Lesson 6: Hey, Little Ant – Modelled Writing

 Lesson Plan

Tuning In

• Remind the class about the Hey, Little Ant story read earlier in the unit. Ask the students to recall whether the class was for or against the ant being squished. Explain that, in this lesson, the class is going to write a persuasive text to convince the boy to agree with their opinion, based on reasons gathered from the story.

Teacher Instruction

• Rewatch the Hey, Little Ant video on YouTube. If necessary, for the first viewing, allow the students to simply watch the video in order to refresh their memories about the story.
• Watch the video a second time. In their workbooks, allow the students to record any reasons that they hear in the story that support the class’s opinion. If necessary, pause the video at pertinent points to assist the students with this process.
• After watching, encourage the students to share their list of reasons with the class and record these on the board. As a class, decide which are the three strongest reasons and identify these accordingly e.g. circle the chosen arguments, number them, mark them with an asterisk.

Guided/Independent Learning

• Attach a copy of the OREO Persuasive Writing Poster on the board. Remind the students that they need to introduce their opinion at the beginning of the text, present three strong reasons to support their opinion in the middle of the text and then restate their opinion at the end of the text.
• Project a copy of the Simple Persuasive Texts – Writing Scaffold on the board. Using the three reasons chosen by the class, jointly construct a simple persuasive text with the students. Model how to write an appropriate title (either The Boy Should Squish the Ant or The Boy Should Not Squish the Ant), a statement of opinion, three reasons (with supporting explanation) and a concluding statement. Encourage the students to suggest strong words that could be used throughout the text. Remind them to include the language of opinion, the language of sequence and the language of cause and effect.

Wrapping Up

• Ask a confident reader to read the completed text to the class. Ask the students:
  • Do you think we have successfully persuaded the boy to agree with our opinion?
  • Could we make any further improvements to our text?
  • Do you think you would feel confident writing a persuasive text of your own?

 Differentiation

Extending Students

• Encourage more confident students to actively contribute to the joint construction process.

Supporting Students

• Allow less confident students to participate in the joint construction at a level at which they feel comfortable.

 Assessment Strategies

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• used strategic whole class or individual questioning
• observed student participation during learning activities
• recorded student progress on a checklist
• annotated student work samples
• collected and reviewed student work samples
• facilitated whole class or peer feedback sessions
• encouraged student self-reflection
• administered formal assessment tasks.

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