Overview

Lesson Procedure

65-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure5 minutes

1. Warm-Up10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Think of the last piece of writing you did with a clock running and the last piece you worked on for more than a week. What could you do in the long one that you could not do in the short one? What did the short one force you to do?"

   Give students three minutes to write, then take four answers and sort them on the board under two headings, one sitting or a day or two and extended. Read the standard aloud and point out that it names both kinds of time and asks for both "routinely," across "discipline-specific" tasks: English, science, history and writing for readers outside school.

   Introduce Camila Ortiz, an invented tenth grader, and hand out Text 1: the 40-minute prompt her English teacher gave and the notes Camila wrote on it in the first ten minutes. Students circle the three places where Camila names the task, the audience and the purpose.

   1Prompt, English 10, in class, 40 minutes, handwritten: The Harrow Valley school board will vote next month on whether to close the campus at lunch. Right now, any student may leave campus during the lunch period. Write a letter to the board that takes a position on the proposal. Support your position with reasons and examples from your own knowledge and experience.

   2Minutes 0-3, marked on the prompt: Task = argument, in the form of a letter. Audience = the school board, adults who worry about safety and about students getting back on time. Purpose = persuade them how to vote.

   3Minutes 3-10, planning notes: Position: keep lunch open, but only for juniors and seniors with a parent permission form. Close it for 9th and 10th grade. Reason 1: juniors and seniors are close to adulthood and need practice managing their own time (many drive, many have jobs). Reason 2: the cafeteria is already crowded, and the line takes about 15 minutes (my guess from last week). Counterclaim: students come back late, and some cross Dunmore Road in traffic. Answer: permission form, and a student loses the privilege after two late returns.

   4Time plan: introduction by minute 14, Reason 1 by 21, Reason 2 by 27, counterclaim by 32, conclusion by 35. Reread and fix from 35 to 40. Do not start a new paragraph after minute 35.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Show Diagram 1. Camila used the first quarter of the sitting to read and plan, and she wrote down when each paragraph had to be finished. Owen, an invented classmate, started writing in the first minute. Work through the examples below, then read Camila's letter (Text 2) and Owen's (Text 3) side by side. Students mark in the margin where each writer was at minute 20.

   • Reading an on-demand prompt

     Biology, in class, 12 minutes: "Your lab group's bean plants grew taller under red light than under blue light. Explain to a classmate who missed the lab what the results show and one reason they might not be reliable."

     Result: Task: explain results. Purpose: inform, with one caution. Audience: a classmate who missed the lab, so the response briefly describes the setup before the results. Time: one short sitting, so plan in 2-3 minutes and save the last 2 to reread.

   • Budgeting a single sitting

     Camila's 40-minute letter prompt (Text 1).

     Result: Read and mark the prompt, 3 minutes; plan, 7; draft, 25 (introduction 4, Reason 1 7, Reason 2 6, counterclaim 5, conclusion 3); reread and fix, 5. Total: 3 + 7 + 25 + 5 = 40 minutes, with a finish time for every paragraph.

   • Choosing the time frame

     Three assignments arrive on the same Monday: a history essay on how a factory closing changed a nearby town, due in three weeks; a chemistry pre-lab question due tomorrow; a message to a project partner about Thursday's meeting.

     Result: The history essay is extended work: it needs research (interviews, old newspapers), reflection and revision, so it gets dated sessions starting this week. The pre-lab answer is a day-long task and the message a few minutes. All three still have an audience: the history teacher, a reader who knows chemistry, and a partner who needs a time and a place.

   • Scheduling an extended piece

     A two-page history report on a primary source is due in eight school days. The student has about 25 minutes a day after other homework.

     Result: Days 1-3: research (read the source twice, take notes, find two facts about its author and time). Day 4: outline and draft the first half. Day 5: draft the second half. Day 6: no work on the report. Day 7: reread and revise. Day 8: edit and turn in. Eight sessions of 25 minutes is 200 minutes, spread over the whole window instead of crammed into one night.

   • Fitting the discipline

     The same result written for two readers: a biology lab conclusion and a reading-journal entry.

     Result: Lab conclusion: "The data support the hypothesis: the flask with the most sugar produced the largest balloon, although we ran only one trial per flask." Journal: "I did not expect the sugar to matter that much." The lab conclusion states the claim, the evidence and a limit in the third person; the journal is informal because its reader is the writer.

