Andrew Mickunas

April 20th, 2015

EDUC 239
Writing Unit / Overview - Settings
Grade: 5th
Overarching focus:
Using mentor texts, students will describe three different methods for effectively writing
about a setting.
Using these experiences as a springboard, students will write their own passages that
describe setting.
After a peer editing process, students will pick their favorite passage to post on a blog
that will be shared with parents.
CLL Goals:
Students will describe what setting is in writing
Students will describe a setting with appropriate detail using the techniques learned.
Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3.D
Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events
precisely.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types
are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. (Editing for
conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including
grade 5 here.)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.6
With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to
produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others;
demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages
in a single sitting.
Day one
Topic: What is setting? How can authors describe Setting Inquiry
Resources: Classroom Trade books, Dry Erase Board, Exit Slips
Teacher Actions: Teacher will facilitate a classroom inquiry focused on setting. Teacher
and students will first establish what setting means in literature. Teacher will facilitate
Think, Pair, Share to accomplish this. Students will be told that authors use different
techniques when describing setting. The four techniques that will be used throughout the
unit will be introduced and written on the board: revealing Setting through a characters
level of experience, revealing setting through motion, describing setting through the
senses, and revealing the setting through a mood. Then, after being put in groups,
students will search for a book that effectively describes a setting. Students will work
together to describe how their author describes setting. Of the techniques described,
which does the author of your book use? After letting students share what they found,
students will be provided an exit slip. The exit slip will ask students to describe the
meaning of setting and discuss at least two ways that an author can describe setting in
book. What techniques can the author use?
Student actions: Students will participate in discussion, attend to teacher, and engage with
inquiry. Students will complete exit slip.
Day two
Topic: Reviewing setting, techniques for modeling, and modeling how to write a
setting.
Materials: Smart Board, Writing Journals
Teacher Actions: Teacher will review the meaning of setting with class by discussion,
write the different strategies for setting on the board, and model how to write about a
setting as a large group. Using the teachers model as a springboard, teacher and class
will write about a setting together. Teacher will provide students a self-assessment
focused on setting. Teacher will also use this as an opportunity to do some word work
with students (figuring meaning by context).
Student actions: Students must engage during discussion and focus during teacher
modeling. Student must participate during group writing session. Students will complete
self-assessment focused on knowledge of setting.
Day 2: Teacher-created writing model meant to show the concepts of setting:
As soon I entered the house I could tell that something was wrong. It was twenty
degrees outside, yet the heat was not on. Water vapor condensed in the air as I breathed
out. It looked like smoke.
I shouted loudly, Is anyone home?
No one responded.

All I could hear was an angry, buzzing sound coming from upstairs. It sounded
like a miniature factory; the warbling of its drone made me anxious, but I kept moving.
This house was built in the twenties and it showed. After stopping in the kitchen, I saw
that the fridge was left open. An odor of rotten food reached my nose. Beginning to feel
nauseated, I stopped and looked around the room. The pale yellow of the paint on the
walls was probably once white. This tone of sepia was like a desert at sunset. A second
hand table was accompanied by just one chair. Whoever lived here did not have company
often. I collected myself and started walking towards the mechanical humming sound.
My reflection specific to writing model:
Having composed a writing model, I was surprised how easily it came out. My
process was guided by the concepts I researched for this Writing Unit. Thus, researching
this style of writing prepared me to write this model. Prior to writing, I decided to focus
on describing senses while depicting the characters experience. To facilitate the concepts
discussed in my unit, I also wanted to show the mood of the character and move the
setting along with action. When writing, though, I would say the mood of the characters
experience came first. After settling on a mood of darkness and anxiety, I came up with a
beginning for my story. I settled on having my character enter a creepy house. This seems
like it would be an engaging idea for fifth graders. The assumption in the story is that the
character has been sent to this house to check on whoever lived there. After establishing
the beginning of the story, I focused on using the characters senses to describe the
setting. I chose to do this because it is a large part of my writing unit. I also facilitated a
mood by showing the characters experience with this environment. How did this
environment affect the character in the story? This effect further establishes the setting.
To move my character through this setting I had to include some action. Again, to further
develop this scene, I continued focusing on what the character was seeing, hearing,
feeling, and smelling in the setting. This is a way for the reader to both live what the
character is experiencing while also learning about the environment. I also used some
analogies to make the setting a bit more vivid, but this was not a topic covered explicitly
in the lesson plan. Essentially, this was my process for writing my model. Generally
speaking, I focused on incorporating the concepts discussed in the writing unit and wrote
about a setting.
Day three
Topic: Revealing a setting through a characters level of experience
Materials: Copy of The Hunger Games, Elmo, Writing Journals, Pencils
Teacher Actions: Teacher will read passage of mentor text. Teacher will ask students
which technique Suzanne Collins used to describe setting. The teacher will let some
students share their thinking. The teacher will write the different techniques on the board
again. The teacher will read the passage again. Teacher will lead a discussion on how a
characters experience can reveal the setting of a story. Teacher will tell students that they
are to describe setting by using a characters experience. They are to use the same
technique used in The Hunger Games. The mentor text will be left up under the Elmo as a
model while students write. Teacher will provide two hats to draw out of. One will
provide the students a setting. The other hat will provide them a character that is in that

