1. Lego Story Starter

2. Turn and Talk  What are some of the essential questions pertaining to writing instruction?  At your grade level, what are your students’ strengths in writing?  What challenges you when you teach writing?  What are some of the essential questions pertaining to writing instruction?  At your grade level, what are your students’ strengths in writing?  What challenges you when you teach writing?

3. What do you do to combat writer’s block?

4. Objective  Today we will investigate best practices in the use Lego Story Starter in order to design and deliver writing instruction which is student-centered, developmentally appropriate, and motivating.

5. Why? Lego Story Starter As pre-writing within the context of the writing process Facilitates Organization Paper productDigital product As a response to reading Promotes deeper thinking As a collaborative brainstorming activity in a content area Makes ideas more concrete

6. 1) What? – Narrative Writing  The Narrative Task broadens the way in which students may use this type of writing. Narrative writing can be used to convey experiences or events, real or imaginary. In this task, students may be asked to write a story, detail a scientific process, write a historical account of important figures, or to describe an account of events, scenes or objects.

7. When? Learn to Write by Writing  Craft (word choice, voice, ideas, organization)  Conventions (text layout, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, handwriting, word processing)  Writing Process (rehearsing and planning; drafting and revising; editing and proofreading; publishing; sketching and drawing; viewing self as a writer)  Craft (word choice, voice, ideas, organization)  Conventions (text layout, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, handwriting, word processing)  Writing Process (rehearsing and planning; drafting and revising; editing and proofreading; publishing; sketching and drawing; viewing self as a writer)

8. When? Instructional Activities Investigations : Use reading, writing, and multiple media resources including technology to explore and research topics in-depth. Provide explicit instruction to explore written language and make connections between reading and writing. Independent Writing : Mini-lesson followed by students engaged in writing during which teacher will confer with students about their writings. Guided/Small group Writing : homogeneous, small, temporary groups based on students’ interests and/or needs. Investigations : Use reading, writing, and multiple media resources including technology to explore and research topics in-depth. Provide explicit instruction to explore written language and make connections between reading and writing. Independent Writing : Mini-lesson followed by students engaged in writing during which teacher will confer with students about their writings. Guided/Small group Writing : homogeneous, small, temporary groups based on students’ interests and/or needs.

9. How? Experience a lesson from the guide  Setting the Stage  Model  Guided practice  Time for collaborative work  Summarize / Synthesize individually  Reflect  Setting the Stage  Model  Guided practice  Time for collaborative work  Summarize / Synthesize individually  Reflect

10. How? Make up your own activity  Engage  Model  Guided practice  Time for collaborative work  Summarize / Synthesize individually  Reflect  Engage  Model  Guided practice  Time for collaborative work  Summarize / Synthesize individually  Reflect

11. Reflect With The Kit Without the Kit

12. Extension 1: Writing About Reading Reading Response Journal Analysis The Literature Task plays an important role in honing students’ ability to read complex text closely, a skill that research reveals as the most significant factor differentiating college-ready from non-college-ready readers. This task will ask students to carefully consider literature worthy of close study and compose an analytic essay -PARCC The Literature Task plays an important role in honing students’ ability to read complex text closely, a skill that research reveals as the most significant factor differentiating college-ready from non-college-ready readers. This task will ask students to carefully consider literature worthy of close study and compose an analytic essay -PARCC Reading Comprehension of Key Ideas and Details *Notes: The type of textual evidence required is grade and prompt specific and included in the scoring guide. Score Point 3: The student response provides an accurate analysis of what the text says explicitly and inferentially and references the text explicitly to support the analysis, showing full comprehension of complex ideas expressed in the text(s).

14. Extension 2: Digital Publication  Final product can be a story, blog, poem, article, newsletter, brochure, photo story, movie, stop motion video, or webpage  Publication tools  Site license of Visualizer software  Standard applications (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Wixie, Voicethread, Windows Movie Maker, Kidblog, Edmodo, Weebly)  Final product can be a story, blog, poem, article, newsletter, brochure, photo story, movie, stop motion video, or webpage  Publication tools  Site license of Visualizer software  Standard applications (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Wixie, Voicethread, Windows Movie Maker, Kidblog, Edmodo, Weebly)