Descriptive Writing of a Creepy Poe-Like House
Content Area: English Grade Level: 6 SOL # 6.6a b c e
SOL (Learning Goal):
The student will write narratives, descriptions, and explanations.
a) Use a variety of planning strategies to generate and organize ideas.
b) Establish central idea, organization, elaboration, and unity.
c) Select vocabulary and information to enhance the central idea, tone, and voice.
e) Revise writing for clarity.
Suggested Time Frame:
Two 48 minute class periods
Essential Knowledge, Skills, or Questions:
To be successful with this standard, students are expected to
•
•
•
use selected prewriting techniques, such as
o organizing graphically
o questioning
elaborate to
o give detail
o add depth
o continue the flow of an idea
understand that revising to improve a draft includes
o rereading
o reflecting
o rethinking
o rewriting.
Big Idea:What ideas, concepts, or principles are essential for deep understanding?
How do writers create a memorable image in the readers’ minds?
What stylistic techniques do writers use to create mood?
Assessment Options (Formative and/or Summative):How will I know each student
understood and met the purpose of the lesson? What evidence will I collect?
Materials:
•
•
•
Handout for prewriting
Handout example of Poe writing
Colored acetate strips (for rose colored glasses)
•
Teacher recorded audio of different types of music
Homework Options: What follow-up and/or homework will I assign? How will this reinforce the
purpose/content of the lesson? Complete final copy of writing and illustration.
Instructional Delivery:
LESSON
COMPONENTS
Anticipatory Set
(may include a preassessment)
How will I introduce the
lesson?
STEPS (input, modeling, practice)
1. Play music for students and ask
them to tell what mental picture
they have? What is the mood?
2. Ask students to look through the
acetate strip to color the room. Ask
them how the mood or feeling in the
room changes.
How will I know what
background knowledge
each student brings to
the lesson?
How will I focus
attention, tap prior
knowledge, spark
curiosity, build on
current events, connect
to personal experiences
and/or draw on
previously learned
content?
Learning Activities
What sequence of
activities will I follow to
teach this lesson?
What instructional
strategies will I use?
What will the students do
for guided and
independent practice?
What questions will I use
to promote critical and
creative thinking?
QUESTIONS TO
POSE
What elements in
music affect the
mood of the
listener?
How does a color
shift change the
feeling or mood of a
room?
How can a writer
capture these same
effects?
What are his tools?
Instructional Strategy:
Cognitive level:
Identifying Similarities and Differences
Nonlinguistic Representation
Generating and Testing Hypotheses
Understanding
Evaluating
1. Ask students to study the two
pictures on their prewriting
handout.
2. Which details help to add to the
creepy mood?
3. Allow students to work with a
partner or small group to brainstorm
together to fill out the planning
sheet.
4. After completing the handout, ask
students to go back and highlight
the details they want to mention in
their description. (They may not
want or need to include all ideas.)
5. Ask students to begin draft. For
Which detail in your
paper is your
favorite?
Which detail of
other student papers
made a memorable
impression?
Which part of
speech was most
effective in creating
the description—
noun, verb, adverb
or adjective?
students who have difficulty starting
give them a beginning sentence.
EXAMPLE “I was walking along
the path when I thought I saw
something appear through the
leaves of the tree. It was a house.”
6. Allow students time to write their
draft and get feedback from their
writing partner.
7. After the draft is finished, allow
students time to peer edit.
8. Revise, edit and proofread.
9. Teacher should conference with
student before the second draft is
started.
10. Students will make an illustration to
match their description. (For some
students this works as a prewriting
strategy to get ideas flowing.)
Closure
How will I culminate
what has been
taught/learned?
How will students be
prompted to reflect on
what they learned?
How will students check
to see if their
understanding is
correct?
Instructional Strategy:
Cognitive level:
Summarizing
Nonlinguistic Representation
Cooperative Learning
Evaluating
Analyzing
Creating
1. Publish drawings and writings by
putting final copies on the bulletin
board.
What is was similar
and different from
student writings and
Poe’s writing?
Instructional Strategy:
Cognitive level:
Reinforcing Effort and Providing
Recognition
Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback
Analyzing
Creating