reading to write grades 2-5 sample teacher manual

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Reading toWrite I n s t r u c t i o n a l I n t e r v e n t i o n

Reading to Write

Conne c t i o n s t o H i g h e r L e v e l L i t e r a c y

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Table of Contents

©2013 This information is confidential and proprietary to Catapult Learning™. For internal distribution only. iii Reading to Write

Introduction .................................................................................................................................. vClose Reading ................................................................................................................................. vArgumentative Writing ................................................................................................................. viiThree-Column Note-Taking .......................................................................................................... viiiAssessment Rubrics for Discussion and Writing .......................................................................... ixTracking for Small Group Instruction ............................................................................................. xiCommon Core State Standards Addressed ..................................................................................xiv

Level & Lesson Reading Selection Genre

A.1 The Stories Julian Tells, by Ann Cameron Literary ........................ 3

A.2 Henry and Mudge, by Cynthia Rylant Literary ...................... 17

A.3 Martin Luther King and the March on Washington, by Frances E. Ruffin Informational ...................... 29

A.4 Tops and Bottoms, by Janet Stevens Literary ...................... 41

A.5 The Storm, by Cynthia Rylant Literary ...................... 53

B.1 Sarah Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan Literary ...................... 69

B.2 Tales from the Odyssey #1, by Mary Pope Osborne Literary ...................... 83

B.3 Tales from the Odyssey #2, by Mary Pope Osborne Literary ...................... 97

B.4 So You Want to be President, by Judith St. George Informational .................... 111

B.5 Bat Loves the Night, by Nicola Davies Informational .................... 125

C.1 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin Literary .................... 139

C.2 Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt Literary .................... 153

C.3 The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (translated by Richard Howard) Literary .................... 167

C.4 Quest for the Tree Kangaroo, by Sy Montgomery Informational .................... 183

C.5 We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadi Nelson Informational .................... 199

D.1 Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis Literary .................... 217

D.2 Horses, by Seymour Simon Informational .................... 233

D.3 My Librarian is a Camel, by Margriet Ruurs Informational .................... 249

D.4 The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich Literary .................... 265

D.5 The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli Literary .................... 281

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� LEVEL�B�—�LESSON�1

©2013 This information is confidential and proprietary to Catapult Learning™. For internal distribution only. 69 Reading to Write

Topic: Character Analysis

OVERVIEW

Text InformationTitle and Author

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Published by Harper, 1985 Excerpt: pages 41-42

Text Complexity

Quantitative: 650L (passage); middle of the third grade band Qualitative: Low to medium difficulty in structure, concepts, and knowledge demand. Reader and Task: Task requires students to analyze different characters in a passage, making inferences and

drawing conclusions about each in a literary text.

Standards AlignmentReading

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

Writing

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons; Introduce the topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons; Provide reasons that support the opinion; Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons; Provide a concluding statement or section.

PART ONE: Close Reading

PreparationSet a Purpose for Reading

In this excerpt, Anna and her brother Caleb learn how to swim from Sarah, a free-spirited woman who has moved from Maine to their home in the American West. How does the author use this event to reveal key aspects of the three characters?

Assess and Activate Relevant Background Knowledge (ARK)

Make connections between this new content and what students may already know:

•Frompreviouschaptersorsections(iftheyhavebeenreadingfromthelargerwork)

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LEVEL B — LESSON 1

Reading to Write 70 ©2013 This information is confidential and proprietary to Catapult Learning™. For internal distribution only.

•Fromgeneralknowledgeoftheselection(frompeersorfromlibrarybookshelves)

•FrompeopletheyhaveknownwhoremindthemofSarah,Anna,orCaleb

Provide new information as necessary to help create context and fill knowledge gaps.

•Ifstudentsarenotcurrentlyreadingthebook,letthemknowthatitfocusesonthestoryoftwochildrenintheAmerican West named Anna and Caleb whose father places an ad in the newspaper for a wife after their mother dies, and of Sarah, a woman from Maine who answers the ad and visits the family to learn more about them and their home.

•ThestoryistoldbyAnna,oneofthechildren.

•DonotprovideextensiveinformationonthebookSarah, Plain and Tall or on Sarah, Anna, and Caleb. The purpose of the close reading exercise is to determine how the author uses an event in the story to provide information about the characters.

Introduce Tier 2 and critical Tier 3 vocabulary from the text selection.

