Informative/Explanatory Informative Article Unit Introduction

Informative/Explanatory Informative Article Unit Introduction NOTE Common Core State Standards are listed in Table of Contents after each lesson title as well as on actual lesson pages. Sometimes, in the process of revising, original lessons were deleted or moved and new lessons added. Lesson numbers were not changed, but the pages were renumbered to be sequential in each unit. These lessons fulfill expectations for CCSS although certain words need to be added or changed to strengthen the alignment. For example, CCSS refers to informative text as informative/explanatory. In this unit students will write an Informative Article about an expert topic using an informative/explanatory structure. The expert topic refers to a topic they already know well and do not need to research. The informative/explanatory structure consists of an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Student Goals: 1. Students will write an informative text to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. 2. Students will introduce a topic and group related information together. 3. Students will develop the topic with facts, definitions and details. 4. Students will use linking words and phrases to connect ideas. 5. Students will provide a concluding statement or section. 6. Students will use reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, to check and correct spelling. To incorporate the Common Core State Standard 3.W.6, to "use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing," you may choose to: Take digital photographs of shared experiences. Create a PowerPoint of writing with voice recordings. Use story-making applications from ipads or other tablets. Type final projects-use WORD publishing forms such as postcards and brochures. Share writing over school announcement system. Have students project the written pieces using a document camera. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-1 REVISED June 2014

Celebration at the end of the publishing process is an important way to let students know we value their writing. It is something to look forward to and can motivate students to do their best work while publishing. Celebrations can be as simple as sharing writing with a partner or as elaborate as an author s tea with parents. It is entirely up to you. Try different ways to celebrate at the end of each unit and have a marvelous time with your students as you write together through the year. Unit Overview: Students will write an Informative Article about an expert topic using an informative organizational structure. The expert topic refers to a topic they already know well and do not need to research. The informative organizational structure consists of an introduction, a body and a conclusion which distinguishes itself from the beginning, middle and end of the narrative organizational structure. Teachers may want to modify this assignment to address individual class/student needs. Suggestions for modifying include: Rather than leaving the topic open to student choice, pick a shared experience (a field trip, a unit of study, a familiar location as a setting) that allows you to build common vocabulary. Allow motivated (could be TAG) students to research more information Several lessons ask student to share with a partner. You may want to predetermine partners for the entire unit. The lessons follow the steps in the writing process and call on the teacher to model an expert topic for students throughout the unit. Feel free to use the model topic of Our Classroom with examples in the lessons. Or use another expert topic of your choice, which will be used throughout the unit. The mentor texts chosen for this informative article unit, a student sample of an informative article, Ballet, and a Scott Foresman passage, follow the simple informative structure of introduction, body and conclusion. It is important to note whether other informative texts you may read follow this same structure. At the end of the unit, there are two culminating lessons. One is to publish the Informative Article. The other is to write a cinquain poem. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-2 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article Table of Contents Unit Introduction... IA- 1 Table of Contents...IA- 3 IA1. What is Informative Writing? (W.3.4; W.3.5)... IA- 5 Student Sample Ballet...IA- 7 IA2. Expert List (W.3.4; W.3.5)... IA- 9 Expert List Brainstorm... IA-11 IA3. Selecting an Expert Topic (W.3.4; W.3.5)... IA-13 Web - Our Classroom... IA-15 Web Ballet... IA-16 IA4. The Graphic Organizer (W.3.4; W.3.5)... IA-17 Simple Informative Organizer... IA-19 Simple Informative Organizer, Teacher Model... IA-20 Student Sample - Ballet... IA-21 IA5A. Drafting (W.3.4; W.3.5; W.3.2.a; W.3.2.b; W.3.2.d)... IA-23 IA5B. Checking your Organization (W.3.4; W.3.2)... IA-25 Teacher Example Draft Our Classroom... IA-27 IA6. Leading with a Question (W.3.5; W.3.2.a)... IA-29 IA7. Revising the Body (W.3.5)... IA-33 IA8. Conclusion Paragraph with Linking Words & Phrases (W.3.2.c; W.3.4; W.3.5)... IA-35 Linking Words and Phrases... IA-37 IA9. Ending Punctuation (W.3.5)... IA-39 Teacher Model with Punctuation... IA-42 Teacher Model without Punctuation... IA-43 IA10. Using an Editing Checklist (W.3.5)... IA-45 Editing Checklist... IA-47 IA11. Guide Words in the Dictionary (L.3.2.g)... IA-49 Guide Words Practice Page #1... IA-51 IA11a.Checking for Spelling Errors (W.3.5; L.3.2.e; L.3.2.f)... IA-53 Teacher Model with Misspellings... IA-55 Fixing Spelling Errors...IA-56 IA12. Publishing (W.3.6)... IA-57 Published Teacher Model... IA-59 IA13. Poetry-Cinquain (L.3.3.a)... IA-61 Cinquain Structure... IA-63 End of Unit Checklist... IA-65 Teacher Resources: Scott Foresman Third Grade Resources TQW Teaching the Qualities of Writing by JoAnn Portalupi and Ralph Fletcher Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-3 REVISED June 2014

