Week 3
Lesson 11 Plan an autobiography Summary of Core Instruction
Step 1 Teach the writing process
Summary
Step 2 Teach planning an autobiography
In this lesson, children review the five steps of the
writing process. Then you will help them complete
the first step by planning an autobiography as a class.
Student Objectives
Comprehension Skills
Sequence events or steps
Expressive Writing
Generate ideas before writing
Set a purpose for writing
Use the writing process to plan an
autobiography
Listening and Speaking
Participate in discussions
Materials
A transparency of Blackline Master 4
The Writing Process poster
Chart paper
The
Write It Right BLM
The Writing Process
Level 5, Unit 1
Writing Process
4
The Writing Process
1. Plan: Think of what
to write.
2. Draft: Write your
first draft.
1. Plan: Think of what to write.
2. Draft: Write your first draft.
3. Revise: Make your ideas clearer.
4. Edit: Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
3. Revise: Make your
ideas clearer.
5. Publish: Make your work look nice and share it with others.
4. Edit: Correct spelling, punctuation,
and grammar errors.
Reproducible Page © 2010 by Rowland Reading Foundation
5. Publish: Make your work
look nice and share it
with others.
© 2010 by Rowland Reading Foundation. All rights reserved.
978-1-59833-715-0
SG33715.RRD.0910
UNIT 1: LESSON 11
19
11
(The Writing Process) on a transparency of Blackline Master 4. Read
aloud the title and explain that writing is a process that has several
steps—tasks a writer must complete in order.
Step
Teach the writing process
Use a transparency of Blackline Master 4.
Write It Right BLM
The Writing Process
Level 5, Unit 1
4
The Writing Process
1. Plan: Think of what to write.
2. Draft: Write your first draft.
3. Revise: Make your ideas clearer.
4. Edit: Correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
5. Publish: Make your work look nice and share it with others.
Reproducible Page © 2010 by Rowland Reading Foundation
Ask children what they remember about the writing process.
Use a sheet of paper to conceal the steps listed underneath the title
Pleasant’s Pointers
Blackline Master 4 shows the five steps of the writing process.
You’ll use this master throughout the school year. The steps
are also listed on a large poster in your Teacher Materials box.
Display this poster in the classroom for regular reference (see
reproduction on the previous page).
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UNIT 1: LESSON 11
Ask children what these steps might be. As they volunteer ideas,
guide children to use the following terms: Plan, Draft, Revise, Edit,
Publish. Write each of these steps on the board in the order it is
named or described. If children do not think of one of the steps,
remind them of it by asking questions such as, “What does a writer
need to do before writing sentences on paper?” or “How might a
writer improve a first draft before letting someone else read it?”
Make sure all five terms are listed on the board before proceeding.
Display and discuss the five steps of the writing process. Ask
children which step comes first in the writing process (Plan) and
what happens in this step. (You think of what to write.) Write the
number 1 next to the word Plan on the board and then uncover
step 1 and its definition. Discuss the step together, emphasizing that
children will soon begin planning a piece of writing.
Following the procedure above, number the steps on the board,
uncover each successive step and definition, and discuss. When
you have finished discussing the last step, tell children that you will
show them this list often so they can keep track of where they are in
the process as they write.
Pleasant’s Pointers
First-graders who used Levels 3 and 4 of the Rowland Reading
Program were taught the following four-step writing process:
(1) plan, (2) draft, (3) revise, (4) publish. You may want to
explain that in second grade, the revising phase is split into two
steps, Revise and Edit. Both of these steps help a writer improve
a first draft. The difference is that revision means changing the
ideas or organization of a draft to make the ideas clearer, while
editing means fixing spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors.
12
Step
Teach planning an autobiography
Use The Writing Process and chart paper.
Introduce the planning step of the writing process. Tell children
that they will now begin a piece of writing. Ask them what they
need to do first. (Plan) Emphasize that the first step in the writing
process is not to write, but to think about what to write. Explain
that, together as a class, you will now plan a piece of writing.
Introduce the word autobiography. Write the word autobiography
on the board and read it aloud. Tell children that they will be writing an autobiography and ask whether anyone knows what that is.
Through discussion, help children understand that an autobiography is a piece of writing about the author’s own life. Point out that
auto means “self,” bio means “life,” and graphy means “writing”—
therefore, an autobiography is a piece of writing about the life of
you, yourself. Remind children about the clues they wrote about
themselves during the first week of school and tell them they might
be able to use some of these ideas in their autobiography.
Help children generate ideas for writing an autobiography.
Brainstorm with children ideas about what to put in an autobiography. To get the ideas flowing, write the word Name on the board,
explaining that a story about your own life must include your name.
As children offer ideas, write them on the board. When you are finished, you should have a list such as the following:
Name
Title
Age
Birthplace
Family and home
Things I like
Things I don’t like
Life events
Review the categories and add one more. Discuss each item on
the board, giving examples of each to help children understand
them more fully. For example, explain that the Family and home
category might include information about how many brothers and
sisters students have, or where their grandparents live, or what
their parents do for a living. Explain that Things I like and Things I
don’t like might include a sport, a food, a toy, or a game. Life events
might include moving to a new home, the birth of a sibling, or traveling somewhere.
Tell children that you would like to add one more category to the
list: One interesting thing about me. Write this last category on the
board and explain that good writing often contains something
interesting to read about—something a reader might enjoy learning
about. Offer examples of things about you, the teacher, that might
interest a reader. For instance: One time I won a hula hoop contest.
Or, I have traveled to Spain three times. Or, I used to make pot
holders and sell them to the neighbors. Or, one time my car ran out
of gas and I had to walk two miles to a gas station.
UNIT 1: LESSON 11
21
Help children create a plan for writing an autobiography. On a
piece of chart paper, write the words Autobiography Plan as a title
and underline it. Then ask children which of the categories on the
board comes first in an autobiography. (Title) Write the word Title,
centered, below the words Autobiography Plan and explain that the
title of their autobiography should be centered at the top of the
page. Cross out the word Title on the board. Then ask which category comes next in an autobiography. (Name) Begin a list of bullet
points on the left side of the chart paper and write Name next to
the first bullet point. Cross out the word Name on the board.
Make sure the
plan has a title.
As children
put the categories
in order, list them
beside bullet points.

Using the procedure above, help children put the remaining categories in order and write each one next to a bullet point on the
chart paper. If children disagree about which category comes next,
you may want to have them vote. The last category, however,
should be One interesting thing about me.When the plan is finished,
post the chart paper in the classroom. Congratulate children on
having completed step 1 of the writing process and tell them they
will use this plan when they move on to the next step.
Autobiography Plan
Title
• Name
• Birthplace
• Age
• Things I like
• Things I don’t like
• Family and home
• Life Events
• One interesting thing about me
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UNIT 1: LESSON 11
Center the word Title
to remind children to
center their own title.