Taking Elaboration to the Next Level

Title:
Mrs. Rachel Edmondson, Brethren High School, English 10
Taking Elaboration to the Next Level


Objectives:
To create and identify support and elaboration;
To give a visual element to the students to better understand how elaboration is formed and flows.


State Curriculum/Common Core State Standards: RL. 9-10/11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
W.9-10.9a: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research;
W.9-10.2b: Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.

Materials: Elmo Document Camera [digital wish]; SMART Board (if necessary); three varied colors of highlighters (I use pink, yellow, and green); lined college-ruled paper; ACT Model "6" prompt

Introductory:
Look at a paragraph model from a “6” ACT essay. Turn our attention back to the poster we looked at and wrote out the previous class period.

Using the poster (and/or the handout from a couple class periods ago), let’s go through and highlight the elaboration as an entire class. Taking it sentence by sentence, students will call out whether it’s a pink [fact], yellow [detail], or green [commentary/analysis] sentence.
Presentation:

In partners, students will receive the next body paragraph from the same ACT model essay and they’ll highlight all together. Once they have finished, they will present their findings to the class using the Elmo document camera.
Activity:

Write a well-elaborated response to the following prompt: Evaluate the importance of evidence Atticus uses during the trial of Tom Robinson.


Summary:
Switch papers (responses) with someone else and highlight according to fact, detail, and commentary.

I’ll [teacher] choose a couple to share with the whole class on the Elmo document camera as I circulate around the room.

Test/Quiz: None at this time.

Assignment: Begin brainstorming for your To Kill a Mockingbird Essay.