Informational Writing: Writing with Style
This unit on writing informational texts focuses on a close reading of a pop science article on
Black Widow spiders. The article, by acclaimed science writer Gordon Grice, is an example of above
level text that also has many of the elements ELA teachers refer to as “literary merit.” Overall, it is an
excellent example of “good writing”; thus, it serves as a mentor text for this unit.
One teacher who piloted the lesson commented that although she and her students liked the
instructional focus on “lively writing,” she thought the connection to “ELA classes” was weak. In
other words, she didn’t regard the text as appropriate for ELA. Yet the Grice text fits all descriptors
published by Common Core writers as deserving a place in the literacy classroom. Another teacher
who field tested the lessons noted that initially when she told her department what the lesson was
about, they too were somewhat surprised that she would devote instructional time and energy to a
“non-English class” lesson. Nonetheless, she plunged in and later celebrated how much both she and
her students thoroughly enjoyed the lesson (and the texts), and how much they learned about good
writing. Two views – you be the judge! Whether you regard the text as ELA class appropriate or not,
let the discussion begin about what kind of text represents literary non-fiction in the CCSS era.
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Informational Writing: Writing with Style
Acquisition Lesson #1 Concept: Connecting writing features to genre by deconstructing mentor text
Author Name: Bonnie Albertson, Delaware Writing Project
Field Tested: Middletown High School, Appoquinimink School District; Wm Penn High School, Colonial
School District
Pre-requisite(s): Students should have received prior instruction in  The function of basic parts of speech, including verbs and adjectives
 Basic figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification, etc.)
 Definition of style and basic stylistic choices
 Difference between objective and subjective as it applies to writing
 Familiarity with basic informational genre (article, report, etc.)
 Purposes for writing and discourse categories (argumentative, informational, narrative)
Common Core Standard(s):
Language Conventions
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
b. Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent,
dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations.
Knowledge of Language
3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning
or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
Reading Informational text
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and
analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the
approaches the authors take.
Essential Question:
How do writers of science engage their audience or capture their audience’s attention by adapting
technical information to an intended audience & purpose?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What do students need to learn to be able to answer the Essential Question?
Assessment Prompt #1: Revise writing excerpt 1 to make the passage more interesting and lively by adding vivid
verbs, colorful adjectives, and/or figurative language.
Assessment Prompt #2: Analyze sample passages for style.
Assessment Prompt #3: Analyze Grice’s stylistic choices and identify the probable intended audience.
Activating Strategy:
Key Vocabulary Words to Preview:
As students enter the room, ask them to mark on a continuum (on the
blackboard or similar) their perception of science/technical writing using the
following scale:
Standards-based
 Style
 Subjective/objective
 Informational text
Very
entertaining
Somewhat
engaging
Usually not
interesting
Boring
Give groups of 3 or 4 students copies of the 3 excerpts (Attachment A)
on Black Widow spiders. Students may read aloud, pair read, etc. Ask
students to share which they prefer and explain why.
Optional: To generate interest, show various clips (U-Tube, etc. zamzar.com to access U-tube at school) of Hollywood versions of spiders
as well as science video clips about spiders.
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Teaching Strategies: distributed guided practice, collaborative pairs, think-pair-share, absent student, writing-to-learn
strategies (revising for audience/purpose), (re)reading for different purpose, visualization, gallery walk
Graphic Organizer: anticipation guide continuum, flow-chart for relationship between style and audience/purpose,
adapted two-column notes, textbook template
Teacher note re: struggling readers and text: see note following Attachment B*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Instructional Sequence 1: Style
1. Debrief Activating Strategy (defining style) - have one spokesperson from each group explaining the group’s
choice and the rationale for the choice (presumably, most students will prefer excerpt # 3 because it is more lively or
vivid. It is also possible that some groups may dislike excerpt #3 precisely because it is too vivid. Students should be
encouraged to be specific about precisely what makes excerpt #3 more “lively” – vivid verbs, figurative language,
adjectives, subjective word choices, etc.). Review definition of “style” (or begin constructing). [Teacher Note: at the
simplest level, the “way” an author writes, as opposed to “what” the author is writing about. Style is achieved by the
integration of different elements of writing, including – but not limited to – word choices, literary devices used,
sentence structures and organization of information, all of which are dependent on audience and purpose. This first
segment only analyzes word choices/figurative language. Additional elements of style are added in the next lessons.]
2. Integrating knowledge about science writing - Explain that excerpt #3 was written by a famous science writer,
Gordon Grice. Read (and project for students) the following:
Widely praised for his precise and detailed attention to the "micro-world," Grice has said, "Personal observation
and experience are part of my approach to writing as a whole. I like to delve into the details and give my readers the
feeling of being there and having their own hands in it. "
Invite students to react to this statement, asking how his advice fits with (or contradicts) their perception of
science/ technical writing (refer to student responses on continuum). This can be done as a large group or in small
groups, with one spokesperson again reporting out.
3.Analyzing for style  Model and practice identification of style markers: Have groups of students return to the Grice excerpt (# 3)
and (in groups or whole class) identify specifically what makes the excerpt “lively” or livelier than most
science text (e.g., particularly vivid verbs, adjectives, and figurative language). Teacher models using first
couple of sentences (see Attachment C for examples).
 Paired practice: Distribute and project (on Elmo or similar) complete passage, “The Black Widow”
(Attachment B*). Following whatever guided reading protocols typically used in the classroom, read the first
page (or so) of the passage. Have students (in pairs or as appropriate) reread the section of the text and
underline or otherwise mark particularly colorful words, phrases, figurative language, etc. Teacher Notes: 1)
Students may enter into a discussion about the use of the first person point of view (or teacher may wish to
bring this out). This would be a good segue into the next instructional chunk; however, some teachers may
want to limit the discussion to descriptive language alone. 2) Differentiation *See Attachment B with notes
about suggested sections that could be used to accommodate struggling readers and/or challenge expert readers.
Pairs take turns sharing examples of figurative language, words phrases as teacher marks them on a projected
copy of the passage. Continue reading/annotating the rest of the passage, stopping as needed to review and
discuss.
4. Revising for style: Return to excerpt 1 and model via think-aloud making the 5 sentence passage more engaging
or interesting to readers by adding colorful verbs, adjectives, figurative language. [Teacher note: teacher can purposely
add over-the-top language or a “tortured metaphor” to make the point that style still has to respect the seriousness of the
topic]. Then have students work in pairs or threesomes to revise excerpt 2, making it more engaging/interesting and
share out. Ask students to explicitly state what they added or changed to make the excerpt more engaging to readers
(more “Grice-like”).
Assessment Prompt #1: Revise writing excerpt 2 to make the passage more interesting and lively by adding vivid
verbs, colorful adjectives, and/or figurative language [students can work in pairs if appropriate].
Differentiation: Students who need more of a challenge can revise any longer excerpt teachers may find. Alternatively,
teacher can mark areas that need revision for students who need more scaffolding.
