Overview

Lesson Procedure

65-65 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

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

1. Warm-Up10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Think of the last time you looked something up on a phone, such as store hours, a bus time or a game schedule. What did the page do that a printed sheet could not do? What made it easy or hard to use?"

   Collect answers on the board in two columns: "Only online" (links, maps you can zoom, information that updates, sections you can open) and "Could be print" (headings, short sentences). Explain that W.9-10.6 is about the first column: writers use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish and update writing, and they take advantage of what digital writing can do, such as linking and displaying information flexibly and dynamically.

   Introduce the situation the lesson follows. Four tenth graders, Maya, Omar, Lucía and Sam, are writing a web guide for first-time volunteers at the Northgate Community Pantry, as a shared project for their English class with Ms. Kaplan. The pantry coordinator, Mr. Brooks, gave them the printed sheet below. The students, their teacher, the pantry and Mr. Brooks are invented for this lesson. Read Text 1 aloud. Students write one sentence: if you were on the bus to your first shift, what would you need to find in the first ten seconds?

   1Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the Northgate Community Pantry. Volunteer shifts are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday is our busiest day. We serve about 180 households on a Saturday morning, so we need 14 volunteers then, and 8 on weekday shifts.

   2Volunteers must be at least 14 years old. Volunteers who are 14 or 15 must come with a parent or guardian. Volunteers who are 16 or 17 need a permission form signed by a parent or guardian, which you can pick up at the front desk. Please wear closed-toe shoes and bring a water bottle. Do not wear loose jewelry in the sorting room, and tie back long hair. Everyone who handles food must wash their hands at the sink by the loading door before starting and after every break.

   3The pantry is at 410 Alder Street, behind the post office. The six spaces in the back lot are for pantry clients, so please park on the street or take the Number 12 bus, which stops at Alder and Fifth. See the city bus schedule for times. To sign up for a shift, call the front desk during open hours or ask at the desk the next time you visit.

   4New volunteers spend their first shift with a shift lead, who will show you the sorting room, the shelves and the checkout table. If you would like to know where our food comes from, our annual report lists our partner farms and grocery stores. Copies are available at the front desk.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Break the standard into its parts. Students produce writing with technology (here, four writers in one shared document with comments), publish it (on the pantry's website, on the Internet) and update it (in named versions). While they do, they take advantage of two things digital writing can do: link to other information (a hyperlink opens another page, which may be kept up to date by someone else) and display information flexibly and dynamically (tables, sections a reader opens only if needed, maps, images, and numbers that change by themselves). The standard covers individual and shared products; this lesson follows a shared one, and the homework is individual.

   Read Text 2, the comment thread the team wrote in their shared document while planning. Then read Text 3, a block-by-block description of the guide as they published it. In Text 3, words in square brackets describe what the reader sees on the screen; "[link: ...]" shows the words of a link. Use Diagram 1 to compare the two layouts, then work through the examples.

   1Maya: I pasted the pantry's sheet into our shared document. Before we change anything, who is our reader? I think it's someone about to volunteer for the first time, reading on a phone, maybe on the bus on the way there.

   2Omar: Then the first screen has to answer three questions: when, where and how to sign up. Right now sign-up is at the end of paragraph 3, and it says to call the desk. The pantry has an online sign-up form now, so we can link to it from the very top.

   3Omar: Same with the bus. The sheet says "See the city bus schedule." The city changes that schedule every few months. If we copy the times onto our page, the page will be wrong the day they change. A link always opens the city's current version.

   4Lucía: Agreed, but let's not write "click here" for any link. People who use screen readers can jump from link to link, and "click here" tells them nothing. The words of the link should say where it goes, like "Route 12 bus schedule."

   5Sam: What about the annual report and the partner farms? It's interesting, but nobody needs it for a first shift.

   6Maya: We can keep it and still get it out of the way. One link at the bottom, under "Learn more." A reader who's curious can follow it, and everybody else never has to scroll past it.

   7Omar: The shift times are hard to compare in a paragraph. A small table would work better: day, hours, volunteers needed.

   8Maya: Mr. Brooks says the sign-up form counts how many people have signed up for each shift. If we connect the table to the form, it can show open spots and change by itself whenever someone signs up. Then a reader can see which shift needs help.

   9Lucía: The age rules take up half of paragraph 2, and adults don't need them. What if we put them in a section that stays closed until you tap it, called "Under 18? Read this first"? The permission form could be a link too, so people can print it at home instead of picking it up.

   10Sam: Should the food safety rules be closed up like that too?

   11Lucía: No. Those are for everybody, and Mr. Brooks told us handwashing is the one rule nobody gets to skip. It stays open.

