Unit Plan – Language Arts Writing: Grade 3

Myranda Ekkel #001175502

Timeframe: September-Mid October 2018
Unit Name: Crafting True Stories—Narrative (Lucy Calkins)

The first writing unit will be introduced within the first week of school. To start off
the year, students will be reviewing the basics of writing including punctuation,
capitalization, writing sentences, etc. After a review, the first unit Crafting True
Stories (Narrative) written by Lucy Calkins will begin. This will be introducing
students to the routines of the writing workshop. It will begin with setting up a
writer’s notebook and discussing what is should look like and what students will be
writing in it. Students will be setting writing goals for themselves which will help
them progress in their ideas and putting them into writing. During this process,
students will be establishing ways to create their own personal narratives which will
be kept inside of their writer’s notebooks. Various opportunities will arise where
students will be given the chance to evaluate their own work and reflect on what is
Summary & Rationale of Unit: good, what is not good, and what could be improved on. For some students, they will
need to focus on adding more detail where others may need to focus more on the
conventions within their work.

We will be approaching narrative writing in different ways, such as drafting different

beginning or paths from a single idea. This will allow students to explore different
meanings and thoughts based from one notion. The idea of fast drafting will allow
students to free write within their notebooks without interruptions. Giving them the
time, independence, and quiet time allows for the release of ideas onto paper,
whether it be neat or messy, it gives students to organize their own thoughts in a way
that makes sense to them. Students will also be shown different ways that they can
organize their ideas, paragraphing being one way, charting and checklists, as well as a
narrative organizer (fill in the blank handout) as another. As the unit progresses, we
will be experimenting with more elaboration within the writing which includes
dialogue, thoughts, feelings, etc. By going through the writing process more than
once as a class and individually, this will allow the students to become more
comfortable and aware of what is expected and creates the opportunity for
improvement. This will also allow for questions to be asked and time for students to
focus on the specific areas that they may struggle in. At the beginning of the unit, we
will come up with tips and strategies as a class to help students when they are
writing. They will be reminded to look to our strategies that will be available to them
when they are stuck or need an idea.

Students will learn to tell the story rather than give a basic summary about what
happened. Adding detail and focus within the story will help lengthen it. We will also
be learning about the proper way to use dialogue within a story and the conventions
within. To help improve writing, students will be creating drafts of their work and
comparing their drafts to help decipher which parts work better and what needs to be
improved on. Based on this, they will decide which piece they would like to publish.
Following the publishing, students will learn to edit their work both individually as
well as with a partner using an editing checklist that will be provided. The final step
within this unit will be sharing their work. As a whole class, students will be given the
opportunity to share their work and show off how far they have come within this
workshop. Students will be marked on a 4 point scale (rubric included in long range
plans) to determine the stage their writing is at.

A lot of explicit instructions, where the teacher models the steps within the writing
workshop and read-alouds will be significant parts of the unit. Whole class instruction
and discussion will be significant as well to share ideas and collaborate during this
workshop experience. Moreover, individual and group work will be planned as well.
However, hands-on activities will also be included alongside more ‘formal’ work to
break up routines and add variety within the classroom. Some lessons will be
dedicated to work periods and opportunities for students to work quietly and
individually as well as with their fellow classmates. This also allows the opportunity
for the teacher to have one on one discussions with students.

While also hitting the various outcomes, a general theme of introduction where
students get to know each other along with myself, and build a community within the
classroom will be carried out, as it is fitting in the first month of the new school year.
To start off the year, I will have get to know me activities, including a mystery box
where I will have a variety of items that depict who I am and allow students to look at
the items in the box while sharing how they pertain to me. Various activities that
revolve around “get-to-know-me” theme, while highlighting objectives that relate to
both formal units and themed-based unit will be huge portions of the Language Art
classes.
Objectives:
 1. Students will study and learn the writing workshop process
Objectives & Outcomes: 2. Students will create a writing notebook and understand what it should look like
and contain
3. Students will create writing goals for themselves
4. Students will be able to tell the story rather than summarize
5. Students will work independently and learn to problem solve
6. Students will grow in their writing through integration of detail, feelings,
dialogue, etc.
7. Students will share their writing in groups and with the class
8. Students will edit their own work following a provided checklist
9. Students will work with and appreciate others

