Project that I worked on along with three other people. This project was to present research on the topics of the process of writing and collaborative writing. The lesson sample was made for a group of fourth grade students.
Learning the Collaborative Writing Process
Fourth Grade
Jessup Elementary
Population: The majority of the population in fourth grade are African American and Hispanics. And the minority are Caucasians
Total Students: 24; 15% Caucasian, 40% African American, 45% Hispanic.
Duration: 10 day (or class periods.); each class period will be 50 minutes.
Learning objectives
TEKS
(15) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:
(A) plan a first draft by selecting a genre appropriate for conveying the intended meaning to an audience and generating ideas through a range of strategies (e.g., brainstorming, graphic organizers, logs, journals);
(23) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to:
(A) generate research topics from personal interests or by brainstorming with others, narrow to one topic, and formulate open-ended questions about the major research topic
B) generate a research plan for gathering relevant information (e.g., surveys, interviews, encyclopedias) about the major research question
(26) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience.
Students are expected to draw conclusions through a brief written explanation and create a works-cited page from notes, including the author, title, publisher, and publication year for each source used.
Unit Materials:
Instructional Materials:
Assessment:
Students will be presenting a paper they have created individually using their groups brainstorming. Due to there being 24 student and not enough time to listen to all of the papers, each group will select one paper that they feel is the best, or that has shown the most improvement since revision. The students will also be expected to each answer one or two questions about their collaborative writing process, which will be given to them prior to presenting.
Students will be assessed on how well they answer the questions, present the material, and how they respond to their peers. Students should follow a rubric when creating their paper, as well as when they are answering the questions about their collaborative writing process.
Unit Plan:
Monday: Introduction of the Collaborative Writing Process: 50 minutes
Tuesday: Newsletter to the Parents: 50 minutes
The students will implement what they have learned the previous day and apply it to their newsletter
For this activity, students will be given the chance to brainstorm about what they want their final draft to say. Students will then be given the opportunity to share their ideas to the class, to help build a stronger, information filled, newsletter to the parents. The class will then decide what will be on the newsletter draft. The teacher will promote the students to create their own rough draft to be shared with the class. (By having the students create their own rough draft, rather than just copying the one the class will make, helps the students to make their own connections to the material they are learning.) After the students have been given time to create a rough draft, they will share what they have written to the class. The teacher will then write down all of the ideas that have been shared from the students, which will then be used for the final newsletter. The class will then quickly draft the in-class newsletter, with the teacher’s help. After the newsletter draft has been created, the students should revise and edit their copy of the newsletter. Students should collaborate with their peers and determine if they are making the necessary corrections to their draft.
By having the class complete this activity, the students are making connections to what they are learning.
Wednesday: Guided practice and Group Paper: 50 minutes
The teacher will assign students into groups of four by pulling their names from a cup. Once in their assigned group, students will pull a topic from a bucket and begin brainstorming about the topic they chose. (The topics inside the bucket will be prompts related to the STAAR test the students will be taking later on.): 10 minutes
Topics include:
The students in the group will use an outline to brainstorm about the different ideas they have about their topic. The students should think of stories and experiences that they feel should be talked about in their paper. As a group, the students will determine what ideas they want to write about, and how they plan to organize their thoughts. (By doing this, the students are practicing collaborative writing as well as learning the writing process.) Due to having the different topics, it ensure that the students are benefiting from the peer revising and editing process on Thursday.
*Organize your ideas paper has further instructions on what the students will be doing*
While the students are doing this, the teacher should go around to the different groups to check for understanding of the topic. By doing this, the students who would normally not ask for help, are getting the help they need without feeling singled out. The teacher can also ensure that all students are participating in the activity, are understanding the material, and not one student is doing all of the work. -40 minutes
Thursday: Group Paper Continued: 50 minutes
At the beginning of class, students will finish brainstorming, if they need to do so, and begin to work on their individual rough draft answering the topic question; while also following the writing process that has been discussed.
The students will be informed that they should have enough information for the following class, where they will be editing their papers.