   12Ms. Kaplan: Good planning. Two things before you publish. Open every link and make sure it goes to the right page, and read the whole guide on a phone, not only on a laptop. After it's live, name each version in the version history and write one line saying what changed and why.

   1[Page title] Your First Shift at Northgate Community Pantry

   2[Summary box] When: Tuesday and Thursday, 4:00-7:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Where: 410 Alder Street, behind the post office. Sign up: [link: Volunteer shift sign-up form]

   3[Table: Shifts this week. The last column updates by itself from the sign-up form; shown as of Monday morning.]
   Day | Hours | Volunteers needed | Open spots
   Tuesday | 4:00-7:00 p.m. | 8 | 3
   Thursday | 4:00-7:00 p.m. | 8 | 5
   Saturday | 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | 14 | 2

   4[Heading] What to wear and bring
   Closed-toe shoes and a water bottle. Tie back long hair, and leave loose jewelry at home or in your bag.

   5[Heading] Food safety: for everyone
   Wash your hands at the sink by the loading door before you start and after every break.

   6[Section, closed until tapped] Under 18? Read this first.
   If you are 14 or 15, come with a parent or guardian. If you are 16 or 17, bring a permission form signed by a parent or guardian: [link: Permission form for volunteers aged 16-17 (printable)]

   7[Heading] Getting here
   The back lot is for pantry clients, so please park on the street or take the Number 12 bus to Alder and Fifth. [link: Route 12 bus schedule] [Map: the pantry and the bus stop are marked; tap to zoom]

   8[Heading] Your first shift
   A shift lead will show you the sorting room, the shelves and the checkout table.

   9[Heading] Learn more
   [link: Where our food comes from: partner farms and stores, from the pantry's annual report]

   • Producing: naming the reader in the shared document

     Maya opens the thread with a question, not an edit: "who is our reader?" She answers it herself: "someone about to volunteer for the first time, reading on a phone, maybe on the bus on the way there" (Text 2, paragraph 1).

     Result: Every later choice in the thread tests itself against that reader. Producing writing with technology still starts with purpose and audience; the comment thread lets four writers agree on them before anyone changes the text.

   • Linking: putting the action where the reader starts

     Text 1 ends paragraph 3 with "call the front desk during open hours." Omar notes that the pantry now has an online sign-up form and says "we can link to it from the very top" (Text 2, paragraph 2).

     Result: Text 3 puts "[link: Volunteer shift sign-up form]" in the summary box, the first block under the title. A reader can act at the moment of reading, on the Internet, instead of waiting for open hours.

   • Linking: words that say where the link goes

     Lucía asks the team not to write "click here," because "People who use screen readers can jump from link to link, and 'click here' tells them nothing" (Text 2, paragraph 4).

     Result: Every link in Text 3 names its destination, for example "[link: Route 12 bus schedule]." A reader who scans only the links, with eyes or with a screen reader, still knows where each one leads.

   • Displaying flexibly: a table instead of a sentence

     Text 1 gives the shifts in two sentences, and the number of volunteers needed in two more. Omar: "The shift times are hard to compare in a paragraph" (Text 2, paragraph 7).

     Result: Text 3 shows one row per day with columns for hours and volunteers needed. The same facts, laid out in rows and columns, can be compared at a glance, which suits a reader checking a phone.

   • Linking: a form the reader can print at home

     Text 1 says the permission form for volunteers aged 16 or 17 is something "you can pick up at the front desk." Lucía suggests "The permission form could be a link too" (Text 2, paragraph 9).

     Result: Text 3 links "[link: Permission form for volunteers aged 16-17 (printable)]" inside the under-18 section. A student can print it, get it signed and bring it to the first shift, which saves a trip.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Publishing is not the end of the work. Pairs read Text 4: three messages that arrived after the guide went live, and the version history the team kept, as Ms. Kaplan asked. Diagram 2 places each message and each version on a timeline. Pairs then fill in the update tracker below, one row per version after Version 1.

   1Reader message, October 14: I'm 17 and I tapped the permission form link. It opened last year's form, which still has the pantry's old address on it.

   2Mr. Brooks, October 16: Starting November 7, Saturday shifts will run from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., because the farm truck will arrive earlier. Please change the guide before then.

   3Reader message, October 20: I read the whole guide and still didn't know which door to use. I walked around the building twice.

