5 th Grade, Reading Unit 2: Finding Information to Explore and Support Ideas

Transcription

1 In this 3o day unit, fifth graders strengthen their nonfiction comprehension skills by comparing and contrasting text structures and analyzing the point of view in hybrid texts. Attached is a suggested progression of teaching points that are aligned vertically across grade levels and with the Common Core State Standards. The expectation is that teachers will adapt the teaching points and pace according to the needs of their students. The bends (areas of focus) for the unit are as follows: Bend 1: Determining Importance and Synthesizing in Expository Nonfiction (teaching points 1 9) In fifth grade, students begin this nonfiction unit by reviewing and extending what they learned in fourth grade. They notice text features to rev up their minds and predict what the text will be about and to clarify their understanding of the text. Readers can use what they already know about a subject to gain further information and ask clarifying questions as they read. It will be important for students to summarize chunks of the text to determine main/big ideas. Readers will identify text structure and adjust their reading accordingly. Fourth grade focuses on nonfiction text structures, so teachers should review these in one to two days and then imbed text structure identification in future lessons to remind students of its importance. As they read, students will identify multiple main ideas, find supporting details, and quote the text directly as they share information with their reading partners. Finally, fifth graders respond thoughtfully and personally by drawing inferences from the text. Bend 2: Narrative Nonfiction (teaching points 10 16) At this point, teachers will shift the focus to nonfiction. This is a new genre for students, so it will be important to analyze its structures and features. Narrative nonfiction is a true story written in the style of fiction; therefore, students will be expected to draw on previous learning in reading unit 1. Mentor texts may include biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, and disaster or achievement stories. Lucy Calkins suggests using Secrets of the Mummies by Harriet Griffey to introduce this genre. Students will pay attention to the character s traits, motivations, and struggles to develop a theory about the character. Next, teachers will move on to teaching the structure of these stories, so that students know how to connect the details and events across the text to support the author s message. From here, students will identify the theme and/or underlying messages, asking What can I learn from this story? and Does this message or lesson apply to larger groups of people or to me? Bend 3 Analyzing Point of View in Expository, Narrative and Hybrid Informational Texts (teaching points 17-25) The final bend of this unit has students reading hybrid texts, synthesizing information presented in multiple text structures in one or more books. Most non-fiction texts have a hybrid structure. For example, The main structure of a book may be chronological, but sections or chapters are nonfiction (a diary entry) or problem solution. Students will work in partnerships or small groups to read several books on the same topic. They will have the opportunity to grow their learning and change their thinking about particular topics. Teachers will introduce the idea that even nonfiction authors write with a particular point of view. Authors choose to present information in specific text structures and features because they want readers to come away with a particular idea. To celebrate the end of this unit, students will give short oral presentations on their topics.

2 Additional Comments: Make learning visible use anchor charts, overheads, and shared texts Use digital resources and periodicals may be available online or at the library, especially important for ESL & special education students Expect a large volume of reading students should still be reading fiction at their highest just right level & using reading log Resources: Navigating Non-Fiction by Lucy Calkins and Kathleen Tolan Below is a link to Teachers College curricular calendar which provides detailed information about this unit. (see the unit 3 section of this document) non-fiction text sources: Treasures guided reading books school libraries/ classroom libraries periodicals (TFK, Weekly Reader, National Geographic for Kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids) Standards: RI.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.2 RI.4 RI.5 RI.8 RI.9 Determine two or more main ideas of a text and explain how they are supported by key details; summarize text. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area. Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s). Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. Writing Unit 2: Writing a Feature Article on an Area of Personal Expertise Resource: Grade 5, If Then Curriculum by Lucy Calkins, pages 15-29

3 1 Readers prepare to read nonfiction by previewing text features and using their schema to make sense of new information. Fiction, session 1) (RI.10) Bend 1 2 Readers summarize chunks of text (paragraphs and text features) by pausing and saying to What is the one big thing that this text is teaching and how do all the other details connect with this? Readers monitor for meaning. Fiction, session 2) 3 Readers accumulate information as they read on through a text, connecting sections and chapters and ask How does this all fit together? 4 Readers become experts on what they read and teach their partners using an explaining voice and hand gestures. Readers quote the text by reading exact words that support their point. (Navigating session 4) (RI.1) 5 Readers create categories to organize information, using a boxes and bullets style, scouring the text for key details that support the main ideas. Readers summarize the text to their partners sharing main ideas and supporting details. Fiction, session 5)

