come back to make sure the student is on the correct track.

*Day 7:

The students will still be able to work on the revision process, and the conferencing with the students will continue.

*Day 8:

The students will work on revision. If revision is done the students will then start the editing process. They will use the editing strategies from the overview hand out that we gave them on day 1 to edit the papers.

*Day 9:

The students will be able to work on their editing procedures and teacher editing will take place.

*Day 10:

The students will now be able to publish their finished work. They can use Microsoft word to publish their writing piece. They will use clip art to make illustrations fit their writing. They will then upload their document to a power point slide. After each student is done typing out their paper and uploading it to a slide on the same power point show we will have a classroom slide show of everyone’s pieces of writing. The students will go over the pros and cons of using Microsoft word and Microsoft power point in the class forum. This way the students can read all there other classmate’s comments.

Differentiated Instruction

ESL
Students who know English as a second language will be partnered up and will work with that person. They will help them and transcribe what is going on. Provide picture aid support and clip art print outs with correct spelling of the words so they can use it as a tool for writing their piece and a resource to help with creating illustrations. The level and clarity of their writing will vary depending on the level of ESL Learner. Pair up a level five ESL student with a level one or two ESL student for more support.


Challenge/Extend

For back-up (work which can be done if the student is done with his/her work for the day) the student can get online at http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/. CNN Interactive Learning Resource is a website where students can see what is happening in the today’s news. They can learn what is going on around the world. During the time they are on the webpage they can explore and discover the news stories, but they will be expected to write a short reflection about at least one thing they learned while on the website. This work can be used for another assessment.

Special Needs

Allow the students to illustrate a story in pictures and allow them to verbally read the story back to us. We could then write the story for them as it was told to us. They can also use clip art to illustrate their pictures. If they are able then they can tell the story to Microsoft word. They can tell the story, and the computer can type it out.