RI.1: Orally and in writing, students will use several citations to support what an informational text says explicitly as well as make inferences.
RI.2: Using a graphic organizer, students will evaluate particular details in a text and use them to determine the central idea of informational text.
RI.3: Orally and in writing, students will analyze how the key idea is introduced and elaborated in informational text.
Standards:
RI.1: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
RI.3: Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
Teacher Background Knowledge: The Harcourt Brace Science textbook and other informational articles will be used to cover the reading informational text standards within the first three weeks of this unit.
The Science text and informational articles will only be used for those RI 1,2 & 3 standards during the reading/ELA block of time.
The experiments and other items within the Science text (unit 5) can be completed during the science block of time.
Unit 5 in Science was chosen because it fits within the theme of Survival, with Surviving the Elements the focus of the unit. As you go along in the unit connect the theme to survival for humans when possible in preparation for the main literary text beginning in Week 4.
Instruction on citing from the text explicitly, including quoting and paraphrasing, as well as making inferences about the text. This skill needs to be supported and used throughout the unit.
There will be a CFA at the end of the week.
Depending on scheduling and if you plan to have a Social Studies time block during the first eight weeks of daily instructional time, discuss as a grade level teaching Chapter 1: The First Humans and/or Chapter 2: The Stone Age during the Social Studies block/time using the provided TE California Vistas: Ancient Civilizations. These two chapters, especially the areas discussing and illustrating early tools and the hunter-gatherers lifestyle will support the overall theme of survival. Please note- this text should not be used during the Language Arts block; that time is reserved for the designated informational text as addressed in the unit. This is simply additional information that could be used during a Social Studies time block that allows thematic connection.
For more practice, students can use the main idea/detail graphic organizer for other essential questions: What are the biotic parts of an ecosystem? What are the abiotic parts of an ecosystem? What are three biotic factors that enrich soil?
Tasks__Pre-Reading'>Tasks
Pre-Reading: Before beginning the lesson in the Science text, introduce the universal theme of this unit: survival.
Concept Development
Divide students into groups of 5–7 and give each a large sheet of paper and markers. Ask the participants to brainstorm everything they can think of about survival. Give them plenty of time and don’t worry about silences.
After sufficient time to think and write, ask the students to look at their lists and see if there are ways they can group their comments.
Next, have them label each group of comments with a generalization.
Have each group of students share results, allowing them time to explain their reasoning.
As a class, find some common generalizations that can be used for the entire class.
Theme Scavenger Hunt
Building an awareness of the theme is a prerequisite to studying it. Have students bring in pictures, models, quotes, stories, anecdotes, things that make them think of survival. Post them on a bulletin board. Discuss the why.
Using the Science textbook, point out and discuss the structure of the text (headings, pictures with captions, diagrams) to discuss their function in understanding the text. How is the text organized? Why? How is the organization and non-print information useful in comprehension?
Tasks
Read “Gorillas in Crisis” by Kathleen Donovan-Snavely (This lesson has exerts from the Complete Lesson which can be found and followed at website: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/scaling-back-essentials-scaffolding-277.html This lesson is to identify main idea and details in a piece of informational text in an alternative way than done previously in the week. Students need to know and experience multiple ways of accessing and evaluating information.)
PART ONE
Distribute the"Gorillas in Crisis" article(Appendix D or on website: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson277/gorillas.pdf) andfishbone map template (Template found in appendix A or on website: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson277/template.pdf)
Have students preview the article by reading the introductory paragraph and the concluding paragraph aloud in small groups. The purpose of this activity is for students to predict what the author identifies as key issues about why gorillas are in crisis.
After reading, ask students to share their predictions and list them on the board.
Display the fishbone map template. Introduce the fishbone map as a kind of semantic web that highlights relationships among ideas. Since the text structure of this article is cause-effect (i.e., why gorillas are in crisis), the fishbone map is an appropriate choice. Point out features of the fishbone map, showing how main ideas stem from the root cause, which in turn points to the effect.
Ask students, "How can we sum up the nature of the gorilla crisis? What will happen if threats to gorillas do not change?" List the students' responses, such as "gorillas on the brink of extinction," as the effect on the fishbone map. You will want to save this map so either write using a document camera or a smartboard in which you can save work from one day to another.(Save the root cause, which requires generalization, for Part Two.)
Ask students to silently read the entire "Gorillas in Crisis" article.
Model with a think-aloud to analyze the first paragraph as follows:
"Listen to how I think aloud as we read this first paragraph. Based on the introductory paragraph, I expect it to address one aspect of the gorilla crisis."
Read the first paragraph aloud (or have a student read it aloud).
Think aloud: "I wonder what aspect of the gorilla crisis this paragraph addresses."
On chart paper and in your own words, jot down a list of details from the first paragraph, such as "Africans eat bush meat because it is a cheap source of protein; as the population grows, more gorillas are killed to feed more people." Students should take note of the details on their own copies as you write them on the chart paper (or another form of documentation in which you can reference again).
Help students identify the pattern of details that leads to the main idea. In this case, most of the sentences relate to how Africans kill gorillas for food, so that should go on the fishbone map as Main Idea 1. Ask students for suggestions on phrasing the main idea and the supporting details.
Omit any ideas that were interesting, but not essential to the main idea that Africans kill gorillas for food. Omissions include traveling to the nearby bush, the cost of ammunition and gun rental, and the raising of chickens and goats. Emphasize the goal, which is to state the author's main idea succinctly using your own words.
Invite students to analyze the process that you modeled, and list the essential elements on the board as they are named:
Read the paragraph to get an overview
Reread the paragraph to identify key points
List key points briefly in your own words
Omit elaborative details for the fishbone map
Top this list with a title, such as "Criteria for Summarizing," since each part of the fishbone map is actually a mini-summary of each paragraph. Ask students if they have any questions about the fishbone map or the criteria for summarizing. Emphasize that the paragraph you modeled could have been mapped using different words, but the substance or ideas would have been the same.
Transition to partner work, using the think-share-pair strategy. Have pairs of students read paragraph 2 and analyze the paragraph using the process you just modeled and described. Circulate and assist students as they read, highlight details, and generalize to arrive at the main idea for the paragraph.
Have several pairs of students share their main ideas for paragraph 2. Record a representative phrase, such as "Africans eat bush meat as part of their tradition," on the overhead transparency of the fishbone map template as Main Idea 2.
Ask students, "What do paragraphs 1 and 2 have in common as they relate to the reasons for the gorilla crisis?" (Both focus on killing gorillas for food.) This is a repeated reference since the author names hunting as a problem in both paragraphs. Explain that when authors carefully convey a cause-effect relationship, they often repeat the main idea for emphasis so that the reader "hears" it again. A repeated reference signals that an idea is important to the author. The repeated idea will be important to include in a summary.
Point out that the fishbone map shows how the two paragraphs relate to the root cause and to each other, since they are joined at the "spine" of the fish.
Have students reflect in a class discussion, small group/partner discussion or in writing by responding to the following questions:
What did you learn about the reasons why gorillas are in crisis?
How can a fishbone map help you understand and clarify the main ideas and key points of a cause-effect text?
PART TWO
Refer students to their fishbone maps from Part One, with Main Ideas 1 and 2 completed. Have students review what they learned and how they arrived at the main idea for each paragraph (e.g., by noting details, looking for patterns, and using their own words).
Divide the class into small groups of five. Assign a role to group members or have students select roles for themselves. (Members of groups smaller than five can assume multiple roles.) Respond to any questions that students may have. (If you already established roles as suggested in Week One of Unit 1: Steve Jobs, these roles can be used here. Or, there are cooperative group role cards in Appendix D that can be used also.) Also supports standard SL.1b
Assign one of the remaining paragraphs (3, 4, or 5) to each of the groups to read and analyze. Frame this work session with a time limit-groups must be ready to present their main ideas to the whole class within 15 minutes. Also supports standard SL.1b
Have the recorders for each group simultaneously list on chart paper their respective main idea statements, identifying them by paragraph number for clarity during discussion.
Have the presenters explain their group's main idea and the rationale the group used by highlighting any repeated references from the text. Other group members may assist as desired. If multiple groups have read the same paragraph, have those groups present consecutively so that the class can compare and contrast the two responses. (See the sample fishbone map for possible responses for each paragraph.) Invite questions and comments from other groups. Also supports standard SL.1b, SL.1c, SL.2, SL.4, SL.6
As the presentation for each paragraph concludes, add Main Ideas 3, 4, and 5 to the classroom copy of the fishbone map template. Students should also add these main ideas to their own fishbone maps.
