THINKING ROUTINE
Compass Points
Sort the objects in a way
that makes sense to the
group at your table.
PRE-UNIT ASSESSMENT
PROMPT: Choose a topic of interest to you
that involves a cause and effect
relationship. Write a well-organized piece
explaining the cause and effect
relationship.
DEBRIEF
• How did having to choose a topic and be constrained to a
particular organizational structure challenge the writing?
RUBRIC FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT
DEBRIEF
• What are the major notices and struggles you
had in doing this task?
Prescribed
Research
Chronological
(summary +
description)
Bounded
Research
8th grade
Cause &
Effect
7th grade
6th grade
INFORMATIONAL UNIT PROGRESSION
Compare &
Contrast
Scaffolded
Research
Prescribed
Research
Chronological
(summary +
description)
Bounded
Research
Year 3
Cause &
Effect
Year 2
Year 1
INFORMATIONAL UNIT PROGRESSION
Compare &
Contrast
Scaffolded
Research
RESEARCH WRITING PROGRESSION
Prescribed
Research
•teacher provides highly
structured directions
•extensive modeling by
the teacher
•research question &
sources pre-determined
& pre-selected
•students focus on
selecting & organizing
information for a
particular text structure
Bounded Research
•teacher sets boundaries
& provides directions to
channel research
•modeling by teacher as
needed
•student develops
research question &
selects sources within
prescribed boundaries
•organizational pattern
selected from provided
option(s)
Scaffolded
Research
•teacher shapes &
scaffolds independent
research
•modeling by teacher as
needed
•student develops
research question &
selects sources
•organizational pattern
selected from multiple
options
TEACHING POINTS – MENTOR TEXT STUDY
1. Informational Writing Strategies:
Cause and Effect
Writers of informational essays
use many different strategies to
convey information to the
reader, including cause and
effect, definition, compare and
contrast, and classification.
Cause and effect explores how
and why something happened
and what occurred as a result of
an event. Cause and effect links
situations and events together in
time, with causes coming before
effects.
2. Informational Text Models:
Cause and Effect
Writers examine pieces by
other writers to learn about
informational essay
strategies. Writers use cause
and effect in informational
essays to show the
relationship between related
events, people, and issues.
MENTOR TEXT STRUCTURE
Hurricane Katrina
Annotate for the three organizational structures the
Middle School units address
DEBRIEF
 What did you notice about the presence and
interaction/intertwining of the 3 organizational patters?
 Informational texts tend to employ multiple patterns rather than
just one, though one may predominate.
 What could this mean when teaching a unit that focuses on a
single pattern?
RESEARCHING & ORGANIZING INFORMATION
TEACHING POINT #4:
Writers perform research
to increase their
knowledge of the chosen
topic. They sort through
their prior knowledge and
research information,
categorizing facts,
details, quotations, and
examples into categories
and sub-categories.
DEVELOPING A RESEARCH QUESTION
Consider:
• What is the organizational pattern?
• What is the topic?
Example: The Sinking of the Titanic
Using the Hurricane Katrina
article as the topic to work
from, create a research
question based on one of the
organizational patters.
6th/Year 1 - Cause & Effect
What were the causes and effects of the Titanic sinking?
7th/ Year 2 - Chronological
What were the key events leading up to and following the
Titanic sinking?
8th/ Year 3 - Compare/Contrast
What were the similarities and differences between 1st
and 3rd class passengers' experience on the sinking
Titanic?
SIFT & SORT ACTIVITY
• The information (research) corresponds to your
organizational pattern by grade level / year.
• 6th Grade / Year 1: Cause and Effect
• 7th Grade/Year 2: Chronological (summary and description)
• 8th Grade / Year 3: Compare and Contrast
Read each slip of paper. Sift and sort into categories, headings, etc.
DEBRIEF
• How did you determine which set of bulleted info to
use?
• What ideas does this give you about formatively
assessing students in their understanding of what
information is most relevant and how to organize it?
At what points in the
process might
students need to
return to revise their
research question or
central idea, do more
research or refine
their information
categories?
Record prior
knowledge on a
topic & develop a
research question
Research and
sort
information
Develop a
central idea
Select, and
analyze key
details, facts,
examples
Experiment with
organization to reflect
the text structure &
central idea
Revise & edit for
clarity of content,
strength of analysis, &
organization
Share text w/
reader &
reflect on
writing &
research
process
Information
Research
& Writing
Process
DEVELOPING A CENTRAL IDEA
Central Idea – The overarching idea behind an
informational essay that answers a research question.
The term central idea can also be used in relation to a
paragraph, where the central idea should sit in the
topic sentence. In a cause and effect-based essay, a
central idea probably looks like this:
Cause(s)  Event/Issue  Effect(s)
Teaching Point #5 (T.P. #6 in 7th grade): Writers
determine a central idea to focus the drafting of their
essay. In a cause and effect-based essay, the central
idea will explain these relationships: Cause(s) 
Event/Issue  Effect(s)
DEVELOPING A CENTRAL IDEA
Using the handout, develop a 2-3 sentence central idea about Hurricane
Katrina for your given organizational pattern.
DEBRIEF
• What did you notice about how you processed
information into a concise statement?
• What are foreseeable challenges students may have
and how might you scaffold this process?
FINDING A STRUCTURE
Effect 1
Effect 2
Effect 3
Effect
Cause
Teaching Point #6: Writers of informational essays select a logical
structure for their piece as they draft. With the cause and effect
strategy, the structure is determined by the nature and number
of the causes and effects.
Cause 1
Cause 2
Cause 3
CAUSE & EFFECT
CHRONOLOGICAL
Event
#1
Event
#2
Event
#3
FINDING A STRUCTURE
COMPARE/CONTRAST
Block
Point by Point
DEBRIEF
• What were the determining factors in helping
you pick a structure?
• What was challenging about this task?
REVISION – REVERSE OUTLINE
Teaching Point #9: When they have completed a draft of
their essay, informational essay writers may use a
reverse outline to determine the effectiveness of their
piece, make a revision plan, then make changes
accordingly.
****
• Using your pre-unit assessment write, experiment
with the reverse outline activity.
DEBRIEF
• How would you turn the outline and your observations
from creating it into a revision plan?
• What support might your students need in this
process?
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Key similarities & differences between
ARGUMENT & INFORMATIONAL WRITING?
• Stance of the writer
• Research
• Claim/Central Idea
• Organizational patterns
For more information, see CCSS Appendix A, p. 23.
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
• How do we use the unit’s formative rubrics to guide instruction
(plan future mini-lessons, glean conferring teaching points, etc.)?
• How would we grade the reader’s/writer’s notebook?
• What other tools do we find helpful as formative assessments?
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
How do we judge growth?
Would any aspects of the rubrics be
more valued than others?
How do we assign grades based on
process and product?