Explicit Strategy Instruction for Writing

Steps for Teaching Students

Strategy POW-TREE

Lesson Component / Steps / Examples
1. Warm-up/ Review/
Make Connections / Provide an activity which activates prior knowledge by reviewing previous learning. / What is the purpose of writing?
What kind of writing am I going to use to answer this question.
What do I need to learn about the topic before I can write?
Make connections to previous experiences. / Is this question like one of the other ones that I worked on?
What graphic organizer can help me?
2. Introduction to Content/ Explanation / Introduce essential question. / How can you use a graphic organizer to help you write about your opinion?
Should children go outside for recess?
Give clear explanations of objective and purpose of activities. / Good writers use tools to help them write. I am going to show you one of the tools that can help you write an answer to the question “Should children go outside for recess?”
Discuss context and rationale for the lesson. / You are going to learn how to use POW-TREE to answer the question so you can learn to how to use it to answer questions on high school equivalency test or college.
We are going to start with an easy topic so that you get the hang of POW-TREE.
3. Presentation/
Model the Learning Process / Communicate the lesson content using a variety of multi-sensory methods. / Take out POW-TREE graphic organizer.
Demonstrate and explain steps while students observe. / 1. POW – look at graphic organizer. Pick your ideas (yes). Jot down some of your ideas.
2. Organize and Write – Those are the next steps – we are going to use TREE.
3. Explain TREE – using the graphic organizer.
Model strategies by doing—correctly, clearly, concisely using “think aloud.” / Now watch me use TREE to write an answer to the question – Instructor does think aloud using “Students should have to go outside during recess.”
4. Scaffolded/ Guided
Concrete Practice / Introduce structured activities that allow students to practice skills clustered into increasingly larger chunks. / Now let’s practice remembering POW-TREE. Instructor does power-teach.
Now let’s practice using POW-TREE to write an essay on “Students should not have to go outside for recess.” You can use the POW-TREE to argue both sides of a question.
Teacher leads this from up front, class participates, and students write answers on g.o.
Provide guidance and constructive feedback while students were working on the activities. / What is the first part of POW?
Keep asking now what is the next step? topic? . . . Reason? . . . Reason? . . . Reason? Explanation? etc., Ending?
Teacher prompts students to follow POW TREE and write to answer to the question. You can use white board or elmo to do this.
5. Communicative/ Collaborative
Concrete Practice / Organize students in differentiated groups and/or an interactive setting. / Divide students into pairs or appropriate groups.
Set up tasks that require participants to communicate and collaborate. / Now you try it – Use POW TREE to write answer to question “What makes an ideal leader.”
Monitor students' use of skills during activities. / Teacher circulates and prompts when necessary and provides positive feedback.
Provide immediate, positive, and corrective feedback regarding the assessment.
8. Wrap-up/ Concluding Activity / Provide the opportunity for students to recap what was taught and learned. / Did POW-TREE help you answer the question?
Were you able to remember the parts of POW-TREE?
What else do you need to do to be able to use POW-TREE when you need to? (practice, cue cards, etc)
What kinds of questions can POW TREE help you answer?