   4Version history, with the team's notes:
   Version 1, October 10: Published on the pantry's website. (Whole team)
   Version 2, October 15: Replaced the permission form link with this year's form. Opened it on two phones to test it. (Omar)
   Version 3, October 17: Changed the Saturday hours in the summary box and in the table, with the note "New Saturday hours from November 7." (Maya)
   Version 4, October 21: Added a photo of the volunteer entrance with the caption "Use the green door on the left side of the building," and marked the door on the map. (Lucía and Sam)

   Update tracker (pairs fill in the blank cells)

   Version	What prompted it	What changed on the page	How the team could test it
   Version 2
   Version 3
   Version 4

   Discuss as a class: which of these updates could a printed sheet have made just as easily, and which depended on the guide being online? Then ask: what would have happened if the team had changed the hours in only one place on the page?

4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students choose a short printed text they know, such as a club flyer, a sports schedule, a permission slip or a page of class rules, and plan a web version for a named reader on a phone. (1) Write one line naming the reader and what they need first. (2) List two links with link text that says where each one goes, and what page each opens. (3) Choose one piece of information to display in another way (a table, a section that opens when tapped, a map or image, or a number that updates) and explain in one sentence why. (4) Write the first two version history lines you would expect after publishing: what might change, and why.

   Students with a device and a shared document start producing the page itself and invite a partner to comment. The quiz uses Texts 1-4 (Warm-Up, Direct Instruction and Guided Practice); point students back to those phases when they take it.

5. Closure5 minutes

   Exit ticket: (1) Name one choice in Text 3 that depends on the Internet and one that would also work in print. (2) Write one version history line for a change you would make to the guide now. Then hand out the homework texts below: the printed flyer for Fix-It Night, a monthly free repair evening at a community center (Text 5), and the messages its organizers received after a web page for it went live (Text 6). The event, the center and its organizers are invented for this lesson.

   1Fix-It Night: Bring It, Don't Toss It

   2Fix-It Night happens on the first Thursday of every month from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room of the Maple Street Community Center, 22 Maple Street. Volunteer fixers repair small household items for free while you watch and learn. There are four repair tables: small electrical items such as lamps and toasters, clothing and fabric, bicycles, and jewelry. Each table can take about 10 items a night, so please arrive early. You may bring one item per person. We do not repair microwaves, because they can hold a dangerous electrical charge even when unplugged, or anything connected to a gas line.

   3If you would like to become a volunteer fixer, fill out the volunteer form at the front desk of the community center. Fixers under 18 work alongside an adult fixer. Parking is free in the center's lot after 5:00 p.m. The Number 4 bus stops across the street; see the bus schedule for times. Fix-It Night is paid for by a grant from the city's waste reduction office, whose website has tips on recycling items that cannot be repaired.

   1Organizers, November 20: The multipurpose room is being repainted in December, so the December Fix-It Night will be in Room 104, down the hall. The bicycle table is taking December off. It will be back in January.

   2Reader message, November 22: Can I bring my laptop? The flyer doesn't say.

   3Organizers, November 23: Please answer that one on the page. We don't repair laptops or phones, because our fixers can't open them safely or get the parts. The city's waste reduction office has a list of places that recycle electronics.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Text 2, paragraph 3, why does Omar want to link to the city's bus schedule instead of copying the times onto the guide?

   ACopied times would make the guide too long to read comfortably on a small phone screen. BThe bus times belong to the city, so the team is not allowed to print them anywhere. CThe city changes the schedule, and a link always opens the city's current version. DReaders on phones cannot open a table, so the times would not display on the page.

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Text 2, paragraph 6, how does Maya propose to handle the annual report that Sam calls unnecessary for a first shift?

   AKeep one link at the bottom, so curious readers can follow it and others never scroll past it. BCopy the list of partner farms into the summary box, so every reader sees where food comes from. CLeave it out of the guide completely, because nothing on a volunteer page should be optional. DPut it in a section that opens when tapped, next to the rules for volunteers under 18.

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Text 3, which part of the guide could show a reader different information on Tuesday afternoon than it showed on Monday morning, even if no one on the team edits the page?

   AThe summary box at the top, which lists the hours of all three shifts BThe "Open spots" column of the shifts table CThe "Under 18? Read this first" section, which opens when tapped DThe map under "Getting here," which the reader can tap to zoom

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Why does the team put the age rules in a section that stays closed until the reader taps it?

   AThe pantry has stopped enforcing the age rules, so the team wanted them to be hard to find. BA closed section makes the page load faster on phones, which Ms. Kaplan asked the team to check. CMr. Brooks asked the team to shorten the guide, and hiding the rules was the only way to do it. DOnly readers under 18 need them, so adults can skip them while the rules stay on the page.

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Sam asks whether the food safety rules should also be closed up (Text 2, paragraph 10). Why does Lucía say no?

