Writing Stations – Basic Lesson Plan Overview
Mr. Ambrose (November 2010)
Pair and Share: Find a partner and share your homework. (5 minutes)
 Make sure that you each have an interesting title for your topic.
 I usually like a “grabber” title and then a subtitle – e.g. “The Stark Reality of Starkfield,
Massachusetts: An Analysis Edith Wharton’s Use of Setting and Tone in Ethan Frome.
 Make sure that you each have three good things to discuss in your essay.
During this time, Mr. Ambrose will touch base with five student station leaders.
 Each station leader should do the following:
o Express a clear goal for the station.
o Help students create the product.
o Evaluate the product.
o Prepare them for the next station.
Round Robin Writing Stations
Students divide into small groups (of 2-4).
Each group proceeds to each station around the room at prescribed intervals (7 minutes or so).
Thesis Station (7 minutes)
 Goal: Write a clear (three-tiered?) thesis in the active voice that answers the question asked.
 Remember: A thesis says something unique – if you can say it about another book or character,
it is not sufficiently specific.
 Try to include the name of the author and the title of the work in your thesis.
 Before you go to the next station, be sure you have…a clearly written thesis statement.
Evidence Station (7 minutes)
 Goal: Identify solid examples (i.e. particular scenes in the book) that you will use to support
your ideas.
 Explore Ethan Frome and identify the scenes that stand out to you and have something to do
with your topic.
 Before you go to the next station, be sure you have…at least three particular scenes with page
numbers written in your notebook.
Primary Source Station (7 minutes)
 Goal: Find some quotes that you can use in your paper.
 Explore Ethan Frome and identify some quotes that you can use in your paper.
 You may want to start by looking at the quote handouts from class, as well as your response
papers.
 Put at least one quote into a sentence (e.g. When Ethan commands Mattie to return to the table
and finish eating, he truly wields control of the situation – and he likes it: “Except when he was
steering a big log down the mountain to his mill he had never known such a thrilling sense of
mastery” (63).
 See handout: “Handling Quotations in Your Text”
 Before you go to the next station, be sure you have…at least three quotes that you can use in
your paper and at least one sentence with a seamlessly integrated quote.
Secondary Source Station (7 minutes)
 Goal: Find some quotes that you can use in your paper.
 Examine the “Introduction” by Edith Wharton, the “Afterword” by Alfred Kazin, and the “About
the Author” section. Identify some good quotes that support your assertions. Copy these
quotes into your notebook.
 Try to put it into a sentence (e.g. Literary critic Alfred Kazin, who refers to Zeena as Ethan’s
“nemesis,” asserts that Zeena’s character represents Wharton’s dire marital situation: “The
horrible Zeena, because she is so horrible, is the most convincing character: She alone seems to
explain the impasse that is Mrs. Wharton’s inspiration” (136).)
 Before you go to the next station, be sure you have…at least one quote that you can use in
your paper and a sentence that introduces that quote.
Vocabulary Station (7 minutes)
 Goal: Find some elevated vocabulary words that you can use in your paper.
 Make sure your sentences actually address your topic.
 Resources: 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know and 100 Words to Make You
Sound Smart
 Literary Terms: Protagonist, Antagonist, Novella, Modernist Novel, Subjective Narration,
Setting, Tone, Frame Story, Flashback, Symbol, Rural Novel, Static Character, Dynamic Character,
Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution (Denouement)
 Before you go to the next station, be sure you have…a list of vocabulary words and literary
terms that you will include in your essay and some phrases/sentences that use these words.
Ticket Out the Door (5 minutes)
 What did you find useful about today’s format?
 What could be improved about today’s format?
Homework: Work on your paper, based on your notes from today’s writing workshop.