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Additional differentiation &/or scaffolding (depending on student need and performance on AP#1): Read aloud
the following description of the black widow spider from
Ask students to draw or sketch the spider’s web and environ based on what they hear as you read one of the
“weaker” excerpts. Then read the Grice excerpt aloud and have students draw or sketch the same scene from the Grice
segment (or revise their original drawing based on the Grice reading). Compare the level of detail in the two – which is
more vivid? Did they “hear” details in the second, richer version that may not have “stood out” when they heard the first
one?
Instructional Sequence #2: Genre
6. Forms of science writing: Conduct whole class brainstorm about possible audiences for science writing, including
but not limited to:
 Academic journals/publications
 Student textbooks at a variety of different levels
 Science publications written for non-science audiences (Popular science magazines)
 Science sections of newspapers
 Websites (e.g., for general information such as Wikipedia or for marketing purposes such as Terminex)
Teacher should have copies on hand of samples (see resources section).
7. Analyzing science writing for style: Ask students to consider a lab report (Attachment D) written for their
science class and ask if using vivid verbs, lively adjectives, and figurative language such as that used by Gordon Grice
would be good. Ask why a lab report would be different from an article like “The Black Widow.” Although the answer
may not be an unqualified yes or no, students should understand that with some science writing, helping readers engage
and visualize is good, but with – for example – a procedural lab report, vivid verbs, awesome adjectives and metaphors
could be too much – distracting and not form or audience-appropriate.
8. Refining definition of the word “style,” adding an explanation of how style relates to purpose and audience.
Differentiation: On the board (SmartBoard, overhead, etc.) create graphic representation, e.g., flowchart, of the
relationship between language (formal/informal) and style, writer’s purpose (persuasive, informational, entertainment,
expressive), intended audience. For example, writer’s purpose and audience go at the top as they are the most
important elements. Style choices stem are dictated by them. Teacher can offer additional classroom examples such as
the difference between writing a letter to the governor, addressing him as “’Yo dude” and “Dear Governor,” etc.
9. Applying knowledge of style: Post (around the room) a variety of science passages (See Attachment E for
sample sources) including websites, articles, etc. Have small groups do gallery walks to determine the intended
audience for each passage: Scientists, high school students, the general public, and younger students [although science
texts can be used for the persuasive purpose, it may be easiest for this lesson series to stick to science texts that are
overall informational]. Project a copy of the worksheet in Attachment F and model (using Grice and National
Geographic articles, or more if necessary) how to analyze the various passages posted around the room.
Assessment Prompt #2: Analyze sample passages for style [in pairs or individuals – teacher choice, have students
complete the chart. Assess for completeness and accuracy]. Once the teacher has reviewed students’ work, share with
class and allow students to correct their own charts.
10. Classifying style: In pairs, students generate a list of what characterizes formal/informal writing. After sufficient
time (> 5 minutes), each pair compares their list with another pair (give-one-get-one). After sharing time, teacher
records student responses, being sure that the following characteristics are included - Formal: objective language, impersonal (e.g., pronouns), little figurative language, straightforward/passive/being
verbs; formal sentences (no deviations from SWE)
- Informal: subjective language, personal language (e.g., pronouns), figurative language, lively/active verbs; less
strict adherence to formal sentence structure (e.g., variances for rhetorical effect permissible such as onomatopoeia
or purposeful fragments)
Assessment Prompt #3 – Analyze Grice’s stylistic choices and identify the probable intended audience [students are
given the prompt: “Based on Grice’s stylistic choices, who do you think Gordon Grice’s intended audience was?
Support your explanation with information from the text and information from the charts used”].
Multiple choice version (can be thumbs up/thumbs down): Which of the following audiences was the most likely
intended audience for “The Black Widow”?
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A. Scientists who study spiders
B. Insect/pest exterminators
C. Young school students
D. General readers interested in nature*
Circle at least [2 or 3] words/phrases in the passage and in the margin explain why you know that part supports your
answer to the question.
Alternative wording: Which of the following scientific publications was the most likely source of the article “The
Black Widow”?
A. The National Academy of the Sciences (for scientists)
B. Scientific American (a publication about popular science)*
C. Ranger Rick (a science publication for young students)
D. A “Pest Control” exterminator advertisement (Terminix or Orkin or similar)
Circle at least [2 or 3] words/phrases in the passage and in the margin explain why you know that part supports your
answer to the question.
Additional Scaffolding/ Differentiation:
 If appropriate, teacher can highlight key features to draw students’ attention to features such as objective
language or subjective language; formal vs. informal word choices; figurative language, etc.

Part of the attachment F worksheet can be completed by teacher to “clue” students (e.g., support statements could
be added that would clue students that the passage was informal or formal)
* See pictures at end of unit
Summarizing Strategy:
In small groups, create a “style manual” for various kinds of science texts, using the partially completed template to
model (Attachment G). This can be a simple bulleted list.
Resources/Citations:
Black Widow Spider passages:
http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/black-widow-spider/
Gordon Grice passages – various versions of the article have appeared in a variety of sources. Gordon Grice granted
express permission to use the version attached - “The Black Widow” – originally published in 2012, Nature Gothic:
Best Wildlife Stories of Gordon Grice, by Moonlit Road Press
Interview with Gordon Grice: http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0598/grice/interview.html (a different excerpt on
Black Widow from The Red Hourglass can be accessed from this site as well)
Other Gordon Grice essays are available on his website: http://deadlykingdom.blogspot.com/2008/08/articles-andessays-by-gordon-grice.html
Attachments:
A – 3 excerpts for Activating activity
B – “The Black Widow”
C – Excerpt 3 deconstructed for style
D – Lab report
E – Assorted “science” texts
F – AP #2 worksheet
G - “Style sheet” worksheet
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ATTACHMENT A (Activating Strategy)
Excerpt 1
Like most arachnids, the Black Widow preys on insects. Prey caught in the web include a
variety of insects (cockroaches and beetles) and other arthropods. After ensnaring its prey in the web,
the Black Widow makes small punctures in the victim's body and sucks out the liquid contents. The
Black Widow is preyed upon by Mud-Dauber wasps.
http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html
Excerpt 2
These spiders spin large webs in which females suspend a cocoon with hundreds of eggs.
Spiderlings disperse soon after they leave their eggs, but the web remains. Black widow spiders also
use their webs to ensnare their prey, which consists of flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, beetles, and
caterpillars. Black widows are comb-footed spiders, which means they have bristles on their hind legs
that they use to cover their prey with silk once it has been trapped.
