Instructional Design

Title of
Unit
Writing for a Purpose Grade
Level
MID Self-contained
9
th
– 11
th
grade
Curriculum
Area
Language Arts
Time
Frame
3 weeks
Stage 1 – Identify Desired Results
Content Standards:
ELACC11-12W4:
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
ELACC11-12W5:
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or
trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific
purpose and audience.
ELACC11-12W6:
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or
shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or
information.
Understandings
Students will understand that:
 Writing is an important communication tool and explain why it is so important
for their future
 Their interpretation of a topic is what makes writing meaningful
 Applying writing organizational strategies will develop effective writing in real
life situations
 Individuals express perspective or points of view through writing and there can
be several different points of view about one topic
 Writing often provides others with insight into your experiences and reading
written text gives you insight into others experiences (empathy)
 Writing skills are vital for effective communication in the work setting and a lack
of writing skills can affect job performance (self-knowledge)

Related Misconceptions:
 Writing is something that my teacher makes me do without a purpose
 I need my teacher to interpret the topic and tell me what I should write
about
 I will not use writing in the real world, but only at school
 There is only one point of view, and that is my own
 My writing and others is irrelevant
 My lack of skill will not affect my future
Essential Questions

Overarching Questions:

 What makes writing engaging?
 In what different ways do we use
writing as a communication tool?
 How can I communicate effectively
with writing?
 How can I use technology to
communicate effectively
 How can I know my writing is
coherent?
 How important is it for writing to be
organized?




Topical Questions:

 Why are audience and purpose
important?
 How does a graphic organizer help
me write a coherent paragraph and
essay?
 Why does a paragraph need a topic
sentence and a concluding sentence?
 What are some different types of
paragraphs?
 How does a rubric help to self-
assess?
 When reading my paragraph does it
make sense to me and does it make
sense to others?
 How does technology help to create
presentations?
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge
Students will know:

 How to communicate effectively
through writing
 How to communicate effectively
through writing using technology







Skills
Students will be able to:
 Pre-write-Use a graphic organizer
to develop thoughts around a topic
 Write- Given a topic, write a
paragraph using a topic sentence,
details, and a conclusion
 Edit-Use a rubric to self-assess their
writing
 Publish-write a coherent paragraph
about a topic
 Publish-write a coherent essay
 Use technology to produce, publish,
and revise writing products in
response to feedback




Stage 2 - Evidence
Performance Task(s)
Be sure to indicate:

Goal: The goal is to introduce your self through using effective writing skills and
technology.

Role: You are an unemployed person who is searching for a job.

Audience: The target audience is a place of business.

Situation: You need to convince the employer that you would be a good candidate
for a job opening through a digital presentation.

Product Performance and Purpose: You need to develop a digital presentation
that includes paragraphs from previous writing activities. The audience is a
future employer and the purpose is to introduce you to the employer.

Standards and Criteria for Success: Your presentation needs to include:
 Introduction
 Essay Paragraphs
 Graphics


Explain: You will write an Expository paragraph. The purpose is to explain a specific
job task that you have mastered from your previous job or job training. Your audience is
a future employer. Remember to provide detailed information. You need to write your
paragraph in a logical sequence so your reader can follow the ideas.

Interpret: You will write a Descriptive paragraph. Your purpose is to describe you and
the job skills that you have obtained. Your audience is a future employer. Remember
you are trying to sell yourself to the employer and you want the employer to "see" what
a great person and worker you are.

Apply by: You will write a Narrative paragraph. Your purpose is to tell of a past job or
job training experience. Your audience is a future employer. Be sure to include the
details of the location, type of job, and type of training you received.

See from the Points of view of: Identify what is most significant for a specific purpose
and audience assessed by quiz.

Empathize with: The students will use all the information from current lessons to
create a Prezi or Emaze to introduce them. This gives the students a chance to be
creative and have some fun!

Reflect on: Use the Effective Writers Checklist to Peer Review one teammates
paragraph and have one teammate use the checklist to review your paragraph. The
paragraph will be assessed using The Writing Rubric. Feedback will provide areas of
strengths and areas in need of improvement. Edit writing in response to feedback from
self-assessment, peer feedback, and teacher feedback.

