This learning module focuses on writing a Wikipedia type entry as an example of an informative/explanatory text. It also introduces some of the features of Scholar.
Information Search Websites Structure Note-taking
In this Scholar writing project, everyone is going to create a wiki entry on an interest or their favorite topic. We are going to learn about others’ interests in the class, develop our research skills, and also learn more about how to use the Scholar writing space.
Focus Questions
What interests me and my peers most in the world?
How do I evaluate sources and assess their credibility and accuracy?
How do I write an information/explanatory text about something that interests me a lot?
Comment: List as many topics as possible that you think interest people in your age group. Read other students' lists and see if they make you think of other topics that you can add.
This learning module is designed to introduce learners to some of the features of Scholar, including Community Updates, dividing a work into elements, creating different versions and incorporating media. It also aims to:
This initial activity introduces students to Community with a simple post of a few words.
Main CCSS Focus
W.6.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
Learning Intention: To think about, discuss and share an interest or your favorite topic with other members of your class.
What is the thing that interests you most in the world? Something that you know more about than your peers, because you are especially interested in it? Discuss some of your interests and favorite topics with a partner.
Comment: Share your favorite topic with other members of the class by writing a couple of sentences about it here, in the comment box. Read others’ comments. What are the interesting similarities and differences in topics? Comment on another student’s topic. If two students have the same topic, perhaps it could be split into two separate topics, so our class wiki entries are interestingly different from each other.
This activity aims to engage students by connecting them to a knowledge building community. Set up protocols for using academic language in Community Updates, and also for students to support their peers. To promote the idea of supportive language and comments, use a Think-Pair-Share to:
In a Think-Pair-Share, students think for one minute and then in pairs, share their ideas. In the sharing, each person speaks for about 45 seconds while the other person actively listens,
Use Comments in Community throughout the module to engage students, connect them to a knowledge building community, and as a reflective tool.
CCSS Focus
SL.6.1c: Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.
W.6.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to interact and collaborate with others.
Learning Intention: To demonstrate my comprehension of three wiki texts.
Read the entry for Yerevan in Wikipedia.
Read the entry for Rail Transport in Wikipedia.
Read the entry for Marie Curie in Wikipedia.
Then complete the survey.
This survey focuses on reading comprehension and introduces three wiki texts to students. This survey will provide useful information on students’ reading comprehension. It will also immerse students in models of wiki/information texts that they can refer to when they write their own information texts. The 'Contents' of Wikipedia entries can also support students when using the Structure tool in Scholar to outline their own texts.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
Based on the results of the survey, provide individual support for students to comprehend the texts and their purposes.
CCSS Focus
RI.6.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Learning Intention: To start my writing project and to use the Rubric to identify what is important to include.
Project Name: What Interests Me in My World - Writing a Wiki Entry
Description: Write an information text for the web describing a favorite interest or topic.
Check the Work Request in your Notifications. Click on this link to open the “Untitled Work” in Creator. Then, change the title, and begin a first draft. Go to About This Work => Project => Description for further project information.
For what you need to do in order to write a good informative/explanatory text, go to Feedback => Reviews => Rubric. Keep the Rubric open and refer to it as you write.
When you are ready to submit, click “Submit Draft” below the work. This is the version of your work that will be sent to others for review.
Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
Assigning the project to the students at this stage is important to set clear expectations, and also so students understand how the activities that follow will support them.
For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community:
Refer to the Analytics to monitor how students are progressing with writing and their reviews.
Project Rubric
CCSS Focus
W.6.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
W.6.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
W.7.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Learning Intention: To understand how you organize information in an information text.
Wiki entries are divided up into sections and subsections. Look at three different types of wiki entry in Wikipedia: about a place, about a technology, about a person. Alternatively, you could look at another online encyclopedia such as Encyclopaedia Britannica Kids Look at the 'Contents' to see how the information structured.
Do a general web search on your chosen topic. What kinds of sources are available on the web that provide information on your area of interest? Check that the information is accurate. Is it reliable? Who wrote it and when was it written? Is it biased? Is the website trying to sell you something?
Use the Structure Tool in Scholar (Tools => Structure) to outline the headings. Create ‘elements’, including sections with headings, and references. You can change the order of the sections at any time by hovering over a section and choosing the icon to move sections up and down as you organize your thoughts. To create subsections, drag the icon to the right.
You can view a short video on how to use the Structure Tool in Scholar.
Add points under each heading. Include your background knowledge and look up other websites to find more information. Add facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, statistics, and examples under each heading in your own words. If you copied sentences from other websites, that would be plagiarism, pretending that these are your words and ideas when they are not. When you use the exact words, for example, in a definition, then make it a quotation and insert “quotation marks” followed by the source (Source: title of the text or website).
Refer to the Wiki entries to see how evidence is included and how the author has used technical words. Add some technical words about your topic under each heading. These will make your text sound more informative and important.
