1. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL CINQUAIN: ALL ABOUT ME!
MELD Lesson Designed by
Dr. Jamila Gillenwaters
Academic English Mastery Program

2. Teachers will integrate CLR teaching strategies into the lesson.
MELD Objectives:
Teachers will take students through the five stages of the Writing Process in order to produce an autobiographical Cinquain poem.
Students will learn (or review ) how to use a thesaurus and a Personal Thesaurus for Academic Language Development.
Teachers will integrate CLR teaching strategies into the lesson.
Teachers may use the PowerPoint provided to teach the lesson with, if they choose to.
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grade 4 here.)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.5c Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
Skills:
This lesson is more about: teaching the stages of the Writing process, reviewing parts of speech, Tier 2 vocabulary development, and letting the students express how they feel about themselves than poetry.
Materials:
Chart Paper
PowerPoint
Access to computer for final drafts of poem (Optional)
CLR Elements:
Use of Personal Thesaurus of Conceptually Coded Words to build Tier 2 vocabulary
Use of Response and Discussion Protocols to facilitate Instructional Conversations
Cooperative and Communal Learning
Teacher’s Notes
Lesson Created by Dr. Jamila Gillenwaters, AEMP

3. OBJECTIVES: WE ARE GOING TO:
Progress through the stages of the Writing Process
Create Autobiographical Cinquains
Learn how to use a thesaurus
Learn how using a Personal Thesaurus can help use learn new vocabulary words

4. inventing, exploring, chopping brainy, inventive, tough, friendly
CINQUAIN
Sandy
mammal, scientist
inventing, exploring, chopping
brainy, inventive, tough, friendly
Squirrel
Lesson Sequence
This is a model of the kind of autobiographical poems the students will produce in this lesson.
Have students read it aloud. Tell them this is an autobiographical Cinquain written by Sandy Squirrel.
They are familiar with SpongeBob, so ask them how the words in the poem describe Sandy Squirrel.
Let them know that, just like they can tell a lot about Sandy through the words she selected in her cinquain, they will write the same kind kind of poem describing themselves.
Model

5. What is a cinquain?
A cinquain is a five-line poem that has special word counts.
A cinquain poem has its own unique format.
As we write our poems, we will have to focus on the format required by this type of writing.
Having the students begin with a cinquain is a great tool for having students focus on the structure of writing.
Conforming to the poem’s structural requirements will scaffold them being able to focus on the structure of writing in future assignments.
Please remember, this assignment is about having students learn/review using the 5 Stages of the Writing Process and vocabulary development—it’s not simply about poetry.

6. WHAT IS THE FORMAT?
Autobiographical CINQUAIN Line 1: A one-word line, your first name. (This is your subject.) Line 2: Two nouns that describe the subject. Line 3: Three verbs that end in –ing that describe what the subject does. Line 4: Four adjectives that describes how the subject looks, feels, or acts. Line 5: One word, your last name.

7. Parts of Speech MELD Objective:
Students will review Parts of Speech necessary to write their autobiographical cinquains.

8. What is a noun? Person, place, thing or idea. Miss Mitchell Friendship
Classroom
Happiness
Sunshine
Gummy Bears
Outside
of school
At school
athlete
scholar
Nouns that
describe us
sister
Lesson Sequence:
Whole Group, create an advanced graphic organizer that students can later use as a Word Bank for their drafts of their cinquains.
Use a response or discussion protocol to make colleting nouns that describe students fun and interactive.
Small Group Option: Teach students a Discussion protocol they can use to create on chart per group. After all groups have completed their charts, they can participate in a Gallery Walk to gather nouns they hadn’t considered.

9. WHAT IS A VERB? Shows Action Fly Skip Jump Pounce Whisper Sneak Laugh
sports
school
verbs that
describe what we do
home
outside
of school
Lesson Sequence:
Whole Group, create an advanced graphic organizer that students can later use as a Word Bank for their drafts of their cinquains.
Use a response or discussion protocol to make colleting nouns that describe students fun and interactive.
Small Group Option: Teach students a Discussion protocol they can use to create on chart per group. After all groups have completed their charts, they can participate in a Gallery Walk to gather nouns they hadn’t considered.

10. WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE? Describing words that affect nouns
Brown (Colors)
Red
Quick (Speed)
Slow
Huge (Size)
Tiny
Hard
Feel like
Look like
Adjs. that
describe us
Act like
Other
Lesson Sequence:
Whole Group, create an advanced graphic organizer that students can later use as a Word Bank for their drafts of their cinquains.
Use a response or discussion protocol to make colleting nouns that describe students fun and interactive.
Small Group Option: Teach students a Discussion protocol they can use to create on chart per group. After all groups have completed their charts, they can participate in a Gallery Walk to gather nouns they hadn’t considered.