General Outcomes:
General Outcome 1: explore thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences
1.1 Discover and explore
1.2 Clarify and extend

General Outcome 2: comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print
and other media texts
2.1 Use strategies and cues
2.2 Respond to texts
2.3 Understand forms, elements and techniques
2.4 Create original text

General Outcome 3: manage ideas and information

3.1 Plan and focus
3.2 Select and process
3.3 Organize, record and evaluate
3.4 Share and review

General Outcome 4: enhance and clarity and artistry of communication

4.1.Enhance and improve
4.2 Attend to conventions
4.3 Present and share
 General Outcome 5: respect, support and collaborate with others
5.1 Respect others and strengthen community
5.2 Work within a group

Materials:  Lucy Calkin’s Narrative book

 Writing notebooks
 Pencils and crayons
 Chromebooks
 Smartboard and whiteboard
 Dictionaries
 Post-Its
 Glue/tape
 Picture books
Resources: 1. Lucy Calkins’ Crafting True Stories
2. Scholastic Literacy Place Reading Guide
3. Epic! Books
4. Storyline online screen actors guild
5. Chromebooks

Instructional Approaches  Review of basic grammar skills to start off the year
 Modeling (demonstrating behaviour, exemplar work, etc.)
 Group work
 Individual work
 Whole class teaching—student involvement and opinions
 Using student ideas and opinions as examples
 Read-alouds
 Audiobooks
 Student sharing with groups and the whole class
 One on one with other students (students teach each other)
 One on one with the teacher conferences
 Technology incorporation
 Movement within the classroom (working around the classroom for a change)
 Brain breaks
  Brown Bag Autobiography: to begin the year, students will be participating in
Major Activities: a an activity that will start off the narrative unit based on themselves while
giving myself as the teacher along with their fellow classmates a chance to get
to know one another. Students will be given a brown paper bag. They will be
thinking of and finding 5 objects that best represent themselves (they will
have to find these objects at home), and write a rationale of the objects and
why they chose them. They will put these objects in their brown bags and
share them with the class
 Alternative endings: during read-alouds, I will stop reading a story to not
reveal the ending; students will create/predict his/her own ending and share
with partners/the class; the rest of the class can also ask questions or add-on
to the ending of their peers’. Students will also be writing about these
alternative endings
 Associations: in a station form, there will be evocative words/phrases,
pictures, etc. posted on walls and students will have to go around the room
and pick one word/phrase and one picture and write a brief story about them.
 Express Your View: I will present the class with a topic that carries up to 4
sides/opinions; I will label the corner of the room of the various sides and ask
students to walk to the sides they believe in. One person from each corner will
share and if possible, defend their view; continue with different topics. This
will for the most part be based on stories we have read and activities that we
are doing
 Open-Mind Portraits: with one of the books read aloud, students will embody
the role of the main character and draw a portrait of a character and explain
why, in their own reasoning, the character carried out one of or the main
action in the story; differently, students will pick 1 event/action from the
story and explain how he/she would have approached it differently; share with
class afterwards
 Digging up Dictionaries: students will choose words on cards that were found
in previously-read picture books in class; students will locate the word(s) in a
kid-friendly dictionary, or use kids-only Google if laptops are available, draw a
picture, write the definition, and if time, share these definitions with partners
or the class gathered
 Post-It Activities:
1. Students will be given a post-it and then assigned what to write on their
post-it. Some students will have to write a setting, a character, event, etc.
 The post-it’s will then be categorized and posted on the board. Each
student will be required to pick one type of character, one setting, and
one event and write a brief story about it. Students will then share their
stories in pairs, groups, or with the class
2. Students will be given a chance to write ideas as a form of review on sticky
notes
 List making: students will be given a topic and they will make a list of ideas
and write continuously for a set amount of time. Once the time is up, we will
have a read around where students will share an idea or a few off of their lists
regarding the topic
 Photo-prompt writing: students will be shown a picture either on the
smartboard or from the book, Image and Imagination. From here they will be
prompted to write a story, lists, or ideas based on the picture. They will be
given 5-10 minutes of silence to freely write based on the photo and then we
will share the writing as a class
 Character webs: based on the main characters of the story, students will
create characters webs highlighting their physical traits, emotions, motives,
etc.
 Interviews: assuming the roles of characters within the book, students will
hold interviews with one another and ask questions specific to their characters
and their actions within the book. They will come up with their own interview
questions
 Poem writing: students will be exposed to a variety of different poetry and
will be given the opportunity to write some poems about themselves,
coinciding with this narrative unit.
 Picture book activities: following reading select picture books, centers will be
created for students to go to and complete activities related to the book. For
example, creating a character sketch/web of the main character, creating a
comic strip, creating an Instagram/facebook page/tweet for the character,
etc.
 Snowball writing: each student is given a sheet with a different narrative
story starter. I will either use picture or written prompts. Since there are 16
kids in the class, I will need 16 different prompts. Writer one starts the story
by introducing the setting and at least one character and starting the plot line.
I will set a time for write for 5 minutes or so. When the timer goes off,
students will crumple the paper up into a ball and throw it across the room
 and will then pick up a new crumpled up paper and continue the story from
where it was left off by the previous person. They will add more characters,
develop a conflict, and so on. (http://www.prestoplans.com/snowball-writing-
collaborative-writing-activity/)

