Informational Writing 2nd grade Crystal Patterson READ 7140 Valdosta State University May 2007

Introduction Grade Level: 2nd Genre of writing: Informational Writing Content Area Connection: Science (Life Cycle of Animals)

Grade 3 Writing Assessment Teacher evaluation of student writing Covers four types of writing: narrative, informational, persuasive, and response to literature Students are scored analytically in four domains: ideas, organization, style, and conventions. Three performance levels: does not meet, meets, and exceeds

Pre-assessment Prompts What is your favorite animal? Write about why this animal is your favorite animal. Tell about your favorite game. Explain why this is your favorite game to play. Think about one of your friends. Tell at least three things that make this person a good friend.

Pre-assessment Prompts Explain why Valdosta is a great place to live. Think about things you like to do here. Think about your favorite thing that you own. It can be something that was given to you or something you bought. Explain why this is your favorite thing. Tell about your favorite place to go (can be a vacation spot or even somewhere in Valdosta). Why is this your favorite place to visit?

Grouping Options Based on Teacher’s Needs Whole group – takes place during instruction, modeling, and practice activities for each stage Partners – Students will work with a partner to revise the draft. Individual – takes place during the assessment activity for each stage

Grouping Options Based on Development, Culture, and Linguistics Development – work in pairs for revising, work in pairs for spelling help, teacher monitoring during assessment, copies of instructions and other materials made Culture – extra instruction during some stages based on need because of background in writing

Grouping Options Based on Development, Culture, and Linguistics Linguistics – informal conferences during assessment, reading checklists and graphic organizers to EIP student

Informational Writing Informational writing provides information using facts from resources like books and the internet. Sequence writing is to list items or events in order using transition words. Contains: table of contents, topic pages or chapters, pictures with captions, index

The Prewriting Stage Choose a topic Consider the purpose for writing Consider the audience Organize ideas for writing using a graphic organizer

Prewriting Instruction Modeling – show completed graphic organizer on elephants and explain each part Practice – use interactive writing to complete a graphic organizer on butterflies Assessment – students will complete a graphic organizer individually

Animal Life Cycle Graphic Organizer Introduction: What is the name of your animal? What do you already know about your animal? What will you be providing information about? 1st stage: What is the name of this stage? What happens during this stage? Detail 1: Detail 2: Detail 3: Detail 4:

2nd stage: What is the name of this stage? What happens during this stage? Detail 1: Detail 2: Detail 3: Detail 4: 3rd stage: What is the name of this stage?

Conclusion: What are the names of all the stages? Is there anything you found interesting about this animal? If so, what was it? If not, why not?

Checklist for Prewriting Writing Checklist for Prewriting _____________________ Life Cycle Introduction _______ I told the reader what my animal will be. _______ I told the reader what I will be writing about. Stages of the Life Cycle _______ I named at least 3 stages of the animal’s life cycle. _______ I provided at least two details for each stage. Conclusion ______ I repeated/summarized what I wrote about.

Scoring Guide for Prewriting Exceeds Standard 4 Meets Standard 3 Approaching Standard 2 Does not meet standard 1 Introduction The topic is listed and described, and characteristics are given. The topic is listed and described. The topic is listed. No topic clearly identified. Stages of the Life Cycle More than three stages of the life cycle are named. Three stages of the life cycle are named. Two stages of the life cycle are named. One stage or no stages of the life cycle are named. Stage 1 At least three details of the stage are described. Two details are provided. One detail is provided. No details are given. Stage 2 At least three details of the stage are provided. Stage 3 Conclusion The student renamed the stages and added extra information relevant to the topic. The student renamed the stages. The student provides no conclusion.

Accommodations for Development Reference to class drafts Copies of materials for EIP students Teacher monitoring

Accommodations for Cultural and Linguistic Backgrounds Cultural – extra background information, extra teaching time for certain stages Linguistic – teacher will read certain materials to EIP students, student pairing for additional assistance, teacher monitoring

The Drafting Stage Focus is getting ideas down on paper, not on spelling or grammar Write a rough draft Grab reader’s attention with an introduction

Drafting Instruction Modeling – show model of elephant rough draft and explain Practice – use shared writing to create a rough draft about butterflies Assessment – students will complete rough draft using their own graphic organizer

Writing Checklist for Drafting Animal Life Cycle _____ I left a blank line in between each written line. _____ I used complete sentences. _____ I have a table of contents. _____ I have an introduction that tells about my topic. _____ All of my details are true facts that I found from books or the internet. _____ I wrote about at least three stages of the life cycle of my animal. _____ I used at least two details for each stage of the life cycle. _____ I have a conclusion that summarizes my topic.