   1Dear Members of the Harrow Valley School Board,

   2Next month you will vote on whether to close our campus at lunch. I am a tenth grader, so my own lunch would change little this year, but I have thought about both sides. I urge you to keep the campus open for juniors and seniors who return a signed permission form, and to close it for ninth and tenth graders.

   3First, older students need practice managing their own time before they graduate. Many juniors and seniors already drive, hold part-time jobs and plan their own schedules. Within two years, many of them will be at college or at work, where no one will check whether they came back from lunch. Leaving campus for a lunch period and returning on time is a small, safe way to practice that responsibility while adults are still watching.

   4Second, closing the campus would crowd a cafeteria that is already busy. On most days last week I could barely find a seat, and the line took about fifteen minutes. If every student had to stay, many would not have time to eat.

   5Some board members worry that students come back late or cross Dunmore Road in traffic. These concerns are serious. However, a permission form means parents agree to the risk, and the school could take the privilege away from any student who returns late twice. That rule would keep the students who cause the problem on campus without punishing everyone else.

   6Closing the campus would solve one problem by creating another. A limited open campus lets older students build independence, keeps the cafeteria from overflowing and still gives the school a way to deal with students who abuse the privilege. Please vote to keep lunch open for juniors and seniors.

   7Sincerely,
   Camila Ortiz, Grade 10

   1Lunch is one of the most important parts of the school day. Every student looks forward to it. Some people like to eat in the cafeteria and some people like to leave and get food somewhere else like the taco place or the gas station. There are a lot of opinions about this topic. The school board is going to vote on it. There are good things and bad things about an open campus. In this letter I will explain my opinion about whether the campus should be closed at lunch and why I think that.

   2I think the campus should stay open because it isn't fair to take away something students already have. Students have been leaving campus at lunch for a long time and nothing bad has really happened. Also the food at the cafeteria is not that good and a lot of people don't like it. My friends and I go to the taco place almost every day and we are always back on time, well almost always. If the campus closes then

   3[Time was called here.]

3. Guided Practice15-20 minutes

   The timed letter was not the end of the piece. Show the table of everything Camila wrote in the two weeks around it, then Diagram 2. Ask: which pieces were one sitting, which took a day or two, and which one used an extended time frame? Point out that the email in Week 1 was the first step of the extended work: Camila asked for figures before she needed them.

   Camila's writing over two weeks (invented)

   Writing	Subject	When	Time frame	Audience	Purpose
   Letter to the board on closing the campus at lunch	English 10	Week 1 Monday, in class	Single sitting, 40 minutes	The school board	Argue a position
   Lab conclusion on yeast and sugar	Biology	Week 1 Tuesday-Wednesday	A day or two	Biology teacher, reading as a scientist	Explain what the data show
   Short response on a primary source	World History	Week 1 Thursday, in class	Single sitting, 20 minutes	History teacher	Analyze a source
   Email asking for September late-return figures	English 10 (research)	Week 1 Friday	A few minutes	Attendance office staff	Request information
   Thank-you note to a guest speaker from the county health department	Biology	Week 2 Wednesday	Single sitting	The speaker	Thank and recall one point
   Revised letter, mailed to the board	English 10	Week 2 Monday-Friday	Extended: research, a day away, revision	The school board	Argue with researched evidence
   Reading journal	English 10	Every school day	10 minutes a day	Herself and her teacher	Reflect on reading

   Pairs read Camila's reflection (Text 4) and her revised letter (Text 5). They compare the opening and the crowding paragraph of each letter (Text 2, paragraphs 2 and 4; Text 5, paragraphs 2 and 4) on a two-column chart headed What changed and Which part of the extended time made it possible (research, reflection or revision). Collect one change from each pair and ask the class whether the change could have been made in the 40-minute sitting.

   1Week 1 taught me that writing every day is not the same as having a routine. I wrote something every day, but I wrote whatever was due next. I started the biology lab conclusion at ten o'clock on Tuesday night, and by the time I understood my own data table it was too late to finish, so I wrote the second half in the fifteen minutes before class on Wednesday. It was the weakest thing I turned in all week.

   2For Week 2, I planned the letter to the board before the week started. Ms. Brandvold said we could mail our timed letters to the board if we revised them, so on Friday of Week 1 I emailed the attendance office to ask how many students returned late from lunch in September. That way the numbers would be waiting on Monday. I gave myself thirty minutes after school on Monday and on Tuesday for research, and I worked at the same library table both days so I did not have to decide where to start.