Point out that there is room for two more main ideas regarding the gorilla crisis, which students will discover in the next session when they use websites to find additional information.
Conclude Part Two by having students name ways in which each of the main ideas is connected to the other main ideas.
PART THREE
The purpose of Part Three is to write a summary of the threats to gorillas based on their fishbone maps
Lead students to identify the root cause by asking: "Based on the main ideas listed, why are gorillas endangered?" (Responses include hunters, loggers, and Ebola fever.) "What do these causes have in common?" (People are involved in all cases.) Guide students to record in their own words a summary phrase for the root cause, such as "Humans endanger gorillas."
Direct each student to use the fishbone map to generate a detailed summary of the human threat to gorillas. The goal is to write a paragraph (in his or her own words) that will explain the gorilla crisis to a peer who does not know about the issue. Distribute the self-assessment rubric to serve as a guide for what students should include in their summaries.
Prior to writing, hold a brief class discussion to remind students of some strategies for writing a summary. Lead students to conclude that the effect and root cause can be combined into one topic sentence. Each of the main ideas listed on the fishbone map should also be included in the summary. However, it will be easier for the reader if similar ideas are clustered together (e.g., all of the references to hunting should be clustered).
Upon completion, have students complete the self-assessment rubric for each summary. Students can attach the completed rubrics to their summary paragraphs.
Have students reflect in a class discussion, small group/partner discussion or in writing by responding to the following questions:
What did you learn about the gorilla crisis?
What strategies did you learn to help you understand and remember complex text?
In what ways do you think you could use these strategies outside a reading class?
Read Unit 5, Lesson 1: What is an Ecosystem? (Harcourt Science: Lesson 1, student text pages 316 to 327)
Discussion Question (SL.1c)
After lesson 1, discuss the Essential Question: What is an ecosystem? Students must cite evidence from the text to support their answers, referring to their graphic organizer. (RI.1)
Main Idea/Detail Chart (RI.2)
For this task, use the fishbone graphic organizer, the main idea/details chart in appendix A or any other graphic organizer you have that will allow students to organize the main idea/details from the text.
Create a main idea/details chart for each heading: Ecosystems; Active Ecosystems; A Place to Live; Diversity. Use direct citation, from the text, in the details to support the main idea (Reference Teacher Guide, Main Idea/Details chart in appendix A, Sample 1 in appendix B)
Use the four graphic organizers to determine the central idea(s) of lesson 1. (There are two Central Ideas for Lesson 1: (1) In an Ecosystem, populations of organisms can be categorized by the functions they serve. (2) The number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors. Find Sample 2 in Appendix B)
Using a Venn Diagram graphic organizer, students can answer, orally or in writing, the main idea and detail question posed on page 325: How are a population and a community related in an ecosystem?
Tasks
Read Unit 5, Lesson 2: How do Organisms Get Energy? (Harcourt Science: lesson 2 student text pages 332 to 334)
Discussion Questions (SL.1c)
What are the steps in photosynthesis? In what part of a food chain are producers?
What is needed before energy can be produced in an ecosystem?
Why are there fewer organisms at the higher levels of the energy pyramid?
Revisit the theme of survival with a class discussion of this question: Why is sunlight necessary to survival? Use specific examples to support your answer.
Main Idea/Detail Chart (RI.2)
For this task, use the fishbone graphic organizer, the main idea/details chart in appendix A or any other graphic organizer you have that will allow students to organize the main idea/details from the text.
Create a main idea/details chart for each heading: Producers and Consumers; Getting Energy; Food Webs; The Energy Pyramid. Use direct citation, from the text, in the details to support the main idea. (Main Idea/Details chart in appendix A)
Use the four graphic organizers to determine the central idea(s) of lesson 2. (There are three Central Ideas for Lesson 2: (1) Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis and then from organisms through food webs. (2) Matter is transferred over time from one organism to others in the food web and between organisms and the physical environment. (3) Populations of organisms can be categorized by the functions they serve in an ecosystem.)
CFA
RI.3: Students will reread “Gorillas in Crisis” by Kathleen Donovan-Snavely to analyze, in writing, how the key idea is introduced and elaborated on (through examples or anecdotes). Students will then evaluate, in writing, how these things contribute to the overall purpose of the piece. Students may use their completed fishbone graphic organizer to complete this assignment.
