How to use this page: This week is built to move students from reading like writers to drafting and revising a narrative-argument for the Unit 3 Minor Writing Task.
The daily flow stays consistent: Cornell Notes → Paired Reading → Whole-Class Writing Moves → Independent Writing → Exit Ticket.
Week Overview
- Unit: Unit 3 — Human Intelligence
- Driving Question: In what ways can human beings be intelligent?
- Assessment: Minor Writing Task (Thursday–Friday)
- Text Anchor: Flowers for Algernon (students read through April 9)
- Non-Negotiables: No small groups; teacher moves are whole-class modeling + optional 1:1 enrichment.
MWT Standard Set
8.T.T.1.e
8.T.T.4.b
8.T.T.2.d
8.T.T.3.c
K-12.P.EICC.4
MWT Purpose Snapshot: Students narrate a personal experience that demonstrates their preferred multiple intelligence and argue why it is the most valuable (audience: readers of a youth magazine).
Monday — Narrative Techniques (Reading Like a Writer)
Text: Flowers for Algernon (through April 9)
Narrative Craft
Standards (Spelled Out)
- Text (8.T.T.1.e): Apply narrative techniques to enhance writing, engage audiences, and achieve specific purposes.
- Practice (K-12.P.EICC.4): Compose a range of texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, flexibly engaging in writing processes to plan, draft, evaluate, revise, and edit texts.
- Language (8.L.GC.2.c): Distinguish between active and passive voice, revising texts to maintain consistency in active voice.
SOAR
- Standard: Students identify and apply narrative techniques that reveal intelligence and shape audience engagement.
- Objective (I Can): I can name narrative techniques in the text and imitate them in my own writing for a specific purpose.
Timed Agenda (55 Minutes)
- 0–7 | Cornell Notes (Do Now): Define dialogue, pacing, description. Then answer: “Which technique best shows Charlie’s intelligence in this entry?”
- 7–22 | Paired Reading: Partners read selected progress report entries. Each paragraph gets one margin code: D (dialogue), P (pacing), Desc (description), R (reflection).
- 22–35 | Whole-Class Modeling: Teacher models a “craft move chart” (Technique → Effect → Evidence).
- 35–50 | Independent Writing (MWT Seed Draft): Draft a short personal moment that demonstrates one intelligence. Must include two narrative techniques.
- 50–55 | Exit Ticket: “Which technique did you use, and what effect should it have on a youth-magazine reader?”
Teacher Script (Whole-Class Move):
“Narrative techniques aren’t decoration. They’re evidence. When Charlie’s writing changes, the technique itself proves a change in his thinking.
Watch: I’m going to take one plain sentence and revise it with pacing + reflection. Then you’ll do the same with a sentence from your draft.”
“Narrative techniques aren’t decoration. They’re evidence. When Charlie’s writing changes, the technique itself proves a change in his thinking.
Watch: I’m going to take one plain sentence and revise it with pacing + reflection. Then you’ll do the same with a sentence from your draft.”
Creativity Component (2 minutes): “One-Sentence Snapshot” — write one sentence that implies intelligence without naming it (no words like smart/brilliant). Share with partner.
Creative
Tuesday — Claim + Evidence (Narrative Argument Structure)
Text: Flowers for Algernon (through April 9)
Structure & Argument
Standards (Spelled Out)
- Text (8.T.T.3.c): Apply argumentative techniques (e.g., author’s claim, supporting relevant evidence, an identified counterclaim, and a logical conclusion) to enhance writing and engage audiences.
- Practice (K-12.P.EICC.4): Compose a range of texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, flexibly engaging in writing processes to plan, draft, evaluate, revise, and edit texts.
- Language (K-12.L.GC.1.54): Use conventional capitalization, quotation marks, commas, end punctuation, and parentheses (citations) when incorporating textual evidence.
SOAR
- Standard: Students bridge narrative moments to argumentative purpose (claim + evidence + reasoning).
- Objective (I Can): I can write a claim about intelligence and select narrative evidence that proves it.
Timed Agenda (55 Minutes)
- 0–7 | Cornell Notes (Do Now): Write a one-sentence claim: “The most valuable intelligence is ___ because ___.”