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Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA1) What is Informative Writing? Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will be introduced to informative texts. Students will understand that the purpose of an informative article is to inform and that it contains factual information. Students will identify main ideas and details in several informative articles. Standard(s): W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Gradespecific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1 3 above.) W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. Materials: Mentor Text-Looking At Rocks Scott Foresman Student Edition 3.2 page 61 Student Model Text Ballet (attached at end of lesson) Anchor chart on Informative Writing (example attached at end of lesson) Connection: Recently we wrote personal narratives. Remember writers, a narrative tells about an event in our lives and has a beginning, middle and an end. This week we will begin a different type of writing called informative writing. (Post and point to chart as you explain informative writing). Informative writing always informs the reader. There are lots of different types of informative such as a biography, a report, and a how to. We have read some informative pieces this year such as (Explain to students that each one of these authors (of the informative texts) they have read wrote to inform the reader about a particular topic using factual information.) The type of informative we will write is an informative article. Have you heard the word article before? (Make connection to newspaper or magazine articles.) In this unit, we are going to find a topic you know about and write an article to inform our audience. Active Engagement (guided practice): Teacher and student read examples of an informative article. I have two articles, one from our Scott Foresman Reading Street (3.2 p. 61) and one written by a third grade student. Let s read the Scott Foresman piece. While reading, think about the author s purpose and the information he or she has given the reader. Active Engagement (guided practice): After reading, ask students to think about the author s purpose and the information explained. Discuss in partners. Then with whole class. Now partners, share what you think is the author s purpose and tell the factual information explained.. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-5 REVISED June 2014

So you can see that in an informative article the author has a main idea and gives details to support his main ideas. Connect for students how the author has a main idea related to the topic as well as details to illustrate the main idea. Repeat process with student example. Continue using the language of main idea and details to prepare students for the graphic organizer they will use in lesson 5. Link to Independent Practice: As writers, it is important to understand the structure of an information article. Today, I want you to find some examples of informative texts in your Scott Foresman Anthology. After you have found one, share at your table: The title How you know it is informative? The information shared. Everyone at your table find an example of an informative text. See if you can all find a different one, there are plenty of examples in Scott Foresman. Closure: Summarize informative chart. Reteach the idea that factual information in an informative article contains at least one main idea and the details that support it. Tomorrow we will begin to think about possible topics for our informative articles. Writers, be thinking today and tonight about what topics you know well and which topic you might choose for an informative article. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Scott Foresman Reading Street 3.2 Informative Article from third grade student. Informative Writing Types Purpose Organization Features Biography Reports Recipe How to Article Informative Article To Inform Introduction with clear focus statement Body with main ideas and details Conclusion Captions Illustrations Diagrams Charts Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-6 REVISED June 2014

Ballet By 3 rd grader from Capitol Hill Elementary, Portland, OR Imagine yourself in a quiet peaceful theater with a crowd of people staring at an empty stage. Then a dancer comes on. You are at a Ballet. You will learn much about Ballet if you read this article. There are many things that make Ballet so cool. One is that the dancers mostly dance to classical music. The dancers wear tight clothing because they can stretch. If you were in jeans you couldn t stretch. You have to stay healthy and get lots of sleep and exercise. Are you planning to come see a Ballet, well, come in the winter you might catch the Nutcracker! It s worth seeing. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-7 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA2) Expert List Writing Teaching Point(s): Students create a list of topics (expert list) to be used to write an informative article. Standard(s): W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Gradespecific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1 3 above.) W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Chart paper and markers Writing Notebook Anchor chart for informative text Connection: Writers, yesterday we switched gears, we learned about our next type of writing, the informative article. Remember, its purpose is to inform and it will contain factual information. (Refer to anchor chart created yesterday.) Today we will begin thinking about and listing some expert topics for the informative article. Teach (modeling): Notes: The following is an example of the brainstorming for an expert list. The sample categories can be drawn upon for brainstorming topics. The teacher may choose to narrow the brainstorming categories to one or two topics. One strategy writers sometimes use for brainstorming is creating a list, or writing down a series of ideas. So, I ll make a list of some expert ideas on this chart. Teacher models ideas and adds student ideas to expert topic chart: Places I Know Well:. my home the school cafeteria the playground the classroom. Things I ve Learned knitting gray whales studying for a test.planning a party. Important Objects. I can share some information about these objects with my reader my dog bike or my collection of. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-9 REVISED June 2014

Things I Care For or My Jobs/Responsibilities. I know something this that my reader may find interesting. walking our dog cleaning my room recycling. People I Know Well and Admire I can explain or share information about this person. a teacher grandma the President. Active Engagement (guided practice): Teacher and students brainstorm ideas and teacher lists them on chart paper. Link to Independent Practice: Now it is time for you to create your own list of ideas for an informative article. This is one strategy for gathering ideas before writing. Students work individually, choosing and listing ideas in their student writing notebook ideas bank. Teacher circulates, works with students, and adds ideas to the expert list (can include a student s name alongside each new idea shared.) Teacher debriefs with students and they either partner or popcorn share. Students add new ideas to their own lists. Closure: Celebrate ideas by charting the ideas on master expert topic list (To be used in IA3) Tomorrow you will be choosing the topic for your informative article. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Tressa Bauer- Lesson Two from Informative Article Unit 2009 Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-10 REVISED June 2014

Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-11 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA3) Selecting An Expert Topic Writing Teaching Point(s): Selecting a topic from expert list. Generating words and phrases associated with selected topic. Determining whether writer knows enough about topic to write article. Standard(s): W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Gradespecific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1 3 above.) W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Class expert list (from lesson 2) Chart paper Writing notebook Web (graphic organizer attached at end of lesson) Connection: Review lesson 2 expert list. Yesterday we created a list of expert ideas. Look at all the good ideas! Today we are going to choose one topic from the list and make a web of all the words and phrases that we can think of about that single topic. We are going to decide if that is a topic that we know enough about to write an informative article about. Teach (modeling): Teacher models by thinking aloud, considering the list and selecting a topic. Teacher should intentionally select a topic that is a non-example, a topic that he/she doesn t have enough information to write about. I m going to choose my collection of bottle caps. Now I ll create a web of all the ideas and facts I know about bottle caps. (Teacher models webbing words like colorful, pretty, 21 in total, some from soda, some from beer, some from juice ) I m looking at the information I have about my bottle cap collection. I don t really have much information to teach or inform an audience. I don t know enough about bottle caps, I guess. I don t know how they are made, what they are made of. Maybe this is not the best topic for me. I ll look for another topic from the expert list. How about something from the places I know category. I like my idea of Our Classroom. I m going to put that word in the middle of a web organizer and see if I have enough factual information about that to write an informative article. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-13 REVISED June 2014

