Discovering the Truth About Troy Student Book 5a, pages 94 95 Applying Strategies Instructional Focus STAYING ON TOPIC Reading Like a Writer: Part of reading like a writer involves identifying the writer s topic and the ideas or details that stick to the topic and help the reader understand the writer s purpose in writing. Instructional Approaches GUIDED OR INDEPENDENT READING Discovering the Truth About Troy Student Book 5a, p. 94 INDEPENDENT WRITING p. 57 Expectations LANGUAGE O: Oral R: Reading W: Writing ML: Media Literacy O R R W Communicate ideas and information orally in a clear, coherent manner Extend understanding by connecting ideas in texts to their own knowledge/experience, to other texts, and to the world Analyze and explain how various elements of texts contribute to meaning Generate ideas about a topic and identify those most appropriate for the purpose SOCIAL STUDIES CONNECTION Early Civilizations: Identify major early civilizations and locate them on a world map. About This Selection This informational explanation describes how an archaeologist, using clues from the Iliad, locates the ancient city of Troy. Selection available on audio CD. ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING Although this selection has straightforward text and photographs, the historical and archaeological information may be challenging to some students. ACCESSIBILITY Easy Average Challenging Ongoing Observation Students who understand will identify the writer s topic identify details that support the topic explain how staying on topic makes writing strong Differentiated Instruction If students do not understand, provide extra support in a guided reading lesson (see Differentiated Instruction: Guided Reading, p. 56) use Identifying the Author s Topic (see Differentiated Instruction: Extra Support, p. 55) For extra challenge, use Rewriting from a Different Point of View (see Differentiated Instruction: Extra Challenge, p. 55) If students find this text difficult to read, use a shared reading approach, allow them to listen to the story on the audio CD, or choose an alternative selection from your school collection Assessment Demonstration Task, p. 58 Key Assessment Questions What is the topic of Discovering the Truth About Troy? How were you able to identify the topic? How did staying on topic make Discovering the Truth About Troy a strong article? Assessment Tools BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking Sheet BLM 4: Self-Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting BLM 14: Strategy Rubric Strip Staying on Topic BLM 16: Demonstration Task Choose the Most Effective Paragraph Discovering the Truth About Troy 53
Before ACCESSING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE 1. Remind students that they read about the ancient city of Troy in When We Built the Trojan Horse earlier in this unit. Ask students to recall where Troy was located. (in Turkey, across the Aegean Sea from Greece) Write five to 10 questions on the board that students can answer from "When We Built the Trojan Horse." For example: What started the war between the Greeks and Trojans? (Paris, the son of the King of Troy, kidnapped Helen, the wife of Agamemnon) How did the Greeks get to Troy? (they sailed in ships) How long did the war last? (10 years) Which leaders died in the war? (Paris and Achilles) Why were the Greeks desperate to end the war? (they had little food; many soldiers became sick; they missed their families) Who came up with the plan to defeat the Trojans? (Odysseus) How long did the final battle last? (one night) Arrange students in pairs to answer the questions by referring to the previous selection, then discuss the answers as a class. 2. Ask students if they think the war between the Greeks and the Trojans is just a story or if it really happened, and to provide reasons for their answers. (I think it happened because wars and battles were always being fought in those days and they lasted a long time; I don t think it happened the way the story says because I don t think anyone could build a horse as huge as the Trojan Horse back then) Applying Strategies Reading Like a Writer As you read this article, figure out the writer s topic. When you finish reading, look back at each paragraph. Ask yourself, Did the writer stay on topic? 94 Early Civilizations Vocabulary by Emily Little It is 800 BCE, several hundred years after the Trojan War. A Greek poet named Homer decides to retell the stories he has heard about the war. There are so many and everyone in Greece loves to hear them. Homer creates a long poem, called the Iliad, about the Trojan War. Homer tells about the heroes of the war Odysseus, Agamemnon, Achilles, and many others. He describes the battles on the plain outside Troy. Homer tells how Helen and the goddess Athena were involved in the war. Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann called this collection of artifacts Priam s Treasure after the Trojan king in Homer s Iliad. Experts later proved that this treasure was hundreds of years older than the Trojan War. archaeologist someone who studies the life and customs of ancient times by digging up and examining buried remains of cities, homes, and monuments artifacts objects made by humans chariots two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicles used in ancient times plain stretch of flat land; prairie traces signs of what has happened or existed somewhere; evidence Strategy Tip: Homographs Tell students that homographs are words that have different meanings but are spelled the same. They may or may not have the same pronunciations. Write the following sentences on the board and discuss the meaning of plain in each sentence. She wore a plain cotton dress. (simple and ordinary; not fancy) It was plain to see that he was not happy. (clear; easy to understand) He describes the battles on the plain outside Troy. (stretch of flat land) Ask students to locate other homographs in the selection (traces, stirs) and discuss their various meanings. 54 Nelson Literacy 5 Teacher s Resource: Early Civilizations
Around 1870 CE, a German archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann reads the Iliad. It is the oldest piece of Greek writing that still exists. By now, all traces of Troy have disappeared. Many people think that Homer made up the story. Heinrich believes that there really was a city called Troy, and he decides to find it. Heinrich goes to Turkey. From clues in the Iliad, he locates the hill where Troy was probably built. To the west, the sea sparkles in the sunlight. To the east, the dusty plain stirs in the wind. Heinrich begins digging. Many people laugh at him. Still, Heinrich believes he will find Troy and in 1870 he does! He not only discovers the great stone wall that surrounded the city of Troy, he finds many other things too treasures of silver and gold and bronze. He finds the bones of humans and horses. He finds a gold crown. Troy did exist! The war that Homer wrote about was real! There are many things mentioned in the poem that Heinrich does not find a statue of Athena, chariots, the wooden horse that the Greeks hid within. These things are gone forever. The story of the wooden horse handed down for nearly 3000 years remains. Archaeologists have uncovered at least nine layers of ruins at the Troy site, dating from about 3000 BCE to 400 CE. Reflect on Writer s Craft: What was the writer s topic? Find three sentences that help you understand the topic. Connections: Think about very old stories you know. Which ones do you think might be true? What makes you think so? 95 Differentiated Instruction: Extra Support Identifying the Author s Topic Work with students to look at a previous selection in this unit and identify the writer s topic, such as Inventions That Reveal Egypt s Past or The Time-Traveller s Guidebook from Adventures and Inventions in Ancient China. Guide students to use the title, headings, and illustrations to identify the author s topic. Then encourage them to skim the text to confirm that the writer stays on topic. Differentiated Instruction: Extra Challenge Rewriting from a Different Point of View Ask students to reread page 95 and use what they learn to write Heinrich Schliemann s story from his point of view. They could write a paragraph describing how the Iliad excited his curiosity, how he followed the clues in it to find Troy, how he had to endure being laughed at, and how he felt when he found the city and its artifacts. 3. Tell students they will be reading an article called Discovering the Truth About Troy. Ask: What do you think the topic of this article will be? (the discovery of the ancient city of Troy; whether there really was a city called Troy) During INTRODUCING THE TEXT 1. Encourage students to preview the selection on Student Book pages 94 and 95. Ask: What do the photographs show? (objects from long ago that were dug up; old buildings that were excavated) What do you think these will prove? (that there was a city where Troy was believed to be; maybe they will prove that there was a Trojan War) 2. Direct students to read Applying Strategies on page 94. Ask: How will using this reminder help you to understand the selection? (it will help me figure out the main topic and help me stay focused on the topic; it will help me understand the writer s point or purpose for writing) READING THE TEXT INDEPENDENTLY 1. Read the text on page 94 out loud. Ask: What have you learned so far about the writer s topic? (a poet named Homer, who lived in 800 BCE, collected stories of the Trojan War and retold them in a poem called the Iliad) Note: Point out to students that Homer was a poet in the oral tradition. The version of the Iliad that Heinrich Schliemann read was written down much later, based on Homer s storytelling. CONTINUED Discovering the Truth About Troy 55
