Objectives of the Lesson:

Students will be able to construct a brainstorming web for a given topic.
Students will be able to utilize a four square graphic organizer to plan descriptive techniques in an informative/expository essay.

Adaptation:
The lesson would work for several My Access!  prompts. We have used:  A Favorite Person; A Good Friend; Important Possession; Happiest Time in Your Life.

Prompt:
Important Possession (Middle School, Informative/Expository, Intellimetric prompt)
Many of us have one possession that we consider particularly important.  Think about one special object that you consider very important to you.  Why is this object important to you? Write an essay explaining this special possession and why this object has such special meaning.
As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:
·         develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates your controlling idea to the audience.
·         support your controlling idea with meaningful examples, reasons, and information based upon your research or readings.
·         organize your essay in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.
·         use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience.
·         edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.
Use any of the tools available to you, such as the Checklist, Spellchecker, or Graphic Organizer. 

Materials:
·         Pencil
·         Loose Leaf Notebook Paper
·         Four Square Hand Out 

Introduction/Warm-up:
1. Begin the lesson posing the warm-up question: “What is your favorite possession? What makes that possession special to you?” After students complete their warm-up, tell students that they will be writing an informative essay using descriptive techniques.
2. Next, display the writing prompt, “An Important Possession.” Ask students to identify the key words of the prompt which will be to highlight the purpose in the prompt (to explain) and the topic of the prompt (important possession).  You may also want to use some My Access! resources for analyzing a prompt such as the “Do What Prewriting Handout.”
3. Have students volunteer to share their favorite possessions with the class. As students volunteer their answers, the teacher will be creating a brainstorm web on the overhead or document camera. Students should also be copying the brainstorm down on notebook paper.
4. As a class, pick a possession from the list. Put a star next to the selected topic. Discuss with students the mind’s eye, how reader’s use the mind’s eye to imagine things while they read. Have students imagine themselves enjoying their favorite possession…where are they, what does it look like, what do they feel, smell, hear?
5. Next, explain that students are going to be taking their mind’s eye observations and recording them in their notebooks. Model for students with the sense smell how to brainstorm descriptive words to paint a picture in a reader’s mind and record notes.  Assign each group one of the remaining five senses to brainstorm.
6. Next, have each group share their descriptive words to create a class sensory brainstorming. Have students record this information in their notebooks.
7. Tell students that now we have a topic and descriptive images/examples we can use to help us as we plan our essay. 

Application:
1. At this point, have students print out the Four Square graphic organizer. Next, discuss with students how to create a good thesis statement. Remind them to use words from the prompt in their thesis, the word “because,” and to list three good supporting reasons. Have students attempt to create a thesis independently; then ask them to share their responses. As a class, formulate a final, class thesis that all students should write into their four square.
2. Now, students should create an attention grabber which will also go in box one. Remind students that the attention grabber needs to be interesting because it must “hook” their reader and make the reader want to read the rest of their essay. Have students share suggested attention grabbers with the class and choose one to incorporate in four square. Write “attention grabber” into square one.
3. Next, have students write each of their supporting reasons in boxes two, three, and four. Remind students that the supporting reasons answer the question “Why?” For example, my computer is my favorite possession. What are three reasons why? Now, students will move to box five and create a wrap-up sentence. Students should restate their thesis in this box.
4. After this step, have students begin to add details which further explain their supporting reasons. Have students share suggestions with the teacher to formulate a class example. Remind students that this step should only contain words or phrases, not complete sentences.
5. Have students retrieve their notes from the beginning of the lesson. Have students read their first detail in box two. Ask students to look at their sensory hand and add elaboration to this detail directly underneath of it on the four square. Have students repeat this process for each of the details in their four square.
6. At this point, have students return to box five to create personal feeling sentences. Encourage students to write two or three sentences in which they describe their emotions they feel during the celebration. Have students share responses with the class and choose two or three to include in the class four square.
7. Last, have students add transition words to boxes two, three, four, and five. 

Next steps:
1. Have students orally “talk through” each box of their essay. As students orally “talk thorough” each box, they will then draft that paragraph in My Access. Students will repeat this process for each box of their four square. (Suggestion: You may want to have your students draft in notepad and then copy and paste their completed draft into My Access!)

This lesson is based on  a “Four Square” lesson created by four 7^th grade English teachers at Louisa County Middle School.