Remind students that this will not be the topic that they choose for their own work, rather it is your model for how to write an informative article. Active Engagement (guided practice): Students suggest words/phrases on classroom web. Teacher clusters like ideas, asks for student input. When list seems complete Teacher stops the webbing and looks over the list. There are a lot of details about our classroom on our web. Let s see do you think we have enough information about our classroom to write an article about it? Yes, I have enough factual information to write an article about our classroom. Link to Independent Practice: Students work in writing notebook, they create a web with words and phrases on their selected topic. Good writers use this prewriting activity to make sure they have enough information to tell an audience and keep them interested. My first choice of topic, my bottle cap collection did not work. I found out after webbing words and phrases associated with my collection that I did not have that much knowledge of bottle caps. So I chose another topic from my list, Our Classroom, and discovered I did have enough factual information to write an informative article. Plus, I think it will be a more interesting topic for my readers. Now you will follow the same steps. Choose a topic, web words and phrases associated with the topic. Once a student has finished, they pair up with a partner to determine whether or not they have enough to write about. Now with your writing partner, decide if you have enough information to write an article on that topic. Teacher circulates around the room for drop in conferences with partners. Closure: In informative writing it is helpful to have enough information to write about and also one that will be interesting. Share with a new partner how you determined if you have enough information on your topic. Ask for students to share with a new partner or small group how they determined if they have enough information to write an informative article. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Tressa Bauer Informative Article 2009 Lesson 3 Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-14 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA4) The Graphic Organizer Writing Teaching Point(s): Students look at mentor texts and identify the organizational structure. Students use simple informative graphic organizer to outline their informative articles. Standard(s): W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Gradespecific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1 3 above.) W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Anchor chart Informative Writing, see lesson (IA1) Simple informative graphic organizer Writing notebook with web from previous lesson Copy of class web for document camera/overhead Copies of mentor text; the student-written informative article Ballet. Connection: Yesterday you chose a topic and made a web of words and phrases. Today you will complete a graphic organizer for your topic. This tool will help you draft your informative article. Teach (modeling): Teacher distributes copies of the mentor text Ballet Using a mentor text, teacher reviews the organizational structure of an information article. Let s review the parts of an informative article, (refer to anchor chart from lesson 1) an introduction, a body and a conclusion. What are these things? An introduction? Anyone have a good idea why we call it an introduction? Students respond to teacher questions. Raise your hand if you can find the introduction in the article, Ballet. Will you read it to us? (Make sure all students are identifying the introduction) The introduction is where the writer introduces the topic to the reader. It is where the writer captures the interest of the reader. Now the body of an Informative article, what would that be? Have students share and read aloud as they identify the parts. The teacher continues to have a conversation with the class to create a common understanding of the body paragraph. Finally, the conclusion. Any ideas? Elicit student responses and reach a common understanding of conclusion. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-17 REVISED June 2014

Active Engagement (guided practice): Using the web about the classroom, teacher and students begin to fill out the graphic organizer. First, we are going to focus on one part of the article, the body. The body has a main idea and details. I am writing about the classroom, so then the body paragraph only contains things about the classroom. Teacher models putting main idea and details (see example at end of lesson) in the body section of the organizer. Teacher models selecting one cluster of the web, and limiting the body to a manageable part of the larger topic. I m going to write my first idea. On an organizer, you don t have to write sentences. You write down only a few words. These words or phrases will remind you of ideas for writing sentences in your draft. This is what writers do. They use an organizer and write in words or phrases to plan their writing. Now it s your turn. From your web, choose a main idea to put in the body of the organizer. Write this idea, a word or phrase, not a sentence, on your organizer. After enough time for students to put their main idea down, move onto the details. Now I am going to add details about that idea and then you do the same. Students continue to add details to the body section. Finally, I don t want to put this away until we have added a phrase or an idea for the introduction and a phrase or an idea for the conclusion. This will help me in the next lesson when I start to write my draft. Teacher models by adding a short phrase to the introduction such as My classroom - a lot happens there. Students do the same with their organizer. Pair share or popcorn to monitor progress. Teacher models a short phrase for the conclusions such as Room 20, a great place to learn. Teacher helps students come up with short phrases for the introduction and the conclusion by asking for ideas from the whole class. Students do the same. Pair share or popcorn. (See attached sample graphic organizers at the end of this lesson.) Link to Independent Practice: Closure: Tomorrow we will take the information we organized in the informative graphic organizer and start drafting our informative articles. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-18 REVISED June 2014

Informative Article Simple Informative Organizer Student Name: Date: Introduction: Body: Main Idea Details: Conclusion: Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-19 REVISED June 2014

Informative Article Simple Informative Organizer Student Name: Date: Introduction: Classroom a lot happens in there. Body: Main Idea The Gathering Place is my favorite. Details: Special guest talks Authors chair Read alouds Classroom meetings STAR students Conclusion : Room 20 is a great place to learn. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-20 REVISED June 2014

