Informational Writing I 1

Running head: INFORMATIONAL WRITING I

Instructional Design Project: Report I on Informational Writing

Emily Clark

Georgia Southern University

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Report 1

1.0 Introduction

1.1. What is your system of interest?

I teach second grade at R.L. Norton Elementary School in Snellville, Georgia in the

Gwinnett County Public School system. I teach all core content areas (reading, writing,

math, science, and social studies). For writing, Gwinnett County currently regulates that

we use Lucy Calkins’ Writing Units of Study using the writing workshop model to teach

Gwinnett County’s Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS), which coincide with the

Common Core Standards. The workshop model comprises of making a connection with

students’ prior knowledge, building on their learning with a mini-lesson, allowing time

for their independent writing practice while differentiating instruction through individual

conferring or small group instruction, and finally wrapping up the workshop with a time

for students to share and summarize their new learning. Throughout the year, students

practice writing in three formats: narrative, informational, and opinion writing.

Informational writing is the one students usually struggle with the most.

1.2. What are the sub-systems?

Student Abilities

While all the students I teach are in second grade, I have a range of abilities in my class.

Being endorsed in ESOL, about seventy-five percent of my class have a second language

spoken at home. Even within this ESOL cluster, there are various levels of English

proficiency. Some of them are reading and writing at a kindergarten level or below,

while others are at a third grade level with literacy. The other fourth of my class are
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mostly general education students, although there is one that is currently going through

testing for special education services. Since I also have my gifted endorsement, there are

a couple of advanced learners in my class who are at a high third grade level that may

possibly qualify for gifted education later in the year.

Prior Knowledge of Students

Most students in my class went to R.L. Norton Elementary in first grade or another

school in Gwinnett County, so they are familiar with the Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study

program as well as the workshop model. Even if they moved from another county, they

received the Common Core curriculum in first grade. This means that in first grade, with

regards to informational writing, students should have exposure to selecting a topic,

writing some facts about the topic, and adding a closing sentence. Their first grade

classes also did some shared research as a whole group. However, as previously stated,

this is not the case with the majority of my class, and many of them were previously from

different countries entirely, so I cannot assume that they all have this prior experience.

Therefore, a lot of modeling is required to build students’ prior knowledge so we can

proceed with the curriculum. My students who are not proficient in English can at least

work with visual representations of illustrations and non-fiction text features (such as

diagrams, maps, and graphic organizers) to help them make connections. In general,

their speaking and listening is generally more advanced in English proficiency than their

reading and writing, so they often need to verbalize and draw what they know before

putting it into words.

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Resources Available

In addition to basic writing tools (composition books and loose paper for publishing),

students have access to a computer lab on a weekly basis, four class laptops stocked with

the Microsoft Office Suite, their eClass pages (including an Online Research Library with

a variety of age-appropriate resources, non-fiction leveled readers, and the school’s

online media center catalogue), and four classroom tablets. In the classroom, students

have a variety of non-fiction texts for examples (including books, magazines, and

articles), anchor charts, writing process posters, dictionaries, thesauruses, maps, and a

Writers’ Handbook, which helps them with spelling basic words. Some of the students

also like using their social studies or science textbooks as research tools.

1.3. What symptoms drew your attention to this system of interest?

There is a significant learning gap between the standards we are supposed to be teaching

and the program we are pushed to use to teach it. A couple of the AKS standards indicate

that we are to teach both science observations and research reports. However, the Lucy

Calkins’ Writing Units of Study only cover lab reports for science observations, so the

research part is left out completely, except for a short remediation unit. This is not

adequate to teach students the research skills they need, and students going into third

grade are often lacking in the area of non-fiction topic research. I have found it

necessary to supplement additional lessons in order to satisfactorily teach students

informational writing according to the AKS standards.

2.0. Front-End Analysis

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2.1. Are there performance gaps involved in this system that justify a learning

intervention?
Is there a gap in
performance?

Yes No

If their life depended on it, could they do it? Ask these questions:

If not, then use the following: Is performance punishing?

No.

Training:
Use modeling and practice to instruct students on research skills and the Is non-performance rewarding?
writing process.
No.

Feedback:
Is it motivational?
Confer with students about their writing during the process and offer them
Yes, research skills and informational writing are necessary
feedback on what they are doing well and next steps they need to take.
throughout life.

Coaching: Is it environmental?
Notice students' deficiencies with writing and offer additional lessons to Yes, a student's environment can impact writing performance
strengthen their skills. based on tools available and surrounding distractions.

Job Aids:
Provide students with examples, visual reminders of next steps, computers
and text for research, and editing tools such as dictionaries and writing
handbooks.

Mentoring:
Use non-fiction mentor texts by professional authors to show students
techniques for their own writing. Additionally, teachers can demonstrate
with writing of their own and provide strong student examples as well.
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3.0. Needs Assessment

3.1. Optimals

3.1.1. What information and data would you collect?

Ideally, I would like to give my students an informational writing pre-assessment

in which I ask them to write about a topic with which they are already familiar.

This would show the strengths and weaknesses of each student in regards to

informational writing.

3.1.2. How would you collect that information and data?

I would administer the informational writing pre-assessment in a 45-segment of

time within the classroom. I would then grade the writing pieces according to the

Gwinnett County 2nd Grade Informational Writing Rubric and categorize each one

as Beginning, Developing, Proficient, or Distinguished to get an overview of the

overall writing level of each student. I would the further analyze the writing

pieces to identify specific needs of each writing piece to drive my instruction.