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences
Week 1

 Begin with the question (In what different ways do we use writing as a
communication tool?) Make a word cloud using wordle. WHERETO- Hook / Rubric
#1 and #2

 Introduce the Essential Questions and discuss the unit performance tasks (Product
Performance and Purpose: You need to develop a digital presentation that includes
paragraphs from previous writing activities. The audience is a future employer and
the purpose is to introduce you to the employer.
WHERETO- Where and What / Rubric #1 and #2

 Essential Question (How does a graphic organizer help me write a coherent
paragraph?) Pre-test- Students take a writing test. The test gives them several
topics to choose from and provides a graphic organizer if needed. WHERETO-
Evaluate / Rubric #1, #2, and #3

 Discuss the Essential Question (How does a graphic organizer help me write a
coherent paragraph?) The students will use a digital tool to begin writing an
introduction about them. The audience will be their peers and the purpose will be to
describe. The students will complete a word map to organize their thoughts.
WHERETO- Organized / Rubric #1 and #2

 To understand that writing often provides others with insight into your experiences
and reading written text gives you insight into others experiences. Write three types
of paragraphs Narrative, Descriptive, and Expository. WHERETO- Tailored /
Rubric #1, #2, #3

 Essential Questions (How does a rubric help to self-assess? Why does a paragraph
need a topic sentence and a concluding sentence? How important is it for writing to
be organized?) The paragraph will be assessed using The Writing Rubric. Feedback
will provide areas of strengths and areas in need of improvement. Edit writing in
response to feedback from self-assessment, peer feedback, and teacher feedback.
WHERETO- Rethink and Revise / Rubric #1, #2, and #4

 Essential Question (How does a rubric help to self-assess?) The teacher uses the
organizational rubric to assess paragraphs and the student revises paragraphs based
on teacher and student assessments. Teacher uses extra prompts for students who
need more one on one instruction. WHERETO- Rethink and Revise / Rubric #1,
#2, #3, and #4
Week 2

 To introduce the Understanding (Applying writing organizational strategies will
develop effective writing in real life situations) and the Essential Question (When
reading my paragraph does it make sense to me and does it make sense to others?)
You will write a Five Paragraph Essay that will include an introduction paragraph,
three supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. The three supporting
paragraphs will be your Narrative, Descriptive, and Expository paragraphs that you
completed in previous lessons. . WHERETO- Hook / Rubric #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5

 Essential Question (How does a rubric help to self-assess?) The student will edit
Essay using Use the Effective Writers Checklist to Peer Review one teammates essay
and have one teammate use the checklist to review your essay.. WHERETO-
Evaluate / Rubric #1, #2, and #3

 To understand that their interpretation of a topic is what makes writing meaningful
the students will use The Essay Rubric. Feedback will provide areas of strengths and
areas in need of improvement. Edit writing in response to feedback from self-
assessment, peer feedback, and teacher feedback.. WHERETO- Tailored / Rubric #1
and #2






Week 3


 To introduce the Essential Questions (How can I communicate effectively with
writing? How can I know my writing is coherent? How important is it for writing to
be organized?), the students will use all the information from current lessons to
create a Prezi/ Emaze to introduce themselves. WHERETO- Tailored / Rubric #1,
#2, and #3

 Essential Question (How does a rubric help to self-assess?) The student will use The
Presentation Rubric. Feedback will provide areas of strengths and areas in need of
improvement. Edit presentation in response to feedback from self-assessment, peer
feedback, and teacher feedback using the rubric. WHERETO- Rethink and Revise /
Rubric #1, #2, #3, and #4

 Essential Question (When reading my paragraph does it make sense to me and does
it make sense to others?) Each student will share their presentation with a
teammate through adding them to the presentation tool. Collaborate with your
teammate on your presentation site to edit presentations that you and your
teammate created.. WHERETO- Evaluate / Rubric #1, #2, and #5

 Essential Question (How does a graphic organizer help me write a coherent
paragraph?) Post test- Students take a writing test. The test gives them several
topics to choose from and provides a graphic organizer if needed. WHERETO-
Evaluate / Rubric #1, #2, and #3
Notes to the Instructor

The Essential Questions and Understandings are listed with the learning experiences.
The WHERETO is listed as well with the specific letter highlighted in red. The
activities that show differentiation are highlighted in yellow. To show how each
activity fits into the scoring rubric I listed the number that it corresponds with on the
rubric. 1-Label Whereto, 2-Match with E.Q and Understandings, 3-Differntiation, 4-
Rethink, Reflect, Revise, and 5- Technology. Hope this helps. Thanks!