Title – Writing Process for Informative Non-fiction Research Papers

By – Molly Bendorf

Primary Subject – Language Arts

Secondary Subjects – Science, Social Studies

Grade Level – 3-4

Duration:

• Introduction = 5 minutes
• Activity = 20 minutes
• Closure = 10 minutes

Colorado Standards:

• Reading/Writing Standard 2: Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences.
• Reading Standard 4: Students apply thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.
• Reading/Writing Standard 5: Students read to locate, select, and make use of relevant information from a variety of media, reference, and technological sources.
• Reading Standard 6: Students read and recognize literature as a record of human experience.

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to glean information from text to write an informative paper.

Resources and Materials:

• Non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias
• Two column notes sheet for each student
• Index cards for each student
• Numerous informative texts for examples

Differentiation:

• Allow shared writing

Step One:

Teaching the Lesson – Plan

• Discuss different ways a non-fiction book is written. Share the two column notes and the index cards to be used in planning. Discuss the planning process. Which plan will be used? How do we plan?
• Have students help you create a plan. Allow think/pair/share during this time.
• Have students write their plan based on their topic.

Step Two:

Teaching the Lesson – Drafting

• With the whole group write the text from the two column notes.
• Show students how to take their information from their plan to create an informative text. Also, make sure students understand the topic sentence and conclusion.
• Practice writing information in your own words, not just regurgitation from the text.
• Have students write their draft. If needed for differentiation, work with a group of students and do writing together.

Step Three:

Teaching the Lesson – Editing

• Show students how you edit your writing. Have students work in groups to edit each-others writing.

Step Four:

Teaching the Lesson – Publishing

• After edits are complete, model the publishing technique with students.
• Allow students to write final copy in ink or on the computer.
• Have copies of other published works available in the classroom. If none are available, start a collection of published pieces. Students love to see their work.

E-Mail

Molly Bendorf

!