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Overview
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In this eight-week module, students will learn about poetry and poets through close
reading and writing to learn. Throughout the module, they will determine the
characteristics of poetry and consider what inspires writers and poets. Students
begin in Unit 1 by reading the first half of the novel Love That Dog by Sharon
Creech. Students follow the main character, Jack, as he learns about poetry and
begins to write his own. Students closely read and analyze poems Jack reads,
including The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams and Stopping by
Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. Throughout this unit, students track
what Jack is learning about poetry alongside their own learning though these close
readings. They also experiment with writing their own poetry inspired by their
reading. Students practice summarizing the events in the novel and discuss how the
main characters attitude toward poetry begins to change in this half of the novel. In
Unit 2, students engage in deeper analysis of Jacks character and his inspiration
through extended discussion prompts. They also learn to write informational
paragraphs in order to summarize larger portions of the text. For the mid-unit 2
assessment, they write a summary of the entire novel.
After completing the novel, students consider which of the poems they read
inspired them the most and select a poet to study more deeply. In the last half of
Unit 2, students read and analyze poems by their selected poet and engage in a
poetry workshop to write an original poem inspired by their selected poet. Finally,
in Unit 3, students prepare for their three-part performance task, a Poets
Performance, in which students read aloud a poem by their selected poet, share an
essay about the poet, and read their original inspired poem. In this unit, students
are introduced to biography though reading River of Words: The Story of William
Carlos Williams. They then closely read a biography about their own poet. Then
students learn to write an essay about their selected poet through engaging in a
shared writing of an essay about William Carlos Williams. As the class writes each
part of this shared essay (introduction, body, and conclusion), students complete
their own essays one section at a time. Throughout this unit, students practice
reading their poems aloud clearly and with expression. Once students essays are
complete, they finish the module by presenting their poems and essay during the
performance task.
Performance Task
Poets Performance: Poetry Reading and Biographical Essay Presentation
This performance task consists of three parts. First, students fluently read aloud a poem that has inspired them as a writer. They then share an essay about the author of
the poem based on the following prompt: Write an essay about the poet who inspired you, explaining who this poet is and how she or he has inspired you as a writer.
Finally, students read aloud their original poem inspired by their studied poet. This performance task will focus on RI4.9, W.4.2, W4.11, and SL.4.4.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
RL.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text
says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
I can explain what a text says using specific details from the text.
RL.4.2. Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text;
summarize the text.
I can describe a storys character, setting, or events using specific details from
the text.
RL.4.5. Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer
to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g.,
casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when
writing or speaking about a text.
I can use literary terms to describe parts of a story, poem, or drama (e.g., verse,
rhythm, meter, casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage
directions).
I can make connections in narratives, poetry, and drama, to other texts, ideas,
cultural perspectives, personal events, and situations.
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RI.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
I can explain what a text says using specific details from the text.
RI.4.2. Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key
details; summarize the text.
I can determine the main idea using specific details from the text.
I can explain the main points in a historical, scientific, or technical text, using
specific details in the text.
RI.4.9. Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write
or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
I can accurately synthesize information from two texts on the same topic.
b.
Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate,
and expression on successive readings.
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a.
b.
c.
Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g.,
another, for example, also, because).
d.
e.
W.4.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and
organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.4.5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and
strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
With support from peers and adults, I can use the writing process to produce
clear and coherent writing.
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a.
W.4.11. Create and present a poem, narrative, play, artwork, or literary review in
response to a particular author or theme studied in class.
I can create and present a poem, narrative, play, artwork, or literary review in
response to a particular author or theme studied in class.
a.
b.
Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles.
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L.4.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking,
reading, or listening.
a. Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
I can use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking,
reading, or listening.
a. I can choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
Texts
1. Sharon Creech, Love That Dog (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001), ISBN: 0-06-029287-3
2. Jen Bryant, A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2008), ISBN: 978-0-8028-5302-8.
Note: Unit 2 includes additional poems, and Unit 3 includes additional informational texts; no purchase necessary. See separate Unit Overviews for details.
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Week
Instructional Focus
Long-Term Targets
Assessments
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Week
Instructional Focus
Assessments
Weeks 1-2,
continued
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Week
Instructional Focus
Long-Term Targets
Assessments
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Week
Instructional Focus
Long-Term Targets
Assessments
Weeks 3-4,
continued
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10
Week
Instructional Focus
Long-Term Targets
Assessments
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11
Week
Instructional Focus
Assessments
Weeks 5-8,
continued
12
Week
Instructional Focus
Weeks 5-8,
continued
Assessments
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13
Mid-Unit 1 Assessment
Text-Dependent Questions: Love That Dog Pages 2024 and The Pasture by Robert Frost
This assessment centers on NYSP12 ELA CCLS RL.4.1 and RL.4.3. Students will independently read pages 2024 of Love That
Dog and the poem The Pasture by Robert Frost. Then, students will determine the meaning of key terms from the context
and explain Jacks thoughts about poetry based on details from the text.
Extended Response: Love That Dog Pages 141: What Has Jack Learned about Poetry?
This assessment centers on NYSP12 ELA CCLS RL.4.3, W.4.4, and W.4.9. Students will refer to their notes, class coconstructed anchor charts, and pages 141 of Love That Dog to plan and craft an extended written response that answers the
question: What has Jack learned about poetry? Students will use a Topic Expansion graphic organizer to plan. Then they will
write a complete paragraph that contains a topic sentence that explains the main idea, details, and examples from notes and
the text in support of the main idea, and a concluding statement. (Note: Students will be formally assessed on W.4.2 in both
Unit 2 and Unit 3 of this module. While this Unit 1 assessment is not a formal assessment of W.4.2, it does provide teachers
with formative assessment information towards this standard.)
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B: Assessment Overview June 2014
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B: Assessment Overview June 2014
Summary of Task
This performance task consists of three parts. First, students fluently read aloud a poem that has inspired them as a writer. They then share an essay about the author
of the poem based on the following prompt: Write an essay about the poet who inspired you, explaining who this poet is and how she or he has inspired you as a
writer. Finally, students read aloud their original poem inspired by their studied poet. This performance task will focus on RI4.9, W.4.2, W4.11, and
SL.4.4.
Format
Poets Performance: Poetry Reading and Biographical Essay Presentation
This performance task consists of three parts.
In Part 1, students write an original poem inspired by a poet whose writing they have analyzed.
In Part 2, they write a three-paragraph essay about their poet that explains who their poet is and how this poet has inspired them.
In Part 3, students participate in a Poets Performance where they share a selected poem by their poet, their poet essay, and then read their original inspired poem.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B: Performance Task June 2014
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B: Performance Task June 2014
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B: Performance Task June 2014
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B: Performance Task June 2014
For the mid-unit assessment, students independently read then respond to textdependent questions about pages 2024 of Love That Dog and the poem The
Pasture by Robert Frost, to demonstrate their ability to explain what the text says
explicitly by referring to details from the text, describe Jacks thoughts about
poetry, and determine the meaning of key terms from the context. For the end of
unit assessment, students independently read pages 3941 of Love That Dog to
determine the meaning of key terms through the use of a variety of strategies as
well as plan and write a response to the question: What has Jack learned about
poetry?
Note: Although RL.4.5 is introduced in this unit, it is not fully assessed until later
in the module when students have the opportunity to compare/contrast poetry
and prose. Also, work with figurative language in this unit is cursory and serves
as an introduction for deeper work with similes and metaphors in Unit 2.
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Mid-Unit 1 Assessment
Text-Dependent Questions: Love That Dog Pages 2024 and The Pasture by Robert Frost
This assessment centers on NYSP12 ELA CCLS RL.4.1 and RL.4.3. Students will independently read pages 2024 of Love That
Dog and the poem The Pasture by Robert Frost. Then, students will determine the meaning of key terms from the context
and explain Jacks thoughts about poetry based on details from the text.
Extended Response: Love That Dog Pages 141: What Has Jack Learned about Poetry?
This assessment centers on NYSP12 ELA CCLS RL.4.3, W.4.4, and W.4.9. Students will refer to their notes, class coconstructed anchor charts, and pages 141 of Love That Dog to plan and craft an extended written response that answers the
question: What has Jack learned about poetry? Students will use a Topic Expansion graphic organizer to plan. Then they will
write a complete paragraph that contains a topic sentence that explains the main idea, details, and examples from notes and
the text in support of the main idea, and a concluding statement. (Note: Students will be formally assessed on W.4.2 in both
Unit 2 and Unit 3 of this module. While this Unit 1 assessment is not a formal assessment of W.4.2, it does provide teachers
with formative assessment information towards this standard.)
Texts
1. Sharon Creech, Love That Dog (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001), ISBN: 0-06-029287-3.
2. The Red Wheel Barrow by William Carlos Williams 1
3. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
4. Dog by Valerie Worth1
5. Street Music by Arnold Adoff1
6. The Apple by S. C. Rigg1
All of these poems are included in the back of the novel Love that Dog.
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 1
Observations of student
discussion
Lesson 2
Summary notes
Jacks Reflection notes:
The Red Wheelbarrow
What Makes a Poem a
Poem? anchor chart
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Ongoing
Assessment
Summary notes
Love That Dog pages 611,
and poetry note-catcher
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
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Summary notes
Students references to Text
Evidence sentence strips in
discussion
Jacks Reflections notes:
Dog by Valerie Worth
What Makes a Poem a
Poem? anchor chart
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Mid-Unit 1 Assessment:
Text-Dependent Questions:
Love That Dog, pages 20
24
Summary notes
Close Read Questions and
Notes: Love That Dog,
pages 2530
Topic Expansion graphic
organizer
Summary notes
Jacks Reflections notes
Lesson 7
Ongoing
Assessment
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 8
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Ongoing
Assessment
Optional: Extensions
Closely read additional poems by William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, and Walter Dean Myers (see recommended text lists for all three units of this
module).
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Unit 1 focuses on poetry. The list below includes texts with a range of Lexile text
measures about this topic. This provides appropriate independent reading for each
student to help build content knowledge on and immerse him- or herself in poetry.
This provides appropriate independent reading for each student to help build
content knowledge. Note that districts and schools should consider their own
community standards when reviewing this list. Some texts in particular units or
modules address emotionally difficult content.
Where possible, texts in languages other than English are also provided. Texts are
categorized into three Lexile levels that correspond to Common Core Bands: below
grade band, within band, and above band. Note, however, that Lexile measures
are just one indicator of text complexity, and teachers must use their professional
judgment and consider qualitative factors as well. For more information, see
Appendix 1 of the Common Core State Standards.
It is imperative that students read a high volume of texts at their reading level in
order to continue to build the academic vocabulary and fluency demanded by the
CCLS
Common Core Band Level Text Difficulty Ranges:
(As provided in the NYSED Passage Selection Guidelines for Assessing CCSS ELA)
Grade 23: 420820L
Grade 45: 7401010L
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Poetry
210
Poetry
NP
Thanks a Million
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U1: Recommended Texts June 2014
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Poetry
480*
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Science Verse
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
I Am the Book
Poetry
690
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Falling Up
Poetry
NP
Poetry
780*
Poetry
NP
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U1: Recommended Texts June 2014
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
EarthDance
Poetry
NP
Poetry
870*
Poetry
910
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Poetry
1020
Poetry
1120
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U1: Recommended Texts June 2014
Ongoing Assessment
I can record what I notice and wonder about pictures and text in a Carousel protocol.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This unit launches this module as well as reading and writing routines for the year. Students begin to
establish routines for discussion and working with their peers. For this lesson and the first half of this
unit, time is split between focusing on closely reading the novel Love that Dog and getting to know the
main character (Jack) and identifying the characteristics of poems, as well as the important routines
that will build classroom culture, strengthen student independence, and establish foundational skills for
reading and writing throughout the year.
These early lessons include explicit instruction related to expectations for students when engaging in
discussion protocols and working with their peers. Here in Lesson 1, students establish discussion
norms, which will be revisited as new protocols are introduced throughout the module. Feel free to
revisit and add to these norms even more often, based on the needs of your specific students.
Beginning in this lesson, and continued through out the module, are learning targets. Long-term
learning targets are a translation of the NYS CCSS ELA standards and are included for teacher
reference. Supporting learning targets are included in every lesson and are meant to be shared with
students at the start of each lesson to focus the days learning. Throughout all modules, students will use
the supporting learning targets in order to get a clear picture of what they will be learning. At the end of
lessons, they will then reflect on these targets to measure their progress. Learning targets are a
research-based strategy that helps all students, especially challenged learners. Routines related to
learning targets are an important formative assessment practice that engage students and hold them
accountable for their learning. Unpacking the language of learning targets is also a powerful way to
teach and reinforce academic vocabulary.
Also in this lesson, students receive two materials that will be used throughout the module: their
readers notebook and their poetry journals. The entire readers notebook is contained in the
supporting materials of this lesson, and should be prepared as a stapled packet in advance of beginning
this lesson. These notebooks contain graphic organizers, prompts, and text-dependent questions for
note taking and close reading during this module. The poetry journals, which are simple composition
books prepared with students during Work Time C of this lesson, will be used by students for written
reflection, capturing vivid words and phrases from the poems read, and to write their own poetry.
Students divide a composition book or notebook into three different sections. These sections can be
marked with adhesive tabs or by simply folding 2-3 pages to create separations for each section.
Consider giving students a folder to keep these and subsequent materials throughout the module.
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Agenda
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Agenda
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
Can you think of another word that has a similar meaning as this word?
Call on a few volunteers and listen for suggestions such as talk or conversation. Write one of these words next to the
word discussion. Then paraphrase the meaning of the target for students by explaining that this learning target means they
will be learning to follow rules for talking with their classmates today.
Next, read the second target aloud. Invite students to turn and talk with a neighbor about which words they think might be
important for understanding this target.
After students have had a minute to discuss the target with a partner, call on a few to share:
Opening (continued)
Call on students to suggest words with similar meanings for record, notice, wonder, and text and annotate the learning
target to help students understand the meanings of these words.
Tell students that the word protocol is an activity with specific steps or guidelines that help a group talk about something
they see or read. Tell them that the class will use lots of protocols throughout the module and the entire year to help them
work in groups with their classmates. Today the name of the protocol they will use is called a Carousel, because as with a
carousel ride, students will move around the room in a circle. Tell them youll go into more detail about the Carousel
protocol later in the lesson.
Work Time
Ask students to recall the meaning of the words discussion and norms from the learning targets they discussed. Call on a few
students to explain the meaning of these words, and then ask students to get out a piece of blank paper.
Write the following prompt on the board:
* What norms would be helpful when discussing something we have read in class?
Invite students to turn to an elbow partner and brainstorm some rules for conversation with classmates, and record their
ideas on their papers.
After 3 or 4 minutes, refocus students whole group. Call on pairs to share one suggestion at time. Listen to students
suggestions. As you record norms, prompt students to explain what the norm will look like or sound like in action. For
example, if a student says, Everyone should get a chance to talk, prompt students to explain that this looks like one person
speaking at a time and sounds like groups that are able to hear their group members speaking because the volume of the
classroom conversation is not too loud. Use the Discussion Norms anchor chart (for teacher reference) to help
guide students in adding norms to the anchor chart. (If students suggest similar ideas, you can honor their ideas by
elaborating on existing norms or adding a check mark next to norms that many students suggested.)
Remind students of the first learning target: I can follow norms for discussion with my classmates. Tell students that the
norms they just helped to create will help guide their discussions throughout the year, and that today they will have an
opportunity to practice following the norms.
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Tell students that today they will be asked to solve a mystery with a group of their peers. Explain that the mystery is figuring
out what their topic of study will be for this module by examining various quotes, pictures, and video and discussing them
with a small group. Build up the excitement.
Orient students to the materials: Display the Carousel protocol directions and page 1 of the readers notebook and
then, using a document camera, show the I Notice/I Wonder notes.
Review and clarify the directions as needed.
Then model examining a Carousel Sheet and taking notes on the I Notice/I Wonder notes page in their readers notebook.
I Notice: Simply observing something (e.g., I notice on Poster 3 that this picture has a name written on it)
I Wonder: Questioning the meaning, history, or purpose of what they see (e.g., I wonder if Williams is the name of the
man in this picture?)
Check students understanding by asking them to turn to a partner and share something else that they notice and wonder
about the poster.
Call on a few students to share.
Point out the discussion questions at the top of the poster and ask students to give examples of what the discussion norms
will look like during the Carousel protocol. Listen for students to offer specific examples, When we visit each poster, we
should make sure every group member gets to share what he or she notices or wonders.
Place students in their groups of four. Assign each group a poster. Then share the signal you will use to prompt them to
move to the next poster.
Begin the protocol and keep time for the groups, signaling when they should move to the next poster in the series. If
necessary, pause the class and remind them of any norms or protocol directions. Allow students to visit several posters. It is
not necessary for each group to visit every poster.
After groups have gotten to visit at least half of the posters, ask students to return to their seats. Collect the Carousel Sheets
to display on the document camera. Call on groups to share something they noticed or wondered about each poster, ensuring
that each group gets a chance to share.
Post the I Notice/I Wonder anchor chart and ask students to discuss the following with a neighbor:
Call on a few pairs to share what they noticed or wondered across posters and record notes and questions on the anchor
chart. As you record what students share, do not discuss or answer questions. This will allow students to make connections
to the pictures, quotes, and videos throughout the module. Students may notice or wonder the following:
There are quotes from poems or about poetry.
Most of the photographs are black-and-white.
The videos were poems that were read aloud.
Who is Jack?
What do the people in the photographs have in common?
Are the people reading in the videos the same people as any of the photos?
Are we going to study poetry or poets?
Consider posting the Carousel Sheets on a bulletin board so the class can reference them and make connections over the
course of the module.
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Ask students:
Ask students to write the first guiding question, What makes a poem a poem? on the first page of the My Reflections
section. Explain that this question is not a right-or-wrong question and will not be graded. Explain that guiding questions
are designed to help them think deeply about the topic. Explain that they will answer this question more than once as they
learn about poetry and that their answer to this question is likely to change as they read and learn more about poetry, and at
this point it is simply what they know about poetry nowthis may be a lot or not much at all, and both are okay.
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10
Give students 5 minutes to write a reflection on the guiding question. Reassure them that whatever their response to the
question, it is appropriate. They will dig into this topic more in the coming weeks.
Ask students to take a minute to silently reread the supporting learning targets and the Discussion Norms anchor chart from
todays lesson.
Tell them that in a moment, you would like them turn to a partner and share one thing they felt went well in todays lesson
and one thing they think the class might need to work on. Give them an example: I think we did a good job asking questions
about what we examined in the carousel. I think we might need to work on taking turns during discussion. This is hard when
everyone is excited to share their ideas.
Give students 2 minutes to turn and talk. Call on a few pairs to share their thinking. If needed, add to the Discussion Norms
anchor chart. As a class, set a goal for discussion in their groups for the next lesson and write this goal on the board as a
reminder.
Draw students attention back to the learning targets. Explain that reflecting on learning targets is a way to improve your
skills. Provide an analogy: All-star athletes dont start out as professionals. They think about their performance, get
guidance from their coach and teammates, and set goals for improving. The same is true for becoming a skilled reader,
writer, speaker, and listener. We all have areas of strength and areas for growth, and we are all responsible for practicing,
getting guidance, setting goals, and improving.
Point out the Fist to Five chart. Ask students to think about how they would rate their understanding of each of the learning
targets now. Tell students that they will have a lot more practice with similar targets in the future and it is okay if they do not
feel that they have reached a 5.
Ask students to reflect on their progress toward the learning targets by writing both learning targets at the top of their paper
in their journals and write a response to the following prompt:
Using the Fist to Five scale, rate your progress toward these targets. Explain why you choose your rating for each target
using specific examples from your learning today.
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11
Collect students poetry journals and note students who may need additional support with written reflection.
Distribute a folder to each student and ask them to keep all module materials, including their readers notebooks and
poetry journal in this folder.
B. Launching Independent Reading (5 minutes)
Gather students around the area where youve placed the display of independent reading books for Unit 1. Tell
students that throughout this module they will be expected to read independently. Explain that they will have an opportunity
to select a just right book from these texts during the scheduled time for independent reading. In order to prepare for this,
they should browse these texts for a few minutes to get some ideas of the books they will be able to select from.
Homework
Write a short response to the following questions on the next page in the reflection section of your poetry journal: Do you
enjoy poetry? Why or why not?
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12
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14
Notice
Record
Explain
Wondering
Discuss
DISCUSS: Image Copyright Jacek Chabraszewski, 2013. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
EXPLAIN: Image Copyright Pressmaster, 2013. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
NOTICE: Image Copyright Zurijeta, 2013. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
RECORD: Image Copyright Kamira, 2013. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
WONDERING: Image Copyright Ollyy, 2013. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
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15
Teacher Directions: This anchor chart should be co-constructed with students during Work Time
A. Below are possible norms to include.
Discussion Norms:
Everyone should show specific details or evidence from the text to support their thinking.
This means do things like pointing to specific pages, lines, or photographs and say things like,
Here is an example of what I am talking about.
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16
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17
Carousel Sheet 1
Directions: Read the following quote and record what you notice and wonder.
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18
Carousel Sheet 2
Directions: Examine the pictures and record what you notice and wonder.
Public Domain
Public Domain
Creative Commons
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19
Carousel Sheet 3
Directions:
Read the following quote and record what you notice and wonder.
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20
Carousel Sheet 4
Directions: Read the following quote and record what you notice and wonder.
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21
Carousel Sheet 5
Directions: Listen to the following and record what you notice and wonder. Replay as many times as
you like.
https://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Williams-WC/02_Library-of-Congress_05-0545/Williams-WC_29_The-Red-Wheelbarrow_Library-of-Congress_05-05-45.mp3
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22
Carousel Sheet 6
Directions: Examine the books on the table below and record what you notice and wonder.
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23
Carousel Sheet 7
Directions: Read the following quote and record what you notice and wonder.
so much depends
upon a red wheel barrow
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24
Readers Notebook:
I Notice/I Wonder Notes
Name:
Date:
I notice
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I wonder
Readers Notebook
Love That Dog: Summary Notes
Dates/Pages
Summary Statement
Sept. 13-Sept. 21
(pp. 1-2)
Sept. 27 Oct.
10 (pp. 3-5)
Oct. 24 Nov. 6
(pp. 8-11)
Nov. 9 Nov. 22
(pp. 12-14)
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Readers Notebook
Love That Dog: Summary Notes (continued)
Dates/Pages
Summary Statement
Dec. 4 Dec. 13
(pp. 17-19)
Jan. 31 Feb. 7
(pp. 28-30)
Feb. 21 Feb. 26
(pp. 35-37)
March 1 March
7 (pp. 38-41)
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Readers Notebook:
Love That Dog: Summary Notes (continued)
Dates/Pages
Summary Statement
March 14 (pp.
42-45)
March 22 & 27
(pp. 46-49)
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Readers Notebook:
Love That Dog: Summary Notes (continued)
Dates/Pages
Summary Statement
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Readers Notebook:
Jacks Reflections Notes: The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams
Focus Question: What does Jack learn about poetry?
What Jack says about poetry
Page
Synthesize: Explain what Jack has learned about poetry at this point in the novel, based on what he
says and writes.
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Readers Notebook:
Jacks Reflections Notes: Dog by Valerie Worth
Focus Question: What does Jack learn about poetry?
What Jack says about poetry
Page
Synthesize: Explain what Jack has learned about poetry at this point in the novel, based on what he
says and writes.
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Readers Notebook:
Jacks Reflections Notes: Street Music by Alfred Adoff and The Apple by S.C. Rigg
Focus Question: What does Jack learn about poetry?
What Jack says about poetry
Page
Synthesize: Explain what Jack has learned about poetry at this point in the novel, based on what he
says and writes.
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Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 611) and Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Love that Dog, pages 6-7
Directions
Questions
What is happening in the first stanza of the poem? What evidence from
the poem supports your answer?
The word queer means strange. Why would the horse think its strange
to stop in the woods? Support your response with details from the
poem.
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Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 611) and Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Love that Dog, pages 6-7
Directions
Questions
What words and phrases does Robert Frost use to describe what the
horse is doing in the third stanza?
What do these words and phrases help you understand about how the
horse feels about stopping in the woods?
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10
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 611) and Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Love that Dog, pages 6-7
Directions
Questions
What words does the narrator of this poem use to describe the woods?
Draw a quick sketch below to show what you think the woods look like,
based on the words the narrator uses.
How does the narrator feel about the woods? What evidence from the
text makes you think so?
Reread the last two lines of the poem, aloud with group members, then
consider and discuss: What do you think these last two lines of the
poem mean? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
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11
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 611) and Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Love that Dog, pages 6-7
Directions
Questions
Questions
Why does Jack like the Tiger poem even though he doesnt understand
what it means? Use details from the text to support your response.
What similarities do you notice between Jacks revised Blue Car, Blue
Car poem and Tiger?
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12
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 611) and Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening
Love that Dog, pages 8-9
Synthesize: With group
members, review your
responses to the above
questions then discuss how
you could respond to the
question at the right.
Based on what Jacks poem Blue Car, Blue Car what do you think he
has learned about poetry at this point in the novel? Support your
response with examples from the text.
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13
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 2530)
Directions
Questions
Which words in the first stanza best helped you create your
sketch? Explain.
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14
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 2530)
Directions
Questions
Draw a quick sketch of the dog that Jack and his family
chose. Label at least three parts of your sketch with
words/phrases from stanzas three and four.
How does the dog feel about being adopted by Jack and his
family? How do you know?
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15
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Love That Dog (Pages 2530)
Directions
Questions
Why do you think Jack titled his poem YOU COME TOO?
Support your response with details from the text.
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16
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Analyzing a New Poem by My Selected Poet
My Selected Poet:
Title of the Poem:
Directions:
Questions:
How does knowing the meanings of these words help you better
understand your poem?
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17
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Analyzing a New Poem by My Selected Poet
Directions:
Questions:
What are three words that helped you visualize the poem and what are
their definitions?
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18
Readers Notebook:
Close Reading Questions and Notes: Analyzing a New Poem by My Selected Poet
Directions:
Questions:
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19
Readers Notebook:
What Inspires Jack?
What inspires Jack?
How I know
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Page
20
Readers Notebook:
What Inspires Jack?
(Continued)
What inspires Jack?
How I know
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Page
21
Readers Notebook
Preparing for a Literary Discussion Note-Catcher
Discussion Question: What was Jacks biggest inspiration?
Preparation: Look back in Love That Dog to find evidence that helps you answer the discussion
question.
What was Jacks
biggest inspiration?
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22
Readers Notebook:
Literary Discussion Recording Form
My Literary Discussion Notes: Ideas and Questions
My teachers feedback:
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23
Ongoing Assessment
I can summarize pages 15 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
Summary notes
I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
I can identify characteristics of poetry when analyzing the poem The Red Wheelbarrow.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This unit establishes routines for students to practice summarizing and annotating text, and learn
strategies for close reading and analysis that will support their ability to read complex text throughout
the year.
In this lesson, students begin reading the novel Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, a novel written in
verse. They follow the main character, Jack, on his journey as he learns about poetry and eventually
finds inspiration as writer. This is done through close reading cycles during which students summarize
sections of the novel, analyze Jacks character and what he learns about poetry, and analyze the same
poems that Jack read (by famous poets) in order to determine characteristics of poetry.
This lesson begins the first cycle, starting with a character analysis of Jack and what he learns about
poetry. Students begin by analyzing what Jack says about the poems he reads (this aligns to Common
Core standards RL.4.1 and RL.4.3). Next, students closely read, annotate, and analyze the famous poem
that Jack has read, in order to build their own background knowledge about the characteristics of poetry
(This aligns to Common Core standard RL.4.5). Then students revisit the novel and analyze Jacks
writing to infer what he has learned about poetry (circling back to RL.4.1 and RL.4.3). This cycle of
character and poem analysis is repeated through out the unit.
Beginning in this lesson and throughout the module, students are asked to follow along silently as you
read the text aloud, or to read chorally as a class or with partners. This builds students fluent reading
skills. (To learn more about the importance of fluency in aiding comprehension of complex text, see
Foundational Reading and Language Standards Resource Package for Grades 35. This resource also
provides guidance on how to support students to build reading fluency.)
After listening to the first reading of the text, students discuss the gist, their first impressions of what
the text is mostly about. Next, they reread to write summary statements, an explanation of main events
supported by details from the text. It is important in this lesson to make a clear distinction between
stating the gist of a text and summarizing a text. Emphasize that the gist is just a readers initial sense of
what a text is mostly about. A summary, by contrast, is a readers more thoughtful explanation of the
main events or ideas in a text, supported by details. Summaries can be developed only after reading a
text more closely.
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Agenda
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
Remind students that during Lesson 1 they discovered that this module is about poetry and poets. Then focus students on
and ask them to chorally read aloud the guiding questions:
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Opening (continued)
Tell them that one specific strategy that will help them grow as learners is called the Cold Call strategy. This is simply when
you randomly call on them as individuals, partners, or small groups to answer a question you have posed. You will always
give them the time that they need to think about or discuss their response, but that they will be expected to share their
answer with the whole class. Reassure them that the goal of a cold call is never to catch them with a wrong answer and it is
okay if they are unsure of their response. Go on to explain that sharing their thinking when they are unsure is hard and it
may sometimes make them feel uncomfortable, but that your expectation that the class support one another with taking this
risk because learning cannot happen with out mistakes. Tell students that early on in this unit,, until they are comfortable
with the strategy, they may pass on a cold call or ask a volunteer for help. But eventually the expectation will be sharing a
response when called in class. Tell students that you will begin practicing this strategy with them during the lesson.
Focus students attention on the supporting learning targets:
* I can summarize pages 15 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
* I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
* I can identify characteristics of poetry when analyzing the poem The Red Wheelbarrow.
Review with students the importance of learning targetsto help them know what they are expected to learn and do during a
lesson. They are also a great way to learn vocabulary, particularly the language of how to do school. Tell students that at
the end of the lesson they will share how they did with moving toward the learning targets.
Read aloud the first learning target and underline the words summarize and details. Ask students to briefly discuss in
groups what they know about the meaning of these terms.
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share their thinking whole group. Listen for suggestions such as:
Summarize means to retell the main idea(s) of a text.
Details are specific parts of the text that help the reader understand the main idea(s).
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Opening (continued)
Next, ask students to chorally read aloud the second learning target with you and underline the words explain and
understands. Once again, ask students to quickly discuss in groups what they think these words mean.
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share their ideas with the class. Listen for:
Explain means to give details about something, or to clarify something.
Understands means to know about something, or to grasp the meaning of something.
If students are not able to define these terms, define for them.
Ask students to chorally read aloud the last learning target then underline identify, characteristics, and analyzing. Tell
students to discuss their understanding of these terms with group members.
After 1 or 2 minutes, invite several students to share out whole group and listen for suggestions such as:
Identify means to recognize or name something.
Characteristics are features, traits, qualities, or attributes of something.
Analyzing means to study something closely, or to examine something/its parts.
Again, if students are not able to define these terms, define for them.
Ask students to take a quick moment within groups to discuss how they could restate each target in their own words, based
on their understanding of key terms.
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share their thinking aloud.
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Work Time
A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Love That Dog, Pages 15 (20 minutes)
Focus students attention on the new Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. Ask them to discuss in their
reading groups:
* Based on your work in previous grades, what do you recall about reading closely?
After 1 or 2 minutes, cold call students from each group to share their thinking whole class and record their ideas onto the
anchor chartsee Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart (for teacher reference) in the supporting materials. If
students do not mention each of the ideas on the teacher reference, add them to the anchor chart and elaborate. Listen for:
Read small chunks of text slowly to get an idea of what it is mostly about (gist)
Write the gist of a section in the margin or on a sticky note.
Reread each passage one sentence at a time.
Underline or mark with sticky notes things that you do understand or know.
Circle or mark with sticky notes words that you do not know.
Talk with your partners about all of your good ideas.
Answer questions about the text using evidence from the text.
If students do not mention or know what the word gist, text, or evidence mean, define these terms for them (gist: a readers
initial and sometimes tentative sense of what the text is mostly about; text: printed words in an article or book; evidence:
materials, facts, or details that support the truth of an idea.)
Tell students that they will have an opportunity to try some of the strategies they outlined on the anchor chart and that over
the course of the module they will learn additional strategies and add them to the Close Readers Do These Things anchor
chart.
Ask students to open to page 3 in the text Love That Dog.
Remind them that in the opening of the lesson they noticed that this book was written in an unusual way. Using a
document camera, display a page from a novel written in prose next to page 3 of Love That Dog. Ask students to turn
to a neighbor and discuss the following question:
* How is the text in Love That Dog different from the text in this book?
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Call on a few pairs to share what they notice with the class. Listen for them to notice that Love That Dog is written like a
poem, with short lines breaking apart the sentences.
Introduce the distinction between prose and poetry by explaining that most texts students have read are written in prose,
meaning that they are written using paragraphs and complete sentences.
Explain that Love That Dog is written verse, or like a poem with sentences and phrases broken apart to form short lines and
stanzas.
Explain that a both prose and poetry have lines (point to a line in Love that Dog and a line in the other novel written in
prose).
Go on to explain that unlike prose which is written in paragraphs (point out an indented paragraph in the novel written in
prose), lines of poetry are group into something called stanzas separated by a space (point out the stanza break on page 3 of
Love that Dog).
Explain that stanzas often end with punctuation and just like in prose the punctuation helps the reader know when to pause.
Reread page 3 aloud to students and have them notice how you pause where there is punctuation rather than pausing at the
end of every line.
Ask students to turn to a neighbor in their group and take turns rereading page 3 aloud, pausing at the appropriate places.
Listen for students to pause at the ends of the stanzas when they read.
Tell students that they will learn more about lines and stanzas and reading poetry over the course of the module. It is totally
fine if they still feel unsure about how to read poems or some of the vocabulary used to describe poetry.
Ask students to turn to page 1. Invite them to follow along silently as you read aloud pages 15. Read slowly, fluently, and
without interruption.
After reading the first five pages aloud, ask students to discuss what they gist, their first idea of what this section of the text
is mostly about with a partner in their group.
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share out their thinking with the class. Listen for ideas such as:
The gist of these first five pages is that Jack doesnt want to write poetry; he thinks its for girls.
Jack doesnt understand poetry.
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10
Next, point out to students that they said close readers should reread a text, line by line, to help them think more deeply
about the ideas being expressed. Remind students of the first learning target. Then explain that for their second read,
students are going to summarize sections of the text.
Display and ask students to turn to the Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5 in their readers notebooks.
Focus students on the first column, first row of the note-catcher, Sept. 13Sept. 21 (pp. 12), and tell students they will
start by rereading to summarize the first two pages of the novel.
Give students 2 minutes to reread and discuss in groups how they could summarize the first two pages.
Invite a few groups to share out what they think is the main idea of the first two pages. Listen for suggestions such as:
Jack doesnt want to write poetry.
Jack doesnt like writing poetry.
Synthesize students thinking and model how to fill in the note-catcher by writing a summary statement for pages 1 and 2 in
the first row, center column of the displayed notes page. Then, ask students to record the same summary statement in their
own notessee Love That Dog summary notes (answers for teacher reference).
