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Open Court Reading |
Second Grade OCR Unit #3, Writing Component (Blue)
Expository Writing Prompt Assessment
Writing Situation: You are explaining something you know how to do.
Purpose: To explain how to make something
Audience: Your classmates
Directions for Writing: Think about how you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Write a paragraph that explains the steps in making the sandwich. Use a graphic organizer to plan the steps in your paragraph.
Standard: 1.0 Writing Strategies
1.1 Group related ideas and maintain a consistent focus.
Standard: 2.0 Writing Applications
2.1 (a) Move through a logical sequence of events.
Standard: 1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies
1.4 Give and follow three- and four-step oral directions
1.5 Organize presentations to maintain a clear focus.
1.6 Recount experiences in a logical sequence.
You’re asked to introduce many types of expository writing in this unit. Regardless of the writing application, they all address the standard of sequence. Looking ahead to the end of unit writing assessment, giving directions is the focus. The following ideas support you in teaching daily mini-lessons on directions throughout the entire unit while you continue to teach the various writing applications:
- Share sequence words or transitional words with students. Brainstorm a list with students. Attached is a list of transitional words which are alternatives to the traditional (first, next, then, finally). Post a word bank of transitional words for students to use throughout the unit, add to them as needed. This word bank will help students in all writing applications.
- Brainstorm and share a list of directional words with students to use throughout the unit. Examples to use: left right straight diagonal
forward backward up down
across behind above
- Use OCR L.A. Handbook pages # 82-87. It is a model of giving directions on how to do something and giving directions to a place. Note: The standard focuses on logical sequence of events.
- Tips for writing how to do something are located in the L.A. Handbook on page 86.
- Tips for writing how to go somewhere are located in the L.A. Handbook on page 87.
- An oral mini-lesson is a strategy which could be used daily to quickly hit the objective for using sequence to organize directions. The mini-lesson can take place anytime throughout the day.
- Oral mini-lessons (10-15 minutes) on giving directions to a place:
Ø How to get to the library (on your way to the library)
Ø How to get to the bathroom (to tell a new student
Ø How to get to the cafeteria (on your way to lunch)
Ø How to get to the office (to tell a new student)
Ø How to get to the playground (to tell a new student)
- Oral mini-lessons on how to do something:
Ø How to play baseball (during P.E.)
Ø How to get ready to go home from school (to tell a new student)
Ø How to solve an argument (after a classroom conflict)
Ø How to make your bed (to tell your younger sibling)
- Oral mini-lessons on how to make a recipe:
Ø Cheese & Cracker sandwich
Ø Bugs on a Log (celery, peanut butter & raisins)
Ø Peanut butter & Jelly sandwich Note: Depending on a child’s culture, they may not know or ever had this type of sandwich.
Ø S’mores (graham crackers, chocolate & marshmallow)
- Extend into your Investigation and/or Concept Question board by interviewing staff on campus:
Ø School Nurse—How to brush your teeth
Ø Librarian—How to find a book
Ø Janitor—How to mow the lawn
Ø Cafeteria—How to make pizza (recipe idea)
Ø Campus Supervisor—How to make a friend
- For all of the above mini-lessons, you may want to model writing on a chart pad and save the pad for future use. You may not get through an entire model lesson in one day…..that’s o.k. just start the next day where you left off and review the previous days steps.
- The L.A. Handbook is a resource for you and your students. Expository writing is explained on pages 78-99. Place books in your classroom writing workshop area next to the dictionaries and thesaurus as a resource to students while writing.
- Post a vocabulary list pertaining to the academic language used on the unit assessment. Refer and use these words during the weekly lessons to familiarize students with the language. An example list for this unit is below.
Unit 3 Assessment Vocabulary: explaining paragraph
graphic organizer steps
main-idea topic
order words details
indented grammar
OCR Teacher Tips:
Looking for ways to support the OCR unit writing assessments? Below are some helpful suggestions, compiled by the reading coaches. These activities are not intended to replace the OCR writing lessons, but offer more practice for the writing standard addressed in the unit writing assessments. Please use them if you wish during workshop or as a quick guided practice lesson.
First Grade Open Court Units 5 & 6
End of Unit Assessment Writing Support
Standard: 1.0 Writing Strategies
1.1 Select a focus when writing (directions & instructions).
Skills presented in Unit 5, lessons 1-5 and Unit 6, lessons 6-10.
Unit Assessment Writing Prompt:
Students will write the order of events for getting ready for bed.
Here are some ideas to help prepare students for the unit writing assessment:
VOCABULARY (needed to understand the writing task):
Sequential order
Instructions
Directions
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES (can be used in workshop or whole class):
1. Daily discuss steps involved with common routine activities, i.e., saying the Pledge of Allegiance, lining up for recess, walking to the cafeteria, putting on a coat, etc.
2. Make a class chart of transitional words such as:
first second third
then next last
finally after
3. Provide directions to make a kite and have students follow the steps to make their own.
4. Students can sequence event picture cards and write a sentence about each (can use a copy of the OCR Reading Transparency #47).
5. Teacher can do a directed draw activity to teach following directions.
6. Teacher can enlarge the text from the decodables and cut into sentence strips for students to sequence into the proper story order.
7. A homework assignment could be to copy the OCR Reading Transparency #47 and have students write down the steps to brushing their teeth and/or getting ready for school.
8. Make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in class and write down the steps using transitional words. Can transfer to sentence strips and be used to sequence in workshop.
Third Grade Open Court Unit 3
End of Unit Assessment Writing Support
Standard: 2.0 Writing Applications
2.2 Write descriptions that use concrete sensory details to present and support unified impressions of people, places, things or experiences.
Writing Strategies:
Writing Strategies
1.0 Writing Strategies
1.1 Create a single paragraph
a. develop a topic sentence
b. include simple supporting facts and details
Unit Assessment Writing Prompt:
Describe a special place in your neighborhood.
Ways to support the standards:
VOCABULARY (needed to understand the writing task):
Sensory details
Neighborhood
Adjectives
MATERIALS:
A five senses chart
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES (can be done in Workshop or as Guided Practice):
1. Start an ongoing class chart of “sensory words”.
2. Use graphic organizers from OCR or private collection to graph sensory
words for each of the five senses.
a. HEARING: Play a tape of ocean sounds, nature sounds, etc., and ask
students to list words describing what they hear.
b. TASTE: Students sample foods and describe the flavor of each.
c. TOUCH: Students feel a variety of textured objects and list
sensory words to describe the objects.
d. SEE: Present various art prints for students to study and describe.
e. SMELL: Have a variety of scents available on cotton balls (can be
put on a dish or in film canisters with holes in the lids). Try spices,
perfume, coffee, chocolate, etc. List sensory words.
3. Take a “sensory” walking field trip and write about all the senses experienced.
4. Have students write a sensory description of their bedroom at home and share with a partner. The partner can ask for clarification and suggest more sensory words. Trade papers and repeat the process.
5. Students write to the prompt: Describe your dream school; include at least four details such as where it is, what it looks like, what it has in it, and what happens there.
6. Daily Riddle (similar to 20 questions) – Teacher or students describe something using sensory words and everyone else guesses what is being described.
**More grade levels to follow.
Mary Bass and her fifth grade students from Bellevue School have found a great way to connect social studies to their Open Court reading program. Here is Mary's description of the activity:
Our fifth grade class is reading "Class President". Our fifth grade standard SS 5.7(4) states that students will understand the divisions of power. I have decided to combine the two by holding class elections. On Friday, we will begin with President, then vote on 3 Supreme Court Justices, 2 Senators, and 8 Representatives. This activity will help to make the story come to life and naturally reinforce the story vocabulary. One student came to me and told me how she used cooperation to work with her friends on her posters. They are all excited and so am I!
