The document provides details about an instructional design project for a creative writing course. It aims to address 9th-12th grade students' lack of knowledge in grammar and usage, specifically replacing adjectives with strong nouns and active verbs. The design includes a learner analysis describing the students. A task analysis outlines comprehension levels and competencies for parts of speech. Assessments include an EdPuzzle activity and writing assignment to evaluate applying parts of speech. The instructional strategy uses a blog to deliver content through interactive lessons and multimedia. Formative assessments provide feedback throughout.
2. Identification of Learning Problem
The learning problem I have decided on addresses the audience of a Creative Writing
elective course of 9-12thgrade students in a virtual environment. The problem I am seeing is the
lack of knowledge of grammar and usage; specifically, using strong nouns, active verbs, and
eliminating the overuse of adjectives. This achievement gap I noticed was through a writing
assignment, Show, Don’t Tell, that I use at the beginning of the semester as it lays the foundation
for what we strive for through the remaining writing assignments in the semester. Students were not
able to write using strong nouns and active verbs because they aren’t sure how to replace the
adjectives to reflect this, or not understanding these parts of speech. The felt needs assessment used
to identify this necessity for instruction was a questionnaire given to students that scored less than
100% on the Show, Don’t Tell writing assignment. The questionnaire asked them to describe what
they thought was the reason for not scoring a 100% on the assignment and what they thought could
help them to improve their performance leading up to the assignment. Out of the students who
completed the assignment, 73% of them scored less than 100%. My desired result is for 90-100% of
students to score 100% on the assessment to show higher level writing, which is the expectation of
the course. The goal of my instruction is for students to have a better understanding of the parts of
speech and how to replace adjectives and weak verbs and nouns to produce precise language using
telling and sensory details.
Learner Analysis
General Characteristics
The students targeted for this module is a mix ability group of 9-12th
graders comprised of 45
females and 24 males. 6 students have Special Education services, specifically with access to
3. PowerPoints and extended time to work on assignments, and one is served under the
exceptionality of autism.
Out of the 69 students, 42% are Caucasian, 19% are African American, 6% are Hispanic or
Latin American, while 2% identifies with Other. 51 students reported that English is their primary
language, while 14 stated that Spanish is their native language; 4 students did not answer.
Due to the virtual nature of the school, students are located across the state of Georgia, but
most live in the metro and south side of the state.
Entry Characteristics
Creative Writing is an English elective offered to accomplished writers in grades 10-12. Due to
this being an elective, 9th
grade students and beginner writers are often placed into the course
simply for needing a place to put them to fill class schedules. This means, the course curriculum
must accommodate all writing levels. Out of my 69 students, 9 are freshmen and 12 are
beginner writers, according to my questionnaire.
Academic Characteristics
This module will be used to increase the 70% of students who scored less than 100% on the
Show, Don’t Tell writing assignment using a scaffolding method. Students will refresh
themselves on the basics of parts of speech and work their way up to writing a piece based on
using strong nouns and active verbs with limited modifiers. This will also improve their success
rate for the remainder of the writing assignments in the course.
Task Analysis
Due to the concepts in my plan, a topic analysis will provide the necessary data to thoroughly
implement the design of the instruction. A topic analysis is used when facts, concepts, and
principals needs to be defined as it relates to your topic (77). My topic analysis will be used to
4. outline and define the parts of speech noun, verb, and modifiers, followed by the competencies
students will be evaluated on. The topic analysis outline will be followed by a flow chart to serve
as a summary of the instruction.
I will serve as my own subject matter expert (SME) for this analysis. As a Creative Writing
teacher of three years, it is my sole responsibility to deliver effective instruction to a mixed
population of general education and special education learners on various instructional levels.
Topic Analysis
I. Comprehension
A. Nouns
1. a word used to identify people, place, or thing
2. Types
a. common noun: denoting a class of objects opposed to a particular
person or object
b. proper noun: denotes a particular person, place, or thing
B. Verbs
1. a word used to an action, occurrence, or state of being. Verbs also form the
main part of the predicate in a sentence
2. Types
a. action verbs-express action or possession
b. linking verbs connects the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective
that renames or describes the subject
c. helping verbs are used before action or linking verbs to convey
additional information regarding aspects of possibility or time
C. Modifiers
1. changes, clarifies, qualifies, or limits a particular word in a sentence in
order to add emphasis, explanation, or detail.
2. Types
a. adjective: descriptive word that describes a noun
b. adverb: a word that describes - or modifies, as grammarians
put it - a verb, an adjective or another adverb
II. Competencies
A. Students will be evaluated on their understanding of how the parts of speech work
together and alone
1. Simple sentence changes
2. Writing assignment
5. B. Grading Levels
1. 95%-100%: Target level
2. 94%-90%: Acceptable with more practice needed
3. 89% and below: Unacceptable, more practice needed
Greater
than 95%
What is the comprehension level?