2. Instruct students to read to the end of the article to figure out the writer s topic, and then look back to see if the writer stays on topic. Provide students with sticky notes to mark sentences that help them understand the writer s topic and that demonstrate how the writer sticks to her topic. OR FOR THOSE STUDENTS WHO NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: GUIDED READING 1. Read the opening paragraph on page 94 to students. Explain to students that Homer told his stories orally, and they were written down many years later. Ask: Was Homer alive at the time of the Trojan War? (no, he told the stories several hundred years after the war) Do you think the stories he told were true? (they might be true; they were probably about things that really happened; maybe Homer changed or added things; maybe the people who wrote the stories down changed or added things) 2. Tell students to read the first paragraph on page 95. Make sure they understand what an archaeologist is. Ask: Why do you think the writer starts by telling the reader about Homer and his story of the Iliad? (so we would know how the archaeologist found out about Troy) How does this paragraph relate to the topic? (it tells about the person who began the search to find Troy) 3. Encourage students to read the next two paragraphs on page 95. Ask: How did the Iliad help Schliemann find Troy? (it gave him clues to the city s location in Turkey) 4. Let students read the fourth paragraph on page 95. Ask: How does the information in this paragraph help you understand the topic? (it describes what he found at the site; it tells about Schliemann s discoveries) 5. Instruct students to look at the photographs on pages 94 and 95. Ask: How do the photographs relate to the writer s topic? (they show artifacts from the dig and the remains of buildings; they show what was discovered at Troy) Why do you think the writer includes photographs rather than drawings? (the photographs show what was actually dug up; illustrators might use their imaginations and not show the objects exactly as they are) 6. Ask students to read the final paragraph on page 95. Ask: Why does the writer tell the reader about what was not found at the site? (to show that Schliemann didn t find anything to prove that the Trojan War really happened, even though he did find evidence that Troy really existed) After These questions and activities give students the opportunity to share and consolidate their learning about staying on topic. You may use BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet and BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking Sheet to track student progress through the unit. REFLECTING ON THE STRATEGY 1. Encourage students to recall their earlier ideas about whether the story of the Trojan War was true or not. Ask: After reading this article, do you think the Trojan War really happened? Why or why not? (the article proved that Troy existed, so there could have been a war between the Trojans and the Greeks; if the war had really happened, Schliemann would have found some evidence of it, but he didn t) 2. Ask students to work with a partner and compare their sticky notes marking sentences that show how the writer stayed on topic. 3. Ask students to read the Writer s Craft question on Student Book page 95. Give them a few minutes to look back at the text. Encourage them to share their answer and their sentences with a partner. 4. Read the Connections question to students and invite them to share their responses with the class. Students might suggest stories about Robin Hood, Fa Mulan, King Arthur, Theseus, and William Tell. ORAL: DISCUSSING THE TEXT 1. Why is this article called Discovering the Truth About Troy? (because some people think the stories about Troy and the Trojan War were made up; this article gives evidence that Troy did exist) 2. About how long after Homer composed the Iliad did Heinrich Schliemann find Troy? (2670 years later) 3. What evidence did Schliemann find that Troy really did exist? (the great stone wall that surrounded the city; human skeletons; bones of horses; a gold crown; treasures made of silver, gold, and bronze) 56 Nelson Literacy 5 Teacher s Resource: Early Civilizations
4. What evidence related to the events of the Trojan War did Schliemann not find? (a statue of Athena; chariots; the wooden horse) 5. What can we be sure of about Troy? (there was a city at the site that Homer talks about in his poem) What might still be just a story? (some of the characters and events of the Trojan War, such as the Trojan horse) WRITING: WRITING A SUMMARY ABOUT THE REAL TROY 1. Ask students to reread each paragraph of the article and write a sentence or two that summarizes the content of each paragraph. Encourage them to pick out the main ideas to summarize. For example, for the first paragraph, the sentences might read, In 800 BCE a Greek poet named Homer created a poem called the Iliad. This poem told the story of the Trojan War. 2. Encourage students to write a summary paragraph using their sentences and share it with a partner. Ask them to discuss whether the paragraph captures the main ideas of