Lesson Overview

The POW and WWW, What=2, How=2 strategies will be introduced in this lesson. The teacher and students will collaboratively locate the story parts Who, When, Where, What=2, How=2 in two stories. Students will begin to learn the two strategies. Students will establish writing partners and concept of transfer.

Student Objectives

Students will identify the 7 parts of a story in two stories.

Materials

Mnemonic charts, story examples (Albert, Sly Fox), WWW graphic organizers, paper, pencils, scratch paper, student folders

Step One - Introduce POW.

• Put out the POW + WWW mnemonic chart so that only POW shows.
  
  
• Emphasize POW is a trick good writers often use, for many things they write.
  
  
• Go over the parts of POW, discussing each. (P = Pick my Idea; O=Organize my Notes; W=Write and Say More). Emphasize that they can remember POW because it gives them POWER when they write.
  
  
• Practice POW; turn the mnemonic chart over. Ask each student (skip around) to explain what POW stands for. Help as needed. Do until you feel sure that each student knows what POW stands for.
  
  
• Discuss good stories (briefly) - ask students, what makes a story good? Be sure to include (you add if they don’t say it):
  

  1. Good stories are fun for me to write and fun for others to read.
  

  • Good stories make sense and have several parts - we will learn a trick for remembering the parts of a good story.
    

Step Two – Introduce WWW, What = 2, How = 2

• Introduce WWW - uncover more of the mnemonic chart so that the WWW shows. “Lets find out what the parts of a good story are.” Have students look at the chart. Briefly discuss each W. (Be sure to use the word “character” for Who; for When, ask students to tell you "how does a person tell When in a story?" - Once upon a time ... A long time ago ... Yesterday... Wednesday afternoon at 4:00, and so on. Ask students for examples of what might be Where in a story.
  
  
• Uncover What = 2. Explain and briefly discuss each What. Get examples of how a writer might tell each.
  
  
• Uncover How = 2. Explain and briefly discuss each How. Get examples of how a writer might tell each.
  

Step Three – Find Parts in a Story

• Say, “Now we're going to read a story to find out if the writer used all of the parts of a good story.” (Leave out the mnemonic chart where students can see it.)
  
  
• Lay out a WWW graphic organizer. Point out the story parts reminder (WWW, What=2, How=2) at the top, and review what it stands for.
  
  
• Give each student a copy of the story (Albert); ask students to read along silently while you read the story out loud. Then read the story out loud again and tell them to raise their hands when they hear Who, When, or Where in the story. Call on students as they raise their hands (all students should have a turn). As they identify Who, When, and Where; you write each in the appropriate space on the graphic organizer. DO NOT USE FULL SENTENCES – DO THIS IN NOTE FORM.
  
  
• Tell students that they are now looking for the 2 Whats and 2 Hows. Briefly review what each means (be sure students know what the "goal" means for the first What question). Remind to raise their hands when they hear one in the story. Read the story from beginning. Stop as hands are raised; you write each What and each How in the appropriate space on the graphic organizer. DO NOT USE FULL SENTENCES – DO THIS IN NOTE FORM. If you get to the end of the story and students have not identified all of the parts, go back over the story and help as needed. Be sure to be encouraging and positive throughout.
  

Step Three – Practice Story Parts

• Practice Story Parts Reminder. Turn over mnemonic chart and students' papers. Ask students to tell you the "story parts reminder". (They should tell you: W-W-W; What = 2; How = 2). Ask students to write the reminder on scratch paper. If students have trouble, turn chart back over and allow them to look. Keep doing this until all students can tell you the reminder and write it on paper for memory.
  
  
• Practice story parts to criterion. Ask students to explain the parts. (Keep chart turned over, but allow students to look at the W-W-W; What = 2; How = 2 that they wrote out on scratch paper.) Help as needed. Do this until you feel sure that students know what all the parts are.
  
  

Step Four – Find Parts in a Second Story

• Do second story (Sly Fox). Leave out mnemonic chart. As before, remind students to raise their hands when they hear a part. Be sure each part is identified. Do not ask write them out this time. Point to, or ask students to point to, where each part goes on the chart.
  
  

Step Five – Establish Partners and Transfer

• Tell the students that they will act as writing partners. Emphasize that you want them to use POW and WWW in all of their other classes where they can, and that they will act as partners to help each other do that.
  
  
• Describe and discuss Goal 1 for next time: use all or parts of POW and/or WWW in other classes or for other writing tasks. Brainstorm together some classes or other writing tasks they could use both POW and WWW for, being sure to note that we should use POW with WWW whenever we use WWW. Other ideas could be: book reports, letters to friends, reports on special topics, writing for a school newsletter, writing about something that happened to you or a special event, and so on. Briefly note that for some tasks, like writing a report, all parts of the WWW trick might not be right to use - so what could we do? (Change WWW to fit the kind of report we need to write; don’t use all of WWW if it doesn’t make sense; WWW is in many reports).
  
  
• Tell the students to report back to you on using all or any parts of POW/WWW next time (for example, students might report making notes for a writing task before they wrote, this would count). Show them their “I transferred my strategies/ I helped my partner” chart and explain that they will write down and put a star next to each time they tell you about using all or any part of POW/WWW outside of this class. Briefly discuss the word “transfer”- transfer means to move (like I transferred schools means that I moved from one school to another). Emphasize that you want them to transfer what they learn about POW and WWW from this class to other classes and other writing tasks.
  
  
• Describe and discuss Goal 2 for next time: help each other by reminding each other when you might transfer POW/WWW; report back on times you helped each other transfer by reminding your partner. Explain that you will write down and put a star next to each time they tell you about helping their partner transfer all or any part of POW/WWW. Ask them to tell you what transfer means and make sure they have it!
  

• Announce test (no grade) next session! Students will come and write out POW and the story parts reminder and tell what they mean from memory. Have each student take their scratch paper with POW and the story parts reminder on it with them.
  
  
• Remind them that they will fill in the transfer chart next time.
  
  
• Give each student their own folder & a copy of the story parts reminder chart. Have them put today’s work and their charts in their folder.
  

John F. Kennedy Center

Vanderbilt University Peabody College Columbia University University of Maryland

U.S. Dept. of Education