Friday: Revising and Editing; Peer Editing:
The teacher will begin the class discussion by asking the students, “What do they think revising and editing means?” (The students will be allowed to write their answers on the board to be looked back on later.) Once the class has revealed their understanding of revising and editing, the teacher will review what it means to revise and edit a paper. The teacher will also explain to the students that by choosing certain words, or even changing certain sentence layouts, completely changes the readers' point of view. While writing, as many of people know, mistakes of grammar, punctuation, etc. are sometimes made, which is why it is important to always review your own work, as well as your peers. It is important for the students to understand that even teachers, or people they look up to, make grammatical mistakes and that it should not discourage them as a writer. - 5 minutes
The teacher will then demonstrate, to the class, what it means to revise and edit, while the students follow along on their paper (their notes). The class will then all go over a short passage that needs to be revised and edited. The class will read the passage aloud and the teacher will ask them what they have observed from it, before editing. After the class has edited the passage, the teacher will then ask them what they have observed from it now? (There might be a difference due to the now corrected sentences/grammar/structure which better helps the student to understand the material.). After the students have demonstrated their understanding with the guided practice, they will then work on independent practice. While this is independent practice, the students can still ask their peers for help if they feel the need. - 25 minutes
After the students have completed the independent practice, they will get into their groups and begin the revising and editing process on their papers. Due to the papers in the group being the remotely the same, the students will pass their papers to the next group over (clockwise) who will revise and edit their paper. - 20 minutes
Monday: Final Editing Group Paper; Writing Process Review: 50 minutes
The teacher will have the students review what they remember about the writing process on the board. The students will be given the opportunity to draw, or write, as much, or as little, as they remember on the board. The students will be advised to not use their notes, but rather just let their knowledge come to them. After the students have demonstrated their understanding of the writing process, the teacher will ask the students, “What would happen if their paper is not revised or edited?” By asking this question, will lead the class into their peer review drafts being handed back from the following day. As students are getting their papers back, they should be able to quickly answer this question. After the teacher has verified that the students are understanding what is being taught to them, the students will be given time to review the changes their peers have made to their paper, and determine if they were correct or not. The teacher will have the students write on a notecard the things they had missed when they had reviewed their own paper. Students will then be given time to make the necessary corrections on their rough draft before creating their final draft Tuesday.
Tuesday: Computer Lab: 50 minutes
The teacher will have scheduled computed lab time for all students to type their final draft, which will be submitted for a grade to assess the students understanding of the writing process.
At the beginning of class, the teacher will review what is expected of the students for the assignment. The teacher will make sure the students understand that the purpose of this assignment is to assess that the students are understanding the writing process. To do so, the teacher will use a rubric to determine if the students have followed the steps, as well as formats, discussed in class. By going to the computer lab, the students should have less grammatical errors due to spell check.
Wednesday: Computer Lab: 50 minutes
The students will be given a second day to finish their final draft. The students who have finished their final draft on Monday, can begin to determine who will present which topics.
What the students will be presenting: (Also in Thursday)
Thursday: Presentation *Rubric*: 50 minutes
Each group will have the opportunity to share their writing with the class. Due to each group having the same topic, as well as the same supporting evidence to their topic, the team should elect one students paper who they feel is structured the best, or had the most improvement from the revising and editing process.
The groups should:
By having each group member have to say something, it is not just one person at the front of the room explaining the purpose of the paper, and it will make it a collaborative experience for everyone in the team.
While the groups are presenting, the students who are watching should be giving their feedback on a notecard, which will be given to the group the following class. For enrichment, the class will discuss what was the result of the different groups editing. (Side-by-side of the two papers). The reason for notecards, rather than verbal feedback is that some students may be put down by others opinion of their paper when in-front of an audience. Also, by having all students write their feedback down, it ensures each group is getting adequate feedback from their classmates.
After each group has presented, the teacher should give the students constructive feedback about their assignment. By doing so, the other students who may not know what to say on their notecard can get an idea of what to say to their classmates.
Friday: Presentations Continued: 50 minutes
*Students who have not presented on Thursday should do so today.*
After all the groups have presented, the teacher will further review with the students how the steps of the writing process were applied for this assignment.
Analysis
The process of writing is the series of actions required to produce a well-written text. A great strategy to teach the writing process is by introducing collaborative writing. This strategy involves two or more persons working together to produce a writing document. During collaborative writing, writers follow the process of writing while working as a group. In this collaborative writing lesson, the students will learn the steps of writing a paper, the stages of writing a paper, and how to write a paper collaboratively.
The students in this classroom are learning about the collaborative writing process and building on what they are learning throughout the week. The students are first introduced to the information and then slowly build on what they are learning. Prior to this unit, students should understand grammar rules and have a background on the different types of papers they are expected to write. If students do not understand this, the revising and editing process will be especially difficult for them. This unit will prepare students for the 4th grade STAAR test, as well as future writing assignments they will have to complete.
This unit is accessibility for all students because they are always given in class time to complete the work, and there is time for reteach if needed. There is also a lot of group work, along with teacher help, that will aid the students with comprehension of the material. Due to this, I feel as if my lesson meets the specific needs of my selected school.
