The document outlines an 18-day unit plan for teaching students to write informational texts. Each day focuses on a different skill: collecting topics of expertise, choosing topics and proving expertise, learning chapter structures, drafting chapters, crafting introductions and conclusions, and creating tables of contents. The lessons incorporate modeling, close reading mentor texts, drafting practice, and providing feedback to help students learn to write effective informational chapters on a self-selected topic.

1. Working Draft of Informational Writing Unit
Day Big Picture Goal Lesson Steps Materials
1 Collecting functional
topics of expertise
-Teacher introduces collecting strategy: “What do you
do all the time?”
-Teacher models with think-aloud, listing on board
-Students list for 3-5 minutes
-Students choose one topic from list and write about it
in a teaching voice, fast and furiously
2 Collecting functional
topics of expertise
-Teacher introduces collecting strategy: “Where do you
go all the time?”
-Teacher models with think-aloud, listing on board
-Students list for 3-5 minutes
-Students choose one topic from list and write about it
in a teaching voice, fast and furiously
3 Collecting functional
topics of expertise
-Teacher introduces collecting strategy: “What do you
know all about?”
-Teacher models with think-aloud, listing on board
-Students list for 3-5 minutes
-Students choose one topic from list and write about it
in a teaching voice, fast and furiously
-Teachers chooses topic (while students are working),
plans out subtopics on white board, and begins to
write well about one of the subtopics (do this without
drawing too much attention to yourself-- I took a
picture of my work to integrate into my slides for later
lessons)
4 Choosing a topic
and proving
expertise
-Students refer to collecting lists to choose a topic they
can teach about
-Teacher refers back to topic he/she planned out in
previous lesson, and emphasizes that to be an expert,
one must be able to generate teaching points about
the topic-- they will later become chapters
-Teacher models “testing” a topic with “Proposed
Topic” form on slides
-Teacher helps student test topic on “Proposed Topic”
form on slides in front of whole class
-Students complete “Proposed Topic” form
*after lesson, teacher analyzes forms to determine
functionality of topic
“Proposed Topic”
form
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
5 Assisting students in
need of functional
topic; focusing in on
subtopic to prepare
for chapter drafting
-Teacher shows examples of strong topics, and topics
that could be stronger-- think aloud with class re: how
to strengthen or narrow topics
-Teacher emphasizes that “teaching points” and
“subtopics” are basically synonymous
-Teacher models choosing subtopic to test for true
expertise using “Proposed Subtopic” form on slides
-Teacher helps student test subtopic on “Proposed
Subtopic” form on slides in front of whole class
-Students complete “Proposed Subtopic” form
“Proposed
Subtopic” form
LCWU Unit 2 Slides

2. Day Big Picture Goal Lesson Steps Materials
6 Learning chapter
structures through
mentor texts
-Teacher introduces idea that all informational
chapters fall into 5-6 basic categories-- today will look
at “Kinds of,” “Parts of,” and “How to”
-Teacher directly instructs on chapter types using
slides, encouraging students to make connections
between planned subtopics and chapter structures
that best fit their plans
-Students analyze different Tables of Contents to
identify different chapter structures-- when they believe
they have correctly identified structure, teacher shows
the pages in the mentor text to confirm or disprove
-Students complete bottom of “Proposed Subtopic”
form re: chapter structure they will use to deliver
subtopic information
“Proposed
Subtopic” form
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
Elephants
Deadliest Animals
If You Lived in
Colonial Times
The Human
Machine
7 Analyzing best-fit
chapter structures
from mentor texts for
inspiration before
drafting
-Teacher reviews chapter structure descriptions/Table
of Contents examples
-Teacher models close reading of mentor text chapter
to explore how authors use the various chapter
structures, using chapters previously identified from
the Table of Contents analysis
-Students close read examples of their respective
chapter structures, recording different techniques
mentor authors use in their delivery of information
-Students reconvene to share out techniques they
noticed in close reading-- “What Nonfiction Authors
Do” chart
“Proposed
Subtopic” form
Kinds of:
-Ferocious Fish (DA)
-Small But Deadly
(DA)
How to:
-How did people get
the news? (CT, p. 62)
-TFK sample paper
Parts of:
-Trunks, Tusks, Ears
(E)
-The Final Hours
(Titanic)
8 Drafting first
chapters with focus
on embedding
writing techniques
-Teacher refers back to techniques surfaced by class
in previous session
-Teacher models using embedding selected
techniques into a successful chapter draft (written prior
to the session, and carefully constructed)
-Students identify techniques in the model chapter
draft
-Teacher emphasizes three key focuses during
session’s chapter drafting time:
1. adhere to the subtopic
2. incorporate lots of teaching points
3. structure the chapter in an intentional way
-Students draft first chapters
-Teacher facilitates reflective conversation at end of
session, using stems on the “Discussion Starters” slide
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet

3. Day Big Picture Goal Lesson Steps Materials
9 Planning second
chapter/finishing first
chapter
-Teacher reviews “Proposed Subtopic” form, and
informs students they’ll be planning out a new chapter
during this session
-Teacher emphasizes the importance of using a variety
of chapter structures to truly teach ALL ABOUT the
main topic
-Teacher models thinking through best structure fit for
new subtopic-- how does each structure open the door
for different teaching points?
-Student volunteers attempt to utilize “Proposed
Subtopic” form with coaching at board
-Students work on planning new chapter using
“Proposed Subtopic” form
-Students continue drafting first chapters when
finished with form
-Teacher collects forms for analysis
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
“Proposed
Subtopic” form
10 Learning about
compelling leads/
applying in second
chapter drafting
-Teacher introduces “Lead” rubric with slide
-Students analyze examples from mentor texts to
determine nonfiction lead techniques
-Teacher teases out most prevalent techniques in
compelling leads:
-question
-interesting fact
-short burst
-sound effect
-Teacher models different lead types using personal
topic of expertise
-Students draft second chapters using “Proposed
Subtopic” form, with an eye on crafting compelling
leads
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
“Proposed
Subtopic” form
11 Integrating expert
vocabulary/
introducing “Craft”
rubric
-Teacher recalls “What Nonfiction Authors Do” chart to
accentuate that the writer’s job is to tell interesting
information
-Teacher introduces “Craft” rubric with slide
-Teacher emphasizes need for “expert vocabulary”
-Teacher models reading text to identify expert
vocabulary using scanned pages on slides-- bold
words, as well as content-specific words
-Students identify expert vocabulary in text excerpts
-Teacher draws connection between bold words and
glossary
-Teacher explains that too many bold words would
become overwhelming-- other expert words can be
defined using context clues
-Students jot expert vocabulary to include in texts on
“Expert Vocabulary I Know” half-sheet
-Teacher shows student models of other techniques--
questions, comparisons, facts-- as send-off before
students continue drafting chapters
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
“Expert Vocabulary I
Know” half-sheet

4. Day Big Picture Goal Lesson Steps Materials
12 Introducing
informational
checklist/drafting
with technique
-Teacher marvels at all the students have learned so
far-- leads, craft techniques, structures, planning
-Teacher introduces “Informational Checklist” to help
writers keep track of all they’ve learned
-Teacher draws attention to parts of checklist that have
not yet been introduced (namely “Ending” and
“Transitions”)
-Teacher suggests that today would be a great day to
just write using the techniques we’ve learned, and
practice self-assessing with the checklist
-Teacher models with sample work (either teacher
work or student work)
-Students continue drafting chapters one and two, and
use checklists to self-assess
-Teacher wraps lesson by assigning homework:
students will plan next subtopic at home with parent
support, because many of them are getting down to
teaching points that they are less expert on (send
home “Proposed Subtopic” form)
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
“Informational
Checklist”
“Proposed
Subtopic” form
13 Drafting from at-
home planning
-Teacher celebrates working on “Proposed Subtopic”
form at home, and inquires into who at home was
helpful/how the process went
-Teacher reminds students they have multiple useful
resources at their disposal-- “What Nonfiction Writers
Do” chart, “Informational Checklist”
-Teacher gets out of the way, allows for drafting of third
chapter
-Students begin drafting third chapters
6-page booklet
14 Learning final three
chapter structures
through mentor texts
-Teacher recalls idea that all informational chapters fall
into 5-6 basic categories-- today will look at “Day in the
Life,” “Life Cycle,” and “Comparison”
-Teacher directly instructs on chapter types using
slides, encouraging students to make connections
between planned subtopics and chapter structures
that best fit their plans
-Teacher probes for student willing to attempt to
outline using new chapter structure
-Student models thinking through the planning of a
new chapter utilizing a new structure
-Teacher offers at-home assignment: write an optional
fourth chapter using new chapter structure, and
receive no additional homework for first three days of
following week-- must sign contract AND email parents
-Students continue drafting first three chapters
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet

5. Day Big Picture Goal Lesson Steps Materials
15 Understanding the
purpose of
introductions/drafting
introductions
reflective of teaching
points
-Teacher refers back to “Lead” rubric, and makes
observation that we are writing great chapter leads,
but some nonfiction texts have a special kind of lead
for the whole story called an introduction
-Teacher shows examples of two different
introductions on slides, emphasizing that authors use
short burst/interesting fact/action sequence to start an
introduction, AND use a preview sentence to state the
purpose of the text
-Teacher introduces AND models format for writing
introduction, explicitly teaching each step:
1. short burst/interesting fact/action sequence
2. preview
3. question 1,2,3 (answer must be embedded in
chapters)
4. smooth transition
-Students offer smooth transitions (phrases that utilize
topic-specific vocabulary/vernacular) to build capacity
-Teacher puts all pieces of format together to complete
model
-Students begin and finish introductions in single
session
-Students do “Snapshot Share” of favorite sentence to
wrap
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
Single sheet of
notebook paper
16 Understanding the
purpose of
conclusions/drafting
conclusions
-Teacher introduces “Ending” rubric, and
acknowledges that the wording of the third grade
expectation is pretty confusing
-Teacher takes students through examples of several
conclusions, asking students to make observations
about what the author is doing in each, and looking for
pattern across the examples
-Teacher introduces idea that a conclusion should
FEEL like the end, without saying “The End”
-Teacher unpacks the language of the third grade
expectation, and invites students to offer ideas for
application
-Students assist teacher in “Putting It All Together”:
1. “Don’t forget” part (review of key teaching points)
2. Posing unanswered questions
3. Suggestion part (what reader should do next)
-Students begin and finish conclusions in single
session
-Students do “Snapshot Share” of favorite sentence to
wrap
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
Single sheet of
notebook paper

6. Day Big Picture Goal Lesson Steps Materials
17 Crafting functional
and helpful tables of
contents
-Teacher shares that at the end of the drafting
process, authors are able to create a table of contents;
teacher emphasizes that authors do not write tables of
contents until the text has been completed, because
plans change so frequently during drafting that a table
of contents typically looks very different from the
beginning of drafting to the end
-Teacher takes students through examples of several
T.O.C.s, asking students to make observations about
what the author is doing in each, and looking for
pattern across the examples (examples are carefully
chosen good and not-as-good models)
-Students vote on which T.O.C. example should
receive first, second, and third place medals, and
discuss reasons why
-Students assist teacher in composing “What should a
good table of contents?” list, which can get a bit
lengthy depending on the depth of the original analysis
of the examples; important points to hit might be:
1. have chapter numbers AND names
2. tell what page the chapter starts on
3. have a way to support the reader’s eyes in moving
from the chapter title to the page number (i.e.
dotted line)
4. include “Introduction,” “Conclusion,” and “Glossary”
if applicable
5. say “Table of Contents” at the top
6. all chapter titles should be capitalized
-Students continue drafting, or begin T.O.C.--
whichever is most needed
LCWU Unit 2 Slides
6-page booklet
Single sheet of
notebook paper
18 and
beyond
Finish rough drafts/
compose final drafts
-Work sessions as needed Informational
Writing Templates