   3On Wednesday I did not touch the letter. I only wrote the thank-you note and my journal entry. On Thursday I reread the letter, and the problems were obvious. My timed version said the cafeteria line took "about fifteen minutes," which was a guess. It also answered the Dunmore Road worry in one sentence, but Ms. Delacroix, the vice principal, told me on Tuesday that the crossing is the board's biggest concern, so it needed a real answer.

   4The timed letter was a good first draft because it made me decide what I thought in forty minutes. The revised letter is better because I had time to find out whether I was right.

   1Dear Members of the Harrow Valley School Board,

   2On November 12 you will vote on whether to close our campus at lunch. I urge you to keep the campus open for juniors and seniors who return a signed permission form, and to close it for ninth and tenth graders. I am in tenth grade, so this plan would keep me on campus, but the figures below convinced me that it is the fairest choice.

   3The problem the proposal is meant to solve is real, but it is concentrated. The attendance office recorded 146 late returns from lunch in September. Ninety-seven of them were ninth or tenth graders, and 88 of the 146 came from just 23 students. A policy that keeps younger students on campus and removes the privilege from repeat offenders would address most late returns without closing the campus to everyone.

   4Closing the campus completely would also create a new problem. The cafeteria and courtyard seat about 700 students, according to the facilities office, and about 850 students eat during our lunch period. On the sign-out sheets for three days last week, 262, 281 and 270 students left campus, and an average of 201 of them each day were juniors and seniors. Under my plan, about 650 students would stay, which the space can hold. If all 850 stayed, about 150 students would have nowhere to sit.

   5Juniors and seniors also benefit from the chance to manage their own time before they graduate. Many of them already drive and hold part-time jobs, and within two years many will be at college or work, where no one will check whether they came back from lunch.

   6The board's most serious concern, as Vice Principal Delacroix explained it to me, is the crossing at Dunmore Road. I share it. Under my proposal, the permission form would require students to cross only at the signal at Birch Street, where a staff member already stands at dismissal and could also stand there at lunch. A student who returns late twice, or who crosses anywhere else, would lose the privilege for the rest of the semester.

   7A limited open campus keeps the privilege for the students most ready to handle it, keeps the cafeteria from overflowing and gives the school a clear response when a student abuses it. Please vote to keep lunch open for juniors and seniors.

   8Sincerely,
   Camila Ortiz, Grade 10

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Hand out Text 6, a writing menu of six assignments from five classes over the next two weeks. Each student labels every task with its time frame, purpose and audience, then drafts a routine for the two weeks on a blank calendar: when the daily writing happens, which days go to research, reflection and revision on the extended task, and when each short task is written. The quiz also uses Text 6.

   1A. In-class response, English 10, 25 minutes: Explain how the narrator's attitude toward her grandmother changes in the short story we finished on Friday. Your reader is your teacher, who knows the story well.

   2B. Lab conclusion, Chemistry, due in two days: State whether your group's data on dissolving time support your hypothesis, and name one source of error. Write for a reader who knows chemistry but did not see your lab.

   3C. Research essay, World History, due in three weeks: Choose a question about how a trade route changed a city. You will turn in source notes at the end of Week 1, meet with me about your draft in Week 2, and revise in Week 3.

   4D. Email, Career Exploration, written in class today: Ask a local business owner for a 15-minute interview about how she started her business. She does not know you.

   5E. Reading journal, English 10, every school day, 10 minutes: Write about what you read the night before. Only you and I will read it.

   6F. Review, school news site, due two days after opening night: Review the school play in 300 words or fewer for students deciding whether to buy a ticket.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: (1) Write the time budget you would use for a 30-minute in-class response, with minutes for each stage. (2) Name one piece of writing you have due in the next two weeks that needs an extended time frame, and write the date of your first research session for it.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which pair of assignments gives a student practice in both time frames that W.9-10.10 names?

   AA 30-minute in-class essay and a lab conclusion due the next day BA 20-minute quiz response and a research paper with a draft conference and a revision week CA reading-journal entry every day and a 15-minute exit ticket DTwo in-class essays on the same prompt, written a week apart so students can compare their progress

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Text 1, paragraph 2, how does Camila describe the board as an audience?

   AAs adults who want students to have more freedom at lunch BAs readers who already agree with her position and only need a reminder to vote CAs readers who need the lunch policy explained from the beginning DAs adults who worry about safety and about students getting back on time

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Camila divided her 40 minutes as reading 3, planning 7, drafting 25 and rereading 5. If a prompt allowed 60 minutes and she kept the same fractions of the time, how many minutes would she spend drafting?

