By:

Hayley Minner

Purpose Statement• The purpose of this lesson is to use

writing to help students connect meaningfully and logically to a text through the development of an appropriate ending.

• This will help students increase their ability to communicate in writing as well as encourage them to think about their connection to the environment.

Grade Level

• Seventh – Eighth Grade

• ESOL Classroom

• 6 English Language Learners with Intermediate to Advanced English Language Skills

Materials for Day 3• Scrambled Sentence Strips

• The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry (teacher read-aloud, multiple copies for students to follow along, if possible)

• Bilingual Dictionaries

• Thesauruses

• Graphic Organizers

Objectives:Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum

• Select, organize, and develop ideas appropriate to topic, audience, and purpose

• Compose written presentations that express personal ideas, inform, or persuade

• Use strategies to make meaning from text

• Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of the text

TESOL Standards• Apply knowledge of syntax to assist ESOL students in

developing written English (1.a.3.)• Provide appropriate instruction and feedback (1.b.10.)• Create a secure, positive, and motivating learning

environment (1.b.4.)• Provide opportunities for meaningful interaction (1.b.3.)• Develop students’ listening skills for a variety of

academic and social purposes (3.b.4.)• Use appropriate technological resources to enhance

language and content-area instruction for ESOL students (3.c.4.)

• Assess ESOL learners’ language skills and communicative competence using multiple sources of information (4.b.5.)

Previous Lessons

• Brainstorming “Rainforest”

• Map mini-lesson

• Researching “Rainforest” animals

• During Reading:• Questioning techniques

• Reading for a purpose

• Video – “Fern Gully”

Day 3 Procedures• Warm-up – Journal Entry

• Anticipation – Sentence Building Activity reviewing the parts of the book read the previous lesson

• Read until the last page, have students write an ending to the story after organizing their thoughts

• Compare and contrast the actual ending with the student’s ending

• Conclusion – verbally summarize the reading

Extension Activities• Use wireless computer station with internet

access to research additional rainforest information

• Informative posters for school• Graphic organizer of facts• With sufficient information, students will

choose between:• Writing a letter to local businesses to persuade

them to adopt a tree or plant in the rainforest• Writing a letter to state/city representatives to

persuade them to take action in the fight to “Save the Rainforest”

Assessment of Day 3• The students’ endings will be

assessed by the following:• Applying appropriate sentence

structure• Use of challenging vocabulary• Conclude with a logical ending related

to the topic

• Completion of the journal entry, participation in activities, and completing the compare/contrast organizer will also be considered