To feed, black widows puncture their insect prey with their fangs and administer digestive
enzymes to the corpses. By using these enzymes, and their gnashing fangs, the spiders liquefy their
prey's bodies and suck up the resulting fluid.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/black-widow-spider/
Excerpt 3
The black widow has an ugly web. The orb weavers make those seemingly delicate nets that poets have
traditionally used as symbols of imagination, order, and perfection. The sheet-web spiders weave crisp linens
on grass and bushes. But the widow makes messy-looking tangles in the corners and bends of things and under
logs and debris. Often the web is littered with leaves. Beneath it lie the husks of insect prey, their antennae stiff
as gargoyle horns, cut loose and dropped; on them and the surrounding ground are splashes of the spider's white
urine, which looks like bird guano and smells of ammonia even at a distance of several feet. This fetid material
draws scavengers -- ants, crickets, roaches, and so on -- which become tangled in vertical strands of silk
reaching from the ground to the main body of the web. Sometimes these vertical strands break and recoil,
hoisting the new prey as if on a bungee cord. The widow comes down and, with a bicycling of the hind pair of
legs, throws gummy silk onto the victim.
When the prey is seriously tangled but still struggling, the widow cautiously descends and bites the
creature, usually on a leg joint. This bite pumps neurotoxin into the victim, paralyzing it; it remains alive but
immobile for what follows. The widow delivers a series of bites as the creature’s struggles diminish, injecting
digestive fluids. Finally she will settle down to suck the liquefied innards out of the prey, changing position two
or three times to get it all.
[permission granted by author]
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ATTACHMENT B
I hunt black widow spiders. When I find one, I capture it. I have found them in
discarded car wheels and under railroad ties. I have found them in house foundations and
cellars, in automotive shops and tool sheds, against fences and in cinder block walls. As a
boy I used to lift the iron lids that guarded underground water meters, and there in the
darkness of the meter-wells I would often see something round as a flensed human skull,
glinting like chipped obsidian, scarred with a pair of crimson triangles that touched each
other to form an hourglass: the widow as she looks in shadow. A quick stir with a stick
would trap her for a few seconds in her own web, long enough for me to catch her in a jar. I
have found widows on playground equipment, in a hospital, in the lair of a rattlesnake, and
once on the bottom of the lawn chair I was sitting in as I looked at some widows I had
captured elsewhere that day.
Sometimes I raise a generation or two in captivity. An egg sac hatches hundreds of
pinpoint cannibals, each leaving a trail of gleaming light in the air, the group of them
eventually producing a glimmering tangle in which most of them die, eaten by stronger sibs.
Finally I separate the three or four survivors and feed them bigger game.
Once I let eleven egg sacs hatch out in a container about eighteen inches on a side, a
tight wooden box with a sliding glass top. As I tried to move the box one day, I tripped. The
lid slid off and I fell, hands first, into the mass of young widows. Most were still translucent
newborns, their bodies a swirl of cream and brown . A few of the females were past their
second molt; they had the beginnings of their blackness. Tangles of broken web clung to my
forearms. The spiderlings felt like trickling water among my arm hairs.
I walked out into the open air and raised my arms into the stiff wind. The widows
answered the wind with new strands of web and drifted away, their bodies gold in the
afternoon sun. In about ten minutes my arms carried nothing but old web and the husks of
spiderlings eaten by their sibs.
I have never been bitten.
* FK 7.2 *
The black widow has an ugly web. The orb weavers make those seemingly delicate
nets that poets have traditionally used as symbols of imagination, order, and perfection. The
sheet-web spiders weave crisp linens on grass and bushes. But the widow makes messylooking tangles in the corners and bends of things and under logs and debris. Often the web
is littered with leaves. Beneath it lie the husks of insect prey, their antennae stiff as gargoyle
horns, cut loose and dropped; on them and the surrounding ground are splashes of the
spider's white urine, which looks like bird guano and smells of ammonia even at a distance
of several feet. This fetid material draws scavengers -- ants, crickets, roaches, and so on -which become tangled in vertical strands of silk reaching from the ground to the main body
of the web. Sometimes these vertical strands break and recoil, hoisting the new prey as if on
a bungee cord. The widow comes down and, with a bicycling of the hind pair of legs, throws
gummy silk onto the victim.
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When the prey is seriously tangled but still struggling, the widow cautiously descends
and bites the creature, usually on a leg joint. This bite pumps neurotoxin into the victim,
paralyzing it; it remains alive but immobile for what follows. The widow delivers a series of
bites as the creature’s struggles diminish, injecting digestive fluids. Finally she will settle
down to suck the liquefied innards out of the prey, changing position two or three times to
get it all.
Before the eating begins, and sometimes before the slow venom quiets the victim, the
widow usually moves the meal higher into the web. She attaches some line to the prey with
a leg-bicycling toss, moves up the vertical web-strand which originally snagged the prey,
crosses a diagonal strand upward into the cross-hatched main body of the web, and here
secures the line. Then she hauls on the attached line to raise the prey so that its struggles
cause it to touch other strands. She has effectively moved a load with block and tackle. The
operation occurs in three dimensions -- as opposed to the essentially two-dimensional
operations of the familiar orb-weavers.
You can't watch the widow in this activity very long without realizing that its web is
not a mess at all, but an efficient machine. It allows complicated uses of leverage, and also,
because of its complexity of connections, lets the spider feel a disturbance anywhere in the
web--usually with enough accuracy to tell the difference at a distance between a raindrop or
leaf and viable prey. The web is also constructed in a certain relationship to movements of
air, so that flying insects are drawn into it. This fact partly explains why widow webs are so
often found in the face-down side of discarded car wheels--the wheel is essentially a vault of
still air that protects the web, but the central hole at the top allows airborne insects to fall in.
A clumsy flying insect, such as a June beetle, is especially vulnerable to this trap.
Widows adapt their webs to the opportunities of their neighborhoods. Some choose
building sites according to indigenous smells. Webs turn up, for example, in piles of trash
and rotting wood, the web holding together a camouflage of leaves, dirt, or bark. A few
decades ago, the widow was notorious for building its home in another odorous habitat-outdoor toilets. Some people would habitually take a stick to the outhouse with them.
Before conducting the business for which they had come, they would scrape under the seat
and inside the hole with the stick, listening carefully for a sound like the crackling of paper in
fire. This sound is unique to the widow's powerful web. Anybody with a little experience
can tell a widow's work from another spider's by ear.
Widows move around in their webs almost blind, yet they never misstep or get lost.
In fact, a widow knocked loose from its web does not seem confused; it will quickly climb
back to its habitual resting place. Furthermore, widows never snare themselves, even though
every strand of the web, except for the scaffolding, is a potential trap. A widow will spend a
few minutes every day coating the clawed tips of its legs with the oil that lets it walk the
sticky strands. It secretes the oil from its mouth, licking its legs like a cat cleaning its paws.
The human mind cannot grasp the complex functions of the web, but must infer them.
The widow constructs it by instinct. A ganglion smaller than a pinhead -- it’s too primitive to
be called a brain -- contains the blueprints, precognitive memories the widow unfolds out of
itself into actuality. I have never dissected with enough precision or delicacy to get a good
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specimen of the black widow’s tiny ganglion, but I did glimpse one once. A widow was
struggling to wrap a mantid when the insect's forelegs, like scalpels mounted on lightning,
sliced away the spider's carapace and left exposed among the ooze of torn venom sacs a clear
droplet of bloody primitive brain.