setting.
Student Actions: Students will engage in discussion on setting and share their thinking.
Students will listen to passage. Students will draw from hats to get a character and
setting. Students will write in their writing journals using their characters experience to
describe the setting.
Mentor text for Day 3 Strong example of revealing setting through a character's
level of experience:
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press.
Page 4:
Our part of District 12, nicknamed the Seam, is usually crawling with coal miners
heading out to the morning shift at this hour. Men and women with hunched shoulders,
swollen knuckles, many who have long since stopped trying to scrub the coal dust out of
their broken nails, the lines of their sunken faces. But today the black cinder streets are
empty. Shutters on the squat gray houses are closed. The reaping isnt until two. May as
well sleep in. If you can.
Day four
Topic: Creating a setting through motion
Materials: Elmo, Copy of The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures,
writing journals, pencils
Teacher Actions: Teacher will read passage of mentor text. Teacher will ask students
which technique Selznick is using to describe the setting. The teacher will let some
students share their thinking. The teacher will read the passage again. Teacher will lead a
discussion on how the author used motion to describe a setting. Teacher will tell students
that they will be now describing a setting in their writing journal and must use motion or
action to do it. They are to use the same technique used in The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
The mentor text will be left up under the Elmo as a model while students write. This time
teacher will ask students to generate their own setting and character. However, the option
for using the hats is a possibility for differentiation.
Students will engage in discussion on setting and share their thinking. Students will listen
to passage. Students will write about a new setting in their writing journals using the
technique modeled by the mentor text (setting through motion).
Mentor Text for Day 4 Strong example of revealing a setting through motion (and
a characters level of experience) :
Selznick, B. (2007). The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures. New
York: Scholastic Press.

Page 76:
As usual, Hugo headed first to the big glass clocks on the roof, because they were
the hardest to reach. They were like huge round windows and looked out over the city,
one facing north and one facing south. Hugo had to climb up a long dark staircase and
slither through an opening in the ceiling at the top of a ladder to get inside them. During
the day, his eyes always stung for a few moments from the flood of light through the
glass. The motors and gears of these clocks were the biggest in the station, and Hugo was
often afraid that his hand was going to get caught.
Day Five
Topic: Creating a setting through the senses.
Materials: Elmo, Copy of Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone, Writing Journals, Pencils
Teacher Actions: Teacher will read passage of the mentor text. Teacher will ask students
which technique J.K. Rowling is using to describe the setting. The teacher will let some
students share their thinking. The teacher will read the passage again. Teacher will lead a
discussion on how the author used Harrys senses to describe a setting. Teacher will tell
students that they will be now describing a setting in their writing journal and must use
the senses to do it. They are to use the same technique used in Harry Potter. The mentor
text will be left up under the Elmo as a model while students write. This time the teacher
will ask students to generate their own setting and character.
Students will engage in discussion on setting and share their thinking. Students will listen
to passage. Students will write about a new setting in their writing journals using the
technique modeled by the mentor text (the senses).
Mentor text for Day 5 Strong example of describing a setting through senses (and
a characters level of experience
Rowling, J. (1998). Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone. New York: A.A.
Levine Books.
Page 68
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in
a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little
man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a
toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed
to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass,
saying, The usual Hagrid?
Day Six
Topic: Rubric Design and Conferences
Materials: Base Rubric (as designed by instructor), Writing journals, mentor texts, pencils
Teacher Actions: Teacher will work with students to the amend rubric so that it makes
sense to students and is logical. Rubric will be pertinent to whichever setting student

selects. After working on rubric, teacher will inform students that we are going to upload
our settings onto a blog. Teacher will tell students that they will need to pick their
favorite description of setting from the past couple days. The teacher will tell students
that they will be given time to edit and revise their favorite description. Teacher will tell
students to meet with a peer to conference. Teacher holds writing conference with
students during this time.
Student Actions: Students will work with teacher to amend rubric. Students will select
one setting that they would like to upload to the class blog. Students will edit and revise
their setting description. Students will meet with a peer to conference. Students will meet
with teacher to conference.
Day Seven
Topic: Final Rubric, Blog Entries, and Self Assessment
Materials: Writing Journals, Computers for Blog Entry, Self Assessments
Teacher Actions: Teacher will go over rubric again with students. Teacher will ask
students if they have questions. Teacher will model how to enter their setting into the
class blog (Students will have done this in the past) on kidblog.com.
Student Actions: Students will pay attention to rubric. Students will observe while teacher
models how to enter writing into class blog. Students will enter their writing into the
classroom blog.