Review Parts of
Speech
Can student demonstrate
understanding of strong
nouns and active verbs in
written context?
Less than
95%
Current Parts of Speech
Comprehension Level
Student at
higher
comprehensio
n level
Reassess
6. Instructional Objectives
Objective 1: After reading a sentence, the learner will be able to pick out revised sentences with
active verbs and precise nouns with 90% accuracy. (cognitive domain)
Objective 2: With at least 90% accuracy, the learner will apply usage of precise nouns and active
verbs, as determined by the teacher, through writing. (cognitive domain)
Related Standard: Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid
picture of the experiences,events, setting, and/or characters
Development of Assessments
Objective 1 Assessment:
Students will utilize a program called EdPuzzle to watch a video about Showing, Not telling with
embedded questions allowing the viewer to pick out sentences that expresses concise, strong
nouns and active verbs. Students will be able to play the video as many times as they’d like to
master the content and successfully answer the questions before moving on. This program
automatically grades the students while I can login and see the report of student progress and
intervene where necessary.
Objective 2 Assessment:
The student will pick from a list of prompts of telling sentences, or create their own, to write a
showing scene with use of active verbs and concise nouns for the teacher to review. If the writing
is done correctly, the telling sentence will not be in the scene but the reader will be able to know
7. which one was picked based on the “showing”. Allowing students to pick their topic creates
differentiation for allowing students to write on what they think they can express.
These authentic assessments progressively build on each other to move up the DOK level on
each assessment.
EdPuzzle Assessment
Which sentence has the most active verbs?
A. A rainbow was bright in the sky.
B. The bees swarmed and stung the horses.
C. Get out of my bedroom.
D. We saw a grizzly bear running across an open meadow.
Which sentence has the strongest nouns?
A. There were three people in the room.
B. I see the green glass building you'retalking about.
C. He climbed the trellis to reach the balcony.
D. Several birds landed on the taut wire.
Which sentence has the most active verbs?
A. The airplane was flying irregularly.
B. The airplane went wildly off course.
C. The airplane listed dangerously, then went back to normal.
D. The airplane listed, then righted itself.
Which sentence uses the strongest nouns?
A. Sarah lived in a house.
B. He went to the store.
C. He went there to search for the stuff he needed for his work.
D. John went to Home Depot to buy lumber and acrylic paints for his Pinewood Derby
race car.
8. Show, Don’t Tell Writing Assignment
Pick one of the following "telling" sentences (or make up your own) and write a
descriptive scene that shows instead of tells. Remember to include sensory details (as
specific as possible—try for all five senses if you can!), action, and possibly dialogue. If
you are truly showing, the sentence you pick below should not appear at all in your
scene, but readers should know immediately which sentence you chose!
The kid was a brat.
Nothing I did went right.
He was always there for me.
She was so weird.
He's always showing off.
He loves to swim.
Your scene should be one to two paragraphs long. You will be evaluated on your use of
specific nouns, active verbs, and on how well you show your scene. Submit your
completed writing assignment to the Writing Assignment: Show, Don’t Tell assignment
link for grading.
ScoreLevels Content
18 total points
possible
Conventions
6 total points
possible
Organization
6 total points
possible
A-B
24 to 30 total
pts
Is well thought
out and
effectively
answers the
problem or
task 6
Reflects
application of
critical
thinking 6
Effectively
incorporates
new skills
and/or
techniques
learned in the
section 6
Assignment
contains few to
no spelling,
grammatical, or
punctuation
errors 2
High-level
use of
vocabulary and
word choice2
Form chosen
for writing
effectively
matches the
content 2
Writing is
clearly focused
in an organized
and thoughtful
manner 3
Form,
formatting,
fonts,
paragraphing,
stanzas, and
other
organizational
methods are
presented in a
logical and
effectiveway to
match the task
3
9. C
19 to 23 total
pts
Shows
adequate
critical thought
and generally
answers the
problem or
task 5
Mostly
incorporates
new skills and
techniques
learned in the
section 5
Has some
errors or
inconsistencies
in content 5
Contains a
moderate,
acceptable
number of
spelling,
grammatical, or
punctuation
errors 1
Mid to low-
level use of
vocabulary and
word choice1
Form chosen
for writing
matches or
mostly matches
the content 1
Writing has a
focusbut may
stray from it at
times 2
Form,
formatting,
fonts,
paragraphing,
stanzas, and
other
organizational
methods are
presented in a
way that mostly
matches the
task 2
F
0 to 18 total
pts
Shows little
critical thought
and
misrepresents
the problem or
task 0 to 4
Incorporates
few or no new
skills and
techniques
learned in the
section 0 to 4
Has many
errors or
inconsistencies
in content 0 to
4
Contains
many spelling,
grammatical, or
punctuation
errors 0 to .5
Pooruse of
vocabulary and
word choice0
to .5
Form chosen
for writing does
not match the
content 0 to .5
Writing is
unfocused and
haphazard 0 to
1 Form,
formatting,
fonts,
paragraphing,
stanzas, and
other
organizational
methods show
little effortor
attention 0 to 1
Content Sequencing and Instructional Strategies
Sequence Description Objective
1 Independently view lesson on Showing, Don’t
Tell.