- 7–22 | Paired Reading: Partners locate one moment where Charlie’s thinking changes. They write: “This moment suggests intelligence is ___ because ___.”
- 22–35 | Whole-Class Modeling: Teacher models a “Narrative Evidence Sandwich”:
- Claim sentence
- Short story evidence (what happened)
- Reasoning (how it proves the claim)
- 35–50 | Independent Writing: Students build a paragraph that argues their intelligence choice using one narrative moment (their own or from the text as a mentor).
- 50–55 | Exit Ticket: Add one counterclaim starter: “Some may argue ___, however ___.”
Teacher Script (Whole-Class Move):
“An argument isn’t an opinion. It’s a claim that survives pressure. Today we add pressure by building a counterclaim.
If your story is the evidence, your reasoning is the proof.”
“An argument isn’t an opinion. It’s a claim that survives pressure. Today we add pressure by building a counterclaim.
If your story is the evidence, your reasoning is the proof.”
Student Choice (Quick Pick): Pick ONE revision focus for your paragraph:
- Stronger claim language
- More specific evidence (moment, detail, action)
- Clearer reasoning (because/therefore)
Wednesday — Style, Imagery, and Voice (Audience: Youth Magazine)
Text: Flowers for Algernon (through April 9)
Voice & Impact
Standards (Spelled Out)
- Text (8.T.T.4.b): Apply poetic techniques (e.g., stanzas, rhyme/rhyme scheme, imagery, figurative language, sound devices) to produce poetry and engage audiences.
- Practice (K-12.P.EICC.4): Compose a range of texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, flexibly engaging in writing processes to plan, draft, evaluate, revise, and edit texts.
- Language (8.L.GC.2.c): Distinguish between active and passive voice, revising texts to maintain consistency in active voice.
SOAR
- Standard: Students revise style to fit audience and increase impact using imagery/figurative language while maintaining clarity.
- Objective (I Can): I can revise my draft to sound intentional for a youth-magazine audience.
Timed Agenda (55 Minutes)
- 0–7 | Cornell Notes (Do Now): Define imagery + figurative language. Then: “Which line from your draft could be made more vivid?”
- 7–22 | Paired Reading: Partners find one line in the text that creates a strong mental image and label what technique it uses (imagery, metaphor, etc.).
- 22–35 | Whole-Class Modeling: Teacher models “1 sentence → 3 revisions” (plain → vivid → vivid + purposeful).
- 35–50 | Revision Workshop: Students revise one paragraph for (a) vividness and (b) active voice consistency.
- 50–55 | Exit Ticket: Write your best revised sentence and name the technique used.
Teacher Script (Whole-Class Move):
“You’re not trying to sound ‘fancy.’ You’re trying to be unforgettable.
Today: one paragraph gets upgraded for audience + impact. If the reader can’t picture it, they won’t believe it.”
“You’re not trying to sound ‘fancy.’ You’re trying to be unforgettable.
Today: one paragraph gets upgraded for audience + impact. If the reader can’t picture it, they won’t believe it.”
Creativity Component (2 minutes): “Metaphor Draft” — Write one metaphor for your intelligence (e.g., “My intelligence is a ___ because ___.”).
Creative
Thursday — Minor Writing Task (Day 1)
Assessment: Unit 3 Minor Writing Task
MWT
What Students Do
- Plan: claim about most valuable intelligence + personal narrative moment that proves it.
- Draft: narrative argument (story evidence + reasoning).
- Revise: improve technique + organization + voice.
Teacher Move (quiet, non-remedial): Optional 1:1 enrichment conference with high performers:
“How could you strengthen your counterclaim?” “Where can you tighten pacing?” “What’s your most persuasive sentence?”
Friday — Minor Writing Task (Day 2)
Assessment: Unit 3 Minor Writing Task
MWT
What Students Do
- Edit: conventions, punctuation for evidence, active voice consistency.
- Finalize: ensure claim + narrative evidence + reasoning + conclusion.
- Submit: final draft.
Finish Strong Checklist (student-facing):
Claim is explicit • Narrative proves the claim • Reasoning explains “why it proves it” • Voice fits a youth magazine • Sentences are clear and mostly active.