MINI LESSON: #WhyIWrite

Overview: Students will participate in the National Day on Writing by learning what motivates others to write, and reflecting on and sharing why they write.

Objectives:

• I can participate in the National Day on Writing by sharing my reasons for writing with others.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.4  

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.4  

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4          

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.4 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.4 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.4

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.4  

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.4

Materials:

• One to one devices
• #WhyIWrite Examples

Lesson Outline:

• Part One: Explain the Activity, Brainstorm, and Give Examples
  
  • Let students know that October 20 is the National Day on Writing, which is meant as a day to celebrate all of the diverse reasons we write; to remember that writing gives voice to who you are and enables you to give voice to the things that matter to you.
  • Have students take a few minutes to think and share about the types of writing they have done over the last few days (or weeks, or months). Do they keep a blog? Have they written a letter? Have they been posting on social media? Do they write creative stories or poems? Song lyrics and raps? Recipes?
  • Once students have come up with a few things they write regularly, ask about the purpose. Why do they write those things? To educate or inform? To communicate (literally or creatively)? As a social justice tool? As a way to share interests with others?
  • At this point, you may wish to share examples from others. Here is a 3 minute video with various reasons why people write. Half way down this page is a tweet from a famous athlete, and on this page you can find twitter feeds tracking the #WhyIWrite hashtag.

• Part Two: Write!
  
  • Have students share why they write by creating a Post from scratch or having them respond to this #WhyIWrite Idea which includes examples in the description area.
    
    
• Part Three: Share and Respond
  
  • When students are done writing (or the allotted writing time is up) have them share their writing and take the time to read what their classmates wrote. Students can leave comments and feedback on the Posts of their peers.

Enrichment/Extensions:

• Prior to the activity, students can keep a list for 24 hours of all the times and ways they write which they can then share with the class in Part One of the mini-lesson.
• Students can use the audio feature to record their dialogue.
• Students can work together to make a video with screenshots of the reasons why they and their classmates write.

Accommodations:

• Create and maintain a class chart that documents all the way students write. Allow students to offer suggestions or add different types of writing to the chart as necessary.
• Create a custom Idea which uses the Description area to provide step-by-step instructions or links to instructional references (ie skill videos, visual aids, etc) specific to your class needs.
• Use the audio tool to record instructions when creating the Idea. You can read the Idea and Idea Description text out loud so students can listen and replay them as needed.
• Modify the lesson to include small groups and be sure to follow provided personalized accommodations based upon any student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).