Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 19

Writing Feature Articles - Lesson .
Experienced
Modify Technology Use:
Have Experienced students who
require additional scaffolding view
the think aloud. All other
Experienced students should go
directly to the assignment.

Preparing for Writer’s Work Time
Active engagement. Show JT’s Think Aloud: Find Your Angle.
Have students brie?y turn and talk to a partner about what they
learned about creating a unique angle for their articles before
releasing them to work independently.
Give the following directions:
?? Review your topic ideas from the previous lesson by
revisiting the brainstorming chart created in the previous
lesson. Review your most interesting three or four topic
ideas.
?? Re?ne/reject topic ideas based on the three main
characteristics: it is a focused topic, has a new angle and
the potential to go in-depth.
?? Select one focused topic for your feature article and write
four or ?ve potential angles in your writer’s notebook. If you
can’t develop several angles, try another topic.
?? Select an angle to write more about. Re?ect on why you
chose it and its potential relevance to readers.
?? If time permits, do the same for a second angle. Choose the
one you will use for your article.

Writer’s Work Time (

min)

Students evaluate the appropriateness of the topics they
brainstormed in Lesson 1.2 and develop several possible
angles. They select one angle as the focus for their feature
articles. Then, they write a re?ection on why they chose the
angle and its potential relevance to their audience.

Conferring and Di?erentiation
During Writer’s Work Time, determine if student work
has a:
?? focused topic;
?? several possible angles;
?? one angle that is the ?rst choice as the focus
for the feature article.

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