Assessment/Evaluation: Formative:
 There are complimentary checklists and rubrics to assist in formative
assessment
 Checklists will be available for students to individually check their own writing
and determine what they need to work on. The teacher will also have a
checklist to use when reading students’ work
 Creating writing steps for students for follow and for the teacher to
check off if students have followed these steps
1. Beginning
2. What happened, in order
3. Use details to help readers picture your story. Use thoughts,
feelings, senses
4. Ending
 Setting expectations up at the beginning of the year will help ensure students
know what is required and what their writing should embody. Sharing
exemplars and working on writing activities as a class sets the tone for good
writing and allows students to think about what else they could work on in
their own personal writing
 Writing notebooks will be easily accessible (not kept inside desks) for the
teacher to grab at any time to read
 Students will be creating writing goals. Throughout the unit, we will refer back
to the goals to see if they are on track or what needs to be worked on
 Observation of daily activities will be recorded on weekly formative checklists
to keep record of students’ participation, apparent understanding, and
learning
 Students’ written works will be collected to gauge and keep inventory of
students’ knowledge and skill development; although formative, a rubric will
 be used alongside in order to compare changes in knowledge and skill
development monthly
 1:1 formative assessments will be done (ideally) weekly of students’ progress
in their writing
 Listening and observation will help note if students are on task, focusing,
completing assigned work, and will also demonstrate which students are
struggling or need assistance in their work

Summative:
 A formal summative assessment will be done in October that compliments the
report card grading system (scale of 1-4). The unit will be completed in
October which will mark the completion of the summative assessment. The
final polished written piece will be marked and included for the report card
period
 Students will be marked using a 4 point rubric which is attached within the
long range plans
Notes: Differentiation:
*Differentiation is required for At the beginning of the units, students are creating reading and writing goals. Where
students that are below in their others may have several, these two students will be encouraged to focus on a select
reading and writing levels few to build their foundation and eventually work their way up to another reading
and writing level. Within the classroom library, there will be leveled reading boxes.
*There are also students that are
The two students who are lower in their reading level will begin at the lowest color
above in reading levels so finding ways and once tested by either myself or the teacher using Fountas and Pinnell testing, we
to enhance their learning is also will be able to determine their exact reading level and find specific books to match
necessary their needs. At the beginning of the school year, students will be “shopping” for new
books for their book boxes and this is the perfect opportunity to find books that
relate to their level. While independently reading, students will be required to have
reading logs. The reading logs will not always be the same. I will be creating some
variety in the ways in which reading logs will be achieved so that students do not get
bored or tired of having to continuously write and look for the same things in their
books. Each week students will be focusing on something different for their logs. I will
have specific reading logs to support their reading and writing level and specific
things that I will want these two students to be aware of and look for within their
books.
While working on writing activities within class, students will be required to slowly
increase the amount of writing that they are doing. At this point in time, these two
students will have different goals to be met. For example, where the whole class
might be required to write 8 sentences about a certain topic, these two students will
have a smaller goal such as 5 sentences and will slowly work their way up. The first
unit in writing focusses on narrative writing which allows students to write about
themselves which I think will help these two students work on their writing if they are
able to write about things that interest them and involve them personally. To help
their writing capabilities, I will also at times have students accompany their writing
with a picture to help tell the story of their writing.

