Initial Overview of Mentor Text Focused Lesson Plan

Name, grade level, Overview: Mentor-Text-Focused Lesson Plan, Part 1 – Background  First, watch this short video: What is Mentor Text?. A culminating assignment in this course is the M

Name, grade level,

Overview: Mentor-Text-Focused Lesson Plan, Part 1 – Background

 First, watch this short video: What is Mentor Text?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtq48EoA0B0

 Another good resource is this video by Jeff Anderson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dH3rua3MHQ

 I suggest watching both videos.

This is just an initial overview/outline! Examples of the outline and the final plan are on

Blackboard A culminating assignment in this course is the Mentor Text Focused Lesson Plan A

“mentor text” is a text (print or digital) that is used to model and teach an aspect of the writing process You will begin your project by selecting the grade level your lesson will target and choosing a writing focus Select a writing focus for this lesson that exemplifies (pick one): a writing craft, style, a craft focus, or one of the Six Traits Keep in mind this lesson could

potentially range in time from 1-5 days; it doesn’t have to take place over one day, per se Your

plan can take place over lesson or over several days or even a week Ideas from the Six Traits:

 Idea development

 Voice

 Sentence fluency

 Conventions

 Organization

 Word choice

You will write a rationale for your selections and identify goals and objectives for your Mentor Text Lesson You will also outline your lesson plans that you will develop during this course as part of your Mentor-Text-Focused Lesson Plan The rationale for your plan is the “so what” or

“why this topic matters” to developing student’s writing skills, both short term and long term

Overview: Initial Overview/Mentor Text Focused Lesson Lesson Plan

You will create one Mentor-Text-Focused Writing Lesson Decide on a writing focus, for

example, “Writing with Detail” or a specific genre such as vignette writing or poetry The focus of your lesson can also be a non-fiction focus such as expository writing, persuasive writing, or Assignment – Initial Plan/Overview of Mentor Text Focused Lesson Plan, Part 1 (Overview)

essay writing You may also choose to incorporate digital writing such as blogging, Google

Docs, or another digital tool (e.g., Canvas) into your lesson plan

NOTE about the originality of your lesson plan: Each lesson plan must be original

(developed by you) and not one that you found on a Web site or other published source.

Do not create this lesson as an adaptation of a lesson idea you have located on the internet!

Objectives

 Select a grade level and a writing focus you wish to teach that exemplifies author’s craft, style, genre, or one of the Six Traits

 Develop a clear and specific rationale as to why this topic matters in terms of curriculum,

the writer, and the life-long goals of writing (about two paragraphs) You can draw on

your own experiences and thoughts, but also include ideas from our textbooks and/or

other readings that you carefully cite using APA format

 Identify five goals (overarching focus) Goals are very broad across your lesson and are

what you hope students will “get out” of the lesson more broadly

 State your objectives using specific verbs from Bloom’s Taxonomy (There is a lesson

plan tutorial on Blackboard if you need assistance with this.)

 Develop an outline of your lesson plan Remember, you are just doing one lesson,

however, a lesson might extend over multiple days.

 Do read the entire assignment description for the final lesson plan so you have an idea

of what it is you are working towards.

Rubric -10 points possible

Use this rubric to guide your work All work must be turned in on time

Rationale

(max 3 points)

2 paragraphs detailing a clear and specific rationale for selection of grade level and author

(3 points)

Rationale somewhat clear, but lacking in specificity

(2 points)

Rationale lacking in clarity and specificity

(0-1 point)

Goals

(max 1 point)

5 specific goals to direct the outcome of the lesson (1 point)

N/A

Goals lacking (0 points)

Objectives

(max 1 point)

3-5 lesson objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs and connections to standards (1 point)

N/A

Objectives not aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy nor standards

(0 points)

Lesson

descriptions

Clear description of relevant and grade-appropriate lessons

Sufficient outline of writing lessons

Description does not sufficiently outline lesson

©2018 University of Texas at Arlington Page 2 of 5

(max 5 points) involving specific writing

process(es) (5 points)

Part 1: Background

Target Grade Level:

Writing Focus I will Teach in this Lesson: (Name it and briefly define and describe what it

is.)

Rationale for selection of topic and mentor text(s) chosen: (Develop a clear and specific

rationale of about two solid paragraphs.)

Five broad goals of Mentor Text Focused Lesson Plan: (overarching broader focus of what

you hope students will get out of the lesson and development of their skills with the given writing

focus of the lesson These can be much more general than lesson objectives) Example:

Students will develop skills in brainstorming to pre-write

1

2

3

4

5

3-5 Lesson objectives: (State using Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs; Connect to curriculum

standards if possible; NOTE: These may change as you develop your lesson plans in coming weeks.) There is a lesson plan tutorial on Blackboard for writing lesson objectives These are

much more specific than the broad goals above

1 [objective 1]

2 [objective 2]

3 [objective 3]

Outline of lesson: (Provide brief descriptions of each lesson plan that will accompany your

Mentor Text Lesson Plan NOTE: This may change as you develop the lesson in coming

weeks.)

Lesson Outline/Overview:

TEXT AND MATERIALS:

List all materials used including titles of books and any links to resources Optional: add a brief description of each item Include any links to websites or media tools you will use

MODELING THE WRITING FOCUS:

Describe in numbered steps how you will model the writing focus (E.g., through read-aloud, audio/video, anchor charts, etc.)

DESCRIPTION OF WRITING ACTIVITIES In numbered steps, list all of the procedures of the

lesson plan that will take place in sequence What will the teacher do? What will the students do? What parts of the writing process will be in this plan? Do not write this like a word-for-word script Write it in third person language Discuss any technology that will be used (e.g., Google Doc, Google Chrome extensions, 1-to-1 technology such as Chromebooks, cloud-based writing, etc.)

©2018 University of Texas at Arlington Page 4 of 5

STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS (Describe how you will assess

student learning for this lesson plan Be specific.)

OPTIONAL: Include an anchor chart depicting your writing focus [This should be your own original

work.]