04+Unit+Di+by+Readiness

=**Writing the Personal Narrative **UNIT Di by Readiness =

    **Description brings a story to life. **

**It was a dark and stormy night...

Quickly and quietly, the man spoke.

During it's last days, the mangy dog stared at me with sad eyes.

She nervously held out her tiny hand. 

The reflection of the green and red lights danced on the snow. **


 


===<span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); text-align: center; display: block;">Learning Activity: Practicing Description === Computers Worksheet - (For recording descriptive words from "My South Africa Trip." Student registration with Scholastic.com || [|Descriptive Writing Lesson] (This includes "My South Africa Trip") || They will be asked to use at least 10 descriptive words within 5 sentences. The complexity of these descriptions will help the teacher evaluate the knowledge and level of application students already have with description. The level of description students provide with the help of the five senses will help the teacher evaluate their placement in differentiated groups.
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Lesson Title** || ** Personal Narrative: **Practicing Description with "My South Africa Trip" ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Lesson Summary** || It is all to often that students have a marvelous story, but cannot provide focused details for the reader to place him or herself into the writer's shoes. The purpose of this lesson is to give students practice to both identifying and applying description through student writing. All students will be practicing description with online, group activities directed toward meeting, improving, and challenging their proficiency level. Students will be following directions according to a worksheet that will be specific toward their proficiency level. The directions will lead them through the scholastic magazine lesson by Virginia Hamilton, "My South Africa Trip." Although directions for each group will vary, each student will "publish" their descriptive sentences online to present to the class and allow an opportunity for feedback. A rubric for this lesson can be found by clicking this link: [|Practicing Description] ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Materials** || Journal and Pencil
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Technology Tools** || [|Scholastic Home Page]
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Lesson Activities** || **<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pre-Assessment: ** Students will write a short journal entry of one significant snap shot in their life and give descriptions to answer the following questions:
 * What do you see?
 * What do you smell?
 * What do you hear?
 * What do you feel to the touch?
 * What do you think?


 * Core Activity: **
 * 1) Before separating into groups, students will discover description as a class through Virginia Hamiliton's journal entry from "Wednesday, November 6 On the road to Soweto — South Western Township" As a class we will identify description and it's effectiveness using the five senses.
 * 2) In proficiency groups A and B, students will collaboratively read the next journal entry under Step 1 "November 8 Kruger National Park." Students are assigned a role within their groups, "driver" who navigates the website, "time-keeper" who keeps time, "scribe" who writes down the answers to the assignment both offline and online. A teacher may also add "encourager," one who gives high fives and positive words to the group to make it an even four. Students will be reading and identifying description at a proficiency level that depends on their group, which will correspond with the directions and questions on their worksheet. (Group C will proceed to "Brainstorming")
 * 3) Group A, B, and C will continue with "Step 2: Brainstorming." Students will choose one of their classmate's journal entries from the pre-assessment within the group. They will brainstorm descriptive words using one of the eight tips listed. Students will progress to "Step 3: Write Your Own Description." Depending on proficiency level, students will begin defining the characters and setting within descriptive sentences. For "Step 4: Publish Online," all groups will be expected to meet the standards set for their proficency level. Group A will be asked to use at least 15 descriptive words; Group B, 20; and Group C, 25.
 * 4) For Group C, the students will read one of the student works, age 14 or 15, under the tab 'Read Student Writing." They will be asked to evaluate the descriptive words and sentences used within the piece of writing and produce a word bank and descriptive sentences for the entire class to use in future lessons and understanding.

**<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Assessment: ** Students will write another journal entry. They will follow the same directions as the first by answering the questions geared toward the five senses and use at least 10 descriptive words; however, to add a little variation, the students will write about a time in their life at a place that was significant to them. By now, the students should apply the words learned from the lesson to describe their event. ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Integration of Technology** || Students will conduct the majority of this lesson through the link provided above and follow the directions on their worksheet for reading description from "My South Africa Trip" by Virginia Hamilton, practicing writing description, and evaluating description. ||
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;"> **Differentiation/Extensions** |||||||| Depending on the proficiency level, students will be participating in the following objectives: ||
 * * **Below Level Students (Group A)** |||||| * Read descriptive words.
 * Write descriptive sentences at a intermediate level using personal experience. ||
 * * **At Level Students (Group B)** |||||| * Identify descriptive words.
 * Read and write descriptive sentences an average level using personal experiences.
 * Replace mundane words with descriptive words in student sentences. ||
 * * **Above Level Students (Group C)** |||||| * Read and write descriptive sentences at an accomplished level using personal experience.
 * Develop descriptive sentences for the entire class to evaluate.
 * Create a word bank for students in the class to use in their descriptive sentences. ||