Writing+Mini-Lesson

** Grade ** : 5
 * Tall Tale Chart: Writing Mini-Lesson **

** Time: ** 15 minutes

** Standard (Common Core): **
 * 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
 * a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
 * b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

** Objective: ** Students will apply the writing process (i.e., brainstorm, draft, revise, edit, and publish) to produce their own tall tales with partners.

** Materials: **
 * // C loudy With A Chance of Meatballs // by Judi Barrett
 * Tall tale checklist (with aspects of a tall tale)

** Lesson Sequence: **

** 1. Anticipatory Set (Engagement): ** ** 2. State objective and purpose: ** ** 3. **** Teach and Model: ** ** 4. **** Guided Practice: **
 * “Boys and girls, we’ve been noticing different things about //Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs//. What have we discussed in this book so far?” Cause and effect, settings, tall tale and personal narrative. “Now, let me ask you – what did the townspeople do at the end of the story? Why? How did the author illustrate the intensity of the events of the town?” Looking for students to comment on how the author used great descriptions and writing techniques.
 * “Today, you are going to write your own tall tale narratives. Tall tales are exaggerated stories, and a fun way to write a fictional story. This is the one time that I will encourage you to stretch the truth and lie in your writing.”
 * “Last week, I wrote a 2,345,657 page tall tale. I knew it would be tough, but I didn’t realize that it would take me a whole 15 minutes! I needed to learn how to write tall tales much quicker. I had to better understand the characteristics of a tall tale and truly understand what makes a tall tale. Therefore, I traveled 2 million miles on foot (that took a week!) to speak with the How To Write A Tall Tale Master. His fortress was guarded by an 8,000 lb. hamster who made me answer the following question. “What is a tall tale?” “That’s why I’m here! I came to ask the How To Write A Tall Tale Master what the characteristics of a tall tale are.’ The hamster swung a punch at me, missed and knocked a mountain over. I ran by and finally met the How To Write A Tall Tale Master. He gave me this checklist to use when I’m writing my next 100 tall tales.” Post up the checklist and read through the points. Ask students if my story had the elements in it. Does Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs also have those elements in it? Tall tales don’t have to include every single element, but they must contain most elements.
 * “To begin writing a tall tale, you take an everyday event, and then add in unbelievable events. What was the ordinary event in the story I told you? We’re going to use these plain sentences and add exaggerated details to them.”

My dad is so big, ___.__ __I am such an awesome swimmer that__ ___.__ __My walk to school is so long,__ _. The wind was blowing so hard that __.__ __One day it was so cold that__ _.


 * “These sentences can be great starts to writing your tall tales. Then, think of at least 3 unbelievable things your character can do in your story and add those in. Next, use lots of adjectives and descriptions to describe the action. You may say that a pothole was big, or you can use lots of adjectives and description to say the pothole was so enormous that it could fit 300 elephants inside! Impossible exaggerations are what make up a tall tale, so use LOTS of them! End your tall tale with one final unbelievable event. Make it your biggest exaggeration of all.”
 * On board:
 * 3 unbelievable things
 * adjectives
 * descriptions
 * Take the sentences you wrote and ask students how they could write a tall tale stemming from that sentence.

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: -0.25in;">** 5. **** Independent Practice: ** <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-indent: -0.25in;">** 6. **** Closure/Assessment: **
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“Boys and girls, when you are writing your tall tales today, I would like you to first begin with writing an ordinary sentence and making it unbelievable. Next, you follow the steps we discussed and use the checklist to guide what should be in your tall tale.”
 * <span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“When these stories are completed, we are going to revise them and type them into a long tall tale story like this: (see example on last page)
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">What genre of writing will you be doing today? How are you going to focus your writing to stay in the genre of tall tale?

**// Lesson adapted from/Resources: //**


 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Tall Tale Checklist <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[]
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Bright Hub, Lesson Plan: How to Write a Tall Tale <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[]
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Read Write Think, Thundering Tall Tales: Using Read-Aloud as a Springboard to Writing <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/thundering-tall-tales-using-327.html?tab=4#student-objectives]
 * <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3em; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Layers of Learning, Teaching Tall Tale <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[]