11. NOW, LET’S CONDUCT A GALLERY WALK FOR OUR PREWRITING
Your First Name
2 Nouns
3 Verbs
4 Adjectives
Lesson Sequence:
Teachers will tape up circle maps, and students will use the maps to find the words they need to create their cinquains
Students will create a graphic organizer during the PreWriting Stage of the Writing Process.
Students should be encouraged to select as many words as they’d like.
They should be encouraged to seek out words that would accurately describe them to a reader.
Allow students to choose the words they feel describe them—use the responses to gain insight into your students.
If you find they use negative words to describe themselves, it helps you understand them—and use future MELD lessons to build their self-esteem.

12. Now it’s time to make your own Cinquain!
First Draft Lesson Sequence:
Inform students that they will use their advanced graphic organizers (PreWriting) to create their first drafts of their autobiographical cinquains.

13. What is the layout?
Line 1: A one-word line, your first name. This is your subject. Line 2: Two nouns that describe the subject. Line 3: Three verbs that end in –ing that describe what the subject does. Line 4: Four adjectives that describes how the subject looks, feels, or acts. Line 5: One word, your last name.
Lesson Sequence:
Use this model to guide students as they create their first draft of their cinquains.
Have students choose the correct number of words per line from their PreWriting. (tell them to choose their favorite words since they must abide by the word count per line).

14. What is a thesaurus? How do I use a thesaurus?
Revision Stage of Writing Process
Help students understand what it means to “Revise” writing.
Students will learn how to use both a thesaurus and a personal thesaurus during the revision stage of the Writing Process.

15. What is a synonym?
A word having the same (or almost the same) meaning as another word.
An alternative to the word.
excited eager
happy glad
movie film
sports athletics
Give me examples:

16. A THESAURUS…
…is a dictionary that gives alternate words or synonyms. …can be used online as well. …can also be found of inside of a dictionary.

17. BUT HOW DO I USE A PERSONAL THESAURUS?
Students will use a thesaurus to find synonyms for words I’ve highlighted from their first draft

18. The word placed in this box is an antonym for the word in the box.
PERSONAL THESAURUS
The word placed in this box represents a concept I know and understand. a
awful
ask
all that
The words placed on these lines represent my “new” “Tier 2” “spicy” vocabulary words!
inquire
dreadful
haughty
appalling
request
arrogant
They are words I am learning.
unpleasant
interrogate
conceited
Learning them will help build my reading comprehension as well.
Whole Group
Explain, to students, how the Personal Thesaurus is similar to a thesaurus.
Explain how it is used.
Let them know they will be using this vocabulary development tool throughout the year.
They will practice using the Personal Thesaurus by helping SpongeBob revise his Cinquain.
The word placed in this box is an antonym for the word in the box.
great
answer
humble
Lesson Created by Dr. Jamila Gillenwaters, AEMP

19. REVISION: HELP SPONGEBOB REVISE HIS POEM!
friend, cook
singing, flipping, catching
funny, kind, square, yellow
Square Pants
Revising this Cinquain will include making sure that each line of the poem meets the word requirements stated in the criteria. It will also require finding synonyms for some of their Tier 1 vocabulary words in order to make them more vivid and robust. The teacher might have students understand that the use of vivid vocabulary words makes writing more interesting , and increases their own vocabulary.
Have students look at the poem to make sure that the structure of the poem meets the line and word criteria for a Cinquain. It does. (Inform students that, throughout the year, they will have to make sure their writing meets the criteria for the task at hand—whether it be sentence structure, paragraph structure, or essay structure).
Ask students to recall that SpongeBob would put his pinky up when trying to be fancy. You might tell students they are going to help SpongeBob be “fancy” by using a thesaurus to find Tier 2 synonyms for the Tie 1 vocabulary words he used in his draft of his poem. The highlighted words represent the Tier 1 vocabulary words they are going to use the thesaurus to find Tier 2 synonyms for.