•Beforeteaching,pleaserefertotheboldedwordsintheexcerpt.Whenpossible,allowthestudentstograpplewiththe word within the context instead of pre-teaching it.

•Considerusingavocabularypreviewingstrategywithstudentswhomayhavetroubleunderstandingthewordswhen read in context.

> Contextual Redefinition Strategy

Work with a group to make predictions for definitions for each of the words. Some words, which look familiar, may have new meanings in this context.

> Make Word Maps

> Word Sprouting

Word Predicted Definition Definition Based on Context Context Clues Used

bank a business where money is deposited and withdrawn

the ground at the edge of a river or stream

“The cows stood on the banks of the pond and stared and stopped their chewing.”

Definition in your own words Synonyms

Use it in a sentence Draw a picture of it

Vocabulary Word

foolfoolishly

fools

fool’s foolishness

foolish

fooling

fooled

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Ask students to make predictions about what will happen next in the story

•Basedonwhattheyalreadyknowaboutthebook.

•Basedonwhathappensintheexcerpt.

•Basedonpersonalexperiencesandpeopletheyhaveknown.

First ReadingMake sure all students know and understand the “Purpose for Reading” question.

Let students know that they will be reading the text two times.

During the first reading, you will be reading aloud while students follow along in their workbooks.

Let students know that the first reading is for understanding the “big picture” issues of the text. While listening and reading along, students should be asking themselves questions like:

•Isthisaliterarytextoraninformationaltext?

•Whoarethemaincharactersorsubjects?

•Whatisthemaintopic?

•Whatisthemostimportantthingthathappensorideathatisexpressed?

•Whatwastheauthor’spurposeinwritingthispieceoftext?

Students may make notes in their texts or in their three-column note-taking graphic organizers during the first reading, but they do not have to. Simply listening and reading along is fine the first time through.

Please note: the questions listed below in the right-hand column are for your use later on, in the discussion portion of the lesson.

The Text

But Sarah had grabbed our hands and we were running through the fields, ducking under the fence to the far pond.

“Shoo cows,” said Sarah as the cows looked up startled. She took off her dress and waded into the water in her petticoat. She dived (sic) suddenly and disappeared for a moment as Caleb and I watched. She came up laughing, her hair streaming free. Water beads sat on her shoulders.

Q: What does Sarah’s behavior in these first two paragraphs suggest about her? What is she like?

Q: What do you think Sarah and the children are about to do?

Q: What image does the author give us by saying the cows looked up startled? Do you think the cows actually looked startled?

petticoat: a slip or skirt worn under an outer skirt or dress

(sic): this is an editor’s indication that an error is in the original text. The author might have chosen the correct form of the verb, “dove,” but instead uses “dived.”

stream (verb): to flow, as water does

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She tried to teach us to how to float. I sank like a bucket filled with water and came up sputtering. But Caleb lay on his back and learned how to blow streams of water high in the air like a whale. The cows stood on the banks of the pond and stared and stopped their chewing. Water bugs circled us.

“Is this like the sea?” asked Caleb.

Sarah treaded water.

“The sea is salt,” said Sarah. “It stretches out as far as you can see. It gleams like the sun on glass. There are waves.”

“Like this?” asked Caleb, as he pushed a wave at Sarah, making her cough and laugh.

“Yes,” she said. “Like that.”

I held my breath and floated at last, looking up into the sky, afraid to speak. Crows flew over, three in a row. And I could hear a killdeer in the field.

We climbed the bank and dried ourselves and lay in the grass again. The cows watched, their eyes sad in their dinner-plate faces. And I slept, dreaming a perfect dream. The fields had turned to a sea that gleamed like sun on glass. And Sarah was happy.

Q: The author gives us another visual. We can picture Sarah laughing and her hair streaming freely all over her face. Why do you think the author chose the word streaming? What about when Anna says she “sank like a bucket”? Why do you think the author chose these words?

Q: Is Sarah having fun? What do you think Caleb and Anna are thinking as they watch Sarah playing in the water? What words suggest their thoughts? What words describe Caleb’s character?