During independent reading time, I will confer with students and have them read to
me and discuss the book that they are reading. This will give me an opportunity to
access their reading level and how much they are comprehending as well as give
students the chance to practice retelling the story and verbalizing their thoughts.
There will be a focus to each conference and we will also be discussing their future
reading goals. Having them repeat and write down their goals will help them
comprehend and keep track of what they are supposed to be working on. Within
writing periods, student-teacher conferences will continuously take place to check in
with the writing and the goals that have been established. I will provide feedback and
assist in ways to improve and enhance writing.

Creating numerous opportunities for students to work together and “teach” each
other what they know will also enhance the knowledge and abilities of students. It
gives those that are below in their reading and writing levels a chance to understand
the material from a classmate and associate what they are saying to what is currently
being taught. It also gives students the opportunity to practice and gauge their verbal
skills as well we recalling information.

A mini lesson will be held at the beginning of the year to show students the process of
picking books or “shopping” for books that are right for them. Within the Scholastic
Literacy Place Reading Guide, there is a lesson that will be used. I will model the
process to students and asking myself and the students questions such as: by looking
at book covers, what am I interested in? What topics do I know a lot about? What
topics do I want to learn about? Next, flip through the book. Is the size of the font
what I am used to? Are there too many words on the page? Not enough words? Do I
know a lot of the words on some of the pages? Next, try reading a page. Can I
successfully read the page? Did I read this page way to fast? Do I know some of the
words? None? All? Put up one finger for every word that I have trouble reading or do
not understand. If I have more than 3 fingers up, then I need to find a different book.
Also, an independent reading challenge will be conducted throughout the time that I
am there. Students will receive a list of books/genres to read and will be required to
log their progress. If they complete the challenge by the end of December, a
party/prize will take place. This gives students the opportunity to experience
different genres and reading material that they may not be used to or have
experienced before.

Further differentiation and explanations will be available through lesson plans.

