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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. Outline
Thazin made outline for her narrative

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

8. Run-On Mini-Lesson I taught Run-On Mini Lesson to Thazin
Mini-Lesson: Revising Run-on Sentences
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

9. 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”

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Thazin‘s Journal I Gave Her

13. Final Draft/Publishing

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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, )
“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, )
In “Someone Else’s Shoes” – Have students write about being someone else and taking on perspectives of other people

17. 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, )
Children Around the Globe Pic:
Mclendon’s Stats:
Mini-Lesson: Revising Run-on Sentences