Q: How do you know that Caleb and Anna joined Sarah in the water? What words and phrases tell you that they did? What words and phrases tell you they enjoyed what she tried to teach them?

sputter: to quickly make popping or spitting noises

stream (noun): a steady flow (discuss the two uses of the word)

bank: the ground at the edge of a river or stream

Q: How does Caleb demonstrate that he understands what a “wave” is?

tread: to move one’s hands and feet rapidly in water to stay above the surface

Q: What does the word “tread” tell us about the depth of the pond? Does the author give us any reason to think that Anna and Caleb ever were afraid? What does this tell you about their characters and relationship with Sarah?

Q: Why does Sarah know about the sea when the children do not?

killdeer: a type of small bird that lives in fields or near water

Q: Do cows really have sad eyes and dinner-plate faces? How is the author using words to give us a visual of the setting? Find other instances of the author using nonliteral language to make a point.

Q: Why might Anna’s dream show that Sarah was happy? What does this tell us about Anna’s hopes for Sarah and their family? What does this tell us about Anna’s character?

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Second ReadingTell students that in this second reading, their job is to dig deeply into the text to figure out how to answer the question you posed at the beginning of the lesson: How does the author use this event to reveal key aspects of the three characters?

Students should use the three-column note-taking graphic organizer in their books to find places in the text that help them respond to the purpose for reading.

Remind students:

•Thefirstcolumnisforquotesfromthetext.Studentsshouldtakecaretowritedowntheactualquotetheywanttoremember, word for word.

•Thesecondcolumnisforexplanationsofwhythequoteisimportantorinteresting.

•Thethirdcolumnisaplaceforstudentstojotdownnotesabouttheirquestions,orareaswheretheyareconfused.

At the end of this lesson is a version of the graphic organizer with suggested content partially filled in. Feel free to use this version with any students you feel might require additional support and scaffolding in note-taking.

If you or your students need more guidance around three-column note-taking, please refer to the introduction section of this book.

As students work through the text, circulate around the room and check their note-taking.

•Encouragestudentstowritequickly,inabbreviationsorpersonalcode;thisisnotanassignmentforthemtoturnin.It is just a tool to help them organize their thoughts.

•Arestudentshavingtroublefiguringoutwhattowrite?Pointoutspecificsentencesorparagraphswheretheycanfind the information they need, helping them to develop the habit of returning to the text when they are unsure.

•RemindstudentstolookforlanguagethatdescribesSarah,eitherdirectlyorindirectly.Howdoesthesituationreveal aspects of her character?

•RemindstudentstolookforlanguagethatdescribesAnnaandCaleb,eitherdirectlyorindirectly.Howdoestheevent reveal aspects of their character?

•RemindstudentstopayattentiontothedialoguebetweenSarahandthechildren.Whatdotheirwordsrevealabout them?

•Inthesecondcolumn,studentsshouldtrytoexplainhowthefacts and details in the text help to reveal or explain some aspect of the characters.

•Encouragestudentsto“thinkoutloud”inthethirdcolumn,askingthemselves(oryou,oreventheauthor)questionsabout the text. For example, students may be puzzled by the way Anna says, “And I slept, dreaming a perfect dream.” Anna is standing by the pond next to the field; how can she be asleep?

•Payparticularattentiontothequestionsstudentsdowritedownandbesuretoaddressthemwhenyouconductyour class discussion.

If a break in the lesson is required, the end of this section is an excellent place to stop.

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DiscussionMake sure students have their three-column notes in front of them. Encourage them to add to them throughout the discussion if they hear something interesting or useful.

Before starting the discussion, remind students of the overall purpose for reading this section of the story. We are determining how the author uses this event in the story to reveal aspects of each of the characters.

Managing the Discussion

At early points in the year, in classes with challenged readers, or in classes needing more direction, you may want to lead the discussion more directly, with the whole class participating.

At later points in the year, or in classes with stronger readers and self-directed workers, you may want to form discussion groups and let students work more independently, perhaps with a whole-group share at the end. This will allow you to focus on groups with more challenged readers, if there are any.

However you manage the discussion, feel free to use some or all of the questions provided for you above, next to the text.

Remember to use the “What do you think/why do you think it/so what” sequence of questions to stretch student understanding and help them make connections between answers and textual evidence.

Approaches to Analysis

You can take a number of different approaches to analyzing the topic, including:

•Top-Down

> In the top-down approach, you throw the big question out to students and let them grapple with it as best they can, following their lead with probing questions and ensuring that each detail about the characters is dealt with. When students say something about Sarah, Anna, or Caleb, encourage them to go to their notes or to the text to find evidence in support of their claim.

•Bottom-Up

> In the bottom-up approach, start with one detail and have students discuss fully how it describes the characters. Gradually work your way through the entire excerpt.

•First-Things-First

> In the first-things-first approach, move through the text from beginning to end, stopping at any moments where characters are revealed and discussing them thoroughly before moving on.

What Is the Author Trying to Say?

As you talk through the text with students, point out areas where the author’s message may not be completely clear, but has to be read analytically to be understood. Two examples might include:

•“’Isthislikethesea?’askedCaleb.Sarahtreadedwater.‘Theseaissalt,’saidSarah.‘Itstretchesoutasfarasyoucan see. It gleams like the sun on glass. There are waves.’ ‘Like this?’ asked Caleb, as he pushed a wave at Sarah, making her cough and laugh. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Like that.’”

> Ask students why Sarah describes the sea the way she does? Does it help Caleb understand the difference between the sea and the cow pond?

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> What can be said about Sarah’s dialogue with Caleb after he creates waves that make her cough and laugh? Do Caleb’s efforts recreate the waves that Sarah may be familiar with? What does it show about his character and the relationship between Caleb and Sarah?

•“Weclimbedthebankanddriedourselvesandlayinthegrassagain.Thecowswatched,theireyessadintheirdinner-plate faces. And I slept, dreaming a perfect dream. The fields had turned to a sea that gleamed like sun on glass. And Sarah was happy.”

> Ask students what Anna means when she says that she “slept, dreaming a perfect dream.” What does the dream suggest that Anna has decided about Sarah as a potential member of their family?

> What does the author mean by “a perfect dream”? What does this tell us about what Anna hopes for? Why does Anna’s dream show Sarah as happy, and why is it important to Anna for Sarah to be happy? Is it possible that she is worried that Sarah won’t be happy since the fields can’t really turn into ocean waves?

Assessing the Discussion

When assessing student participation in discussions, feel free to use the Critical Reading rubric provided in the introduction.

PART TWO: Writing

Will Sarah Stay or Go Home to Maine? Sarah has traveled hundreds of miles from her home to the farm of Anna and Caleb’s father. The prairies of the West are much different from the shores of Maine, and for anyone this transition would be a major change. Does Sarah like her new environment? Do you think she will decide to stay? In this exercise, students will write 2-3 paragraphs in which they state an opinion about whether or not Sarah will choose to stay with Anna and Caleb’s family and explain why using information found in the excerpt.

•Havestudentsworkindependentlyorinpairs.

•Makesurestudentshavethenotestheytookduringtheclosereadingexercise.

•AskstudentstoreviewtheirnotesanddecidewhattheythinkaboutSarahandaboutthesettingofthestory.

•Circulatearoundtheroomtohelpstudentsshapestatementsintorealopinions.

> Students should not simply repeat a fact from the excerpt, or even an emotion reported directly about the character by the narrator. Students need to connect the dots a little bit, make some inferences, and take a personal position on the character, such as, “I think Sarah is a fun person, and she likes the children, so she will decide to stay on the prairie with Anna and Caleb and their father,” or “I think Sarah misses her home by the sea too much and she will go home.”

•Feelfreetohavestudentssharetheiropinionsingroupsorwiththewholeclass,especiallyearlyintheyearwhenstudents may have trouble stating opinions clearly and concisely.

•Whenstudentshavesuccessfullyformedaclearandconciseopinion,askthemtowriteitdownatthetopoftheirOutlining graphic organizer, where it says, “Sarah will choose to…”

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Outlining/Graphic OrganizerNow that students have a clear and concise topic sentence, it’s time for them to organize their compositions.

•Havestudentsusetheirthree-columnnotesfromclosereadingtofindquotesfromthetextthatsupporttheopinionthey have written.

•Havestudentsusethosequotesinthemiddleleveloftheorganizer(thethreeboxesdirectlybelowthetop).

•Inthethreeboxesbeneaththese,havethestudentswritewhatthesequotestellusaboutwhatSarahthinksandhow she feels.

•Intheboxatthebottom,studentsshouldjotdownsomebriefnotesthathelptoexplainwhythesequotessupportthe opinion they have written.

Composing With the outline form/graphic organizer complete and the three-column notes by their side, students should now be ready to start writing.