* FK 8.2 *
Widows have been known to snare and eat mice, frogs, snails, tarantulas, lizards,
snakes -- almost anything that wanders into that remarkable web. I have never witnessed a
widow performing a gustatory act of that magnitude, but I have seen them eat scarab beetles
heavy as pecans, cockroaches more than an inch long, bumblebees, Mormon crickets, and
hundreds of other arthropods of various sizes. I have seen widows eat butterflies and ants
that most spiders reject on the grounds of bad flavor. I have seen them conquer spidereating insects such as adult mantids and mud-dauber wasps. The combination of web and
venom enables widows to overcome predators whose size and strength would otherwise
overwhelm them.
Many widows will eat as much as opportunity gives. One aggressive female had an
abdomen a little bigger than an English pea. She snared a huge cockroach and spent several
hours subduing it, then three days consuming it. Her abdomen swelled to the size of a
largish marble, its glossy black stretching to a tight red-brown. With a different widow, I
decided to see whether that appetite was really insatiable. I collected dozens of large crickets
and grasshoppers and began to drop them into her web at a rate of one every three or four
hours. After catching and consuming her tenth victim, this bloated widow fell from her web,
landing on her back. She remained in this position for hours, making only feeble attempts to
move. Then she died.
The widow gets her name by eating her mate, though this does not always happen.
When a male matures with his last molt, he abandons his sedentary web-sitting ways. He
spins a little patch of silk and squeezes a drop of sperm-rich fluid onto it. Then he sucks the
fluid into the knobs at the end of his pedipalps and goes wandering in search females. When
he finds a web, he recognizes it as that of a female of the appropriate species by scent -- the
female’s silk is laden with pheromones. Before approaching the female, the male tinkers
mysteriously at the edge of her web for a while, cutting a few strands, balling up the cut silk,
and otherwise altering attachments. Apparently he is sabotaging the web so the vibratory
messages the female receives will be imprecise. He thus creates a blind spot in her view of
the world. This tactic makes it harder for her to find and kill him. Then he’s ready to
approach her. He distinguishes himself from ordinary prey by playing her web like a lyre,
stroking it with his front legs and vibrating his belly against the strands. Sometimes the
female eats the male without first copulating; sometimes she snags him as he withdraws his
palp from her genital pore; sometimes he leaves unharmed after mating. I have even
witnessed male and female living in apparently platonic relationships in one web.
Mating is the last thing a male does. Once he’s left his web to seek mates, he never
eats again; and whether he finds females or not, he is already wasting away, collapsing
toward his preordained life-limit, which is marked by the coming of the cold.
The first thing people ask when they hear about my fascination with the widow is why
I am not afraid. The truth is that my fascination is rooted in fear.
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I have childhood memories that partly account for my fear. When I was six my
mother took my sister and me to the cellar of our farmhouse and told us to watch as she
killed a widow. With great ceremony she produced a long stick (I am tempted to say a tenfoot pole) and, narrating her technique in exactly the hushed voice she used for discussing
religion or sex, went to work. Her flashlight beam found a point halfway up the cement wall
where two marbles hung together -- one crisp white, the other a glossy black. My mother ran
her stick through the dirty silver web around them, and as it tore she made us listen to the
crackle. The black marble rose on thin legs to fight off the intruder. As the plump abdomen
wobbled across the wall, it seemed to be constantly throwing those legs out of its path. It
gave the impression of speed and frantic anger, but actually a widow's movements outside
the web are slow and inefficient. My mother smashed the widow onto the stick and carried it
up into the light. It was still kicking its remaining legs. She scraped it against the sidewalk,
grinding it to a paste. Then she returned for the white marble -- the widow's egg sac. This,
too, came to an abrasive end.
My mother's purpose was to teach us how to recognize and deal with a dangerous
creature we would probably encounter on the farm. But of course we also took the
understanding that widows were actively malevolent, that they waited in dark places to
ambush us, that they were worthy of ritual disposition, like an enemy whose death is not
sufficient but must be followed with the murder of his children and the salting of his land
and whose unclean remains must not touch our hands.
The odd thing is that so many people, some of whom presumably did not first
encounter the widow in such an atmosphere of mystic reverence, hold her in awe. Various
friends have told me that the widow always devours her mate, or that her bite is always fatal
to humans--in fact, it rarely is, especially since the development of an antivenin. I have heard
told for truth that goods imported from Asia are likely infested with widows and that
women with Bouffant hairdos have died of widow infestation. Any contradiction of such
tales is received as if it were a proclamation of atheism.
Scientific researchers are not immune to the widow’s mythic aura. The most startling
contribution to the widow's mythical status I’ve ever encountered was Black Widow:
America's Most Poisonous Spider, a book by Thorpe and Woodson that appeared in 1945.
This book enjoyed respect in scientific circles. It was cited in scientific literature for decades
after it appeared; its survey of medical cases and laboratory experiments was thorough.
However, between their responsible scientific observations, the authors present the widow as
a lurking menace with a taste for human flesh. “Mankind must now make a unified effort
toward curtailment of the greatest arachnid menace the world has ever known,” they
proclaim. The widow population is exploding, they announce with scant evidence, making it
a danger of enormous urgency. They describe certain experiments conducted in the name of
making the world safe from widows; one involved inducing a widow to bite a laboratory rat
on the penis, after which event the rat “appeared to become dejected and depressed.”
Perhaps the most psychologically revealing passage is the authors' quotation from another
writer, who said the "deadliest Communists are like the black widow spider; they conceal
their red underneath."
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We project our archetypal terrors onto the widow. It is black; it avoids the light; it is a
voracious carnivore. Its red markings suggest blood. Its name, its sleek, rounded form, invite a
strangely sexual discomfort; the widow becomes an emblem for a man's fear of extending himself into
the blood and darkness of a woman, something like the vampire of Inuit legend that takes the form of a
fanged vagina.
The widow's venom is, of course, a soundly pragmatic reason for fear. It contains a
neurotoxin that can produce sweats, vomiting, swelling, convulsions, and dozens of other
symptoms. The variation in symptoms from one person to the next is remarkable. The
constant is pain. A useful question for a doctor trying to diagnose an uncertain case: “Is this
the worst pain you’ve ever felt?” A “yes” suggests a diagnosis of black widow bite.
Occasionally people die from widow bites. The very young and the very old are especially
vulnerable. Some people die not from the venom but from the complications that may follow
a bite--stroke, tetanus, gangrene.
Some early researchers hypothesized that the virulence of the venom was necessary
for killing scarab beetles. The scarab family contains thousands of species, including the June
beetle and the famous dung beetle the Egyptians thought immortal. All the scarabs have
thick, strong bodies and tough exoskeletons, and many of them are common prey for the
widow. The tough hide was supposed to require a particularly nasty venom. As it turns out,
the widow’s venom is thousands of times more virulent than necessary for killing scarabs.
The whole idea is full of the widow's glamor: an emblem of eternal life killed by a creature
whose most distinctive blood-colored markings people invariably describe as an hourglass.
