Are you including everything you need to in your writing mini lessons? Today’s tip is all about the must-have pieces to make your lessons shine!
What is a mini lesson?
A mini lesson is a structured, whole class lesson. Writing mini lessons are short and focused on one skill or topic. These lessons should be 10-15 minutes in length and they follow a predictable 4-part framework using the gradual-release model.
How are mini lessons structured?
Writing mini lessons follow the same format as reading mini lessons. There are 4 components you will want to include in each lesson. They are:
Connect
Teach
Engage
Link
The Connect Component
The first part of your writing mini lessons should include a connection. For me, this means I am starting off the lesson by connecting to prior learning or if it’s a new unit I’m stating a purpose for why we are learning this.
An example might be as simple as saying, “Today we are starting our new unit on opinion writing. Opinions help us express our ideas to others.”
Another example might be, “Yesterday we began our new unit on opinion writing and discovering the difference between opinions and facts. Today we will continue our work on identifying opinions.”
The Teach Component
During the teach component, we are modeling the new skill or providing more practice on a previously learned skill. While we model, students are watching and listening. This is often referred to as the “I Do” component.
We might see students participate or ask questions during this component. Depending on the lesson, that is okay. Maybe you are reviewing yesterday’s skill and they are helping you to make an anchor chart. Another example of the teach component might be teaching from the slides and going over any new vocabulary needed for the day’s skill.
The Engage Component
For the engage component, students are actively practicing the day’s skill. This could be using whiteboards to write dialogue, practicing fixing spelling errors, or voting on which choice is correct.
This component is often considered the “We Do” portion of the lesson as you are helping the students or practicing with them. The practice is often short and only a few minutes long.
The Link Component
Last, is the link component. This is the “You Do” part of the lesson and is usually a quick reminder of what students should be practicing for the day. Then students are sent off to work independently and hopefully practice the day’s skill.
Some examples might be…
The class learned sequence words and you send them to include a sequence word in their writing
The class learned types of introductions and they are asked to pick one to use in their writing
The class learned vivid verbs and you are looking for revised writing with a vivid verb
Related Podcast Episodes:
- Episode 121: Keep Mini Lessons Mini
- Episode 52: 3 Steps to Planning Your Writing Mini Lessons
- Episode 40: Writing Mini Lessons You Must Not Skip
Would you like more help planning your lessons to be mini? Check out the free guide below.
