This lesson was was built for WritingFix after being proposed by Northern Nevada teacher Teresa Gil.
The intended "mentor text" to be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the novel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author, especially from chapter 4 of the 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): Read chapter 4 of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, focusing on idea development and voice. In this chapter, the Time Traveler encounters the Eloi and the world of 800,000 ACE for the first time. Point out that a 19th century man traveling to the far distant future is an interesting idea. He brings his 19th century point of view, prejudices and voice to bear in his description of this new world. Point out that he expected people in the future to be more advanced, not to have the intellectual level of 5 year olds. Mention that he is astounded that they think he came from the sun in a thunderstorm. The conclusion he draws from all the evidence is that they are communists.
Use a T-chart and have the students write down memorable descriptions of the Eloi’s world on one side, and conclusions the Time Traveler draws about the Eloi on the other. Discuss findings. Pose the questions, “How would you, as a 21st century sophisticate, have described the world of the Eloi? What conclusions might you have drawn? How would your voice differ from the Time Traveler’s?"
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 idea development, since that's the focus of this lesson, but you might prompt your students to talk about each model's voice as well.
We're looking for student samples for other 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): Get students thinking about a time travel destination that interests them. The interactive button game on the Student Instruction Page will help them think up possibilities. For this assignment, they will assume the identity (and voice) of someone else. They will be writing about a destination from their chosen character’s point of view and using that character’s voice to both memorably describe and draw conclusions about a place in time. When students know what character and time-destination they will be using, they can complete the same graphic organizer below, filling in both things they expect to see at their destination and also what conclusions might their character draw about this strange place.
When the graphic organizer is completed, they may begin writing their paragraphs on another piece of paper or on the idea development 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.