No one has ever offered a sufficient explanation for the dangerous venom. It provides
no clear evolutionary advantage: all of the widow's prey items would find lesser toxins fatal,
and there is no particular benefit in killing or harming larger animals. A widow that bites a
human being or other large animal is likely to be killed. Evolution does sometimes produce
such flowers of natural evil -- traits that are neither functional nor vestigial, but utterly
pointless. Natural selection favors the inheritance of useful characteristics that arise from
random mutation and tends to extinguish disadvantageous traits. All other characteristics,
the ones that neither help nor hinder survival, are preserved or extinguished at random as
mutation links them with useful or harmful traits. Many people--even many scientists -assume that every animal is elegantly engineered for its ecological niche, that every bit of an
animal's anatomy and behavior has a functional explanation. However, nothing in
evolutionary theory sanctions this assumption. Close observation of the lives around us
rules out any view so systematic.
We want the world to be an ordered room, but in a corner of that room there hangs an
untidy web. Here the analytical mind finds an irreducible mystery, a motiveless evil in
nature; and the scientist's vision of evil comes to match the vision of a God-fearing country
woman with a ten-foot pole. No idea of the cosmos as elegant design accounts for the
widow. No idea of a benevolent God is comfortable in a world with the widow. She hangs
in her web, that marvel of design, and defies teleology.
* FK 9.2 *
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This essay appears in Nature Gothic: Best Wildlife Stories of Gordon Grice. An expanded version of it
appears in The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators. Copyright 1998 by Gordon Grice. Used with
permission.
Differentiation:
* (weaker readers – section is approximately grade 7 FK)
** (mid-range readers – through this section, excerpt is approximately grade 8 FK)
*** (top readers & nature readers – entire article is approximately grade 9 FK)
Teacher Note: teacher may elect to eliminate section in italics
Teacher Note: This article was selected because of its vivid language and inviting style; it is, however, a
challenging piece to read. Because this lesson is not primarily a reading lesson, teachers should choose from
among appropriate strategies to help struggling readers access the text – both its content and its style. Options
include (but are not limited to)
 Use only first section of the article
 Highlight or otherwise note key concepts, words and phrases to focus students’ attention
 Provide pictures of spider and its web to facilitate visualization
 Tape – and provide a podcast – of the article
 Have a para-professional (or student-tutor) help conduct a mock “interview” with Gordon Grice (“Question
the Author” protocol)
Every effort should be made to help all students access at least a chunk of this text (as opposed to providing a
watered-down version)
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ATTACHMENT C
Black widows have the ugliest webs of any spider, messy looking tangles in the corners and bends of
things and under logs and debris. Often the widow's web is littered with leaves. Beneath it lie the husks of
consumed insects, their antennae stiff as gargoyle horns; on them and the surrounding ground are splashes of the
spider's white urine, which looks like bird guano and smells of ammonia even at a distance of several feet from
her web,
This fetid material draws scavengers – ants, sow bugs, crickets, roaches, and so on – which become
tangled in vertical strands of silk reaching from the ground up into the web. The widow climbs down and
throws gummy silk onto this new prey. When the insect is seriously tangled but still struggling, the widow
cautiously descends and bites it, usually on a leg joint. This is a killing bite; it pumps poison into the victim. As
the creature dies, the widow delivers still more bites, injecting substances that liquefy the organs. Finally it
settles down to suck the liquefied innards out of the prey, changing position two or three times to get it all.
Possible choices for verbs, adjectives, figurative language (students may identify other choices), subjective
word choices
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ATTACHMENT D
Sample high school lab reports are widely available online. Some examples include the following:
http://www.biologyjunction.com/Lab%2011%20animal%20behavior.htm or
http://www.biologyjunction.com/lab_11a_behavior_ap.htm
(AP lab reports on Animal Behavior)
http://www.ncsu.edu/labwrite/res/labreport/res-sample-labrep1.html (a lab report more suitable for students
needing a challenge)
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ATTACHMENT E
Suggestions include
1) A selection from popular science (two popular books that would pique students’ interests include
Survival of the Sickest, Sharon Moalem & Jonathan Prince (micro biology); or from Stiff, by Mary
Roach (anatomy and forensics)
2) A selection from a children’s nonfiction picture book, such as Sandra Markles Rats and Mice
3) An article from a scientific academic journal (UD’s academic library has most academic journals such as
Proceedings from the Academy of Natural Sciences)
4) An article from the local newspaper dealing with science
5) Information from the state website link dealing with “science issues” pertinent to the state (e.g., from
DNREC)
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ATTACHMENT F
Determine whether the passage’s style is formal or informal Check the appropriate column for each passage, and
then explain your choice with specific evidence from the text.
Passage Title/number
Excerpt 1: “Caught in the
Web”
Excerpt 2: National
Geographic excerpt
More Informal*
(to engage a
general
audience)
X
More
Supporting text evidence (teacher can
quantify expectation)
Formal*
(suitable for
academic
audience)
Vivid language such as “suck the liquefied
innards,” and figurative language such as
“stiff as gargoyle horns” – used for effect in
addition to description
More scientific language such as “administer
digestive enzymes” and “have bristles on
X
their hind legs” (terms general audience
wouldn’t know)
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
Teachers can remind students about the definition of what it means to be informal/formal:*
 Formal: objective language, impersonal (e.g., pronouns), little figurative language,
straightforward/passive/being verbs
 Informal: subjective language, personal language (e.g., pronouns), figurative language, lively/active
verbs
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ATTACHMENT G
Teacher Note: Use bulleted list – “guidelines” – from Extension activity to model the first section. Adapt as needed (e.g.
for students who are unfamiliar with passive voice)
College Writing for Science Lab*
Advertisement
LANGUAGE Objective/subjective word choices:
Objective………………………………….…….Subjective
Formal Sentence structure:
Always………………………………….……Not necessary
Pronouns:
Third Person…….……....choice………...……First Person
Verbs:
Passive …X …………….………………………….Active
Past tense …………………….………………Present Tense
Objective verbs………………………………..Lively verbs
Language:
Content-specific…………………………………….Slang
LANGUAGE Objective/subjective word choices:
Objective………………………………….…….Subjective
Formal Sentence structure:
Always……………………………….……Not necessary
Pronouns:
Third Person…….……....choice………...……First Person
Verbs:
Passive………………….………………………….Active
Past tense ………………….………………Present Tense
Objective verbs………………………………..Lively verbs
Language:
Content-specific…………………………………….Slang
CONTENT relies on Observable data…X…….………. Descriptive/anecdotal
CONTENT relies onFact-driven descriptive…….………. Descriptive/anecdotal
Other:
______________________________________________
Other:
______________________________________________
Children’s Book
Feature Article
LANGUAGE –
Objective/subjective word choices:
Objective………………………………….…….Subjective
LANGUAGE Objective/subjective word choices:
Objective………………………………….…….Subjective
Formal Sentence structure:
Always………………………………….……Not necessary
Pronouns:
Third Person…….……….choice……………First Person
Verbs:
Passive………………….………………………….Active
Past tense …………………….………………Present Tense
Objective verbs………………………………..Lively verbs
Language:
Content-specific…………………………………….Slang
Formal Sentence structure:
Always……………………………….……Not necessary
Pronouns:
Third Person…….……....choice………...……First Person
Verbs:
Passive………………….………………………….Active
Past tense…………………….………………Present Tense
Objective verbs………………………………..Lively verbs
Language:
Content-specific…………………………………….Slang
CONTENT relies on Fact-driven descriptive……………. Descriptive/anecdotal
CONTENT relies on Fact-driven descriptive……………. Descriptive/anecdotal
Other:
______________________________________________
Other:
______________________________________________
* Teacher Model: During think-aloud, make sure to emphasize that the academic (college) writing would be
the most formal; other choices may be somewhere in the middle. There are no 100% correct answers (despite
possible incorrect choices).
