writing a fictional account where an animal or object claims credit for changing history
This lesson was built for WritingFix after being proposed by Nevada teacher Dayna Ayers at an AT&T-sponsored in-service class for teachers.
The intended "mentor text" to be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the chapter book Ben and Me by Robert Lawson. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author, especially from chapter 4 of this book.
If you are a Washoe County teacher, click here to search for this book at the county library.
Teacher Instructions & Lesson Resources :
Step one (sharing the published model):Prior to reading Ben and Me as a read aloud, brainstorm, as a whole group, a time when students felt “credit must be given when credit is due“. Example: your sister received an increase in her allowance, when you were the one that cleaned up the toy room, not her. Share ideas and write them on the board.
Explain that we will be reading about several historical events that have taken place in the Ben Franklin era. The historical facts are true; however, they are written from an imaginary character who believes he deserves the credit, not Benjamin Franklin. Ben and Me is a historically-based fiction book written by Robert Lawson. Lawson creates an imaginary mouse, Amos, who is said to believe he deserves the credit for all the famous accomplishments Ben Franklin has done. After reading the book as a classroom read aloud, return to chapter 1, pages 3 and 4. Focus on the voice Lawson a put into his book, with the two paragraphs that begin with...
“Had they asked me, I could have told them. It was ME..."
Explain how Lawson creatively teaches historical facts through an imaginary character who brings history to life. Discuss with your students how Lawson persuades his audience to believe that the mouse is the one that deserves the credit. Amos has feelings that are valid, and he shares with the reader his point of view on where credit is deserved.
Step two (introducing student models of writing): In small groups, have your students read and respond to any or all of the student models that come with this lesson. The groups will certainly talk about the voice , since that's the focus of this lesson, but you might also have your students talk about the organization in the writing too.
We're looking for student samples for all grade levels for this prompt! Help us get some, and we'll send you a free resource for your classroom! Contact us at publish@writingfix.com for details.
Step three (thinking and pre-writing):Pressing the Interactive Button on the Student Instructions Page will get your students thinking about ideas for this writing assignment. You can certain
Tell your students, "Now, on the right side of your graphic organizer, write what your imaginary character/object changes to convince the reader they are the ones who really deserve the credit. Think about how the character who is telling the story might add more voice to your paper. What word choice could you use to make him or her convince the reader the new version is the real truth? Once you have gathered all your information on your graphic organizer, begin writing by retelling your event, using the drafting sheet below.
Step four (revising with specific trait language): To promote response and revision to rough draft writing, attach WritingFix's Revision and Response Post-Its to your students' drafts. Make sure the students rank their use of the trait-specific skills on the Post-Its, which means they'll only have one "1" and one "5." Have them commit to ideas for revision based on their Post-It rankings. For more ideas on WritingFix's Revision & Response Post-Its, click here.
Step five (editing for conventions): After students apply their revision ideas to their drafts and re-write neatly, require them to find an editor. If you've established a "Community of Editors" among your students, have each student exchange his/her paper with multiple peers. With yellow high-lighters in hand, each peer reads for and highlights suspected errors for just one item from the Editing Post-it. The "Community of Editors" idea is just one of dozens and dozens of inspiring ideas that is talked about in detail in the Northern Nevada Writing Project's Going Deep with 6 Trait Language Workbook for Teachers.
Step six (publishing for the portfolio): When they are finished revising and have second drafts, invite your students to come back to this piece once more during an upcoming writer's workshop block. Their stories might become a longer story, a more detailed piece, or the beginning of a series of pieces about the story they started here. Students will probably enjoy creating an illustration for this story as they get ready to publish it for their portfolios.
Interested in publishing student work on-line? We invite student writers to post final drafts of their original at WritingFix's Community of Student Writers. This is a safe-to-use blog for students and teachers. No writing is posted until it is approved by the moderator. Contact us at publish@writingfix.com if you have questions about getting your students published.
Learn more about author Robert Lawson
by clicking here.
