Grade 6 · Lesson 29 — Explanatory — Draft the opening

Road-map project · blocked · 30 min · 18 slides · Launch → I do → We do → Read → You do → Closure

Anchor to leave them with: Never announce. Open with the thing itself.

Objective Draft the opening of the explanatory project.

Smallest piece An introduction says what the piece is about and gives a reason to read on — without describing itself.

Spot test “Have I written about my essay instead of writing my essay?”

Why that test works *In this essay I will explain* is the universal middle-school opening and it wastes the sentence most likely to be read. Children write it because it is genuinely hard to start, and because it feels organized. Naming it as writing ABOUT the essay rather than writing the essay gives them a test they can apply themselves, and a specific thing to delete.

Why — in your own words Begin with the matter itself; a long approach wearies the listener.

Practice mode blocked

If it breaks Remedial 78 — three openings ranked, worst to best

Vocabulary — pre-pointed T3 INTRODUCTION = the opening part, with its own job

Materials Mini-whiteboard + pen per student · Composition notebook · Deck — 18 slides · Writing Book 6, p.68 · Remedial 78 — three openings ranked, worst to best

The lesson, slide by slide

Slide — what is on it	What you SAY	What happens, and why
Slide 1 LAUNCH Writing — Day 29	(nothing yet — this is up as they come in and settle)	Have Writing — Day 29 up before they enter. Say nothing about it. Same slide every lesson, number only changes. It marks the transition into writing before you speak, which saves you having to. Students: See it on the way in. Know writing is next.
Slide 2 LAUNCH Explanatory — Draft the opening	“Everything we have practiced comes together in one piece of writing.”	CONTEXT — say where this lesson sits: what it follows, and what it is part of. One sentence. The children should know what kind of work is starting. Context, not a hook. A child who knows what KIND of lesson this is spends no attention working it out. Students: Listen. Orient.
Slide 3 LAUNCH Today ›› Launch I Do We Do Read You Do Closure	“Here is what we will do today.”	Point to Launch once. Do not explain the others. · Retrieval on MWB · 3-5 min Mini-whiteboards: Retrieval on MWB Students: Look.
Slide 4 LAUNCH Today we work on our own piece of writing.	“Today we work on our own piece of writing.”	PURPOSE — say it slowly, in these words. The teacher objective in the header is for you; this is the version the class hears. Never read a teacher objective to children. The version in the brief header is written for you and is too long and too abstract to say to a class; this one is what they hear. Students: Listen.
No slide LAUNCH WHY — SAY IT ten seconds, off screen, in your own words	“Begin with the matter itself; a long approach wearies the listener.”	Why this matters. Say it, do not read it. Ten seconds, then move on. Your words, not these. This is the one beat of the lesson that should sound like you mean it rather than like it is written down. Students: Listen.
Slide 5 LAUNCH Sixty seconds — what do you remember?	“Before anything new: U6 set 1, U14 set 1.”	Five minutes, boards out. Take answers from boards, not hands. Do not re-teach — this is retrieval, not a lesson. The spiral. These are sets met 2, 5, 10, 20 or 35 lessons ago, and the items are DIFFERENT from the ones taught then — same category, new example. If they cannot recall it, note it and move on. Students: Write answers on boards.
Slide 6 LAUNCH Words we will use T3 INTRODUCTION = the opening part, with its own job	“Two words we need before we start.”	Read each, point to it, move on. Do not drill them here. Pre-pointed vocabulary. Naming them now stops the lesson stalling later on a word that was never the point. Students: Listen.
Slide 7 LAUNCH What we will do An introduction says what the piece is about and gives a reason to read on — without describing itself.	“An introduction says what the piece is about and gives a reason to read on — without describing itself.”	Click once per line. Do not elaborate. Students: Listen.
Slide 8 I DO Today Launch ›› I Do We Do Read You Do Closure	“Now we i do.”	Point to I Do once. Do not explain the others. · 3-4 min Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed. Students: Look.
No slide I DO (board — build the VIP, then leave it up)	(you are narrating each stage as you build it)	Build on the BOARD, not the slide. Teacher shows the road map with today's slot named, and models draft the opening on the class piece — one slot only, so the model is followable. Then leave it up for the whole lesson. One click per step. The footsteps are never erased — the same strip is printed at the top of their sheet, so come back to it if anyone stalls. Students: Watch it being built. It stays there to look at.
Slide 9 I DO The test “Have I written about my essay instead of writing my essay?”	“Here is the question we ask ourselves: “Have I written about my essay instead of writing my essay?””	Say it, then apply it aloud to the example already on the board. WHY IT WORKS — you will be asked: In this essay I will explain is the universal middle-school opening and it wastes the sentence most likely to be read. Children write it because it is genuinely hard to start, and because it feels organized. Naming it as writing ABOUT the essay rather than writing the essay gives them a test they can apply themselves, and a specific thing to delete. Students: Listen, then say the test back.
Slide 10 WE DO Today Launch I Do ›› We Do Read You Do Closure	“Now we we do.”	Point to We Do once. Do not explain the others. · PRIMARY MWB use · 5-6 min Mini-whiteboards: PRIMARY MWB use Students: Look.
Slide 11 WE DO Together	“Now with me.”	Class works the same slot on the shared piece, then reads two versions aloud and says which is clearer and why. Take answers from boards, not from hands — that is how you see all thirty. Students: Answer on boards.
Slide 12 READ Today Launch I Do We Do ›› Read You Do Closure	“Now we read.”	Point to Read once. Do not explain the others. Mini-whiteboards: NOT here — they watch, they do not write. Writing during I DO is how the model gets missed. Students: Look.
Slide 13 READ Writing Book 6, p.68	“Open Writing Book 6 to page 68.”	Read it with them — FASE or teacher read-aloud, never round robin. Stop at the worked example and let them look at it. Our own book, not a purchased one — so it can be printed, edited and improved, and there is no license on it. Students: Follow along. Read when asked.
Slide 14 YOU DO Today Launch I Do We Do Read ›› You Do Closure	“Now we you do.”	Point to You Do once. Do not explain the others. · Written on the sheet · 4-5 min Mini-whiteboards: Written on the sheet Students: Look.
Slide 15 YOU DO In your notebook: draft the opening for your own piece, double-spaced so there is room to correct.	“In your notebook: draft the opening for your own piece, double-spaced so there is room to correct.”	Set them off. Walk the rows. Correct the grip and the setup, not the content, in the first minute. Students: Work in the notebook.
Slide 16 CLOSURE Today Launch I Do We Do Read You Do ›› Closure	“Now we closure.”	Point to Closure once. Do not explain the others. · Display answers on MWB · 2-3 min Mini-whiteboards: Display answers on MWB Students: Look.
Slide 17 CLOSURE Read the one sentence you are most sure of.	“Read the one sentence you are most sure of.”	Exit Direction. Take it from every child before anyone stands. It belongs to today's content — it is how you know who has it. Students: Answer, then pack away.
Slide 18 CLOSURE Never announce. Open with the thing itself.	“Never announce. Open with the thing itself.”	Say it once. Leave it on screen as they pack away. The anchor — the one line you want them to still have tomorrow. Students: Hear it. Repeat it if asked.

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