The week begins by the students learning about the collaborative writing process. The class will takes notes and follow along with the teacher, these notes can be used later to help the student with future projects or assignments that will be done in class.
After the students have learned about the writing process, the class will collaborate and implement what they have learned about the collaborative writing process to a class created parent newsletter. Students will be expected to follow the collaborative writing process and create a information filled newsletter that will be sent home to the parents. This newsletter should be informative and tell the parents what the students are learning about this week. By having the students collaborate and create the letter to the parents, the students are practicing how to write in a informative writing style, while also continuing to learn about the collaborative writing process.
Prior to creating the newsletter, the students will all brainstorm about what they feel should be included in the letter. The teacher will allow the students to share their ideas on the board, as well as allow other students to find ways to elaborate on what others have said. Once there is an adequate amount of information on the board, that is related to what the students will be learning, the students will then decide what should be included in the draft. The teacher will encourage the students to create their own rough draft using the information collected on the board. By doing this, rather than the class creating one rough draft, allows students to make their own connections to what they have learned. After the students have created their rough draft, the teacher will select students to share what they have written about in their rough draft, which will then be used in the final draft. The teacher will write down the ideas that the class has collaborated and, with student help, will quickly make a rough draft using the ideas. After the newsletter draft has been created, the students will then revise and edit the paper with the help of the teacher. By doing this, the students are touching on a skill that will be later be emphasized on. The teacher should read the sentences aloud and after each one, ask the students if there should be any corrections. If the students cannot find any, and there are some, the teacher should give the students hints that would help the students to better understand. It is important for the teacher to not be too hard on this, due to this being a brief emphasize on a topic that will later be explored. After the students have found the necessary changes to the newsletter, the teacher will reread it aloud and check for clarity. If the students are satisfied with their newsletter, the teacher can either elect a student helper to type it, or quickly type the newsletter to go home with the students.
The following day, the students will complete a guided practice, as well as begin to writing a collaborative group paper. The teacher will begin class by drawing names and assigning students into groups of four. When assigning the students to groups, the teacher should keep in mind “the abilities of each student, who might become the team leader, coauthor, editor, what each student will bring to the group, and more importantly will the students be able to work together?”(Jones, D. Pp 90-93)
Once the students are in their assigned groups, they will pull topics from a bucket. The topics that are in the bucket will be 4 different topics, that have come from previous STAAR tests. The reason for the students pulling their topic, rather than selecting it, is because it better prepares them for what will be on the STAAR test they are taking later on. The teacher will ensure that not every group has the same topic by numbering the topics inside the bucket, and only putting the amount of groups that are in the class. By having the different topics, it ensure that the students are benefiting from the peer revising and editing, that will be happening the following day.
Each student will be given a worksheet called “Organize Your Ideas” that the teacher has created. This worksheet will include further instructions about what the students should be doing, as well as an example of what is expected from the students. Once the students are in their assigned groups, with their selected topic, they will begin to brainstorm about what they think their paper should be about. Students should use the “think it, write it” strategy for brainstorming. (McCutchen 1988). Each student should think about which topics they have the most supporting evidence for and write them down. After each student has had time to brainstorm about the prompt, the team members should write what the others thought to write about, on their worksheet.Once all team members ideas have been written down, the students will select which ideas had the most information, and then think about what else they can add to them. At this point, the group should have come up with at least 4 or more topics that have enough supporting evidence about them to create a rough draft. Once the students feel they have enough information, from their group, they may begin to create it on their own rough draft answering the prompt. This draft will be created with the help of their teammates collaborative brainstorming. Students will know that they need enough information written to complete revising and editing the next class. If there is not enough class time to do so, the teacher will allow the students to work on their draft before revising and editing.
Prior to revising and editing the students rough drafts, the teacher will begin class by asking the students “What do you think revising and editing mean?”. This can be used as a warmup where the students come to the board and write their answers, which will be looked back on later. Once the class has revealed their understanding of revising and editing, the teacher will review the meanings of revising and editing, while students take notes in their journals. The students will learn that there are acronyms for both revising and editing.
Revising: A.R.M.S: Add, Remove, Move, or Substitute.
Editing: C.U.P.S: Capitalize, Usage, Punctuation, and Spelling check.