1/2
2 Recall parts of speech. 1
3 Demonstrate the use of specific nouns and
activeverbs through writing.
2
10. Initial presentation: (sequence 1) The multimedia lesson students will view will model what it
looks like to show and not tell through specific, strong nouns and active verbs. The lesson will
give an opportunity for students to review and differentiate parts of speech before moving on to
the assessments of recalling and then application. This is considered an identifiable prerequisite.
Objective 1: (sequence 2) After reading a sentence, the learner will be able to pick out revised
sentences with active verbs and precise nouns with 90% accuracy. (fact/recall)
Generative Strategy (Integration): Students will integrate this newly acquired information of
parts of speech to take what they know and use it on new sentences to apply existing knowledge
to new information.
Differentiation: Students will view simple and complex sentences to allow practice for multiple
skill levels.
Objective 2: (sequence 3) With at least 90% accuracy, the learner will apply usage of precise
nouns and active verbs, as determined by the teacher, through writing. (concept/application)
Generative Strategy (integration): Students will build on existing knowledge through application
of writing their own sentences to create a scene in which they are using specific nouns and active
verbs and less modifiers.
11. Differentiation: Students have the ability to pick their topic to write on so they can be sure they
can fully express what they are writing about.
Designof Instruction
Gaining the learners’ attention: The unit will house several multimedia platforms throughout the
students’ experience through the unit. Students will participate in content through interactive
lessons, such as EdPuzzle, and therefore will not be passive learners and can remain engaged
throughout the unit. The use of various technologies will help create effective, differentiated
instruction as well as help carry the extraneous cognitive load.
Informing learners of objective: Upon beginning the virtual instructional unit, students will have
an opportunity to view an introductory video introducing the instructor and going over objectives
and goals. This video will also activate prior knowledge of parts of speech as we discuss what we
want our end result to be. Objectives will be aligned once again during the overview of the
concepts of the unit.
Activating Prior Knowledge: This unit works under the assumption that the survey of high
school students enrolled in the course has a basic understanding of parts of speech in order to hit
the learning target. Therefore, students will be asked to demonstrate this knowledge through
various activities of review. Students will be given basic and complex sentences and asked to
pick out the noun, verb, and modifier before we use our new concepts of replacement with
concise nouns and active verbs.
Deliver Content to Learners: Due to the ability of embedding media and holding discussions
through comments, a website such as Blogger or Wordpress would be the most beneficial to
house this instructional unit.
12. Design
Sequence
Description Objective Instructional
Strategy
Assessment Feedback
Preinstructional
strategy:
behavior
objective
Students
will view
introductory
video of
instructor,
objectives,
and
expectations
Video
Pretest What does
it mean to
“show,
don’t tell?
1,2 Discussion
through
comments
Ability to
reply
individually
to student
comments.
Advance
Organizer
Give a
summary of
what
discussed in
comments
as well a
graphic
organizer of
the
information
1,2 “blog post” Students
can self-
assess their
meaning
against
other
learners’
meanings.
Overview/ Overview of
“Show,
don’t tell”
1,2 Embedded
SlideShare/guided
notes
Self -
assessed
through
open ended
questions in
lecture.
Students
can
comment
answers to
questions
Respond to
answers in
comments.
Instruction:
Background
concepts
Students
interact with
a teacher-
created
EdPuzzle
with
questions on
nouns and
1 EdPuzzle The correct
answer is
given
immediately
after an
answer is
selected by
the student.
13. verbs parts
of speech.
Instruction:
Independent
Work
Slide show
will ask
students to
replace
nouns and
verbs using
the concepts
and
procedures
previously
reviewed.
1,2 SlideShare Examples
of possible
answers
will be
given on
next slide.
Posttest Students
will write a
scene in
which they
are
“showing,
not telling’
2 Screencast
explaining the
assignment.
Students
will be
assessed
based on a
rubric
Differentiation/UDL: Use of multimedia, graphics, guided notes; all material is scaffolded to
reduce cognitive load and provide equitable use with room for error.
Formative Evaluation
<Include your formative evaluation here. See Module 8 for instructions>