4 6 Readers use strategies to figure out unfamiliar words.. (Navigating session 12) (RI.4) 7 Readers identify text structures (chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) to anticipate how a text will unfold and take notes using in an correlating format (T chart, Venn diagram, list, boxes & bullets, timeline, etc.). You may want to create an anchor chart of key words used to identify each structure. Explain to students that most nonfiction texts are a combination of structures. *possible multiday objective (RI. 5) 8 Readers respond personally and intellectually to what the text teaches by inferring. Conversational thought prompts are introduced. Readers continue to quote the text and explain how these quotes prove their thinking. Fiction, session 7 (RI.1) 9 Readers look for multiple main ideas in a text, asking What s another possibility for what this text might be saying? 10 Readers identify nonfiction text structure and read accordingly, drawing on knowledge of fiction story elements.. Fiction, session 8) (RI.5) Bend 2

5 11 Readers pay attention to figurative language (metaphors and similes) to envision the setting and characters in a more picturesque way, deepening comprehensio n. (RI.4, RL.4) 12 Readers read nonfiction s as stories with main characters.. Readers pay attention to the character s goals and struggles. Introduce the Somebody, Wanted, But, So scaffold strategy and anchor chart. Fiction, session 9) (RI.5 & RL.2) 13 Readers pay attention to traits and motivations, wondering How does that trait help the character with their struggles? Refer back to developing theories in the character unit. 14 Readers seek underlying ideas/ themes in nonfiction by looking at choices characters make to uncover the main idea of the text, paying attention to all the events and information. The story is not just a hodgepodge of details, but a sequence of events that unfolds purposefully. Fiction, session 10) 15 Readers uncover the specific text structure of disaster and achievement nonfiction stories to anticipate how the story will unfold in order to strengthen comprehension. Fiction, session 11) (RI.5) Readers reflect on lesson learned (themes) in their nonfiction texts and ask Does this apply to my life? or Can I make a generalization about a specific group of people or animals? (RI. 1, RI.2) When readers encounter texts that are both expository and in nature, they must treat the structures in the non-fiction text (letters, diary entries, minibiographies, etc.) as photographs or quotes, asking What is this letter or story teaching me? and How does it fit with what I have been learning? (RI.5) Bend 3 Readers assess a text using what they know about expository and text structures and then transfer and apply appropriate strategies for each part of the text. Readers synthesize all the information on a page or in a section by determining how all the parts of the text fit together. Readers read multiple texts on the same topic to gain a fuller understanding. Students may be put into partnerships or groups to share multiple texts on the same topic. (Navigating Nonfiction, session 13) (RI.9) Readers stop at the end of a text they ve read and reflect on what they have learned by asking What do I know now that I didn t know before reading this book/text? or How is my thinking different from reading this text?

6 21 Readers must identify the point of view of the author and the details/reasons to support their view.(ri.6) Possible Anchor Charts: 22 Readers compare and contrast points of view of more than one author. (You might start by using mentor texts that expose readers to contested topics where differing points of view are obviously conflicting. Then, apply this work to points of view that are much more subtle in their differences.) *2 days (Navigating sessions 17 & 18) (RI.6) 23 Readers note authors' differing perspectives and grow their own by organizing their thinking into a text structure. Readers should choose an idea they want to advance and organize their thinking/writing toward a final presentation. (RI. 5) (Navigating sessions 19) 24 Readers practice their presentations by first stating their idea and then discussing how parts from various texts support their thinking, finishing with a conclusion that relates to the information presented. (RI.1 & 9) 25 Celebration: Celebrate with students all they've learned about their topics and non-fiction reading. (SL.4) (Navigating Nonfiction, session 21)

7