Then draw students attention to the third column in the first row of the note-catcher, Details from the text (23), and
explain that close readers support their thinking with specific details from the text. Ask students to look back at pages 1 and
2 with group members to identify two or three details that support the summary statement they recorded in the second
column of their note-catchers.
After 1 or 2 minutes, invite a few students to share out details from the first two pages that support the summary statement.
As students share out, explain that details from the text can either be paraphrased or written as exact quotes. Ask students
to consider and briefly discuss in groups what it means to paraphrase versus quote a text.
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11
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share their thinking with the class. Listen for ideas such as these:
Paraphrase means to restate several related details from the text, in your own words;
Quote means to write exactly what the text says and indicate its a quote by placing quotation marks around the text.
If students cannot explain what paraphrasing or quoting is, define for them. Tell students that when summarizing, it is
usually best to paraphrase in order to synthesize several related details from a longer selection of text, and that quotes
should be recorded sparingly and only when the quote is a short and specific detail in direct support of the summary
statement.
Then, model how to record a paraphrased detail from the text that supports the summary statement. Say something like,
On the first page Jack says that boys dont write poetry, and poetry is for girls. I am going to paraphrase those details by
writing, Jack says poetry is for girls, in the first row, third column. Ask students to record the first paraphrased detail on
their own note-catchers. Clarify as needed.
Next, direct students to look at page 2 of the book and point out that the page contains three details that support the first
summary statement. Explain that because the details are short and simple they would be difficult to paraphrase and can
therefore be written as direct quotes. Model for students how to record at least two quotes from page 2 in support of the
summary statementsee Love That Dog summary notes (answers for teacher reference)then ask students to record the
quotes onto their own note-catchers. Provide clarification as needed.
Tell students that they will work with group members to summarize and record supporting details for pages 35 of Love
That Dog. Give directions.
1. With a partner in your group, read aloud pages 35, then write a summary statement in the second row, second column
of your note-catcher.
2. With your partner, go back to pages 35 to identify and record two or three paraphrased details and/or quotes from the
text that support your summary statement.
Clarify directions as needed, then invite students to begin. Circulate to offer support as needed.
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12
After 5 minutes, cold call members from several groups to share out with classsee Love That Dog summary notes (answers
for teacher reference). As students share out, record their ideas on the displayed notes and invite students to revise or add to
their own notes based on ideas expressed by other students.
Then ask students to discuss the following question with their groups. Remind them that close readers use details from the
text as evidence to support their answers:
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13
Remind students of the Guiding Question: What makes a poem a poem? as well as the second and third learning targets.
Tell students that to help them answer this guiding question and meet the last two learning targets they are going to revisit
the text once again. First they will reread to capture notes about Jacks impressions of the poem, The Red Wheelbarrow.
Then they will read and annotate the poem themselves in order to draw their own conclusions about what makes a poem a
poem. Reiterate that close reading involves reading and rereading a text to continuously build a deeper understanding of the
ideas that an author is trying to convey to readers.
Display and ask students to turn to the page titled Jacks Reflection notes: The Red Wheelbarrow on page 6 in their
readers notebooks. Orient students to the notes page by pointing out that there are three boxes to complete: What Jack
says about poetry/Page, What Jack writes/What we can infer and Synthesize.
Tell students that first they will reread to identify details related to What Jack says about poetry... then ask students to turn
to page 3 of Love that Dog and to read it chorally aloud with you.
After reading aloud ask students to talk with a partner in their groups about what Jack says about poetry on page 3.
After 1 or 2 minutes, invite a few students to share their ideas whole group. Once again model how to paraphrase and record
exact quotes from the text into the first box, Jack says about poetry /Page. See Jacks Reflection notes: The Red
Wheelbarrow (answers for teacher reference). Ask students to record the same details in the top box of their own
notes page.
Then explain to students that before they reread Jacks first poem, Blue Car, Blue Car, and complete the second box, What
Jack writes /What we can infer , they will need to learn about certain characteristics of poetry that are found in the
poem The Red Wheelbarrow. Explain that learning the characteristics of this poem will help them infer what Jack learned
when he read the poem then wrote his own.
Ask students to turn to the page in the back of the novel, Love that Dog, with The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos
Williams. Point out where this poem can be found at the back of the novel. Read the poem aloud as students follow along
silently.
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14
Tell students they are going to work with a partner in their group to make annotations (brief notes/comments) regarding
what they notice and wonder about the poem about this poem, but that first you will model how to make annotations using a
think-aloud so that students are clear on what the expectations are.
Think aloud something like: When I read this poem I find myself wondering why did the author write about a wheelbarrow,
and why is it so important. So, Im going to put a sticky note next to the second stanza and then write, Why is the
wheelbarrow important? on my sticky note.
Continue by saying something similar to this: Now Im going to reread the poem to see what I notice. Read the first two
stanzas aloud, so much depends upon a red wheel barrow, then stop and model once again using a think-aloud: I notice
the word depends here in the first stanza. I think it helps me answer my question. Place a sticky note next to this word, and
then continue: When you depend on something, that means you need it to do something for you. I depend on my pencil to
write a note. You might depend on the bus to get you to school. I think Williams is saying the wheelbarrow is important
because people depend on it to do work.
Check to see if students are familiar with a wheelbarrow and the work that this item can help people with. Show a picture of
a wheelbarrow if students are unfamiliar with this item.
Draw an arrow on the sticky note next to the first stanza pointing to the word depends. Write a note similar to the following
on the sticky note: I notice this word and think it means the wheelbarrow is important because it is needed.
Clarify and/or continue to model as needed, and then distribute sticky notes to students and ask them to work with a peer in
their group to annotate the third and fourth stanzas of the poem.
Circulate to provide support as necessary. Suggest the following sentence starters for students to use: I notice______. I
wonder______. I think_____.
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15
After 3 or 4 minutes, cold call members from different groups to share out what they noticed about the poem. Ask the class
to add to their annotations as needed as they listen. Listen for students to share ideas such as:
I noticed this poem has four different chunks.
I noticed three words on one line then one word on the next line, in each chunk of the poem.
I wonder why this poem doesnt rhyme.
I notice there is only one piece of punctuation, a period at the end of the poem.
I notice there are words that describe what the wheelbarrow looks like: red, glazed with rain.
Bring students attention to the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart and explain that this is where the class will
record what they learn about the characteristics of poems, or what makes poems different from typical writing, or prose.
Explain that they will start this chart based on what they noticed about the poem The Red Wheelbarrow.
Say something like: I heard several of you mention that the poem is written in four chunks or sections, with three words in
the first line and one word in the second line of each chunk. What you are describing is the structure of the poem: how the
poem is organized. Then on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, write the word structure and its definition in
the first row, second column. (See What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (completed; for teacher
reference).
Go on to explain that each chunk of the poem is called a stanza and the words in each stanza are organized into lines. Point
out to students that they may have noticed that this poem is written (and therefore read) as a single sentence. Indicate the
punctuation at the end of the last stanza. Go on to explain that the sentence has been divided into four stanzas, with two
lines in each stanza. Then add to the first row of the anchor chartsee What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (for
teacher reference).
Continue bringing attention to what students noticed about The Red Wheelbarrow by naming and defining characteristics
as well as examples/explanations for each characteristic on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chartsee What Makes
a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (for teacher reference). For example, explain that the poem is written in something called free
verse, so there is no rhyme, and comment that this may be why Jack did not think it was a poem.
Remind students of the meaning of the word rhyme and give a few examples of rhyming words. Tell students that they will
explore a poem that uses rhyme in the next lesson.
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16
Emphasize the poems use of imagery. Explain that imagery is when a poet uses vivid words to create powerful images (or
pictures) in the readers mind. Ask students to point out a vivid word or phrase that helps paint a picture of the wheelbarrow
in their minds.
After adding characteristics and examples/explanations to the anchor chart, ask students to turn to page 4 of Love That Dog.
Tell students that now that they have learned about some of the characteristics of poetry, the class can revisit Jacks first
poem on page 4 of Love That Dog and make inferences about what Jack has learned about poetry so far.
Ask students to follow along silently as you reread Jacks poem aloud then ask students to discuss in groups:
* What do you notice about how Jack uses characteristics similar to The Red Wheelbarrow in his own writing?
After 2 or 3 minutes, display and refocus students attention on the Jacks Reflections notes on page 6 of their readers
notebooks. Invite students to share out what they notice about Jacks poem. Model how to complete both columns of the
second box on the reflection notessee Jacks Reflection Notes: The Red Wheelbarrow (answers for teacher reference).
Ask students to add the same ideas to their copy of Jacks Reflections notes.
Once the second box is filled in, focus students on the last box on the reflection notes: Synthesize. Tell them that synthesize
means to bring different ideas or information together to form something new. Tell them that they are going to bring
together their ideas about what Jack has learned about poetry in this section of their notes. Ask them to discuss: What has
Jack learned about poetry at this point in the novel? Remind students to refer to their notes and the What Makes a Poem a
Poem? anchor chart to support their discussion. Point out that responding to the synthesis question will require students to
pull evidence straight from the text (what Jack says about poetry) and other evidence will be based on inferring from the text
(what Jack writes).
After 2 minutes, invite several students to share their ideas whole group, then model how to write a response to the synthesis
question by using key words from the prompt and supporting your thinking with details from the reflection notes and poetry
anchor chartsee Jacks Reflection Notes: The Red Wheelbarrow (answers for teacher reference). Ask students to record
an answer to the synthesis question on their own notes page.
Give students specific positive feedback on their close reading and analysis of the first pages of Love That Dog and the poem
The Red Wheelbarrow.
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17
* Thinking about The Red Wheelbarrow and Jacks poem Blue Car, Blue Car, what do you notice about poetry now?
* What do you still wonder about poetry?
After 3 or 4 minutes, invite a few student partners to share their thinking with the class and add their ideas to the I Notice/I
Wonder anchor chart.
Next, ask students to consider and discuss with a different nearby partner:
Redirect students attention to the learning targets and review the Fist to Five Checking for Understanding technique. Clarify
as needed, then read each learning target aloud and ask students to use their hands to show their level of mastery toward
each target.
Review the homework assignment and clarify tasks as necessary.
Homework
Reread pages 15 of Love That Dog. Then read The Red Wheelbarrow poem aloud twice to practice fluent reading skills.
Pick out one vivid word or phrase from The Red Wheelbarrow poem to add to the Vivid Words and Phrases section of
your poetry journal.
Experiment with writing your own poem by completing Poetry Task 1 on the first page of the My Poetry section of your
journal.
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18
Read small chunks of text slowly and think about the gist: a readers
initial sense of what the text is mostly about..
Write the gist of a section in the margin or on a sticky note.
Reread each passage one sentence at a time.
Underline or mark with sticky notes things that you do understand or
know.
Circle or mark with sticky notes words that you do not know.
Talk with your partners about all of your good ideas.
Answer questions about the text using evidence from the text.
Going back to the details in the text to find answers.
Talk with your partners about the answers you find.
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20
Summary Statement
Sept. 13Sept.
21 (pp. 12)
Sept. 27Oct. 10
(pp. 35)
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21
Page
Page 3
any words can be a poem. Youve just got to make short lines.
Page 3
Splattered; speeding
Synthesize: Explain what Jack has learned about poetry at this point in the novel, based on what he
says and writes.
Jack has learned to express a key idea in the beginning of his poem, to use imagery to
help the reader see what he is talking about, and that poems are organized into stanzas
and lines.
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22
Characteristics of Poetry
Examples
Lesson 2
Structurehow a poem is organized; what
The Red
Wheelbarrow the poem looks like
Linea row with a group of words
by William
Stanzaa group of lines divided by a
Carlos
space
Williams
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23
Structure
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24
Structure
Punctuationmarks in writing to
separate sentences and parts of
sentences to make the meaning clear.
Free verse
Imagery
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25
Structure
Repetition
Rhyme
away/may young/tongue
Lesson 7
Street Music Structureirregular (ir- not; regular
normal; not normal)
by Arnold
Adoff
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26
Imagery
Repetition
Apple; yum; juicy; crunchy; red;
yellow; green; delicious; yum; yuk
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27
Poetry Task 1
Just like Jack, now YOU get to write a poem similar to William Carlos Williams The Red
Wheelbarrow!
Directions: Complete the following on the first page of the My Poems section of your poetry
journal.
1. Brainstorm and record a list of some things that you depend upon.
2. Choose one of your ideas to write about. Then write a sentence describing your idea with vivid
words that add imagery.
Example: So much depends upon a brown dog sitting in the green grass outside the tiny
grocery store.
3. Now rewrite the sentence using a poetic structure. Be sure your poem has lines and at least one
stanza.
Example:
So much depends upon
A brown dog
Sitting in the green
Grass
Outside the tiny grocery
Store.
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28
Ongoing Assessment
I can summarize pages 611 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
Summary notes
I can identify characteristics of poetry by analyzing the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson continues the cycle of character analysis and close reading that began in Lesson 2. Students
continue their character analysis of Jack using the Jacks Reflections notes in their readers notebooks.
They closely read and analyze Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, to continue to
build their background knowledge of the characteristics of poetry. Then they revisit the novel to analyze
Jacks writing and to infer what he has learned about poetry. This toggling from character analysis to
poetry analysis helps to foster both engagement and comprehension. Students gain a deeper
understanding of Jacks character while also building their own background knowledge about poetry.
Work Time B involves close reading. In the supporting materials is a Close Reading Guide for Love That
Dog pages 611 and poetry, for teacher reference. This resource will help you guide students in a close
reading process that is meant to give them a deeper understanding of the text. Students will reread the
text to deconstruct its meaning, and then reconstruct the meaning using evidence through a series of
text-dependent questions. Use these questions, along with the additional guidance in the right-hand
column of the Close Reading Guide, to scaffold students understanding of the text. At the conclusion of
this close reading experience, students should be able to synthesize their understanding by answering a
focus question.
The close reading process in this lesson and subsequent lessons is meant to be discussion-based. You
may choose to invite students to work independently or in pairs or small groups when thinking about
different questions. But you should guide the whole class in a discussion of each section of the text using
the Close Reading Guide for notes on guiding students through the text and answers to the textdependent questions. These questions should not be assigned to students to complete on their own as a
worksheet.
As students first close reading experience of the year, the time needed to complete the close reading in
Work Time B may vary from class to class. Consider adjusting the pace of this portion of the lesson to
meet the needs of your students.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
Much like the main character Jack in Love that Dog, students are not likely to fully comprehend the
poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. While this lesson devotes some time for students to
read this poem closely, it is not enough time for complete comprehension of such a complex text, nor is
that the goal. Rather, the goal in this lesson is for students to enjoy this first exposure to a classic work
of American Literature, to begin grappling with its meaning (literal and metaphorical) and to glean
some understanding of some characteristics of poetry. They likely will revisit this classic poem many
times throughout their school years.
Students are introduced to Thumb-O-Meter, a new Checking for Understanding Technique (see
Appendix).
The What Make a Poem a Poem? anchor chart is added to nominally before and during the close reading
exercise, then again in the Closing. See the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (completed; for
teacher reference in Lesson 1).
The homework for this lesson has students begin reading their books selected for independent reading.
To allow for students to have time for this reading, they are not asked to complete a poetry task. The
poetry task homework routine resumes again in Lesson 4. In Lesson 5 students will be asked to select
on of their poems from these tasks to share with a classmate.
In advance:
Review the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (completed; for teacher reference) that was
included in Lesson 1 Supporting Materials. This completed version of the anchor chart indicates
possible additions to make during Lesson 2, as students read and analyze Frosts poem.
Review Thumb-O-Meter in Checking for Understanding Techniques (see Appendix), so that you can
clearly explain and/or model for students as necessary.
Review the Close Reading Guide carefully, particularly the probing questions in the right-hand
column.
Post: learning targets; Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart, What Makes a Poem a Poem?
anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
* I can summarize pages 611 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
* I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
* I can identify characteristics of poetry by analyzing the poems Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
Underline terms in the targets students are familiar with from the previous lesson: summarize, details, explain,
understands, identify, characteristics, and analyzing.
Ask students to briefly discuss within groups what they recall about what each of these words means, then talk about how
they could restate each target in their own words, based on their understanding of the key terms.
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share their thinking whole group.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Work Time
A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Love That Dog Pages 611 (10 minutes)
Ask students to join their reading groups.
Review the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart with students, then ask them to consider and discuss in
groups:
* What did we do to start our close reading of Love That Dog in the previous lesson?
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share their thinking with the class. Listen for students to mention: We read
through once for gist then we reread to summarize sections of the text, or similar ideas.
Tell students they are going to use the same process today, first by reading for gist then rereading sections of pages 611 to
write summary statements supported by paraphrased or quoted details from the text.
Ask students to locate their copies of Love That Dog then provide the following directions:
1. Partner up with a member of your group.
2. Take turns reading each page aloud, starting at the top of page 6 and stopping at the end of page 11.
3. After one partner reads a page aloud, the other partner should explain what he or she thinks the gist of the page is.
Clarify directions as necessary. Then ask students to begin. Circulate to listen in on student conversations and to offer
support.
After 3 or 4 minutes, invite student partners from a variety of groups to share out gist statements from their partner read.
Listen for ideas such as these:
Jack doesnt understand the new poems he reads.
Jack doesnt want to write more about the blue car.
Jack adds tiger sounds to his car poem.
Jacks teacher puts his blue car poems on the board.
Ask students to turn to the Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5 in their readers notebooks. To help focus their
attention on the pages and dates they will need to summarize in this lesson, ask students to draw a star in the third and
fourth rows of the notes page (Oct. 17 pp. 67 and Oct. 24Nov. 6 pp. 811). As needed, review how to complete each
column of the summary notes.
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Ask students to independently whisper read aloud pages 6 and 7, then to share their ideas about how to summarize these
pages with group members. Circulate to check fluency and comprehension.
Once students have read and discussed their thinking, cold call a few students to share their ideas whole groupsee Love
That Dog summary notes (answers for teacher reference).
After several students have shared out, direct students to record a summary statement for pages 6 and 7 as well as
paraphrased details or quotes from the text in support of their summary statement.
If necessary, model for students how to paraphrase and/or record quotes in support of a summary statement. (This might
sound something like: To support our summary statement I can easily quote these lines on page 8 of the text, Here is the
blue car with tiger sounds , but I think I need to paraphrase the part where Jack lets his teacher put his blue car poems on
the board, but only if his name isnt on them).
Ask students to independently whisper read pages 811 of Love That Dog then discuss in groups how they could write a
statement to summarize that section of text.
After 3 or 4 minutes, invite students from different groups to share their ideas with the classsee Love That Dog summary
notes (answers for teacher reference).
After students share out, ask them to record a summary statement for pages 811 as well as paraphrased details or quotes
from the text in support of their summary.
B. Close Reading: Love That Dog Pages 611 and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (35 minutes)
Ask students to turn to the Close Reading Questions and Notes starting on page 9 of their readers notebook.
Tell students they will be closely reading pages 611 of Love That Dog and one poem from the back of the book, Stopping by
Woods on a Snowy Evening.
To model fluent reading, read Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening aloud as students follow along silently.
Then begin the close reading, using the Close Reading Guide: Love That Dog Pages 611 and Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening (for teacher reference).
After completing this close reading, give students specific positive feedback regarding their hard work closely reading and
analyzing Love That Dog and the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. For example, revisit the Close Readers
Do These Things anchor chart and point out the specific strategies you saw students using..
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* In addition to the structure and rhythm, what other characteristic did you notice in the poems we read today?
* How are Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and The Red Wheelbarrow similar? How are they different?
After 5 minutes, invite students from each group to share out. Add students ideas to the What Makes a Poem a Poem?
anchor chart. Call attention to and add ideas from the teacher reference version of the chart that students do not mention.
Explain and model a Thumb-O-Meter for students.
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Then, ask students to read each of the learning targets aloud chorally, and to use a Thumb-O-Meter to demonstrate their
level of mastery toward each target.
Review the homework task and provide clarification as necessary.
Homework
Reread pages 611 of Love That Dog and Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening aloud to practice fluent reading skills.
Pick out one vivid word or phrase each from Jacks poem Blue Car, Blue Car and one from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening to add to the Vivid Words and Phrases section of your poetry journal.
Begin reading your book for independent reading.
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Summary Statement
OR
OR
And why do I have to tell more
about the blue car?
I dont want to write about that
blue car
Oct. 24Nov. 6
(pp. 811)
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10
Questions
What is the setting of the poem? How Read the first two stanzas aloud with
students. Then read the first question
can you tell?
aloud and remind students that setting
includes both place and time.
Then, work
together to
respond to the
questions on the
right.
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11
Questions
Then, work
together to
answer the
question on the
right.
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12
Questions
After reading,
work together to
answer the
questions on the
right.
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13
Questions
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14
Questions
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15
Questions
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16
Questions
Go back to
reread pages 6
and 7 of Love
That Dog
independently
and silently in
your head.
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17
Questions
With group
members, read
The Tiger aloud,
taking turns to
each read one
line.
Then,
independently
reread pages 8
and 9 of Love
That Dog, silently
in your head.
With a partner in
your group, read
Jacks poem on
page 8 aloud,
taking turns to
each read one full
stanza.
After reading the
poem and pages 8
and 9, work with
group members to
answer the
questions on the
right.
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18
Questions
Synthesize:
With group
members,
review your
responses to the
above questions
then discuss
how you could
respond to the
question at the
right.
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19
Ongoing Assessment
I can analyze how Jacks attitude toward poetry is changing, using evidence from the text.
Summary notes
I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on evidence from Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson follows a pattern similar to that of Lesson 2. Students first read and summarize pages 1219
of Love That Dog. But in this lesson, students then engage in a brief text-based discussion to analyze
Jacks character development, before moving on to analyze a poem that is referred to in the novel (in
this case, the poem Dog by Valerie Worth) to consider what Jack has learned about poetry.
This discussion is focused on how Jacks attitude toward poetry is changing. Students base their
explanation on evidence from the text. For this first discussion, students are given quotes from the text
on sentence strips to cite as evidence. Later, in Unit 2, students will gather their own evidence to
support a similar text-based discussion. This provides a gradual release of responsibility as students
learn how to support their thinking with evidence from the text.
In advance:
Copy on the board or display the Directions for Text-Based Discussion.
Copy and cut apart one complete set of sentence strips per group.
Review the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (completed; for teacher reference; from
Lesson 2) to see examples of additions to this anchor chart added in this lesson.
Post: Guiding questions anchor chart, learning targets, Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart,
What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, and I Notice/I Wonder anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening
* I can analyze how Jacks attitude toward poetry is changing, using evidence from the text.
* I can identify characteristics of poetry by analyzing the poem Dog.
* I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on evidence from Love That Dog..
Point out that the first two learning targets are similar to ones students have worked toward in the previous two lessons.
Then ask them to consider and discuss in groups what they think they will be doing thats similar to and different from
previous lessons.
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share whole group. Listen for students to mention that they will probably read and
reread a section of Love That Dog to explain what Jack understand about poetry and to identify characteristics of poetry, as
in previous lessons. But they will be analyzing a new poem called Dog and discussing how Jacks attitude toward poetry is
changing.
Underline the word evidence in the first learning target. Ask students to talk in groups about what this word means.
After a minute, invite a few students to share out their thinking with the class. Listen for ideas such as:
Evidence means clues that you can see.
Evidence is details from the text.
Evidence is facts that help you figure out if something is true.
Explain that in these learning targets, the word evidence means details from the text that support students responses to
questions about the novel. Emphasize that if students responses are based on specific evidence from the text, this will help
them to keep thinking about the actual words and ideas in the text, which will help them understand Jack better. As fourthgraders, they will spend a lot of time practicing explaining evidence in text.
Tell students that throughout fourth grade, they will be required to write and speak about texts using evidence. Today is a
great opportunity for them to practice discussing a text using details from the text.
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Work Time
A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Love That Dog Pages 1219 (10 minutes)
Ask students to take out their text Love That Dog and readers notebook and join their reading groups.
Ask students to turn to page 12. Invite them to chorally read aloud pages 1219 with you.
After reading, pause to ask students to turn and talk with a partner about the gist of this section of the text:
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
B. Text-Based Discussion: How Is Jacks Attitude toward Poetry Changing? (20 minutes)
Draw students attention to the Discussion Norms anchor chart. Briefly give positive feedback on a few norms you have
seen students following well in their small group discussions, and review expectations for discussions. Remind students that
today they will be paying particular attention to the norm Everyone should show specific details or evidence from the text to
support his or her thinking.
Distribute a set of Textual Evidence sentence strips to each group of students.
Point out the Directions for Text-Based Discussion written on the board or displayed with a document camera:
1. Read each sentence strip aloud with your group.
2. Sequence the strips based on the order of events in the novel (reference the novel as needed).
3. Think about the question posed by the teacher.
4. Reread the strips to find the evidence that best supports a response to the question.
5. Take turns sharing your response to the question with your group. Point out the evidence strip(s) that support your
answer.
Review the directions and explain that first you would like them to complete steps one and two only with their groups.
Clarify these steps as needed and encourage students to look back in the novel, locate each quote in the text, and reread that
page of text if needed.
Invite groups to take 5 minutes to complete steps one and two: reading and sequencing the strips. Circulate to probe or
coach as needed, but dont give the answers.
Call on a few groups to share their sequences. Confirm the sequence of events (based on the complete and uncut set of
Textual Evidence strips), and which event each quote is referring to.
Tell students that you are going to ask them to discuss a question in small groups. They will use the evidence from their
sentence strips to support their response to the question. To model this for students, pose the following question:
* How did Jack feel about poetry at the very beginning of the book?
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Invite a few volunteers to share their answers. If one of these students directly references a sentence strip in his or her
answer, point this out for the class. If not, model how to specifically reference a sentence strip when answering: I think Jack
did not like poetry at the beginning of the book because he said, I dont want to because boys dont write poetry. As you
model, use a document camera to display and reference the corresponding sentence strip.
Have students quickly turn to a neighbor and describe what they saw you do during your modeling. Call on a student to
share their observations. Listen for students to notice that you verbally and physically referenced a sentence strip as
evidence for your response.
Draw students attention to the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart and add the following to the anchor
chart When discussing a text, refer to evidence in the text that supports your thinking.
Next, write the following question on the board:
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Help them cite examples from the sentence strips to support their thinking:
At first he didnt like poetry or want to write it because he said, I dont want to because boys dont write poetry and I
tried. Cant do it. Brains empty.
Then he wrote his own poem but didnt want his teacher to share it. He said, Do you promise not to put it on the board?
Then he read a few more poems that he liked: I did not really understand the tiger tiger burning bright poem but at least
it sounded good to my ears and I liked the small poems we read today,
Then he decided to let his teacher post his poem on the board. He said, I guess you can put it on the board if you want to
but dont put my name on it.
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Ask students to take a minute to consider and briefly discuss in groups how they have met these targets in previous lessons.
Then invite a few students to share out. Listen for students to mention that they reread to capture notes about Jacks
impressions of a poem, then read and annotated the poem themselves to draw their own conclusions about what poetry is.
Next, display and ask students to turn to the page titled Jacks Reflections notes: Dog by Valerie Worth on page 7
in their readers notebooks. Point out that this page looks similar to students previous notes page, for The Red
Wheelbarrow (What Jack says about poetry, What Jack writes/What we can infer and Synthesize).
Ask students to turn to page 15 of Love That Dog and prepare to read the text aloud chorally. Ask them to look and listen for
things that Jack says that shows that he has learned something about poetry as the class reads together.
Start the choral reading with I liked those small poems on page 15 and end on page 18 after reading, Like how I wrote it
the first time.
Pose the following question for students to discuss with their groups. Remind them that close readers refer back to evidence
in the text during discussions.
* What does Jack say on pages 15 and 18 that show he has learned something about poetry?
Invite students to begin their brief discussion. Circulate to listen in and offer guidance as needed.
After 3 minutes, invite a few groups to share their ideas whole class then ask students to record paraphrased and relevant,
short quotes from the text into the first box, What Jack says about poetry Model as necessary; see Jacks Reflections
notes: Dog by Valerie Worth (answers for teacher reference).
Explain to students that before they complete the second box (What Jack writes/ What we can infer ), they will need to
analyze characteristics of poetry found in the poem that Jack read, Dog, by Valerie Worth. Then review the literary terms
on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart: structure, line, stanza, free verse, imagery, rhythm, narrative
poem, rhyme, and repetition . Remind students that identifying and explaining specific characteristics of the poem will help
them to infer what Jack learned when he read the small poems then wrote about them.
Ask students to find the poem Dog by Valerie Worth in the back their text, and to read along silently as you read the poem
aloud to them. Pause only where there is punctuation (commas, semicolons, colon, and period).
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Ask students to turn a talk with a partner about what they liked about the poem and what images came to mind as they
listened to it read aloud. Give students a few minutes to share, then call on a few students to share what they liked most
about the poem and the images it created for them.
Tell students that they will have a chance to annotate this poem. But first you would like to notice a characteristic of poetry
specifically related to how poems are read. Ask students to listen as you read the poem aloud once more and notice where
you pause. Students should notice that you pause your reading not at the end of the lines, but in accordance with
punctuation: commas, semicolons, colon, and period.
Explain that even though poems are often written in short lines (such as Dog and The Red Wheelbarrow), the lines do
not tell the reader where to pause. Just as with prose, in poetry the punctuation tells the reader how to read the poem. The
punctuation is a part of the poems structure (as are lines and stanzas).
Remind students that The Red Wheelbarrow was read as one long sentence, because the only punctuation was a period at
the end. Briefly flip to The Red Wheelbarrow, point out the punctuation at the end, and reread this poem.
Direct students attention to the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart. In the row for Dog, add the word structure
with a bullet and the word punctuation underneath with a definition in the column for characteristics. Then add an
example/explanation from the poemsee What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (for teacher reference).
Review the characteristics of poetry noted on the anchor chart that they have learned so far: structure, line, stanza, free
verse, imagery, rhythm, narrative poem, rhyme, and repetition. Tell students that now it is their turn to annotate the poem
Dog and look for more characteristics of poetry with a partner.
Distribute sticky notes and clarify directions and expectations as needed. Then ask students to begin working with a peer
in their group to annotate the poem Dog. Circulate to offer guidance and support.
After 3 or 4 minutes, cold call members from different groups to share out Examples/Explanation of the structure, free
verse style, and imagery in the poem Dogsee What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (for teacher reference) for
examples/explanations students may shareand synthesize to add students thinking to the anchor chart.
Then ask students to turn back to page 15 of Love That Dog. Tell students that now that they have revisited characteristics of
poetry and listed examples/explanations of those characteristics from Dog, the class can revisit novel and make inferences
about what Jack learned about poetry from reading Valerie Worths poem.
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10
Ask students to follow along silently as you reread pages 15 and 16 aloud.
Then ask students to discuss in groups:
* What do you notice about how Jack uses characteristics similar to Dog in his own writing?
After 2 or 3 minutes, invite students to share out what they notice about Jacks writing. Listen for students to notice his use
of imagery, yellow dog, tongue all limp, comp at a fly. Then, ask:
* Based on what Jack says and his writing what are some things we can infer that he learns about poetry in this section of
the text?
Ask students to take 5 minutes to discuss with their groups.
Then refocus students whole group to complete the second box What we can infer as a class.
Once the second box is filled in, focus students on the last box of the reflection notes, Synthesize, and ask them to discuss:
* What do you think Jack has learned about poetry based on what he says about small poems?
Remind students to use evidence from the text, their notes, and the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart to support
their discussions.
After 2 minutes, invite several students to share their thinking aloud then ask students to independently record an answer in
the Synthesize box of their notes. Remind students that their responses should include key words from the prompt and be
supported by details from the text, their reflection notes, and the poetry anchor chart.
As time allows, invite students to share their synthesis statements in groups and/or with a partner outside of their group
then revise as needed, based on ideas they heard from peers.
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11
Then, focus students attention on the I Notice/I Wonder anchor chart and ask them to consider then discuss with their
partner: What did you notice and what do you wonder about the poem Dog by Valerie Worth?
After 1 or 2 minutes, invite students to share an idea they heard from their partner and add students thinking to the anchor
chart.
Have students reread the learning targets and give you a Fist to Five to indicate their progress towards these targets.
Review the homework assignment and clarify tasks as necessary.
Homework
Reread pages 1219 of Love That Dog and the poem Dog aloud to someone at home or in front of the mirror to practice
fluency. Pick out one vivid word or phrase from the poem Dog to add to the Vivid Words and Phrases section of your
poetry journal.
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12
Summary Statement
Nov. 9Nov. 22
(pp. 1214)
Nov. 29 (pp.
1516)
Dec. 4Dec. 13
(pp. 1719)
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14
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15
16
Page
When theyre small like that you can read a whole bunch
15
15
18
What we infer
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17
Poetry Task 2
1. Think about a pet you have had OR an object that is special to you.
2. Write the name of your pet OR the object at the top of a blank page in the My Poetry section of
your poetry journal.
3. Brainstorm and record a list of at least 10 words and/or phrases you could use to describe your pet
OR object (HINT: think about imagery, words that help a reader see, hear, feel, smell, and taste
what is being described).
4. Use the words and phrases you brainstormed to write a free verse poem, with at least five lines,
that will help your reader imagine your pet OR the object in your poem.
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18
Ongoing Assessment
I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on evidence from Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students take the Mid-Unit 1 Assessment to apply what they have been learning about
how to use evidence from the text to answer questions (Rl.4.1 and RL.4.3). While both RL.4.2 and
RL.4.5 have been focused on during instruction, these standards are assessed in Unit 2 once students
have finished the novel. This ensures that they have made sufficient progress towards these standards
before that Unit 2 assessment.
During Work Time Part B of this lesson, students are asked to reflect in writing, on their ability to meet
this target. This gets students in the habit of considering their individual growth and helps them to
practice setting goals based on reflections about their personal strengths and areas of need. In Module
2, students will begin using a Tracking Progress form to more formally reflect on their individual
progress.
Some students may require additional time to complete this assessment independently. Make
provisions for those students accordingly.
Some students may benefit from having someone read the questions aloud to them. Again make
provisions for those students accordingly.
In advance:
Review Milling to Music in Checking for Understanding Techniques (see Appendix).
Post: learning targets, What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, Close Readers Do These things
anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
Reassure students that while they may feel a bit nervous about sharing their poems with a classmate, that this is something
that writers must eventually do, share their work with an audience. To start, their audience will be small, one other person,
but as they become more comfortable with writing poems, they will be asked to select a poem to read aloud to small group of
their classmates. Explain that this is the first step in helping them to become comfortable with sharing their own writing. .
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Opening (continued)
* I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on evidence from Love That Dog.
* I can reflect on my progress toward the learning target.
Ask students to focus on the first target then discuss with a nearby peer:
* How might you restate this target based on your understanding of the key terms: explain, understands, and evidence?
After a minute, cold call a few students to share their thinking with the class.
Then, focus students on the second learning target and underline the words: reflect and progress.
Ask students to consider then turn to a different nearby partner to discuss:
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Work Time
Also make sure the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart is posted for student reference during the
assessment.
Read the directions and questions with students then answer any clarifying questions. When students are ready, ask them to
begin.
If students finish the assessment early, allow them the option to:
Add additional vivid words and phrases from the text in the Vivid Words and Phrases section of their poetry journals.
Read independently.
Ask students to hold on to their assessments to refer to during the next part of Work Time.