Which can make the process easier while checking their draft. The teacher will also explain to the students that by choosing certain words, or even changing certain sentence layouts, may completely change the reader’s point of view. Which is why it is important for students to review their own work, as well as have others check it. It is important for the teacher to emphasize that everyone makes mistakes while writing, and that it should not discourage the students as writers. The teacher will then demonstrate what it means to revise and edit by completing an example on the board. Before editing the example, the teacher will read the unedited passage and check for student understanding. After the class has edited the passage, the teacher will reread it and check for student understanding again. There should be a difference due to the now corrected sentence and grammar structure which better help the students to understand the material. After the students have demonstrated understanding with the guided practice, they will then work on independent practice using revising and editing. This will be a short passage, due to the students still needing to get into their peer revision groups. After all students have finished the independent practice, the class will begin to work on revising and editing their papers. Due to the groups papers being remotely the same, the students will pass their papers to students who do not have the same topics as them, once the papers get to the new group, the revising and editing process begins. Students in the group will use a different colored pen, than the author, to make corrections on their peers paper, if they are unsure of a correction they can ask their teacher or their teammates. The paper will be passed around this group until all members have gotten a chance to edit each paper fully. Due to this taking the e remainder of the class period, once the students complete the revising and editing process, the papers will be passed to the teacher who will verify that the changes on the papers are correct after class. By the teacher checking this, it will also help to check the students understanding of the topic they have learned. If the teacher feels that the students are not comprehending the material, the topic can be revisited the following class for a review, or even retaught if needed.
The following day, the teacher will begin class by reviewing what the students know about the writing process on the board. The students will be called upon to write as much or as little that they remember, without using their notes. After the students have demonstrated that they have mastered their understanding of the writing process, the teacher will ask the students, “What would happen if your paper is not revised or edited?”. By the teacher asking this question will lead into the students receiving their peer reviewed rough drafts back. Students should answer this question based on what they found on their peers paper as well as what they found on theirs they recieve back. After the teacher verifies that the students are understanding what is being taught to them, the students will be given time to review the changes their peers made to their paper and determine if they were correct or not. The teacher will have the students write what they missed when they had reviewed their own paper, compared to when their peers reviewed it on a notecard. Students will then be given time to make the necessary corrections on their rough draft before creating and submitting their final draft Monday.
The following day, the students will be given scheduled computer lab time to complete their final drafts of their paper, which will be submitted for a grade to assess the students understanding of the writing process. At the beginning of the class, the teacher will review what is expected of the students for the assignment. The teacher will make sure the students understand the rubric and what is expected from the students papers. The teacher should express to the students that by going to the computer lab to write the paper, should eliminate the spelling errors made.
The final day of the unit, after the final drafts have been written, the groups will have the opportunity to share their writing with the class. Due to each team not having written the same paper, but having the same ideas and supporting evidence for the paper, the group should chose whose paper they feel is the best (or has shown the most improvement). Before the groups present their papers, they should first elect a team member to read the paper. This should be the one who did not write the paper, due to the paper being typed, there should not be any issues. Another member should explain why they picked they information they talked about, and they cannot just say “because it had the most information”. We all know there was a bigger reason those topics were chosen and you could elaborate on them, what were they? One team member should explain the roles that each team member played. This would work the smoothest if the student used the Organize Your Ideas worksheet, the group completed. The student can explain which ideas each member came up with, and who elaborated on what. The last student, whose paper is being read, should explain how they edited their paper, while showing the rough draft next to it. This team member also should discuss what their group struggles with the most during the writing process.
By having each group member have to say something, it is not just one person at the front of the room explaining everything, and it makes it a collaborative experience for the whole team. While the different groups are presenting, the students who are watching will be giving their feedback on a notecard, which will be given to the group the following class. For enrichment, the class will discuss what was the result of the different groups editing, while looking at the side by side of the papers. The reason for the note cards, rather than verbal feedback, is that some students may be put down by others opinion when in-front of a large audience. Also, by having all students write their feedback down, it ensures that each group is getting adequate feedback from their classmates. After each group has presented, the teacher should give the students constructive feedback about their assignment. By doing so, the other students who may not know what to say on their notecard are getting an idea on what to say to their peers.
In conclusion we can see that there are many benefits for collaborative writing process. Students are able to apply their skills of writing and work together with others in a writing assignment. Students can apply their new acquired knowledge in independent exercises as well as collaborating with their peers. In the end both teacher and student will see that the objectives of the lesson were met. Various strategies were used to teach and model for students during the lesson. Students can see that there is a process when writing an essay, short story, or any type of document they wish to write and that same process can be used as well as in a collaborative assignment. For closure, the introduction of the lesson can be reviewed and the students can share what they learned during this activity.
Work Cited:
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