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Extension:
Essential Question:
What are appropriate science-specific style conventions?
Mini-Lesson:
Read the following excerpt from a page posted on the website of an Iowa State University Professor
Warren D. Dolphin, “Writing Lab Reports and Scientific Papers.” Teacher Note: Teacher may read
aloud, stopping as needed, the first 3 paragraphs. It is the “general comments on style” that is the essence
of the extension activity. Teachers may elect to skip the rest of the article, which is written as a list.
Verbal communication is temporal and easily forgotten, but written reports exist for long periods
and yield long-term benefits for the author and others.
Scientific research is a group activity. Individual scientists perform experiments to test
hypotheses about biological phenomena. After experiments are completed and duplicated, researchers
attempt to persuade others to accept or reject their hypotheses by presenting the data and their
interpretations. The lab report or the scientific paper is the vehicle of persuasion; when it is published, it is
available to other scientists for review. If the results stand up to criticism, they become part of the
accepted body of scientific knowledge unless later disproved.
In some cases, a report may not be persuasive in nature but instead is an archival record for future
generations. For example, data on the distribution and frequency of rabid skunks in a certain year may be
of use to future epidemiologists in deciding whether the incidence of rabies is increasing. Regardless of
whether a report is persuasive or archival, the following guidelines apply.
Read the entire McGraw-Hill page, (Copyright ©1997 McGraw-Hill College Division) posted on
Professor Dolphin’s website: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/maderinquiry/writing.html.
Task:
After reading the advice about writing style and science report writing, write a short essay in which
you AGREE, DISAGREE or QUALIFY a position in response to the advice presented. Cite specific
information from the excerpt to support your argument.
Teacher Note: This task can be an oral debate, a letter to the professor, or similar format.
Sharing / Summarizing:
Responses to task can be used to help students complete the “style guide” assignment in EATS lesson 1.
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Informational Writing: Writing with Style
Acquisition Lesson #2 Concept: Transition to writing a feature article
Pre-requisite(s): In addition to those previously listed  Basic research skills, including note-taking, citing sources, avoiding plagiarism
Common Core Standard(s) – in addition to previous lesson’s standards:
Writing
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and
audience.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research: Apply grades 9–10 Reading
standards (reading standards 4 & 9)
Essential Question:
How can I engage/interest my audience by adapting technical, science information to achieve my writing
purpose?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What do students need to learn to be able to answer the Essential Question?
AP #1: Define “Feature Article”
AP #2: Evaluate the credibility of Gordon Grice article
AP #3: List possible topics for feature article
AP #4: Identify topic and justify 2 credible sources
AP # 5: Analyze writing task/prompt
Activating Strategy:
Project the following quote re: feature articles or “human interest” writing:
Good nonfiction shouldn’t let readers forget. It should capture readers’
fascination and spark within them an intense desire to learn, not just about
interesting people and places, but about ideas and perspectives. That is what a
feature article is all about. Features articles and similarly styled nonfiction
texts take information about people, paces, events or phenomena in the world
and seek to explain it. …Feature articles require research, analysis, synthesis,
organization, and good, strong writing. This is not simply a “put the facts in
the right box” report; this is literary journalism.
On the basis of the above information and from reading “The Black
Widow,” complete a concept map (or similar) for “Feature Article”
(Attachment H) [can be pairs].
Key Vocabulary Words to Preview:


Feature article
Credible information
Teaching Strategies: distributed guided practice, collaborative pairs, writing-to-learn strategies.
Graphic Organizer: Concept Map (Frayer or other vocabulary organizer can be used/adapted); note-taking sheet
(teacher choice based on student needs and prior experience)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Instruction: Feature Article
1. Debrief from activating strategy by reviewing concept maps and asking students to reflect on how Lattimer’s
definition of feature article (note: her term “stylized non-fiction” might also spur discussion or questions) is consistent
with or in opposition to the type of science writing they have experienced (in school or out).
AP #1: In students’ own words, write a definition for “feature article” [teacher checks for completeness and accuracy].
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Instruction: Sources
2. Define “Credibility” – lead students to generate criteria for credible sources. Teacher Note: Many schools have
preset criteria for assessing credibility of sources. If not, see online sources such as the following as the basis for
generating a suitable list:
1.
http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/eval03.htm
2.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/
Through targeted questions and answers, make sure students come to an understanding that accurate information is
important regardless of the form of science writing. Therefore, the science authors of the feature article, the
advertisement, the text book, and the academic article all share a responsibility to include accurate information. Some
students may point out that the author of the advertisement might skew his/her language. True, but the selective
inclusion or exclusion of information or the use of scare tactics or other persuasive/propaganda devices does not
diminish the obligation to include accurate information.
3.Assesing credibility: Model and provide guided practice for students assessing the credibility of sources for the
Black Widow spider. For example:
 Black Widow Spiders, Latrodectus Hesperus [available http://www.desertusa.com/july97/du_bwindow.html]. Site is authored by “DesertUSA.” Upon exploring the
home cite for this organization, you read that Desert USA is a “comprehensive resource, “meaning it includes
information about the biology of Southwest USA deserts, but it also includes travel information. Hence, it has
mixed purposes: informational and probably persuasive. That doesn’t mean the information is not trustworthy,
but readers would want to check the information by comparing it with other sources.
 http://ipm.ncsu.edu/ag369/notes/black_widow_spider.html. Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus mactans
(Fabricius), Theridiidae, ARANEAE. This site is authored by North Carolina State University (but you have to
go to the home page to find this out as nowhere on the page does the author show). Because it comes from their
science department, it is likely credible information.
 http://www.termite.com/spider-identification.html. “USA spider identification” cite has information about many
spider species, and while the information may be accurate, the fact that it is published by a commercial entity,
whose ultimate goal is to secure customers, readers must at least question the credibility of the source.
 *The Gordon Grice article, while interestingly written and “entertaining,” also comes from a credible source. If
you “Google” (or similar search engine) Dr. Grice, students will find his credentials are impeccable (and he is a
writing teacher).