Ballet By 3 rd grader from Capitol Hill Elementary, Portland, OR Imagine yourself in a quiet peaceful theater with a crowd of people staring at an empty stage. Then a dancer comes on. You are at a Ballet. You will learn much about Ballet if you read this article. There are many things that make Ballet so cool. One is that the dancers mostly dance to classical music. The dancers wear tight clothing because they can stretch. If you were in jeans you couldn t stretch. You have to stay healthy and get lots of sleep and exercise. Are you planning to come see a Ballet, well, come in the winter you might catch the Nutcracker! It s worth seeing. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-21 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA5A) Drafting Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will create a first draft of an informative article. Standard(s): W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Gradespecific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1 3 above.) W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) W.3.2.a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension. W.3.2.b. Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details. W.3.2.d. Provide a concluding statement or section. Materials: Writing paper Completed graphic organizers Connection: Yesterday you filled in your graphic organizer on your chosen topic. Today you will write your first draft of the article. Teach (modeling): Show students how to work from an organizer. Have your organizer and a clean draft page. I have my organizer, complete with ideas for an introduction, the main idea and details (body) and a conclusion. I ll start by rereading my organizer, so that I remember what I plan to write. Each of these sections will become a separate paragraph in my draft. In the introduction section it says Classroom - a lot goes on in there. I know that is my topic, but it doesn t sound like a sentence. Let s see hmmm how can I make that sound better? I know. I want to introduce or tell the reader something about my classroom. So I write.. I am going to tell you about my classroom. I want to share my feelings about my classroom. I ll write... It is a great place. I feel happy and safe in my classroom. Our classroom is a busy place, so I write... A lot happens in there. One thing I especially like is the way it is set up, so I write I like the way it is set up. Teacher rereads aloud: I am going to tell you about my classroom. It is a great place. I feel happy and safe in my classroom. A lot happens in there. I like the way it is set up. I ve changed my ideas and thoughts into sentences. I like my sentences, and I like my introduction. Active Engagement (guided practice): Students write their introductions. Okay, you try writing an introduction. When they finish, tell them to cross off that section of the organizer. Pair share and Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-23 REVISED June 2014

select a few to share whole group. Writers, read your introduction to a partner. Teach (model): Now I am going to look at my graphic organizer in the body section and remember what I planned to focus on for that paragraph. I narrowed my topic to one aspect of the classroom, the gathering place. There are lots of other things, but I can t write about those things in this paragraph. I have all I need to write about the gathering place right here on my organizer. (teacher rereads body section of organizer again) Teacher models writing body. Example: I have chosen the gathering place because it is my favorite spot. I write The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom. The first idea is special guests, so I ll write It is where we have special guest visits. Continue to focus on changing the idea to writing a sentence It is where we sit for read-alouds and class meetings. It is where we have author s chair and share our writing. It is where we meet for student star of the week. Teacher models rereading draft. That sounds pretty good to me. I know that I am going to make some changes to make it better. I noticed when I reread it many of my sentences start the same way. I m going to have to think about how to make that better when I revise. Active Engagement (guided practice): Now you look at your organizer and start writing your body. Stick to the plan! Pair share and select some for whole group share. Teach (model): Now I m ready to write my conclusion. I like my introduction because it tells my reader what the topic is. I like the body because it informs the audience that the gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom and it gives detail about why I like that spot in the classroom. Now the conclusion s job is to let the reader know that I am finished. I m not going to just say the end, that s not a good way to end anything. We re third graders, ready for something more. Let s try to say what we said in the introduction, but use different words. If we are really crafty we may leave the reader with one other thing to think about. Teacher models. Reread the organizer, conclusion section. Write the conclusion. Now you can see that room 20 is a great place to learn. Next time you are at my School stop by my classroom. We ll invite you to the meeting area. Active Engagement (guided practice): Now it is your turn. Look at your organizer. Write your conclusion. Closure: Partners share parts of their drafts with each other. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) SF Unit 6, TE, WA4, Topic and Detail Sentences Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-24 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (5B) Checking Your Organization Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will use their graphic organizers to determine that their drafts have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Standard(s): W.3.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Student drafts Student completed graphic organizers Connection: Writers, the last time we were together you wrote a draft for your informative article. Today, we are going to make sure that the information you included in your graphic organizer is included in your draft. Teach (modeling): Students have with them their student drafts and their completed graphic organizers. Remember that we used the organizer to help us plan for our article. We took great care to make sure that the organizer held our ideas and organized them into an introduction, body and conclusion. Now, we can use the organizer to go back and make sure that our writing contains all the things we felt were important. We can use it as a guide. Teacher shares class graphic organizer and draft with the class using a document camera or the overhead. (See end of lesson for example draft) First, I am going to look at the introduction. I said that I loved my classroom. Did I convey to my reader that idea in my writing? (Teacher reads aloud the introduction) Yeah, I think I expressed a positive feeling toward my room in the introduction. Now, let s look at the body. This is where there may be some details I have left out. Teacher rereads graphic organizer and the body paragraph, continues to think aloud discussing if the body paragraph contains a main idea and all of the details from the graphic organizer. The motion of going from the organizer to the text is important to model to the students the work that they will do in their own practice. Repeat for conclusion. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-25 REVISED June 2014

Active Engagement (guided practice): Now, put your organizer and your draft side by side on your desk and carefully go through the introduction. Make sure that the information you planned on in your organizer is in your draft. Next, look at the body and make sure that you have all your ideas and all the details you planned to use. Finally, look at the conclusion and do the same. Link to Independent Practice: Have partners check with each other to confirm presence of introduction, body and conclusion in their first draft. Closure: Writers, we have planned, we have drafted and tomorrow we are going to start to make our good writing better. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgements) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-26 REVISED June 2014

