Unit: 12 Days of Christmas Lesson #: Monday, December 9th

Outcome(s) of Lesson: (Blooms or I can statement)

4.1.8 Use an increasing variety of words to express and extend understanding of concepts related to personal interests and topics of study
2.3.6 Recognize how words and word combinations, such as word play, repetition and rhyme, influence or convey meaning
2.4.2 Select and use visuals that enhance meaning of oral, print and other media texts
How will I know students have achieved the learning outcome(s)?
Students will produce a Christmas sweater design with descriptive elements in mind

Students will justify why their sweater is the worst Christmas sweater

Students will explain why their sweater is worth purchasing

Students will compare their first sweater description to their second

Hook:
Today we are going to have a bit of a competition! We are going to try to create the absolute ugliest, most horrible Christmas sweater we can
possibly make!
Learning Opportunities:

Time Learning Opportunity How do I check that students

understand what to do?
Class discussion:
Not only is this going to be the ugliest Christmas sweater, but it is going to be the worst Ask students to repeat them back
sweater there is.
 In your table groups please discuss what visual design Christmas sweater.
 While students do this create a chart on the board with 3 columns Materials Needed
Write a few of these ideas down under the how does it look column
Now direct discussion to structural elements of the sweater  Ugly Christmas Sweater
Have you ever worn a sweater that you did not like? Maybe because of the material it was Descriptive Writing Booklets
made of, or because the sleeves were too short. In your groups please discuss what would (with sweater template inside)
make the worst sweater without considering the design on the front.  Pencils
 Hasn’t been washed since last Christmas  Pencil crayons
 Turtleneck
 Wool (itchy)
 Maybe something has spilt on it
Write a few of these down in the how does it feel column and other details column
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Unit: 12 Days of Christmas Lesson #: Monday, December 9th

Now that we know how what makes a sweater ugly and horrible, what are some words we
can use to describe our sweaters?
 Scratchy
 Smelly
 Sticky
 Itchy
 Confining
 Hideous
 Atrocious
 Obnoxious
 Loud
 Chunky
 Unflattering

Okay grade fours. I think we have what it takes to design our horrible Christmas sweaters!
 Hand out Descriptive Writing Booklet
Please put your names on the booklet and then turn to the first page where you will find a
sweater template.
You have 3 minutes to design the absolute worst Christmas sweater you can come up with!
We did some brainstorming on the board, but I also hope to see some other original ideas
and interesting combinations. This is an individual activity! Once you are finished please fill
out the chart on the next page.

After the three minutes is up ask students to pair up with their elbow buddy and justify why
their sweater is the worst Christmas sweater.

Bring the class back together.

I loved hearing about all of your horrible sweaters! Before we can enter the competition, we
need to complete the entry form which requires us to write a paragraph about why our
sweater should win the ugly sweater competition. Now, in order to convince the judges that
our sweater should be considered, we need to use very descriptive language. Imagine that
the judges cannot see or feel or smell your sweater, so you will need to describe to them
every detail. It is important to remember that you cannot assume they know anything.
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Unit: 12 Days of Christmas Lesson #: Monday, December 9th

Highlight or underline descriptive words in paragrpaphs.

Remember, paragraphs must include:

Topic sentence (Bun)

Three important details (Lettuce, Tomato and Meat)
And a concluding sentence (Bun)

You will have 10 minutes to work on your paragraph.

How do I differentiate for ALL learners? Accommodations (ISP’s)

Beginning: Provide sentence stems for paragraph writing, provide students with a writer if Ensure that students have all materials
necessary (this activity is focusing on ideas rather that writing/spelling), leave list of descriptive put away during instruction
words on the board
Ensure student remains on task
Developing:
Check in with students struggling with
Achieving: writing, provide a writer if necessary,
sentence stems and support when
Exceeding: This task allows students to challenge themselves to explore new vocabulary words. needed.
Encourage students to try to think of new words/different words to describe their sweaters. Allow
use of a thesaurus to expand their vocabulary.

Transition: (what will students do when they are finished?, how will we move to the next learning opportunity?)
Due to the competition Christmas sweaters have become such a hit and are now in high demand! In order to earn some money for our
Christmas shopping this year, let’s sell our sweaters!
Time Learning Opportunity How do I check that students
understand what to do?
We have a bit of a problem, though don’t we? We can’t make an advertisement for a sticky,
smelly, scratchy sweater, can we? Thumbs up, down, middle
No! We need to think of different words we can use to describe our sweaters in a positive
way!
 In new column on the board take suggestions for words that put a positive spin on Materials Needed
the originals (prompt students when necessary)
When students are grasping the new concept ask them to turn the page in their Descriptive writing booklet
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Unit: 12 Days of Christmas Lesson #: Monday, December 9th

booklets and create an advertisement for their Christmas sweater. Students will write a Pencils
short paragraph explaining why someone should buy their sweater, come up with a
price, the best place to wear it and any other additional details. Students will highlight
or underline the descriptive words in their advertisement.

Students will then take a gallery walk

How do I differentiate for ALL learners? Accommodations (ISP’s)

Beginning: Encourage students to look at the board for ideas, allow students to work with a Ensure that students have all materials
mentor, provide extra space for writing, personally speak with students to hear their ideas rather put away when not using.
than relying on their written work for understanding
Ensure student remains on task
Developing:
Check in with struggling students,
Achieving: provide a strong student for support
Extra paper if they are having difficulty
Exceeding: Encourage students to increase their vocabulary using dictionary and thesaurus. Are fitting writing into template
there any literary devices that could make an advertisement more appealing? How can you
compare your first sweater description to your second?
Transition: (what will students do when they are finished?, how will we move to the next learning opportunity?)
 When they get back to their seats they will write on their whiteboards which sweater they were most influenced to buy and why.

CLOSURE:
 Today we learned about how descriptive writing can not only help our audience understand what we mean, but can also influence
people to make decisions! On a post it note please write, one descriptive word that you either learned today or used in your writing
today.

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Unit: 12 Days of Christmas Lesson #: Monday, December 9th

Lesson Plan Analysis: Using your lesson above, describe the following: (This information MUST be in your learning opportunities)

Cooperative Learning Timed Pair Share, Gallery Walk

Strategies used

Movement Breaks Gallery walk

Modes of Learning Auditory, visual, kinesthetic

Higher Order Can you compare your first sweater comparison to your second? What do you notice?
Question(s) Can you justify why you think your sweater is the worst?
Can you explain why you think someone should buy your sweater?

Reflection and Revisions:

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