Mentor Text Writing Lesson Plan Assignment

PART ONE: THE LESSON

A. TITLE OF LESSON: Using Transition Words in Sentences

B. RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING

SOL 3.8 The student will write in a variety of forms to include narrative, descriptive, opinion,
and expository.
g.) Use transition words to vary sentence structure.

C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

UNDERSTAND - Students will understand that examples of strong writing have

sentences that start in different ways.

KNOW –
 Students will know different ways to start a sentence with transition words.
 Students will write sentences starting with different transitions.
 Students will know what makes writing weak- starting sentences all the same way
and not using a variety of transitions.

DO - Students will write a short narrative, on their favorite thing in the world, consisting
of at least 5 sentences and 3 transition words to vary their sentences.

D. ASSESSING LEARNING
I will assess student learning by collecting student-writing samples. Students will write a passage
on their favorite thing in the whole world using different transitions to start their sentences. If I
am able to see that students started each of their sentences differently and chose transitions
words off of the example list I provide, then they have understood the part of this lesson. I will
also ask why we should use transitions in our writing instead of starting our writing the same
way each time. I will collect their passages about their favorite thing and score it based on a
rubric for transition use. I will assess all of the students who participated in the lesson. Attached
is a rubric and observation form.

PART TWO: LESSON PLAN PROCEDURE

A. CONTEXT OF LESSON
I will be teaching students how to incorporate transitions into their sentences to make their
writing strong and interesting with the use of the mentor text Crenshaw. This lesson will be a
small group lesson during our reading and writing rotations. My CT has taught a lesson the week
before on using the transitions: first, second, then, and what words to use instead. She said some of
the words she gave them were initially and subsequently. The students have not looked at a mentor
text to reference how an effective writer uses transitions. The students have not had any explicit
instruction this year about starting their sentences differently. My CT wants me to go over not
starting sentences all the same way. This will be an introductory lesson on how to make our
writing stronger by varying how we start our sentences that we write, and why this makes our
writing strong.

I will read the section of Crenshaw to the students while they look on in pairs on their
own copy. The section focuses on the narrator telling the reader about why he likes facts.
I will allow students to think-pair-share what the noticed about how the author wrote this
passage. I will ask each pair what they noticed about how the author wrote the sentences
to explain why the narrator likes facts. I will also ask if the way the author wrote this
passage made listening to the story interesting or boring. I will show the students a
sample of writing without transitions and ask them which one is more interesting to read
and listen to. Then I will show my students a list of possible transition words to use in
their sentences and have them write about something they like and why using transitions
to make their writing interesting to read and listen to. If there is time I will let students
volunteer to share their writing with the group.

My CT gave this topic to me when I told he I had to do a writing mini lesson. She told me
she wanted me to work on students starting their sentences differently. She told me to use
a book of my choice. I chose to use a passage from Crenshaw because the students listen
to this book for read aloud. I found already made lists of transitions and chose the
transitions I thought would make the most sense to my third grade students.

http://education.yourdictionary.com/for-teachers/elementary-school-transition-words-and-
phrases.html

https://the-teacher-next-door.com/my-blog/writing/teaching-paragraph-writing-transitions

B. MATERIALS NEEDED
 Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate passage (provided by me)
 Transition word list (provided by me)
 Writing template (provided by me)
 Clipboards to write against (provided by CT)
 Pencil to write with (provided by students)
 Highlighter (provided by students)

C. PROCEDURE
Discuss how you will address the topics below. Provide specifics about what you plan to say,
questions you may ask, and strategies you will use to make the lesson a success.


CONNECT Call students back to the carpet. Show the book
Students learn why today’s Crenshaw. “Can someone share what the book is
Before instruction is important to about?” “What do you think this writer does
them as writers and how the well?” “Does anyone else like to share something
lesson relates to their prior they think the writer did well?” “Today are going
 work (if applicable). The to work on improving our writing.” We are going
teaching point is stated. to use Crenshaw as an example of how we can
improve our writing with transition words.

“Transition words are words that help make our

sentences flow together. When sentences flow
together they sound better when read. Transition
words also make our writing interesting and let us
start sentences in many different ways.”

“Do any of you remember what you learned with

Ms. Adams last week when you used words
besides first, second, and then? Can someone share
what you learned?” This way I can see what they
learned from my CT’s lesson.
TEACH I will read the passage from Crenshaw to the
The teacher shows the students, while they follow along with their own
students how writers copy. While I am reading I will ask students to
accomplish the teaching point think about examples from the author’s writing
in the mentor text that makes her a good writer. “Turn and talk to
your partner about what you thought the writer did
well.” “Would you say Katherine Applegate is a
good writer? Why or why not?” I will ask the pairs
what they talked about in pairs.

“Lets compare a passage I wrote that needs a lot of

improvement. I pretended to be Katherine
Applegate and wrote chapter 2 in my own words.
What could I do to make my writing better that
Katherine Applegate did in her writing?”
During
“Katherine Applegate used transition words to
make her sentences flow. Notice how all of her
sentence don’t start the same way. How do most of
my sentences start? I will read my paragraph out
loud. How does my paragraph sound when read
out loud vs. when Katherine Applegate’s is read
out loud? What paragraph would you rather listen
too and read? Why?”

“Now that we have seen my example that needs

improvement and have talked about ways to
improve my writing. You are all going to write a
paragraph of at least five sentences about
something you like. Like how chapter two is about
what the main character likes.” I will show the
 sheet of transition words. “Here are some
examples of transition words.” I will go over when
certain words can be used based on each heading.”
“Do you remember when we learned about cause
and effect? There are certain transition words that
can link cause and effect together. And example
would be, It was cold outside, so I had to wear a
jacket. Notice how the transition word so links my
cause and the effect together? Remember how we
can reverse the cause and effect? I can also say
that I had to wear a jacket because it was cold
outside. Notice how this time I used the transition
word because? Use at least three transition words
in your paragraph and underline them or highlight
them.”
ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT As students work on their writing, I will look
After we teach something, around and conference with them about what topic
students are given a chance to they chose to write about. I will give suggestions
practice what has just been to topics if children are struggling.
taught with new writing or
revising a prior piece. (May
assess during this time)

After LINK With five minutes left in the time block I will tell
The teacher reiterates what the students to turn to a partner and share how they
has just been taught and gives used transition words in their writing to vary their
students an opportunity to sentences. Students will talk with each other.
share (May assess during this “Would anyone like to read their paragraph to the
time) group?” Call on a few students to share. “Based on
what we talked about, can anyone tell me why
transition words can make our writing better? Yes,
transition words let our sentences and ideas flow
together. It makes it more interesting to read too
because the sentences don’t all start the same. In
your future writing I hope you use transition words
to help your writing flow and sound interesting to
readers.”

C. DIFFERENTIATION

Since I will be working will all the students at some point in this lesson I will need to
prepare differentiation for my struggling writers and my fast finishers. For my struggling
writers I will ask for their topic one-on-one and write it on the top of their page to
reference. If the student cannot pick a topic I will pick one for them. These students will
also get a special writing prompt with larger lines and will be given the option to write
three sentences with transition on their topic if they are struggling to write a paragraph. If
the student needs additional help I will have them dictate what they want written, and I
 will record their sentences for them. For my fast finishers I will let them free write on the
back of their paper using transition words in their writing.

D. WHAT COULD GO WRONG WITH THIS LESSON AND WHAT WILL YOU
DO ABOUT IT?
The students might spend too much time thinking about what to write and not actually
writing. If I see them struggling I will verbally prompt them why they chose their topic. I
will ask for reasons why that topic is a favorite of theirs and encourage them to write it
down.

PART THREE: REFLECTION

As soon as possible after teaching your lesson, think about the experience. Use the
questions/prompts below to guide the writing of your 6- paragraph reflection (1 paragraph for
each letter). Be thorough in your reflection and use specific examples to support your insights.

A. How did your actual teaching of the lesson differ from your plans? Describe the
changes and explain why you made them. 

a. I was originally supposed to teach the lesson to the whole class via small group
rotations. Because of this I had multiple different categories of transition words to
plan for multiple abilities. I ended up teaching the lesson to the two lowest
reading groups instead due to missing two days of immersion week due to the
snow. I had the two groups only use the transition words for giving examples.
This helped them focus on what examples they would give about their favorite
topic.
B. Describe at least one way you could incorporate developmentally appropriate practice
in a better or more thorough way if you were to teach this lesson again.
a. When I gave my lesson the students wanted to talk to me one on one about what
they were going to write. There was not enough time to listen to all of their ideas
and help them use transition words. If I were to teach this again I would have the
students turn and talk to their neighbor about what they plan to write about. This
would give the students a chance to think out loud with a buddy before they write.
It would serve as a way for them to brainstorm and organize their thoughts
without writing them down, since my students struggle with writing.
C. Based on the assessment you created, what can you conclude about your impact on
student learning? What did they learn? What evidence can you offer that your
conclusions are valid? Based on the assessment data you collected, what would you
do/teach next if you were the classroom teacher? 



a. Based on my assessment one student learned how to provide evidence with the
use of transitions to tell readers why he liked his topic. This student started his
sentence off with “Like” to compare Minecraft to another game and stated all the
 ways the two games were similar. The other students only wrote three sentences.
They did not use their transition words appropriately in the sentence to support
their evidence. One student wrote, “Because i lik them and in fact i would like to
bild tham.” This student used two transition words in one sentence. Although his
sentence could be structured better, he did get the point about trying to use
transitions in his writing. If I were their classroom teacher I would teach a lesson
on revision. These students have good ideas and can use transitions. They can
work on writing grammatically correct sentences that make sense. I think helping
them edit their writing will help them see how to make their writing improve.
D. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced
about children as learners? 

a. For this lesson I let the students pick something that was a favorite of theirs to
write about. The children easily came up with a topic such as tractors, diesel
engines, wrestling, mind craft, the color blue, and a stuffed giraffe. One boy loved
his topic so much that after the lesson he wanted to write more. He decided to
continue his writing during his second station instead of reading to self. This
reinforced what we learned in class that students like to write if they are invested
in the topic.
E. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced
about teaching? 

a. I learned that even teaching a lesson in a small group needs good classroom
management. Even though I only had five students at one time, I found it hard to
keep all of them on track. If I were answering one student’s question, two students
would be having a conversation not related to the writing assignment. As soon as
I addressed their talking, two other students would start a conversation. I think
because many of these students did not feel confident writing, they were trying to
do what they could to get out of my lesson.
F. As a result of planning and teaching this lesson, what have you learned or had reinforced
about yourself? 

a. I learned that I am still nervous when I give lessons, even when I am well
prepared with a detailed lesson plan. I found myself referring to my lesson plan to
confirm what I planned to say to my students. I enjoy getting to talk to my
students one-on-one and getting to know them better. Since I was able to give this
lesson small group, I was able to learn a little more about my students’ interests
based on what they chose to write about. I didn’t just get to learn about what they
liked, but also why they liked certain items.
 Transition Rubric
Total of 8 points 1 Area of 2 Developing 3 Meeting 4 exceeding
possible concern

Writing The writer’s The writer The write’s The writer’s

paragraph has paragraphs has paragraph has paragraph has
Begins each three sentences four sentences or five sentences. more than five
sentence with a or less. less. sentences with an
capital letter The writer appropriate topic
The writer does The writer capitalizes the sentence.
Number of not use inconsistently beginning of
sentences capitalization in uses each sentence in The writer
the writing. capitalization in the writing. capitalizes the
the writing. begging of each
sentence and all
proper nouns in
the writing.

Transitions The writer did The writer used The writer used The writer used
not use any two or less at least three more than three
Number of transition words transition words transition words transition words
transitions in the writing to in the writing to to vary the to vary the
vary the sentence vary the sentence sentence use. sentence use.
Correct use use. use.
Majority of the All of the
The transitions transitions were transitions were
were used used correctly in used correctly in
incorrectly in the the writer’s the writer’s
writer’s sentences. sentences.
sentences.
Handouts for the Lesson
 Crenshaw Chapter 2

Here’s the thing: I am not an imaginary friend kind of guy.

Seriously. This fall I go into fifth grade. At my age, it’s not good to have a
reputation for being crazy.
I like facts. Always have. True stuff. Two-plus-two-equals-four facts.
Brussels-sprouts-taste-like-dirty-gym-socks facts.
Okay, maybe that second one’s just an opinion. And anyway, I’ve never
eaten a dirty gym sock so I could be wrong.
Facts are important to scientists, which is what I want to be when I grow
up. Nature facts are my favorite kind. Especially the ones that make people say
No way.
Like the fact that a cheetah can run seventy miles per hour.
Or the fact that a headless cockroach can survive for more than two
weeks.
Or the fact that when a horned toad gets mad it shoots blood from its
eyes.
I want to be an animal scientist. I’m not sure what kind. Right now I really
like bats. I also like cheetahs and cats and dogs and snakes and rats and
manatees. So those are some options.
I like dinosaurs, too, except for them all being dead. For a while, my friend
Marisol and I both wanted to be paleontologists and search for dinosaur fossils.
She used to bury chicken bone leftovers in her sandbox for digging practice.
Marisol and I started a dog-walking service this summer. It’s called See
Spot Walk. Sometimes when we’re walking dogs, we’ll trade nature facts.
Yesterday she told me that a bat can eat 1,200 mosquitos in an hour.
Facts are so much better than stories. You can’t see a story. You can’t hold
it in your hand and measure it.
You can’t hold a manatee in your hand either. But still. Stories are lies,
when you get right down to it. And I don’t like being lied to.
 Name

My Favorite
 Example

I don’t have imaginary friends. I am in the fifth grade. I like facts. Facts are
important. I want to be a scientist. I like that scientists use facts. There are lots of
facts. I like many animals. My friend wants to be a scientist. We walk dogs
together. I like that we talk when we walk dogs.

Example

I don’t have imaginary friends. I am in the fifth grade. I like facts. Facts are
important. I want to be a scientist. I like that scientists use facts. There are lots of
facts. I like many animals. My friend wants to be a scientist. We walk dogs
together. I like that we talk when we walk dogs.

Example

I don’t have imaginary friends. I am in the fifth grade. I like facts. Facts are
important. I want to be a scientist. I like that scientists use facts. There are lots of
facts. I like many animals. My friend wants to be a scientist. We walk dogs
together. I like that we talk when we walk dogs.

Example

I don’t have imaginary friends. I am in the fifth grade. I like facts. Facts are
important. I want to be a scientist. I like that scientists use facts. There are lots of
facts. I like many animals. My friend wants to be a scientist. We walk dogs
together. I like that we talk when we walk dogs.
 Name
My Favorite_____________________________________________________-
Transition words to give a Transition words to tell when Transition words to tell how
specific example. something happened. things are alike and different.

 In fact  First, Initially  Also

 Specifically  Next, subsequently,  Similarly
 Such as later  In addition
 For example  Finally, last  Whereas
 In this case  Before  But
 In another case  After  Or
 After all  Yesterday, today,  Yet
 Too tomorrow  However
 Like  Soon, Immediately  Nevertheless
 Except for  Sometimes  Although
 Either  For a While  Meanwhile
 As soon as  Despite
 Right now, when  Regardless
suddenly  Even though

Transition words to tell Transition words to link

the location of objects. Transition words to use in a
cause and effect
conclusion sentence.
 Above  Since
 Lastly
 Across  So
 As mentioned earlier
 Below  If  As a result
 Nearby  Then  As I have said
 Next to  Because  As we have seen
 Under  Therefore  All in all
 Behind  As a result  In conclusion/summary
 Between  In other words
 In front/back of
 Closer/further to
 To the right/left