Lesson+Plan+for+Parent+&+Student+Writer's+Workshop

“Learning How to Write the **** Right Way **** with Your Child: ** A Parent & Student Writer's Workshop **
 * Lesson Plan **
 * The Five Writing Steps that Good Writers Use!” **

Parents learn how to use the //five steps that good writers use//, so that they may continue to use these same writing steps when writing with their child at home. The teacher conducts an after school parent/student workshop, in which the parent and child work together to produce an illustration and three or more sentences on one topic. 1.0  Writing Strategies Students write words and brief sentences that are legible. Organization & Focus 1.1 Use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about experiences, stories, people, objects or events. “How many parents have struggled with getting their child to write at home? Tonight we are going to learn how our children are taught how to write independently in school, so that you can continue to use these same steps with your child when writing at home. Our goal is for you and your child to be writing at least three or more sentences on one topic, every night. By ensuring that we, as teachers and parents, are consistent in our methods of teaching our children, we can expect our children to have greater success with their literacy skills. We are going to be working in parent/student teams. Every team will have a journal to write in. You will be able to take these journals home, so that your child may practice writing complete sentences, every night. Your child will be doing all of the writing, but as parents, you will be there to guide, prompt and assist your child through the //five steps that good writers use//. As parents, you will see how your child has been taught to write complete sentences, so that you may continue to use these same writings steps at home, making writing time easier and more relaxed.
 * __ Objective: __**
 * __ Content Standards: __**
 * __ Anticipatory Set: __**

For parents and students to be able to write together, under the guidance and supervision of the teacher, using the //five steps that good writers use//. These five steps, are the same steps that the teacher uses in class with the students, to teach writing. Once the parents begin to use these same writing steps with their child, every night at home, their child’s writing skills will continue to improve, strengthening their overall literacy development. It’s the goal of the teacher to create a fun, warm and inviting atmosphere for the writers and their parents. If the writing is done in a relaxed, comfortable and non-threatening environment than the writer can produce a more detailed and non-repetitive writing sample. // By using the five steps that good writers use: // // each word, and a period at the end of your sentence. // // 5. Read your sentence to check if it makes sense and correct any mistakes. // Task 1: Students need to be able to identify/write sight words. Task 2: Students need to be able to identify, the initial, medial and/or final sound in a word to represent an unknown word, for example, “d” for “dog” or “ct” for “cat.” Task 3: Students need to have a basic understanding of correct capitalization, spacing and punctuation. The teacher uses the powerpoint presentation to: Throughout the workshop the teacher gives plenty of opportunities for the parents and students to practice each of the steps that a good writer uses together, as the teacher roves around the room listening to and interacting with the parent and student teams. During this time, the teacher is identifying what needs to be re-taught or re-modeled. Also, the parents and students are checking and editing their child’s sentences together after writing at least two or more complete sentences. The parent and child refer to the “four star” rubric to help them edit their sentences. The parent places a glittery star on the child’s paper, for each “star” on the rubric, that is included in the writing. A star is given to the student if the student has: 1.  Written a complete sentence. 2.  Used correct capitalization, spacing and punctuation. 3.  Has printed letters legibly. 4.  Can read their writing. After the Powerpoint presentation, the teacher gives the parent/student teams an opportunity to finish their writing by putting into practice the //five steps that good writers use//. The teacher monitors and gives more individual guidance and encouragement to the parents and students. It is hoped that after the workshop, the parents will feel more confident and comfortable when writing with their child at home, and will continue to create many opportunities for their child to be involved in a variety of literacy activities, especially writing. The teacher has made a journal for every student to take home with them. There are 20 sheets of lined paper, one for every week night, for one month, for extra daily practice. If the students bring back their completed journal at the end of the month, in which they wrote 3 or more sentences on one topic, then they will receive a special surprise (cupcake, cookie, toy from prize box, you decide). The teacher asks for student volunteers to read their writing to the rest of the group. (The teacher may give these students a small incentive to encourage them to participate.) “The five steps that good writers use are simple and easy to remember. Your child is already doing these steps in class, which will make writing at home easier, fun and more enjoyable for everyone! Who can tell me what was one of the five steps? (//teacher calls on students and parents to give answers//).” The teacher asks if there are any other questions that the parents and students have, thanks everyone for coming and finishes with the raffle. The raffle is made of the tickets that the parents brought in as their “ticket” to enter the workshop. They may be store bought tickets or the students could make or decorate the tickets themselves. The raffle prizes could include a journal/writing set, books, a set of pencils and crayons, literacy activity books, etc (anything that will stimulate and aide in them in making writing fun and creative!). Big Lots! and the 99 cent store, are great places to shop for these prizes on a limited budget.
 * __ Purpose: __**
 * __ Essential Question: __**
 * How do good writers write? **
 * 1) // First, **__think__** about what you want to write about. //
 * 2) // Then, say your sentence four times to yourself. //
 * 3) // Write your sentence by copying sight words found throughout the classroom (or on your homework folder) and stretching out and chopping up unknown words (segmenting). //
 * 4) // Begin your sentence with a capital letter, use a two-finger space between //
 * __ Input/Model: __**
 * review the agenda for the workshop
 * discuss the best type of writing environment for our students
 * identify the guidelines and benefits of writing daily
 * teach and model the //five steps that good writers use//. The teacher uses a student whose parents could not attend, but who would still benefit from the workshop or a past student.
 * after each step, the teacher gives a few minutes for the parents and students to practice doing that particular step together, while the teacher moves around the room, helping and interacting with the parent/student teams
 * explains the “four star” writing rubric, as a way to check and correct student writing
 * teacher shows an example of “four star writing” versus “one star writing,” as parents and students help the teacher to edit the sample writings using the “four star” rubric
 * __ Checking for Understanding: __**
 * __ Guided Practice: __**
 * __ Independent Practice: __**
 * __ Closure: __**