Example Draft: I am going to tell you about my classroom. It is a great place. I feel happy and safe in my classroom. A lot happens in there. I like the way it is set up. The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom. It is where we have special guest visits. It is where we sit for read alouds and class meetings. It is where we have author s chair and share our writing. It is where we meet for student star of the week. Now you can see that room 20 is a great place to learn. Next time you are at our School. Stop by my classroom. We ll invite you to the meeting area. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-27 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA6) Revision Leading with a Question Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will draft an introduction that leads with a question. Standard(s): W.3.2.a. Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension. W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Writing Paper Graphic organizers Teacher and student versions Drafts Teacher and student versions TQW D-18 Lead with a Question Connection: Yesterday, we drafted our informative articles using our graphic organizers as a guide. We took the words and phrases and turned them into sentences. Today, we are going to look at the introduction again. I want to share with you a way I have learned that can make your introduction more interesting. Teach (model): Using a document camera/overhead share the writing from the previous lesson. Okay, I m looking at the writing I did yesterday. I love my third grade classroom. It is a great place. I feel happy and safe in my classroom. I like the way it is set up. I have good information in my introduction, but I want to make it more interesting. My goal in my introduction is capture the interest of my reader. I want them to read on. I want to get it going with the first sentence. Let s look at the writing of a couple of fifth graders. Active Engagement (guided practice): Share the piece, Sharks, from TQW D-18. Let kids read it to themselves. Let s look at the first sentence of the article, how did they start their piece on sharks? Ellicit a few response. Yes, they began with a question. And the question contained some interesting information. I didn t know that there were so many types of sharks. This introduction makes me want to read the rest of the article. Thumbs up if you agree. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-29 REVISED June 2014

So, I am wondering if I can use Matthew and Kimberly s technique to improve my writing. My first sentence is, I m going to tell you about my classroom. What if I came up with a question to my reader about my classroom, like.. Have you ever walked past Room 20 and wondered what goes on in there? OR Is your classroom one of your favorite places? OR Did you know that Room 20 is the smallest room in our building? When I use a question to start an article, I don t really want to give the reader the answer right away, my goal is to get them interested in what I have to say. Well, let s see how one of these leads works in my introduction. I need to read it with the rest of my sentences and see if it sounds good. Teacher writes one of the questions with the introduction: Have you ever walked past room 20 and wondered what goes on in there? I love my third grade classroom. It is a great place. I feel happy and safe in my classroom. I like the way it is set up. Well, now when I read it, it does not sound right. I have a couple of choices, I can keep the question and change my sentences around or I can try out another of my leads. Writers have a lot of decisions to make. I m going to revise some of the other sentences in the intro, because I do like that lead sentence. Have you ever walked past room 20 and wondered what goes on in there? For my next sentence I will answer the question for the reader and write Lots of things happen in room 20, it is a great place. It is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there. I like the way it is set up. I think that flows better now. Link to Independent Practice Students write 2-3 leads that have a question. Now it is your turn to write a few leads for your topic that are questions. The questions will capture your reader s interest. Give it a try, then we well see if they work with the rest of the introduction. Allow time for students to finish writing their question leads. As students finish they can join a response group, or read with a whisper phone or share with a partner. Remind students to consider the need to make the lead fit with the rest of the sentence. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-30 REVISED June 2014

Now, see how they work with the rest of the introduction. Remember, you will probably need to change some of the intro to make the lead fit. Take about five minutes and be sure to reread the whole introduction to yourself a few times to listen to the fluency, does it sound good to your ear? If not, rewrite some sentences until it does. Try it out on your neighbor. We ll whole group share after five or ten minutes. Ask if some students are willing to share their work on the document camera. Questions to ask are: Did leading with a question make the introduction more interesting? Did the writer revise the rest of the paragraph so that the lead made sense as a whole? Closure: You made your writing better by using what is called writer s craft. Writing a special lead sentence is a crafty way of bringing up the quality of your writing. Congratulations, you are thinking like professional writers think. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-31 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA7) Revising the Body Writing Teaching Points: Students will revise the body of the informative article to vary the beginnings of sentences. Using commas in a series. Standard(s): W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Writing Notebook Anchor Charts Writing paper Drafts Connection: Students, we have worked hard to improve our writing. We have revised the introduction to include a question in the lead. Today, we are going to review and revise the body of our article. Teach (modeling): We are going to look first, at the one I wrote. I want to show you some things that I think need revision. Then, you will look at your own work and make some changes to improve your writing. Teacher rereads the model. Focuses on the body of the article. The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom. It is where we have special guest visits. It is where we sit for read alouds and class meetings. It is where we have author s chair and share our writing. It is where we meet for student Star of the Week. I noticed that most of the sentences I wrote begin with the phrase It is where. That works once but sounds too repetitive if I use it as much as I have. I need to think of some new ways to start those sentences so that it is more interesting to my reader. I am thinking that since I ve used It is where we four times, maybe I could combine some of those sentences into one or two instead of four. Teacher models and thinks aloud while revising. The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom.it is where we have special guest visits, read alouds, class meetings and author s chair. Student Star of the Week is always celebrated on the rug at the gathering place too. These times are what make third grade memorable. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-33 REVISED June 2014

Teacher rereads again. Point out how using commas in a series allows the writer to combine sentences and get rid of repetitive sentence beginnings. I combined some sentences and used commas to separate the activities that I had listed. There was one more thing I changed, the student star activity. I did not feel like I could add that too because the sentence would be too long. So I left it as a separate sentence but started it differently. Instead of starting like It is where we I started it with Student star of the week I think that sounds better now. That is a simple revision. I did not add anything, I just reworded it. Students work with partners. Teacher circulates and observes whether or not student partnerships are working constructively. Teacher invites students to share what changes they made or what changes they need help making. Link to Independent Practice: Writers reread the their writing to make sure it sounds right or flows smoothly. Let s have you and your writing partner each reread your own pieces to each other and look for sentences that start the all same way. Listen for anything that sounds repetitive. Do you have anything like that? I ll give you and your partner time to work together and then we can share out, maybe we as a group, if you and your partner get stuck, we can help you revise. Closure: Today we worked on the body of our articles, we revised to make them sound better. You can reread and revise this way in all sections of your writing. Notes: Additional practice for this skill: SF Unit 6 Week 3 TE 353e Combining Sentences Additional practice for this convention: SF Unit 6 Week 4 TE 379e Commas Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-34 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA8) Conclusion Paragraph with Linking Words or Phrases Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will write conclusion paragraph with linking words or phrases. Standard(s): W.3.2.c.Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information. W.3.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Gradespecific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1 3 above.) W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. Materials: Model informative article Writing Notebooks Anchor chart for linking words and phrases Connection: Writers, yesterday we took a closer look at the body of our articles. Remember, you revised and made it sound better. Today we want to look at the conclusion and make sure it is connected to the other parts of the article, the body and introduction. Teach (modeling): Teacher rereads entire article. Model thinking aloud. Have you ever walked past room 20 and wondered what goes on in there? Lots of things happen in room 20. It is a great place. It is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there. I like the way it is set up. The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom. It is where we have special guest visits, read-alouds, class meetings and author s chair. Student Star of the Week is always celebrated on the rug at the gathering place, too. These times are what make third grade memorable. Now you can see that room 20 is a great place to learn. Next time you are at * School stop by my classroom. We ll invite you to the meeting area. I like the way the reader knows I am finished even though I did not say the end. It is clear that the article is complete. I notice the first part of the conclusion starts with Now you can see That is what writers call a linking phrase. A linking word or phrase is something that connects ideas, because it improves the flow between paragraphs. There are other linking phrases I could have used here such as In conclusion or So you can see Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-35 REVISED June 2014

