Using Authorship to promote better writers – Part 20

WHAT?

My next step was to find the perfect genre that adds detail and makes connections to the audience. Thinking about this made me gravititate towards persuasive writing. I searched numerous lesson plans on the internet and I found a blog from a teacher in America who had used an internet platform to give her students a voice. I read the pieces from the site and copied one for an exemplar and began to plan the lesson.

I used the planning template and looked into what my students needed to learn. I knew that my focus was going to be more about the structure of a piece of persuasive writing, in the analysis phase, I planned for the children to be focussed on a rhetorical question and the setting of the piece. This would help the children to add details and to connect with their audience.

To connect with their lives, I planned for the children to think of something that they wanted from their parents – a new iPad, going to a friend’s place, staying up late. During this part, the children would THINK-PAIR-SHARE, what they would say to convince their parents to get what they wanted. My plan required the class to make a list of things that they wanted change in the school and who we needed to persuade.

SO WHAT?

I had carefully planned this part of the lesson but unfortunately I didn’t take this lesson, my release teacher did. She was very enthusiastic and created a list of things that they wanted to change in the school. But for the following lesson I felt that the children were missing to the point of the lesson and I needed to change/ respond to their needs.

My next step involved using more of a scaffolding for the text and use bare bones boxes to help the children see what they needed to do. Because the point of the lesson was lost I needed to refresh my ideas and look for another way to achieve what the needs of the children.

NOW WHAT?

How can I find a scaffolding that works for my class, especially my priority learners? Who can help me to help me get on the right track again? I know that an argument will create success for my learners so I need persevere with this genre and find purpose for the writing.

Back to the drawing board…

“Failing doesn't make us a failure. But not trying to do better, to be better, does make us fools.” 
― Wes Moore