the article and whether it stays on topic. They can suggest revisions if needed. READING: RESEARCHING WORLD HERITAGE SITES 1. In 1998 the Archaeological Site of Troy was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Provide students with the address of the UNESCO World Heritage website and tell them to use the information they find there to answer the questions below. Ensure students are under adult supervision when using the Internet. What do the letters in UNESCO stand for? Differentiated Instruction: ELL What is UNESCO s mission with respect to world heritage sites? How many world heritage sites are there in the world? Why was Troy chosen to be a world heritage site? Find three examples of world heritage sites that you would like to visit and explain why you chose each one. 2. Let students share their findings orally in small group discussions. Revisiting the selection When We Built the Trojan Horse, as students do in Accessing Prior Knowledge, can be very effective for English language learners. The selection is highly visual and includes a timeline featuring minimal language. Working with a partner provides a good opportunity to revisit key vocabulary and concepts related to the story of the Trojan War while at the same time consolidating the use of text features. You can also support students linguistic growth and comprehension by taking the opportunity to talk about the writer s use of the verb system. For example, some languages have no passive voice and, as a result, some students may interpret a sentence such as Helen the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta is kidnapped by Paris as Helen the wife of Menelaus kidnapped Paris. It may take some time for students to understand and use passive voice. You can help by having students work with familiar topics and then writing key points using active and passive voices. For example, Hong bought that new video game. can be restated as That new video game was bought by Hong. Word Study Pronouns 1. Write the sentence below on the board. Ask students to read the sentence silently and figure out the missing word. Homer decided to retell the stories had heard about the war. 2. Ask: What word did you use for the missing word? (he) What do you call words that take the place of nouns? (pronouns) Why would you use a pronoun in this sentence? (it sounds funny to repeat a name in a sentence) 3. Challenge students to skim through the selection to find other pronouns the author used and identify the nouns they are replacing. (them: stories; it: Iliad; he: Heinrich; him: Heinrich) 4. Word Study Master 5 reinforces the use of pronouns. Discovering the Truth About Troy 57
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING Checking Progress Demonstration Task Provide students with BLM 16: Demonstration Task Choose the Most Effective Paragraph. Have them read both paragraphs, decide which is the most effective and which is the least effective, and give reasons for their ratings. Key Assessment Questions Students may respond to the Key Assessment Questions either in writing or orally in a conference. Ask: What is the topic of Discovering the Truth About Troy? How were you able to identify the topic? How did staying on topic make Discovering the Truth About Troy a strong article? Record individual progress on BLM 14: Strategy Rubric Strip Staying on Topic. Next Steps Students who understand the writing strategy may review their writing portfolios and identify pieces that can be revised with the new strategy in mind. For students who need extra support understanding the strategy, conduct shared reading with a text that matches the students interests. Students use these readings to practise reading like a writer and identifying topics of pieces of writing and details that support the topics. Also provide opportunities for students to practise using the strategy in either shared or guided writing lessons. Strategy Rubric Strip: Staying on Topic A full-size version of this rubric, suitable for recording assessments, is provided on BLM 14. Criteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 writes down a topic before beginning to write with limited with some crosses out details that are not related to the topic with limited with some identifies the writer s topic with limited with some identifies details that support the topic with limited with some explains how staying on topic makes writing strong with limited with some Cross-Curricular Application applies the skills involved in staying on topic in other areas of the curriculum with limited with some Student Self-Assessment Encourage students to think back to their learning with Staying on Topic and Discovering the Truth About Troy and reflect on their ability to stay on topic when writing. Suggest they review their written work with a partner. Then direct them to check off the appropriate box on BLM 4: Self- Assessment Checklist and Personal Goal Setting. 58 Nelson Literacy 5 Teacher s Resource: Early Civilizations