   A25 minutes B45 minutes C37.5 minutes D15 minutes

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Owen's first paragraph (Text 3, paragraph 1) never does one thing that a reader on the board needs. What is it?

   AState his own position on the proposal BMention that the school board is about to vote CName places where students go to buy lunch DSay that the question has more than one side

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which passage from Camila's timed letter (Text 2) responds to a counterclaim?

   A"First, older students need practice managing their own time before they graduate." B"On most days last week I could barely find a seat, and the line took about fifteen minutes. If every student had to stay, many would not have time to eat." C"However, a permission form means parents agree to the risk, and the school could take the privilege away from any student who returns late twice." D"Please vote to keep lunch open for juniors and seniors."

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Camila's timed letter supports its second reason with "the line took about fifteen minutes" (Text 2). What does this show about writing in a single sitting?

   AA writer in one sitting usually relies on her own knowledge and experience, because there is no time to check facts. BA timed response does not need evidence at all. CA writer in one sitting should invent precise figures, since exact numbers sound more convincing. DEvidence from personal experience is never acceptable in an argument, so the sentence should have been left out.

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   According to Camila's reflection (Text 4), what went wrong with her biology lab conclusion in Week 1?

   AHer teacher moved the due date up by a day without warning, so she had no time to plan it. BShe misunderstood the purpose of a lab conclusion. CShe wrote it for the wrong audience. DShe started it too late at night and finished it in the fifteen minutes before class.

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why did Camila write nothing on the letter on Wednesday of Week 2 (Text 4)?

   AShe was still waiting for the attendance office to answer the email she had sent on Friday. BThe day away let her reread the letter on Thursday and see its problems clearly. CHer teacher did not allow work on the letter that day. DShe had already finished revising it on Tuesday.

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Camila's revised letter (Text 5), about what percentage of September's late returns came from ninth and tenth graders?

   AAbout 34% BAbout 60% CAbout 66% DAbout 97%

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which assignment on the writing menu (Text 6) uses an extended time frame?

    AA, the 25-minute response on the short story BB, the chemistry lab conclusion CD, the email to a business owner DC, the research essay on a trade route

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Task D on the writing menu (Text 6) is an email to a business owner who does not know the student. Which opening fits that audience best?

    A"Hey! I have a quick question about your business." B"Dear Ms. Alvarez, I am a tenth grader at Harrow Valley High School. Could I interview you for 15 minutes about how you started your bakery?" C"Dear Ms. Alvarez, For my Career Exploration class we have an assignment where each of us has to find a person to interview, and I thought of you." D"To whom it may concern: I demand an interview about your business for a school assignment due tomorrow."

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which two tasks on the writing menu (Text 6) are written in "a day or two"?

    AB and F BA and E CC and D DA and C

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Camila's history short response analyzed a primary source. Which sentence best fits the expectations of a history response?

    A"The letter's author, a mill worker writing in 1912, describes twelve-hour shifts, which suggests why workers supported the strike." B"This letter is super interesting and I really liked it." C"The letter makes me feel sad because life was so hard back then, and I am glad we do not live that way now." D"In conclusion, this was a letter about work written in 1912, and it shows that work back then was very different from the way people work today."

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which weekly routine best fits W.9-10.10?

    AWriting only on the night before each assignment is due, so that every piece gets the writer's full attention and the freshest memory of the class BSaving all writing for the weekend, when there are long, quiet blocks of time for every piece on the list CA few minutes of writing each school day, a set time for each short task, and research and revision on fixed dates for one long piece DWriting one long essay a month with research and revision, and nothing in between

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    A timed essay in your English class allows 45 minutes. Write a time budget with minutes for reading the prompt, planning, drafting and rereading, and explain in one sentence why you gave planning the time you did.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Rewrite the opening of Owen's letter (Text 3, paragraph 1) in two sentences that he could have written in the first four minutes of drafting. The opening should address the board and state a position.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Choose task C on the writing menu (Text 6). Write a three-week plan for it with at least one dated session each for research, reflection and revision, and say what you will do in each.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Compare how Camila's timed letter (Text 2, paragraph 5) and her revised letter (Text 5, paragraph 6) answer the worry about the Dunmore Road crossing. Name one change and say which part of the extended time frame made it possible.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    In one sitting of 10 minutes, write the first three sentences of task F on the writing menu (Text 6), the review of the school play, for students deciding whether to buy a ticket. You may invent the play and its details.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Using Camila's reflection (Text 4), explain two ways a planned routine helped her keep short and extended writing moving in the same week.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to W.9-10.10: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.