Text Structures: Cause & Effect and Problem/Solution

Informational Writing Workshop

Sara Chatfield 3/16/14

Introduction Grade 4 Informational writing workshop Approximately 40 minutes in length, over the course of two days

Learning Objectives/Lesson Outcomes The student will be able to use cause and effect or problem/solution to organize information Common Core Standards o CCSS.W.4.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. o CCSS.W.4.2b Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic. o CCSS.SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher led) with divers partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction/Anticipatory Set o I will ask students to pull out their informational writing and the lists of text features and text structures that I gave them. o I will explain that today, we are going to look at how chapters are structured using cause and effect and problem/solution.

Lesson Development o The following sequence is an outline of how the lesson will go 1. I will explain that one way to organize information is to use cause and effect. The author tells what causes something to happen.

2. Certain key words can be used to signify cause and effect. Certain text features may be easier to use. 3. I will model a place in a chapter I have drafted that can be organized by cause and effect. I will ask the students to look at their Text Structures list and help me decide how to display this information in a cause and effect map. 4. I will explain that another way to organize information is to present a problem related to the topic. The author states a problem and possible ways to solve it. Again, certain key words and text features may be used to signify this text structure. 5. I will model a place in a chapter I have drafted that can be organized by cause and effect. I will ask the students to look at their Text Structures list and help me decide how to display this information in a cause and effect map. 6. The students will have time to revise one of their chapters in order to organize it using either cause & effect OR problem/solution. (This cannot be a chapter they have revised previously.) Modeling the Behavior (5-6 minutes) o I will display a chapter of my book that I have drafted that can be reworded to use a cause & effect text structure. o I will display a chapter of my book that I have drafted that can be reworded to use a problem/solution text structure. Check for Comprehension (1-2 minutes)

o I will ask questions along the lines of, Would this part be considered cause & effect or problem/solution? How do you know? What is the cause? What is/are the effect/s? What is the problem? What is (are) the solution(s)? Guided Practice (5-6 minutes) o I will ask the students to help me fill out a cause and effect map and a problem/solution map based on my information. Independent Practice (25-30 minutes) o I will tell the students to use my example, and the list I handed out to them as guides for their own writing. o I will tell them to choose a chapter from their book (other one they have worked on previously) that they can organize using a cause and effect OR problem/solution text structure. This may mean re-writing a chapter, or it may mean adding in key words, and maybe even text features. o Let the students know that they may find the maps easier to create than changing their wording. They may choose to draw a cause and effect or problem/solution map as their only edit to this chapter. o If they finish early and their work meets my approval, they may work on unfinished chapters, free write or work on a story starter for the remainder of class.

Closure (3-5 minutes) o To end the lesson, I will summarize and reinforce the focus of the days teaching point that writers use cause & effect and problem/solution to organize their writing. o I will call on one or two student volunteers to share what they have come up with to the class.

Assessment/Evaluation

I will be using formative assessment for this lesson by walking around and conferring with students at their groups. I will redirect those students who need help.

Before students may move on, they will need to meet with me to approve their text structure. They will gain my approval if they meet the following requirements: o They have to be able to correctly tell (and show) me what kind of text structure they used. o They have used at least three key words that signify the text structure they used. o OR o They have correctly and completely included a map for that particular structure.

Materials

My own writing sample as an example Access to document camera/projector Writers notebooks & pencil Text Structures list for each student

Modifications for Students with Disabilities

If the student cannot write, another student or a paraprofessional can translate the students words into writing.

Technology Integration

I will use the computer to display a sample of my writing on the board. I will use visually appealing, computer generated text features as an example in my sample writing.

Mechanics and References o This lesson was adapted from the MAISA Nonfiction Writing Matters writing unit. The Text Structures list is from session 8 of this unit.