Day Outcomes Activities Assessment/Evaluation
1 1-3, 5  Get to know me and students—classroom Formative:
community  Participation
 Mystery box/ Brown bag autobiography  Treatment towards others
introduction  Observation
 Picture book reading—discussion and reflection
2 1-3, 5  Brown bag autobiography sharing Formative:
 Grammar review: punctuation, capitalization,  Are students listening?
sentence structure, spacing, etc.  Are students respecting their fellow
 What should grade 3 writing look like? classmates during sharing time?
 Introduction using binders and writing journals  Are students participating?
 Writing folders  Observation
 Introduction to narrative writing: what is it? (Lucy  Photo-prompt writing collected for a
Calkins) completion mark
 Photo-prompt writing activity (Image and  Brown-bag autobiography collected for
Imagination) completion mark
3 1, 2, 5 Starting the writing workshop (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Writing notebooks: dos and don’ts  Participation
 Notebook expectations  Observation
 Making writing goals: what should you focus  Checking for understanding on how to use
on/work on? What are some things you need to writing notebooks
work on?
 Making a list together
 Decorate notebooks
4 1-5 Finding Ideas and Writing Up a Storm (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Finding ideas for true stories—strategies to use  Participation
whenever you are having trouble coming up with an  Observation
idea  Respecting fellow classmates during sharing
 Step-by-step process for generating ideas time
 Demonstration on whiteboard—modelling  Check for understanding
 Writing time: using the strategies we discussed and
generating personal ideas based on their lives
 Pair and share
5 1-5 Drawing on a Repertoire of Strategies: Writing with Formative:
Independence (Lucy Calkins)  Are students respecting each other? Are they
 Writing based on a place respecting each other’s answers?
 Making lists: organizing your ideas  Are students participating?
 “Where have you been?” interview activity:  Are students listening?
students interviewing one another  Are students completing their assigned work?
 Students asking each other questions about  Interview questions/answers are to be
a favorite place they have been collected and accessed by the teacher
 Writing time
 Whole class share
6 1-3, 5 Writer’s Use a Storyteller’s Voice (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Mentor text: Come on Rain by Karen Hesse—  Are students listening during story time?
pointing out and noting places where the author  Are they participating in discussion and noting
uses descriptive details, dialogue, and action what we point out together?
 Digging up dictionaries: adding these words  Are students working together?
to personal dictionaries  Do students understand the terms used?
 Whole class discussion (descriptive, dialogue, action)
 Writers have voices they write in  Check for understanding/comprehension
 Practice story telling
 Telling stories vs. summarizing
7 1-5 Taking Stock: Pausing to Ask, “How Am I Doing?” (Lucy Formative:
Calkins)  Are students writing about small moments?
 Writing check-in  Understanding checklists
 Writing checklist—going through individually and  Progress so far—how are they doing/feeling
then with a partner: accessing a piece of writing about their writing?
 Model checklist with own writing or an example  Participation
 How to edit  Observation
 Writing goals review: have you been meeting your
goals? What can I do to improve or try to meet my Summative:
goals?  Writing and individual checklists will be
collected
8 1-5 Editing as We Go: Making Sure Others Can Read Our Formative:
Writing (Lucy Calkins)  Participating in the choosing process: are
 Choosing a seed idea that will grow into their students rereading their work?
published work—time to look through their
 notebooks to find something they really enjoyed  Are students respecting their partner while
writing and want to expand on they are sharing their “seed idea”?
 Sharing with partner  Respecting fellow classmates
 Spelling: are you spelling high-frequency words  Observation—listening, following instructions,
correctly in your work? etc.
 How to keep track of our spelling and strategies to
use for words you don’t know how to spell
 Personal dictionaries, word wall, cue cards
 Making spelling personal and purposeful
 Periods and capitalization
9 1-3, 5 Rehearsing: Storytelling and Leads (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Snowball writing activity  Are students participating in the writing
 Retelling the story several times: sharing with new activity?
partners—someone who hasn’t heard your seed  Observation—following instructions
idea  Respecting fellow classmates
 Model telling a story—how did I start it? How did I  Checking for understanding
end it?
 Read it twice—once with little detail and
the second time more detail. Have students
point out what you did differently
 Tips on how to tell a story
 Trying different leads for your piece—how to “pull”
or “grab” the reader’s attention
10 1-3, 5 Writing Discovery Drafts (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Post-it activity 1—students come up with different l  Participation
 Visualizing your writing  Observation
 Flash draft: fast writing to get all of your ideas  Respecting fellow classmates
out—not focussing on spelling or grammar. Include  Checking for understanding
exact actions.
 Felix’s draft example from the Lucy’s book
 Read-around
11 1-5 Revising by Studying What Other Authors Have Done Formative:
(Lucy Calkins)  Participation
 Read aloud: complete an I see , I think, I Wonder  Observation
activity: students share with the class  Checking for understanding
