I’ve heard so much about this unit, from teachers’ successes to children’s fascinating essays. I must say that when I knew I was going to teach 4th grade, one of the first exciting thoughts was, “I get to teach that writing unit.”
This blog is for reflection, so I thought I’d document my journey planning for and teaching this unit. I have a lot of fears going into this project; their names are rigor, inexperience, and expectations—those expectations being my own. I know that these Units of Study assume children have specific background knowledge and were written in a pre-pandemic era. That said, I will try to move past the fears and lean into curiosity and trust.
As usual, I started reading the work of Lucy, Kelly, and Cory, taking notes on the unit’s overview; I jotted ideas about goals that matched my writers and their strengths. Starting with strengths is what I believe works best, and when I think about going into a persuasive writing project, I know which strengths I’ll tap into: my students’ very strong opinions. My passionate writers will be eager to start a new project. My reluctant writers will appreciate an opportunity to write about something authentic. Those few students who don’t see what else it is for them to learn will serve as a chance to brag about their ideas—a win-win situation.
I’m a highly organized teacher, so after wrapping my head around the goal of this unit and what I need to write to be ready for it, I created a pacing guide. I’ll try to blend “flexibility” with “priorities” as I aim to deliver a 6-week unit—it’s been hard to expect consistency this year, and that is just the reality of 2022.
Other things to keep in mind before we launch this unit:
- Pre-assessment: What do these kids know about opinion writing?
- Self-assessment throughout the unit: lifting the level of reflection and goal-setting
- Partnerships: feedback and collaboration
- Audience: Help students see what the purpose of their writing is
- Revisions: Continue to work with Writer’s Mindset to help students revise in significant ways
- My learning: use the blog to check in on how I’m doing and what I’m learning as I teach/write my essays
Stay tuned.
Start with a Story 