Baldwin Wallace University

School of Education
Lesson Planning Form
I. Major Topic:
English
Date: September 7, 2015
Grade Level: 3
II. MATERIALS: Writing Journal for each child, pencils, SmartBoard, video of
Patricia Polacco interview
(http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/polacco), copies of Dear
Mr. Falker, The Lemonade Club, The Junkyard Wonder, Rotten Ritchie and
the Ultimate Dare, Thunder Cake, , or any other Patricia Polacco
biographical book, chart paper, marker
III. CANDIDATE Resources:
EGUSD Curriculum and Professional Learning Department. (2015) Elk Grove Unified
school district-narrative rubric. Retrieved from
http://blogs.egusd.net/ccss/files/2013/10/3rd.gr_.Narr_.Rubric.4-1jhmw4e.pdf
International Literacy Association & National Council of Teachers of English. (2015).
July 11 Children's author Patricia Polacco was born in 1944. Retrieved from
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendaractivities/children-author-patricia-polacco-20659.html
Polacco, P. (1990). Thunder Cake. New York, NY: Philomel Books
Polacco, P. (1998). Thank you, Mr. Falker. New York, NY: Philomel Books
Polacco, P. (2006). Rotten Ritchie and the Ultimate Dare. New York, NY: Philomel
Books
Polacco, P. (2007). The Lemonade Club. New York, NY: Philomel Books
Polacco, P. (2010). The Junkyard Wonders. New York, NY: Philomel Books
Ray, K.W. & Cleaveland, L.B. (2004). About the authors: Writing workshop with our
youngest writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
WETA Public Broadcasting. (2015) A video interview with Patricia Polacco. Retreived
from http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/polacco
IV. (A.) Ohios New Learning Standards (ONLS):
ELA: Writing Grade 3:
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using
effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
a. Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters;
organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
b. Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to
develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to
situations.
c. Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order.
d. Provide a sense of closure.
4. With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the
development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose.
5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing
as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
IV. (B.) National/State technology standards (if applicable):
N/A
V. Objective(s):

By the end of the unit, the students will be able to write a narrative story based on
an actual event from their lives using descriptive language, sequence, and effective
technique.
VI. Introduction:
Strategy and Grouping Pattern Used/Group Size: whole group class of 20
students, individual work, child selected partners.
Transition/Focus Attention: Teacher rings the bell to signal that it is time to
transition to a different activity. Teacher will ask students to put what they are
working on away, have the two student helpers pass out writing journals, tell
students to leave their journals on their desk, and when they are done cleaning up
to join her on the carpet.
Motivation/Hook: The teacher will remind students that they have been reading a
variety of Patricia Polacco books together for read alouds. Tell the students that
many of Patricia Polaccos books are based on her real-life experiences and that
they are going to be writing a story like Patricia Polacco.
Set Behavior Expectations: Tell the students that today we will be working as a
group and individually, some talking is to be expected but during the video it is
expected that they will be quiet to let their peers hear the video. Tell the students
that while they are discussing on the carpet, that they are expected to wait their
turn when sharing an idea and not to talk over one another. When they go back to
their desks they will be allowed to discuss ideas with their peers but talking must be
at a volume that does not disrupt their peers.
Set Purpose: Today we are going to be discussing how authors get ideas for their
stories and we will use what we learn to develop an idea for our own
autobiographical writing.
Assess (activate and/or build) Background Knowledge:
Review the plots of the previously read Patricia Polacco books. Write on chart paper
students ideas about where she got her ideas for each book.
VII. Steps/Learning Activities/Differentiated Instruction:
Differentiated Instruction: Students will be working together to develop ideas about
what they can write about. Each students writing will be assessed based on
individual writing ability. For students who have difficulty handwriting material,
accommodations will be made for them to use a computer to type their ideas or use
voice recognition software to dictate their story.
1. (1 minute) Tell students that we will watch an interview of Patricia Polacco
that explains where she got some of her ideas for her books so they should
sit where they can see the SmartBoard.
2. (13 minutes) Play Interview with Patricia Polacco on the Reading Rockets
website. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendaractivities/children-author-patricia-polacco-20659.html
3. (2 minutes) After listening to the interview, review with students what they
learned about where Patricia Polacco gets her ideas and write any new ideas
on the chart.
4. (5 minutes) Explain to the students that they will be writing like Patricia
Polacco by writing about an event that happened in their life. Tell the
students that it should be an event that is very detailed in their memory, one
that when they think about it, plays like a movie in their head.

