Name:

AdrianRodriguez
Cohort:
B
Title:
Pelitos
Author:
SandraCisneros
Genre:
Fiction/ChildrensLiterature
PagesDiscussed:
EntirePictureBook
GradeLevel:
5
BriefSummary:
Thefictionalpicturebookisnarratedbyayounggirlwhoisthemaincharacter
andshenarratesanddescribeseachofyourfamilymembershair.

ClassroomJustification/ContentStandardAddressed:
(includethejustificationorreasonfor
conductingtheminilessonandcontentstandard)
Thisminilessonwouldallowstudentstounderstandandseehowanauthorusesspecific
descriptivewordstotouchonthesensesoftouch,vision,hearing,andsmell.Studentshavejust
beganwritingnarrativespiecesandwillnowbegintoseenewwaysinwhichtheycanrevise
theirwritingtobetterthereadingexperiencefortheiraudience.

5thGradeLanguagestandards:
3.Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusingeffectivetechnique,
descriptivedetails,andcleareventsequences.
D.Useconcretewordsandphrasesandsensorydetailstoconveyexperiencesandevents
precisely.

Minilesson:
WordChoice

1.IntroducetheTopic
Studentswillbegindiscussingandreferringtopastchartsfromtheirinformationalwritingpieces
onWestwardExpansion.Thechartsanddiscussionswillrefertowaysthattheymadetheir
informationalwritingmoredescriptive,detailed,andsensorybasedtoappealtotheiraudience.
Connectionswillthenbemadetonarrativewritingwiththeassistanceofthestudents,byposing
questionstothestudentssimilarto:Whyisknowingthishelpfulforournarrativepieces?,
Howcanweappealtoouraudiencessenses?Studentswilldiscuss,inpairshareformat,these
questionsandothersposedtodeepentheirunderstandingasstudentshavethoughtsthroughout
theintroduction.

2.ShareExamples
Introducetostudentsthebook
Hairs/Pelitos
bySandraCisneros.Readaloudthebooktothe
students.Asstudentsarereadthebookaloudtheywillkeepinmind,andarefreetowritedown
intheirwritingnotebook,wordsandphrasesthataredescriptivewordsthattouchontheir
senses.Oncethereadaloudiscomplete,studentswillhavetheopportunitytodiscussina

pairshareformatthewordsthattouchedontheirsenses.Studentsattentionwillthenbefocused
backwiththeteacherandtheywilldiscussinthewholegroupsetting,andwriteonachart,the
sensorydescriptivewordsandphrasesthattheyfelttouchedontheirsenses,anddiscusshowthe
wordstouchedontheirsenses.

3.ProvideInformation
Studentswillthenbeprovidedwithacopyofthepoem
MothertoSon
byLangstonHughes.It
willfirstbereadaloudtothestudentsandthenstudentswillgatherinsmallgroupsof4to
discusshowtheyseedescriptivewordsthroughoutthepoemandwhatsensesarebeingtouched
throughthepoem.Studentswillbeabletounderline,circle,highlight,anduseanyother
notetakingmethodtolookatthepoem.Studentswillthenhavetheopportunitytogather
togetheroncemoreasaclassanddiscusshoweachofthetwowriterstouchedontheirsenses
andwhatwordsand/orphraseshelpdothat.Studentswilldiscusshowtheywillbeabletodo
thatthemselvesandgiveexamples.Exampleswillbewrittenonthechartthatwasbeganinthe
ShareExamplessectionofthislesson.

4.SupervisePractice
Studentswillthengatherinpartnersastheywillnowbeginpracticingtheiruseofdescriptive
wordsthatappealtothesensesintheirWritersNotebook.Studentswillbegiventheprompt,
Writeaboutanddescribeyourmorningtodayasyoupreparedtocometoschoolandontheway
here.Usedescriptivewordsthatappealtotouchonthesenses.Asstudentsworkinpairsthey
willhavetheopportunitytosharewordswitheachotherthataresensoryappealingwords,or
checkwithoneanotheriftheyareusingwordscorrectly,etc.Teacherwillmakesuretocirculate
theroomandtakeanecdotalnotesonthestudentsprogressandwhattheyarerecordingintheir
notebooks.Asstudentsareworkingonthisintheirpairs,theteacherwillimmediatelyturnfocus
tothestrugglingstudentswhoareseentostruggleandworkwithtwopairsatatimetohelpthe
studentswiththeirwritinganduseofdescriptivewords.Theteacherwillprovideassistanceas
necessarytorefertoanychartsaroundtheclassroomwithdescriptivewordsandwritingtoserve
asexamplesforstudents,aswellasfurtherdiscussanyof
Hairs/Pelitos
or
MothertoSon
with
thestudentstofurtherassistthem.

5.AssessLearning
Describetheassessmentandhowyouwillanalyzeit.
StudentswillbeassessedthroughtheirWritersNotebook.Oncethelessoniscomplete,students
willturntheirWritersNotebookintotheteacherandtheywillcheckedfortheuseof
descriptivesensoryappealingwordsandhowwelltheywereabletousethemtoappealtoa
readerssenses.Theworkwillbeanalyzedtoseewhatcanbedonenexttohelpstudentsfurther
gainprogressontheirownnarrativewritingpieces.Studentswhoarelookedtobestruggling
willreceivegroupconferencestofurtherassistthemwithunderstandingthecontent.

MothertoSon
byLangstonHughes

Well,son,I'lltellyou:
Lifeformeain'tbeennocrystalstair.
It'shadtacksinit,
Andsplinters,
Andboardstornup,
Andplaceswithnocarpetonthefloor
Bare.
Butallthetime
I'sebeenaclimbin'on,
Andreachin'landin's,
Andturnin'corners,
Andsometimesgoin'inthedark
Wherethereain'tbeennolight.
Soboy,don'tyouturnback.
Don'tyousetdownonthesteps
'Causeyoufindsit'skinderhard.
Don'tyoufallnow
ForI'sestillgoin',honey,
I'sestillclimbin',
Andlifeformeain'tbeennocrystalstair.