B. Reflecting on Learning (10 minutes)
Review the learning targets with students then ask them to turn to the first blank page in the My Reflections section of
their poetry journals.
Explain to students that they are going to consider the first two targets along with their responses to the assessment
questions then reflect on their progress toward each target.
Pose the following questions for students to consider then write responses to in their journals:
* How would you describe your progress toward this target? Give specific examples.
* What strategies most helped you meet the target?
Ask students to think about then independently write a response to each question.
Once students have recorded their reflections, tell them to prepare to share reflections during the debrief.
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Teaching Note
Be prepared to return students Mid-Unit 1 Assessments by Lesson 7. Also check students My Reflection responses to ensure students are reflecting on their
progress toward the targets based on evidence/specific examples from their work.
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3. According to Jack, why do people think that Robert Frosts writing is poetry? (RL.4.1)
A. Robert Frost writes about snowy woods and a pasture.
B. Robert Frosts teacher typed up his words to make them look like a poem.
C. Robert Frosts poem is like the wheelbarrow poem.
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Part II: Circle the evidence from the text that best supports your answer to Part I.
A. Like how you did with the blue-car things
B. typed up they look like poems
C. the other kids are looking at them and they think they really are poems
5. Which sentence below best describes what Jack learned about poetry in this section of the text?
(RL.4.3)
A. Poems are written by people with too much time on their hands.
B. No one really understands what poems mean.
C. Poems make pictures with words.
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10
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11
3. According to Jack, why do people think Robert Frosts writing is poetry? (RL.4.1)
A. Robert Frost writes about snowy woods and a pasture.
B. Robert Frosts teacher typed up his words to make them look like a poem.
C. Robert Frosts poem is like the wheelbarrow poem.
4. Refer to pages 22 and 23 to help answer Part I and Part II below: (RL.4.3)
Part I: How do you think Jack feels about his poems after his teacher typed them up?
A. Proud
B. Embarrassed
C. Frustrated
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12
5. Which sentence below best describes what Jack learned about poetry in this section of the text?
(RL.4.3)
A. Poems are written by people with too much time on their hands.
B. No one really understands what poems mean.
C. Poems make pictures with words.
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13
Ongoing Assessment
I can summarize pages 2530 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
Summary notes
I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
With peers, I can write a paragraph to explain what Jack has learned about poetry, based on his poem
You Come Too.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
For Lessons 6-8, students continue to consider what Jack has learned about poetry. Over the course of
this unit, this focus question has allowed them to analyze Jacks growing knowledge about poetry while
building their own. In Unit 2, students will shift to focus on a deeper character analysis of Jack, by
considering what has inspired him as a writer. Students learning throughout Unit 1 -- their
strengthened knowledge of poetry, close reading strategies, summarization skills, and ability to use
evidence from the text to support their thinking will prepare them for this deeper and more
independent analysis of novel in Unit 2.
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This lesson follows a pattern similar to that of Lesson 3. Students first summarize, then participate in a
close reading of pages 2530 of Love That Dog. Then, they use details from their close reading notecatchers to engage in a shared writing experience to explain: What can you infer that Jack learned
about poetry, based on his poem You Come Too? This close reading and shared writing supports
students ability to analyze text and organize and write a complete paragraph for the end of unit
assessment in Lesson 8.
The purpose of the shared writing experience in Work Time C is to help students recognize the
characteristics of a quality paragraph and to practice planning and developing a written piece. In shared
writing, the teacher and students plan and compose text together, with both contributing their thoughts
and ideas to the process while the teacher acts as scribe, writing the text as it is composed. Shared
writing enables teachers to make the writing process concrete and visible to students, which allows
students to focus on both the thinking and process involved in writing.
Agenda
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
* I can summarize pages 2530 of Love That Dog, based on evidence from the novel.
* I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on evidence from Love That Dog.
* With peers, I can write a paragraph to explain what Jack has learned about poetry, based on his poem You Come Too.
Ask students to discuss with group members:
* Based on our previous lessons, which of these targets are familiar to you?
* What do you think we will be doing in this lesson?
* What questions do you have about what we will be doing in this lesson?
After 2 or 3 minutes, invite members from a variety of groups to share their ideas and questions whole class. Clarify any
misconceptions students may have about the targets then ask them to prepare for the first read and reread of new pages
from Love That Dog.
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Work Time
A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Love That Dog, Pages 2530 (10 minutes)
Remind students of the first learning target then cold call a few students to share out how they have typically started their
close reads of sections from Love That Dog. Listen for students to mention reading the section aloud, determining the gist,
and then summarizing chunks of text.
Ask students to turn to page 25 of their books and to read aloud pages 2527 with you. Pause at the end of page 27 and ask
students: What is the gist of these pages?
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share their ideas whole group. Listen for them to mention that these pages are a
poem Jack wrote about going to get a new dog.
Then, ask students to follow along silently as you read pages 2830 aloud. Once again, pause at the end of page 30 and ask
students to consider and discuss in groups what the gist of these pages is.
After 1 minute, cold call a few students to share out and listen for ideas such as:
Jack lets his teacher put up his poem.
Jack calls his new poem You Come Too.
Next, ask students to turn to the Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5 of their readers notebooks. Focus
students on the rows of their notes dated Jan. 24 (pp. 2527) and Jan. 31Feb. 7 (pp. 2830) then ask them to circle or
star these dates to focus their attention on the rows they will need to add summary statements and details to.
Briefly explain to students that they are to reread and work with group members to summarize and add details to their
notes, just as they have done in previous lessons. Clarify as needed then release students to work with group members.
Circulate to offer guidance and support.
After 5 or 6 minutes, cold call students from a variety of groups to share out the summary statements and supporting details
that they added to their notes. See Love That Dog summary notes (answers for teacher reference) for ideas
students may share.
Then, ask students to prepare for a close reading of pages 2530 of Love That Dog.
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* How does rereading sections of Love That Dog more closely support your understanding of the story and/or the main
character, Jack?
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share their ideas whole class.
When students are ready, distribute colored pencils, crayons, or markers and ask students to turn to the Close Read
Questions and Notes: Love That Dog, pages 2530 on pages 14-16 in their readers notebooks. Then, begin the close
reading using the Close Reading Guide: Love That Dog, pages 2530 (for teacher reference).
Afterward, give students specific positive feedback regarding moves they made as close readers. Then ask students to
prepare for a shared writing experience.
C. Shared Writing: What Has Jack Learned about Poetry? (20 minutes)
Refocus students whole group and remind them of the third learning target.
Tell students that for the last few lessons they have been focusing on close reading and the characteristics of poetry. Explain
today they will be shifting to focus on the qualities of writing a paragraph in prose. Note that students like already know a lot
about writing paragraphs, but that today they will be reviewing and refreshing these skills. Explain that the ability to write a
quality paragraph is very important because it is the foundation of most of the writing they will do in school as well as the
writing they will need to do as adults in college and in a career.
Go on to explain that for the upcoming end of unit assessment, they will be asked to independently write a paragraph to
explain what Jack has learned about poetry throughout the entire first half of the novel Love That Dog. So today they will
participate in a shared writing experience on a small part of the book to learn how to identify relevant details, organize their
ideas, and write a quality paragraph to explain what Jack has learned about poetry, based on his poem You Come Too,
which they just finished reading closely.
Tell students that before they begin planning and writing a quality paragraph, it is important for them to review their
understanding of what a quality paragraph is. Ask students to turn and talk with a partner about the following prompt:
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Give students a few minutes to discuss, and then cold call a few pairs to share their thinking. List their responses on the
board temporarily. Listen for students to list the following ideas (note student explanations of the qualities below is not
likely to include the same terminology:
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After 3 minutes, invite groups to share out their thinking with the class. Add students ideas to the Quality Paragraphs
anchor chartsee Quality Paragraphs anchor chart (for teacher reference). Point out and add to the chart any
characteristics on the teacher reference that students do not mention or cannot name accurately, such as: indented, topic
sentence, main idea, conclude, language (appropriate to audience), conventional (errors).
Once students have identified and are clear about the characteristics of a quality paragraph, explain that now they are going
to work together as a class to write a paragraph that explains what they can infer Jack has learned about poetry, based on the
poem he wrote called You Come Too.
Display and distribute the Topic Expansion graphic organizer then tell students that good writers take time to think
about what they want to say before writing and that generating and organizing ideas in advance supports their ability to craft
a stronger, richer piece of writing.
Orient students to the graphic organizer by first pointing out the large box on the left, Main Idea. Ask students to quickly
discuss in groups what they notice about this box then invite a few students to share out. Listen for:
It has a question for the main idea.
The topic sentence in the box answers the question.
There are words from the question in the sentence.
Focus students specifically on the fact that the topic sentence in the box uses key words from the main idea question. Tell
them that a good topic sentence includes key words from the prompt (in this case a question) so that the reader knows what
the piece will be about.
Then, point out the Detail boxes to students and draw their attention to the blank lines and phrase Example from the
text. Explain that students will look back at their note-catchers from their close reading to determine and record a general
detail in support of the main idea as well as a specific example from the text that is related to the detail.
Model using a think-aloud to complete the first box. For ideas, see Topic Expansion graphic organizer (sample
answers, for teacher reference). Continue modeling as needed or release students to work with group members to
record a detail and example in the remaining Detail box(es). Circulate to support as needed.
Once student groups have recorded their thinking into the graphic organizer, cold call a few groups to share their thinking
whole class. Synthesize to add students ideas to the displayed graphic organizer. See Topic Expansion graphic organizer
(sample answers, for teacher reference) for ideas students may share.
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Focus students on the large box on the right of the graphic organizer, Concluding Statement.
Explain that a concluding statement is a sentence that restates the main idea of paragraph (What?) and can be used to
explain the So what?why the topic mattersto the reader.
Ask students to work with group members to look back at the topic sentence, details, and examples on their graphic
organizers then consider and discuss:
* What sentence could we write to restate the main idea (What?) and explain why it matters (So what?) that Jack has
learned about poetry?
After 2 or 3 minutes, invite a few groups to share their ideas aloudsee Topic Expansion graphic organizer (sample answers,
for teacher reference). Synthesize students thinking to record a Concluding Statement onto the displayed graphic
organizer.
Explain to students that they are going to work together as a class to use the ideas from their graphic organizers to develop a
quality paragraph that explains what they can infer Jack has learned about poetry, based on his poem You Come Too.
Begin by indenting to write the provided topic sentence from the graphic organizer onto a large piece of chart paper then
tell students that they will refer to the details and examples from their own graphic organizers to develop sentences that
support the main idea.
Before students begin trying to craft detail sentences in groups, help them recognize that detail sentences can be organized
differently by bringing their attention back to the sample quality paragraph. Ask students to read the second and third
sentences aloud: For one, poetry has a different structure from prose. Poems have stanzas and lines or can be written in a
shape, but prose is written using complete sentences organized into paragraphs. Point out that Sentence 2 is a more general
detail that supports the main idea and it is followed by a separate but related and specific example.
Then, point out the fourth sentence: Also, some poetry includes rhyming words such as night and bright or shake and
mistakeand help students notice how it combines a general detail and a related, specific example into the same sentence.
Continue to provide additional examples (from the fifth and sixth sentences) if necessary, then release students to discuss
and record detail/example sentences in the margin of their graphic organizers. Circulate to offer guidance.
After 4 or 5 minutes, invite members from different groups to share a sentence with the class. Synthesize students thinking
to add detail sentences to the chart paper.
Ask students to then consider the topic and detail sentences on the chart paper. Guide the class in adding a concluding
statement to the chart.
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10
Ask students to read the complete paragraph aloud with you then refer to the Quality Paragraphs anchor chart and discuss in
groups:
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11
* How does reading closely and writing about what we read help us to better understand a text?
After 2 minutes, invite a few student pairs to share their thinking whole group.
Then, draw students attention back to the learning targets. Ask them to show a thumbs-up, -down, or -sideways to indicate
their level of mastery toward each target.
Review the homework task with students and provide clarification as necessary.
Homework
Reread pages 2530 of Love That Dog aloud to practice fluency. Pick out two vivid words or phrases from Jacks poem You
Come Too to add to the Vivid Words and Phrases section of your poetry journal.
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12
Summary Statement
Jan. 24 (pp. 25
27)
Jan. 31Feb. 7
(pp. 2830)
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14
Questions
With group
members, whisper
read Jacks entire
poem once (pages
2527).
15
Questions
With a partner in
your group, reread
the first and second
stanzas, taking turns
to read each stanza.
After reading
independently, work
with group members
to answer the
question on the right.
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16
Questions
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17
Questions
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18
Questions
Synthesize: With
group members,
review your
responses to the
above questions then
discuss and record an
answer to the
question on the right.
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19
Questions
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20
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21
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22
Supporting Detail
Main Idea
(What can you infer Jack
has learned about
poetry, based on his
poem You Come Too?)
Based on the poem
You Come Too,
Jack shows he has
learned a lot of
poetry.
Concluding Statement
Supporting Detail
Supporting Detail
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23
Supporting Detail
Concluding Statement
Because Jack has
learned so much
about poetry, he is
able to write his own
poetry.
Supporting Detail
Jack uses poetic
structure.
Example from text:
Jacks poem has
several stanzas, and
each stanza has at
least two lines.
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24
Poetry Task 3
1. Think about a time you took a trip with your family or friends. Where did you go? What did you
see? What did you hear? What did you feel? Add your ideas to the boxes below.
Where
See
Hear
Feel
2. Use the ideas you recorded above to write a poem in the My Poetry section of your poetry journal
(at least two stanzas, with at least two lines each) to describe the place you traveled to. Your poem
may have rhyme and rhythm or be written in free verse.
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25
Ongoing Assessment
I can summarize pages 3141 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
Summary notes
I can identify characteristics of poetry by analyzing the poems Street Music and The Apple.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson follows a pattern similar to that of Lesson 2. Students read pages 3141 of Love That Dog to
summarize sections of the text, then reread to explain what Jack says and writes about two poems
(Street Music by Arnold Adoff and The Apple by S.C. Rigg) to make inferences about what Jack has
learned about poetry.
Although both Street Music and The Apple are studied in this lesson, the analysis of these poems is
brief and designed to build background knowledge before analyzing what Jack has learned about poetry
on pages 3141 in the novel. This gradual release of responsibility helps to prepare students for the End
of Unit 1 Assessment (Lesson 8), when students will independently write a paragraph about what Jack
has learned about poetry so far in the novel.
This lesson introduces students to concrete poems: poems are structured to form a shape that is
related to the content of the poem. Students will likely enjoy this playful approach to organizing
language. Consider finding additional concrete poems to share with students.
Note that S.C. Rigg is the pseudonym that Sharon Creech uses. You may or may not wish to share this
information with students during the lesson.
In advance:
Review Glass, Bugs, Mud in Checking for Understanding Techniques (see Appendix).
Post: Guiding questions anchor chart; learning targets; Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart,
What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, I Notice/I Wonder anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening
* I can summarize pages 3141 of Love That Dog, based on details from the novel.
* I can explain what Jack understands about poetry, based on details from Love That Dog.
* I can identify characteristics of poetry by analyzing the poems Street Music and The Apple.
Point out that these targets are similar to ones students have worked toward in previous lessons. Ask them to consider and
discuss in groups what they think they will be doing today.
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share whole group. Listen for students to say something like they will read and reread
pages 3141 of Love That Dog to explain what Jack understands about poetry, and to identify characteristics of poetry in two
new poems.
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Work Time
A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Love That Dog, Pages 3141 (10 minutes)
Cold call a few students to share out how they have been starting their close readings of sections from Love That Dog. Listen
for students to mention reading the text aloud, determining the gist, and then summarizing.
Tell them that they will follow a similar routine today. Ask students to take out their copies of Love That Dog, turn to page
31, and follow along silently as you read aloud pages 3141. Pause after reading to ask students: What were these pages
mostly about?
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share their ideas whole group and listen for students to mention that these pages are
about how Jack reads and writes two new poems.
Next, ask students to turn to the Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5 of their readers notebooks. Focus
students on the last three rows of their notes dated Feb. 15 (pp. 3134), Feb. 21Feb. 26 (pp. 3537), and March 1
March 7 (pp. 3841) then ask them to circle or star these dates to help focus their attention on the rows they will need to
add summary statements and details to.
Tell students that, just as they have done in previous lessons, they are to reread and work with group members to summarize
and add details to their notes. Remind students to record mostly paraphrased details and no more than one short, relevant
quote in support of their summary statements. Clarify as needed.
Invite students to begin. Circulate to offer guidance and support.
After 10 minutes, cold call several students to share out the summary statements and supporting details that they added to
their notessee Love That Dog summary notes (answers for teacher reference).
Then, ask students to prepare for a reread of pages 3141 of Love That Dog as well as a first read and analysis of the poems
Street Music and The Apple.
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Ask students to consider then briefly discuss with group members how they have met these targets in previous lessons.
After 1 minute, invite a few students to share out. Listen for them to mention that they reread to capture notes about Jacks
impressions of a poem then read and annotated the poem themselves to draw their own conclusions about what poetry is.
Next, display and ask students to turn to the page titled Jacks Reflections notes: Street Music and The Apple
on page 8 in their readers notebooks. Orient students to the notes page (What Jack says about poetry /Page, What Jack
writes /What we can infer and Synthesize).
Then, ask students to turn to page 31 of Love That Dog and to read chorally aloud with you, starting with I like the poem we
read today and pausing at the end of page 34, before they sleep.
After reading aloud, ask students to talk with group members about what Jack says about poetry on pages 3134.
Encourage students to refer to the text during their discussions.
After 2 or 3 minutes, invite a few groups to share their ideas whole class then ask students to record paraphrased and
relevant, short quotes from the text into the first box, Jack says about poetry /Pagesee Jacks Reflections notes:
Street Music and The Apple (answers, for teacher reference).
Then, ask students to turn to page 35 and follow along silently as you read aloud, beginning with That was so great and
ending on page 36, what its about. Once again, ask students to talk with group members about what Jack says about
poetry on pages 35 and 36.
After 2 or 3 minutes, cold call a few students to share their thinking aloud then ask students to add paraphrased details and
quotes to the first box, Jack says about poetry /Pagesee Jacks Reflections notes: Street Music and The Apple
(answers for teacher reference).
Remind students that before they complete the second box, What Jack writes /What we can infer they will need to
analyze characteristics of poetry found in the poems Street Music and The Apple. Then on the What Makes a Poem a
Poem? anchor chart, in the Street Music row, add the terms structure and onomatopoeia to the Characteristics
column. Ask students to turn the poem Street Music by Arnold Adoff in the back of Love That Dog. Then ask students to
read the poem chorally aloud with you, at least twice.
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Ask students to turn to a partner and discuss what they liked about the poem and the images this poem brought to their
mind. Give students a few minutes to share and call on a few to share with the whole class. Students should notice a lot of
words that help them imagine the sounds of the city.
Next ask them what they notice about the structure of this poem. Listen for them to mention that some words are spaced in
an unusual way; its difficult to tell if there are stanzas and lines. Write the word irregular next to structure on the poetry
anchor chart. Remind students of their work with affixes and roots and ask:
* What does irregular mean? Can you see a familiar word in this word?
Listen for students to point regular and explain that this is the root of the word. Go on to explain that ir- is an affix,
something you add to a word to change its meaning. Give a few examples of other affixes: un- means not, so if you add
un- to happy you get unhappy or not happy. Tell students that the affix ir- also means not. Ask:
* What do you immediately notice about this poem? Listen for students to comment on the words of the poem forming the
shape of an apple.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
On the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, in The Apple row, add the terms: structure and next to structure, write
concrete. Explain that a poem written in the shape of the thing it is describing is called a concrete poem. Explain that the
poem is described as concrete way because one of the meanings of the word concrete is something you can see. Then add the
definition for concrete poem to the anchor chartsee What Makes a Poem a Poem anchor chart (from Lesson 2;
completed; for teacher reference).
Next, ask students to read the poem chorally aloud with you, at least twice, then ask them to consider and discuss in groups:
* What do you like about this poem? What does it make you think about?
* What imagery is used in this poem?
* What are examples of repetition found in this poem?
After 3 or 4 minutes, invite students to share ideas from their group discussions whole class and add students ideas to the
anchor chartsee the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (completed; for teacher reference; from Lesson 2).
After recording students ideas on the chart, ask them to turn back to page 31 of Love That Dog.
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Work Time
C. Inferring What Jack Has Learned about Poetry: Love That Dog, Pages 3141 (15 minutes)
Tell students that now that they have revisited characteristics of poetry and listed examples/explanations of those
characteristics from Street Music and The Apple, the class can revisit what Jack wrote on pages 3137 of Love That Dog
and make inferences about what Jack has learned about poetry.
Ask students to chorally reread pages 3134 aloud then ask students to discuss in groups:
* What do you notice about how Jack uses characteristics similar to Street Music when he writes about his own street?
After 2 or 3 minutes, ask a few students to share out what they notice about Jacks writingsee Jacks Reflections notes:
Street Music and The Apple (answers for teacher reference). Then, ask students to record their inferences into the What
Jack writes/What we can infer box.
Next, ask students to look at, then chorally read aloud Jacks poem My Yellow Dog, on page 37.
After reading the poem aloud, ask students to think about then discuss in groups:
* What do you notice about how Jack uses characteristics similar to The Apple in his poem My Yellow Dog?
After 2 or 3 minutes, cold call a few students to share out what they notice about Jacks poemsee Jacks Reflections notes:
Street Music and The Apple (answers for teacher reference). Then, ask students to add their inferences to the What Jack
writes /What we can infer box.
After students complete the second box on their notes, focus them on the last box of the reflection notes, Synthesize, and
ask them to discuss: What do you think Jack has learned about poetry based on what he says and writes on pages 3137?
Remind students to refer to the text, their notes, and the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart to support their
discussions.
After 2 or 3 minutes, cold call a few students to share their thinking aloud. Then ask the whole class to independently record
an answer in the Synthesize box of their notes. Remind students that their responses should include key words from the
prompt and be supported by details from the text, their reflection notes, and the poetry anchor chart.
As time allows, invite students to share their synthesis statements in groups and/or with a partner outside their group then
revise as needed, based on ideas they heard from peers.
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* Thinking about the poems Street Music and The Apple, what do you notice about poetry now?
* What do you still wonder about poetry?
After 2 or 3 minutes, invite a few student partners to share their thinking with the class and add their ideas to the I Notice/I
Wonder anchor chart.
Homework
Reread pages 3141 of Love That Dog and the poems Street Music and The Apple. Add two vivid words or phrases to the
Vivid Words and Phrases section of your poetry journal.
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10
Summary Statement
Feb. 15 (pp. 31
34)
Feb. 21Feb. 26
(pp. 3537)
March 1March
7 (pp. 3841)
OR
Jack really likes the tree
poem by another student in
his class.
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12
Page
Page 31
He likes the poems that make the shape of whats being described in the
poem.
Page 35
Page 35
Page 35
Synthesize: Explain what Jack has learned about poetry, based on what he says and writes.
Jack has learned to use onomatopoeia, repetition, and imagery in his own poetry. He
also learned to use a concrete structure.
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13
Characteristics of Poetry
Examples
The Red
Wheelbarrow
by William
Carlos
Williams
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14
Characteristics of Poetry
Examples
Stopping by
Woods on a
Snowy
Evening by
Robert Frost
Structure
Rhythmemphasis on certain
syllables throughout a piece
Imagery
harness bells shake; the sweep of
easy wind and downy flake
Dog by
Valerie Worth
Structure
Punctuationmarks in writing
to separate sentences and parts
of sentences to make the
meaning clear.
Free verse
Imagery
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15
Characteristics of Poetry
Examples
The Pasture
by Robert
Frost
Structure
Repetition
away/may young/tongue
Rhyme
Street Music Structureirregular (ir- not; regular
normal; not normal)
by Arnold
Adoff
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16
Characteristics of Poetry
Examples
The Apple
by S.C. Rigg
Imagery
Repetition
Apple; yum; juicy; crunchy; red; yellow;
green; delicious; yum; yuk
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17
Poetry Task 4
1. Think of something you would like to create a concrete poem of. Then draw a picture of what you
want to write about.
2. Brainstorm a list of five to seven words that represent parts of the picture you drew and/or that
would help a reader see, smell, taste, hear, or feel what you will write a poem about.
3. Create a concrete poem in the shape of your picture that repeats the five to seven words you
brainstormed. (If necessary, refer to the poems My Yellow Dog and The Apple from Love That
Dog as examples.)
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18
Ongoing Assessment
I can plan and write a quality paragraph to explain what Jack has learned about poetry, using details
and examples from pages 141 of Love That Dog as evidence.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students take the End of Unit 1 Assessment. They plan and write a paragraph to answer
the question: What has Jack learned about poetry? After completing the assessment, students are
asked to reflect on their ability to write quality paragraphs with evidence in order to analyze the text.
Use students assessment results as well as their reflections to determine what progress they have
made towards these skills. Note: This assessment does not include W.4.2 (writing
informative/explanatory texts), Students will be formally assessed on W.4.2 in both Units 2 and 3 of
this module. While this Unit 1 assessment does not formally assess all aspects of W.4.2, it does
provide formative assessment towards this standard. Use students assessment results to gather
information on the instructional support they will need towards this standard to prepare for the
writing instruction in Units 2 and 3.
Some students may require additional time to complete this assessment independently. Make
provisions for those students accordingly.
Some students may benefit from having someone read the questions aloud to them. Again make
provisions for those students accordingly.
In advance:
Review the Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face protocol (see Appendix).
Post: Guiding questions anchor chart, learning targets, What makes a poem a poem? anchor chart,
Discussion Norms anchor chart.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening
Briefly review directions for the Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face protocol. Provide clarification as necessary then give students 1
minute to find a partner who is not a member of their regular group.
Once students pair up, give students the following directions:
1. Read your poem to your partner.
2. Tell your partner what you like about your poem.
3. Point out the characteristics of poetry featured in your poem (use literary terms).
4. Repeat.
Refer students to the literary terms listed in the Characteristics of Poetry section of the What Makes a Poem a Poem?
anchor chart and have them begin the protocol.
B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)
Display and ask students to chorally read aloud each learning target with you. Ask students to pay attention to familiar
vocabulary from the target and be ready to restate each target in their own words.
* I can plan and write a quality paragraph to explain what Jack has learned about poetry, using details and examples from
pages 141 of Love That Dog as evidence.
* How could you restate each of these targets in your own words, based on your understanding of the key terms: plan,
paragraph, explain, drawing, details, examples, reflect, and progress?
After 2 minutes, cold call a few students to share their thinking aloud.
Tell students that now they will take the End of Unit 1 Assessment to show what they have learned about how to plan and
write a paragraph that explains what Jack has learned about poetry in the first half of the novel Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Work Time
Also make sure that students have their text Love That Dog to refer to, and that the Close Readers Do These Things
anchor chart, What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart, and Quality Paragraphs anchor chart are all posted
for student reference throughout the assessment.
Distribute the End of Unit 1 Assessment: Extended Response: Love That Dog, Pages 141: What Has Jack
Learned about Poetry? and blank, lined paper. Read the directions and prompt with students then answer clarifying
questions.
When students are ready, ask them to begin.
While students take the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. Prompt students throughout the
assessment, letting them know how much time they have left and encouraging them to continue working. This is an
opportunity to analyze students behavior while taking an assessment. Document strategies student use during the
assessment. For example, look for students annotating their text, using their graphic organizer to plan their writing, and
referring to plans and the text as they write.
If students finish the assessment early, allow them to:
Read independently.
Draw a sketch of one the poems they read during the first unit, in the My Reflection section of their poetry journals.
Ask students to hold on to their assessments to refer to during Part B of Work Time.
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Tell students they are going to consider the first target as well as the paragraph they planned and wrote for the assessment
then reflect on their progress in their journals, just as they did after the mid-unit assessment.
Then, pose the following questions for students to consider and then respond to in writing:
* What are the greatest strengths of your paragraph? Explain your thinking.
* What would you like to improve about your ability to plan OR write a paragraph? Why?
Ask students to think about and then independently write a response to each question.
After students have written their reflections, ask them to prepare to share their thinking during the debrief.
Homework
In the next lesson we will summarize the first half of the book. To prepare, reread pages 141 of Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Main Idea
(What has Jack has
learned about poetry?)
So What?
Supporting Detail
Supporting Detail
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10
11
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12
CRITERIA
CCLS
COHE RENCE,
ORGA NIZATION, AND
STYLE: the extent to which
the essay logically
organi zes comple x ideas,
concepts, and information
using formal style and
preci se language
CONTRO L OF
CONVENTIONS: the extent
to which the essay
demonstrates comm and of
the conventions of
standard English grammar,
usag e, capit alization,
punctuati on, and spelling
W.2
R.19
W.2
W.9
R.19
W.2
L.1
L.2
1
Essays at this level
0
Essays at this level :
3
Essays at this level :
demonstrate insightf ul
comprehensi on and anal ysis of
the text(s)
demonstrate a literal
comprehensi on of the text(s)
demonstrate emerging
comman d of conventi ons, with
some errors that may hinder
comprehensi on
provide a concluding
statement that is illogical or
unrelated to the topic and
information presented
demonst rate a lack of
comman d of conventi ons, with
frequent errors that hinder
comprehensi on
W.2
L.3
L.6
SCORE
2
Essays at this level :
4
Essays at this level :
If the prompt requires two texts and the student only references one text, the response can be scored no higher than a 2.
If the student writes only a personal response and makes no reference to the text(s), the response can be scored no higher than a 1.
Responses totally unrelated to the topic, illegible, incoherent, or blank should be given a 0.
A response totally copied from the text(s) with no original student writing should be scored a 0.
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13
In the second half of the unit, students are introduced to the performance task
(which has three parts; see stand-alone document). They continue to focus on
learning about poetry through writing, now by writing their own poems. Students
choose from a selected group of poets to study more deeply, and in small poet
groups will read and analyze new poems by these poets. Then, students will write
an inspired poem as one part of the performance task. Students will then be
introduced to the peer critique process and use what they have learned about poetry
to revise their original poems with a focus on imagery. The unit ends with students
reading and analyzing a new poem for the end of unit assessment (RL.4.5, L.4.5a).
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment
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Texts
1. Sharon Creech, Love That Dog (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001), ISBN: 0-06-029287-3.
2. William Carlos Williams, The Great Figure (no purchase necessary; included in lesson supporting materials).
3. Valerie Worth, safety pin (no purchase necessary; included in lesson supporting materials).
4. Walter Dean Myers, Lawrence Hamm, 19 Student Athlete (no purchase necessary; included in lesson supporting materials).
5. Robert Frost, A Patch of Old Snow (no purchase necessary; included in lesson supporting materials).
6. Williams Carlos Williams, Metric Figure (no purchase necessary; included in lesson supporting materials).
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 1
Participation in shared
writing of Topic Expansion
graphic organizer
Participation in shared
writing of informative
paragraph
Lesson 2
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 3
Participation in writing of
Frayer models
Summary notes
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Summary notes
What Inspires Jack?
graphic organizer
Preparing for a Literary
Discussion note-catcher
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 6
Literary Discussion
recording form
Participating in a Literary
Discussion anchor chart
Participation in literary
discussion
Fishbowl protocol
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the
Full Novel Love That Dog
Lesson 7
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Ongoing
Assessment
Poetry journal
Lesson 10
Poetry Workshop:
Writing an Inspired Poem for the
Performance Task
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 11
Poetry Workshop:
Critiquing and Revising for Vivid
Imagery
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 12
Optional: Extensions
Consider collaborating with your schools art specialist to have students create their own artwork inspired by the poem they select to read by their poet as an added
component of the performance task. This artwork could be added to students presentation of their poems and essay during the performance task Poets Performance
at the end of Unit 3 and could be an additional assessment of NYS ELA CCLS standard RL.4.11.
The list below includes texts with a range of Lexile text measures about novels
that are written in verse. This provides appropriate independent reading for each
student as it relates to the module topic. Note that districts and schools should
consider their own community standards when reviewing this list. Some texts in
particular units or modules address emotionally difficult content.
It is imperative that students read a high volume of texts at their reading level to
continue to build the academic vocabulary and fluency demanded by the CCLS.
Where possible, texts in languages other than English are also provided. Texts are
categorized into three Lexile ranges that correspond to Common Core Bands:
below-grade band, within band, and above-grade band. Note, however, that
Lexile measures are just one indicator of text complexity, and teachers must use
their professional judgment and consider qualitative factors as well. For more
information, see the Appendix of the Common Core State Standards.
Common Core Band Level Text Difficulty Ranges:
(As provided in the NYSED Passage Selection Guidelines for Assessing CCSS ELA)
Grades 23: 420820L
Grades 45: 7401010L
Grades 68: 9251185L
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Poetry
NP
Novel in Verse
440
Novel in Verse
440
Literature
470
Novel in Verse
475*
Looking Like Me
Poetry
475*
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U2: Recommended Texts June 2014
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Zen Shorts
Literature
540
Where I Live
Novel in Verse
550*
Novel in Verse
625*
Novel in Verse
680*
Novel in Verse
710
Novel in Verse
710*
Novel in Verse
775*
Literature
780
Novel in Verse
800*
Novel in Verse
800*
Novel in Verse
850
Novel in Verse
970
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U2: Recommended Texts June 2014
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Lexile text measures above-grade band level (over 1010L) and HL content
Jazz
Poetry
NP
Poetry
NP
Poetry Authorship
900*
Serafinas Promise
Novel in Verse
590HL 1
Mountain Dog
Novel in Verse
1050 HL1
Many poetry books that have more than 50 percent non-standard or non-conforming prose are not given a Lexile measure but rather the NP code. This is mostly
because the book does not have complete sentences and lacks punctuation and therefore cannot be given a Lexile measure.
Although low in terms of Lexile measure, this book falls under high level for content.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U2: Recommended Texts June 2014
Ongoing Assessment
I can gather and organize details from the text to summarize pages 141 of Love That Dog.
I can plan an informative paragraph that summarizes pages 141 of Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
The first two lessons in this unit serve as a bridge between Units 1 and 2. Students pause from the close
reading they have been doing and write a summary of the first half of Love That Dog. The purpose of
this is twofold: First, it lets students review the main events of the novel. Second, it allows for a formal
introduction to writing an informative paragraph. Informative paragraphs are introduced and partially
assessed in this unit, and they will be reviewed and assessed again in Unit 3.
In this lesson, students determine the most important events in the first half of Love That Dog and,
using the Topic Expansion graphic organizer introduced in Unit 1, plan the body and concluding
statement of their paragraph through shared writing. In the next lesson, students continue the shared
writing experience to draft the topic sentence and paragraph. These lessons build on students
introduction to quality paragraphs from Unit 1.
In shared writing, the teacher and students compose text together: both contribute their thoughts and
ideas to the process while the teacher acts as scribe, writing the text as it is composed. Shared writing
enables teachers to make the writing process concrete and visible to students through modeling key
skills and concepts related to the writing process (e.g., organizing, drafting, revision, mechanics, and
conventions). Students gain competence and confidence in their writing skills as the teacher models and
guides the thinking process writers go through.
Topic Expansion graphic organizer similar to the one introduced in Unit 1. The difference with the
organizer used in this lesson is the labels of the boxes in the middle columninstead of Supporting
Details, they are headed with Beginning, Middle, and End. For this writing task, these headings
refer to the beginning of the first half of the novel, the middle of the first half of the novel, and the end of
the first half of the novel.