3.2. Actuals

3.2.1. What information and data would you collect?

I will use both the end-of-year writing levels given by students’ first grade

teachers on their Writing Communication Reports, as well as students’

performance on narrative writing we have already done earlier, to give me an

overview of students’ writing capabilities. I can then administer an informational

writing pre-assessment to observe students current capabilities with informational

writing specifically.

3.2.2. How would you collect that information and data?

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I will use the students’ permanent records to get information from their first grade

teachers on their writing. I will also use look at students’ current narrative writing

pieces and classroom observations from individual students’ writing conferences

to see what their needs are with the writing process. Finally, I will examine their

informational writing pre-assessments to get an idea of what prior knowledge they

have with informational writing.

3.3. What are the discrepancies between the current (actual) and desired (optimal)

state?

Due to time constraints, I only use the Gwinnett County rubrics to grade their final

writing pieces that go into the gradebook, not pre-assessments. These rubrics are very

detailed, and taking the time to use them for pre-assessments would take away from

instructional time. Instead, I use my knowledge of the rubric and standards to quickly

evaluate and identify the needs of the students so I can proceed with instruction.

3.4. What priorities can you assign to the identified discrepancies or goals?

It is important to see how students are currently writing in order to see which individuals

need more intense instruction not covered by the curriculum. Given the expectation of

the county to use Lucy Calkins’ Writing Units of Study, it is also important to see which

skills students will need in addition to this program in order to adequately teach them the

standard specified in the Common Core and Gwinnett County’s AKS.

3.5. Prepare a learning goal statement.

3.5.1. Conduct a goals analysis for your problem.

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LEARNING GOAL WORKSHEET

Program: 2nd Grade Writing Date: 9/28/19 Instructor(s): Emily Clark

MEASUREMENT
LEARNING GOAL Class Evaluation…………….._X_
Students will write an informative text in which they introduce a topic, use Performance Test………….._X_
facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement On-the-Job Follow-Up …..___
or section. ROI Effect……………………….___

Performance Condition Criterion

Learning Outcomes
(tasks to (learning (restrictions,
perform goal) environment) tools)
Intellectual Cognitive Verbal Motor
Attitude
Skills Strategies Information Skills
Students
will use
writing
Select a journals to
Classroom X X
topic. list topics
and of
interest and
select one.
Students
will use
non-fiction
texts
checked out
from the
Research Media
media
selected topic center,
center,
by reading at computer X X
found in the
least 2 texts lab, and
classroom,
on that topic. classroom
and online
using the
classroom
laptops and
computer
lab.
Organize Students
gathered will
information organize
Classroom X X
using a web their
graphic information
organizer. in their
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writing
journals.
Draft
Students
informational
will draft
writing piece
their writing
using web Classroom X X
in their
graphic
writing
organizer as a
journals.
guide.
Strengthen
Students
writing by
will use
revising and
examples
editing with
Classroom X X from mini-
guidance and
lessons to
support from
revise their
teacher and
work.
peers.
Students
will
preferably
publish their
writing by
typing,
creating a
PowerPoint,
Publish Media center or another
writing using and/or X digital
digital tools. computer lab format. In
the event
that this is
unavailable,
students can
publish
neatly using
formatted
paper.

3.5.2. Write out a goal statement in narrative form.

Students will write an informative text in which they introduce a topic, use facts

and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

They will do this through focused research of a single topic, organizing

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information to write about selected topic, revising and editing their writing with

guidance and support from teacher and peers, and publishing a final piece,

preferably in a digital format.

4.0. Instructional Analysis

4.1. Goal Analysis

Writing an informational piece is primarily an intellectual skill. Students have to use

their knowledge of a topic to organize information and write it down. There are also

cognitive skills used in the process, however, such as evaluating resources to determine

whether or not they are useful, and evaluating one’s own writing to determine which

adjustments have to be made. This is often subjective to the person reading the writing.

4.2. Subordinate Skills Analysis

• Identify letter-sound correspondences of English language.

• Use spelling patterns to sound out and learn new words.
Read text • Comprehend text on level using reading strategies.
according to
proficiency level.

Entry-level skills
• Use letter-sound correspondences to spell words.
• Use knowledge of sight words to use words in context.
Write • Create complete sentences using a subject and predicate.
comprehensible
text.

• Decide on a plan appropriate for writing piece.

• Use a draft for writing practice.
• Distinguish between revision and editing.
Complete steps of • Apply taught strategies for revising and editing.
the writing
process. • Recognize how a published piece of writing should look.
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•Brainstorm topics of interest.

•Select a topic.
•Research information on selected topic using at least 2 sources.
Make a writing •Organize information in a web graphic organizer.
plan.

•Write informational piece in writing journal.

•Use web graphic organizer to include relevant information.
•Skip lines.
Draft writing.

•Organize information.
•Add details and definitions to writing.
•Add non-fiction text features.
•Remove non-relevant information.
Revise draft.
•Get feedback from at least 2 peers.

•Use proofreading chart to correctly punctuate sentences.

•Captitalize proper nouns.
•Use dictionaries and adult guidance to correct spelling.
Edit draft. •Confer with teacher.

•Introduce a topic.
•Use facts and definitions to develop points.
Publish an •Provide a concluding statement or section.
informational
writing piece.