after all with this in mind to sum up finally Let s list some of these linking phrases for the conclusion on an anchor chart; then they will be around for everyone to see and use throughout the year. Link to Independent Practice: Writers, I want you to reread your whole article, paying special attention to the conclusion, and try out a few of these linking phrases or words. Make sure your conclusion has one linking phrase or word. As I drop by, I might ask you to add your sentence to the anchor chart. We ll share out in five minutes. Students reread and try out linking words/phrases in conclusions. Teacher circulates, drop in conferences as needed. Closure: Writers, we have done some good work today. We revised our conclusion to include a linking phrase. We did that so that our writing would be more fluent, and more easily understood. Have some students share their conclusions on projector or overhead their conclusions. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-36 REVISED June 2014

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Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA9) Ending Punctuation Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will edit for ending punctuation. Standard(s): W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Class model of informative article with ending punctuation omitted-one copy on chart paper for whole class use and student hard copies (1 per student or 1 per pair) for marking up (resource attached) If possible, borrow a few student drafts, and omit the punctuation, for additional practice Drafts of students informative article Anchor chart-conventions Connection: Today we are going to think about the punctuation in our articles. What is punctuation for? Why do we use ending punctuation (periods)? Turn and talk about why writers use ending punctuation. (Answers may vary, teacher facilitates discussion about the reading/writing connection that ending punctuation informs the reader of how the writer meant it to sound.) Today we will look at our class article and then your own pieces, with an eye for ending punctuation. Are we letting our audience know where to stop, where to slow down, where to question? Teach (modeling): Teacher gives each student a copy of the class article with punctuation omitted. I am going to read this the way I wrote it, the way I wanted my audience to hear it. You will listen, follow with your eyes, and add the ending punctuation marks where you hear that they are needed. (Review what are ending punctuation marks, if needed.) Active Engagement (guided practice): Teacher reads the piece a few times, as students follow and mark on their copies. Share out where students put periods and the one question mark as teacher adds the ending punctuation on the chart paper. Class comes to consensus over correctness of ending punctuation by explaining their decision. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-39 REVISED June 2014

Link to Independent Practice: Writers, checking for correct ending punctuation is a strategy you can use in editing any piece of writing. Now, I know that you all have punctuation in your drafts, but you may not have all of the ending punctuation that is needed. I would like everyone to read your piece to your neighbor three times, kind of slowly, but the way you mean it to sound. The first time the neighbor just listens. The next time your neighbor will give you a signal when he/she hears that you should have an ending punctuation (usually a period). On the third read, all eyes should be on the text and both students agree on the ending punctuation. Teacher gives pairs time to work on each of their pieces. Circulate the room helping as needed. Active Engagement (guided practice): Teacher brings group together and asks what type of ending punctuation was mostly needed. Did anyone add a period anywhere? If you did, what did you have to do to the beginning letter of the very next word? (make it a capital letter) Teacher creates the anchor chart with the students, invites 4-5 students to submit a sentence with correct ending punctuation. Ending Punctuation What it Means How we use it. The end of a statement It s where we have the author s chair.? The end of a question Have you ever gone past room twenty and wondered what goes on in there? (Students can add to the chart with examples from their writing.) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-40 REVISED June 2014

Closure: Writers, today we considered why writers use ending punctuation. We looked for correct use of ending punctuation in our own pieces. We made an anchor chart that has some good rules for writers to remember in all writing. We will add to that chart as we learn more about punctuation and how writers use it. Notes: Additional practice for this convention: SF Unit 1 Week 3 TE 85e Statements and Questions Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-41 REVISED June 2014

Teacher created model of informative article with punctuation. Have you ever walked by room twenty and wondered what goes on in there? Lots of things happen in room twenty, it is a great place. It is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there I like the way it is set up. The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom. It is where we have special guest visits. It is where we sit for read alouds and class meetings. It is where we have author s chair and share our writing. It is where we meet for student star of the week. Now you can see that room twenty is a great place to learn. Next time you are at Laurelhurst School stop by my classroom. We ll invite you to the meeting area. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-42 REVISED June 2014