5. (5 minutes) Teacher will read an autobiographical story from their own life to
the students to demonstrate how to write a story about their lives. Explain
the process she went through when deciding on the topic for her story.
6. (10 minutes) Work with students to create a list of ideas they have for their
writing. Ask them about any special events such as birthdays, holidays,
additions to their families, or traditions.
7. (5 minutes) After a significant amount of ideas is placed on the list, have
students go back to the desks to begin writing their stories. Remind students
to date the top of the page of their journal so that the teacher can know
which day they began writing on to assess for progress. If students have
more than one idea to talk with another student at their desk to decide on
which story is detailed and interesting enough to write about. If students
have already decided on an idea for their story they may begin writing in
their journal.
8. (20 minutes) Have students write a rough draft of their story in their writing
journal. If students finish early, have them read their story to another child
who is finished, to conference about any details they might want to add to
clarify their story. As students are working, teacher is walking around the
room taking notes about children staying on task and conferencing with
students who are struggling.
Closure:
9. (10 minutes) Remind students that they will have time to continue working on
their stories tomorrow. Ask if any students would like to share their stories
with the class. Select a student to come to the authors chair to read her
story to the class. Allow students to comment and ask questions to help the
writer understand how to clarify and add details to her writing. If time allows,
ask another student to read their story.
Assessment Activities:
Students will be assessed for this lesson on whether they have
selected a topic for their writing and whether they are beginning to
form their idea into a narrative. Students will be assessed by
teachers anecdotal notes while walking around the classroom.
Students will be assessed at the end of the unit using a narrative
writing rubric based on Elk Grove Unified School District Grade 3
Narrative Writing Rubric.
3
2
1
At Grade Level
Approaching
Below Grade
Grade Level
Level
Focus/Setting
Establishes a
Establishes a
Fails to
-CCSS W-3a
real situation
real situation
establish a
-CCSS W-4
and introduces
and attempts
real
characters
to introduce
situation
and/or
characters
and does
narrator.
and/or
not
narrator
introduce
characters
and/or
narrator.

Organization/Plo
t
-CCSS W-3a
-CCSS W-3c
-CCSS W-3d
-CCSS W-4

Narrative
Techniques
-CCSS W-3d

Organizes a
clear event
sequence that
unfolds
naturally.
Uses temporal
words and
phrases to
signal event
order.
Provides a
sense of
closure.

Uses
descriptions of
actions,
thoughts, and
feelings to
develop
experiences
and events.
Uses dialogue
to show the
response of
characters to
situations.

Organizes
some
sequencing
but might
confuse the
reader.
Uses some
temporal
words and/or
phrases to
signal event
order.
Attempts a
conclusion.

Uses minimal
or irrelevant
descriptions
of actions,
thoughts, or
feelings to
describe
experiences/
events.
Attempts to
use dialogue
to support
plot.

Does not
sequence
narrative in
a logical
order.
Narrative is
confusing.
Uses few to
no temporal
words or
phrases to
manage a
sequence of
events.
Conclusion
is not
attempted
or
discernable.
Uses little to
no
description
of actions,
thoughts, or
feelings to
describe
experiences
/ events.
Does not
use
dialogue to
support
plot.

Transition:
Students will be asked to clean up their writing materials and put their journals
away. They will be asked to come to the carpet when they are done cleaning up, for
the read aloud selection before lunch.
VII. REFLECTION
How do you know that learning took place? How does the data support your
conclusion?
What kind of adaptations did you make to accommodate individual differences?
What other adaptations would be helpful to accommodate the needs of individual
students?

Other than the modifications discussed above, would you change any aspect of the
plan or how you conducted the lesson? (E.g. introduction and transitions, sequence
of activities, time management, questioning, etc.) Why or why not? What changes
would you make?
Signature of Cooperating Teacher:
Date: