Learning Activity

Drafting: Utilizing Best Practices to Write Clear, Coherent Products

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

9, 10

Overview

After students have defined and identified responsible and ethical research practices as well as strategies for writing clear, coherent products suitable for audience and purpose, they will utilize these practices and strategies to write their own paragraphs. In this activity, students will complete the drafting steps in this process. Using a guide, they will write the first and second drafts of a paragraph, stopping between drafts to consider best research and writing practices.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 9

ELA21.9.R5

Utilize a writing process which includes planning, revising, editing/peer-editing, and rewriting to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing for a specific purpose and audience.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.9.R5

Vocabulary

  • Writing process
  • Plan
  • Revise
  • Edit
  • Peer-edit
  • Rewrite
  • Focused
  • Organized
  • Coherent
  • Purpose
  • Audience

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The writing process steps are to plan, revise, edit, and rewrite.
  • Editing can be completed by the writer or by a peer.
  • Peer-editing skills.
  • Completed writing projects should be focused, organized, and coherent, and written for a specific purpose and intended audience.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Plan, revise, edit, and rewrite to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing.
  • Compose a writing piece for a specific purpose and intended audience.
  • Engage in the peer-editing process.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Writing is a process that requires multiple drafts, edits, and versions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 9

ELA21.9.24

Utilize responsible and ethical research practices to write clear, coherent products with a command of language suitable for a particular target audience and purpose.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.9.24

Vocabulary

  • Responsible research practices
  • Ethical research practices
  • Command of language
  • Target audience
  • Purpose

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Responsible and ethical research practices.
  • Writing skills.
  • The conventions of standard, formal English.
  • Strategies to modify writing for a particular audience and purpose.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Write clear, coherent documents using responsible and ethical research practices.
  • Incorporate conventions of formal, standard English into clear, coherent writing products.
  • Modify writing to be suitable for a particular audience and purpose.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Ethical and responsible research practices are necessary when writing academic and workplace documents.
  • The conventions of standard, formal English are necessary for effective academic and workplace communication.
  • Written language should be adapted, depending on the audience and purpose.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 10

ELA21.10.R5

Utilize a writing process which includes planning, revising, editing/peer-editing, and rewriting to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing for a specific purpose and audience.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.10.R5

Vocabulary

  • Writing process
  • Plan
  • Revise
  • Edit
  • Peer-edit
  • Rewrite
  • Focused
  • Organized
  • Coherent
  • Purpose
  • Audience

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The writing process steps are to plan, revise, edit, and rewrite.
  • Editing can be completed by the writer or by a peer.
  • Peer-editing skills.
  • Completed writing projects should be focused, organized, and coherent, and written for a specific purpose and intended audience.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Plan, revise, edit, and rewrite to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing.
  • Compose a writing piece for a specific purpose and intended audience.
  • Engage in the peer-editing process.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Writing is a process that requires multiple drafts, edits, and versions.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 10

ELA21.10.24

Utilize responsible and ethical research practices to write clear, coherent products with a command of language suitable for a particular target audience and purpose.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.10.24

Vocabulary

  • Responsible research practices
  • Ethical research practices
  • Command of language
  • Target audience
  • Purpose

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Responsible and ethical research practices.
  • Writing skills.
  • The conventions of standard, formal English.
  • Strategies to modify writing for a particular audience and purpose.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Write clear, coherent documents using responsible and ethical research practices.
  • Incorporate conventions of formal, standard English into clear, coherent writing products.
  • Modify writing to be suitable for a particular audience and purpose.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Ethical and responsible research practices are necessary when writing academic and workplace documents.
  • The conventions of standard, formal English are necessary for effective academic and workplace communication.
  • Written language should be adapted, depending on the audience and purpose.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The student will utilize responsible and ethical research practices to write clear, coherent products with a command of language suitable for a particular target audience and purpose.
  • The student will utilize a writing process that includes planning, revising, editing/peer-editing, and rewriting to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing for a specific purpose and audience.

Activity Details

  1. The teacher will explain to the students that they will write a paragraph using the research source(s) they gathered and that they will apply the criteria for responsible and ethical research practices and clear, coherent writing for audience and purpose. 
  2. The teacher will display the prewriting questions on the document and ask students to review their responses to these prewriting questions from the associated before activity..
  3. The teacher will share the drafting portion of the document with students.
  4. The students will use the prompts to fill in the first column of the writing guide. 
  5. Next, the students will write a second draft of each sentence in the second column of the writing guide, considering the revision questions for each sentence as they write. The teacher may wish to share the checklist that the students created in previous activities. 
  6. Finally, the students will begin a document using word processing software and draft a paragraph using the revised sentences from the second column.
Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

The teacher should evaluate the students’ written responses to the drafting portion of the document. The teacher should ensure that each student has

  • utilized responsible and ethical research practices by including accurate citations.
  • included clear and coherent writing that demonstrates a command of language suitable for the intended audience and purpose.
  • completed the prewriting, drafting, and revising phases of the writing cycle. 

Acceleration

Students may deviate from the form and use a drafting template of their choice.

Intervention

  • Students may dictate their sentences to a partner or a teacher. 
  • Students may work in pairs to revise the sentences before they write them in the second column of the document.

 

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

31 to 45 Minutes

Related Learning Activities

Learning Activity (Before)

Prewriting: Utilizing Best Practices to Write Clear, Coherent Products

Learning Activity (During)

Drafting: Utilizing Best Practices to Write Clear, Coherent Products

Learning Activity (After)

Evaluating: Utilizing Best Practices to Write Clear, Coherent Products

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

The teacher should have taught the associated activities on responsible and ethical research practices; clear, coherent writing for audience and purpose; and the prewriting activity related to this learning activity. The teacher will make the Prewriting and Drafting Exercises document accessible to students through their learning management system. If the class constructed the checklist for responsible, ethical practices and clear, coherent writing for audience and purpose, the teacher may wish to remind the students of the criteria.  The teacher should also decide which word processing document students will use to draft their paragraphs. 

Students should have participated in the associated activities on responsible and ethical research practices; clear, coherent writing for audience and purpose; and the prewriting activity related to this learning activity.  They should have access to their completed prewriting document and the research article used in the prior activity.

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

Teacher Materials:

Student Materials: 

Digital Tools / Resources

Prewriting and Drafting Exercises
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K6FSCJMPsFKGQ_pGmd4eu1B00wSCkg72y5PsJVOJ9Ho…
Checklist: Responsible and Ethical Research Practices; Clear, Coherent Languag…
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p2ZfQIHflStPSP222PCmWTJlvEvKhcZxa92MQTcPmxo…

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

szana
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