Lauren Sheridan Writing Observation 10/27/16

Schoolwide Writing Fundamentals

Patricia Polacco Author Study
Immersion: Day 1 Who is Patricia Polacco?

Lesson Objective
Students will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions about Patricia Polaccos
word choices, illustrative choices, and story choices, building on each others ideas and
expression their own clearly.

Sub-Objectives / Goals
Work as a team (listening, understanding, sharing information)
Rotate appropriately (class management; inside voices)
Engage in a whole class grand discussion appropriately (accountable talk)

Common Core Learning Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a
topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps,
photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when,
why, and how key events occur).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-
on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on
others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.2: Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read
aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively,
and orally.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.3: Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker,
offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

Inclusion Models Used

Team Teaching
Station Teaching
One Teach, One Support

Engagement
We have a new reading teacher in the room and her name is Patricia Polacco!
Have you ever read any of her books?
What do you know about her as an author/illustrator?

Introduction / Connection
Patricia Polaccos books are narratives, which means they all tell storiessome real and some
imagined. And through her stories we will get to know her as author and illustrator. Lets see
what we can discover about Patricia Polacco as a writer and a storyteller and connect it to our
own narrative writing.

Focus Questions
1. What does she write about?
Lauren Sheridan Writing Observation 10/27/16

2. Who does she write about?

3. What do you notice in her illustrations?
4. What do her quotes tell us about what kind of person/author/illustrator she is?

Highlighted Books / Connections

Thunder Cake (What an interesting title and cover. It is interesting that a cake would be
named after thunder. I wonder why she did that)
Babushkas Doll (This seems to be about a different culture. Babushka means
grandmother in Russian. It seems that her grandmother must be a very important person
in her life, she mentions her babushka in several stories.)
Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare (Here, it seems like she is writing about her family
issues. Perhaps, her and her brother had some competition as kids)
Thank you, Mr. Falker (This story seems to portray an issue she went through as a
student. She really shows her emotions in these illustrations. She is sharing a story about
a tough time in her life and a challenge she had to overcome.)
Emma Kate (The main characters are a little girl and an elephant, which makes me
wonder what this story might be about.)

Instructional Activities
1. Whole Class Discussion / Teachers Modeling
The class will meet at the carpet to kick off this next unit of study! The teachers will
team teach as they look through Patricia Polaccos books and model their thoughts,
wonderings, and observations about her stories, characters, and illustrations.
Discussion Points:
She seems to write about issues she has personally experienced
Each story seems to have a main idea or message
Her illustrations show emotion

2. Four-Corners Activity (5 minutes each station / 20 minutes total)

Students will participate in a four-corners gallery walk. They will stay at each station for
5 minutes, collaborating as a group (heterogeneous). Each station will have a few books
and a piece of chart paper with a posed question about Patricia Polaccos work. They
will be required to scan the provided books and respond to the question. The questions of
the four corners (stations) are as follows:
Station 1: What does Patricia Polacco write about?
Station 2: Who does Patricia Polacco write about?
Station 3: What do you notice about her illustrations (pictures)?
Station 4: What do these quotes tell us about Patricia Polacco as a
person/author/illustrator?

3. Student Share-Out / Anchor Chart

After students have rotated through each of the four corners (stations), they will
reconvene on the carpet to review the anchor charts they have collaboratively completed.
We will review the responses for each question and add onto them if applicable.

Together, we are going to complete a chart titled All About Patricia Polacco to record
what the class has learned about her. We will add to this chart throughout the unit of
study. The chart will be divided into three sections: What we know about Patricia
Lauren Sheridan Writing Observation 10/27/16

Polacco as a (1) author, (2) illustrator, and (3) person. Students will also copy this chart
down in their writing notebooks. They will use a koosh-ball to engage in a whole class
grand conversation, taking turns, sharing ideas, and listening to one another.

Assessment
Students will be assessed throughout the station work. Both teachers will be walking around to
observe and facilitate each station. They will assess students understanding of this author study
as well as their ability to meet the learning objective. As today is launching a new writing unit,
students will be assessed more on their collaboration and enthusiasm towards learning.

Differentiation
Students will collaborate in heterogeneous groups to enhance discussion around each posed
question. They will be required to participate in the teamwork. During the whole class grand
discussion, as long as they listen into the discussion and appear engaged, they will be assessed
more on their knowledge gained than their insights. While copying the chart into their notebooks,
they will be provided with a print-out to ensure their success in copying.

Lesson Follow-up
Academic Intervention: For students who may struggle reaching they objective, they are grouped
heterogeneously to enhance student conversations and collaboration. Their classmates will help
them understand the focus. In addition, the teachers will be circulating and will be provide
greater one-to-one attention to those students who show difficulty.

Academic Enrichment: For students who easily achieve the learning objective, they will be given
an opportunity to utilize their chrome books to visit Patricia Polaccos website. They will be
responsible for adding 3-5 more findings to their list All About Patricia Polacco in their writing
notebooks.