ALEX Lesson Plan

Lesson 2: Informational Writing: How to Lessen Human Impact on the Environment

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  This lesson provided by:  
Author:Kayla Passarella
System: Muscle Shoals City
School: Howell Graves Preschool
And
Author:Sandy Armstrong
System: Muscle Shoals City
School: Muscle Shoals City Board Of Education
  General Lesson Information  
Lesson Plan ID: 35405

Title:

 Lesson 2: Informational Writing: How to Lessen Human Impact on the Environment

Overview/Annotation:

This lesson may be taught as part of the Unit Plan - Solutions to Lessen Human Impact on the Environment. In this lesson, the solutions to lessen the human impact on the environment will be explored. Students will communicate their plan during journal writing by producing an informational writing piece that uses the conventions of Standard English such as capitalization and punctuation. At the end of the lesson, the students will peer edit their writing using the provided writing anchor chart.

This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.

 Associated Standards and Objectives 
Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: K
6 ) Identify and plan possible solutions (e.g., reducing, reusing, recycling) to lessen the human impact on the local environment.*

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.K.6- Classify human activities as harmful or helpful to the environment.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: K
33. Express ideas orally and connect these ideas through drawing and emergent writing.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: K
36. When speaking and writing, follow the rules of standard English grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and grade-appropriate spelling.

a. With prompting and support, transcribe spoken words to demonstrate that print represents oral language.

b. With prompting and support, compose a simple sentence, including necessary components to create a complete sentence rather than a fragment.

c. With prompting and support, identify the role or purpose of a noun and a verb within a sentence and the type of information it conveys.

d. With prompting and support, write the correct number of words, with proper spacing, for a spoken phrase or sentence.

e. With prompting and support, begin each sentence with a capital letter.

f. With prompting and support, capitalize the pronoun I and names of individuals.

g. With prompting and support, recognize, name, and correctly use end punctuation.

Examples: period, question mark, exclamation mark

Local/National Standards:

  

Primary Learning Objective(s):

Students will be able to:

-apply their knowledge on lessening the human impact on the environment through the production of an informational writing piece describing possible solutions to this problem.

-capitalize the first word in a sentence.

-end a sentence with the appropriate punctuation.

-use spaces between words in writing.

-sound out and spell words to produce a readable sentence.

Additional Learning Objective(s):

Learning Targets

I can:

  • begin my sentence with an uppercase letter.

 

  • sound out and spell words.

 

  • use the correct punctuation at the end of a sentence.

 

  • produce a sentence that is readable.

 

  • use spaces between words when writing a sentence.

 Preparation Information 

Total Duration:

31 to 60 Minutes

Materials and Resources:

Student Materials (per student)

-writing journals or lined paper

-pencils

-blue and green tissue paper (2 pieces of each color)

-black construction paper (12 in. X 18 in.)

-Earth template 

-glue

Teacher Materials

-chart paper

-markers

-writing rubric (found in attachment section)

-example sentences (see teacher background information for preparation)

-Earth template http://www.clipartbest.com/earth-template

 -writing target anchor chart (download in the attachment section)

Technology Resources Needed:
 

Background/Preparation:

Student Background Information:

Students will need to know information that was taught in previous lessons in this unit, such as:

-Reduce, reuse, recycle can lessen human impact on the environment. 

-Other ways to lessen human impact on the Earth can be to pick up trash, turn off lights when leaving the room, plants trees, save water, walk, ride bikes, etc.

Students should be able to identify land and water on a map of the Earth.

Students will also need to know that a sentence is a complete thought that contains a subject (noun), action (verb), uppercase letter at the beginning of a sentence, and punctuation. 

Teacher Preparation:

The teacher should have a chart with four example sentences pre-written on the chart paper.

Note: The answers are provided in parenthesis following the example sentences listed below.

 Example sentences are to be written as follows: 

  • The cat jumped over the fence. (Sentence is correct.)

  • the dog barked loudly (Sentence is incorrect. The "t" in the should be uppercase, and the sentence needs a period.)

  • The girl ran to her sister. (The sentence is correct.)

  • the class had fun at school? (The sentence is incorrect. The "t" in the should be uppercase, and the sentence should end in a period instead of a question mark.)

The teacher should make all required copies prior to teaching this lesson.

  Procedures/Activities: 

Before Strategy/Engage (10 minutes)

Pose the following question to the students: What must a sentence contain in order for it to meet our writing targets?

Instruct students that they will turn and talk to their neighbor about the things that a sentence needs in order to meet learning targets.

After the partner discussion, discuss the question as a whole group referring to the writing target anchor chart.

During Strategy/Explore and Explain (40 minutes) 

1. On chart paper show and read the first sentence to the class (the example sentences are found in the background/preparation section).

Ask the students if it is a sentence based on the writing learning targets anchor chart.

Have the students go through the anchor statements to check off the target requirements: uppercase letter at the beginning of a sentence, appropriate punctuation at the end, spacing between, sentence readability, and correct spelling.

Once the students recognize that it is a complete sentence, move on to the next example. Once the students identify that the sentence is incorrect, make the corrections as a whole group on the chart paper. Continue with the previous steps on sentences three and four. 

2. As a whole group, review with the students ways we can protect and lessen the human impact on the environment discussed in previous lessons (information found in background/preparation).

3. Instruct the students that they will create an informational writing piece using the information discussed on lessening the human impact on the environment and incorporating the correct structure of a sentence.

4. The students will write one way they can help protect the environment on paper or in their journals.

5. Next, they will create a collage of the Earth using tissue paper and the provided Earth template that can be found using this link http://www.clipartbest.com/earth-template. The students will tear the blue tissue paper into pieces. Then, glue the pieces of blue tissue paper onto the water of the Earth template. Next, the students will tear the green tissue paper into pieces and glue the pieces of green tissue paper onto the land of the Earth template.

6. Once the tissue paper collage is complete, the Earth will be glued at the top of the 12 in. X 18 in. black construction paper with their writing piece glued underneath.  

After Strategy/Explain & Elaborate (10 minutes)

Students will share their writing sample with a partner. Students will critique their partner's writing sample for meeting the writing learning targets listed on the anchor chart and appropriateness of the response to the posed question.


  Assessment  

Assessment Strategies

Formative Assessment: Students will be assessed informally through observation and questioning throughout the entire lesson. Examples sentences will be used to check students' understanding of the structure of sentence during instruction. The teacher will monitor writing through observation and conferencing.  

Summative Assessment: The students' writing piece will be assessed based the writing rubric in 6 areas: begins sentence with upper case letter, uses spaces between words, sounds out and spells words, sentence is readable, use appropriate punctuation at the end of a sentence, and response is on topic. See attached rubric. 

Acceleration:

-During journal writing, students can write more than one solution to lessening the human impact on the environment. The solutions can be turned into posters to hang around the school to promote environmental friendliness on campus.

-Students can share their work with others by creating an interactive piece using ChatterPix app which can be downloaded from iTunes using an iPhone or iPad. Go to the app store and search for ChatterPix Kids, then download the app. It is free, and it provides a tutorial at the beginning.

Intervention:

A prompt can be provided to help the students begin their writing. (For example: I can.....)


View the Special Education resources for instructional guidance in providing modifications and adaptations for students with significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for the Alabama Alternate Assessment.