Using Mini-Lessons and the 5 Stages of Writing with Thazin By: Mary McCullough

About Thazin Thazin: 10 yrs. old From Thailand Speaks Burmese 4th Grade ELL student Been in U.S. for 2yrs Proficient in Speaking English but Not in English comprehension On 2nd Grade Reading level In 1 in 1 tutoring after school (RFS) Has 3 younger siblings (6yr. old brother, 2 yr. old sister, 8 month old sister) Loves Math, Science and Art

Modifications For Thazin Break things down – Explain and model everything Have her label parts of sentences – s, v Repetition Ask higher level questions to make sure Thazin understands what she is reading and writing Focus on building her vocabulary

My Modifications/Strategies I Used with Thazin Asked higher level questions Discussed what Thazin wanted to write and say before she wrote down her thoughts and ideas Had her write in complete sentences “See, Think, Wonder” about her sister Had Thazin look up words in dictionary Asked and taught her synonyms to build her vocabulary Told her and showed her my personal narrative told her that I was using the 5 stages of writing just like she was using 5 stages of writing Had her read her narrative out loud to me and I asked her to think about what she was writing and if it made sense to her and to the reader Had her check her narrative for tenses, spelling, capitalization and other grammatical errors

Pre-Writing Thanzin listed topics, she circled the topic she wanted to write about, and she brainstormed about her topic with web.

Outline Thazin made outline for her narrative

Drafting Thazin wrote about herself and Honey her sister. Her narrative contained run-ons.

Run-On Mini-Lesson I taught Run-On Mini Lesson to Thazin Mini-Lesson: Revising Run-on Sentences https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDUQFjAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpaniagua.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FMini-lesson_reparing%2Brun_on%2Bsentences.ppt&ei=fCtMT4KGGeXE0QGVybW7Dg&usg=AFQjCNFPzT9O9HJKuOByxVhpeW9nK4J4Wg&cad=rja Thanzin’s Writing Sample I taught Run-On Mini Lesson to Thazin I had Thanzin practice fixing run-on sentences Thanzin corrected her run-ons in her writing sample

Add on to Narrative Thazin rewrote her writing sample on a new sheet of paper. She added on to the end of her narrative. “See, think and Wonder”

Taught 2nd Mini-Lesson on Teacher-Student Conferencing 1) I used Haley’s mini-lesson and it worked really well with Thazin 2) I asked Thazin, “What is happening in your story?” “What does this story mean to you?” 3) Thazin read her story to me aloud and she started self-correcting her story herself with a red pen. She also added on to the ending.

Revising and Editing Narrative I showed Thazin my writing narrative and explained that her narrative explains the 5 steps of writing process too Thazin revised and edited her narrative aloud to me. Thazin read her narrative to me, and she thought about what she was writing and if it made sense to her and to the reader.

Thazin‘s Journal I Gave Her

Final Draft/Publishing

Thazin’s Strengths and Weaknesses 1) Pretty upbeat and positive 2) Easy to please, wants to succeed 3) Loves Math, Science and Art 4) Great artist –wants to be an artist when she grows up 5) Quiet but talks a lot if she knows you 6) Listens and looks me in the eye 7) Remembers strategies she learned in class – understands tenses and some grammar 8) Stayed focused pretty well 8) Now she feels self-confident about herself, her reading and writing Weaknesses: Hard for her to read and sound out vowels and words Hard for her to elaborate and express ideas and complete sentences on paper Not a great speller Does not understand American slang Struggles in school with reading comprehension, spelling, writing, vocabulary and reading Lacks self-confidence Sometimes got frustrated

Challenges For Me First time I have ever worked with ELL student Hard for me to teach Thazin spelling without telling her how to spell words Hard to get her to stretch out words to sound words out Had to think about how to encourage her to elaborate her ideas and write in complete sentences Hard for me to explain things to Thazin when she did not understand everything I said in English Had to think about how to teach Thazin how to write Explaining and modeling everything – repetition Time – Worked with her after school when she was tired

Activities I Will Use in the Future Student label parts of speech in a sentence s, v, n, predicate on the board Have the student read books that start with short a, long, a, short e, long e, short i, long i, short o, long o, short u and long u, blends, etc so student can see and practice saying how to pronounce these words Storyboard- Student draws and organizes his/her writing ideas Write spaces for the word and student fills in spaces to spell the word Webbing for story topics Concept Maps, Word Maps and “fact-storming” – write down info. or facts about a topic on Post-it notes and arrange these ideas Write down what student says on paper to help student expand and elaborate his/her writing ideas “Empty Your Head” – student writes down whatever comes to his/her mind in “head” – free writing/brainstorming Teacher to Student Conferencing Mini-lessons on 5 stages of writing – Brainstorming etc. “See, Think Wonder” - Church, Mark; Morrison, Karin; Ritchhart, Ron. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (55,154-155) “I Used to Think…” “Now I Think About/Know” - Church, Mark; Morrison, Karin; Ritchhart, Ron. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (55,154-155) In “Someone Else’s Shoes” – Have students write about being someone else and taking on perspectives of other people

Bibliography Church, Mark; Morrison, Karin; Ritchhart, Ron. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (55,154-155) Children Around the Globe Pic: http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1366&bih=612&tbm=isch&tbnid=D8dFxtxUmSsOfM:&imgrefurl=http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu/English-Language-Learners/Bilingual-Education.html&docid=rSm_OahkIwyYeM&imgurl=http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu/English-Language-Learners/Bilingual-Education/mainColumnParagraphs/0/image/bilingualchildren.jpg&w=632&h=640&ei=Hg2PT9yxIM2DtgeIwe3JCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=447&vpy=158&dur=3787&hovh=226&hovw=223&tx=117&ty=120&sig=111677421565469079073&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=112&tbnw=111&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:112 Mclendon’s Stats: http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/mclendon/about.html Mini-Lesson: Revising Run-on Sentences https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDUQFjAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpaniagua.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FMini-lesson_reparing%2Brun_on%2Bsentences.ppt&ei=fCtMT4KGGeXE0QGVybW7Dg&usg=AFQjCNFPzT9O9HJKuOByxVhpeW9nK4J4Wg&cad=rja