Save a new version so you can look back at your notes at any time. You can view a short video on Saving /Versions of your work in Creator.
Comment: Give one tip about researching information from a time in the past when you have done research.
It is important to immerse students in the text type before they start to write. Wikipedia provides a model of an information text which students can refer to as they write their own texts. Wikipedia entries try to present information in a purely factual language, and this information is presented in a highly structured way.
Content Sequences based on Wikipedia
Place (city, town, country): General Statement, History, Geography, Points of Interest, Famous People, References.
Person: General Statement, Early Life, Career/Activities, Family Life, Legacy, References.
Sport: General Statement, History, Rules, People, Statistics, References.
Animal: General Statement, Appearance, Location, Behavior, Relationships with Humans, References.
Object: General Statement, Appearance, Parts, Uses, Importance, References.
Event: General Statement, Background, Aftermath, Effects, the Future, References.
Also in this activity, students use the Structure Tool in Scholar to create ‘Elements’ with headings. For extra support, encourage students to use the same or similar headings as the model wiki texts so the text is a scaffold to identify information to include on the topic. Once students have recorded bullet points under each heading, they can then expand or elaborate on the ideas in them which will help them to write in their own words.
Including some technical words under each heading is also a way of expanding vocabulary and providing more ideas to write about.
Encourage students to refer to the Rubric as they plan. The Rubric can remain open so they can continue to refer to it. If necessary, take students through the Rubric.
CCSS Focus
W.6.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
W.6.2a: Introduce a topic, organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.6.2b: Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
W.6.2f: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.
W.6.8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.
Learning Intention: To understand how to search for information and to cite references correctly.
Here are some tips for researching information.
1. Decide on your search engine. Some popular search engines are Bing, Blekko, Dogpile, DuckDuckGo, Live, Google and Yahoo.
2. Use unique terms that are specific to the topic you are searching. If you are researching Abraham Lincoln's famous speeches and you type in 'Abraham Lincoln', you will get many pages. 'Lincoln speeches' would be more specific and would narrow the search. 'Gettysburg Address' would be even more specific.
3. Leave out words such as 'the' and 'a'. Also leave out commas and periods.
4. Use quotation marks around exact words if you are looking for a particular text.
5. Use the Advanced Search button to refine your search by date, country, amount, language, or other criteria.
6. Bookmark any sites that you might need later.
Then search through the list of web pages to open the most relevant ones. If you can't find what you need, try another search engine.
As you research information about your topic, make sure you record the references for all the sources you use. Check that the website is reliable and credible. Who wrote it and when was it written or last updated? Is the website trying to sell you something? From what you already know about the topic as well as other sites that you visit, check that the information is accurate. Is it biased?
See examples of how to cite references in the MLA Style.
Comment: Post any questions you have about searching for information or citing references. Post a response if you think you can answer another student’s question.
In this activity students use internet search skills to find more information about their topic. Encourage students to check the reliability of the link they have found by finding out the author and the date it was written, and cross referencing it with other sites and their prior knowledge of the topic. Support individual students to locate and evaluate the information.
However, if this Overt Instruction Update is omitted, students could simply include the reference in the body of the text where it has been used. Source: [Title of text or website].
CCSS Focus
SL.6.1c: Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text or issue under discussion.
W.6.6: Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
W.6.8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information.
W.6.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Learning Intention: To show your understanding of the structure and language features of informative/explanatory texts.
Refer to any entries in Wikipedia as you complete the survey.
This survey will focus on the structure and language features of information/explanatory texts.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
To provide extra support to students, post the following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer’s Toolkit: Strategies for Writing Informative/Explanatory Texts in the New Media to Community if they need to focus on this aspect of writing at this time. Alternatively, individualized or small group support may be provided through structured mini-lessons.
CCSS Focus
W.6.2a: Introduce a topic, organize ideas, concepts and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.6.2b: Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
W.6.2c: Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
W.2e: Establish and maintain a formal style.
W.2f: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.
Learning Intention: To understand how writing in third person establishes a formal style.
Personal Pronouns are used in the first person, second person, and third person. Each ‘person’ has a different ‘point of view’ or perspective. Personal pronouns act as the subject of the verb and change when they become the object of the verb. Note that ‘you’ does not change.
| Singular(one) | Singular(one) | Plural(more than one) | Plural(more than one) | |
| Subject | Object | Subject | Object | |
| 1st person (the person speaking) | I | me | we | us |
| 2nd person (the person spoken to) | you | you | you | you |
| 3rd person (the person spoken of/about) | he/she/it | him/her/it | they | them |
First person is used to indicate personal experience, evaluation, and/or opinion. It is used to present the point of view of the author and can create a personal connection between the writer (I) and the reader (you). It is used in personal writing, blogs, narratives, fiction, memoirs and opinion pieces.
Example: Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport that I like to play. I play in a team of nine players. We are not professional players but our supporters love us.