Scoring Guide for Drafting Exceeds Standard 4 Meets Standard 3 Approaching Standard 2 Does not meet standard 1 Table of Contents The student correctly labels a table of contents. The student labels a table of contents with a few errors. The student does not make a table of contents or it is completely wrong. Introduction The introduction introduces the subject and includes characteristics. The topic sentence previews the content. The student uses only the title to introduce the topic. There is no introduction or topic stated. Stage 1 The student lists and describes the stage with at least 3 details. The student lists and describes the stage with at least 2 details. The student lists and describes the stage with one detail. The student does not describe the stage. Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 (if needed) Details All details are accurate. Most details are accurate. No details are accurate. Conclusion The student provides elaborate detail. The student provides a concluding sentence or section. The student provides a simple concluding sentence. No conclusion is provided.

The Revising Stage Reread the rough draft Share writing with others Revise based on feedback of others Four types of revisions: add, delete, change (substitute), and move information

Drafting Instruction Modeling – show model of revised rough draft with proofreader’s marks and explain Practice – use shared writing to revise the class rough draft Assessment – students will revise independently, then with a partner, and individually again to make final changes

Writing Checklist for Revising _____ I added details (words, phrases, or sentences) to my report. _____ I deleted unimportant information from my report. _____ I changed details (words, phrases, or sentences) in my report. _____ I rearranged details (words, phrases, or sentences) in my report. _____ I used proofreader’s marks in the correct way to make any changes.

Scoring Guide for Revising Stage Exceeds Standard 4 Meets Standard3 Approaching Standard 2 Does Not Meet Standard1 Adds Details The student adds details to the report. The student adds a few details to the report. The student adds no details to the report. Deleted Details The student deletes unimportant details. The student deletes a few unimportant details. The student deletes no unimportant details. Substitutes Details The student changes details or word choices in the report. The student changes a few details or word choices in the report. The student changes no details or word choices in the report. Proofreader’s Marks The student uses proofreader’s marks correctly all of the time. The student use proofreader’s marks correctly with a few errors. The student uses proofreader’s marks correctly some of the time. The student does not use proofreader’s marks completely.

The Editing Stage Stay away from the paper for a few days Proofread to find mechanical mistakes (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, usage, and formatting) Correct mistakes

Editing Instruction Modeling – show the edited rough draft and explain Practice – use interactive writing to edit the class draft on butterflies Assessment – students will edit individual reports

Checklist for Editing Stage Capitalization ____ Beginning of sentences ____ Proper nouns Punctuation ____ Period, question mark, or exclamation point at the end of every sentence ____ Commas in appropriate places (compound sentences, commas in a series) ____ Apostrophes in correct places (contractions, possessives) Spelling ____ Misspelled words have been corrected.

Scoring Guide for Editing Exceeds Standard 4 Meets Standard 3 Approaching Standard 2 Does Not Meet Standard 1 Capitalization The student uses capitalization correctly all of the time. The student use capitalization correctly most of the time. The student uses capitalization correctly some of the time. The student does not use capitalization correctly. Ending Punctuation The student uses correct end punctuation all of the time. The student uses correct end punctuation most of the time. The student uses correct end punctuation some of the time. The student does not use correct end punctuation. Commas The student uses commas correctly all of the time. The student uses commas correctly most of the time. The student uses commas correctly some of the time. The student does not use commas correctly. Apostrophes The student uses apostrophes correctly in all places necessary. The student uses apostrophes correctly in most places necessary. The student uses apostrophes correctly in some places necessary. The student does not use apostrophes where needed. Spelling The student spelled all words correctly. The student spelled most words correctly. The student has a lot of spelling errors.

The Publishing Stage Publishes the writing with no errors Shares the writing with an audience

Publishing Instruction Modeling- sow the final copy of elephant piece and explain Practice – use interactive writing to publish the class piece on butterflies Assessment – students will publish their individual drafts

Checklist for Publishing Stage Checklist for Publishing Stage (2nd grade) ____ I used legible handwriting that other people can read. ____ I did not skip lines. ____ I made all revisions on my final copy. ____ I used correct spelling on my final copy. ____ I used correct capitalization. ____ I used correct punctuation. ____ I drew pictures on the pages about the stages of the life cycle.

Scoring Guide for Publishing Exceeds Standard 4 Meets Standard 3 Approaching Standard 2 Does Not Meet Standard 1 Legible handwriting The student writes using legible handwriting. The student does not write using legible handwriting. No skipped lines The student did not skip lines. The student skipped a few lines. The student skipped many lines. Revisions (based on student’s revised draft) The student made all revisions on the final copy. The student made most revisions on the final copy. The student made very few revisions on the final copy. Spelling The student spelled all words correctly. The student spelled most words correctly. The student spelled very few words correctly. Punctuation The student used correct punctuation all of the time. The student used correct punctuation most of the time. The student used correct punctuation little of the time. The student did not use correct punctuation. Capitalization The student used correct capitalization all of the time. The student used correct capitalization most of the time. The student used correct capitalization little of the time. The student did not use correct capitalization. Illustrations The student drew pictures on all pages related to the topic. The student drew pictures on the stage content pages related to each stage. The student drew pictures on one or two of the stage content pages related to each stage. The student did not draw illustrations.