Name: Program: Course:

Carson Hope Early Childhood Special Education (K-3) ECH 460

Lesson Topic/Title:
Post-Unit Informational Writing Prompt
Source: Nonfiction Chapter Books (Calkins, Mraz & Golub, 2013, p. viii) and
Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions (Calkins, 2013,
p. 124-129)
Lesson Date: Lesson Length: Grade:
January 9, 2020 40 minutes 1st Grade
Learning Objective(s) Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Students will write an informational text The students will be verbally given a
piece that includes: writing prompt that asks students to
• An introduction write an informational, or all-about,
• Information about their chosen piece. The prompt will ask the students
topic to include each of these four topics.
• Transition words
• A conclusion
Content Standards Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2 • This is the final piece that students
Write informative/explanatory texts in will write as part of the Writing
which they name a topic, supply some facts Informational Text unit. They will
about the topic, and provide some sense of write this piece after all instruction is
closure. given in class about informational
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1 writing.
Demonstrate command of the conventions • Students will be instructed to write in
of standard English grammar and usage complete sentences and use their best
when writing or speaking. grammar when completing their
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.2 piece.
Demonstrate command of the conventions • Students will be instructed to use
of standard English capitalization, their best writing conventions when
punctuation, and spelling when writing. completing their piece.
Assessment Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
This is a summative assessment to the This is the final informational text piece
Informational Text Writing unit. Students students will write, and it will be used as
can score 0-4. See attached rubric a way to determine progress at the end of
the unit. This will be assessed with the

developed by Calkins et. al (2013). Used to rubric from Writing Pathways: Performance
assess progress for all three learning goals. Assessments and Learning Progressions
(Calkins, 2013). All three learning goals
can be represented through this prompt.
Students may write an all about OR how
to book and will use illustrations in their
piece. Students are reminded of the
strategies (addressed in the learning
goals) when being read the prompt.
Materials, Resources, and/or Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Technology • Each student will start with a packet
• Packets of three pieces of writing paper of three pages of writing paper to writ
• Additional sheets of writing paper their informational text [adapted from
• Pencils the five pages as stated by Calkins et.
al (2013) by the first grade team]
• Some students may need additional
sheets of paper
• Students will be asked to do all
writing in pencil
Teaching and Learning Sequence Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
Introduction 1. The teacher will explain the purpose
1. The teacher will remind students that of the activity.
they have been learning about writing 2. The teacher will give students the
informational, or all about and how to, required materials to complete the
books. The teacher will ask students to activity.
show them everything they learned 3. The teacher will give instructions for
during the unit. the activity. This is an adapted version
(2 minutes) of the prompt from Nonfiction Chapter
Instruction Books.
2. The teacher will pass out a packet of 4. The teacher will not assist students as
writing paper to each student. this is a way for students to show
(1 minute) what they already know about
3. The teacher will read the prompt to informational writing prior to
students: instruction. The teacher will give
Think of a topic that you’ve studied or students warnings about how much
that you know a lot about. Today, you time they have left to complete their
will all of writing time to write an piece.
informational, or all about, book that 5. The teacher will inform students that
teaches others information and ideas time is up.
about your topic. You will only have 6. The teacher will share how much she
today to work on this book. Write in a values the students’ work and explain
way that shows everything you know that the purpose of this prompt was
about informational writing. In your

 writing, make sure you: to see how much they’ve learned and
- Introduce the topic you will teach can apply.
about
- Include lots of information
- Organize your writing
- Use transition words
- Write an ending
(2 minutes)
4. The teacher will give students the
whole writing block to write. The
teacher is not to assist students. The
teacher will give time warnings such as
“10 minutes left” (repeat for 5 minutes,
2 minutes, 1 minute).
(30 minutes)
Conclusion
5. The teacher will inform students that
time is up and ask students to put
them in the finished work bin.
(2 minutes)
6. The teacher will congratulate students
on what they’ve learned about
informational writing and explain that
she cannot wait to see each writers’
progress!
(2 minutes)
Meeting Students’ Needs Instructional Decisions/Reasoning
1. Students will be asked to show what 1. Given topic choice will allow students
they know about a topic of their choice. to choose a topic they are confident in
2. The teacher will explain to students to show the most they know about
that this one way the teacher will be informational writing.
able to see what they learned during 2. Although the teacher is not supposed
the unit. to help students during this lesson,
the teacher can try to comfort
students and raise their confidence
levels by explaining the purpose of
the activity.

Reflection
The prompts, developed by Calkins (2013), are one of the assessment tools used by first
grade at Madison Elementary each trimester for report card grading. I see pros and cons
with the assessment tool. I have made the following pro-con chart to display this:

While a prompt is a good opportunity to see what strategies students know how to use
without teacher support in one writing block, I do not think it always showcases their
best work. Simple reminders of strategies beyond the prompt can go a long way, but the
determinations by Calkins (2013) prevent that. While I used these prompts to gather
information about my students, they were not the final ruling of my students’ trimester
grades for writing.
Teaching Standards and Rationale
Standard 6 addresses assessment. The standard states: “the teacher understands and
uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their own growth, to
document learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s on-going planning and
instruction” (CCTS). In other words, the standard explains the importance for multiple
forms of assessment and using said assessment in an intentional and meaningful way to
guide instruction and provide learners with feedback. As previously mentioned, the
post-unit prompt was the summative assessment for my informational writing unit as
well as one of the assessment tools used by the first grade team for end of trimester
assessments. Indicator 6(o) states the teacher “knows when and how to evaluate and
report learner progress against standards” (CCTS). Because this assessment was part of
the end of trimester evaluation process, and is intended to meet first grade Common

Core State Standards for writing, this assessment was taken into consideration for end
of trimester grades, and were also reported to parents (along with pre-unit prompt
scores to show progress). I took into consideration the pros and cons I outlined (see
reflection) before determining students’ trimester grades: I used their work from the
trimester as a whole to list their cohesive writing grade, as a grade should represent all
of their work. This aligns with indicator 6(e) as it recognizes the teacher “engages
learners in multiple ways of demonstrating knowledge and skill as part of the
assessment process” (CCTS). I assessed all of the major writing projects students
completed over the trimester (which was the informational writing unit) to determine
accurate grades – students were given many opportunities to show their competence
with different types of projects.