Design for Learning

Instructor: Chandler McAlister

Lesson Title: Expository Writing
Curriculum Area: Language Arts

Grade Level/Cooperating Teacher: 4th/Watkins

Date: April 8
Estimated Time: 45 mins (Lesson will be extended
into writing workshop lasting two days)

Standards Connection:

23.) Write informative or explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly. [W.4.2]
a. Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections;
include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension. [W.4.2a]
Learning Objective(s):
When given a prompt the student will be able to compose a first draft expository essay scoring at
least 3 out of 5 on the ACT Aspire rubric.
Learning Objective(s) stated in kid-friendly language:
I will be able to brainstorm ideas and write a draft for my expository writing piece.
Evaluation of Learning Objective(s):
The student will be given three prompts to choose from that fall into the expository writing
category. The student will complete a graphic organizer to brainstorm and organize their ideas
before drafting. The organizer will serve to help the student during the drafting process. The
drafting process and proof of an attempt to brainstorm and transfer those ideas into formal writing
will determine if they understand how to write an expository piece. If the child falls below 3 out
of 5 will revise and edit their paper by meeting in a small group with the teacher. The rest of the
class scoring a 3 or higher will revise with a buddy and publish their final draft.
Engagement:
Today, boys and girls, we are going to be practicing writing an expository essay to practice for
the ACT Aspire test you are going to take in a few weeks. I am going to teach you how you can
organize your ideas so that writing your essay in a couple weeks are a lot easier. First, lets read
an expository essay so that we are able to see what exactly I am talking about. Pass out the
Expository Writing Sample. A student that is your age wrote this essay follow a prompt given to
him that told him to describe and explain his favorite place to go. I am going to read it out loud
and I want you to follow along. Read students the essay out loud. What did you notice about this
essay? Are there things that you liked? Are there things that you didnt like? Allow students to
turn and talk to you or a partner for a couple of minutes. I like what Karen said. This student
organized his ideas very well. The essay was easy to follow. I also like what Myrtis said. The
essay was descriptive. The author didnt just tell you that he liked going to New Jersey and then
quit.
Learning Design:

I. Teaching:
The story you just read is an expository piece. Have you ever heard that word before?
What do you think it means? Thats right, Amy! Expository writing describes something
or explains something. What are some examples of expository writing that you have

either read or written yourself? Now we are going to brainstorm some ideas together.
When you write an expository piece, just like any piece of writing, it is important to write
some ideas down first. Lets come up with some ideas together. The prompt we are going
to use today is the same one that the other student used. I am going to pick the favorite
place so that we can do this together. We are going to describe and explain why our
favorite place to go is Birmingham, AL. We are going to place Birmingham, AL as our
topic in the top. Who can tell me one reason they love Birmingham? Allow for three
responses. Now that we have three reasons we need to come up with some supporting
details so that we can explain why these reasons are true. Have students come up with
some supporting details to explain the three reasons. Now that we have this filled in we
are ready to write. Once you have all of the brainstorming and organizing done the
writing portion will be easy. We arent going to write this essay completely, because I
want to give you a chance to brainstorm and write on your own.
II. Opportunity for Practice:
I am going to give you two prompts to pick from. The prompt you choose will be similar
to the one you may see on ACT Aspire. Take a second to read both of the prompts and
pick one. Pass out the prompt sheet and give students a couple of moments to select a
prompt. Does anyone have any questions about the two prompts they have been given?
Circle the prompt that you have chosen on your sheet. I am going to give you a copy of
the same graphic organizer that we just used. You are going to put the main idea of your
essay in the top. The main idea will either be what makes a great friend OR what makes a
great birthday. Then you must come up with three reasons why they are a great friend or
why a birthday is great. Then for each reason you need three supporting details. This will
be just like we did together. Same format, just a different prompt. When you are finished
brainstorming and organizing raise your hand so I can look at your organizer and then I
will give you a piece of paper to begin your first draft. Yes, this one we are going to write
out completely.
III. Assessment
Students will draft their essay using the graphic organizer they filled in during practice.
After you have brainstormed and organized all of your ideas you are ready to write.
When you are done brainstorming, raise your hand and I am going to bring you a piece
of paper. All you have to do is transfer your ideas on your organizer into full sentences.
Make sure you use proper punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. Make use of dividing
your ideas into paragraphs. Please write neatly.
IV. Closure:
I want to remind you that when you are writing your essay for the ACT Aspire you wont
have a lot of time to brainstorm and write. You need to do your very best work and you
should have enough time. I wanted to give you more time to do this today to make sure
that you understood how to write and organize an expository essay. Tomorrow we are
going to revise, edit, and publish a final draft of our paper. On the real test you will not
be able to do this but we are going to do it so that you can become familiar with the
mistakes you may make on the ACT Aspire so that you can watch out for them on test day.
I need you to turn in your rough draft to me so that I can read over them tonight before
we meet again tomorrow.
Materials and Resources:

Paper

Pencil
Document Camera
Essay Prompts
Student Writing Sample
Brainstorming Organizer
Revising and Editing Checklist
ACT Aspire Rubric
Computer(s) Class Set

Differentiation Strategies (including plans for individual learners):

Reteach- Provide the students with a different prompt and write a story alongside them in small
groups over the next few weeks.
Extend - Give the students the opportunity to research a topic they are interested in to write an
expository essay.
Data Analysis:
Student writing is poor and needs a lot of scaffolding. 8 in the class were at a level of writing
required for the ACT Aspire. Students need more opportunities to write. They need direct
instruction to learn how to edit and revise. They were not able to do this part of the process
themselves. Students need direct instruction on usage and grammar to improve their writing.
Students should continue to read and write at length every day.
Reflection:
I learned so much about writing in the classroom through teaching this lesson. I had no idea that
writing took such a long time. This lesson took over 4 hours to implement. The students needed a
lot of time to think and work. There was only so much I could teach them as well, because
writing is very personal for some students and they want the chance to express themselves. The
students I taught this to were very reluctant to write as much as I asked them to, but most of them
did a great job. Next time I would make sure to give myself a lot of time to do writing. I also
think that I should make the lesson span across more than two days, but due to schedules it had to
be crammed into a couple of days.

Samford University
Design for Learning