Example of Graphic Organizer Used to Help Students Describe A Setting

DESCRIBE THE SETTING!

Use these boxes to help
organize your thoughts!
Each box is for a
different sense!

What does it look like?

What does it sound like?

What does it feel like?

What does it smell like?

What does it taste like?

Additional scaffolding for students who need help generating ideas

Characters:

Settings:

An alien

A hospital

A pirate

A beach

A police officer

A cave

An explorer

A house

A teacher

A river

A scientist

A grocery store

A nurse

A forest

Example of writing prompt:

After ______ entered the _______, the first thing that _______ noticed was _______.
(character)
(setting)
(character)
(senses)

Assessments

Assessment will be continuous and will include both formative and summative
approaches. Teacher should continually make observations regarding students
understanding and performance. Assessment will include multiple self-assessments.
Student will pick their best writing for summative assessment.

Exit slip from day one:

Describe what setting means to you. Also, can you describe at least two
techniques that an author can use to describe setting? How does an author
describe setting?
Self-assessment from day two will be an exit slip:
I understand the meaning of setting in books.
1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

I understand the different techniques that authors use when describing a

setting.
1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

I could write about a setting in my writing journal.

1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

Assessment for days three through five will be informal and will be
based on students writing journals and behavior during mentor text
readings. The following checklist will be used to assess students journal
work:
_____ Students writing describes a setting
_____ Students writing uses the technique that was taught that day during
he mentor text reading.

Exit slip from day six will be in the form of a self-assessment:

I was able to revise my writing today.

1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

Working with someone to edit my writing helped me.

1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

I was focused on my work today.

1 (No)

In my writing I described a setting and used a technique taught in class.

1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

My writing makes sense to the reader and the story flows.

1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

I have put a lot of effort into my work. It is very neat and has few errors.
1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

My writing has descriptive detail that includes information about the

different senses.
1 (No)

2 (Not sure)

3 (Yes)

Rubric for Blogpost writing

1 Unsatisfactory

2 Partially
Satisfactory

3 Satisfactory

4 Exceeds
Expectations

Use of
techniques for
describing
setting

Students did not

write about setting.

Students wrote about

setting, but did not
use techniques that
were taught in class.

Students wrote
about setting
and applied one
technique that
was taught in
class.

Students
described a
setting and used
more than one
technique that
was taught in
class in their
writing.

Clarity and
Coherence

Students writing
was not coherent.

Students writing
does not make
complete sense, but
some information is
communicated. Some
sequences of events
in writing do not
make sense.

Students
writing makes
sense to the
reader. Minor
issues may be
present. Event
sequences make
sense.

Students writing
beautiful to read.
Not one sentence
was ambiguous of
at all. Event
sequences flow
perfectly.

Overall quality
of writing

Student failed to
complete any work
on assignment

Student appears to
have only put
minimal work into
assignment. Little
descriptive and
sensory detail is
present in writing.

Student seems to
have put in
sufficient work
and thought,
work is clean,
and written
English has
minimal errors.
Descriptive
detail and
sensory
information is
present

Length

0 sentences long

1-3 sentences long

4 6 sentences
long

Student appears
to have put a
great deal of work
and thought into
assignment, work
is extremely neat,
and written
English has no
errors or very few
errors.
Description is full
and sensory
information is
vivid.
7 + sentences
long

Differentiation:
Gifted learners:

These students will be given an optional vocabulary challenge. Students will

asked to incorporate challenging vocabulary into their writing
These students will be challenged to include every technique taught in class when
writing about their settings
These students will be encouraged to further develop their description of setting
into entire stories. The teacher can include guidance regarding character
development when working with these students during conferences.
Students that need more support
These students will be given more time when asked questions in large group.
These students will perhaps be directly prompted with leading questions to
answer questions if they do not typically raise their hand.
Teacher will be provided explicit instruction to students during writing time.
These students will be grouped with a student that may be able to assist them if
necessary.
The aforementioned scaffolding and graphic organizers can be used to assist these
students. Students who struggle to get started will be given a setting and a
character, for instance.
Additionally, these students can be provided writing prompts of necessary.
ELL students
If there are other students that speak the same native tongue, these students will
be grouped with each other only if the need is there.
If students need to use a translation dictionary, that will be available.
Academic language can be defined for these students during lesson (for instance,
the word technique or setting)

Works Cited

Four Ways to Bring Settings to Life. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2015, from
http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/settings.shtm
Kidblog. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2015, from http://kidblog.org/home/
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State
School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC:
Authors.
Pinnell, G., & Fountas, I. (2007). The continuum of literacy learning, grades 3-8: A guide
to teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.