Assessment Prompt #2*: Evaluate the credibility of Gordon Grice article. Teacher directs students to “Use an internet
search engine to investigate the resume of Gordon Grice and answer the following question: Is the article ‘Into the
Spider’s Web’ a credible source of information or not? Justify your evaluation.” [can be thumbs up/thumbs down if
teacher projects article for whole-class reading]
Instruction: Notes
4. Modeling note taking: Using the above sources, or sources from lesson 1, model how to take notes using the
black widow spider, using the note-taking sheet (see sources suggested in Attachment I). Note that the research process
is included in the Prerequisite section of this lesson template. The CCSS recommends that students conduct “numerous
extended and short research projects.” This would not be an introductory research experience. If students have had no
experience note-taking, teachers will need to devote substantial instructional time to teaching and practicing the
requisite skills.
Differentiation: For struggling students, teacher may work with students to co-construct note-taking sheet (or teacher
can provide source materials, since lesson is not about finding sources or taking notes). For students ready for an
additional challenge, have them create their own note-taking sheet and/or place additional criteria for text selection
(e.g., New York Times vs. News Journal). Also, “notes” can take a variety of forms – traditional written, photo-copied
and highlighted, through speech to text software or scribed, etc.)
Instruction: Research topic
5. Finding a topic: Ask students to brainstorm topics of personal interest that might make a good science feature
article**. Teacher can talk through several possibilities that might appeal to Delawarens, either because they are
unusual or in some way newsworthy (e.g., the “stink bug”- Halyomorpha halys; the Horseshoe crab, Limulus
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polyphemus; Copperhead snakes, Agkistrodon contortrix; Northern Snakehead, Channa argus; coyotes, Canis latrans;
Assateague ponies). But students should have some choice, even if limited. **Teacher Note: This lesson asks
students to write a feature article on a scientific phenomenon that would be of interest to general readers from this area.
Students might wish to write, instead, about something that is not science related such as a local historical or cultural
attraction/site/issue. The decision to allow students to broaden their search is entirely up to the teacher. The only caveat
would be that the mentor texts used to develop this lesson are science; teachers would have to decide whether or not
students could transfer their understanding of style (as it relates to author, purpose, and discourse) and feature article
organization to another content area.
Assessment Prompt #3: List possible topics for feature article. Direct students to “create a list of 3 possible topics of
personal interest that would make a good feature article.”
Differentiation: Teacher can assign subject and/or provide suitable information from which the student can select.
Instruction: Independent or Guided Research
6. Sources: Students move to research phase, using appropriate available search tools (library, internet, etc.) to
narrow their choice of topics (pending teacher approval). The object is to settle in on one topic, based on preliminary
research findings. Alternatively, teacher can supply articles for 2 or 3 topics, varying readability according to the needs
of students in the class.
7. Note taking: Take “notes” from various sources, using whatever note-taking strategies teacher modeled in #4
above (Attachment I). See also differentiation in #4.
Assessment Prompt #4: Identify topic and justify 2 credible sources. Teacher directs students to “identify final topic
choice and provide annotated bibliographic information for 2 sources, including information about why these sources
are credible and appropriate” [teacher checks for appropriateness and accuracy]. Teacher Note: If teacher has assigned
topic, students complete the second part of the prompt only. Students can justify sources even if teacher has provided
them.
Instruction: Writing task
7. Introduce prompt*
After researching [required # - teacher choice] scientific and news media texts on
[species/phenomenon of choice], write a feature article on the species/phenomenon you
researched, suitable for a publication such as National Geographic. What conclusion or
implications can you draw from your research about what makes this species a subject of interest
to Delaware readers? Include a bibliography of your sources.
*Prompts follow the LDC task-template prototypes (Gates Foundation)
Ask students to deconstruct prompt, listing all the “tasks” embedded within the task itself. Use Gordon Grice article as
an example of a feature article (the task-specific product). RAFT the article:
 Author’s Role: scientist
 Audience: general readers of magazines such as National Geographic interested in “human interest” topics.
 Format: feature article
 Topic: Black widow spider
 Purpose: Informational
Review style recommendations (from previous lesson) for feature article:
 Can include subjective word choices
 Sentence structure can be less than formal
 First person pronouns acceptable when appropriate
 Active verbs preferable; present tense acceptable; lively verbs and adjectives invited
 Anecdotal information and description acceptable
 Etc.
8. Review source requirements for balanced perspective on chosen topic. For example, students could be required
to find one scholarly article (e.g., UDLIBsearch), one “news” or media article, one text book article, etc.
9. Review rubric (Attachment J). Teacher models (via think-aloud) applying rubric language to Grice article.
In small groups, have students use rubric language to create a “check list” for peer and self-assessment of progress
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towards goals.
Assessment Prompt #5: In a quick write, analyze writing task/prompt, including explaining why Delaware readers
would be interested in the topic.
Differentiation: Once topics are selected, teacher can provide a variety of news media and scientific texts for students
to choose from. Teacher can vary complexity and/or length of texts to meet the needs of individual students. The format
can likewise be varied (e.g., by readability; format such as website, visual and oral sources for information including
podcasts, etc.). Teacher makes appropriate modifications (including reading texts to students) as needed.
Instruction – the Writing Process
10. Organizing the article: Explain to students that there is no single “correct” way to organize a feature article,
but that feature articles generally contain similar information, regardless of the sequence used. Use overhead or
SmartBoard to model for students how to gloss or deconstruct a portion of the Grice article to make the structure
transparent. For example, Grice 1) begins with a description of the spider’s physical features and its habits. Then guide
students as they continue to gloss deconstruct the rest of the article: 2) Grice then includes an explanation as to his
personal connection with the creature; 3) next he gives information about the myths and realities surrounding the
spider’s reputation. This deconstruction can help students structure their own writing. Again, it would be important to
point out that different articles might present the information in a different order, but they would likely have similar
information/content: hook; context or background information; descriptive information, including science information
about how the phenomenon affects readers.
Differentiation: Teacher can create a student outline for students who need structure in order to complete task.
11. Developing the details: As students transfer relevant details from their notes, they should return to the Grice
mentor text to be sure their writing 1) contains factual information, and 2) presents the information in a way that is
engaging to the readers (vivid details, engaging language, etc.). Teacher continues to site examples from Grice –
examples of descriptive passages, examples of explanations about the role of the Black Widow in the natural world,
examples of what makes the Widow an interesting subject, etc. Students can compare their statements with Grice’s to
assess the interest level of their writing. For example, see student-generated descriptive details regarding the “stink bug”
(Attachment K).
12. Revision/Editing: Students move through the writing process with periodic teacher and peer review conferences,
utilizing revision/editing check sheets developed to go along with the rubric.
 Early conferences focus on organization and development of information (teacher returns to deconstructed
Grice article as needed to remind students about structure and organization).
