Writing Feature Articles - Step 1 - Lesson 1 | Page 26

Writing Feature Articles - Lesson .
Using the chart below as a guide, conduct individual conferences. On the Conferring Log,
record what you ?nd, what you teach and the next steps for the students.
What you might ?nd:

Suggested Approaches:

Topic/angle is too broad

Use DI handout: Give Intermediate or Experienced student who needs
extra help Test Your Topic – DI (Handout 1.4a). The handout breaks
narrowing down the topic into a three-step process.
Use another modality: Have student work with a partner. Partners can
prompt one another with the guiding questions and collaboratively decide
if the topic and angle have merit. Student should work independently
when prewriting about his or her connection to the topic.
Provide another model: Refer student to KC and JT’s Notebooks in the
Online Classroom in order to demonstrate how they completed the same
task.

Ready for more

Provide extension: Instruct student to browse Prof. P’s Of?ce to locate
good examples of feature article angles. If prepared to do so, student
may do an initial Internet search on the angle he or she is researching
to see what information is available. Student may also visit the Study
Center for additional writing activities such as What’s Your Angle?

Sharing and Lesson Summary ( min)
Reconvene the class. Have students read one another’s topics and angles in the Online Classroom, and
respond to their classmates’ posts. If time permits, have students return to their own work in order to
improve their own topics and angles based on what they just read online.
Share good examples of student prewriting that focuses on why a particular topic is suitable as the
focus of a feature article.

Checkpoint
Review students’ topic and angles either by collecting them or by logging into the Online
Classroom. Assess whether they contain:
?? a focused topic;
?? a fresh or personal angle for which they will be able to gather information.
If the majority of students have appropriate topics and angles, move on to Step 2. If not, it is important
to reteach, using the differentiated instruction and conferring strategies listed above. Depending on
the number of students who are struggling, you may opt to form a small guided group during the next
lesson. Since the rest of the writing process depends upon having a focused topic and interesting angle,
it is essential that students complete this task pro?ciently. Record on the Teacher’s Checklist what
students have completed to this point.

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