•Remindstudentsthattheirfirstsentencesshouldcitethetitleofthebookandtheauthor,sothatreaderswillknowwhat the students are writing about.

•Thenextsentenceshouldlayoutthestudent’sopiniononwhatSarahwillchoosetodo.

•Studentsshouldworkfromthetopoftheoutlineformtothebottom,providingafewsentencestofleshouteachidea contained on the form.

•Youmaydecidetohaveyourmoreconfidentandindependentwritersworkindividually.However,youmaywanttopair less confident writers and let them talk through their ideas first, using their partner as a sounding board and editor before committing ideas to paper.

> In the partner approach, one student should talk through what is on the outline form, elaborating and providing explanation. The listening partner should feel free to ask questions along the way if not enough information is being provided.

> The questions should follow the same “what do you think/why do you think it/so what” structure as your questioning followed during close reading.

> As you circulate around the room, listen carefully for students who may be abusing the “so what?” question and using it to taunt and annoy their partners.

•Attheendofthecomposingsession,allstudentsshouldhaveatleasttwoparagraphsoftext.

If a break in the lesson is required, the end of this section is an excellent place to stop.

SharingWriting is an act of communication, and students should not think the teacher is the only person worth communicating with. After initial composition, students should have the opportunity to share their writing with their classmates. You can do this in a number of ways.

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Sharing for Open Discussion

You may want to have a less formal kind of sharing, leading to open classroom discussion around each piece of writing. Students can read their pieces out loud, or you can make copies to pass around the classroom. Use the writing rubric found in this book’s introduction, or whatever writing rubric your school uses, to guide discussions and help students provide useful and focused commentary on student writing.

Remember that the goal of this piece of writing is to state an opinion about whether Sarah will choose to stay with Anna and Caleb’s family in the West or return home to Maine.

Sharing for Peer Review

Peer review is a more formal way of sharing student writing. Each student is paired with a partner. Students swap papers and serve as each other’s peer reviewers. A peer review form specific to this writing exercise can be found at the end of this lesson and in student workbooks. You may also want to provide students with the general writing rubric found in the introduction to this book, to help guide their responses.

RevisingYou should always encourage students to revise their writing, whether it is a formal, graded assignment or something smaller and less formal. Students need to get in the habit of seeing writing as a process, not a product. Our thinking and reasoning can always get sharper. Our writing can always improve.

What Should They Revise?

Whether you correct student papers yourself or have students engage in peer review, try to avoid the temptation of fixing everything. If students are engaged in enough writing activities during the year, you can focus their attention on different problems with each piece of writing they do, basing your choices on the kinds of errors or issues you’re seeing most often in your class.

Especially during the earlier parts of the school year, consider focusing revision on one of these key areas:

•Organization

> Have students followed the structure of the outline sheet correctly? Are there places where they have veered off topic, or onto tangents?

•SentenceStructure

> Are sentences grammatically correct? Do students combine simple and complex sentences in interesting ways, creating a pleasant flow for the reader?

•WordChoice

> Are students relying on the same, simple words, time after time, rather than stretching their vocabularies and finding more interesting, meaningful synonyms to describe people, events, and ideas?

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PART THREE: Extending

Mixing It UpThe Mixing It Up extension gives students an opportunity to transfer what they have learned into a slightly different context, which helps students solidify concepts and use them in more flexible ways.

If you would like to extend this writing activity, try one of these exercises to get students to approach the topic differently. You can assign one option or let students choose their own:

•HowwouldthiseventbedifferentifitwasSarah’scharactertellingthestory?HowwouldshedescribeAnna,Caleb, and the setting? What would she be thinking? Have the students imagine the same scene as Sarah would tell it. Then, have them write a brief story in which Sarah relates the event of teaching Anna and Caleb how to swim.

•AnnahasbecomeattachedtoSarah.WriteashortstoryinwhichAnnaandCalebhavereturnedtothepond,butSarah has returned home. How will her story differ? How do their characters respond in this setting without Sarah? Will they change? Describe the setting and their reaction to being at the pond for the first time without Sarah.

•ImagineasimilarscenewithSarahbackhomeandswimmingintheocean.Howwillhercharacterrespondtothissetting? Write two to three paragraphs about Sarah is in this environment. Describe the different setting and her reaction compared to the cow pond.

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reading to write grades 2-5 sample teacher manual

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