Second person is used to address or instruct the reader. In second person, the writer includes the reader (you) in the text. Second person is often used in e-mail messages, presentations, technical and procedural (how to) writing.
Example: Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport. You play it between two teams of nine players. If you score the highest number of runs, you win.
Third person is used to generalize the experience or situation and is more formal than 1st or 2nd person. The reader is not involved in the text. It is used for academic, formal writing and in fiction. It adds authority to the information that is presented.
Example: Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport. It is played between two teams of nine players. Baseball players become famous when they score high numbers of runs and large amounts of money are paid to them.
Comment: Create a sentence which is an example of 1st, 2nd or 3rd person. Say what it is and what effect it achieves. Which is most appropriate for writing informative/explanatory texts and why?
This Overt Instruction Update is mainly informational, defining First, Second and Third Person, providing examples, and how they can be used to present a point of view or perspective. This activity provides an opportunity to teach grammar in context. In doing so, students learn to use grammar as a resource to create particular effects. In this case, using third person in an information/explanatory report adds formality and authority to students’ writing.
The Comment is included to prompt students to reflect on the information when writing a particular text type.
CCSS Focus
W.6.2.e: Establish and maintain a formal style
L.6.1a: Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective).
Learning Intention: To understand how to insert images, links, tables and other multimedia to enhance the written text.
Information texts often benefit from having media included. Your wiki entry may benefit from including:
You can view a short video on using the Creator Workspace in Scholar.
Comment: Ask and answer each other’s questions about including media here, and look for answers in already-answered ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQs).
In today’s communications environment, students need to be able to represent their information knowledge multimodally.
In this activity, finding images, links, tables and other multimedia is very purposeful and contextualized. Emphasize to students about the importance of these elements to complement the information in the text rather than for decorative purposes.
CCSS Focus
W.6.2a: Include ... graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
Learning Intention: To give feedback on other students’ works and then revise my own.
Check your Notifications for Feedback Requests: You have received a Feedback Request. Click on this link to take you to the work you have been assigned to review. Go to Feedback => Reviews => Review Work. Rate the work on each criterion and explain why you gave the work that rating. Make in-text comments at Feedback => Annotations. Make an overall recommendation at Feedback => Recommendation.
Submit your feedback once it is finished at About This Work => Project => Status. You will not be able to submit your review until all requirements set by you teacher have been met. These may include a Review, Annotations, and/or a Publication Recommendation.
For more information, see Reviewing a Work and Submitting a Review and Annotations.
The next stage of the writing process is to revise your own work.
Check your Notifications for a Revision Request: You have received a Revision Request. Click on this link to take you to the most recent version of your work. Then go to Feedback => Reviews => Results to see the reviews and Feedback => Annotations to see in-text comments. Once you have incorporated all of the feedback (Reviews/Annotations) from your peers, click “Submit Revision” below the work.
You can also write a self-review, explaining how you have taken on board the feedback you received.
For more information, see The Revision Phase.
Comment: Do you have any more questions about Scholar at this stage? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
This update covers two stages of the writing process in Scholar: Review and Revision.
The following Overt Instruction Updates from the Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community. They may be used with first time users or it may be appropriate to introduce them in a second writing project so students learn about the features of Scholar over time.
Before the students submit their final work, run the Analytics. Check the percentage of text revised between one draft and the next, the number of words currently written and the grade level of the writing. You may wish to ask some students to do more work before they submit.
CCSS Focus
W. 6.5: With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.6.6: Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
L.6.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing.
L.6.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation and spelling when writing.
Learning Intention: To identify what is successful writing.
Check Notifications to see if your work has been published and whether works that you provided feedback on have been selected for publication. Published works may be viewed on your and any collaborators' individual profiles in Community.
Comment: Read two - three other people’s published informative/explanatory texts. Write a comment about the most interesting thing you learned from reading them. This might be ideas you hadn’t thought of or interesting evidence such as facts that you didn’t know. Also comment about one thing you have learned about writing informative/explanatory texts. Mention the creator and title of the work, and make a link to that page so the person reading your comment can jump to the page quickly.
Notifications of publication are provided to the creator and all reviewers.
This reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ writing. Ask students to look over other people’s published works - have them read at least two or three works. Ask them to comment on something interesting they learned from reading other students’ work.
Refer to the Analytics to see how students have performed.
CCSS Focus
W.6.6: Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
Title Page: (Source); Fig. 1: Music Topics (Source: Image by Rita.van Haren); Fig.2: Transport Topics (Source); Fig. 3: Yerevan (Source); Fig. 4: Sports Topics (Source: Photograph by Rita. van Haren); Fig.5: Minecraft (Source: Image by Jo Kay); Fig. 6: Martial Arts (Source); Fig. 7: Writing (Source); Fig. 8: Science Topics (Source); Fig. 9: American History Topics (Source); Fig 10: Robotics (Source); Fig. 11: Animal Topics (Source: Photograph by Rita.van Haren).