East Detroit Public Schools
Lesson Design

Author: David Deneau
Subject: Language Arts
Grade: 6th - 8th grades
Title: Everyone's an Author

Length of Unit: 2 - 3 weeks
Materials Needed:
Power Macintosh G3 computer (in a lab setting)
floppy disks
large screen projection system (Epson)
An Odyssey of Discovery: Writing for Readers (CD-ROM by Pierian Spring)

Standards-Based Outcomes (MDE):

English Language Arts:

I. Meaning and Communication

Content Standard I, 3: All students will focus on meaning and communication as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic contexts.

7. Recognize and use varied techniques to construct text, convey meaning, and express feelings to influence an audience. Examples include identification with characters and multiple points of view.

IV. Voice

Content Standard IV, 6: All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively and demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written, and visual texts that enlighten and engage an audience.

2. Demonstrate their ability to use different voices in oral and written communication to persuade, inform, entertain, and inspire their audiences.

V. Skills and Processes

Content Standard V, 7: All students will demonstrate, analyze, and reflect upon the skills and processes used to communicate through listening, speaking, viewing, reading, and writing.

4. Demonstrate a variety of strategies for planning, drafting, revising, and editing several different forms of texts for specific purposes.

Prior Knowledge:

• Students need to have been exposed to a variety of fictional stories.
• The students need to be familiar with story elements such as characters, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution.
• Students also need to have a basic knowledge of grammar and editing skills to complete the program.
• In addition students should also have a basic understanding of how to use computer software.

Cue Set:

• The teacher exposes the students to quality written pieces through oral and/or silent reading.
• The teacher and students discuss the process of creating a written piece of fiction.
• The teacher asks students what it takes to make a good story. Together the class members “plug-in” different story elements and create a class story.

Best Shot Instruction:

• The teacher introduces the unit with the cue set above. He/she exposes the students to a variety of written pieces of quality fiction. Afterwards they discuss what different story elements are present and how those elements make the stories as effective as they are.
• Using the CD-ROM Skills for Writers, and an Epson large screen projection system, the class creates a story.
• Then the students work with partners on the CD-ROM program while the teacher observes and assists students in need. The students require at least two class periods to explore the program and write initial drafts of their stories.
• The students print the first drafts of their stories and edit them with their partners. When they are finished with the editing, they revise their stories on the computers and print second drafts.

Reteaching and Enrichment:

• The students read their finished stories aloud in class.
• The class members give three things which they liked about each story and one wish for what they would like to see done differently.
• Students then revisit the CD-ROM program at a later date to write a new story.

Review and Closure:

The students' work is put into the class anthology of published stories. This book is made available to the class for silent reading.

Assessment:

The teacher conducts on-going assessment, based on his/her observations, as the students are completing the project.

After the oral readings, the students and teacher give the stories grades based on a predetermined four-point rubric. The student scores are averaged and recorded. The teacher's grade reflects each written piece's story structure and the student writer's editing awareness.

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