 Later conferences focus on revising for style (teacher again returning to Grice article as model)
 Editing conferences focus on SWE (conventions, usage, grammar) and presentation (e.g., students may wish to
include pictures, embed videos, or otherwise embellish their written text)
31. Sharing of final products can be accomplished through a variety of forums including, but not limited to,
publishing classroom anthology, class website, small group sharing (especially useful if differentiated according to level
of product so that all students are proud to share their product), etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Assignment – Writing task/prompt”
After researching [required # - teacher choice] scientific and news media texts on [species/phenomenon of choice],
write a feature article on the species/phenomenon you researched, suitable for a publication such as National
Geographic. What conclusion or implications can you draw from your research about what makes this species a subject
of interest to Delaware readers? Include a bibliography of your sources.
*Teacher Note *Prompts follow the LDC task-template prototypes (Gates Foundation)
Differentiation:
 Students can use appropriate speech-to-text software to create a written draft from which to work.
 A feature article is not necessarily written. Students can create a script to be used in a “feature magazine”
television series (same stylistic requirements apply).
Summarizing Strategy –
Write (or complete a daily calendar for) a research plan and schedule for gathering the information necessary to
complete the task.
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Resources/Citations:
- Activating strategy quote comes from Heather Latimer’s Thinking Through Genre (Portland, ME: Stenhouse Press,
2003). Pp 70-71.
- Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation Literacy Design Collaborative [LDC]. Available http://
www.literacydesigncollaborative.org/about/
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ATTACHMENT H- CONCEPT DEFINITION MAP with answers (model, adapt as needed)
Comparisons
Category
Properties (what is it like?)
Noun
(can be a verb)
Academic
science
writing
Literary Non-fiction
Engaging, less formal style
Feature
Article
Formal
language and
style
Based on credible,
research-supported
information
Definition/synonym:
Human Interest
Story/Report
Illustrations – what are some examples?
Gordon Grice article
“Caught in the
Web”
Mary Roach book, Stiff
Moalem and Prince book,
Survival of the Sickest
Concept definition mapping (Schwartz, 1988) is a strategy for teaching students the meaning of key concepts. Concept definition maps are graphic organizers that
help students understand the essential attributes, qualities or characteristics of a concept. Students must describe what the concept is, make comparisons, tell what it
is like (what properties it has) and cite examples of it. www.pbcc.edu/x12609.xml
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ATTACHMENT I – possible resources for note taking strategies/resources
http://www.noodletools.com/
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/
http://www.powayusd.com/student_resources/WritingWithStyle/Research/Writin
gResearch.shtml#Enotes
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ATTACHMENT J – Task Rubric
Informational or Explanatory Text-Based Writing Rubric
Grades 9–10
Organization
2 × ___ = ___
Development
3 × ___ = ___
Reading/
Research
2 × ___ = ___
Score of 4
Score of 3
Score of 2
Score of 1
The writing –
 makes effective use of available
resources
 effectively uses relevant and sufficient
text support from the resources with
accuracy
 effectively uses credible sources*
The writing –
 makes adequate use of available
resources
 uses relevant and sufficient text
support from the resources with
accuracy
 uses credible sources*
The writing –
 makes limited use of available
resources
 inconsistently uses relevant and
sufficient text support from the
resources with accuracy
 inconsistently uses credible sources*
The writing –
 makes inadequate use of available
resources
 fails to use relevant and sufficient text
support from the resources with
accuracy
 attempts to use credible sources*
The writing –
 addresses all aspects of the writing
task with a tightly focused and detailed
response
 skillfully develops the topic using wellchosen, relevant, and sufficient facts,
extended definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and
examples appropriate to the
audience’s knowledge of the topic
The writing –
 effectively introduces the topic
 effectively organizes complex ideas,
concepts, and information to make
important connections and distinctions
 effectively uses appropriate and varied
transitions to link the major sections of
the text, create cohesion, and clarify
the relationships among complex
ideas and concepts
 provides an effective concluding
statement or a section that follows
from and supports the information or
explanation presented (e.g.,
articulating implications or the
significance of the topic)
The writing –
 addresses the writing task with a
focused response
 develops the topic using 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
The writing –
 addresses the writing task with an
inconsistent focus
 inconsistently develops the topic
using 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
The writing –
 introduces the topic
 organizes ideas, concepts, and
information in a manner that may lack
cohesion (ideas may be rambling and/
or repetitive)
 inconsistently uses appropriate and
varied transitions to link the major
sections of the text, create cohesion,
and clarify the relationships among
complex ideas and concepts
 provides a concluding statement or
section
The writing –
 attempts to address the writing task
but lacks focus
 develops the topic using facts,
definitions, concrete details,
quotations, or other information and
examples that are irrelevant and/or
insufficient
The writing –
 introduces the topic
 organizes complex ideas, concepts,
and information to make important
connections and distinctions
 uses appropriate and varied
transitions to link the major sections of
the text, create cohesion, and clarify
the relationships among complex
ideas and concepts
 provides a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports
the information or explanation
presented (e.g., articulating
implications or the significance of the
topic)
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The writing –
 identifies the topic
 has little or no evidence of purposeful
organization
Language/Conventions
1 × ___ = ___
Score of 4
Score of 3
The writing –
 demonstrates an exemplary command
of standard English conventions
 skillfully employs language and tone
appropriate to audience and purpose
 has sentences that are skillfully
constructed with appropriate variety in
length and structure
 follows standard format for citation
with few errors*
The writing –
 demonstrates a command of standard
English conventions; errors do not
interfere with understanding
 employs language and tone
appropriate to audience and purpose
 has sentences that are generally
complete with sufficient variety in
length and structure
 follows standard format for citation
with few errors*
Score of 2
Score of 1
The writing –
 demonstrates a limited and/or
inconsistent command of standard
English conventions; errors may
interfere with understanding
 inconsistently employs language and
tone appropriate to audience and
purpose
 has some sentence formation errors
and/or a lack of sentence variety
 follows standard format for citation
with several errors*
The writing –
 demonstrates a weak command of
standard English conventions; errors
interfere with understanding
 employs language and tone that are
inappropriate to audience and
purpose
 has frequent and severe sentence
formation errors and/or a lack of
sentence variety
 follows standard format for citation
with significant errors*
* If applicable
Teaching and Learning Branch
Theresa Bennett/Denise Weiner/Denise Allen
DRAFT
Document Control # 2012/05/21 dated 5/29/2012
Available: http://www.doe.k12.de.us/aab/English_Language_Arts/ELA_docs_folder/Gr9-10_InfoExp_6-12.pdf
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Attachment K – Student Artifacts (Colonial School District, students in Ms. D Pfotzer’s class)
Student-generated figurative language based on the Halymorpha Halys (the “Stinkbug”):





… The stink bugs covered the wall. I thought that the wall was moving on its own. …”
…the scent is so vile and putrid. I’ve killed a couple and the smell will be in my hand for the whole day
…I try my best to dodge them [because] stepping on them is like stepping on a mouse trap or setting off a bomb or alarm…
“stink bugs are like ants; they always go where the food is…”
“…they scare you by popping up everywhere…They make a creepy fluttering noise when they’re hitting the light or your blinds. And if one
gets scared, you’d better hope that it’s warm enough to open some windows, because one little bug can make a huge stink.”
Students analyzing style:
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