Welcome to this Lesson!

Writing about Life's Lessons

using proverbs to inspire ideas for narrative writing

This lesson was built for WritingFix after being proposed by NNWP Teacher Consultant Sandy Madura at an AT & T-sponsored inservice class.

The mentor text:

Filled with interesting proverbs, A Single Shard will inspire your students to write a narrative based on a lesson they once learned.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

The writer first completes a graphic organizer about a life-changing experience or an experience from which a lesson has been learned. The retelling of the experience is then tied to a proverb.  During revisions, the writer works to reference and explain the meaning of the proverb through his/her personal experience. The final product of this assignment is a concise essay (a parable of sorts) that intertwines and supports the words of wisdom that follow us into old age. Teachers: click here to read the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait in this writing assignment is idea development; writers will attempt to write the essential elements of a life experience that has taught them a memorable lesson.  The support trait in this assignment is organization; using a constructed response frame, students will consider the sequence of their memorable experience.