In the Opening, students review what it means to summarize. This is meant to be brief, because the skill
of summarizing is addressed in more depth later in the lesson. After their shared writing experience
(during Lessons 1 and 2), students will apply this skill independently on the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment,
when they will summarize the entire novel.
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Agenda
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
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Work Time
* What topics could writers write about in an informative paragraph about a book?
Listen for responses such as: Writers could write about the characters in a book, or Writers could write about what is
happening in a book.
Point out to students that the paragraphs they wrote in Unit 1 about Love That Dog were informative paragraphs about the
book.
Tell students that their informative paragraphs will include the same basic elements that they learned about in Unit 1. Direct
students attention to the Quality Paragraphs anchor chart and review elements of a paragraph. Then explain that in an
informational paragraph:
The first sentence of the paragraph should be indented, just like all paragraphs.
The topic sentence that states the main idea, what the paragraph is about.
It has at least three details that tell more about the main idea, and these sentences are the supporting details.
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* How can writing a summary of the first half of the book help you understand it better?
Listen for responses such as: It can help me remember the big events of the book, or It can help me see how the big events
of the book are connected to one another.
Then ask:
* If the purpose of our informative paragraph is to summarize, what information would we include in it?
Listen for responses and record appropriate suggestions on the board: We should include the characters names, the
setting, and the main events of a story.
Remind students that in an informative paragraph, the writer introduces a topic and develops that topic with facts,
definitions, details, and quotations. Ask:
* Where can we find the facts, definitions, details, and quotations to include in our informative paragraph?
Listen for responses such as: We can find them in Love That Dog, or We can find them in graphic organizers from Unit 1.
Tell students they can also find details and quotations from their graphic organizers from Unit 1 if they do not say this on
their own.
Tell students that today, they will organize their notes from Unit 1 and plan their informative paragraph summarizing the
first half of Love That Dog, and that in Lesson 2 they will draft their paragraphs.
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B. Guided Practice: Reviewing Summary Notes for an Informative Paragraph about Love That Dog (15
minutes)
Tell students that before they start drafting their paragraph, they must decide what information from the novel to include.
Invite students to take out their readers notebook and open to the Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5. Ask:
* How have we been using this graphic organizer to help us better understand Love That Dog?
Listen for responses such as: We have been writing summary statements for chunks of the book and writing details from
the text that support each summary statement, or It helps us understand small chunks of the text by thinking about the
main event in that chunk and thinking about details that support our thinking about the event.
Explain that a paragraph that summarizes a text does not include every single detail from the text, so they will need to review
their notes to determine the most important details to include.
Display the Love That Dog summary notes. Using the first two rows (Sept. 13Sept. 21 pp. 12 and Sept 27Oct. 10 pp.
35), model how to determine if a summary statement is important and should be included in the paragraph. When
modeling, be sure to do the following:
Explain why a detail or event might be more important than another.
Put a check mark by the most important details or events, indicating that these should be included in their paragraph.
Invite students to read the third and fourth rows (Oct. 17 pp. 67 and Oct. 24Nov. 6 pp. 811) silently.
Then, ask students to turn and talk with a partner about whether either of these details should be included in the paragraph.
Cold call on students to share their partners thinking.
Listen for responses such as: We should include the detail from October 17 because Jack says he does not understand the
poem he is reading. It shows that he doesnt know much about poetry.
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Tell students that they will work with a partner to determine the importance of the events and details on their Love That
Dog summary notes. Provide the following directions:
1. With a partner, reread the summary statements and notes on your note-catcher.
2. With your partner, put a check mark by any of the details or events that you think are most important and should be
included in your paragraph.
Clarify directions as needed then ask students to begin. Circulate to offer support as needed.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Give students 5 minutes to turn and talk with a partner, orally summarizing the first half of the book based on their
summary notes.
When students have finished their oral summaries, ask:
* Why might we use these headings in this part of the graphic organizer?
Listen for responses such as: These headings will help us organize our plan so it is in the order the events happened in the
book. If students do not express this idea, explain that using these headings will also help them group supporting details
together when they begin to write the draft of their paragraph.
Explain to students that today they will focus on planning the body and concluding statement of their summaries, and that
in the next lesson they will plan the topic sentence and draft their paragraph as a class.
Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask:
* What happened in the beginning of Love That Dog? (If necessary, prompt students to refer to their summary notes
while discussing with their partner.)
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner.
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Listen for responses such as: In the beginning, Jack did not know much about poetry. Remind students that informational
paragraphs develop a topic using facts, definitions, details, or quotations from the text. Invite students to turn and talk to a
partner. Ask:
* What details from the text support your thinking about what happened in the beginning of the book?
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner.
Listen for responses such as: He says he doesnt understand the poems he is reading. Drawing from the ideas the students
shared, write notes in the Beginning box on the Topic Expansion graphic organizer. (See the example in supporting
materials.) Continue this process to complete the Middle and End boxes on the graphic organizer, being sure to include
details from the text.
Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask:
* How does Jack feel about his poetry at the end of this half of the book?
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner.
Listen for responses such as: He enjoys reading and writing poetry, or He is becoming more confident about his poetry.
Drawing from the ideas the students shared, craft and write a sentence that can conclude a paragraph summarizing the first
half of the book (see the example in supporting materials).
Distribute Topic Expansion graphic organizers. Explain to students that they should now copy the class Topic
Expansion graphic organizer onto their own copy.
Give students 10 minutes to copy the graphic organizer, and then invite students to put their materials away.
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10
A. Debrief (5 minutes)
Invite students to turn and talk to a partner to orally summarize the first half of the book using their Topic Expansion
graphic organizers.
When students have finished their oral summaries, ask:
* How was this summary different from the summary you shared with your partner earlier in the lesson?
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner. Listen for responses such as: I grouped details that
went together, or I included some details from the text that supported my thinking.
Invite students to give you a Fist to Five to self-assess how well they understand how to plan an informational paragraph
that summarizes a text (with five fingers indicating they can teach someone else how to plan an informational paragraph,
four to three fingers indicating they are close to being able to plan a paragraph with a little support, two fingers to one finger
indicating they know what it means to plan a paragraph but they need support, and a fist if they are unsure what it means to
plan an informational paragraph).
B. Browsing Books for Unit 2 Independent Reading (5 minutes)
Remind students that you have gathered many books related to this topic for them to read independently throughout the
module.
Remind students that they should use the Goldilocks Rule for selecting just right texts for independent reading.
Invite students to browse the Unit 2 recommended texts you have displayed for them.
Gather students together, review homework, and distribute another copy of the topic expansion graphic organizer to each
student.
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11
Homework
Revisit one of the books you read for independent reading during Unit 1. Using a Topic Expansion graphic organizer, plan a
summary paragraph about that book.
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12
Date:
Beginning
Topic Sentence
Concluding Statement
Middle
End
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14
Beginning
Jack doesnt know much
about poetry.
Topic Sentence
The book Love That Dog
is about a boy named Jack
who is learning about
poetry.
Concluding Statement
He doesnt understand
the poems that he is
reading.
Middle
Jack writes his own
poems using techniques
he is learning about.
He revises his blue car
poem with tiger sounds
He titles his poem
about adopting his dog
You Come Too.
End
Jack begins to write
poems about his dog.
He writes a poem
about adopting his dog
He writes a shape
poem about his yellow
dog.
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15
Ongoing Assessment
I can write an informative paragraph that summarizes pages 141 of Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
As noted in the previous lesson, Lessons 1 and 2 serve as a bridge from Unit 1, giving students an
opportunity to review the main events of the book and allowing for a formal introduction to writing an
informative paragraph. Informative paragraphs are introduced and partially assessed in this unit, and
they will be reviewed and assessed again in Unit 3.
Students continue the shared writing experience. In this lesson, students work from the class Topic
Expansion graphic organizer from the class shared planning in Lesson 1 and work with the teacher to
craft a topic sentence and draft a class informative paragraph.
In the opening of this lesson, students share an oral summary based on their homework from Lesson 1
(planning a summary of their text from independent reading from Unit 1). This prepares them to write
the summary for their Lesson 2 homework.. Some students may wish to bring along their actual Unit 1
independent reading book as they share an oral summary based on their plan.
After hearing peers oral summaries of Unit 1 independent reading books, some students may get
intrigued about a book a classmate describe, and thus want to choose that book for their own Unit 2
independent reading. Since recommended texts for these units are similar, consider allowing students
to continue reading their texts from Unit 1 if they wish to do so.
In Work Time A, students work in triads to review sections of the first half of the novel by each
rereading a section. This allows student to more efficiently review the novel and better write a summary
during the shared writing that follows. Consider placing struggling readers with more proficient readers
for this activity.
In advance:
Prepare chart paper for shared writing of informative paragraph.
Display the Quality Paragraphs anchor chart and class Topic Expansion graphic organizer.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Topic Expansion graphic organizer (from Lesson 1 homework; students own about their independent reading book)
Topic Expansion graphic organizer (from Lesson 1 classwork; students own about the first half of Love that Dog)
Quality Paragraphs anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 6)
Class Topic Expansion graphic organizer (from Lesson 1; co-created)
Example topic sentences for Love That Dog Summary (pp. 141) (for teacher reference)
Class Love That Dog Summary (pp. 141) (new; co-written in Work Time B; see sample in supporting materials for teacher
reference)
Lined paper (one piece per student)
Opening
Ask students to get out their homework Topic Expansion graphic organizer for summaries of their independent
reading book. Ask them to read their summary paragraph plan and think about how they will orally summarize their book.
Invite students partner with a classmate then decide who will share their oral summary first.
Circulate to check who has completed their homework and observe how students orally summarize their books and reference
their notes from homework.
Tell students to hold on to their plans, since they will need them for tonights homework where they will be expected to write
an informative summary paragraph from these plans.
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Opening (continued)
* I can write an informative paragraph that summarizes pages 141 of Love That Dog.
Ask students to discuss with a partner what they think this target means.
After 1 or 2 minutes, invite a few partnerships to share their thinking with the whole class. Clarify any misconceptions
students may have about key terms or the targets.
Work Time
Invite students to take out their Topic Expansion graphic organizers from Lesson 1 classwork and form triads, being
sure to work with other students who are not in their reading groups.
Tell students that they will be reviewing the first half of Love That Dog in their new triad, with each person describing a
different part of the first half of the novel. Be sure they are clear that they are working only on pages 141. Invite students to
choose:
A person to describe the beginning of the section (pages 1-14)
A person to describe the middle (pages 15-27)
And a person to describe the end of the section (pages 27-41)
Give students 2 minutes to review their summary notes of these pages and prepare to share with their group.
Then, give students a few minutes to describe to their group what happened in their section of the first half of the novel.
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Tell students that before they begin drafting, they need to craft the topic sentence for their paragraphs. Invite students to
turn and talk to a partner. Ask:
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Begin a shared writing experience in order to draft the informative paragraph by gathering students so they can all see a
piece of posted chart paper or a piece of paper projected through a document camera for the class Love That Dog
Summary (pp. 141). Be sure that the class can see the class Topic Expansion graphic organizer as well.
Remind students that informational paragraphs introduce a topic clearly. Explain to students that the first sentence they will
write is the topic sentence. Tell them they will choose one from the sentences they brainstormed during Work Time A.
Ask students to help you begin the summary by choosing a student to choose a topic sentence from the Topic Expansion
graphic organizer, come up to the paper, and write it on the first line of the page (see example in supporting materials). If
necessary, remind students that the first sentence of a paragraph is always indented.
Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask:
* Using your Topic Expansion graphic organizer, what would be a sentence that could come next?
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner.
Listen for responses such as: In the beginning, Jack does not know much about poetry.
Drawing from the ideas the students shared, craft and write the next sentence (see the example in supporting materials),
modeling starting with a transitional phrase if necessary. Point out the phrase and explain to students that this kind of
transition can help the reader better understand the order of the events when reading the paragraph.
Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask:
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* Using your Topic Expansion graphic organizer, what would be a sentence that could come next?
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner.
Listen for responses such as: He thinks any words can be a poem as long as they are written in short lines, and he says that
he does not understand the poems that he is reading. Drawing from the ideas the students shared, craft and write the next
sentence (see the example in supporting materials).
Continue this process to complete the remainder of the paragraph, being sure to include transitional phrases and details
from the text.
Invite students to chorally read their completed class Love That Dog Summary (pp. 141).
Distribute lined paper and explain to students that they should now copy the class Love That Dog Summary (pp. 141) for
their own reference.
Give students 10 minutes to copy the summary, and then invite students to put their materials away.
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A. Debrief (5 minutes)
Direct students attention to the Quality Paragraphs anchor chart. Tell them they will be using it to check the paragraph they
just drafted. Cold call on a student to read the first bullet point:
* Is the first sentence of our paragraph indented? What evidence from the paragraph supports your thinking?
Cold call students to share what they talked about with their partner. Listen for responses such as: We put a space in front
of the first sentence.
Repeat for each bullet point on the anchor chart.
Share with students that they will have a chance to practice writing an informative paragraph again on the Mid-Unit 2
Assessment and again in Unit 3. Cold call on a student to read the learning target for todays lesson:
* I can write an informative paragraph that summarizes pages 141 of Love That Dog.
Invite students to self-assess how well they understand how to write an informative paragraph by showing a thumbs-up
indicating they can teach someone else how to write an informative paragraph without support, a thumbs-sideways
indicating they can write a paragraph with support, or a thumbs-down if they are unsure what it means to write an
informative paragraph.
Homework
Using your summary plans from yesterdays homework (your Topic Expansion graphic organizer), write a paragraph that
summarizes your selected book from Unit 1 independent reading.
Begin reading your new book for independent reading, or continue reading your book from Unit 1.
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Example Topic Sentences for Love That Dog Summary (pp. 141)
(For Teacher Reference)
The book Love That Dog is about a boy named Jack who is learning about poetry.
In Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, a boy named Jack learns about poetry by reading and writing
poems at school.
Love That Dog is a book written like a journal by a boy who is learning about poetry.
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10
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11
Ongoing Assessment
I can describe what inspires Jack to write poetry, based on evidence from the text.
Summary notes
What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson begins a four-lesson arc in which students answer the guiding question What inspires
writers to write poetry? as this question relates specifically to Jack. Students begin by reading and
summarizing sections of Love That Dog (as was the routine throughout Unit 1), adding to their
summary notes in their readers notebook. Then, students are introduced to the focus question What
inspires Jack? and reread sections with this question in mind. In Lessons 5 and 6, students will prepare
for and participate in a literary discussion in which they discuss their thinking about what inspires Jack.
In this lesson, students are introduced to the What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer, which they will use
to keep track of things that inspire Jack and collect evidence from the text that supports their thinking.
Students will add to this graphic organizer in Lessons 4 and 5, and will use it when planning for and
participating in the literary discussion in Lessons 5 and 6.
In the Opening, students are introduced to the word inspire through quote (or quotes). This is meant
as an engaging way to introduce this word, not an in-depth discussion of the term. See the Quotes about
Inspiration (in supporting materials) and choose one or more to share with students. Or find your own
quote about inspiration for this portion of the lesson.
Then, in Work Time B, students go into more depth about the meaning of the word inspire, using a
Frayer model to analyze and understand the meaning of this word. Students are introduced to Frayer
model by practicing defining the more familiar word poetry. This helps reinforce students learning
from Unit 1. If you prefer, consider using another familiar word instead, based on your students needs.
The Frayer model can be used in a variety of ways. In this instance students begin using the Frayer
model with the teacher sharing a dictionary definition of word inspire. This is done since students have
not read any text (the novel or poems) that includes that word. Students then move on to identify
characteristics of the word, and identify examples and non-examples of the word. They then circle back
to write the definition of the word using their own words.
When using the Frayer model with students, carefully choose the non-examples. You likely will find that
students comprehension of new terms becomes considerably more focused and refined if they can
identify examples of what the term is not about or inappropriate applications of the terms use. For
example, if you were using the Frayer model for the word walk, the words sit and run are both
non-examples. Yet run is a better choice for a non-example, because running is a movement that is
similar to yet still different from walking.
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Agenda
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
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Work Time
A. Reading Aloud and Summarizing: Love That Dog, Pages 4267 (20 minutes)
Remind students of the first learning target. Then cold call a few students to share out how they have typically started their
close reads of sections from Love That Dog.
Listen for students to mention reading the section aloud, determining the gist, then summarizing chunks of text. Tell
students they are going to use the same process today, first by reading for gist then rereading pages 4267 to write summary
statements supported by paraphrased or quoted details from the text.
Give the following directions:
1. Partner up with a member of your group.
2. Take turns reading each page aloud, starting at the top of page 42 and stopping at the end of page 45.
3. After one partner reads a page aloud, the other partner should explain what he or she thinks the gist of the page is.
Clarify directions as necessary then ask students to begin. Circulate to listen in on student conversations and to offer
support.
After 3 or 4 minutes, invite student partners from a variety of groups to share out gist statements from their partner read.
Listen for ideas such as:
Jack discovers Walter Dean Myers.
Jack is excited about the poems by Walter Dean Myers.
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Once students have had an opportunity to read then discuss their thinking, cold call a few students to share their ideas whole
groupsee Love That Dog summary notes (answers, for teacher reference). After several students have shared
out, direct students to record a summary statement for pages 4245 as well as paraphrased details or quotes from the text in
support of their summary statement (model for students how to paraphrase and/or record quotes in support of a summary
statement, if necessary).
Then, ask students to whisper read pages 4649 of Love That Dog in their small groups and then discuss in those same
small groups how they could write a statement to summarize that section of text.
After 3 or 4 minutes, invite students from different groups to share their ideas whole classsee Love That Dog summary
notes (answers for teacher reference). After students share out, ask them to record a summary statement for pages 4649 as
well as paraphrased details or quotes from the text in support of their summary.
Invite students to continue working with their groups to reread and complete the next three rows on the Love That Dog
summary notes (April 4April 24 pp. 5063 through May 7May 8 pp. 6667).
Then, invite students from different groups to share their ideas whole classsee Love That Dog summary notes (answers for
teacher reference).
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Direct students attention to the Guiding Questions anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 1), specifically:
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Read the dictionary definition of inspire: to fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do
something creative and have students record this definition on their graphic organizer in the first box labeled Definition
under From the Dictionary.
Remind students that they will not write the definition in their own words in this box until they have completed all of the
other boxes (Characteristics, Examples, and Non-examples).
Invite students to turn and talk to a partner. Ask:
* What are some examples of times you were inspired by someone or something? Or, what are some examples of when
someone else was inspired by someone or something?
Cold call on students to share what they talked about with their partner. Listen for responses such as: A painter can be
inspired by the subject he is painting, or I was inspired to learn how to sing when I first heard a song on the radio.
Drawing from the ideas the students shared, discuss and write examples in the Examples box. See Frayer Model
Inspire (completed, for teacher reference) and invite students to write examples in their own graphic organizer.
Continue this process to complete the remainder of the graphic organizer. Be sure to complete the In Your Own Words
definition last, and remind students that they will need to use their own words when crafting this definition.
Tell students that next, they will begin to think about what inspired the poets they have been learning about through Love
That Dog.
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C. Rereading to Gather Evidence: Love That Dog, Pages 4267 (15 minutes)
Ask students to turn to the What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer on pages 20-21 in their readers notebooks. Cold
call on a student to read the heading of the left column:
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Homework
Reread one of your favorite poems from Unit 1. In the My Reflections section of your poetry journal, reflect on the following
question: What do you think inspired the poet to write this poem? Use evidence from the poem to support your answer.
Note: Read pages 68-72 and decide if you would like to inform parents about the emotionally sensitive content of pages this
section of Love That Dog. Note that this may result in students knowing the content of these pages in advance of the lesson.
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10
Source: The Inspiration Quotient: A Different Kind of IQ. NEA Arts Magazine. 2013. No. 4, from http://arts.gov/NEARTS/2013v4-inspiration-quotient
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12
Summary Statement
March 14 (pp.
42-45
March 22 &
March 27 (pp.
46-49)
April 4-April 24
(pp. 50-63)
April 26-May 2
(pp. 64-65)
May 7-May 8
(pp. 66-67)
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13
Definition
(From the dictionary)
Characteristics
(Facts about the word)
Examples
(What does this word look like?)
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Non-Examples
(What does this NOT look like?)
14
Frayer ModelPoetry
(For Teacher Reference)
Definition
(From the dictionary)
The art of writing expressing feelings and ideas
with a distinctive style that often includes rhyme.
(In your own words)
Writing chosen and arranged to create an
emotional response through imagery, sound, and
rhythm
Characteristics
(Facts about the word)
Stanzas and lines
Sometimes has rhymes or rhythm
Uses words to help the reader imagine with
the senses
poetry
Non-Examples
Examples
Charlottes Web
A newspaper article
Prose
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15
Frayer ModelInspire
(Completed, for Teacher Reference)
Characteristics
(Facts about the word)
Definition
(From the dictionary)
To give someone the desire or courage to do
something, often creative
Influence
Motivate
Fill someone with purpose or creativity
Examples
inspire
Non-Examples
(What does this NOT look like?)
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16
How I know
Page
46
*My Sky
*He wrote about him even
though he died, and it
probably made him feel
sad. (Note: this is not added
until after students have
read the poem My Sky on
pages 68-72 in Lesson 4)
*68-72
49
His teacher
50
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17
How I know
Page
49
51
51
71
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*6872
18
Ongoing Assessment
I can reflect in writing about my thoughts and feelings after reading My Sky.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students read the poem My Sky in the book Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. This
poem is likely to affect some students emotionally, because it details the death of Jacks dog. This lesson
is designed to help students cope with the strong emotions that reading and writing can illicit. For this
reason, the routines of the previous lessons where students read, summarized, and analyzed do not
carry over into this lesson. These routines will pick up again in Lesson 5 as students prepare for a
literary discussion of the text.
This lesson is intended to give teachers guidance on reading this section of the text with their students.
However, the needs of students should dictate how this lesson unfolds. It is important to support
students emotional needs as they read this section of the text; therefore, teachers should use their
professional judgment as they plan their instruction.
Some students may have read ahead of the class. Consider pulling these students aside in advance and
asking them not to tell the class about the events on s 6872 in the novel. Explain that it will be
important for everyone to learn about these events through the text first.
The beginning of this lesson helps to prepare students for the emotional nature of this section of the
text. Then, after the text is read aloud, they are given time to reflect and process their response to the
text in writing. (Some classes and/or students may require more or less time for written reflection.) To
protect students privacy and give the class a sense of emotional safety, these reflections are not shared
aloud. After students have time to reflect, they discuss the events outlined in the poem and consider why
the character Jack was moved to write this poem.
For most of this lesson, students work whole group or individually; however, there will be times when
they talk with a partner. Consider placing students with a partner they know and feel comfortable with.
Consider students who may find it particularly difficult to read about the death of a pet due to personal
circumstance and seek support of family members or a school counselor.
In advance: Post the learning targets and Discussion Norms anchor chart.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening
Call on a few volunteer students to read each of the learning targets aloud to the class:
* I can reflect in writing about my thoughts and feelings after reading My Sky.
* I can infer why Jack wrote the poem My Sky.
* I can respect the feelings of my classmates during a discussion of My Sky.
Underline the words reflect, infer, and respect. Ask students to turn to a partner and discuss the meaning of each of these
words. Cold call pairs to explain what each of these words means to them.
Point to the word respect and explain that this word will be especially important in todays lesson. Ask students:
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Work Time
Ask students to get out their poetry journals and partner up.
Ask them to brainstorm and record words that describe powerful emotions on a new page in the Vivid Words and Phrases
section of their poetry journals.
After a minute or two, call on a few pairs to share the words they brainstormed and record them on the board or a piece of
chart paper.
Listen for words such as: happiness, sadness, fear, and anger. Under students list, write additional words used to describe
emotion, such as: frustration, anxiety, joy, excitement, contentment, grief, and confusion.
Briefly discuss the meaning of unfamiliar words with students and note words that have similar or opposite meanings.
Tell students that today they will read a poem written by Jack in the novel Love That Dog, called My Sky. Explain that this
is a powerfully emotional piece of writing. Go on to explain that it is emotional for two reasons, the first being that Jack is
describing an emotional experience. His emotion is captured in his writing of this poem. Explain that the second reason it is
an emotional piece of writing is because it is likely to evoke strong emotions from those who read it. Tell students that you
would like them to reflect on the following question in writing in the My Reflections section of their poetry journal:
* Describe a time you read something that made you feel a strong emotion. Why do you think writers write about
emotional experiences?
Give students 5 minutes for silent reflection.
Afterward, ask students if there are any volunteers who want to share their reflection with the group. If students do not offer
to share, consider sharing your own reflections on this question.
Remind students of their discussion and work with the term inspire in the previous lesson. Explain that writers can be
inspired by strong emotions. They may want to write about an emotional experience for a variety of reasons, including to
communicate an idea or to send a message to their readers, or even to help themselves understand or process an emotional
event in their lives.
Tell students that the author Sharon Creech was inspired to describe her character Jacks emotional experience in the poem
My Sky. Explain that she likely knew this poem would evoke strong emotions in her readers, too. Ask students to take a
moment to think about how they will respect the feelings of their classmates after reading this poem.
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Ask students to get out their copies of Love That Dog and turn to page 68. Read the poem My Sky aloud as students
follow along in their copies of the text.
Afterward, if necessary based on the needs of your class, reassure students that feelings of sadness after reading about the
death of a pet are natural. For some, these feelings may be quite strong due to life experience. Explain that writing often
helps people deal with strong emotions and that you would like students to take some time to reflect in writing. Let them
know their writing will not be shared unless they decide to share it privately, and that it will not be graded.
Introduce the following reflection question, emphasizing that whatever they choose to write in response to this question is
fine:
* On pages 7 and 13, Jack told his teacher, I dont want to write about that blue car that had miles to go before it slept and
Yes, I used to have a pet, and no I dont want to write about it. Now that you have read My Sky, what can you infer about
why he said these things?
* After reading My Sky, we know that Jack did end up writing about the blue car and his dog. What can you infer from the
novel about why he changed his mind?
After discussing the text, ask students to get out their readers notebooks and turn to pages 20-21 to the What Inspires
Jack? graphic organizer.
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Ask students to talk with their partner about what can be added to their notes after todays lesson. Give pairs a few minutes
to discuss, and then call on students to share and record notes as a group. Listen for students to share comments and record
notes as a whole group. See sample notes in the What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer (completed for teacher
reference). Notes added during this lesson are indicated with an asterisk *.
* I can reflect in writing about my thoughts and feelings after reading My Sky.
* I can infer why Jack wrote the poem My Sky.
* I can respect the feelings of my classmates during a discussion of My Sky.
Ask students to take a moment to think about their individual progress toward these targets. Ask them to give you a Fist to
Five based on their progress toward each.
Reread the third learning target and ask students to turn to a neighbor and discuss the following question:
* How did our class perform overall with this learning target?
Remind students that this question is not about how individuals performed, but rather the class as a whole.
Direct students attention to the posted Discussion Norms anchor chart. Ask:
* Is there anything we can add to our Discussion Norms anchor chart to help us remember to respect one anothers
feelings during discussions in the future?
Discuss students ideas for an additional norm, and then come to consensus with students about the norm that should be
added. See the Discussion Norms anchor chart (for teacher reference) for possibilities.
Discuss the homework for this lesson and explain the meaning of the term optional, as meaning students have the option, or
choice, to either do the second part of their homework or not for todays lesson.
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Homework
Read and summarize pages 7386 and complete the Love That Dog summary notes on page 5 of your readers
notebook.
Optional: Think of a time you experienced a strong feeling such as happiness, sadness, anger, or another emotion. Write a
poem about this experience in the My Poems section of your poetry journal.
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Everyone should show specific details or evidence from the text to support their thinking.
This means do things like pointing to specific pages, lines, or photographs and say things like,
Here is an example of what I am talking about.
Everyone should respect the feelings of others when discussing topics or texts that
contain strong emotion.
This means we listen without interruption when others are sharing their feelings,
that we do not laugh or use sarcasm, and that we do not ask insensitive questions
when someone does not want to share his or her feelings.
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10
Ongoing Assessment
I can describe what inspired Jack, using evidence from Love That Dog.
Summary notes
I can prepare for a discussion about Love That Dog by using evidence from the text.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This is the third lesson in a four-lesson arc in which students explore the guiding question What
inspires writers to write poetry? based on their analysis of what inspires Jack.
In this lesson students prepare for a discussion about the following question: What was Jacks biggest
inspiration? This question is altered from the question they considered in Lessons 3 and 4 (What
inspires Jack?). Of course there is no single correct answer to what Jacks biggest influence was, but
asking students to take a stand in this way provokes more authentic, rich, and engaging discussion of
the text. In this lesson students focus on selecting evidence from their notes and the text to support this
opinion and prepare them for a respectful debate of this question during the literary discussion in
Lesson 5.
Literary discussions provide students the opportunity to understand collectively and build on one
anothers ideas about a text. These talks provide a window on students thinking that can help teachers
figure out what students really know and what their misconceptions might be.
Students review their summaries written for Lesson 4 homework, and continue gathering evidence for
the focus question, What inspires Jack? Then they begin to prepare for a literary discussion that will
take place in Lesson 6.
In advance:
Preview Lesson 6 to get a clear sense of where this lesson sequence is heading.
Review: Fist to Five Checking for Understanding technique (see Appendix).
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
Invite students to get out their readers notebook and join their reading groups.
Ask them to turn to their Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5 in their readers notebooks. Invite them to share their
summary notes with their reading groups. Encourage them to revise their statements for clarity based on their conversation.
Cold call one or two groups to share their summary statements. Listen for summaries such as: Jack thinks his poem about
Sky will make the other kids sad, but tells his teacher its OK to post his poem on the board see the Love That Dog
summary notes (answers, for teacher reference).
Congratulate students on finishing the novel Love That Dog and ask them to discuss with their groups:
* I can describe what inspired Jack, using evidence from Love That Dog.
* I can prepare for a discussion about Love That Dog by using evidence from the text.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening (continued)
Ask:
* What question about Jack have we been trying to answer over the past several lessons?
Listen for responses such as: We have been trying to figure out what inspires Jack.
Direct students attention to the second learning target. Explain that over the next two lessons they will have a chance to
prepare for and discuss a new question related to the focus question:
Work Time
A. Rereading to Gather Evidence: Love That Dog, Pages 7386 (15 minutes)
Explain to students that before they begin preparing for the discussion, they will be rereading pages 7386 in Love That Dog
to look for more evidence for the focus question:
* How have we been using this graphic organizer to help us think about what inspires Jack?
Listen for responses such as: We have been rereading the text looking for things that inspire Jack, then using the graphic
organizer to record how we know something inspires him and finding evidence from the text that supports our thinking.
If necessary, model rereading pages 73 and 74 looking for things that inspire Jack to write poetry and finding evidence in the
text that supports your thinking. See What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer (answers for teacher reference)
from Lesson 3.
Give students 10 minutes to work with their reading groups to reread the remainder of the book and identify things that
inspire Jack. Circulate to support students as needed, prompting if necessary with questions such as: Does that inspire
Jack? or How do you know this inspires Jack? or What evidence from the text supports your thinking?
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After 10 minutes, give students specific positive feedback for ways you see them closely rereading and analyzing Love That
Dog.
B. Guided Practice: Preparing Evidence and Questions for a Literary Discussion (15 minutes)
Remind the class of the literary discussion question they will discuss in the next lesson:
* I can prepare for a discussion about Love That Dog by using evidence from the text.
Explain the importance of readers sharing specific evidence from texts in their discussions with others. Today students will
collect notes and prepare for the discussion. Tell them they will have the actual discussion in the next lesson.
Display the Preparing for a Literary Discussion note-catcher from page 22 of their readers notebook and invite
students to open to it.
Point out that this page has different sections for recording notes. Indicate to students that for now, they will be taking notes
only on the first section (three-column chart) of the recording form, labeled Preparation. (The last two sections will be
saved for the literary discussion and for teacher feedback when the literary discussion is over.)
Briefly model how to fill in the graphic organizer. For this example, use Jacks teacher as his biggest inspiration. Be sure to
demonstrate:
Thinking aloud about why his teacher might be his biggest inspiration, using the What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer
completed in Work Time A and in Lessons 3 and 4, and the text.
Skimming Love That Dog for evidence that supports the discussion question.
As you model, invite students to help you add to the chart by asking questions such as: Why else might his teacher be his
biggest inspiration? or What evidence from the text supports your thinking? As students share, write notes on the notecatcher.
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C. Independent Practice: Preparing Evidence and Questions for a Literary Discussion (15 minutes)
Tell students that now they will have some time to prepare for the literary discussion on their own, doing what they just
practiced as a class.
Give students the following reminders:
1. They should only record in the first section of the Preparing for a Literary Discussion note-catcher. The second section,
My Literary Discussion Notes: Ideas and Questions, will be used during the literary discussion in the next lesson and
must be left blank until the class begins the discussion in the next lesson.
2. Before they begin, they should review their What Inspires Jack? graphic organizer to decide what his biggest inspiration
was.
Give students 15 minutes to complete the first section of the Preparing for a Literary Discussion note-catcher. Confer with
the class as necessary, and remind them to use specific evidence from the text to support their thinking.
As students work independently, circulate and check in with them. Encourage students to choose just one thing that they
think most inspired him, reminding them that there is not one right answer to this question. To ensure that students use
specific evidence from Love That Dog, ask them questions such as: Where in the text did you find that evidence? or How
do you know that evidence helps answer our question, What inspires Jack? Encourage them to record page numbers with
their evidence so they can easily refer to it if needed during the literary discussion.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
A. Debrief (5 minutes)
Focus students attention whole group. Invite them to use the Fist to Five Checking for Understanding technique to show
how confident they are in answering the discussion question, ranging from showing a fist if they are completely unsure of
what inspires Jack to showing five fingers if they can share several pieces of evidence supporting what inspires Jack. Be sure
to check in with students who show either a fist or one to two fingers before the discussion in Lesson 6.
Explain to students that they should finish any preparation notes on the Preparing for a Literary Discussion note-catcher for
homework and add any evidence from the first half of the book to their note-catcher that shows things that inspire Jack.
Remind students they will have their discussion in the next lesson.
Homework
Add notes from the first half of the book to your Preparing for a Literary Discussion note-catcher on page 22 of your readers
notebook.
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Summary Statement
May 15-May 17
(pp. 73-74)
May 21-May 29
(pp. 75-79)
June 1-June 6
(pp. 80-85)
Jacks Love
That Dog poem
(pp. 86)
Wow!
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His teacher
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10
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11
Ongoing Assessment
I can describe what inspires Jack, using evidence from Love That Dog.
a. I can prepare for the discussion by using evidence from Love That Dog.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This is the last lesson in a four-lesson arc in which students explore the guiding question What inspires
writers to write poetry? based on their analysis of what inspires Jack.
In this lesson students are asked use the notes they prepared in lesson 5 on the Preparing for a Literary
Discussion note-catcher to discuss the following question: What was Jacks biggest inspiration?
Students are asked to share their opinions respectfully on this question and provide evidence from the
text to support this opinion. Students are likely to have differing opinions on this question and this is
not only alright but desirable, as long as the discussion remains respectful and grounded in evidence
from the novel. These expectations are emphasized to students throughout the course of the lesson.
The literary discussion that takes place in this lesson is set up as a Fishbowl, in which half of the class
participates in a discussion while the other half observes to provide feedback. Then the groups switch
and repeat the process. The group that is observing will provide the group discussing feedback on their
use of the Discussion Norms first established in Unit 1. This allows students to engage with both the
content and the process of the discussion.
Literary discussions give students the opportunity to understand collectively and build on one anothers
ideas about a text. These talks provide a window on students thinking that can help teachers figure out
what students really know and what their misconceptions might be.
In advance:
Review the Fishbowl protocol (see Appendix).
Post Discussion Norms anchor chart (from Lesson 4).
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Discussion Norms anchor chart (begun in Unit 1, Lesson 1; added to in Lesson 4 of this unit)
Participating in a Literary Discussion anchor chart (new; teacher-created)
Readers notebook (students own; from Unit 1)
Preparing for a Literary Discussion note-catcher (from page 22 of the readers notebook)
Literary Discussion recording form (from page 23 of the readers notebook)
Sticky notes (three to four per student)
Literary Discussion Criteria checklist (for teacher reference)
Opening
* I can describe what inspires Jack, using evidence from Love That Dog.
Remind students that they have been thinking about what inspires Jack and forming an opinion about what they think was
his biggest inspiration. Explain that they are likely to have differing opinions on this and that this is OK, as long as they
support their opinions with reasons and evidence from the text. Ask students to turn to a partner and discuss the following:
* What does it sound like when people respectfully disagree about something?
After a few minutes of discussion, call on a few pairs to share. Listen for students to say that respectfully disagreeing sounds
like a nice tone of voice (not upset or sarcastic).
Tell students that this might sound something like paraphrasing what a person is saying and then explaining how your
opinion differs. Give students an example: So what you are saying is Robert Frost was a better poet than William Carlos
Williams, because his poems used rhyme. I disagree; I dont think using rhyme makes you a better poet. William Carlos
Williams didnt use rhyme, but he did lots of vivid imagery in his poems.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening (continued)
Ask students to read the second learning target: I can effectively participate in a discussion about Love That Dog. Focus
students attention on the phrase effectively participate. Ask:
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Work Time
Explain that readers and writers in the real world talk all the time to expand their thinking about texts. While readers
discuss these big questions with one another, it is important for them to create a set of rules, or norms, that they will all
follow so everyones ideas can be heard and considered.
Display the Participating in a Literary Discussion anchor chart. Briefly review the anchor chart with the class and
answer any clarifying questions.
Clearly post the focus question for discussion. Tell students that before they can participate in the literary discussion today,
they will spend a few minutes reviewing the notes they made on their Preparing for a Literary Discussion notecatcher on page 22 in their readers notebook in Lesson 5.
Give students 35 minutes to review their notes for the literary discussion.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
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Ask students to switch places with their partners so that those students who were sitting in the outside circle are now sitting
in the inside circle.
Again review the discussion norms and invite students to help you give feedback to the exiting group. Consider using the
following prompt:
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A. Debrief (5 minutes)
Read aloud the learning target: I can effectively participate in a discussion about Love That Dog. Ask students to give a
thumbs-up if they met the target or thumbs-down if they still need to work on the target.
Cold call on several students to share why they gave themselves a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Prompt them to refer to the
Discussion Norms anchor chart as a way to support their self-assessment.
Review the homework, and inform students that in the following lesson, they will be asked to write a paragraph
summarizing the whole novel, Love That Dog.
Homework
Review your Love That Dog: Summary notes for the whole novel to prepare for the mid-unit assessment. Reread any
sections of the text that you do not remember well to refresh your memory.
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10
Students
name
Prepares
with
evidence
Follows
discussion
norms
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Asks
questions to
clarify
understanding
Asks
questions
related to
topic
Teacher
comments
11
Ongoing Assessment
I can write a topic sentence supported by evidence from the text for my summary of Love That Dog.
I can plan and write an informative paragraph that fully summarizes the novel Love That Dog.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students take the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment. Students apply what they have learned about
reading literary texts and writing informative paragraphs by planning and writing a summary of the full
novel Love That Dog. Students prepared for this assessment during the first half of this unit by
engaging in a shared writing of an informative paragraph summarizing the first half of the book. It this
assessment, students will use their Love That Dog Summary notes in their readers notebooks (that they
collected during Units 1 and 2) to independently write an informational paragraph that summarizes the
entire novel.
Some students may require additional time to complete this assessment independently. Make
provisions for those students accordingly.
Some students may benefit from having someone read the questions aloud to them. Again, make
provisions for those students accordingly.
Post: Quality Paragraphs anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
* I can write a topic sentence supported by evidence from the text for my summary of Love That Dog.
* I can plan and write an informative paragraph that summarizes Love That Dog.
Focus students attention on the posted Quality Paragraphs anchor chart and review the components of quality
paragraphs with students.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening (continued)
Have students give a thumbs-up if they are clear on what they will be expected to do, a thumbs-sideways if they understand
part but not all of what to do, and a thumbs-down if they are very unsure about what they should do.
Address any clarifying questions before beginning the assessment.
Work Time
A. Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog (45 minutes)
Ask students to clear their desks and get out a pencil , their copy of Love That Dog, and their readers notes. Ask them
to turn to their Love That Dog summary notes on pages 2-5 of the readers notebook. Encourage students to review and
reference these notes to fully summarize the novel from beginning to end for their assessment.
Distribute the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog.
Read the directions for the assessment aloud. Remind students that they should refer to the text and their notes when they
plan and write their summary.
Invite students to begin.
While students take the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. Prompt students throughout the
assessment, letting them know how much time they have left and encouraging them to continue working. This is an
opportunity to analyze students behavior while they take an assessment. Document strategies that students use during the
assessment. For example, look for students who are annotating their text, using their graphic organizer to take notes before
answering questions, and referring to the text and their notes as they answer questions.
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Reread the learning targets to students. Then ask students to turn to the next blank page in the My Reflections section of
their poetry journals.
Tell students that just as they did after the End of Unit 1 Assessment, they are going to consider the learning targets as well
as the paragraph they wrote today, and then reflect on their progress in their journals.
Give the following prompt for students to consider and then respond to in their journals:
* Rate your performance toward each target using a Fist to Five. Give an explanation for each rating.
Collect students poetry journals. Review students reflections against the learning targets as formative assessment data
regarding their progress toward the learning targets.
Homework
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Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
Name:
Date:
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
Beginning of Novel
Topic Sentence
Concluding Statement
Middle of Novel
End of Novel
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
Part 2: Summarizing the text: Now, use the graphic organizer you just completed to write an
informative paragraph responding to the prompt.
A quality response will:
Clearly introduce the topic
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details
Use linking words and phrases
End with a concluding statement
Be sure to check your paragraph for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
(Sample Student Response, for Teacher Reference)
Note: Student responses will vary, but should include the most major events from the novel and as
well as a paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces novel, supporting details that include most
major events in the novel, and a concluding statement. See the NYS 4-5 Rubric for Expository
Writing in the supporting materials for this lesson for further guidance on scoring this assessment.
Long-Term Learning Targets Assessed:
I can summarize a story, drama, or poem. (RL.4.2)
I can write informative/explanatory texts that convey ideas and information clearly. (W.4.2)
a. I can introduce a topic clearly. (W.4.2a)
a. I can group supporting facts together about a topic in an informative/explanatory text. (W.4.2a)
b. I can develop the topic with facts, definitions, details, and quotations. (W.4.2b)
I can choose evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (W.4.9)
Writing Prompt: After reading Love That Dog, write an informative paragraph summarizing the
book. Use at least three details from the text in your paragraph. Remember to address each of the
components of quality paragraphs that we have listed on the Quality Paragraphs anchor chart.
Part 1: Planning your writing: Use the graphic organizer on the next page to plan your writing.
Review and reference the novel Love That Dog and your Love That Dog summary notes in your
readers notebook.
10
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
Beginning of Novel
Topic Sentence
In Love That Dog by
Sharon Creech, a boy
named Jack learns about
himself and poetry by
reading and writing
poems at school.
Concluding Statement
In the end, Jack learned
to write poetry by reading
and thinking about
poetry.
Middle of Novel
He starts to write poems
about his dog.
uses techniques he has
been learning about
becomes inspired by
poems he is reading,
especially ones by
Walter Dean Myers
End of Novel
He meets Walter Dean
Myers and writes a poem
about his dog that is
inspired by Walter Dean
Myerss poem Love That
Boy.
Was very excited to meet
Walter Dean Myers
Didnt want to show him
his poem Love That
Dog because he was
worried Walter Dean
Myers would be mad
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Rights Reserved.
11
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment:
Writing a Summary of the Full Novel Love That Dog
(Sample Student Response, for Teacher Reference)
Part 2: Summarizing the text: Now, use the graphic organizer you just completed to write an
informative paragraph responding to the prompt.
A quality response will:
Clearly introduce the topic
Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details
Use linking words and phrases
End with a concluding statement
Be sure to check your paragraph for correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
In Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, a boy named Jack learns about himself and poetry by reading
and writing poems at school. In the beginning, Jack does not know much about poetry. He does not
understand the poems he reads in class, and he does not know why the things he writes could be
called poems. Then, he begins writing poems about his dog. He uses techniques he learns from other
poems. Jack really enjoys the poems by Walter Dean Myers and writes a poem about his dog that is
inspired by him. Jack writes a letter to Walter Dean Myers inviting him to his school. Walter Dean
Myers comes to Jacks school, which Jack was very excited about. But he didnt want to show Walter
Dean Myers the poem about his dog because he was worried that Walter Dean Myers would be mad
because it was very similar to one of his poems. Jack did end up sharing it with Walter Dean Myers
when he wrote a letter thanking him for coming to his school. In the end, Jack learned to write poetry
by reading and thinking about poetry.
12
CRITERIA
CCLS
COHE RENCE,
ORGA NIZATION, AND
STYLE: the extent to which
the essay logically
organi zes comple x ideas,
concepts, and information
using formal style and
preci se language
CONTRO L OF
CONVENTIONS: the extent
to which the essay
demonstrates comm and of
the conventions of
standard English grammar,
usag e, capit alization,
punctuati on, and spelling
W.2
R.19
W.2
W.9
R.19
W.2
L.1
L.2
1
Essays at this level
0
Essays at this level :
3
Essays at this level :
demonstrate insightf ul
comprehensi on and anal ysis of
the text(s)
demonstrate a literal
comprehensi on of the text(s)
demonstrate emerging
comman d of conventi ons, with
some errors that may hinder
comprehensi on
provide a concluding
statement that is illogical or
unrelated to the topic and
information presented
demonst rate a lack of
comman d of conventi ons, with
frequent errors that hinder
comprehensi on
W.2
L.3
L.6
SCORE
2
Essays at this level :
4
Essays at this level :
If the prompt requires two texts and the student only references one text, the response can be scored no higher than a 2.
If the student writes only a personal response and makes no reference to the text(s), the response can be scored no higher than a 1.
Responses totally unrelated to the topic, illegible, incoherent, or blank should be given a 0.
A response totally copied from the text(s) with no original student writing should be scored a 0.
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13
Ongoing Assessment
I can synthesize my understanding of the What Makes a Poem a Poem? by describing the characteristics
of poetry.
Poetry journal
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson serves as a transition between the first half of the module (reading and analyzing Love That
Dog) and the second half of the module (studying a poet and his/her poems).
During the Closing, students choose a poet they wish to study for the remainder of the module. Students
will have the choice to select from the following poets: Robert Frost, Walter Dean Myers, and Valerie
Worth (Note: two other poets whose poems students read in Unit 1 William Carlos Williams and
Arnold Adoff will be used for whole class modeling purposes in Unit 3. Therefore, these two poets are
not provided as options for students to select).
It is important to allow students to make this choice as freely as possible, so they can connect with the
second guiding question for this module (What inspires writers to write poetry?). Students eventually
will write original poems inspired by the poet whom they choose to study. In subsequent lessons in
Units 2 and 3, students will work in small poet groups, base on the poet whom they have selected. If
there is just one student who selects a particular poet, use your professional judgment on the best
options for this student. (For example, guide this student to select another poet s/he enjoys equally;
have this student work with another poet group in future lessons but still focus on his or her own poet;
or have this meet with a teacher or instructional aid consistently for additional support throughout the
remainder of the module.)
During Work Time B, all students read a selection of new poems by the three selected poets, in order to
get more of a sense of each poets styles and techniques. They then choose a poet, and will closely read
and analyze just that one poets poem in Lesson 9. Preview Lesson 9 to envision this arc of instruction.
During Work Time B, students participate in a modified version of the Four Corners protocol. Instead of
using four corners, students will only select from three corners of the room: one corner for each of the
three poets offered as a choice for the performance task.
In advance:
Display the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart and Frayer ModelPoetry
Prepare the new Performance Task anchor chart.
Review: Milling to Music Checking for Understanding technique and the Four Corners protocol (see
Appendix).
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
A. Engaging the Reader: Revisiting What Makes a Poem a Poem? (10 minutes)
Congratulate students on completing their reading of Love That Dog and the Mid-Unit 2 Assessment.
Explain to students that before they move into the next half of the unit, they will revisit the guiding question:
* Based on our new learning, is there anything from the anchor chart that you would like to add to our Frayer Model?
Call on pairs and add student observations as necessary.
Point out that the characteristics on the Frayer Model have to do with the structure and features of poetry, and that there is
another really important aspect of poetry to explore: the meaning. Poets write poems to express something important; they
just choose poetry as their preferred way to share. Tell students that today, the class will be thinking about the meaning of
poems and how poems affect both the people who write them and the people who read them.
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Opening (continued)
Remind students of Jacks poem My Sky. Invite students to turn and talk. Ask:
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Opening (continued)
* I can synthesize my understanding of the What Makes a Poem a Poem? by describing the characteristics of poetry.
* I can choose a poet to study whose poems inspire me as a writer.
Underline the word synthesize and ask students to turn and talk to a partner what this word means.
Cold call students to share what they talked about with their partner. Listen for responses such as: It means to pull together
what we understand about something. Clarify the meaning as necessary.
Point out to students that they just synthesized their understanding of poetry when they added to the Frayer Model for the
word poetry.
Share with students that, like Jack, they will have a chance to read poems by a poet they are interested in, write poems using
techniques inspired by that poet, and read to learn more about that poets life. Tell students that they will begin doing this in
todays lesson.
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Work Time
* Among the poets he studied, which poet did Jack connect with the most?
Listen for students to identify Walter Dean Myers.
Ask:
* Which poems or poets have you connected with during this module? Why?
Invite students to begin milling. Repeat xxx
Then refocus students whole group. Cold call students to share what they talked about with their partner.
Display the Performance Task anchor chart. Cold call one or more students to read the prompt. Build up the
excitement! Clarify for students that they will complete this performance task over the course of the module in three parts,
starting with selecting a poet and writing their own poem in this unit. Then in Unit 3 they will write their essay and read
their poems and essay for the Poets Performance. (Note: Each of these parts will be outlined further and added to the
anchor chart over the remainder of the module as students engage in the work preparing for the performance task).
Remind students that they have been writing poems throughout the module. These poems will help them write their original
poems for this performance task.
Tell students that during the rest of this lesson, they will read some more poems by the poets that they can choose to study.
Then they will select which poet they want to study for the remainder of the module.
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Explain to students that before they choose which poet they will study more deeply for their performance task, they will have
a chance to read another poem by the poets Robert Frost, Valerie Worth, and Walter Dean Myers.
Distribute all three of the poems to each student:
safety pin by Valerie Worth
Lawrence Hamm, 19 Student Athlete by Walter Dean Myers
A Patch of Old Snow by Robert Frost
Invite students to identify the poem safety pin by Valerie Worth. Ask:
* Which poem from Unit 1 was written by Valerie Worth? Listen for students to say: Dog.
Ask:
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Repeat for the next two poems (Lawrence Hamm, 19 Student Athlete by Walter Dean Myers and A Patch of Old Snow by
Robert Frost).
Start by remembering the poem read by each author in Unit 1 (reread familiar poem if necessary).
Then read aloud the new poem as students follow along silently.
Then ask students what the author is describing in the poem.
Collect the poems (safety pin, Lawrence Hamm, 19 Student Athlete and A Patch of Old Snow) so they can be
distributed again in Lesson 9 (or have students place the poems in their folders).
* Of the poets we have learned about during this module (Valerie Worth, Walter Dean Myers, and Robert Frost), which
poet are you inspired to study further? Explain your thinking.
Give students several minutes to think and write.
Then refocus students whole group. Use a modified Four Corners protocol as a way for students to share with their
classmates which poet they plan to study. Identify a corner in the classroom for each of the three poets, and ask the students
to move to the corresponding corner for the poet they just wrote about when you give the signal.
Once they are in their corresponding corners, invite students to turn and talk to a partner at their corner, asking students to
share:
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Homework
Look back in Love That Dog and reread the poem from Unit 1 by your selected poet and review the notes in your readers
notebook about this poem.
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To be
added in
Unit 3,
Lesson 7
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11
Selected Poems:
safety pin by Valerie Worth
safety pin
Closed, it sleeps
On its side
Quietly,
The silver
Image
Of some
Small fish;
Opened, it snaps
Its tail out
Like a thin
Shrimp, and looks
At the sharp
Point with a
Surprised eye.
From ALL THE SMALL POEMS AND FOURTEEN MORE Copyright 1987 by Valerie Worth. Illustrations by Natalie Babbitt. Reprinted by permission of
Henry Holt & Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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12
Selected Poems:
Lawrence Hamm, 19 Student Athlete by Walter Dean Myers
From Scholastic News, April 4, 2005. Copyright 2005 by Scholastic Inc. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic Inc.
Copyright Scholastic Inc. Used by permission and not subject to Creative Commons
license.
13
Selected Poems:
A Patch of Old Snow by Robert Frost
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14
Ongoing Assessment
I can explain how authors use vivid words and phrases to show their thoughts and feelings about a topic.
I can use literary terms to describe the characteristics of my selected poets poem.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson has two purposes: First, it gives students additional practice analyzing poetry in advance of
the End of Unit 2 Assessment. Second, it supports students as they explore an additional work by their
selected poet.
In Lesson 10, students will take part in a poetry workshop during which they will have an opportunity to
experiment with writing their own poems. They will use their analysis of their poets work and
knowledge of the characteristics of poetry to write a poem inspired by their poet, this inspired poem
will be read aloud by students during their performance task.
You may wish to extend this lesson (Lesson 9) by providing students with additional poems by their
poet so students can practice these skills further. This will also allow them to get a better feel for their
poets style and experiment with writing additional poems using this same style before the poetry
workshop in Lesson 10 See recommended text lists for addition poems by Robert Frost, Walter Dean
Myers, and Valerie Worth.
In this lesson, students begin working with their poet groups. These groups will be based on the poet
they selected (during Lesson 8) to study for the rest of the module. But groups should also be composed
of students whose skills and dispositions are complementary. Ideally, groups would consist of three
students, but could consist of two or four students as needed.
In Work Time A, students are introduced to a piece of artwork by Charles Demuth, I Saw a Figure 5 in
Gold, which was inspired by William Carlos Williams poem, The Great Figure. Consider
collaborating with your schools art specialist to have students create their own artwork inspired by the
poem they select to read by their poet for the performance task. This artwork could be added to
students presentation of their poems and essay during the performance task and could be an additional
assessment of NYS ELA CCSS standard RL.4.11.
During Work Time B, consider providing additional support for students who have selected Walter
Dean Myers as their poet. Myerss poem is more complex and may require additional scaffolding. This
could take the form of additional guided practice, strategic partnerships of proficient and struggling
readers, or partially completed Close Read Questions and Notes with additional prompts to support
students in reading the text.
In advance:
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Close Read Questions and Notes: Analyzing The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams (completed, for teacher
reference)
Image of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold by Charles Demuth (one for display)
safety pin by Valerie Worth (from Lesson 8)
Lawrence Hamm, 19 Student Athlete by Walter Dean Myers (from Lesson 8)
A Patch of Old Snow by Robert Frost (from Lesson 8)
Readers notebook (students own; from Unit 1)
Close Read Questions and Notes: Analyzing a New Poem by My Selected Poet (from page 17-19 in the readers notebook)
Close Read Questions and Notes: Analyzing a New Poem by My Selected Poet (possible answers, for teacher reference)
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Opening
* I can explain how authors use vivid words and phrases to show their thoughts and feelings about a topic.
* I can use literary terms to describe the characteristics of my selected poets poem.
Read both learning targets aloud to students. Tell students that today, they will read a new poem by the poet they have
selected to study. They will think about how their poets use the vivid words and phrases and the characteristics poetry in this
new poem.
Have students get back-to-back with a partner for a round of Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face. They should have their poetry
journals with them. Give students the following prompt, then signal them to face their partners and share:
* Share a vivid word or phrase you have collected from a poem you have read. What did this word or phrase help you
visualize?
Have students get back-to-back again for another round. Give students the following prompt, then signal them to face their
partners and share:
* Share an another vivid word or phrase you have collected from a poem you have read. What did this word or phrase help
you visualize?
Refocus students whole group. Invite a few students to share a few words or phrases with the whole group. Emphasize that
poets use vivid words and phrases to help their readers visualize the topic of the poem.
Ask students to take their seats. Draw students attention to the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart and
remind students what literary terms are. Review the meaning of the terms listed on the anchor chart: structure, lines, verse,
simile, metaphor, imagery, onomatopoeia, repetition, and rhyme.
Have students give a thumbs-up if they are clear on what they will be expected to do today, a thumbs-sideways if they
understand part but not all of what to do, and a thumbs-down if they are very unsure about what they should do. Address
any clarifying questions.
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Work Time
Display a copy of The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams using a document camera. Read the poem aloud
to students (remember to pause as punctuation indicates, as opposed to pausing after each line of the poem). Then display
the Close Read Questions and Notes: Analyzing The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams (for teacher
modeling) next to The Great Figure in preparation for modeling.
Ask students to turn to a partner and describe the gist of the poem: What is your initial sense of what this poem is mostly
about? What does it describe?
Cold call a few students to share their gist. Quickly model recording a gist statement in the first box of the Close Read
Questions and Notes.
Ask students to think about this question:
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Specify that one artist, Charles Demuth (a friend of Williams), was inspired to create a painting based on the images of this
poem. Display the image of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold by Charles Demuth. Have students turn to a partner and
discuss the following question:
* How was the image created by the poem in your mind similar to or different from this image?
After a few minutes of discussion, call on a few students to share their responses. Emphasize that poetry has the ability to
create powerful images in the minds of its readers, but these images are often different from reader to reader depending on
their life experiences and perspective. This is one of the amazing qualities of poems and artwork: its potential to be
interpreted in a variety of ways, all equally powerful.
B. Group Practice: Analyzing a New Poem from Selected Poets (30 minutes)
Tell students that now that they have had some practice reading and analyzing a poem by William Carlos Williams, they are
ready to read and analyze a new poem by their selected poet. Tell students that throughout this portion of the lesson, you
will be calling each poet group up to work with you. Explain that if they finish reading and analyzing their poems with their
poet group early, they can read silently from their book for independent reading.
Ask students to get out their readers notebooks and place them in their poet groups. Ask them to turn to the Close
Read Questions and Notes: Analyzing a New Poem by My Selected Poet on page 17-19 of their readers notebooks.
Distribute a dictionary to each group and ask students to locate their poem just for their selected poet (from Lesson 8):
either
safety pin by Valerie Worth,
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Give student the following prompt for sharing: Take turns reading your poem aloud, giving your gist of the poem, and
sharing one vivid word or phrase and what it helped you visualize.
Give students 2 minutes each to share.
Ask students to take their seats and get out their poetry journals. Ask students to record at least one of the vivid words or
phrases in their journal in the Vivid Words and Phrases section.
Read the learning targets with students. Then ask them to give you a Fist to Five for their progress toward the targets.
Use students self-assessment of these targets as well as their Close Read Questions and Notes to determine which students
may need additional support with meeting RL.4.5 and L.4.5a in advance of the end of unit assessment in Lesson 12.
Share the homework with students. Tell them that tomorrow they will have an opportunity to write a poem inspired by the
poet they are studying. Build up the excitement!
Homework
Reread both poems by your selected poet (from today and from Love That Dog). In your poetry journal in the My
Reflections section, respond to the following questions: How are these poems similar and how are they different? Which
poem inspires you the most and why?
In the My Poems section of your poetry journal, brainstorm topics you might like to write a poem about.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Questions:
How does knowing the meanings of these words help you better
understand your poem?
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10
Questions:
What are three words or phrases that helped you visualize the poem
and why?
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11
Questions:
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12
Questions:
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13
Questions:
What are three words or phrases that helped you visualize this poem
and why?
The word gold helps me visualize the shiny number 5 on
the fire truck.
The word howls helps me imagine how loud the sirens
would be.
The word rumbling helps me imagine the sound of tires
and the engine of the truck slowing down.
This poem is a free verse poem because it does not have any
regular rhythm or rhyme. It is one stanza created by 14 lines,
but it is really just one long sentence. It has lots of words
that help create imagery, such as rainy, lights, clang,
howl, and rumbling. Some of these words are also
examples of onomatopoeia. These words help the reader
imagine the sights and sounds of a fire truck heading off to
an emergency on a dark, rainy night in a busy city.
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14
Public Domain
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15
Questions:
How does knowing the meanings of these words help you better
understand your poem?
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16
Questions:
Student sketch
What are three words or phrases that helped you visualize the poem
and why?
The word silver helps me visualize the color of the safety
pin and the fish.
The word snaps helps me think about how a safety pin can
snap open when you press it.
The phrase surprised eye helps me visualize the hole at the
top of the safety pin and how it is like a wide-open eye.
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17
Questions:
egosoverconfidence or self-esteem
sacredhighly valued for religious reasons
holysomething that is specially recognized for religious
reasons
How does knowing the meanings of these words help you better
understand your poem?
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18
Questions:
Student sketch
What are three words or phrases that helped you visualize the poem
and why?
The phrase soar through space helps me visualize a
basketball player flying through the air as he is about to
dunk the ball.
The phrase painted lanes helps me visualize the paint on a
basketball court.
The word kiss helps me imagine the boys hand pressed
against the glass backboard.
This poem is one stanza and has 16 lines. Every other line of
the poem rhymes. The poem uses a metaphor to compare the
narrator to muscle and flight. There is a lot of imagery that
helps you visualize the sights and smells of a basketball
game.
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19
Questions:
How does knowing the meanings of these words help you better
understand your poem?
Knowing the meaning of the word grime helps me
visualize the dirt sprinkled on top of the snow.
Knowing the meaning of the word overspread helps me
visualize the dirt spreading over the top of the snow.
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20
Questions:
Student sketch
What are three words or phrases that helped you visualize the poem
and why?
The phrase blown-away helped me visualize a piece of old
crumpled paper on the ground.
The word speckled helped me visualize the dirt sprinkled
over the top of the snow.
The phrase small print helped me imagine how the snow
could have looked like crumbled wet newspaper.
This poem has two stanzas with four lines each. Each stanza
has a set of rhyming words at the ends of the second and
fourth lines. The poet uses imagery by comparing the snow
to wet crumpled newspaper on the ground. Some vivid
phrases that help the reader imagine this are blown-away
and small print.
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21
Ongoing Assessment
I can plan a poem that includes characteristics of poetry used by the poet I am studying.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students have an opportunity to experiment with writing their own poems in a poetry
workshop. They use their analysis of their poets work and knowledge of the characteristics of poetry to
write an inspired poem as one part of their performance task.
This lesson begins with a mini lesson with a think-aloud by the teacher, who plans and shares a draft
poem. You can use the model poem in the supporting materials of this lesson to share with students
during Work Time A. Or consider developing your own model poem for this lesson, so that the thinkaloud in Work Time A feels more authentic. Students are likely to enjoy the experience of watching their
teacher share original writing with them.
During Work Time B, students plan and draft their poems. Then, in Lesson 11, students receive critique
and feedback on word choice for vivid imagery. If you feel that your students need more time to draft
their poems, consider giving them additional time after this lesson and before the critique in Lesson 11.
In advance:
Review Work Time A, Writing a Poem: Planning graphic organizer (completed, for teacher reference),
and model poem (for teacher reference) in the supporting materials
Also review Glass, Bugs, Mud in Checking for Understanding Techniques and Concentric Circles
protocol (see Appendix).
Post: Learning targets, Performance Task anchor chart, and What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor
chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening (continued)
Direct students attention to the learning targets and ask them to read the targets silently to themselves:
* I can plan a poem that includes characteristics of poetry used by the poet I am studying.
* I can write a poem inspired by the poet I am studying.
Read both learning targets aloud to students and underline the words includes, characteristics, and inspired. Ask:
Opening (continued)
Arrange students for a round of Concentric Circles. Students should bring their poetry journals with them. Have students
form two circles (an inside circle of students facing out, and the outside circle with students facing in) inside the other. Be
sure each student is facing a partner (consider having students high five their partner to check that everyone has someone;
if you have an odd number of students, form one triad). Explain that for this protocol, students will be sharing with the
partner directly across from them and then either the inside or the outside circle will be asked to move.
Have students practice moving. (Example: Inside circle, step two partners to your left. Outside circle, step two partners to
your right, etc.)
Give students their first prompt to discuss with the partner across from them:
* Share the topics you brainstormed for homework last night. What topics might you write a poem about today and why?
After students have shared, signal for students attention. Give them the signal to move and share with a new partner.
Continue until students have heard ideas from at least three of their classmates and have gotten the hang of the new
protocol.
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Work Time
Begin modeling how to use the graphic organizer, using a think-aloud. See the Writing a Poem: Planning graphic
organizer (completed for teacher reference) in the supporting materials of this lesson. Be sure to include the
following in your modeling:
Deciding on a topic based on inspiration from William Carlos Williams
Brainstorming and listing ideas for word choice while referencing William Carlos Williams poems
Deciding to use free verse so that your poem sounds like a Williams poem
Deciding to use a simileemphasize that although the writing of the poets they are studying should inspire their poems,
they do not have to have all of the exact same characteristics
Referencing the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart as you plan other characteristics of your poem
Display a copy of your model poem and read it aloud to students. Ask students if they notice where your plans matched
your poem and where they changed slightly. Reassure students that this is acceptable, as writers often revise their work
throughout the writing process as they are inspired to do so.
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Ask them to take a look at their poems and plans and silently think about the following prompt:
* What was writing this poem like for you? Did your draft differ from your plan? Why?
After 2 or 3 minutes of silent reflection time, ask students to gather their plans and drafts and arrange themselves for the
protocol.
Once students are arranged and facing a partner, ask them to read their poem aloud than answer the following question:
* How does your plan and poem match or differ and why?
After students have shared, signal for students attention. Give them the signal to move and share with a new partner and
ask them to read their poem aloud and answer the following question :
* What was it like to share your poem for the first time?
* Did you feel more like Jack at the start of the Love That Dog or more like he felt later in the novel, when he was more
comfortable?
Then review the homework.
Homework
Read your inspired poem aloud to a friend or family member, or continue to work on drafting your poem.
Continue reading your independent reading book.
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Writing a Poem:
Planning Graphic Organizer (Front)
Name:
Date:
Topic Ideas:
My topic:
Vivid words and phrases I can use to
create imagery about my topic:
How will your poem sound (rhythm, rhyme, repetition, free verse)?
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10
Writing a Poem:
Planning Graphic Organizer (Back)
Similes or metaphors I would like to use:
What do you want your reader to experience while reading this poem?
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11
Writing a Poem:
Planning Graphic Organizer (Front)
(Completed, for Teacher Reference)
Teacher Note: The text containing a strikethrough indicates parts of the plan that were not included
in the draft poem. Be sure to reassure students that writers plans often change throughout the writing
process; this is something students are likely to experience as they draft their own poems.
Topic Ideas:
School bus
Apple pie
Leaves
Football
Deer
My topic: Leaves
Vivid words and phrases I can use to
create imagery about my topic:
Firm leaves
Neon bright
Crunching
Crumbling
How will your poem sound (rhythm, rhyme, repetition, free verse)?
Free verse
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12
Writing a Poem:
Planning Graphic Organizer (Back)
(Completed, for Teacher Reference)
Similes or metaphors I would like to use:
Short lines
One long sentence
Onomatopoeia for the sound of leaves crunching
What do you want your reader to experience while reading this poem?
My reader will picture leaves falling from an old maple tree with bright leaves on its branches and
crumbling leaves underneath.
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13
Model Poem
Inspired by William Carlos Williams
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14
Ongoing Assessment
I can give kind, helpful, and specific feedback on a classmates poem during a critique session.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson builds on Lesson 10. Students again get to experiment with writing their own poems in a
poetry workshop. They use their analysis of their poets work and knowledge of the characteristics of
poetry to plan and write an inspired poem for their performance task.
In this lesson, students also participate in a simple critique session of their poems, focusing on use of
imagery. Critiques simulate the experiences students will have in the workplace and help build a culture
of achievement in your classroom. In order for students to feel safe in sharing their work and receiving
feedback, it is important to emphasize the importance of giving kind, helpful, and specific feedback, as
called for by the Peer Critique protocol.
As this is students first experience with critique for the year, be sure to maintain a climate of safety and
respect. Immediately intervene if students are hurtful in their words or tone. During the protocol, note
how students are (or are not) following the protocol, to share during the debrief of the lesson.
If a significant number of students are struggling, consider pausing the class and conducting a Fishbowl
protocol (see Appendix). For a Fishbowl protocol, one group of students models the critique session
while the class observes, then they continue with their own critique sessions. Or, based on the needs of
your students and if time permits, consider conducting a Fishbowl first, as additional modeling.
This lesson emphasizes use of vivid words and phrases to create imagery. Consider providing students
with thesauruses and explicit instruction for proper use of a thesaurus if needed.
For this lesson, students will need to be in groups that are different from their poet groups from Lessons
9 and 10. Create groups of two or three students who are studying different poets. Consider placing
struggling writers or ELLs with stronger writers.
In the beginning of this lesson students review vivid words and phrases from their poetry journals using
the protocol Give One, Get One, Move On, note that this protocol is also known as Go, Go, Mo.
You may wish to extend this lesson by providing students additional time to read works by their poet
and to experiment further with writing poems in their selected poets style.
In advance:
Review the Give One, Get One, Move On and Peer Critique protocols (see Appendix).
Post: Learning targets and the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
Tell them that they are going to play a game called Give One, Get One, Move On. Explain that this is a game with three
simple steps:
1. Share something with a partner.
2. Receive something from a partner.
3. Find a new partner and repeat.
Tell students that what they will share is a new vivid word from their poetry journals. They will record any these new vivid
words in their own poetry journals when a partner shares them. Explain that if they have no new vivid words to offer to their
partner, they will simply find a new partner.
Explain that the goal is to add as many new vivid words to their journals as possible in 5 minutes. If necessary, model with a
student:
* Do you have any new vivid words for me? Splattered! Great, I will record that in my journal. Do you have the word
rumbling? Oh, okay, thanks!
Gather students together and set a timer for 5 minutes and begin the Give One, Get One, Move On protocol.
After 5 minutes, gather students and focus them on the learning targets for the lesson. Read the learning targets aloud:
* I can give kind, helpful, and specific feedback on a classmates poem during a critique session..
* I can revise my inspired poem to include vivid imagery.
Define the words specific (detailed), feedback (information about something), critique (to review and give feedback about a
product), and revise (to change based on new information). Explain to students that in todays lesson they will give and
receive critique to improve the imagery in their poems using vivid words.
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Work Time
Introduce the main components of a successful critique on the Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart.
Set up non-negotiables for the students before they begin this process. The following four points are crucial for success:
Be kind: Always treat others with dignity and respect. This means we never use words that hurt, including sarcasm.
Be specific: Focus on particular strengths and weaknesses, rather than making general comments like Its good or I like
it. Provide insight into why it is good or what, specifically, you like about it.
Be helpful: The goal is to contribute positively to the individual or the group, not simply to be heard. Echoing the thoughts
of others or cleverly pointing out irrelevant details wastes time.
Participate: Peer critique is a process to support each other, and your feedback is valued!
Explain to students that they are all going to practice giving kind, helpful, and specific feedback to you for a poem you have
written. Remind students that today they will practice giving feedback on one thing only: vivid words.
Distribute a copy of the Vivid Words list to each student. Ask students to take 1 minute to read over the list.
After a minute, explain that this list is a tool to help them brainstorm ideas for vivid words in their poems. Explain that the
list does not contain every vivid word in the dictionary, but that it should be helpful in giving them ideas. Go on to explain
that they should be selective when using the list. Tell students that too much of a good thing can be just as bad as none at all.
For example, a meal without any salt may be bland, but one with too much could be ruined. Explain that the same is true for
poems (and writing in general) with vivid wordsbut that just as with salt, determining how many to use is a matter of taste;
and because they are the chef, it will be up to them.
Review the directions for the Peer Critique protocol:
1. Author chooses area for focused feedback.
2. Listener restates choice of author: OK. I am going to give you feedback about
3. Author reads his or her writing.
4. Listener gives feedback: I like how you Would you consider
5. Author says: Thank you for My next step will be
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Display your model poem (from Lesson 10) and read it aloud to students. Ask:
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Place students back in their poet groups from Lesson 10. Give them time to incorporate their feedback and revise their
poems. Confer with students as they revise their work; provide assistance as needed.
* What did you do to make progress on these learning targets today? What do you need to do to improve further?
Give students a few minutes to write a written reflection. Give the following prompts, calling on volunteers to share. Add
your own reflections to the conversation as well:
* Overall, what did our class do well during the peer critique?
* What could we work on next time?
* How did the critique help you improve the vivid imagery of your poem?
Congratulate students on their hard work and bravery as writers. It is difficult to share your work with others and get
feedback, yet they took on the challenge.
Homework
Read your revised poem aloud to a friend or family member and explain how the poem was inspired by your selected poet.
Continue reading your independent reading book.
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Be Kind: Treat others with dignity and respect. This means we never use words that are hurtful,
including sarcasm.
Be Specific: Focus on particular strengths and weaknesses, rather than making general comments
such as Its good or I like it. Provide insight into why it is good or what, specifically, you like
about it.
Be Helpful: The goal is to contribute positively to the individual or the group, not simply to be
heard. Echoing the thoughts of others or cleverly pointing out irrelevant details wastes time.
Participate: Peer critique is a process to support each other, and your feedback is valued!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Sound
bang
blare
boom
buzz
chatter
clang
clink
crackle
crash
creak
explode
giggle
grate
growl
grumble
gurgle
hiss
howl
hum
jabber
murmur
peep
roar
rumble
rush
rustle
screech
shriek
sigh
slam
smash
snap
stammer
swish
thud
thunder
whimper
whir
yelp
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Taste
appetizing
bitter
bittersweet
bland
burnt
buttery
creamy
crisp
delectable
delicious
flavorful
flavorless
fruity
hearty
hot
luscious
mellow
nauseating
oily
peppery
refreshing
ripe
rotten
salty
savory
scrumptious
sharp
sour
spicy
spoiled
stale
sugary
sweet
tangy
tasty
yummy
zesty
Touch
balmy
biting
bristly
bumpy
chilly
crisp
cuddly
damp
dusty
elastic
feathery
fleshy
fluffy
fuzzy
gooey
greasy
gritty
hairy
icy
leathery
limp
lumpy
moist
mushy
oily
powdery
prickly
rough
rubbery
sandy
scratchy
silky
slimy
slippery
spongy
sticky
tepid
velvety
woolly
Smell
acrid
aroma
aromatic
briny
burnt
earthy
fetid
fishy
fragrant
fresh
heady
moldy
musty
odor
odorous
old
perfumed
pungent
putrid
rancid
rank
reeking
rotten
savory
scented
sharp
sour
spicy
spoiled
stagnant
sweet
waft
whiff
10
Ongoing Assessment
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this assessment, students read a new poem, Metric Figure by William Carlos Williams, and answer
questions about the poems characteristics.
For struggling readers or ELLs, consider giving more explicit instruction with the challenging
vocabulary of the poem (poplars, Phoebus, skims, gleam, clashing).
In advance: Post learning targets and What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
structure, lines, verse, simile,
metaphor, imagery, onomatopoeia,
repetition, rhyme; poplars,
Phoebus, skims, gleam, clashing
Materials
What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 2)
End of Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Analyzing a New Poem (one per student)
End of Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Analyzing a New Poem (answers, for teacher reference)
NYS 2-point Rubric: Writing from Sources/Short Response (for teacher reference)
Poetry journals (students own; from Unit 1)
Opening
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Work Time
A. End of Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Analyzing a New Poem (40 minutes)
Ask students to clear their desks and get out a pencil.
Distribute the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Analyzing a New Poem to each student.
Read the directions for the assessment aloud and remind students that they should refer to the text when answering
questions on the assessment.
Using the End of Unit 2 Assessment: Reading and Analyzing a New Poem (answers, for teacher reference),
read Metric Figure aloud for students and invite students to begin.
While students take the assessment, circulate to monitor their test-taking skills. Prompt students throughout the
assessment, letting them know how much time they have left and encouraging them to continue working. This is an
opportunity to analyze students behavior while taking an assessment. Document strategies that students use during the
assessment. For example, look for students who are annotating their text and rereading and referring to the text when
answering questions.
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Homework
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Metric Figure
There is a bird in the poplars!
It is the sun!
The leaves are little yellow fish
Swimming in the river.
The bird skims above them,
Day is on his wings.
Phoebus!
It is he that is making
The great gleam among the poplars!
It is his singing
Outshines the noise
Of leaves clashing in the wind.
Word Bank
poplarstypes of trees
Phoebusa Greek god of the sun, also known as Apollo
skimsglides over the top
gleama flash of light
clashingcoming together noisily
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7. Put a check mark next to any of the following literary terms that could be used to describe the poem
Metric Figure:
metaphors
free verse
imagery
onomatopoeia
rhyme
similes
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10
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11
Possible Answer:
The word skims helps the reader imagine the bird flying over the top of the trees.
7. Put a check mark next to any of the following literary terms that could be used to describe the poem
Metric Figure: (RL.4.5)
metaphors
free verse
imagery
onomatopoeia
rhyme
similes
8. Use the words you checked above to describe the poem Metric Figure. (RL.4.1 and RL.4.5)
Possible Answer:
The poem Metric Figure is a free verse poem by William Carlos Williams. It uses
imagery and metaphor to describe a bird in poplar trees. Williams compares the bird to
the sun and leaves to fish using metaphors. He also uses imagery by describing how the
bird looks and how the leaves sound using words such as gleam and clashing.
Note: Use the 2pt rubric in the supporting materials of this lesson to score both
question 1 and question 8 of this assessment.
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12
1-point Response
0-point Response
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13
In the second half of this unit, students prepare for the performance task for this
module, the Poets Performance. In this three-part performance task, students focus
on a single poet, presenting a poem by that poet, writing a short essay about the
poet, and reading aloud an original poem inspired by their poet. The class learns to
write an essay by planning and writing a shared essay about poet William Carlos
Williams. Then students plan for their essays using notes gathered from the first
half of the unit, and complete a draft of the essay for the first part of the end of unit
assessment (RI.4.9 and W.4.2). Next, students engage in a round of critique and
feedback to improve their work and complete a revised draft for the second part of
the end of unit assessment (W.4.5). Finally, students read aloud their poems and
essay for the Poets Performance.
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment
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Content Connections
This module is designed to address English Language Arts standards as students read literature and informational texts about poets lives and what inspired their
writing. This module does not tie to New York State Social Studies or Science standards.
Texts
1. Sharon Creech, Love That Dog (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2001), ISBN: 0-06-029287-3.
2. Jen Bryant, A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2008), ISBN: 978-0-8028-5302-8
(teacher copy only).
3. Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, The Pasture, and A Patch of Old Snow (no purchase necessary).
4. Valerie Worth, Dog and safety pin (no purchase necessary).
5. Walter Dean Myers, Love That Boy and Lawrence Hamm, 19, Student Athlete (no purchase necessary).
6. Dara Sharif, Finding Your Voice, in Scholastic News, April 4, 2005 (no purchase necessary).
7. Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 January 29, 1963). (American Reading Company, 2014) (no purchase necessary).
8. Valerie Worth (October 29, 1933 July 31, 1994). (American Reading Company, 2014) (no purchase necessary).
9. Nikki Giovanni (June 7, 1943 present). (American Reading Company, 2014) (no purchase necessary).
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 1
Ongoing
Assessment
Exit ticket
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Word Wall
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 4
Exit ticket
Homework: Further
Questions (from Lesson 4)
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment:
Answering Questions about
a Biography
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Mid-Unit Assessment:
Answering Questions about a
Biography
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Ongoing
Assessment
Lesson 7
Students annotations on
the model essay
Observations of students
reading their inspired
poems
Essay Prompt/Planner
graphic organizer
(Introduction and
Conclusion Plan completed)
Students annotations on
the model essay
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 10
Ongoing
Assessment
Students annotations on
the model essay
Introduction to essay
Lesson 11
Lesson 12
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Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 13
Ongoing
Assessment
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Ongoing
Assessment
Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face
protocol
Lesson
Lesson Title
Long-Term Targets
Supporting Targets
Lesson 14
Lesson 15
Students read-aloud of
their poems and essays
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Optional: Extensions
Consider collaborating with your schools art specialist to have students create their own artwork inspired by the poem they select to read for the performance task.
This artwork could be added to students presentation of their poems and essay during the performance task, the Poets Performance, at the end of Unit 3 and could be
an additional assessment of NYS ELA CCLS standard RL.4.11.
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10
Unit 3 focuses on biographies of poets and authors. The list below includes texts
with a range of Lexile text measures about this topic. This provides appropriate
independent reading for each student to help build content knowledge on this topic.
Note that districts and schools should consider their own community standards
when reviewing this list. Some texts in particular units or modules address
emotionally difficult content.
It is imperative that students read a high volume of texts at their reading level to
continue to build the academic vocabulary and fluency demanded by the CCLS.
Where possible, texts in languages other than English are also provided. Texts are
categorized into three Lexile ranges that correspond to Common Core Bands:
below-grade band, within band, and above-grade band. Note, however, that
Lexile measures are just one indicator of text complexity, and teachers must use
their professional judgment and consider qualitative factors as well. For more
information, see the Appendix of the Common Core State Standards.
Common Core Band Level Text Difficulty Ranges:
(As provided in the NYSED Passage Selection Guidelines for Assessing CCSS ELA)
Grades 23: 420820L
Grades 45: 7401010L
Grades 68: 9251185L
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Biography
650
Biography
690
Walt Whitman
Biography
700
Dav Pilkey
Biography
710
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U3: Recommended Texts June 2014
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Biography
770
Biography
800*
Biography
820
Emily Dickinson
Biography
830
Biography
840*
Biography
860
Biography
900
Biography
910
Autobiography
940
Biography
970
Biography
970
NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U3: Recommended Texts June 2014
Title
Text Type
Lexile Measure
Biography
1010
Autobiography
1070
Biography
1100
Lexile is a trademark of MetaMetrics, Inc., and is registered in the United States and abroad. Copyright 2012 MetaMetrics.
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NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum G4:M1B:U3: Recommended Texts June 2014
Ongoing Assessment
Exit ticket
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In the opening of this lesson, students review the guiding question: What inspires writers to write
poetry? They are re-introduced to this question by rereading The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos
Williams, rereading Jacks response in Love That Dog, and discussing what inspired Jacks response.
Students then read a biography about William Carlos Williams: A River of Words. The Work Time
portion of this lesson thus bridges the students previous readingthe novel and poetryto a new genre
of text on which they will focus during the first half of this unit: biography. Since only the teacher has a
copy of A River of Words, students do not read the text closely on their own. Instead, they listen as it is
read aloud and determine the gist. Students then circle back to the guiding question: What inspires
writers to write poetry? This launches students into a deeper study of biographies and the challenge of
inferring what has inspired their selected poet (whose poems they began reading during Unit 2).
In Lessons 2 and 3, students will closely read the Authors Note from A River of Words (provided in
Lesson 2 supporting materials) to learn more about Williams and the features of biographies, as well as
about how to refine the things close readers do. Then, in Lessons 3 and 4, students read a short
biography about their selected poet in preparation for writing the essay component of their performance
task.
Teachers must find a way to display the pages of the one copy of A River of Words so all students can
clearly see the text features during the Text Walk, and read the words and see the illustrations when
asked to determine the gist. Consider the best way to display the pages: perhaps on a document camera,
or inviting students to gather in a whole-group area of the classroom.
To support students in determining the gist, the text has been broken into parts that are outlined on the
Gist recording form (for teacher reference). The book itself has no page numbers, so it may help to go
through and use sticky notes or flags to mark each transition between sections. Note that on the Gist
recording form, students are only expected to determine the gist of each section of A River of Words.
Later, when students read of the Authors Note in this book, they will learn to determine the main idea
of informational text (through a close reading of the text).
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Agenda
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
Remind students of the second guiding question for the module on the Guiding Questions anchor chart: What inspires
writers to write poetry? Tell them that they will think about this question throughout this unit.
Ask students to get out their copies of the text Love That Dog and tell them that you would like to revisit what inspired
Jack to write his first poem.
Tell students to turn to page 1 of Love That Dog. Read pages 15 aloud as students read silently in their heads.
Ask students to take 12 minutes to discuss this question with their partner:
* How do you think Jack was inspired to write his first poem about the blue car? What evidence in the text supports your
thinking?
Refocus students and invite volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for them to suggest that Jack may have
been inspired by reading William Carlos Williamss poem The Red Wheelbarrow because his poem about the blue car had
very similar characteristics.
Read The Red Wheelbarrow aloud as students follow along.
Then ask students:
* What do you think inspired William Carlos Williams to write his poem The Red Wheelbarrow?
Call on a few volunteers to share their thoughts; its fine if students dont have a solid response or theory. Point out that
other than the content of the poem, students currently dont have much that helps them infer what inspired Williams. Tell
them that in this unit, they will learn more about the poets they have selected and what may have inspired them as writers.
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Opening (continued)
Invite students to read the third learning target with you. Underline the word gist. Ask students to briefly review gist with
their elbow partner.
Invite volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for students to explain that the gist is their initial
understanding of what the text is mostly about. Remind them that the gist is a preliminary pass at a text, and is a particularly
useful early step when trying to make sense of a complex text. Getting the gist is one of the things close readers do.
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Work Time
* What do you think the book is going to be about? Why do you think that?
Refocus students and invite volunteers to share their responses whole group. There are no right or wrong answers, but
because students have already read poems by William Carlos Williams, they should be able to explain that the book is about
the poet.
Point out that this text is a biography. Review the meaning of this academic vocabulary with students. Ask:
* Who can remember from our learning targets what a biography is?
Call on a volunteer to review the meaning of this word (an informational text about someones life).
At this stage, you might also distinguish between biographies and autobiographies (the story of someones life written by
that person himself/herself). Point out that the root auto in the word autobiography means self. Give students the following
example, if William Carlos Williams had written this book about his life, it would be an autobiography. Point out that A
River of Words is written by Jen Bryant, and therefore it is a biography about Williams.
Show students the inside front covers. If you have a dustcover on your book, read the words on the flap inside the front of
the book aloud. If possible, display this on a document camera so students can read along silently in their heads.
Ask students to discuss with their partner:
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* What is this and how do you think it might be useful for the reader?
Select volunteers to share their responses. Listen for students to explain that it is a timeline of both the events in William
Carlos Williamss life and important world events. It is useful for the reader because they can see when the most important
things happened in his life and what was going on in the world at the time.
Turn to the Authors Note and the Illustrators Note. Invite a student to read the titles. Explain that sometimes in a book, an
author and illustrator may write things they would like the reader to know about the book. For example, if a book is fiction,
but based on a real event, the author may explain that in the Authors Note.
Turn to the final two pages. Invite a student to read the Further Reading title. Explain that the author may have referred to
these books listed to help her write the story of William Carlos Williams, and if a reader is really interested in learning more
about him, they know where to look next.
Point out that the final page explains to whom the author has dedicated the book. Briefly explain that to dedicate means to
recognize someone special by making a special gift of your work, like dedicating a song to your mother on Mothers Day.
Tell students that this first exploration of these text features, and the closer reading of these features in later lessons, will
help them to understand this rich text more deeply. Explain that text features are generally helpful to readers in better
understanding a text and that they will use this strategy often throughout the year.
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Focus students on the Close Readers Do These Things anchor chart. Add the following to the bottom of the chart:
Use text features to better understand the text: illustrations, synopsis, authors notes, timelines.
Note: Additional text features can be listed as examples on the anchor chart as students encounter them throughout the year.
B. Read-aloud and Determining the Gist (20 minutes)
Tell students that now that they have explored the book through their Text Walk, they will hear the whole text read aloud.
(Be sure that students can see the text as you read aloud so that they can read along and improve their fluency skills.) Read A
River of Words once through without stopping. Slowly flip through some pages of the text and point out the illustrations.
Remind them to pay close attention to these illustrations, as they will help them better understand the text.
Display and distribute the Gist recording form. Invite students to read silently in their heads as you read the headings of
the columns. Remind students that the gist is a readers first impression of what the text is mostly about.
Explain to students that you are going to read A River of Words aloud to them again and stop at strategic points so they can
write the gist of what you have just read.
Read aloud the text again. Stop at the first place suggested on the Gist recording form (for teacher reference). Ask
students to discuss with their partner:
Continue reading the book, stopping at the strategic places suggested on the Gist recording form. Give students time to
discuss the gist, share with the whole group, and record the gist in the correct place on their form. You do not need to model
filling out the form each time.
Once students have written the gist of the final part of the text, invite students to discuss with their partner to synthesize
their learning about William Carlos Williams:
* What do you now know about William Carlos Williams? What are some key facts you would share with someone who
didnt know anything about him?
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Select volunteers to share their responses. Record student ideas as bullet points on the William Carlos Williams anchor
chart. Refer to A River of Words when students give responses that are not accurate.
Afterwards, read the final question on the recording form (How does this text fit the definition of a biography?) aloud to
the class. If necessary, review the definition of a biography. Then ask students to write a response to this question
independently.
Collect students Gist recording forms for a formative assessment of their ability to determine the gist of informational text
during a read-aloud and their initial understanding of this genre of informational text.
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10
A. Revisiting the Guiding Question: What Inspired William Carlos Williams? (10 minutes)
Reread the guiding question: What inspires writers to write poetry? Tell students that now that they have learned more
about William Carlos Williamss life, if will be easier to infer what inspired him to write poetry.
Ask students to get out their poetry journals and turn to a fresh page in the My Reflections section. Ask them to respond
to the following prompt:
* After reading a biography of William Carlos Williams, what could you infer about what inspired him as a writer?
Give students a few minutes to respond in writing.
Partner students up to share their responses. After they have shared, ask for a few volunteers to share whole group. Listen
for students to suggest the following and go back to the text to point out evidence that support their responses. (See Part 2 of
the text indicated on the Gist recording form (for teacher reference)):
William Carlos Williams was inspired to write poems because of his teacher. Evidence from text: But when Mr. Abbott
read poetry to Willies English class, Willie did not feel hurried.
William Carlos Williams was inspired to write poems from hearing the poems of famous English writers. Evidence from
text: At first he imitated the famous English writers he had learned about in school.
William Carlos Williams was inspired to write poems from the things he saw everyday, like wheelbarrows. Evidence from
the text: I want to write about ordinary thingsplums, wheelbarrows, and weeds
Distribute the Homework: What Has Inspired You? handout. Read the question on the form for students:
* In Unit 2, you wrote your own poems. What has inspired you as a writer?
Tell students that, for homework, their task is to record their answers to this question on their handout.
Homework
On a new page in the My Reflections section of your poetry journal, reflect on the following question: What has inspired
you as a writer?
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11
Part
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
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13
Part 1
(Up to Sometimes, as
he listened to its perfect
tune, he fell asleep.)
Willie grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey, and liked to spend time outside
watching everything and listening to the river.
Part 2
(Up to and Willie
needed to earn a
living.)
Part 3
(Up to Every
afternoon, he returned
to his office where more
patients waited.)
Willie went to study medicine and after graduating returned home to set up
his own medical practice.
Part 4
(To the end of the
book.)
Possible Answer (examples from the text may vary): This book is a
biography because it is a story about the life of poet William Carlos
Williams. It tells about how he was inspired to write poetry and became a
doctor too.
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14
Ongoing Assessment
I can determine the gist of the first paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
I can answer questions about the text in order to gain a deeper understanding of the life of William
Carlos Williams.
I can determine the main idea of the first paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students closely read the Authors Note in A River of Words (provided in the supporting
materials, so each student can have his/her own copy). This is a complex text, so closely reading it will
ensure students learn more about William Carlos Williams, in particular his poetry style and how it is
unique. This will be important later on in shared writing sessions when students learn to extract
appropriate information from the narrative, Authors Note, and timeline in A River of Words to use in
their writing.
In this close reading, students practice skills they will be assessed on the mid-unit assessment (in
Lesson 6): answering questions using evidence from the text, making inferences from details, and
identifying the main idea.
The close reading process is meant to be discussion-based. You may invite students to work
independently or in pairs or small groups when thinking about different questions, but be sure to guide
the whole class in a discussion of each section of the text. Refer to the Close Reading Guide (for teacher
reference) for suggestions on how to guide students through the text and answers to the text-dependent
questions. Do not assign these questions to students to complete on their own as a worksheet.
The questions in the Close Reading Guide have been designed to encourage students to dig deeper in
order to improve their understanding of the texts meaning. They also teach students domain-specific
vocabulary relevant to biographies, which they can later use in writing about their selected poet.
In Lesson 3, after closely reading Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Authors Note, students begin a Word Wall
of domain-specific vocabulary. This Word Wall is not begun in Lesson 2, since the first paragraph of the
Authors Note (the focus of this lesson) does not contain domain-specific vocabulary pertaining to
biographies.
At the start of this lesson, students read along silently as the teacher rereads A River of Words. While
students do not do a close read of this rich text, it is worth a second read in order to give students a
foundational understanding of the life of William Carlos Williams, which in turn will support them as
they closely read the Authors Note (a more complex text) later in the lesson.
In advance:
Familiarize yourself with the Authors Note (particularly Paragraph 1), and the Close Reading Guide.
Post: Learning targets.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Opening
A. Engaging the Reader and Reviewing Learning Targets: Rereading A River of Words (10 minutes)
Invite students to pair up with their same partner from Lesson 1.
Display A River of Words. Remind students that they read this text together in Lesson 1. Using a document camera,
reread the text straight through without stopping as students read along silently.
Remind students that in the previous lesson, they found the gist of A River of Words. Ask students to briefly review with
their partner:
* What did you learn about William Carlos Williams in A River of Words?
Select volunteers to share their responses. Students may have any number of responses here. Refer to the text if you are
unsure about a response given.
Tell students that today they will read one of the text features they explored yesterday, the Authors Note at the back of the
book, to see if they can learn a bit more about William Carlos Williams and practice closely reading a biography. Remind
them that this will prepare them to read and learn about their selected poet.
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Opening (continued)
* I can determine the gist of the first paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
* I can answer questions about the text in order to gain a deeper understanding of the life of William Carlos Williams.
* I can determine the main idea of the first paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
Read aloud the first learning target and underline the words Authors Note. Ask students:
* When exploring the text in the previous lesson, we saw the Authors Note. What is an Authors Note?
Cold call students to hear their responses. Listen for them to explain that an Authors Note contains things readers should
know about a book. For example, if a book is fiction, but based on a real event, the author may explain that in the Authors
Note.
Next, ask students to chorally read aloud the second learning target with you. Ask students:
* How do you think answering questions about a text can help you to better understand a topic?
Listen for students to suggest that answering questions about a text helps you read it more closely and think about it more
deeply.
Invite students to read the final learning target with you and underline the words main idea.
Tell students that the main idea is the point the author is trying to make.
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Work Time
Read the Authors Note aloud all the way through without stopping as students read along silently in their heads.
Tell students that as this is a complex text with some challenging vocabulary, they will closely read it in sectionsthey will
closely read the first paragraph in this lesson and then closely read the next two paragraphs in the next lesson.
Distribute Close Reading Questions and Notes: Authors Note .
Tell students that today they will be reading only the first paragraph of the authors note. Point out on their Close Reading
Questions and Notes on the second page where there is a note that says STOP HERE. This indicates the end of the close
reading of paragraph 1. Tell students that in Lesson 3, they will continue their close reading, focusing on paragraph 2.
Continue to emphasize that one of the things close readers do is to work very slowly and deliberately through a complex
text.
Read the first direction. Tell students that the first thing they will do is reread the first paragraph to find the gist. Remind
them that the gist is their initial sense of what the text is mostly about.
Reread the first paragraph aloud for students. Ask them to discuss in pairs:
* There are some challenging words and phrases in this paragraph that we will work through later as we read the excerpt
closely, but what is the gist? What is your initial sense of what this paragraph is mostly about?
Select volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for students to explain that it is mostly about how William
Carlos Williams was a doctor who helped and took care of people. Note: The gist students suggest may vary; this is okay
since students will be coming to a more clear statement regarding the main idea of this paragraph after they have worked
with the paragraph much more extensively.
Invite students to write the gist on their Close Reading Questions and Notes sheet.
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Stop when you get to the note that indicates the end of the close reading of paragraph 1, STOP HERE: END OF LESSON 2.
* What new things do you know about William Carlos Williams? What key facts did you learn that you would share with
someone who has only read his poems?
Cold call students to share their responses. Record student responses in bullet points on the William Carlos Williams
anchor chart. Refer to the Authors Note if students suggest incorrect information.
Reread the learning targets:
* I can determine the gist of the first paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
* I can answer questions about the text in order to gain a deeper understanding of the life of William Carlos Williams.
* I can determine the main idea of the first paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
Ask students and ask them to turn to a new neighbor (different from their partner) and discuss the following prompt:
* How did closely reading this paragraph help you who William Carlos Williams was?
Give students a few minutes to discuss this prompt, then cold call a few students to share their conversations. Listen for
students to mention that the close reading of this paragraph helped them understand the kind of person William Carlos
Williams was (generous and kind).
Homework
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Authors Note:
A River of Words
Jen Bryant, A River of Words 2008 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission of the publisher; all rights reserved.
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6. How did William Carlos Williams help people during this time in
history?
STOP HERE
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10
10. In your own words, explain how William Carlos Williamss poetry
changed over time.
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11
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12
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13
6. Underline the sentence that you think contains the main idea in
this paragraph.
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14
Read the first student direction aloud and invite students to read
along silently in their heads.
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15
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
Cold call students to share their responses whole group. Listen for
students to call out this part of the text: He specialized in
pediatrics (care of children) and obstetrics (delivering
babies).
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16
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
Call out the commas in the sentence and explain how the commas
separate the most important information from the extra details.
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17
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
* How did William Carlos Williams help people during this time in
Cold call students to share the answers they recorded whole group.
Listen for students to explain: When many adults were
unemployed and could not afford to pay, William helped
them anyway. And he would help them by accepting
other gifts like a scarf or a jar of jam instead of money.
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18
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19
Read the first student direction aloud and invite students to read
along silently in their heads.
about?
Read the direction aloud and invite students to read along silently
in their heads.
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20
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
Call out the commas in the sentence and explain how the commas
separate the most important information from the extra details.
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21
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
Make sure students recognize that verses means poetry, and explain
that grand topics it means important, complicated topics like love
and death.
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22
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
inspired by? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
ordinary things?
So much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
can you see in The Red Wheelbarrow? Use evidence from the
Authors Note in your answer.
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23
Read the student direction aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
Cold call students to share their responses whole group. Listen for
students to explain that the prefix un means not, so
unnecessary details are details that are not necessary.
unnecessary details.
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24
this paragraph.
Remind students that the main idea is the point the author is trying
to make. Invite students to underline the sentence.
Cold call students to share their responses and ask them to justify
why they think that is the most important sentence. Listen for
students to explain that the most important sentence is the
one that begins with, But perhaps his most important
contribution to American poetry was his focus on
everyday objects because this sentence explains how
the poems of William Carlos Williams were different from
those of other poets.
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25
Ongoing Assessment
I can determine the gist of the second and third paragraphs of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
I can answer questions about the text in order to gain a deeper understanding of the life of William
Carlos Williams.
Word Wall
I can determine the main idea of the second paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
I can identify words specific to poetry and biographies about poets in the second and third paragraph of
the Authors Note in A River of Words.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson agenda follows a similar pattern to that of Lesson 2, yet in this lesson, students closely read
Paragraph 2 of the Authors Note.
Note that in the beginning of the close reading for this lesson, students read both paragraphs 2 and 3 for
gist, and then continue by closely reading paragraph 2 only. Students do not spend a lot of time focusing
on Paragraph 3, since the content of that paragraph is not nearly as complex. However, students do
hone in on vocabulary specific to poetry and biographies about poets in Paragraph 3 during the Closing
of the lesson. The class then records these vocabulary words and their definitions to build a Word Wall,
which will be used in the lessons throughout this unit. Students will likely encounter these words when
reading biographies about poets. Some of these words will be specific to poetry (rhyme, verse, etc.), but
others will more general to biographies about poets (publish, renown, awarded, etc.). Later in the unit,
students will be asked to draw on this Word Wall when writing essays as part of their performance task.
To build the Word Wall, students select words from the biographies they read in this lesson and in
Lesson 5. But be sure to review the lesson vocabulary so you can help students determine which words
go on the Word Wall using the following criteria: 1) The word is particular to poetry or poets; 2) the
word is likely to be encountered in reading biographies about poets.
In Lesson 6, students will take the mid-unit assessment, answering questions about a biography of a
new poet. They must use evidence from the text to answer questions, make inferences, and find the
main idea. To identify any students requiring additional work on any of these skills before the
assessment, collect students completed Close Reading Questions and Notes: Authors Note the end of
this lesson. Briefly look through their work and find time to provide feedback and guidance in Lessons 4
and 5.
How you organize your Word Wall is up to you. Options include:
Use a part of your classroom wall; pin words and definitions recorded on strips of paper large enough
to be seen all around the classroom.
Use a piece of chart paper and record the words and definitions directly onto the paper.
Use a corner of your whiteboard for the duration of the unit.
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Agenda
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
A. Engaging the Reader: What Did We Learn about William Carlos Williams? (5 minutes)
Invite students to pair up with the same partner they worked with in the previous lesson.
Have students get out their copies of the Authors Note: A River of Words and display a copy of your own with a
document camera. Ask them to read along silently as you read the first paragraph of the text aloud.
Ask students to discuss with their partner:
* What new information did you learn about William Carlos Williams from the first paragraph of the Authors Note?
Select volunteers to share their responses. Students may have any number of responses here. Encourage them to point out
where the information in they learned in the text.
Remind students that yesterday they determined the main idea of this paragraph after reading it closely.
Ask students to discuss with their partner:
* What was the main idea of the paragraph? What kind of person was William Carlos Williams?
Cold call students to share their responses. Listen for students to explain that he was a good man who helped the sick even
when they couldnt afford to pay him.
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Opening (continued)
* I can determine the gist of the second and third paragraphs of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
* I can answer questions about the text in order to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning, structure and language.
* I can determine the main idea of the second paragraph of the Authors Note in A River of Words.
* I can identify words specific to poetry and biographies about poets in the second and third paragraph of the Authors
Note in A River of Words..
Read aloud the first learning target and ask students to turn to a neighbor and answer the following question:
* What do you think this phrase means? Can you think of an examples words specific to poetry and biographies about
poets?
Ask for volunteers to suggest ideas. Listen for students to mention that these are words like the ones the class recorded on
the What Makes a Poem a Poem anchor chart.
Explain to students that in this unit, they will read biographies of poets so they will encounter some of the same words
related to poetry and poets in these texts, but they will also learn new words that are specific to biographies about poets; they
will collect these words to use later during the essay component for their performance task.
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Work Time
Reread the Authors Note: A River of Words aloud all the way through without stopping as students read along silently in
their heads.
Remind students that this is a complex text with some challenging vocabulary, so they are closely reading it in sections.
Today they are going to focus on the second and third paragraphs.
Have students turn to the third page of their Close Reading Questions and Notes. Tell students that the first thing they will
do is reread the second and third paragraphs to find the gist. Remind them that, unlike determining the main idea of a
paragraph, which requires close reading, determining the gist is simply getting an initial sense of what the text is mostly
about.
Reread the second paragraph aloud for students. Ask them to discuss in pairs:
* There are some challenging words and phrases in this paragraph that we will work through later as we read the excerpt
closely, but what is the gist? What is your initial sense of what this second paragraph is mostly about?
Select volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for students to state something like that it is mostly about
William Carlos Williams style of poetry. Note: The gist that students suggest may vary; this is okay since students will be
revisiting the main idea of this paragraph after spending much more time working with paragraph 2.
Invite students to write the gist on their question sheet.
Repeat with the third paragraph. Listen for students to state something like that the third paragraph is mostly about how
William Carlos Williams had a lot of his writing published and is an influential American poet.
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* After reading these paragraphs, do you have any new ideas about what inspired William Carlos Williams to write
poetry?
Cold call students to share their responses. Listen for students to share the he was inspired by traditional English poets,
everyday objects such as fire trucks, cats, and flowerpots, and the lives of common people. (Clarify traditional English
poets if need be).
Invite students to refer to their answers on the Close Reading Questions and Notes sheet, and ask:
* What new things do you know about William Carlos Williams? What key facts did you find out about him that you would
share with someone who has never heard of him?
Cold call students to share their responses. Record student responses in bullet points on the William Carlos Williams
anchor chart. Refer to the Authors Note if students suggest incorrect information.
Invite students to refer to their answers on the Close Reading Questions and Notes sheet, and ask:
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Tell students that they are going to make a Word Wall of words related to poetry and biographies about poets. Explain that
these are words they will likely encounter again in their reading, and words they will likely use the essays they will write as
part of the performance task.
Briefly review the literary terms on the What Makes a Poem a Poem? anchor chart to give students some examples of
these types of words. Tell them that they may see some of these same words in the text, but that they will also see some new
words that are specific to biographies about poets.
Ask students to look again at Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Authors Note. Ask them:
Homework
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Ongoing Assessment
Exit ticket
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students are introduced to biographies of their selected poets. Students will work in a new
poet group of three or four, based on the poet they selected. (Depending on your class size, you may
have as many as three or four groups for a given poet). In these poet groups, students will read the
biography for gist and then answer text-dependent questions, giving them an opportunity to gain a
deeper understanding of the texts meaning.
If you have a single student in your class who was the only one to select a particular poet, place this
student in a group reading about a different poet. Students will still be able to support one another since
the task for each text is similar.
The Gist recording forms and text-dependent questions are specific for the biography of each poet;
however, the directions are the same for all students.
The Walter Dean Myers biography isnt paragraphed in the same way the other two are. Therefore, on
the Poetry Gist recording form: Walter Dean Myers, the text has been broken into sections. Consider
marking each section on the text to help students record the gist.
Most of the unfamiliar vocabulary in the biographies cannot be understood from context. Because
students read their biographies in groups (rather than during whole-group instruction guided by the
teacher in this lesson), definitions have been called out in the text-dependent questions when unfamiliar
vocabulary is necessary to understanding the text and answering the questions.
The lesson opens with a Carousel of Poets. Use the biographies of poets included in this lesson and the
poems by those poets that students studied in Unit 2 to create a gallery of nine resources. The purpose
of this carousel is to pique students interest in the lives of their poets prior to reading the biographies.
For more information, see the In advance section below.
In advance:
Make a list of which poet each student has selected and post this for students. This way if students
become confused at the end of the Carousel of Poets, you can guide them to which poet they chose.
On the Walter Dean Myers biography, mark sections of text according to the Poetry Gist recording
form: Walter Dean Myers.
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Agenda
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
biography
Valerie Worth (October 29, 1933 July 31, 1994) (one per student in Valerie Worth group(s))
Finding Your Voice (one per student in Walter Dean Myers group(s))
Biography of Poet Gist recording form (one pertaining to the selected poet per student)
Biography of Poet Gist recording form (answers, for teacher reference)
Biography of Poet Text-Dependent Questions (one pertaining to the selected poet per student)
Biography of Poet Text-Dependent Questions (answers, for teacher reference)
Exit ticket (one per student)
Homework: Further Questions (one per student)
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Opening
Display and distribute Carousel of Poets note-catcher. Read through the headings on the note-catcher and explain that
students will record the name of the resource in the first column and their notices and/or likes in the second column.
Model this with one of the resources. Provide students with ideas of things they may like; for example, vivid words or rhyme.
Tell students that they should record a notice and/or like for each of the resources they visit.
Give students 5 minutes to circulate and make notes.
Refocus whole group and invite volunteers to share one of their notices/likes with the whole group.
Invite students to go and stand next to their selected poet poster.
Invite the poet group to discuss:
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Opening (continued)
* What is a biography?
Cold call students to share their responses. Listen for the definition of biography as the story of someones life written by
someone else.
Invite students to read the second learning target with you.
Tell students that today they will read biographies of their selected poets.
Invite them to read the third learning target with you and remind them that the main idea is the point the author is trying to
make.
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Work Time
Refer to the Biography of Poet Text-Dependent Questions (answers, for teacher reference) for each poets
biography as you circulate to guide students.
Collect student work at the end of the allocated time for informal assessment. See Teaching Notes for more information.
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Distribute Homework: Further Questions. Read the directions aloud for students.
Homework
After reading your poets biography, record two questions you now have about your poet.
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Notices or Likes
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Notices or Likes
10
Robert Frost
(March 26, 1874 January 29, 1963)
11
Valerie Worth
(October 29, 1933 July 31, 1994)
By Jayson Fleischer and Megan Roszkowski. Copyright 2014 by the American Reading Company
Copyright American Reading Company 2014
12
Copyright Scholastic Inc. Used by permission and not subject to Creative Commons
license.
13
From Scholastic News, April 4, 2005. Copyright 2005 by Scholastic Inc. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic Inc.
Copyright Scholastic Inc. Used by permission and not subject to Creative Commons
license.
14
Gist (what is your initial sense of what the paragraph is mostly about?)
1.
2.
3.
4.
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15
Gist (what is your initial sense of what the paragraph is mostly about?)
1.
2.
3.
4.
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16
Directions:
1. Read the biography all the way through as a group. Decide who will read which paragraphs aloud as the rest
of the group follows along silently.
2. Work together as a group to find the gist of each paragraph.
3. Record the gist of each paragraph on your Biography of Poet Gist recording form.
Section
Gist (what is your initial sense of what this section is mostly about?)
1. Up to, it would
officially be
considered a
poem.
2. Giving Voice to
Many
3. Poetry Today
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17
Gist (what is your initial sense of what the paragraph is mostly about?)
1.
Robert Frost was born in California in 1874 and had published his first
poem in his high school magazine. He got married, but never graduated
from college.
2.
He was inspired by the countryside and wrote many poems on the farm
that he and Elinor bought. They moved to England where he had a book
published, but headed back to the United States after World War I broke
out.
3.
When Frost was alive, poetry was changing from traditional poetry to
modern poetry. Frost was neither traditional nor modern.
4.
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18
Paragraph
Number
Gist (what is your initial sense of what the paragraph is mostly about?)
1.
2.
Worth read some of her poems to a group that included author and
illustrator Natalie Babbitt. Natalie sent Valeries poems to her publisher,
and she and Valerie became such good friends that Natalie illustrated
Valeries first published book of poetry.
3.
Valerie Worth loved nature and wrote simple free-verse poems about
nature, ordinary events, and objects.
4.
Valerie and her husband had three children and published many books
that were illustrated by Natalie Babbitt. She received an award for her
poetry and died in 1994.
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19
5. Giving Voice to
Many
6. Poetry Today
Gist (what is your initial sense of what this section is mostly about?)
Walter Dean Myers had difficulty speaking, but he found poetry
helped him to speak because the rhyme and rhythm helped him and
he chose words he could pronounce easily.
Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem in New York City and uses
poetry to show the beauty of the city.
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
1. A speech impediment is a
when someone has
difficulty speaking. How
did poetry help Walter
Dean Myers with his
speech impediment?
2. When it says he used
poetry to give the
community, including
kids, a voice, what do
you think that means?
25
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26
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27
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28
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29
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30
Exit Ticket
Name:
Date:
Directions: List three important things you now know about the life of your poet.
1.
2.
3.
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31
1.
2.
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32
Ongoing Assessment
I can identify important events and ideas about the life of my poet.
I can identify words specific to poetry and biographies about poets )in my selected poets biography).
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students continue building expertise about their selected poet. They identify the most
important events and information in their poets biography. Because this can be a complex thing for
students, it is first modeled with Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the William Carlos Williams text. Emphasize to
students that they are to look for and identify key events rather than additional details.
Students also add words relating to poetry and biographies about poets to the Word Wall. These words
are selected by students from the texts they read, but teachers should guide students in determining
which words go on the Word Wall. Review the vocabulary listed in the Lesson Vocabulary section of this
lesson and help students select words for the Word Wall using the following criteria: 1) The word is
particular to poetry 2) the word is likely to be encountered in reading biographies of poets.
Lesson 6 includes the mid-unit assessment. In Lesson 4, you collected students work, so now be
prepared to provide feedback and guidance to those students who struggled with using evidence to
answer questions either with inferring from details in the text or with finding the main idea.
In advance:
Read the biographies and determine which information/events you would identify as the most
important so you are prepared to ask probing questions to guide to students.
Post: Learning targets.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Biographies of selected poets (from Lesson 4; one of their selected poet per student):
Opening
Remind them that in the previous lesson, they read a biography of their selected poet. Ask students to discuss in groups:
* How did reading and answering questions about the biography help you build knowledge about the life of your poet?
Select volunteers to share their responses. Listen for students to explain that the biography contained important facts and
information that helped them build knowledge and an understanding of the life of their selected poet. Answering questions
about the biography encouraged them to read the text more closely in order to gain a greater understanding of the important
life events of the poet, particularly in relation to his or her writing.
Invite students to refer to the questions they should have recorded on their Homework: Further Questions (from Lesson 4)
to share those questions with their group.
Explain that the biographies of poets are brief and only outline the main events of their poets life, but when you begin to
learn about something or someone, it often raises questions that make you want to dig deeper and learn more. Emphasize
that later in the unit, students will be exploring more resources to learn more about their selected poet, so some of their
questions may be answered then.
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Opening (continued)
* I can identify important events and ideas about the life of my poet.
* I can identify words specific to poetry and biographies about poets (in my selected poets biography).
Invite students to read the first learning target with you. Focus students attention on the William Carlos Williams
anchor chart and remind them that in the first three lessons of the unit, they practiced collecting important facts about the
life and poetry of William Carlos Williams on the anchor chart. Explain that now they will gather important facts about the
life of their poet.
Invite students to read the second learning target with you. Draw students attention to the Word Wall and ask students to
discuss with their group:
* Which words from our Word Wall do you think you may see in the biography of your poet, and why?
Cold call students to share their responses. Tell students that they will be adding to the Word Wall today because they will
focus on words related to poetry and biographies about poets in the biographies they began reading during Lesson 4.
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Work Time
Explain that they are to imagine they have only 30 seconds to tell someone who doesnt know anything about their poet the
most important things to give them a good idea of what happened in his or her life.
Model this, with the help of the class, with the Authors Note: A River of Words. Display a copy and invite students to
retrieve their copies of the Authors Note to help you.
Reread the first paragraph aloud and invite students to read silently in their heads. Ask students to discuss in groups:
* What do you think is the most important information in this paragraph? If you only had a short time to tell someone
about William Carlos Williams, which information in this paragraph would you pick out to share? Why?
Select volunteers to share their responses. Listen for students to identify the following:
He was a family doctor in New Jersey for more than 40 years.
During the Great Depression, when people couldnt afford to pay him, he helped them anyway.
Listen for students to explain that this information is the most important to pick out because it explains what he did for a job
and what he was like as a person. The other information in the paragraph includes less important details about how he did
his job.
Underline that important information on the displayed Authors Note.
Repeat with the next paragraph. Listen for students to identify the following: 1) he always made time for poetry, 2) he
developed his own distinctive style in which he used shorter lines, brief stanzas, and little or no punctuation, and 3) he
focused on everyday objects. Again, that information explains what anyone would need to know about his poetry, while the
other information includes less important details.
Display and distribute the Important Events and Information note-catcher. Model collecting those underlined facts
on the organizer.
Invite students to retrieve their biographies of selected poets from the previous lesson.
Explain that they are now going to work as a group to identify the most important information in their poets biographies.
Read the directions at the top of the Important Events and Information note-catcher aloud and invite students to read along
silently in their heads.
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Invite students to work in groups, reading one paragraph of their poets biographies at a time to discuss and highlight
vocabulary:
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Homework
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10
Ongoing Assessment
I can use evidence from the Nikki Giovanni biography to answer questions.
I can determine the main idea of an excerpt of the Nikki Giovanni biography.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson is the mid-unit assessment. Students will work independently to find the gist and answer
questions about the text. They will be assessed on their mastery of using evidence to answer questions,
make inferences, and identify the main idea of an excerpt of text. Ensure the room is organized for
students to work independently.
The assessment text is about Nikki Giovanni, a poet and author who also was very involved in the civil
rights movement. After the assessment, you may wish to briefly discuss the civil rights movement in
order to give students the opportunity to ask questions provoked by the text and to ensure there are no
misconceptions about it.
Use the answer key provided and the Grade 4 2-point Short Response Rubric (found at
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade-4-ela-guide.pdf) to assess
student work. Be sure to review results of this assessment with students prior to Lesson 12 (End of Unit
Assessment, Part 1). Note that any students who struggle on this assessment may need additional
support during planning of their poet essay in Lessons 8 and 9 so they can gather the appropriate
biographical information for their essay.
In advance:
Read the mid-unit assessment text and questions to familiarize yourself with what is required of
students.
Post: Learning targets.
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Nikki Giovanni (assessment text; one per student)
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Answering Questions about a Biography (one per student)
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Answering Questions about a Biography (answers, for teacher reference)
Grade 4 2-Point Short Response Rubric (found at
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/grade-4-ela-guide.pdf)
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Opening
* How have the biographies you have read so far helped you answer this question for William Carlos Williams and your
selected poet?
Select volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for students to explain that the biographies often describe
directly how/why they started writing poetry and what inspired them.
B. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)
Focus students attention on the learning targets:
* I can use evidence from the Nikki Giovanni biography to answer questions.
* I can determine the main idea of an excerpt of the Nikki Giovanni biography.
Invite students to read the first learning target with you. Explain that Nikki Giovanni is a poet. Remind students that they
have been using evidence from biographies to answer questions throughout the first half of the unit.
Invite students to read the second learning target with you. Remind them that the main idea is the point the author is trying
to make and that they have also been doing this with the biographies they have read throughout the first half of the unit.
Make it clear to students that this is an assessment, so students will be doing this independently rather than in groups, as
they did earlier in the unit. Emphasize that they have had plenty of practice with the biographies they have read.
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Work Time
Read through the directions at the top of the recording form aloud and invite students to read along silently.
Invite students to ask any questions about the directions and what they are expected to do.
Invite students to begin.
Circulate to answer any questions students may have about the process, but avoid answering questions about the text or the
assessment questions.
Congratulate students on their persistence and hard work and collect the assessments. Grade using the Mid-Unit 3
Assessment: Answering Questions about a Biography (answers, for teacher reference) and the Grade 4 2Point Short Response Rubric.
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Continue to practice reading aloud both your inspired poem and the selected poem from your poet that inspired you. .
Continue reading your independent reading book.
Note: Any students who struggle on this assessment may need additional support during planning of their poet essay in
Lessons 8 and 9 so they can gather the appropriate biographical information for their essay.
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Nikki Giovanni
(Assessment Text)
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment:
Answering Questions about a Biography
Name:
Date:
Learning Targets Assessed
I can use evidence from the Nikki Giovanni biography to answer questions.
I can determine the main idea of an excerpt of the Nikki Giovanni biography.
Directions:
1. Read the text about Nikki Giovanni silently in your head carefully.
2. Read the questions carefully.
3. Refer to the text to find the answers.
4. Where possible, use evidence from the text in your answers.
Question
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Mid-Unit 3 Assessment:
Answering Questions about a Biography
Question
Reread the first paragraph.
4. What else does Nikki
Giovanni do for work as
well as writing poetry?
Circle the correct answer
and record evidence from
the text to support your
answer.
a.
Nikki wrote novels to help her express her emotions about her
life experiences.
b.
c.
Nikki wrote poetry to help her express her emotions about her
life experiences.
d.
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Mid-Unit 3 Assessment:
Answering Questions about a Biography
Question
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10
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11
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12
Nikki wrote novels to help her express her emotions about her
life experiences.
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13
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14
Ongoing Assessment
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson signals a shift from reading and research about students selected poets to part 2 of their
performance task: an essay about their selected poet.
In this lesson, students revisit the Performance Task anchor chart begun in Unit 2, Lesson 8. Before the
lesson, add parts 2 and 3 to the anchor chart (see supporting materials) and then cover those new parts
with another sheet of chart paper. Thus, students can focus on each part as they are addressed in the
lesson.
In this lesson, students read and analyze a model essay to determine its characteristics and with teacher
guidance answer the question: What makes a strong essay? This essay is about poet Arnold Adoff, a
poet whose poem Street Music students read during Unit 1 as they read Love That Dog. Since
students are already somewhat familiar with Adoff, they can more easily focus on the structure and
qualities that make it the model essay strong.. Note that during Work Time A, students analyze the
content of the essay; then during Work Time B, they analyze the craft.
As students analyze the model essay, they will share what they think makes it strong, referring to
specific examples from the model. Be sure to note what students articulate as features of a strong essay.
This will provide valuable formative assessment information for Lessons 812, when students will learn
how to plan and write their own essays based on the model essay.
In Work Time C, you model reading a poem aloud clearly (with understandable pace and volume). Then
students practice reading their original inspired poems aloud clearly with a partner. They continue to
practice reading aloud clearly for an audience for homework. Then in Lesson 10, students will focus on
reading aloud with expression as well. Research shows that modeled fluent reading is a key component
to building students own fluency skills. Select a poem for modeling that students are familiar with: one
by one of the famous poets in the back of Love That Dog, or another poem that students all read at some
point in the module.
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Agenda
Add Parts 2 and 3 to the Performance Task anchor chartsee the completed version in the
supporting materials. Then cover both new parts with a piece of paper.
Post: Learning targets, Performance Task anchor chart, Guiding Questions anchor chart.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
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Work Time
Invite students to sit with their poet group. Distribute a copy of the Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff to each
student. Ask them to listen and read silently along as you read the essay aloud.
Ask students to turn to their group and discuss the gist of the essay (their first impression of what the essay is mostly about).
After a few minutes, cold call a few students to share their ideas. Listen for students to say that the essay is about Arnold
Adoff and how his writing inspired the person who wrote the essay.
Next, tell students that they will now read the essay more closely. Draw their attention to the Close Readers Do These
Things anchor chart. Remind them of the strategies they have been practicing throughout the year. Explain that the
purpose of this particular close read will be to use this essay as a model for their own writing by determining the qualities of
a strong essay. Tell students that first they must be sure they understand what the essay is about.
Ask students to reread the essay aloud with their group, taking turns with each paragraph. Have them circle any words or
phrases they find confusing.
After 5 minutes, call on students to share unfamiliar words or confusing phrases in the text. Students may circle the
following vocabulary: anthology and shaped speech. Help students determine the meaning of unfamiliar or challenging
words and phrases through context or simply give them the meanings. For example:
Anthologys meaning can be determined from the context of the essay as a book featuring a collection of poems by
different authors. (Consider adding this word to the Word Wall). .
Shaped speech is defined in the text as words that run together or are broken apart.
Tell students that the next step will be to annotate the essay for what they notice about it..
Briefly model annotating in the notes section to the left of the Model Essay for students and ask them to annotate their
essays along with you. Be sure that this modeling shows students how to annotate, but allows them to do the most of the
thinking later when they are ask to do their own annotations for what they notice about the model. For example, you might
do the following:
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Say, I notice this essay has three paragraphs, then number the paragraphs.
Say, I know that the first part of an essay is called an introduction, the middle is called the body, and the last part is
called the conclusion, then label each paragraph using these terms.
Reread the first paragraph, then think aloud: I notice this paragraph explains what the essay is about. Then add a note
next to the paragraph in box to the right of the essay This paragraph tells what the essay is about: Arnold Adoff is a poet
whose writing inspired the author of this essay.
Tell students to take about 4 or 5 minutes reread the body paragraph by whisper reading it aloud with their groups and then
discuss the following:
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Tell students that now that they have read the essay a little more closely and know what each paragraph is about, they are
ready to consider what makes it a strong essay.
Ask students to reread the essay and then discuss the following with their groups and annotate their notes in the boxes to the
right of the essay:
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Work Time
Focus students attention on the Performance Task anchor chart. Reread the last sentence of the prompt, Afterward,
present your work in a Poets Performance by reading aloud a selected poem by your poet, sharing your essay, and reading
aloud your own inspired poem aloud to students. Clarify for students that their Inspired Poems are the ones they wrote in
Unit 2 and that their Selected Poems are the poems by their selected poet (Robert Frost, Walter Dean Myers or Valerie
Worth) that inspired them to write their poem.
Tell students that in order to prepare for this Poets Performance they will have to practice reading their poems aloud. Then
uncover part 3 and read this portion of the anchor chart aloud to students.
Remind students that they have been practicing their fluent reading skills throughout the module when they read poems
from Love That Dog aloud. Point out to students that they will be expected to present their poems and essay
Read the first bullet under Part 3 on the anchor chart, Be sure to read clearly.
Underline the word clearly. Ask students:
Tell students that today they will focus on this first bullet and that they will focus on the second bullet, Be sure to read with
expression in a later lesson.
Read the poem (from the back of Love That Dog) aloud to the class twiceonce slowly and clearly, and once quickly
and softly.
Ask students to discuss with their group:
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Invite to get out their poetry journals and turn to the inspired poem they wrote for part 1 of the performance task. Ask
students to spend 5 minutes practicing reading their poem aloud slowly and clearly.
Circulate to provide students with guidance on how to improve their pace and volume as they read their poetry read aloud.
After 5 minutes, invite students to pair up to read their poem aloud to another student.
Circulate to note which students may need additional support reading aloud clearly.
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10
Reread the learning targets and ask students to use the Thumb-O-Meter Checking for Understanding technique to indicate
their progress toward these targets. Tell students they will have more time over the course of the next several lessons to
make further progress toward these targets.
Draw students attention to the Guiding Questions anchor chart and read the second guiding question:
* How did the poet you selected inspire you to write the poem you read at the beginning of the lesson?
Give students a few minutes to discuss with their groups. Circulate and listen to students responses to this question.
Discussion of this question will help students think about how they have been inspired by their selected poet. This will
support students in the planning of the essays in the next two lessons.
Distribute the Performance Task Poems sheet for homework. Clarify the homework as needed (you may need to review
the location of poems (students original poems should be in their poetry journals in the My Poems section and the poems
that inspired their original poem will either be located in the back of Love That Dog or as a loose sheet see Unit 2, Lesson
9).
Homework
On the Performance Task Poems sheet, copy both your selected poem (the poem written by Robert Frost, Walter Dean
Myers, or Valerie Worth that inspired you) and your original inspired poem.
Practice reading both of these poems aloud (to a friend, family member, or in front of a mirror)..
Note: Review Lessons 812 and determine where students may need more or less modeling or support based on their
performance in Work Time B.
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11
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13
Model Essay:
Inspired by Arnold Adoff
Model Essay
Notes
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14
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15
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16
Ongoing Assessment
I can collaborate with my peers to plan an introduction for an essay about William Carlos Williams that
introduces the topic.
I can collaborate with my peers to plan a conclusion for an essay about William Carlos Williams that
describes how he has inspired me.
I can plan an introduction for an essay about my poet that introduces the topic.
I can plan a conclusion for an essay about my poet that describes how she or he has inspired me.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students begin to plan their essays about their selected poet. They plan the introduction
and conclusion together, because these two paragraphs are both about how the poet inspired them.
Students first participate in shared planning of an essay about William Carlos Williams. You will model
using the graphic organizer and the thinking process behind planning an introduction and conclusion.
Students move on to plan the introduction and conclusion of their essay about their own poet. (They will
plan their body paragraph in Lesson 9.)
If your students need additional support or a slower pace for shared and independent planning,
consider dividing this lesson into two segments. If you do this, make the first segment both shared
planning and then independent planning of the introduction (so students move seamlessly from the
teacher modeling to their application). Then the second segment (perhaps the following day) would
focus on both the teacher modeling and independent planning of the conclusion.
This pattern of shared writing (about William Carlos Williams) followed by students independent
writing of essays about their selected poets will repeat across lessons up through Lesson 12 (the End of
Unit 3 Assessment, Part 1). You will model the planning process in Lessons 8 and 9, and then model
writing the introduction, body, and concluding paragraphs in Lessons 10, 11, and 12. The End of Unit
Assessment, Part 1, is based on students independent writing of the conclusion of their own essay about
their selected poet. This pattern of shared writing followed by independent application allows for
explicit and scaffolded writing instruction that meets all aspects of W.4.2. Later, in Module 4, students
will be expected to write another expository essay with fewer scaffolds to demonstrate a full mastery of
W.4.2.
The Performance Task rubric is introduced in this lesson. Students read through the parts of the rubric
pertaining to the introduction and conclusion to understand what is expected of their work. These parts
of the rubric are linked very closely to the lessons learning targets.
In advance:
Review: Mix and Mingle and Fist to Five Checking for Understanding techniques (see Appendix).
Select music for the Mix and Mingle that can be played softly in the background without distracting
students from the read-aloud of their poems. Consider using music without lyrics, such as classical or
jazz.
Post: Learning targets.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
criteria
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Opening
Has an introduction that introduces the topic and engages the reader
Has a body paragraph with biographical information about the poet and explains how this person became a poet
Has a conclusion that revisits the topic and wraps up the essay
Is neat and has little or no errors in conventions
Tell students that today they will plan the introduction and conclusion of their essays. Read aloud the bullet points related to
introductions and conclusions on the Performance Task anchor chart.
Focus students attention on the learning targets:
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Opening (continued)
* I can collaborate with my peers to plan an introduction for an essay about William Carlos Williams that introduces the
topic.
* I can collaborate with my peers to plan a conclusion for an essay about William Carlos Williams that describes how he
has inspired me.
* I can plan an introduction for an essay about my poet that introduces the topic.
* I can plan a conclusion for an essay about my poet that describes how he has inspired me.
Invite students to read the first and second learning targets with you. Remind students of the model essay they read about
Arnold Adoff in the previous lesson and explain that they will use this essay as a model for how to write an introduction and
conclusion for their essays. Explain that they will begin the lesson by working together as a whole group to plan the
introduction and conclusion of an essay about William Carlos Williams, then they will plan the introduction and conclusion
for their own essay.
Display and distribute the Performance Task rubric and explain that student essays and their presentation during the
Poets Performance will be assessed using this rubric. Show students the essay portion of the rubric as well as the
presentation portion of the rubric. Point out the column headed Criteria. Explain that criteria are what students need to
include in their essay and presentation. Point out that these criteria are written as learning targets. Go on to explain that
just like the learning targets students have used during lessons, these learning targets tell them what they will learn in order
to write their essay and present their poems.
Point out the columns to the right of the Criteria heading, Meets,, Partially Meets, and Does Not Meet. Explain that
each of these columns describe the criteria for students to meet (partially meet or do not meet) a particular learning target.
Then focus students on the first row under the Ideas and Evidence heading in the essay portion of the rubric. Invite them
to read the criteria aloud with you.
Then focus students on the content of the Meets column and invite them to read the criteria in that column aloud with you.
Tell them this is what is expected of their introductions, so when planning their introduction, they must keep this in mind.
Focus students on third row of the Ideas and Evidence heading. Invite them to read the criteria aloud with you.
Once again, focus students on the content of the Meets column and invite them to read the criteria in that column aloud
with you.
Tell them this is what is expected of their conclusion, so when planning their conclusion, they must keep this in mind.
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Work Time
A. Shared Planning: Introduction and Conclusion of the William Carlos Williams Essay (20 minutes)
Invite students to sit in the poet groups they sat in for the work they did on their selected poet biographies.
Select a student to reread the essay prompt for the whole group at the top of the organizer.
Distribute a new blank copy of the Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (from Lesson 7) and display a copy using
a document camera. Invite a volunteer to reread the introductory paragraph.
Remind students that in the previous lesson, they noticed that this essays introduction engaged the reader and introduced
the topic. Record the following note in the box to the right of the introduction see the Annotated Model Essay:
Inspired by Arnold Adoff (for teacher reference) and ask students to copy these notes no their copies as well:
Introduction:
Engages the reader and introduces the topic
Ask students to answer the following question after rereading the paragraph silently to themselves and then holding up
figures to indicate their answers:
* Which sentence in the introduction paragraph introduces the topic of the essay: Sentence 1, 2, 3 or 4?
Look for students to hold up four fingers, indicating the last sentence of the paragraph: His vivid descriptions of sound have
inspired me to write my own poetry about the music of my backyard. Read this sentence aloud and then underline this
sentence in the model and ask students to do the same in their own copies. Point out how this sentence begins to address the
essay prompt by clearly stating the topic: a poet that inspired you. Have students underline this phrase in the essay prompt
at the top of the model.
Next, ask students to turn to a partner in their poet groups and discuss the following question:
Remind students that to practice the planning process before they plan their own essays, they will work together as a class to
plan an essay about William Carlos Williams.
Tell students that strong writers use details and examples in their writing. Explain that they can do this by using their notes
from their biography reading, as well as their selected poem.
Tell students that the poem that you have selected by William Carlos Williams is The Great Figure. Display and reread this
poem aloud.
Then remind students that the other source they will draw on when writing their introduction for the William Carlos
Williams essay will be the William Carlos Williams anchor chart where the class took their notes from his biography.
Focus students on the essay planner and ask them to discuss the prompt in the box for the introduction paragraph plan.
* What might we write to answer this first prompt: Who is the poet that inspired you most as a writer and why?
Select volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for students to explain that it would be something like:
William Carlos Williams inspired me to write about ordinary things.
Record a response on the displayed organizer. See Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos
Williams example (completed, for teacher reference).
Focus students on the second prompt in the introduction box of the organizer, Ideas for introducing the topic to my reader.
Ask students each of the following questions with their group. After each question cold call students to share their ideas.
Record appropriate ideas on the displayed organizer. See Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos
Williams example (completed, for teacher reference):
* What ideas do you have for how you might introduce the idea of writing about ordinary things?
* What ordinary things did William Carlos Williams write about?
* What specific example could we include here from our selected poem?
Invite students to reread the concluding paragraph on the Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff and follow a similar
process for planning the conclusion as they just did for the introduction. Be sure to do the following:
Revisit the bullet for a conclusion from the Performance Task anchor chart and the criteria for conclusion on the
Performance Task Rubric.
Reread the conclusion of the Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff.
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Annotate next to this paragraph with a note explaining that strong conclusions, Revisit the topic and wrap the essay (see
the Annotated Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (for teacher reference)
Point out how specific examples from the selected poem are used in the model.
Use the box for planning a conclusion on the Poet Essay Prompt/Planner to co-construct a plan for the William Carlos
Williams essay conclusionsee the Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams example
(completed, for teacher reference).
B. Planning: Introduction and Conclusion of Selected Poet Essay (20 minutes)
Explain that students will do exactly the same thing to plan the introduction and conclusion of the essay about their selected
poet.
Distribute a Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer to each student.
Invite students to retrieve the biography of their selected poet (from Lesson 4):
Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 January 29, 1963)
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* How well do you think you have done at achieving the learning targets?
Read through the first learning target again. Invite students to show a Fist to Five for how well they think they achieved that
targeta fist being not at all and a five being very well.
Repeat with the remaining targets.
Homework
Practice reading your Selected Poem and your Inspired Poem aloud clearly (to a friend, family member, or in front of a
mirror).
Continue reading your independent reading book.
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Meets
Partially Meets
My introduction clearly
introduces my poet.
My introduction
somewhat clearly
introduces my poet.
My introduction does
not clearly introduce
my poet.
I can develop a
conclusion that revisits
the topic and wraps up
the essay. (W.4.2e)
My conclusion explains
how I was inspired by
my poet using specific
details.
My conclusion explains
how I was inspired by
my poet, but has no
specific details.
Organization
I can use linking words
to connect ideas in my
essay (W.4.2c)
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11
Meets
Partially Meets
I sometimes speak
clearly; I speak too
quickly or slowly in
some parts; my listener
has some difficulty
understanding parts of
my presentation.
Word Choice
I can use words specific
to poetry and
biographies to inform
my reader about my
poets life. (W.4.2d,
L.4.3)
Conventions
I can use conventions
so my writing is clear
and understandable.
(L.4.2a, L.4.2c, L.4.2d,
L.4.3b)
POETRY PERFORMANCE
Speaking and Listening
I can speak clearly and
at an understandable
pace. (SL.4.4)
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12
Notes
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Introduction (Lesson 8)
Engages the reader and introduces
the topic (Lesson 8)
Opens with a question to engage the
reader (Lesson 10)
Introduces the poet (Lesson 10)
Explains how the Adoffs poems
inspired the author (Lesson 10)
Body (All notes below added in Lesson
9)
Has biographical information about
the poet and explains how this
person became a poet
Where and when he was born
What made him start writing poetry
His jobs/career
Facts about family
His style of poetry
When first he first published
Awards he received
Events listed in chronological order
(Lesson 11)
13
Notes
Conclusion (Lesson 8)
Has a conclusion that revisits the
topic and wraps up the essay
(Lesson 8)
Revisits poem in intro (Lesson 12)
Quotes words used in the poem
(Lesson 12)
Describes how the poem inspired the
author (Lesson 12)
Leaves the reader with a final thought
(Lesson 12)
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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20
Ongoing Assessment
I can collaborate with my peers to plan the biographical body paragraph for an essay about William
Carlos Williams that uses facts and details.
I can plan the biographical body paragraph for an essay about my poet that uses facts and details.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students continue to plan their essays. They plan the body paragraph, which is the
paragraph that includes biographical information about their selected poet.
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As in the previous lesson, students begin by doing shared planning for an essay about William Carlos
Williams. You again model using the graphic organizer and the thinking process, this time regarding
planning the body paragraph. Students then move on to plan the body paragraph of their own essay \
sitting with their poet groups for support.
To ensure students have all of the information about their poet that they need to write a biographical
body paragraph, they also read a timeline of their poets life. This is first modeled with William Carlos
Williams, based on the timeline at the back of A River of Words. Then, students are given timelines of
their own poets to collect any additional facts and information they might want to include in their body
paragraph.
Throughout this lesson, students refer to the rubric to be sure their plans will help them meet the
assessment standards.
In advance:
Review: Concentric Circles protocol (see Appendix).
Post: Learning targets.
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Performance Task anchor chart (from Lesson 7)
Performance Task rubric (from Lesson 8; one per student and one for display)
Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (from Lesson 7; students own copies and one for modeling)
Annotated Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (for teacher reference; from Lesson 8)
Document camera
Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams (begun during teacher modeling in Lesson 8; one
for display)
Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams example (completed, for teacher reference; from
Lesson 8)
William Carlos Williams anchor chart (begun in Lesson 1)
Biographical timelines of selected poets:
Robert Frost (one per student in the Robert Frost poet group(s))
Walter Dean Myers (one per student in the Walter Dean Myers poet group(s))
Valerie Worth (one per student in the Valerie Worth poet group(s))
Important Events and Information note-catcher (begun in Lesson 5; one per student)
Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer (begun in Lesson 8; students own)
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Opening
* I can collaborate with my peers to plan the biographical body paragraph for an essay about William Carlos Williams that
uses facts and details.
* I can plan the biographical body paragraph for an essay about my poet that uses facts and details.
Invite students to read the first learning target with you. Ask students to discuss with their group:
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Work Time
A. Shared Planning: Body Paragraph of the William Carlos Williams Essay (20 minutes)
Invite students to sit in their poet groups.
Invite students to retrieve the Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff. Display your own copy used for modeling (in
Lesson 8) with a document camera. Remind them that in the previous lesson they planned the introduction and
conclusion for an essay about William Carlos Williams and also for their own poet.
Tell students that, in this lesson, they will plan the biographical body paragraph of their essay. Remind students and record
on the next to the body paragraph on the Model Essay see the Annotated Model Essay Inspired by Arnold Adoff
(from Lesson 8):
Body Paragraph:
Contains biographical information about the poet and explains how this person became a poet
Invite students to read the body paragraph of the model essay silently, as you read it aloud. Ask students to discuss with
their group:
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Remind students that to practice the planning process before they plan their own essays, they are going to work together as a
class to continue to plan an essay about William Carlos Williams.
Ask:
* Thinking about the major events included in the body paragraph in the Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff, and the
new information we have recorded about William Carlos Williams, what are at least four major events in Williamss life?
Cold call students to share their responses. Record a response on the displayed organizer. See Poet Essay Prompt/Planner
graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams example (completed, for teacher reference).