Teacher created model of informative article without punctuation. Have you ever walked by room twenty and wondered what goes on in there lots of things happen in room twenty it is a great place it is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there I like the way it is set up The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom it is where we have special guest visits it is where we sit for read alouds and class meetings it is where we have author s chair and share our writing it is where we meet for student star of the week Now you can see that room twenty is a great place to learn next time you are at school stop by my classroom we ll invite you to the meeting area Have you ever walked by room twenty and wondered what goes on in there lots of things happen in room twenty it is a great place it is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there I like the way it is set up The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom it is where we have special guest visits it is where we sit for read alouds and class meetings it is where we have author s chair and share our writing it is where we meet for student star of the week Now you can see that room twenty is a great place to learn next time you are at school stop by my classroom we ll invite you to the meeting area Have you ever walked by room twenty and wondered what goes on in there lots of things happen in room twenty it is a great place it is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there I like the way it is set up The gathering place is my favorite part of the classroom it is where we have special guest visits it is where we sit for read alouds and class meetings it is where we have author s chair and share our writing it is where we meet for student star of the week Now you can see that room twenty is a great place to learn next time you are at school stop by my classroom we ll invite you to the meeting area Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-43 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA10) Using an Editing Checklist Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will edit with a checklist for punctuation and capitalization. Standard(s): W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3.) Materials: Student Drafts Editing checklist Whisper phones (if available) Connection: Writers use an editing checklist to help them remember to look for certain kinds of errors. Today, we are going to use a checklist to remind us what to keep a look out for, specifically, ending punctuation and capitalization. Teach (modeling): I want to talk about some of the common errors I know that third graders make in their writing. They are spelling, ending punctuation and capitalization. We ve looked at ending punctuation in the introduction, but it s important to look at the entire article to be sure that we have periods and question marks where we need them. Remember how you read the piece aloud to find the places where your voice signaled a stop or a pause? Then you and your writing partner made sure that you had ending punctuation in that spot. Teacher hands out editing checklist. This will be a valuable tool for you as you edit your paper. We are going to use this for a couple lessons. Today we are going to look at the first two items. They are about punctuation and capitals. The next time we ll look at spelling errors. Active Engagement (guided practice): Teacher asks for writing partners to share their strategy in front of the other students. Discuss ending punctuation choices. Congratulate the participants for their contribution to the class learning. Today I ll ask a student to volunteer to share their work and thinking with us. This will remind us how to read or ending punctuation. Link to Independent Practice: With writing partners or independently students comb their writing for punctuation and capitals using the editing checklist. Teacher circulates and uses drop in conferences as needed. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-45 REVISED June 2014

Use the editing checklist and go through your writing and make sure that you have used periods correctly in your writing. Remember that if you add a period, the word that follows will need a capital letter. It is now the beginning of a new sentence. Closure: Writers we are in the final stretch of our writing, the editing stage. Have you noticed that we are writing less and polishing more? Tomorrow we are going to look at strategies for correcting our spelling errors. Notes: Additional practice for this convention: SF Unit 6 Week 1 TE 303e Capital Letters SF Unit 1 Week 3 TE 85e Statements and Questions Additional resource for editing: TQW P13 Reread for Correctness Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-46 REVISED June 2014

Editing Checklist Did I begin each sentence with a capital letter? Did I end each sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation point? Have I circled the words that look wrong? Have I underlined incorrect words and found the correct spellings? I have completed my editing checklist. (signature) (date) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-47 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA11) Guide Words in the Dictionary Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will edit articles for spelling errors. Standard(s): L.3.2.g. Consult reference materials, including beginning dictionaries, as needed to check and correct spellings. Materials: Editing Checklist Student Drafts Spelling Dictionaries (Quick Word) Most Frequently Written Words List/Word Wall Doctored-up draft of classroom model, with spelling errors OR another article with typical spelling errors. Anchor chart from TQW P-11 (Fix Spelling Errors) Connection: Writers, you ve edited your writing for capitalization and ending punctuation. Today we ll spend some time learning how guide words in the dictionary help us locate words. Tomorrow we will practice using dictionary guide words to correct our misspelled words. When we are finished, your informative articles should be in good shape, ready for publishing. It is important to edit any writing that will have an audience. We may want to publish these articles in a newspaper or make pamphlets out of them. Teach (modeling): Lesson from Anne Campbell and Carol Troutman can be found at: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2850 (no changes made). Activity 1: Brainstorming 1. The teacher will write the word guide on the board/chart paper. The teacher will ask the students the following questions: o What is the definition of this word? o How is a guide used? o Who/what are examples of guides? 2. The students will respond orally to these questions. The teacher will record the answers on the board/chart paper. 3. The teacher will explain that guides are also words in dictionaries used to locate words alphabetically. The teacher will state that the goal of this lesson is to learn how to use guide words in a dictionary. Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-49 REVISED June 2014

Activity 2: The Name Game 1. The teacher will give each student a single sticky note page. The teacher will instruct the students to write their name on the sticky note in large letters. 2. The teacher will show the students a chart with alphabet groupings printed on it. Sample Chart/Groupings: A-D; E-H; I-L; M-P; Q-T; U-Z 3. The students will take turns (under teacher direction, i.e. Place your name where you think it should go. ) placing their names under the appropriate alphabet grouping. Teacher should not call students by alphabetical grouping. The student turns should be random. The names need not be placed in any alphabetical order at this time. 4. Once all names have been placed, the teacher will ask the class, Why did you put your names under the letters you chose? The teacher will lead a brief discussion that ends with the answer We put our names under the alphabet letter grouping which contained the first letter our names. 5. Next, the teacher will ask the class, What else do you need to do with your names under each alphabetical grouping? The teacher will lead a brief discussion that ends with the answer, We need to put our names in alphabetical order under each grouping. 6. The teacher will allow the students for each grouping to go to the chart and rearrange the names into alphabetical order. The rest of the class will observe each name team and make corrections if necessary. The end result will be a chart with all names in alphabetical order under the correct grouping. 7. The teacher will end this activity by showing the students the reason for alphabetical groupings. (i.e. John s name will always be between Jim s name and Justin s name.) The teacher will state that in the Name Game we used guide letters. In our next activity we will use guide words. Activity 3: Guide Word Introduction 1. The teacher will divide the class into partners. Practice Page #1 will be distributed, 1 page per each set of partners, and the directions will be read aloud. The students will complete the practice page by circling yes or no as to whether or not the dictionary word would come between those two guide words. 2. Upon completion, the teacher will briefly review the answers and only discuss the items under question. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing!Informative Article IA-50 REVISED June 2014