  Character web of the main character: discuss their
actions and how the author portrayed the
character
 How did the author make their storytelling voice so
good? Make a list with the class
 Song Moo’s writing example: what did he do in his
narrative writing? Refer to narrative checklist
12 1-3, 5 Storytellers Develop the Heart of a Story (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Read aloud  Participation
 Express your view activity—finding the  Observation: students listening, following
heart of the story and how students feel directions, getting their work done
about the story.  Treatment towards fellow students
 Revising work to find the heart of the story  Checking for understanding
 Review To Write a True Story Checklist
 Al is What!
 Finding the heart of their own stories
13 1-5 Paragraphing to Support Sequencing, Dialogue, and Formative:
Elaboration (Lucy Calkins)  Observation: are students working? Are
 List making activity students respecting each other during the
 Read around read aloud?
 Chunking writing into paragraphs  Participation
 Analogy on how to paragraph  Handing in their writing for me to review
 Exemplars their paragraphing practice
 Practice  Checking for understanding
14 1-5 Becoming One’s Own Job Captain: Starting a Second Formative:
Piece, Working with New Independence (Lucy Calkins)  Observation: respecting others and their
 Warm-up activity: Associations activity. Evocative environment, following along
words will be posted around the room and students  Participation
have to pick 1-2 and write a paragraph about  Understanding in charting personal writing
themselves using those words progress
 Sharing with the class
 Charting my writing progress to keep track
 Exemplar
 Writing process guide sheet
15 1-5 Revision Happens throughout the Writing Process (Lucy Formative:
Calkins)  Photo-prompt writing collected for a
 Warm-up activity: photo prompt—relating it to completion mark and comments
their own lives  Observation
 Sharing  Participation
 Review of what drafting is  Understanding of how to use a thesaurus—
 Revising drafts thumbs up, down, or in the middle
 Switching up language: what is a thesaurus and
how to use it
16 1-3, 5 Drafting: Writing from Inside a Memory Formative:
 Writing involves re-enacting your own experiences  5 senses activity handed in for a completion
 Demonstrate to show that you write by reliving— mark
exemplar  Observation
 5 senses activity: students are to write about a  Participation
moment in their lives, any moment, and describe  Respect for those around them
the 5 senses they experienced during that moment  Checking for understanding
 Sharing
17 1-5 Revision: Balancing Kinds of Details Formative:
 Balancing details in your stories  Participation
 Exemplar from Come On, Rain!  Observation: students listening, following
 Review of writing goals directions, getting their work done
 Review details in personal work  Checking for understanding
18 1-5 Commas and Quotation Marks: Punctuating Dialogue Formative:
(Lucy Calkins)  Participation
 Read aloud  Observation
 Point out dialogue: how does it look? How is  Handing in worksheet for a completion mark—
it punctuated? comments on the use of their dialogue
 How to capture the exact words someone  Checking for understanding
said by using quotation marks
 Make a chart on how the author writes
dialogue—have students point out what they
see
 “The Famous Dinner Table”: writing with Dialogue
handout
  Replacing summarized conversations in student
writing with dialogue—living in the moment with
dialogue
19 1-5 Writers Revise in Big, Important Ways (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Whole class sharing: have some students share why  Participation
they are writing about what they have chosen for  Observation: students listening, following
this assignment directions, getting their work done, behaviour
 Is your writing clear? using the chromebooks
 Can you add or take things away to make your  Respecting fellow classmates
writing more clear?  Checking for understanding
 Demonstrate reading aloud
 Reading work aloud to a partner: does it flow?
 If chromebooks are available, allow students to
type their work up. If they are not available,
students will be rewriting their final draft and
adding pictures to coincide with their writing

20 1-5 Revising Endings: Learning From Published Writing (Lucy Formative:
Calkins)  Participation
 Picture book read: discuss the ending of the story.  Observation: students listening, following
What makes a good ending? directions, getting their work done
 Point out precise words and actions in the ending  Respecting fellow classmates
 Have students rewrite the ending of the picture
book
 Share
 Look at the endings of student work. Can they be
revised?
21 1-5 Using Editing Checklists (Lucy Calkins) Formative:
 Students go through their writing with editing  Participation
checklists  Observation
 Demonstrate using an exemplar: use editing  Checklists collected for review
checklist  Appropriate behaviour using chromebooks
 Edit it alone, then with a partner
 Fix up work on chromebooks or in notebooks
 22 1, 2, 4, 5 Publishing: A Writing Community Celebrates (Lucy Formative:
Calkins)  Are students respecting their classmates
 Students sharing their final writing pieces—author while they are reading?
chair  Are students listening to one another?
 Question period and members from the audience  Are students participating?
sharing 3 things they liked about the piece
 Celebration of writing Summative:
 Class “party” to celebrate  students will be handing in their final writing
pieces for a mark using the writing rubric
(scale from 1-4)
Writing: specific moments: