Monday, September 24, 2012

Explosive Expository Essays......

I am so excited to share with you my newest unit.

I love using writer's workshop and my students
write in EVERY subject area.  They have journals for almost every subject. Yikes!
BUT I have to admit, teaching informational/expository or persuasive/opinion 
writing has never been my favorite area to teach.  I think it's because I've
always wanted someone to hand over a book or set of lesson plans that tells me
exactly what I should do to teach this area and resources I need to use to teach it.

So, with the new common core standards and my own personal goal to create fun, interactive units in those areas that in the past I have dreaded not looked forward to teaching, I created the Explosive Expository Essay Unit which is aligned to the Common Core standards.

This unit includes a 53 page power point presentation that includes lessons on:
What is an expository essay?
Brainstorming
How to create a graphic organizer
Writing a good beginning that hooks the reader
Using transition words when writing
How to write a wrap up
The revision process
Using words that "sizzle"
Publishing
Also included in this unit is everything you need to create a student writing binder.  
This includes:
a cover page of a boy or girl writer
What I'm working on, Items I need to publish, Expository/Informative portfolio, Narrative portfolio, and persuasive portfolio forms
Student dictionary
Transition Word list
Wrap Up Idea List
Sizzling Word Vocabulary List
Revision check sheet

3.  This unit also includes mini lessons that accompany some of the power point lessons.  These mini lessons include picture books to use and a student activity that helps with the writing topic being studied.

4. AND finally I have included " A Ring of Possibilities" expository essay prompts.  These prompts can be copied and laminated and then placed on a book ring.  I am going to place these in our writing center once we have completed our unit on expository essays.  When creating these 8 prompts, I tried to keep in mind the common core standards for social studies and science.

I have been working through this unit with my 3rd graders, and they are LOVING it!  I also don't   dread  teaching this type of writing because I have the powerpoint presentation and mini lesson already prepared and organized.  Woohoo!

This unit is used as an introduction to expository/informative essay writing.  Once I have introduced my students to this type of writing ,and they have successfully published an informative essay, I will begin introducing additional mini lessons that I use with writer's workshop to continue to help my students become better writers.  I also begin incorporating informative essays in our units on social studies and science in which my students begin making references to informational text in their supporting details.

If you are interested in finding out more about this 91 page unit, please click on the picture below to be taken to my TPT store. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I appreciate your comments!

1 comment:

Elmer said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.