Guide Words Practice Page #1 Name Date Name Directions: For each set of guide words, decide if the numbered words would be between them on a dictionary page. Circle yes if they would be or no if they would not. start- stop 1. study yes no 2. stand yes no blow- blue 3. bloom yes no 4. block yes no cheese- church 5. chase yes no 6. chimp yes no will- wonder 7. wild yes no 8. wonders yes no ready- red 9. real yes no 10. read yes no Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-51 REVISED June 2014

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Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA11a) Checking for Spelling Errors Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will edit articles for spelling errors. Standard(s): W.3.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1 3 up to and including grade 3 on page 29.) L.3.2.e.Use conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding suffixes to base words (e.g., sitting, smiled, cries, happiness). L.3.2.f. Use spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, positionbased spellings, syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts) in writing words. Materials: Editing Checklist Student Drafts Spelling Dictionaries (Quick Word) Most Frequently Written Words List/Word Wall Doctored-up draft of classroom model, with spelling errors OR another article with typical spelling errors. Anchor chart from TQW P-11 (Fix Spelling Errors) Connection: Yesterday we learned how guide words in the dictionary help us locate words. Today we will practice using dictionary guide words to correct our misspelled words. When we are finished, your informative articles should be in good shape, ready for publishing. Let s look at our shared writing. Teach (modeling): Teacher models rereading and circling any words that don t look right. Teacher models finding correct spelling. Writers, I have a draft of an informative article here that has plenty of authentic spelling. By authentic I mean it is not perfect. Most third graders do not spell perfectly, but we need to try to spell correctly. Why? Elicit responses such as you want your reader to get your message, and too much incorrect spelling impedes readability. Teacher shows model with misspellings. Have you every walked past room 20 and wonderd what gose on in their? Lots of things happin in room 20, it is a grate plac. It is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there. I lik the way it is set up. Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-53 REVISED June 2014

The gathering place is my favorit part of the classroom. It is were we hav special gest visits, read alouds, class meetings and author s chair. Student Star of the Week is always celabratd on the rug at the gathering place two. These times are wat make third grade memorable. Now you can see that room 20 is a great place to lern. Next time you are at * School. Stop by my classroom. We ll invite you to the meeting area. So, let s see how to fix up spelling errors even if you are not sure of the correct spelling. First I am going to reread and then circle or underline the words that do not look right to me. Next we re going to use one of the strategies on this chart (show the Fix Spelling Errors). We are going to use the dictionary guide words to help us. Active Participation (guided practice): Students offer suggestions as to which strategies to use and how to sell the words correctly. Link to Independent Practice: Students reread their drafts, looking for spelling errors and using dictionary guide words to help them. (For the student who has more than twenty errors, teacher may recommend that the student correct five to ten words.) Closure: Our work is getting ready to publish. It is becoming more polished, ready for other eyes to read it. Tomorrow we will illustrate and rewrite (type) our drafts. You may chose to submit your article to a classroom newspaper, or make your own tri-fold pamphlet for distribution. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Lesson adapted from TQW Lesson P-11 Fix Spelling Errors Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-54 REVISED June 2014

Classroom Model Informative Article- with Misspellings Have you every walked past room 20 and wonderd what gose on in their? Lots of things happin in room 20, it is a grate plac. It is my classroom and I feel happy and safe there. I lik the way it is set up. The gathering place is my favorit part of the classroom. It is were we hav special gest visits, read alouds, class meetings and author s chair. Student star of the week is always celebrated on the rug at the gathering place two. These times are wat make third grade memorable. Now you can see that room 20 is a great place to lern. Next time you are at school. Stop by my classroom. We ll invite you to the meeting area. Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-55 REVISED June 2014

Fix Spelling Errors Ask a Friend. Find the word in the classroom. Try alternative spellings until one looks right. Look up the word in the dictionary. Adapted from TQW P11. Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-56 REVISED June 2014

Informative Writing: Informative Article (IA12) Publishing Writing Teaching Point(s): Students will illustrate their informative article. Students will publish their informative articles. Standard(s): W.3.6 With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others. Materials: Publishing materials, such as tri-fold pamphlet paper Markers, colored pencils, or crayons Student drafts Connection: Writers, yesterday we edited one last time, for spelling errors. Today we will publish our pieces. You will create an illustration to accompany your article. You will also rewrite or type your draft, with all the corrections. We will get these articles ready for distribution. Remember, the purpose of an informative article is to inform, so we will be sharing these articles with a wider audience, our school community, either in the form of a pamphlet or a collection of articles, like a newspaper or magazine. Teach (modeling): Teacher models working from a draft with lots of edits, emphasize copying/typing the correct version, not the same mistakes. Teacher models first paragraph. Writers, our drafts look pretty messy because we have been doing a lot of revising and editing. It can be tricky when rewriting it one last time, to make sure to get the corrections in, not the mistakes. Let me show you how careful a reader and writer I need to be while doing this work. Active Engagement (guided practice): Teacher and class read and rewrite the body and conclusion together. Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-57 REVISED June 2014

Independent Practice: Now it is your turn to carefully read and rewrite your drafts as final copies, copies that need to be ready for an audience. Keep in mind your corrected mistakes and neat handwriting. Teacher monitors progress, decides if picture or writing should be completed first. Closure: Now we have something to be proud of. Let s celebrate our success by sharing our work with someone in the school community. Notes: Resources & References: (adapted from, acknowledgments) Grade 3 Writing! Informative Article IA-58 REVISED June 2014

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