   AThe rules apply to every volunteer, and handwashing is a rule nobody gets to skip. BThe rules are only one sentence long, and a closed section must hold several paragraphs. CThe rules are already on the pantry's website, so the guide links to them instead. DSam wanted to remove the rules, and Lucía thinks they should be closed up instead of removed.

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   A school web page ends with this sentence: "The library is open late during winter break. For the times, ___." Which link text is the most useful?

   A[link: click here] B[link: this page] C[link: Library hours for winter break] D[link: more information]

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Text 4, what prompted Version 2 of the guide?

   AMr. Brooks's message that the Saturday hours will change in November BA reader's message that the permission form link opened last year's form CA reader who walked around the building twice looking for the right door DMs. Kaplan's reminder to read the whole guide on a phone before publishing

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Version 3 changes the Saturday hours "in the summary box and in the table." Why does the team change both places?

   AThe version history requires every update to touch at least two parts of the page. BThe table updates itself from the sign-up form, so the summary box had to be changed by hand. CMr. Brooks asked for the hours to appear twice so that no volunteer could miss them. DBoth places show the hours, and changing only one would make the page contradict itself.

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which update responds to the October 20 reader, and which capacity of digital writing does it use?

   AVersion 4: a photo of the entrance and a marked map show the door, not just describe it. BVersion 3: the new hours in the summary box tell the reader when the door will be open. CVersion 2: a new link opens a form with the pantry's correct address on it for the reader. DVersion 1: the "Getting here" heading already tells the reader which bus stop to use.

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Before publishing, Ms. Kaplan tells the team to "read the whole guide on a phone, not only on a laptop" (Text 2, paragraph 12). What is the best reason for this step?

    APages published on the Internet can be read only on phones, so a laptop view will not show them. BThe version history records only changes that were made on a phone, not on a laptop. CThe team's reader is on a phone, and a layout that works on a laptop may not work there. DPhones check the links automatically, so the team will not need to open each link.

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Which statement about the guide's version history (Text 4, paragraph 4) is accurate?

    AIt keeps only the first and the latest versions, so earlier changes cannot be traced. BEach line gives a date, what changed and who changed it, so the team can trace the guide. CIt was written by the readers who sent messages, to show the team what to change next. DIt replaces the need to test links, because every version is checked automatically.

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Text 3 opens with a summary box (paragraph 2), and its hours are repeated in the table just below it. Why is a summary box at the top useful for the team's reader?

    ASearch engines rank a page higher when its key facts appear twice, so the team repeated them. BMr. Brooks asked for the hours to appear twice, so that volunteers could not miss a change. CThe summary box holds the rules for volunteers under 18, which adult readers can skip. DA reader on a phone gets the key facts on the first screen; the sections below add detail.

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Mr. Brooks offers the team the pantry's full food safety manual, which runs 20 pages and is written for shift leads. How should the guide handle it?

    APaste the manual into the guide below the food safety heading, so every rule is on the page. BLink to it with link text that names it, so readers who want it can open it. CReplace the one-sentence handwashing rule with a link to the manual. DLeave the manual out, because a guide should never mention other documents.

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In Text 3, the table shows 14 volunteers needed and 2 open spots for Saturday, 8 and 5 for Thursday, and 8 and 3 for Tuesday. What can a reader conclude?

    ATwo people have signed up for Saturday so far, so it needs the most help this week. BSixteen volunteers will work on Saturday, so it is already more than full this week. CTwelve people have signed up for Saturday, and Thursday has the most open spots. DTuesday has the most open spots, because it has the fewest volunteers needed.

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Rewrite the three links in this practice paragraph so that each link text says where it goes, then explain the rule in one sentence: "Want to help? [link: Click here] to sign up. Bus times are [link: here]. You can read about our partner farms at [link: this link]."

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Compare how a first-time volunteer finds out what to wear in Text 1 and in Text 3. Quote both, and explain which works better for a reader on a phone.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    On November 2, Mr. Brooks writes: "Students can now earn school service hours. The shift lead will sign the school's service-hours form at the end of the shift." Plan the update: where on the guide the new information goes, how it is displayed, and the version history line.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Name two choices in Text 3 that depend on the guide being on the Internet and one that would work just as well on paper. Quote Text 3 for each.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Before publishing, Ms. Kaplan told the team to "Open every link and make sure it goes to the right page." Version 2 was still needed. Explain what that test could miss, and write one better step for a publishing checklist.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Sam suggests adding a link to every place and object the guide names: "sorting room," "shelves," "checkout table," "post office" and "Alder Street." Should the team do it? Answer in 3-4 sentences that name the reader.

    Show model answer

These standards connect to W.9-10.6: 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.