20. Revision: Help SpongeBob revise his poem!
friend
cook
funny
kind
buddy
companion
acquaintance
Whole Group:
With a Personal Thesaurus, students can attach new vocabulary words to concepts they already understand. In this activity, the students will create a Personal Thesaurus page to help SpongeBob revise his Cinquain.
Help students understand WHY the words selected were highlighted. (They’re not “bad” words that need to be “buried” or “thrown away”, synonym development help students “grow” their vocabulary and build “receptive vocabulary” as they become proficient using targeted words.
Have students find the word “friends’ in their thesaurus. Explain that the words THEY KNOW go in the box because this is the vocabulary word that represents the concept they already own.
The synonyms they find for this word (representing “new” vocabulary words for students) go on the lines below the box. It is on one of these lines that targeted Tier 2 vocabulary words will appear.
Complete this process with the remaining 3 words to teach students how to use (or review using) the thesaurus and the Persona Thesaurus.
Group Work
Have students complete a “revised” Cinquain for SpongeBob, inserting one of the synonyms they found for the highlighted words in the Draft of the poem.
Use a Response Protocol to have groups share their revised poems.
This models what students will do for themselves when they revise their own Cinquains.
enemy

21. REVISE YOUR CINQUAIN
You revised SpongeBob’s cinquain poem, now you’ll do the same thing to revise your own writing.
Use the synonyms you found to revise your 1st draft of your cinquain.
Make sure each line of your poem meets the word count criteria for the poem.
Prepare for the Lesson:
After the students complete their first drafts of their cinquains, you may read them to highlight the words they should find Tier 2 synonyms for.
Adding robust vocabulary words will make students’ writing more vivid.
Allow students to share their revised poems and use Response Protocols to have students talk about why they chose the words they selected.
Allow students to work alone, or in partnerships.
You should conduct a Writer’s Workshop with students as they finish in order to ensure they’re choosing accurate and descriptive vocabulary words.

22. EDITING / PROOFREADING
What’s the difference between revising and proofreading?
Look at your poems to take note of the proofreading marks I added to your poems.
Let’s explore the classroom resources we can use to edit our poems.
Prepare for the Lesson:
After students revise their poems, add proofreading marks.
You may create a Word Bank of commonly misspelled words by using a Response protocol that will allow you to correctly spell words students misspelled.
Use an appropriate Response Protocol / visual display to help students understand the proofreading marks you made.

23. REVISED! FINAL DRAFT Sponge Bob buddy, chef singing, flipping, chasing
comical, considerate, square, yellow
Square Pants
Final Drafts
Students will use a computer to create final drafts of their poems.
Allow students to include pictures of themselves. If you’d like, allow them to add creative border, and/or clipart to their work.

24. REVISED! EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Options
Sponge Bob
buddy, chef
singing, flipping, chasing
comical, considerate, square, yellow
Square Pants
Students may create paragraphs after they complete their poems.
Students may complete a multiple paragraph, autobiographical essay:
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: A paragraph that explains why these nouns describe you
Paragraph 3: A paragraph that describes why you like to “do” these verbs—Why do they describe what you like to do?
Paragraph 4: A paragraph that describes why these adjectives describe you.
Teacher’s Notes
Lesson Created by Dr. Jamila Gillenwaters, AEMP

25. REVISED! EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Example of a paragraph created using the cinquain as the “Prewriting”
Sponge Bob
buddy, chef
singing, flipping, chasing
comical, considerate, square, yellow
Square Pants
All About ME! Hi! My name is Sponge Bob Square Pants, and I believe I am unique! I am a great friend to my buddies, Patrick and Sandy. I am an excellent chef because I make the best Crabby Patties in Bikini Bottom! I spend my time singing as I work, flipping Crabby Patties, and chasing jellyfish. I am a yellow square, and that’s how I got my name. I think my hilarious practical jokes make me comical, and I am very considerate to all of my friends. I believe all of these qualities make me a pretty unique individual!
Teacher’s Notes:
This is an example of where you could take the students’ poems—depending on their needs.
This model can be used with students who need to learn how to structure a paragraph.
Teachers can model how to turn each line of their poem into sentences that support a topic sentence.

26. REVISED! EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Example of a essay created using the cinquain as the “Prewriting”
Sponge Bob
buddy, chef
singing, flipping, chasing
comical, considerate, square, yellow
Square Pants
All About ME!
Hi! My name is Sponge Bob Square Pants. I live in a pineapple, under the sea, in Bikini Bottom. I’m quite a unique individual. I mean, have you ever met a sponge quite like me before?
I describe myself as a buddy and a chef. My best friends, Patrick and Sandy, and I have the most exciting adventures together! Iwork as a chef at the Crabby Patty……continue on
I enjoy singing while I work, flipping Crabby Patties, and chasing jellyfish. (each supporting detail sentence of this paragraph would provide details about them participating in these activities).
(Continue with this model)
Teacher’s Notes:
This is an example of where you could take the students’ poems—depending on their needs.
This is an example of an essay that can be created, using the completed poem as the “PreWriting”
The teacher’s MELD lesson could model how to create an autobiographical essay .
Lines 1, 2, and 5 could be combined to form an introduction. Lines 3 and 4 would each be used to create one paragraph. (for example)