Reading to Write Grades 2-5 Sample Teacher Manual by Catapult Learning

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Connections to Higher Level Literacy CL13202A

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Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................. v Close Reading ................................................................................................................................. v Argumentative Writing ................................................................................................................. vii Three-Column Note-Taking .......................................................................................................... viii Assessment Rubrics for Discussion and Writing .......................................................................... ix Tracking for Small Group Instruction ............................................................................................. xi Common Core State Standards Addressed ..................................................................................xiv Level & Lesson

Reading Selection

Genre

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 Tops and Bottoms, by Janet Stevens

A.5

Informational ...................... 29

Literary

...................... 41

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

Tales from the Odyssey #2, by Mary Pope Osborne

Literary

...................... 97

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

B.4

B.3

A.4

A.1

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

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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.................... 217

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

Topic: Character Analysis OVERVIEW Text Information Title and Author Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Published by Harper, 1985 Excerpt: pages 41-42 Text Complexity

650L (passage); middle of the third grade band Low to medium difficulty in structure, concepts, and knowledge demand. Task requires students to analyze different characters in a passage, making inferences and drawing conclusions about each in a literary text.

Quantitative: Qualitative: Reader and Task:

Standards Alignment Reading

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3

Writing

Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.4

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.3.1

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 Preparation Set 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: • From previous chapters or sections (if they have been reading from the larger work)

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1 • From general knowledge of the selection (from peers or from library bookshelves) • From people they have known who remind them of Sarah, Anna, or Caleb Provide new information as necessary to help create context and fill knowledge gaps. • If students are not currently reading the book, let them know that it focuses on the story of two children in the American 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. • The story is told by Anna, one of the children.

• Do not provide extensive information on the book Sarah, 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.

• Before teaching, please refer to the bolded words in the excerpt. When possible, allow the students to grapple with the word within the context instead of pre-teaching it. • Consider using a vocabulary previewing strategy with students who may have trouble understanding the words when 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. Predicted Definition Definition Based on Context Context Clues Used

bank

a business where money is deposited and withdrawn

Word

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.”

> Make Word Maps

Definition in your own words

Synonyms

Vocabulary Word Use it in a sentence

Draw a picture of it

> Word Sprouting fool’s

foolishness

fooled

fools foolishly

Reading to Write

fooling fool

foolish

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

Ask students to make predictions about what will happen next in the story • Based on what they already know about the book. • Based on what happens in the excerpt. • Based on personal experiences and people they have known.

First Reading Make 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: • Who are the main characters or subjects? • What is the main topic?

• Is this a literary text or an informational text?

• What is the most important thing that happens or idea that is expressed? • What was the author’s purpose in writing this piece of text?

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.

The Text

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

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

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

“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.”

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?

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.

“Like this?” asked Caleb, as he pushed a wave at sputter: to quickly make popping or spitting noises Sarah, making her cough and laugh. stream (noun): a steady flow (discuss the two uses of the word) “Yes,” she said. “Like that.” bank: the ground at the edge of a river or stream I held my breath and floated at last, looking up into the sky, afraid to speak. Crows flew over, Q: How does Caleb demonstrate that he understands what a three in a row. And I could hear a killdeer in the “wave” is? field. tread: to move one’s hands and feet rapidly in water to stay above We climbed the bank and dried ourselves and the surface lay in the grass again. The cows watched, their Q: What does the word “tread” tell us about the depth of the eyes sad in their dinner-plate faces. And I slept, pond? Does the author give us any reason to think that dreaming a perfect dream. The fields had turned Anna and Caleb ever were afraid? What does this tell you to a sea that gleamed like sun on glass. And about their characters and relationship with Sarah? Sarah was happy. 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?

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

Second Reading Tell 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: • The first column is for quotes from the text. Students should take care to write down the actual quote they want to remember, word for word. • The second column is for explanations of why the quote is important or interesting.

• The third column is a place for students to jot down notes about their questions, or areas where they are confused.

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. • Encourage students to write quickly, in abbreviations or personal code; this is not an assignment for them to turn in. It is just a tool to help them organize their thoughts.

• Are students having trouble figuring out what to write? Point out specific sentences or paragraphs where they can find the information they need, helping them to develop the habit of returning to the text when they are unsure. • Remind students to look for language that describes Sarah, either directly or indirectly. How does the situation reveal aspects of her character? • Remind students to look for language that describes Anna and Caleb, either directly or indirectly. How does the event reveal aspects of their character? • Remind students to pay attention to the dialogue between Sarah and the children. What do their words reveal about them? • In the second column, students should try to explain how the facts and details in the text help to reveal or explain some aspect of the characters. • Encourage students to “think out loud” in the third column, asking themselves (or you, or even the author) questions about 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? • Pay particular attention to the questions students do write down and be sure to address them when you conduct your class discussion. If a break in the lesson is required, the end of this section is an excellent place to stop.

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

Discussion Make 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 • Top-Down

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

> 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: • “’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.’” > 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? Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1 > 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?

• “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.” > 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

PART TWO: Writing

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

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. • Have students work independently or in pairs. • Make sure students have the notes they took during the close reading exercise. • Ask students to review their notes and decide what they think about Sarah and about the setting of the story. • Circulate around the room to help students shape statements into real opinions. > 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.” • Feel free to have students share their opinions in groups or with the whole class, especially early in the year when students may have trouble stating opinions clearly and concisely. • When students have successfully formed a clear and concise opinion, ask them to write it down at the top of their Outlining graphic organizer, where it says, “Sarah will choose to…”

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

Outlining/Graphic Organizer Now that students have a clear and concise topic sentence, it’s time for them to organize their compositions. • Have students use their three-column notes from close reading to find quotes from the text that support the opinion they have written. • Have students use those quotes in the middle level of the organizer (the three boxes directly below the top). • In the three boxes beneath these, have the students write what these quotes tell us about what Sarah thinks and how she feels. • In the box at the bottom, students should jot down some brief notes that help to explain why these quotes support the 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.

• Remind students that their first sentences should cite the title of the book and the author, so that readers will know what the students are writing about. • The next sentence should lay out the student’s opinion on what Sarah will choose to do.

• Students should work from the top of the outline form to the bottom, providing a few sentences to flesh out each idea contained on the form.

• You may decide to have your more confident and independent writers work individually. However, you may want to pair 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. • At the end of the composing session, all students should have at least two paragraphs of text. If a break in the lesson is required, the end of this section is an excellent place to stop.

Sharing Writing 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.

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

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

Revising

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.

What Should They Revise?

You 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.

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

Reading to Write

LEVEL B — LESSON 1

PART THREE: Extending Mixing It Up The 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: • How would this event be different if it was Sarah’s character telling the story? How would she describe Anna, 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.

• Anna has become attached to Sarah. Write a short story in which Anna and Caleb have returned to the pond, but Sarah 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.

• Imagine a similar scene with Sarah back home and swimming in the ocean. How will her character respond to this setting? Write two to three paragraphs about Sarah is in this environment. Describe the different setting and her reaction compared to the cow pond.

Reading to Write

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