By: Hayley Minner

Purpose Statement The purpose of this lesson is to use writing to help students connect meaningfully and logically to a text through the development of an appropriate ending. This will help students increase their ability to communicate in writing as well as encourage them to think about their connection to the environment.

Grade Level Seventh – Eighth Grade ESOL Classroom 6 English Language Learners with Intermediate to Advanced English Language Skills

Materials for Day 3 Scrambled Sentence Strips The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry (teacher read-aloud, multiple copies for students to follow along, if possible) Bilingual Dictionaries Thesauruses Graphic Organizers

Objectives: Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum Select, organize, and develop ideas appropriate to topic, audience, and purpose Compose written presentations that express personal ideas, inform, or persuade Use strategies to make meaning from text Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of the text

TESOL Standards Apply knowledge of syntax to assist ESOL students in developing written English (1.a.3.) Provide appropriate instruction and feedback (1.b.10.) Create a secure, positive, and motivating learning environment (1.b.4.) Provide opportunities for meaningful interaction (1.b.3.) Develop students’ listening skills for a variety of academic and social purposes (3.b.4.) Use appropriate technological resources to enhance language and content-area instruction for ESOL students (3.c.4.) Assess ESOL learners’ language skills and communicative competence using multiple sources of information (4.b.5.)

Previous Lessons Brainstorming “Rainforest” Map mini-lesson Researching “Rainforest” animals During Reading: Questioning techniques Reading for a purpose Video – “Fern Gully”

Day 3 Procedures Warm-up – Journal Entry Anticipation – Sentence Building Activity reviewing the parts of the book read the previous lesson Read until the last page, have students write an ending to the story after organizing their thoughts Compare and contrast the actual ending with the student’s ending Conclusion – verbally summarize the reading

Extension Activities Use wireless computer station with internet access to research additional rainforest information Informative posters for school Graphic organizer of facts With sufficient information, students will choose between: Writing a letter to local businesses to persuade them to adopt a tree or plant in the rainforest Writing a letter to state/city representatives to persuade them to take action in the fight to “Save the Rainforest”

Assessment of Day 3 The students’ endings will be assessed by the following: Applying appropriate sentence structure Use of challenging vocabulary Conclude with a logical ending related to the topic Completion of the journal entry, participation in activities, and completing the compare/contrast organizer will also be considered