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B. Independent Planning: The Body Paragraph of Selected Poet Essay (25 minutes)
Share with students that now they will do exactly the same thing to plan the body paragraph of the essay about their selected
poet.
* Why have you chosen that information/event? Why is it important? Why is it more important than this event?
* Where did you find that information?
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Homework
Continue to practice reading aloud your selected poem as well your inspired poem. Be sure to read with expression.
Continue reading your independent reading book.
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1885
1894
1895
1896
1897
1900
His son Elliot dies of cholera. Robert moves his family to be a farmer in New Hampshire.
1907
Roberts sixth and last child, Elinor, is born. She dies within days of her birth.
1912
The Frost family moves to England. Robert continues to write poetry and farm.
1913
1915
As World War I begins, Robert relocates his family to Franconia, New Hampshire.
1916
The Road Not Taken, one of Robert Frosts most famous poems, is published.
1917
1923
1924
1943
1950
1961
1963
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10
On August 12, 1937, Walter Milton Myers is born in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
When Water is 2, his mother dies and he is adopted and moves to Harlem. (He later
changes his middle name to Dean to honor his adoptive parents.)
19401950
Walter struggles in school due to a speech impediment, but loves to read and visits the
library often. He hides his books in a paper bag so his classmates will not tease him.
He begins writing his own poems and stories in fifth grade so he will not be
embarrassed when reading aloud.
19501960
Walter drops out of high school at 17 to join the army. Before he leaves, one of his
teachers encourages him to continue writing, telling Walter, Its what you do.
19601970
He marries Joyce Smith in 1960. They have two children, but divorce in 1970.
In 1969, he wins a competition and publishes his first picture book called Where Does
the Day Go?
19701980
19801990
In 1984, Walter graduates from Empire State College. He continues to write poetry,
short stories, and novels for children and teens.
19902000
In 1994, Walter is recognized for his contributions to young adult literature with a
Margret A. Edwards Award.
In 1999, he writes his most famous novel to date, Monster. The novel wins various
awards, including a Newbery Honor and the Coretta Scott King Award.
2000
Present
11
19401950
In 1947, she moved to Florida for four years and then India for a year for her father to
study malaria.
19501960
19601970
Valerie has three children, a son and two daughters, and the family settles in Clinton,
New York.
She begins meeting with a writing group at Kirkland College and meets Natalie
Babbitt, an illustrator, and the two soon begin to collaborate.
19701980
In 1972, Valerie publishes her first book of poems illustrated by Natalie Babbitt, Small
Poems.
She publishes three additional volumes of her small poems.
19801990
She goes on to publish additional books, including two books for young adults: Gypsy
Gold (1983) and Fox Hill (1986).
19901994
In 1991, the National Council of Teachers of English honors her with the Poetry Award for
Excellence in Poetry for Children.
In 1994, Valerie Worth dies from cancer.
Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/03/obituaries/valerie-worth-60-is-dead-a-novelist-for-young-readers.html,
http://us.macmillan.com/author/valerieworth, and http://www.ncte.org/library/nctefiles/about/awards/worth.pdf.
Sources: http://www.frostfriends.org/chronology.html and http://robertfrostfarm.org/chronology.html.
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12
Ongoing Assessment
I can collaborate with my peers to write an introduction for an essay about William Carlos Williams that
introduces the topic.
I can write an introduction for an essay about my poet that introduces the topic.
I can read a poem aloud clearly and with expression.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students begin to write their essays. They use the planning organizer they have been
developing over the past couple of lessons to help them write the introduction of their essay. Similar to
Lessons 8 and 9, students again start with shared writing of an essay about William Carlos Williams as a
whole group in which you facilitate whole-group thinking and writing. For teacher reference, an
example of what this essay might look like is included in the supporting materials .
After this shared writing students will move on to write the introduction of their own essay (about their
selected poet) independently, but with peer support. Starting in this lesson and continuing for the
remainder of the unit, students will work with a writing partner who has selected a different poet. This
way, students can support each other through the writing process without writing identical essays.
Students will write their body paragraph in Lesson 11. Then Lesson 12 will be the first part of the end of
unit assessment, in which students will write their conclusion.
It is important that students write on every other line, leaving one blank line between each line of
writing so they have space to add new thinking during the revision process in Lesson 13.
In the Closing, students build on Lesson 7, specifically by learning about reading with expression. First
they listen to you read a with a clear and understandable, but monotone voice. Then they listen to a
reading of the same poem in a clear and expressive voice, giving them a strong example and nonexample of reading with expression. Then students practice reading both their selected poems and their
inspired poems, focusing on reading slowly and clearly and with expression.
At the end of this unit (Lesson 15), students participate in a Poets Performance to celebrate their
learning. Consider inviting parents or other adults from the school to share in the celebration of
students learning. If you choose to do this, prepare and send out this invitation after Lesson 10 or 11, to
allow for planning of this event.
In advance: Prepare a poem to read aloud in the Closing. (Use the same poem you used in Lesson 7 to
demonstrate reading with expression.)
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Performance Task anchor chart (from Lesson 7)
Performance Task rubric (from Lesson 8; one per student and one to display)
Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (from Lesson 7; one per student)
Annotated Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (for teacher reference; from Lesson 8)
Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams (begun during teacher modeling in Lesson 8; one
for display)
Chart paper (blank piece for writing shared essay)
William Carlos Williams example shared essay (for teacher reference)
Lined paper (two pieces per student)
Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer (from Lessons 8 and 9; students own)
A poem by famous poet (from the back of Love That Dog; from Lesson 7; one copy used as a read-aloud to demonstrate
expression)
Opening
* I can collaborate with my peers to write an introduction for an essay about William Carlos Williams that introduces the
topic.
* I can write an introduction for an essay about my poet that introduces the topic.
* I can read a poem aloud clearly and with expression.
Invite students to read the first learning target with you. Explain that they will begin the lesson by working together as a
whole group to write the introduction of the essay about William Carlos Williams.
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Opening (continued)
Invite students to read the second learning target with you. Explain that once they have practiced writing an introduction
about William Carlos Williams, they will apply that learning to write their own introductions.
Invite students to retrieve the Performance Task rubric, reminding them that student essays will be assessed using this
rubric.
Focus students on the first row under the Ideas and Evidence heading. Invite them to read the criteria aloud with you.
Then focus students on the content of the Meets column. Invite them to read the criteria in that column aloud with you.
Remind students that this is what is expected of their introductions, so they need to keep this in mind when writing.
B. Engaging the Reader: Rereading the Introduction of the Model Essay (5 minutes)
Invite students to retrieve their Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (from Lesson 8) and display a copy of
your own from modeling in Lessons 8 and 9. Explain that in this lesson, students will use their planning organizers to write
the introduction to their essay, so they will begin by rereading the introduction of the model essay to get an idea of what
their essay should be like.
Place students with their new writing partner from a different poet group (see teaching notes above) and tell students that
while they will be writing their own essays in the next several lessons, they can support one another in these partnerships
while they write..
Select a student to read the introduction aloud while the rest of the group reads along silently.
Ask students to discuss with their partner:
* How does the author of the model open the essay and introduce the topic?
Select students to share their responses. Show them how to annotate this information beside the introduction of the Model
Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff see the Annotated Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (for teacher
reference; from Lesson 8). Listen for them to suggest the following and ask them to annotate their own Model Essay:
Inspired by Arnold Adoff:
Opens with a question to engage the reader
Introduces the poet
Explains how the Adoffs poems inspired the author
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Opening (continued)
Ask students:
* Which sentence explains how Adoff inspired the author of the essay?
Listen for students to point out the following sentence in the introduction of the essay, His vivid descriptions of sound have
inspired me to write my own poetry about the music of my backyard.
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Work Time
A. Shared Writing: The Introduction of the William Carlos Williams Essay (15 minutes)
Display the completed Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams. Focus students
on the first box about planning the introduction and remind them of what they, as a whole group, recorded in it in Lesson 8.
Invite students to discuss with their partner how they could organize the information on the planner into an introductory
paragraph. Ask:
* How can you organize this information into sentences that introduce the topic?
* How can we make it sound really interesting so the reader wants to keep reading?
Select students to share their ideas. Write up the ideas on the board. Invite students to vote by raising a hand to select which
ideas they think are the best to use in the introduction. Write the introduction on chart paper under the heading William
Carlos Williams Shared Essay. See the William Carlos Williams example shared essay (for teacher reference)
for an example.
B. Independent Writing: The Introduction of Selected Poet Essay (20 minutes)
Explain that students are going to do exactly the same thing to write the introduction of the essay about their selected poet.
Distribute lined paper. Emphasize that students are to write on every other line, leaving one blank line between each line
of writing for revisions.
Invite students to refer to the Introduction Paragraph Plan box at the top of their completed Poet Essay Prompt/Planner
graphic organizer.
Encourage students to discuss their ideas with their partner before they record them to ensure their ideas are strong.
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Homework
Read your selected poem as well as your inspired poem aloud to a friend or family member. Be sure to read them clearly and
with expression. Ask your friend or family member to tell you if your read-aloud was easy to understand.
Continue reading your independent reading book.
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10
Ongoing Assessment
I can collaborate with my peers to write the biographical body paragraph for an essay about William
Carlos Williams that uses facts and details.
I can write the biographical body paragraph for an essay about my poet that uses facts and details.
I can be sure that my sentences are written in my own words and not copied from the biographies I
read.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
This lesson is similar in structure to the previous lesson. Students use the planning organizer they have
been using over the past couple of lessons to write the biographical body paragraph of their essay. As
with the planning lessons, they begin with shared writing of an essay about William Carlos Williams in
which you facilitate whole-group thinking and writing. They then move on to independently write the
body paragraph of their essay about their own poet.
Place students next to their writing partner from Lesson 10 (who has selected a different poet). This
way, students can support each other through the writing process without writing identical essays.
Remind students to write on every other line, leaving one blank line between each line of writing to use
during the revision process.
The next lesson is the End of Unit 3 Assessment, in which students write the conclusion of their essay.
In advance:
Post the Performance Task anchor chart and the learning targets.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
chronological order
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Opening
* I can collaborate with my peers to write the biographical body paragraph for an essay about William Carlos Williams that
uses facts and details.
* I can write the biographical body paragraph for an essay about my poet that uses facts and details.
* I can be sure that my sentences are written in my own words and not copied from the biographies I read.
Invite students to read the first learning target with you. Explain that they will begin by working together as a whole group to
write the body paragraph of the essay about William Carlos Williams.
Invite students to read the second learning target with you. Explain that as they have done in previous lessons, once they
have practiced writing a biographical body paragraph about William Carlos Williams, they will apply that learning to write
their own body paragraphs for their selected poets.
Invite students to read the third learning target. Then ask:
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Opening (continued)
B. Engaging the Reader: Rereading the Body Paragraph of the Model Essay (5 minutes)
Invite students to retrieve their Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff and display a copy of your own using a
document camera. Explain that, like in the previous lesson, students will now use their planning organizers to write the
biographical body paragraph of their essay, so they will begin by rereading the body paragraph of the model essay to get an
idea of what is required of them.
* What facts and details did the author of the model essay include? Why?
Select students to share their responses. Students already discussed this in Lesson 9 when planning their body paragraph
and the list of criteria was recorded in the margin of their model essay, but this is a good reminder to get them thinking
about the body paragraph again. Review the annotations about the facts and details included in the body paragraph that
were recorded by the class in Lesson 9:
Has biographical information about the poet and explains how this person became a poet
Where and when he was born
What made him start writing poetry
His jobs/career
Facts about family
His style of poetry
When first he first published
Remind students that because this is only a short paragraph, the writer has only included the most important events and
details about the poet, particularly events pertaining to the poets career in poetry. Emphasize that the events are listed in
chronological order. Ask students to discuss with their poet group:
* What does chronological order mean? Why did the author of the model record the events in chronological order?
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Opening (continued)
Cold call students to share their responses. Listen for them to explain that chronological order means the order in which the
events happened and the author recorded them in chronological order because a life story would be confusing and difficult
to understand if it were out of order. Tell students that the prefix of this word chron- means time and the root logical
means according to the rules, so when put together this word means something that follows the rules of time. So in this
paragraph students will have to be sure that the events in their paragraphs are in order from earliest to latest in time.
Add Events listed in chronological order next to the body paragraph on your displayed copy of the model essay about
Arnold Adoff. Ask students to add this note to their copies of the model as well.
Work Time
A. Shared Writing: Body Paragraph of the William Carlos Williams Essay (15 minutes)
Display the completed Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams. Focus students
on the second box about planning the body paragraph and remind them of the important events and information in the life
of William Carlos Williams that they, as a whole group, chose to record in it in Lesson 9.
Ask students to discuss with their partner how they could organize the information on the planner into a body paragraph.
Point out that when writing a biographic paragraph, it may be tempting to copy sentences directly from the biographies they
read. Explain that this is something called plagiarism, and it is actually against the law. Explain that this is to protect writers
so that others do not take credit for their work. Tell students that some facts used in their essay will be the same as those in
the biographies, but these facts should be written in their own words. Then ask students:
* Who can remember the qualities of a good paragraph? (If necessary, review the Quality Paragraphs anchor chart
from Unit 1.)
* What should the first sentence of our paragraph, the topic sentence, be?
* What are the supporting details we can add in chronological order?
* What should our concluding sentence be?
Have students discuss each question briefly with their partner, then call students to share their ideas. Help students
construct original sentences. Record the body paragraph on the William Carlos Williams shared essay underneath the
introduction. See the William Carlos Williams example shared essay (for teacher reference) from Lesson 10 for
an example.
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Invite students to retrieve their selected poet essay that they started in the previous lesson. Emphasize that students are
to write on every other line, leaving one blank line between each line of writing for revisions.
Invite students to refer to the Body Paragraph Plan box on their own completed Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic
organizer.
Encourage students to discuss their ideas with their partner before they record them to ensure their ideas are strong.
Circulate to support students in writing their introductions. Ask probing questions to guide students thinking:
* How will you add this detail to your writing using your own words?
* Have you included the important information about when he/she started writing poetry and what inspired them?
* How will you conclude your paragraph?
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* Even though you have written about different poets, what is similar about the kinds of information and events you have
both recorded in your biographical body paragraphs?
Select volunteers to share their responses whole group. Listen for students to explain that they have both included the most
important eventsthe same kinds of information they listed next to the body paragraph of the Model Essay: Inspired by
Arnold Adoff.
Tell students that tomorrow they will learn to write a concluding paragraph for their essay by working as a class on the
William Carlos William shared essay, and then they can demonstrate their ability to write a concluding paragraph for their
own essay for the first part of the End of Unit 3 Assessment. Tell students that their practice analyzing the model essay,
writing a shared essay as a class, and writing quality paragraphs has prepared them for this assessment.
Homework
If necessary, catch up on your writing tasks from the past few lessons.
Continue reading your independent reading book.
Note: Collect students essays and read them to ensure that students have not intentionally or unintentionally plagiarized
their biographies. This can be especially challenging for students when writing biographical texts. If you notice plagiarized
information in a students essay, note the student and be sure to work with him or her in the next lesson to translate this
information into the students own words. Students need coaching on how to paraphrase effectively. If many students in
your class seem to be struggling with paraphrasing, consider sharing a model of strong student work by a class member
who has effectively paraphrased.
There are no new supporting materials for this lesson.
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Ongoing Assessment
I can collaborate with my peers to write the concluding paragraph for an essay about William Carlos
Williams that revisits the topic and wraps up the essay.
I can write the concluding paragraph for an essay about my poet that revisits the topic and wraps up
the essay.
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students complete Part 1 of the end of unit assessment, in which they write the conclusion
of their essay about their selected poet. As in previous lessons, students have an opportunity first to
practice by working as a whole group in writing a conclusion to the William Carlos Williams essay.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
wrap up
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Opening
* I can collaborate with my peers to write the concluding paragraph for an essay about William Carlos Williams that revisits
the topic and wraps up the essay.
* I can write the concluding paragraph for an essay about my poet that revisits the topic and wraps up the essay.
Invite students to read the first learning target with you. Ask students to discuss with their poet group:
Copyright 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Opening (continued)
Select a student to read the concluding paragraph aloud while the rest of the group read along silently.
Ask students to discuss with their partner:
* How did the author of the model conclude the essay? How they did they tie together the introduction and body
paragraphs?
Select students to share their responses. As students share, record in the following in margin of the displayed Model Essay:
Inspired by Arnold Adoff see the Annotated Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff (for teacher reference):
Revisits the poem in introduction
Quotes words used in the poem that inspired the author of the essay
Describes how the poem inspired the author of the essay
Explain to students that the author of the model has ensured the concluding paragraph brings the essay to a close. Ask
students:
* How does the author signal that this is the end of the essay?
Select volunteers to share their responses. Listen for students to explain that the author closes the essay by leaving the
reader with a though about of how the authors poem might inspire others just like Arnold Adoffs poem inspired the author.
Record in the margin of the displayed Model Essay: Inspired by Arnold Adoff. Have students annotate their copies as well:
Leaves the reader with a final thought
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Work Time
A. Shared Writing: Concluding Paragraph of the William Carlos Williams Essay (15 minutes)
Invite students to sit in the poet groups they sat in for the work they did on their selected poet biographies.
Display and distribute the End of Unit 3 Assessment, Part 1: Writing a Concluding Paragraph prompt. Invite
students to read it along with you as you read it aloud.
Explain that first students will practice this with a shared writing of a concluding paragraph for the William Carlos Williams
essay. Display the completed Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer: William Carlos Williams.
Focus students on the final box about planning the concluding paragraph and remind them that what they decided should be
written in the final paragraph.
Ask students to discuss in their group how they could organize the information on the planner into a concluding paragraph.
Ask students:
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Invite students to retrieve their selected poet essay as students may wish to refer to this as they write their conclusions.
Emphasize again that students are to write on every other line on the End of Unit 3 Assessment prompt form, leaving one
blank line between each line of writing for revisions.
Remind students that as this is an assessment, they are not to speak to anyone. They are to work independently.
Address any clarifying questions, and remind students to refer to the Concluding Paragraph Plan box on their completed
Poet Essay Prompt/Planner graphic organizer.
Invite students to begin. Circulate to support those who have questions.
If students finish their assessment early, ask them to get out their poetry journals and write a poem or read from their book
for independent reading.
Collect students work at the end of the allocated time to assess using the appropriate row of the Performance Task rubric
(see Teaching Notes).
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Ask students to show how well they think they have achieved the learning targets by using the Fist to Five Checking for
Understanding technique: a fist is not very well and five fingers is very well.
Make a note of those students who dont feel they have achieved the learning target, or who have fewer than three fingers in
the air for additional information when evaluating the assessment.
Homework
None.
Note: Type up a copy of the William Carlos Williams shared essay; students will need a copy of it for Lesson 13. Also, make
copies of students own selected poet essays after this lesson. This will allow you to give students back their original essays
for revisions in Lesson 13, while you note misspelled words and mistakes in capitalization on the copies. Students will use
these notes to edit their essays for these conventions in Lesson 14.
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I can write the concluding paragraph for an essay about my poet that revisits the topic and wraps
up the essay.
Directions:
In this assessment, you will write a concluding paragraph for your essay about your selected poet that
revisits the topic and wraps up the essay. Be sure to write in complete sentences. Include the
components of a quality paragraph and check your work for errors before turning in your assessment.
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10
Ongoing Assessment
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Agenda
1.
Opening
A. Reviewing Learning Targets (5 minutes)
2.
Work Time
A. Linking Words Mini Lesson (15 minutes)
B. Annotating Drafts for Linking Word Revisions (15
minutes)
C. Peer Critique and Annotating for Vocabulary
Revisions (20 minutes)
3.
4.
Homework
A. Continue reading your independent reading book.
Teaching Notes
In this lesson, students learn about using linking words to connect ideas in their essays and improve
essay readability and then go on to do peer critique session, where they give each other feedback on the
use of domain-specific vocabulary related to poetry and biographies. If students struggle with
identification and use of linking words in Work Time A, consider extending this time and completing
and adding the peer critique in Work Time B as a follow-up lesson.
Critiques help build a culture of achievement and simulate the experiences students will have in college
and careers. If students struggled with peer critique in Unit 2, consider breaking this lesson into two,
with more time modeling expectations before the critique and debriefing students performances after.
Students will need their draft essays from the End of Unit 3 Assessment, Part 1 (Lesson 12). As noted in
Lesson 1, be sure you made copies (for assessment purposes) before you return students original drafts
that they will keep working on during this lesson.
During Work Time, students highlight vocabulary particular to poetry and biographies, as well as
linking words and phrases. This materials list suggests green and yellow highlighters (one per student);
but any two different color highlighters or color pencils will do.
If your district has printed lessons for you in black and white, you will notice that these words are
bolded, it may be helpful to view one supporting material from this lesson in color: the William Carlos
Williams sample essay (for teacher reference). Go to EngageNY.org or
commoncoresuccess.elschools.org and search for fourth grade, Module 1B, Unit 3 Lesson 13.
For additional work on with language standards during revisions students essays, see the Show the Rule
TM resource in the stand-alone document, Foundational Reading and Language Standards Resource
Package for Grades 3-5.
In advance:
Type a copy of the William Carlos Williams shared essay, finished in Lesson 12. Be sure that this
typed copy is double-spaced so you can model how to make annotations.
Prepare on chart paper the Critique Protocol anchor chart (see supporting materials).
Review: Glass, Bugs, Mud in Checking for Understanding Techniques and Peer Critique protocol (see
Appendix).
Post: Learning targets.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Performance Task rubric (from Lesson 8; one per student and one to display)
Document camera
Common Linking Words list (one per student)
William Carlos Williams shared essay (begun in Lesson 10)
Yellow highlighter (one per student)
William Carlos Williams sample essay (for teacher reference; see Teaching Notes above)
Selected poet essay drafts (students original copies; from Lessons 10-12 including the End of Unit 3 Assessment)
Word Wall (from Lesson 3)
Green highlighters (one per student)
Peer Critique Protocol anchor chart (from Unit 2, Lesson 11)
Peer Critique Feedback recording form (one per student)
Poetry journals (students own)
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Opening
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Work Time
Place students with their writing partners from previous lessons. Ask them to take a few minutes to discuss the following
question with their partner:
I see the word but here and in this sentence, But Williams decided that he wanted to write poems about things he saw
every day and did not want to worry about rhythm and rhyme, and I think it is a linking word. It links the idea about
Williams wanting to write about everyday things to the sentence before it: He was inspired by the famous English writers
he learned about in school.
Ask students to turn to a partner and point out where they see another linking word used to connect ideas in two different
sentences. Remind them to use their Common Linking Words list for help. After a minute, cold call a few pairs to share
where they spotted a linking word or phrase that connects ideas within a paragraph. (For guidance, see the William Carlos
Williams sample essay in the supporting materials.) Highlight these examples as you call on students, or ask students to
come up and highlight these examples.
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Students likely will notice linking words related to chronology that are commonly used in biographies to explain what
happens over time. Emphasize that different kinds of linking words have different purposes and review the categories on the
Common Linking Words list. It is not important that students understand how to use every type of linking word, but
emphasize those they are likely to use the most in the Shows Chronology and Gives Examples categories.
Select a few sentences in the William Carlos Williams shared essay to model how to annotate for revisions to linking words.
For example, note if the same linking word, like after, is used multiple times and circle it. Ask students to give suggestions
for another linking word that show chronology to replace one of these. Or ask students to help you select a sentence that
would benefit from adding a linking word and ask for their suggestions of which word would be an appropriate addition. For
example, between the sentences After finishing school he started working as a doctor and He married Florence Herman
and had two children, the linking word then could be added: After school, he began his medical practice. Then he
married Florence Herman and had two children. Use a caret to indicate where the word then could be added.
B. Annotating Drafts for Linking Word Revisions (15 minutes)
Once students have a general understanding of linking words, how they are used, and how to annotate for their revision or
addition, distribute their original selected poet essay drafts from the End of Unit 3 Assessment, Part 1. Explain that you
made copies and are working on giving them feedbackthis is why there are no grades or annotations on their drafts.
Ask students to work with their partner using the Common Linking Words list to highlight the linking words in their drafts,
but not to annotate for revisions yet.
Circulate and support students as needed. Note students who have too few or too many linking words highlighted in their
drafts. These students are likely to need additional support in the next step of the agenda.
Once students are finished highlighting, ask them to look at their drafts and notice if there are very few or very many linking
words highlighted. This may mean that they have writing that sounds choppy (too few) or repetitive (too many).
Ask students to whisper-read their drafts aloud and think about how their draft sounds as is, then to consider adding,
changing, or even deleting some linking words. Give students 5 minutes to read their essays.
Next, remind students how to annotate for revisions by pointing out your notes on the William Carlos Williams shared essay.
Explain to students that since they skipped lines when they wrote the drafts, you would like them to write notes about what
they will add or change in a given part of their essay on these blank lines. When they have a sentence they would like to add
or change, they can make a note above on the blank line. Explain that this will allow them to easily reread their drafts and
note changes at the same time without erasing or crossing things out.
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Ask students to work with their writing partners using the Common Linking Words list and annotate their own drafts for
revisions of linking words. Support students you observed who had too few or many highlighted words, or students who
struggled with finding linking words in the mini lesson.
C. Peer Critique and Annotating for Vocabulary Revisions (20 minutes)
Tell students that now they will begin their peer critique session and focus on other types of words commonly found in
biographies about poets and use these in their essays. Briefly review the words on the Word Wall (begun in Lesson 3).
Collect yellow highlighters and distribute a green highlighter to students. Ask them to take 5 minutes to highlight any
words from the poet biography Word Wall that they currently have in their essays using the green highlighter.
Ask students to recall their experience with peer critique in Unit 2, Lesson 11. Ask students to discuss each of the following
questions briefly with a partner, then call on students to share with the whole class:
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Tell students that today they will listen to their partners read their essay drafts. Tell them they will focus their feedback using
the Word Choice section of the Performance Task rubric. Explain that today their feedback will focus only on this section
of the rubric. Review the criteria for Meets on the rubric. Students will focus on using domain-specific vocabulary from the
Word Wall.
Remind students that for this feedback to be helpful, they should focus only on this specific area. Pointing out misspelled
words or incorrect punctuation will not be helpful at this point in the writing process. That will be saved for final editing.
Distribute the Peer Critique Feedback recording form. Explain to students that this is where they will record their
partners feedback on their work and their next steps.
Have students read the directions then restate in their own words to a partner:
1. Author and Listener: Review area rubric for critique focus.
2. Author: Reads his or her work.
3. Listener: Gives feedback based on rubric criteria: I like how you ______. You might consider ____________.
4. Author: Records feedback.
5. Author: Says: Thank you for ________. My next step will be ____________________.
6. Switch roles and repeat.
7. Annotate your work for revisions.
Address any clarifying questions, and then have students begin.
Circulate to support students with the critique process, helping them to follow the protocol and focus their feedback using
the Word Choice portion of the Performance Task rubric.
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Homework
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Compares or
Contrasts
Shows Chronology
(Time)
Gives Examples
or Reasons
Shows Cause
and Effect
also
and
another
too
but
however
like
similarly
unlike
after
afterward
during
following
later
soon after
then
when
while
one
a second
another
for this reason
finally
because
for
since
so
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11
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12
Date:
Partner:
Focus of critique:
My partner liked
My partner suggested
My next step(s)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name:
Date:
Partner:
Focus of critique:
My partner liked
My partner suggested
My next step(s)
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13
Ongoing Assessment
I can use feedback from my teacher and peers to revise my essay for conventions, linking words, and
words specific to poetry and biographies.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson, students complete Part 2 of the End of Unit 3 Assessment to revise their poet essay to
incorporate feedback on conventions (spelling and capitalization), linking words, and domain-specific
vocabulary from both their teacher and peers.
In Work Time A, students are shown how to read the teachers feedback and editing notes from the End
of Unit 3 Assessment, Part 1: Writing a Conclusion Paragraph and annotate their original drafts to
correct spelling and capitalization. To prepare for modeling this, write a sentence on the board (or
interactive white board) with both spelling and capitalization mistakes (for example, i was really
enspired by william carlos williams poem the red wheelbarrow). Circle spelling mistakes and double
underline capitalization errors.
Also for Work Time A, use a computer connected to a projector and the internet, or an interactive
whiteboard, to model using an online dictionary to correct spelling. Students often struggle with finding
the spellings of severely misspelled words using conventional dictionaries; however, if the technology is
not available for students to use online dictionaries or spell check, consider adding more time for a mini
lesson on how to correctly use a print dictionary to correct spelling.
If you would prefer that students word process their final copy of their essay, allow additional time or
break this assessment up over several days.
In advance:
Be sure to have students copies of the essay the End of Unit 3 Assessment Part 1: Writing a
Conclusion Paragraph (from Lesson 12) with your edits for spelling and capitalization prepared
before this lesson.
Prepare an example sentence for modeling (see Work Time A).
Prepare an internet-connected computer with a projector or interactive whiteboard with an online
dictionary cued up.
Reserve a computer lab or mobile computers or tablets for online dictionary use.
Ensure that you have enough copies of the Performance Task Poet Essay sheets on hand for students
and additional on hand.
Review Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face protocol (see Appendix).
Post learning target.
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Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
Performance Task rubric (from Lesson 8; one per student and one to display)
Internet-connected computer with projector (or a class set of conventional dictionaries)
Annotated essay drafts (from Lesson 13; students own)
Essay drafts with teacher feedback (from Lesson 12; with teacher feedback on conventions; see Teaching Notes)
End of Unit 3 Assessment, Part 2: Revising Poet Essays Based on Feedback
Performance Task Poet Essay sheets (one set per student)
NYS Grades 45 Rubric for Expository Writing (for teacher reference)
Opening
* I can use feedback from my teacher and peers to revise my essay for conventions, linking words, and words specific to
poetry and biographies.
Ask students to get with a partner for Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face. For each of the following prompts, give them some think
time, and then signal them to turn face-to-face to discuss. Once they have had a minute to discuss, signal students to get
back-to-back and ask for a few to share their responses. Repeat the protocol until students have discussed all three prompts:
* What are conventions? Listen for students to mention spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Let them know that
your feedback on their drafts from Lesson 12 is related to spelling and capitalization only, and that the class will be
discussing this more before the assessment.
* What are some examples of linking words? Listen for students to mention words from the Common Linking Words list
(from Lesson 13), particularly words related to chronology.
* Use your own words to describe what this target means. Listen for students to mention that this means they will rewrite
their essays based on the annotations from the previous lesson as well as new feedback from you about their conventions.
Ask students to get out their Performance Task rubric, and remind them that their essays will be evaluated by reviewing
the criteria for each section of the rubric. Tell students that today their revisions will focus on the last three targets in the
essay portion of the rubric (linking words, vocabulary, and conventions).
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Work Time
Then have students move to sit at their internet-connected computers to begin their assessment.
During the assessment, circulate to observe students. Note if they are annotating their original drafts to incorporate your
feedback, using the online dictionary to correct their spelling, and referencing their annotated drafts as they revise and
complete the final copy of their essays.
If students finish early, ask them to read from their independent reading book for this unit.
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Homework
Prepare for your Poets Performance by bringing home your Performance Task Poem sheet and your Performance Task Poet
Essay sheets. Practice reading each of the following aloud to a friend, family member or a mirror, in order: your selected
poem, your poet essay, and your inspired poem. Be sure to read with clarity and expression.
Note: To evaluate students essays, use the NYS Grades 45 Rubric for Expository Writing (for teacher reference).
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Directions: Complete the following steps to revise your poet essays and complete a final copy.
1. Read the copy of your essay draft with teacher feedback from Part 1 of the assessment and notice
teacher feedback on capitalization and spelling.
2. Annotate your original draft (with peer critique feedback) to correct your conventions mistakes
(capitalization and spelling). Use the online dictionary to find the correct spelling of misspelled
words.
3. Revise your draft based on your notes on linking words, poetry and biography words, and
conventions corrections. Be sure that it is near and easy to read (there is no need to skip lines this
time).
4. If you finish revising your essay early, silently read from your independent reading book.
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10
CRITERIA
CCLS
COHE RENCE,
ORGA NIZATION, AND
STYLE: the extent to which
the essay logically
organi zes comple x ideas,
concepts, and information
using formal style and
preci se language
CONTRO L OF
CONVENTIONS: the extent
to which the essay
demonstrates comm and of
the conventions of
standard English grammar,
usag e, capit alization,
punctuati on, and spelling
W.2
R.19
W.2
W.9
R.19
3
Essays at this level :
demonstrate insightf ul
comprehensi on and anal ysis of
the text(s)
demonstrate a literal
comprehensi on of the text(s)
W.2
L.3
L.6
W.2
L.1
L.2
SCORE
2
Essays at this level :
4
Essays at this level :
1
Essays at this level
0
Essays at this level :
demonstrate emerging
comman d of conventi ons, with
some errors that may hinder
comprehensi on
provide a concluding
statement that is illogical or
unrelated to the topic and
information presented
demonst rate a lack of
comman d of conventi ons, with
frequent errors that hinder
comprehensi on
If the prompt requires two texts and the student only references one text, the response can be scored no higher than a 2.
If the student writes only a personal response and makes no reference to the text(s), the response can be scored no higher than a 1.
Responses totally unrelated to the topic, illegible, incoherent, or blank should be given a 0.
A response totally copied from the text(s) with no original student writing should be scored a 0.
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11
Ongoing Assessment
I speak clearly, with expression, and at an understandable pace when presenting my work.
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Agenda
Teaching Notes
1. Opening
In this lesson students synthesize and celebrate their learning from the module by participating in a
Poets Performance where they first read their selected poem, then present their poet essay, and finally
read their inspired poem.
To celebrate students learning, consider creating a festive mood in the classroom for the Poets
Performance. Soft music, maybe some sparkling cider, perhaps a banner congratulating the writers on
their hard work. You may consider inviting parents or other adults from the school to share in the
celebration of students learning.
During Work Time B, students will need to be in groups of three. To the extent possible, create groups of
students who have not already seen each others work (i.e., not with their writing partners in Unit 3 or in
the same poet groups from Unit 2). Ideally, each group would include presentations on all three, or at
least two, of the poets.
In Advance: Prepare a poem to read aloud in the Closing. (Use the same poem you used in Lessons 7
and 10 to demonstrate reading with clarity and expression.)
Lesson Vocabulary
Materials
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Opening
* I speak clearly, with expression, and at an understandable pace when presenting my work.
* I can give a positive comment after listening to a classmates presentation.
Display the Performance Task rubric and point out that the first learning target for this lesson is actually the same as the
last learning target on their rubric.
Discuss the meanings of the words clearly, expression, and understandable pace with students. Briefly model reading a
poem by famous poet (from the back of Love That Dog; same as Lesson 7 and 10) with this learning target in mind. Have
students comment on what they noticed about your performance. Remind students that they have been practicing this
learning target with the reading of their poems since Lesson 7 and that today they will practice with their essays before the
Poets Performance.
Reread the second learning target. Remind students that they have also been practicing giving kind and helpful feedback to
their writing partners, but today they will only focus on what they think the writer did well in their work and presentation.
Explain the meaning of the phrase positive comment and remind them that comments that are specific and kind will be
more meaningful than comments such as, This is good. Tell students that after they listen to a classmates work, they will
share the positive comment.
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Work Time
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Homework
None.
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