How to Edit a Sentence Mini Lesson
ENG 315 Mini-Lesson Template for Teaching a Procedure# Spring 2013
Mini Lesson Topic
Name the procedure
For your reference, include a Common Core State Standard for your grade level.
W.K.5 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
Materials
Gather the materials will you need, including a mentor text or a sample of your own or a student’s writing.
Big notepad, marker, sentence sheet, pencils, erasers, red crayons, and blue crayons.
Connection
Ask students what writers need to do in order to get work done. “What does a writer need to do so she can…”
The teacher will ask students “What does a writer need to do to make sure that their sentences show a beginning and an ending?”
Explore
Describe to them what you will teach today. “Today I’m going to teach you how writers…”
Demonstrate them exactly how to do it. “Watch me do it.” Or, “Let’s take a look at how a writer would…”
‘Today I’m going to teach you how to edit your sentences. When I say edit your sentences, what do you think I mean? (pick on hand raised) It means to check to make sure they are correct. Today, we are going to focus on the beginning and ending of your sentences. What always comes at the beginning of a sentence? A capital letter. (make a reference to previous knowledge about lower case letters and upper case letters). A capital letter is placed at the beginning of a sentence so the reader knows that a sentence is beginning. Let’s try this together. On my big notepad, I am going to write a sentence. My sentence is… Monkeys are my favorite animal. (write on notebook without uppercase) Now, who can tell me what my sentence is missing? Right, a capital letter! Where does this capital letter go? At the beginning of the sentence! So I will change my m to M with my blue crayon so it sticks out (make change). Now that we have the beginning of my sentence edited, we need to look at the end of my sentence. There is a punctuation mark that shows a sentence has ended. This is a period. At the end of every sentence we write, we need to put a period. So for my sentence.. Monkeys are my favorite animal, where does my period go? Right! At the end of the sentence. I am going to put that there with my red crayon.’
Practice
Invite them to try it individually, or with a partner, for a few minutes. “Now try this procedure out with a partner…”
‘Now, when I say go, I would like you to get up off carpet and grab a piece of sentence paper. We are going to practice on our own. Once you grab your sentence paper, please go to your seat, get out a pencil, blue crayon, red crayon and an eraser. You are going to write three sentences. The sentences can be about anything you choose, but the beginning word of each sentence, has to be different. Once you write your three sentences, you are going to edit them with the blue and red crayon. Any questions? GO!’
Establish and Remind
Establish the procedure as a new norm. Record it on chart paper, put it on a poster, or have students write it in their notebooks.
Remind students how the teaching point can be used in independent writing.
‘Remember students, editing your sentences will now be something that we do, each and every time we write. I am going to hang up the page of my sentence as a reminder to the class to always edit your sentences. The beginning of a sentence needs a capital letter and the end of the sentence needs a period. Capitals at the beginning and periods at the ends of your sentences will always be used in your writing from now on. They are a very important part of your editing.
Group Wrap Up
Restate the teaching point. Ask: “Did you try what was taught? Did it work for you? How will this procedure help you as a writer during our writing workshop time?”
The teacher will ask the students “ Did you edit your sentences as taught?” “Can you tell where the beginning of your sentence is as well as the end?” “How often will you edit you sentences?”
Resources: Smart teachers learn from their colleagues and adapt the lessons of others, yet are sure to give credit where credit is due. Be sure to identify any outside sources you have used such as Read Write Think (http://www.readwritethink.org/), Writing Fix (http://writingfix.com/), or any other book, journal, or website. Also, be sure to cite the mentor text that you use.
The credit of this mini lesson goes to Stephanie Terpstra for doing a similar lesson. I went off of her idea and created my own lesson.
Mini Lesson Topic
Name the procedure
For your reference, include a Common Core State Standard for your grade level.
W.K.5 With guidance and support from adults, respond to questions and suggestions from peers and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
Materials
Gather the materials will you need, including a mentor text or a sample of your own or a student’s writing.
Big notepad, marker, sentence sheet, pencils, erasers, red crayons, and blue crayons.
Connection
Ask students what writers need to do in order to get work done. “What does a writer need to do so she can…”
The teacher will ask students “What does a writer need to do to make sure that their sentences show a beginning and an ending?”
Explore
Describe to them what you will teach today. “Today I’m going to teach you how writers…”
Demonstrate them exactly how to do it. “Watch me do it.” Or, “Let’s take a look at how a writer would…”
‘Today I’m going to teach you how to edit your sentences. When I say edit your sentences, what do you think I mean? (pick on hand raised) It means to check to make sure they are correct. Today, we are going to focus on the beginning and ending of your sentences. What always comes at the beginning of a sentence? A capital letter. (make a reference to previous knowledge about lower case letters and upper case letters). A capital letter is placed at the beginning of a sentence so the reader knows that a sentence is beginning. Let’s try this together. On my big notepad, I am going to write a sentence. My sentence is… Monkeys are my favorite animal. (write on notebook without uppercase) Now, who can tell me what my sentence is missing? Right, a capital letter! Where does this capital letter go? At the beginning of the sentence! So I will change my m to M with my blue crayon so it sticks out (make change). Now that we have the beginning of my sentence edited, we need to look at the end of my sentence. There is a punctuation mark that shows a sentence has ended. This is a period. At the end of every sentence we write, we need to put a period. So for my sentence.. Monkeys are my favorite animal, where does my period go? Right! At the end of the sentence. I am going to put that there with my red crayon.’
Practice
Invite them to try it individually, or with a partner, for a few minutes. “Now try this procedure out with a partner…”
‘Now, when I say go, I would like you to get up off carpet and grab a piece of sentence paper. We are going to practice on our own. Once you grab your sentence paper, please go to your seat, get out a pencil, blue crayon, red crayon and an eraser. You are going to write three sentences. The sentences can be about anything you choose, but the beginning word of each sentence, has to be different. Once you write your three sentences, you are going to edit them with the blue and red crayon. Any questions? GO!’
Establish and Remind
Establish the procedure as a new norm. Record it on chart paper, put it on a poster, or have students write it in their notebooks.
Remind students how the teaching point can be used in independent writing.
‘Remember students, editing your sentences will now be something that we do, each and every time we write. I am going to hang up the page of my sentence as a reminder to the class to always edit your sentences. The beginning of a sentence needs a capital letter and the end of the sentence needs a period. Capitals at the beginning and periods at the ends of your sentences will always be used in your writing from now on. They are a very important part of your editing.
Group Wrap Up
Restate the teaching point. Ask: “Did you try what was taught? Did it work for you? How will this procedure help you as a writer during our writing workshop time?”
The teacher will ask the students “ Did you edit your sentences as taught?” “Can you tell where the beginning of your sentence is as well as the end?” “How often will you edit you sentences?”
Resources: Smart teachers learn from their colleagues and adapt the lessons of others, yet are sure to give credit where credit is due. Be sure to identify any outside sources you have used such as Read Write Think (http://www.readwritethink.org/), Writing Fix (http://writingfix.com/), or any other book, journal, or website. Also, be sure to cite the mentor text that you use.
The credit of this mini lesson goes to Stephanie Terpstra for doing a similar lesson. I went off of her idea and created my own lesson.