Essay writing workshop

Theme/ Name of Lesson: essay writing workshop

Grade Level: 20-2

Duration of the Lesson: 80 min

Name of Instructor: Al
Faculty of Education

Date: November 2

Materials Consulted:

Resources for Instruction: Slideshow (onedrive), structure slips cut out (7 for each student),
essay writing blueprint, ‘excellent’ exemplar

Connection to the Program of Studies:

GLO --

SLO
SLO

*Essay workshop, no specific curricular outcomes being assessed this class period.

Lesson Objective (SMART): Students will…

Explore strategies for sorting based essays.
Analyze an excellent exemplar
Create a blueprint for the excellent exemplar
Write a thesis statement
Introduction

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 Time est: Attendance, set up, reminders.
7-10
Ask students to remind me what we started yesterday (exploring causes of the French
Revolution, and considering which were the most significant), ask students to share the causes
they remember.

Share the agenda:

 Intro to writing assignment #1
 Strategies for the assignment
 Blueprint an EXCELLENT exemplar
 What makes an excellent paper
 Blueprint

Transition considerations: make sure students have 3 pieces of paper in front of them – exemplar,
blueprint, and their notes from yesterday.
Formative Assessment: check to see what ‘stuck’ from the previous lesson (learning) and
‘reteach’/explain the causes if they are unable to recall.

Body (you may have a range of activities)

Activity 1
10 min Read through the assignment outline with them again – we did this yesterday but run through it
again.

Share with them that the source format for this essay is the same as any other high school
social studies essay, and it will be the format for the diploma they write next year.

Ask them what commonalities they see – it is a matter of ‘sorting’ which elements they can use
to answer the essay question.

Next, share with them how this assignment will be graded (the same for all HS social studies
essays). Note that 80% of their grade is their explanation and support, while only 20% is on
communication (grammar, spelling, vocabulary, etc).

Activity 2
15 min Ask students ‘what is a thesis statement?’
 Answer to the essay question
 Your opinion on the topic – it should be debatable BUT provable
 Outlines what you will be talking about in the rest of your paper

Provide students with 5-10 minutes to write their thesis statement in their essay blueprint. This
should not take too long as yesterday we did an activity to narrow down 3 of the most
significant causes from their perspective.

Ask students ‘what is an argument?’

 This is your ‘WHY’
 Or the reason for your thesis
Activity 3
5-8 Task 1: identify thesis and arguments

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  Look at the EXCELLENT exemplar from 2012
 Highlight where the THESIS is (the answer to the essay question)
 Highlight (in a different colour) the ARGUMENTS being made in this essay
 Once finished, pair up with a partner and compare
Read essay aloud while students following along.
Activity 4 Task 2: plan your structure
23 minutes  Look at the EXCELLENT exemplar once again. How did this student format their
paper?
 Make an outline of their introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion
 With the slips of paper in front of you (7 slips, each that outline a different
structural element) put them in order, as seen in the exemplar

Ask the first 3 students who finish to come up to the board and put them in the correct order
(interactive slide).

Summarize what this exemplar does WELL

 Explanations
 Examples
 Vocab
 Organization

Ask if students have any questions at this point. Provide students with the remaining 10-15
minutes to work on their blueprints. Encourage them to ask questions if needed, and continue
to circulate during this time and ask questions.
Transition Considerations: fist to five – how do you feel about writing this essay, after this
workshop?
Formative Assessment: throughout the lesson circulate the classroom and ask questions and check
on student progress. I will know that students met the objectives through conversations (whole class
and one-on-one) and by reading their thesis statements. During the sorting activity with the 7 strips
of paper, I will know if they met objectives by seeing how they organize their pieces.

Conclusion
Time Est:
Recap: what is a thesis? What is an argument? What are the key things you need to have to
write an EXCELLENT paper?

Share the agenda for tomorrow: write blueprint, get it checked, start writing.
Assessment: Formative consolidation of learning

Differentiation/modifications: If Ryan is present, have him and the EA discuss this ideas (show
him French revolution documentary on YouTube) and film a flipgrid explaining the causes. If Alex
M is present, show him the video and spend him talking him through it. Alex’s family would like
him to focus on learning how to write, so time can be spent doing that within the context of this
assignment.

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Extension Activity/brain break: 5 minute cellphone/bathroom break.

Reflection (How do I know that my learning objectives were met? What did the lesson do well? In
what ways would you improve the lesson in the future? How did you engage your learners?):

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