Growing Great Writers
Self-Assessment and Goal Setting in Writing
Tori Sinco
Pam Smith, Principal
Avery Elementary School
Cherokee County School District
Supporting Documents
• Lesson plan - Memoir Studying and Planning Structures
Grade Level and Content Area
English Language Arts
Fifth Grade
Standards Addressed
English Language Arts Georgia Standards of Excellence (ELAGSE)
ELAGSEW.5.2, ELAGSEW5.3, ELAGSERL.5.1, ELAGSERL.5.2, ELAGSERL.5.3, ELAGSERL.5.5, ELAGSESL.5.1, ELAGSESL.5.2, ELAGSEL.5.1, ELAGSEL.5.2, ELAGSEL.5.3 (bold font represents primary emphasis/focus)
Overview
Students learn how to study model texts (close read) to get ideas for ways to structure their own memoirs in this Writers’ Workshop classroom. The standard for structure of texts is one of the hardest to teach for deep understanding, and this incredible teacher makes it easy! Students examine two texts and then construct their own Memoir Writing Checklist in order to demonstrate their learning in an original memoir that connects their own lives to a “universal theme.” Finding patterns in model texts is compared to “flying in an airplane and looking down on the patterns of a city or farmland,” explains the teacher. Students must return to the texts again and again to find emerging patterns. Mrs. Sinco’s principal Pam Smith joins this class to observe and give feedback to the teacher and the students who work to perfect their own memoirs with meaningful structures.
Video Segments
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• Mini-Lesson for Writer’s Workshop; Coaching Session I: Pam Smith, Principal
• Small-Group Instruction; Coaching Session II
• Mid-point Workshop Teaching Point
• Conferences and Admin Check In; Wrap Up
About the Teacher
Tori Sinco is currently a 5th grade teacher at Avery Elementary School in Cherokee County. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Ashland University, her Master’s Degree from Walden University, and is currently pursuing a her Specialist Degree in Instructional Technology through Kennesaw State University. In 2014 she was named as a winner in the Georgia Innovation in Teaching Competition as well as a Symetra Hero in the Classroom. Tori was also a member of the 2015 LearnZillion Dream Team. She currently serves as the chair of Avery’s Reading committee, is a member of the Superintendent’s Technology Advisory Committee, and is the Jr. Beta Club Sponsor. Her passion for discussing teaching and learning is fulfilled as an adjunct faculty member for Reinhardt University. Tori has a passion for teaching her students to read like writers and write like readers as they develop a love of both subject areas.
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